This director lacks vision.

Chapter 300 What is a Leader's Confidant?

In addition to performing Victory live, Jiang Yifeng also sang The Spectre solo, both of which are Jiang Ning's background music, closely related to the theme of the movie's promotion.

After the performance, a brief interview was conducted, followed by the screening of a film.

John Wick is essentially a popcorn movie; it delivers a great deal of thrills and requires absolutely no brainpower.

For American audiences who are accustomed to a joyful education, most people can resonate with the brainwaves.

So the audience feedback at the premiere was quite good.

Jiang Yifeng's first promotional event in North America was a great success.

The premiere was broadcast live on online platforms and television, reaching nearly 400 million viewers.

Although it wasn't a huge hit, it still garnered a considerable amount of attention.

Furthermore, the subsequent video clips, once uploaded to YouTube, have accumulated over ten million views.

Putting everything else aside, the songs Victory and The Spectre began to become popular in the United States.

These two songs each have their own unique characteristics. One is epic and thrilling, while the other combines electronic music with the suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument), creating an unparalleled psychedelic feel.

The film's promotional strategy also combines online and offline methods.

Offline activities consisted of various promotional events organized by the production team, while online content consisted of short videos on the internet.

The background music for these video clips was mostly Victory and The Spectre, which made these two songs even more popular, and both of them made it into the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.

Over the next few days, Jiang Yifeng went to New York, Chicago, and Houston, participating in numerous events and programs.

On the show, he was sometimes refined and gentle, talking about how to start a business and get rich, transforming into a wealth idol; at other times, he was an invincible tough guy, transforming into a kung fu master and showcasing Chinese kung fu.

This contrasting image has attracted the attention of many Americans.

The behind-the-scenes video of Jiang Yifeng setting up a challenge on set and defeating a group of tough guys is getting more and more views.

Many video bloggers have also started creating derivative works.

In this context, John Wick performed quite well at the North American box office.

It grossed $5348 million in its opening weekend, surpassing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey's $36.7 million to become the top-grossing film in the opening weekend of the Christmas season.

Actually, this is a case of getting a good deal.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been in theaters for a week.

The film grossed $8477 million in its opening weekend and has already grossed over $1.3 million in North America, meaning its box office potential has been largely exhausted.

John Wick was released a week later than The Hobbit, so it wasn't exactly fair competition.

But that's not what they say in their advertising.

"A stunning upset! 'Speed ​​Chase' becomes the North American Christmas box office champion!"

"Jiang Yifeng defeats The Hobbit head-on, raking in 5348 million yuan at the box office in three days!"

"Texas audience members brought their dogs to watch John Wick, and the dogs were excited and satisfied."

"Data survey: More than 50% of families choose to watch John Wick on Christmas Day."

……

Seeing the box office potential of John Wick, Warner Bros. released numerous press releases to attract public attention.

Such press releases have a significant impact.

Audiences have a herd mentality; when they see that John Wick is the box office champion and many people are watching it, they will naturally choose to watch John Wick first.

Moreover, there isn't much competition in North America this Christmas season.

Aside from The Hobbit, which premiered a week earlier, there's Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" and the musical "Les Misérables".

Neither of these films is a purely commercial film.

Another family-friendly film, "Family Guide," was lackluster and failed to perform well at the box office.

It's like letting the fast-paced chaser get away with it.

From December 25th to 31st, John Wick grossed a total of $1.02 million in its first seven days, already a huge success.

The film received polarized reviews.

It has a freshness rating of 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is only slightly above average, lower than The Hobbit's 73%;

However, the popcorn index is 89%, higher than the Hobbit's 82%.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the Freshness rating represents the opinions of professional film critics, while the Audience Score represents the level of audience liking.

John Wick is indeed very superficial, even childish, and doesn't receive particularly good reviews from professional film critics.

However, most viewers like it, since watching movies is ultimately for entertainment.

At least the fast-paced chase scenes are exciting to watch.

In contrast, The Hobbit's pacing is rather dull, with many lengthy and unnecessary plot points, leading to accusations of padding.

In addition, the film adopted the new standard of 48 frames per second for shooting and projection, which was intended to make the picture clearer and better. However, the excessive clarity made it lose its sense of realism, which was criticized by many people.

