I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

With the added advantage of an immersive experience, Cheng Sheng doesn't believe his "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" will lose.

Unless the judges are all blind, "Three Kingdoms" would definitely be shortlisted for the main competition.

Although the Cannes Film Festival does not officially restrict independent filmmakers from participating, as one of the three major European film festivals, it attracts filmmakers from all over the world every year who want to make a name for themselves here.

The Cannes organizing committee has only so many people; they can't possibly watch every single film.

To save time and ensure the quality of the film, recommendations are crucial. These recommendations can be from individuals like well-known directors or actors, or from groups like film schools or film production companies.

Therefore, in order to increase his chances of being selected, Cheng Sheng applied directly under the name of the Central Academy of Drama.

Moreover, Cheng Sheng is currently a student at the Central Academy of Drama.

That's right. He should have graduated last year, but because of Principal Xu Xiaozhong's recommendation, Cheng Sheng is now pursuing a master's degree at the Central Academy of Drama.

This is the advantage of having a strong background, and the Central Academy of Drama is happy to endorse Cheng Sheng.

It's important to know that Cheng Sheng's film winning an award also benefits the school.

Why wouldn't the Central Academy of Drama do something that benefits both sides?

In the first half of 2006, a series of important events occurred globally and in China, the most notable of which were a series of natural disasters.

A powerful earthquake, measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale, struck southeastern Iran, killing at least 21 people, injuring hundreds, and causing dozens of houses to collapse, severely impacting people's lives.

The earthquake occurred in Kerman province of Iran, with a focal depth of approximately 10 kilometers. Its impact was widespread, affecting not only Iran but also neighboring countries and regions.

Following the earthquake, the international community extended a helping hand, and rescue teams from various countries quickly arrived in the disaster area to carry out rescue work and help the affected people overcome their difficulties.

At the same time, China also experienced a series of natural disasters.

In April 2006, southern China was hit by severe rainstorms and floods, affecting hundreds of thousands of people, causing thousands of houses to collapse, and resulting in huge economic losses.

The floods have affected a wide area, with varying degrees of damage in provinces ranging from GD and GX to FJ and Xijiang.

The government quickly activated its emergency response mechanism, organized a large number of rescue forces to participate in the rescue, and also received assistance and support from the international community.

In addition, many regions around the world have experienced severe natural disasters, such as wildfires in the western United States and severe drought and wildfires in Australia.

These disasters not only severely impacted the lives of local residents, but also had a negative impact on the global economy.

Cheng Sheng stayed at home, watching the news reports of natural disasters, and his heart clenched.

Cheng Sheng didn't care much about disasters abroad, but disasters in China saddened him.

After thinking about it, he called Xing Aina and asked her to donate 10 million yuan to the disaster-stricken area.

Besides these news items, a major event also occurred in the entertainment industry.

Zhang Kaige's film "The Promise" was released a little over a month ago.

According to another memory, "The Promise" should have been released in December 2005. It was probably because of Cheng Sheng that Chen Kaige had new inspiration for the film and revised it again and again.

The release date was postponed to March 2006.

When "The Promise" premiered, Cheng Sheng was invited by Chen Kaige to attend the premiere.

However, Cheng Sheng turned it down because he was busy with the post-production of "Three Kingdoms".

The movie "The Promise" received terrible reviews after only a few days of release.

Netizens have been criticizing the movie.

Chen Kaige, who also has a bad temper, directly implied that the problem wasn't the movie, but the audience. This sparked a verbal battle between the director and the audience.

All I can say is that Chen Kaige wouldn't have died if he hadn't courted death.

For several days during this period, he was among the top 20 trending topics.

All of it was subtly criticizing his movies and attacking him.

This caused a top director who had won a Cannes award to fall from grace.

Meanwhile, Feng Xiaogang, who has always been known for his "vulgar" style, has quietly ascended to a divine status, which is truly ironic.

Despite its terrible reviews, the film "The Promise" still made a lot of money at the box office. The film featured top stars from China, Japan and South Korea.

The film grossed 1.75 million RMB.

According to another account, "The Promise" will become this year's box office champion, while Jackie Chan's "The Myth" will only gross 9700 million in second place!
Hollywood blockbusters such as Harry Potter 4, Star Wars Episode III: Episode III, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith did not achieve the same box office success as The Promise.

But that doesn't mean "The Promise" made money.

As a fantasy blockbuster, "The Promise" had an astronomical investment of 1 million yuan.

With a budget of 100 million yuan, it ultimately grossed 1.75 million yuan at the box office.

That's equivalent to earning 70 million.

But that's not how the accounts are calculated!
Not all box office revenue goes to the investors.

Movie theaters take a cut of the profits, in addition to various taxes.

In reality, investors only receive about one-third of the box office revenue.

Therefore, of the 1.75 million yuan box office revenue of "The Promise", the actual profit may only be less than 50 million yuan.

An investment of 100 million yuan yielded a return of 50 million yuan, meaning a loss of half the initial investment.

Chen Kaige's actions have severely damaged the investors' reputation.

Moreover, it caused his reputation to plummet.

It's really not worth the risk.

2006 was a year of explosive growth for the internet. Desktop computers began to enter ordinary households, LCD monitors were becoming more common, and laptops were still a luxury item.

The rapid development of the internet has brought about tremendous changes in society. Walkman has officially stepped off the historical stage, MP3 has become popular, mobile phone ringtones have become a hot topic, and song downloading has become a business. Many small shops specialize in downloading songs for MP3, charging 10 yuan per song, which has ripped off many young people.

This has also promoted the development of Chinese music.

2004 was a year of explosive growth for pop music, with the formation of the new generation of four kings, "Zhou, Wang, Lin, Tao," and Dao Lang's decisive victory over Jay Chou astonished the world.

2005 was a year of explosive growth for online songs. Following "Mice Love Rice" and "Two Butterflies", other masterpieces such as "Brother-in-law Furong", "Xiang Piaopiao", "Seeking Buddha", "Song of the Pig", and "Autumn Never Returns" emerged.

Whether you're a top girl group like S.H.E. or a superstar, you're all going to get off me.

Interestingly, even superstar Andy Lau also benefited from this trend of online songs and became famous with a song called "Practice". This song was released in 2002 and suddenly became a hit in 2005.

Finally, in 2006, which is this year, the internet exploded, leading to the rapid rise of a group of ordinary people.

The phenomenon of ordinary people becoming "heroes from humble beginnings" actually began in 2005. The success of contestants like Li Yuchun and Zhang Liangying from "Super Girl" gave ordinary people the dream of stardom. The development of the internet finally allowed them to try their hand at it. That year, many grassroots singers became famous through online songs. Yang Chenggang, for example, earned 200 million yuan with "Mice Love Rice." (End of Chapter)