Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 563 Domestic Products Fall Down, Asking the World for Food
The marketing for Avatar began two months earlier, during the premiere of 2012.

According to the agreement between Wenjie, China Film Group, and Fox, the film's investor, Rupert Murdoch's Fox, the film's online and offline marketing services and online ticketing work in China have been launched in an orderly manner.

The reason for making such a big push for online ticketing for this film is, on the one hand, to further solidify Wenjie Ticketing's unique and exclusive advantage;
Secondly, since the implementation of the strategy proposed by Lu Kuan a year and a half ago, namely "the full integration of the Wenjie Jiahe system with IMAX and 4K", it has officially established its high-end cinema advantage nationwide and even in Asia, and has initially gained excellent reputation through the disaster special effects film "2012".

But Gao Jun knew perfectly well that Avatar was the best "witness" to this bold investment that the industry could see but could not understand, and could not fully realize was forward-looking.

The extensive online pre-sale of tickets for "Avatar" was intended to combat scalpers to some extent and allow more consumers to truly experience the charm and appeal of the combination of IMAX and top-notch special effects.

At the same time, it will continue to implant the image of Jiahe IMAX and 4K high-end cinemas into consumers' minds, thereby achieving a breakthrough in average single-screen output through differentiated development and competition with Wanda Cinemas!
It can be said that, apart from Fox and Cameron, Gao Jun of Golden Harvest was also the most excited on the day of the premiere, January 4th.

At 7:30 pm, I asked Jiejiahe Beiping Guomao Store.

Yesterday was the preview screening of "Avatar", and today is the national premiere. Liu Yifei and others arrived by car in disguise, like a group of ordinary girlfriends watching a movie together on the weekend. However, they were stunned by the scene in front of them as soon as they got out of the car.

As one of the very few cinemas in Beiping equipped with a top-of-the-line IMAX screen, the area in front of the Wenjie Jiahe Guomao store had already turned into a boiling sea of ​​people. The long, winding queue stretched like a giant dragon along the street, extending from the cinema entrance for more than a hundred meters. Security personnel were working hard to maintain order, and the area inside the iron barricades was packed with people.

The deafening noise almost drowned out the traffic. Scalpers were secretly hawking their overpriced IMAX tickets beside the queue, while those who managed to snag tickets waved them excitedly and shouted to their companions, "It was worth it! Regular 3D can't compare at all!"
More anxious moviegoers stared intently at their phone screens, refreshing the newly launched mobile version of Wenjie Tickets, hoping to snag a midnight showing.

The group also included professional photography equipment and tripods, belonging to media reporters who had been waiting overnight to capture the phenomenal frenzy sparked by "Avatar".

"My goodness, your husband is going to make a fortune again! These tickets cost 150 yuan each!" Su Chang teased her best friend with a smile. Her movie "Inception" will be released in theaters in another month, and she has been doing a lot of research on ticket prices and box office figures lately.

After all, being able to act in a Hollywood movie is one thing, but this leading actress among the "Four Little Flowers" is also worried about repeating Yang Mi's mistake. It would be terrible if even Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't boost the box office, especially considering that the movie will be released a month after "Avatar".

昨天刚从温哥华飞回来大甜甜掰着手指头算道：“现在全国的问界嘉禾有48块IMAX，按照极限排片每天从早晨到午夜能排5-6场左右，路老师说《阿凡达》起码要放3-4个月的时间……”

"Ignoring subsequent ticket price fluctuations and seating capacity, theoretically, based on a standard of 350 seats, this cycle could generate over 14 billion yuan in revenue from ticket sales alone!"

"Besides that, there's revenue from merchandise sales, ad placements, and so on. And that doesn't even include the 4K. It's like recouping part of the huge initial investment all at once. We've made a fortune!"

Tong Liya smiled, revealing her little tiger teeth: "It feels like Tian Tian is different this time after coming back from the 'Ball Lightning' set. She's so knowledgeable and capable!"

"You were listening to Guo Fan and his group bragging and chatting on set, weren't you?" Xiao Liu immediately figured out her source. "Otherwise, why would a rich woman like her care about money?"

Su Chang said disdainfully, "Eldest sister, don't talk about second sister. You two are like those who don't know what it's like to be out of touch with reality. You don't know the suffering of those of us from poor families."

"Yes, yes." Tang Yan nodded and said, "I just came to Qianqian's house with her. Do you know what she was looking at?"

"What?" the women asked curiously.

“Look at a map of China, mark a number for North China, a number for East China, and especially many for the Yangtze River Delta region,” Tang Yan laughed. “I asked her what she wanted to do, and she said she needed to buy a house!”

"Hey, hey, hey!" Sister Fang Liu Yifei interrupted their banter, "According to what's said online, you two are from Beijing and Shanghai respectively, why are you making fun of us little girls from Jiangcheng Township!"

