Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 415 Mutual sabotage! Li Hong? Is that you?
Beijing, Huayi Advertising Company.

"What? Where did you find it?"

"Hong Kong, a young, unofficial model."

"Using a nobody model to play the female lead in 'The Lotus Lantern'? Has Ma Xun gone mad?"

"Haha... I guess this guy has been forced into a corner!"

"Yes, that's very possible, hahaha..."

"Then, let's use this amateur model..."

"No, no, even if they are amateur models, we can't bring them up in public to criticize them. The modeling industry may be chaotic, but if we bring it up like this, we'll offend a lot of people."

"Makes sense."

"You can't criticize them openly, so you spread the rumors behind their backs."

"High! It's really high!"

"Moreover, we cannot show our faces."

"What should I do?"

"Don't worry, someone will definitely come forward to address this."

"Oh, I get it."

When the Wang brothers heard about the casting for "The Lotus Lantern," they thought they were in the game again.

The main issue is that neither of them had really heard of Wen Yongshan.

I asked my friends in Hong Kong, and all I got was the term "newly emerging wild model."

The term "wild model" is, frankly, a bit of an exaggeration. The more accurate term would be "part-time model."

But this line of work... well, it's best not to go into details.

It must be acknowledged that there are indeed those who remain untainted by the mud, but the public certainly has their own opinions about the modeling industry.

In this way, the Wang brothers would have a new weapon.

But neither of them is stupid.

Knowing they couldn't go too far, they also didn't want to say anything themselves.

Because that would really offend people.

Although the public has opinions about the modeling industry, many newcomers in the film and television industry originally came from the modeling industry.

The Wang brothers lost Wang Jinghua, and they need new talent, so they naturally don't want to offend that circle.

But these two guys are really cunning.

They don't show up themselves; instead, they send others to do it.

This "other person" actually refers to someone from the Beijing elite circle.

How can we get them to step in?

It's very simple. The female lead in "The Lotus Lantern" was played by a young girl from Hong Kong.

This matter can be resolved simply by adding some embellishments.

A simple 'crime' is enough.

This is a major CCTV production, and you're using Hong Kong child stars?
What will happen to our child stars in Beijing's entertainment circle?!

The Wang brothers believe that things are about to get interesting.

Of course, they have more tricks up their sleeves than just that.

"Brother, Boss Zhang is here."

"Okay, please come in quickly."

Zhang Xinming, this coal mine owner, certainly didn't come here to discuss coal mining technology.

"My two bosses, it's been a long time, haha..."

"Please have a seat, Mr. Zhang."

"Mr. Zhang is here to discuss the movie '2046', right?"

"exactly."

The fact that the eldest and second eldest brothers were so polite and spoke up first put Zhang Xinming at ease.

To be honest, investing in "2046" was somewhat impulsive at the time.

At that time, I was listening to Ma Xun, and I also saw that Wong Kar-wai was a director, a very famous director.

On impulse, I invested, but only after asking around did I understand why.

This Wong Kar-wai movie might be good, but it's a huge rip-off for investors.

Movies are often given "probably good" ratings because not every film he makes is reliable; some are just so-so.

Overall, Wong Kar-wai is a reliable director, better than many others.

Therefore, it's not advisable to cause trouble for Ma Xun in this matter.

Zhang Xinming felt like he had been tricked, but there was nothing he could do about the person who tricked him.

Regardless, filming for "2046" is now complete, and it can now enter the promotion and distribution phase.

So Zhang Xinming went to find the Wang brothers.

Let's all take a look.

The second son of the Wang family spoke first, "I heard that Director Wang plans to send this film to Cannes?"

“That’s right, I’ve heard about it too,” the eldest brother added.

Zhang Xinming nodded in agreement. "That's what Director Wang meant, but I was thinking, what if this movie were shown at a college student film festival? After all, it's going to be released here in mainland China."

Why have we already attended Cannes and then the Student Film Festival?

