Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 231 North American Hurricane, Japan and South Korea Passion!
The supporting facilities of the Hollywood film industry are relatively complete, not only in terms of shooting and promotion, but also on statistical websites such as box office forecasts.

In terms of film reviews, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, and MTC are mainly used.

Rotten Tomatoes uses a binary rating system: if you think a movie is good, it's fresh; if you think it's bad, it's rotten. The rating group is mainly composed of film critics.

IMDB is a website owned by Amazon. Registered users can give ratings. In short, it is the Douban of the United States.

MTC is relatively professional. The scoring group is professional film critics from mainstream media, and the score is based on a percentage system.

After its premiere at Cannes, the Rotten Tomatoes index of "Alien Land" was unfrozen and it received a 94% freshness rating for the first time.

In addition, in terms of box office forecasts, North America is mainly dominated by BOX and CS.

After its premiere in Cannes, BOX's box office forecast reached 7000 million US dollars, which still did not exceed the film's cost line.

BOX's evaluation is a dynamic algorithm that combines all factors that affect the box office of a movie and updates its predicted figures at any time.

CS will conduct on-site evaluation and score release on the night of the premiere.

In view of this, Lionsgate and Miramax have stepped up their publicity efforts and are doing their best to heat up the market before the North American premiere on June 6.

The cost of promoting Hollywood movies is extremely high. Even low-budget films like "The Blair Witch Project" and "Paranormal Activity" cost Lionsgate tens of millions of dollars in publicity fees.

Not to mention masterpieces like "Alien".

Generally speaking, the publicity expenses of Hollywood's commercial blockbusters are as high as 45%-55% of the filming cost.

Taking "Alien Land" as an example, the cost was 7500 million US dollars, and the omni-channel publicity expenses in North America alone accounted for about 3400 million US dollars.

According to the agreement, Miramax and Lionsgate will advance 70% of the money, and the United States will bear the remaining 30%.

The final box office revenue will be settled with the two distributing companies.

After Cannes, Lu Kuan returned to China to handle some company affairs, arranged domestic publicity and promotion work, and then set off for North America.

He will lead a group of main creators to start a promotional campaign lasting half a month.

For example, the Los Angeles Times’ interview with the crew;
Channels like MTV began to bombard teenage audiences with advertising;
As well as live interviews with Lu Kuan, Leonardo DiCaprio and others by top media magazines such as Variety.

The event lasts until June 6th, when the premiere of "Alien Land" will be held at the Chinese Theater in Los Angeles.

This night was also the premiere of Van Loon's "Around the World in Eighty Days". Disney's Eisner was trying his best to defeat Lu Kuan and Harvey!
The Chinese Theatre was founded in 1927 by Sid Grumman, known as the "King of American Theater". It was named after its appearance and decoration which are rich in Chinese elements.

There are two red stone pillars with Chinese characteristics at the main entrance of the theater, supporting the entire Chinese-style roof that is 27.4 meters high.

There are two stone lions at the door, which are very easy to identify.

In 2013, China's TCL Group bought the 10-year naming rights.

On the red carpet, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harvey and the stars invited by Lionsgate competed for attention.

That's how Hollywood is, supporting each other, except that Disney's direct directors and actors went to the premiere of "Around the World".

With celebrities comes attention, and naturally there will be a lot of media. This is also the reason why Lu Kuan asked Tom Cruise and others to handle this project.

If he relied on himself alone, even if he spent $1 million to make this movie, he might not be able to find so many big names to help him.

Around the red carpet were fans enthusiastically holding up cheering banners, most of whom came for the two handsome guys, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise.

Lu Kuan stood in front of the screening room and looked around the main venue. Hall No. 1 was already packed.

Apart from the invited stars, reporters, Rotten Tomatoes and MTC film critics, the rest are avid movie fans.

On that night, approximately 1100 screens in more than 3500 theaters in North America were filled with audiences.

Everyone is tired of the month-long advertising bombardment, and coupled with the excellent reputation from the Cannes Film Festival, fans are very much looking forward to it.

The film opened with a complete silence.

This time, Boss Lu didn't have the time to observe the audience's reaction.

The most professional filmmakers at the Cannes Film Festival have given excellent feedback. There is no doubt that this movie will be loved by the audience. It just depends on how high the box office will reach.

As expected, the car racing and fighting scenes in the first ten minutes or so caught everyone's attention.

Natural and smooth special effects shots, refreshing editing rhythm, an oriental beauty with an angelic face and a tough gangster temperament.

All the elements hit the mark for the moviegoers, making them excited.

