Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 480: Miracle of an Unpopular Schedule
"Science Fiction World", published by Science Fiction World Magazine, is the world's largest-circulation science fiction magazine and also hosted the 91 World Science Fiction Association Annual Meeting.

The famous "The Three-Body Problem" was originally published in "Science Fiction World".

Liu Cixin had actually become famous at that time and was a famous writer of "Science Fiction World", but his influence was limited to the science fiction circle.

It became a household name only after "The Three-Body Problem" won the Hugo Award. Ao Guanhai said that he liked reading "The Three-Body Problem", and the founder of Facebook also said that he liked reading "The Three-Body Problem".

This successfully broke the circle and even made science fiction themes popular.

Before it broke out of the circle, even though it had existed for more than 20 years, science fiction was still only considered a niche genre.

It is not difficult for literary works of other themes to sell over 500,000 or even 1 million copies, but for science fiction works, sales of over 100,000 are rare.

……

Today was an ordinary day. President Qin Li was about to get off work when there was a sudden knock on the office door.

"Come in~"

The person who came in was one of his editors-in-chief, Yao Haijun, who was also Liu Cixin's editor-in-chief.

"Broken circle, broken circle, we broke the circle..."

"What broke the circle?"

Qin Li frowned when she saw that Yao Haijun, who was usually very steady, was acting weird today.

"Liu Cixin has broken the circle~"

"what happened?"

Although "breaking the circle" is a trendy term, Qin Li understands it.

In fact, "Science Fiction World" has broken the circle twice in its history.

In 95, it was the "News Broadcast" that placed the advertisement, and in 2000, it was the college entrance examination essay incident that made the magazine famous.

The consequence of breaking the circle is that the sales volume of "Science Fiction World" directly increased from the usual 30,000 to 40,000 copies to over 150,000 copies.

No wonder Yao Haijun was excited.

"Tell me in detail, what happened?"

After she listened to what Yao Haijun said, she finally understood.

The country's top director mentioned Liu Cixin's "The Wandering Earth" in an interview yesterday. "The Wandering Earth" became popular, and "Science Fiction World" also became popular.

"Now many people are looking for the episode of The Wandering Earth. Should we..."

"Contact Lao Liu immediately. We will republish his The Wandering Earth in this issue..."

……

Coal Province, Niangziguan Power Plant
Lao Liu is a junior clerk in the computer room of the Niangziguan Power Plant. His job is leisurely and his favorite thing to do is to slack off and write novels at work.

Exactly the same as many authors on Qidian.

In the computer room, everyone has an office computer, which provides convenient conditions for Lao Liu to slack off.

Colleagues in the department also know about his hobby.

Although Lao Liu was already a big name in Science Fiction World, no one in the department knew it.

The bottom line is that science fiction is too niche a genre and not many people like to read it.

Even if some people knew that he published articles in "Science Fiction World", they would think that he was just making some extra money and at most he would be praised as a cultured person, which was not a big deal.

But today is a little strange.

Someone just called Lao Liu's extension and chatted with him for a long time, saying that he wanted the film and television adaptation rights of "The Wandering Earth".

The two agreed to meet and talk after get off work.

Not long after I put down the phone, another person called in with a similar reason, wanting to get to know me and discuss the copyright issues of the work.

Lao Liu is puzzled~
When asked which work it was, the other party replied that it was "The Wandering Earth".

It's "The Wandering Earth" again~
He originally thought it was "Ball Lightning" because so far, among all his works, "Ball Lightning" has the best sales, with cumulative sales of 5 copies.

But what’s strange is that everyone is interested in "The Wandering Earth".

Just after I hung up the phone, the editor Yao Haijun called again, "Old Liu, the magazine wants to reprint your "The Wandering Earth" in this issue of "Science Fiction World". Do you have any objection?"

"Ah? Why is it The Wandering Earth again?"

"Why, you don't know yet?"

"what do you know?"

A few minutes later, after listening to Yao Haijun's description, Lao Liu finally understood the whole story.

The emotional director Zhang Chen likes to watch my work and mentioned it...

Think about yourself normally, and then think about today~
It is true that people will die if they compare themselves with others, and goods will be thrown away if they are compared with others.
Normally, no one would buy even if I offered to sell it myself, but now, as soon as someone mentioned it, the calls kept coming one after another.

But Lao Liu was also very happy, as if he was about to take off.

The film and television adaptation rights of his works have never sold well, not even for over 5.

It's not just him, other authors of "Science Fiction World" are similar.

"Old Yao, then should I not sell my film and television adaptation rights so casually? I received several calls today, all wanting to buy the adaptation rights for The Wandering Earth..."