Tong Liya laughed and said, "If that's the case, then Tian Tian and I are both from the Northwest. Hello, Sister Jing and Sister Hu!"

The women were chatting and laughing as they walked toward the back door of the cinema when they suddenly heard a sharp shout of "Stop!" from not far away. Several men in blue uniforms pinned the scalper who had just been hawking his wares to the ground.

Liu Yifei glanced at the lively scene on the winter night and asked Gao Jun, who came out to greet them, with curiosity, "Is this a crackdown on scalpers?"

Gao Jun smiled wryly: "Yes, these people are too good at scalping. The coverage of online ticketing can't completely eliminate scalpers for the time being. Our tickets for tonight are already being resold for over 500 yuan!"

How fierce were the scalpers during the 2010 film Avatar?
在IMAX票价普遍在100-150元，普通3D票价约50-80元的当下，因为IMAX场次稀缺，北上等地的黄牛将原价120元的票炒至800-1500元，尤其以中国电影博物馆、华星影城等热门影院为甚。

During the entire Lunar New Year holiday season, scalpers who did well could easily buy houses and cars. After the holiday season ended, a large number of scalpers were convicted and sentenced by the judicial authorities for illegal business operations.

On the one hand, there was a severe shortage of IMAX in the previous era, and on the other hand, Avatar was too popular.

"Ning Hao and Bao Qiang have arrived. Please follow me, everyone." Gao Jun greeted the other female celebrities. "It's only the first day and it's already so popular. Everyone is full of admiration for the boss's requirements for fully promoting the IMAX construction more than a year ago."

Others may not understand, but Gao Jun understands the hardship best. The company was really strapped for cash two years ago! (Chapter 503)
Even so, we still have to work hard to implement the richest man's strict requirements and accelerate the construction of IMAX and 4K in first-tier cities, the Yangtze River Delta, the Bohai Rim, the Pearl River Delta, and provincial capitals and sub-provincial capitals of major cities in Southwest China.

Fortunately, the target was exceeded in the end. We took out a loan from Xiao Liu's uncle at the China Development Bank along the way, and then the CDS funds were smuggled back to China, which completely resolved our financial anxiety.

"Now that the clouds have parted and the moon is shining, coupled with our exclusive agreement with Fox, the net profit from these four months alone will be enough to recoup at least half of our investment!"

Gao Jun boasted to almost everyone he met about his boss's strategic vision: "Miss Liu, you don't know, there are hundreds of online stores selling tickets on Taobao and Wenjie Mall now. They're all being bought by scalpers using the ID cards of their extended family members. That shows how good the market is!"

"That's great! You'll get a bigger year-end bonus this year," Liu Yifei said with a smile, thinking to herself that "the rich get richer."

She took 10 billion yuan to buy houses and became a "house lady," and she estimated that she could easily earn back the 10 billion yuan in one or two months.

The ticket price of 150 tonight will likely rise soon due to market adjustments; Jing Tian's estimate was static and conservative.

It can only be said that Wenjie's hard work in mergers and acquisitions and infrastructure construction over the past two or three years has begun to pay off, and it has also benefited from the biggest dividend of China's film development, which even China Film Group cannot match.

Su Chang had a question: "President Gao, the scalpers' frenzy over IMAX ticket prices, doesn't that reflect the market scarcity and the appeal of our Wenjie Cinema?"

"Since we already have 100% occupancy and high ticket prices, why bother with these scalpers? Isn't this just free advertising for us?"

Gao Jun shook his head and explained: "Wenjie IMAX is going to take a high-end route, which means it must demonstrate management capabilities and social responsibility, so that more moviegoers can enjoy the benefits."

“Our target customers are movie fans and general consumers who pursue quality. The rampant scalping will portray us as a luxury item that is ‘only the privileged class can enjoy,’ alienating us from the masses and arousing widespread resentment and resistance.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "According to the boss's plan, once the mobile internet matures, our next step will be to launch real-name ticketing and entry."

"At that time, features such as a real-name membership system, priority ticket purchase for members, and points redemption will be available, which will transform one-time viewers into long-term data assets, laying the foundation for our future targeted marketing and repeat purchases," he said.

"Big data?" Jing Tian replied.

Gao Jun laughed and said, "That's right! Big data."

Jing Tian recalled Wang Sicong, who had texted her just yesterday, asking, "After Avatar, will the market share of cinemas in the world exceed 10 million?"

"It's hard to say. Our output per screen has increased dramatically, but not every movie has the appeal of Avatar. But overall, the gap between us and Wanda has narrowed considerably."

“Considering the progress of Wanda Plaza’s construction over the past two years…” Gao Jun said thoughtfully, “Our two companies are now roughly equal in terms of performance.”

People are in high spirits when they have good news. In the past two years, Wenjie has been thriving in all aspects and has seen impressive growth. The group chatted and laughed as they arrived at the IMAX theater that Wenjie employees had booked. Instantly, they were greeted by a variety of "one of our own" people.

