The battle for traffic in Chinese entertainment

Chapter 458 Back on track
"So, you haven't considered participating in the Cannes Film Festival? With your current fame, and you're the male lead in Director Wang's next film, Little Red Flower will compete first. It's hard to say whether it will do well in the main competition, but it should be no problem to be shortlisted for a secondary unit. Or is your team considering just entering the main competition?"

Teacher Fan was very curious.

"I was going to go originally. When I met Frémaux (Artistic Director of the Cannes Film Festival) at a dinner in Paris last year, he asked about the filming of "Flowers" which had already started, and invited me to bring "Little Red Flower" to the festival this year. So we didn't consider Berlin at the beginning of the year. But under the current circumstances, maybe Cannes will be cancelled this year."

Xu Xing herself didn't really want to go.

Because Little Red Flower had no chance of winning any awards, he went there purely to show his support. However, this was an opportunity to help everyone improve their resumes, so Xu Xing considered the "big picture" and accepted Fumao's invitation.

In the past life, Cannes was affected and cancelled this year, and only a batch of selected films were announced.

This year will most likely be the same, so put "Little Red Flower" on the list of selected films, and then show it at the Beijing or Shanghai Film Festival in China.

"No way. The Berlin Film Festival will be held as scheduled in half a month. There's no announcement that it will be cancelled."

"How can the situation this month be the same as in the next few months?" Xu Xing said with a smile, "Don't go running around in the next few months if you have nothing to do. In fact, China is the safest place. Look at me. I didn't even go to the Grammys when I could have."

"I'm not going anywhere! I'm staying in your villa this year and I'm not going anywhere!"

Teacher Fan said this while shaking her shoulders in a coquettish manner.

Nazha next to her couldn't help laughing.

Although Xu Xing and Teacher Fan were talking about topics within the industry, she didn't interrupt much and just quietly made tea by the side.

Nazha had never studied tea-making before, but after meeting Yu Murong a few times, she felt that she couldn't just smile foolishly every time, but should try to do something, so she learned the skill of making tea.

——The main reason is that Yu Murong doesn't like her talking. After the initial greetings, no matter what Nazha wants to talk about, Yu Murong will show a very speechless expression. Oh...

When Xu Xing returned to Hai City, Teacher Fan and Nazha had already flown over, ready to accompany Xu Xing in the villa during the half-month quarantine.

Unlike before when time was tight and we had to race against time to get the most out of each meeting, now we can chat slowly.

"I'm not going anywhere either!"

Nazha also shook her shoulders and acted coquettishly.

Xu Xing touched her head and Nazha shook her head in a cute way.

Teacher Fan was also... quite envious.

Nazha is willing to be a vase with an empty head, but Xu Xing likes this kind of vase the most and will like it for a long, long time. She basically doesn't have to worry about anything.

Nazha is also much younger——

This is what it’s like when I’m with Xu Xing and I don’t indulge myself to the fullest. When the days are peaceful and quiet, I can’t help but think about all sorts of things.

Teacher Fan blinked, blinked, and blinked.

Finally, I decided to put the thing I wanted most into my mouth right away.

----

Half a month passed in a flash.

On the 10th, Hengdian Film and Television City announced that starting from the 13th, each crew can apply to resume work in batches, but the official opening time has not yet been determined.

There is no clear charter on how to resume work.

It has been discussed that crew members returning to work will need to take an exam on prevention and control knowledge, and that in principle no more than 20 people should be allowed to shoot at the same time.

The film and television base in Hai City is also still waiting and watching.

Therefore, the resumption time of "Fanhua" was pushed back to March, and the plan was to follow other large crews.

If I had known this earlier, Xu Xing would have stayed in the capital longer.

Wang Churan, a student from Hai City, came to the villa very ambitiously and gathered people who could play mahjong.

Sun Man didn't want to play together.

I do team building every day, play mahjong, exercise, write songs and scripts, and I still have plenty of free time.

As a result, Xu Xing's frequency and duration of chatting on WeChat increased significantly.

We even chatted about things that we don’t usually talk about.

For example, Zhu Yilong.

He and Liu Shishi were filming "Dear Myself". After the filming was interrupted by the epidemic, the entire crew was quarantined in Songjiang. Xu Xing then discovered that they were also filming in Haishi and were quarantined in a hotel not far from Xu Xing's villa.

