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

Chapter 323 The Lingering Glow of the Old Era!

Noon, in the conference room of [Tianyu].

The air conditioner was blowing cold air, but it couldn't dispel the heavy atmosphere in the air.

Everyone was discussing future plans for "Chrysanthemum Terrace," but behind every suggestion lay an undeniable sense of oppression.

They know better than anyone...

This movie is a matter of life and death for the company.

"Chrysanthemum Terrace" was a strategic project for Tianyu Media in 2005, and a key battle for the company's turnaround and transformation.

Over the years, Tianyu Media has mainly relied on importing Hollywood movies to maintain its operations. Although the revenue is stable, as early as 2000, Deng Baichuan realized that relying solely on copyright purchases would never allow the company to truly rise.

To this end, Tianyu Media has tried a series of original film projects, but unfortunately, apart from Li Zhengtao's works, the rest have received a lukewarm market response.

It wasn't until the success of "Qin" that the company decided to bet on big-budget films.

Subsequently, the box office performance of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" further solidified their direction: to learn from the Hollywood model, create a global film extravaganza belonging to China, establish a complete film industry system, and become a true leader in the industry.

And "Chrysanthemum Terrace" is the key work that embodies this ambition.

If successful, and even surpassing 4 million yuan in box office revenue, Tianyu Media's future will be bright!
however!
At this critical juncture, Zhou Yang's existence was like a thorn, deeply embedded in Deng Baichuan's heart.

Although Zhou Yang promised not to interfere during the "Domestic Film Protection Month," if he were to manipulate the film's release...

There's no need to target them specifically; just follow the normal procedure when scheduling screenings!
That alone would be enough to bring "Chrysanthemum Terrace" to its doom.

If "Chrysanthemum Terrace" fails, Tianyu Media will completely lose any possibility of turning things around.

The meeting lasted until 3 p.m., but instead of yielding any constructive suggestions, it made the atmosphere even more tense, causing Deng Baichuan's emotions to plummet to a low point, at one point feeling suffocated!

Finally, Deng Baichuan returned to his office, feeling exhausted.

"Should we try contacting Zhou Yang?" Xu Haibo asked tentatively.

“We have no more bargaining chips, and contacting them is futile…” Deng Baichuan shook his head. “Since we have chosen this path, we must stick to it to the end. I will never be as indecisive as the Huasheng Brothers, who ended up with nothing.”

"Now then"

“Let the relevant departments act as intermediaries.” Deng Baichuan stood up, straightened his tie, and said, “I’ll go to the relevant departments myself. At least they are fair and impartial! Giving up subsidies and profits should be done under the witness of the relevant departments…”

This world is ironic.

They used to think that the relevant departments were in the way, and even complained in private that "if it weren't for these rules and regulations, troublemakers like Zhou Yang would have been strangled by them long ago."

In their eyes, regulation is a shackle that binds their hands and feet, hindering their ability to crush their competitors with capital.

But now, when they are pushed to the brink by Zhou Yang, they have no choice but to place their last hope on the mediation of relevant departments.

The rules I once most wanted to break free from have now become my only lifeline...

This absurd turn of events brought a bitter smile to Deng Baichuan's lips.

……

On the evening of June 22, the sun was setting.

In the office of the Huaxia Film Department, Zhang Changlong watched Deng Baichuan leave.

The once arrogant chairman of Tianyu Media now seemed to have aged ten years, his words revealing unprecedented sincerity, even tinged with humility.

Deng Baichuan did not complain or blame anyone, but repeatedly emphasized the importance of "Chrysanthemum Terrace" to the Chinese film industry, even using the word "revolution" to describe the significance of the film.

However, Zhang Changlong detected a deep fear in his words, a sense of powerlessness driven to the brink, like a frightened bird...

After Deng Baichuan left, Zhang Changlong remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh and making a phone call.

About an hour later...

There was another knock on the office door.

Zhou Yang walked in with a smile...

Zhang Changlong personally brewed Zhou Yang a cup of tea, his gaze behind his glasses filled with the approval of an elder: "The overseas rights for 'Moon Wars 2' sold very well. I heard that the French distributor signed the agreement on the spot after watching the sample footage?" He opened a folder and took out an approval document stamped with a red seal: "The export subsidies for your 'Martial Soul' series and 'Ultraman' series have been approved. I have specially approved the advance payment. Enterprises like yours that can export culture should be given key support."

Seeing that Zhou Yang was about to decline, he smiled and shook his head: "I heard that your new film 'The Devil Knight' is going to use local special effects? Can the technical team keep up? Do you need to connect with the digital base of the Chinese film industry?"

“Boss, we do want to use local special effects, but there are still some technical limitations. We are preparing to poach some teams from Hollywood. If there are official connections, that would be even better, as it would speed up the project.” Zhou Yang nodded.

"Okay, we will contact the best film industry digital base in China and ask them to fully cooperate with the filming of 'The Demon Knight.' At the same time, we will apply for special subsidies for this film and list it as a key national project for the review of domestic and exported films in 2006. As long as it doesn't cross any lines, we will try our best to give it the green light all the way. In addition, we will provide full support in all aspects of policy..."