Everyone felt very comfortable in this setting. Even the female celebrities, Su Chang, Jing Tian, ​​and Tong Liya, didn't feel out of place because they felt like comrades-in-arms.

Their glamorous appearance on stage is backed by the strong support of the entire Wenjie system.

Female celebrities sometimes work at the company and just eat with everyone in the cafeteria on the basement floor. They don't make a big deal out of it. There were quite a few familiar faces at the event today.

Xiao Liu was naturally the most sought-after. With only a dozen minutes left before the movie started, the employees of Wenjie lined up to get autographs and take photos with him.

However, there are all sorts of ways to refer to her:

Sisi, the landlady, the fairy, Director Liu...

On one side of the middle row of the theater, there was a woman who had come to watch the movie with her boyfriend as a family member. She looked at the top female star who was being fawned over by everyone with envy.

"Baoqiang, can I take a picture with Liu Yifei later? Could you put in a good word for me?"

“Why not? Let’s get together.” Wang Baoqiang looked at his girlfriend with an honest smile. “I’ve known her since I first joined the company. Yi Fei is very approachable and a really nice person.”

“Being close to people with a billionaire’s influence…that’s good.” Ma Rong’s gaze was fixed on Liu Yifei, his fingertips unconsciously stroking Bao Qiang’s cuffs.

She saw Xiao Liu talking to Jing Tian with her head turned to the side. When her cashmere scarf slipped down, it revealed her slender neck, and the seemingly simple pearl earrings on her earlobes gleamed with a warm luster under the cinema lights.

Ma Rong couldn't take her eyes off the stare with longing. She suddenly recognized the "exquisite" earrings on the female celebrity's earlobes.

This was mentioned last month at the station's Mid-Autumn Festival tea party, when the station director's wife was showing off her fashion sense to the group of young hosts:
The "Chanel 1932" collection features top-quality South Sea white pearl earrings, with each pearl exceeding 12mm in diameter, and a platinum and diamond-set base engraved with a tiny double-C logo.

It's worth around two million, and even the station director's wife hesitated after inquiring about it. The only way to buy it is to make an appointment in advance in Central, Hong Kong.

Otherwise, given her current status as an ordinary employee of Beiping TV Station, she might not even have heard of such luxury items.

But now, wearing them on the ears of the richest woman, they are so beautiful that they are almost hidden by her stunning face if you're not paying attention.

For a moment, Ma Rong couldn't tell whether he should envy her looks or her wealth.

"Baoqiang, what do you think about me leaving the station?" She suddenly couldn't control her ambition. Seeing the astonishing boom of the entertainment industry 2.0, she felt that these days, any woman with a bit of talent could debut with a little packaging.

Moreover, she doesn't consider herself to be merely "somewhat talented".

"Huh?" Wang Baoqiang was stunned for a moment as he watched Liu Yifei and the other women finish their conversation with the employees and walk over here. He didn't have time to reply to his girlfriend's words.

Xiao Liu approached and said, "Wow, Baoqiang, you brought your girlfriend out? I've heard about it for a long time, you've been keeping her hidden away."

Hu Ge, Huang Bo, Zhang Songwen, and others had just finished interacting with internal employees. The former laughed and said, "Don't even mention you, we haven't really met you much."

Bao Qiang stood up sheepishly, about to introduce himself, but Ma Rong took the initiative and said, "Hello, everyone! My name is Ma Rong. I graduated from Northwest University in 04 with a degree in broadcasting. I currently work at the city's television station. It's an honor to meet you all!"

She paused, then stood up excitedly, stepping past her boyfriend Baoqiang, and grabbed Xiao Liu's hand: "Yifei, I really like you so much! My mom, my sister, and my whole family are all your fans!"

"Can we take a picture together later? I want to post it on my Weibo to show off!"

"Oh! Sure, no problem." Xiao Liu was taken aback by her enthusiasm, but he didn't take it too seriously.

To be honest, she's been experiencing similar situations since she was 15, and as Wang Baoqiang's girlfriend, she definitely has to give him face.

As for her directly stating in front of so many people that her purpose was to chase after celebrities and show off, she seems to have a straightforward personality, which gives people a good first impression.

"Broadcasting major, right? Then that's the same major as mine." Huang Bo patted Wang Baoqiang on the shoulder with a smile: "Your girlfriend is really great, her quick wit complements yours, Baoqiang."

Ma Rong seemed to have no need for Wang Baoqiang to speak to her or introduce her, and quickly turned to Huang Bo: "Hello, Brother Bo, I have a lot to learn from you. Also, please give me a chance to take a group photo with all the big shots later, thank you, thank you!"

The female host from Beiping TV bowed respectfully to the male and female celebrities, and Wang Baoqiang watched her with an almost honest smile throughout the process, feeling honored.

