The entertainment industry: My 99 future timelines!

In early July, the summer nights in Beijing were sweltering.

However, the IMAX theater at UME Huaxing International Cinema in Zhongguancun was well-air-conditioned and packed with seats.

The premiere of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" is being held here, a week before its official release.

After going through a series of assembly-line-style welcoming procedures.

At 7 p.m. sharp, the theater lights slowly dimmed.

All the film industry professionals, journalists, film critics, and lucky audience members who were invited to the premiere of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" began to quietly wait for the film to start.

The big screen lit up quickly.

After the familiar dragon logo, there is Xujing Pictures' logo, featuring a whale leaping out of the water.

Then, the movie began.

The first scene shows Li Xu, playing the adult Ko Ching-teng, sitting in a slightly messy office, looking at his computer screen, when he receives a wedding invitation.

The camera zooms in on Li Xu's slightly stunned profile, then fades out and transitions to the melodious piano accompaniment of "Those Years".

With just a few simple notes, it instantly pulls people into a nostalgic mood called youth.

The first ten minutes of the movie are fast-paced and packed with jokes.

The embarrassment of being caught passing notes in the classroom, the chance encounter at the bike shed after school, the profile secretly drawn on the blackboard, the childish rivalry between boys on the basketball court...

When Li Xu's character, Ke Jingteng, was punished by the teacher to stand in class, but secretly made a face at Shen Jiayi in the back row, a knowing chuckle rippled through the theater.

Li Xu was sitting in a reserved seat in the third row, where he could clearly hear the reactions of the audience behind him.

Jing Tian sat to his left. She was wearing a simple dress and looked a little nervous.

Although I had already seen the finished film in advance.

But sitting in the middle of a full audience, facing her first starring role in a movie, Jing Tian couldn't help but feel quite nervous.

Liu Yifei sat to Li Xu's right, flanking him with Jing Tian on either side.

Because she didn't act in the movie, she was quite calm at the moment, simply gazing at the screen with an elegant and serene expression.

Shen Ao, Cao Jun, and others sat in the back row, each holding their breath as they watched the movie and observed the reactions of the audience around them.

The movie footage gradually flows into the twentieth minute.

The first minor climax occurred.

To prove himself to Shen Jiayi, Ko Ching-teng ran and jumped like a madman on the basketball court, sinking that game-winning three-pointer, then, drenched in sweat, shouted at the sidelines with all his might, "Shen Jiayi! Aren't I handsome?"

And Jing Tian, ​​with her hair in a ponytail and wearing a school uniform, jumped up from the crowd, responding to "handsome" with a bright smile on her face.

In the theater, the faint conversations that had been going on for the first ten minutes or so of the movie finally disappeared completely.

Instead, there is a quiet and immersive movie-watching atmosphere.

Li Xu glanced around and saw many reporters and film critics in the front row, all with smiles on their faces.

Then, the movie's pace became increasingly relaxed and cheerful.

In the quiet campus corridor after evening self-study, Ke Jingteng and Shen Jiayi walked one after the other, their shadows stretched long by the streetlights.

Ko Ching-teng's key notes, compiled by staying up all night for Shen Chia-yi.

Shen Jiayi secretly slipped milk and eggs, still warm from her body, into Ke Jingteng's desk.

These delicate everyday moments are gently captured and magnified by the camera. There are no earth-shattering dramatic conflicts, but they are full of the sincerity and awkwardness unique to youth.

Laughter could be heard throughout the theater.

Several film critics quickly jotted down their thoughts and praises on the film in their notebooks.

This relaxed and pleasant atmosphere continued until Ko Ching-teng was ejected from the game after throwing a punch at his opponent for saying "you play basketball with your face."

Shen Jiayi rushed over, her face filled with disappointment, and questioned, "Ke Jingteng, why are you fighting again? Can't you be a little more mature?"

Then, in the rain, the two had their first major argument.

The dim streetlights, the torrential rain, the soaked school uniforms, the stubborn tears in the boy's red eyes, the girl's hoarse cries and the trembling of someone collapsing behind her...

Each and every line of dialogue is heart-wrenching.

"I was so naive to have used this method to pursue you for so long!"

"Ko Ching-teng, did I force you to like me?"

This two-minute-long, single-shot sequence uses only medium shots and close-ups to capture the expressions and reactions of Ko Ching-teng and Shen Chia-yi without any unnecessary camera cuts.

Like a knife, it ruthlessly cut away all the sweetness of the early and middle parts of the movie.

