Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 377 Zhang Yimou is going to start a studio; new Weibo accounts: King and Queen
Yan Li also contributed a ticket to "A Simple Noodle Story".

He knew the movie was bound to be bad, but since he hadn't seen the finished product, he was curious to see just how bad it could be.

So Yan Li quietly went to one of the screening rooms in his own cinema and watched a movie.

To put it simply, Yan Li endured seventy minutes of this ordeal, but he couldn't hold on any longer and left before the ending.

Afterwards, Yan Li posted photos of the movie ticket and the actual movie screening on Weibo, along with a caption.

I specifically went to watch "A Simple Noodle Story," but I didn't finish it. As expected, it was a terrible movie, even worse than I thought.

To be fair, I think I wronged Mr. Zhang before; we can't put all the blame on him. This film is a complete and utter disaster.

[But what I still don't understand is, how could Mr. Zhang have the confidence to release such a terrible film during the Lunar New Year season, and how dare he question the low box office ratings?]

Let me emphasize again, society isn't your mother, the earth doesn't revolve around you, and you can't assume everyone else will like something just because you think it smells good.

I feel inexplicably sad; I've put down my work to argue with an idiot.

【…】

That's a really mean comment, even comparing watching "A Simple Noodle Story" to eating shit, which makes some viewers who wanted to see how bad the movie was a bit hesitant.

Curiosity and being a troublemaker are two different things, which inadvertently dampened the potential box office of "A Simple Noodle Story".

Compared to the heavily criticized "A Simple Noodle Story," "Bodyguards and Assassins," which was released at the same time, received relatively good reviews.

The Weibo rating for "A Simple Noodle Story" is 4.2, which is extremely low. The previous film, "The Promise," had a rating of 5.

Of course, the score for "The Promise" was somewhat influenced by the X-ray scandal, and combined with director Chen's prophetic statement back then, many netizens gave it a certain amount of "friendship points".

"A Simple Noodle Story" has a score of 4.2, which is not quite at the point of competing for the worst-rated movie on Weibo, but it is only one step away.

Because of the large number of people rating on Weibo, it's difficult to get a high score or a low score.

No matter how bad a movie is, there will always be people who like it, or who don't think it's that bad and give it three stars, and the production company will do some face-saving work.

So far, there isn't a single movie with a Weibo rating below 3.

If "A Simple Noodle Story" continues to drop in ratings and reaches 3 points, it might actually be able to compete for the honor of being at the bottom of the Weibo ratings.

The film "Bodyguards and Assassins" has a rating of 7.1, which is not particularly high, but not bad either.

In the words of film critics, "Bodyguards and Assassins" is a very mature commercial blockbuster.

With a stellar cast, a smooth plot, well-developed characters, and a well-defined theme and scope, this film offers both action-packed excitement and tear-jerking moments, leaving a lasting impression.

There's no pretentious design, no affected expression, and no melodramatic shock. The most apt description is "clear"—a film that everyone can understand.

This statement is somewhat pessimistic about the current film market, but it is also quite realistic.

Putting aside everything else, just looking at this year's Lunar New Year films, "A Simple Noodle Story" was terrible, "Mulan" was mediocre and off-topic, and "Storm Riders 2" was all that was left with its special effects.

Compared to the unexpected success of "2012" and "Avatar," which was already being hyped in the North American market and anticipated worldwide even before its official release, the performance of domestic films is truly disheartening.

At this time, "Bodyguards and Assassins" was one of the few sources of comfort and even surprise for everyone.

The success of many popular movies is not solely due to their quality; there are also a variety of other factors, without a doubt.

This time, "Bodyguards and Assassins" encountered a bunch of weak films released at the same time, which gave it a significant advantage in terms of timing, as well as location.

With the critical reception of "A Simple Noodle Story" failing, major cinema chains have revised their screening schedules.

Some theaters are still giving "A Simple Noodle Story" a chance, after all, Zhang Yimou and actors like Shen Yang and Sun Honglei still have appeal.

Even bad movies have a market. Movies like "The Promise" and "Red Cliff" were terrible, but they still ranked high at the box office and even won the annual championship.

Therefore, if it's just a matter of poor word-of-mouth, the box office of "A Simple Noodle Story" will definitely be affected, but it won't collapse.

However, let's not forget that "A Simple Noodle Story" now faces not only market challenges, but also two major enemies.