To be honest, he felt that he was out of his league.

Ma Rong is outstanding in appearance, figure, and personality. Recently, she helped me manage some of my finances, and she seems to be a virtuous woman who can handle both social and domestic affairs.

Although he's not a huge star now, he's definitely a well-paid and steadily rising male celebrity. But thinking about his rural family background, his unremarkable appearance, and so on...

Baoqiang felt that finding a girlfriend like this, or even a future wife, was a good thing, at least it could improve the family's genes!

She was good at managing external affairs, taking care of her husband and children, and managing the home front very well.

The movie started soon, and the lights in the theater suddenly dimmed. Wang Baoqiang turned to his girlfriend and whispered, "Your sister is a fan of Yi Fei? I didn't even know."

“There’s a lot you don’t know! We’ll talk about it slowly when we get back tonight.” Ma Rong pulled his arm tightly into her arms, her usual flirtatious tactics making Bao Qiang very happy.

She had made up her mind: seize today's opportunity to get a group photo with several big stars, and then try to follow Liu Yifei back on Weibo to build up her fan base.

These days, anyone with a unique personality can become a trendsetter online. Take the recent "Milk Tea Sister" for example, right? She mainly promotes a pure and innocent image, which clearly indicates that someone is behind her.

Why can't I do it myself? I've just found a way to break through.

The key is to find a reasonable and unobtrusive way to ride on Liu Yifei's popularity. Didn't you see how shameless Yang Mi was before?
But shameless as she may be, she really gained a lot of followers! Even now, she's still trying to piggyback on their popularity every few days!

Furthermore, Weibo is also a business in the internet industry. Asking your boyfriend to find a way to make things easier for you shouldn't be too difficult in a society like China where personal connections matter.

With this thought in mind, Ma Rong glanced at Su Chang, who was whispering with Liu Yifei, out of the corner of his eye.

Ok……

Her boyfriend is also a prominent figure, after all, he is the former president of Zhijie. There must be some connection between them, and they need to maintain a good relationship.

Ma Rong was making all sorts of plans, while Da Tian Tian, ​​sitting a few seats away, was whispering to Liu Yifei.

"Um... the horse thing looks really weird."

"Ma Rong?" Little Liu chuckled softly, "What's strange about him?"

"You were signing autographs for someone just now. I finished talking to Lu Yao and went to find you. I immediately noticed her gaze..."

Da Tiantian pursed her lips, unsure how to describe it, "She kept staring at your earrings, her eyes practically screaming that she wanted to snatch them away."

"Huh? These things are quite expensive. I wouldn't even want to wear them if it weren't for a public occasion requiring me to dress up." Liu Yifei couldn't help but reach out and touch her earlobe and earrings.

"Sister Chunru became a visiting professor at the Fairbank Institute. Lu Kuan gave her a set of clothes and jewelry, saying that she should show some respect when she goes out in the future, as Westerners are the type to treat people differently based on their social status."

"He accepted the formal suit, but he absolutely refused to take the earrings, so he gave them to me."

Jing Tian sneered, "So you're picking up what others have left over too! Haha!"

"I do!" Little Liu said proudly, then asked curiously after a while, "How come you still have time to observe Ma Rong? Do you know him?"

"Of course I don't know them. I'm observing people; Teacher Lu taught me." Jing Tian felt as sweet as if she'd eaten honey: "Recently, he's taught me a lot of training on action chains and character observation, like..."

"Just like when I was teaching Guo Fan on set, hehe, don't you think my seriousness made a difference?"

Sweetie was innocent and carefree. It was her sincerity that night in Tribeca that moved the transmigrator, leading him to begin guiding her in her advancement. (Chapter 559)
"Then seize the opportunity to study hard. You're not making progress unless you're scolded to tears." Liu Yifei smiled and naturally had no apprehension.

“I don’t cry like you.” Jing Tian said sarcastically, then added, “This Ma Rong seems very lively. It was hard not to notice her just now, so I was observing her quietly.”

"So? Did you get anything out of it?"

Da Tian Tian said somewhat shyly, "My performance was a little..."

Seemingly preparing to speak ill of others, Jing Tian leaned even closer, the two charming and beautiful women seeming to be whispering sweet nothings to each other.

"Did you notice that Wang Baoqiang didn't say a word just now? It was all Ma Rong talking? And she took care of all the relationships without missing a single one, just like Wang Xifeng."

“I’ve observed you too.” Jing Tian brought up the “control group” of the “observation experiment” again. “When you were outside with Teacher Lu, you never spoke unless he expressed his opinion. You just stood quietly next to him.”

Da Tiantian clicked her tongue and exclaimed, "They're both someone's wife and girlfriend, but the difference is huge!" Liu Yifei found her wistful expression amusing and teased her in a low voice, "You don't even have a boyfriend, so why are you observing how I become someone's wife? What are you thinking?"