Not only the audience at the scene, but also the premiere audience in front of 3500 screens across North America.

“I didn’t expect the Chinese could make such a special effects movie!”

"What is this girl's name? Can anyone tell me?"

Until the imaginative monsters in "Classic of Mountains and Seas" came into the world, the audience identified and watched them with the help of the picture albums in their hands, and they were very excited.

Westerners think that monsters are all disgusting creatures like Godzilla, but they never expected that the Chinese thousands of years ago could create such a romantic image of a strange beast.

In addition to teenagers who love action scenes and special effects shots, audiences of other levels and ages also found their own spiritual appeal in "Alien Land".

About nature, about the environment, and about how humans have dug their own graves step by step.

When Liang Jiahui and Dr. Ximai died together in Chinatown where the film was shot in Shanghai, when Liu Yifei and Leonardo resolutely walked into a foreign land.

Everyone was still not satisfied, and the classic scenes from the previous 140 minutes kept flashing in their minds!

The lights in the theater came on, and the screams and shouts from the audience continued!

Seeing that the most discerning and largest number of North American audiences were conquered by "Alien Land", Lu Kuan, Harvey and others finally felt relieved.

"Foreign Land" is done!
After the film ended in some theaters in North America, the audience who praised the film walked out of the theater and were given questionnaires by CS's research organization.

The vast majority of the audience chose A+ with a sense of satisfaction.

CS is North America's leading film market research company. They work with the Big Six and the Alliance to attract audiences to give on-site ratings through small benefits such as discount coupons provided by theaters.

Such objective rating results will provide the most authentic first-hand information to the bosses of all Hollywood film companies.

They will adjust their promotional focus, target audience, etc. based on the CS evaluation results of the previous few days.

It was not until 11: in the evening that Lu Kuan opened the official email notification from CS while smoking.

A+, predicted box office...

1.1 billion!
Lu Kuan slammed the table excitedly, and then telegraphed all his allies, causing everyone to be excited!
Founded in 1978, CS is very authoritative and they had their own set of statistical standards before the advent of big data.

In the statistical samples of previous years, only less than 50 films received an A+ rating at their premiere. CS also produces a data model called the "Stay Power Index."

Among these 50 films, the average final box office is generally 2.5 to 3 times the first week box office.

In other words, if "Alien Land" can achieve a box office of around 6 million to 20 million in the week starting from June 3500, there will be basically no doubt that it will eventually exceed 4000 million.

The next day, the latest movie ratings were released on Douban IMDB in the United States.

"Pitch Black" 7.5;

"Alien Land" 8.9;

The most surprising thing is "Around the World", which was also created by Fang Long, a Chinese film. After its premiere, it was rated 6.3 by the audience and received a lot of bad reviews.

Boss Lu was sweating profusely when he saw words like "extremely stupid", "go back to Hong Kong", "a money-sucking kung fu beggar". These audiences really turned their backs on him.

The audience and book lovers are the same, innocent and ruthless.

If you feed them shit, they will smear shit on your face!
If you want to fool them, be prepared to be criticized.

On the afternoon of the 21st, Harvey called and the box office data for yesterday's midnight show was out.

"900?"

"you sure?"

Lu Kuan was really overjoyed. He expected the data to be a big hit, but he didn't expect the total box office of the premiere and the midnight show to reach 900 million!
Following this trend, there will be no problem in the first week box office exceeding 4500 million.

If calculated based on CS's "staying power index", the final box office will be at least 1.35 million.

"Harvey, speed up the promotion process. I want to win the weekly box office championship this summer."

The current weekly box office champion in June 2004 is "Harry Potter" with around 6 million.

This week's box office champion is not only real numbers and money, but also a form of advertising.

Everyone has a herd mentality and a competitive mentality, especially among young people.

If you haven't seen a great and exciting movie that everyone has seen, you will lose the initiative in social interaction.

Harvey checked his schedule. "Flying to Chicago tomorrow, Philadelphia the day after tomorrow, and an interview with MTV this afternoon. It's already a packed schedule."

June 6rd, MTV studio in Philadelphia.

Lu Kuan, Liu Yifei, Leonardo and others sat on the sofa and were interviewed.

"Crystal, I heard you are only 17 years old this year?"

"Yes, but it's still a few months away."

"Oh, you're too young. Looking at your profile, you were born in China, but you've also lived in the United States. Why did you ultimately choose to return to China for development?"

Concubine Liu Yi thought for a moment and smiled, "It's just like people who have been wandering around for a long time wanting to go home. It's no different."