Yan Li launched a tirade of online criticism, causing "Bodyguards and Assassins" to dominate "A Simple Noodle Story," and he also stirred up various rumors on Weibo, thoroughly discrediting Boss Zhang and truly venting his anger.

He felt relieved, but Third Master Han was still seething with anger.

As mentioned earlier, Yan Li being called a bully a couple of times didn't really have much of an impact, but the nickname "Mountain Eagle" was deadly to Master Han.

If Yan Li hadn't taken the initiative to draw most of the fire, and if this reputation had become popular, Master Han would have been in deep trouble.

Even now, it has still had some impact on him.

China Film Group has indeed been quite active in the past two years, and Han Sanye's fame has also increased, which has indeed promoted the industry. However, he is not without faults. There are quite a few people watching him, and even Han has heard rumors that some people have reported him to their superiors.

All of this made Master Han so angry he wanted to grind his teeth to dust.

He wouldn't dare to openly target them now, but Yan Li's various efforts to discredit "A Simple Noodle Story" have ruined its reputation and made people very disgusted with the movie, which gives Han Sanye room to maneuver.

If a movie is bad, doesn't make money, is criticized by the public, and damages the industry's image, there are sufficient reasons to reduce its screenings.

If screenings are reduced and movies become less profitable, then continue cutting screenings.

It's all market behavior, and has nothing to do with revenge or anything like that. It's your fault for making such a bad movie.

Furthermore, the cut screenings were directly allocated to "Bodyguards and Assassins," for which China Film Group was also one of the film's producers. High box office returns would be a tangible political achievement.

So, starting from the second day, the number of screenings for "A Simple Noodle Story" began to decrease. After two consecutive days of decreases, word-of-mouth spread, and the number of screenings was cut in half.

In contrast, the number of screenings for "Bodyguards and Assassins" has been increasing. The two films, which had a difference of only a few million in box office revenue on their opening day, are now rapidly widening the gap in box office revenue.

"Bodyguards and Assassins" grossed over 100 million yuan in four days and over 200 million yuan in seven days, while "A Simple Noodle Story" grossed less than 120 million yuan.

If this trend continues, the gap between the two sides will widen further.

By this time, the tide had turned, and the market and the audience were all on the opposite side. It was no use for Boss Zhang to come out and yell and curse, because no one believed him.

Moreover, Mr. Zhang didn't have much energy left to curse at the moment.

Yan Li's plan involved both overt and covert tactics, directly challenging "A Simple Noodle Story" while simultaneously exposing Zhang's dirty secrets to annoy him.

In the past, when Yan Li exposed scandals, he would always reveal them while concealing his identity, then stir up the controversy to attack his opponents.

This is not only safer, but it also allows for some deception and leaves room for maneuver.

But this time Yan Li personally stepped in to criticize, clearly aiming to take down Boss Zhang, so there was no need for many of the hidden agendas.

Meanwhile, because Boss Zhang's character and conduct were truly worrisome, he had many enemies. Yan Li didn't need to secretly leak information; he could simply follow the system prompts and find a suitable partner.

This time, Yan Li found a former senior executive of New Pictures who had a deep conflict with Zhang, but ultimately tolerated it for various reasons.

Now, Yan Li promised him corresponding benefits and pledged to be his backer, allowing him to take revenge without any scruples. After a slight hesitation, the executive bravely charged forward.

This direct attack from a former colleague is far more convincing than any obscure revelation. Everyone pulled up their stools, waiting for the bombshell revelation.

And this executive from New Pictures did not disappoint, revealing a lot of dirt on Mr. Zhang.

This includes the tricks behind some of the previous movie hype, his conflicts with Zhang Yimou and related stars, and business problems, etc.

In summary, Mr. Zhang is a shameless person with low moral character who will stop at nothing to get things done.

Mr. Zhang was certainly not satisfied, and then he also exposed the executive's secrets, but the effect was much worse. People were more interested in his conflicts with Zhang Yimou and the celebrities, and not so much in the executive's grudges against him.

More importantly, Yan Li was also behind the scenes, stirring up trouble and keeping Boss Zhang in the spotlight with all sorts of negative publicity.

When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. When Boss Zhang was in such a miserable state, some people who had a falling out with him also leaked information, including some celebrities who had worked with him, and they all publicly expressed their dissatisfaction.

For example, Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li, who had a very unpleasant falling out over "Curse of the Golden Flower," made some veiled criticisms and complaints during an interview.

However, for Mr. Zhang, the most troublesome thing is that Zhang Yimou is extremely dissatisfied with him, and Yan Lizhen is trying to poach Zhang Yimou's talent.

