This actor has something

Chapter 336 Experience the Daily Life of Hong Kong Stars
The buzzing of the sound system briefly silenced the noisy atmosphere at the press conference. The reporters glanced at the podium in unison, and after realizing that the organizers had not yet arrived, they continued to whisper among themselves.

Today is the first press conference since the main creative team of "Curse of the Golden Flower" was confirmed. Before the casting, there were many rumors and speculations, which made the movie attract a lot of attention even before filming started, and the popularity has remained high.

In this regard, I must say that Zhang Weiping is very good at publicity. Without his overwhelming publicity strategy, Zhang Yimou might not have been able to reach the top spot.

Overall, the two cards complement each other.

Unfortunately, Zhang Weiping was a businessman. No matter how nicely he spoke at the beginning, a businessman is a businessman. The repeated gains only made Zhang Weiping's appetite grow bigger and bigger, and he gradually lost sight of the sincere promises he made at the beginning.

The doors to the hall were pushed open, and a few wisps of breeze rose from the ground in the bustling press conference venue due to the temperature difference between inside and outside and the change in air pressure.

Zhang Weiping walked confidently at the front, followed by Zhang Yimou with a smile and a group of actors.

The casting process for "Curse of the Golden Flower" was fraught with twists and turns, like squeezing toothpaste, with each casting decision sparking heated discussions.

For example, the group of actors who followed Zhang Er into the room are all among the top-tier celebrities in the entertainment industry right now.

Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Zhou Jielun...

They have experience, fame, or popularity.

With this group of people and director Zhang Yimou, the beginning of a successful project was basically announced.

So it's normal for Zhang Weiping to be so high-spirited right now, because he can't imagine the possibility of losing money.

At this point, his ego had probably become so inflated that he considered anyone who questioned him a heretic, not even a fan.

It should have been the director and actors answering questions, but he was jumping around like a madman, as if he wanted everyone to know how much he had contributed.

Fortunately, his reputation for being a big mouth was widely known, and the reporters were quite keen to hear some sensational news from him, so the two sides tacitly began a question-and-answer session.

"Mr. Zhang, we noticed that initially, there were many younger and prettier candidates when it came to casting the actress. So what made you ultimately choose Gong Li?"

“I know who you’re talking about. At first, many actresses did come to audition, but after Yi Mou and I discussed it carefully, we felt that no one else was suitable. Zhang Ziyi lacked charm, Zhou Xun had charm, but her temperament was slightly lacking, and the others were incomparable. They couldn’t embody the kind of feminine beauty that Yi Mou imagined for the Tang Dynasty. So in the end, we still felt that Gong Li was the most suitable.”

Looking at Zhang Weiping, who was talking big, Zhang Yimou couldn't help but purse his lips.

If you're going to explain, then explain. Why do you have to bring up Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Xun's names to put them down?
Zhang Yimou understands Zhang Weiping's pressure to some extent. After all, "Curse of the Golden Flower" was a significant investment and was modeled after "Hero," so it's understandable that Zhang Weiping wanted to create some buzz. However, directly naming and disparaging Zhang Weiping went too far.

The reporters in the audience probably didn't expect Zhang Weiping to start acting crazy so easily, and they all immediately became excited.

At this moment, another reporter stood up and asked Zhang Yimou, "Director Zhang, do you agree with what Mr. Zhang just said?"

"Well, actually... um... actually what Weiping said earlier was a bit general. What I meant was that Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Xun were just not suitable for the roles in this movie. If it were other movies or other roles, it's not necessarily true that one would be better or worse than the other."

This is boring...

The reporters, as if by unspoken agreement, stopped asking Zhang Yimou questions and turned their attention to Zhang Weiping.

"Mr. Zhang, you previously said that Zhou Jielun is a better actress than He Daqi, but Zhou Jielun has not yet won any acting awards, while He Daqi has not only won Best Actor, but also several Best Actor awards in a row. How did you come to this conclusion?"

"He Daqi... he was just lucky! I believe that if Zhou Jielun could play the roles He Daqi played, she would definitely not be much worse than He Daqi."

Upon hearing Zhang Weiping's answer, Zhang Yimou's face immediately fell. Fortunately, he remained expressionless, so no one else could see any change. Only those familiar with Zhang Yimou would notice that the smile in his eyes had largely disappeared.

