Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 308 A Net Worth of One Billion? "Heroes of Heaven and Earth" - The White-Haired Soldier of Anxi in the Tang Dynasty!

"A certain company went too far with its boasting! They got caught red-handed!"

"This is hilarious! It was all hype! How much of that box office figures are inflated?"

"Actually, this is a very clever trick. Can't you all see it? Huayi Brothers is exaggerating the box office figures for a very clear purpose: to show that 'Big Shot' is better than 'Nightclub'!"

"That's right, this trick seems simple, but it's actually quite effective and is part of the marketing strategy."

"Wait, didn't you guys notice? This time, the CEOs of both companies are publicly arguing with each other. Has it really gotten to this point?"

"Brother, this is a deal worth tens of millions!"

The last day of 2001.

The Wang brothers became a laughing stock online, with netizens making all sorts of jokes and ridicule.

These two are blatantly lying.

However, many netizens also saw a lot in it.

This is not just simple boasting.

If done well, it can really bring huge profits.

Those in the industry believe... no wonder the Wang brothers can make so much money!
So it was all a scam!
Some people felt cheated, just like the director of "Spicy Love Soup".

Actually, this movie did quite well at the box office back then.

However, its popularity was far less than that of "Party A and Party B" which aired around the same time.

This isn't just something the director made up; let's go back and look at the box office figures for those two movies.

Huh? How come they're all 30 million?!

But why is it that when it comes to the Lunar New Year film season in mainland China, we always only mention Feng Xiaogang's "The Dream Factory"?

Isn't this a little strange?
In fact, this is marketing.

However, the entertainment industry is also a cutthroat world, where only the victors and the vanquished are remembered.

Feng Xiaogang is now regarded as the king of the Lunar New Year film season.

And that one... is far less famous, at least.

This analysis shows that marketing really is effective!

However, looking back at these two movies now...

A worthy opponent?
It seems that's really the case.

Some netizens will still make comparisons.

Both "Nightclub" and "Big Shot's Funeral" are good movies.

It's perfectly fine to call it excellent.

Currently, the two films have roughly the same number of screenings.

Huayi Brothers prefers to sign many contracts with cinema chains.

Ma Xun was no less impressive.

In terms of pre-release publicity, "Nightclub" has a significant advantage.

"Big Shot's Funeral" has a superior cast.

Although both films feature Hong Kong superstars, the other roles in "Big Shot's Funeral" are stronger.

Geyou Renjia has dominated the Lunar New Year film season for many years.

His box office appeal is considerable.

One Ge You is enough to take on everyone else in "Nightclub".

Huang Bo is currently not a good match for anyone.

Given this, it seems reasonable that the two films had similar box office results.

2001 will soon pass.

The two Lunar New Year films have done a good job of celebrating the holiday.

Meanwhile, news of the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival has also come from Sanya.

The film festival has come to a close, and the awards have all been given out.

However, it mainly consists of patriotic films.

In fact, Ma Xun didn't pay much attention to the awards at this film festival this year.

Let the old guys handle it first.

He wasn't in a hurry to begin with.

After Bingbing won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress, she lost interest in the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards.

Jingwen's rise to fame this year has only just begun.

Her current situation is somewhat awkward.

Then there's Yuanyuan, who is just getting started.

"Nightclub" is the one that truly made her break out of the industry.

Therefore, Ma Xun naturally had no need to create an award for his own people.

And so, the film festival came to an end.

So far, the results have been quite good.

Sanya's media exposure has been skyrocketing lately.

I was originally planning to sell the house, and the sales volume has been quite impressive recently.

After all, it's really cheap right now.

Just like Ma Xun, owning a villa is a piece of cake for him.

In reality, Ma Xun was behind the scenes orchestrating this Lunar New Year film season.

He actually started several trends on the internet.

As for traditional media, Wang Changtian took charge of that.

After all, Enlight Media is a media company.

He really has a good network of connections in this area.

As for the final stage, Wang Changtian personally confronting the other side head-on was all part of their plan.

That's how it should be done!

Moreover, it would be the Wang brothers who would come out and speak to Wang Changtian from afar.

We've succeeded!
Because Wang Changtian was not the real boss.

Ma Xun is the real boss!

If the Wang brothers were to confront them directly, it would be tantamount to them lowering their status.

This also leads to the further conclusion that these two guys were actually quite flustered.

As for the claim that all the box office figures are 'fake'...

Actually, if you look closely, our "Nightclub" is fine!

By Sunday, it will be 30 million!

Moreover, Ma Xun had a hidden trick up his sleeve: he also arranged a lot of screenings in cinemas that had not yet been incorporated into the cinema chain system.

