Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 507: Chen Guofu, the Used Servant, is Killed! Yang Rong, a Bystander, Becomes an International Film Queen!
"Silk has had a strong opening at the box office! We look forward to its future performance!"

"Silk box office collapse! Star-studded cast can't mask the failure!"

Sometimes things are just that bizarre.

The movie "Silk" is still showing in theaters, and it will be released in Hong Kong after Taiwan.

However, they all encountered almost the exact same problem.

They started strong, but collapsed within a few days.

This creates a very awkward situation.

Public opinion is clashing!

The newspapers have just published good news, praising the film's outstanding box office performance.

But before the news had even died down, newspapers were already criticizing it.

They criticized the movie for its box office failure.

This is just unbelievable; it's both funny and absurd.

Of course, those familiar with this industry will understand that the hype is part of the publicity.

Before any movie is released, the distributor always needs to "communicate" with the media, and they'll probably have to give the reporters some "red envelopes" (bribes).

We need to write some good news, right?

Media reporters also know that this is what they should do; they have to photograph celebrities and various events.

To give a shout-out is just part of the job.

And criticizing is also part of the job.

There's nothing we can do; your film's box office really did collapse within just a few days.

The main reason is quite obvious; anyone who knows a little about movies can probably tell.

I really don't know what this movie is trying to express.

With such conflicting public opinion, movie fans are naturally even less likely to accept it.

As time went on, the cinemas were indeed unable to sustain themselves.

The number of screenings is being continuously reduced.

Silk's fate is sealed!

Chen Guofu was a smart man, so he simply went north to the capital.

Huayi is now a completely different place, and Boss Wang already knew the outcome long ago.

Upon seeing Chen Guofu arrive, Boss Wang looked dejected.

"Is this the end?"

"There should be some other methods in the future."

Wang Laoda knew that Chen Guofu's answer was somewhat perfunctory, but now...

"You can't fool me anymore. Now it's Boss Jia's turn to call the shots."

Wang Laoda's words were truly impressive, and Chen Guofu couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.

But at this very moment, it truly was as if speaking of the devil himself had appeared.

"Mr. Chen, what exactly is the situation with the 'Silk' project?"

Jia Yueting arrived, and he was very direct.

That's the style of internet companies, so let's be frank about it.

Knowing he couldn't get away with it, Chen Guofu had no choice but to tell the truth.

"Regarding the box office performance of 'Silk,' it has indeed encountered setbacks, but it performed very well at the beginning, so breaking even shouldn't be a problem..."

Goodness, this is quite different from what I told Boss Wang.

Upon hearing this, Jia Yueting's expression changed. "Failure is failure! Did you think I didn't know?"

Chen Guofu felt a sudden tightness in his chest; he knew he was likely about to lose power.

Jia Yueting continued, "I have learned about the situation of the film 'Silk' through many channels, and the film has many problems."

One of them is stacking stars.

Despite the seemingly impressive cast, they insist on casting famous actors for every Tom, Dick, and Harry character.

This clearly adds to the film's dragging pace!

This……

To be fair, what Jia Yueting said makes a lot of sense.

This is actually easy to understand. In a movie, if there are a lot of important characters, that is, a lot of famous big stars.

So, this movie is very likely to be bad!

The reason is quite simple: movies, after all, tell stories, and stories always have main characters and supporting characters.

Back then, teachers Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao gave us a vivid lesson on the difference between protagonists and supporting characters.

If a supporting actor tries to steal the show, things can get chaotic.

In other words, if they are all big stars, shouldn't the director and screenwriter take them into consideration?

If neither of them is good, then they just give you two shots to get rid of you, right?

Let alone giving each supporting character an extra minute or two of screen time, even with a very good script, if each supporting character gets just one more shot, the final product will be... doomed to be terrible!

