Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 259 was certainly not intentional; he did it on purpose!
After Gu Bei finished speaking,

He smiled and sat down on the sofa next to him, brewing tea for himself without any regard for being a guest.

"I've been waiting for this day for ages!"

Han Sanpin put down his work and sat down opposite Gu Bei. "If you hadn't said to keep it strictly confidential, I would have already spread the word throughout China!"
You're in Hollywood, so you should know better than me that promotion for big-budget films is a crucial element!

"Of course I understand that, but I don't want the public to lose interest too soon."

You should be aware that the movie *Gravity* doesn't have that many appealing selling points.

Gu Bei sipped his tea and responded with a smile.

Public attention is also a resource.
The entire movie Gravity only has two actors.
There aren't enough gimmicks to keep the attention going.

"Xiao Zhang!"

Han Sanpin shouted outside.
After calling his assistant in, he instructed him, "Submit the script for Gravity for review, and at the same time, send the Gravity information to the co-production company so that they can complete the process as soon as possible!"

The phrase "Let them complete the process" perfectly encapsulates the domineering presence of Han Sanpin, the chairman of China Film Group.

Gu Bei gave a thumbs up: "Chairman Han is so domineering, no wonder everyone calls you Third Master!"

"I can't accept being addressed as Third Master by you!"

Han Sanpin smiled and waved his hand, "Let's set the schedule first, and then I'll help you wipe out all the competitors."

"My target is the National Day holiday period in 2010!"

"National Day film season?"

Han Sanpin frowned slightly, "Domestic release dates are relatively manageable, a bit worse than the Lunar New Year and summer holidays, but it's still a seven-day long holiday."
But this isn't a popular release window overseas!

Gu Bei said with a smile, "That's exactly what I want—not to be popular!"

After a pause, he explained, "April is not a popular release month, but Twilight was able to dominate during this period because it was able to secure more screenings than during the summer season."

Our space disaster film with two Chinese characters would really be cannon fodder if it were released during the summer season!
Therefore, I chose the October release date, where there is less competition and more screenings in the early stages.
Once the word-of-mouth reputation is established, it can be screened for an extended period.

The original Gravity was also released in October, which allowed it to secure enough screenings, and it even received additional screenings later on, thanks to a super low drop of 30%.

Simultaneously,

Gu Bei had another very important reason he didn't mention.
That is, in 2010, after the global film market was swept up by Avatar at the beginning of the year, all movie fans were extremely eager for 3D movies, especially high-quality 3D movies.

The emergence of gravity can fill this market gap and raise the bar for 3D effects to a new level!
"You're more knowledgeable about the North American market, so we'll listen to you."

After hearing Gu Bei's explanation, Han Sanpin did not continue to question Gu Bei's decision.

After all, China Film Group has already tasted the success of Twilight once.

Maybe this time it will be re-released again?
After a pause, he asked, "Since it's going to be released during the 2010 National Day holiday, then our previous filming schedule doesn't need to be adjusted."

"Let's proceed at the same pace as before. Once you return from the Venice International Film Festival in September, we'll finalize the selection of the female lead."

Han Sanpin originally thought Gu Bei would choose the 2010 Lunar New Year film season.
December's Thanksgiving and Christmas season is also a popular time to watch in North America, making it a suitable option for both China and the US.

Now that we've moved the filming schedule forward by two months to the National Day holiday, there's still plenty of time, so the filming plan doesn't need to be adjusted.

"We will proceed according to the original plan."

Gu Bei thought of Liu Yifei, who had already arrived at the filming location of "The Message".
There are only two months left.

I wonder if Liu Yifei is ready.

None of her competitors this time are weak.

Regardless of whether Liu Yifei is prepared or not

Once such a large-scale project is launched, it's like a giant, intricately designed machine that won't stop easily because of any one person's will.

After a while, Gu Bei came to his senses: "By the way, after the script is approved, we have another very important task, which is to obtain detailed data on Tiangong from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation."

Even without the support of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Gu Bei was able to make the film.

However, that would mean that, like the original version, all the interior designs of the Heavenly Palace were created by the art team themselves, rather than being modeled from real data.

Without the support of real data, the realism of the entire film would drop a level.

Han Sanpin's expression also turned serious, and he nodded: "I will try my best to help you!"

