Abstract Art Award Winner

Zhou Le is now filled with a "whatever" or "whatever" attitude.
"I've done everything I could, tried to treat everyone equally, and I've appeased those who needed to be appeased the past few days. You can't just cut me in two, can you?"

He lay in bed before going to sleep, covered with the blanket, muttering to himself, "Let me be a dead man today, and don't come looking for me even if the sky falls."

That night, he cleared his mind of all distractions and slept exceptionally soundly, without even a dream, truly achieving a state of mental clarity and physical well-being.

He didn't wake up until late the next day, when the sun was high in the sky, feeling that he had regained most of his energy.

I slowly opened my phone, and sure enough, a bunch of missed calls and WeChat messages popped up, mainly from Dilraba and Gulnazar.

He rubbed his face, organized his thoughts, and sent similar messages to both of them:
"Sorry, I drank a bit too much at the celebration party yesterday. I had a terrible headache when I got back, so I went straight to bed. I didn't even realize my phone had run out of battery and shut down automatically. I just woke up and saw the message."

This response was perfectly worded, explaining the reason for the disappearance while also making it seem understandable.

Soon, both sides replied, expressing their understanding.

Naza: It's okay, I understand~ You should get some rest. You were exhausted yesterday too, [hug]
Naza knew in her heart that Zhou Le was, after all, a top star, and also the investor and initiator of these two dramas. In front of so many people, socializing was inevitable. It was just an act, and as long as the two of them knew what was going on in private, it would be fine.

Only she could feel how much he cared for her, so there was no need to be overly critical. He had drunk too much yesterday, and she had indeed lost her temper, which she now regretted a little.

Dilraba: Okay, I know. You drank quite a bit yesterday. Drink some honey water to help you recover. [Cute]
Dilraba's thoughts were similar, and she understood that she was a latecomer in the competition with Gulnazar. Zhou Le needed to balance the relationships between all parties in public, and he had already done a good job in doing so.

Regardless of the past, at least I didn't suffer any losses this time in Los Angeles. He didn't neglect me just because we didn't interact much usually; he always took care of me privately, including the various arrangements the crew made for me and my print and commercial endorsements. Although I sometimes had to participate in activities with Nazha, which might have made me feel a little uncomfortable at the time, I realized that Zhou Le would treat me fairly in other ways afterward, so I saved face and dignity.

Upon seeing the reply, Zhou Le breathed a long sigh of relief; he had finally managed to get through this hurdle, albeit with some difficulty.

Sure enough, I'm a genius in this area. Whether it's cultivating relationships or occasionally giving up, the results are quite good. At least when I return to China, I can once again be free to roam and soar like a bird in the sky, since that's my home turf.

When the plane landed in Beijing, Zhou Le didn't even have time to go home and adjust to the time difference before rushing to the company.

Inside the conference room, the core team members had been waiting for a long time, and everyone's face was beaming with excitement.

The lead actors couldn't come this time. After all, their exposure has increased significantly since the movie's release, and many people are doing analysis of each character. As a result, they have received numerous business offers, including advertisements, endorsements, variety show invitations, and film and television offers.

Zhou Le was aware of this as well. The rising status of actors in the industry was a good thing for him. Some of them were even people he had personally helped to revive their careers; these people would surely remember his kindness in the future.

So it doesn't matter whether they come now or not, as long as they show up at the crucial moment.

"President Zhou, you're back!"

"Brother Le, congratulations! You actually won Best Actor at the film festival in Los Angeles!"

Zhou Le greeted everyone with a smile and walked straight to the whiteboard in the conference room.

The above shows the latest data for "Fame and Fortune": cumulative box office of 18.3 billion RMB.

Furthermore, its momentum remains strong, with professional institutions predicting that it is highly likely to surpass the 30 billion yuan mark in total box office revenue. This is undoubtedly a phenomenal success for a debut film by a new director.

"Everyone has seen the results, which are fantastic and inseparable from the hard work of everyone." Zhou Le set the tone at the beginning, then changed the subject, "But we can't rest on our laurels. The main purpose of today's meeting is to review why we were able to succeed and how to maintain this success, or even do better."