Simply put, not all cinemas have joined the cinema chain; there are still quite a few individually owned businesses.

If you add in those box office earnings, "Nightclub" would actually have reached 3000 million!

Therefore, Ma Xun arranged to expose this matter on the evening of the 31st.

Yes, I'll pull a reverse!
It's safe to say that the Wang brothers absolutely could not do that!
How did they manage to make up for the 500 million box office gap?

I knew these two were good at lying, but too bad for them, they've met me, Ma Xun!

Moreover, judging from the current situation, these two have made a huge fool of themselves.

Ma Xun's original purpose in making this "Nightclub" was to stir up trouble.

The task has already been completed beyond the target!

Great!
However, judging from the box office trend...

The final box office of "Nightclub" was only over 4000 million.

The possibility of breaking through to the next level is very small.

This is a very good result.

Ma Xun felt it was a pity, because in terms of the current popularity of this film, it would definitely have achieved better box office results if it weren't for "Big Shot's Funeral".

But then again, I realize that's probably how movie box office numbers are these days.

The budget for "Big Shot's Funeral" was actually only 4000 million.

Our "Nightclub" can definitely be considered a great success.

What more bikes do you want?

People should know how to be content.

Given the current situation, the outcome is predictable.

Ma Xun didn't dwell on it too much, and he didn't leave Sanya.

I might as well stay here until the Chinese New Year.

On the one hand, this place is indeed a good place for a vacation. He has been extremely busy this year and has made a lot of money.

It's not just about film and television production, but also about managing the business announcements of so many of the star actors under its management.

Like Bingbing, who became a huge star last year, she earned over 20 million yuan this year from commercial activities in addition to filming.

Ma Xun can get about 1000 million from it.

This result is already quite good.

It's really hard to say about a celebrity's business acumen.

The advertisement Jiang Wen filmed for Qinchi Wine... can only be described as the winery getting carried away at the time.

An advertisement cost ten million, but in the end, it all turned into a mess.

These days, it's really rare to see this kind of thing done in the industry.

Getting a million-dollar endorsement fee is already pretty good.

As for Ma Xun's side, the total revenue from celebrities this year is over 100 million.

That's pretty good.

Then calculate other benefits.

And the real estate associated with this film festival...

Ma Xun now says: I have a billion!
That's not bragging at all!
Looking at it this way, my strength has grown so fast!

Nobody's afraid of burning money; let's keep going.

I'd rather not think about these things anymore.

Ma Xun actually wanted to use his time in Sanya to finish writing the script for "Warriors of Heaven and Earth".

Keep in mind, this is a super big-budget production.

It's using Columbia Pictures' money. They spend US dollars to make our own Chinese films, and then all the copyrights within China belong to them.

Those outside belong to the foreigners.

Just thinking about it is awesome!
Therefore, this script must be written well.

It's quite different from the original "Warriors of Heaven and Earth".

Ma Xun recently read historical materials and discovered that he could push the boundaries back, all the way back, and then...

The An Lushan Rebellion!

This is where we're going to start!
In the past few days, Ma Xun has written a story outline and a simple skeletal outline.

They even added some meat.

Some have already been mailed to Jiang Wen.

As for his feedback...

Just as he was thinking this, guests arrived at his villa.

Ge Lumin, blonde and blue-eyed.

"Hey buddy, you're having a blast, haha..."

This guy speaks Chinese fairly well, and now he's even improved to the point of speaking with a Beijing accent.

Ma Xun laughed and said, "If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared some local specialties."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Hainan Chicken Rice!"

Ge Luming had actually heard of this thing when he was in Hong Kong, but he had never actually tried it.

It's said to be incredibly popular in Singapore.

But since it's called Hainanese chicken rice, it must have originated here.

They say that the best dishes are made with chicken from Wenchang.

Ma Xun... of course, ordered it to be delivered by the restaurant.

As a result, Ge Luming took a taste...

"Wow! That's really great!"

It must be delicious, especially the chicken and the special sauce.

However, Ma Xun prefers chicken rice, which is very fragrant.

Ge Luming immediately began to devour the food.

It's just that this Hainanese chicken rice was cheap for this foreigner!

This portion only costs ten yuan, which is already considered a markup at tourist attractions.

Look how much these foreigners are enjoying their food.

Ma Xun's main focus is on getting big results with little money.

Poor Ge Luming, she managed to raise $2000 million for Ma Xun's "Warriors of Heaven and Earth"!
Ma Xun is truly a master conman.

Now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, it's time to get down to business.

