Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 434: Can't Leave
"Aftershock" is still in preparation and has not yet started filming, so Gao Yuanyuan is temporarily free and happens to be in Beijing.

Cao Yang went to her place tonight.

She turned her head and gently bit the corner of her lip.

Eyes as charming as silk.

Pityful.

Cao Yang, a world-class director, gave Gao Yuanyuan some pointers on her acting. The two had an in-depth discussion on acting techniques, and Cao Yang was very satisfied with her performance.

……

The two quickly washed up.

"You're so mean. I've already done that much, and you're still doing that. I feel like I'm falling apart."

Gao Yuanyuan's complaints sounded weak and powerless, yet they were full of strength.

Any man would feel empowered upon hearing such words.

"Haha, it's been so long since I've seen you, I missed you. Aren't you happy too? You almost turned into a soprano just now."

Cao Yang was also very happy and hugged Gao Yuanyuan.

"Hmph, all you do is bully me."

Gao Yuanyuan pretended to be angry, wrinkled her nose in displeasure, and said:
"I finally managed to make a big-budget film with a popular theme and so many stars in it, but after only a week in theaters, it ran into your 'Batman,' which halved the box office."

She was referring to "Red Cliff," which was released on July 10th.

Despite opposition from China Film Group, the film did not cast Kurosawa Chiling, but instead chose Gao Yuanyuan to play Xiao Qiao.

However, although the actors changed and some of the improvised lines were not shown, the overall framework and content of the film remained largely unchanged.

When the movie was first released, audiences were drawn to the popular Three Kingdoms theme by the renowned director, the all-star cast, and the massive investment, flocking to the cinemas.

Therefore, the film's early box office performance was excellent.

The film's producers announced that it grossed 3100 million yuan on its opening day, breaking the record for the highest-grossing opening day for a Chinese film.

With 120 million yuan in its first four days, it broke the record for the highest-grossing opening week for a Chinese film, and even raised the record by more than 30 million yuan. The previous record was held by "Assembly," starring Cao Yang and Xiao Gangpao, which grossed 88 million yuan in its first four days.

According to Cao Yang, the box office figures released by the film's producers for the first day and the first week are somewhat inflated. This is common at this time, as producers tend to inflate the box office figures to attract audiences to theaters.

However, perhaps due to Gao Yuanyuan's involvement, "Red Cliff" did indeed have higher box office revenue than the original film. Even if the production company didn't inflate the figures, it still surpassed "Assembly".

So overall, since it broke the record for Chinese-language films, the production company probably didn't inflate the figures too much—the opening day box office was over 2900 million yuan, and the box office for the first four days was 1.14 million yuan.

When the box office figures for the first four days came out, the actors and the production company were very excited. Although there was a lot of criticism online, the box office figures for the first four days did not drop significantly, and everyone felt that the project was a sure thing.

However, the truth is that as word-of-mouth spread, mainly negative word-of-mouth, the box office began to plummet from the fifth day onwards.

Most viewers who watched it had opinions, and some were even angry.

First there was "Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Gang Wars," and now a great director like John Woo has produced such a childish and idiotic "Red Cliff"!
The film's producers initially didn't pay much attention to the precipitous drop in box office revenue starting from the fifth day, assuming it was just due to weekdays. They thought the box office was decent and that as long as it held steady, it would definitely explode by the weekend.

The key issue is that they failed to stabilize the situation.

With consecutive weekday price drops, coupled with the release of "The Dark Knight," a film starring Cao Yang and Christopher Nolan, on Friday, how could the production company and director sit still?

John Woo quickly gave an interview, in which he claimed that his original intention in making "Red Cliff" was to make a film with the themes of universal love and peace, a film about fighting for peace...

This is an anti-war movie... The bad reviews online are definitely due to someone deliberately giving it negative ratings.

what?
This interview left both those who had seen the movie and those who hadn't confused.

Is Red Cliff an anti-war film?

You made a movie about the Three Kingdoms primarily for peace and anti-war purposes?
You're telling me you made a movie about the Three Kingdoms period 1,800 years ago to protest war?

In the movie, Cao Cao becomes interested in Xiao Qiao, even drawing her portrait and becoming obsessed with her. Because of this, he wants to attack Eastern Wu.

So, is the theme of the movie anti-war?

Viewers who saw the movie felt like they didn't have enough brain cells, and even felt like their IQ was being rubbed into the ground.

Viewers who haven't seen the movie might think, "What's the point of watching a Three Kingdoms movie if it's themed around anti-war? It's the Three Kingdoms period, an era of heroes!"

