The Birth of the Best Director

Chapter 352: Cumulative Box Office Reaches 73 Billion US Dollars! Fan Xiaopang Snatches Hani's Role!

……

A classic film can have a lifespan of decades.

However, barring any special factors, the box office life of this film will generally last from 3 to 30 days before it is completely exhausted.

Especially in the first 10 days, the box office surged dramatically, basically accounting for more than 60% of the total box office for the entire period!
Jurassic World took 13 days to surpass $10 billion at the box office!
The entire period's box office exceeded 15 billion US dollars.

The movie "Mojin: The Lost Legend" took 10 days to reach a box office of $8.5 million before its box office performance began to decline.

The remaining $1.5 million took a full week to complete!
It took 17 days for the box office to surpass 10 billion US dollars!
And of these, the Chinese market contributed more than half of the box office revenue!

In just 17 days since its release, the film has grossed over 25 billion yuan at the Chinese box office.

For the first 10 days, the box office was almost consistently 1.5 million yuan per day... especially in the IMAX theaters, where people were buying tickets to watch the movie no matter how late it was!

Even tickets for the early morning hours are being bought by high school students!
Anyway, they're on summer vacation, so they don't need to get up early and have plenty of youth to squander!

By the third week, the box office had been halved, but even so, the daily box office still remained above 50 million.

Originally intended to follow "Mojin: The Lost Legend," "Monk Comes Down the Mountain" had a strong start but then fizzled out after three days.

"Sigh. My palate has been spoiled by Brother Yuan."

"After watching 'Mojin: The Lost Legend,' I can't watch any other movies."

"Only through comparison can we see the gap!"

Chen Kaige, another renowned director, also directed "Monk Comes Down the Mountain," which starred Wang Baoqiang and featured Lin Ziling, a great beauty, as the female lead.

In terms of actors, the difference between the two is not significant.

However, the content and quality of the movies differ by a factor of 10!

Within three days, the comments started to flood in.

Those viewers who haven't seen "Mojin: The Lost Legend" can finally buy tickets with peace of mind.

The theaters were very cooperative, increasing the screening rate of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" once again, which is why the film's box office has remained above 5000 million.

Even so, it's clear that the film's box office potential is almost exhausted.

However, surpassing 30 billion should not be a problem.

Currently, the top-grossing films in China are mostly Lu Zhiyuan's movies... "Mojin: The Lost Legend" is very likely to achieve even greater success and top the box office!

……

"Boss, according to the budget of professional evaluation agencies, the total box office of our movie should be around 13.5 billion US dollars."

"It's safe to say we've achieved great success!"

Times are changing, and the economies of many countries around the world are taking off.

China's daily box office has almost doubled compared to three years ago.

Brazil and Mexico are rising stars.

The box office revenue of a single film has increased from negligible a few years ago to around 1 million US dollars!
These three giants from developing countries have fueled the growth of the global film market, and Lu Zhiyuan has reaped the benefits of their development!

"Besides movie box office revenue, there are also various copyright collaborations and licensing agreements. I won't list the specifics... If all goes well, our profits should reach over 5 million US dollars within 5 years!"

"The total revenue for this film throughout its entire run should reach over 10 billion US dollars!"

"And our company, with only a small labor cost, has a profit-sharing ratio of over 50%... God, I love this way of making money!"

A single movie can rake in a billion dollars in profits; even in Hollywood, that's a highly efficient money-printing machine.

Aside from Lu Zhiyuan's films, perhaps only Disney animated films or Marvel superhero movies can achieve this level of quality.

"Besides that, boss, I want to congratulate you. Because of the huge success of 'Mojin: The Lost Legend,' Netflix's stock has risen by 30% in the past week, and its market value has now exceeded 500 billion US dollars!"

James sincerely congratulates you.

Considering that Lu Zhiyuan owns 10% of Netflix, those shares are currently worth $50 billion!
The movie has only been out for three weeks, and before the box office has even been recouped, Lu Zhiyuan's net worth has already increased by 10 billion US dollars!
All I can say is that making money in the capital market is really easy, much better than working hard to make movies!

Netflix's major shareholder, Mr. Reed Hastings, and Netflix's CEO, Ted Sarandos, are probably at home celebrating with champagne right now!
There is no doubt that the capital market is very optimistic about the spin-off series of "Mojin: The Lost Legend", which can help Netflix open up the Asian market!

It could even open up the South American market!

A market of at least 3 million people, with 3000 million potential paying users!

Lu Zhiyuan opens up the market by making movies, Netflix takes over the market by making spin-off series, and everyone can make money after the stock price rises.

This is a very virtuous cycle!

