HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 439 [439] F4: We're running ourselves ragged, but Qi Yuan can just talk.

Wang Jingren was stunned for a moment.

Qi Yuan revealed a route he had never considered before.

Why was the release date changed to the 21st to directly compete with "Big Shot's Funeral"?
This idea presents both risks and opportunities.

If they can beat Feng Xiaogang's "Big Shot's Funeral," they can reap the benefits of both Christmas and New Year's Day.

Conversely, if it is overshadowed by "Big Shot's Funeral," then "My Sassy Girl" will likely have a poor box office performance in mainland China.

Wang Jing couldn't help but ask, "Are you that confident?"

Qi Yuan said confidently, "I watched the film the day before yesterday, and I think it's very commercially successful. Feng Xiaogang's comedies are quite commercially successful, but his comedies are more popular in the north of mainland China, and not many viewers are interested in the south."

Our "My Sassy Girl" is different; it has a wider audience. Moreover, this style and subject matter are very novel to domestic audiences.

Objectively speaking, Feng Xiaogang's "Big Shot's Funeral" is a very good film.

This can be seen from the box office performance in his previous life, which was Feng Xiaogang's early box office peak.

Feng Xiaogang was very confident when he made this film, with a production cost of three million US dollars, not even including marketing and distribution expenses.

Feng Xiaogang himself once said that the box office needs to reach at least 1.2 million yuan in order to break even.

It is clear that Feng Xiaogang's goal from the very beginning was to achieve a box office of over 100 million yuan in mainland China.

In this life, spurred by "Bouquet," Feng Xiaogang's obsession has only grown stronger.

He felt that if Chen Kaige and Qi Yuan could make 100 million yuan at the box office in mainland China, why couldn't he, Feng Xiaogang, do the same?

Before the release of "Bouquet," he was widely recognized as the top commercial director in mainland China.

If his film "Big Shot's Funeral" can gross 100 million yuan in mainland China, surpassing "Bouquet" by a little, he can reclaim his throne as the top commercial director in mainland China.

This is also why Feng Xiaogang is unwilling to change his schedule.

He plans to start filming on the 21st, aiming to capitalize on the best film season of the year, from late December to early January.

Asking him to move it to the 30th? Dream on! He's already given up half of his best release window; how is he supposed to gross over 100 million?

It can only be said that the success of four consecutive films, namely "The Dream Factory," "Be There or Be Square," "Endless Love," and "A Sigh," made Feng Xiaogang a little arrogant. He overestimated his box office appeal and the national audience's acceptance of Feng-style comedies.

Qi Yuan dared to let Wang Jing bring "My Sassy Girl" to compete head-on with Feng Xiaogang because "My Sassy Girl" was a phenomenal hit across Asia at that time.

This was the first modern romantic film to blend a sassy female character with a romantic comedy, which was very innovative in 01.

The fact that this film is South Korea's first successful example of exporting its culture abroad is enough to prove how amazing it is at this point in time.

It's no exaggeration to say that "My Sassy Girl" was a game-changer for "Big Shot's Funeral".

In terms of audience alone, it can easily crush "Big Shot's Funeral".

Didn't Feng Xiaogang make a public statement saying he wasn't afraid of challengers and welcomed them?

Qi Yuan was willing to give him face and let "My Sassy Girl" be released on the same day as his.

Encouraged by Qi Yuan, Wang Jing gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

It's done!

Just to prove a point.

He wasn't as confident in "My Sassy Girl" as Qi Yuan, but he still had a lot of confidence. It was the film he had put the most effort into in recent years.

Moreover, "My Sassy Girl" had a low budget, and with Fan Bingbing as the female lead, it was expected to sell well in South Korea and Japan, and its copyright could also be sold to Southeast Asia.

Even if competing with Feng Xiaogang in mainland China might slightly impact box office performance there, it's not a major issue.

……

Wang Jing immediately applied to change the schedule.

