Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 209 Fortunately it was withdrawn

"Caoyang Bar" is now the largest bar in China, with more than 500 million members and more than 30 sign-ins every day, accounting for almost one-third of the entire forum.

In the eyes of Baidu's top management, it was a wise decision to vigorously promote the "Caoyang Bar" so much that the forum has become popular now.

The number of users and activity of Tieba are growing rapidly, and many hot topics and discussion areas are beginning to form. For example, some Tieba related to celebrities, games and interests have begun to appear and attract a large number of users to participate in the discussion.

Especially with the release date of "District 9", the traffic of "Caoyang Bar" and even the entire forum began to increase significantly, and the daily user activity and number of sign-ins also began to increase significantly.

This made Mr. Li of Baidu very glad that choosing Cao Yang as one of the targets of the third round of financing was a very wise choice.

"Cao Yang is going to be amazing. On March 3 this year, "Despicable Milk" was released, and "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" was released on November 12. It's only been more than two months, and "District " is about to be released. Three movies in one year, he is really a quick shooter."

"The OP is obviously a newbie. I checked the OP's level and found him to be a newbie. As expected, he is a newbie. As an old member of the forum, I will reluctantly introduce him to you.

"Meanwhile Milk" was launched in 02 and completed as early as February 03. It participated in the Cannes Film Festival in May and won the Palme d'Or. On February 2 this year, it won the Best Picture at the Oscars. This movie was released on March 5, more than a year later.

"Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" was completed in March this year, but for some reason, it was not released until October 3st.

It took more than ten months from the launch of the project at the beginning of the year to the preparation for release of "District 9".

To be exact, it took him nearly three years to complete his three films, but they were all released this year.”

"Compared to other directors, Cao Yang is a quick shooter. He has made six films in nearly five years since his debut in 00."

"Let's not discuss whether Cao Yang is a quick shooter or not. I guess only some actresses can know that. Haha, I'm just looking forward to his first Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster. The quality of this guy's movies is guaranteed."

"Wrong, it's not a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster, it's a sci-fi blockbuster co-produced by China and Hollywood, also called a co-production."

"Uh, upstairs, you're really serious."

"Sorry, I forgot to add the dog head, haha..."

"It will start on December 12th. It is said that this movie is also an experimental film like "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox". I look forward to Cao Yang's ability to better balance business and art."

"Same expectations. His first film, 'Nine-Tailed Demon Fox', was a little more commercial, and I hope this one can do better."

"I think it's better to be more commercial, so that the pace will be faster and more enjoyable to watch. What's the point of exploring human nature? The story is more important."

"The above poster is wrong. I think we should learn from the Europeans. Art films should look like art films. It's still pretty good to watch them as short films, you dog."

"You really should watch the uncut version of 'Meanwhile Milk', it's really explicit. Depp plays Milk, and there are many perverted scenes, and Anne Hathaway is completely exposed."

"Hathaway is so young, her hair is still pink, dog head."

"So, I am also looking forward to Cao Yang returning to a pure, pure art film, like "Despicable Milk", and it would be best if it could be on par with the Europeans."

"Hold on, let's get back to talking about District 9, or the administrators will show up."

"Maybe the administrator has already been spying on the screen..."

……

On December 12, "A World Without Thieves" held a premiere in Shanghai without showing the movie. Xiao Gangpao and several leading actors were all present, mainly to promote the movie.

Probably in order to attract attention, Shou Bing, one of the leading actors, arrived at the premiere a while after it had begun. This move caused dissatisfaction among many reporters and audiences.

Shou Bing immediately explained that she had prepared a beautiful dress and planned to meet everyone looking stunning, but suddenly found that she couldn't find her shoes.

In the end, I had to change into my usual clothes, so I was late. As I was talking, I actually burst into tears.

That was real crying, tears streaming down my face.

The little cannon turned into a flower-guarding messenger, holding Shou Bing with one hand and holding the microphone with the other, constantly comforting her.

Many people don't understand what this is. You're going to attend the premiere, and you say you can't find your shoes? Is this crazy?
Anyway, it achieved the purpose of attracting attention and was highlighted by the media.

On December 12, "A World Without Thieves" returned to Beijing to hold its premiere, and in order to promote the film, new ideas were used.

