Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 299, Section 297: The Storm

Time flowed by like a gentle stream, and a month quietly passed in Wang Sheng's "laid-back" state.

As the calendar turned to June 2000, the air in Beijing began to feel hot and dry. The cicadas had not yet started chirping loudly, but in the film and television industry and even in the broader cultural industry, an undercurrent had already begun to surge.

Over the past month, the "pure love" storm sparked by "First Love" has not subsided, but has instead swept across East Asia with even greater speed.

In Japan, thanks to Shochiku's excellent management and the film's ability to accurately target the "pure love" genre, the box office continued to rise, with the cumulative number of viewers exceeding five million. Gao Yuanyuan's image as "Asia's first love" has deeply resonated with audiences, and her pure and transparent temperament has become the white moonlight in the hearts of countless Japanese teenagers. Various fashion magazine covers and advertising endorsement offers have poured into Shengying Media, and her commercial value has increased exponentially.

In South Korea, although the official release period has passed, the buzz surrounding the film continues, with discussions about youth, growth, and unrequited love sparked by the film spreading across the internet and print media.

More importantly, through Zheng Taiyuan's Taiyuan Entertainment and the quietly circulating pirated VCD channels, the film's influence further penetrated into a wider audience. Gao Yuanyuan's highly recognizable and approachable face became the most direct symbol of "China's new generation of actresses," completely solidifying her title as "Asia's first love" and making her the talk of the town.

Although the film was not shown on a large scale in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and parts of Southeast Asia, the circulation of pirated videotapes and VCDs far exceeded expectations. While this unofficial distribution method did not contribute to box office revenue, it objectively greatly expanded the film's popularity and influence.

Meanwhile, filming for the China-South Korea co-production version of "Happy Family" has also been successfully completed in South Korea.

The cast, including Korean stars Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Hee-sun, is now in the final stages of post-production, thanks to the full support of Jung Tae-won.

Although Wang Sheng did not personally go to South Korea to supervise the production, he still firmly controlled the final editing rights and core style of the film through fax and overseas phone calls.

Domestically, after more than a month of post-production polishing, the final version of "My Sassy Girl" has finally been released.

When the edited version was screened in a limited number of internal screenings, its subversive female-strong-male-weak setting, dense and precise jokes, and Fan Xiaopang's performance, which was both "wild" and cute, won unanimous praise from Han Sanping, Zhang Yang and others.

The completed film has been officially submitted to the Film Bureau for review.

Given Shengying Media's current network of relationships and the fact that the film itself contains no sensitive content, passing the censorship is merely a procedural matter.

The company's marketing department has begun to develop a massive publicity plan, aiming to seize the summer movie season in mid-July and strive to replicate or even surpass the box office miracle of "Flying Colors".

Everything seemed to be marching forward towards a more glorious future.

However, the real storms of change often begin with the smallest of things.

On June 6, a seemingly ordinary day, a red-headed document jointly issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) and the Ministry of Culture—"Opinions on Further Deepening the Reform of the Film Industry" (SARFT Film Document No. 320 [2000]) (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions")—was officially distributed to the cultural departments (bureaus) and radio and television bureaus of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, as well as all film studios and relevant state-owned and private film and television cultural units.

In summary, its core content includes the following major breakthroughs:
1. Completely break down production barriers and encourage private capital to enter the market.

The "Opinions" clearly state that it is necessary to "break industry monopolies and regional blockades, and gradually realize the diversification of film production entities" and "encourage and support personnel and institutions other than state-owned film production units to engage in film script creation and film production business."

This is equivalent to formally and thoroughly opening the door to film production for private capital from a policy perspective, ending the long-standing monopoly of state-owned film studios in terms of their "origin".

Although there have been pilot programs such as "single-area declaration" before, this time it has been confirmed in the form of the highest normative document, which is of great significance.

2. Reform the distribution system and promote the "cinema chain system" as the core.

The document strongly promotes replacing the tiered distribution network that has been in place for decades with a "cinema chain system".

The document calls for "implementing a distribution and screening mechanism primarily based on cinema chains, reducing distribution layers, and changing the method of supplying films according to administrative regions," and "encouraging capable distribution companies to establish inter-provincial cinema chains."

Aimed at breaking regional monopolies and establishing an efficient, unified, and open market system, allowing films to directly reach the market and weed out the inferior ones, this is a "surgical" reform of the rigid distribution system.

