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

Chapter 288 Verbal Battle (24)

The viewership rating for "I Am a Singer" broke 3.5, surpassing the highest viewership record of "Happy Camp" this year...

Before appearing on this show, Shen Yan was already quite famous, a recognized rising star in the industry. However, he had a weakness – he wasn't from a talent show background and lacked national recognition.

Many fans only started listening to his songs through his film and television works…

While there's nothing inherently wrong with doing this, many people still see him as an actor and don't really recognize him as a singer!

After "I Am a Singer" aired...

Shen Yan's popularity skyrocketed!

The number of listens for the song "Wukong" has soared to number one on major platforms...

This is really a great place to promote yourself...

In fact, the greatest magic of "I Am a Singer" lies in its television effects and influence.

This is the outcome that the times have brought about.

In the early years, the internet wasn't widespread, and singers mainly released cassette tapes and CDs. Back then, there were records for CD sales of tens of thousands of copies and cassette tape sales of tens of thousands of copies, and so on.

Back then, if singers wanted to promote themselves, they had to constantly travel around doing autograph sessions, commercial performances, and concerts. More importantly, they had to promote their songs on the radio to increase their popularity and the popularity of their albums.

For example, the old music charts, music radio stations, etc.

Many good singers and songs are spread through music programs and radio.

Later, as times changed, domestic record companies discovered that singers needed to frequently appear in the public eye to increase their popularity.

The most typical example is Zhang Jie, who participated in Super Boy even after releasing an album...

To be honest, if Zhang Jie hadn't participated in "Super Boy" and hadn't subsequently appeared on various Hunan TV programs and served as a mentor on music talent shows, he wouldn't have achieved what he has today.

At this stage, no matter how well you sing, it's useless; you need exposure!

The emergence of the "Singer" stage is refreshing!
After all, previous talent shows were grassroots talent shows... After watching so many, the public has become somewhat tired of them.

At this moment, Shen Yan made a stunning entrance and took first place...

He became incredibly famous, and then he actually insulted someone on Weibo, saying: "Zhang Weiping is an idiot!"
This is... so unexpected...

Wang Fazhan doesn't pay much attention to the entertainment industry and didn't know who Zhang Weiping was...

I only found out after opening the comments section that Zhang Weiping is Zhang Yimou's producer.

"He treats Director Zhang like a servant!"

"This guy is a complete idiot, everyone hates him. When Gong Li was filming 'Curse of the Golden Flower,' there was a clause in her actor contract: Zhang Weiping would absolutely not be seen!"

"Including Chow Yun-fat... Zhang Weiping said he was arrogant... I don't know if Chow Yun-fat was arrogant, but I want to say that the main investor of 'Curse of the Golden Flower' was Jiang Zhiqiang of Edko Films, and Chow Yun-fat also signed a contract with him... Zhang Weiping was not an investor of 'Curse of the Golden Flower' at all, he was only responsible for the distribution in mainland China... What right does a distributor have to point fingers at the production team?"

He constantly acts like the boss and considers himself Zhang Yimou's benefactor... This kind of person is a classic example of arrogance and conceit... If Director Zhang continues to work with him, he'll probably lose all the reputation he's built up over half a lifetime!

Wang Fazhan couldn't help but comment: "Did Brother Yan go see 'The Flowers of War'?"

A few minutes later, he actually replied: "Haven't watched it yet... I don't have time to watch it. I'm filming 'Battle of Changsha' and preparing for the 'Singer' competition at the same time. How can I have time to watch a movie!"

Suppressing his excitement, Wang Fazhan continued, "So what are you planning to sing next time?"

"...You'll find out then..." That's enough...

After these two replies, Wang Fazhan has decided to become a fan!
……

Shen Yan's words were very sharp... "House slave!"
The media followed up quickly, and soon began using this term to describe the relationship between Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping…

Everyone wants to stir things up!
Zhang Yimou is a renowned director of the Olympics, yet he's called a "house slave"...

This is big news!
Many people wanted to interview Zhang Yimou, but were surprised to find that they could not contact him.

The spokesperson informed reporters, "Zhang Yi has returned to her hometown to be with her mother!"

As for Zhang Weiping, he was very angry and repeatedly emphasized: "Zhang Yimou and I are business partners, friends and brothers. In order to film 'The Flowers of War,' I mortgaged my real estate and property to the bank... Some people don't know the inside story, so don't spread rumors!"

"He can leave anytime he wants!"

"Young man... he doesn't even have an international award, what right does he have to say these things!"

He even threatened to sue Shen Yan…

However, Shen Yan was not intimidated at all and retorted directly: "He can call Chairman Han a bandit, so why can't I say the same about him? You can't be so hypocritical!"

"I have never mentioned 'The Flowers of War'. I admire director Zhang Yimou very much... but what does this have to do with Zhang Weiping?"
I'm saying Zhang Weiping is an idiot, and I'd like him to respond and say whether he's an idiot or not!

Oh, he was filming "Battle of Changsha" on Moon Island, and he was surrounded by a group of reporters...

"I just think that the best director in China, bar none, shouldn't be working with such an unprofessional bumpkin... Director Zhang should consider other collaborators; this would be beneficial for the vision and style of his future works. There are plenty of investors available now..."

"Zhang Weiping is so great, why don't we let him collaborate with someone else?"

……

The war of words lasted for about a week...

Then Zhang Weiping was a little surprised—the box office of "The Flowers of War" did not improve with the rise in popularity, and was even almost caught up by "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate"!

In its first four days, it grossed 1.44 million yuan; in its second seven days, it only grossed 180 million yuan; and in eleven days, it grossed 3.24 million yuan.
In comparison, "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" grossed 1.37 million yuan in its first week and 1.73 million yuan in its second seven days;
Although there's still a long time before it's taken off the screens...

But... based on this calculation, the total box office is unlikely to exceed 600 million!
There's no reason for it...

Verbal battles are no longer effective?

Uh, it's really not working that well anymore...

You should know that since December, the media has been reporting on "The Flowers of War" at length, and everyone is getting fed up with it!

Moreover, more and more of Zhang Weiping's 'secrets' have been revealed. For example, regarding the casting of Yu Mo, Zhang Yimou chose Nini, but Zhang Weiping strongly recommended Han Xiting for the lead role. In the end, Zhang Yimou insisted on using Nini, which made Zhang Weiping very dissatisfied, and he forced Zhang Yimou to use Han Xiting in the next drama...

And there's also the matter of Gong Li...

There was even Zhao Benshan—it's said that Zhang Weiping provoked Zhao Benshan at the dinner table, almost causing things to get out of control…

Then, the Golden Globe nominations were announced, and *The Flowers of War* was nominated for Best Actress. Zhang Weiping proudly declared, "This is my biggest wish in making *The Flowers of War*!"

That's right, he was talking about 'me'!
They've practically made themselves the owners of "The Flowers of War"!
That's normal, after all... Zhang Yimou can't be found at all.

(End of this chapter)