The host, Charlie, turned to Leonardo and asked, "Leo, have you ever heard that your path as a director is that of a tyrant on the set? A pervert like Hitchcock?"

Hitchcock is famous for his manic fascistic filmmaking style.

In order to help an actress get into a role, he once took a real shotgun and shot at the open space next to her to help her make a panicked expression.

"Haha, maybe not as harsh as Hitchcock. He is a director who is very good at communication and is also well versed in acting theory."

"I thought if he didn't become a director, maybe he could become my acting teacher."

Charlie nodded. "I heard that the car chase scene in the first 15 minutes was very thrilling, and there were even casualties on the set?"

This is a common tactic used by Hollywood to promote movies: hype.

Whenever a male and female actor of equal status fall in love on set, they'll hype up their romance from the very beginning of the film's promotions, and they'll break up after the film ends.
The car chase scenes must be shot with real people, absolutely no doubles;

When shooting a horror movie, there must be some supernatural events happening on the set, which scared everyone to death.

Leonardo is also a seasoned veteran: "There were no casualties. In fact, we all did it ourselves. Crystal was very agile, but there were still some accidents during the final escape from the fire."

Charlie was surprised and said, "What?"

Liu Yifei took over the conversation: "The car door wouldn't open, and I could see the flames about to touch my hair. Finally, the director called out 'cut,' and everyone rushed forward to rescue me!"

The little girl touched her chest as if she had survived a disaster, with a look of fear on her face. It seemed that her acting skills had improved greatly.

The female host next to her asked about the love affair again: "Crystal, you and Leo have been together on the set for several months. Have you become fascinated by him? He's a Hollywood girl killer, right?"

Liu Yifei said calmly: "I have a lot of kung fu scenes, and I am exhausted every day. It is difficult to have free time to think about other things. Besides..."

"Leo seems to be more interested in Director Lu Kuan than me. They often go to the room to drink after filming. As for whether it's just for drinking, I don't know."

There was a burst of laughter.

The crew traveled thousands of miles at the speed of two cities a day, and the publicity tour swept through many traditional box office strongholds until the first week's box office figures came out.

This time, not only did Harvey call in ecstasy, but Lionsgate's boss Gustavo even flew from Los Angeles to the roadshow city in person.

"Lu! We're the weekly box office champion, 4732 million! We've surpassed Harry Potter and Shrek the Monsters."

"Harry Potter" was released in early June. This is the third week. The box office growth rate has slowed down and the total box office is currently 6 million.
"Pitch Black 2", which was released at the same time as "Alienscape", was a huge flop in its previous life. In this life, it encountered "Alienscape", a sci-fi work with a similar theme, and it was an even bigger flop.

There are also animated films such as "Garfield" that were recently released, which were all defeated by the strong momentum of "Alien".

As for Lao Long's "Around the World"...

The box office revenue in the first week exceeded 1300 million, and the most important thing is that the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, and MTC were all positive.

If the film continues to maintain this kind of reputation, the final box office will not exceed 3000 million, and huge losses are inevitable.

Fang Long received the highest Hollywood salary of $2000 million for this Disney blockbuster.

But later on, because of the failure of "Around the World", his career in Hollywood was in a desperate situation and he had to return to China to develop his career.

There is a sharp contrast between "Alien Land" and "Circumnavigation". The struggle between the Chinese creators is secondary, but the rift between Harvey and Eisner is getting bigger and bigger.

In particular, Boss Lu also gave him the distribution of "Fahrenheit 911/", which made the Jews hate Eisner even more for preventing him from distributing it.

Harvey mobilized his own media and began to build momentum through various channels, making a big fuss about the fact that Disney let go of "Alien Land" because of his wrong decision!

"The perfection of 'Alien Land' is even beyond our imagination. At the same time, Eisner's stupidity is also beyond our imagination!"

"If Disney allows such a tyrant and brainless dictator to continue sitting in that position, I think old Mr. Disney would even jump out of his grave and whip him with his cane!"

At the same time, other Hollywood film companies, big and small, finally saw the true strength of this film director from China!

This is a talented director who combines Chinese learning with Western knowledge. His understanding of Hollywood rules and underground undercurrents is even better than that of Hollywood practitioners!
There was also a rumor that came from nowhere, saying that Lu Kuan himself was a follower of an Eastern mysterious religion and was proficient in voodoo and divination.

When Xiao Liu took the gossip newspaper and told Boss Lu about this strange story, the latter looked at both laughing and crying.

