It's reasonable for me to be a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning director and an all-around

Chapter 139 Do you know the true value of a "Skyline Person" in the film and television industry? (Seeking monthly votes)
Before 2002, Hong Kong and Taiwan films were usually the biggest box office hits in mainland China.

But since the release of Hero, this situation has gradually changed.

Later, with the release of one film after another that grossed over 100 million yuan, the fig leaf covering the false prosperity of the Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television markets was completely torn off!
The release of "Taken" has once again confirmed this.

When this film broke the box office record of "Hero" in mainland China, it also achieved outstanding results in Hong Kong and Taiwan!
Previously, in the first half of the year, the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong was "Initial D," which grossed a total of HK$3786 million.

Now, less than two months later, this record has been successfully broken by "Taken" with HK$4766 million!
Hollywood-style films are extremely popular in the Hong Kong market.

The same applies to the Taiwanese market.

"Taken" broke into the top three with a box office of NT$1.44 million, leaving "Initial D" far behind.

Before 2000, Jackie Chan's movies were the most revered in the Taiwanese market, but after that, Hollywood movies dominated the charts.

This situation continued until 03, when The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Hero broke into the top three.

In 04, "Kung Fu Hustle" and "The Prestige" ranked fourth and fifth respectively.

More than half a year has passed since then, and if it weren't for "Taken", no Chinese-language film would have made it into the top ranks!
This also indirectly confirms the popularity of the film.

As of now, the film has been in theaters for a total of 22 days, and the combined box office revenue from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan has firmly surpassed 3 million yuan, reaching 3.43 million yuan!
You don't even need to distribute it to Southeast Asia or Europe and America; you can easily recoup your investment simply by targeting Chinese-speaking regions!
"I'm thinking of requesting a one-month extension for the key of 'Taken,' what do you think?"

That day, Han Sanping made a special trip to visit Lü Rui and suddenly brought up a topic that surprised Lü Rui greatly.

In the past, many domestic films usually didn't last more than a month before falling into obscurity.

For example, Seven Swords.

Released a day earlier than "Taken", its daily box office has now fallen below 100 million, and its total box office in mainland China has only recently surpassed 7000 million.

As for the markets in Hong Kong and Taiwan, they are simply in a terrible state.

The results of HK$500 million and NT$700 million were a complete loss compared to the cost of HK$1.4 million.

But Taken is different!
After more than 20 days in theaters, the daily box office has been able to remain stable at over 10 million. What kind of momentum is this?
Even 3 million might not be enough!
Such a brilliant film, wouldn't it be a shame not to postpone it?

"Is it possible to get approved?" Lu Rui asked with a hint of anticipation.

Key extension is essentially a way for film copyright holders to extend the film's release period.

Currently, movie screenings require digital keys to unlock encrypted copies, which are typically valid for one month.

If a film has high box office returns and good reviews, the copyright holder can apply for an extension. After approval, a new key will be generated and distributed to cinemas to extend the film's screening period.

In later generations, key extensions were frequently observed.

Films like "The First Part of Fengshen" and "Ne Zha" had their key extensions extended five times, with screening periods lasting up to six months.

Back in 05, Lü Rui had never heard of any film being able to apply for a key extension.

Even "Hero" was pulled from theaters after only a month, and Zhang Weiping did not successfully apply for an extension.

"Haha." Han Sanping suddenly laughed, his tone very certain. "Are you out of your mind? Your application and my application are two completely different things, understand?"

"Yes, yes, look at my brain, I've been so busy lately." Lu Rui tapped his head and laughed.

Can the documents submitted by the head of a state-owned enterprise be the same as those submitted by Ruishijie?

He has reason to suspect that the reason why the application for the extension of the key for "Hero" was rejected was because Zhang Weiping was too stingy and unwilling to share his share with China Film Group, which resulted in no one speaking well of him to the higher-ups.

"How are things arranged in Hollywood?" After discussing the key, Han Sanping asked about the overseas distribution.

That was actually his real purpose for coming here today!
If a good domestic box office performance can add to his political achievements, then a big overseas box office success can add at least ten times that!
Just like how "The Prestige" previously grossed $3635 million at the North American box office, he really made a splash in front of his superiors.

Lu Rui shook his head: "I don't know for now, but I'll be going to Hollywood at the beginning of next month, and I'll ask Warner about their arrangements then."

"Okay, remember to let me know if anything happens." Han Sanping paused, then remembered something else, "Since you're going abroad early next month, how about we have a celebration party when the movie's box office surpasses 3 million?"

While it's true that popping champagne at the halfway point can easily lead to trouble, Taken's performance is far from being halfway through.

It's already sold incredibly well, so how can it still be called a half-yearly event?

However, Lü Rui wasn't paying much attention to the celebration banquet. He had been keeping an eye on piracy lately and had even worked with the publicity team to come up with a number of anti-piracy plans.

