This top celebrity got drunk and acted crazy, and everyone in the Chinese entertainment industry bur

Are you serious?

Although Teacher He had expected this, he still couldn't quite believe it when he heard Lü Ming's almost affirmative answer.

It's hard to believe that a newcomer to the film industry would be going up against Hua Yue and Stephen Chow's big-budget sequel to Journey to the West.

Even though Teacher He already considered Lü Ming to be the kind of person who could create countless miracles, he didn't really think that Lü Ming could challenge Wu Qian and Hua Yue.

It's worth noting that before, whether it was the wildly popular "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" or the show "Asian King" that turned around Hunan TV's reputation and boosted his popularity, these were all things that were within Lü Ming's comfort zone, and there wasn't much competitive pressure.

But this time it's completely different. On the one hand, for the film industry, Lü Ming is just a newcomer with no foundation whatsoever.

Even if so many people are optimistic about Lü Ming, optimism is still just optimism. Until Lü Ming truly makes a name for himself, it's all just empty talk and wishful thinking.

On the other hand, the opponents that Lü Ming faces are not simple opponents, and are even much stronger than the opponents he faced when his hit drama "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" was released.

There's no need to say much about Stephen Chow's name. To this day, he remains a comedy master in the hearts of countless netizens and audiences in the Chinese entertainment industry. Almost every film he directed is a classic; otherwise, there wouldn't be the saying online that "we owe Stephen Chow a movie ticket."

And Stephen Chow's upcoming big-budget sequel to Journey to the West is no exception. The original film, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, not only received rave reviews but also broke Chinese box office records. So this sequel has already attracted a lot of attention during its preparation and development phase, and almost no one thinks that this big-budget sequel to Journey to the West will fail.

Judging from the success of the original, even if this big-budget sequel to Journey to the West only grosses a few billion yuan, it can be considered a failure. Many people believe that Stephen Chow's big-budget sequel to Journey to the West will break another box office record in mainland China.

Besides Zhou Xingxing, Wu Qian and Hua Yue are also formidable forces.

Although Wu Qian's popularity cannot compare to Lü Ming's, he is still a top male idol among the popular young male celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry, thanks to the foundation he laid in the past few years. He has a huge fan base.

After Wu Qian was officially announced as the male lead in Stephen Chow's big-budget sequel to Journey to the West, hundreds of thousands of people in Wu Qian's fan page said they would buy tickets to support their idol. Even if only half of them actually went, it would greatly boost the box office.

There's not much more to say about Huayue. Although Huayue is facing many challenges in the domestic entertainment industry, just like Hunan TV is facing challenges from Zhejiang TV and Shanghai TV, Huayue is still the leading entertainment company in China, especially in the film industry where Huayue has been deeply involved, where its influence is even greater.

Not only do they have good relationships with major directors and top-tier actors, but they also have deep connections with upstream and downstream sectors related to the film industry.

In all the years that have passed in the Chinese entertainment industry, only Lü Ming has been able to consistently put Hua Yue at a disadvantage.

It's important to understand that even top directors, award-winning actors, and actresses in the entertainment industry have to give Huayue face.

Faced with such a massive force, anyone would feel a sense of despair and would be unable to muster any thought of resistance.

Forget about competing with them; right now, the only thought in the entire film industry after hearing news about them is probably to escape from them, stay away from next year's Spring Festival film season, and try to avoid being affected by them as much as possible.

And what about Lü Ming?

Not only did he show no fear, but he was also prepared to use his debut film to compete with them, which made He Jiong and the others sigh with admiration.

Despite their feelings, He Jiong and Li Yan believed that unless Lü Ming could find a director with a bigger name and greater fame than Stephen Chow, and a better script, they didn't think Lü Ming had any chance of winning.

Who are you planning to collaborate with?

"Which production team is it? Can you tell me a thing or two?"

Li Yan, who was standing to the side, seemed to remember something and asked Lü Ming with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

In Li Yan's view, since Lü Ming has made up his mind, it means that Lü Ming may have already considered this matter, and may have already communicated with a director or a production team.

Li Yan understood this situation very well.

In the end, none of the actors in the entertainment industry don't want to enter the film industry and become film actors, and even Lü Ming is no exception.

Perhaps Lü Ming had already planned this, but he was provoked by the reporter arranged by Hua Yue and his group, which led him to reveal his desire to make a movie.

Although Li Yan didn't think Lü Ming had any chance of winning against Stephen Chow's big-budget sequel to Journey to the West, it didn't mean that Lü Ming's first attempt at the big screen would necessarily be a failure, at least not at the box office.

Just by looking at the number of popular young actors and actresses auditioning for the big screen in the past two years, it's clear that their popularity plays a significant role in boosting box office revenue. The amount of money spent on movie tickets by fans alone is substantial; otherwise, investors and major entertainment companies wouldn't be inviting these popular young actors.

They were only interested in the fan economy surrounding these individuals, and even Wu Qian, who was chosen by Stephen Chow and Hua Yue, was no exception.

If even ordinary celebrities can boost box office numbers like that, imagine how much more incredible it would be for Lu Ming, who is currently at the peak of popularity and influence in the Chinese entertainment industry.

According to the recent statistics on Lü Ming's popularity, it is estimated that Lü Ming alone could boost the box office by one or two hundred million.

This is by no means an exaggeration; in fact, when those statistical survey agencies issued these reports, they said that these figures were very conservative estimates.

If the overall quality of the movie is decent, the final box office could be even higher.

This is a glittering mountain of gold!