Was this the work of Quentin, the big mouth, or Harvey, the white pig?
In addition to the soaring foreign box office figures and public opinion, Boss Lu also arranged for domestic media to reprint and divert traffic to prepare for the delayed domestic premiere.

Sci-fi blockbusters like "Alien" that are released globally have tiered screening schedules in major box office markets.

For example, the domestic premiere ranked behind those in North America, Japan and South Korea.

Because the more developed the film market is, the more it can stimulate the enthusiasm for watching movies in less developed markets by spreading the amazing box office figures and the overwhelming positive reviews back to the country.

This is equivalent to free advertising.

I spent $3000 million in North America to appear in so many newspapers and programs, and you all reprinted it in China and used it again!
It is also to stagger the time and make it easier for the creative team to go on a global roadshow.

China Film Report, after reprinting and citing media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter, also published a commentary:
"This is the first time in the 21st century that a Chinese director has created a hurricane in the North American market. The Atlantic hurricane season in North America usually arrives in April, but the destructive power of 'Alien Land' in just two weeks is already astonishing."

Yangcheng Evening News: "We are delighted to see that more and more Western moviegoers are turning their attention to the ancient East through the excellent works of their own directors. The lion that Napoleon spoke of is about to awaken, and the shock it will cause to the world begins with this film, 'Alien Land'!"

In addition to traditional media, in the mainstream film and television review platforms of Blog.com and Douban.com, Lu Kuan's black fans and Liu Yifei's true fans also had a collective carnival.

They say there are four actresses, two ice queens and one concubine. Now, apart from Zhang Ziyi, the only one who can break into Hollywood is our concubine. Our fans are all very proud of it.

Liu Yifei's personal fan websites have grown to as many as 8, including Yifei Xianju, Happy Yijia, etc.

Fans maintain a high frequency of interaction and publicity on the Internet, and they are very active in popularizing the science fiction background and cast of "Alien Land", behind-the-scenes footage, casting process, etc. on the entire network.

The size of Boss Lu's fan base has also gradually expanded, including many casual fans, although they disdain the reputation of his private life.

But he is indeed regarded as a national hero of Chinese films and has made a name for himself overseas!
Eagle King Li Shoucheng and China Film Han Shanping were naturally overjoyed, but the bosses of all competing film companies in the mainland were almost worried.

What to do?

If Hollywood imported films are hungry wolves, then this Lu Kuan is a Tibetan mastiff?
This is an imported film disguised as a co-production!

Domestic movie fans and science fiction fans, Liu Yifei fan groups, and Leonardo fans ask a question every day, leaving messages on the official website and official blog of Wenjie to inquire about the domestic release date.

After Lu Kuan and Han Shanping communicated with others, they set the national premiere date on July 7th.

You set the release date, I skip it.

"Judo Dragon Tiger List," directed by Johnnie To and starring Louis Koo, Jordan Chan, Cherrie Ying and others, has been rescheduled to September;
Prior to this, Eagle King's own production, "The Matrix 2" starring Twins, Zhen Zidan and Jay Chou, had been urgently withdrawn from the schedule;
Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" was the first to be rescheduled.

Zhang Weiping attended the premiere of "Alien Land" in Cannes and decided to withdraw from the summer season the next day.

Especially after seeing the huge box office success in North America in the first week, he was extremely glad for his choice.

If "Alien Land" collides with "House of Flying Daggers" when the peripheral market is booming, it will definitely fail!
At the end of June 2004, the "Foreign Land" crew arrived at Tokyo International Airport.

As soon as they left the airport, the crew was surrounded by fans who came to pick them up.

Holding high support signs, crying fans, and the ground covered with colored paper and glitter...

The most popular one is of course Leonardo, followed by...

The second reason is the width of the road?
"Xiao Liu, it seems that my popularity in Xiao Ri is higher than yours, haha!"

"Laugh at fifty steps and laugh at a hundred steps!"

In fact, Liu Yifei is no stranger to daily audiences. Both "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" and "Chinese Paladin" were purchased and broadcast by Japan's NECO pay TV station.

The original "The Drummer" was quite popular in East Asian countries influenced by Confucian culture, and the waitress Yu Yan, played by her, also amazed the audiences of these scripts.

The group arrived at the premiere theater, and when the 140-minute movie ended, they were still greeted with thunderous applause.

The Japanese were quite childish and passionate. They all stood up and applauded for more than 20 minutes, forcing Boss Lu to return to the stage with Liu Yifei and others to pay their respects several times.