"You can handle it as you see fit. By the way, hurry up and get the Southeast Asian distribution plan going. If we wait any longer, I'm worried that pirated discs will be exported before we do."

"Okay, I will take it seriously."

Han Sanping rushed over and then left in a hurry.

His "acting chairman" is leaving in two or three years, which is making him very anxious right now.

We have to keep up with "Taken," we can't neglect "The Promise," and we also need to get busy with "Red Cliff"...

These are exactly the achievements he needs most!

After seeing Han Sanping off, Lü Rui stopped by Hou Hongliang's office for a quick look around.

The filming of "Crossing the Guandong" has just wrapped up not long ago, and recently the company has received a lot more staff, all of whom have returned from the film crew. They are holding meetings every day to discuss how to move forward with post-production.

Logically, as the chairman, he should be involved.

But with the recent surge in popularity of "Taken," no one dared to bother him.

After all, compared to movies, Ruishijie's TV drama business is really insignificant.

Many people even see Vision as a purely film company.

As for the TV drama business, many people don't even know that they are doing it.

"Chairman Lü, congratulations on the box office success!"

Upon seeing Lü Rui enter, Hou Hongliang quickly stood up from behind his desk and greeted him with a smile.

"You go ahead with your work." Lü Rui waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to be polite. "So, has the post-production plan for 'Crossing the Guandong' been finalized? Do you need my help?"

"deal."

"That's good." Lu Rui nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject, "How is the formation of the screenwriting team going?"

Hou Hongliang nodded: "It went quite smoothly. I recruited a group of literature graduates from Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama, and also poached a group of people from Shandong Film and Television..."

Since the word "approval" was used, it naturally means that the number of people involved must be considerable.

"Who is there?"

"The main ones are Zhao Dongjing, Gao Mantang, and Lan Xiaolong. These three are the most outstanding. I promised them that they could participate in the profit sharing of the series, so I invited them over."

However, their staff is still with Shandong Film and Television, so if we produce a new drama, we might have to collaborate with them..."

The roots of such a large-scale excavation of Shanying have finally been discovered.

But even if you discover it, it's useless.

It's human nature for people to strive for higher positions and for water to flow downhill.

Could the Mountain Shadow Management Office really stop its subordinates from pursuing even better conditions?
This is definitely impossible.

Moreover, Ruishijie is located in the capital and is part of the Beijing entertainment circle, so Shandong Film Group can't do anything about it.

Therefore, in the end, they had no choice but to settle for second best and choose to cooperate with Ruishijie to jointly develop the project.

All of this was finalized in August, with Hou Hongliang representing Ruishijie throughout the negotiations with Shandong Film & Television. Returning home in glory is like wearing fine clothes at night—it's futile.

He even made a special trip to Shandong Film Studio, where he was received by the studio's director and a group of party secretaries.

As for his former boss at Shandong Film Studio, he didn't even get a chance to come over and take a photo with him, which infuriated the other party, but there was nothing he could do about it.

This made him feel even more that he had really found a good boss!

It feels so good to be a fox borrowing the tiger's power!
"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Although Lü Rui couldn't guess Hou Hongliang's thoughts, he highly recognized Hou's work ability.

Zhao Dongjing, a top screenwriter at Shandong Film Studio and winner of the Five-One Project Award from the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was the screenwriter for the later TV series "Red Sorghum".

Gao Mantang is a recipient of the Feitian Award and the Five-One Project Award, and is also the screenwriter of "Crossing the Guandong".

Lan Xiaolong, a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, enjoys the rank of lieutenant colonel in a drama troupe. His play "Erna Raid" won several major awards...

With these three people in charge of the screenwriting department, Ruishijie's TV drama business is basically without major flaws.

"This is a new script I selected for the TV series production team. Once the later stages of 'Crossing the Guandong' are on track, we will start preparing this script."

Hou Hongliang picked up a script from the table and handed it over.

Lu Rui reached out and took it, looking at the four words "Soldiers' Assault" on the cover, and two words suddenly popped into his mind:
Steady!

……

After returning from Hou Hongliang's office, Lü Rui turned on his computer and began browsing the latest headlines of the day with great interest.

With the box office success of "Taken", he's been enjoying himself lately, receiving praise from various media outlets and living a very comfortable life.

But other directors have been plagued by bad luck.

Stephen Chow is still hiding in Star Overseas and not going out, so Hong Kong media can't catch a glimpse of him.

But Feng Xiaogang was cornered several times. Reporters came up to him and poked at his core, asking him what he thought about Lü Rui becoming a director with a box office of 3 million yuan.
Feng Xiaogang naturally remained silent, only saying that he was busy preparing for "The Banquet" and hadn't paid attention to others.

But in private, he was so jealous that he cursed and smashed props made by the props team more than once.

If it weren't for the money, the props team would have quit long ago.

In his anger, Feng Xiaogang also realized that he hadn't had a single day of peace since he clashed with Lü Rui.

