This actor has something

Chapter 408 The Invisible Changes

The camera flashes below the stage were constantly flashing and intertwining.

Feng Kuzi had already had his fill of boasting, and it was almost time for the movie to start, so he looked around and noticed that He Daqi looked indifferent, while Deng Chao seemed a little excited. So Feng Kuzi casually handed the microphone to Deng Chao, intending for him to say a few more words, and then led the main cast and crew off the stage.

"Before the movie screening, I want to express my feelings in front of the media: Sun Li! I love you!"

With a buzzing sound, Feng Kuzi felt his head was spinning.

He quite likes it when the lead actors cause trouble, but only if it happens before the movie is released, or if there's a big scandal. For example, when the movie "Cell Phone" was released, Old Zhang had to deal with his son's mess. Or, like when "Miracle in Cell No. 7" was released, Zhou Huimin dropped the bombshell that "we got married." These two kinds of big scandals are what really matter. People will pay attention to the movie while they're enjoying the gossip, which helps with the box office.

What's going on with Deng Chao? Rumors about him and Sun Li have been circulating for over a year, and fans are already used to it. Now you're boldly expressing your love on stage, isn't this diverting the movie's attention to Deng Chao and Sun Li's relationship?

Feng Kuzi's originally bright expression instantly turned cold, and he put on a show of going from sunny to cloudy.

He was about to turn around, snatch the microphone from Deng Chao's hand, and leave the stage with a cold face when he suddenly heard applause beside him.

"Good! Well said! This is love!"

He Daqi clapped his hands with a smile and offered his blessings. The main cast members on stage were slightly taken aback, but they immediately joined in the applause.

With He Daqi's support, Feng Kuzi couldn't afford to give Deng Chao the cold shoulder anymore. Fortunately, he was quick to change his tune and was now smiling and clapping.

As the applause subsided, Feng Kuzi didn't give Deng Chao a chance to continue his rambling. He took the microphone and said, "Next, please enjoy the movie 'Assembly Call.' I hope you will give us your feedback after the screening."

After saying that, he led the main creators off the stage.

"Director Feng, I just got back to China and I'm still jet-lagged. I won't wait until the movie is over; I'll stay a little longer before I leave."

He Dayi's excuse was so perfunctory that no one at the scene believed it.

He's been back in China for so many days, how could he not be jet-lagged? But no one called him out on it, and whatever He Daqi says goes these days.

"It's alright, go back and rest early. Don't forget that our official roadshow is the day after tomorrow, Daqi, you'll need to put in a lot of effort then." Feng Kuzi gently tugged at He Daqi's arm and said with a smile.

"Don't worry about that, I will not neglect important matters."

Before Feng Kuzi could respond after He Daqi finished speaking, Deng Chao hurriedly interjected, "Daqi, I have something I want to talk to you about. I happen to be free today, so let's go together in the car and talk."

Upon hearing this, He Daqi glanced at Feng Kuzi's expression, but didn't notice anything amiss, so he nodded to Deng Chao: "Okay."

Back at the main table, He Daqi chatted with Han Shanping and the others for a while longer. When he saw that it was almost time, he got up to say goodbye.

His decision to get up and walk out triggered a chain reaction.

From the main table to the theater entrance, people kept coming up to say goodbye to him, which made Han Shanping and the two CEOs, who were sitting at the main table watching He Daqi, look puzzled.

"The Great Qi is truly remarkable now," the Great King remarked with a sigh.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Assembly will be Huayi Brothers' last collaboration with Ho Ta-chi. If they want to invite Ho Ta-chi to star in the future, not to mention whether Ho Ta-chi would be willing, even if they could invite him, they probably couldn't afford his salary.

Han Shanping glanced at President Wang, shook his head and said softly, "He used to be quite remarkable, but nobody noticed how many fans he had overseas. Ever since his album sold like hotcakes in the US, Hollywood has been trying to invite him to make movies. The implication couldn't be clearer. After Bruce Lee came Jackie Chan, and now that Jackie Chan is getting older, they're seeing if Daqi can take over. After all, the Chinese market is growing bigger and bigger, and Hollywood still really needs international movie stars like him."

He Daqi was unaware that Han Shanping was pressuring him behind his back, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. Right now, after leaving the theater, he was shoving Feng Kuzi back and forth.

"Director Feng, please go back. Today is an important day for you. How can you come out to see your guests off?"

"Hey! It's alright, I'll see you out of the movie theater first, and we can chat a bit more while I'm at it."