Zhu Yilong originally wanted to secretly visit Xu Xing, but Xu Xing declined and told him not to run around.

Wang Churan came here to be quarantined with Xu Xing, and he wanted to visit.

He asked about the release date of "Silent Killing", and Xu Xing told him that Zhengrong had high box office expectations for this movie, so it would be released next year.

The cost of this movie is not high, and Zhengrong can afford it.

In addition, Xu Xing also held several live broadcasts, each lasting about half an hour, and was broadcast simultaneously on Douyin and Xiaohongshu.

Chatting, singing, the live broadcast room almost freezes every time.

Many overseas fans downloaded Xiaohongshu to watch Xu Xing’s live broadcast. Overseas users cannot use Douyin.

The surge in downloads of Xiaohongshu overseas has once again allowed domestic netizens to witness Xu Xing's overseas influence.

At the end of February, Xiangshan Film and Television City next door was the first to open, but the first to officially resume work was only a very small Douyin crew, and the larger crews are still waiting and watching.

There is also news that Hengdian Film and Television City may not officially open until the end of March.

There are too many crews over there, so we have to be more cautious.

In March, Hai City finally received approval from the relevant departments and the crew officially prepared to resume work.

The resumption date of work on "Fanhua" is scheduled for March 3th.

On March 3, "Fanhua", which had been suspended for more than a month, officially resumed work.

On the first day back to work, there were less than 30 people on the set, and as expected, everyone was in terrible shape and didn't get a single shot through the entire day.

Only Xu Xing and Tang Yan were among the actors, and they filmed pork ribs and rice cakes in the restaurant.

Well, this was shot before. Sunglasses said that he took a look at it during the stoppage time and felt that it didn’t taste right, so he asked for a reshoot.

However, to the outside world, the resumption of work on "Fanhua" is of great significance.

This is the most watched project in the industry. The "Fanhua" crew and Xu Xing were at the center of all the criticisms that might be faced in resuming work at this time, and they overcame it all.

Eventually, the industry breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps because of Xu Xing's unrivaled national popularity and his remarkable performance in the past period of time, most people on the Internet support and encourage the crew to resume work, as long as the epidemic prevention measures are taken.

After all, film crews and the film and television industry also need to eat, and the hotels around film and television bases in various places are filled with quarantined personnel from various crews.

This time, film crews across the country have stopped working, countless projects have been aborted, and the costs of the suspended crews have soared by millions. If this continues, it will bring greater losses to each crew.

Therefore, under the demonstration effect of "Fanhua", other major crews began to prepare to resume work.

There is also news in Hengdian that the park may open early in the middle or late part of the month.

"Now almost everyone in the circle has followed the lead of the internet and started calling you the lucky saint."

Tang Yan smiled.

Xu Xing's charity action some time ago can be said to be completely in line with Xu Xing's current leading position in China. The amount of donations made by other stars is not as much as Xu Xing, and even not as much as the amount of donations made by the Mantianxing Charity Foundation. The factory under the Xu Xing brand also "donated" to transform and produce masks that are in short supply.

This time, netizens were happy to call him "Xing Sheng".

It also inspired a large number of little black people, "Even if Xing had made a thousand mistakes in the past - no! I actually cursed the birth of Xing Sheng before, but the one who was really born was me!"

——There are also those who have no scruples and mock the “圣” in “幸圣” as the “牲” in “兽”. However, once such remarks are reported, they will be blocked as soon as the platform posts them.

What is even more commendable is that Xu Xing did not take the opportunity to carry out excessive publicity. Apart from releasing the song "Your Answer", he has always kept a low profile.

On the day of the Grammy Awards, it didn't even make the hot search list. The fact that the factory had switched to making masks was not known to netizens until the local authorities posted it online.

Netizens have been calling him "Xingsheng" for more than a month. Now Xu Xing is "taking the risk" for all the crews. People in the industry should also give him a thumbs up.

There are rumors in the industry that the crew of "Fang Hua" resumed work under the task. Originally, because Xu Xing's subsequent "Changjin Lake" was moved to the end of the year, they wanted to resume work as late as possible.

But in the end, "Fan Hua" became the first large crew to start filming, and CCTV reporters went to report on it. Originally, "Fan Hua" was filmed in a completely closed manner, and even set visits were not allowed.

The resumption of work for crews like "Fanhua" means "rules and regulations" for relevant departments in various places.

