Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 164 Coconut: The Gears of Fate Begin to Turn

September 21, two days before the official release of "Take My Brother Away".

Director Zheng Fenfen, along with all the main creators of "Take My Brother Away," held a preview screening and premiere event in Suzhou.

A premiere is the first official screening of a film before its theatrical release. It's a small-scale event that invites many industry media representatives and the production team.

The roadshow will take place after the film's release, with the film meeting with fans in major cities around the world. Tickets will be available for purchase on various apps.

The difference between a premiere and a roadshow can be understood as the difference between "beta testers" and "open beta testers" in the gaming industry.

The premiere of "Take My Brother Away" was held today in Wanda CBD, Beijing.

As the opening credits began, the movie was playing on the big screen.

The main creative team is sitting in the first row of the audience and will come on stage after the movie ends.

Sitting in the movie theater, you could only faintly hear the sounds of conversation.

Mixed in with the movie soundtrack, it's like a cat's claw scratching at your heart.

Zhang Zifeng lowered her head, her hands clasped together in silent prayer. She closed her eyes, looking very nervous.

Zhao Jinmai, on the contrary, remained calm. She had experience in filmmaking and was not unfamiliar with these procedures.

Gu Jingyi, on the other hand, remained calm and composed, appearing as if he were strolling leisurely.

Director Zheng Fenfen was amazed, wondering why this guy was so at ease.

Even though it was Gu Jingyi's first time acting in a movie, he wasn't nervous at all.

After looking around, Zheng Fenfen said, "Jingyi, you might face some tricky questions later. Mai Mai and your sister aren't very good at expressing themselves, so we'll leave them to you."

"it is good"

Gu Jingyi nodded and calmly played with his phone.

When Dilraba asked him if he was worried about the box office performance of the movie "Brother Fast", Gu Jingyi replied directly, "That's not something I need to worry about. I just did my best as an actor. If a movie relies entirely on one actor, then it must be a fan economy movie."

Teacher Dilraba also felt the same way, as she never had good film opportunities.

The movie "21 Carats" that Guo Jingfei starred in is a typical fan-oriented film. The plot is illogical, and most viewers went to the theater just to admire that beautiful face magnified countless times on the big screen.

Actually, the best place for Dilraba to showcase her beauty is in the movie theater. Her striking features, magnified on the big screen, create a powerful impact on the audience. The effect is far superior to appearing on a small screen like in a TV series.

But let's not even talk about her; her "boss," Sister Mi, also has very limited film resources.

After seeing Gu Jingyi's reply, Dilraba sent three facepalm emojis.

As a fellow girlfriend, Xiaotian's support was much more down-to-earth.

She sent me several screenshots, all of which showed the cities where Gu Jingyi would be doing roadshows.

"Hehe, I managed to snag them all. Suddenly, I feel like I'm on the company's dime."

Gu Jingyi laughed too, and replied, "You can just go to the Sichuan and Chongqing event. It's too tiring to keep up with the schedule."

"Moreover, I think we should give more opportunities to our fans."

Tian Xiwei, who had been laughing along, suddenly changed her expression. "What do you mean... do you think I'm being too authoritarian...?"

She typed and edited her reply in the chat box.

A warm heart felt like it had been doused with cold water.

"There's nothing interesting about the roadshow. Aren't you still filming 'My True Friend'? There's no need to rush, and don't walk so fast."

"When you're resting, you can meet up with some friends to go shopping, and if you get tired, you can watch a movie. If you want to learn, you can take an acting training class."

"Don't rush, we'll meet someday. We'll go shopping together, and then work together."

"Just be your most authentic self and slow down."

Messages from Gu Jingyi kept coming in, and before she knew it, the bitterness in Tian Xiwei's heart melted away like snowmelt.

All that remains in my heart is sweetness.

She lowered her head, and the smile on her face gradually lost its value.

Liu Haojian was quite quick; she simply sent over a picture.