It seems the atmosphere was right, as Zhang Weiping started rambling more and more smoothly. Before the press conference, he had repeatedly assured Zhang Yimou that he wouldn't express too many thoughts on He Daqi's issue, but now he couldn't control his wild tongue and ended up doing a lot of comparisons and disparagements.

Unfortunately, he didn't know that Vivian Chow had previously said she was going to teach him a lesson from the people of Hong Kong; otherwise, he wouldn't be so reckless now.

Just as Zhang Weiping was getting a little carried away, a reporter in the audience stood up and asked, "Mr. Zhang, what do you think about the movie 'Going Out' starring He Daqi last month, which broke the box office record in South Korea in Japan? As far as I know, 'Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles' was released on the same day as 'Going Out,' but 'Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles' only grossed less than one million."

Zhang Weiping's expression stiffened, and he looked at the reporter and asked, "Which TV station are you from?"

"I'm a reporter from Fluorescent Network, Mr. Zhang. Could you answer my question?"

"What's there to see? What's so great about that? He's a Chinese man who acted in a South Korean movie and broke the Japanese record. What's there to brag about?" Zhang Weiping replied coldly.

"But didn't you also use Japanese actors in 'Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles'? Back then, you were promoting it as a hit in the Asian film and television market. How come you've forgotten all that now, Mr. Zhang?"

"I don't want to answer that question. Next." Zhang Weiping's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

It's just that the venue isn't new, otherwise Zhang Weiping would have called security to drag the reporter out.

The atmosphere at the scene began to become somewhat subtle. Only Zhang Weiping himself did not notice, while everyone else sensed that something was amiss.

"Hello Mr. Zhang, I'm a reporter from Xinghe.com." The next reporter took the microphone, first stood up and introduced himself, then asked his question:

"Mr. Zhang, I just received news when I arrived that many of your artists have complained about financial disputes with you. They said they came because of director Zhang Yimou's reputation, but after signing the contracts, they found that it wasn't like that at all. May I ask whether Director Zhang Yimou actually owns any shares in Xinhuamian? Also, do you have any explanation for withholding the income of your artists?"

"I don't want to answer questions unrelated to the 'Curse of the Golden Flower' crew. Next person," Zhang Weiping replied after calming himself down for a while.

"Mr. Zhang, many people in the industry have said that the cost of traveling a thousand miles alone is nowhere near as high as you advertise, and may not even be a quarter of that. How do you explain this?" Another reporter stood up and asked.

"...Let me say it again, I don't want to explain anything that has nothing to do with the 'Curse of the Golden Flower' production team."

"Mr. Zhang, I heard you were previously designated a defaulter and almost faced enforcement proceedings. Is that true?" "Next!!!"

"Mr. Zhang, regarding your alleged attempt to extort He Daqi, Zhou Huimin responded on Yabo.com some time ago with the statement, 'I don't stoop to the level of idiots.' Was that a response to you?"

Zhang Weiping finally couldn't take it anymore, slamming his fist on the table and standing up: "Are you all out of your minds? This is a press conference for the 'Curse of the Golden Flower' movie! I've already said I won't answer any questions unrelated to the 'Curse of the Golden Flower' movie, don't you understand?"

One reporter after another relentlessly attacked Zhang Weiping, causing him to break down his defenses.

Things developed so quickly that the rest of the crew didn't have time to react before Zhang Weiping was completely out of his mind from being exposed.

Seeing that things were going wrong, Zhang Yimou was about to pick up the microphone to control the situation, but he was no match for the reporters in the audience.

"Mr. Zhang, there have been rumors among the employees of Xinhua Nian that you have bipolar disorder and symptoms of schizophrenia. I wonder if you took your medication to control them before you left home today?"

"Say that again, you fucking idiot!"

Zhang Weiping suddenly grabbed a bottle of mineral water and threw it down. He wanted to rush down and argue with the reporter who had just asked the question, but was stopped by the crew members.

However, looking at that fierce and aggressive appearance, everyone was wondering to themselves, "That reporter seemed to have hit the nail on the head..."

The press conference, which was supposed to be going well, has now turned into a mess. Zhang Yimou stood up with a cold face, didn't even glance at Zhang Weiping, and turned to walk out of the venue.

Seeing that someone was leading the way, the actors followed suit and left the venue.