Resuming work one day earlier can save hundreds of thousands of losses. Xingsheng’s responsibility is demonstrated once again!

"So you're going to call me Xingsheng tonight?"

Xu Xing teased.

"...It's not impossible."

Tang Yan said in a low voice with a slightly red face.

The person is already in Xu Xing's room, so there is no need to be shy.

After resuming work, all the crew members were first arranged to stay in a hotel. It would take a few days for them to relax and Xu Xing to return to his villa.

When we met again after the New Year, Tang Yan was still a little unnatural during the daytime shooting - this was partly why she was in such a bad state. However, after finishing work and returning to the hotel in the evening, Xu Xing invited her. She hesitated, but still came.

Rekindling their old relationship, Tang Yan's reaction was even more intense than before.

Maybe it’s because her husband has been locked up in a hotel in Hengdian for more than a month and has not returned.

She was even a little crazy.

But she finally burst into tears, murmuring and sobbing. "I'm done."

When I woke up the next day, I felt full of energy and looked particularly good. Facing the morning light, I couldn't help smiling, and looked satisfied and happy.

When we arrived at the set, everyone was still in a bad state in the morning, but finally got into the state in the afternoon.

During the break, Xu Xing looked at Tang Yan, whose face turned melancholy while smiling, and felt that everything seemed to have returned to normal ahead of time.

----

By the end of March, almost all film crews across the country had resumed work.

However, all major evening parties and ceremonies originally scheduled to be held in the first half of the year in the country have also been announced to be postponed.

The organizers of the Cannes Film Festival also updated their Twitter account, announcing that the film festival, originally scheduled for May, will be postponed and the specific time will be notified later.

"The cinemas will probably reopen around August, but only some will be open, and each screening room cannot be full. We may release Little Red Flower in early August, and in that case, we will not participate in the postponed Haishi and Beijing Film Festivals."

Mr. Qu told Xu Xing during the video call.

"Oh."

Xu Xing nodded.

It was pretty much as expected at the beginning.

"How is your filming going this month? Can you wrap it up on time?"

she asked again.

"It's hard to say. Previously, we had been restricting the use of extras, and there weren't many suitable extras. Only in the past two days have a group of people who have been quarantined come over. It all depends on how far Director Wang wants to go."

Like the actors, Director Wang was probably not used to the restrictive shooting environment and his efficiency was very low this month.

"Fang Hua" only resumed work in early March, and the subsequent "Snow Sword" was also changed to start shooting at the end of June.

"Alas!" Qu Mingzhen sighed, "There are a number of anti-epidemic film and television works. I hope you can choose one to star in. You can just be invited to star in it. It won't take much time. The problem now is when "Fang Hua" will be completed so that we can arrange a schedule for you."

"Then we need to find someone to urge him. I must leave the crew in May."

"Yeah! I'll think of a way."

After dinner the next day, Sunglasses asked Xu Xing about his future work arrangements.

"A TV series, a movie, and a special guest role in a play. These are the tasks assigned by the higher-ups. Also, last year, overseas fans have been urging me to release a new English single. The original plan was to release the song in May, and then I would go to the United States to promote the single. Last year, I was filming in China and didn't deal with many things."

Xu Xing sighed.

“Is that so?” Sunglasses was silent for a moment, then laughed, “Otherwise I’ll let you leave the crew first, but if I feel that some shots are not good enough, you have to come back to reshoot them.”

"I don't play double roles."

Xu Xing shook his head.

Netizens all know that in order to avoid overlapping projects, Xu Xing only recorded four episodes of "Hip-Hop in China" and then quit halfway. This is the basic quality of an actor!

"I'm not asking you to overlap with other projects. You have so much work to do later, and there will always be time between them. Just use that time. Anyway, this movie is not in a hurry to be released."

Sunglasses smiled.

"...Well, it's not impossible."

Xu Xing nodded.

At least what Sunglasses said meant that he would let Xu Xing leave the crew.

Let them slowly coordinate how Xu Xing will come back in the future!
When she got home at night, Xu Xing called John who had just woken up on the other side of the ocean and told him that she had coordinated the schedule and the next single could be released in May. At that time, Xu Xing would also go to the United States to personally retrieve her Grammy trophy.

John was very happy.

Then the next day, news leaked overseas that Xu Xing would release the British order in May. He probably wanted to prevent Xu Xing from changing her mind.

