How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 87 The great knowledge is leisurely, the small knowledge is momentary

The term "map-based attack" originated from the weapon translation in the game "Super Robot Wars 2". Later, in 2010, it was combined with a regional hot topic and gradually evolved into a common tactic for inciting conflict in internet marketing.

The method involves using biased statements or stereotypes to negate the verbal attacks of the corresponding group, thus indiscriminately labeling the target.

For example, when Lin'an is mentioned, it is ( ).

Wang Jing's comments about his peers in the film industry at the preview screening will become the first major online attack that involves generalizing and attacking others.

From then on, the public and netizens began to label film directors, especially those who like to claim that they make good films and care about box office returns, as having a double standard of "wanting both".

bad.

This is undoubtedly the most serious and egregious incident in the Chinese film industry since the camera scandal.

Within three hours of Wang Jing's remarks being released, the entire media industry began to conduct intensive interviews with almost every authoritative film professional they could contact.

How should we view director Wang Jing's distinction between commercial films and works of art?

After all, the media is like flies; as long as the smell is strong enough, they don't care what they eat, as long as they can sell newspapers and increase click rates.

The industry was thrown into turmoil, with some rejoicing and others lamenting.

The older generation of directors who insisted that film was art, attracted investors to sell tickets under the banner of art, and reaped both fame and fortune, were the first to suffer.

Among them, the most controversial are undoubtedly Director Chen, Director Li, and Director Zhang. The heat of the Permian period has not yet dissipated. If it is not handled properly, the three bad films may really be nailed to the pillar of public shame by Wang Jing, who is a terrible teammate.

Secondly, there are the art-house film directors who consistently claim to make purely artistic films, caring little about box office returns but about critical acclaim.

Wang Jing's statement that artworks shouldn't have tickets has really ripped them apart. Hey, artists need to make a living too! Why make such a big deal out of it?
Director Wong Kar-wai, who has been entangled with Wang Jing as one of the two leading figures in Hong Kong cinema, both in terms of highbrow and lowbrow tastes for many years, was suddenly under intense scrutiny from Hong Kong entertainment paparazzi.

However, Xu Anhua, who had received financial assistance from Wang Jing, was the first to stand up and support Wang Jing, saying, "Whether Director Wang's films are bad or not is up to the audience to decide, but he himself is not that bad."

What both groups of people find most upsetting is that Wang Jing's last picture was absolutely disgusting. He really thinks he's the savior of Chinese cinema!
However, they are also well aware that they cannot speak out lightly, otherwise they might really be labeled as 'jealous of talent' by the media and netizens.

Finally, the group of directors who suffered the least negative impact, and even some positive impact, were those who consistently claimed to make commercial films.

For example, Feng Xiaopao.

Although he spoke out just like Wang Jing in the Qu Shou incident, he was criticized by netizens for his inappropriate remarks and became depressed. In the end, he had to delete his Weibo account at the company's request. He was inexplicably angry and even wanted to quit the internet.

But unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and Wang Jing's remarks were a huge boon to him as a 'pure' commercial film director!

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

On the surface, Wang Jing's statement appears to be a sweeping generalization, attempting to muddy the waters and gain favor with netizens and viewers in order to protect her own interests by dragging her colleagues into the mess.

But in the eyes of industry insiders, this is an opportunity to redefine or even reshape the nature of 'movies'.

The Chinese film market is currently in a period of rapid development, and many things are still in the process of being established, unlike the West where a complete system has been formed. The distinction between commercial films and art films has always been a blurry area in China.

Even industry insiders might not be able to tell the difference, let alone the audience.

Therefore, most directors simultaneously lure investors into making grand promises and then use the guise of art to silence audiences and investors after a box office flop.

In the end, the audience spends money, the investors lose money, and the production company makes a fortune. They still have to continue to cooperate with the production company, because everyone still thinks that movies can make money, but there are only a few reliable directors in China.

It's clear from the methods used in most film promotions that pre-production promotions aim to be Hollywood commercial films, post-release promotions aim to be European art-house films, and finally, promotions aim to be domestic film festival films.

A movie is made in a murky way by the director, watched in a murky way by the audience, and the director's award is also in a murky way. The billions of dollars invested and the box office are also in a murky way, and then we wait for the next cycle.

In fact, the film industry was one of the earliest channels for monetizing online traffic, except that it promoted directors, not stars or internet celebrities.

This ambiguous boundary issue is something that anyone with a brain in the industry can see is problematic, but everyone involved is a beneficiary and prefers to remain oblivious.

Wang Jing's remarks merely prematurely lifted the veil of pretense.

Render unto God the things that are God's, and unto Satan the things that are Satan's.