The box office performance of "Cell Phone" was suppressed, "A World Without Thieves" was crushed, and now another one, "Taken," has suddenly appeared.

If "The Banquet" flops after its release, won't the media bring it up again?

"No way! 'The Banquet' definitely won't flop! I've prepared so thoroughly, how could there be any problems?"

Feng Xiaogang shook his head, forcibly suppressing his worries.

Just as troubled as him was Chen Kaige, who was currently embroiled in "public opinion controversy."

Before the release of "Taken", he made a lot of boasts in front of the media, saying that "The Promise" would become the highest-grossing domestic film in 05 and would compete for an Oscar.

But now, seeing "Taken" nearing 3 million at the box office, he can't help but feel a little uneasy.

If you don't keep the promises you made, wouldn't you lose face?

However, that's not the key issue right now; what's really bothering him is the situation at the scenic area.

The film crew had already left some money for the scenic area before leaving, so that they could repair the damaged environment themselves. Why is the media still harping on it?
Isn't it just that a bridge was built, yet it ruined the overall beauty of Tianchi Lake?
Wasn't it just that they used paint to dye the trees in the Old Summer Palace yellow to create an autumnal effect? ​​They could have just replanted a few trees after they died, right?
So what if they threw away some trash, lunchboxes, plastic bags, and mineral water bottles? The grass by Tianchi Lake doesn't want to grow; what does that have to do with the film crew throwing away trash?

"These media outlets are simply incomprehensible!"

Chen Kai snorted coldly and simply ignored it.

PR?

Forget about public relations, wouldn't it be better to spend that money on promoting the movie?

Do you think this little bit of public opinion can affect him?

joke!

Do you know the true value of being called a "top talent in the film and television industry"?
After shutting down the computer, Chen Kaige called Chen Hong: "Make arrangements so that after 'Taken' finishes its run in theaters, we can follow up with the publicity for 'The Promise,' focusing on creating buzz around the themes of 'epic,' 'great,' and 'better than 'Farewell My Concubine,' understand?"

"Okay, I understand," Chen Hong readily agreed.

Not a family, do not enter the door.

She also doesn't care about damaging the environment.

What? Does damaging the environment really affect the prestige of my husband's "Palm of Fame Director" award?
Once "The Promise" becomes a huge hit, I'll tear all your mouths apart!
Unlike Chen Kaige and Feng Xiaogang, Zhang Yimou, when surrounded by the media, did not hold back his praise and appreciation for Lü Rui.

"Young people must surpass their predecessors; otherwise, how can Chinese-language films achieve better development if we rely solely on people like us?"

He admired Lü Rui from the bottom of his heart.

He has both box office success and awards. If the Chinese film industry had more people like him, the hope of catching up with Hollywood would be much greater than it is now!
Moreover, in his view, Lü Rui, like himself, was a person with "thoughts".

For example, he felt that the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" successfully captured the injustices of contemporary society!
Most importantly, he felt that Lü Rui's thinking was not as radical as Jiang Wen's and Tian Zhuangzhuang's, and always exuded a steady and deliberate quality.

This is a good thing; otherwise, they might end up like those two, being ruthlessly banned from directing by the bureau.

"Being young is great; youth is the greatest asset!"

After watching "Taken," Zhang Yimou couldn't hide his envy.

He felt it would be difficult for him to make such a purely commercial film.

Of course, it's not impossible to film it, but people are very likely to accuse him of making easy money.

He didn't want to ruin the good reputation he had built up over half a lifetime.

...

2.7 billion!
2.8 billion!
2.9 billion!
In late August, the box office of "Taken" continued to climb, and it was only less than 8 million yuan away from breaking the 3 million yuan mark.

Han Sanping suddenly called: "Everything's arranged. It's the 25th, the day after tomorrow. According to market predictions, the total box office will break 3 million that day. How about we have a celebration banquet tonight?"

“Sure, no problem.” Lü Rui readily agreed.

But after hanging up the phone, he suddenly remembered that August 25th was some silly girl's birthday.
"Hey, what a coincidence."

After pondering for a moment, he dialed Han Sanping's number again and explained the situation.

"Liu Yifei's birthday?" Han Sanping was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, "That's perfect, let's treat this celebration banquet as her birthday party."

You know what, it's quite a coincidence. The movie plot involves rescuing her, and the celebration party is also her birthday. Let's just say we're celebrating successfully rescuing her, haha.

After chatting for a few minutes, Han Sanping hung up the phone and immediately contacted the person in charge to adjust the celebration banquet arrangements.

Adding a birthday celebration in the middle is fine; it won't disrupt the normal flow of the event.

Lu Rui picked up his phone, found Liu Yifei's contact information, and planned to tell her first.

Meanwhile, he was also secretly wondering what kind of birthday gift he should prepare for this girl.
In a daze, my gaze swept across the computer desktop, and a new script suddenly caught my eye...

(End of this chapter)