The only sun in Huayu

"Tell Brother Jing to focus on finishing the roadshow, and I'll throw him a celebration party when he gets back!"

Shen Shandeng told Ma Youde to write it down: "Also, Lin Yueru did a fantastic job this time. She used extremely low publicity costs to generate huge media buzz, which made a great contribution to the box office."

After the promotion and distribution of "Jiajing", she was promoted to deputy director of the marketing department, with the title of vice president of the company, in charge of the formulation of the company's film promotion and distribution strategy nationwide.

Ma Youde quickly wrote down: "Understood."

Shen Shandeng continued, "We can start planning a spin-off film about the civil officials of the Jiajing era."

With the success of "Jiajing", Shen Shandeng plans to use this as a springboard to make individual films about Zhang Cong, Yan Song, Hai Rui, Zhang Juzheng and others.

These kinds of movies don't aim for massive box office success; their goal is to provide viewers with something worthwhile, with occasional pleasant surprises.

If you don't have anything else you want to see in the cinema, you can choose this without thinking.

With readily available costumes, props, and sets, costs can be further reduced to below ten million.

Given the current state of the industry, a production budget of tens of millions can attract many actors familiar to the audience.

At the same time, it doesn't matter if it fails. As long as one out of ten is successful and two or three don't lose money, it's a win.

Even if the box office is unsuccessful, the company can still recoup its costs through copyright sales.

This way, the risk is low, it can be used for technological experiments, and it can also be used to explore different types of period dramas, such as comedy, romance, and drama.

Most importantly, several of these kinds of movies can be made in a year, making them ideal for supporting a production team.

Similar to a factory's high-volume orders, this ensures the company's operation.

This is the path to industrialized production that Shen Shandeng wanted.

Of course, this is just the beginning.

Once films like "14 Blades," "The Imperial Envoy 2," and "Brotherhood of Blades" are produced, the Chinese special effects industry chain will emerge, further reducing special effects costs.

That was when true industrialized production began, with martial arts films being mass-produced.

Watching Ma Youde's departing figure, Shen Shandeng couldn't help but clench his fist tightly.

The success of "Jiajing" is not just a box office victory for a single film, but also a step in his construction of the "Eunuch" film series worldview, the layout of a historical theme universe, and the construction of an industrialized film system.

Once this first step is taken steadily, the road ahead will be much easier.

the other side.

The crew of the TV series "Jiajing".

Upon hearing the news, Chen Daoming and Huang Xiaoming, who were in Hubei promoting their work, both congratulated director Wu Jing.

What does this number mean?
This means that Wu Jing, the new director, has already stepped into the threshold of the "100 Million Yuan Director Club"!

This is 2008!
The total box office revenue for the film market last year had just surpassed 3 billion yuan not long ago.

There are very few directors in the film industry who can be considered to have box office appeal and whose films gross over 100 million yuan.

It was nothing more than Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, and the suddenly emerging Shen Shandeng.

And now, Wu Jing is about to become the fifth!
A brand-new director with a budget of over 100 million yuan!
Some are happy and some are sad.

The news that "Jiajing" raked in 53 million in its first week was like a thunderclap that exploded in the industry!

The hotel room where the Ip Man film crew stayed.

The atmosphere was somber.

"Ip Man" grossed 20 million in its opening weekend, which is a pretty good start in the current climate of declining kung fu film popularity.

But compared to "Jiajing", it immediately paled in comparison.

Donnie Yen and director Wilson Yip both had very mixed feelings as they looked at the box office figures.

They understood what this meant: Wu Jing was truly about to take off!
"Jingzai, no, Ah Jing, he's already... a director with a hundred million yuan?"

Donnie Yen still found it hard to believe.

The image of Ah-Jack, the desperate assassin from when we filmed "SPL: Sha Po Lang," came to mind.

It's only been a few years?

Ye Weixin sighed and nodded: "Fifty-three million in the first weekend, breaking 100 million is a sure thing. Ah Jing has really met a benefactor this time."

Donnie Yen felt a mix of emotions.

In "Ip Man," he changed his impulsive image and performed with restraint, attempting to show the "literary" side of the role.

It has also received positive reviews from industry insiders.

But this breakthrough seems insignificant compared to Wu Jing's transformation from actor to director with a box office of over 100 million yuan. After so many years of hard work, he finally has a representative work, but he can only watch as his juniors overtake him in a different way.

At this time.

An executive from the investor, Times Audio-Visual, suggested: "Many viewers of 'Jiajing' went to see it expecting an action-packed sequel like 'The Eunuch,' but found that it had more dialogue and less action."

"We happen to be a pure action movie, how about we do a little bit of comparison?"

Producer Wong Pak-ming and director Wilson Yip were startled when they heard this.