Jing Tian snorted and remained silent when she heard the barbed words coming from the woman. She couldn't be bothered to talk to this wicked woman.

Xiao Liu glanced at Ma Rong, who was embracing Wang Baoqiang, out of the corner of her eye. Her life experience in this life was far superior to that of Jing Tian and the others, so she could naturally see the disharmony between the couple.

However, she's not the type to meddle in other people's business. She sees things but pretends not to know. Maybe Baoqiang likes that kind of personality?
As for Jing Tian's remark about "Wang Xifeng," I privately think:

If he really has Wang Xifeng's personality, then Wang Baoqiang is lucky. At least he can use his liveliness to complement his silence. After all, no matter how outgoing and shrewish Wang Xifeng is, she still cares about her own little family.

This Ma Rong...

At first glance, she can only be described as very ambitious; there's no other way to judge her. Wang Baoqiang himself has to carefully assess her.

It wasn't that Liu Yifei thought too badly of people; it was just that she had truly witnessed the bizarre and varied aspects of human nature in this life, so she was no longer surprised by even the most absurd things.

In fact, she herself did not have much ill feelings towards her husband Lu Kuan's undisguised "badness" when she was young; at most, it was just that it did not conform to her values.

This includes Bingbing's several straightforward confrontations with her, stating that she cannot compromise on matters of principle, but that as a fellow woman, she admires the bold and daring personality of a leading actress.

But she didn't like two-faced people like Yang Mi, finding them cloying and irritating, and didn't want to bother with them.

……

A metallic roar, seemingly from an ancient behemoth, suddenly tore through the darkness of the theater, and the IMAX sound system unleashed a deafening roar, drawing everyone's attention to the big screen.

As the human spaceship slowly sailed into the strange vortex of Pandora, the entire "Wenjie Jiahe" IMAX theater seemed to be pulled into another world by an invisible force.

The next 160 minutes were an absolute spectacle of sight and sound.

From Jake Sully taking his first steps as an Avatar in the glowing forest, to riding an Icarus and soaring atop the floating mountains;

From the romantic union of souls with Netini to the final, tragic counterattack led by the Na'vi tribe, every frame is rendered with exquisite detail in ultimate 4K resolution and realistic 3D depth of field.

Bullets whizzed past the audience's hair, and the roar of dragons flapping their wings swept overhead. This was no longer watching a movie, but an immersive expedition. The entire audience held their breath, their emotions completely dominated by the blue race on the screen.

However, all the employees of Wenjie present today came to watch the film with the purpose of learning and reflection. When the film entered its first minor climax, they suddenly realized that their boss's previous remarks about Avatar bringing about a revolutionary change to the global film industry were not alarmist.

The employees from Wenjie Films, Wenjie Jiahe, Butian Pictures, and the Zhijie division were all immersed in the visual spectacle before them, and at that moment, they were all absolutely certain in their minds:
Whether in terms of its epoch-making significance as a technological revolution or its profound narrative and ecological philosophy, this film is impeccable.

This is more than just a science fiction movie; it's a powerful weapon that has blasted open the door to a new era and is poised to unleash an unprecedented entertainment storm worldwide.

The only thing that could comfort everyone was that while other companies were still completely bewildered, Wenjie had already started preparing for this day years in advance, so as not to be caught off guard.

Regardless of everything else, just look at the industry benefits the company will reap this year due to the construction of IMAX and 4K projects; that's the best answer.

……

2010年1月5号上午10点，《阿凡达》首日票房出炉，用5400万的数字惊爆了所有人的眼球！
This figure not only swept the record in mainland film history, but also far surpassed last year's "Transformers 2" and "The Founding of a Republic". It is nearly 2000 million higher than the previous one, almost all of which is due to the premium contribution of Golden Harvest's IMAX and 4K.

For Fox and Wenyi, this was a huge win-win situation; otherwise, Wendy Deng wouldn't have been forced to betray them under pressure, leading to the change of ownership of Huayi. (Chapter 496)
The film's premiere on the 4th happened to be a Monday, and it wasn't until the morning of the 11th, when the opening week box office figures for *Avatar* were released, that domestic audiences and industry professionals truly realized:

We cannot take Mr. Lu's previous "crying wolf" warnings and predictions too seriously...

3.27 billion!
The total box office figure that this domestic director has been striving for is only what Avatar earned in just one week.

Moreover, all existing IMAX screens and 4K displays across the country have raised their prices, with IMAX ticket prices soaring from 150 or 180 yuan to 200 yuan per ticket in just one week.

Even so, moviegoers in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen lined up in droves, wrapped in blankets, to buy tickets, making the scene comparable to the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush.

Not only were ordinary viewers amazed and captivated by this audiovisual feast, but a large number of fans willing to pay for high-quality content have also emerged in our country, a nation rife with piracy.

