Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 542 Is it serious? A mournful voice asked.

"Mr. Zhang, is this a convenient time?"

After Chen Sicheng and Zhang Yi left, Wu Chen forgot about it for a while, and only remembered it in the afternoon, so he dialed the number.

The receiver first played low electronic music, followed by several delicate female voices, each different, chattering away, occasionally interspersed with jeering laughter.

Just by listening to the environment, you can tell it's not a quiet place.

A moment later, Zhang Lin's voice finally came out, slightly out of breath and with a hint of laughter:

"It's convenient, but it's a bit noisy here. A few real estate clients from Shenzhen just came over today and are currently at a karaoke bar."

Since they were both men, Zhang Lin didn't try to hide it.

"Mr. Zhang, is this KTV legitimate?"

After Wu Chen finished speaking, even Zhang Lin, a seasoned businessman, was stunned for a moment before he reacted, and then burst into laughter:
"Seriously, absolutely seriously! He knows all eighteen touches."

"Director Wu, would you like me to get you a VIP card? You can come over and relax when you have some free time."

"That sounds inappropriate!"

Wu Chen joked, half-jokingly, with a smile on his face.

In this day and age, those in the real estate business, to be honest, are either at banquets, clubs, or karaoke bars. This is the triangle area where they expend energy and maintain relationships.

Anyone who has dealt with them knows this; it's nothing new. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to get rid of the money that falls from the sky.

Although the other party is the head of Wanda Film Media, he came from the real estate industry and still holds a position at Wanda Real Estate.

After exchanging pleasantries, Wu Chen steered the conversation back to the main topic: "There's a notebook."

Zhang Lin asked instinctively, "A movie?"

“It’s a TV series.” Wu Chen paused. “It was written by a new director, and he’s quite talented. I think he’s worth nurturing; he might not be any worse than some of the more formally trained actors.”

Wu Chen's meaning is quite clear: he's a director who doesn't follow the rules.

Zhang Lin naturally knew about what Wu Chen and Wang Jianlin had discussed that day. Although he hesitated more after learning that it was a self-taught method, since Wu Chen had said so, it proved that this person had some extraordinary abilities.

Besides, there's still a TV series to test it out.

"Coincidentally, New Classics Media has been talking to me about investing in them recently. They specialize in TV dramas, so let's give them a try."

The executives of private companies generally follow in the footsteps of their bosses, and Zhang Lin is no exception. He decided to make the decision without hesitation, probably because he has money and is not afraid of making mistakes.
"Then I'll have him come to you." Wu Chen nodded, and was about to hang up the phone.

Zhang Lin suddenly added, "By the way, congratulations to Director Wu on the huge success of '1939' the day after tomorrow. Wanda Cinemas has already allocated 58% of its screenings to Ye Ning's theaters, all during prime time."

Wu Chen was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and replied, "Thank you, President Zhang and President Ye."

A 58% screen share may seem like just a little more than 50%, but he knows what that means in the industry.

In reality, as long as this 50% screening rate occurs, most other films can only be squeezed into the late-night, less popular time slots.

Most film industry professionals would complain about this.
Chen Sicheng

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Lin murmured the name Wu Chen had said, as if he had memorized it. Then, he put on a smile and pushed open the door of the KTV.

Under the dimly lit, multicolored, rotating light bulbs, birds sang and danced, creating a bizarre and fantastical scene.
At this point, the film schedules for major cinema chains have been released.

Wanda Cinemas' 58% screen share gave its competitors a jolt.

While other cinema chains didn't give Wanda such an aggressive percentage, their allocations weren't low either. China Film Group, Dadi Cinemas, and Shanghai Film Group all kept their screenings around 50%.

The remaining space was scattered among other films released at the same time, and there were hardly any decent prime-time slots in the schedule.

"Wanda is outrageous! They scheduled a midnight screening for us. What's the point of the audience watching that? Even though our box office is low, this is still going too far!"

"Similarly, other cinemas aren't much better off, only slightly better than those in the middle of the night."

The industry is filled with complaints and grievances, and people are vehemently criticizing the cinema chains, but the latter are completely ignoring them.

The media seized upon this undercurrent.

Several major portal websites ran headlines such as: "《1939》Has Over Half of Screenings, Industry Shocks!"

Wu Chen's new film "1939" achieved over 50% of screenings on its opening day.

In other offices, the atmosphere was quite different.

The producers of "Ip Man 2" looked at each other in the company's conference room, staring at the newspapers and the film schedule, before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness."

"It's only been a week, but things should have calmed down a lot."

"It's right not to stubbornly resist."

"."

The group looked at each other, their eyes filled with lingering fear and relief.

If we were to collide head-on with it, wouldn't we be sucked into a coward's mind?
Upon seeing this, Jiang Wen couldn't help but call Wu Chen, exclaiming how awesome he was.

"Damn it, I haven't even enjoyed the 50% screen time yet."

“Then you’ve missed your chance. I remember ‘Let the Bullets Fly’ was scheduled for the Lunar New Year holiday!” Wu Chen smiled casually, then suddenly remembered something and changed the subject, “By the way, is it too late for the movie to go to Cannes?”

I noticed that your name wasn't on the first list of films selected for the Cannes Film Festival this year.

Jiang Wen's work is receiving a lot of attention at Cannes and is considered one of the four favorites.
"There's nothing I can do, it's really too late. They even extended the submission deadline, but I can't rush the film just to win the Palme d'Or."

Moreover, unlike *1939*, *Let the Bullets Fly* is not straightforward or easily understood. It's unlikely they'll comprehend it.

Jiang Wen said this, but Wu Chen could still sense Jiang Wen's desire for the Cannes trophy from his tone.

On April 23, 2010, the sky over Beijing was overcast, but the air was filled with a restless atmosphere.

On this day, the nerves of the film market were completely on edge.

At 10 a.m., many cinemas began to bustle with activity.

The large screen scrolled through the day's film schedule, with "1939" occupying almost all the slots during prime time, neatly filling the afternoon, evening, and night.

Young people waited patiently with popcorn in their hands, and even noticed that many veteran-looking spectators were being helped by their families and were using canes to get there.

At noon, the first group of audience members poured out, their eyes red and their voices still tinged with lingering emotions.

"Great shot!"

"It was so suffocating, I barely dared to blink during the second half."

"."

Reporters waited outside, gathering in small groups to interview people, and the first wave of articles quickly made it to the front page of major portals.

On its opening day of nationwide release, "1939" saw theater attendance rates reminiscent of "Avatar"!

[The audience was moved to tears, with applause and sobs mingling throughout!]

Wu Chen's new film ignites market enthusiasm; box office prospects are promising!

At this time, many production companies and theater chains in the industry were eagerly anticipating the opening day performance of "1939," especially Huayi Brothers.

In Huayi's office, Wang Zhonglei was making tea, and sitting opposite him was Feng Xiaogang.

"The audience for '1939' is similar to that for 'Aftershock'."

Faced with Wang Zhonglei's ambiguous question, Feng Xiaogang looked at the report and nodded: "They won't be too different; they're both mainstream films, just with different themes."

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes both sparkling with anticipation.

"The Founding of a Republic" has grossed over 4 million yuan, which is considered the highest level of patriotic films at present.
If "1939" can push the box office even higher, then their "Aftershock" might also benefit a lot during the summer season.

Feng Xiaogang's heart was burning with excitement.

He also hoped that with "Aftershock" he could jump to the same level as Wu Chen's box office in mainland China and become the top commercial film in the country, ahead of Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige.
(End of this chapter)