The only sun in Huayu

Chapter 157 Marketing with the Character "囧" (jiong): Removing the "Shanzhai" (knock-off) (34)

In early February, the sea breeze in Qingdao was still chilly.

But the atmosphere on the set of "Lost in Thailand" was getting increasingly heated.

After a period of adjustment, the team operates more smoothly and with amazing efficiency.

After finishing work, Shen Shandeng had just returned to his temporary office.

The phone rang; it was Ma Youde.

On the other end of the phone, Ma Youde's voice cracked with barely suppressed excitement as he exclaimed, "Boss! Something terrible has happened! Something really terrible!"

Shen Shandeng asked, "What's the matter that you're in such a hurry?"

"Breaking news! It's exploded in Hong Kong! It's completely outrageous!"

Ma Youde explained in a very fast voice: "This is going to be interesting!"

Shen Shandeng suddenly realized that he had almost forgotten about this event that was destined to ignite public opinion.

For him, a reborn individual, this was more like a distant cultural symbol.

Moreover, for him now, this is not a big deal.

But for the current entertainment industry, this is undoubtedly a bombshell.

Later generations said that the photography exhibition dealt a heavy blow to the Hong Kong entertainment circle, but Shen Shandeng felt that it didn't have that much of an effect in this life.

The biggest impact will be on female artists. Because of co-productions, the Hong Kong entertainment industry is already dominated by men and women, and this will make them even more vulnerable in the future.

For male artists, this actually accelerated the turnover of the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for Taiwan's "Heavenly Banquet" to stand out, and marginal figures in the Hong Kong entertainment circle such as Liu Kaiwei would not have suddenly had so many more opportunities.

Similar to the apical effect in plants, plants with strong apical dominance hardly branch.

Removing the top actually helps produce more fruit.

Similarly, in the 1980s and 1990s, a large number of talented people went abroad and never returned, and many winners of the previous era chose to immigrate, which actually promoted the development of industries and even society.

Shen Shandeng asked, "What, do you have something on your mind?"

Ma Youde said, "Boss, this is a golden opportunity! Many people are eager for the Hong Kong entertainment circle to be embarrassed. I plan to take advantage of this trend and promote the '囧' character marketing!"

Shen Shandeng was taken aback, not expecting Lao Ma to react so quickly.

Ma Youde analyzed: "The mainland entertainment industry has suffered under the Hong Kong circle for too long! Think about it, how many investors have acted like pushovers and still lost money, how many actors have had their roles suppressed, their billing stolen, and have been smeared? They're all holding their breath in anger!"

"Now that this has happened, let's settle scores and avenge our grievances! Let's hitch a ride on this trend and subtly associate the character '囧' with this awkward, unlucky, yet somewhat funny situation. It's sure to go viral!"

Shen Shandeng laughed and said, "Alright, Youde, you're rubbing salt into the wound."

Ma Youde chuckled: "Boss, this is called following the will of the people! If you don't do good deeds in ordinary times, you'll definitely have to pay the price when trouble comes. We're doing this on behalf of Heaven, and we're also doing marketing on the side!"

Shen Shandeng pondered for a moment and said, "It can be done. But it should be done smoothly, without being deliberate. Just a little pre-event hype is enough. It wouldn't be good to really link this whole thing with the 'awkward' situation."

Ma Youde immediately understood: "Got it! Boss, you're brilliant!"

After hanging up the phone, Shen Shandeng focused his attention on the movie.

Marketing can be very effective, but if a movie is bad, forcibly distorting the truth will come at a price.

Therefore, the outcome of a film always lies in the lens.

Filming proceeded as scheduled.

Huang Xiaoming made a cameo appearance as the narcissistic handsome guy in the original version. He didn't have many scenes, and there wasn't much of a plot in the original version; it was just a character-building exercise.

Shen Shandeng was retained as a prelude to "Jiajing," allowing the audience to become familiar with Huang Xiaoming's presence on the big screen in advance.

Nowadays, mainland actors have no opportunities, and audiences are tired of seeing Hong Kong and Taiwan stars on screen all the time. It is time to need fresh faces.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries with Huang Xiaoming, Shen Shandeng continued working.

Soon, they filmed a scene where Yang Mi made a cameo appearance as a passerby selling mobile phones at the train station.

Behind the monitor, Shen Shandeng watched Da Mimi's slightly exaggerated but lively performance and nodded secretly.

Yang Mi's acting skills are indeed among the top tier of actresses her age.

They are truly in the top tier.

Even if placed in the future "Tang Dynasty Sweet Poems", she would be in a class of her own, surpassing Tang Yan, Liu Shishi, and Jing Tian.

This scene is basically based on the original version.

There was only one minor change: Shen Shandeng removed the line "It's a knock-off, isn't it?"

