Who said this top flow is crazy! This top flow is awesome!

Chapter 349: The Sci-Fi "Great Era" Makes its Debut During the Spring Festival.

As dusk settled over the spire of Milan Cathedral, Via Monte Napoleone was shimmering like diamonds under the flashing lights, surrounded by blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners, with upbeat and stylish background music playing in the background.

Ikeno sat in the second row, dressed in Dior's latest ready-to-wear collection. Her posture was elegant, and her facial features were deep and delicate, making her look like a walking cardboard cutout.

Beside him, Sister Shang was intently observing her surroundings, occasionally taking photos with her phone, and shaking her head: "I still think this place is not as good as Paris Fashion Week, at least there are more opportunities there."

"You mean the bearded, mature woman?"

Ikeno kept his eyes straight ahead.

On January 5th, after talking with Chicken Claw Zhang and Wang Xiaohong, he flew here—to Milan Fashion Week.

As a global brand ambassador for Dior and a spokesperson for multiple top luxury brands, and amidst the Hermès controversy, Ikeno's status in the international fashion world has significantly improved.

Of course, his trip here wasn't simply to participate in a show; his deeper purpose was to address the overseas promotion of "The Martian."

Unlike "Flu", "The Martian" did not have an early screening at international film festivals for various reasons. The team has now basically set a release date, which is this year's Spring Festival.

As Ikeno's first major investment since "Flu," which truly aimed to "open up the country," Ikeno had to personally contact overseas distributors.

Well... science fiction knows no borders, and this genre is indeed far more popular than "Flu". In addition, the success of Ikeno's "Flu" has been very well received in Southeast Asia and some small European countries, and a suitable agent has already been found.

However, the United States, and several other countries with greater cultural influence, have not progressed as expected.

How many screenings are you planning to get for your movie in the US this time?

Unable to contain her curiosity, Sister Shang secretly asked, "Tell me, and I promise I won't tell anyone else."

Chi Ye gently stroked his watch: "We haven't finalized the agency agreement yet."

"Is it still not done? It's almost time for the movie to be released."

Sister Shang asked in surprise, "Weren't we already discussing this before?"

Ikeno shook his head, offering no further explanation.

In fact, after the success of "Flu", many people, including those in China, have already idolized Ikeno in their minds. However, the reality is that the influence of "Flu" is more limited to Southeast Asia and Europe.

In the true largest voting bloc, it's not as miraculous as the media has touted.

Otherwise, Ikeno's status would no longer be defined as a domestic entertainment star, but would be changed to "global superstar".

The box office revenue of the film "Flu" will soar to over 10 billion.

In reality, no.

The box office revenue that "Flu" brought to Ikeno was basically over 80% from mainland China, which is why it is said that mainland China is his base, and that will never change.

"Science fiction films are a strength of the Western film industry, and they are not very confident that The Martian will meet their expectations."

Chi Ye thought for a moment and decided to satisfy Shang Jie's little gossip-loving mentality: "We have already talked to two of the agencies we cooperated with last time, and we can basically guarantee the screenings, but there are definitely not too many."

"Wait, something's not right."

Shang Jie glanced at a familiar-looking foreign actress walking across the stage: "I remember several Hollywood blockbusters have been scheduled for release here, right? Is there a scheduling conflict?"

Ikeno: "Star Trek 3 and Super Lizard Shrimp 2 are both world-class IP science fiction films."

"...Ikeno, I'm not considering affiliating with your studio anymore."

"Sister Shang suddenly said."

Ikeno looked at her but didn't say anything.

The two of them had clearly agreed beforehand that Sister Shang would give this matter serious consideration.

Sister Shang said earnestly, "I won't stay by your side when the sun sets, but I'll chase after you when you rise again!"

Chiye: "?"

"Star Trek 3! I've been following the comics and anime of this show since I was a kid, and Super Lizard Man too. The previous two movies were both incredibly well-received. I think you should focus on your domestic competitors. The international ones are too scary. Let's just finish watching the show and go back."

After holding it in for a long time, Chi Ye finally couldn't help but say, "I advise you to be a person with discernment."

Sister Shang didn't react immediately: "Having eyes and pupils... that sounds so strange..."

He said you're blind.