He picked up a marker and wrote on the whiteboard as he spoke:
"I believe there are two main reasons for the success."

"First, there's my personal influence, which I don't deny. It did bring a huge initial attention and a significant advantage in terms of screen time in the early stages." He wrote down the words "initial traffic".

"But the second point is more crucial: market factors."

He circled those four characters.

"Everyone should see that after several years of the pandemic, the film market has accumulated a large amount of pent-up demand for movies, especially for high-quality, highly entertaining films that can bring emotional release and social discussion."

"Making a Name for Oneself" perfectly satisfies these points.

It's suspenseful and a bit mind-bending, satisfying core movie fans; it has plenty of comedic elements to attract general audiences for a good laugh; and it concludes with an emotional ending and industry reflections, sparking discussion. This kind of multifaceted product is very popular in today's market.

He paused, then looked at the distribution manager: "Old Li, don't you think so? Pure comedy is getting a bit tiresome these days, and pure suspense is too difficult to master. Our formula, with suspense as the core, comedy as the skin, and emotion as the soul, has hit the mark perfectly."

The distribution manager, Lao Li, nodded repeatedly: "President Zhou's analysis is thorough! Nowadays, when audiences go to the cinema, they want to have a good laugh without thinking, but they also hope to have something to think about. 'Fame and Fortune' hits this delicate balance perfectly."

After analyzing the reasons for the success, Zhou Le's expression became serious: "But the better the results, the more vigilant we must be. We must be extra careful and cautious in our subsequent offline promotions and coordination with major cinema chains!"
We must not falter in these areas, lest we leave the impression of starting strong but ending weakly, or of engaging in unsightly practices.

He emphasized one point in particular: "Regarding hiring people to help with offline promotion or endorsements, I have one requirement: whoever I hire must get my approval; you can't just hire anyone randomly!"

The publicity director was puzzled: "Mr. Zhou, why is that? Wouldn't it generate more buzz by inviting more celebrity guests or internet celebrities to help out?"

Zhou Le shook his head: "We need high buzz, but it needs to be precise. The people we invite must have a personal style and acting experience that match the tone of our film. For example, if you invite a tough action star to recommend our suspense comedy, the audience will feel out of place, or even be pulled out of the story. We want something that adds to the film, not something that detracts from it."

"That doesn't mean we can't hire action stars; we can let them help with promotion in other ways. But for our own serious promotional activities, we must be very strict in our selection."

He looked around at everyone and said in a calm tone, "If there are any people you particularly want to invite, whose styles match yours, but who are difficult to invite through the program team or your company, you can give me the list."

I have some influence in the industry, so normally I should be able to invite them. We need to use every bit of publicity resource wisely.” After handling the follow-up matters of “Making a Name for Oneself,” Zhou Le’s attention immediately turned to his next major work, “All or Nothing.”

This film deals with a sensitive and profound subject, directly addressing the black market chain of overseas telecommunications fraud.

He contacted the film's producer, Han Sanping's daughter, Han Jianu, directly.

Han Jianu has a powerful background and extensive resources and connections; she is one of the most influential figures in the industry.

She is extremely capable, but due to her special family background and personal experiences, she chose to work behind the scenes and rarely appears in front of the camera.

Once the call connected, Zhou Le got straight to the point: "Sister Han, regarding 'All or Nothing,' do you think we could push for its release as soon as possible? The timing seems good right now."

Han Jianu's voice was calm and clear: "Zhou Le, I understand your thoughts. You've seen the finished film, and it's of excellent quality. The subject matter is also highly relevant to reality, and its social value is no less than that of 'Dying to Survive'."

However, although the higher-ups are very optimistic after reviewing it and intend to promote it strongly, I just spoke with them, and they have a more comprehensive consideration at the overall strategic level.

She further explained: "The relevant departments mean that they hope to wait a little longer, let the topic of telecom fraud in northern Myanmar ferment in the public opinion field, so that the public can have a fuller understanding."