"Really, don't bother seeing me off. Why are we being so polite between us?"

Feng Kuzi couldn't handle He Daqi's strength, and was pushed back to the theater by He Daqi with a smile.

"Daqi! Don't forget the day after tomorrow!" Feng Kuzi couldn't argue with He Daqi, so he could only remind him again.

"Alright, alright, you should go back now."

After responding to Feng Kuzi with a smile, He Daqi turned around and led Zhou Huimin and Deng Chao out of the cinema. As they walked, he asked Deng Chao, "Brother Chao, what's the matter that you're in such a hurry to tell me? If we both leave today, what will Director Feng think?"

“If I don’t hurry up and go with you, I’m afraid Feng Kuzi will give me a hard time. You haven’t experienced his sarcastic and unpredictable nature. He’s very good at insulting people.”

"Hahaha, so why are you still so presumptuous on stage?" He Daqi laughed when he heard this. He had actually noticed Feng Kuzi's change of expression. He had applauded before because he was afraid that if Feng Kuzi got angry, he would embarrass Deng Chao.

"Sigh, don't even mention it. I feel like I've had enough of Huayi. I should have signed with your Yayue back then, at least there's more freedom there. But then I got lured by the resources of Jijihao, thinking that you could take care of me at Huayi too, so I signed on a whim."

"How many years are left on the contract?"

"Five years."

"Then you'd better stay put." He Daqi shrugged lightly.

……

……

The second day of the roadshow.

The recording site of Happy Camp.

"Let's welcome the director and lead actors of Assembly."

Feng Kuzi led Deng Chao, Wang Baoqiang, and Tang Yan into the studio.

"Welcome Director Feng, welcome Brother Chao, welcome Bao Qiang, welcome Tang Yan."

The Happy Family immediately surrounded them and shook hands with each of them, much more enthusiastic than they usually are when hosting, because they knew there was another important guest coming up.

"Next! The most important part is here! Let's welcome our newest superstar!!! Shout his name out loud!"

He suddenly pointed the microphone at the audience.

"He! Da! Qi!"

The audience screamed first, then chanted He Daqi's name in unison.

"Then, let's welcome He Daqi!"

Today, He Daqi wore a light gray leather jacket over a white long-sleeved shirt, paired with simple jeans and brown casual leather shoes, giving him a warm yet slightly lazy look. His hairstyle was still his favorite slightly parted, Korean-style cut, which, combined with his smiling eyes, drew screams from the audience as soon as he appeared.

"Daqi, long time no see."

"It's been a long time since I've felt well, Teacher He."

He Daqi chuckled and gave He Jiong a hug.

"Teacher Daqi, do you still remember me? I'm Haitao."

"I remember, I remember." He Daqi nodded with a smile.

"Wow! Haitao, you actually dare to call Daqi Teacher! We all respectfully call him King He!" Deng Chao exclaimed, covering his mouth with his hand in surprise.

Wang Baoqiang, a little mischievous, chimed in with a smile, "Yes, yes, we all call him King He."

"Ah! That... I... I'm sorry, Elder Daqi... no, I'm sorry, King He!" Du Haitao quickly put on a cautious look and bowed to He Daqi.

"No, no, no, don't do this!" He Daqi said, and even reached out to support her, but her feet didn't move and her legs wouldn't move.

His lazy demeanor made people feel particularly comfortable. Even if he was too lazy to move, people would mentally defend him, thinking that He Daqi must have just not reacted in time, rather than deliberately not helping him.

He Daqi is really too lazy to move now. He did two roadshows yesterday, flew to the south last night, did two more roadshows today, and then came here to record a program.

Now, not only is He Daqi listless, but Feng Kuzi and Deng Chao are also listless.

Fortunately, it was agreed beforehand that the Happy Family wouldn't lead us to play physical games, but instead brought out a few word guessing games and recorded a bit with us.

In the middle of it, we did try out a new game called Who's the Spy.

He Daqi found it quite interesting and went up to try it out. Unfortunately, the game didn't provide him with much of an experience because the audience's reaction was too strong. Every time He Daqi was about to guess wrong, they would scream, so it was difficult for He Daqi to deliberately guess wrong.

Unlike the last time we came to record, we knew that He Daqi, Feng Kuzi and the others were very tired, so we didn't record for too long.

I arrived at 7 p.m., and the recording lasted less than four hours, ending at 11 p.m.

When He Jiong invited him out for drinks again this time, He Daqi did not refuse.

After standing for four hours, he was a little hungry. He drank a little water and slept soundly when he got back to the hotel that night.