Capitalism's system of operations has a complete grasp of human nature.

In this model, Lu Zhiyuan and Netflix cannot betray each other.

If the two sides break up, Netflix's stock price may plummet by more than 20% the next morning.

"James, the movie 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' was a great success. Next, I'm planning to make a period fantasy blockbuster called 'The Great Wall'."

"For this project, could you ask Jeff Hill if Universal Pictures would like to invest in it? I'm willing to give him a 20% stake!"

The Great Wall project wasn't about making money; it was about fulfilling the orders from above!
Lu Zhiyuan has enjoyed so many benefits in China that any negative news about him is basically unable to gain traction.

If detected, they will almost always be deleted instantly.

He was very well protected by his superiors.

Of course, he doesn't have many scandals, but no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes.

Now, he is incredibly close to being number one in history, a true monument in the domestic film and television industry.

Even if you add up all the other directors in China, they probably wouldn't have as much influence as him alone.

Moreover, Lu Zhiyuan has received the German Knight's Cross and is an ambassador of friendship in promoting Sino-German cultural exchanges.

Cultural exchanges between China and France are frequent, and there are quite a few similar ambassadors of friendship.

However, cultural ambassadors between China and Germany are quite scarce.

Lu Zhiyuan occupied this niche, which played a very positive role in promoting culture between the two countries.

Although this thing is completely useless under normal circumstances.

But if the higher-ups need him, Lu Zhiyuan is the best choice.

As long as Lu Zhiyuan lives, he will always have value in the united front work related to this matter!
In this situation, as long as Lu Zhiyuan doesn't incur public wrath, whoever is in charge will protect him well.

"An ancient fantasy blockbuster?"

James broke down the words and pondered them slowly, a hint of uncertainty in his eyes: "Boss, I don't think anyone has ever filmed this kind of subject before."

Li An directed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Zhang Yimou directed "Hero".

Both films performed reasonably well in North America.

However, both of these films are period martial arts films and have nothing to do with fantasy.

Upon hearing the word "magical," James immediately thought of the mythical beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas in ancient Chinese legends.

If filmed well, this thing could become a world-renowned masterpiece like "The Lord of the Rings".

He believed in Lu Zhiyuan's ability to direct such special effects blockbusters.

But Lu Zhiyuan's willingness to share his investment with Universal Pictures made James wonder: "Boss, are you not confident about this movie?"

"Yes. There will be some risks."

Lu Zhiyuan himself wasn't sure if "The Great Wall" would be a success.
This is riskier than his previous film, "Mojin: The Lost Legend".

"Mojin: The Lost Legend" is at least adapted from the famous novel "Ghost Blows Out the Light," and its production cost is around 1 million US dollars.

Even in the country, you can easily recoup your investment.

That's why domestic film and television companies dared to invest so heavily in him.

They were right.

The domestic box office of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" has exceeded 30 billion yuan, which is about 4.5 million US dollars. Assuming a box office return rate of 40%, it can return about 1.8 million US dollars.

Far from incurring a loss.

The profit margin is even quite high.

In other countries, box office revenue is pure profit.

Those companies are practically ecstatic right now.

However, for the "Great Wall" project, apart from China Film Group, which was willing to provide funding, other companies were hesitant and unwilling to contribute.

China Film Group has no choice.

It was a strict order from above; we had to make this movie.

Originally, the higher-ups meant that it didn't matter if the box office lost a little money, but the film should convey cultural confidence and the grandeur of a great power.

However, after "Mojin: The Lost Legend" broke the $10 billion mark at the box office in just 17 days, it became a huge hit, especially in South America.

The mindset at the top has changed.

Tell President Kang to make a good film and try to break 10 billion US dollars.

A box office of 10 billion US dollars is not a big problem for Lu Zhiyuan, right?

Now, the higher-ups have realized that the evaluation of a film's quality should not involve the media and experts.

Because both sides can be bribed with money.

Only box office revenue is the true measure of a film's success.

Poor box office performance means people don't like it.

Good box office results mean that at least a lot of people have supported the film with real money! But a thought-provoking question remains: if the film is bad, who would support it with real money?
What exactly makes a good movie?
Under this evaluation system, everything is clear at a glance!
of course.

The authorities aren't that commercialistic; while the film needs to do well at the box office, they also need audiences to give it rave reviews!
Because when a movie is released, the publicity team uses all sorts of gimmicks to deceive people, and it's not impossible that they would take advantage of the Japanese after luring the audience in.

After learning of the higher-ups' latest idea, President Kang was completely stunned.