You could have filmed it as a war for unification, or even lowered the tone to say it was a war for survival or for dignity, but you're telling me it's a war for peace?

After John Woo's remarks about "anti-war films" and "fighting for peace" were released, the box office... dropped even further.

When the film grossed 1.2 million yuan in its opening weekend, the industry was in an uproar. People thought that John Woo, who was once a very popular director in Hollywood, deserved to have his film "Red Cliff" gross at least 4.5 million yuan.

He might even break the 5 million mark, and perhaps become the second director after Cao Yang to have a box office exceeding 5 million in mainland China.

"The Dark Knight" will be released on Friday.

Nowadays, the same release window in China can accommodate two blockbuster movies, especially during the summer season. It's rare for one movie to become a huge hit and then siphon off the box office revenue of other movies.

"Red Cliff" was hoping for a comeback this weekend, after all, it's only the second weekend.

To everyone's surprise, even weekend box office numbers plummeted.

The reason for this is quite simple.

First, the audience didn't buy it. A movie called "Red Cliff" was actually split into two parts, and the filming was too childish and lacked any sincerity.

Secondly, "The Dark Knight" grossed 1.02 million yuan over the weekend, a momentum even stronger than that of "Red Cliff" when it was first released.

This led to the declining box office performance of "Red Cliff".

Yesterday, "Red Cliff" officially ended its theatrical run.

The box office figures also changed from the industry's previous prediction of reaching 5 million yuan to a total box office of only 2.2 million yuan.

This is also what Gao Yuanyuan said: the box office of "Red Cliff" was more than halved by "The Batman".

"The plot of 'Red Cliff' is unreliable, with all that bullshit reasoning like 'for Xiao Qiao' and 'for peace.' Can you blame me for the poor box office performance?"

Cao Yang defended himself.

Of course, the release of "The Batman" also played a role; if it hadn't coincided with the release of "The Batman," "Red Cliff" would definitely have had a much better box office performance.

"Since you knew the plot was unreliable, why didn't you stop me when I asked you if you wanted to take this movie? Don't you know that many people online were also criticizing me, saying what kind of garbage I acted in..."

Gao Yuanyuan said with a wronged expression.

"Why didn't I stop it? I remember Dong Xuan asked me first, and I said that Taiwanese people from Hong Kong can't make good historical dramas. A few days later you asked me again, and I told you the same thing: Hong Kong, Hong Kong..."

As Cao Yang spoke, his voice grew softer and softer.

He finally realized what he had said.

Gao Yuanyuan's eyes widened as she looked away from her daze.

She realized what was happening at that moment.

I was so angry.

Don't be fooled by this short sentence; it contains a lot of information.

The production team of "Red Cliff" actually approached Dong Xuan first, but that wretched woman Dong Xuan refused, so they approached me instead!
In what way am I inferior to Dong Xuan?

The film that won me the Best Actress award at Cannes, "Secret Sunshine," featured Dong Xuan as a minor character, a clothing store owner!
In other words, when I became the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress, she was just an extra!
She's not even qualified to be a major supporting actress for me! Yes, she won Best Actress at one of the three major European film festivals for "Black Swan," but that was a "worthless" Venice Film Festival Best Actress award. How can that be compared to my Cannes Best Actress award?

She became one of the Four Great Qingyi Actresses, but she was ranked last.

I'm actually one of the highest-paid actresses among the four leading ladies of the Qingyi family...

That damned Li Ernai!

At this moment, she began to curse Li Xiaoran in her heart again, because in the film industry, Li Xiaoran's salary was no less than hers.

However, I am one of the Four Great Actresses, including those two so-called Hollywood bastards. I have the highest endorsement fees among female stars from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. No one has an endorsement fee higher than mine!

Why did the "Red Cliff" production team approach Dong Xuan first, instead of someone as famous as me?

"Is it because Dong Xuan's salary is low that the production company approached her first?"

Gao Yuanyuan said "fiercely," seemingly very dissatisfied that the production team had approached Dong Xuan first.

Cao Yang was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

"You're absolutely right, you're so smart, darling. 'Red Cliff' had such a huge budget..."

Pshaw, shouldn't a company with such a large investment have chosen someone with a bigger reputation like Gao Yuanyuan?

Cao Yang swallowed hard and quickly told himself not to panic and to stay calm.

"Red Cliff had such a huge investment, so many people, so many crew members... most of the money definitely had to go into props. Yes, Red Cliff built so many ships and constructed so many sets, so the money left for the actors' salaries was..."