"That '50 First Dates' movie I mentioned before..."

"This is a great film, a low-budget romantic comedy with a very promising future."

"So, who are you planning to invite?"

"That hasn't been decided yet."

"My suggestion is to include Asian faces, as this will help us gain a foothold in the Asian market."

"Not bad, not bad... Hehe, I'm sure you'll get recommendations from people again."

"clever."

"Who?"

"You've heard of Li Bingbing, right?"

"Ah! She's good, very good!"

Alright, that's settled then. Ma Xun has given Li Xue an explanation.

Naturally, in the future, casting will simply involve Columbia Pictures sending Li Bingbing audition invitations, and then selecting her.

By doing this, no one can tell that this matter has anything to do with Ma Xun.

The Wang brothers naturally wouldn't notice anything.

However, Li Xue knew perfectly well who had helped the sisters.

After that, it's up to this beautiful agent to decide what to do.

If Li Xue isn't stupid, she'll definitely side with me, Ma Xun, wholeheartedly.

In this way, I am fully confident in my ability to win the open and covert struggles with the Wang brothers.

Next, Ge Luming naturally talked about the other two films.

"What's the status of 'Hero' and your 'Warriors of Heaven and Earth'?"

"Go ask Zhang Yimou."

"Haha... Just kidding, so what's the plan?"

"The filming of 'Hero' should be almost finished, but I'm still writing my script."

"Oh dear, this is so frustrating!"

"How about this, I've already mailed some to Jiang Wen, if you're in a hurry, just ask him."

"Well... I still trust you."

"Then let's wait. I can promise you here that this movie will be released no later than 2003!"

Upon hearing this, Ge Luming was overjoyed!
In Hollywood, it's quite common for a movie to take a year and a half to make.

But for a blockbuster film, taking a year or two to shoot... that's too fast!

That's incredibly efficient!
Unbelievable!

Ge Luming certainly knew that a film with a budget of 20 million US dollars would definitely be a blockbuster in China.

It's incredibly exciting that Ma Xun dared to make such a promise.

There's no need to bother them then.

"I'm going for a walk. You can rest by yourself."

Ma Xun scratched his head, wondering who this guy had learned it from.

After Ge Luming left, Ma Xun planned to continue writing screenplays.

But things didn't go as he wished.

Someone came to stop him.

"This is the last day of the year."

"What's the matter?"

"I miss you..."

Xu Qing arrived, fair and tender-looking.

Okay, this is just how she and Ma Xun usually talk.

Ma Xun smiled, of course he had no intention of writing any script.

It seems like for several years, the last day of the year was spent with this slightly chubby beauty.

It seems to have become a habit for her.

But this time it's a little different.

Just as Ma Xun was looking for the rubber armor, she stopped him.

"My parents are urging me to get back to work."

"Oh? You want to get married?"

"I... I know you don't want to get married."

"Then what do you mean?"

"How about you just give me a child?"

"No, you're from a prestigious family, is this really feasible?"

Ma Xun said this purely out of consideration for Xu Qing.

But Xu Qing didn't care about any of that now.

"They want a grandson, so I'll give him to them."

"you……"

……

The last night of 2001.

Jiang Wen chose to spend the time alone at home.

It was all because he had received a script beforehand.

Heroes of Heaven and Earth.

Of course, this is just a 'skeleton'.

But he still wanted to take a closer look.

After all, this movie cost twenty million US dollars to make.

And then he saw it...

On January 27, 756 AD, Feng Changqing's body was brought before Gao Xianzhi.

This famous general of the Tang Dynasty, having exhausted all other options, could only ask his superiors to listen to the voices of his subordinates.

Injustice! Injustice! Injustice!

Subsequently, the renowned general Geshu Han succeeded Gao Xianzhi and defended Tongguan Pass.

But the angels commanded him to send troops to fight the rebels!
Geshuhan was captured.

The An Lushan Rebellion was unstoppable!

The impact also extended to the Protectorate of the Western Regions.

A large number of elite troops from the Western Regions were drawn from the army.

Their combat strength is far inferior to what it used to be.

More than 20 years later, Guo Xin, the nephew of Guo Ziyi, who was then the military governor of Anxi, met a high monk who had returned from India.

The high monk, whose Dharma name was Wukong, returned to Chang'an and reported to the Tang Emperor that the four towns of Anxi, including Kucha, were still in the hands of our Great Tang!
Thirty years later, a small Tang army detachment crossed the desert and arrived at the city of Kucha.

The city gates opened, and the generals were revealed.

"All of them had white hair..."

As Jiang Wen watched, she burst into tears...

(End of this chapter)