The King of Soft Rice in Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 461 Optimism
“Neither ‘House of Flying Daggers’ nor ‘A World Without Thieves’ are in the same category as ‘Red Cliff.’ Audiences who have seen ‘Red Cliff’ may still go see these two movies.” Angela told Xu Jiuyang, “If these movies all gross over 100 million yuan, it will prove that the mainland film market is indeed steadily improving.”

That's true. At least Xu Jiuyang remembers that in his previous life in 2004, "Kung Fu Hustle," "House of Flying Daggers," and "A World Without Thieves" all grossed over 100 million yuan at the box office.

The only problem is that Huayi Brothers used any means necessary to promote the film in its previous life, such as failing the censorship and having it sent back for revisions.

They also cast Andy Lau and Rene Liu as the male and female leads – although the ability of Hong Kong and Taiwan stars to carry the box office in mainland China is questionable, it will still provide some improvement. In an era where the highest annual box office is only 2 million, even a small improvement will be very noticeable.

The same applies to unscrupulous hype; these small improvements, accumulated over time, might just lead to a qualitative change.

Although this version of "A World Without Thieves" is better, among the main actors, only Ge You can somewhat carry the box office. Although Fan Bingbing has high national popularity, it is not easy to translate this popularity into box office success.

Both "The Dark Side" and "Falling," released during the summer, performed only moderately at the box office.

The latter, in particular, even though the expected value was between 1500 million and 2000 million, the actual amount was only 1300 million.

To be honest, Xu Jiuyang was a little concerned about this. After all, "Falling" was the first movie he starred in in both his past and present lives, and he even won the Cannes Best Actor award for it. So, this box office performance was rather poor.

But then I thought about it again, and it was already quite good that a film with a bourgeois feel and lacking in both suspense and art-house elements could achieve a box office of 04 million in 1300.

I've forgotten whether Woody Allen's movies were ever released in China in my past life, but even if they were, the box office wouldn't have been very good. His works, like art films, are better enjoyed at home.

Getting back to the main point, after realizing this, he no longer cared about the box office performance of "A World Without Thieves".

In terms of the quality of the film itself, it should easily gross over 100 million yuan. As long as Huayi Brothers, as the distributor, doesn't engage in any underhanded tactics, it doesn't matter whether it's 100 million, 110 million, or 120 million yuan.

Of course, more importantly, Angela spoke with great confidence, as if she had already seen the answer.

It's not surprising, really. She funded films like Red Cliff, Falling, and A World Without Thieves, the only difference being the amount—even Kung Fu Hustle, which was also scheduled for release during the Lunar New Year season, received funding.

Yes, she is now the director of Columbia Pictures Greater China, and theoretically, all film and television investments must pass through her hands.

In short, Angela has access to firsthand intelligence at any time, so she can naturally draw relevant conclusions.

"So, let's just wait and see how it goes?" Xu Jiuyang muttered to himself as he sat in his chair, looking at the information on his laptop.

Just then, the doorbell rang. He glanced at the time, got up, walked past the bathroom where laughter was still coming from, and opened the door to the hotel suite.

"It's all here, boss," Yang Ying said, lifting the bag in her hand as if to show her satisfaction.

"Well done," Xu Jiuyang praised, then playfully pinched her nose before knocking on the bathroom door.

"Breakfast is ready," he called out.

The voices inside paused for a moment, then someone replied, "Okay, boss, we'll be right out."

After the big baby arranged the food box, the two girls inside also came out dressed. They looked very refreshed after taking a shower, but they were walking with a slight limp.

To be honest, although their features aren't actually as similar as one might imagine, they still have a unique charm when viewed this way. Or rather, it's precisely this ambiguous resemblance that's most interesting.

That's right, the two people in the bathroom were Dong Xuan and Tong Liya.

Previously, when Tong Liya played Anu in "Chinese Paladin," she was basically already completely taken by someone, but he was holding back the final step because he wanted to be with her sister. This time, when her sister played Gongsun Lü'e in "The Return of the Condor Heroes," she naturally came to visit the set, and then... that's how it happened.

Damn it, things are going too smoothly. If this continues, I might just find myself pulling every woman I see into my arms. Xu Jiuyang couldn't help but sigh inwardly as he watched Dong Xuan and Tong Liya eating their breakfast obediently.

After Dong Xuan joined the crew, she didn't greet or greet him like other women did. But he was used to it, and that day he happened to run into her outside the temporary rest room. Since there was no one around, he subconsciously pulled her into his arms and started to take liberties with her.

Fortunately, she had already been trained by Sister Xiaoli. Although she was startled and her face turned red, she did not make a sound. She just shyly let him do as he pleased.

After that, just like Tong Liya, he went through all the necessary steps, but he held back the last step, saying he would wait for his sister to come and visit the set before they did it together.

I was a little annoyed at the time, but now, I have to say, it really does have the effect of 1+1>2.

However, we also need to pay attention to the issue mentioned above. Don't go overboard. Even though they're there to back you up, you should still act appropriately.

"You can rest here today. I'll come back tonight," Xu Jiuyang instructed after breakfast. "I'll leave Yang Ying here. Just tell her what to do if you need anything."

Big Baby, who was packing her things, widened her eyes, seemingly a little reluctant, but quickly lowered her head and replied, "Don't worry, boss, I'll take good care of them."

Dong Xuan then declined, saying, "Boss, there's no need to trouble Miss Yang..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Xu Jiuyang interrupted him: "This was my arrangement."

"Okay, boss," Tong Liya replied obediently, and tugged at her sister's sleeve.

Dong Xuan immediately lowered her head and said meekly, "I understand, boss."

Xu Jiuyang nodded, then beckoned to his darling with his finger before putting on his hat and sunglasses and leaving the room.

"Do you know why I arranged it this way?" he asked again after Yang Ying came out.

"I'm sorry, Master," the little darling replied obediently.

"Apologize for what?" Xu Jiuyang asked again.

"I was too cocky, a bit arrogant." Yang Ying blinked her eyes, her pitiful appearance quite pleasing to the eye; wasn't her acting quite good?

That's true. In her previous life, the film and television works she acted in about 10 years ago would have been fine with a score of 70. Unfortunately, as soon as IT capital and financial capital came in, they all went bankrupt.

"It's fine if you try to be clever, I even find it amusing, but as my assistant, you have to follow the rules, understand?" Xu Jiuyang said indifferently.

"Understood, Master. I will serve my two sisters well." Yang Ying became even more obedient and quickly added, "I will serve them as an assistant."

"Very well, I'll be going now." Xu Jiuyang adjusted his hat, put on his sunglasses, and left.

Actually, Da Bao didn't show any obvious signs of wanting to be superior because she had latched onto someone powerful. However, considering her behavior in the previous life, he felt he should still give her a heads-up.

They were, after all, close associates. Although their abilities were not as good as Zhang Yan's, they were still quite useful. We couldn't just punish them without teaching them properly, and we had to nip any potential problems in the bud.

(End of this chapter)