Huayu became famous overnight

Chapter 233: When time comes, heaven and earth all work together

9 month 10 day.

Filming for "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" has wrapped up after three months.

Three days later, filming wrapped up for "How Long Will I Love U".

Two consecutive dramas have ended.

Xu Ming had no time to be sad, let alone attend the wrap party.

He rushed to the capital without stopping to meet up with Cheng Xiaodong, Zhao Wenzhuo and others.

Because "Kung Fu Jungle" is about to be released.

This action film, hailed as his first attempt at a major transformation, has achieved box office success exceeding one billion yuan despite minimal promotion, and is poised to replicate the success of his 1992 film, making him a star of the "Xu Mingnian" era.

It still received widespread praise and attention from the public.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to go back to the company to handle some business, which took up my time."

Xu Ming arrived at the premiere venue looking apologetic.

He just convened Sohu, Tencent, and the newly entered Sina and Alibaba to discuss the second round of financing for Guangying Ticketing Network.

Tencent reacted strongly to Alibaba's involvement, and proposed to reject the proposal.

Unfortunately, it was vetoed by Xu Ming's veto power.

With its promising future, Guangying Ticketing Network is now far ahead in the ticketing website field.

Even though Meituan belatedly released an online movie seat selection function, and Douban began to fight back and seize the film and television rating rights.

They still can't compete with the online ticketing platform, Guangying Ticketing.

There was no other way; in terms of movies, Qiming had reached strategic partnerships with a number of cinema chains, giving it a significant advantage in terms of ticket subsidies and ticket availability.

In terms of concerts, Qiming Network has signed marketing contracts with hundreds of singers and artists, making it an exclusive resource.

Xu Ming's preemptive move had already blocked the path for those who followed.

"It's alright, we just arrived not long ago."

Cheng Xiaodong smiled, making no mention of the fact that he and Zhao Wenzhuo had arrived an hour earlier.

"I'll probably only be on this tour for about a week. After that, it'll be up to you and Wenzhuo to lead the team," Xu Ming said.

After finishing his roadshow, he immediately had to immerse himself in "Duckweed".

The path you choose, you have to finish it, even if it kills you.

"I know you're busy, just keep doing your thing."

Cheng Xiaodong was extremely understanding and showed none of the irritability he displayed when dealing with his martial arts subordinates.

Her attitude towards Xu Ming was much more amiable than before, even bordering on ingratiating.

The move of Hong Kong filmmakers to the mainland is an inevitable trend.

They initially carried a sense of superiority, but the box office success of "The Unknown" surpassing 1 billion yuan silenced these veteran actors.

Zhu Yanping, who had been constantly stirring up trouble in the media, also began to play dead.

A single movie's box office revenue is more than Taiwan's entire summer movie season combined. How can they compete with others?

Moreover, the potential of the mainland film market is significantly greater than they imagined.

This means they will have more opportunities to beg for food here in the future, so they need to maintain good relations with the local forces on the mainland.

Xu Ming is an indispensable figure.

A group of Hong Kong artists invited by Cheng Xiaodong came forward to greet Xu Ming.

The latter also accepts everyone.

He only has a problem with two-faced people in Hong Kong and Taiwan film industry; he still respects most people in that group.

To be fair, Hong Kong filmmakers generally have a higher level of professionalism and attitude than their mainland counterparts; they're more likely to do things for money.

Unlike a certain female celebrity who complains about the poor working conditions and long working hours of artists, but then turns around and says during a live stream that she can't even buy a pair of socks for 699 yuan.

This is what it means to make money too easily.

The mainland market is so big that anyone with a little fame can make a fortune.

In his past life, Xu Ming wished he could thoroughly reform the entertainment industry.

He now says he is determined to protect the salary level of performers, ideally so that they can get paid without doing any work.

Of course, if it's Qiming's project, all the artists except him should ideally receive a base salary.

After a series of welcoming and seeing off guests.

The movie begins.

Compared to the original version, which focused on Donnie Yen due to the star power of the actors, this version directly focuses on Xu Ming.

When Feng Yuxiu first appeared, his slovenly appearance and performance suggesting mental instability made him seem unfamiliar to the audience and his colleagues.

Is this Xu Ming?

Although it has been said that this is a work that marks a turning point for the actor, most people think it is just a case of false advertising.

I never expected it to be true.

Why not use a perfectly good face?

From Tian Wenjun in "Dearest" to Hu Guangsheng in "The Nameless", and now Feng Yuxiu in "Kung Fu Jungle".

Clearly, Xu Ming is gradually shifting his focus towards portraying ordinary, lower-class characters.

Once you step out of your comfort zone and ignore its appearance, people suddenly realize that this thing has quite a lot of potential for expansion.