Old Liu was at a loss for a moment, so he simply discussed it with Yao Haijun.

"Of course not. Remember, don't promise others anything casually. Just before I called you, someone from Xingchen Entertainment asked me for your contact information. They are probably also interested in The Wandering Earth. I think you should listen to their offer, but don't expect too much, because Zhang Chen also said in the interview that it is unlikely that The Wandering Earth will be made into a movie within ten years..."

When it comes to Yao Haijun, Liu Cixin also becomes worried and anxious.

In the evening, after get off work, Lao Liu came to a small restaurant not far from his workplace.

In the private room, someone was already waiting for him. He was the one who made the first call.

"Hello, my name is Zhang Fanfan~"

"Hello, I'm Liu Cixin~"

After a few pleasantries, Zhang Fanfan got straight to the point and offered a price of 100,000 yuan.

Liu Cixin said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Zhang, I can’t agree to your request for the time being, because there are several companies interested in The Wandering Earth…”

Lao Liu is just an ordinary worker, and he doesn't think much of what he says.

Zhang Fanfan's heart skipped a beat and he thought it was all over.

"I can raise the offer to two hundred thousand."

Is Liu Cixin moved? Of course he is.

When has his work ever received this price?

He is just a little Karami now, and has no idea that he will become a powerful person with sales exceeding 10 million in the future.

But in the end, he remembered what Yao Haijun said. The best destination was of course to sell it to Xingchen Entertainment.

As long as Zhang Chen finishes filming, his subsequent copyright will definitely increase in value.

Even if we don't sell it to Star Entertainment, at least we should listen to their offer.

"I'm sorry, I still can't promise you."

In the private room, Zhang Fanfan watched Liu Cixin leave, knowing in his heart that he would most likely not get the copyright.

He was a man with a sharp eye. After seeing the news about Zhang Chen, he immediately realized that this was an opportunity.

An opportunity to buy low and sell high.

In the original time and space, he bought the copyright of "The Three-Body Problem" for 10 yuan, and sold it for 1.2 million yuan a few years later, achieving financial freedom directly.

This time, the butterfly wings made a difference.

……

At the end of March, after two months of intense filming, most of the shots for Pacific Rim had been completed, leaving only some shots about the prehistoric world.

Although Honghuang is a giant beast, he was raised by Fan Xiaoyang when he was young, so it was necessary to shoot some interactions between Fan Xiaoyang and the panda at the breeding base.

Most of the actors in the crew have finished filming and left, leaving only a few leading actors.

In a few days, the crew will set off for the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center to shoot footage of Honghuang as a child.

These past two days, Zhang Chen and Guo Fan have been busy organizing the footage, packaging it and sending it in batches to the special effects company.

At this time, Chen Xiaowei called: "Boss, the giant panda breeding base has already informed us, and they have specially arranged a panda named Gun Gun to assist us in the filming..."

Zhang Chen said "hmm", and Chen Xiaowei continued: "Also, Science Fiction World magazine has sent you an invitation to visit the magazine. Are you interested?"

"Forget it, just reject them and say I'm filming a movie and can't spare the time."

Zhang Chen refused without much thought.

He could understand the meaning of what Science Fiction World did. It probably saw the hope of rising and wanted to grasp it.

But to be honest, to be fair, he is not actually a fan of "Science Fiction World".

Compared with "Science Fiction World", he prefers Qidian, which is much better than "Science Fiction World".

"Okay, I'll turn them down."

Chen Xiaowei was about to hang up the phone when Zhang Chen asked again, "Wait a minute, have you acquired the copyright for The Wandering Earth?"

"I got it. I followed your instructions and gave you 50 yuan and the film and television adaptation rights for 20 years."

Zhang Chen nodded, which was considered as helping his fellow villager.

Perhaps looking back in a dozen years, it will definitely be a huge loss.

But from now on, it was definitely a profit.

50 is already the highest in the industry and the highest bid among everyone.

Of course, the term is also the longest, which is 20 years.

"Is it really not necessary to take over the copyrights of his other works?"

Chen Xiaowei was very puzzled by Zhang Chen's actions.

Since you are optimistic about "The Wandering Earth" and are going to adapt it, his other works will surely also rise in popularity.

Why not grab it now while it's cheap.

Zhang Chen knows his own business.

Among Liu's later works, only "The Wandering Earth" was successful, while all the others failed.

He was not sure he would succeed.

Since it is a minefield, just avoid it. In the evening, because Pacific Rim was about to be finished, Sina.com arranged a text live broadcast.

With the experience from last time, Sina is fully prepared this time, and has improved a lot of details both in terms of operation and technology.