Entering the interview session, today’s host is quite an important figure, Takeshi Kitano, one of Boss Lu’s wolf friends!
Takeshi Kitano was originally a host. He met Lu Kuan in Venice in 2002 and became close friends.

"Lu! I'm so jealous of you. You've actually improved compared to two years ago!"

Everyone present laughed and liked the former crosstalk artist's eclectic hosting style.

"Tell me, why did you plunge into the arms of commercial science fiction films?"

The microphone was given to Lu Kuan, who made no secret of the fact: "Of course it's to make money!"

Many fans who developed from Lu Laoban’s “Drummer” looked at each other in confusion, wondering why their idolized artist was so materialistic.

“Artists all have their own artistic pursuits, but if they don’t have money, they can only look for investors.”

"When I make commercial films, I'm trading good-looking movies for decent box office revenue to satisfy my own creative freedom."

"This way I don't have to worry about what investors think. I can shoot whatever I want!"

The Japanese are a nation with a strong sense of shame. They care about face and are ashamed to talk about money.

Even if the warriors couldn't afford to eat, they would still pretend to be full and pick their teeth.

The audience, encountering such frank and sincere views for the first time, responded with applause.

"This is the wisdom of the great Eastern nation. We still have much to learn!" "A gentleman is guided by righteousness, while a villain is guided by profit. We only see Lu Sang's materialism, but fail to discover his pursuit of creative freedom and dreams. Shame on us!"

When it came to the question-and-answer session, it was strange that all the questions were directed at Lu Kuan.

It can only be said that the Japanese have a special way of thinking. They may appreciate a man like Boss Lu who has both good looks and brains!
"Director, I've seen the photo of you in Venice with Director Takeshi Kitano and Director Luc Besson."

"Both of them fell in love with their heroines and made them their wives. Would you do the same?"

Kitano Takeshi roared angrily: "Baka! How dare you be so rude to me?"

Everyone laughed.

As expected of one of the top three comedians in China, he has a strong ability to liven up the atmosphere.

Two years ago, Kitano Takeshi was rumored to be having a marital crisis in Venice. What was even more hilarious was that his wife was determined not to divorce him and kept all the financial power firmly in her own hands.

As a result, he had to cry to his wife and ask for money when he took his mistress out for dinner!
Let’s not talk about Luc Besson, he changes his wife for every movie he makes.

When Liu Yifei heard the translator's narration, her pretty face turned slightly red, and she was looking forward to how Lu Kuan would respond.

Boss Lu laughed and said, "I just saw a fan's support sign that said, 片场の绝凶虎."

"Excuse me, what does this nickname mean?"

The female fan giggled and said, "Because we saw from Leonardo's interviews with the American media that you would be like a tyrant in demanding the actors."

"There was also a clip of you cursing on set. It was the audience's way of teasing you."

Boss Lu smiled and said, "I see."

"Then I might not do that. Work is work, and life is life."

"I am a very innocent man. If I fall in love with a woman, I will take good care of her."

"But as a director, it's impossible not to get angry during filming. If my girlfriend is the heroine, I can't scold her!"

There was laughter at the scene. He actually gave up the beauty for the pleasure of scolding people. This director's immaturity is as high as our script!
Liu Yifei: Disgusting! Full of lies!

Another young man with acne on his face asked, "Could you tell me which directors of our scripts Director Lu Kuan likes the most?"

This is also a common question during roadshows, especially in East Asian countries, including China, where people like to hear their idols talk about their views on people and things in their country.

Kitano Takeshi then added, "Hey! Can't you see I'm here? Is it even necessary to ask this question?"

Boss Lu immediately understood the meaning of the song: "First up, Director Takeshi Kitano!"

The whole audience burst into laughter and applause.

"Closer to home, my favorite director is of course Akira Kurosawa. His plot, dialogue, characters, and camerawork are all masterful. My favorites are Seven Samurai and Rashomon."

"Then there's director Kenji Mizoguchi. The biggest hallmark of his films is their exploration of women, showing a humanistic concern for lower-class Japanese women. I was deeply moved."

"Among his films, my favorites are 'Ugetsu Monogatari' and 'The Life of Saikaku', which he and his old partner Kinuyo Tanaka did."

The acne-prone young man was very excited. In the past, when Hollywood directors and actors came to Japan for roadshows, it was already very good if they could say Kurosawa Akira's name!

Lu Sang could even name Mizoguchi, and was familiar with the characteristics and representative works of their works!