With so many big stars invited to "Red Cliff", surely they wouldn't care about the slight difference in pay between Dong Xuan and Gao Yuanyuan?
Sigh, whatever, let's just keep rambling like this.

"Therefore, the production team will definitely give priority to Dong Xuan, who has a lower salary."

call……

Cao Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Honey, Minister Zhang from the Beijing Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies Department has invited me to bed tomorrow. Go to sleep early. Don't worry, 'Red Cliff' won't do, but 'Aftershock' is a good movie. You should act well; it's a great film."

"Yes, yes, I must perform well and let those fans who criticize me see my true strength."

Gao Yuanyuan nodded and said with a gentle smile, "You have things to do tomorrow, let's go to bed early."

In the stillness of the night, Gao Yuanyuan opened her eyes as she listened to Cao Yang's soft and even breathing, and quietly looked at Cao Yang who was so close to her.

How could she not understand the meaning behind Cao Yang's words?
However, everyone here is a person of status. As one of the four great actresses and the most popular actress in China, how would she have handled the situation if she had really exposed him?

As the most popular of the four leading actresses and one of the top actresses in China, doesn't she have any self-respect?

Are we really going to have to resort to issuing an ultimatum?

Or perhaps he left Cao Yang because of this?

Gao Yuanyuan's eyes were red and brimming with tears.

She reached out, wanting to gently stroke Cao Yang's face, but stopped just before she could touch him.

She was afraid of waking Cao Yang. Cao Yang was at his most gentle when he was asleep, and he was the only one who belonged to her. She could never leave Cao Yang, not in this lifetime!

Dong Xuan...

Li Ernai...

You just wait, you shameless slut, daring to steal my man! Starting tomorrow, I'll be taking your movie roles and your endorsements!

In short, I want to seize all your resources.

Even if we can't snatch it, we'll still make sure you get your film salaries and endorsement fees!

At this moment, Gao Yuanyuan decided to stop being a lazy bum like before and become a powerful woman who could succeed in both the legal and illegal worlds... no, she wanted to become a strong woman who was no longer a lazy bum.

……

"Director Cao, come, sit down."

Zhang Heping welcomed Cao Yang in.

He organized today's dinner party, but the place to eat is the small canteen of the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

Zhang Heping was the director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. At the time, he was also the vice chairman of the Beijing Consultative Conference.

In January of this year, he stepped down and became the director of the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

However, he still holds the position of Minister of the Olympic Games Affairs Department.

In the domestic film and television industry, he is also a renowned top planner and screenwriter.

He has planned and organized the creation of TV series such as "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo" and "Addiction", as well as films such as "Leaving Lei Feng's Days", "Be There or Be Square", "Zhang Side" and "The Ballad of Yunshui".

Cao Yang followed Zhang Heping in and unexpectedly saw Zhao Shi, the deputy director of the Optoelectronics Department, and Wang Xingdong, a student from the class of '78 at Beijing Film Academy.

Wang Xingdong is a graduate of the 78 screenwriting class at the Beijing Film Academy and is now a very famous screenwriter in China.

He may not be very famous in commercial films, but he is mainly good at patriotic films.

He has written screenplays for many films, such as "Kong Fansen", "Leaving Lei Feng's Days", and "Judge Mom".

"Director Cao is here."

"Junior Brother is here."

Zhao Shi and Wang Xingdong both stood up and greeted each other with smiles.

Now, almost everyone from the class of '78, regardless of their major, calls Cao Yang "junior brother".

The reason is that although Teacher Situ was in charge of the directing class, he also taught them classes. They often had classes in a large classroom. Teacher Situ was also their teacher, his last disciple, and their junior brother at the time.

"Director Zhao, senior brother."

Cao Yang greeted him with a smile, "Am I late?"

Actually, he arrived fifteen minutes early as agreed, but he didn't expect the others to arrive even earlier.

"No, we arrived earlier."

Zhao Shi said with a smile.

"Sit down, everyone. Don't be shy. There are only four of us here today. Let's eat and talk."

Zhang Heping instructed the canteen to serve the dishes.

Since the individuals had different backgrounds, they chose to have a simple meal together in the small canteen of the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

Everyone chatted while eating.

Zhang Heping was the one who was explaining, while Director Zhao and Wang Xingdong added their comments, and only then did Cao Yang understand what was going on.

Simply put, next year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and Zhang Heping, who was serving as the vice chairman of the Beijing Consultative Conference earlier this year, wanted to shoot a tribute film.

At the time, I was hesitant about whether to adapt it into a TV series or a movie.

After deciding to make the movie, some people discussed it and realized that Cao Yang was still indispensable, so they invited him here.

(End of this chapter)