This director is so innocent.

Chapter 182 Yang Mi Wields a Greatsword

The Golden Hall is sparkling with starlight.

A movie premiere is not only a publicity event, but also a social gathering.

The heads of each company led their artists, and Su Jin picked up her teacup and took a sip.

The 50 billion yuan box office target is not for Chinese-language films, but for the entire year, including imported films.

Otherwise, even if Zuo Shandiao were beaten to death, he wouldn't have made such a boast.

Four blockbuster films, each grossing over 2 million, totaling 8 million.

Adding the 37.3 billion, that's 45.3 billion. Looking at it this way, it's quite possible to reach the 50 billion box office target.

But, but here comes the thing—

The film "Mei Lanfang" starring Xiao Daren received poor reviews and barely grossed over 100 million yuan at the box office.

Wilson Yip's "Ip Man" was released between "Forever Enthralled" and "If You Are the One," and its box office did not exceed 100 million yuan.

Of course, now that this issue is known, "Ip Man" will definitely not be released between the two of them, and is scheduled for release on November 28th.

As for the box office, it should easily surpass 100 million, but 200 million is up to fate.

Feng Xiaogang's "If You Are the One" was amazing, grossing over 300 million yuan and becoming the highest-grossing film of 2008.

"Painted Skin" was also good; it grossed over 200 million yuan.

So, the total box office is only 44 billion. Where will the remaining 6 million come from?

With nowhere else to go, the only way to reach the total box office was for "Painted Skin" to break 3 million and "Ip Man" to break 2 million, which would bring the total box office to 46 billion.

The remaining 4 million yuan shortfall can be covered by other domestic and imported films.

"Third Master, have you seen the finished film of Director Chen's 'Mei Lanfang'?"

"No." Han Sanping shook his head slightly and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Then you should go and watch the finished film of 'Mei Lanfang,' otherwise the 50 billion yuan target is very uncertain."

Upon hearing this, Han Sanping paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "You mean the final cut of 'Mei Lanfang' is of poor quality?"

"I don't know, but I think Director Chen might not be able to grasp the character of Mei Lanfang."

"No way! 'Mei Lanfang' and 'Farewell My Concubine' are the same type of subject matter. Brother Kai can't afford to mess it up!"

"Even if Director Chen can manage it, Third Master, you need to know that Old Master Mei is still around."

He would never allow Director Chen to make drastic changes to his father, which would mean that many things couldn't be filmed, and the characters that were filmed would be superficial, like saints, much like watching model operas in the past.

Also, Li Ming is not Zhang Guorong. He may be handsome, but he's not suitable for playing such Peking Opera roles.

Grandpa Mei is not like Grandpa Ye, who is easy to bully.

He's a grandmaster of Peking Opera, a national treasure-level artist. How could he possibly allow a young prodigy to arbitrarily alter his father's work?

The young actor felt very frustrated during filming. Years later, he admitted on a variety show that he was from a family of Peking Opera performers, and that his thinking was feudal and conservative, and that he didn't care about the progress of the world.

This shows just how much the young master resents the scions of Peking Opera families.

As for Li Ming, he was indeed not suitable for the role of Mei Lanfang. Not to mention Zhang Guorong, he was far inferior to Yu Shaoqun, the young actor who played Mei Lanfang.

The person's entire image exudes a dull, stiff, and awkward feeling no matter how you look at it.

The once dashing and charming Leon Lai, who captivated countless young women with every smile and gesture, has finally grown old.

Leon Lai was truly handsome in his youth; even his smoking exuded an air of nobility.

After listening to Su Jin's words, Han Sanping frowned and remained silent.

Seeing him like this, Su Jin didn't disturb him. She picked up a cup of tea and took a sip.

The tea leaves are a bit inferior; they don't taste as good as the ones at home.

"President Han, President Su, it's been a long time."

When Su Jin heard someone calling him, he looked up and saw Old Yang leading Asa, who even secretly winked at him.

Han Sanping greeted Old Yang and then left, saying he had something to do.

"President Su, President Han, what's going on?" Old Yang frowned slightly as he looked at Han Sanping's retreating figure.

"It's work-related," Su Jin replied casually, then changed the subject, "I heard 'Shinjuku Incident' isn't planned for release in mainland China?"

Old Yang nodded and sighed softly, "The censorship in mainland China is too strict; Derek Yee is unwilling to cut any scenes."

Filming for "Shinjuku Incident" wrapped up at the beginning of the year, and post-production is now complete. It's ready for release during the National Day holiday.

Later, it was reported that the film was too bloody and damaged the image of overseas Chinese, so scenes had to be cut before it could pass censorship.

Then, after cutting scenes, the plot becomes fragmented and completely unwatchable.