"It's so hot, and there are mosquitoes."

"Take a look, is the lump on your leg big?"

Gu Jingyi zoomed in on the picture, and what caught her eye was a large expanse of lustrous white. Liu Haojian's calves were clearly defined, and they looked incredibly alluring.

As for the mosquito bite, it seemed like a mark that gave Gu Jingyi some strange ideas.

My body started to feel hot; this 19-year-old body was really letting me down.

"Hehe, it's a pity I'm still filming, otherwise I would have come to find you."

Gu Jingyi chuckled and replied with a smile.

However, it's still a bit impolite to always be on your phone, plus there are always a few eyes lingering on you.

Gu Jingyi replied for a while, then put down his phone and waited to go on stage.

"Brother, you've left me behind!"

As Zhang Zifeng's tearful words squeezed through the crack in the door, the entire production team began to tidy themselves up.

The movie will end in less than a minute, and they will soon be showing their films to the audience.

The moment the screen went black after the screening ended, the entire theater was plunged into darkness.

About ten seconds later, the lights were turned on again.

The well-dressed host stood on the stage in the darkness, looking incredibly pure and innocent in her bubble dress and flowing hair.

"Hello everyone, teachers from the crew of 'Take My Brother Away' and audience members. I am your host for today's premiere, xxx. I am very happy to be here with you to witness this important moment."

After the self-introduction and pleasantries, the host noticed that the audience members seemed somewhat uninterested. Without lingering, the host moved on to the next topic.

"The premiere of 'Take My Brother Away' has officially begun. Without further ado, let's welcome the cast and crew of 'Take My Brother Away'!"

Upon hearing this, fans who were just immersed in the storyline also began to get excited.

"Gu Jingyi! Gu Jingyi!"

"I reign supreme over the world, and I am the only one worthy of respect."

"Ahhh, honey!"

Gu Jingyi's fans' eyes lit up instantly, and they shouted their idol's name in surprise.

The sound waves came from all directions, like the ocean.

Amidst the shouts, only one name could be heard.

The host was about to continue the proceedings when he was interrupted again.

She smiled and waved her hand, gesturing to the enthusiastic fans a couple of times before giving the host a chance to speak.

"I can feel everyone's enthusiasm. It seems that our 'Shi Fen' brother really has a lot of fans. Are you all ready to meet our creative team? Please give a warm round of applause to our 'Shi Fen' brother creative team: Director Zheng Fenfen, screenwriter and original author Ghost Sisters, and lead actors Gu Jingyi, Zhang Zifeng, and Zhao Jinmai."

"Ahhh, Gu Jingyi!"

"Jingyi, is this the Jingyi who's been stuck on set for months? Do you know how we've been these past few days?! Ahhhhh!"

"Gu Jingyi, look this way!"

"Honey, look at me!"

"Emperor Jing is mighty!"

From the moment Gu Jingyi began filming "Kuai Ge," fans who had been waiting for this day were shouting loudly at him.

Hearing the fans' somewhat childish remarks, Gu Jingyi paused in his steps as he followed Director Zheng Fenfen.

This is just too much...

Male celebrities, after all, always need to have a sense of conviction.

Gu Jingyi pretended nothing had happened and calmly walked up the side steps to the stage.

However, his little incident was still noticed by sharp-eyed fans and the two younger sisters behind him.

The two younger sisters smiled at each other, and the fans in the audience exclaimed how adorable they were.

After all the cast members came on stage, they lined up in order of their billing.

Gu Jingyi is definitely in the center position, not a double center but the main center.

In the original timeline, Peng Peng and Zhang Zifeng stood together as the two center characters, so Gu Jingyi, with his overwhelming center position, naturally had a different level of popularity.

He was like a firefly in the dark night, a single green dot among a sea of ​​flowers.

Just by standing there, he attracted the attention of countless people.

The fans in the audience frantically pressed the shutter, disregarding the occasion, and directly applied a filter to the raw photos.

