I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 118 Our Hero Universe!
The 80s...

Dong Qichang became active in the Chinese film industry.

At the time, I was an entertainment reporter who experienced the booming popularity of Hong Kong comedies, Hollywood's global dominance, and the dire situation of mainland Chinese films.

After the 90s, Dong Qichang gave up his promising job as an entertainment reporter and taught himself cinema management, becoming one of the earliest managers of Huaying International Cinema Chain to start a business with Li Minghao.

After years of ups and downs in the business world, Dong Qichang realized that if a company wants to stand out in the market, it is not enough to answer all the market questions perfectly and meet everyone's standard answers. You have to take a risk, you have to gamble, gamble on a person, gamble on the future of a newly emerging company. When everyone is blinded by short-term interests, you can discover that faint opportunity and seize the opportunity of the times!

And Zhou Yang!
This is the very person that Dong Qichang was betting on!

The children's market is Dong Qichang's gamble on an opportunity for Huaying International to stand out from other cinema chains!
10 o'clock in the evening.

When Dong Qichang arrived at [Xuan Shi Entertainment], he found that [Xuan Shi Entertainment] was no longer so messy and crowded.

I remember the first time I came here, the company was filled with all sorts of props and costumes, making it impossible to even find a place to walk.

And now...

It has become very tidy.

There are also many new office furniture pieces.

When Dong Qichang entered the company, he saw Zhou Yang in a meeting.

I was planning to sit by the door for a while, but...

"Mr. Dong, it's alright, please come in. Mr. Zhou said you're not an outsider..."

"May I come in?"

"It's alright, Mr. Zhou even saved a seat for you..."

"it is good!"

....................................

"Car guide?"

"Mr. Zhou."

"Have you come up with a plan for the second part?"

"For the second part, can we feature Zhao Yun?"

"sure!"

"Is the prototype for that monster another copy of another monster from 'King of the Monsters'?"

"What does it mean to copy? It means to learn from others! You must understand this concept."

"Oh, I know."

The lights in the conference room were no longer dim.

It's very bright.

He looked at everyone in the conference room.

When Dong Qichang entered, everyone briefly greeted him, and then the meeting continued.

Che Xiao, the director of "King of Beasts," sat next to Zhou Yang, holding an A4 sheet of paper and sketching intently.

On the A4 paper, a line of text was written: "The Spirit of Martial Arts: Zhao Yun vs. the Ape King".

Director Che Xiao was very emotional at this moment.

In the past five days, "The King of Beasts" has grossed approximately 2 million RMB at the box office nationwide!
A box office of 200 million RMB is not much, but it laid a solid foundation for the "Martial Soul" system that President Zhou had previously discussed with him.

Looking at Hollywood and Japanese superhero tokusatsu films, most of the monsters are actually derived from a series of folk myths and legends, adapted with historical background.

China has a long history and a greater number of figures to draw upon and adapt. It can certainly follow the successful paths taken by established "superhero" systems in Japan and the United States, and move forward step by step...

Plagiarism—no, I should say borrowing—is the safest method!
In "King of the Monsters", the most successful monster is Glass, followed by a mutated gorilla.

Che Xiao set her sights on the gorilla king, a gorilla mutated due to human scientific experiments.

The plot is also very simple!
After Guan Yu, the Martial Soul, successfully defeated the Grassla, China enjoyed a brief period of peace. However, because of that great war, more and more beasts that had been sleeping deep within the earth awakened...

Guan Yu, a warrior with only his martial spirit and sword, was no match for the monsters swarming from all sides. The rise of a gorilla-like monster plunged Guan Yu into a desperate situation. Just as his martial spirit was about to extinguish and Earth faced another crisis, ultimately, [a young man awakened the Zhao Yun martial spirit, wielding the Dragon Gallant Silver Spear, and joined the battlefield!]

In the script...

Che Xiao copied the structure of the gorilla in "King of Monsters" and designed a fierce suit for the monster gorilla king, and added a blue face and fangs!

The success of "King of Beasts" and the feedback from children in the market have made him feel that he can take a further step and try to independently create his own "Martial Soul" system.

In this film, "The Martial Soul: Zhao Yun vs. the Ape King," he plans to try to combine the powerful and imposing image of Western monsters with the essence of Japanese tokusatsu films, and then adapt it for the Chinese market to see if the market can accept it...

"President Zhou, what do you think of the design of this Gorilla King?" In the conference room, Che Xiao handed the first draft of the Gorilla King's appearance design to Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang glanced at it and frowned: "The image could be a bit bolder..."

How daring?

"Personally, I think the eyes of this gorilla king should be blood red, and its gaze should be able to shoot lasers and flames. Also, due to the mutation, it should regenerate two arms on its back, and its roar should be able to form surging waves. In short, it doesn't have to be scary, but it has to be cool!"

"Okay! Then, the image of Zhao Yun..."