The critical acclaim and box office numbers of "Avatar" have dealt a devastating blow to industry professionals, while also attracting widespread discussion from all walks of life.

Ning Hao posted on Weibo:
Yesterday, at the request of the big boss, I watched a film with my colleagues for a learning experience. I must say that Director Lu's warnings have been absolutely true. As Chinese filmmakers, we really need to "reflect" this time, not to be discouraged, but to strive to catch up.

The film "Mr. Tree," in which I co-starred with Bao Qiang and several other excellent actors, will be released next month. For my next project, I'd like to ask my boss if I could try making a sci-fi commercial film. How about "The Rural Teacher"? I'd appreciate any suggestions from netizens.

Renowned commentator Cui Yongyuan exclaimed in admiration:

This year's national economic data looks good, with GDP poised to surpass Japan's, and everyone's talking about China's rise. But the movie "Avatar" has exposed our true situation. There are fewer than 100 IMAX screens nationwide, and most of those were pre-planned by companies like Wenjie.

We can build the world's most efficient factories, but we can't build a Pandora. We can build the fastest high-speed rail, but the most advanced film dream-making technology is still in the hands of Hollywood.

Han Han, deeply moved, immediately posted a sarcastic comment on Weibo:
After watching Avatar, it felt like Cameron had slapped you for three hours straight in an IMAX theater, and then asked you: Are you convinced or not?

Impressed.

Leaving aside the implications of this post, domestic directors really can't catch up with this level of industrial quality, it's like me driving a Santana on an F1 track.

Some directors are still using PowerPoint-style special effects to fool the audience, their dialogue is worse than that of a junior high school student, and their camera work resembles surveillance footage, yet they always love to tout their "artistic pursuits," like that Lu Taro in the movie now.

Cameron spent 12 years honing his craft, while we can churn out three terrible movies in 12 months to try and get them released during the Lunar New Year season.

I'd like to specifically criticize "Bodyguards and Assassins" and "Confucius" here; you guys are truly professionals when it comes to ripping people off.

The saddest thing is that audiences have already voted with their feet. They would rather queue for three days to buy scalped tickets than waste half an hour on a domestic "blockbuster". I don't think this is worshipping foreign things, but that audiences have finally learned to punish perfunctory behavior with their wallets.

Lu Kuan called for "film industrialization" a few years ago, but only he is actually doing it. I see other companies still using people with connections as producers, taking kickbacks to buy equipment, and relying on popular celebrities to cheat at the box office.

The problem with Chinese films has never been technology, but attitude—the attitude of treating the audience like fools. Sooner or later, the market will teach them a lesson.

……

While pessimism is prevalent among industry professionals, one frequently mentioned company continues its steady efforts towards its "money-making spree" during the Lunar New Year film season. On January 11th, Wenjie Jiahe announced:

In order to crack down on scalpers, protect the rights and interests of enthusiastic movie fans and consumers, and also to reduce the hardship of queuing to buy tickets.

Starting today, Avengers will move more than 80% of its Avatar tickets to online sales, with a limit of two tickets per ID card.

This move was indeed intended to crack down on scalpers and maintain the stability of the ticketing market, but it also inadvertently dealt a huge blow to Alipay and Taobao, which were already in a slump!

Given this booming movie-watching trend, it's easy to imagine how many more consumers will join the card-linking service through this method, making it virtually impossible for Alipay to catch up.

Considering Wenjie's previous strategic maneuvering in ticketing during its battle with Damai.cn, and considering that Wenjie Jiahe has been investing heavily in IMAX and 4K infrastructure for over a year and is still strengthening its facilities, the industry is once again apprehensive about the terrifying collaborative capabilities of this cultural behemoth.

Whether it's Wanda, Tencent, Ali, Baidu, or even the aging Lianxiang, they all have to clearly recognize that:

Even without the radical reform brought about by Lianxiang's shareholding reform, the current popularity of "Avatar" in the film market, where tickets are hard to come by, is enough for Wenjie Ticketing to turn the tide!

why?
Because, just considering IMAX, of the more than 60 IMAX screens currently in existence nationwide, 48 are owned by Golden Harvest. How can you compete with them?
In this period of the previous life, there were only 15 IMAX screens in the whole country, 3 of which were owned by Wanda.

This is a "scarce resource" that's in high demand even at 200 yuan apiece, with scalpers driving the price up to 1000 yuan and still having plenty of people waving their cash to buy it! And that doesn't even take 4K into account.

If we take into account the resource share of all high-end cinemas, Wenjie can surpass Wanda in the cinema business and achieve complete dominance in online ticketing and payment services, with no possibility of being caught up in the short term, just by relying on the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival film seasons.