As Chow Yun-fat walked along, he pondered, "This routine is so familiar. Have the mainland paparazzi learned it so quickly? It hasn't even been a few years, has it? They've already surpassed the Hong Kong and Taiwan paparazzi in their methods?"
What he didn't know was that the group of reporters who had just asked the questions were all sent by a group of small websites under Yabo.com used to drive traffic. There weren't many of these websites, only about seventy or eighty.

……

……

Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui cinema.

The main cast and crew stood in a row in front of the curtain and bowed to the audience.

"Thank you all so much for your support. I hope you will promote it when you get back and let more people support Dragon City Years."

Apart from He Daqi, the other main cast members all looked somewhat disappointed, just like the movie theater that was beginning to close, leaving only the curtain falling after the glory and a sense of reluctance.

The box office performance of "Election" was only so-so.

Even with the team's constant promotional tours and autograph sessions throughout Hong Kong, the box office only reached a little over 30 million, and even that was thanks to the support of many of Ho Tai-kai's fans who came from the mainland.

He Daqi was able to retrieve data from the film library, so he knew that the current results were much better than before.

The others, however, were unaware that, especially since The Years of Dragon City and The Gift of Cell No. 7 were filmed together, the difference between them was quite absurd, causing the Hong Kong actors to start to doubt themselves. Could it be that the difference between the two films really be so big if it wasn't actually starring Ho Tai-kei?
However, one thing is certain: the inland market must not be abandoned.

Previously, people might have thought that the inland market was dispensable, but now it's the other way around. The box office cap in the inland market is becoming more and more outrageous every year, especially now that the private cinema chain has been opened up.

The number of cinemas increases faster towards the end of the year, especially the total number of screens. Nearly 100 new screens were added in November alone. In previous years, the total number of screens fluctuated between 2,200 and 2,300, but this year it suddenly jumped to 2,600 in the second half of the year.

If they still don't take the mainland box office seriously at this growth rate, then they're really out of their minds.

"Qi-zai, thank you for running around with me all this time. It's finally over. Let's go to You Gu Qi and have a good meal tonight!" Du Qifeng composed himself and said to He Daqi with a smile.

"No doubt about it, Director Du. But I might have to leave early. I can't stay and drink with you until dawn. My flight is tomorrow morning, so I have to get up early."

"It's okay, Qi Zai, we won't drink too late." Gu Tianle came over and put his arm around He Daqi's shoulder.

"Congratulations, Brother Gu! You're the lead in the next movie, so you'd better drink a lot tonight."

Having finally repaid the favor, He Daqi was quite happy. Before even reaching the table, he started urging people to drink.

Nothing can't be solved with a drink. The group of Hong Kong actors, who were just feeling a bit down, were all chatting and laughing as they walked out of the movie theater together.

After getting into the car, Du Qifeng sat down next to He Daqi. He joked with the others for a few moments, then asked He Daqi in a low voice, "Qizai, would you be willing to add some scenes for the second movie? The script isn't finalized yet, and we're planning to revise it according to the mainland's release regulations."

He Daqi was taken aback when he heard this. According to the film library, the second film did not seem to have passed the censorship either. However, judging from Du Qifeng's appearance now, he was obviously provoked by something and actually wanted to cater to the regulations in mainland China.

"I'm sorry, Director Du, let's stick to what we agreed on. I'm really busy next year. I won't change my agreed cameo role, but I can't add any more scenes because I had to postpone my week of commitment. I really can't postpone it any longer."

This time, He Daqi wasn't lying. He was indeed quite busy in 06. The only known projects he had were "After the Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Wither" and a movie by Feng Xiaogang.

Especially since my flowers bloom after all others have faded, I was planning to take a short break after the New Year before starting filming. However, I haven't finished preparations yet. The reason I'm not staying in Hong Kong for long this time is to go back and deal with this matter as soon as possible.

Du Qifeng was slightly disappointed, but he didn't nag He Daqi any further. He simply said self-deprecatingly, "It's getting harder and harder to make movies in Hong Kong. There's a lack of funding, the themes have been overdone by others, and it's even harder to find actors. Everyone's tired of seeing these flop films, but we can't seem to promote any new talent. It's tough..."

"There's always a way out, just leave the rest to time," He Daqi replied with a smile.

Liang Jiahui happened to hear what He Daqi said, patted He Daqi on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Qizi, I didn't expect you to be so philosophical."

"I'm from the Literature Department of Beijing Film Academy."

(End of this chapter)