Huayu became famous overnight

Chapter 232 How lonely it is to be invincible

The next day.

Xu Ming arrived at the celebration banquet.

As luck would have it, he had just gotten off the bus when he saw a familiar figure walking ahead of him.

Take a few quick steps and slap the other person on the shoulder.

"Old Jiang, you came here by yourself?"

Xu Ming's eyes darted around, looking in all directions.

"if not?"

Jiang Wen raised an eyebrow, already immune to this kid calling him "Old Jiang" instead of "Uncle".

"Where is my aunt?" Xu Ming asked.

“That’s my wife,” Jiang Wen emphasized. “Why are you always thinking about chicken feathers?”

“If she’s not your wife, I wouldn’t even be interested,” Xu Ming said.

"???"

Jiang Wen's eyes widened, filled with question marks.

“Well, what I meant was that I care about your family. After all, I’m your nephew, so I’m part of the family too,” Xu Mingyuan replied.

"Thank you so much for your concern. From now on, not caring about me is the greatest care you can give me," Jiang Wen said irritably.

The two bickered as they entered the banquet hall, and everyone else who saw them just thought that the uncle and nephew had a really good relationship.

They also joined forces to create the box office miracle of "The Unknown".

From a distance, the light emanating from the two figures was dazzling.

Xu Ming also realized the benefits of traveling with Jiang Wen.

This guy broke two records in a row: last year's "Let the Bullets Fly" and this year's "The Nameless".

Its radiance was even greater than his.

This made Xu Ming appear more low-key.

"Our two great heroes have arrived! A warm welcome to them!"

Han Sanping smiled broadly, his face already flushed, indicating that they had drunk quite a bit before they arrived.

He pulled Ning Hao over, then waved to Xu Ming and Jiang Wen: "Now the Three Musketeers are all together. The three of you represent the past thirty years of the film industry."

"Jiang Wen was born in the 1960s, Ning Hao in the 1970s, and Xiao Xu in the 1980s."

Oh wow, it has to be Chairman Han again.

This was the first time anyone present had ever seen this angle.

"You're flattering me. I'm an old hag, how can I compare to these two young talents?" Jiang Wen said helplessly.

Everyone else is one of the top three directors in the country, but he's become one of the three musketeers, hanging out with the younger generation.

This also reflects Ning Hao and Xu Ming's excellence in their respective fields.

“I think Uncle Han is right. Mentoring newcomers is a tradition in China,” Xu Ming interjected.

Jiang Wen's eye twitched twice. Why was this kid so cheeky?

He didn't want to hang out with young people, but he also didn't want to be called old.

Everyone laughed.

Only Xu Ming would dare to make fun of Jiang Wen.

The effect was indeed good; the atmosphere at the banquet instantly became lively.

The crowd toasted and drank, and the three heroes were each surrounded by a group of people.

Honestly, putting all three of them in one movie is a waste.

Each of them has the ability to support a whole drama.

Just like the Big Three that the Heat formed last year, the only difference is that the Heat failed to win the championship in their first year, while the three of them won the box office champion for domestic films this year.

That's right. Even though it's only August, the title of this year's highest-grossing domestic film is already beyond doubt in everyone's eyes.

After winning the championship, it also means that it will be difficult for the three of them to continue playing together.

After all, there's only one cake, and it's easy for it to be divided unevenly no matter how you divide it.

"When do you and Jiang Wen plan to release 'Hidden Man'?" Han Sanping asked.

Although a trio of giants cannot be assembled, a lineup of two giants is still worth investing in.

"It's hard to say, at least the year after next," Xu Ming said, shaking his head.

"I forgot, Jiang Wen's creative cycle is indeed very long."

Han Sanping slapped his forehead and then said, "Do you have any other project ideas? I see that Qiming's current projects are all scheduled to be released this year."

"Not for now. I might reduce my public appearances next year. It's not a good thing to appear in front of the audience too often," Xu Ming said.

Han Sanping was taken aback upon hearing this and looked at the other person.

Just as it was reaching its peak, it actually needed to rest and recuperate.

If this decision had been made by someone else, Han Sanping might have thought it was a wise retreat, a tactic of biding one's time and concealing one's abilities.

But it was Xu Ming who changed the name.

He strongly suspected that the other person knew something.

The latter met his gaze honestly.

In fact, even without his master's influence, Xu Ming would have slowed down.

He has four movies released this year, and four more to come. His exposure frequency of eight movies a year is purely to compete for the honor of 'Xu Mingnian'.

This intense exposure is an over-exploitation of his career.

After all, he doesn't have to be like the actors in Hong Kong.

Once they gain some fame, they rush to get roles, fearing that if they finish filming this year, they won't have any roles to play next year.

