How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 99 Silent Fatherly Love
When Cheng Long arrived with Bernard's men, Ren Quan had already seen Wang Jinhua and the others off.

"Ah Yao, this is Dongfang Xin from Bernard." Cheng Long only brought one woman into the private room, so it seemed that the conversation that was about to begin was very important.

"Hello, Mr. Wang, I am Dongfang Xin, in charge of the public relations department of Berna." Dongfang Xin should be in her early thirties, and her every move exudes a strong air of a returned overseas student.

"Miss Dongfang, it's a pleasure to meet you," Wang Yao said, shaking hands.

"We were very interested in the proposal you provided yesterday, so we came today to finalize it. After all, every day we delay means a day's loss in box office revenue," Dongfang Xin said with a slight smile, getting straight to the point.

"Is there a flaw in the plan?" Wang Yao asked with a smile.

“No, it’s quite complete. I just felt that this plan might be missing something,” Dongfang Xin said with a smile.

"This plan is already complete." Wang Yao asked, somewhat puzzled, "Is there anything Miss Dongfang feels is missing?"

"The lack of returns... My team has analyzed Mr. Wang's case. Every time you solve a problem, you don't just solve it, but you always leave behind a return, or a harvesting plan?" Dongfang Xin tilted her head slightly.

“Oh, I know what Miss Dongfang is talking about, but that’s a different price, because this plan is just a personal favor I did for Brother Cheng Long.” Wang Yao smiled.

Cheng Long nodded, clearly pleased with what he heard.

"Of course, that's why I'm here today on behalf of Berna Pictures to talk to you. Our group is about to go public, and we warmly welcome capable and innovative individuals to join us or collaborate with us," Dongfang Xin said with a smile.

Wang Yao knew that Berna wanted to be the first listed company in China, unlike companies like Chengtian Entertainment that used a backdoor listing; Berna genuinely wanted to ring the bell based on its own strength.

They have been planning this for two years, and their influence can be seen in films like "Bodyguards and Assassins" at the end of last year and "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" and "Soldiers" at the beginning of this year.

“I’ve heard Director Hu mention it. I would be honored to participate in this listing plan, but my abilities are limited. I mainly want to see what your company’s needs and expectations are,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Our expectations are definitely as high as possible. Putting aside the long term, do you, Mr. Wang, have the confidence to resolve the box office and critical reception of 'The Soldier' ​​right now?" Dongfang Xin asked.

“Once Jackie Chan’s reputation is restored, it will naturally boost the box office, but if you want to improve the numbers, it depends on the price you are willing to pay.” Wang Yao tapped the table.

Dongfang Xin narrowed her eyes. "I heard that President Wang signed a year-long publicity and distribution contract with Huayi?"

“That’s a project from Kanpianer.com. If Berna wants to go public, then it’s a different cooperation model.” Wang Yao shook his head.

"Mr. Wang doesn't have any shares in Pian'er.com?" Dongfang Xin asked, somewhat surprised.

"Not at the moment." Wang Yao nodded.

"Mr. Wang has really suffered a great loss. We at Berna have always been generous in our investment in talent. How about this, let's start with 'The Big Soldier' ​​as our first collaboration. The film has been in theaters for four days and has grossed around 45 million."
"We originally estimated that the domestic box office would break 100 million in the first week, with a total box office of 130 million and a global box office of around 180 million. But now, due to the impact of public opinion surrounding the eldest brother, it may be difficult. If President Wang takes over, what level can he achieve?" Dongfang Xin asked.

Dongfang Xin's claim of breaking 100 million in the first week is highly inflated, but the total box office forecast is still quite reasonable.

“I’m not sure either, but we can try betting against each other.” Wang Yao did some calculations.

"How does the betting work?" Dongfang Xin asked, intrigued.

“If the domestic box office is below 1.5 million, I will only take 2% of the box office revenue. If it exceeds 1.5 million, I will take 20% of the box office revenue,” Wang Yao said.

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, Dongfang Xin jumped up and objected, "That's impossible."

A 2% commission would amount to a maximum of 300 million, which is not much for this crisis public relations effort.

However, a 20% commission is a bit too much. The actual share for the production company is only around 35%, because the cost of domestic distribution and promotion is relatively high. Even for companies like Berna that have their own cinemas, they can only guarantee a share of around 40-45% at most.

