The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"A box office smash!"

Inside a private room at the hotel, Gu Ning hosted a dinner with the main cast and crew, and everyone raised their glasses to wish for a box office hit.

"Teacher Gui, Teacher Wang, thank you for your hard work over the next few days," Gu Ning said, raising his glass.

For the role of Li Dahai, he still invited Wang Deshun, the original actor who played the role.

Although it's a few years earlier than originally planned, he's already over seventy-seven years old.

Wang Deshun is not only a mime actor, but also a practitioner of body art.

With his long hair and beard, he wore overalls in the movie, riding a bicycle with the younger female lead.

It really gives people the feeling of an older man and a younger woman being a couple.

Because the two were older, Gu Ning didn't dare let them participate in the entire roadshow, and only let them participate in the first three days.

"Director Gu, you're too kind. This is just what we should do."

"Yes, the movie is really well made, and it's an honor for us to participate."

"Haha, others can say that, but Teacher Gui, you've won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress several times, and you've also won the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Supporting Actress."

"Speaking of the Hundred Flowers Awards, the Golden Rooster Awards are about to start this year, right?"

Why talk about the Golden Rooster Awards when discussing the Hundred Flowers Awards?

Because the full name of both awards is the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards, and the organizers are the same.

Originally, there was only the Hundred Flowers Award, because the Hundred Flowers Award was chosen by audience vote, and the experts were not very satisfied with the results of the audience vote.

Therefore, the Golden Rooster Award was established, with industry experts making the selections.

Simply put, the Hundred Flowers Awards are judged by popularity, while the Golden Rooster Awards place more emphasis on artistry and professionalism.

But those in the know understand that if the Hundred Flowers Awards were truly based solely on popularity, those highly popular stars would have already swept the awards.

Just look at the Best Actor and Best Actress winners of the Hundred Flowers Awards over the years, and you'll see that there are plenty of actors who are more popular in the same year, but they just don't win the award.

"The application deadline was two months ago, and the nominations will be announced soon."

"Will Director Gu be attending?"

"I don't have any works to submit, so what's the point of going to do that?"

Let's not even mention the domestic awards; even if he brought back the top prize from one of the three major European awards, at his age, it's impossible for him to win any awards of sufficient prestige.

Moreover, movies like "Lost in Thailand" don't align with the preferences of those expert judges.

If his qualifications and his work aren't up to par, he won't bother joining the fray.

It's fine to watch the show, though. Although every award ceremony in China attracts a lot of criticism, it always gets a lot of attention.

Besides the traffic brought by the celebrities, the fact that each awards ceremony generates a lot of fun is also a major factor.

After the dinner, everyone went home to rest.

Those whose homes are in Beijing went home, while Gu Ning, who was not in Beijing, had a hotel arranged for her.

Gu Ning, on the other hand, was driven by Shu Chang back to his home.

Because Shu Chang's relatives came, they could only provide targeted assistance.

After she finished, she cleaned herself up and leaned against Gu Ning's chest.

"I don't quite understand why you kept the song under wraps until this person's time to release it," Shu Chang asked, puzzled.

"People have moments of impulsive spending, so releasing the song when the movie is released will have the best effect."

Shu Chang was still a little confused when she heard this, so Gu Ning said, "You'll understand later."

Although releasing the song earlier allows it to spread more widely, it's hard to say how many people will actually go to the cinema to watch the movie because of the song over time.

No amount of publicity can reach all people.

After the song spread, many of the people who initially listened to it, upon seeing that it was the theme song for the movie "Back to 20", might have considered going to the cinema to see it.

However, the movie hasn't been released yet, so naturally they can't see it.

By the time the movie is released, many people will probably have already forgotten about it.

This is fundamentally different from other forms of promotion that create anticipation in the audience.

Gu Ning held back the song's release because she wanted to keep those who impulsively decided to watch it.

Live-streaming e-commerce, for example, is a similar phenomenon.

Normally, when shopping online, I only search and place an order when I need something.

But live-streaming e-commerce is different; many of the products are things that are clearly unnecessary or that people have never even thought of.

The idea of ​​buying it came to me after watching the live stream, so I placed an order and paid immediately.

Although some people choose to cancel their orders after they come to their senses, many others don't care or have forgotten about it.

Once the items arrived, I was too lazy to return them.

In his past life, Gu Ning knew a woman who would place numerous orders every day during the peak of live-streaming e-commerce.

However, only a handful of them are actually used.

Movies are different from online shopping. If a viewer is attracted by a song and impulsively goes to the cinema, they must have reserved time to watch the movie, so the possibility of them getting a refund is very small.

…………

While Gu Ning drifted off to sleep, the reporters and film critics who attended the premiere were working through the night to write their articles.

Reporters thrive on buzz and sensationalism; they can't wait until a movie is released before publishing their articles, can they?

After the manuscript is written, it is sent to the editor-in-chief for approval, and then it is re-typeset and printed, all of which take time.

But that's what the media does. At three in the morning, the printed newspapers were delivered to various sales points.

"Yesterday, the movie 'Back to 20' held its premiere in Beijing... Shu Chang's performance was not only refreshing with her retro look, but she also grasped the character's psychology very well. Her expressions and movements were quite on point, making the whole film lively and vivid..."

"Renowned director Gu Ning's latest masterpiece will be released today..."

"Cliche, sentimental, and the director of the Best Short Film Golden Bear—is this all there is to it...?"

Media reviews included both praise and criticism.

Although the reporters received a travel fee, they would at most show some leniency.

After all, Gu Ning couldn't possibly do public relations for every reporter.

Those who received benefits naturally praised them to the skies, while those who didn't receive benefits resorted to belittling them to attract attention.

"These media outlets are despicable; it's not as serious as they're making it out to be."

Looking at the disparaging news reports, Shu Chang angrily said, "According to them, there's no point in making movies and TV shows anymore?"

Some media outlets reported that some scenes in Gu Ning's film were copied from other movies.

If we're going to go by that logic, we can find similar scenes in current TV dramas and movies from the past.

"That's perfectly normal. Do you expect all the media outlets to praise me?"

Gu Ning said nonchalantly, "Hurry up and eat, we still have to do promotional work this afternoon."

"How was the response after the song was released?" Shu Chang asked.

"It's still early. It was released at midnight last night, it can't be that fast."

Gu Ning reminded her, "If you don't hurry, Qianqian will call soon."

Although Liu Yifei didn't have many scenes, she was very famous.

One of the "Four Little Actresses," she had extremely high national recognition. Later, she became quite overweight and had almost no good works, yet she still frequently made headlines.

Although its box office appeal is average, its promotional effect is good.

The audience might not brag about Gu Ning and Shu Chang when they see them.

But things are different when you meet Liu Yifei.

Upon hearing this, Shu Chang didn't dare to delay. She quickly ate breakfast and went back.

At 2:30 p.m., Gu Ning led the main cast and crew to a Yida Cinema.