It's really admirable. The young man with acne is determined to encourage all his friends to watch "Alien Land"!
Suddenly, a middle-aged man at the scene asked directly without holding the microphone: "Doesn't Mr. Lu like Yasujiro Ozu?"

The relaxed and joyful atmosphere at the scene was suddenly choked, and the knowledgeable filmmakers all looked at Lu Kuan at the same time.

This question is despicable.

Ozu can be said to be the master among the Japanese who ranks second only to Kurosawa Akira, but he was a member of the Japanese invaders who invaded China, fought down the Yangtze River, and was also a fucking gasman.

What a beast.

Kitano Takeshi glanced at the man warily and gave a look to the security guard at the door.

The Japanese had a strong culture of storming the scene and demonstrating, and everyone was used to it.

Liu Yifei and Leonardo saw that Lu Kuan's expression was visibly getting worse, and he looked like he wanted to rush up and have a fight with the middle-aged man with glasses.

He hesitated for a few seconds before picking up the microphone: "As a director, he is an artist. Apart from that, I don't really admire him."

In fact, in the history of film, there are many great directors with indelible crimes and stains.

The crime here is not Boss Lu’s chaotic private life, that’s too trivial.

For example, the devil Ozu, even a thousand cuts could not atone for his sins;

For example, Griffith, the founder of film civilization, was a staunch racist who declared that people of color were uncivilized monsters who should be exterminated;

For example, Woody Allen is suspected of incest, but I won’t tell you who it was with;

For example, Polanski, mentioned above, was a strong underage child criminal who was clearly sentenced.

Kitano Takeshi quickly took over the conversation, made a few more jokes, and the fan meeting ended.

The crew did not stop and rushed directly to the airport to their next stop, South Korea.

On the plane, Liu Yifei asked about what had just happened, and Lu Kuan explained it to her.

Liu Xiaoli said in horror, "This person did it on purpose, didn't he? If Xiaolu said he liked it, I'm sure you'd be accused of selling out your country for personal gain."

Liu Xiaoli's guess was not wrong, but it was not the most serious yet.

If Lu Kuan is really labeled as a war criminal worshipper, he will probably be a household name in China, even worse off than Yan Zi who took the photo.

The $7500 million film "Alien Land" will also be banned!
Boss Lu smiled and said, "A compulsory course for public figures is to know how to avoid pitfalls in interviews. Xiao Liu should also pay attention to this in the future."

There was something he couldn't say for the time being, especially if a Holocaust movie was really made, the public opinion traps against her would increase visibly.

After all, if the effect of the movie is extraordinary, if you want to ruin the movie, the most convenient way is to find the youngest concubine Liu Yi and make trouble for her.

It was already night when they arrived at Incheon Airport in Seoul. The crew rested for a night and prepared to participate in the activities of the next day.

While having breakfast, the box office of "Alien Land" premiered in Japan last night was released, totaling 1 million yen, with over 5200 viewers!
What an exciting number!
Boss Lu announced the first day's box office at breakfast, which caused cheers and made the entire crew, who were originally exhausted, more energized to cope with today's schedule.

The promotion and roadshow work in South Korea is fully handled by the agent distributor CJ Entertainment.

Death, taxes, and Samsung are three things that Koreans cannot live without.

CJ Entertainment has a great background. The family that runs CJ and the Samsung family are brothers.

That is to say, Lee Kun-hee of Samsung and Lee Mong-hee of CJ are brothers. When their next generation succeeds to the throne, they will be two cousins ​​in power.

In the Korean film industry, CJ Entertainment is undoubtedly the boss. Later films such as "Parasite", "Memories of Murder" and "Snowpiercer" were all produced by them.

CJ also has a deep connection with Hollywood, and this road was opened by CJ Entertainment's founder Li Meijing in 1995.

When Spielberg was planning to build DreamWorks, he recruited partners from all over the world, and celebrities and bigwigs flocked to him.

Samsung's Lee Kun-hee also became one of the candidates because of his love for movies. He brought a check for $5 million to Spielberg, and finally increased it to $9 million during the negotiations!
But in the end it was rejected by Spielberg.

Because Lee Kun-hee and Spielberg had a one-hour meal and talked about semiconductors for forty minutes, the latter felt that he didn't understand movies at all.

As a result, Lee Kun-hee's niece Lee Mi-jung came from behind and seized this opportunity.

At this time, Li Meijing is still in charge of CJ Entertainment.

It was not until around 2014 that Park Geun-hye reportedly summoned Lee Mi-jung's uncle.

Li Meijing left CJ Entertainment due to criticism of its left-leaning film production approach and immigrated to the United States, only to be given an honorary title.