Want both box office success and critical acclaim? That's an absolute dilemma!
Kang couldn't handle it himself, so he had to bear the pressure and come to Lu Zhiyuan every few days to ask him how the script for the movie was and whether it suited his taste.
Should we find a Hollywood A-list star to help boost the box office in Europe and America?
Besides that, is there any technical support needed?

Especially computing centers, because creating special effects requires a lot of computing power, and they can find organizations to coordinate!

In short, President Kang cares about him even more than Lu Zhiyuan's father!
……

"Mr. Kang, what's my current cumulative box office figure?"

That afternoon, President Kang came to Lu Zhiyuan's house again and asked him what he had been doing lately.
How are you feeling? Are you in a good mood? Do you have a good appetite?

Lu Zhiyuan was truly helpless.

He wasn't sure if audiences would like "The Great Wall" or if it would be a box office hit.

He could only use his past achievements to remind President Kang that, apart from himself, President Kang couldn't find anyone else to make this movie!

"Ah Yuan, I know what you want to say. You want to put my mind at ease!"

Upon hearing Lu Zhiyuan's words, President Kang immediately smiled and said with great satisfaction, "As of today, your cumulative box office revenue is $73 billion! You're still $10 billion short of Spielberg's!"

In other words.

If the movie "The Great Wall" surpasses $10 billion, Lu Zhiyuan will become the greatest filmmaker in history, surpassing Spielberg!

The implication is that Lu Zhiyuan will do everything in his power!
"Ah Yuan, please don't blame me for coming to see you every few days. I'm under a lot of pressure too."

President Kang held Lu Zhiyuan's hand and said that he had just taken office as the chairman of China Film Group, but there were still many people eyeing his position.

Waiting for him to make a mistake.

After all, this movie had a huge budget.

If China Film Group's investment fails, Chairman Kang will be held responsible.

In his business dealings, not betraying his partners is one of Lu Zhiyuan's guiding principles.

After thinking for a moment, he said reasonably, "Mr. Kang, if you feel that the investment is too large and there is a risk of losing money, I will pay half of it myself."

Yuankun Media still has a lot of cash in its company accounts.

After the box office success of "Mojin: The Lost Legend", Yuankun Media will have several hundred million US dollars more in its accounts.

This amount of money is more than enough to make "The Great Wall".

However, since Lu Zhiyuan paid for it himself, the filming couldn't be done according to the higher-ups' wishes... He could film it however he wanted!
President Kang clearly understood this as well, and at this moment he shook his head and laughed: "A Yuan, aren't you underestimating us? Let me tell you, our company currently has 37 billion in cash in its accounts!"

"You can shoot however you want! I'll cover for you."

Seeing that Lu Zhiyuan was willing to pay out of his own pocket, President Kang thought to himself, "This time, I'm sure I've got this in the bag."

If this project were to risk losing money, as a shrewd capitalist, Lu Zhiyuan would never invest his own money.

Where in the world is there such a fool?

"Ah Yuan, I have a few meetings to attend at the company, so I'll be leaving now. Call me if you need anything. I'll provide the money or the manpower if you need them."

Once President Kang calmed down, he turned and left.

I'm not going to linger here with Lu Zhiyuan anymore.

Before leaving, President Kang suddenly remembered something and added, "By the way, I'll have someone reserve that digital filming base in Huairou for you. It will be your priority to use for the next year."

If the Great Wall project is filmed well, everyone from top to bottom will benefit.

……

"Buddha bless."

"May all the gods and Buddhas who pass by bless me."

Upstairs, Dilraba was in the bathroom, holding a pregnancy test and praying to the gods.

Her period was delayed by a week this month, which made her extremely happy, but at the same time, she was also a little uneasy.

Let's take a pregnancy test today!
If you haven't gotten your period by next week, go to the hospital to get your HCG levels checked!

"Depend on!"

After a while, the pregnancy test showed one line.

She's not pregnant!
This made Dilraba so angry she almost vomited blood.

"This pregnancy test is definitely fake!"

"One more, please!"

Reba refused to believe it and tried a different brand of pregnancy test, which also showed a negative result, making her extremely unhappy.

It's been almost three years, and she still hasn't gotten pregnant?
If Lu Zhiyuan and Gao Yuanyuan hadn't already had a child, she would have advised Lu Zhiyuan to go to the hospital for a checkup to see if there was something wrong with him.
Now it seems more likely that she has the problem!

It must be that God felt her life was going too smoothly, so He had to give her a little challenge!
……

After seeing off President Kang downstairs, Lu Zhiyuan returned upstairs to take a short rest.

I was clearly on vacation these past few days.

But for some reason, he felt particularly tired because he had guests visiting his home every day.

"Dilraba, what's wrong? Are you too tired from work?"