Now Wang Yao is asking for half of the profits, which is no different from robbery.

"Wait a moment." At this moment, Cheng Long suddenly stood up, pulled Dongfang Xin out of the private room and lowered his voice, "You should calculate the bill again carefully."

Dongfang Xin was taken aback, then frowned and reconsidered.

They originally expected the domestic box office to be no more than 1.3 million yuan. If it exceeded 1.5 million yuan due to Wang Yao's actions, although it seemed like they had paid nearly 3000 million yuan or even more in publicity and distribution costs, they gained good financial results and positive word-of-mouth for Jackie Chan.

If we take these intangible assets into account, this collaboration is valuable in terms of the data required for listing. If it can exceed 2 million in box office revenue, then the total box office revenue including overseas revenue will be close to 2.5 million.

On paper, that's nearly a 10-fold return, which definitely makes the financial statements look much better, and it significantly boosts Jackie Chan's box office appeal.

As for the extra costs incurred, in a sense, they are not losses, but rather box office gains for them. After all, without Wang Yao, the box office would have been a dead end.

When you calculate it that way, it's definitely not a bad deal.

"You've figured it out?" Cheng Long asked with a smile.

"Hmm." Dongfang Xin nodded, but then seemed somewhat reluctant. "But if I agree to him so easily, won't he make exorbitant demands later on?"

"Let's deal with the immediate problem first. Leave this to me." Cheng Long patted her on the shoulder.

Back in the private room, Cheng Long smiled broadly and said, "Ah Yao, that's a good job. I'll pay you from my share, since I'm the one who caused this, and I should take responsibility."

"Brother, you are truly benevolent. Don't worry, even if the box office boost isn't great, I will definitely help you restore your reputation." Wang Yao cupped his hands in admiration.

"Then I'll leave it to you, brother." Cheng Long said solemnly.

"Mr. Wang, please don't hesitate to ask if you need our cooperation." Dongfang Xin also smiled broadly.

"Then I'll have to trouble Miss Dongfang. The plan I gave my brother yesterday was called 'Private morality is flawed, but major principles are not compromised,' so the focus is still on this 'major principles.' I plan to further flesh out my brother's chivalrous character. What does it mean to be a chivalrous person?"
The greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people. The key to promoting this is to transform great love into small love, and the greater good into a smaller family.” Wang Yao curled the corners of his mouth, his smile stern.

Cheng Long and Dongfang Xin both perked up at the same time, sensing that something big was about to happen.

Humans are very lazy creatures; once they get used to something, it's hard to change.

Even though the old Sina Weibo was sidelined for five days, during which time platforms such as NetEase Weibo, Renren.com, and Myspace tried their best to grab users from the old Sina Weibo, the effect was not very obvious.

Once the old Sina Weibo was released, it quickly attracted users back. This is the advantage of being first to market, coupled with the siphon effect created by a large user base.

After all, for users who love gossip, there is a fundamental difference between talking to a million people online at the same time and talking to 100,000 people online at the same time. The larger the user base, the more it can demonstrate the diversity of human species and bring a strange sense of novelty.

The first thing the old Sina Weibo did after leaving the platform was to push the Jackie Chan and Little Dragon Girl incident to the top of the trending topics. Even though Bernard and Jackie Chan's side tried to communicate privately to suppress the heat, the old Sina Weibo was simply too eager and refused to negotiate.
Moreover, he personally stepped in to escalate the matter, actively gathering a lot of dirt on Jackie Chan from his early days, dragging out several elderly people with whom he had grudges to kick him while he was down, and even deliberately bringing up Zhen Zitan to compare her character with Jackie Chan, creating new public opinion.

After all, Yang Lan from Myspace directly interviewed another party involved in the Little Dragon Girl incident, the 'victim,' so Sina Weibo would definitely have to try to grab traffic from another angle.

But on the 18th, before Sina could get Yang Lan's interview with Wu Qili, Cheng Long's studio released a video first.

The video shows a somewhat haggard and even aged Jackie Chan, facing the camera alone against a dark and empty background, giving him the air of a lonely old man, a stark contrast to the energetic middle-aged action star in the currently showing movie.

Anyone familiar with Jackie Chan would feel a sudden jolt and a sigh upon seeing this scene.

Has Jackie Chan gotten this old?
The video contains an apology and clarification.