It was not until the sensational "Park Geun-hui's confidants interfering in politics" incident broke out in South Korea that CJ Entertainment welcomed back its leader.

Since 1998, the Korean entertainment industry has undergone drastic changes under the policies of President Daejung.

CJ Entertainment is making rapid progress. This time, it has spent a large sum of money to purchase the distribution rights of "Alien Land" and will promote it nationwide at all costs.

All the receptionists at today's premiere were trainee girls sent by SM, and their average height was over 168cm.

At 6 p.m. Beijing time, the premiere and interview event of "Foreign Land" began at the Seoul Theater in South Korea.

The Seoul Theater is the most prestigious film venue in the South Korean capital. The premiere here is of the same level as the one held at the City Hall for "Hero".

Before the event started, the 1200 tickets open to the audience for the premiere were sold out, allowing scalpers to make a fortune.

Lu Kuan accompanied Liu Yifei, Leonardo DiCaprio and others onto the red carpet, and fans thoughtfully made support signs in Chinese and English.

Looking at the way they were crying, today we have witnessed what the most developed and exaggerated fan culture in the early 21st century is like.

The crew moved forward with difficulty, stopping every few steps to take photos, sign autographs, and take group photos. It took more than ten minutes to walk along the red carpet before entering the Seoul Theater screening room.

"Wow! Leonardo is so handsome!"

Lin Yuna glanced at her lovestruck best friend Xu Xian with disdain. Today, both of them were recruited as guest service staff.

"I still like Lu Kuan Oppa, his movies are so great."

The little stars in Xu Xian's eyes became even brighter: "Yeah, Lu Kuan Oppa is also good, I want them all!"

Lin Yuna smiled and slapped her roommate: "Go to hell! Don't compete with me!"

Watching Lu Kuan and the others take their seats from far to near, Xu Xian teased, "Yoona, look at the heroine next to him. She seems to be very close to him!"

"Humph, what's so great about that? He's just relying on the fact that we're from the same country!"

She turned to her roommate and whispered, "Xu Xian, this is our second year of practice, we have to work hard too!"

Xu Xian was not as competitive as her, and had already started to tidy up her appearance to deliver the hot towels.

The first row of the auditorium was filled with the main creators of the production, waiting for the guests to enter and then the premiere to begin.

"Xiao Liu, did you remember what you asked me to recite yesterday?"

"Well, I remember, my favorite Korean actress is Jun Ji-hyun, my favorite film director is Park Chan-wook, and the most..."

Boss Lu nodded and said, "You've done a good job. You'll need to speak it out naturally later. These Koreans have strong pride."

Li Meijing from CJ Entertainment came over with several people from the entertainment industry who were dressed in suits.

"Director Lu, let me introduce you."

"This is Mr. Lee Soo Man from SM Entertainment."

"This is Mr. Choi Ji-soo from StormS."

"This is Lee Jae-yong, Director of KBS TV."

Boss Lu shook hands with several big names in the Korean entertainment industry one by one.

Just like Jang Nara and her daughter wanted to enter other Asian markets such as China in 2004, the Korean entertainment industry during this period also had a tendency to spill over.

In March this year, the new Korean superstar Rain held a concert in Beijing and his popularity is growing.

In addition, the agreement between Hunan and Taiwan to introduce "Dae Jang Geum" has come into effect today, and the country is beginning to face the impact of the Korean Wave in all aspects.

Several big names in the entertainment industry were followed by a group of male and female actors, but Li Meijing naturally would not introduce them in such an occasion.

Boss Lu pulled Xiao Liu behind him.

"This is Liu Yifei, the heroine of 'Foreign Land'. Please say hello to all the presidents."

Li Xiuman and others looked at her curiously, and after taking a look at Liu Yifei's height and appearance, they thought that she was a good candidate for training.

But in this life, Xiao Liu will no longer go to Sony Music, and singing and dancing will no longer be her thing.

In her mind, everything is inferior except being a movie queen.

After greeting each other, several people sat down. Only Choi Ji-soo from StormS stayed and refused to leave. He stood up and introduced the company's artists.

"Director Lu, this is the outstanding Korean actor Song Seung-heon. I wonder if you have seen his drama Autumn in My Heart."

Concubine Liu Yi's eyes lit up!
I memorized this question last night, from "Autumn in My Heart", in which Song Hye Kyo plays Eun-hee.

This Song Seung-heon should be the male lead, right?

Song Seung-heon bowed humbly, walked forward and shook Boss Lu's hands with both hands.