He was well aware that the peak of the mainland film market was yet to come.

Of course, reducing his public appearances does not mean he is retiring. On the one hand, he is gradually shifting Qiming's business from relying on his personal support to a more diversified approach, such as the music variety show "The Voice of China" which is currently in preparation.

On the other hand, we will also try to expand into overseas markets.

In his view, the next few years will be a rare opportunity for Chinese actors to expand into the international market.

The success of Jackie Chan and Jet Li is due to the world-renowned Hong Kong kung fu films.

This influence continues to this day, with many of Hollywood's action choreography teams being drawn from Hong Kong's martial arts circles.

The next few years will rely on the potential of the mainland film market.

Actors like Fan Bingbing and Li Bingbing have appeared in big Hollywood productions, and even Jing Tian has made several appearances.

Zheng Kai even played the superhero Atom, and originally had a lot of screen time, but it was all cut later.

It's all because Hollywood movies are eyeing the mainland Chinese film market.

For example, the box office performance of "Transformers 3" in mainland China has shocked many Hollywood production companies.

It is the third film to join the '10 billion dollar box office club'.

Among global box office markets, North America ranked first with $3.38 million, which is actually lower than its predecessor, but the fact that it broke through $10 billion is purely due to the sudden rise of the Chinese market.

It grossed over 100 million US dollars at the box office.

In this context, in order to please mainland audiences, Hollywood made a rare move by relaxing restrictions, which led to the creation of a number of Sino-US co-productions.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but who knew it would be ruined by a bunch of film and television companies that only knew how to wash and polish their products.

That makes sense, though. Compared to money laundering, the money from movies is indeed a paltry sum.

"It's good to take a rest."

Han Sanping paused for a moment, then said, "As long as you do the right thing, no one can do anything to you."

"That makes sense, but..."

Xu Ming smiled and said, "Better safe than sorry."

Han Sanping remained silent. Even with his position, he was unaware of the turmoil involved and dared not make any guarantees.

After all, he genuinely admired and appreciated Xu Ming.

If you switch to someone you don't know well, you can just focus on getting good results without caring about whether the other person lives or dies.

Xu Ming was very familiar with the process of the celebration banquet.

Compared to last month's "Fleet of Time," this time the scale is even bigger, and the ice cubes are even larger.

A string of zeros, reflected in the light, was blinding.

"Congratulations on 'The Unknown' surpassing 1 billion yuan at the box office! It's a breakthrough!" the host announced.

The ice cracked.

After the reporters finished taking photos, they gathered around. Such a historic moment naturally calls for interviews.

"Mr. Xu, what are your thoughts now?"

Although it was a familiar interview question, everyone still looked at Xu Ming with curiosity.

They were also curious about what the other party, the main force behind the first billion-yuan domestic film, was thinking right now.

Although "The Nameless" is promoted as a film featuring three musketeers, everyone knows in their hearts who deserves the most credit.

Especially when it was released at the same time as "Transformers 3", it was a marketing strategy to bring it in as a competitor.

It is now a case study for many film companies.

This wave of competition brought "The Unknown" at least 200 million yuan in box office revenue, not to mention the increased popularity.

"How lonely it is to be invincible~"

Xu Ming started playing a piece of music on his own, which surprised everyone present.

Damn, what a show-off!

The key point is that this line of the song sounds quite interesting.

Others, such as Jiang Wen and Ning Hao, looked surprised for a moment and then silently took a step back.

What a blunder! I should have known better than to be in the same frame as this guy.

When it comes to showing off, I'm definitely outmatched.

"It's lonely at the top."

Xu Ming shook his head and sighed, causing those around him to twitch at the corner of their eyes.

"I hope our domestic colleagues can lend a hand. It's not enough for me, Director Jiang, and Director Ning to compete with Hollywood blockbusters on our own. We all need to work together."

His joking words drew laughter from the crowd.

But a sense of pride also arose in my heart. In the past, when people talked about competing with Hollywood blockbusters, everyone subconsciously felt that it was impossible.

But after competing with films like "The Unknown" and "Transformers 3," they realized that domestic films weren't so weak after all.

Sometimes, all that's missing is that willpower.

When one person breaks with convention, others are inspired to try it themselves.

"Ms. Xu, you made a bet with Director Feng that the total box office of the films you starred in this year would exceed 2 billion. Now that you've fulfilled the bet, is there anything you'd like to say to Director Feng?"

Sina reporters, never ones to shy away from a good spectacle, bombarded the reporter with questions.

Xu Ming pointed at the reporter and gave him a thumbs up: "Thanks for reminding me, otherwise I almost forgot. I still remember Director Feng's line 'Seeking solitude and defeat' from last year. I misunderstood him at the time."