Cheng Long first bowed and apologized, stating that he had used shared resources for personal matters, causing a negative impact on everyone. (Attitude)

Next, he clarified that his affair with Wu Qili back then was true, expressed his deepest apologies again, and did not deliberately slander her. He only said, "We each had our own reasons for what happened back then, but it was indeed I who hurt both of them." He also produced newspapers from that time to prove that both parties had reached a settlement at the time. (Attitude)

He then changed the subject, explaining why he resolutely refused to acknowledge Xiaolongnu back then, and why he still refuses now, to protect the rights of the legal wife.

It's not that he's heartless towards the child, but he can't let a small matter cause him to lose sight of the bigger picture. If his decision grants the illegitimate child the same rights as a legitimate child, it would be a disregard for marriage. Infidelity is a matter of private morality, but acknowledging an illegitimate child involves matters of public principle. (Values)
Furthermore, both parties were having affairs because of "love." Wu Qili knew he had a family, yet she still chose to be with him. Both were perpetrators, while only the legal wife was the victim. Then, she had a child but demanded rights. Was this child a product of love or a product of marriage? This suggests that Wu Qili might not have been so innocent at the time. (Dividing responsibilities)

After clarifying the whole incident, a haggard-looking Jackie Chan, who appeared to have not slept for several days, solemnly stated that he would never acknowledge Little Dragon Girl in his life because he had already hurt one woman and could not hurt any more women in the world.

He also stated that men mature later, and only now has he realized that his momentary indulgence has caused such a huge impact, hurting his wife, his son, and his daughter, all of whom were innocent victims.

He accepts all the insults and accusations, and is willing to serve as a negative example to warn all those who attempt to be unfaithful in their marriages.

Throughout the entire piece, there was no mention of harming Wu Qili, confirming that the other party's actions of knowingly becoming a mistress were not innocent.

The video quickly went viral across the internet and even the entertainment industry after it was released.

Given Jackie Chan's status, even if he hadn't come forward to respond, the controversy would probably have died down after a while. But he chose to step forward and give a direct response, and he did so in a detailed and thorough manner, addressing all the questions.

The netizens who were initially indignant towards him were suddenly somewhat bewildered. Was he really that open and honest?

A large number of female netizens deeply empathized with Cheng Long's statement, "Why should a third party be able to enjoy the same rights as the legal wife with such confidence?"

I originally thought Jackie Chan was a womanizing scumbag, but now it seems he's actually a scumbag with very sound values.

Even his attitude and definition of admitting his infidelity clearly reveal him to be a complete scumbag.

Male netizens, on the other hand, were more likely to empathize with Jackie Chan's statement: "Men mature later than women. Women learn many things that men don't understand for years or even decades."

This statement is quite interesting. When combined with his earlier statement that he only made a mistake that all men make, it forms a clever closed loop. Because of immaturity, he is prone to impulsiveness, and because of impulsiveness, he is prone to making mistakes. However, he does not make mistakes intentionally, but rather unconsciously because of his lack of maturity.

This is tantamount to directly shifting the blame for the mistake onto 'immaturity'.

Suddenly, the initial overwhelming criticism of Jackie Chan began to shift to discussions about two issues: "knowingly committing a crime" and "whether making a mistake out of ignorance can be forgiven."

Soon after, some verified lawyer accounts on Weibo that had previously gained attention from the Qu Shou incident also stepped forward to educate the public about the rights of illegitimate and legitimate children, indirectly supporting Cheng Long's behavior of sacrificing his own family for the greater good.

Now, from both a moral and legal perspective, the objective fact that Jackie Chan does not acknowledge Little Dragon Girl suddenly becomes reasonable, reversing public opinion.

After all, the sympathy for Xiaolongnu at the time stemmed from empathy, but now that illegitimate children could potentially affect their own interests, the most emotional female netizens instantly became rational.

Netizens who had initially supported and sympathized with Wu Qili now felt betrayed and turned to Yang Lan's account on Myspace, demanding that Wu Qili apologize to Cheng Long's wife.

Public opinion has gradually shifted from "the scumbag deserves to die" to "the mistress deserves to die".

This alarmed some media outlets that originally wanted to capitalize on this surge in traffic, forcing them to revise their articles overnight, changing the news about cheating scumbags in the entertainment industry to a list of female celebrities who had made statements about being the other woman.

