Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 286 Couldn't Hold It In (44)

My second uncle's previous drama, "Border Town," has yet to be broadcast!

Filming wrapped in September; the project was created by the team behind "The Chinese Expeditionary Force".

Although it wasn't broadcast, his abilities are still recognized by many people.

"Arrow on the String" is a standard anti-Japanese war drama.

The screenwriter is nine years old…

Nine years ago, his original name was Wang Biao. His representative works include "Lotus Lantern" and "Magic Mobile Phone"...

Then I realized that it wasn't necessary for every script to be written so well.

Anyway, once the TV series is filmed and aired, there will be money to be made!

After discussing it with director Yu Mingsheng, we made "Arrow on the String"...

Oh, Yu Mingsheng and Jiu Nian collaborated on four or five films, including "The Lotus Lantern," "The Lotus Lantern Prequel," "Magic Phone," and "Magic Phone 2: The Return of Silly Girl"...

They are solid partners.

Both of them invested in the film "Arrow on the String"!
I also asked my second uncle to be my co-director.

My second uncle is currently at the point where he'll accept any acting offers he gets, as long as he's available.

He only transitioned to directing in his forties, and even then, he was a television drama director. He was well past the age of being ambitious!

For "Arrow on the String," he was approached by a famous screenwriter and director.

There's no reason to refuse!

Shen Yan continued, "You two could play farmers during the Anti-Japanese War..."

Grandma shook her head: "I can't, I'm too fat!"

"fat?"

"I'm not strong enough, unlike the old ladies of that era..."

Shen Yan was speechless: "You can wear makeup!"

"Ask your second uncle when the time comes!"

“…Well,” Shen Yan explained, “I think you two are bored staying at home, so going to the film set to shoot a movie would at least keep you occupied!”

"...We raise a lot of chickens, ducks, geese, and sheep at home...how could we have nothing to do!"

"...Grandma, if you go into acting and make a little bit of a name for yourself, you can earn at least 20 a year!"

"20…"

Upon hearing about the money, Grandma was indeed tempted and said to Grandpa, "Why don't we give it a try?"

"How could you possibly earn so much?"

"...Why would I lie to you?"

“Actors can make money,” Shen Yan said, using himself as an example: “My starting salary for one episode is 40 yuan!”

"Don't you dare mess things up..."

"This is my market price... I do commercial performances, at least 120 million per show..."

Is the entertainment industry really that lucrative?

Shen Yan thought for a moment, then said, "It mainly depends on fame. The higher the fame, the more you earn..."

"You've made way too much... Many people don't earn as much as you do from just one movie in their entire lives!"

"So, I suggest you become actors..."

……

Shen Yan was just fooling his grandparents...

The income in the entertainment industry is also pyramid-shaped; even low-level actors and extras only earn three or four thousand a month…

There are indeed those who make a lot of money, but they are a minority... But Brother Yan isn't a complete fraud. With his abilities, he could easily make his grandparents into a multi-billion-dollar box office tycoon.

Release a few more press releases and do some promotion, and they can become box office mascots!
The entertainment industry is very superstitious. Once their fame spreads, a bunch of projects will definitely come knocking on their door.

Conservatively estimated, it wouldn't be less than 500,000 a year...

Most importantly, it gives them something to do.

Don't be so idle!

She keeps pressuring him to have a baby...

They say I'm too old...

My greatest wish in my lifetime is to see the fourth generation…

Ahem...

Oh, today both "The Flowers of War" and "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" were released...

Zhang Weiping boldly announced that "The Flowers of War" would not be shown in Bona Film Group's theaters, directly refusing to provide the screening keys. Yu Dong was equally decisive—if you don't give me the screening keys, then I'll just schedule "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" for all of them!
Actually, Yu Dong was quite helpless about this situation!

Initially, the Film Bureau coordinated the screening of "The Flowers of War" on the 9th and "Dragon Gate" on the 20th. Yu Dong agreed, but on one condition—Bona Film Group's cinemas could screen "The Flowers of War"...

Zhang Weiping disagreed…

They just won't give Bona the key!

There's no other way then; we have to go through with it, even if it means forcing it.

Otherwise, after a ten-day interval, all of Bona's cinemas would be empty...

That's right, Zhang Weiping is that domineering—he even called the eight major cinema chains three months in advance, demanding that "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" be stopped during the release of "The Flowers of War," otherwise he would not give them the key!
Of course, nobody paid him any attention…

However, on its opening day, the box office only reached a little over 4000 million yuan!
"Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" premiered 4 hours earlier than scheduled, grossing 1990 million yuan on its opening day, while "The Flowers of War" grossed 1740 million yuan...

This result is clearly not commensurate with the level of attention both sides have received.

Shen Yan didn't participate in the discussion, but he did post a Weibo post—a poster for "The Flowers of War," with the caption: Who designed this poster? It's so unprofessional! Zhang Weiping's name is even more eye-catching than Zhang Yimou's... If you didn't know better, you'd think Zhang Weiping was the director!
A fan asked him, "Brother Yan, did you go to see a movie?"

Shen Yan replied, "I haven't seen it. Whether it's 'The Flowers of War' or 'Flying Swords of Dragon Gate,' I won't post any reviews for now. I'll post a review around New Year's Day!"

"why?"

"I have a lot of influence and I'm too inflammatory. In any case, these two films are sincere works by two great directors, Zhang Yimou and Xu Ke, who have made outstanding contributions to Chinese cinema... I don't think I should criticize them during their theatrical run; that's not right!"

"I also feel very embarrassed. Why release two movies on the same day? Did the distributor lose their mind? Didn't Yu Dong claim to be very professional?"

"Although I don't like Yu Dong either, this time it's really not Bona's fault. I heard from them that Zhang Weiping made it clear that he would not supply films to Bona Cinemas and would not issue the keys... So what will Bona's dozens of cinemas do during the release of 'The Flowers of War'? They can only choose to release 'Flying Swords of Dragon Gate' on the same day and fight him to the end!"

"So, it's Zhang Weiping's fault?"

"Zhang Weiping is an idiot. He talks nonsense all day long. If he hadn't gotten involved with Zhang Yimou, who would know who he is?"
They even claimed to be the mentor of director Zhang Yimou, and released a bunch of press releases claiming that "the two Zhangs pioneered Chinese commercial films." What a load of crap, the investor in "Hero" is Jiang Zhiqiang of Edko Films!

Before meeting Zhang Weiping, Director Zhang Yi was already a globally renowned director. He invested a little money and thought he had exceptional insight, looking down on everyone and forgetting who he was… Ask any major film company, which one wouldn't want to work with Zhang Yi! Let me be frank, Zhang Yi is still a great director even without Zhang Weiping. Without Zhang Yi, Zhang Weiping is just a nobody… he wouldn't even get media interviews!

……

Uh, I couldn't hold it in and ended up swearing.

This person is really an idiot.

Besides, if he's allowed to openly look down on Shen Yan, then of course Yan-ge can also express his opinion on him!

As expected, Shen Yan's remarks became a trending topic.

When some media outlets tried to interview Zhang Weiping, he flew into a rage: "My relationship with Yi is none of a young person's business. I've been working with Yi for over a decade; we're investors, directors, friends, and brothers..."

"So what if they made two blockbuster movies? In my opinion, it's just a petty person getting their way!"

Well, this has completely enraged Shen Yan and his fans!

Especially since he responded on the 19th, the third episode of "I Am a Singer" aired that night, and Shen Yan successfully challenged the contestants and won first place, a first place that everyone wholeheartedly agreed with.

(End of this chapter)