The summer movie season of 2008 was also a landmark turning point for Chinese films.

Before 2008, the summer movie season was dominated by Hollywood blockbusters, while domestic blockbusters always appeared during the year-end holiday season.

But this summer, Red Cliff kicked off the summer blockbuster season for domestic films.

Although the movie Red Cliff is very melodramatic.

But it did indeed set a good precedent for domestic blockbusters to compete for the summer box office.

Just as the Red Cliff film crew was promoting the movie in full swing,
A script quietly passed the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's filing process.
[Film Category: Narrative Film]

[Filing and Approval Number: Film and Television Filing No. (2008) 825]

Movie Title: Gravity

[Registered Entity: China Film Group]

[Screenwriter: Gu Bei]

[Filing Result: Filming Approved]

[Synopsis: A biology PhD student, while assisting astronauts with a space mission and maintaining the Tianxun Telescope on the Chinese space station, encounters an unexpected explosion of a satellite belonging to another country. Forced to survive alone in the vastness of space, she eventually returns to Earth via the Shenzhou spacecraft.]

Once a script passes review, it will be displayed on the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's website.

In the past, no one would ever pay attention to such filing information.

But the day after the script was approved,

Qianjiang Evening News: "Gu Bei joins hands with China Film Group to create China's first sci-fi space disaster film. This is the new era of domestic blockbusters!"

With one media outlet taking the lead, more and more media outlets followed suit, offering their interpretations of the State Administration of Radio and Television's filing information.

The response on the internet is much faster.

Even portal websites like Sina Weibo and Tencent,
A special column on gravity has been launched.

"Is this report true? I used to think that domestic sci-fi blockbusters were a long way off, but now it seems that they are not far away from us!"

"It must be true! China Film Group just made a fortune from Gu Bei's Twilight City, so it makes perfect sense for them to reinvest that money in Gu Bei, right?"

"If you ask me, the real blockbusters are still sci-fi blockbusters. If a domestic blockbuster is made into a period drama, but the core is still based on Western drama, it's better to use a sci-fi blockbuster to overtake the competition!"

However, no matter how heated the discussions are among the media and netizens,
Neither China Film Group nor Linlang Entertainment responded, leaving them to speculate. But as the speculation continued...

The popularity of Gravity even surpassed that of Red Cliff, which is about to be released.

"You loser!"

Backstage at the promotional event, Wu Yusheng was cursing loudly at the newspaper, "You're making such a big fuss over a movie that hasn't even had its cast or started filming yet!"

Tony Leung walked in and asked his assistant, "What's going on?"

The assistant cautiously glanced up at Wu Yusheng, then leaned close to Tony Leung's ear and whispered, "The movie's popularity has been overshadowed by Gravity. Even the headlines that were originally set to go have been given to Gravity."

"Is it really that popular?"

Liang Chaowei was somewhat surprised.

He knew that science fiction blockbusters had a unique appeal in China, but he hadn't expected that gravity could have such a huge impact, which was also beyond Liang Chaowei's expectations.

So why didn't anyone think of making sci-fi blockbusters before?
"Actually, it's just that it's more popular online, but most of the major media outlets in China are state media, and they don't necessarily choose the headlines based on readers' preferences," the assistant replied softly.

Among younger audiences, Gravity is definitely more appealing than Red Cliff.

However, in reality, among the entire Chinese movie-watching population, Gravity, which only has a synopsis, is definitely no match for Red Cliff, which boasts an all-star cast.

But who can argue with the more orthodox topic of gravity?
Anyone with a modicum of awareness knows that China is vigorously developing its aerospace industry this year and is showcasing its achievements to the world through channels such as the Olympics.

The momentum of the Battle of Red Cliffs was thus abruptly suppressed.

"Mr. Liang!"

Wu Yusheng noticed Liang Chaowei and quickly greeted him.

Liang Chaowei frowned, sensing that something was off about Wu Yusheng's expression.

But since Wu Yusheng had already called him over, he could only reluctantly walk over: "Director Wu, what's wrong?"

Wu Yusheng patted the newspaper: "Look at what this young man has done. I was thinking that since we're all developing our careers in Hollywood, we could look out for each other."