On the afternoon of December 31, Jiang Yifeng returned to California and took a car to Stanford University.

In the car, he was watching videos on YouTube on his phone.

A Border Collie is sitting in a movie theater watching John Wick.

When the Border Collie saw Jiang Ning and Da Huang getting along well, it grinned from ear to ear, looking very happy.
When the Border Collie saw that Dahuang had been killed, it barked a few times and paced back and forth in its seat, looking very anxious.
After Jiang Ning successfully avenged himself, the Border Collie did two backflips on the spot to celebrate.

This video is very funny and has become very popular, even making it to the front page of YouTube.

Jiang Yifeng commented on his YouTube account: "Hurry up and send this Border Collie to school, don't delay the child's development."

Jiang Yifeng's YouTube account has over ten million followers, and this comment quickly received a large number of likes and shares.

This also made the "Border Collie watching a movie" video even more popular.

This is also the next marketing focus for the John Wick crew – revenge for the dog.

The production team incorporated local American elements into their marketing.

In places like the United States, where political activism is so prevalent, there are all sorts of bizarre policies.

Pets also have the right to watch movies.

The United States has movie theaters that allow pets to watch movies, such as K9 Cinemas in Plano, Texas.

The production team capitalized on this point in their promotion, releasing numerous videos of dogs watching movies to attract viewers.

It has to be said that this publicity strategy is really brilliant, generating a lot of buzz and further boosting the popularity of The Fast and the Furious.

The car pulled up in front of a building and stopped. The assistant opened the door, and Jiang Yifeng got out. He saw a middle-aged man with several of his students standing at the building entrance to greet him.

"Hello Mr. Jiang, I am Andrew Ng. Welcome to visit my laboratory."

Andrew Ng is a Chinese American who, at only 36 years old, is already a professor in the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, the director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and one of the leaders of the Google Brain project.

This is a leading expert in the field of AI. Jiang Yifeng came to the United States with the intention of recruiting some talent for his "Classic of Mountains and Seas Lab". In fact, Chinese researchers make up a very high percentage in the field of artificial intelligence, sometimes exceeding 60%.

In Musk's AI team, 5 out of 12 core members are Chinese, and in OpenAI's team, 6 out of 17 core members are Chinese.

This data was generated assuming that conservatism would prevail in the United States in the future.

The actual proportion is likely higher.

After all, Chinese culture places great importance on education, and people with high IQs can thrive anywhere.

Andrew Ng wanted to secure sponsorship, so he was very polite to Jiang Yifeng.

Jiang Yifeng did indeed come to sponsor the event.

Instead of immediately poaching Andrew Ng, he donated money to the lab and reached a cooperation agreement.

We plan to recruit several of Andrew Ng's students to work at the Classic of Mountains and Seas laboratory, and at the same time send a group of students from Yenching University to study at Andrew Ng's laboratory.

Regardless of the final outcome, this is the direction the work must take.

After all, at this time, the United States was still far ahead of China in AI research.

The matter had already been discussed to a great extent, and Jiang Yifeng was here to make the final decision.

After spending an afternoon at Stanford University, Jiang Yifeng left a few employees there to handle the follow-up matters, while he himself took a flight to Tokyo overnight.

John Wick will be released in Japan on January 1st, New Year's Day.

Jiang Yifeng's trip to Japan was both to promote his film and to prepare for the filming of "The Hunt 2".

At 10 p.m. local time in Tokyo on January 1, Jiang Yifeng's plane landed at Tokyo International Airport.

Liu Yifei was there to pick them up at the airport this time.

Liu Yifei has been in Japan for half a month in preparation for the filming of The Hunt 2.

The two found a hot spring hotel.

Once inside, with the heating on, Liu Yifei took off her down jacket.

Today she wore a tutu and stockings outfit that she wore when she released her album as a singing and dancing idol, paired with a lace-trimmed choker around her neck, making her look very innocent and alluring.

After taking the beauty potion, Liu Yifei became a bit more adorable, with three parts soft and cute and seven parts aloof, making her very suitable for this contrasting pure and alluring style.

Jiang Yifeng praised, "Well done, Qianqian! Your outfit today is perfect. Did someone teach you how to dress?"

Liu Yifei: "???"

"What do you mean? Can't I dress myself up?"