The term "shanzhai" originally came from Cantonese and carries the connotations of "small-scale" and "unofficial".

Soon, in certain media outlets and discourse circles, it was given strong negative connotations of "plagiarism" and "inferior quality," becoming a label used to mock "Made in China."

Shen Shandeng is very wary of such self-deprecating terms.

It's obviously not a good thing at first glance.

The changing meanings of trending words often reflect shifts in the power dynamics of discourse.

The term "little pinks" was originally a positive term, but it was deliberately stigmatized by certain groups. Then, when the general public joined in, it returned to normal.

Initially, the rise of "converted fanaticism" and "psychological colonization" mentality inevitably contributed to its spread. The same applies to "counterfeit" products.

To simply and crudely label China's manufacturing industry, a massive sector that supports the global supply chain, as "counterfeit" is tantamount to devaluing the fruits of labor.

It will further damage pricing power in the international market and influence in the industrial sector.

Even if there are indeed quality issues, they are only isolated problems.

A normal person would never sin over an entire industry, or even an industrial cluster, a group of industries, or the entire industrial chain.

Whether it's the beautiful country, the Japanese, or South Korea, their initial development all started with imitation.

In terms of supporting domestic industries, the Chinese are far more rational than those who smashed Japanese cars, and compared to Japan and South Korea who emphasize the inseparable bond between their people and their homeland!
What more do you want? Can't we just not reflect on this?!

As a mainstream entertainment industry, movies can influence aesthetics.

It's acceptable to turn knock-offs into entertainment, but it's not acceptable to link them with industrial products like mobile phones.

Shen Shandeng will not encourage the spread of such self-deprecating rhetoric.

After filming Yang Mi's scenes, they immediately began filming scenes with Zhang Xiaofei, Yuan Shanshan, and Zhang Xuan.

Niu Geng and Li Chenggong helped them put their luggage on the luggage rack.

The three girls politely thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Uncle."

Xu Zheng, who plays Li Chenggong, instantly displays a complex expression, tinged with a sense of helplessness at the blows of time: "Uncle? That's an exaggeration, I'm a 90s kid."

Wang Baoqiang, standing nearby, added with a shocked expression: "Boss, you're a 90s kid? You don't look like it!"

Li Chenggong said sullenly, "I was born in the 90s and went to university."

Niu Geng, ever the good-natured one, added, "That's not young anymore."

A few lines of dialogue easily amused the audience.

After Huang Xiaoming's cameo scenes were successfully filmed, the entire train station scene was completed.

Then they started filming the airport scene, which was also filmed inside the train station set. The extras were still readily available, consisting of passengers waiting for their trains.

A famous scene from the airport movie.

Niu Geng drank a whole bucket of milk in one go, and Wang Baoqiang performed the scene with great effort.

Wang Baoqiang also has a ruthless streak and seized this opportunity for transformation.

After filming the airport scenes, Tang Yan's cameo role as a flight attendant came to an end.

Before leaving the group.

Tang Yan found Shen Shandeng with a complicated expression.

"Director Shen, I've finished filming my scenes. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

"You're too kind, you acted very well." Shen Shandeng nodded and said with concern, "Take care on the road, and we hope to have the opportunity to work together again in the future."

Tang Yan felt a pang of sadness seeing Shen Shandeng still focused on his work.

Can't you just call me Tangtang?

Finally, he smiled politely and said, "Okay, take care of yourself too."

As Shen Shandeng watched her leave, he was not entirely unmoved.

But he knew that what he lacked most right now wasn't romance, but time.

I'm too busy to be in two places at once.

Shen Shandeng was extremely busy. He not only had to oversee the filming of "Lost in Thailand" but also remotely review the footage, prepare for "Jiajing", and handle company affairs.

Even Yang Mi, Chen Hao, and Li Xiaolu rarely take up his time.

Shen Shandeng urgently needs "time management" skills.

As the sun, many people are drawn to it like moths to a flame.

But he only has one body, and there are only 24 hours in a day.

Shen Shandeng needs the ability to create clones.

Is it considered green if it's just a clone?
2 month 4 day.

The filming at the train station has been successfully completed.

Shen Shandeng sincerely thanked the train station for its strong support, and the entire crew moved to a new indoor filming location.

Still in Qingdao, most of the indoor scenes will be filmed in Qingdao.

That night, I checked into the new hotel.

Li Xiaolu seized the opportunity and knocked on Shen Shandeng's door.

She was clearly dressed up carefully, her eyes bold and direct, getting straight to the point: "Mimi's home for the New Year, how about it? The night's long, want to play a game?"

Shen Shandeng said, "The New Year is approaching, and the crew has a lot of things to arrange. The upcoming filming schedule also needs to be refined."

Upon being rejected, Li Xiaolu, standing outside the door, paused for a moment, her interest growing even stronger.

(End of this chapter)