The original box office of "Brother Kuai" was 3.75 million yuan. At that time, Zhang Zifeng and Zhao Jinmai were just child stars who had acted in one or two TV series.

Peng Peng is a newcomer, and his success is purely due to the high quality of the film.

With Gu Jingyi joining the team this time, the minimum guarantee is still over 5 million.

If the publicity and marketing efforts are in place, then the roadshows will follow suit.

It's not impossible for "Take My Brother Away" to hit 8 million yuan at the box office.

Gu Jingyi certainly wouldn't give away such achievements so easily.

It's absolutely impossible for them to be equal in rank, let alone equal in rank.

With this track record, Gu Jingyi's future film career path will be much smoother.

The female host smiled as she looked at the main cast and crew members who were already standing on the stage, and began to host the proceedings: "Let's start by inviting our main cast and crew members to introduce themselves in turn."

"Hello everyone, I'm Gu Jingyi. I play Shi Fen in this movie, and I hope you all like it."

Gu Jingyi flashed a perfect smile and greeted his fans.

"Ahhh, it's not just liking, it's really liking."

"Gu Jingyi, the country owes me a good older brother like you."

"Jingyi, I love you!"

Cheers from the fans rang out again and again, all demonstrating Gu Jingyi's strength.

The second person to introduce herself was Zhang Zifeng. She smiled shyly and used the same opening line as Gu Jingyi: "Hello everyone, I'm Zhang Zifeng, who plays Shi Miao in this movie. Thank you for coming and supporting us!"

After Zhang Zifeng finished introducing herself, she handed the microphone to Zhao Jinmai.

"Hello everyone, I'm Zhao Jinmai, and I play Miao Miaomiao, who is Shi Miao's best friend." "Okay, thank you very much for the introduction from our main cast."

After the main creative team finished introducing themselves, the female host spoke again, saying, "I watched the whole thing backstage, and the plot really made me laugh and cry."

"So, we've prepared a special treat for all of you in the audience. You'll have the opportunity to go on stage and have a face-to-face chat with our lead actor, Brother Kuai, and talk about your understanding of the film."

Amid the anticipation of the fans, the staff quickly drew five lucky audience members.

The opportunity to go on stage and get up close and personal with their idols has thrilled countless fans.

Zhang Ling, from Beijing Film Academy, is a typical example.

She was a fan of Gu Jingyi long before he filmed "Take My Brother Away".

Since she had the opportunity to go in, she naturally wanted to be as close to her brother as possible.

Luckily I won! Hehehe.

"Hello, I am Gu Jingyi."

Gu Jingyi smiled at the lucky fans of Lu Ang and said, "Good evening, I'm glad you could come to see my movie."

The moment his signature smile appeared, the lucky audience members who were chosen to be on stage burst into laughter.

This smile has the same healing quality as the one in the movie.

"Hello, Jingyi."

Xiangling looked at Gu Jingyi and said honestly, "Actually, I came with a classmate, and she came too."

"Yes, thank you for your support."

Gu Jingyi smiled gently, showing great patience.

"Actually, her name is Zhou..."

Before Zhang Ling could finish speaking, security guards from the movie theater came up and interrupted her.

"Sorry, it's time."

Zhang Ling had no choice but to swallow the name "Zhou Ye," and Gu Jingyi and Zhou Ye once again missed each other.

She was still a little dizzy when she returned to her seat.

Oh no, Gu Jingyi is really too good at this.

In fact, most of the other fans reacted in the same way, despite their usually incredibly bold behavior on social media.

Things like "Gu Jingyi should marry me" and "A life without sleeping with Gu Jingyi is incomplete."

After suddenly feeling much closer to her idol, she found herself stammering and unable to say anything.

After interacting with fans, they then moved on to the media segment.

The media representatives present asked questions to the creative team of "Take My Brother Away".

As usual, Gu Jingyi was the one facing the most firepower.

