The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

Inside the theater, a movie is playing on the screen.

The movie was nearing its end. Although the mother and son were somewhat special, with the mother being much younger than the son, their conversation still brought tears to many eyes.

As the movie ended, the dimly lit theater suddenly came on with all the lights.

The audience found it difficult to adjust, and many people cursed and complained.

Just then, someone saw Gu Ning and the others walking onto the stage and immediately exclaimed in surprise.

"Liu Yifei!"

"Sing!"

The theater was noisy and chaotic, with some excited audience members even getting up to go forward.

Fortunately, the cinema's security guards stopped them.

Looking at the excited audience, many of whom were women, Gu Ning couldn't help but marvel at the popularity of female celebrities.

Many people have a misconception that someone like Liu Yifei should have more male fans.

Because she is so beautiful, she will arouse jealousy among other women.

When people say someone has an aggressive appearance, being too beautiful can be considered part of it.

Actresses like Shu Chang and Zhao Liying are pretty, but not exceptionally so. They are more likable and therefore more popular with girls.

That understanding isn't wrong, but Liu Yifei's main appeal is her temperament.

Her ethereal and fairy-like aura is not only appealing to boys, but also to many girls.

The so-called "aggressive appearance" mainly refers to a cold and domineering temperament, lacking approachability, which makes people unconsciously feel distant.

Liu Yifei has a somewhat aloof demeanor, but that's only when she's not smiling.

At this time, Liu Yifei's smile still showed a lot of approachability.

"Please don't move around. Please sit in your seats. If you start pushing and shoving, we'll have to leave for your safety."

Gu Ning took the microphone and began to reassure the audience.

Once the audience had calmed down, he smiled and asked, "Was the movie good?"

"nice!"

"It's just that Liu Yifei's role was too small."

"Shu Chang performed very well!"

Did Meng Lijun actually like Li Dahai?

The audience members were all talking at once.

"Everyone, please calm down. You're making too much noise; we can't hear anything."

Gu Ning said, "Raise your hand if you have any questions, and I will randomly select people to ask."

The audience raised their hands, and Gu Ning chose a girl in red.

That girl looks quite cute, so I don't think she'll ask any particularly pointed questions.

The girl was very excited and immediately asked her question loudly.

"Liu Yifei, there are rumors online that you've been blacklisted. Is that true?"

Gu Ning looked at Liu Yifei and exchanged a glance.

He was worried that Liu Yifei's answer might be inappropriate and cause trouble.

Liu Yifei gave him a reassuring look, raised the microphone and smiled, "Thank you for your concern, but the rumors about being blacklisted are just that—rumors. Otherwise, why would I be here?"

Huayi's ban on her does exist, but it's something that can't be admitted.

Everything has a cause and effect. If she admits it in public, the conflict between the two will be exposed.

Moreover, Huayi never explicitly said it would blacklist her, but used its influence to create the effect of a blacklist.

"But you don't have many scenes; you're just a supporting character. If you weren't blacklisted, why would you be playing such a minor role!"

Gu Ning was careless; she thought this cute-looking girl wouldn't ask any sharp questions.

If it weren't for the fact that the girl was chosen completely randomly, and that she looked so angry, he would have suspected that she was someone arranged by a company.

"There are no small roles, and Shu Chang and I are good friends. I only made a cameo appearance at her invitation, and I didn't receive a penny in payment."

Liu Yifei smiled and said, "And I'd also like to try playing some other roles."

Seeing that the girl was about to speak again, Gu Ning quickly said, "Alright, time is limited, each person can only ask one question. Now, let's invite the gentleman in the plaid shirt to ask his question."

The boy who was chosen stood up excitedly and asked, "I want to ask Director Gu, did Meng Lijun end up with Li Dahai?"

"You'll have to ask the screenwriter about that."

Gu Ning said, "I think some movies need a perfect ending, while others need to leave more room for the audience's imagination."

