Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

Chapter 114 Just the Right Time, Little Liu!

The premiere of "Curse of the Golden Flower" will be held on December 14th.

Zhang Weiping continued in the style of "House of Flying Daggers," turning the premiere into something like the Spring Festival Gala.

Nine hosts were invited, including Guo Degang from the crosstalk circle, Wu Zongxian, a famous Taiwanese talk show host, He Ling, a pillar of Hunan TV, as well as Zeng Baoyi, Cai Kangyong, Aya, Jingwei, and others.

Although Zhang Yimou himself was directing the opera "Qin Shi Huang" in New York, and the lead actresses Gong Li and Chow Yun-fat were unable to attend due to their mothers' health and work schedules respectively, the atmosphere was still enthusiastic with the presence of Chow Yun-fat!

Zhao Yanxi thought Zhang Yimou's words to the media were very realistic—foreigners only recognize period dramas, and today's domestic commercial blockbusters will definitely lose money if they rely solely on the domestic market.

If every industry reflects a nation's strength, then the film and television industry is often even more so.

Who could have imagined that, more than a decade later, a film could gross 14 to 15 billion yuan solely from domestic box office revenue? For the next few years, the total annual box office revenue will not even reach that figure.

Thankfully, "Painted Skin" is also a period drama!

After the post-production special effects for "Painted Skin" were completed, the film distributors who had previously worked in Venice gradually began to inspect the film and make payments.

So far, no one has opted to forgo their deposit for a refund and return of the goods, and it's unlikely that the next few companies will do the same.

A $2000 million production would need 5 million in box office revenue to break even if it relied solely on domestic box office revenue, which is clearly not feasible in China.

With the copyright fee of over nine million US dollars, plus the revenue from GG, we only need two hundred million in box office revenue to make a profit!

On the second day after its premiere, news about "Curse of the Golden Flower" made headlines!

The 1500 million box office figure is not the opening day's box office, but only the box office during the evening period after the premiere.

Generally, it's the length of one showing in a movie theater. Even if all theaters and all screening rooms showed "Curse of the Golden Flower," this number would still require a very high occupancy rate to support it.

The industry has once again witnessed Zhang Yimou's dominance!

"The only one who can surpass Zhang Yimou is Zhang Yimou himself."

"While planning the Olympics, Zhang Yimou easily shot blockbuster films."

"It seems the record for 'The Promise' is gone~~"

"Curse of the Golden Flower is almost certain to surpass Stone and become this year's highest-grossing domestic film!"

Zhao Yanxi and Liu Yifei also took some time to go to the cinema and contributed two movie tickets.

"Gong Li is still very beautiful!"

After watching the entire film, Liu Yifei came to her final conclusion.

"hehe."

Zhao Yanxi smiled and said, "In terms of presence, you're far behind her, after all, age and experience are different. But if we're talking about looks, you don't need to be modest. Gong Li is still a bit lacking compared to you."

This isn't just a matter of beauty being in the eye of the beholder; it's a fact widely acknowledged by many viewers—Gong Li is the kind of woman whose beauty grows on you, and given her large size, she becomes more and more beautiful the more you look at her.

Liu Yifei is the stunning type; she's stunning at first glance, and the more you look at her, the more stunning she becomes!

"While the netizens' comments are somewhat extreme, they don't seem to be entirely wrong," Liu Yifei said, frowning. "Director Zhang's film seems to have a bit of that..."

"Didn't you want to experience being a 'Zhang Yimou Girl' back then?" Zhao Yanxi said with a smile. "If you had come, there might not have been so much criticism."

"Why?" Liu Yifei asked, somewhat puzzled but also delighted. "You also think I have a high level of audience approval?"

"No, not at all," Zhao Yanxi chuckled, touching her nose. "If you were the lead actress, netizens probably wouldn't call it 'The City Is Full of Big-Boobed Girls,' since you're not..."

After saying that, Zhao Yanxi fled.