This is what many directors like Feng Xiaopao hope to see, because they need more investors to realize that commercial film directors are the ones who can help them make money.

From the perspective of resource allocation within the industry, a large number of people are happy to see the audience begin to split up.

For example, investors don't really care about art; making money is what matters.

Of course, coal mine owners are an exception; they understand art.

Affected by the financial crisis two years ago and the coal mine problems last year, a large amount of hot money in China is unsure where to flow. Therefore, this year, China will release a report on promoting China's cultural industry, and other relevant signals.

Whether the target came first or the arrow is impossible to verify, but the cultural industry has indeed become a hot topic, leading to a surge in the number of cultural companies registered last year, and even giving rise to conglomerates like Le's Entertainment and Juli Film Industry.

Behind this lies the influence of Shanxi merchants.

They saw something different in Wang Jing's story and decided to add fuel to the fire and see how it went.

With multiple parties scheming and plotting, a conflict is imminent.

But everyone's attention was focused on the instigator, Kanpianer.com.

As the publicly acknowledged CEO, Ren Quan once again deeply felt what it means to have great power and influence.

He could ignore calls from Hua Yi Lao Wang, Director Chen's wife, and even Le Shi's accountant Jia, but he absolutely couldn't ignore calls from Zuo Shan Diao.

"Oh, why did Third Master suddenly decide to call me?" Ren Quan asked, feigning ignorance.

"What are you doing?" Han Sanping's tone was somewhat unpleasant.

"What are you talking about? I've been helping Director Hu with publicity lately," Ren Quan continued, feigning ignorance.

"What does Kanpianer.com do?" Han Sanping sneered.

"Oh, it's an online ticketing website that I set up with my friends." Ren Quan suddenly realized.

"Does Wang Jing's matter have anything to do with you?" Han Sanping asked.

"Director Wang signed a contract with us for the distribution of the next two movies, Third Master. You don't think I have anything to do with Wang Jing's madness, do you? I wouldn't dare to do that." Ren Quan laughed, but he was actually sweating profusely.

"Aren't you and Director Hu getting too close to Shanghai Film Studio? Don't you want to go back to Beijing?" Han Sanping chuckled.

"Third Master, you're overthinking it. It's not us looking for Shanghai Film Studio, it's Shanghai Film Studio and Yinghuang looking for us. Besides, it's not that I don't want to go back, it's just that General Manager Wu won't let me go back." Ren Quan sighed.

The Mr. Wu he mentioned is the current CEO of Chengtian Entertainment. He single-handedly promoted Chen Hao and Tang Yan. He was also the one who used Wang Jinhua and then kicked her out. Wang Jinhua took a group of artists and left to work with Ren Quan. The two sides were at odds and almost irreconcilable. This matter is no longer news in the Beijing circle.

"You also suspect that you're always up to no good with Yinghuang?" Han Sanping's tone darkened upon hearing this.

"Huh? Ah?" Ren Quan was stunned for a moment, what are you saying, bro?

"Could you please remove Wang Jing's post from the movie-watching website?" Han Sanping asked again.

"Third Master, this news has spread far and wide. Tencent, Sina, Sohu, NetEase, and other major media outlets are all making headlines about it. What's the point of me, a small player, deleting it? I was hoping to use this bit of buzz to attract more users," Ren Quan pleaded, trying to gain sympathy.

"How did you come up with the idea to create this website?" Han Sanping asked, puzzled.

"Wasn't this website previously sabotaged by external forces who satirized Director Hu's 'Confucius'? They asked me to handle it, and then I discovered that Shanghai now has an online ticketing model, which is quite interesting. So I took over the company and decided to give it a try." Ren Quan quoted the story Wang Yao had taught him.

"You're as brainless as a dog, but you're really clever. Yesterday, someone from Huaying Film Line was asking me about it, saying that your little website didn't even try to collaborate with them, which clearly shows you look down on them," Han Sanping laughed.

Two of the four major cinema chains in China are owned by Huaying Film Group, and Han Sanping is the head of Huaying Film Group's parent company. He controls both cinema chains and film production, and can even influence the release standards. His status is self-evident.

His speaking on behalf of Huaying naturally indicated a desire for cooperation.

"Third Master, you misunderstand. My small business has just opened, and I didn't expect it to have such a good effect. However, Wang Jing did put in a lot of effort," Ren Quan said, trying to make amends.

"Director Hu is too kind. It was something that could have been resolved with a simple phone call," Han Sanping said politely. "I heard your little website is making millions in box office revenue every day?"

Influenced by Wang Jing's post yesterday, Kanpianer.com is now selling tens of thousands of online tickets every hour. It's not just pre-sales for Wang Jing's movies, but also tickets for other movies. Although they didn't get a good discount, some users tried to place orders online because they could reserve seats in advance.

