This director lacks vision.

Chapter 290 The Director Who Created a Miracle
At 8:50 a.m. Eastern Time on October 4, Katherine Daddario walked into the classroom as usual.

She looks a lot like her sister Alexandra Daddario, except that she has brown eyes and is slightly less attractive.

But she is also an exceptionally beautiful woman.

Catherine is 19 years old and studies art at Mary Hill Manhattan College. She plans to become an actress in the future.

She was also influenced by her family education, is a Catholic, and has a relatively conservative lifestyle.

She was also envied because she was too beautiful.

Therefore, he did not have a very good relationship with his classmates at school.

After all, although Hill Mary Manhattan College is a co-educational school, the proportion of female students is over 80%.

Jealousy and targeting among women are no joke.

Catherine found a seat, took out her textbook and placed it on the table, waiting for class to begin.

Unexpectedly, the students suddenly surrounded them.

"Congratulations, Katherine! Your sister's a star! From now on, in the entertainment industry, there won't just be the Kardashian sisters, but also the Daddario sisters!"

"Could you get my sister's autograph? I really love her as Nancy, she's so beautiful!"

"Do you know Director Jiang? I saw in the news that he's your sister's rumored boyfriend. Could you get me his autograph? I really like two of his songs."

"I'm so envious of your sister! Jiang is the youngest billionaire on the Forbes rich list, and he's tall and handsome. Sleeping with a man like that for one night would be amazing!"

Seeing that her classmates were talking in increasingly outrageous ways, Catherine had no choice but to say, "I don't know Jiang. In fact, my sister hasn't been home for a while."

After being trained by Jiang Yifeng, D'Addario broke the precepts and his behavior violated the doctrine.

Her parents already had some reservations about it.

During the recent promotion of "Stranger Things", D'Addario once again actively cooperated with the crew to create rumors, not only releasing many intimate photos with Jiang Yifeng on set, but also saying a lot of cheesy and explicit things.

This is a very common propaganda tactic in the United States.

But Daddario's parents were staunch conservatives, so they had a big argument with him.

The two sides are currently at a very tense standoff.

Catherine didn't dare mention Stranger Things or her sister at home, and she was unaware that Stranger Things was going to be broadcast online.

Hearing her classmates' enthusiastic discussion about Strange Things and her sister's rumored boyfriend Jiang Yifeng, she became very curious as well.

After asking my deskmate, my deskmate took out a magazine from the drawer; it was Time magazine.

The magazine cover featured a half-body photo of Jiang Yifeng.

Upon seeing this photo, Catherine couldn't take her eyes off it. She thought the man was really handsome, confident and composed yet possessing a clean and refined air—just her type.

Moreover, on the right side of this photo, there are rows of vertical slogans.

"The world's youngest billionaire."

"Nobody understands America better than me."

"If you can't understand Stranger Things, you're not American."

"Partnering with Netflix is ​​just to make more money."

These slogans are all arrogant remarks made by Jiang Yifeng during interviews. The Times is placed on the cover to attract readers.

Catherine became even more interested after seeing it.

My deskmate said, "This is a special edition of Time magazine released yesterday. In just one day, the physical edition of this special edition sold out, with a total of 240 million copies sold. The digital version has also sold over a million copies."

Total sales have reached nearly 350 million copies, setting a new record for this year and roughly matching the sales of last year's special edition commemorating Steve Jobs' death.

Upon hearing this, Catherine nodded and opened Time magazine to read.

I was immediately captivated by it.

"A law student turned director, whose films repeatedly broke box office records... He helped revive the Sohu Group and even founded Fengxing Media... He was sought after by the world's three major film festivals, and the president of Netflix camped out at a hotel for a week in hopes of a collaboration..."

If these words hadn't been published in Time magazine, Catherine would have thought she was listening to a fairy tale.

After reading the weekly magazine, Catherine quietly asked her deskmate, "How are the broadcast results for Stranger Things?"

My deskmate excitedly said, "Netflix has only released subscription data, and the total number of subscribers has now exceeded 400 million! Among them, there are 130 million new subscribers!"

Moreover, this number is growing rapidly.

Netflix's stock price has also skyrocketed in the past two days, rising from a low of $50 to $103, more than doubling!
I saw on the news that Hastings is going to go from being the worst CEO to the best CEO!

Last year, Netflix's business was sluggish and its stock price plummeted, leading Hastings to be named "Worst CEO of the Year" by Forbes.

Now his tone has completely changed; since Stranger Things premiered, Hastings has received praise.

Catherine had no idea that the various statistics and miracles her classmates were talking about were exaggerated and were part of Netflix's marketing tactics.

She was simply incredibly curious about Stranger Things and Jiang Yifeng.

All day long, Catherine couldn't concentrate on her classes and just wanted to get home and watch her show.