Liu Yifei quickly realized what was happening, her face turning bright red, a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "Ahhh, Zhao Yanxi, get out of here!"

After a bit of playful fighting, the two got into the car.

In the dim light, the two breathed heavily.

Liu Yifei leaned back in her chair, her fingers unconsciously twirling the ends of her hair. After a long while, she asked in an almost inaudible voice, "—Is it really that small?"

Zhao Yanxi looked down and saw the uneasy shadow cast by her eyelashes under her eyes.

He dropped his joking expression, gently placed his palm on her back, and spoke in a voice as soft as if he were lulling her to sleep: "Chinese aesthetics are inherently about charm and subtlety. They value the understated elegance of a lilac, not just about size. The flying apsaras in Tang Dynasty murals and the ladies in Song Dynasty paintings were never about voluptuousness."

Zhao Yanxi cupped her face and looked into her watery eyes: "You are just right, not too much or too little. This perfect Eastern rhythm is the aesthetic truly etched into our bones."

Liu Yifei stared at him blankly, then suddenly buried her burning face in the crook of his neck and mumbled, "You're still saying I'm small..."

'

"No way!"

Zhao Yanxi couldn't help but chuckle, and whispered in his ear, "It's okay if it's small, you're still laughing. I heard that massage can help with secondary development..."

'

"Shall I give you more massages in the future?"

As she spoke, Zhao Yanxi couldn't help but swallow.

Although her figure wasn't Xiao Liu's strong point, and she wasn't big compared to those behemoths, based on her past experiences kissing, Zhao Yanxi knew better than anyone what it meant to be "not the best, but better than the worst."

It's not exactly a smash, but it's still close to C, definitely above average.

What more could you ask for!

"Get lost, you scoundrel!"

"Hahaha..

""

Two days before its release, there weren't many negative comments online; most were praise and compliments.

Hype is Zhang Weiping's forte, so he naturally knows the impact of public opinion on box office revenue.

After the weekend, "Curse of the Golden Flower" grossed a whopping 96 million yuan in its opening weekend. If we take into account some omissions, the actual box office of "Curse of the Golden Flower" in its opening weekend has probably exceeded 100 million yuan!

As box office revenue soared, the negative word-of-mouth that had been obscured by online trolls could no longer be contained.

Amidst countless comments from viewers, a large number of negative reviews also surged to the top of the page—

"Breasts are like water in a sponge; you can always squeeze some out. — Dedicated to 'The City Is Full of Big-Breasted Beauties'!"

"The whole city is full of big steamed buns."

"Does Your Highness have nowhere else to spend your money, Prince Jay?" What dynasty calls someone like that? All he does is put on a show of empty pomp and circumstance, is he directing the Olympic opening ceremony?

"Chrysanthemums and large breasts, Zhang Yimou's aesthetic sense is getting worse and worse."

"Brother Jielun, why don't you go sing karaoke instead!"

"Zhou Jielun may become the only craftsman, spending 3000 million US dollars to shoot a 'Chrysanthemum Terrace' MV. In the past, netizens treated 'The Promise' the same way they 'treated' 'Curse of the Golden Flower,' showing no mercy to Zhang Yimou, the prospective national director."

Zhao Yanxi estimates that Zhang Weiping should speak out in the next couple of days.

He doesn't have Chen Kaige's high level of self-cultivation. At least when "The Promise" was criticized by netizens, Chen Kaige only boycotted "Mantou" and otherwise kept licking his wounds in secret.

Sure enough, the next day saw Zhang Weiping's defense in front of the media: "Regarding the vulgar and malicious comments about 'Curse of the Golden Flower' online, producer Zhang Weiping expressed his anger in an interview, saying they were shameless, despicable, and utterly wicked!"

"I dare say here that no matter what they do, *Confession of Pain* will die a horrible death! Let *Still Life* fend for itself!"

When a reporter asked Zhang Weiping to confirm whether the producers of "Confession of Pain" and "Still Life" were behind the sabotage, Zhang Weiping angrily stated that it was them.