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

Chapter 390 Epilogue (Part 1)

The warm sunlight shone outside the Feihe Cinema, and waves of sound rose and fell.

Liu Jiasheng was affected by these voices, and a sense of bewilderment and loss welled up in his heart.

After the commotion subsided, an unprecedented silence seemed to descend, making him feel that an era had come to an end and a new era was quietly beginning.

Amidst the bustling crowd, he quietly entered the screening room for "Shaolin Soccer" and sat in his reserved VIP seat...

"Kung Fu Soccer" tells the story of grassroots players who possess Shaolin martial arts skills and form a "Kung Fu Soccer Team" to compete on the field.

When Liu Jiasheng saw this clichéd premise, he was completely unmoved. After all, [Xuan Shi Entertainment] had already produced countless similar "Kung Fu Basketball" films and various parodies.

The sheer variety of mind-blowing tropes has become tiresome...

Although he had no expectations for the film, Liu Jiasheng still sat quietly in the screening room waiting for it to start.

After all, this is the first work released by [Xuanshi Entertainment] after Zhou Yang announced his departure.

Whether or not he is a company employee, he is willing to give a positive review as long as the film is of acceptable quality.

However, fate is always full of drama. When you are full of expectations, you are often disappointed, but when you let go of your expectations, surprises come unexpectedly.

Surprisingly, this "Shaolin Soccer" movie is quite well made!
……

He saw Deng Xingzu, who had been away from the screen for many years, return to the screen.

When Deng Xingzu appeared on screen, he no longer used exaggerated expressions to portray the character as he did in the 90s. Instead, he became exceptionally serious, seemingly changing his style.

But as one supporting character after another appeared, the signature "nonsensical" style was taken to its extreme, forming a unique and pure "Deng-style comedy".

Perhaps it's because after so many years of silence, and the accumulation of too much joy, anger, sorrow, and fear...

In this film, Deng Xingzu transforms all the hardships in his life into humorous banter, making the audience laugh heartily.

And those team members struggling at the bottom of society...

Whether their expressions are dazed, shrewd, angry, or downcast, they are all equally amusing.

Compared to the satirical style of Hong Kong films during their golden age, Deng Xingzu seems to have undergone a transformation.

His performances no longer rely on superficial exaggeration, but rather intertwine absurdity with reality, giving the laughter a profound strength.

However, as he laughed, Liu Jiasheng felt a pang of sadness.

Behind those exaggerated performances, he seemed to see a true reflection of ordinary people.

In the film, Deng Xingzu fully utilizes the nonsensical style, making it more like a successful fusion...

It perfectly combines Zhou Yang's parody with Deng's comedy.

The players used "iron head skills" to head the ball into the net and "light-footed water skills" to dribble past opponents. The exaggerated special effects complemented the exciting rhythm of the football match.

This innovation retains the eccentric essence of Hong Kong comedy while employing ingenious scene design to create visually impactful and slapstick humor in every action scene, making everyone in the theater burst into laughter...

As he watched, Liu Jiasheng nodded silently, a tremor running through his heart.

The laughter that filled the theater gradually subsided, and as the end credits rolled, the audience spontaneously stood up and burst into prolonged applause.

At that moment, he clearly realized that Deng Xingzu, who had been silent for many years, had not only not regressed, but had actually reached a new level in his artistic achievements.

In fact, from the audience's enthusiastic response, he seemed to see the former king of comedy making a triumphant return in a completely new guise.

……

When Liu Jiasheng walked out of the screening room, the square outside the cinema was still crowded with people.

The sunlight was blinding, and he instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, but then he heard a chorus of voices around him...

"Absolutely amazing! Director Deng's performance is even crazier than in the 90s! That last 'bicycle kick' shot made my stomach cramp up from laughing!"

"Zhou Yang wasn't lying... He really isn't in this movie, haha, but it's ten times better than some movies that use his name! No, it still has a parody style, it's both parody and enjoyable to watch! Haha..."

In the distance, several reporters with cameras were blocking off the departing audience, forcibly conducting interviews. Someone excitedly waved a movie ticket at the camera: "[Xuan Shi Entertainment] is even more amazing without Zhou Yang! This is what a movie should be like!"

Liu Jiasheng looked down at his phone and scrolled through the text messages. The messages contained a screenshot of the latest data sent by the company team.

In the screenshot.

On the rating page of [Movie House], "Shaolin Soccer" opened with a score as high as 8.9, and the comments section was full of praise for "Deng's comedic renaissance" and "Zhou Yang's departure actually brought out the real genius".

He suddenly remembered Zhou Yang's parting words, "This light is so bright that I don't need to hold it up anymore," and then he felt a slight tremor run through him...

Turning around to look at the giant movie screen poster...

Under the sunlight, Deng Xingzu strikes a shooting pose, with the words "Produced by Xuanshi Entertainment" printed in a small corner of the poster, but no longer the words "Screenwriter Zhou Yang".

this moment……

A new era...

It seems to be gradually approaching!
..............................

In the early hours of the morning, on the set of "The Great Wall: Taotie," Li Zhengtao leaned wearily against the back of his chair, having just finished watching Zhou Yang's farewell livestream, a sense of bewilderment and melancholy washing over him.

He turned and stared at the footage of "The Great Wall" on the editing table, vaguely realizing that he seemed to be standing at a crossroads in his career.

