1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 246 Chen Fusheng: Did I become the chosen one in America? (Please subscribe!)

"Hey, have you heard? Ma Ji and Jiang Kun went out for a gig last week and earned five hundred yuan in just two days."

"real or fake?"

"It's true, I heard it from my aunt. She works at the same company as Ma Ji and Jiang Kun. She also said that since they became famous for hosting this year's Spring Festival Gala, a lot of bosses have been asking them to do gigs."

"Even if the story about performing at these venues is true, earning 500 yuan in just two days is just too outrageous. That's almost my annual salary, it's like it came from a gust of wind."

"It was blown in by the strong wind..."

Liu Xiaoli, a member of the cast and crew of "Journey to the West," was surprised to find herself catching such a juicy scoop so soon after arriving. She couldn't help but move closer to listen carefully.

No sooner had she approached than the woman who had been sharing gossip earlier threw a question at her: "Comrade Xiaoli, the song 'Good Fortune and Happiness' that your family of three sang on the Spring Festival Gala was very popular. Has no one asked you to do any gigs lately?"

"No." Liu Xiaoli shook her head, then asked, "What is 'moonlighting'?"

"It's about you entertainers participating in some unofficial performances behind the scenes. I heard the pay is quite high." The man seemed to have thought of something and added, "But your wife is Director Chen, so she shouldn't be short of money."

"You're joking. It's not about money. It's true that I don't have any special talents. Even the song 'Good Fortune and Happiness' that I sang on the Spring Festival Gala wasn't something I could sing by myself. So if I were in charge of organizing these gigs, I definitely wouldn't hire myself." Liu Xiaoli joked about herself.

However, that's really what she thought; she believed that no one would ask her to do gigs.

Of course, even if someone actually approached her, she would refuse without hesitation.

Because she has the confidence to refuse.

Even when she heard that Jiang Kun and Ma Ji earned 500 yuan in just two days of performing, she was only surprised, far from being tempted.

She wasn't interested, but many others were.

Liu Xiaoqing is one of them.

Although Grandma Liu isn't as popular as she was in her previous life because she didn't appear on the Spring Festival Gala.

But she was, after all, one of the four golden flowers of Beijing Film Studio.

With her fame, she'll never lack opportunities to perform at gigs if she wants to.

Sure enough, Liu Xiaoqing took on a gig today.

For this, they didn't hesitate to stand up the crew of the TV series "The Empress Dowager".

At this moment, Li Hanxiang was going crazy:

"Can anyone tell me where Liu Xiaoqing is? My crew has been filming for an hour now, why hasn't she arrived yet?"

"Director Li, Liu Xiaoqing, she...she..."

"What's wrong with her? Tell me."

Under the director's coercion, the roommate who had promised to keep Liu Xiaoqing's whereabouts a secret finally revealed: "Liu Xiaoqing went out to do some gigs."

Upon hearing this, Li Hanxiang was nearly driven mad with anger.

If it weren't for the fact that filming for this movie was already in its final stages, he would have really wanted to take Liu Xiaoqing's lead role out of anger.

Of course, even so, he did not intend to let the other party off so easily, so he filed a complaint with the Beijing Film Studio, Liu Xiaoqing's workplace.

……

Chen Fusheng, who was far away in the United States, was naturally unaware of the turmoil happening in China.

However, he knew that Warner Bros.' most profitable game in previous years, Atari, had collapsed on Wednesday morning with a news article titled "Game Empire Collapses? Atari's Huge Inventory Left Unsold, Warner Bros. Deep in Financial Trap." At that moment, a board meeting was being held at Warner Bros. headquarters.

Inside the office, a dark cloud seemed to hang over it, the atmosphere so heavy it could be wrung out.

The reason I feel so depressed is certainly not because of the news article from the day before yesterday, which was this Wednesday.

As the saying goes, a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole. In fact, when a crisis finally breaks out, the root cause has already been deeply embedded in the body and has been spreading quietly for a long time.

This is the situation at Warner Bros. now.

"Gentlemen, we must face reality." A senior director slammed a financial report on the table. "Atari's collapse has been faster and more complete than we anticipated. Last quarter's losses were record high. It is no longer our cash cow, but a bottomless pit that is devouring the group's profits. As a result, our share price has fallen by more than 15% in the past week."

The group's chief financial officer added grimly, "Wall Street is losing patience, and analysts have generally downgraded our ratings. If we cannot demonstrate new growth points and profitability to the market as soon as possible, the downward trend in our stock price will be difficult to stop."

President Steve Ross also looked grim; Atari's collapse had caught him completely off guard.

But this game is their group's most profitable project, and they would definitely be unwilling to give it up, so of course they have to save it.

The premise is how to overcome the current difficulties.

His fingers tapped lightly on the table. After a moment of silence, he turned his gaze to the vice president in charge of film operations and asked:
"What's the current status of 'Die Hard'...that film directed by a Chinese director?"

The vice president opened the file in front of him and said, "Mr. Ross, the box office performance of 'Die Hard' far exceeded expectations. It earned 1129 million in its first six days of release. As word of mouth spread, the box office trend in the second week was also extremely healthy. This is the very beginning of a phenomenal blockbuster movie."

"Can it effectively 'hedge' against the negative impact of Atari?" a director guessed Steve Ross's thoughts and asked eagerly.

"Absolutely possible!"

The vice president stated unequivocally, "Currently, 'Die Hard' is only enjoying A-level distribution resources. If we can elevate it to S-level and utilize all of the group's channels and resources for a comprehensive, all-encompassing publicity campaign, we have reason to believe that its final box office potential could reach 1 million or even higher!"

“1 million…” Steve Ross repeated the number.

In 1983, this was an absolute figure that shook Hollywood and greatly boosted investor confidence.

After thinking it over, he looked around at each of the senior executives present and made a decision: "Atari's problems need time to be resolved, but the market won't give us that much time. So we urgently need some encouraging good news, a clear signal that will allow Wall Street and shareholders to see our creativity and profitability again."

Everyone looked at Steve Ross, waiting for him to continue.

"I suggest that the marketing and distribution level of 'Die Hard' be immediately upgraded from A to S. Going forward, all media resources under the group, including television, radio, and magazines, must feature advertisements and special reports about 'Die Hard' in their core sections for the next two weeks. Regarding distribution, we need to not only increase the number of theaters showing the film, but also increase the number of screenings in theaters..."

Finally, Steve Ross stood up and said, "Gentlemen, this isn't just about the success or failure of one film. It's about Warner Bros. proving to the market that our core entertainment content production business remains incredibly strong, enough to offset temporary setbacks in other areas!"

……

……

When Chen Fusheng received the decision made by Warner Bros., he was stunned for a long time.

After a long pause, he sighed softly:
"Could it be that I've become a chosen one since I came to America?"

"Then why am I in the country...?"

"Damn, it must be Old Han who's my nemesis!"

Of course, jokes aside.

His "Die Hard" already had better box office numbers than the original film. Now, with Warner Bros.' full support, his goal in the North American market is no longer to surpass the original film's $80 million box office, but $100 million, or even $200 million.

(End of this chapter)