The "Love Makes the Future Charity Premiere" of "A World Without Thieves" was grandly held in the CPPCC Auditorium. Yes, the CPPCC Auditorium was also chosen for the Little Steel Cannon.

The event includes a charity dinner and a premiere screening. 600 guests will purchase admission invitations worth RMB 5000, and 500 viewers can purchase premiere tickets at RMB 800 each.

That’s right, an admission invitation costs 5000 yuan, and an ordinary premiere ticket costs 800 yuan.

The charity premiere in Beijing is full of gimmicks, and there will also be a charity auction with on-site bidding.

People of this generation are really awesome. Movie premieres are constantly being updated, from Zhang Yimou's song and dance party to Little Big Woman's charity auction premiere.

The Little Cannon also combined with Zhang Yimou's song and dance party, and invited singers including Liu Huan, Sun Nan, and Yang Sanshierlang.

The first item to be auctioned was the DV used for blackmail in the movie.

In fact, Xiao Gangpao called Cao Yang and asked him if he wanted to join in the fun.

He also knew that this highly commercial event was different from a traditional premiere, so he did not send out invitations.

If it was a traditional premiere, or even a song and dance party-style premiere like Zhang Yimou's, Cao Yang would have gone, but there was no need for this kind of auction premiere under the slogan of "charity".

Cao Yang knew the content of the premiere when he was discussing the meaning of life with Li Xiaoran a few days ago.

He also joked with Li Xiaoran, saying why not just record it with the DV so they can use it to shoot some meaningful short videos.

Who would have thought that Li Xiaoran actually recorded that DV, and when she came back she studied postures with Cao Yang... no, it was knowledge, and they shot several short videos in one night.

On December 12, "A World Without Thieves" held its premiere at Times Square in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

In order to create hype, some new tricks were used this time.

The story of this movie takes place on a westbound train. In order to highlight the film's background, the promotion of the film "A World Without Thieves" was ingenious. At noon on the 7th, an express train named "A World Without Thieves" departed from Beijing and arrived in Hong Kong at noon on the 8th. The main creative staff and dozens of reporters from mainland media followed the train to Hong Kong to launch a publicity campaign.

It can be seen that Xiao Gangpao really tried his best for this movie, using various tricks and constantly shouting the slogan that this is an experimental movie.

He even made some pointed remarks in front of the media.

"I have been making Lunar New Year films for many years, but it was not until this year that I met a real rival. Although Director Cao Yang is young, he is still very capable. We are good friends.

Because there are a limited number of movie screens in the country, theater managers have said that if we squeeze in all the movies, everyone’s box office revenue will be greatly reduced.

In fact, they are wrong. Director Cao Yang's films are science fiction films, which are different from my experimental films. We will not form a competitive relationship.

I hope that one day there will be enough theaters and screens for two or three movies to be shown together, so that I can be shown with Director Cao Yang. I hope that this year's Lunar New Year movie "A World Without Thieves" and "District 9" can fly side by side. "

Xiao Gangpao's meaning is very clear. First, he wants to tie himself and Cao Yang together as much as possible. Second, he is secretly stating that his is an experimental film, while Cao Yang's is not an experimental film, but a commercial science fiction film.

It’s quite interesting to think about.

Xiao Gangpao no longer claims to be the No. 1 in the field of commercial films, but insists that he makes experimental films, while the well-known art film director Cao Yang is said to make commercial films.

On Thursday, December 12th, "A World Without Thieves" will be released.

The box office of "A World Without Thieves" is still very strong.

In the first four days of its release, the box office exceeded 3000 million. After the first weekend, the box office continued to grow, especially in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

As of December 12, when "District 24" held its premiere, the total box office of "A World Without Thieves" had exceeded 9000 million, and it still had a box office of around 500 million on weekdays.

According to the current box office trends, many professionals, including Xiao Gangpao, believe that even if the total box office of "A World Without Thieves" does not exceed 1.5 million, it can be around million, and there is a high probability that it will exceed "House of Flying Daggers".

The little cannon was very excited.

What level of investment was involved in "House of Flying Daggers"? It was 2.8 million!
"A World Without Thieves" was only invested with 3000 million yuan, which is much more awesome than Zhang Yimou's!
At the premiere of "District 9", Xiao Gangpao's old problem came back and he started to brag to Cao Yang in the manner of a senior.