The laughter in the theater quickly vanished, leaving only a heavy silence, and the gradually rising, suppressed sobs and choked cries, from more than one place.

Even among film critics, journalists, and film industry professionals—groups other than the audience—some sensitive and emotional individuals couldn't help but immerse themselves in the story, quietly wiping away tears and sighing.

After all, who hasn't had a youth and regrets?

No matter how successful or famous a person is, they cannot escape it.

Even Li Xu himself, despite personally directing the scene and knowing every frame by heart, was deeply impressed.

But at this moment, with the surround sound of the movie theater and the silent emotional impact of the surrounding audience, he couldn't help but feel an indescribable bittersweet feeling welling up in his chest.

This reaction.

Let Li Xu know that he has succeeded.

By this point in the film's run, the audience's emotions had been completely captivated.

Watching silently.

On the big screen, the final wedding scene unfolds in the warm glow of a century-old church.

Wearing a pure white wedding dress, Shen Jiayi took her father's arm and slowly walked to the other end of the red carpet.

Ko Ching-teng, an adult seated in the guest section, kept his eyes following the gaze.

There are no lines, only expressions in their eyes.

There were complex emotions in her eyes, such as blessing and relief. Shen Jiayi turned around and their eyes met.

Then, the image fades out.

black screen.

The piano prelude begins again, this time with the complete version of "Those Years" including lyrics.

Li Xu's clean, slightly hoarse voice echoed throughout the theater:

"Back to square one"

Your youthful face in my memory

We finally,

This day has come…

End credits song and silence

No one got up.

No one turned on the lights.

No one even bothered to pick up the drinks placed on the armrest.

All the audience members seemed to still be immersed in the emotions of the film's final moments, or firmly held in their seats by the end credits song.

Sobbing filled the theater again.

On the screen, the credits began to roll, interspersed with behind-the-scenes photos—a funny photo of Li Xu and Jing Tian in a classroom, moments of playful fighting on set, and everyone's tear-stained faces at the wrap party…

These anecdotes, accompanied by Li Xu's clean and pure singing voice, seemed to possess a power that transcended time, precisely striking the soft corner of "missed opportunities" and "regrets" in the hearts of almost everyone present.

Silently.

Li Xu was enjoying the end of the movie on the screen when he noticed that his two hands, one on each side of the armrests of his chair, were being gently nudged.

Jing Tian glanced at Li Xu, then gently grasped Li Xu's left hand, holding it completely.

Liu Yifei, on the other hand, only gently pinched the tip of Li Xu's right hand.

"..."

This sudden "battlefield-like situation" caused all of Li Xu's original emotions to vanish in an instant.

Without making a sound, he quickly and gently pulled his fingers out of Jing Tian's and Liu Yifei's hands respectively, stood up as if nothing had happened, and said softly:

"Thank you everyone for coming to the premiere of 'You Are the Apple of My Eye.' What do you all think of it? Is it still worth watching?"

Li Xu's words jolted everyone in the theater, who had been immersed in the movie's emotions, as if waking from a dream.

"Snapped!"

The first round of applause rang out from who-knows-where, crisp and abrupt.

Then, it was as if a fuse had been lit.

"Clap clap clap clap clap!!!"

The second, the third, the tenth... the applause went from sparse to dense, finally forming a harmonious rhythm.

"good!"

"nice!"

"Director Li Xu is awesome! Ko Ching-teng and Shen Chia-yi, I absolutely love those two!"

As soon as the applause ended, cheers and shouts erupted, filling the theater with a joyful atmosphere!

Film critics, journalists, and lucky viewers alike were almost all very satisfied.

Even those who don't like this type of movie feel that at least they can watch it, so it's not like they've been fed shit.

After the movie ended.

Li Xu and several other key members of the film's production team were guided by staff to the cinema lobby to give interviews to the media.

Inside the interview room, various media outlets aimed their cameras and microphones at the entrance, and flashes went off the moment Li Xu and his entourage stepped in.

Compared to the interviews on the red carpet before the screening, the media's eyes were even more intense at this moment, because they had communicated in advance and the questions were mainly focused on the film itself and the audience's reaction.

"Director Li, how do you feel after seeing the audience's reaction? Are you confident about the film's performance after its release?"

"Jing Tian, ​​this is your first leading role in a film, and you've taken on such an important part, receiving high praise from the audience. What would you like to say now?"

"Ms. Liu Yifei, as one of the investors in this film, how do you view its potential market impact? Do you feel any regret about not playing Shen Jiayi?"