In April, the weather really warmed up and the haze dissipated a little. Under strong policies, the turning point that appeared at the end of February finally entered the zero-virus period, the transmission was basically blocked, and we began to enter a new stage of normalized prevention and control.

During the video call, Qu Mingzhen told Xu Xing that the copyright of "Signal" had been negotiated.

Domestically, Penguin Video won the exclusive broadcasting rights for 6 million yuan, and overseas, Netflix won the bid of 8 million yuan and won the exclusive overseas broadcasting rights.

Originally, Xu Xing envisioned that it would be on as many platforms as possible both at home and abroad.

But the dominance of Penguin in the country and Netflix abroad is still too strong.

Erika revealed before that Netflix did not want the impact of last year's "Joy of Life" to be repeated in Asia, and had issued a death order that it must obtain exclusive broadcasting.

As for WeTV, the overseas site of Penguin Video, even though it has a wave of members brought by "Joy of Life", the overseas broadcasting rights of Xu Xing's other film and television works have long been acquired by Netflix.

Although other dramas have performed well, WeTV, which was only established last year, is still at a stage where it needs a large domestic transfusion to continue to expand its market.

Netflix has already made investments in multiple fields in Asia, including Japanese dramas, Korean dramas, and Taiwanese dramas, while WeTV only has Chinese dramas from Penguin Video.

Staying at home in China has indeed brought prosperity to online entertainment, but it has also increased the intensity of competition among various platforms.

Moreover, Penguin Video has booked a large number of copyrighted dramas, and due to the suspension of production crews, costs have increased across the board. They are even considering taking the opportunity to cancel some projects.

Therefore, Penguin Video does not have the determination to truly compete with Netflix overseas at present.

The launch time of "Signal" is tentatively scheduled for the end of June.

If conditions permit, some promotional activities will be held at that time.

The "Snow Swordsman" project is progressing steadily.

An online audition will be conducted in a few days, and the final offline casting will be carried out later this month.

In addition, Mr. Qu also mentioned "The Accidental Murderer 3: The Invisible Guest". The plan to start filming this project in the second half of the year remains unchanged, but the male lead has not yet been determined.

She was still hesitating whether to invite big-name middle school students to boost the box office, and considering reducing costs as much as possible, she even asked -

"What do you think of Shen Teng?"

"Ah? That's too outrageous!"

Xu Xing was stunned.

Shen Teng is really not good at acting this kind of thing.

"Isn't he also thinking about transformation? Actually, Xu Zheng is quite good, but he has offended too many people this year and still wants dividends. Deng Chao is the same. Apart from Shadow, his movies have not had any good reputation in the past two years. He is also asking for a lot."

Qu Mingzhen couldn't help but complain.

"Otherwise, just use Lei Jiayin."

Xu Xing advised her.

I feel like she still feels bad about the pay.

"I'll think about it." Qu Mingzhen sighed and changed the subject, "Didn't Rongrong say she was going to Hai City? Have you contacted her?"

"Well, she'll come tomorrow."

"That's good. You must ask her to fly to Beijing again! We haven't seen each other for such a long time, and she doesn't miss me. I feel like she has changed her mind. Doesn't she miss the child with me?"

She kept complaining.

Then when Xu Xing met Yu Murong, he recounted the entire story.

After listening to Xu Xing's words, Yu Murong, who was originally smiling tenderly at her brother, simply curled her lips.

"Yeah, I changed my mind. I haven't seen her for two or three months, and I don't feel that much like her anymore. Women are all like that, right?"

"Forehead……"

Xu Xing felt that she was pointing at him again.

"That's right. But Sister Rong and Sister Zhen are unique, um, to each other, and of course, to me too."

Xu Xing thinks it’s better to be thick-skinned.

"You like her more than I do now."

Yu Murong smiled.

Xu Xing's expression remained unchanged and he responded calmly.

"But I like Sister Rong more."

"..."

Yu Murong, who was sitting with his legs crossed, looked disgusted.

"Really, I've missed Sister Rong so much in the past few months."

Xu Xing said softly and directly held her hand on her knee.

Yu Murong pulled his hand away.

Xu Xing's hand fell on her knee.

Snapped!
She hit Xu Xing on the back of his hand.

"Don't try that on me! I'm not Ming Zhen."

"Forehead……"

She hinted again, didn't she?
(End of this chapter)