Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 325 The Wang Brothers are at a loss! Jingwen, the Movie Queen? Hao Lei appears again!

Breaking news! Huge casting scoop for "Hero"!

"Gao Yuanyuan VS Zhang Ziyi! Gong Li is partial?"

Zhang Yimou: There is no problem with the casting; please do not overinterpret it.

The headline is here!

Following the opening ceremony of the College Student Film Festival, almost every media outlet's entertainment section, along with numerous tabloids, was reporting on the casting of "Hero".

This is a melon you absolutely have to eat.

The appearance of three "Zhang Yimou girls" together at the College Student Film Festival is definitely a good thing for the festival.

This scene is highly anticipated, with everyone hoping for some big juicy gossip to emerge.

as predicted!

Although Gong Li didn't say anything too explicit, that was enough.

Neither Zhang Ziyi nor Gao Yuanyuan have expressed any opinion on this matter.

They didn't even appear in the same frame.

But this bombshell still exploded!
"So, Gao Yuanyuan stole Zhang Ziyi's role?"

"Impossible! Gao Yuanyuan simply doesn't have that ability!"

"Stop talking nonsense. You have no idea about the power of Gao Yuanyuan's backer."

"Do you guys remember? When Gao Yuanyuan debuted, there were rumors that she was actually dating a rich second-generation from Beijing."

"Then it might not be a rich kid, but..."

"Ma Xun, the young master of the capital?!"

"Holy crap! If that's the case, then everything makes sense!"

"That's right, it was Ma Xun who pulled the strings behind the scenes. This young master from Beijing has an unfathomable background!"

"You're all too young. You have no idea about Ma Xun's strength. Who in the industry would dare to offend him?"

The topic has been hotly debated online and has generated a great deal of discussion.

Moreover, it soon became not only Gao Yuanyuan and Zhang Ziyi, but also Ma Xun, whose name became very popular.

Interestingly, Douban.com became an official partner of this year's College Student Film Festival, providing full online support, including publishing real-time news, photos, information on the films being screened, information on professional judges, student judges, and so on.

But the real key is to establish a movie discussion forum.

This is to give netizens a space where they can freely express their opinions.

Of course, we should also learn from the idea in "Big Shot's Funeral" and find many hotshots to set the pace.

Douban gained popularity after its establishment, as it filled the gap in China's lack of professional film review websites.

Later, the posters for "Nightclub" were mainly posted on this website.

Of course, actually many websites post this.

However, Douban was the first to launch this service. Additionally, they've now opened a new film website creation service. In other words, if a new film wants to build its own official website, it can come to Douban and have a dedicated section created for it.

That's great, it's a perfectly good form of advertising and marketing.

Speaking of the gossip surrounding these three "Zhang Yimou girls,"...

In short, this time it's a huge hit!
But this fire... it's fire outside the film festival.

Huayi.

"Holy crap! What's going on?"

Why did Gong Li have to stir up trouble?

"It's that reporter's fault! What the hell was he asking?!"

Several business owners couldn't resist coming themselves, because this whole mess has disrupted their previous plans.

They had made all the necessary plans before the student film festival.

The goal is to steal the spotlight from "Hero" at this film festival.

But now... something's not right!

This off-screen gossip is generating way too much buzz.

The key point is, isn't this all about casting for "Hero"?
In other words, they still managed to steal the spotlight!
What to do now?
The Wang brothers were also very upset, as they had previously put in a great deal of effort to find connections.

Basically, it was all about asking for favors and begging people.

Those I know in Beijing's social circle, those I can speak with at this film festival.

The Wang brothers traveled all over the place.

As for Feng Xiaogang... he'd better not show his face.

Currently, Feng Xiaogang is only working on his latest film, "Cellphone." This film has been his focus recently, and since it's back in the Lunar New Year season, he naturally needs to speed up production.

Therefore, all the other work was done by the Wang brothers.

These two brothers are busy with the award issues surrounding "Big Shot's Funeral".

The so-called "stealing the spotlight" simply means winning awards against your rivals.

But to everyone's surprise, such a huge news story has emerged off the field!
Both of them come from advertising backgrounds, so they were perfectly certain that this was a very successful marketing case.

It may seem like a casting issue, but Zhang Yimou's new film "Hero" has already deeply resonated with audiences.

Moreover, the Wang brothers can see the data... In any case, it's currently generating a lot of buzz online.

Even though the internet can't be considered mainstream media yet, it still generates a lot of buzz and discussion.

Putting aside other things, quite a few people have already seen the other characters in this movie.

Jet Li, Tony Leung, True Bullet, and others... What a star-studded lineup!

So, isn't this a blockbuster movie?

I'm so excited! I'm really looking forward to it!

How could the Wang brothers not be angry?

But what countermeasures are available now?
"Gentlemen, if we change our tactics now, it will be too late."

The claim that Wang is the eldest son is correct; it is indeed the case.

He's doing this to reassure the troops.

Then, the second son of the Wang family said, "Let's steal the limelight! We still have a chance!"

What is this opportunity?
Zhou Zhengyi frowned. "So you mean we need to increase investment?"

Clearly, he's a seasoned veteran in the film and television industry; he understood immediately.