The website is currently promoting pre-sale tickets for Wang Jing and 7.5% off tickets for "Confucius." Director Hu has gone all out, using all the profits from the film to subsidize the box office, and the effect is indeed remarkable.

A movie ticket for 30 yuan, plus a free Coke when you buy two, is a pretty attractive deal.

"Yes, I really didn't expect it, but I still managed to get a lot of traffic from Director Wang." Ren Quan smiled.

"It's okay to piggyback on traffic, just don't get too involved. Your website model is good, keep up the good work, and we'll have a good chat later," Han Sanping advised.

Ren Quan was still a little shaken after hanging up the phone. After taking a breath, he called Wang Yao. "What's wrong, Brother Quan?" Wang Yao answered after the ringtone rang for a while.

"Ancestor, we've made a mess of things. Even Third Master has been alerted," Ren Quan said in a deep voice.

"Huh? What Third Master?" Wang Yao asked, puzzled.

"Are there other Third Masters in our circle?" Ren Quan asked seriously.

"Oh, someone as important as him, is he just a bystander?" Wang Yao asked, puzzled.

"Is this a melon? This is a nuclear bomb! How dare Wang Jing do this? Does he really think that just because he's a senior figure in Hong Kong's entertainment circle, no one on the mainland dares to mess with him?" Ren Quan complained, then lowered his voice, "It shouldn't have been your idea, right?"

Ren Quan had some doubts, but he wasn't sure.

Wang Yao did not tell him the specific plan he had devised with Wang Jing.

But his intuition told him that this style of operation was very similar to Wang Yao's.

"How could I have the guts? I just took the money to write an article to praise him. I never expected him to take it so far. He's a real old hand," Wang Yao remarked.

"That's good. From what Han Sanping said, this matter might also involve Hong Kong's entertainment circle. We're just ticket sellers, so we absolutely must not get involved," Ren Quan instructed.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, hmm." Wang Yao chuckled.

"Why are you panting so much?" Ren Quan asked, puzzled.

"Recently, I've been inspired by the curvaceous figures of Korean actors. I have to say, the self-expectations of mainland actors are really too low. We're letting down the audience's support," Wang Yao lamented.

"Nonsense, Korea is a tiny place. You won't get ahead if you don't work your ass off. We're a big country with abundant resources, so why are we being so stingy? Okay, you go ahead and get busy. Old Wang called me. I guess we're finalizing the cooperation." Ren Quan rolled his eyes.

"The price will be increased to 3000 million," Wang Yao said.

Since Huayi wanted to plan before acting, Wang Yao would show him what a victory for those who waited was.

"That's for sure. Now that we've partnered with Shanghai Lianhe, we've covered nearly 200 cinemas. Han Sanping just specifically mentioned that Huaying also wants to cooperate."

"Besides Wanda, we can now cover almost a quarter of the first and second-tier cities in China, which is incomparable to the scale of the previous dozens of institutions." Ren Quan also sneered.

He had no reason to be soft-hearted towards his former employer.

"By the way, Brother Quan, I need some money to tide me over recently. Do you know any ways to do that?" Wang Yao asked.

"Another new business opportunity? How much will it cost?" Ren Quan asked with a flourish.

"3000 million, that should take about three or four months," Wang Yao calculated.

The investment shortfall for Kakao is 1800 million, plus the need to acquire a batch of internet copyrights, which will bring the total to about that amount.

"You're not planning to run away with the money, are you? You didn't really orchestrate this whole Wang Jing thing, did you?" Ren Quan's heart sank upon hearing this.

The amount is too coincidental. At the time, the bet promised that if the revenue exceeded 1000 million, Wang Yao would receive 50% of the revenue share plus 25% of the shares, totaling 75%.

At the time, I didn't expect it to be achieved so easily. Now, just the Wang Jing project alone will generate more than 2000 million in revenue. Based on the current scale of Kanpianer.com, Wang Yao can indeed get about 3000 million in revenue sharing per year.

“There is another project.” Wang Yao did not tell Ren Quan about the Kakao project, but only about the Myspace and Deng Wendi projects.

"Huh? You want to cooperate with her? What about us then?" Ren Quan was shocked.

"Myspace is a social platform that can increase traffic and advertising revenue for Kanpianer.com, and it also helps with user engagement. I don't think relying too much on Sina and Tencent is a long-term solution."
"We're focusing on a niche social networking category, which allows us to differentiate ourselves from these giants. Plus, Myspace has a global reach, so we might be able to use this channel to expand our culture overseas in the future," Wang Yao explained.

Cultural export.

These four words immediately set off alarm bells for Ren Quan. A thought popped into his head: "3000 million is no small amount, and the short-term interest is quite substantial. Why don't we invest together?"

