Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 417

[Still feeling down, but I forced myself to write two chapters.]

The next day at noon, at the Dream Building.

In the large office of the advertising department on the second floor, several film crew members finished organizing the footage they had shot that morning. As they got up to leave, they casually called out, "Let's go, Director Bai, time for lunch."

"I still have something to take care of."

Zhang Yibai raised his large face, revealing an innocent-looking smile.

When he first came to Yuanmeng, he actually wanted others to call him "Director Zhang", but the cameraman said that the company already had a Director Zhang, and calling him the same person would easily cause misunderstandings, so he insisted on giving Zhang Yi the title of "Director Bai".

This incident shows that Zhang Yibai has little authority within the team.

This is normal. The cameraman is also from the same team as "Hair Messed Up". Although his skill level is average, his experience is no less than that of Cheng Jie.

I've been making movies with Mr. Zhang since 91, so who does Zhang Yibai count as?
director?

How dare someone who just shoots an advertisement call themselves a director?

In addition, although Chengjie was transferred to assist Zhang Guoli, he was still nominally employed in the advertising department. When Zhang Yibai first joined the company, he was like a mouse caught in a bellows—suffering from both sides.

Fortunately, Zhang Yibai was not a greenhorn fresh out of school. By actively lowering his status and currying favor with Chengjie, he not only gained a foothold in the production team, but also obtained a crucial ticket to the filming through Chengjie!
After the photographer and the others left, Zhang Yibai spat at the door: "Pah, you snobbish dogs! Once I become a real big director, let's see if you dogs still dare to be so arrogant!"

As he spoke, he couldn't help but wiggle his slightly chubby body and gesticulate wildly.

Ever since hearing from Cheng Jie this morning that he would be the assistant director of "The Age of Glory," Zhang Yibai had been trying hard to suppress his excitement, and now he could finally celebrate.

Being an assistant director was certainly not his goal, but it was a golden opportunity to climb the ladder.

Knock knock knock~
Just as Zhang Yibai was amusing himself, there was a knock at the door.

Zhang Yibai quickly sat back down, reverting to his honest and simple demeanor: "Please come in."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw two young women walk in carrying gifts.

"Li Bingbing?"

Zhang Yibai stood up, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "What's this?"

"Director Zhang."

Li Bingbing had a smile on his face, but he stopped three or four meters away, put the gift box of Wuliangye liquor in his hand on the table, and said with a smile, "I'm going back to school, so I came to see you before I leave."

"Look at me?"

Instead of finding clarification, Zhang Yibai felt even more bewildered.

Although he has only been in Yuanmeng for two and a half months, he has already filmed more than ten commercials of various sizes and two music videos. During this time, he has met at least thirty or forty actors, singers and dancers.

Li Bingbing was just one of them, and the two sides didn't have much contact during filming. This sudden appearance...

For a moment, Zhang Yibai thought of the unspoken rules in the industry, but Li Bingbing didn't come alone, and she was dressed more conservatively than usual.

"Yes, we came to visit you."

Li Bingbing maintained a formulaic smile, but there was not a trace of ingratiation. Although she was there to help those who were not in the main task, she was ordered to do so, so she certainly couldn't appear too humble.

Besides, if we overdo it and Zhang Yibai misunderstands, things will get complicated.

"This is just a small gift, please accept it, Director Zhang."

She pushed the two bottles of wine forward and said with a smile, "I heard that the company's senior management thinks highly of you. It just so happens that I will be able to officially start filming in the second half of next year. I hope we can continue to work together then."

Zhang Yibai's small eyes narrowed, and he subconsciously asked, "How do you know that the company's higher-ups think highly of me?!"

Li Bingbing shook his head slightly: "I naturally have my own channels—Director Zhang, I won't bother you any longer, we can contact each other again later."

With that, he took Li Xue and left the advertising department, coming and going in a hurry.

"Mysterious..."

Zhang Yibai sat down again, frowning and pondering for a while without finding a clue, but it was still good news nonetheless. Although he had guessed from his conversation with President Zhang yesterday that he had already come into President Zhang's sights through Chengjie.