Ideally, a film should be released precisely at a time when public attention is at its peak and the campaign has made some progress.

This kind of release will maximize its warning and publicity effect; otherwise, it might just be an ordinary crime film with limited impact.

Zhou Le seemed to understand: "I see, it's about leveraging existing momentum."

“That’s right,” Han Jianu affirmed. “Another very important point is that before the film is released, we should proactively find something else to do. Of course, not to cause trouble for the film itself, but to use various channels to continuously educate industry professionals and the general public about the real situation in northern Myanmar, to expose what a living hell it is, and to shatter some people’s unrealistic dreams of getting rich.”

Only by cultivating the soil well can the seeds take root and sprout better. This aspect is best handled by you, but it must be done discreetly, with a purely public service nature, and without any connection to the film itself, understand? In other words, this film is no longer simply a commercial film; it also carries a promotional mission.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Le fell into deep thought.

Han Jianu's words woke him up.

His previous thinking focused more on the film itself, but the above approach clearly takes a higher level, treating the film as a social event.

He convened his core planning team and conveyed Han Jianu's message.

"Brother Le, how exactly do we do it? Shoot short science videos? Interview experts?" a team member asked.

Zhou Le shook his head, his eyes sharp: "Those methods are too conventional. It's not difficult to make people realize the beauty of the world. After watching too many videos of positive stories, many people have become numb. Only particularly sentimental people will be moved every time."

He paused, his tone becoming serious: "But it's actually quite simple to make people remember some bad things, some shocking darkness."

This kind of thing naturally triggers people's most primal sense of crisis and fear. Even if you haven't been the victim of telecom fraud yet, wouldn't you worry about your parents receiving scam calls?

Are you worried that your friends will be tempted by high-paying jobs? That hellish scene, although physically far from the paradise that most of us live in, psychologically, the insecurity it brings is actually very close at hand.

What we need to do is accurately convey this feeling of being so close.

He immediately began to make arrangements: "Contact several socially responsible self-media and video platforms that have good relations with us and are socially responsible. Use short videos, in-depth reports, or even whistleblower reports adapted from real cases. The closer to the people, the better. Focus our efforts on popularizing the cruel truth about telecom fraud in northern Myanmar."

Don't deliberately mention the movie; this is just a public service announcement about the law, but we need to create a conducive atmosphere! We can spend whatever it takes on this, but it must be done discreetly. Ideally, no one should know that we're behind this. After all, we're just a company, and I'm just an artist. There are many people and stakeholders with vested interests behind the scenes, and we don't want this to put anyone in danger.

"Understood, we'll work on a plan right away and show it to you once it's done."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, go ahead."

"Cliff Walkers" had previously participated in several film festivals, achieving good results and winning numerous awards. However, Zhang Yimou's ultimate goal was not merely to win some insignificant awards abroad. As a domestic director, his ambitions were actually quite high; he aimed to at least achieve significant success in the three major film awards.

The Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards are the awards he is currently, or rather, the one he is most focused on this year.

The 2021 Golden Rooster Awards will still be held in Xiamen, Fujian.

The reason for choosing Xiamen is related to the inappropriate remarks made by some Taiwanese artists in the past.

The recent editions have been deliberately held in Xiamen, which is very close to Taiwan, sending a clear signal.

Looking at the invitation and the shortlist, Zhou Le knew that even if he only dressed up for the occasion, the multiple important nominations he received for "Cliff Walkers" and "Fame and Fortune" would be enough to garner huge attention and industry recognition, further solidifying his commercial value and industry status.

Su Yingxia was waiting for Zhou Le's reply. Last year, Zhou Le was quiet for a year, partly to accumulate funds and partly to polish his works, so he missed many important awards. Even when he did attend, he only made a brief appearance as a judge or presenter.

"I will definitely attend on time," Zhou Le told Su Yingxia.

The stage is now set, and with several heavyweight works in hand this year, he absolutely has to attend the Golden Rooster Awards.

Moreover, he has offended some people from last year to this year, so he not only has to go to the awards ceremony, but he also has to bring back something substantial. (End of Chapter)