The next day, the old stories of Li Jiaxin, Gao Yuanyuan, Song Jia, Zhang Ting, Jiang Yiyan, and other third parties who had previously publicly and loudly declared that "true love is innocent" resurfaced on the internet like snowflakes.

Netizens have launched a second round of judging frenzy, kicking off a "sweep away the three" storm.

However, the entertainment industry is experiencing a minor upheaval, with many celebrities trembling with fear that this wave of conflict will affect them.

After all, everyone has some secrets they can't tell.

Just when everyone thought that Jackie Chan was trying to divert public attention in this way.

At noon on the 18th, Cheng Zuming posted a message on Weibo.

He wasn't a good father, but he was a good actor.

The post was simple: he accused Jackie Chan of not caring enough for him and his mother, and of being away from home for years, which resulted in him having an incomplete childhood and adolescence. At the time, he also doubted and hated Jackie Chan's love for him because of the Little Dragon Girl incident. However, as he grew up and watched Jackie Chan get older, he suddenly realized...

Perhaps Jackie Chan is just an ordinary Chinese father, and I had too high expectations of him. That's what Chinese fathers are like: they don't know how to express themselves, they only know how to beat and scold, they don't know how to care, they only know how to put pressure on you, and it seems that no matter what you do, you can't meet his satisfaction.

Most Chinese families are like this, where the child can only feel the mother's love and never the father's love. But if you think about it carefully, the father's love is already hidden in the food, clothing, shelter and transportation of the child's life. Perhaps Chinese fathers are mute, they can only do but not say.

He recalled his few meals with Cheng Long and discovered an interesting phenomenon: his mother would keep putting food on his plate for him to eat, but his father would not eat that dish, because he was afraid that he would not have enough to eat.

He didn't want to get involved in the feud between his parents, but he didn't want Xiaolongnu to have a 'fatherless' childhood like him. So, after consulting with his mother, he decided that Xiaolongnu's daily life would be taken care of by him, her older brother. After all, the eldest brother is like a father, and a brother's father is also a father.

This Weibo post once again drew attention back to Jackie Chan and his daughter, Xiaolongnü.

This time, while netizens expressed high praise for Cheng Zuming's actions, they seemed to be less critical of Cheng Long.

Because they saw their father's shadow in Jackie Chan.

Mother's love is like your favorite dish; your mother will always serve it to you.

Fatherly love is like the dish you love to eat; your father won't even pick it up for you.

This statement touched a raw nerve in countless Chinese father-son/daughter relationships, evoking widespread empathy.

Cheng Long then replied to the Weibo post, pushing the public opinion to its peak.

'Cheng Long V: I'm sorry, this is my first time being a father too. My own father didn't teach me how to be a good father either. I had to learn by trial and error. Young people are often selfish and arrogant, neglecting you and our child. By the time I learned how, it was too late to make amends. Now that something has happened, you have to clean up the mess. I'm truly ashamed.'

The traditional Chinese father-son relationship is one where the child spends their entire life waiting for their father's apology.

As a result, netizens didn't get to see it themselves, but when they saw others on the internet who did, they were all incredibly moved.

In just one afternoon, public opinion shifted from the "anti-three storm" to "silent fatherly love".

Jackie Chan and his team's fan base skyrocketed, and the volume of discussion surrounding "Little Big Soldier" overshadowed the topics about Little Dragon Girl and the mistress.

This brought a sigh of relief to many celebrities, but it also reminded them that people do have to pay for the mistakes they made when they were young; it's just a matter of time before the consequences are dealt with.

Their anxiety led them to secretly contact public relations firms to see if there was any way to resolve the issue in advance.

Countless netizens who were criticizing Cheng Long a few days ago have turned around and forgotten what topic they came to seek justice for. Instead, they are sharing their own experiences with their parents in the comments section.

Many traditional media outlets have once again lamented how fast the internet is changing, with netizens crying over whatever they see and cursing whatever they think of.

Just when everyone thought this wave of public opinion would end with the silent love of a father and Cheng Zuming's adoption of Xiaolongnu, it was a happy ending.

Another post appeared on the movie website, taking over all the attention from the Cheng family father and son that day.

"The Big Soldier" is actually an epitome of Jackie Chan's films for all middle-aged Chinese men.