"Director Lu, I admire your film talent very much. If there is a chance, please give me a chance to work with you!"

Choi Ji-su smiled and said, "In May, your country's director Xu Ke's film 'Seven Swordsmen' was approved for production, and it is said that he is very satisfied with Seung-heon's appearance and acting skills."

"If the director has a suitable role, please consider it!"

Boss Lu looked at Song Seung-heon with some "admiration".

Mouth: "Okay, of course!"

In my heart: I’ll kill you!

He glanced back calmly, and Concubine Liu Yi looked at Lu Kuan with a normal expression and smiled gently.

Concubine Liu Yi thought to herself that this person was very strange. Why was he looking back at her while he was talking to someone?
The little girl silently licked her teeth with her tongue.

I've been eating green food and vegetable salads every day recently to control my weight. Is there any vegetable leaves on my teeth?
Xiao Liu, you misunderstood. He is not afraid that you will cheat on him, he is afraid that he will be cheated on!
Traveling through time and space and being greened...

Although he knew that they were just a gimmick couple for publicity, the extremely possessive Boss Lu had already thought about how to harm this old Korean.

Song Seung-heon politely wanted to shake hands with Concubine Liu Yi, but Lu Kuan naturally put his arm around her slender waist.

"Excuse me, we have to excuse ourselves for a moment."

Song Seung Heon smiled awkwardly: "Okay, okay."

The two walked away, exchanged some pleasantries with the guests who came in, and then returned to their seats to rest for a while.

Xiao Liu stared at him suspiciously: "Are you acting strange today?"

"What's weird? I'm normal, okay?"

That's what any normal man would do, right?
"Then why did you look at me like that just now? There's nothing wrong with my face, right?"

Boss Lu said lightly: "No, I just thought you looked very beautiful today."

Concubine Liu Yi felt even more confused, as if she was meeting this person for the first time.

Does this sound like something that would come out of your mouth?

Tibetan Mastiff turns into a bootlicker?
Before Concubine Liu Yi could ponder the strange details, she saw a hostess wearing a slit cheongsam walking towards her.

As Lin Yuna got closer and closer, she felt like her heart was about to jump out of her tight chest!

"Hello, Director. Here's a hand towel for you."

"OK, Kang San Mi Da!"

Boss Lu didn't notice and glanced at the cheongsam beauty's figure, and his eyes, which discovered beauty, moved up along the big slit.

Along the snow-white thighs, to the tight waistline, then the full breasts, and then to the smooth cheeks...

Damn it?

Is today a meeting with acquaintances?
Isn't this "Gee Gee Gee Gee Gee"?

Seeing his eyes lingering on her, Yoona glanced at the increasingly dissatisfied look of the heroine beside him and couldn't help feeling proud.

Then, he mustered up the courage to say, "Oppa, I admire you very much. Can you take a photo with me later?"

Boss Lu smiled at her broken English and said, "Are you a fan of mine?"

"Uh-huh!"

"I'm a second-year trainee, my name is Yoona. Training is so hard that I wanted to give up before the first year was even over!"

"Until I saw Oppa's Whiplash, I realized what he said was so good: nothing is more harmful than something that's not good!"

"So I have persisted until now! Oppa, you are my spiritual strength!"

Boss Lu was very pleased, and his vanity as a man was greatly satisfied.

Just as he was about to say a few more words of encouragement, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm!
He knew who had done this without even looking back. He coughed lightly and his expression softened slightly, "Very good, keep up the good work!"

Liu Yifei also interrupted their conversation in English: "The premiere is about to begin, Miss, please go back."

Lin Yuna walked away with a downcast face, looking back reluctantly as she walked.

Ahsi! Damn woman!
Lu Kuan then turned around and asked, "Why are you pinching me?"

Xiao Liu smiled sweetly: "There was a camera filming you just now, I remind you not to be too presumptuous."

"If you drool again, you'll embarrass us Chinese in front of the Koreans!"

Damn, it’s Tiangang who’s on the contrary!

Seeing that she looked so angry, Boss Lu didn't know what to say.

"Xiao Liu, you have to be compassionate. It's not easy for a trainee like her. I was just trying to give her some spiritual encouragement!"

Sperm encouragement is also possible.

"Really? It's not easy for me either."

"Oppa~~~why don't you come and encourage me too?"

Concubine Liu Yi looked up at him provocatively, as if she was going to tear the roof off the house if she wasn't punished for three days.

Boss Lu sighed secretly and gave up.

Wait two years and I will give you a good push.

(End of this chapter)