"Perhaps The Great Wall shouldn't have been filmed like this..." As soon as this thought crossed my mind, an indescribable unease welled up in my heart.

This film, which was shot in less than a year, left him feeling unprecedentedly exhausted, not only physically, but also with his creative soul depleted.

From "Qin" to "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and then to "Chrysanthemum Terrace," he has always been committed to incorporating the core of Chinese culture into the shell of Western films, hoping to use this to open the door to world cinema.

However, each attempt was like a heavy punch hitting cotton, and "The Great Wall: Taotie" became his last obsession.

In fact, the original intention behind "The Great Wall" was quite simple. After seeing how overseas monster movies were dominating the Chinese box office, he envisioned using the Great Wall totem to create a "monster universe" and attempting to replicate the success of Western commercial films.

However, as filming progressed, a series of incongruities arose from the film's plot itself, as well as the disconnect between the actors.

Amidst the whirring of the editing machine, Li Zhengtao suddenly realized that perhaps "The Great Wall" shouldn't have been filmed this way, or rather, it shouldn't have been produced by Tianyu Media...

But now, it's too late. He can only grit his teeth and continue making the film, trying his best to make up for the shortcomings caused by these issues...

Around 3 a.m.

He received a call from his secretary.

The secretary only said one sentence on the phone.

"Deng Xingzu's comeback film is a critical and commercial success! 'Shaolin Soccer' has grossed over 4200 million yuan on its opening day!"

When Li Zhengtao heard this, he was not shocked, but his emotions were somewhat complicated.

With Zhou Yang's departure and the hype surrounding the film, the box office explosion seemed almost inevitable.
But to his surprise, the film's success went far beyond its opening day frenzy...

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

11 month 15 day.

"Shaolin Soccer" ignited the market with a box office of 4200 million on its opening day, and then...

To the astonishment of countless filmmakers, it also demonstrated an astonishing endurance.

On its third day of release, the daily box office not only didn't drop but actually rose to 4800 million yuan, and it raked in a whopping 1.8 million yuan in its opening weekend, becoming the only domestic film from [Xuanshi Entertainment] for which Zhou Yang did not participate in the screenwriting...

As the topic of "Deng's comedic renaissance" continues to gain traction, the film's average attendance rate on weekdays during the second week remains above 65%, and its box office on November 20th bucked the trend, reaching 47 million yuan, setting a new record for the highest non-holiday box office in the Chinese film market.

As of November 30, this film, which does not credit Zhou Yang, has grossed 320 million yuan at the box office, and its daily screening share has consistently remained above 42%.

Theater managers were shocked to discover that even in the later stages of its run, the film's box office decline was far superior to other films released at the same time. Industry insiders generally predicted that its final box office would exceed 4.5 million yuan. This figure not only far surpassed Deng Xingzu's peak period works, but also seemed to mark the first step for [Xuan Shi Entertainment] towards its peak...

but……

As December approaches, the focus of China's film market is gradually shifting to the year-end box office battle.

Due to the impact of previous negotiations between Huaxia Film Distribution and overseas film companies, the November film season was almost entirely dominated by domestic films.

As December arrives, a large number of Hollywood blockbusters that had been shelved for a long time begin to be released, and market competition intensifies sharply.

It is worth noting that, apart from [Xuan Shi Entertainment] and [Tian Yu], the other four major film companies in China have all adjusted the release dates of their new films to the following year, actively making room for the "battlefield" in December.

This phenomenon has attracted widespread attention within the industry: on the one hand, people are eager to see if Deng Xingzu's "Kung Fu Soccer" can continue its box office success in the face of Hollywood competition; on the other hand, Liang Xiaogang's new film "If You Don't Love Me," released at the same time by [Xuan Shi Entertainment], has also become a focus of attention...

……

As December began, the weather in China started to get colder and colder.

Liu Jiasheng felt like he was living in a crazy era...

In December, RoboCop Reboot and John Carter: Rise of Shadows were released in Chinese cinemas at the same time.

After watching these two movies, Liu Jiasheng felt a vague sense of pressure...

Although these two films were not A-list productions, their capital investment and marketing expenses totaled as much as $1.1 million, and the cool mecha and alien battlefield scenes dominated subway stations, major movie platforms, and outdoor screens.

What's even more problematic is that both films are touting themselves as setting a new benchmark for Hollywood visual effects, and have partnered with theaters to offer limited-edition merchandise for watching both films back-to-back…

Industry insiders revealed that this time, overseas film distributors deliberately avoided traditional superhero themes, instead using high-concept sci-fi films to precisely target the still immature sci-fi film market of [XuanShi Entertainment].
However, strangely enough, this event involved not only the three major cinema chains, but also cinema chains from the "Cinema Chain Alliance".

It seems that Zhou Yang's group and other cinema chains have reached some kind of tacit understanding, allowing market competition to gradually return to rationality...

Besides the usual heavy investment in advertising, the phenomenon of capital interfering with film scheduling is decreasing, and cinema chains are beginning to compete fairly based on audience word-of-mouth.

After all, although Zhou Yang has announced his departure, his influence remains, and he still controls about 60% of the cinemas in China...

It's clear to everyone.

If someone breaks the market rules first, Zhou Yang's group will retaliate even more fiercely, and might even resort to all sorts of underhanded tactics to sabotage others...

At that point, the entire industry will be mired in vicious competition, and everyone will have to give up...

(End of this chapter)