Li Qian, who was also invited to the show, chimed in: "Speaking of which, have we taken too big a step? You Shu is right, this is their territory overseas. We should stick to promoting ourselves domestically. It doesn't feel like we can achieve the desired results by promoting ourselves here."

Upon hearing this, Chi Ye didn't say much, but Li Qian and Shang Youshu exchanged a glance and "instantly understood" what he meant.

I see, they've been "held hostage."

After all, the previous "Flu" caused such a big stir that domestic media outlets were eager to slap the title of "shining light of Chinese movie stars" on Ikeno, saying that Ikeno had trampled Hollywood and Bollywood overseas, reaping huge box office profits and winning over audiences.

That's not untrue; it did capture some people's hearts. But the world is so big, and the themes vary from region to region!
With "The Martian" about to be released, and science fiction being a global commodity, if the film doesn't meet expectations, the previous hype will likely backfire on Ikeno, the person involved.

To put it bluntly, it's because they're too concerned about saving face!

But in fact?
Chi Ye never even considered the issue of face. If the old lady were here, she would never have imagined such things. After all... if Teacher Chi cared about face, how could she have gotten to where she is today?
Money, Ikeno wants to make money. With a global blockbuster like "The Martian" and the foundation laid by "Flu", how could he possibly or be willing to give up the overseas market?
The setbacks you're experiencing now are just a normal phenomenon before you start making money.

……

At the same time, domestic

At a dinner party within a certain circle in the capital.

Unlike ordinary gatherings within the industry, today's gathering had very few attendees, and the chosen venue was a high-end private room at a well-known private club in the capital.

At this moment, inside the private room, five or six people are sitting on the sofa, eating fruit and chatting.

People who watch movies regularly should be able to recognize these people at a glance.

Because the people in the private room are all top-tier celebrities in the Chinese film industry within the last decade.

Among them were Wu Jing, a fellow enthusiast whom Chi Ye rarely interacted with, and Zhang Yi.

I've met Shen Bin a few times, but we're not close.

"I heard that Ikeno went to Milan this time, hoping to grab some screen time in the Italian market."

The person who said this was Feng Kuzi, a "long-time friend" of Ikeno, whom he had only known on a spiritual level and who had also only met a few times.

He grinned, showing his large, yellow teeth: "Hey everyone, the Italian market, those five words, are they familiar?"

Everyone laughed.

"The Flu was indeed a hit for a while, which is understandable."

Wu Jing pondered for a moment and said, "It's a good thing that Chinese actors can go global." "Hey, I just think Kyoko is a really genuine person!"

Director Feng affectionately referred to the secretions as "Warm Stomach": "But there's something I need to make clear beforehand: no matter where he goes this time, the publicity and distribution of our two films absolutely cannot be affected."

—The era of science fiction in the Chinese entertainment industry has been set about a year or two ago.

The reason for this was the stunning debut of "The Magic City Fortress", which made domestic science fiction films a "nightmare" for many filmmakers, audiences and even ordinary passers-by.

Later, the higher-ups focused on developing themes with influence and cultural impact, and chose science fiction films.

The science fiction film industry, which had been shut down, and the industry market suddenly ushered in a spring. Overnight, multiple circles, multiple capital groups, and big names entered the fray, including "The Martian".

To date, there are already double-digit numbers of science fiction film projects approved, making it a "great era for science fiction."

Now, after several years of development and waiting, the grand era of science fiction has finally ushered in its first "test" during this year's Spring Festival season.

Aside from "The Martian," there are two other big-budget science fiction films that have garnered significant attention both within and outside the industry during this year's Spring Festival season.

They are "The Surface of the Moon," starring Shen Bin and Ma Li and invested by Mahua Film & Television, and "Dream Lover," starring Wu Jing and Zhang Yi and directed by Feng Xiaogang.

Of these two films, "The Moon's Surface" is clearly a science fiction film, while "Dream Lover" is adapted from a novel by a domestic science fiction author and has a source material based on the same title.

Both films had huge budgets, but even with such a large investment, it's impossible to film them so quickly. After all, not every film is like "The Martian," where special effects work was already underway before filming even began.

—They took a very clever approach, the so-called "soft science fiction".

Especially "The Surface of the Moon," although the publicity and copywriting have always claimed that it is China's first sci-fi blockbuster with an investment of over 7 million yuan, in fact, the investment was not that high, and the entire story of the film is mainly a comedy.