When the entire film and internet industries look back at the strategic planning of this mainland tycoon, they can't help but admire him. Mr. Lu had long ago, on various occasions, made his stance clear to practitioners across the industry and the country:
Avatar is coming, and China's film industry is lagging far behind, its infrastructure urgently needs to be strengthened, and industry practitioners should take action.

He said so, and he did so.

In light of this, the online discussion has become even more heated.

Dai Jinghua, a scholar at Yenching University and a senior film critic, wrote on Weibo:
The shock of Avatar lies not only in its technological wonder, but also in its ability to tear away the fig leaf of China's film industrialization.

While audiences marvel at every fluorescent leaf on Pandora, we must admit that Chinese cinema remains in a "workshop-style production" stage. Lu Kuan's prediction from many years ago that "industrial wrenches will replace literary brushes" is becoming a reality.

But sadly, only his world truly understood the alarm.

After watching the film, grassroots commentator Zhou Liming wrote his heartfelt thoughts on Weibo:
My legs trembled as I walked out of the Wenjie Jiahe IMAX theater in Wangfujing, not because of the 160-minute movie length, but because I was deeply shaken by the industrial power of Avatar.

Cameron's Pandora, forged over 12 years, challenges Chinese cinema in every frame: While North America is using supercomputers to render the Na'vi's muscle fibers, are we still using empirical formulas to calculate the load-bearing capacity of cranes?

When 4K/3D/IMAX are building an audiovisual temple, how many of our film crews are still relying on the "good enough" rudimentary methods?

In the past few years, there has been a young director in China who has been shouting at all of us in the industry at various occasions, such as the Beijing Film Academy, China Film seminars, film festival association meetings, and the preparatory meeting for the Beiping Film Festival!
The wolf is coming!
But how many insightful people actually listened to this advice?

In contrast to those coal mine owners and internet investors who blindly took advantage of the booming Chinese film market and the influx of audiences into theaters to make a quick buck—

I don't want to use the vulgar and superstitious religious term "savior" to describe Director Lu Kuan, but now I can only place my hopes on him, Wenjie, and the Wenjie directors and students of Asia Film Studio who he has trained.

……

The popularity of the Lunar New Year film season and "Avatar" is growing stronger every day. Before it had even been a month since its release, on January 28th, China Film Group officially announced that the film's box office had officially surpassed 500 million yuan.

Old Han was both happy and worried about this number. He was happy because through the cooperation between China Film Group, Wenjie, and Fox, China Film Group, as the distributor of this film, made a huge profit.

The worry is that the record of 5.1 million yuan in the Chinese box office history of "The Founding of a Republic," which "2012" and "Transformers 2" failed to break, will undoubtedly be surpassed by "Avatar" by a large margin.

It's already grossed 5 million in just one month, and there are still two months left! Audiences are still queuing day and night and scrambling for tickets on their computers!
Money is a powerful motivator. The huge success of "Avatar" means that the assets of the richest man in mainland China will increase significantly again. This is a trend that almost anyone with eyes can see. As a result, some strange rumors have begun to emerge, which is something that the person involved had expected.

The deputy editor-in-chief of *Nanfang Metropolis* published a commentary:

The box office frenzy of "Avatar" has once again turned the Chinese film market into a "dumping ground" for Hollywood. Behind this, the role of Golden Harvest in fueling the fire is particularly glaring. Aren't these so many celebrities and pundits who call themselves "saviors" just "traitors"?

As a film industry, Wenjie has not yet made any significant achievements in exporting its products. Instead, it has made a big fuss about a TV series called "Taiping Shu," but that is just a TV series.

I remain neutral, but based on the current situation, what puzzles me most is that director Lu Kuan's so-called industrialization seems to be stuck at the stage of providing "infrastructure construction" for the visual hegemony represented by Cameron, making Chinese audiences willingly pay for Western technology.

Ironically, the "real-name registration" system for online ticketing, while seemingly cracking down on scalpers, has actually further solidified Quest's monopoly in the ticketing market, allowing profits from the Chinese film market to flow continuously into the pockets of Fox and Quest.

While Chinese films are still exploring ways to develop genre films, Wenjie is using real money to build a stage for Hollywood's "cultural invasion." This "traitorous" business logic is less about promoting the industrialization of Chinese films and more about handing over market dominance to others.

If Director Xie Jin knew this from beyond the grave, I wonder what he would think?
Following this article, Xiao Ying from Tsinghua University, Cheng Qingsong, a veteran filmmaker, Lung Ying-tai, a writer from Taiwan Province, and Apple Daily, a Hong Kong media outlet known for its anti-government stance, all offered their support.

Cheng Qingsong posted on Weibo, seemingly responding to Han Han:

The movie "Avatar" brought all sorts of shady characters to the surface, including a certain so-called bestselling author who loves to engage in verbal battles on Weibo, but the more I look at him, the more he seems like a black mouth kept by capitalists.

