Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 665 Another Deception! Inception and A Simple Noodle Story Join Forces to Fight the Enemy!
The 2009 Lunar New Year film season wasn't just about Hollywood blockbusters making a strong showing.

The pre-release hype for "2012" was incredibly strong, and the film also utilized an 'ancient legend'.

Mayan prophecy!

In other words, according to the ancient Mayan calendar, the world would have been destroyed in 2012!
Whether this is true or false doesn't matter; at least the rumors are quite detailed and plausible.

Moreover, it seems to have become a 'consensus' recognized globally overnight.

It seems like this planet really will end in 2012.

The most interesting thing is that it seems everyone has become an expert on Mayan culture, explaining this doomsday scenario in great detail.

Ma Xun naturally saw the situation more clearly than others.

Marketing event!

Yes, this is indeed a marketing tactic, and the fact that it has such an effect shows that Hollywood is truly skilled in this area.

In fact, the idea that the world would end in 2012 was later debunked by many people.

Even according to Mayan culture, their prediction of the end of the world wasn't just for a day or two, but for many days.

Therefore, it is obvious that this was a deliberate marketing ploy using the concept of the Mayan prophecy.

The logic here is quite simple: if one really only wants to discuss the Mayan doomsday prophecy, then of course one should discuss the actual Mayan prophecy or various related theoretical knowledge.

After all, this civilization is quite valuable for research, and the core of this so-called prophecy is the Mayan calendar.

But what's the situation now?
This prophecy has clearly been modified; at the very least, the full truth has not been revealed. Only a portion of it has been disseminated, and this portion is beneficial to the film "2012"!
Then what's not clear? It's obviously a marketing campaign!

However, this marketing campaign seems to have been a bit too successful, making it seem as if the world was really going to end in 2012.

Ma Xun was almost certain that even the guy who orchestrated this marketing campaign probably hadn't expected it to achieve such results.

It was extremely unexpected, absolutely unexpected; they certainly hadn't anticipated it.

But if you think about it carefully, this idea of ​​the world's end is actually very popular in Europe and America.

This has happened more than once, and quite a lot.

For example, in the last year of the 20th century, Schwarzenegger made a similar movie, which asserted that the world would be destroyed on the last day of the 20th century.

Okay, this movie is really bad. Basically, all of its box office revenue is due to Schwarzenegger's name.

However, this can actually be summarized into 'key points'.

religion!

The reason why this doomsday theory can be so popular around the world is mainly because most people in Europe and America believe in various religions.

They already believe in this stuff, and religion and doomsday theories are practically inseparable; every religion says the same thing.

Especially Hinduism, not to mention...

Returning to the present, the marketing of the movie "2012" in China is also very impressive. Many people are privately discussing whether we will be gone in 2012.

Given this situation, what can Ma Xun do?

Sorry, he really didn't have any good ideas.

The root of Westerners' families is religion; what can they do?
There's simply no way to solve it.

As for our country, although many people believe in this stuff just because it's trendy, and treat this kind of topic as fashionable, there's even less we can do about it.

To put it bluntly, many of our countrymen are just talking; it's not worth taking them seriously.

Therefore, Ma Xun really had no other choice this time.

However, he still needs a way.

Because our "Inception" is going to have a global showdown with this "2012"!

Ma Xun cannot back down; he must find a way to defeat his opponent.

And this method... he had actually been working on it for a long time.

Leonardo DiCaprio, the great director Martin Scorsese, right?
Our lineup is very strong. In terms of looks and popularity, Leonardo DiCaprio is much better than Cusack.

In addition, considering the plot and the level of sci-fi creativity in our film *Inception*...

Ma Xun is certain that our movie is definitely more exciting than "2012".

So, this is actually an opportunity!
A chance to beat Hollywood blockbusters head-on!
Moreover, it was a blockbuster like "2012" with an extremely successful marketing campaign!
Ma Xun felt a surge of excitement when facing such an opponent.

He was full of confidence, and of course he understood that he couldn't defeat his opponent by lying down, even though he had made preparations early on.

Now is the crucial moment!
So, we first lured Martin and Satoshi Kon to our country.

This is a crucial step because Ma Xun's first priority is to secure our domestic market.

Don't underestimate this, because he remembers it very clearly.

The marketing campaign for "2012" was very successful; in the original timeline, the film grossed over 5 million yuan.

It directly won the title of the highest-grossing film in our domestic market history!
Keep in mind that even Transformers 2 didn't achieve this, and that movie only made a little over 4 million.

Therefore, if we can create enough trouble for this film in the domestic market, it will be easier for it overseas.

Furthermore, Ma Xun brought these two directors to China, and sure enough, an 'unexpected' incident immediately occurred.

“Mr. Ma, Director Zhang Yimou has extended an invitation to me and Director Satoshi Kon.”

"Oh, why is that?"

"Well... I just meant to talk about movies."

Is it really that simple?
Ma Xun was, of course, very clear about what Zhang Yimou was planning.

It's actually quite simple: after completing the work on the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, Zhang Yimou already had the title of "National Director."

It can be said that Zhang Yimou is the number one director in our country right now.

No one could be more successful than him. Over the years, countless people have criticized Zhang Yimou. Criticizing him has even become an industry. If you criticize Zhang Yimou with valid reasons, you can become a well-known film critic.

Now, nobody criticizes him anymore.

I dare not curse, and indeed I cannot bring myself to do so.