[How far has Pacific Rim been filmed? ]

Zhang Chen smiled and replied, "The filming is almost finished. After we go to the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base to shoot some scenes the day after tomorrow, the film will be finished and then enter the post-production stage..."

[Can we talk about the prehistoric times now? ]

"Haha, it still doesn't work. Please wait patiently. I think we will know when the trailer is released..."

"By the way, I'd like to make an advertisement here. In April, my low-budget science fiction film "Moon" will be released. Anyone interested can go and watch it.

I remember someone said last time that we Chinese can’t shoot space-themed films. “Moon” is a space-themed film…”

[Can science fiction films be made with a low budget? ]

Someone in the chat room expressed doubt, and Zhang Chen smiled and explained: "You will know after watching it. Moon is a science fiction film. Although it is a low-budget film, the quality is not bad..."

[It’s not good to watch. I will curse you in the next live broadcast~]

"Okay, it doesn't look good, you can scold me as you like next time~"

Zhang Chen didn't care about the other party's attitude at all.

The person on the other side of the keyboard may be a picky netizen.

This type of people generally speak unpleasantly, but they are truly supportive in their actions.

[Are you and Stephen Chow friends or enemies? I remember you scolded him before, but in the last incident with Wong Shing Yi, you sided with Star Shine? ]

Zhang Chen found this question interesting: "Zhou Xingchi and I are neither friends nor enemies.

There is no personal relationship and no cooperation.

I admire his achievements in movies as an actor, but I despise his money-hungry style as a boss.

If there is anyone in the entertainment industry who is less popular than me, it must be him~
As for the last time I stood on Xinghui's side, it was about the matter, not the person. I felt that Huang Shengyi did the wrong thing, so of course I stood on Xinghui's side.

Although Xinghui also signed a contract to sell Huang Shengyi, Huang became famous because of him after all, so he should always be grateful for his support.

Moreover, Star Shine really provides resources to promote it, and the roles assigned to it are all good.

It's understandable that Huang wanted to get out of control after becoming famous, but I despise the way he used the method of throwing dirty water on others.

If I were him, I would talk to Xinghui. If the negotiations fail, I would just file a lawsuit. But portraying myself as a weak woman and using public opinion to discredit the other party is a bit too much.

As far as I know, Huang has the support of the second generation, so she dares to be so unscrupulous.

But the irony is that even this second generation also got to know Stephen Chow through his social circle.”

Zhang Chen always speaks his mind and is not afraid of offending others.

And netizens like to hear him say this.

[You once said that King Liu is the artist with the most artistic ethics in your opinion. Do you still think so now? ]

When Zhang Chen saw this question, he already knew what the other party wanted to say.

If there is any hot event in March, it must be Zhang Chen’s live broadcast in the first half of the month, with all kinds of topics and excitement~
But in the second half of the month, no one could overshadow Yang Juanjuan's star-chasing incident.

After thirteen years of idol chasing, he finally pushed his father to suicide.

I can only say that the child is weird and the parents are weird too.

Yang Juanjuan wanted to chase stars, but she threatened to commit suicide when her parents didn't support her.

The parents are also mindless and doting. They sell their house to support their children, and they even sell their kidneys to support them.
If this isn’t weird, what is?
What’s even more bizarre is that after committing suicide, his suicide note was full of insults against King Liu.

Someone asked you to chase a star?
Then, the most bizarre thing happened. The suicide note actually asked King Liu to see his daughter again!
“I don’t know whether I should comment or not, because I can’t help but want to curse, but the dead are the greatest.

I can only say that King Liu is unlucky to have such a fan..."

I really don’t know how to comment since the person is no longer alive.

After thirteen years of idol chasing, I can truly be considered a die-hard fan.

But chasing after a star to the point of forcing his own father to commit suicide, I'm sure everyone would feel numb to this kind of fan~
Zhang Chen felt that King Liu had done enough, so he agreed to meet her and persuade her to return home. However, the female fan became more and more demanding, and her various actions were almost crazy.

After the tragedy happened, they jumped out to blame King Liu.

Fortunately, the media was not blind this time and basically supported King Liu. Even Song Zude, that big mouth, was scolding Yang Juanjuan, which made Yang Juanjuan so angry that she sued him.

"Everyone should be rational when chasing stars~"

That’s all Zhang Chen could say.

After the Yang Juanjuan incident, the word "fan" was redefined, and the word "star-chasing" was also redefined.

……

In April, the crew filmed at the Chengdu Giant Panda Base for five days and successfully completed the shoot.

There weren't many people left at the wrap party, and most of the actors had already left.