At least these characters didn't make them feel out of place. On the contrary, some of the more exciting scenes made them lose the perception that "this actor is Xu Ming" and immerse themselves in the role.

"I, Feng Yuxiu, have come to learn from you."

"It determines who is superior and who is inferior, and also decides life and death."

Hey!
The audience watched as Xu Ming revealed a pair of violent eyes on the big screen.

With a stomp of his foot, he leaped from the massive skull onto the skeletal model, confronting Andy On opposite him.

This aura is truly reminiscent of a martial arts fanatic obsessed with demonic possession.

Bang bang bang!
hum-

On the big screen, Xu Ming and Andy On engage in a brutal, hand-to-hand combat scene.

The performance sent the audience's hormones soaring, while also eliciting gasps of surprise.

The action scenes were performed skillfully, without any awkwardness from someone who had only recently started.

During the filming of this scene.

Cheng Xiaodong's idea was to change the stunt double, or just have the two of them perform the routines.

But Xu Ming insisted on playing himself and told Andy On not to hold back.

They rely on their good physical recovery ability.

The bruises and injuries he suffered back then contributed to the realistic impact seen on screen today.

"Pity."

Cheng Xiaodong shook his head, "Twenty or thirty years ago, it's not impossible to try the path of a martial arts actor."

The regret he expressed was not that Xu Ming lacked talent, but that the path for martial arts actors was almost cut off.

Even though Andy On is already one of the most outstanding martial arts actors of the new generation on screen, he can still only play supporting roles everywhere.

"We should be thankful, thankful that Xiao Xu is still willing to step into this industry, at least there is still hope," Zhao Wenzhuo said.

Cheng Xiaodong was taken aback; that made sense.

It's not that Xu Ming needs action scenes now, it's that action scenes need Xu Ming.

The key is that the latter can attract investment.

For Xu Ming, the two people's sentiments were not within his consideration.

He just wanted to indulge in martial arts films and broaden his acting range.

As for the rise and fall of action films, it's none of his business, and he can't be bothered to care.

After all, when it comes down to it, the total box office revenue of all mainland Chinese films in a year is less than the annual sales revenue of Tencent's later-released "Honor of Kings".

When the theater lights came on, the audience saw the gentle and refined Xu Ming on stage and could not reconcile him with Feng Yuxiu on the screen.

The premiere has ended.

A single topic on Weibo quickly rose to the top of the trending topics list.

[Xu Ming's performance in "Kung Fu Jungle" was so bad it was almost disfiguring]

Netizens who saw this were completely baffled. Good acting is one thing, but what does "disfiguring acting" even mean?

When they clicked into the trailer released by the production company and saw Xu Ming wearing a hood and looking fierce, they were immediately stunned.

Is this Xu Ming?

This seems... kind of interesting.

Often, the quality of a movie may only be slightly above average.

However, the audience's bias towards the lead actor will naturally elevate their perception of the film.

Just like Yang Mi's "Mysterious Island" in her previous life.

A terribly clichéd horror movie, because of Big White Honey... oh no, Big White Honey, uh, that's not right either.

In short, it broke the box office record for domestic horror films, grossing a whopping 9000 million yuan.

Xu Ming's current influence far surpasses that of Yang Mi.

Even looking at the domestic scene, this period saw a significant drop in popularity.

Whether it's his record-breaking achievements or his ambition to rival Stephen Chow, he has attracted the attention of the public and media.

Moreover, the popularity he gained from appearing on the Spring Festival Gala for three consecutive years has earned him a solid reputation.

Every actor at the peak of their career has gone through a period like this.

Regardless of the quality of the film, audiences are willing to pay for a movie ticket just by seeing their faces, and even clichéd scenes become quite interesting, as if they have an extra layer of beauty filter.

For example, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise from Hollywood, or Jackie Chan and Stephen Chow from China.

Xu Ming is now receiving the same treatment.

Many movie fans, upon seeing his name as the lead actor, instinctively choose not to watch any other movies.

In September, a traditionally slow month for film releases.

The box office figures for the premiere on Thursday were 3600 million.

This number brought a sigh of relief to many colleagues, but also made them feel particularly heavy-hearted.

For a declining genre of Chinese action films, achieving this result is unprecedented.

But just because Xu Ming starred in it, they actually thought it was nothing special.

Unlike the golden age of Hong Kong's film industry, which was dominated by superstars like Chow Yun-fat, Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan, and Lee Seung-hwa, and also featured competition from stars like Andy Lau and Cheng Yee-kin, this film was a different story.

Now, however, Xu Ming is far ahead of everyone else.

The artists who could compete with him in the same era were all old-timers.

He was also cunning, and many of them were recruited to cooperate with him, such as Zhang Guoshi, Jiang Wen, and Ning Hao.

Inside a movie theater.

Xu Ming assumed the stance of Tongbei Quan and performed a set of moves with great force.