Li Xu and several other key members of the film's creative team answered questions one by one in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

A very small number of media reporters, deliberately stirring up trouble and looking for sensational topics, tried to bring up the personal relationships of Li Xu, Jing Tian, ​​and Liu Yifei, as well as previous gossip, but Li Xu directly refused to answer.

-

Friday, January 7th.

The air of early summer is filled with restlessness and anticipation.

Positive reviews about the premiere of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" are spreading online.

This film was finally released simultaneously in major cinemas across the country.

Thanks to the recent popularity of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" on the internet.

Amid the jubilant expressions of theater managers and distributors, long queues of people waiting to buy tickets appeared at many cinemas.

Tickets for cinemas in many popular commercial districts have become extremely difficult to obtain.

The next day, the Douban Movie page immediately gave it a score of 8.5.

The short comment section was also quickly flooded with comments:

"This isn't a movie; it's my high school diary."

"At the end of the wedding, I cried like a baby. Thank you Li Xujingtian, and thank you Shen Jiayi and Ke Jingteng for letting me live my seventeen-year-old self again."

"Jing Tian! I declare that she is the best candidate for Shen Jiayi! From now on, the white moonlight of the campus heroine in my novel will finally have a face!"

"The song 'Those Years' is addictive; all I can think about now is 'If we meet again, I'll hold you tight'..."

"After leaving the movie theater, I sent a text message to the boy I had a crush on in high school: Thank you for being a part of my life. He didn't reply, but I have no regrets."

On major online platforms.

The terms "You Are the Apple of My Eye," "Shen Jiayi," "Ke Jingteng," and "Li Xu in Those Years" have all become trending topics, with discussion posts appearing everywhere.

Mainstream media quickly followed up.

The headline of the culture section of the Beijing News reads: "You Are the Apple of My Eye: A phenomenal work that made those born in the 80s and 90s collectively 'pay tribute to their youth'."

The Southern Metropolis Daily film critic column wrote: "Li Xu has accomplished a brilliant dimensional reduction attack. He used the purest commercial genre film techniques to wrap the most sincere authorial expression, proving that in China, youth films can not only achieve box office success, but also gain critical acclaim and resonance."

The box office figures for "You Are the Apple of My Eye" on its opening day were finally released in the afternoon.

2000 million RMB!

What won't seem like much in a decade or two, but is absolutely outrageous in today's world!

It caused a major stir in the film and television industry in 2008!

What kind of incredible miracle is it that a youth film can recoup its total cost on its opening day?

Major film and television companies have turned their attention to the youth campus romance film genre.

It's entirely conceivable.

In the coming months, youth-themed films like "You Are the Apple of My Eye" will spring up like mushrooms after rain in theaters across the country, until the next hot film emerges.

-

On the third day, the screening rate of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" began to increase rapidly in response to market demand, jumping from 28% to 35%.

In order to make real money, major cinemas have begun to continuously reduce the screenings of other movies.

Despite the high number of screenings, the box office trend in those years, although the highest point was still 2500 million on the third Sunday of the release, was extremely slow in decline.

On the Friday following its first week of release, "You Are the Apple of My Eye" still grossed 1500 million yuan that day.

The film "You Are the Apple of My Eye" grossed a total of 1.32 million RMB in its opening week.

It unsurprisingly broke the record for the highest-grossing opening week for a domestic youth film, leaving other films far behind.

at the same time.

With the release of the movie "You Are the Apple of My Eye", the movie's theme song "You Are the Apple of My Eye" has also been making waves on various music charts and spreading throughout the streets and alleys.

QQ Space, Renren (formerly Xiaonei), blogs, forums... almost all social media platforms were flooded with statuses related to "You Are the Apple of My Eye".

Lyrics are used as signatures, status updates, and blog titles.

Movie stills, especially the eye contact between Ko Ching-teng and Shen Chia-yi, their argument in the rain, and their smiles at the wedding, have been widely shared.

Countless people posted photos of their movie ticket stubs online, accompanied by various stories of youth:

"I watched it with my best friend today, and it reminded me of my deskmate in high school."

"I secretly bought a ticket and sat diagonally behind him, just like in the movies."

"I watched it with my first love. After it ended, we walked away in silence for a long time, neither of us saying a word..."

A strange collective emotion is spreading.

Watching "You Are the Apple of My Eye" is no longer just a movie-watching experience, but a collective tribute to youth, a public remembrance and confession of the past.

It successfully transformed personal, private memories of youth into social currency that can be shared and resonate with others.