When Lu Zhiyuan went upstairs, he saw Reba looking worried, pouting, and her hair was a little messy. It seemed that something was making her very anxious.

Since becoming the boss's wife, Dilraba has always been elegant and composed, rarely losing her composure.

In this respect, she learned everything from Chen Hong!
"Honey, I still haven't gotten pregnant... It must be because we're not doing it enough. I've decided to double the frequency from now on!"

Reba did the math and realized that at this rate, it would be difficult for her to have four sons before she turned 30.

"Trust me, you'll definitely get pregnant next year!"

Lu Zhiyuan offered Reba a few words of comfort.

Once he reveals Zhang Yimou's super reproductive ability, Dilraba will probably start to worry about what to do with too many children in the future.
This seriously affects their quality of life!
Dilraba looked up at Lu Zhiyuan, hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to tell the truth: "Honey, I actually went to see a doctor. The doctor said that my weight loss was too severe, which may affect my physical condition and cause me to be infertile."

"So, from now on, I'm not going to lose weight. I'm going to eat lots of meat and fish and increase my protein intake."

"If I get fat, you're not allowed to dislike me."

In the movie "The Great Wall", Lu Zhiyuan reserved a role for Dilraba.

But compared to making movies, Dilraba would rather have a child with Lu Zhiyuan.

She's already the leading lady in film history, so whether or not she stars in "The Great Wall" has no impact on her.

Unlike Lu Zhiyuan, she wasn't as career-driven and didn't aspire to be the first in history.

Moreover, she only has a minor role in "The Great Wall," so it doesn't matter whether she plays it or not.

A few days ago, Hanikezi contacted her and hinted that she was more suitable to play the queen of the Yin-Shang dynasty in "The Great Wall".

After all, Ding Sitian and Hu Bayi should have a past life together.

With the popularity of "Mojin: The Lost Legend," audiences would likely be very interested in seeing this couple travel back 3000 years to create a magnificent and tragic love story.

Reba thinks Hanikezi is right!
From a cinematic perspective, Hanikezi's portrayal of the queen of the Shang dynasty's remnants is clearly more appealing.

As the lady of the house, she can't be too selfish; she has to consider Lu Zhiyuan's feelings!

Therefore, she subtly expressed to Lu Zhiyuan that she did not want to act anymore, showing understanding and not making things difficult for Lu Zhiyuan.

She didn't need to say much; it was Hanikezi who persuaded her.

That would be superfluous.

Because, no matter what happens, nothing related to the film project can be kept from Lu Zhiyuan.

"Dilraba, ever since I met you, you've always been so slim and slender. Actually, I'm kind of hoping that if you gained 10 pounds, you'd be even cuter?"

Lu Zhiyuan knew what Reba meant.

She wants to try to conceive and doesn't want to make movies anymore.

Filming for Lu Zhiyuan was extremely tough.

Because even if it's just a minor role with only a few minutes of screen time, Lu Zhiyuan will strive for perfection.

To look good on camera and meet Lu Zhiyuan's requirements, Dilraba may need to lose more weight.

Lu Zhiyuan understands Reba.

Moreover, this role doesn't necessarily have to be played by Dilraba. Any reasonably pretty actress could do it.

At this moment, Lu Zhiyuan even put on a high level of emotional intelligence, deliberately saying a few nice words to comfort Reba.

"Hehe. Honey, you're so sweet-talking today."

Reba was indeed very happy and went downstairs to take a look.

Today, Gao Yuanyuan, along with two nannies and her child, went to stay at her parents' house.

In other words, there is no one else at home today!

Thinking of this, Reba chuckled and pushed Lu Zhiyuan towards the bathroom: "Honey, go take a shower! After you shower, you know what will happen!"

She must seize every moment to have a baby!
……

"Mojin: The Lost Legend" is a box office hit.

Hanikezi and Gulnazar, as the two leading actresses of this film, have been promoting the film across the country.

Wherever they go, they cause a huge sensation and attract a large crowd!

"With a total box office of $73 billion in just six years since his debut, he has become the second-highest grossing director in history after Spielberg!"

"Honey, I heard you're Brother Yuan's only apprentice. In your eyes, what kind of person is Brother Yuan?"

During a movie promotion event, the host asked Hanikezi a question.

Hanikezi took the microphone.

The audience initially thought she would say some empty, polite things to flatter her teacher.

To everyone's surprise, after thinking for a while, Hanikezi said in a serious tone, "In my mind, the teacher is super handsome! Number one among the world's 100 most handsome men!"

Haha!

The audience at the event burst into laughter. They found Hanikezi to be a very interesting person, speaking directly and without any reservations.

The host also laughed.