The most basic thing is that the movie's runtime has increased, while theaters actually prefer 90-minute movies. So, with the runtime increased, and so many big stars costing a lot of money to be hired, they can't just cut the movies they've already filmed, can they?
So, this movie might have to be split into two parts.

The full version of the movie "Silk" is 120 minutes long, which is already after a lot of scenes have been cut, so there was no chance to compress it any further.

It even caused Barbie Hsu to quickly go offline.

Unfortunately, it still didn't work; the movie's story was too bloated.

It's important to know that Silk is neither the first nor the last film to do this.

Jia Yueting's words do make sense, and this is very likely the reason why the movie failed.

But, when Jia Yueting said that... was he just talking about the reasons for the defeat?
"Mr. Chen, I hope you can take responsibility for the failure of this film! Your mistakes have placed a heavy burden on the director and screenwriter!"

What a huge pot!

Chen Guofu never expected that after spending most of his life in the entertainment industry on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, he would be outmaneuvered by Jia Yueting in front of him today!
This guy's ability to shift blame is really strong, and incredibly accurate!

What he said before made a lot of sense, but he used that sense in such a way.

The carefully selected cast, with its star-studded lineup, is itself a flaw.

Chen Guofu was at his wit's end, truly at his wit's end.

Moreover, he was a smart man and could almost instantly understand what Jia Yueting was planning to do.

Chen Guofu smiled, then asked, "Boss, I'd really like to know, who will be in charge of our film business next?"

That's a great question!

Moreover, Chen Guofu directly proposed the concept of a 'film industry leader'.

As the saying goes, "A new emperor brings a new court," and now that Jia Yueting is the master of Huayi, he will definitely purge the remnants of the previous dynasty.

Old Wang himself is stuck in a quagmire, and he still has to figure out a way to get his brother out of trouble.

Of course, there's no way to manage other things.

Generally speaking, the simplest way to eliminate the remnants of the previous dynasty is to install one's own people.

Now that the play "Silk" has been cancelled, it has given Jia Yueting an excellent excuse.

Chen Guofu's question actually revealed everything.

Mr. Jia, just say it straight.

Old Wang felt a pang of sadness, but he also wanted to know.

Jia Yueting smiled slightly, “I have spoken with Director Wu Yusen many times. He had always declined before, saying that he was too old. But this time, he was moved by my sincerity and has decided to take on the role of CEO of Huayi.”

Good heavens! It was him!

Wang Laoda looked helpless, while Chen Guofu shook his head with a smile.

"Mr. Jia, I just want to remind you that this Director Wu couldn't make it in Hollywood. He returned empty-handed. Do you really believe in his abilities?"

These words are quite direct; it's definitely a complete breakdown in relations.

Jia Yueting, of course, wouldn't change her mind. "Mr. Chen, I think you should take care of yourself first."

That's ruthless. Of course, there's no affection between them either. They weren't even close to each other to begin with.

But to be honest, Chen Guofu must have been furious.

Because Su Zhaobin is now Wu Yusen's disciple, that's public knowledge.

As a result, I, Chen Guofu, was helping Su Zhaobin, but now I've been replaced by his master.

snort!
That would be considered a complete lack of chivalry!
I can't help but think of Wu Yusen's most successful work, "A Better Tomorrow".

How ironic!

Forget it, if they don't want me here, there are plenty of other places that will.

……

Los Angeles.

Universal Studios set.

When people hear the name of this place, many will think of it as a place comparable to Disneyland.

That's right, there are indeed many amusement facilities.

However, this place is also a huge film set.

We have to admit one thing: Hollywood in the United States is indeed the most awesome place for movies on Earth.

This is an objective fact.

And once you arrive at this cinema, you will feel it even more.

Beyond the play area, there are many very strange yet well-organized buildings.

It looks like a giant, enlarged aluminum can, split in half, and then placed face down on the ground.

Yes, this is a film set.

Each half of the "can" is like a film set; once you step inside, you'll find the space is enormous.