3. Deepen cinema renovation and encourage diverse capital investment in construction. It explicitly states that "social capital and overseas capital are encouraged and supported to invest in the construction and renovation of cinemas in various forms," ​​and "promote the upgrading of cinema facilities and technical equipment."

This means that cinema construction is no longer the exclusive domain of a few state-owned companies, laying the policy foundation for the upgrading of cinema hardware and the explosive growth in the number of screens in China in the coming years.

4. Simplify review procedures and regulate market order.

The proposal calls for "improving the film censorship system, increasing transparency, and simplifying procedures," while also "intensifying efforts to combat film smuggling and piracy, and regulating film market operations." The former aims to loosen restrictions on creative work (albeit to a limited extent), while the latter seeks to create a more level playing field for legitimate market players.

5. Actively promote the export of films and carry out international cooperation.

The emphasis is on "actively carrying out international film and cultural exchanges and encouraging domestic films to enter the international market," and "supporting film co-productions and absorbing advanced foreign technologies and management experience." This coincides with Wang Sheng's current strategies of Sino-Korean co-productions and copyright export.

This is shocking! The entire industry is shaken.

Established state-owned film studios, which had been lying low, felt that the time for revival had come; local distribution companies faced the fate of being integrated or eliminated by cinema chains; while prepared and powerful private capital saw unprecedented opportunities.

What content directly and significantly helped Wang Sheng's career development?
First, the complete dismantling of production barriers made Shengying Media "legitimate".

Although Wang Sheng had long been involved in film production through various means such as "TV movies", "co-productions", and "private pilot projects", his work always had a "gray area" or "special case" feel to it.

The release of the "Opinions" formally recognized Shengying Media's status as a private film and television production company at the national level. From then on, it can plan and invest in various film projects more freely, no longer needing to rely too much on the "booth logo" of state-owned units such as Beijing Film Studio, and has greater autonomy and profit margin in project approval, financing, and copyright ownership.

Secondly, the reform of the cinema chain system has "unlocked" the distribution network and cinema investments that Wang Sheng had already laid out.

Wang Sheng recognized the importance of terminal channels early on. His previous collaborations with several film studios on the "Movie World" audio-visual chain (which, although primarily focused on audio-visual products, had accumulated channel experience), along with his ongoing and planned cinema investment projects, immediately gained strategic value in the context of cinema chain reforms.

He can leverage Shengying Media's financial advantages and content supply capabilities to quickly establish or invest in one or more cinema chains, directly participating in the screening process.

This will allow him to fully integrate the entire industry chain of "production-distribution-exhibition", forming a strong synergistic effect and bargaining power, and no longer be subject to the old distribution system.

The document encourages cross-provincial cinema chains and diverse capital investment, which is exactly the policy support he has been longing for.

Third, encourage private capital to invest in cinemas and provide policy guarantees and financing convenience for their cinema expansion plans.

The construction of modern multiplex cinemas requires huge capital investment. The "Opinions" explicitly encourage the entry of social capital, which means that not only can they use company profits, but they can also more easily attract external investment and even consider capital market operations in the future to support the rapid expansion of cinemas.

The era of "hardware upgrades" and "quantity explosion" in Chinese cinemas is about to arrive, and Wang Sheng is already at the forefront of the race.

Fourth, it promoted the internationalization of films and international cooperation, affirming and strengthening Wang Sheng's international strategy.

Whether it's the export of the copyright for "First Love" or the Sino-Korean co-production "Happy Family," these are vivid examples of "movies going global" and "international cooperation."

The affirmation in the "Opinions" means that his exploration on this path is in line with national guidance, and he may receive more convenience in terms of project approval, resource allocation, and cultural exchange support in the future.

Fifth, simplify review processes, combat piracy, and create a better market environment.

While censorship cannot be completely lifted, the proposal to "simplify procedures" implies potential improvements in efficiency, which is beneficial for Wang Sheng's prolific team. Furthermore, combating piracy is a crucial safeguard for commercial films heavily reliant on box office revenue (such as the upcoming "My Sassy Girl"), protecting their commercial interests.

In particular, Lao Han has already established a system for inspecting and monitoring cinemas in major box office cities. With the support of the "Opinions," it is indeed no different from the legendary "Imperial Guard" with "royal privilege."

(End of this chapter)