In the entertainment industry, everyone has been reborn, but who will be their servant?

Chapter 41 Box office is the only truth
Qin Xuan stared blankly at the phone that had been hung up on and the busy tone coming from it.

"Just kidding, you have such a bad temper."

Meanwhile, Liu Yifei was already furious, her face flushed red.

The main problem was that the man's words were too ambiguous, leading her to mistakenly believe that he had made a deal. Unexpectedly, he immediately retorted, "I've reached an agreement. Are you happy?"

After all that effort, it turns out I was just fooling around with her; I guess I'm just a clown.

It's no wonder she overthinks things. Mainly, people keep confessing their feelings to her, whether it's on TV shows or when she bumps into fans on the street. Sometimes it makes her feel embarrassed. Qin Xuan is someone she knows, and she's afraid of hurting his pride if she doesn't handle things well.

"Don't let me see you again, or I'll beat you to death." Liu Yifei tapped the phone screen several times with her finger, looking both cute and fierce.

Just then, a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder. She turned around abruptly and called out, "Mom!"

"Why is your face red?" Liu Xiaoli wondered.

"It's probably too hot!" Liu Yifei fanned herself with her hand, a little embarrassed.

"The heating is on too high, you shouldn't wear so many clothes at home." Liu Xiaoli didn't suspect anything.

Outside, the autumn wind and falling leaves caused a sudden drop in temperature, but inside it was warm and cozy.

Liu Xiaoli, sitting next to him, asked, "I forgot to ask you, how's the movie about Qin Xuan going? It's been a few months."

"It's fine, we've already finished filming one episode." Liu Yifei said, a hint of resentment on her face.

"So fast? What about the publicity and distribution? The movie has to be released after filming is finished!" Liu Xiaoli asked.

She knew that her investment included shares in three films; her daughter told her that when she came back.

She was quite surprised at the time, never expecting that she could make three movies for just tens of thousands of yuan.

"You don't need to worry about it, they've already partnered with Wanda," Liu Yifei said sarcastically.

"Wanda?!" Liu Xiaoli exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, he's already negotiated the publicity with the CEO of Wanda. Wanda is covering all his publicity expenses. He's incredibly powerful." Liu Yifei's tone was still strange.

She hadn't forgotten how Qin Xuan had tricked her.

Liu Xiaoli thought about it, and slowly a smile appeared in her eyes. She couldn't help but admire, "That's quite clever. Using Wanda, an outsider, as a breakthrough point."

She witnessed firsthand how Qin Xuan spoke up for ordinary people, thus offending the film and television industry.

After all, if he actually succeeded in doing that, the production costs of the entire entertainment industry would skyrocket, so film and television capital doesn't like him very much because he broke the rules.

In this situation, he went to Wanda to negotiate with Mr. Wang, who is in the real estate business and has no connection with the film and television industry.

Not only did they negotiate, but they also successfully negotiated a deal; that's quite an achievement.

The main reason is that Old Wang also needs someone to confront those people head-on to gain a voice; it's simply a matter of mutual benefit.

But she didn't know how much pressure Qin Xuan was under.

"Yes, that's right." Liu Yifei replied as before.

Liu Xiaoli sensed something was wrong and looked at her daughter, saying, "What's wrong with you? You're behaving strangely."

"No! I'm fine." Liu Yifei pretended to be nonchalant.

Liu Xiaoli placed her hand on her daughter's hand and said, "No matter how strong Huayi is, it can't beat the heavens. The entertainment industry doesn't belong to them. After this movie is released, your mission will be complete, and we'll go to Hong Kong for a visit."

She thought her daughter was doing this because of Huayi Brothers, so she comforted her, saying that getting close to the Hong Kong entertainment circle was her only option.

"I know, Mom. How's Godfather?" Liu Yifei asked more seriously.

"It's not good. I hope this financial crisis won't be too severe," Liu Xiaoli said with concern.

The world is now beginning to realize the impending crisis, given that major global financial institutions and banks are suffering substantial losses.

There's nothing else to it, it's all a bunch of damn bad debts that can't be recovered. "Can't the Godfather just run away?" Liu Yifei didn't know much about finance.

"Silly child, why run away? You're already trapped." Liu Xiaoli sighed. In fact, she herself was also trapped and couldn't escape either.

Chen Jinfei's business interests include banking, securities, and other manufacturing sectors; it's not solely based on real estate.

Banks and securities firms are located in Hong Kong and the United States, which are the hardest-hit areas. Even if they don't die, they will be severely affected and there is no way to escape. This is just the beginning.

The state can't protect them, it can only protect those at the grassroots level.

The crew was still in the midst of intensive filming when Qin Xuan returned to the set and clapped her hands.

"Everyone stop working for a moment, I have something to announce." Qin Xuan raised his voice.

Many members of the film crew put down their work and began to gather around, looking at him blankly.

"I know people have been talking about what will happen after our movie is made? Who will distribute it? Today I'll tell you," Qin Xuan said loudly.

"Did President Xuan find a publisher?" Shen Ao seemed to realize something, and an expectant look appeared on his face.

The others seemed to have guessed as well, their faces beaming.

"Yes, I've reached an agreement with the CEO of Wanda. Wanda will handle the publicity and distribution of our three films, and they will also cover all publicity and distribution costs," Qin Xuan said, waving his hand.

"Really? President Xuan is awesome!"

"President Xuan is awesome!"

"Oh yeah!"

Upon realizing they hadn't misheard, cheers and exclamations erupted from the crowd.

Zhang Songwen, Wang Yanhui, and other actors exchanged glances and smiled. After all, as members of the main creative team, it was very gratifying for their film to be released in theaters.

They had previously worried that their film might be a flop or appear on some streaming network.

Now that I hear it can be shown in theaters, I feel much more relieved.

Shen Ao, Zhang Linke, and other key personnel exchanged glances and smiled at each other.

Unexpectedly, even the most difficult part was solved by President Xuan. They were originally discussing countermeasures, such as whether to ask the college professors to help.

"But don't get too excited yet. This is just the beginning. It's still uncertain how much box office revenue we'll make," Qin Xuan said, trying to calm them down.

"It's okay, as long as it gets released in theaters, I don't care if we lose money, it's not much." Some people are very nonchalant.

"That's right, as long as my name is on it, that's enough. Box office numbers aren't that important."

In the film industry, if your work gets released in theaters and you leave your name on the screen, it proves that you've entered the industry.

In other words, if it can be shown in theaters, it's all worth it.

"That's not how it works. Box office revenue is the true measure of a film's quality. It's not about who says it's good. We can't live in the past; we need to embrace the market and keep up with the times. Remember, movies are for people to watch, not for a select few to appreciate. Box office revenue is the only true measure of a film's success." Qin Xuan's words were somewhat of a reversal of their understanding.

This caused a look of surprise on their faces.

These academic filmmakers have different ideas about making films than ordinary people; they care about the reputation of film critics and their peers in the art world.

And those few who love movies don't entirely care about what others think.

This is related to the industry situation. The judges and peers can bring them professional breakthroughs, which is why the awards ceremony has a high reputation in this era.

The current situation is the same for Zhang Yimou, Chen Daren, and those fifth and sixth generation artists.

When capital floods in, and box office revenue becomes everything, and only with box office success will people invest money, those academy directors lose their sense of superiority.

They shed their pretense and resorted to any means to boost box office revenue, turning their true colors into something repulsive.

(End of this chapter)