Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 723 Even the clever Dong Qing was outmaneuvered by Li Hong!
Has anyone seen Director Chen's latest film, "Sacrifice"?

"I watched it! I think it's pretty good."

"Highly recommended! Absolutely recommended!"

"This film is considered Mr. Chen's best work in recent years."

"Forget it. He hasn't had any notable works in recent years. When he competed with Zhang Yimou for the position of director of the Olympics, he was eliminated outright. In the end, he was just given a nominal title. What else is there?"

"You are not allowed to slander Teacher Chen like this!"

The preview screenings of "Sacrifice" are underway. Although these preview screenings allow moviegoers to see the content of the film, it is still a very small-scale release.

To be honest, not many people have actually seen it, but it has become a hot topic online.

It seems that "The Orphan of Zhao" was a hit even before its release.

Those who frequently browse the internet will definitely find it strange, after all, this surge in traffic is quite unusual and not at all normal.

There's nothing we can do about it. Some netizens know perfectly well that it's probably some kind of marketing ploy.

There are so many marketing techniques online now. Although they are all basically aimed at increasing traffic, there are just too many tricks involved, and it's really hard for netizens to avoid them.

Regardless, it seems that this "Orphan of Zhao" is indeed quite worth watching.

Okay, if you think that way, then you've been influenced by marketing.

These days, marketing is truly everywhere.

Interestingly, details of the premiere of "Sacrifice" have been released, meaning that this film will not have a large-scale premiere like Director Chen's previous films.

This time, "The Orphan of Zhao" was just a collaboration with the Sixth Princess the day before its official release.

Actually, this premiere format, the so-called collaboration with Princess Six, is actually a 'program' of Princess Six.

The program itself on CCTV-6 is called 'Premiere'.

Therefore, once you partner with CCTV-6, the premiere of your film will not be able to be a large-scale event.

So far, the largest premiere co-organized with CCTV-6 was for "Curse of the Golden Flower," but as you can imagine, the audience in the studio at that time was mostly elderly people.

Then Shen Teng also played a eunuch reading out an imperial edict.

Putting aside the details, if a movie is now co-produced with CCTV-6, its premiere will not be like it used to be.

Instead of organizing a huge event with a large number of people, nowadays, after CCTV-6 handles the event, the production team starts traveling all over the country, breaking down the organization into smaller groups and actively doing on-the-ground promotional activities to meet with fans as much as possible.

This approach is a relatively new model nowadays, and it's also the main model used by Ma Xun's Enlight Media films.

The movies produced by Enlight Media in recent years have basically all followed this approach, and the results have been very good. Naturally, this approach was quickly adopted by other film companies, and other companies have followed suit.

Now, it's the turn of "The Orphan of Zhao"—what does that tell us?
Director Chen is known for his stubbornness; that's for sure, everyone in the industry knows just how stubborn he is.

Such a stubborn guy has actually kept up with the times!

That's right, don't underestimate this change. Our Director Chen rarely does this. It seems that this guy is definitely trying to make a big splash with this film, "The Orphan of Zhao".

Director Chen poured his heart and soul into this film; one could even say he has truly bowed to capital!
Of course, to outsiders it's called complying with commercial interests.

So, how should Ma Xun respond?

From the changes in online promotion to the modern approach of the premiere, Director Chen has truly changed this time. Therefore, Ma Xun's methods must also change accordingly.

……

The building with the stage still stands majestically.

However, this can already be considered an old building. The new building is under rapid construction, and some people have already gone to open the new building near the China World Trade Center because they have noticed that the new building's shape seems quite strange.

Ma Xun wasn't surprised by the big pants-shaped building. To be honest, that area later became very commercialized. It was near the China World Trade Center, a gathering place for urban elites, where everything was expensive.

Let's forget about the "big pants" (referring to a pair of shorts); Ma Xun has a special purpose in coming to set up the stage this time.

"Oh my! Mr. Ma, it's been so long since we last met."

"Teacher Zhu, haha...it really has been a long time since we last met. We should have a good chat."

"We definitely need to chat, but I have a show to do right now. So, let's start with a ten-dollar chat, haha..."

"That's great! Haha..."

As soon as Ma Xun entered the building, he saw Zhu Jun, the current top host. Zhu Jun was very eloquent and had a big smile on his face, indicating that he was in a good mood.

Honestly, it's unbelievable that someone like that would later get into such a mess... Oh well, Ma Xun knew there was nothing he could do. Even if he wanted to warn Zhu Jun, there was nothing he could do.

They were old friends, and some of the topics they talked about were truly poignant.

Naturally, the conversation turned to Sun Donghai and Bai Xiaohang... Sigh.

But at that moment, someone came over.

Interestingly, she didn't say anything; she simply walked between Ma Xun and Zhu Jun.

Of course, he gave Ma Xun a look and greeted Zhu Jun.

After they left, Zhu Jun finally smiled.

"I get it, I get it, okay, okay, let's stop talking, haha..."

How sensible! This person is so sensible.

Ma Xun looked slightly embarrassed, but he had indeed come to find the person who had left.

She is Dong Qing.

As soon as Zhu Jun left, Ma Xun, with his long legs, quickly caught up with Dong Qing.

Well, Dong Qing wasn't actually walking that fast; she was clearly waiting for him.