Yan Li understood very well that the box office failure of "A Simple Noodle Story" was a devastating blow to Mr. Zhang, causing his personal reputation and New Pictures to plummet, which meant he suffered a severe blow.

But if Zhang Yimou were to break up with Mr. Zhang, that would be a truly devastating blow to him.

This is not something that cannot be done!

There had actually been conflicts between the two, but they were covered up and tolerated for various reasons.

With the release of "A Simple Noodle Story," Mr. Zhang's reputation has been ruined, and Zhang Yimou has also suffered a lot of gossip, his fame has plummeted, and he has offended a lot of people.

Although he didn't directly offend him, everyone has a grudge against Boss Zhang. If you're with Boss Zhang, you'll be hated just the same.

Coupled with the conflicts accumulated during the filming of previous movies, everything finally erupted, and Zhang Yimou, unusually, lost his temper with Mr. Zhang.

Even in interviews, he publicly stated that the film's production was disrupted, lacked cultural value, and was a product of commercial manipulation.

Keep in mind that this was said by the director himself during the release of "A Simple Noodle Story," which is tantamount to shooting himself in the temple.

This also shows how much Zhang Yimou dissatisfaction he had with Mr. Zhang, to the point that he publicly expressed his dissatisfaction and slapped Mr. Zhang.

Faced with this situation, Mr. Zhang's first reaction was not to appease Zhang Yimou, but to criticize Zhang Yimou in the media for shifting the blame.

This move really showed off Yan Li's skills!

Yan Li used the system to understand Boss Zhang's mindset. The other party genuinely believed that Zhang Yimou's success today was due to his support.

He himself did nothing wrong; it was Yan Li who was bad, it was Zhang Yimou who was ignorant, and it was the netizens who couldn't distinguish right from wrong.

Upon seeing this, Yan Li understood why Boss Zhang had been pulling so many shady moves.

He's been flattered by sycophants so much that he's become stupid and trapped in his own information cocoon, to the point that he's become arrogant and conceited to the point of being a fool.

This kind of thing is not uncommon. Don't have too much of a filter on many successful people. They can also get carried away, lose their rationality, be deceived, or even deceive themselves.

There are countless examples of entrepreneurs, leaders, bigwigs, and even emperors, powerful ministers, and famous generals in history books who have ruined their careers because of their own foolish actions.

Every time Yan Li sees such examples, he is grateful that he has a system; otherwise, he might have fallen victim to it one day.

But for now, Yan Li is not being foolish; it is his enemy who is being foolish, so let's take advantage of their misfortune.

So Yan Li started trying to poach Zhang Yimou. Even if he couldn't poach him for the time being, he resorted to various means to sow discord and fan the flames, deepening the rift between the two sides. If this continued, sooner or later the two would part ways, and if Zhang Yimou stopped working with him, New Pictures would be completely finished.

...

In December, the Film Association held an annual summary symposium. Zhang Yimou did not want to attend, but he could not resist the repeated invitations from relevant people and went quietly.

As soon as he entered the venue, he saw Yan Li greeting him with a big smile.

"Director Zhang, it's been a long time."

Zhang Yimou: "..."

His feelings towards Yan Li are now very complicated.

On the one hand, Yan Li treated him quite well, even with great respect. Although this respect was purposeful, Yan Li's sincerity made him feel somewhat appreciated.

On the other hand, Yan Li's harsh criticism of "A Simple Noodle Story" did have some impact on him, even if it wasn't directed at him personally, and Zhang Yimou was still a little uncomfortable about it.

So, while Zhang Yimou doesn't exactly dislike Yan Li, he also doesn't want to get particularly close to him.

More importantly, he knew very well that if he got close to Yan Li, Boss Zhang would explode.

That was Yan Li's purpose.

He's just being malicious, he's just being provocative. He's just a scoundrel who's trying to seduce Mr. Zhang, the victim, by trying to ruin their relationship.

Therefore, regardless of Zhang Yimou's attitude, he was full of "admiration" for Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Yimou has a good temper. Yan Li stayed by his side and wouldn't leave, so he couldn't very well send him away and they started chatting.

This is terrible!
Why are scumbags so likable? Because they don't have to take responsibility, and they only say what you want to hear. Yan Li is a pure scumbag right now, abandoning objectivity and his stance, just standing up for Zhang Yimou.

With Yan Li's outstanding interpersonal and intelligence skills, every word he uttered resonated with Lao Zhangzi.