If Hunan TV, or even Li Yan himself, could get involved, they could definitely make a fortune quietly, and more importantly, gain Lü Ming's favor. Gangzi, who works with kiwifruit, knows this. Back when Gangzi invested in Lü Ming's "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," he was ridiculed by almost everyone in the industry. Almost no one thought Gangzi could make any money from it; they just assumed he'd been fooled by Lü Ming's words.

But what happened next surprised those who had mocked Gangzi. The show "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," which they thought would not cause any trouble and would probably be ridiculed and taken down soon, suddenly became a hit and became a phenomenon at the time.

Not only did Kiwifruit make a fortune from the TV series "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," not to mention advertising fees, the increase in various paid memberships alone allowed Kiwifruit to recoup all its costs and make a huge profit. In addition, Kiwifruit also greatly expanded its market share through "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," which even had some impact on Tencent Video, the leading online video platform.

In response to this situation, Gangzi, who was in charge of the kiwi fruit business, was highly praised by his superiors and received various rewards.

Besides that, Gangzi himself also benefited.

As an individual, Gangzi invested a portion of his money at the time, which brought him substantial returns.

Although Gangzi's investment only accounted for a small portion of the total investment, it was still an enormous sum in the face of the huge profits generated by "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer"—an astronomical figure that would make entertainment companies in the industry envious.

According to reports from consulting and research companies some time ago, the various revenues directly generated by the TV series "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" alone exceeded six or seven small goals. If we add the revenue from subsequent copyright development and secondary broadcasts, ten small goals would definitely be no problem in the end.

It can be said that the money Gangzi invested in Lü Ming's "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" brought Gangzi a return of more than ten times.

In addition, it was the TV series "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" that established a very friendly relationship between Gangzi and Lü Ming.

This is why Kiwi and Tencent Video later attached so much importance to Lü Ming's sequel, "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City".

Now, it's likely that the final revenue from Lü Ming's first big-screen film won't be much less than that of "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer." Even a return of one or two times, let alone ten times, would be enough to attract companies and investors from all over the industry.

Li Yan and his team naturally didn't want to miss out on such a lucrative business opportunity.

It's important to know that Hunan TV is not just a television station now; it also has its own creative team and film company.

Over the years, Hunan TV has invested in many films, but most of them have not brought much return to Hunan TV. In fact, most of the investments have gone down the drain. The few films that have made a little money are a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of money Hunan TV has invested.

Although the money invested in movies is nothing to Hunan TV, which has deep pockets, it is still embarrassing to keep losing money. Especially now that Hunan TV is eager to take its development to the next level, investment in movies is highly valued by the top management of Hunan TV.

If they could invest in Lü Ming's film, it would not only make Hunan TV's investment in the film industry more solid.

Even if Hunan TV ultimately loses money, it doesn't matter. They've lost enough over the years anyway, so one or two more won't make a difference. In Li Yan's view, using such a small amount of money to cultivate a good relationship with Lü Ming is definitely a worthwhile investment, not to mention that Li Yan doesn't think they'll lose money at all.

Upon hearing Li Yan's words, Lü Ming immediately understood what Li Yan was thinking, but Lü Ming did not agree right away.

Firstly, regarding the movie he is about to star in, Lü Ming himself has not made a decision yet; he only has an idea, and further preparations will take some time.

Secondly, Lü Ming is very confident in himself and the movie he is preparing for, and he is sure that he will make a fortune.

Lü Ming is not the kind of person who wouldn't share profits; otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed Gangzi to invest in "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer."

However, Lü Ming needs to be selective about who he shares with.

With Lü Ming's current status and position in the entertainment industry, things are not what they used to be, where anyone could just come in with a little money.

Take, for example, the TV series "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" that Lü Ming is currently filming. There were countless investors and entertainment companies that wanted to squeeze in. They waved their checks in their hands, hoping to get in. Some of them even offered better terms than iQiyi and Tencent Video.

However, Lü Ming ultimately did not choose them but instead opted for Kiwi and Penguin Video, which offered slightly lower prices, because Kiwi and Penguin Video could provide resources that others could not.

For this movie, which is still in Lü Ming's mind, Lü Ming is not afraid to share the profits with some companies and capital in the industry, but they need to provide Lü Ming with some resources that others cannot provide, such as publicity and distribution, filming, etc. Otherwise, Lü Ming might as well raise the money himself to make the movie.

In Lü Ming's view, although Hunan TV has some money, its film company has not developed well in the film industry, and its resources are not much better than others. Therefore, Lü Ming would not give his valuable investment share to Hunan TV.

Lü Ming's relationship with Hunan TV isn't that good yet!
"I only have an idea right now, and most likely I'll write the script and film it myself!"

Lu Ming said with a smile, without answering Li Yan's previous question.

"You write the script and film it yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan was visibly shocked.

Li Yan originally thought that Lü Ming's statement during the interview must mean that Lü Ming had already made contact with a famous director or a big-budget production team, but now it seems that Lü Ming is not lying.

In other words, all of this was a last-minute idea by Lü Ming, a hastily prepared film intended to compete with Stephen Chow's big-budget sequel to Journey to the West.

Even as an outsider to the film industry, Li Yan knew that a big-budget film requires a long preparation time. Whether it's the preparation of the actors or the arrangement of the entire crew, it all takes a long time and cannot be arranged hastily.

Leaving aside domestic productions, even a big-budget sequel to Journey to the West starring Stephen Chow took over a year just for pre-production, and the subsequent filming and post-production will require at least another year. (End of Chapter)