The United States produces a huge number of films and television shows every year.

These film studios are the main production bases.

Ma Xun plans to set up a location here and build it into the filming location for "Cloverfield 2".

Fortunately, the negotiation was relatively simple; everything was business-related, and business is business.

Moreover, Martin was there to help out.

Of course, Ma Xun wasn't alone; Yang Rong was with him as well.

"Wow! This really is... this really is..."

"what happened to you?"

"I'm just... really emotional."

"What are you feeling?"

"This is Hollywood! Haha... I've only ever been here in my dreams before!"

Yes, that's exactly how Yang Rong behaved.

The girl was dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase, which she was actually carrying for Ma Xun. Oh, and she was also wearing glasses.

Yang Rong's face, and her petite and exquisite figure... even through her clothes, you can clearly see that her two big breasts are truly well-endowed.

Ahem... Ma Xun isn't a lecherous man.

Now this girl seems to have fulfilled half of her dream; has this meant she's made it into Hollywood?

"Do I need to remind you of your current status?"

Ma Xun's words were very cold.

"Yes!" Yang Rong immediately reverted to her role as a secretary.

She's now replacing He Qing.

Although Ma Xun had seen through the trick the two women had conspired to pull long ago.

But there's no rush now, let's just play around with her.

Before long, the main tasks here were almost completed.

In fact, Ma Xun had another alternative plan, which was to go to Hengdian or Beijing Film Studio to film.

Anyway, it's all indoor set design.

Our film, Cloverfield 2, is actually set primarily in a house.

It was originally supposed to be called "10 Cloverfield Lane," and as you can tell from the name, it's a place in the United States.

But, it's important to understand this.

In the original timeline, this is indeed a sequel to Cloverfield, but the two stories don't necessarily both take place in New York.

One very special thing about the United States is that there are a lot of places with the same name!
Just like the famous gambling city of Las Vegas.

Actually, there are several places with this name, because the original meaning of this name seems to be just grassland.

Anyway, this point isn't that important.

However, since we're filming now, there's no need to necessarily include New York street scenes, right?

In short, filming in the United States will produce an authentic experience.

After finishing their discussion, Ma Xun took Yang Rong back to Palm Springs.

As for Martin, he probably still wants to make a quick buck.

Therefore, nothing else matters.

Preparations have just begun, and Scarlett Johansson has not yet joined the production.

Anne Hathaway is still filming, so is Yang Rong and Ma Xun the only ones left in this villa?
The secretary was feeling a little uneasy, but...

"Go wherever you want, and don't get in the way."

Wow, Ma Xun's words are really sharp.

Yang Rong felt helpless for a long time.

Could it be that Ma Xun wouldn't be tempted by her figure and face?

Even if he's been with many women and probably seen it all, it's still not to this extent...

Yang Rong returned to her room somewhat saddened, but not long after, she heard a commotion.

Is it related to the Eight Trigrams?
Eat melon?

Yang Rong couldn't resist any longer, so she went out to see what was happening, and what she saw was...

"Ma Xun, if I were to return to China to develop my career now..."

"Zhang Yimou invited you?"

"How come you know everything?"

"It's such a small thing... But shouldn't you thank me for what happened before?"

"How can you talk like that!"

Yang Rong peeked, but her heart was pounding because she saw international film star Gong Li!

She actually...

Zhang Yimou's new film?

It seems to be called something like "Curse of the Golden Flower".

What's this movie like?

The key question is, why did Ma Xun say that?

What should Gong Li thank him for?

"Well, I did... I guess I dodged it this time. I didn't expect Memoirs of a Geisha to be so badly received."

Oh, so it's related to this movie.

Ma Xun was much more straightforward, and simply grabbed it with a smile... Ouch!

Yang Rong covered her mouth, not expecting such a direct approach.

And what she saw next was... the international film queen kneeling before Ma Xun, for him...

(End of this chapter)