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

Chapter 651 Arrival in Los Angeles (44)

At first, Shen Yan thought variety show movies were rubbish!
Film is the art of images.

Godard, through the words of his character, said: "Film is truth at 24 frames per second."

From this statement and Godard's later research direction, it is not difficult to see that he was focusing on the image itself.

Film is a concentrated expression of time and space; it is an art of time and space, and the essence of film is the expression of images.

What does it express?
A condensation and sublimation of reality, the desires and dreams in our hearts, the inheritance and dissemination of culture, the reproduction and rewriting of history, the goodness and ugliness of human nature, the resilience and tenacity of life…

Okay, you're overthinking it!

As viewers, do we really care about what a movie is?
Or to put it bluntly, do you think the audience who went to see the "Running Man" movie didn't know that this thing is a variety show?

They know.

They just wanted to watch a variety show!
Anyway, the ticket price isn't expensive.

To put it bluntly, is the "Running Man" movie really any worse than "Switch" or "A Romantic Affair"?
Moreover, there's nothing wrong with these kinds of variety show movies; they're market-driven, and the market will correct itself.

The first season of "Where Are We Going, Dad?" grossed over 500 million yuan.

"Running Man" grossed 400 million yuan, then "Where Are We Going, Dad?" Season 2 only grossed 180 million yuan, and "Go Fighting! Royal Treasure" fared even worse, grossing a mere 120 million yuan...

Then, variety show movies disappeared from Chinese screens...

If it's not profitable, who will still make films?
The main reason Shen Yan's opinion changed was because... Damn it, nobody watches movies anymore, who the hell cares whether the movie theater is showing a variety show or a football match?
It's good enough that someone is willing to pay the bill!

Moreover... the prerequisite for a variety show feature film is a phenomenal variety show...

Where are there so many phenomenal variety shows?

Besides, would domestic films improve without variety show movies?

Moreover… which domestic films are worth watching in theaters around the same time as the Running Man movie?
By the way, after "The Taking of Tiger Mountain" became the box office champion during the Lunar New Year season, Yu Dong was extremely proud of himself, giving various interviews and bragging about how great he was...

In addition, "Whiplash" has been released in 120 countries and regions worldwide...

Yu Dong thought he was awesome, but... Nasdaq Bona's stock price remained sluggish!

It's even falling!

The market capitalization has dwindled to less than $9 million…

Compared to Enlight Media's 400 billion yuan market value and Huayi Brothers' 546 billion yuan market value, it's completely insignificant!
Because investors on Nasdaq, or more specifically in North America, are optimistic about the Disney model—which includes entertainment production, theme parks, toys, books, and electronics. The company's businesses are divided into four main segments: media networks, theme parks and resorts, film and television entertainment, and consumer products and interactive media.

Disney’s core competitiveness lies in its strong brand and intellectual property, innovative content production capabilities, and theme parks and resorts worldwide.

Bona doesn't have these!
Bona doesn't even have strong intellectual property.

There are no truly unique brands...

Upon seeing this news, Shen Yan thought that in another six months, he would have to liquidate all his shares in Enlight Media, Huayi Brothers, and Huace Media…

……

Shen Yan departed for the United States on the 14th, and the Film Bureau's statistics were sent to the entire internet on the 10th…

In 2014, the total box office revenue in mainland China exceeded 350 billion yuan, of which Chinese-language films accounted for more than 220 billion yuan, nearly 60% of the total. The box office champion was "Transformers 4" with 19.8 billion yuan!
Then came "Duckweed" with 18.6 billion yuan; "The Big Shot 2" with 14.8 billion yuan...

Only these three movies have grossed over a billion!

Wolf Warrior, The Magic Hour, More Than Blue, The Big Winner, Breakup Buddies, The Continent, Brotherhood of Blades, and One Step Away ranked third through tenth respectively…

If we're counting the top twenty, then films like *Tiny Times 3*, *Burning*, *Lost and Found*, the film version of *The Best of Us*, *The Legend of Swordsman*, *Fish and Dragon Town*, and *The Fox Wife of the Mountain Village* would also make the list…

The 2014 box office for "The Taking of Tiger Mountain" was only 4.3 million yuan, which would only rank it around 14th.