Finally, at 4 p.m., after school, Catherine took a car straight home.

She turned on her computer, and just as she subscribed to watch a show, she discovered that her mother had returned.

What show are you watching?

Catherine: "..."

Mom sighed and said, "It's Stranger Things, right? I've heard it's a hit show. Shall we watch it together?"

Catherine and her mother went to the living room, turned on the TV, logged into Netflix using the Roku app, and began watching Stranger Things.

Once you start watching, you can't stop.

Catherine found the show very interesting, as it incorporated many references and had a strong sense of suspense, which kept her watching and eager to find out what the monster really was.

Christina, the mother, had a very different feeling; she thought back to thirty years ago, when she was young.

How wonderful America was in the 80s! Everything was thriving back then, work was easy, salaries were high, and you could have anything you wanted.

It was an era of vigor and ambition, and also the golden age of the United States.

Now, the United States, having experienced the subprime mortgage crisis, is riddled with internal problems.

No matter how much the government tries to stimulate the economy, it is irreversibly heading towards recession, and internal problems are increasing.

Christina, though considered middle-class in the US, still felt immense pressure in her life.

Watching Stranger Things, Christina felt as if she had returned to the past and enjoyed a sense of comfort.

This is what makes Stranger Things so successful.

Children love to watch it because it features children as the main characters and tells the story of children growing up;

Young people love to watch it because it has retro trends and elements of suspense and monsters;
Adults also love watching it because the show has a lot of nostalgic elements.

In a time when life is becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary Americans, Strange Things is like a time tunnel.

Through this drama, everyone traveled back to the 80s, reminiscing about the beauty of the golden age and relieving their current frustrations and difficulties.

Netflix's shows are primarily designed to increase subscribers, and their playback model differs from that of traditional television and other video streaming services.

Netflix released all 10 episodes of Stranger Things on its platform at once. Users can watch a free preview, but subsequent episodes will require a paid subscription or a paid membership to watch for free.

Users with money can watch the entire series in one go, which motivates them to spend money.

Catherine and Christina were completely engrossed in the show; they didn't even cook dinner, only eating some snacks instead.

They watched until midnight before finishing episode 6.

It's too late, I have to go to sleep.

Catherine hesitated for a moment, then deliberately said, "Your sister acted really well in this show. Although your clothes were a bit revealing, your overall image was very sunny."

"Jiang is really talented; he's very good at filming." Catherine said this to help D'Addario ease tensions with his family.

Christina, the mother, sighed and said, "I already know Jiang's character. He is indeed a genius, and his abilities are beyond question."

But his private life is rather chaotic, and he has many beautiful women around him; your sister is just one of them.

This is something we absolutely cannot accept.

Furthermore, you need to learn to distinguish between real and fake data, and not be fooled by marketing.

Netflix's current marketing strategy is to promote Jiang.

The fact that a Chinese director was able to create an authentic American TV series that even Americans would find difficult to produce is a highly topical news story.

As for the story about Hastings staking out Jiang Yifeng at the hotel, that's clearly a fabricated story used to promote Stranger Things and Netflix.

After all, people love creating gods and enjoying such legendary stories.

Upon hearing this, Catherine immediately said, "Netflix is ​​certainly doing marketing, but Jiang Yifeng is still the most capable."

If Jiang weren't so accomplished—not the youngest Forbes billionaire, not a genius director—Netflix wouldn't be promoting him so heavily.

Christina was speechless when she saw her youngest daughter's fangirl-like expression when she mentioned Jiang Yifeng.

She felt she needed to talk to her husband quickly; the big cabbage had already been picked, but this fresh, newly ripe bok choy was something she had to protect.

……

Objectively speaking, Christina's words make sense.

None of the main actors in the Stranger Things series have generated much news or buzz.

Therefore, Netflix's promotional strategy mainly focuses on three points:
The first is to promote director Jiang Yifeng and attract some viewers to watch the show through his story;

Secondly, they continuously generate various data to create the buzz surrounding Stranger Things and attract more viewers.

Thirdly, we should focus on word-of-mouth marketing to help promote tap water.

Netflix has done a lot of work and spent tens of millions of dollars on marketing around these three key areas.

Jiang Yifeng thus gained considerable popularity in the United States.

Moreover, Stranger Things is indeed of high quality, accurately hitting the tastes of American audiences.

Thanks to a combination of marketing and quality, Stranger Things quickly became a hit throughout North America and then spread from the United States to Europe and other regions.

By October 9th, Netflix announced that Stranger Things had reached a total of 2873 million subscribers, with more than 10 million new subscribers!
On the same day, Netflix's stock price broke through 300 US dollars, and its total market value reached 400 billion US dollars, setting a new historical high!

In fact, Netflix's published subscription data has always been inflated, mainly for marketing purposes.

