I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 249 The Fall of an Era!

The summer movie season of 2004...

For the Chinese film industry, it can be described as "a world of extremes."

This is a battlefield filled with the smoke of gunpowder...

Blockbuster films, Hollywood revenue-sharing films, animated films, and youth films are being released in droves.

Film producers invest heavily in marketing, cinemas fiercely compete for screen time, and audiences enjoy a visual feast of "gods fighting".

The summer box office has repeatedly broken records, the film industry is booming, and the future looks bright with packed theaters.

but……

Unfortunately, the main character is not from a Chinese domestic film.

....................................

9 month 2 day.

School season.

Office of China Film Group Corporation.

Outside the window, the cicadas' chirping remained loud, but it carried a hint of annoyance and commotion.

Zhang Changlong sat in his office, staring blankly at the gradually yellowing leaves on the big tree not far away.

Chen Li stood next to Zhang Changlong, holding a box office chart for the July and August Chinese film season, but remained silent.

In 2001, after China joined the WTO, relevant leaders made commitments to overseas markets to gradually open up the Chinese film market...

The number of imported revenue-sharing blockbusters introduced each year has increased from the initial 10 to 20...

With Hollywood blockbusters flooding the Chinese film market, Chinese cinema has enjoyed three prosperous years.

The huge success of Li Zhengtao's "Qin" in 2003 led countless Chinese filmmakers to mistakenly believe that the era of blockbuster Chinese films had arrived!

After that year, Chinese film-related capital invested in 15 big-budget films with budgets exceeding 100 million yuan. Countless filmmakers harbored hopes and longed to compete with Hollywood films in China.

However, apart from Li Zhengtao's subsequent works, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "A Better Tomorrow," almost all of them were wiped out.

"In July, China's total box office revenue was 9.3 million RMB, with domestic films accounting for only 11%, approximately 1.02 million RMB, while the remaining 89% came from Hollywood films..."

"Total box office revenue in August was 11.5 billion RMB, with domestic films accounting for only 12%, approximately 1.38 million RMB..."

"Nearly five domestic films were released in August, all of which were blockbusters. However, since the beginning of the millennium, apart from Li Zhengtao's two martial arts films, the performance of the other domestic blockbusters has been disappointing."

There was once a phrase used online to describe this...

"Li Zhengtao's films are described as a tragic experiment of using Eastern martial arts to fight against Hollywood, which not only opened up a market gap but also unveiled the long journey of industrialization for Chinese films..."

"..."

Chen Li's voice broke the deathly silence in the office.

It is complex, melancholic, regrettable, and tinged with remorse.

After speaking, Chen Li watched as Zhang Changlong looked down at the box office data, then quietly took out another document.

"Currently, the profitable domestic films on the market are mainly patriotic films, art films, and low-budget comedies. The birth of 'Qin' has stimulated countless Chinese filmmakers, making them feel that the era of Chinese blockbusters has arrived. But in fact, it is unrealistic for China's weak film industry to compete with the mature industrial system of Hollywood. Our foundation in commercial genre films is too weak..."

"This summer's box office failure has exposed far too many problems."

After Chen Li finished speaking, the office fell silent again for a long time.

Zhang Changlong did not respond immediately, but stared blankly at the box office data from July to August.

A few minutes later, he looked at Chen Li and asked, "What are the directors' opinions?"

"What they mean is that they hope we can take the lead in contacting cinemas, film companies, distributors, and directors to jointly determine and clarify the dates for the 'Domestic Film Protection Month.' They hope that starting next year, July and August will be fixed as the 'Domestic Film Protection Month,' during which imported films, especially Hollywood films, will be scheduled for release after September to avoid direct competition..."

Zhang Changlong nodded, then glanced at the documents again: "In principle, we shouldn't interfere in the market, but we can be responsible for liaison and organizing meetings. We can't issue policies, but we can coordinate..."

"That's what I meant too, then I'll do it right away."

"Okay, by the way..."

"what happened?"

"Please add one more seat to the conference table this year..."

"Okay, I understand!"

..........................................

9 month 3 day.

In the evening, the sun sets.

In the conference room of the Huaxia Film Department.

Five generations of directors, led by Chen Kai, Li Zhengtao, and Chen Kesen, entered the conference room one after another.

In June, facing the overwhelming summer blockbuster season of Hollywood films, these directors were in high spirits. They even boasted to relevant department leaders that they would declare war on Hollywood and lead Chinese films into a new era of commercial films.

But by September, these directors were all looking rather disheveled.

Of course, on social media forums such as [Kuaishou] and [Weibo], these fifth-generation directors were extremely angry, criticizing this and that, generating a great deal of buzz.

Among them, Chen Kai was the most egregious. Unable to verbally attack Zhou Yang in front of the media, he turned around and sent lawyer's letters to several accounts on Weibo that were mocking "Extreme," claiming that if they didn't apologize and delete their posts, he would pursue legal action. He actually sent his legal team to his door, making it seem like he would sue them until they were bankrupt if they said anything more. This behavior frightened many netizens, but indirectly, his public image plummeted among the fifth generation of directors...

6 o'clock.