The so-called increase in investment means creating more scandals and generating more buzz.

But there's a problem here.

“Investing is fine, but it’s not good for us to invest a large sum of money in an old film.” Zhang Xinming understood perfectly.

"Exactly! We should promote the new movie more!"

"I agree, we must give 'Cell Phone' a prominent promotional spot!"

None of the bosses are easy to fool.

You Wang brothers want to sow discord among Ma Xun, but you can't ignore the issue of profitability.

The film we're showing at this film festival is "Big Shot's Funeral," and it's true that we're aiming for an award for this film, but it's an old movie.

Promoting a movie like this is not right!

It's clear that "Cellphone" should be heavily promoted.

The Wang brothers certainly knew this.
The contradiction lies in the fact that "Cellphone" is unlikely to steal the limelight from "Hero".

The roster is significantly weaker, and currently, it's far behind. No matter how much we invest, Ma Xun isn't stupid; they'll definitely invest as well.

Moreover, the movie "Cellphone" is supposed to be released during the Lunar New Year holiday season, so it's too early to increase investment now!
But what the investors said made sense.

The Wang brothers exchanged glances... They're just fooling us.

"Everyone, making money from 'Cell Phone' is of course important!"

"We will definitely place this film at the top of our priorities."

“We have done a lot of work before.”

"That's right, I can reveal that someone is planning to nominate Xu Jinglei as this year's Best Actress."

The two brothers worked in perfect harmony, and the bosses nodded in approval.

It has to be said, the Wang brothers are indeed quite something.

Judging from what they're saying, is this another attempt to target Xu Jinglei?

……

Time quickly passed to May 26th.

The closing ceremony of the 9th College Student Film Festival is here.

This is also an awards ceremony.

Our film festival is actually quite bizarre.

They generally don't release new films.

It's like a summary award ceremony.

We'll decide which movies were good last year and award them prizes accordingly.

Moreover, the college student film festival emphasizes allowing college students to vote.

Even so, the number of college student judges who came was not very large.

The film screenings were mainly held in the auditoriums of several universities in Beijing.

It has limitations, but it's still pretty good.

The College Student Film Festival was organized by China Film Group, so Han Sanping naturally had to attend.

He has to walk the red carpet.

The reporters, of course, wouldn't let him off the hook.

"Teacher Han, a question about 'Hero'..."

"Oh, this will be our next key project."

"Regarding casting..."

"That's their business, it's none of my concern."

As expected of a leader, that relaxed demeanor is quite impressive.

His answer... actually made him very happy.

Ma Xun is definitely good at stirring things up; no wonder he decided to release "Hero" during the summer season.

The name "Hero" is now a very popular term.

This is also true online and in many other media outlets.

Well done!

By the way, where's Ma Xun?

Han Sanping was still looking for Ma Xun, but in reality, Ma Xun had already quietly taken his seat in the awards hall.

The college student film festival, well, the awards ceremony is held in the university auditorium.

Ma Xun arrived early, and since his seat was a bit out of the way, he decided to keep a low profile.

Actually, this film festival... wasn't just about Yuanyuan!
We have two films nominated.

50 First Dates and Nightclub.

In other words, both Jingwen and Yuanyuan have a chance.

There is also "Subway to Spring".

That is, the film starring Xu Jinglei.

Honestly, Xu Jinglei, this actress, mainly acts in these kinds of art films now.

The box office wasn't great, but it had a certain prestige.

Meanwhile, Ma Xun's two films performed well at the box office.

The problem is that, in the history of the Student Film Festival, high-grossing films seem to have received little attention.

They always like to award big prizes to films that don't do well at the box office.

There's nothing we can do about it; it's about having a voice.

Ma Xun wasn't really concerned about this, since this year's main focus was on promoting "Hero".

Based on the current data, it's clear that the movie "Big Shot's Funeral" is gaining traction.

"Cellphone" is your new film.

Ma Xun understood that the Wang brothers probably wanted to cause him some trouble.

Unfortunately, you're now in a dilemma!

They're heavily promoting their new film, "Cellphone," which is a Lunar New Year release.

And recommending "Big Shot's Funeral" is an old film.

At the film festival, your film is "Big Shot's Funeral".

Hehehe... You're in a tough spot, aren't you? Serves you right!
Ma Xun has now gained the upper hand.

Just as he was about to watch the awards ceremony quietly, someone suddenly sat down next to him.

"..." He also gave her a stern look.

"Oh, long time no see." Ma Xun smiled unconsciously.

"dare you laugh!"

It's Hao Lei.

She didn't need to say anything; Ma Xun knew what she meant.

Clearly, when she was with him, Hao Lei really wanted to be the Best Actress, but she didn't get it.

And now...

Why can't I laugh?

"You deliberately?"

"No."

"Humph!"

Hao Lei wanted to hear Ma Xun's explanation.

Unfortunately, Ma Xun didn't say anything.

This disappointed Hao Lei, but she didn't have the courage to speak her mind directly.

And then, news of the award came...

"Most Popular Actress at the 9th College Student Film Festival...Alyssa Chia! 50 First Dates!"

A thunderous applause erupted, but the atmosphere between Ma Xun and Hao Lei became even more awkward.

(End of this chapter)