"No, no! Let's stop here!" Huang Baiming quickly waved his hand and said, "We can promote our action design more and highlight Donnie's skills. Let's keep things peaceful!"

Ye Weixin quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, just normal publicity is fine, just normal publicity is fine!"

What a joke!
Jiang Zhiqiang is still "embroidering the red flag," while Ang Lee has disappeared somewhere to lick his wounds.

Is Shen Shandeng someone you can mess with?
They just honestly make movies and earn money, they don't risk their lives!

The person in charge didn't expect such a strong reaction, so he smiled awkwardly and didn't insist any further.

Huang Baiming eased the tension by suggesting, "Let's focus more on the action scenes. There were some issues with the previous publicity; Donnie kept emphasizing the dramatic scenes, which wasn't ideal."

Huang Baiming looked at Donnie Yen: "Donnie, do more interviews, focusing on Ip Man's martial arts and fight scenes. This will attract a group of fans of 'The Eunuch' who like action movies."

Upon hearing this, Donnie Yen's feelings became even more complicated.

He wanted to use "Ip Man" to change his image of "only knowing how to fight" and create a persona of "perfect in action scenes and also good in dramatic scenes".

Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, the focus of the publicity still has to return to the old path of "action stars".

But he was responsible for the film's box office success, so for the sake of the market, he had no choice but to agree.

My envy for Wu Jing grew even stronger.

Look at them, they have the support of the mainland. Even though they were down on their luck before, they can soar to great heights when the opportunity comes.

Having a "grandfather" is amazing!

In comparison, this pond on Hong Kong Island is indeed a bit small.

the other side.

When the team from "If You Are the One" got together, the atmosphere wasn't exactly relaxed.

Looking at the box office report, Feng Xiaogang spat angrily: "Damn it, how come another director with a hundred million yuan in box office revenue has popped up? Is this film industry some kind of flea market? Anyone can just come in and set up a stall and succeed?"

He himself endured countless hardships, suffered countless scornful looks, and took countless detours in order to become a director and make his first film that grossed over 100 million.

Why? !

Wu Jing followed Shen Shandeng for several years, and then rose to the top so easily?

Although he knew that as part of the Eunuch series of films, "Jiajing" would most likely gross over 100 million yuan, when it actually happened, he still felt like he had a stone stuck in his heart.

Geng Yuejin, the distribution manager, held a more detailed report on theater data, his brow furrowed.

"In the early stages, about 600 copies of 'Jiajing' were distributed. To achieve this result, the audience attendance was very strong. Moreover, their word-of-mouth spread very well, so their momentum will definitely be strong."

"Our 'If You Are the One' will be released next weekend. Although it's a comedy with a wide audience, Shen Shandeng's films can't be judged by conventional standards."

"If the reputation of 'Jiajing' is established, it will inevitably occupy a high-quality screening slot for a long time, which is not good news for us."

Wang Zhonglei felt like the heavens had been turned upside down!
"Who's the king of the Lunar New Year film season?! It seems like any Tom, Dick, or Harry can get a piece of the pie now? I knew I shouldn't have let Huang Xiaoming act in that movie! Now look what's happened, he's even promoting it for someone else! We should call him back!"

Wang Zhongjun, who hadn't said much, waved his hand, interrupting his younger brother.

"Alright, what's the use of complaining? We also invested in 'Jiajing' and took a share of the profits. If it makes money, we can also get a share of the profits."

"The key now is to do our own thing well. We're a comedy, so we naturally have a wider audience. We need to do more roadshows and build up our momentum. Xiaogang, how's the casting going on your end?"

Geng Yuejin said, "Everything else is fine, but we're a bit dissatisfied with Shu Qi. We're negotiating one event at a time, including which city and what kind of transportation to use."

Before Wang Zhongjun could even speak, Wang Zhonglei retorted directly: "Whether you're satisfied or not, you have to go! Look at the 'Jiajing' crew, how old is Chen Daoming? Didn't he still have to run around with them? Didn't Ge You still have to do it?"

"Why should she be treated differently? Tell her that this is a decision made by Huayi Group, and it must be followed!"

At this point, no one cares about the airs of Hong Kong and Taiwan stars anymore; the Lunar New Year film season is a battleground that Huayi Brothers cannot afford to lose!

The little cannon got anxious too.

During an interview with a portal website, when asked about competitors from the same period, Feng Xiaogang directly attacked, implicitly referring to Tsui Hark's "All About Women" released around the same time.

"If You Are the One is made for ordinary people, not for those intellectuals who pretend to be humble. Some movies should stop pretending to be big shots."

He stated directly, "My film is the only truly enjoyable movie suitable for the Lunar New Year season." (End of Chapter)