Is this a case of the College Student Film Festival going astray, or has Mr. Zhang gone mad?

No, the College Student Film Festival wasn't a scam, and Mr. Zhang wasn't stupid either.

The Wang brothers understood immediately, because this was a "worst-case scenario".

Since Mr. Zhang did it on purpose, the Wang brothers should offer him a "best strategy".

The two brothers exchanged glances.

"Mr. Zhang, what was the original release date for '2046'?"

"August."

"National Day film season?"

"Yes."

"Oh, judging from this film, the National Day release date is somewhat inappropriate."

"That's what I think too."

Alright, now that we've talked this far, I understand everything. Mr. Zhang feels that the National Day holiday period isn't a good time to release films.

Actually, it's not that the release date was bad, but rather that the film "2046" itself isn't a patriotic film, so releasing it during this period was rather awkward.

The reason it was scheduled for this time slot... it wasn't a scheduling arrangement at all, it was simply squeezed in here.

Mr. Zhang was using a different tactic to express his dissatisfaction and also to express his need for the Wang brothers' help.

The Wang brothers do indeed have considerable influence regarding this matter.

They have a very good relationship with domestic cinema chains; after all, they were the ones who started the Lunar New Year film season.

This is why China Film Group and Han Sanping had to talk to them before finalizing the release date.

And so... the Wang brothers came up with their plan!
"This film, '2046,' was in Cannes..."

"I think we're sure to win the award."

"And if we win an award, it will definitely cause a wave of public discussion."

"We should seize this opportunity! Strike while the iron is hot!"

"That's right, considering the Cannes Film Festival is held in May..."

"It will be released in June!"

"That's right, that's right."

Good heavens, the Wang brothers were working in perfect unison, leaving Zhang Xinming, the boss, no chance to even get a word in edgewise.

But there's no need to interrupt; look at Mr. Zhang's face now, he's smiling very happily.

This arrangement is good.

June is, after all, the summer movie season.

The summer movie season is a great time for young couples to watch movies together.

Although "2046" is advertised as a science fiction film, it is actually more of a romance film.

Well, actually, Mr. Zhang didn't understand it at all.

Ahem... This can't be blamed on Mr. Zhang. It's really not easy to understand Wong Kar-wai's films.

But it's still better than releasing during the National Day holiday. Mr. Zhang was so satisfied that his smile was clearly visible.

Clearly, the Wang brothers' deception was very successful.

These two are really ruthless.

The inclusion of "2046" in the summer blockbuster season, regardless of its success or failure, will undoubtedly have some impact on other films released during the summer.

In other words, "House of Flying Daggers" and "Kung Fu Hustle" are definitely under pressure.

These two brothers are indeed quite shrewd, but it's tough on Boss Zhang.

After being fooled by Ma Xun, he was fooled by these two brothers.

Little did the two brothers know that Ma Xun had also prepared an unexpected surprise for them.

……

"Ning Hao, tell me the truth, how fast can it be filmed at the earliest?"

"Then we'll finish filming in one month, do post-production in two months, and then get it approved."

"Can you really be that fast?"

"No, boss, there's still preparation time, isn't there?"

"So how much preparation time do you plan to take?"

"Boss, why are you in such a hurry?"

"Just tell me exactly how fast you are."

"Then I'll definitely be quick! Absolutely super quick! But, the preparation process includes project approval and finding actors..."

"Give me the project approval; we'll find the actors together."

"No problem! ...But boss, let me ask you, what release date do you plan to put my new film on?"

How are the Lunar New Year film seasons going?

"Oh, my good boss! You should have said so earlier! There's definitely no problem! There are still six months to go."

"Six months, that's right, but if you keep thinking you have six months, then..."

"Boss, just wait and see!"

Having acquired the film "Crazy Stone," Ma naturally intends to make good use of it.

Let's go with the Lunar New Year films.

The goal is simple: to prevent the Wang brothers' "A World Without Thieves" from having an easy time.