The amount of special effects used was far less than the outside world imagined.

The same applies to "The Person in My Dreams".

Choosing to release the film at this time is twofold. First, they want to seize the initiative. As it's the first test, whichever company wins this round will have various unspeakable benefits for the development of the entire industry in the next few years, or even the next decade.

Secondly, it helps to solidify their position.

The aggressive appearance of Ikeno and "Flu" made the Chinese entertainment industry, which was used to being high and mighty, feel uneasy. Although they didn't say it, they knew in their hearts that if Ikeno succeeded again, no one would be able to compete with him for resources.

In the future, the country's top-level projects will give priority to this partner.

Therefore, this is both a struggle for interests and a normal phenomenon of film industry members banding together.

"Ikeno's team is a master of publicity and distribution. Back then, with the song 'Girl,' the investment was less than 100 million, but how much did they earn at the box office just from that one song?"

"Therefore, they will definitely not give up on this aspect of publicity."

A prominent figure in Beijing's entertainment circle, surnamed Wang, commented: "The way this movie is being promoted raises the possibility of deceiving the audience."

"Who says it isn't?"

Zhang Yi remarked with feeling, "I don't think it's necessary to do that."

“We are also preparing for overseas promotion. Whether it works or not, since ‘The Martian’ has already used this card, we have to follow suit. This way, the promotion will at least not give the impression that ‘they are a level above us.’”

Shen Bin stated, "I don't know what you guys are doing, but the company has already decided to do it this way."

"..."

Director Feng paused for a moment before saying, "Then let's do it together."

"Together?"

"Let's all move in this direction. Anyway, we're all just completing the tasks assigned by the higher-ups. The level has already been raised, and the tone has been set so high, there's no need to keep avoiding this issue."

"I can see it."

After exchanging a few words, everyone nodded in agreement.

The current situation is that, thanks to Ikeno's years of accumulation, "The Martian" has an inherent advantage in publicity and distribution. If they don't follow up, they will appear inferior to Ikeno and will be a big step behind from the start.

This is something that everyone cannot tolerate.

These two projects are quite different from the previous ones, not only because too much money has been invested, but also because of ZZ.

In short, the battle for the Spring Festival film market has already begun from this moment.

The following day, the official Weibo accounts of "The Moon" and "Dream Lover" on various platforms began to release reactions from overseas audiences after the preview screenings, or to capture clips of foreign artists filming on set, interviewing them about their thoughts on the works.

Naturally, there was an outpouring of praise, screams, cheers, and astonishment…

They paid for it, and they're very dedicated.

Meanwhile, other major films scheduled for this year's Spring Festival have also begun their own campaigns, seamlessly entering this annual grandest promotional "war" in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Among them, Jiang Kaige's "Volunteer Army 2" and Zhang Yimou's "The Nanjing Incident" are two other heavyweight films in this year's Spring Festival season.

In addition, there are the overseas imports that were just opened this year, which are Ikeno's strongest competitors overseas, and even Lizard Man and Star Trek 3, which have no hope of defeat.

With seven blockbuster films and two animated movies, a total of nine big-budget productions, this year's Spring Festival film season has become the most explosive and competitive in the Chinese entertainment industry in the past five years.

The scale of the publicity campaign was so large that even the relevant departments were overwhelmed.

An office in the capital.

"We have three big-budget sci-fi movies in China for this Spring Festival season... Have you seen the information I sent you?"

The leader sat at the back of the office and asked Jinzhao, who was sitting on the sofa.

Jin Chao took a sip of tea: "The momentum is very good, congratulations, it's working."

"Hey, don't you care at all about Ikeno's works?"

The leader was surprised and joked, "I feel like I'm more like his father-in-law than you are."

"...He's not my father-in-law yet."

Jin Zhao smiled, then said in a soft but not-so-soft voice, "In this kind of thing, it's obvious who's good at it. You can't fake it. If he's not good enough, he's not good enough. Our relationship won't help him."

"Hmm... It's good that you have this awareness, Comrade Lao Jin."

Jin Chao nodded calmly, then suddenly asked with an air of nonchalance, "...How's the original footage? You should have seen it by now, right?"

The leader, who had just picked up his teacup, paused, then put it down again: "I've seen it, but I won't tell you whether it's good or bad."

now:"?"

(End of this chapter)