Zhou Yang was slightly surprised when he heard these words. Even the three top directors in China rarely received such treatment—in fact, even Li Zhengtao had never received such high-level support before filming "Qin." But when he looked up and saw Zhang Changlong's expression, he immediately realized that there must be a deeper meaning behind these preferential treatments.

He put away his smile and said seriously, "Sir, just tell me what you need me to do."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Changlong gently touched his teacup and suddenly sighed, "Actually, the reason I called you here today is because of something very important that concerns the industry."

The office suddenly fell silent.

Zhang Changlong got up and drew back the curtains. The setting sun cast long shadows of the two men: "Chrysanthemum Terrace is a benchmark for the industrialization of Chinese cinema. Li Zhengtao led a team of three hundred people for two years to make it."

As Zhang Changlong turned around, his glasses reflected the afterglow of the setting sun: "During this domestic film protection month, 'Chrysanthemum Terrace' and 'The Last Supper' must shoulder the heavy responsibility of revitalizing domestic films."

Zhou Yang gazed at the tea leaves bobbing in his teacup and nodded slightly: "The leader means that he hopes we will make adjustments regarding film scheduling."

“No, we won’t interfere with market rules.” Zhang Changlong immediately chimed in, his tone solemn: “This is an industrialization attempt jointly promoted by the government and filmmakers. If these two films succeed, it will pave the way for *The Demon Knight* and even more domestic blockbusters.” He paused, his gaze becoming profound and complex: “But if they fail, the industrialization process of Chinese cinema will likely stagnate again, and we can only wait for your *The Demon Knight* next year to break the deadlock…”

After listening to Zhang Changlong's words, Zhou Yang remained silent for a moment before nodding solemnly: "Leader, rest assured. Although I, Zhou Yang, hold grudges, I understand the bigger picture even better. I understand the significance of 'Chrysanthemum Terrace' and 'The Last Supper' to the Chinese film industry better than anyone else. The screening schedule will be strictly in accordance with market rules, and we will give as many screenings as we are entitled to. We will never manipulate the schedule because of personal grudges."

He paused, then added, "However, I also hope that relevant departments can supervise other cinema chains to ensure fair competition. After all, the market has just experienced turmoil and needs to rebuild rules and trust." Zhang Changlong smiled with relief upon hearing this and patted Zhou Yang on the shoulder: "Good! With your words, there is hope for Chinese cinema."

Just as Zhou Yang finished his tea and got up to leave, Zhang Changlong suddenly called him back.

"Mr. Zhou!"

"You say……"

"If 'Chrysanthemum Terrace' and 'The Last Supper' ultimately fail... I mean, if..."

Zhang Changlong remained silent for a long time, his gaze behind his glasses filled with complex expectations. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "Then the torch of China's film industry can only be passed on to you..."

"Haha, boss, don't be so pessimistic..."

Zhou Yang shook his head and smiled, then turned and walked out of the office.

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

time flies.

It's already late June...

In the last week of June, the entire Chinese film market seemed to be injected with a powerful boost.

The promotional campaigns for "Chrysanthemum Terrace" and "The Last Supper" were overwhelming and virtually ubiquitous.

The billboards at bus stops, the scrolling screens in subway cars, the prime-time TV programming, and even the plastic bags in the farmers' market are printed with huge posters of the two movies.

Liang Xiaogang and Li Zhengtao, along with their cast and crew, traveled to more than 20 cities across the country, where they were met with huge crowds.

The media tirelessly emphasized the milestone significance of these two films for the industrialization of Chinese cinema, with one authoritative magazine even proclaiming: "Chrysanthemum Terrace—The Dawn of Eastern Hollywood!"

With such a massive publicity campaign, "The Last Supper" launched its pre-sales first, and its box office exceeded 3400 million RMB, setting a new record for Chinese film pre-sales.

The media was abuzz with excitement, with most predicting that its opening weekend box office would easily surpass 4000 million.

Fueled by positive news from two blockbuster films, the stock prices of Tianyu Media and Huasheng Brothers saw a long-awaited surge, hitting the daily limit and regaining favor with investors…

July arrived quickly.

At 8:7 a.m. on July 1, "The Last Supper" premiered at the Yanjing Grand Theatre.

The premiere of "The Last Supper" was arguably the most lavish event in Chinese film history.

A red carpet covered the square in front of the Yenching Grand Theatre, and thirty television stations' live broadcast trucks surrounded the scene.

When Liang Xiaogang appeared with Zhang Yi, Ge Hui and other leading actors, the fans screamed so loudly that the roof almost fell off, and the security guards had to form a triple human wall.

A certain brand spent tens of millions of yuan to rent the LED screen of the building across the street to continuously play movie trailers, and scalpers even resold premiere invitations originally priced at 888 yuan for as much as 20,000 yuan. The top ten trending topics on social media were all related to the movie, and the hashtag #TheFeastofKingsAesthetics# garnered over one million views in three hours.

Everything seemed to indicate that this film would be one that would go down in film history…

However, when the box office figures for the midnight screenings were released, countless media figures, including Liang Xiaogang, fell silent.

This movie...

seem……

The situation is not good!

(End of this chapter)