Originally, Zhang Yimou was somewhat wary of Yan Li.

But as Yan Li continued his various offensives, he gradually realized that Yan Li was a sensible person who understood his grievances and hardships over the years. In comparison, his old partner was truly disheartening.

After the meeting ended, Yan Li invited Zhang Yimou to dinner.

Zhang Yimou didn't want to agree. He knew very well that if they met at a meeting, it would be understandable, but if they attended a private gathering, it would be easy to get into trouble.

But Yan Li extended a warm invitation, and the two were chatting enthusiastically, with several old friends nearby encouraging them to join in.

Finally, Master Han made a special phone call to say that he and several friends were already waiting for him at the restaurant.

Now, the already hesitant Zhang Yimou found it even harder to refuse.

He also wanted to take this opportunity to ease his relationship with Han Yan. Just because Boss Zhang had fallen out with the two of them didn't mean he wanted to be enemies with them. So, he went along with them, half-heartedly.

During the conversation, they didn't talk much about Mr. Zhang; instead, they talked more about Director Chen and Jiang Wen.

These individuals all share a common characteristic: they work independently, accumulating projects and attracting investment. Although the risks are higher, the returns are also higher, and most importantly, they enjoy freedom.

Yan Li said, "Director Zhang, not to be presumptuous, but you are the number one director in our industry right now. With your influence, if you were to start your own projects, every company would be scrambling to work with you."

Han Sanye chimed in, "That's right, if Yimou has any projects, China Film Group will definitely support them."

Yan Li then added, "If Director Zhang feels that his approach is too risky or too commercially unfeasible, then he can directly cooperate with a large company."

“You contribute your efforts and the project, the company provides funding and assistance, everyone has their own role. Director Zhang takes the production costs and a small share of the profits. He may earn less, but if the movie loses money, it has nothing to do with you.”

"Most directors in Hollywood and Hong Kong operate this way, and I think this may be a future trend in the industry: famous directors + big companies, a win-win cooperation."

"..."

Yan Li understood that directly poaching talent was too difficult, and it was unlikely that Zhang Yimou would be so aggressive.

After all these years of friendship, Zhang Yimou has some dirt on Zhang Ziyi. Even if he leaves New Pictures, he would never side with Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Ziyi's enemy.

But Yan Li doesn't necessarily want to bring Zhang Yimou to Yi'an. It's the same if Zhang Yimou goes out on his own and everyone cooperates.

As long as Zhang Yimou and New Pictures are separated and become an independent entity, even if they remain close to New Pictures, it will give them a lot of room to maneuver.

Whether it's Yi An, China Film Group, or even Edko Films, which has always collaborated with Zhang Yimou, they all have enough advantages to suppress and defeat New Pictures if they were to compete, thus eliminating it from the market.

It's fine if the new footage doesn't include people; the key point is that it gives Zhang Yimou an acceptable and moderate option.

Zhang Yimou's defection to another company could be considered a "backstabbing," which enraged Mr. Zhang, and Zhang Yimou himself may have felt guilty.

But going it alone can't be seen as ungrateful, and it's not like we can't cooperate.

For Zhang Yimou, who was dissatisfied with Boss Zhang, this was a good temptation.

For Mr. Zhang, this is a dead end. Releasing the person is tantamount to waiting for death, while not releasing the person will only deepen the conflict between the two and make it more likely that they will break up.

"Director Zhang, please consider my suggestion. Also, don't forget Weibo Night."

After the meal, Yan Li personally escorted the drunken Lao Mouzi to his car, then turned to chat with Third Master Han.

Master Han joked, "Your move is quite clever. Whether the two Zhangs saw it or not, they will be affected to some extent."

Yan Li shook his head: "It's not that I'm good, it's that the two of them have a deep-seated grudge and are full of rifts. Even if we don't take action, they probably won't last long."

If the two were truly united, Yan Li would have no choice but to use his power to suppress them. However, since they were already at odds, Yan Li didn't even need to deliberately sow discord or help accelerate the situation; the effect was already exceptionally good.

"I think Yimou is tempted, but I'm afraid that Zhang will resort to some underhanded tactics."

Yan Li understood what Han Sanye meant: if Boss Zhang used his weakness to threaten him, Lao Zhangzi might not dare to fight to the death.

"That's perfect. Let Director Zhang see his true colors, and all the last bit of goodwill he has left will be gone."

Yan Li wasn't afraid of Boss Zhang using tough tactics, but he was afraid of him using soft tactics.