In my opinion, the Hong Kong-style passion of "Bodyguards and Assassins" and the historical weight of "Confucius" should have blossomed together, but they have been relegated to second-place finishes due to market bias and public opinion suppression.

Hong Kong films, which have given us so many classic memories, should not be treated like this, and famous actors such as Chow Yun-fat should not be swept away by the tide of capital.

The so-called industrialization of film has gradually become a fig leaf for capital advantages to squeeze out the living space of peers.

If director Xie Jin could know this in the afterlife, he would probably be heartbroken to see that the successor he had placed his hopes on had handed the market over to Hollywood. What Chinese films need is not a monopolistic "industrialization," but a creative environment of fair competition and pluralistic coexistence.

I have great respect for Director Lu Kuan and am a huge fan of yours.

But I sincerely hope that you can invest your resources in cultivating local genre films, instead of simply advocating for foreign films!

……

This director, Cheng, is a friend of Professor Li, the first openly gay male filmmaker in China, the founder of the Golden Broom Awards, and has served as the planner and chief director of the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival and the Beiping University Student Film Festival multiple times since 2002.

Since Zhu Dake and Li Yinghe, these public intellectuals have become much smarter in their rhetoric. They mostly address the issues directly, not the individuals, while also expressing their respect for the richest man and offering suggestions in a straightforward manner.

Han Han's criticism of several Hong Kong films stemmed from his own viewing tastes and reflected the sentiments of the majority of the market. However, Cheng Qingsong's subtle commentary implied that Wenjie could suppress Hong Kong films and Hong Kong and Taiwanese artists such as Chow Yun-fat.

This is another form of "diverting the blame southward."

This strategy was very successful. Because of the failures of films like "Storm Riders 2", "Bodyguards and Assassins", and "Confucius", a large number of fans of Hong Kong and Taiwan films and stars began to echo and raise objections.

No matter the era, there will always be those who "praise the past," such as those that quickly appeared on forums:

"The current crop of actresses born in 85, led by Liu Yifei, are not as beautiful as a former Miss Hong Kong runner-up!"

"She can't compare to the older generation of Hong Kong and Taiwanese actresses!"

"It was capital that made them famous, and now capital is starting to suppress Hong Kong and Taiwan artists!"

In short, "Nanfang" started the frenzy of public intellectuals, which was then met with fierce criticism from neutral bystanders and fans of the "laundry detergent" and "celestial fairy" (a derogatory term for female fans of celebrities), sparking public discussion and a major battle.

This has almost become a regular feature of the program in the past two years.

These reactionary media matrices are still led by Nan Fang, an offline media outlet that Wenjie cannot completely eliminate or cover up. Public intellectuals dare not directly confront them, but they are not afraid to act as wingmen, vent their frustrations, or impersonate others to confuse the public.

With the huge success of Avatar, the biggest winner in China is Wenjie. Of all the money they've earned, there's naturally a "noise fee" for listening to the envious and biased comments from others.

But it is obvious that:
Since the time traveler criticized the Golden Horse Awards and began preparing to "reform" the cultural atmosphere of Hong Kong and Taiwan, many Hong Kong and Taiwan media outlets, feeling that he had no influence in mainland China, have begun to speak out frequently with the help and encouragement of some interested parties. (Chapter 542)
The circle of friends of those with skewed views is gradually gathering in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Although celebrities like Chow Yun-fat don't have the guts, let alone the sanity to speak out against it, it's easy for them to stir up their fans.

If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. The cultural achievements he wanted to accomplish would inevitably touch the interests of a large number of cultural scoundrels, which is why he attracted all kinds of barking.

Just as these "wild dogs" were either doing their jobs for money or engaging in sensationalism, and preparing for a war of words with the soon-to-be-launched "road sycophants" Hu Xijin and Zhou Liming, a piece of news suddenly caught the industry's attention:
Official news: The General Office of the State Council officially issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Prosperity and Development of the Film Industry" on the 29th.

The "Opinions" aim to comprehensively promote the prosperity and development of the film industry. Its main contents cover many aspects such as promoting creative production, improving infrastructure, promoting technological innovation, and expanding international markets. It involves changes to many existing film industry policies and is of great importance to all practitioners.

In view of this, all units from top to bottom responded quickly.

Among them, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television announced that it will hold a conference of all state-owned film studios, including China Film Group, Xi'an Film Studio, and Shanghai Film Studio, on Monday, February 1.

However, observant netizens quickly noticed that the only private film company owner was among the conference attendees, who was also the richest man in mainland China who was being hotly discussed because of the huge success of "Avatar".

Meanwhile, fans who were waiting on Boss Lu's Weibo, ready to see how he would "beat the dog," also received a special notification from Weibo.

This is the latest news from Liu Yifei:
"Congratulations on the official wrap-up of filming for 'Ball Lightning'! Warmest congratulations to the entire cast and crew on their triumphant return!"

(End of this chapter)