Anyway, those two will definitely cause trouble for me, Ma Xun.

Then I might as well cause some trouble for them too.

In short, we can't afford to suffer a loss.

This time, it's not just about causing trouble.

The movie "Crazy Stone" has indeed been criticized by many people for plagiarizing Guy Ritchie's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels".

To be precise, it can only be described as something to learn from.

This problem certainly exists, but when we watch a film, we should still focus on the key parts.

In other words, Crazy Stone is definitely a great film overall.

It's hilarious, down-to-earth, and there's also a crucial question.

That is, the film was originally delayed.

Ma Xun remembers clearly that the movie "Crazy Stone" did make money, but not a lot of money.

When it was first released, no one expected it to be such a success.

Many promotional efforts and film scheduling were not kept up.

Especially this scheduling.

It seems that during its first week of release, the number of screenings was very small, only a little over one million.

However, the occupancy rate is very high, and the reputation is quite good.

They only made a comeback after that.

The film ultimately only grossed over 3700 million yuan at the box office.

Ma Xun couldn't remember whether it reached 3800 million or not.

Although this box office result was still a huge profit, since Andy Lau only gave Ning Hao 300 million back then.

There are only so many rising stars in Asia.

The box office revenue has already increased tenfold, plus the various copyright revenues that followed.

It's worth noting that this film later became quite popular on streaming platforms.

Andy Lau actually earned at least ten times his initial investment from this film.

But still, there aren't enough!
Now that it's in Ma Xun's hands, how can this film only have a box office of over 3700 million?
If that's all... wouldn't that be a failure for me, Ma Xun?
We absolutely have to make a good move!
The key to this box office issue lies in...

In the original timeline, Ning Hao was completely unknown before this movie.

Nobody knows anything about his book, "Incense".

Now, Ma Xun is going to play a completely new mode.

He plans to groom Ning Hao.

So, this is his routine.

The film "Incense" will be released in June!
That's right, they've also made it into the summer movie season.

However, the film "Incense" will follow the same path as "Crazy Stone".

This is strange... but actually it's not strange at all.

This is the only way to let more people know about Ning Hao.

To put it bluntly, if "Incense" could follow the same path as "Crazy Stone" from the original timeline, and continue in this forward sequence...

Isn't the "Crazy Stone" in this timeline equivalent to the "Crazy Racer" in the original timeline?

It might be a bit messy.

But it's not actually chaotic.

Ma Xun is confident that our current version of "Crazy Stone" will not have the same awkward situation as the original timeline.

This box office is absolutely going to be a huge hit!
Therefore, we must race against time.

Although there are still six months left, we need to speed things up in all aspects.

So Ma Xun simply took the script and other things with him.

The project has been approved.

The project approval process wasn't actually that difficult.

Ma Xun was very confident; it all depended on how quickly the bureau could act.

As for other things... Ma Xun still has to go to CCTV.

He'll definitely be appearing on CCTV more often these days.

After all, the story of "The Lotus Lantern" is quite complicated.

He just didn't expect that his trip to CCTV would lead to a small accident.

Ma Xun parked his car outside; after all, he was an outsider.

On the way to CCTV, someone ahead of them suddenly twisted their ankle.

From behind, she appears to be an ordinary woman dressed in business attire, and her high heels are quite simple and unadorned.

But perhaps by accident, there might be stones or cracks in the road.

He sprained his ankle.

There's no longer a question of whether or not to help someone up.

Ma Xun went over to offer his help.

result……

"Li Hong?"

As soon as Ma Xun saw the man's face, he couldn't help but call out his name.

"You are..." But they really didn't know Ma Xun.

How to do?
Fortunately, he was quick-witted.

"I've seen programs on Jilin TV before. You were the host of that program, what was it again...?"

That's right, it's Li Hong.

But right now, they really need help.

My high heels broke, and my stockings are all ripped...

(End of this chapter)