She thought Hanikezi was deliberately trying to create a lively atmosphere and didn't think much of it.

Lu Zhiyuan already has children.

Hanikezi said her teacher was super handsome, probably without any deeper meaning, just expressing her affection.

At this point, the host continued, "Besides that, is there anything else?"

Hanikezi thought for a moment and said, "The teacher is a very serious person. He has high standards for everyone in order to make a good film, but he has even higher standards for himself."

The host became interested and handed over the microphone, asking, "Could you elaborate?"

Hanikezi was waiting for this question.

She boasted, "Teacher's next movie should be a period fantasy blockbuster, set in the time of King Mu of Zhou. There will be some ancient monsters in the movie, as well as cavalry charges like in period blockbusters."

"The teacher said that he was fine with the other plays, but he wasn't steady enough when riding horses... We made a promise to go horseback riding together by Sayram Lake next month!"

"And I will become the teacher's equestrian instructor!"

While calling Jing Tian "sister," Hanikezi turned around and hugged Reba's leg, begging her to help her get the role of the queen!

Acting is so hard, I'll do it myself.

Now that Reba has achieved fame and success, she should be a good boss's wife and give birth to four sons for Lu Zhiyuan... After such flattery, Reba indeed agreed.

awesome!
Next month, I'm going horseback riding with my teacher!

Go horseback riding at Sayram Lake!
Just thinking about it makes Hanikezi feel very romantic.

“Hani, you shouldn’t have said that. Now that you’ve said that, you probably won’t be able to go horseback riding at Sayram Lake next month.”

The host was secretly delighted, but outwardly pretended to be helpless and gave Hanikezi a reminder.

In the host's eyes, Hanikezi was simple and kind, which provided a huge boost and hype for the promotional event!
"Hani, I've already booked my plane ticket! See you next month at Sayram Lake!"

"Me too!"

"Honey, I heard you're a college student now. Do you still have to take math exams?"

When Hanikezi first debuted, she would post a math test paper on Weibo every day and beg and plead online for help on how to solve the problem.
It has created so many memorable moments!
Although five years have passed since this incident, Hanikezi has gone from a seeker of mathematical truth to a proper student at the Beijing Dance Academy!
But for netizens, these pictures are still popular today!
There are even many GIFs of Hanikezi online now, with her cute little face tilted to the side, asking, "How do I do this problem? Can someone teach me?"

In the movie "Mojin: The Lost Legend," Lu Zhiyuan's character Hu Bayi takes out a compass, frowns, and recites a mnemonic, resembling a strict math teacher.

The two of them appearing together create a very harmonious visual style.

"Honey, I heard that a lot of actresses born in the 85s are starring in the next project. You need to work on your acting skills a lot so you don't fall behind and embarrass Brother Yuan!"

The promotional campaign was coming to an end, and Hanikezi was preparing to leave.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted something at her.

Although Hanikezi pretended not to hear and left without looking back, she felt a little sad after she returned.

……

Hanikezi also knows that her acting skills are not very good.

However, Lu Zhiyuan didn't mention her.

Why do those netizens say she embarrassed Lu Zhiyuan?
At this moment, she opened her phone and glanced at the internet, only to find it filled with criticisms of her acting skills.

I don't know who started this trend!
Most people say she is very beautiful, with a smile that can captivate a hundred hearts, especially her eyes, which are like those of a snow mountain spirit, clear and innocent.

However, many people say that she wasn't as amazing when she was acting in regular scenes, and that she was in a completely different state from the other characters in the movie.

As the director, Lu Zhiyuan was clearly aware of this, so he wisely did not give her too much screen time.

Her scenes were cut down to less than 10 minutes!

In this 10-minute scene, most of it consisted of slow-motion close-ups. Her lines were extremely few, which is not how a leading lady should perform!

"hateful!"

"I'm already famous all over the world, and they're still picking on me?"

As a female celebrity, one must have a very strong inner self to withstand various negative public opinion pressures.

Hanikezi is still a 19-year-old girl. At this time, the movie is a huge hit and her confidence is at its peak. She simply cannot accept these negative comments!

However, Hanikezi wouldn't ask Lu Zhiyuan about such a trivial matter.

Because Lu Zhiyuan simply doesn't care about those online comments.

He completely treats netizens like NPCs...

Just like in a single-player game, after completing a mission, regardless of how well or poorly the mission was performed, the NPC will say some cutscene lines.

Lu Zhiyuan treated the online comments like game dialogue, and frantically clicked the mouse to fast forward to the next task!
However, Hanikezi couldn't be as calm as Lu Zhiyuan!
……

"Brother Kun, over here!"