As it turned out, he underestimated He Jiong, or rather, he underestimated the Happy Family members.

During the recording of the show, these guys acted like fools, but at the dinner table, they were all incredibly strong. Except for Wu Xin, who didn't drink, the other four were both loud and good at getting drunk, and they actually managed to get that old guy Feng Kuzi drunk.

Fortunately, my friend Baoqiang and Tang Yan are both strong drinkers, and they drank noisily until almost 3 a.m.

As He Daqi helped Deng Chao back to the hotel, he sighed softly.

I can't get the same feeling when I drink now. Just now at the table, whenever He Daqi raised his glass, everyone else would follow suit, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Even when it was He Daqi's turn to toast, they would first say, "I'll drink mine, you can drink as you like."

This made He Daqi feel increasingly uncomfortable as he drank, and he felt that without realizing it, an inexplicable barrier had formed between him and others.

Is this the price of being a superstar? Why didn't anyone treat them particularly politely when they were drinking with Liu Furong and the others in Hong Kong?
……

……

He Daqi had seen the original box office figures for "Assembly" in the film library.

2.6 million.

The original results were actually quite good. Even if those results hadn't changed, the film would still have made money. Don't forget that the film was originally supposed to have its post-production special effects done by South Korea, but now it's been changed to the Asia-Pacific Special Effects Department.

This process saved a lot of money, so if the total is 2.6 million, it's definitely a sure thing to make a profit.

Of course, that's the version where Ho Tai-kei didn't play the lead role.

Now, ten days after the roadshow, the box office has exceeded 2.6 million yuan.

Feng Kuzi was extremely excited, feeling that with a little more effort, he might be able to break Ning Hao's record, and that he might be able to take the top spot in the domestic rankings.

She lingered subtly in front of He Daqi, implying that he should run for a few more days instead of leaving after ten days.

He Daqi still has some principles when it comes to being a person. Although he often does inhumane things, he is not one to spoil other people's pursuit of their dreams.

In addition, Deng Chao and Wang Baoqiang also came to pester him, wanting the movie to perform even better at the box office. So, after completing the agreed ten-day trip, He Daqi did not return to Beijing, but instead went to Guangzhou.

Box office performance is actually quite dependent on luck.

The box office performance of "Assembly" over the first ten days was similar to that of "After the Flowers Bloom, the Hundred Flowers Kill". Not to mention Feng Xiaogang, even the media speculated that the box office of this movie should not be too low.

Unfortunately, everyone's guesses were both accurate and inaccurate. It was indeed not low, but the trend on the eleventh day was completely unfavorable.

"A precipitous drop" doesn't even begin to describe it. Yesterday's box office was 20 million, but today it's down to just a few million.

Feng Kuzi had just finished a wonderful dream when he was slapped awake.

The other key members of the film's creative team were also jolted awake.

Now everyone is too embarrassed to ask He Daqi to continue the promotional tour. It's not easy to owe him this favor. If the box office breaks the record, then owing him this favor is fine. But now that the box office hasn't broken the record, it would be really inappropriate to owe him this favor.

As another roadshow came to an end, before He Daqi could even say anything, Feng Kuzi took the initiative to speak up: "Daqi, you've really worked hard these past ten days or so. The box office shouldn't have too many fluctuations anymore, so let's call it a day. I'll have someone book a flight for you. Would you like to book one for tonight or tomorrow morning?"

Feng Kuzi's tone was somewhat unwilling, but he had no choice but to tell He Daqi to leave.

Tomorrow is New Year's Day. It's really not worth delaying He Daqi's return home for New Year's Day because of this little bit of box office revenue. Wouldn't it be better to save the favor for later?
"Director Feng, you go ahead with your work. I'll arrange my own flight."

He Daqi had long anticipated that "Assembly" would not surpass "When Flowers Bloom, Flowers Fall". Although "Assembly" had a very impressive promotional campaign, it did not spend as much money as "When Flowers Bloom, Flowers Fall". Back then, in order to compete with New Wave, Zhou Huimin spent tens of millions of dollars round after round, not with the intention of making money at all.

That's why He Daqi agreed so readily when Feng Kuzi was dawdling yesterday. He guessed that the box office would definitely not be able to hold up today, so he was just doing a favor for free, so that if the box office was not ideal later, Feng Kuzi and the others would not blame him for not agreeing yesterday.

Isn't it great now? Feng Kuzi took the initiative to ask me to go back for New Year's Day.

(End of this chapter)