In a moment of excitement, he threw a punch, and a loud bang could be heard.

Moviegoers exclaimed that the tickets were well worth the price.

"I want to thank Brother Wenzhuo here. He taught me that set of punches. When we were filming the fight scene, I didn't know how to control my strength, which caused him a lot of injuries."

Xu Ming put away his formal posture and started chatting about interesting anecdotes from the filming.

Compared to his previous roadshows, he is much more spontaneous now, without any pre-prepared scripts, just saying whatever comes to mind.

But the movie fans listened with great interest and praised everything he said.

It truly is a case of when the time is right and heaven and earth lend their strength.

"You yourself have been injured several times. I remember there was a scene with weapons where a solid prop accidentally hit your leg. It was terrifying," Xiao Songjia chimed in.

"It's just a minor injury," Xu Ming said with a smile.

Amidst the jeers of the crowd, he still lifted his trouser leg, revealing the still-present scars on his calf.

The shocking injuries made moviegoers feel even more convinced of the fight scenes in the film.

This at least proves that Xu Ming wasn't fooling them.

Don't think this is insignificant. For many mainland moviegoers, a movie that doesn't try to fool them is already a sign of sincerity.

Feeling the moved gazes of everyone, Xu Ming thought to himself, "It's all thanks to the contrast with my peers."

The box office reached 4100 million on the second day.

The third day, which was also a Saturday, saw 5090 million.

5480 million on the fourth day.

It raked in nearly 200 million yuan at the box office in its opening weekend, breaking the record for domestic action films.

But nobody cared.

Outsiders think this number is nothing compared to a billion-dollar box office.

Those in the industry have become numb.

While other production teams are still gloating over breaking 100 million yuan at the box office, this guy breaks 100 million yuan as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

The only thing that interests them is whether this film can surpass "The Founding of a Republic".

If he can surpass that, it would mean that Xu Ming will sweep the top three spots in the annual box office rankings for domestic films.

However, Xu Ming, who was the lead actor, took the day off on Monday and did not participate in the promotional tour.

As professional filmmakers, given the positive reviews of "Kung Fu Jungle" and its opening weekend box office performance, they estimate it to gross at least 4.5 million yuan.

It's only a matter of time before it surpasses "The Founding of a Republic".

With this realization, Xu Ming lost heart and shifted his attention to the upcoming film.

meeting room.

The Alibaba representative looked puzzled, unsure why Qiming, the boss, had suddenly contacted them while his movie was still showing.

Just as he was pondering this, Xu Ming pushed open the door and entered.

He was completely different from the character he had just seen in the movie.

"I heard your company is preparing a shopping festival?" Xu Ming asked, getting straight to the point.

"That's what happened."

The Alibaba representative agreed after careful consideration, not surprised that the other party knew about the group's secret plan.

Given Alibaba's actions, the so-called secret has already attracted attention from all sides as the plan progresses.

"Is this shopping festival planned for November 11th, Singles' Day?" Xu Ming asked again.

This time, however, the Alibaba representative's expression was somewhat off.

"How did you know that?"

"Hehe, interested in collaborating on a promotion?"

Xu Ming smiled but did not respond to the other party's question. He could say that this damn Singles' Day had caused him to lose money every time it happened in his previous life.

It's supposed to be Singles' Day, but it's turned into a shopping day for couples.

How can we collaborate on promotion?

The Alibaba representative raised an eyebrow, noting that the other party's marketing methods and case studies were not only attracting attention within the entertainment industry but were also being studied by the outside world.

Furthermore, Qiming's media resources are, in some ways, richer than Alibaba's, allowing it to leverage greater resources with less money.

"I'm producing a romance movie to promote your shopping festival. It's directed by Guo Fan and stars me and Yang Mi. You should know how much attention this cast gets."

"There's a plot point that showcases the conveniences of modern life. We could change it to a Taobao shopping festival and have Xu Zheng make a cameo appearance as a staff member, how about that?"

Xu Ming's debut work, "Love is Not Blind," was originally intended to be a promotional piece for this year's Double Eleven shopping festival.

He just snatched it away.

Although it's unclear whether Ali has prepared another similar work, he wouldn't mind hijacking it again.

Joining Alibaba's promotional campaign would be entirely beneficial for their film.

The classic scene in the original version where Xu Zheng, dressed as a Haidilao employee, goes to the restaurant to throw noodles has naturally been changed.

The Alibaba representative pondered for a moment, then realized that there seemed to be nothing to consider.

For Alibaba, this collaboration could also be very beneficial.

"Let me report to headquarters. This matter needs to be reviewed by Chairman Ma, but I personally believe that the possibility of cooperation is very high," the Alibaba representative said cautiously.

"Please."

Xu Ming smiled.

(End of this chapter)