Hanikezi didn't dare to ask Lu Zhiyuan, so he found Xin Yukun and tried to think of a solution.

Kun is an unreliable person in life, but he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

"Two glasses of milk! Thank you!"

After Xin Yukun walked in, he snapped his fingers to call over the waiter, and then asked Hanikezi, "Hani, why did you call me out so early?"

"Brother Kun, I want to improve my acting skills in a short period of time. Do you have any reliable methods? Don't find me any more teachers. It's useless."

Lu Zhiyuan once asked Zhou Xun to be Hanikezi's acting coach.

It's no use at all.

As for formally trained teachers, that goes without saying.

Zhang Tianai found at least a dozen acting teachers for Hanikezi, but Hanikezi only learned a little bit before giving up.

Because she felt that those teachers had quite a few tricks up their sleeves.

But I felt nothing!
What those teachers were digging into was only what they considered to be acting skills... Hanikezi felt that their acting wasn't very good either.

"Honey, why are you so obsessed with acting skills?"

Xin Yukun took a sip of milk and glanced at Hanikezi with some curiosity.

He rubbed his stomach, clearly still recovering from drinking too much the night before.

As he spoke, he handed another glass of milk to Hanikezi.

Hanikezi initially wanted to refuse, but considering that she was only 1.62 meters tall and only 19 years old, she thought that drinking more milk to supplement calcium might help her grow a few centimeters taller.

Like Gulnazar, she also has a pair of long legs!

She said thank you, finished the glass of milk in one gulp, and then said, "Brother Kun, I want to become a better person!"

She wants to continue playing leading roles for Lu Zhiyuan, and she has to surpass Dilraba Dilmurat!
Otherwise, wouldn't she have to step aside again once Dilraba comes back?

Having enjoyed the treatment of a leading lady and the adoration of Lu Zhiyuan, she would never allow herself to be relegated to a supporting role again.

"Honey, Brother Yuan was right about you. You really are very ambitious."

Xin Yukun nodded with great satisfaction.

Then, he bluntly stated, "However, beautiful actresses can never have acting skills."

"Do you know why?"

"Because for the audience, being pretty is enough. Only ugly people are considered talented actors!"

"How amazing is Maggie Cheung's acting? When she was young, who would have considered her a talented actress? She was still relentlessly criticized by the Hong Kong media as just a pretty face!"

"Only after she got older did people realize that she was a very good actress."

what?
Why is that?
Hanikezi looked completely puzzled.

Xin Yukun scoffed, "Being pretty is already a blessing from heaven. You think you can be an actress? Even if you were, who would praise you?"

"If you're beautiful, have a famous director as your teacher, and even have acting skills... you might as well make everyone else's lives meaningless!"

Hey!

That's true!

At that moment, Hanikezi seemed to understand something.

"Look, does Dilraba have acting skills? Does Liu Yifei have acting skills? Does Yang Mi have acting skills? Does Liu Shishi have acting skills? Does Gulnazar have acting skills? Zhou Xun... okay, Zhou Xun has acting skills! But, her voice is even deeper than mine, which is a bigger flaw!"

"Fan Binbin is the prettiest, and her lines are very good. She portrayed Jin Suo vividly and her acting is quite good... However, the audience still criticizes her for having no acting skills!"

Xin Yukun dragged out all those beautiful female celebrities and put them on display. According to netizens, none of them had any acting skills.

"Netizens say that none of these people have acting skills. You're also an actor, do you really think they don't?"

Xin Yukun asked a question in return.

Before Hanikezi could answer, he laughed and said, "They all have some acting skills, more or less. It's just that they're too good-looking. Most of the time, the director only needs their beauty; he doesn't need their acting skills at all!"

"Think back... how much did Brother Yuan expect of your acting skills?"

Lu Zhiyuan has some expectations for Hanikezi's acting skills, but not many!
In "Real Steel", he only had requirements for one shot, and those requirements were extremely high!
Because that one shot happened to capture the moment when the virtual world and the real world intersected.

For an art student, the point where the two worlds intersect is called the line of demarcation between light and shadow, which is very important in the whole painting.

Whether a painting appears three-dimensional depends entirely on the boundary between light and shadow.

Similarly, whether the character Hanikezi can be established and presented with depth in the film depends heavily on the change in her eyes and emotions at the moment she exits the game and returns to reality.

But at other times, Lu Zhiyuan didn't have many requirements for Hanikezi's acting skills.

Her beauty was enough to overshadow everything!
“If it were another director, they might nitpick at you. But Yuan Ge won’t nitpick at you; he knows what your strengths are.”

"Look, you acted very well in 'Mojin: The Lost Legend,' didn't you?"

