Life in the Light and Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

December 2009, 6.

After two months of filming, "A Little Thing Called First Love" has wrapped up filming!

The wrap party held that evening was extremely lively. Not only did the two CEOs of Huayi Brothers attend to celebrate, but also Master Han was present.

After the event, Wu Yang, along with Master Han and the two Wangs, went to a teahouse to discuss the release date.

According to the plan, post-production will take one month, and then half a month will be used for promotion.

Wu Yang's idea was to release the film in early August, coinciding with the summer vacation, taking advantage of the time when "Buried" was finished showing.

With a box office of 2.18 million yuan, it might just break the 3 million yuan mark.

But as Mr. Wang just mentioned, Huayi plans to go public at the end of October, so they intend to release "A Little Thing Called First Love" after the IPO, which will not only boost the stock price but also, in turn, promote box office growth.

Han Sanye remained noncommittal, instead sitting calmly and letting Wu Yang decide for himself.

"When the contract was signed, I remember that Cat Factory had a stake in the company, right?"

At the end of October 2009, Wu Yang couldn't help but think of the Singles' Day held by Cat Factory. If he remembered correctly, that Malaysian CEO had created the concept of "shopping festival" this year.

"Cat Factory is indeed one of the shareholders. What are your thoughts?"

The king's eyes lit up. Through several interactions, he knew that Wu Yang was not the type to leave without a reason.

Since Wu Yang asked about it, and it was related to the movie's release, and Cat Factory was also one of the shareholders, he couldn't help but feel full of anticipation.

"I heard from a friend that Cat Factory is preparing a shopping festival, scheduled for late October or early November. Huayi is also going public during this period, so why not do a joint promotional campaign to achieve a win-win situation!"

Wu Yang couldn't reveal specific details about "Singles' Day," but since everyone here was in the decision-making process, he figured that the Malaysian president wouldn't refuse if they agreed.

"That's a good idea. I'll contact the Malaysian president tomorrow to see if there's an opportunity for cooperation."

With the final decision made by Boss Wang, Master Han didn't object. After all, as the main investor in "A Little Thing Called First Love," China Film Group had no reason to refuse anything that was beneficial to the box office.

"Director Wu, I heard from President Han that you have another script. Since the release has been postponed, why don't you film it right away?"

After refilling tea for Wu Yang and the other two, Xiao Wang casually remarked.

"It's also a romance film, with Yifei as the female lead. It's called 'Love Like a Bouquet,' and it's about..."

As Wu Yang recounted his story, Third Master Han watched the two Wangs, who were engrossed in their conversation, with a half-smile.

"Since the release date of 'A Little Thing Called First Love' has been postponed, why don't you continue filming with the existing crew, Director Wu? What do you say, Third Master?" Young Master Wang asked tentatively.

Master Han took a sip of tea and chuckled, "I'm fine on my end. Little Wu, are you alright?"

"If it's confirmed that 'A Little Thing Called First Love' will be postponed to November, I'm fine with that. But you need to give me a month to do post-production, and we'll start filming again in mid-July."

Wu Yang understood that since Little Wang had brought it up and Third Master had agreed, then it didn't matter whether he agreed or not.

It's only a matter of time, and besides, the filming of "Love Like a Bouquet" was very simple, with not many scenes.

Filming wrapped in 2 months, post-production in 1 month, and it was completed without any problems.

"Okay, once you've finalized your budget, we can sit down and discuss the share allocation. By the way, I think your actors are all quite good; has your studio considered signing any?"

"My film studio is at best a husband-and-wife business. I don't have Third Master's foresight, nor do I have the management skills of the two Mr. Wangs. It's better to stick to what I'm good at!"

In fact, during this period, many film and television companies contacted Zhang Ruoyun and his group privately, and they even probed Wu Yang about whether he would sign artists under the name of his studio.

Wu Yang had actually considered this issue for a long time, but ultimately gave up the idea of ​​signing an artist.

Although they have memories of the future, they know roughly who will become famous and who will fade into obscurity, even if the causes and consequences are not explained in detail.

However, Wu Yang himself is not a good manager, and he does not have such talent around him.

Even if Wu Yang worked himself to death, how many works could he shoot in a year? How many stars could he cultivate?

Wu Yang doesn't have the confidence to command respect from all sides, nor does he possess the skills to excel in everything. His pursuit is to film one or two movies a year, enjoy life, and live a simple life with Liu Yifei.

Besides, in the entertainment industry, trying to monopolize resources usually doesn't end well! Rather than doing something you're not good at and getting no reward for your efforts, it's better to maintain a high degree of freedom and wait until the script is finalized and the investment is secured before looking for actors.

With China Film Group as a backer, one can also enjoy a wonderful life. Why not?!

As for the actors' commission, it's not important to Wu Yang. As long as he has enough money to enjoy life, that's enough.

Just like now, they went with the flow and became one of Huayi's shareholders, and the major film and television companies did not instigate online trolls to spread dirty water about "Buried Alive".

The few negative reviews online are not enough to create a significant impact and have no effect on either "Buried Alive" or Wu Yang.

Even Feng Xiaogang, who is currently promoting himself as the first person in China to have a total box office of over 10 billion yuan, did not speak ill of him during an interview.

During this period, every celebrity, director, and film company executive interviewed by the media would say a few good words whenever "Buried Alive" and Wu Yang were mentioned, as if people in the entertainment industry were all kind.

Wu Yang understood that this was because she hadn't touched anyone else's cake, and that's why she only saw good people.

If they sign Zhang Ruoyun and the others, and then adopt the attitude of independently producing their own films, and their next film becomes a box office hit, even with China Film Group as a backer, they won't be able to stop their competitors from plotting against them.

"Transparent!"

It was rare for Master Han to offer a compliment, saying that these days there are many people who, having just achieved success, lose their sense of reason.

……

The next morning, Wu Yang was still asleep when he received a call from Boss Wang.

Mr. Ma, after hearing Mr. Wang's suggestion, became very interested and arranged to have dinner together on the weekend.

After hanging up the phone, Wu Yang got up to wash up. She had arranged to go house hunting with Liu Yifei today.

Since I plan to develop my career in the country, I can't stay in hotels every day.

As a savvy real estate investor, Liu Yifei not only has well-known real estate agents, but is also very familiar with the real estate market in Beijing.

The two agreed to have lunch together and then go see the apartment in the afternoon.

Just as it was 11 o'clock, I received a call from Liu Yifei.

"I've arrived. In the underground parking lot, there's a black Mercedes-Benz G-Class. The license plate number is..."

After hanging up the phone, Wu Yang tidied her hair in front of the mirror, then put on sunglasses and a mask and took the elevator to the underground parking lot.

I spotted it immediately: a black G-Class located 5 meters away from the elevator entrance.

Wu Yang opened the passenger door and got in. He looked back first and saw that no one else was there.

He then smiled and said, "That's wonderful that your mother didn't come!"

"Don't let the crickets bother my mom!" Liu Yifei said angrily.