Zhang Yimou is quite kind-hearted and values ​​loyalty. If Mr. Zhang backs down and bows his head, Zhang Yimou might really not want to leave him in this time of crisis.

On the other hand, if he had taken a hard line, Zhang Yimou would have been completely disheartened, and Yan Li would have been a perfect opportunity to curry favor with him.

After thinking about it, Master Han was also amused.

Zhang Yimou can't beat Zhang Yimou on his own, but now he has the two of them, so he's least afraid of Zhang Yimou turning against him.

The next day, before Zhang Yimou had even gotten out of bed, his wife woke him up, saying that Boss Zhang had arrived.

He changed his clothes and had just left the bedroom when Boss Zhang questioned him about whether he had dinner with Han Yan yesterday.

"how do you know?"

Zhang Yimou's first reaction was that he had been betrayed by Yan Li, but obviously, Yan Li would not play such a low-level game. He had plenty of ways to make Boss Zhang find out this "secret" himself.

Sure enough, Mr. Zhang was furious when he saw Zhang Yimou admit it.

He had only heard a rough outline and wasn't sure if it was true, so he came to ask Zhang Yimou for details, and it turned out that it was true.

Zhang Yimou had no choice but to explain that yesterday's gathering was just after a meeting, nothing more.

But in his rage, Mr. Zhang refused to believe it and angrily accused Zhang Yimou of being a traitor.

Zhang Yimou, who also harbored resentment, was greatly displeased to be scolded so early in the morning, especially in front of his wife and children. The two had a fight and parted on bad terms.

After Boss Zhang left, Lao Mouzi was still angry. His wife came over to comfort him, and he suddenly blurted out something.

"How about we leave New Picture and start our own studio?"

Last night, he was only tempted, but today, Zhang Yimou is utterly disappointed and really doesn't want to work with Mr. Zhang anymore, so he's considering leaving.

I don't have a good impression of Mr. Zhang, but his wife is very supportive of Zhang Yimou's decision.

Zhang Yimou thought for a moment and said, "Buy me some clothes. I'm going to Yan Li's Weibo Night in a couple of days."

The wife exclaimed in shock: "Aren't you just provoking him?"

"The point is to provoke him, have another argument, and then leave naturally."

Zhang Yimou knew that it wouldn't be easy for him to leave New Pictures directly; it might take a long time. So, he decided to add fuel to the fire, making the conflict so intense that he would leave in a huff, leaving no way out.

First, get the studio up and running to prove you haven't betrayed us. Then, collaborate with New Pictures to ease tensions, keep Boss Zhang calm, and prevent a complete breakdown in relations.

Zhang Yimou is a kind person, but he's no ordinary guy to have made it this far.

Like a cicada shedding its shell, they can rebuild bridges and roads, hoping for a peaceful and prosperous independent existence.

Yan Li quickly learned of Lao Mouzi's thoughts, but remained noncommittal.

Whether things are peaceful or not is irrelevant to him; as long as Zhang Yimou leaves New Pictures, the latter can begin its countdown.

On December 22nd, the second Weibo Night was held in Beijing. With the growing influence of Weibo and Yi An, the event was truly star-studded.

The appearance of Zhang Yimou shocked many people, and they sincerely sighed that even the dignified "national director" had bowed his head, and Yan Batian had truly become the tyrant of the entertainment industry.

This year's Weibo Night awards were similar to last year's, with the most eye-catching Weibo King and Weibo Queen awards going to Sun Honglei and Li Bingbing, respectively.

This year's Weibo King and Queen selection is different from last year's. In addition to personal account data, it is also related to the popularity, influence and popularity throughout the year.

Sun Honglei's huge success this year with "Lurking" earned him the Best Actor awards at both the Feitian and Magnolia Awards. His outstanding performance in "The Message" propelled him to become one of the most popular stars, so it's no surprise that he won the Weibo King title.

Li Bingbing is the same. Both of them have been incredibly popular this year, with "The Message" and the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress, plus the hundreds of millions of yuan in wealth brought by Huayi Brothers' listing, making them incredibly well-known.

The only one who can compete with her is the other player with the double-pawn buff, but she already won it last year.

Although Weibo didn't say that King and Queen could only be won once, unless the gap is too big, it will definitely favor the newcomer.

Yan Li went to Li Bingbing's house that night to celebrate, and also to let the newly crowned Weibo Queen, wearing a crown, properly serve the real Weibo King...

　(2000/245000)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)