Xin Yukun sensed that Hanikezi's mindset had changed since she became famous.

She didn't have so many ideas before, but now, she seems to be holding her breath, wanting to surpass Dilraba and become the number one female star in film history!
Dilraba and Hanikezi co-starred in the "Real Steel" trilogy.

Both were treated as lead actors, with no difference in screen time.

If you really look at it carefully, Hanikezi has more screen time.

Because Hanikezi is the pilot of the [Qin Palace Guard], the strongest mecha pilot in the world!
Previously, Dilraba had starred in two more films, "Upgrade" and "Art Student".

Now, Hanikezi has a movie called "Mojin: The Lost Legend," and the box office of this movie is about the same as that of "Upgrade" and "Art Student" combined.

The two are evenly matched.

"Brother Kun, thank you. I think I understand now."

Hanikezi felt much better after receiving psychological support from Xin Yukun.

Netizens think her acting is bad, mainly because she is too beautiful.

Netizens overlooked her acting skills.

Moreover, she was originally positioned as a pretty face... If she insists on being so obsessed with acting skills, is she supposed to get a disfigurement first?

"Ding~~"

Just then, Xin Yukun's phone rang; it sounded like a text message.

He took it out and looked at it slowly.

"Depend on!"

The next moment, Xin Yukun was launched into the air.

Because a transfer record appeared on his phone!
"So many zeros? Kun, did you rob a bank?"

Hanikezi saw it too; she saw a transfer with countless zeros, probably 1000 million.

Who would transfer so much money to him?
Transferring this much at once?
Now, Hanikezi looked at Xin Yukun with a scrutinizing gaze: "Brother Kun, are you embezzling money at the company? Tell the truth. If you don't, I'll report you to the teacher!"

"Why would I need to embezzle?"

Xin Yukun looked at Hanikezi with annoyance: "The company was founded by Yuan Ge and me, it's my home. Would you steal from your own home? Besides, a mere 1000 million is nothing to me."

"hehe."

Hanikezi looked completely incredulous.

In the end, Xin Yukun had no choice but to show the text message to Hanikezi.

Because a text message also arrived after the transfer record.

The text message read: "Brother Kun, this 1000 million is a deposit. After the deal is done, another 4000 million will be provided."

A total of 5000 million.

Who did Brother Kun betray?
Who is worth that much money?
Everyone else in the company has already gone independent, and now only Zhang Ruonan is left as an artist... Could it be that Brother Kun sold Zhang Ruonan out?

Very good!
Just as Hanikezi was thinking this, Xin Yukun sold Zhang Ruonan.

But at this moment, Xin Yukun decided to tell Hanikezi the truth.

"Honey, you'll find out about this soon. I'm telling you in advance so you can be mentally prepared."

“I drank too much last night. Fan Binbin’s agent bought me the drinks. Fan Binbin heard that there is a role of the Queen of Yin Shang in the ‘Great Wall’ project, who will play Yuan Ge’s love interest. She really wants to play the role.”

“In this industry, I don’t usually refuse people easily. So, I asked for a high price that they couldn’t accept, and politely declined them.”

“5000 million, I agree, to give her an audition opportunity.”

At this point, Xin Yukun rubbed his head, looking completely bewildered: "I never expected her to be so crazy! She actually agreed to 5000 million, just for an audition opportunity!"

Liu Yifei spent 200 million US dollars to get a supporting role. If you calculate it carefully, 200 million US dollars is only a little over 1000 million RMB.

Fan Binbin's side directly offered four times the price!
How can anyone refuse that?

At this moment, Xin Yukun turned to look at Hanikezi, suddenly understood something, and gave a bitter smile: "Hani, look... you became a sensation all over the world because of your beauty, making everyone jealous!"

Hanikezi is very beautiful.

However, Fan Binbin felt that she was more beautiful.

According to some careful calculations, Hanikezi's screen time in the movie is a little over 9 minutes, but less than 10 minutes.

Half the time, she lay there, playing a corpse.

Then, this body became an internet sensation worldwide!
It became popular way too easily.

Fan Binbin feels that she is just one opportunity away from becoming as popular as Hanikezi.

She has made a lot of money and is already quite famous in Asia. She is just one step away from becoming a global sensation!
She spent 5000 million to buy an opportunity.

Let's take a gamble!
She believed that Lu Zhiyuan would not let her down!

"Brother Kun, please give the money back... If Dilraba doesn't want the role, it's mine!"

At that moment, Hanikezi felt a tremendous threat.