"Guan Yu's armor is primarily crimson and cyan... For Zhao Yun's armor design, as well as the design of his Martial Soul transformation device, we'll use the concept of a 'White Dragon,' and add a wind attribute to his Martial Soul. It will be incredibly fast, and its spear swings will cover a wide area... Furthermore, we'll give it a skill called 'Peerless!' Once activating Peerless, Zhao Yun's spear moves like a dragon, incredibly fast, sweeping across vast swathes of enemies. Amidst hordes of monsters, he'll carve through enemy lines, fighting a bloody battle on all sides, ultimately rescuing Guan Yu's Martial Soul. Facing countless monsters, the two of them, back to back, will fight their way out..."

"Ok!"

After listening, Che Xiao nodded, and all sorts of cool scenes began to appear in her mind. After thinking about it, she suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

He then looked at Zhou Yang and said, "Mr. Zhou, I have an idea for 'The Soul of Zhao Yun vs. the Ape King.' The theme of this movie is mainly youthful passion... Of course, in terms of emotion, we will first suppress the emotions in the early stages, highlighting the tragic hero Guan Yu facing a horde of enemies. In the middle stages, we will gradually raise the main tone and combine it with some comic book scenes to introduce Zhao Yun..."

"Okay!" Zhou Yang nodded after hearing this.

Just then, Sun Liqi, who had been silent all along and had previously participated in the screenwriting of "King of Beasts," hesitated for a moment, then stood up: "President Zhou, I... I have an idea..."

"you say……"

Sun Liqi's face flushed slightly with excitement, and his voice trembled at first, but after seeing Zhou Yang's encouraging gaze, he gradually became serious: "I think it's possible. We'll create a 'Martial Soul Evolution' system, similar to the armor fusion system in Japanese and American tokusatsu films..."

"Okay, we can set the tone for this new movie, 'The Spirit of Martial Arts: Zhao Yun vs. the Ape King,' for now... Alright, meeting adjourned. Let's finish this movie as soon as possible. If you need anything, just let me know!"

Zhou Yang nodded, but just as he was about to end the meeting, something else occurred to him.

"By the way, do you know any brands or companies that need product promotion? Keep an eye out for reliable ones... If they have enough money, we can even tailor-make a movie for them, like the last one, 'King of the Beasts'..."

"Anything is okay?"

"Yes! As long as these bosses are all as honest, kind, and generous as President Luo, that's fine. Of course, even if they don't have money, but their products are reliable, we can still split the profits, for example, a cooperation model like [Bingbing Yang Cola]..."

"Oh, oh." Che Xiao was slightly taken aback, then nodded.

After Zhou Yang finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something and smiled: "I received a shampoo commercial today. Let's integrate this commercial into our movie..."

"Um, how is it implanted?"

"Does the King of the Apes have a lot of hair?"

"Yes!"

"Make it love washing its hair! For example, in the middle of a fight, it might run away to wash its hair... Or, after washing its hair, it might find its fighting power suddenly doubles, and end up washing its hair while fighting! Or, when the gorilla king is running out of energy and about to be defeated, it might suddenly pull out something like shampoo, then vigorously wash its hair, and immediately its fighting power doubles... This could add a little bit of laughter to a depressing movie!"

"???"

When Che Xiao heard this, she shuddered slightly, and then her eyes widened.

What the hell!

This product placement is so damn blatant!
That picture...

He simply couldn't believe it!
"Product placement is an art. In the 21st century, we shouldn't be bound by anything. We must dare to innovate and dare to think. Any subject matter, even a napkin or a pile of excrement, as long as the client has the demand and the money is enough, we can insert them into the movie..."

"Mr. Zhou, won't this blatant product placement affect the movie?" Che Xiao was even more shocked, and finally stared blankly at Zhou Yang.

But then Zhou Yang patted it on the shoulder: "A true filmmaker should be a true product placement expert! Tomorrow, give me a satisfactory product placement plan... As long as the idea is brilliant enough, I'll give you an early bonus..."

"..."

Che Xiao remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded, bewildered.

Immediately afterwards, he and the creative team members quietly left the meeting room.

After everyone had left, Dong Qichang, who had been listening for a while, jokingly looked at Zhou Yang and said, "President Zhou, I've arranged several screenings for you. This time, I'm swearing it all on you. If the sales are dismal tomorrow, I'll be in big trouble..."

"Actually, I also gambled..."

What did you bet on?

"I paid out of my own pocket to have several toy factories produce toys for me and make a series of transformation device peripherals according to my designs. It cost me more than four million yuan in total. If they don't sell, then the movie will have been made for nothing..."

Zhou Yang burst into laughter.

But Dong Qichang didn't laugh; instead, he said very seriously, "If we succeed tomorrow, this contract will be yours... All of our [Huaying International] affiliated stores will promote your IP!"

Zhou Yang lowered his head and glanced at the contract.

I saw a few words on the contract.

[In-depth Strategic Cooperation Agreement]

(End of this chapter)