The conference room was filled with smoke.

Chen Kai lit a cigarette, looking slightly tired.

After the failure of "Extreme" and his fall from grace, he has been suffering from insomnia for the past two months.

If I had to describe it in one sentence, it would probably be the disappointment of a genius and the frustration of an arrogant person...

"Everyone, you've all seen the data for August, right...?"

"For the past two months, I've been reflecting on this and constantly reminding myself to stay calm, but every time I turn on my computer, all I feel is anger and disappointment..."

"With the advent of the internet age, the Chinese film industry has become a mess due to some attention-seeking young people..."

"I've never felt that the box office failure was our film's fault. Many excellent films from Hollywood and Europe and America took five years, and some even ten years, to gradually become known to the public and eventually become household classics..."

"The Chinese film industry is currently in a special era, which can be described as beset by both internal and external troubles..."

"The aggressive presence of Hollywood films in the Chinese film industry, their mature industrial systems threatening to conquer territory, coupled with an increasingly superficial internet environment rife with box office manipulation, fan economy, and media attacks against domestic films..."

"It was precisely under these circumstances of internal and external troubles that our carefully prepared and produced excellent film was ultimately suppressed..."

"..."

Just after Chen Kai finished speaking, Li Zhengtao, who had always remained silent, frowned and tapped the table: "Old Chen, stop blaming the audience. 'Qin' succeeded because we were willing to polish the script and study the market. Now, people casually invest 300 million in special effects, but the scripts are like a high school student's essay..."

Before Li Zhengtao could finish speaking, Liang Xiaogang suddenly interrupted him, sneering, "Ha, Director Li, it's easy for you to talk when you're not in the situation! Your martial arts films have the protection of Eastern characteristics, but what about us who make modern films? 'Gasping for Breath' was criticized for 'plagiarizing 'The Hangover,' but Hollywood's bar slapstick films are considered classics, while ours are considered vulgar? I admit that most viewers have no problem with it, but we can't resist the power of rumors. Some people are deliberately manipulating public opinion to squeeze our living space..."

“Yes,” Chen Kesen flipped through the box office report, pointing to the figure of “Switch of Fate” losing 9000 million yuan: “What’s even more ridiculous is the scheduling! Spider-Man has 68 screenings a day, but our prime time slots are only given to midnight screenings! The way theaters are groveling to Hollywood is really… sigh…”

……

As the directors gradually opened up, the entire conference room turned into a cloud of accusations.

They reminisced about the glorious past, talked about how they used to be in charge of the country, lamented the decline of Hong Kong cinema, lamented Hollywood, and then cursed the increasingly superficial internet and a certain unnamed "troublemaker"...

Li Zhengtao watched them talk, listening silently without saying a word, his gaze fixed on the empty seat not far away.

Time quickly passed to 6:30.

The directors began to frown.

Almost everyone has arrived, but the meeting...

As Chen Li walked in, Chen Kai looked at him and nodded, "Director Chen, we can begin..."

"Wait a little longer." Chen Li smiled, checked the time, looked out the window, and shook his head.

"Waiting for what?" Chen Kai subconsciously looked into the distance.

Chen Li didn't respond directly, but looked at Chen Kai and the others: "Directors, in order to ensure the smooth running of this meeting, we would like to hear your suggestions on the [Domestic Film Protection Month]. As the service providers, we will do our best to use resources to support the rise of domestic films..."

Chen Li had just finished speaking.

The directors in the conference room immediately started discussing amongst themselves, seemingly adding to the discussion. Finally, Chen Kai stood up and handed a pre-written agreement to Chen Li.

Chen Li glanced at the proposal for the "Domestic Film Protection Month" and saw a very eye-catching line of text.

"Director Chen, what you mean by 'rectifying the Chinese film industry' is..."

"Director Chen, some things don't need to be said so explicitly. Hollywood movies are just an external threat; the real cancer is those who break the industry rules, such as those who condone vote-rigging and manipulate public opinion!"

He paused slightly after he finished speaking.

"Was the failure of 'Extreme' truly a problem with the film itself? When some people bought up online trolls to flood the theaters with negative reviews, did they ever consider that they were jeopardizing the livelihoods of all their peers?"

He then pulled a stack of printed screenshots of "Kuaibo" from his briefcase, each one marked in red with negative comments from "Zhou Yang's fans"...

After hearing this, Liang Xiaogang immediately chimed in: "The 'irrational idol worship' we mentioned in our joint letter refers to this kind of abnormal phenomenon..."

As soon as the two finished speaking, a cacophony of criticism against Zhou Yang erupted again, even going so far as to criticize all the films he had previously directed...

"Monkey King vs. Superman 2" is practically a disaster zone...

And at this moment!
The meeting room door opened.

Immediately afterwards...

The noisy sounds stopped abruptly...

Everyone stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the young man wearing glasses standing at the conference room door.

The young man's gaze swept over everyone...

Next!

He glanced at Chen Kai, then looked at Chen Li.

Then, he calmly pointed in Chen Kai's direction...

"Director Chen, I don't like the smell of smoke, I want to sit in that seat..."

(End of this chapter)