Stranger Things did attract a lot of users, and marketing paid off. Subscriptions continued to grow rapidly, quickly squeezing out the inflated figures in Netflix's published subscription data!
Just as Netflix announced that Stranger Things had gained over 10 million new subscribers, many US media outlets reported the same news.

"Earning 10 billion US dollars from a single TV series, Jiang's money-making speed is astonishing!"

Before collaborating with Netflix to produce Stranger Things, Jiang had already bought a large number of Netflix shares, worth a total of about 2 million US dollars.

These stocks have now increased more than sixfold, and Jiang's unrealized gains exceed 1 billion US dollars.

Earning 10 billion US dollars from just one drama series—Jiang is truly an astonishing business genius!

In a country like the United States, the hottest topic is always wealth.

Everyone hopes to get rich overnight and realize the so-called American dream.

The news that Jiang Yifeng earned 1 billion US dollars from a single drama immediately became the hottest topic in the United States, and the number of discussions on Twitter quickly exceeded 100 million.

This, in turn, further fueled the popularity of Stranger Things.

This show gradually became a phenomenal hit in the United States, and even the US President tweeted that he was watching it.

As Stranger Things became increasingly popular in the United States, various news reports were reprinted in China.

"The New York Times: The most authentic American TV series is actually made by Chinese people. American directors should reflect on this."

"Jiang Yifeng's wealth myth, earning 10 billion US dollars from a single TV series, has shocked the entire United States!"

HBO President Harris: Netflix's success is all thanks to Jiang Yifeng, and we look forward to working with him.

"Stranger Things has become a huge hit in North America, and Netflix has gained tens of millions of new subscribers."

"Netflix's market value exceeds 400 billion US dollars. Jiang Yifeng's series brought Netflix back from the brink of collapse!"

"Stranger Things has a score of 9.4 on IMDb, currently tied for third place among all American TV series."

"US President Guan Hai: Looking forward to Jiang Yifeng filming Stranger Things Season 2 soon."

……

News of all kinds spread from overseas to China like snowflakes.

At first, domestic audiences thought these were all press releases from Fengxing Media and were definitely fake.

However, these reports and data all have sources, the rise in Netflix's stock price cannot be faked, and the US President's remarks on Twitter are also genuine.

These facts are undeniable and cannot be ignored.

Even CCTV did a special report called "A Chinese Director's First American TV Series," which provided a detailed account of the success of Stranger Things in North America from various perspectives.

According to Yangshi, "Jiang Yifeng created a miracle. He personally crafted a common cultural symbol for Americans and led a wave of nostalgia in American society."

Netflix President Hastings called Jiang Yifeng a "director who creates miracles," a title that has been widely accepted by Americans.

No one understands America better than Jiang Yifeng; this might be a joke, or it might be true.

After Yangshi's withdrawal, public opinion in China completely changed direction.

First, let's talk about the ratings. Stranger Things' rating on Douban has jumped from 8 to 9.2 and is still rising, which is really true.

Secondly, there's word-of-mouth. Even viewers who don't like Stranger Things won't call this show a bad show anymore; they'll just say it's a matter of different tastes.

Finally, there's the number of views.

Although limited by cultural differences, Stranger Things is not particularly popular in the country.

However, the show became a hit overseas, attracting many Chinese viewers, with an average of nearly 3000 million views per episode.

Overall, the broadcast results were quite good.

It's just a bit inferior to Dark Glory and Pacific Rim.

But this phenomenon, ironically, places Stranger Things in a unique position.

Many people online have started using Stranger Things to show off.

They regard Stranger Things as the number one masterpiece to show that they have good taste and can appreciate truly good shows.

This is going from one extreme to another.

As for those who previously criticized "Stranger Things' failure and Jiang Yifeng's Waterloo," they've been slapped in the face but dare not retaliate.

Because a large portion of the people who dislike Jiang Yifeng are his nephews.

Now even the American daddies like this show. By belittling Stranger Things, they are undermining their own foundation.

So not only could they not fight back, but they even had to grit their teeth and praise Stranger Tales and Jiang Yifeng while being ridiculed by netizens.

The opportunistic Mrs. Luo was the first to change her tune, and these past few days she's been praising Jiang Yifeng and Strange Tales online, urging him to go to Japan to film Hunting 2 as soon as possible.

His obsequious manner at first and then his subservient attitude amused netizens.

For Jiang Yifeng, Stranger Things is a very meaningful show.

It not only helped Jiang Yifeng gain fame in the United States, but Stranger Things is also a spin-off of Pacific Rim.

Many of the settings in this show are from Pacific Rim.

Stranger Things became a huge hit in North America, officially planting the seeds of the Pacific Rim IP in Europe and America, where it could spread like wildfire.

(End of this chapter)