"Pacific Rim" has officially entered the post-production stage.

Also in April, the 26th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony will be held, and the new chairman of the Awards is Gordon Chan.

Gordon Chan looked at the list of participants: "Exile", "Underworld 2: The Price of Peace", "Curse of the Golden Flower", "City of Pain", "War of War", "Huo Yuanjia", "The Banquet", "Famous", "Father and Son"...

There are quite a few blockbusters, and most of the popular movies from the previous year are also there, except for the No. 1 and No. 3 box office hits of the year.

The first is "Painted Skin" and the third is "Crazy Racing".

This made him feel a little embarrassed.

Zhang Chen kept his word and really did not participate in the Academy Awards.

Both Star Entertainment and Golden Harvest, which were related to him, were absent.

Especially Golden Harvest.

The full name of the Academy Awards is the Hong Kong Film Awards Ceremony, with the prefix "Hong Kong". They may not care about mainland films, but Golden Harvest cannot ignore them.

He was once the number one in Hong Kong and swept the Academy Awards.

If Golden Harvest does not participate, the Academy Awards will not live up to its name.

But Chen Jiashang had no choice.

He asked Song Dai of Milkyway Image to mediate, but it was of no use.

Forget it, I’m quitting after this term.

He also saw the situation clearly. The future of Hong Kong films lies in the mainland. It would be of no benefit to him to offend Zhang Chen.

……

Friday, December 2007, 4

"Moon" will be released as scheduled

It was a low-budget movie, and a one-man show. Xingchen Entertainment did not hold a premiere, and it was released quietly.

The only publicity was a few notices and Zhang Chen’s live broadcast.

Due to the unpopular schedule and lack of publicity, the box office on the first day was only over 500 million, and the box office in the first weekend was 1800 million.

It ranks at the bottom among Zhang Chen’s usual works, but it is already a god-like existence among a group of movies that were not promoted during the same unpopular period.

There is really no publicity.

Not only did they not hold a premiere, there was no roadshow after the release either. Xingchen Entertainment was completely letting the film go this time.

In addition, the leading actor is a foreigner, so many people don’t even know that this is Zhang Chen’s work.

The theaters were also confused at first. They gave the film a high screening schedule simply because of Zhang Chen's reputation, and then were caught off guard by the first week's box office.

The first week box office was 1800 million, which has not been so low since Zhang Chen’s second film “The Shallows”.

Just when they were about to reduce the number of screenings, the box office showed a strange increase.

Some theater managers noticed that the reputation of this movie was extremely good.

All the reviews of the film on the Internet are positive.

[I finally understand what a low-budget science fiction film is. The script is really ingenious~]

[I said, Zhang Chen will not let us down, look forward to "Pacific Rim" ~]

[He took a low-budget movie to a new level. This is the first time I’ve seen someone shoot a science fiction movie like this~]

[The biggest nightmare of human beings is to have another identical self. The uniqueness and dignity of human beings will be destroyed. When one realizes that he is nothing but a shell, the fear goes deep into his bones.]

[The real loneliness is that others don’t even know you exist, but you always think you are among them. ]

[Clone No. 6 is decisive and resolute, while Clone No. 5 is gentle and sensitive. It can be seen that even if you are cloned, you are no longer yourself, even if the memories are the same. ]

[The true feeling of the end of the world is not some legend, but the loneliness of three people, raising a glass to the bright moon and the shadow. ]

A good review~
Originally, the box office of 1800 million in the first weekend became a laughing stock in the media, and many media outlets commented that this would be a failed film for Zhang Chen.

It's human nature to like to see big shots fall.

Then, Zhang Chen did not satisfy them, and the extremely high praise made the movie rise against the trend.

The box office in the second week reached 5200 million, more than twice that of the first week.

This shocked many theaters.

I have been working in the film industry all my life, and I have never seen such box office trends.

Is a low-budget movie with no stars and no publicity going to become a box office dark horse?
February, March and April have always been considered unpopular periods. Is this history about to be rewritten?

In the third week, it continued to maintain 4400 million.

Over 100 million in three weeks!

Shocked the industry~
A low-budget science fiction film with only one actor and shot in 20 days, shot in the unpopular month of April, yet it actually grossed million yuan at the box office?

Do you believe it?
Anyway, other film and television practitioners don’t believe it.

But you have to believe it even if you don’t want to!

The facts are before our eyes!

God of movies!

No, box office mascot!
Zhang Chen once again refreshed his status in people's minds.

Relevant practitioners reached a consensus that Zhang Chen’s films cannot be measured by common sense!
This guy has created so many miracles since he entered the industry.

(End of this chapter)