Fan Binbin is willing to spend money to play the role of this queen!
Fan Binbin's foxy appearance would be a sure sign of a fallen kingdom if she played a queen... And indeed, the Shang dynasty royal family was defeated and even driven out of the Central Plains!
As for Hanikezi herself, the biggest impression people have of her is Artemis, the world's strongest fighter, in "Real Steel".

How could the Shang dynasty royal family, led by Artemis, possibly perish?
She had to become a great general like Fu Hao, even after her husband's death, she had to help the Shang royal family fight back.

"You have to do the job once you've taken the money; that's the rule of the underworld."

"It's okay, Yuan-ge should refuse. I'll just return the money with a legitimate reason!"

Xin Yukun smiled at Hanikezi, then turned and left.

Hanikezi was stunned for a moment, then quickly paid the bill and returned to Zhiyuan's house.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, she had to find Lu Zhiyuan immediately and finalize the role!

……

Fan Binbin Studio.

Her agent, Mu Xiaoguang, is waiting for news there.

Just now, he transferred 1000 million yuan to Xin Yukun, just to help Fan Binbin get an opportunity.

Fan Binbin was also somewhat uneasy.

At that moment, she clasped her hands together, constantly stroking the hem of her dress. Even though there were no wrinkles on the hem, she kept trying to smooth it out.

"Ding!"

Just then, Mu Xiaoguang's phone rang and sent a text message.

Everyone in the studio gathered around.

"Come to Yuankun Media for an interview tomorrow at 3 pm."

Upon seeing Xin Yukun's reply, everyone couldn't help but cheer.

"Binbin, I told you long ago, throwing money at it is the most effective way."

"Liu Yifei spent 200 million US dollars to get a supporting role, while we spent 5000 million RMB to get her a major supporting role, or even the lead role."

"From now on, your career will definitely reach another level!"

After Mu Xiaoguang finished speaking, he tore the copy of "I Am Not Madame Bovary" that Feng Xiaogang handed him to shreds!

"Never accept a script like this!"

"Even if it's an art film, or a script written by a great author, it doesn't have much value to us."

"As a female celebrity, once you are labeled as Pan Jinlian, your commercial value will be ruined!"

"It's not your fault that you're beautiful. I hope you play pretty roles your whole life and never pursue any of this bullshit art."

Some time ago, Feng Xiaogang received the Knight's Medal from France, so he felt he should make an art film and then participate in some film festivals in France.

As for the film "Youth", he plans to put it on hold for now.

Let's shoot an art film first, to practice and get a feel for it. Once I'm fully prepared, then I'll shoot the main movie!

Last month, he handed the script to Fan Binbin because, among female celebrities in China, Fan Binbin is the one with the most popularity, apart from Lu Zhiyuan's faction!

However, Feng Xiaogang never expected that Fan Binbin was also preparing to flee.

She is actively moving closer to Lu Zhiyuan!
In the past, Lu Zhiyuan's films did not require a large number of female stars; there were only two or three per film.

Fan Binbin can't get a spot on the list no matter how hard you try!
The Great Wall project is a rare opportunity, and may be the only time Fan Binbin will have the chance to make a film with Lu Zhiyuan.

So, she's going all in!
……

At Feng Xiaogang's home.

He was thinking about how to use cinematic language in the film "I Am Not Madame Bovary".
Shouldn't we create a unique visual identity, try something new, and pursue something alternative?
Otherwise, how could he demonstrate his taste as a great director?

"It's a pity I don't know how to use special effects, otherwise I wouldn't have been forced into this situation."

"No matter what, getting Fan Binbin to film this art film will definitely generate a lot of buzz!"

Feng Xiaogang thought to himself with a smug satisfaction.

Labeling Fan Binbin with the symbol "Pan Jinlian" would definitely cause a huge sensation across the internet.

In this situation, a movie can attract a large number of onlookers with just a little promotion!
"When it comes to creating hype, Xiao Lu, I'm a genius too. I'm just as good as you! Haha."

Thinking this way, Feng Xiaogang began to look forward to whether he would be hailed as a master after the movie "I Am Not Madame Bovary" was released next year.
After all, it stars Fan Binbin.

A work by the great writer Liu Zhenyun!
He racked his brains and came up with a very unique visual label: "circular frame".

It will definitely become a classic!
"Ding~~"

Just then, Feng Xiaogang received a text message.

It was sent by Fan Binbin's agent, Mu Xiaoguang.

"Director Feng, I'm so sorry. Binbin got a role with Brother Yuan, and it's a very important role that requires prior training. I'm afraid Binbin won't be able to play the part in your 'I Am Not Madame Bovary.' I'm so sorry."

Feng Xiaogang was completely dumbfounded!

Rely on!
My art film... without the leading lady, without the biggest gimmick!

What should I film?
(End of this chapter)