"What? Are you angry?"

Who's there? Is someone angry here?

Hearing Dong Qing's words, Ma Xun understood everything and immediately smiled and grabbed Dong Qing's arm.

Dong Qing wasn't so easily caught. He dodged with a flick of his arm and then said in a serious tone, "Mr. Ma, we're not acquainted."

These words made Ma Xun want to laugh even more, and he also knew how to deal with Dong Qing, the well-known female host.

"Not familiar with me? Then how about I just kiss you right here?"

Goodness, that's quite shameless, but Ma Xun's direct words made Dong Qing blush instantly.

"You, you..." Moreover, Ma Xun is a man of action, and immediately grabbed Dong Qing's arm... Oh, what he just said was a feint.

This made Dong Qing panic, and she hurriedly said, "Please don't..."

Ma Xun laughed and said, "How could I?"

Of course, I was just teasing her.

This made Dong Qing feel both amused and somewhat angry.

It's funny that Ma Xun is so funny, but it's also... if they actually kissed on stage, that would be pretty exciting.

It must be said that Dong Qing is an intellectual and dignified woman on the outside, but she is actually quite wild on the inside.

Ma Xun has a clear understanding of Dong Qing, so he can now easily control her. So, what's next...?

"Let's find a place to talk."

"it is good."

What else could Dong Qing say?
However, Dong Qing was also quite curious, because if it was just for chatting, Ma Xun wouldn't need to come to the building where they set up the stage.

Without thinking too much about it, Ma Xun and Dong Qing went to a less crowded area of ​​the TV station.

……

"You've heard of 'The Orphan of Zhao,' right?"

"Of course... Oh, I see. You came to me again, hoping I can help you get this movie sorted out? Okay, okay, I'll help you. So, your movie is... right, that 'Let the Bullets Fly,' isn't it?"

Sometimes, women who are too smart can be a bit boring, but Ma Xun just can't help but laugh at a woman as smart as Dong Qing.

Because she is indeed clever, but unfortunately this time she was just being too clever for her own good.

"No need."

"what?"

Dong Qing was taken aback. Was something wrong?

Previously, she was helping Ma Xun promote his Enlight Media films. The key point is that her show also needs to cover some film-related topics, because that's what authentic American talk shows are all about.

"Tell It Like It Is" is essentially a talk show, except that the biggest difference from the American version is that the host doesn't sit behind a stage.

In the US, talk show hosts sit behind a stage, while guests sit on sofas, creating a certain distance between them during conversations.

But now, for our show, everyone just sits on the sofa, so we can communicate like chatting with friends.

Of course, many Chinese people don't actually understand that this is stand-up comedy, but that's okay.

But right now... Ma Xun said something that Dong Qing found very difficult to understand.

"This time I hope you can do a special program. This program is... right, after the movie 'The Emperor and the Assassin' was released, I remember that you guys did some random interviews near the movie theater, right?"

I asked many movie fans to share their honest thoughts.

Let's do it this way too. Of course, you can do several similar episodes, and you can also invite the creative team over.

For example, "Under the Hawthorn Tree" and our "Let the Bullets Fly" would both be fine.

"Huh? This..." Dong Qing was genuinely bewildered, because she couldn't understand it at all. "Isn't this promoting 'The Orphan of Zhao'?"

Ma Xun smiled after hearing this, "It's okay. For example, if you do three shows of the same type for three movies in a row, wouldn't that be fair to everyone?"

Yes, that makes sense, but there aren't many people who can do what Ma Xun did.

Dong Qing was clever after all. She smiled and said, "I understand. You know that 'The Orphan of Zhao' isn't very good, right?"

After hearing this, Ma Xun laughed and playfully pinched Dong Qing's nose.

"Oops~"

That sweet voice really had feeling to it, but right now it's still on stage.

If someone else saw what they were doing... cough cough, they were involved in a 'scandal' before.

"Okay! I understand!"

Dong Qing completely understood Ma Xun's meaning: "Then let's do the program planning. This program is great! And even if we can't get the teams from 'Sacrifice' and 'Under the Hawthorn Tree,' we can definitely get the team from 'Let the Bullets Fly.'"

Jiang Wen is also a controversial figure, so Dong Qing can say that she has easily met this month's KPIs.

But that's all...

"I hope you understand." He said this very softly.

Ma Xun simply said in a low voice, "I'll wait for you at the usual place."

Is that the house you used to rent? That belonged to Ma Xun.

They've made up their minds, and after this, things will definitely get hehehe...

However, Dong Qing still went to work on planning, while Ma Xun naturally left the stage setup.

Unexpectedly, not far after Ma Xun drove away, he saw a person standing by the roadside.

Li Hong!

Without hesitation, Ma Xun parked his car there.

"..." The two looked at each other without saying a word, and then Li Hong got into the car.

Ma Xun drove straight into the car, and the car was going quite fast. He only stopped when the noise of the city was far away.

But after stopping...

"..."

Without saying a word, Li Hong kissed him directly.

Hmm~~
It was a long kiss, so long that they were both a little breathless, until they finally separated...

"Miss me?"

When Ma Xun said this, his face was full of mischievous expression.

Li Hong's eyes were filled with resentment, yet also with affection and spring-like longing.

Ma Xun didn't say anything more and kissed him again...

(End of this chapter)