"Yoko, I'm telling you, you're still too young and your ideas are too conservative. It's a different era now, but you're still doing the same old-fashioned premiere. Look at me, I have to do something fancy and gimmicky at my premiere, otherwise how can I arouse the audience's interest?"

The little cannon patted Cao Yang's shoulder and said with a grin.

Cao Yang smiled as he watched Little Cannon bragging, then said lightly:

"I heard that the box office of A World Without Thieves is expected to be 1.5 million, which is really amazing. My movie The Fox with the Nine-Tailed only made 2.13 million, 6000 million in North America, and only 1.3 million worldwide."

After saying that, he looked at the little cannon with a smile that seemed to be fixed on his face, and continued:
"As for 'Despicable Milk', let's not talk about it. It's a foreign film, and talking about the box office is meaningless. $2.84 million worldwide is not a big deal."

You're bragging to me, little guy. Wait and take a look at your box office tomorrow. If nothing unexpected happens, "A World Without Thieves" will get around 1.5 million yuan. However, "District " will be a surprise for you.

The little cannon turned around and walked to his seat. Oh, it's boring, really boring. This bastard Cao Yang is a piece of shit. I'm teaching you how to create a gimmick with good intentions. What are you doing?
He wanted to see what kind of science fiction movie Cao Yang could make.

To be honest, I don’t really believe that domestic directors can make good science fiction films.

Including Cao Yang.

Although Cao Yang has made a name for himself, he is famous for his art films. Looking at all his movies, they all have art attributes. How is it possible that he can make a science fiction movie that is completely unrelated to art?
This is not a field, okay.

Wait for me to spray you, you bastard!
There are actually many people who hold the same idea, including Zhang Weiping, Lu Chuan and others.

Even Stephen Chow bought a ticket as soon as possible, disguised himself, and went to the cinema to see the quality of the movie.

He also didn't really believe that an art film director could make a good science fiction blockbuster, which was why he was dissatisfied with being replaced.

He always felt that he and Cao Yang could compete with each other for a while.

At the beginning of the movie, Xiao Gangpao didn't take it seriously, and was even a little disappointed. He thought Cao Yang was definitely going to fail this time. He had seen many Hollywood science fiction blockbusters, but rarely saw one shot in the form of a pseudo-documentary.

Little Cannon couldn't help thinking that maybe it was the constant success that made Cao Yang this grandson become too proud and he even wanted to innovate. But innovation is not so easy to succeed!
You can easily succeed by following the Hollywood model and routine and seriously making a Hollywood-style science fiction film about personal heroism.

Still too young.

As the plot gradually unfolds, Xiao Gangpao couldn't help but curl his lips. He is an anti-traditional protagonist, cowardly and incompetent, only able to play tricks. Such a protagonist is not likable.

Xiao Gangpao has already made a final judgment on this movie. It will definitely be a Waterloo for Cao Yang. After watching the movie, he will teach him how to make movies as a senior.

Then, as he watched, Little Cannon's expression began to become serious.

The plot takes a turn, with the protagonist turning into a half-human, half-insect monster, and it is obvious that the protagonist is transforming into an alien shrimp.

Especially during conflicts, as a human being, Little Cannon actually enjoyed the scene of the alien shrimps blowing up humans, and completely stood on the side of the alien shrimps.

Seeing the alien shrimps mourning for their companions who died in the experiment, their efforts to return to their homeland, and even their acceptance of the half-human, half-insect protagonist, Xiao Gangpao couldn't help but sigh that these alien shrimps are more human than humans.

More human than humans?

Why do I identify with them?

The little cannon was stunned for a moment, thinking about the plot carefully, and suddenly his scalp began to tingle.

This is just an art film disguised as science fiction, but it actually reflects racial discrimination and apartheid!

Another experimental film!
The connotation and metaphor of "District 9" are more intuitive, more ingenious and more artistic than those of "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox".

Looking at the whole film, even if you don’t think about the connotation, it is still a very excellent science fiction film. In other words, Cao Yang has better combined commerciality and artistry in this film.

Damn it, bah!
Then, Xiao Gangpao began to worry, would the box office of "A World Without Thieves" be affected?
Similar to the situation of Little Cannon, Zhou Xingxing was speechless for a long time after watching the movie. A thought suddenly appeared in his mind, maybe the Lunar New Year holiday is indeed not a good choice.

(End of this chapter)