The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Yang Mi was lost in thought at the dining table. Her mother called her twice before she finally came back to her senses with a soft "hmm".

"What are you thinking about instead of eating properly?" Yang Mi's mother said reproachfully to her daughter.

Yang Mi pursed her lips, looking somewhat unwilling. She glanced at her mother and then at her father before saying, "I called the director today, and he said that 'Nightclub' won't reach 3000 million at the box office, at most 2800 million. I think it's such a pity, it's just a little short."

Mr. Yang echoed his beloved daughter, saying, "Yes, it's a real pity. It made more than 2000 million less than Director Shen's previous film, 'Fame and Fortune.'"

Yang Mi's mother also comforted her daughter, saying, "That director Shen Qing is something else, how come he's already regressed in his second film?"

Yang Mi's parents were agreeing with her, but she immediately became anxious after hearing what they said. With a touch of coquettishness, she said, "Oh dear, Mom and Dad, what are you talking about? Don't think that just because the movie's box office is lower than the last one, it means the director has regressed. Actually, quite the opposite! Everyone in the industry is baffled; they can't understand how the director is so amazing!"

Upon hearing this, both Mr. and Mrs. Yang looked at their daughter with puzzled expressions.

Yang Mi simply put down her chopsticks, coughed lightly, and then said, "You guys don't know, 'Nightclub' was originally just a way to pass the time, much like how you play mahjong."

Mr. and Mrs. Yang were even more confused. How could making a movie be related to playing mahjong? Was their daughter talking nonsense?

Mrs. Yang stood up and touched her daughter's forehead.

"Oh my god, Mom, I'm not delirious! Think about it, when you're bored, you play mahjong, but what about this director? He just finished filming 'Taken,' and with nothing else to do, he wrote a script in two days, then spent over ten days preparing, over ten days filming, and over twenty days in post-production. The production budget was only 100 million, and he just threw it into the market, and the box office almost broke 3000 million! The industry is in an uproar, how did such a new genius suddenly emerge?!"

Mr. and Mrs. Yang exchanged a glance and exclaimed in admiration, "That's pretty impressive."

"Isn't that amazing?!" Yang Mi waved her hand excitedly and said, "The production cost of 'Fame and Fortune' last time was 170 million, which shocked the entire industry. This time it's even more outrageous, only 100 million, and the box office is still just as outrageous."

"Wow, that's pretty impressive."

Mr. and Mrs. Yang were genuinely moved this time.

Yang Mi nodded, saying with anticipation, "Besides, he's only 25 this year. Who knows how successful he'll become? There's so much to rely on! And he's already so powerful now, how powerful will he become in the future? How many people will want to latch onto him?!"

She seemed to be saying that others would try to curry favor with the director in the future, but what she really meant was that she herself wanted to curry favor with him, and was almost desperate to do so.

Mrs. Yang said, "Then you must keep in touch with them more often in the future."

Yang Mi pouted; there were some things she couldn't say to her mother. The entertainment industry is so realistic. If you want someone's resources, you first have to offer something of value in exchange. Otherwise, do you really think they'll just give you their resources after a few polite words and empty promises?

She never had such dreams; everything comes at a price.

However, staying in touch is definitely the right thing to do.

……

With the box office potential of "Nightclub" basically confirmed, Shen Qing shifted her focus to the promotion and distribution of "Taken" starting from the end of June.

On July 4, 13 days before the release of "Taken", the main creators of the film gathered at China Film Group for a meeting.

"Recently, theater managers and cinema managers have been paying more and more attention to 'Taken,' and have been placing more and more orders for copies. The demand has now reached 450 copies."

At the start of the meeting, Han Sanping dropped a bombshell.

Several screenings of "Taken" have been organized, and the film's reputation among theater managers and cinema managers has already spread. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been such a huge demand for 336 film prints and 162 digital prints for China Film Digital Hall. The total number of film and digital prints is approaching 500, which is an astonishing number in this day and age.

As a result, Han Sanping immediately said that the demand for film copies had increased to 450, which is an increase of 114 at once!

"How come so many have increased all at once?" Shen Qing asked curiously.

Han Sanping and Yu Dong exchanged a glance and burst into laughter. Finally, Han Sanping explained, "It's because the managers of theater chains and cinemas are all having more and more confidence in you, Shen Qing. A million yuan to produce a low-budget comedy? I said, how can you be so stingy? A million yuan for a theatrical film? But not only did you make it, you almost made 30 million yuan at the box office! It's a joke!"

Fan Bingbing, standing next to Shen Qing, turned to look at her, feeling somewhat fortunate that she had taken on the role in "Taken".

Shen Qing just smiled.

Han Sanping continued, "Nightclub greatly increased your fame, both within the industry and among audiences. The better Nightclub was received, the greater the demand for Taken. Nightclub made you a fortune, and the 'GG effect' was very obvious. Where can other filmmakers complain?"

Shen Qing laughed and said, "Actually, I didn't think that much about filming 'Nightclub,' I just couldn't stay idle."

Han Sanping said, "What's amazing about this is that they didn't think too much about it. Some netizens said: Shen Qing made a movie out of nothing, and this movie is very likely to be among the top five domestic films of the year. Other directors put in a lot of effort to make a movie, and they end up with a box office that's just like a joke."

Shen Qing laughed and said, "This netizen is too kind to me."

Han Sanping said, "There's also good news: the release of 'Seven Swords' has been postponed by 10 days."

"Seven Swords?"

Shen Qing was a little incredulous: "I'm that intimidating? Surely not?"

"Seven Swords" is a film by Tsui Hark, starring a host of stars including Li Ming, Donnie Yen, Lu Yi, Zhang Jingchu, and Sun Honglei, with action direction by Liu Jialiang and an investment of HK$140 million. It is a film that avoids the spotlight of Shen Qing's "Taken".

Han Sanping said, "It does have something to do with you, but not that much. The reason for the delay is twofold. First, the popularity of your film 'Taken' is getting higher and higher, and the production company doesn't want to suffer losses for both sides. Second, the film received terrible reviews at internal screenings. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was met with a flood of negative feedback. When the situation was reported to the distributor, they were in a dilemma and under increasing pressure. After several days of meetings and discussions, they finally decided to delay the release by 10 days."

Yu Dong laughed and said, "With the release date of 'Seven Swords' postponed by 10 days and no new blockbusters being released within 22 days of 'Taken's' release, 'Taken' is practically monopolizing the summer season."

"There's no such thing as a summer blockbuster exclusive. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is fighting tooth and nail in the box office right now!" Shen Qing couldn't help but retort.

Yu Dong laughed and said, "Don't pretend you're innocent after getting a good deal. The movie was originally scheduled to be released on July 8th. It was only through Mr. Han's coordination that the other party was able to release it a week earlier. Otherwise, with similar movies like 'Taken' and 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' being released one after the other, it would have been a fight to the death."

Shen Qing quickly looked at Han Sanping and said sincerely, "Thank you, President Han."

Han Sanping nodded and said, "Although it was released a week earlier, its impact on 'Taken' should not be underestimated. It has been showing for 3 days and has accumulated 1700 million yuan in box office revenue, which is quite good."