Huayi has some connections in the Film Bureau, so they knew about Wang Jing's application immediately.

Feng Xiaogang laughed: "It's good that Fatty Wang knows what's best for him; he knows who he can't mess with." His film "Big Shot's Funeral" was a box office hit in mainland China, comparable to "The Bouquet."

If Qi Yuan were the lead actor in Wang Jing's "My Sassy Girl," it might make him wary.

Fan Xiaopang and Zhang Zhilin? Feng Xiaogang doesn't take them seriously at all.

Half a day later.

When the new news arrived, Feng Xiaogang looked shocked!

"What? That fat bastard from Hong Kong is really going to go against me?"

That's right, Starry Night and Aces Go Places have announced new release dates.

For Feng Xiaogang, the good news is that Qi Yuan and Wang Jing backed down and changed their schedules. The bad news is that they changed it to the 21st, the same day as him.

Wang Jing also responded remotely through the media: "I don't think there is any such thing as challengers or competitors. The competition in the Hong Kong film market was even more intense in the late 1980s and early 1990s."

There are hundreds of movies released every year, with new movies being released almost every day.

If you try to avoid releasing every film, you won't find a suitable release date for three years.

Movies are like products on a shelf; customers buy whichever product they like.

What we filmmakers need to do is create high-quality products and satisfy more customers.

Wang Jing's words and Feng Xiaogang's previous remarks were interpreted by the media as a direct confrontation.

Amid media reports and online discussions, the popularity of the two films began to surge.

Qi Yuan, who was in Hong Kong promoting his films, was also asked by reporters about "My Sassy Girl" and "Big Shot's Funeral".

Qi Yuan replied, "I don't know much about the quality of Director Feng's films, but I believe that 'My Sassy Girl' will be the ultimate winner. Director Wang showed me the finished film, and I wrote the theme song for it in both Chinese and English versions."

Furthermore, none of these are the most important points. The most important point is that I believe "My Sassy Girl" will win, and therefore "My Sassy Girl" will win, because my predictions have never failed.

If you don't believe me, you can go to the United States and ask Wu Baige and Zhou Ruifa.

Hey!
The surrounding reporters and paparazzi were once again thrilled.

You're something else, always managing to pull something off.

Although Hong Kong media used to jokingly call Qi Yuan a Ziwei star and a child of destiny, people genuinely felt that Qi Yuan was somewhat eerie.

Qi Yuan commented at a Beijing Film Academy forum that Wu Baige might not have even read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and it turned out that Wu Baige really hadn't.

On his birthday, Qi Yuan said that Zhou Ruifa could publicly announce that he would donate his entire fortune to whitewash his image, and later everyone found out that Zhou Ruifa was actually planning to do so.

Reporters suspected that the two men would be furious if they heard Qi Yuan's words in the United States!
You son of a bitch from mainland China, are you trying to drag us down with you?

However, in Hong Kong, no one cared about their feelings; the Hong Kong media only knew that they had made a big news story again.

[Is the Purple Star working its magic again, making "My Sassy Girl" a clear winner over "Big Shot's Funeral"?]

[Let's take a look back at the stories of Qi Yuan, Wu Baige, and Zhou Ruifa!]

[Qi Yuan: My predictions have never failed!]

……

Qi Yuan only said a few words, but directly helped "My Sassy Girl" get a lot of exposure in Hong Kong.

"My Sassy Girl" and Qi Yuan dominated more than 60% of Hong Kong's entertainment newspapers.

F4 broke through the defense directly.

Damn it! They've been working so hard participating in all sorts of activities, their legs are practically giving out, yet there are even fewer newspapers reporting on them.

They can't outrun Qi Yuan just by talking.
Soon, the Hong Kong music scene also began to stir.

This wave of popularity has impacted the music industry, resulting in new changes to the Hong Kong music charts for Qi Yuan's new album.

(End of this chapter)