But with so many people in the company having talked to General Manager Zhang, he couldn't guarantee that he would definitely stand out.

Now that Li Bingbing has taken the initiative to show goodwill, he feels even more confident about his future.

It also served as a reminder to him that he shouldn't act recklessly in the company in the future, because even seemingly insignificant minor actors have the shadow of company executives behind them.

What if I accidentally hurt someone's heart...

Zhang Yibai shivered involuntarily, but fortunately he didn't have much need for that; he preferred mental stimulation.

…………

Although Zhang Yan received the task from Vice Mayor Ye, the Binhai New Area has not yet been established, so there is no need to rush this matter.

Therefore, he focused his main energy on "In the Heat of the Sun".

Back then, "Hair Messed Up" was entirely produced by Beijing Film Studio, and Zhang Yan was only nominally involved, so there was no issue of profit sharing.

So he simply became a hands-off manager.

Now, as the film's producer, a whole host of issues have come knocking at once. If Zhang Yan hadn't borrowed a few seasoned publicity and distribution professionals from the Beijing Film Studio beforehand, he might not have been able to handle it all.

Of course, these veterans from the publicity team also learned a lot of new things while pursuing their dreams.

For example, premieres that rely on hype and roadshows that allow for face-to-face interaction with the audience—both of these only began to gain popularity after 97.

The fact that the "Dream Come True" campaign could directly reach the publicity efforts of city and county-level television stations also shocked them.

Unfortunately, box office revenue in smaller cities is not something to rely on for the time being. Low attendance is secondary; the main problem is the depletion of local tax revenue, which means many cinemas are unable to pay salaries.

In order to retain more funds, they simply don't hand over their share of the box office revenue.

The film studios responded by reducing the number of copies and abandoning screenings in smaller cities during the early to mid-stages of the production.

In this atmosphere of mutual retribution, it is not surprising that the overall box office in mainland China was sluggish in the 90s.

Zhang Yan currently has neither the ability nor the motivation to break this vicious cycle. All he wants to do is keep building momentum, put on the coattails of the negotiation team, and try to squeeze out a decent box office result from the cracks.

An unprecedented grand premiere is undoubtedly a key milestone in this plan.

As a result, Jiang Wen and Zhang Yan had different opinions on the location of the premiere. Jiang Wen wanted to hold it in Beijing, while Zhang Yan planned to hold the premiere in Tianjin.

Actually, it wasn't just a matter of where to hold the premiere; Jiang Wen was also reluctant to do a roadshow, as proposed by Zhang Yan.

He didn't object to the roadshow at first, but after winning an award in Venice and receiving widespread praise upon returning home, he started to nitpick about it.

He said that no one else had done it, and it was inappropriate for him, a new director, to set the example of "breaking the rules."

My real thought is: I've been an artist for a week now, is it appropriate for me to show my face in public for such a pittance?!
"What's inappropriate about it?"

Zhang Yan didn't tolerate him and sneered, "To put it bluntly, you're just an actor. The audience is your bread and butter. Just go through the motions and treat it as entertaining your family. What's wrong with that?"

As for holding the premiere in Beijing—you can hire celebrities to attend, but can you get CCTV to record and broadcast the whole thing? Our premiere is being held like a gala; if it can't be shown on TV, will the few hundred people in attendance be enough to cover the costs?"

Although Zhang Yan believed he was right, Dong Ping, who was hoping for a box office hit to recoup her losses, firmly stood by his side.

But it's obviously impossible to persuade Jiang Wen, this stubborn mule, with just a few words.

Jiang Wen's fallacies were probably twice as numerous as Zhang Yan's.

Finally, Zhang Yan and Dong Ping teamed up and wrapped Jiang Wen in a blanket, giving him a good beating. Only then did he choose to submit to the majority and agree to go to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Wuxi, and Hangzhou.

That's the downside of getting to know someone well. Before, Dong Ping could just call his underlings to help, but now he has to personally join the brawl and even cover Jiang Wen with a blanket to prevent him from getting seriously injured and causing a scene.

In any case, things proceeded smoothly according to Zhang Yan's plan.

(End of this chapter)