I never expected him to be so aggressive towards us now. I'm going to join forces with people in the Xiangdu circle to issue a boycott statement!
"A movie that hasn't even finished filming is already behaving like this on our heads—we absolutely cannot tolerate it!"

Everything is developed in Hollywood!

Liang Chaowei gave a wry smile.

Weren't we both rejected by Hollywood?
On the contrary, Gu Bei is now doing very well in Hollywood.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Whiplash and Summer are low-budget films; their box office performance far surpasses that of their A-list productions.

In addition, Gu Bei also holds the film and television adaptation rights to Twilight.

Even if the two of us were tied together, we probably couldn't match Gu Bei's influence in Hollywood alone.

Thinking of this, Tony Leung wanted to politely decline Wu Yusheng's request: "Director Wu, I think Director Gu might not have meant it, after all, neither of them gave a direct response."

Tony Leung and Victor Wong also want to try their luck with the Gravity project.

"Liang Sheng, you're too naive! This is a provocation against us northerners!"

Wu Yusheng's gaze turned slightly cold. He patted Liang Chaowei's chest with the newspaper. "There was a traitor named Chen before. It's one thing to use mainland male and female leads, but at least the people behind the scenes are from our north."

But think about Gu Bei's story. That movie featured an all-mainland cast of actors, and the behind-the-scenes crew were also all from mainland China.

Now they're pushing their propaganda on us like this; we people from the north and south might not even have a place to stand anymore!

Upon hearing this, Tony Leung hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn't persuade Wu Yusheng, and together with a group of incense industry practitioners, he issued a statement.

Actually,
Was Gu Bei doing this on purpose?
Of course not, he did it on purpose!

Otherwise, if a script had just passed censorship, no one would have noticed. The reason why such a huge uproar suddenly occurred this time is because Gu Bei had Han Sanpin fanning the flames behind the scenes.

Sci-fi blockbusters outnumber period dramas.

This is a common perception among the general public at this stage.
Gu Bei's original plan was to capitalize on the popularity of Chibi and bring gravity into the public eye.

After all, whether in terms of investment scale or finished product quality, Gravity easily surpasses the two-part Red Cliff series.

But he didn't expect it either.

The official media is so supportive this time.

There's still half a month left in the peak promotional period for the film *Red Cliff*.
Let gravity, a movie with only a title, step on Red Cliff.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

When Gu Bei saw the statement from the incense industry practitioners, he couldn't help but laugh out loud and glanced at Han Sanpin sitting next to him.

The male lead in Gravity only has a few minutes of screen time, so there's not much competition. It's basically a choice between Jackie Chan and Tony Leung.

Because, among Chinese faces, only two of them have played the leading male role in a Hollywood A-list production.

Gu Bei supports Cheng Long, who is more famous and will have a more correct stance in the future.

Han Sanpin supported Leung Chiu-wai, believing that Leung Chiu-wai's acting skills were better.

"The meeting is about to start, what are you still looking at?"

Han Sanpin was somewhat puzzled.

Gu Bei handed over the phone: "Take a look at the male lead you chose!"

After reading the entire statement, Han Sanpin sighed deeply: "In that case, let's choose Jackie Chan. My main concern before was that his image didn't match the tone of the film."

Jackie Chan's kung fu comedy style is so deeply ingrained in people's minds that Han Sanpin is worried that North American audiences will want to laugh whenever they see Jackie Chan.

"This is something I, as the director, need to worry about."

Gu Bei said lightly.

In this movie, Jackie Chan can't even run properly, and there are no physical movements. But Jackie Chan's acting skills are still quite good.

Just as the two were chatting, people from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation walked into the conference room.

Gu Bei looked at Lin Tianyi across from him: "Engineer Lin, we meet again."

"Director Gu, you're quite famous within our group now!"

Lin Tianyi replied with a smile, "We've been working on this technology for so long, but apart from aerospace enthusiasts, even our families might not care about how far the aerospace industry has progressed."

As a result of your movie's release, now all those kids in the residential compound are talking about the Sky-Searching Telescope, Tiangong-1, and the Shenzhou spacecraft all the time!

Gu Bei smiled slightly; this was the charm of movies!
Film's ability to powerfully disseminate concepts and ideas is why it has always remained at the top of the modern entertainment hierarchy.

(End of this chapter)