"Gu Jingyi, since you accepted the role of Shi Fen, have you responded to the online comments saying you're unsuitable for the role? What would you like to say?"

The first issue was stirring up trouble, and Gu Jingyi raised an eyebrow, somewhat used to it.

"I have nothing to say. I am an actor. I am someone who portrays a character, and I only need to be responsible for the character. I believe that this question will be resolved after the film is released."

"If I had to put it into words, a role is just one possibility for an actor to portray. I am an actor, and the initiative is entirely in my own hands. I only need to be responsible for the role, and leaving an answer in the hearts of every viewer is a success."

Gu Jingyi answered calmly and steadily, without any of the anger that a young man would feel from being provoked.

"Gu Jingyi, what is your opinion on Shi Fen protecting his younger sister?"

"In my eyes, Shi Fen is a perfect guy who excels in everything except academics. Everything he does is for the sake of his younger sister. He just doesn't want his sister to be affected by their parents' divorce, so he would rather make fun of himself to preserve his sister's innocence."

Gu Jingyi spoke eloquently, and he had written more than ten pages just for the character biography.

These problems were all minor issues thanks to his preparation.

Soon after, the question was asked by an official media outlet.

"Hello Gu Jingyi, my question for you is: What part of the entire movie left the deepest impression on you?"

"It's the scene where Shi Miao is at the pirate ship restaurant, when Shi Fen arrives on his electric scooter with a gift. Shi Miao, with red eyes, blames everything on Shi Fen..."

Gu Jingyi paused for a moment, then continued, "Because I had to suppress and portray Shi Fen's inner emotions. I couldn't hold any grudges against Shi Miao either. His smile went from celebration to disbelief, then to complete stunned silence, looking at his sister with hurt. He never expected that he would be so unworthy in her eyes."

That scene was the one where he and Zhang Zifeng had the most takes.

The depth of their dedication is probably obvious to all.

"Jingyi, how can I have a good older brother like you?"

"Go buy a ticket for 'Take My Brother Away' and immerse yourself in the movie from a first-person perspective in the theater."

Gu Jingyi didn't even frown, and quickly gave his answer.

He is quick-witted and can answer these questions with ease.

The media exchanged glances, surprised that Gu Jingyi's reputation as a "prepared assassin" was well-deserved.

Since we can't find any explosive information about Gu Jingyi, let's start with Zhang Zifeng.

"Little sister, is your personality very different from Shi Miao's in private?"

"Actually, it's quite big, hahaha."

Zhang Zifeng glanced at Gu Jingyi and said with a smile, "But life is life, and filming is filming, right? I understand that principle."

"Would you like to have an older brother like Shi Fen? I mean in real life."

Zhang Zifeng's eyes lit up instantly, and she looked at Gu Jingyi with some joy.

"I don't really want a brother like Shi Fen, but I do want a brother who looks exactly like Gu Jingyi."

Gu Jingyi shook his head. "Then you're probably going to be disappointed. In my own sister's eyes, I'm the most arrogant person in the world."

"There's no such thing!"

Zhang Zifeng spoke up hastily, looking at Gu Jingyi and saying, "Not only is Shi Fen a good older brother, but Gu Jingyi is also a very good older brother."

"Wow"

The younger sister's statement excited the media.

Great, another headline for tomorrow.

When it was Zhao Jinmai's turn, she was only 16 years old.

When dealing with minors, the questions posed by the media are generally mild.

Unlike before, they didn't ask any of the more pointed questions.

This made Zhao Jinmai breathe a sigh of relief, but her eyes still showed some disappointment as she looked at Gu Jingyi and Zhang Zifeng.

I feel like I've been completely excluded, how awful!
Finally, the media concluded the meeting by asking Gu Jingyi a question.

"Gu Jingyi, what are your expectations for the box office of your first film? If you were to predict the box office revenue when it leaves theaters, what would you say it will be?"