Another reason is that the Film Bureau requires that co-productions in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and internationally must use the same version.

"If it's not released in mainland China, won't it lose money?"

"Losing money is certain, but not by much. The South American rights have already been bought out, the European rights sold well, and the North American rights were bought by Universal. All in all, we lost about four or five million!"

"You're really lucky. With a production cost of 2000 million US dollars, you only lost a little bit."

"Instead of the $2000 million, Jackie Chan didn't receive much salary this time; he received a share of the box office revenue, and he also participated in the investment."

After chatting for a while, the two went their separate ways.

Su Jin chatted with Xiao Wang, Yu Dong, Wang Changtian, and several other theater managers for a while before returning to Huang Jiaqiang's side.

The premiere began at 2 PM.

More than 200 media reporters and 5000 audience members were invited, making the venue incredibly crowded.

"Su Jin is really getting better; she's even able to hold a premiere at the Great Hall of the People."

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"To be honest, this is my first time walking into the Great Hall of the People, and I'm quite excited."

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"Me too, I just saw Fan Bingbing, she's so fair-skinned!"

"Are you referring to fair skin, or that kind of fair skin?"

"Dirty thoughts."

"Just tell me, is that white or not?"

"white."

The host, Jingwei, dressed in a formal gown, holding a microphone, and wearing high heels, gracefully walked to the center of the stage.

"Distinguished guests, dear audience members, good afternoon."

"I am Jingwei, the host of today's premiere. Welcome to the global premiere of 'Painted Skin'."

Jingwei said a set of polite words, followed by Han Sanping's speech, then Su Jin's speech, and finally Huang Jiaqiang's speech.

After a lot of rambling, they started showing the movie.

The lights went out, and the movie began.

The dragon logo appeared, followed by six investors: China Film Group, Jianmu Media, Chengtian Entertainment, Shanghai Film Group, Yinghuang, and Shenmu Film & Television.

Animation.

The movie opens with an army marching through a vast expanse of yellow sand, bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

In the footage, Chen Kun and the others have rough, yellowish faces, clearly indicating that they have been traveling in the desert for a long time, and the cracked wounds on their lips are clearly visible.

The scene quickly shifted to Zhou Xun, wrapped in a white fur coat, her legs bare, leaning against a soft couch, innocently looking at the group of men eyeing her covetously.

The male audience members watching this scene smiled knowingly. To be fair, Su Jin really understood them!

"I didn't expect Zhou Xun to look so beautiful as a fox demon."

"You only saw how beautiful she was? Look at her eyes, they're absolutely stunning. The three-time Golden Horse Award winner truly lives up to her reputation."

"Damn, what did Zhou Xun grab? A heart?"

"I guess so."

A group of henchmen burst in, saw their leader was dead, and were about to kill Zhou Xun when Chen Kun, wielding a long sword, charged in from behind them.

The henchmen were no match for Chen Kun; he took them down one by one, as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.

Chen Kun looked at himself, completely satisfied with his performance.

He turned his head and glanced at Huang Xiaoming beside him, then chuckled.

"Xiaoming, how was my move just now?"

Huang Xiaoming gave a wicked smile and praised, "Very handsome, especially the last scene where he picked up Zhou Xun, that was incredibly cool."

The movie soon came to the scene where Huang Xiaoming fights against a hundred enemies on the mountaintop.

With disheveled hair, he wielded a long sword with fierce power, striking fear into the hearts of his enemies.

"Chen Kun, how was my move?"

"Very cool, his movements are crisp, even better than some martial arts actors."

Zhou Xun, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore: "Aren't you guys childish? Can't you just watch the movie properly?"

Time passed slowly, and then the white-haired Fan Xiaopang appeared, causing a stir.

"Lin Bing Dou Zhe, Jie Zhen Lie Qian Xing."

In the finale, Yang Mi's character, the demon hunter Xia Bing, silently recited the Nine True Words and made hand seals. Instantly, a giant golden sword appeared and flew towards Zhou Xun.

Upon seeing this, Asa, who was fighting with soldiers, disregarded his own safety and leaped to shield Zhou Xun.

But how could a fox demon with less than a thousand years of cultivation withstand the power of the golden giant sword? The giant sword approached her inch by inch.

Blood spilled from Asa's mouth, but he endured the pain and shouted to Zhou Xun behind him, "Sister, let's go!"

"Break." Yang Mi exclaimed softly, channeling all her magical power into it.

"boom."

A deafening roar shook the earth.

The golden giant sword pierced through Asa's body and flew towards Zhou Xun, while Yang Mi, exhausted, fainted on the ground.

The golden greatsword's power had been depleted by Asa and no longer posed a threat to Zhou Xun; he easily shattered it with a wave of his hand.