The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics were truly amazing and shocked the world.

So, if a great director is going to make movies, right? Then they should be paired with the most famous actors, right?

And so, this blockbuster movie was born!

A Simple Noodle Story!
Look at the cast of this movie: Xiao Shenyang, Sun Honglei, Yan Ni, Uncle Benshan in a cameo role, almost the entire Zhao Benshan troupe, and Ni Dahong and others.

This is absolutely a super-powerful lineup!
In 2009, you couldn't find another team in all of China that could surpass this one!

Such a strong lineup, plus China's top director.

Absolutely flawless!

It's obvious that Ma Xun can guess Zhang Yimou's current state of mind.

He definitely wants to beat a Hollywood blockbuster to make his reputation even more glorious!
Of course, if he can defeat Emmerich head-on, there's a special future waiting for him.

That is to break into Hollywood!

In fact, Zhang Yimou is still an old-school domestic director at heart; he has made some films about trauma and pain in the past.

And these kinds of film directors basically all have one common problem.

That's just being a Western worshipper... cough cough, that's a bit of an exaggeration, it should be "longing for Hollywood".

Although Zhang Yimou has not outwardly shown much interest in making it in Hollywood, he has actually been looking for an opportunity.

Of course, he's a smart man. Given his status and position, it's impossible for him to try his luck in Hollywood without the help of a major Hollywood company!
Pay close attention to the 'qualifiers' here.

Hollywood, and it has to be a big company, not just any company. Even if a company like Lionsgate offered Zhang Yimou a contract, our old master Zhang would definitely not accept it.

This matter is not just about saving face; there is another crucial factor that Ma Xun dares to say most people would not know.

The key factor is... Chen Kai!

Back when Chen Kaige's "The Emperor's Shadow" was a box office flop, didn't he also film a movie called "Gentle Killer"?

It's important to know that the investor in this film is no ordinary company; it's MGM!
One of the eight major Hollywood studios, and in fact, if it weren't for the antitrust laws of that time, MGM would actually be the number one.

In other words, even though Chen Kaige was in such a sorry state back then, and he was in such a terrible situation, a big company like MGM still invited him to star in their films.

What's wrong with Lao Zhang?

Short of money?
They're not short of money!
Therefore, Zhang Yimou had to do this: either directly defeat American blockbusters or win a very prestigious award in the United States.

For example, the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture, or an Oscar.

Unfortunately, he has never actually won such an award.

Of course, Ma Xun is very clear that our domestic film directors are still dreaming, thinking that they will have a share in awards like the Oscars.

Regardless of the circumstances, Zhang Yimou's invitation is a very clear signal.

He plans to discuss the film with Martin Scorsese and Satoshi Kon, which is a super OK promotional campaign.

Both of our films will receive a lot of media coverage.

Since everyone's goals are roughly the same...

Ma Xun already had a plan in mind.

……

This time, instead of going to South Beauty, we chose Quanjude.

For foreigners, Beijing is most famous for its Peking duck.

However, eating is definitely not the most important thing.

The size and luxury of this private room are not the most important factors.

The truly important thing... was decided at the very beginning of this banquet!

"Everyone! Brother Zhang, Director Zhang Yimou, Director Martin, Director Satoshi Kon..."

Ma Xun was the first to offer a toast.

There was nothing wrong with his actions. Although he was a guest, he was a top boss in the industry, and on the surface, his relationship with Zhang Weiping was not good.

However, Ma Xun's actions still made Jia Yueting, who was also present, feel very uncomfortable.

Huh? What's he doing here too?
Ma Xun didn't know about this at first, but it happened anyway.

Ignore this guy completely and keep talking.

"At this grand event, the meeting between China's top directors and international top directors will surely leave a legendary chapter in film history."

"In that case, let me be frank: why don't our two films, *Inception* and *A Simple Noodle Story*, join forces to fight this common enemy?!"

What? Join forces?

How can we join forces?

Zhang Yimou's expression was very complicated. He originally had a face full of wrinkles, but now he didn't seem to be smiling, nor was he crying.

So... it's obvious that this guy is somewhat tempted!

But is there a specific plan?
Jia Yueting turned her gaze to Zhang Zhao, who had come with her.

“Mr. Ma!” Zhang Zhao knew exactly what to do. “There’s an old saying in Beijing: ‘All talk and no action is useless!’ If you don’t have a plan, aren’t you just leaving these big directors hanging here?”

That's quite a statement.

After hearing this, Ma Xun laughed and continued:

"It's very simple! When it comes to box office revenue, the key is screen time. I'm confident I can persuade China Film Group's New Film Alliance, Shanghai Film Group's Shanghai Film Alliance, and the newly emerging Wanda Cinemas..."

So, what about Stellar Cinemas' cinema chain?
If we join forces, we can exchange some resources.

Great! This really is the key to winning!
If we can get the theaters to give us some preferential treatment, then beating "2012" is not impossible!

The key is to listen to what Ma Xun is saying.

The three cinema chains he mentioned are currently the three largest cinema chains in China!

Stellar Cinemas, in fact, seems rather small.

Ma Xun's words contained not only boldness, but also domineering power!
This highlights that this battle against Hollywood blockbusters is led by me, Ma Xun!
So, will you follow the new visuals or not?
This is a real challenge for Zhang Weiping and Zhang Yimou. How should they approach it?

(End of this chapter)