However, if we include imported films, Interstellar, Captain America 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are enough to make the top ten!

Guardians of the Galaxy, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Need for Speed, and Edge of Tomorrow have all grossed over 400 million.

In terms of box office rankings, Spark Studio has almost dominated the charts for mainland Chinese films.

The performance of a big-name director was very poor – Zhang Yimou's "Coming Home" only grossed 2.9 million yuan;
Jiang Wen's "One Step Away" was criticized so harshly that it was considered utter garbage!
Du Qifeng's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart 2" featured a bunch of stars, including Shi Shi, but ultimately its box office didn't reach 2.8 million yuan.

That's so lame!
Hong Kong films… besides *From Vegas to Macau* (4.4 million) and *The Monkey King* (nearly 5 million), the highest-grossing film is *Dearest* (3.2 million)…

Overheard 3 barely surpassed 3 million!
Edko Films' highly anticipated "Rise of the Legend" only grossed 140 million yuan, while Donnie Yen and Wang Baoqiang's "Iceman: The Time Traveler" almost didn't even reach 100 million yuan!

As for "Kung Fu Jungle," its box office was a whopping 1.02 million!
"Kung Fu Jungle," starring Feng Yuxiu, a regular underling in Hong Kong variety shows...

In fact, "Kung Fu Jungle" is very similar to "Rurouni Kenshin"—swordsmanship is a means of killing.

They share a similar theme. Essentially, they both strip away the romantic veil of so-called combat, emphasizing that martial arts matches "not only determine superiority but also life and death."

Like a bloodthirsty wolf, it regards the civilized world as a jungle.

Feng Yuxiu admired Guan Yu's ability to wield his sword and charge through enemy lines, vowing to "compete with all the heroes under heaven."

The true essence of martial arts is revealed in flesh and blood.

Unfortunately, Donnie Yen's reputation is currently terrible...

What a waste of such a good subject!
Oh, this list has been released, and a bunch of self-media outlets are jumping on the bandwagon, praising Shen Yan in all sorts of ways…

However, it doesn't matter this time; Shen Yan can handle it!

……

6 PM on the 15th.

Saying it was late was a bit inappropriate, because the sky over Los Angeles was still clear and bright, without a trace of gloomy twilight.

Shen Yan and Dilraba were strolling along Sunset Boulevard...

After walking for half an hour, Shen Yan couldn't take it anymore: "Let's go back..."

"Yeah, I think it's boring too!"

"Where do you want to go?"

"They say Sunset Boulevard is a shopping paradise, home to the world's top fashion brands..."

Shen Yan rolled his eyes: "That's Rodeo Drive..."

Dilraba gave an awkward laugh: "How are we going to get back?"

"I'll call the hotel and have them send a car to pick me up!"

They stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, which offers a complimentary luxury car shuttle service covering a 3-mile radius…

The Waldorf Astoria is just steps away from the Hilton Hotel—where the Golden Globe Awards ceremony is held.

The Golden Globe Awards ceremony is somewhat like a year-end party for celebrities, with each department (film crew) sitting around a table...

In terms of star power, the Golden Globes often surpass the Oscars because they also feature television stars whose influence is in no way inferior to that of film stars.

The Golden Globe Awards are like a relaxed celebrity gathering, a group of people chatting together, and then the awards are presented…

"I heard you can eat at the Golden Globe Awards?"

"Hmm, the menu was personally selected by Hilton's executive chef..."

Once in the car, Shen Yan gave Dilraba a brief explanation of the Golden Globe Awards…

"Firstly, there are many awards; secondly, it's a live broadcast, so we need to include commercial breaks, making it quite long..."

"What if you need to use the restroom?"

"Let's go!" Shen Yan explained, "It's different from the Oscars; it's very casual, and you can even drink alcohol!"

"Oh…"

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"

"I just feel really bored because nobody knows me..."

"Walk the red carpet, take a few photos, and you're an international superstar!"

"→_→"

Dilraba replied with this emoji...

Shen Yan changed the subject: "When will 'Goodbye My Princess' air?"

"They said it would be next March..."

"Tsk tsk..."

"What's wrong?"

Shen Yan said, "Legend of Fei, the big drama to kick off the year... and then Goodbye My Princess will take over!"

(End of this chapter)