"..."

He knew that this was where all the tricky messes would end up.

However, Gu Jingyi was not intimidated. "Take My Brother Away" had nearly 8000 million yuan in pre-sales on the first day alone.

Once it's actually released, even if it's terrible, it'll still gross over 100 million on its opening day.

If Xiao Zhan could win the "Mid-Autumn Festival box office champion" with a terrible movie, there's no reason why Gu Jingyi couldn't do the same.

Putting aside the script quality issue, Gu Jingyi's popularity far surpasses his.

He came from a talent show, and his fans are known for their ability to both pitch and shoot.

Even though "Take My Brother Away" hasn't been released yet, it has already secretly secured the top spot at the box office.

Let's take a look at which movies are clashing with "The Fast and the Furious" this year. The one that's still showing in theaters is "iPartment".

As for the quality, opinions vary.

Gu Jingyi had seen his sister's comments on his WeChat Moments.

"It's so boring. It's like merging the plot of a spin-off into the movie. The special effects are bad, and the plot is full of holes. I only went to see it because of Qiao Jia, so I guess I'm just trying to find something sweet in the rubbish. As a spin-off, I give it full marks, but as a movie that requires viewers to pay to watch, I give it 0 marks."

Well, the reviews for this "iPartment" movie are only slightly better than those for variety show movies like "Where Are We Going, Dad?".

So, after thinking for a moment, Gu Jingyi answered the question.

"I think it should easily gross 500 million at the box office. As for whether it will be higher, that depends on how well the audience likes it. If the audience likes it, even higher would be great."

This is already a very subtle way of putting it by Gu Jingyi. In the original timeline, "Take My Brother Away" managed to gross 3.75 million yuan with just three new actors.

There was no traffic; it relied entirely on word-of-mouth to spread.

Now that Gu Jingyi has joined the team, a box office victory and a "first battle" should be a piece of cake.

"Jade Dynasty" grossed 4.05 million yuan, while "Kuai Ge" added 4.05 million yuan to its base of 3.75 million yuan.

We are aiming directly at the expected eight small goals and are constantly pushing forward.

Gu Jingyi, who is full of momentum and has rushed into the top of the fault line, is there.

The crew of "Take My Brother Away" is confident and has nothing to fear.

After the premiere of "Brother Kuai", many reports about the film came out.

China Film Report commented, "Gu Jingyi shattered the 'traffic star' label with his 'disfiguring performance': his roguishness in the 'sausage snatching scene' while raising an eyebrow with food in his mouth, and his precise control of the tears falling vertically during the farewell at the train station, transformed 'Shi Fen' from a cartoon character into a living 'Chinese older brother.' Compared to the simple cuteness in the anime, Gu Jingyi gave the character a more complex undertone—his nonchalance is a protective color, and beneath every carefree smile lies the bitterness of 'the older brother must grow up first.'"

The Beijing News commented, "Take My Brother Away is an absolutely sincere work, and Gu Jingyi's portrayal of the character is masterful. He breaks the stereotype that top actors are not good at acting. His improvised details, such as deliberately 'slowing down the alarm clock' and 'carrying luggage with a limp,' make the character's sense of sacrifice more poignant and realistic."

These reports have further heightened audience anticipation for "Take My Brother Away".

On September 23, the day of the premiere of "Brother Kuai", sales soared.

Beijing Film Academy Dormitory
Holding two tickets to the roadshow, Zhang Ling asked Zhou Ye excitedly, "Ye Zi, do you have any plans for the day after tomorrow?"

"It's not clear yet," Zhou Ye said calmly, turning the pages of the book.

She started reading Harry Potter again, only noticing her roommate's stiff smile.

She added, "But if you really want me to go with you, that's fine too~"

What Zhou Ye didn't know was that because of her decision...

The gears of fate began to turn, and two straight lines that had intersected and then remained infinitely parallel intersected once again.

(End of this chapter)