"You only have a red down jacket on the outside; there's absolutely nothing underneath."

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes at Jiang Yifeng and said irritably, "It was Hu Qian, President Hu, who suggested it. She said that since we're in Japan, my outfit can evoke a sense of nostalgia, and you'll definitely like it."

After saying that, Liu Yifei took off her shoes, revealing her bare, fair feet, and twirled around in front of Jiang Yifeng twice, asking expectantly, "Do you like it?"

"I like it, but it's such a beautiful dress, it would be a shame to tear it up later."

"It's okay, I prepared several sets. Besides, why did you have to tear it to pieces?"

"What else can I do? Didn't you learn the essence of it in Japan? Did you watch the DVDs I recommended?"

Liu Yifei whispered, "I saw it~~"

It has to be said that Hu Qian has a great eye; Liu Yifei's outfit is just right, and Jiang Yifeng likes it very much.

Accompanied by Liu Yifei, Jiang Yifeng participated in several events and programs in Tokyo to promote the film.

The fast-paced, action-packed, and somewhat chuunibyou-esque style of the series is indeed very popular in Japan.

In its opening week, the film grossed 32 billion yen in Japan, second only to The Hobbit's 43 billion yen.

As a prequel to Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is a special effects blockbuster with a huge IP. Although its reputation did not meet expectations, its influence remains.

With both movies released in the same period, it's normal that John Wick couldn't compete.

On January 7th, Jiang Yifeng stopped promoting the film.

He arrived at the NHK television studio to begin filming the second season of The Hunt.

The Hunt 2 production team began preparations in early December. This time, it's a co-production between Fengxing Media and NHK.

Because it's a drama produced by Jiang Yifeng, Hu Qian personally took on the role of producer and representative of Fengxing Media.

Hu Qian had a lot of say in the casting process; she was the one who decided on almost all the actresses.

In the series "The Hunt 2", there are quite a few female actors because behind the case of the male lead's daughter's disappearance, there is an organization that specializes in framing men—Entoil.

Entoil is an Old English word from the mid-to-late 16th century, meaning "to trap or snare" or "to entrap".

Jiang Yifeng specifically used this word to name the organization, which speaks volumes about its nature.

The Entoil organization is full of beautiful women, among whom three roles are the most important.

One is Asami, the president of Entoil, who is also one of the main villains in the series; the other is high school students Chinatsu and Mika, each with their own classic cases.

Hu Qian introduced, "Boss, this beautiful lady is Haruka Ayase, one of the most popular actresses in Japan. She plays Asami, the president of Entoil."

These two are Ayaka Miyoshi and Elaiza Ikeda, both rising actresses and models from Japan, playing Chinatsu and Mika respectively.

Haruka Ayase is not very famous in China, but she is very well-known in Japan. She has consistently ranked among the top three most popular actresses and earns a high income. She is an actress who possesses both good looks and acting skills and has a very good reputation in Japan.

Ayaka Miyoshi and Elaiza Ikeda are also rising stars among Japanese actresses, both born in 1996.

Jiang Yifeng looked at the three beauties in front of him and nodded with great satisfaction. He smiled and praised, "Your casting is excellent; it fits the character's traits perfectly."

The three beauties Hu Qian chose each have their own unique looks, and who you prefer depends on your personal taste.

But their figures are very consistent: curvy, long legs, hot and sexy.

Japanese beauties are mostly known for their pure and innocent looks, but many also have bowlegs and are relatively short on average.

The three people in front of me are different.

Haruka Ayase is 168cm tall, Ayaka Miyoshi is 171cm tall, and Elaiza Ikeda is 170cm tall; they are all tall beauties in Japan.

The key is that they all have a very broad mind.

Ayase Haruka has a nickname in China: "Milk Haruka," Miyoshi Ayaka is known as the "National Leg Goddess" in Japan, and Kuma also has a 36D bust.

As for Elaiza Ikeda, she was called "Ikeda Jumping Sand" because she had the biggest heart among the three women.

The women in the Entoil organization need to be attractive to lure men.

Hu Qian's casting was absolutely perfect.

She not only provided Liu Yifei with the right clothing advice, but also managed to select actresses who suited Jiang Yifeng's preferences.

This is what it means to be a leader's confidant.

(End of this chapter)