This post interprets the film's plot from the perspective of a middle-aged man. While the film seems to promote anti-war and peace sentiments, Jackie Chan's character is more like an elderly father forced to work away from home for many years, embarking on a journey back to his hometown and experiencing all the events that unfold along the way.
Both stories depict the choices and hardships a man faces as he enters middle age. The protagonist's ideal is simply to return to his hometown and cultivate five acres of land, but when he finally returns, he finds his home gone.
Isn't this exactly what a man's life is like? He struggles in his youth, endures hardships, and gives up many things, thinking that he can enjoy family happiness after achieving success. But when he goes back, he finds that what he has missed is already irreparable. This is the regret of most men.

The rapeseed flower symbolizes hope and the future, but the male protagonist ultimately collapsed in a sea of ​​rapeseed flowers.

These kinds of over-interpretive posts are the most popular type on film and television forums.

It is also the easiest way to guide the audience's attention.

After all, film is an art of interpretation, and most film enthusiasts are the group most easily swayed by trends.

Combined with today's biased public opinion, many netizens have been misled.

Following this, several people claiming to be insiders appeared in the comments section, revealing that "Big Soldier" was originally a film Jackie Chan made for Cheng Zuming, intended to ease the tension between the father and son. The role originally intended for Wang Lihong was specifically prepared for Cheng Zuming.
Several years ago, when filming "Rob-B-Hood", Jackie Chan suffered a serious injury and dared not tell his family. During his recovery, he suddenly realized and reflected on his shortcomings as a father, worrying that if something happened to him, his father and daughter would have no one to rely on.

As his health deteriorated in recent years, this idea grew stronger, which led to the creation of the script for "The Soldier".

Even the character settings are related to 'brotherly estrangement' and sibling affection, which is to let Cheng Zuming gradually accept the existence of Xiaolongnu. After all, the two are connected by blood, and when he is gone, the two siblings will have someone to take care of them.

However, this incident unexpectedly led to the siblings recognizing each other ahead of time, which can be considered a happy ending for everyone.

Once this revelation came out, the movie "Soldier" instantly became a film suitable for middle-aged men and audiences with parent-child relationships, and the theme also changed from the superficial "anti-war and peace" to the family affection theme of "parents love their children and plan far ahead for them".

This post and the revelation were quickly forwarded by major platforms, directly reversing Cheng Long's original image as a scumbag who abandoned his wife and children and cheated on his wife, into a tragic old man who was not good at expressing himself and worried about his children.

Since ancient times, the beauty has sighed for twilight, and the hero is not allowed to see the white head.

It's an innate tearjerker for Chinese people, and coupled with the fact that Jackie Chan's image has always been that of a tough hero, this contrast in appearance over time makes it easier to evoke public sympathy for him.

Subsequently, Kanpianer.com also launched an event.

How long has it been since you took your parents to the movies?

From February 2.18th to March 3.18th, you can enjoy a 8% discount when you take your parents to watch movies at designated partner cinemas.

I took my children out before the New Year and my parents out after the New Year. I never thought that going to the movies would be a necessary activity to maintain family harmony.
The event did not specify a particular film for collaboration, but judging from the Spring Festival film schedule, "The Big Soldier" is definitely the biggest beneficiary.

　感谢红烈麟、书友160311192042399、易_尘、总大将、虎啸龙吟丶、wen刀heng玮、反了反了这个世界反了、雁湖寒蝉、不见长安、黑杰克的灵魂、哈喽了恶心、你中奖啦、百鬼夜行之主、神丶祇、lijieagua007、脉脉不得语、无聊滴滴、龙王123777、疯子炸弹、下雨后、我科一、候哥~水爷、我不是大灰狼哟、我车还没保养、叶天浩、苏白白白、大虾黄AA、秋叶与夏花、回不去的从前、白驼山西毒峰、limeng0812、无枪、无声胜有笙、剑法高深、倾恋伊人、中二儿童欢乐多、迷糊小幽魂、渔人码头丶投、Seast、冼中求、不惑之年、guo1、是小志、随时间流逝、邓鲲养殖户、终浅、晓发条、jinx、ManC、俺叫丶文胖子、Bladmaster、书友202502233110652960、书友16405102004289、书友20170427151813815、书友20220905172857825、书友202205140630474、书友20210807203024695、书友20210417131151400的月票支持~万分感谢
　　
　
(End of this chapter)