"I'm finding myself truly lonely now, and I really want to be defeated. I hope Director Feng will hurry up and catch up..."

At this point, he covered his mouth, as if he had just remembered something: "I forgot, Director Feng's 'Tangshan' is currently ranked third at the box office, so let's surpass Lao Jiang first."

puff~
Some of his colleagues couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Based on their understanding of Feng Xiaogang, the latter would be furious if he saw Xu Ming's behavior.

The former, who was always criticizing everyone and everything, has finally met his match.

What made them laugh even more was that Jiang Wen, who came in second, was present. Upon hearing Xu Ming's words, his expression was one of helplessness and speechlessness.

This kid managed to drag him into something that had nothing to do with him.

"Oh, by the way, don't forget to keep your bet. I'd also like to enjoy the same treatment as Professor Wang Shuo."

Wow, that really hit home.

The crowd remained silent, simply recording their lives on their phones and preparing to post them on Weibo to further fuel the fire.

And netizens were very understanding.

Not only did they immediately push the topic of "Xu Ming fulfills the bet" to the top of the trending searches, but they also tagged Director Feng in the post.

The latter remained silent, and it was unclear whether he genuinely didn't see it or was pretending not to.

……

Jin Province.

On the set of "1942".

Feng Xiaogang sat behind the monitor, watching Zhang Guoli's performance.

But the strange looks from the staff around him made him feel uncomfortable.

The entire film crew was filled with an eerie atmosphere.

He could also clearly sense that this atmosphere was generated around him, as if these people knew some news without his knowledge.

"Cut, take a break and then do another take."

"come here."

Feng Xiaogang called a halt to filming and waved to a passing staff member.

"Director Feng."

"Which department?"

"Props team."

"Is there something you're hiding from me?"

The atmosphere on set immediately became tense after Feng Xiaogang said this.

Everyone looked at each other.

The man looked embarrassed and hesitated, not daring to speak.

"Say!"

"It's nothing, just some news about you on Weibo." The person didn't dare say it out loud, but just hinted that the other person should see it for themselves.

Feng Xiaogang frowned and waved his hand.

The other party left with a sigh of relief.

He took out his phone and opened Weibo, and the first thing he saw was the trending topics.

The box office of "The Unknown" surpasses 1 billion yuan.

Xu Ming, how lonely it is to be invincible.

Xu Ming calls on Director Feng to fulfill his bet.

When Feng Dapao saw the third trending topic, his heart skipped a beat.

He knew, of course, that today was the celebration banquet for "The Nameless," and he deliberately ignored everything else, intending to get through the day unnoticed.

Who would have thought that Xu Ming would chase after someone to kill them? Doesn't he know what it means to respect one's seniors?

Feng cursed inwardly, but couldn't resist clicking on the topic and, disregarding the expensive data charges, opened the video recorded by the reporter.

"How lonely it is to be invincible~"

The strange, off-key singing echoed throughout the film crew, causing everyone to have odd expressions.

For a moment, they actually found it quite exciting.

"I hope Director Feng can hurry up. He's been forgotten; he's now ranked below Jiang Zemin."

"I also want to enjoy the same treatment as Wang Shuo..."

Snapped!
With a livid face, Feng Dapao slammed his phone to the ground.

His breathing was rapid and heavy.

This is an insult to civility; it's utterly disrespectful!

What disagreements can't be discussed properly in private?
Why did it have to be in front of reporters and netizens? Don't you know the meaning of leaving room for maneuver so you can meet again in the future?
He completely forgot that he was the one who first trampled on Xu Ming's dignity.

"Ahem, Director Feng, this Xu guy is just showing off for a moment. He broke a record by chance and he really thinks he's something. You've won the box office champion countless times since 'The Dream Factory'."

"If you ask me, one success means nothing. When '1942' is released next year, it will be a slap in the face for Mr. Xu."

The assistant director leaned over to comfort Feng Xiaogang, and his words struck a chord with the latter.

His biggest advantage over Xu Ming is his seniority.

Moreover, the film "1942," which is currently being filmed, has also received a lot of investment and effort. This is a true blockbuster, and I don't believe it can't surpass Xu Ming's work.

"Heh, just a little kid. I didn't take him seriously at all. What kind of people haven't appeared in the film industry over the years? And it's still me, Feng Xiaogang, who's still standing strong."

Feng Xiaogang pretended not to care.

As for the bet?

What does Feng Xiaogang have to do with the bet that Feng Dapao made?
What he didn't realize was that Zhang Guoli, Chen Daoming, and others in the crew with whom he had always had a good relationship never participated in the discussion.

No one understands the true value of a domestic film grossing over 1 billion yuan better than them.

They were well aware of Qiming's standing in the industry.

In this industry, you never have to choose the single-choice option.

(End of this chapter)