"But aren't you the screenwriter?" the boy questioned.

Gu Ning: "..."

We've run into a tough nut to crack. When serious people watch a movie, who cares who the screenwriter is?

"I only provided the script framework; the rest was done by other people."

Gu Ning said, "Alright, you've answered your question. It's time for the next audience member."

Next, audience members stood up to ask questions, and several actors were asked about their roles.

Some of the questions are normal, while others are bizarre.

Some people even asked Gu Ning if Liu Yifei would have been a better choice to play Meng Lijun.

If the location weren't unsuitable, Gu Ning would have loved to ask where else would be better.

In terms of figure alone, Liu Yifei is not even as good as Shu Chang now; he measured her by hand.

He couldn't answer this question directly, so he said, "Because I can't afford it."

This answer elicited a lot of laughter.

The roadshow lasted forty minutes before it ended.

After finishing at one place, they immediately went to another.

After running four roadshows in a row, it was already past 11 p.m. when the last one ended.

Gu Ning treated everyone to a late-night snack, but Gui Yalei and Wang Deshun, being older, weren't very energetic.

The most excited were actually Yin Xiaotian, Shu Chang, and Zhu Yilong.

Yin Xiaotian and Shu Chang were both top-tier actors at the time. Yin Xiaotian was unable to participate in the selection of the four most popular young actors due to his age, while Shu Chang was ranked in the top ten despite receiving fewer votes than the top four.

In terms of popularity, she can now be compared with the Four Little Actresses and the Four Little Actors.

Both of them had previously worked in television; this was Shu Chang's first film, while it was Yin Xiaotian's second.

His first movie had a very low attendance rate during its promotion.

All four cinemas I visited today were packed.

This gave him great confidence in the box office performance, and he was also glad that he hadn't given up on the project just because he wasn't the lead actor.

Zhu Yilong, needless to say, is a complete newcomer.

The three chattered excitedly about the first day's box office performance.

Gu Ning and Liu Yifei were much more indifferent.

"Isn't Director Gu worried about the box office at all?" Yin Xiaotian asked.

"Is worrying useful?"

"Forehead…"

"Haha, just kidding. We've done everything we could, so there's nothing to worry about."

Gu Ning wouldn't dare say that her version was much better than the original, but it certainly wouldn't be worse.

Some movies might have different outcomes if released at a different time.

For example, "Wolf Warrior 2" and "Ne Zha 2". The former is generally considered to be inferior to "Operation Red Sea", but it caught the right time and its box office was high.

Needless to say, when "Ne Zha 2" was released, there wasn't a single film that could compete with it.

After the box office soared, the marketing efforts of the investors behind it fueled the hype, pushing the box office numbers even higher.

He admitted that "Ne Zha 2" was very good, but if it weren't for its international box office rankings and the resulting online buzz, it wouldn't have broken the 10 billion yuan mark at the box office.

The quality of the film is one aspect, but the right timing and location are also factors.

They've done a great job; their box office is so high that they can do this kind of marketing.

Although "Back to 20" was released a few years earlier than expected, Gu Ning's box office expectations were not high; he would be happy as long as it broke 100 million yuan.

After finishing their late-night snack, the exhausted group dispersed and went home to rest.

As Liu Yifei left, she gave Gu Ning a resentful look.

She didn't receive a penny of payment for her work, and she still had to do promotional work for him. She wouldn't even let Gu Ning repay her with his body.

Because her mother came back.

Moreover, like Gui Yalei and the others, she only participates in the promotional activities of the first few days.

Because Liu Yifei took Shu Chang with her, Gu Ning was left alone in her room at night.

I went home, took a shower, and lay down for a while when Director Chen called.

"Congratulations, Director Gu, the first day's box office results are in."

"Looks like the box office is doing very well!"

Hearing Director Chen's laughter, Gu Ning smiled.

"That's excellent, with a box office of 1067 million on its opening day!"