He found that his life had become smoother since he started working with Wang Yao, and he was indeed interested in this kind of international investment.

“If I can’t repay the loan, I can give you my shares in Kanpian.com as collateral. If you invest with me, I’ll feel bad about losing money, because this project is indeed very risky.” Wang Yao smiled.

"Okay, I'll ask for you." Ren Quanshi responded, inquired about some follow-up procedures, and ended the call.

Wang Yao tossed his phone aside, his gaze shifting from the ceiling to Kim Ji-won's face, which looked as if it had been scooped out of the water. He said softly, "Your stamina is terrible. You're already like this after only a few days?"

Kim Ji-won let out a soft moan and collapsed to the side, pretending to be dead.

"How was the filming yesterday?" Wang Yao lifted her into the bathtub as if she were a kitten.

"It was a very simple shoot, it was all done in one afternoon." Kim Ji-won nestled on Wang Yao's shoulder and hummed lazily, like a kitten purring.

After three days of intense work together, she finally began to get used to Wang Yao.

"I asked President Li to arrange Chinese lessons for you. Remember to attend class diligently." Wang Yao patted her head.

"Okay, are you leaving?" Kim Ji-won opened her eyes.

"I have an appointment with guests, so you should rest for a while. I'll take you home after I'm done." Wang Yao stood up.

Kim Ji-won released her grip on his fingers and watched him leave, letting out a sigh.

"Young people should be mindful of self-control," Li Fuzhen said sarcastically as soon as they met.

"Shinra's room doesn't have any one-way mirrors, does it?" Wang Yao replied with a smile.

"Watch out or I'll sue you for defamation. I'm just giving you friendly advice not to get too caught up in women and neglect your important business," Lee Boo-jung rolled her eyes.

"It's alright, even if I'm a blender for four hours, it won't affect my work," Wang Yao said with a light laugh.

"What are you saying?!" Lee Boo-jung blushed instantly.

She had someone check Wang Yao's check-in records out of curiosity these past few days, and they confirmed that he had indeed been staying there for more than four hours every day.

"What are you talking about?" Deng Wendi put down her phone and walked over.

"It's nothing," Li Fuzhen waved her hand.

"After several days of back-and-forth negotiations and discussions, we've finally finalized it today. Our proposal can be approved." Deng Wendi's smile became even brighter.

Indeed, power is the best tonic.

"Then congratulations, Sister Di." Wang Yao smiled.

"I should be thanking you. Actually, I was prepared to give up this opportunity." Deng Wendi raised an eyebrow. "The contract has already been sent to your company's email address."

“Okay, I’ll have someone check if there are any problems.” Wang Yao nodded.

The main entity in this collaboration is Xinghuo Media, a wholly-owned company of Wang Yao, which is specifically used for controlling investments. Because this company has connections with angel funds, it can enjoy more support in the future if the business goes smoothly.

"I heard that Wang Jing has caused quite a stir in China these past few days. Is it related to you?" Deng Wendi changed the subject.

"I'm in charge of the publicity and distribution for Director Wang's film," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"My subordinates at Star TV told me some information that I hope will be useful to you." Deng Wendi squinted.

"Wang Jing's recent incident may cause a major upheaval in both Hong Kong and mainland China. You should know that over 70% of Hong Kong's film market now consists of foreign films; Hong Kong films have long since declined."

However, many investors are still optimistic about the Chinese market. Jiahe and Yinghuang have already formed a joint venture and secured a share of the market, but they haven't shown any intention of bringing others along. Of course, it's also possible that the mainland is unwilling to accept too many people, but this time it seems someone wants to use this excuse to make another push.

"It sounds like a good thing; Hong Kong investors are willing to contribute money to Chinese films." Wang Yao was puzzled.

In 2010, global capital targeted the Chinese market, and Hong Kong capital was no exception, but it seems that it didn't make much of a splash.

“My husband’s media group was the first satellite TV company to invest overseas, and also one of the first to want to enter the domestic media industry. So if we can achieve results this time, we might be able to get a lot of support.” Deng Wendi paused.

Deng Wendi's husband, Lao Mo, is known as the media king, not only because he controls almost all mainstream media channels around the world, but more importantly because he can influence many things by controlling public opinion.

This old man has mastered anti-intellectualism to an incredible degree, infiltrating every corner of the world through the media. In the West, he can be considered an uncrowned king.

The so-called anti-intellectualism is that the more a person knows, the more they realize how much they don't know, thus fostering humility.

The less a person knows, the more they will think they know, which breeds arrogance.

Zhuangzi called it "great knowledge is leisurely, small knowledge is narrow."

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(End of this chapter)