"Sister, I—I want—to go home—" Asa said this, and her body transformed into its original form as a white fox.

"Ah!" Zhou Xun's eyes turned red as he roared, his body surging with energy.

Afterwards, Xiao Wei went berserk, causing countless deaths and injuries to soldiers, and Pang Yong and Xia Bing were seriously injured.

Finally, just like the original, Xiaowei used her thousand-year-old spiritual power to revive Peirong and the little fox, and the dead soldiers were also brought back to life.

The little fox's resurrection is planned. If everyone likes the little fox, a spin-off series called "The Little Fox and the Demon Hunter" can be made.

It mainly depends on the island nation; when the little fox design first came out, they really liked it.

Of course, if domestic audiences also like it, the project can be launched immediately.

The list of thank-you notes appears, and the lights come on.

"Splash!"

The guests and audience members present were very supportive and stood up to applaud.

Su Jin and Wu Ershan, along with eight others, went on stage for interviews, where they shared their thoughts, interesting anecdotes from filming, and so on.

"Director Su, is it true that Wuershan is the real director of 'Painted Skin'?"

"Can I say it's not true?" Su Jin made a small joke to lighten the mood, then said seriously, "It's true. Wuershan is a new director, as you all know. And 'Painted Skin' had an investment of 2000 million US dollars. With such a huge cost, the investors didn't trust him at all, so I was just listed as the director."

"We just watched the movie and found that the core of the whole film is love." So, Director Su, what is your view on love?

""

"Actually, love is a dangerous thing. Love can't solve all problems. No one can take your lover away. If they leave, it's either because their love is stronger than yours, or there's something wrong with you two."

"Reality is also cruel. Without a beautiful pursuit of love, it is even more difficult to change the cruelty of reality."

Wu Ershan explained the issue of stealing the spotlight: "They are all very good actors, and all six actors gave a great performance. However, there was no scene-stealing. On the one hand, they all take care of each other, and on the other hand, I kept things under control."

Zhou Xun explained the "mistress" issue: "I think Xiao Wei truly loved Wang Sheng. Although she was the third party, it was still a kind of love."

"A body double? Yes, it is a body double. I'm not used to being naked on camera."

Previously, the film "The Banquet" caused quite a stir because it did not credit the body double. This time, Wu Ershan asked the girl for her opinion and credited her.

Fan Xiaopang explained his white hair look: "Thank you everyone for liking my white hair look. My look looks tragic in the movie, but it looks terrifying on set."

There was a scene where I had to run in the street, and the nearby residents were terrified. I ended up having to cover my head with a shawl and only take it off when it was time to film.

Next, Chen Kun, Huang Xiaoming, Yang Mi, and Asa all expressed their gratitude.

Finally, the inevitable question came down to box office expectations.

"When 'Red Cliff Part I' was released, it was touted as surpassing 'Titanic,' but unfortunately, its box office only reached 3.14 million yuan."

"This time, I hope that 'Painted Skin' can take over the mantle of 'Red Cliff Part I' and take the box office champion title back into our own hands."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone erupted in uproar.

The expressions on the faces of the people in the audience varied: some were stunned, some were excited, some were thrilled, some were disdainful, and some were mocking.

The myriad aspects of human nature are vividly displayed at this moment.

Previously, after "Red Cliff Part I" was released, it was only after seeing that the box office of "Red Cliff Part I" exceeded 100 million yuan in its opening weekend that it dared to claim that it would surpass the box office of "Titanic".

This time, Su Jin is even more audacious, daring to shout out such a slogan before the movie has even been released. I don't know if she's full of confidence or just spouting nonsense for publicity.

Those who scoff and ridicule Su Jin think she's talking nonsense. "Red Cliff" gathered big stars from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, but it still couldn't take back the box office champion title. What makes "Painted Skin" so special?

Yes, the plot of "Red Cliff Part I" is not good, it's like a comedy, but the many big stars can make up for that.

Media reporters don't care about any of that; all they know is that there will be big news to write about later.

After seeing off the guests, Su Jin discussed follow-up publicity issues with Huang Jiaqiang and the others.

The main cast members gathered together, and Huang Xiaoming couldn't help but ask curiously, "How much of what Director Su said is true, do you think?"

"Xiao Ming, you don't really think 'Painted Skin' can break 'Titanic's' box office record, do you?" Chen Kun asked in surprise.

"I don't think so, but Director Su does! Looking back at his previous box office expectations, he has never failed to meet them all."

"The previous claims were rather conservative; this time they're boasting about 3.6 million? With our movie cast, how is that even possible?!"

"The cast may be a little lacking, but our movie is of high quality! I listened carefully to the audience's reactions just now and found that they all had very high praise for the movie."

"Director Su is here."

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