The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"Teacher Xu, I'd like to ask if these are the conditions?"

"Tell me your concerns first?"

"Teacher Xu, as you know, I shoot commercial films."

Gu Ning carefully considered her words and said, "The teachers at the school are quite strict, and I'm afraid I won't be able to satisfy them."

If this gets out, it will be very bad for the film's release.

These teachers at school always like to talk about depth and allusions.

There's no depth to what a joke is.

If these teachers give a mediocre review after watching the film, it could have a significant impact on the film's release and screening schedule.

"I understand what you mean."

Xu Bing said, "Do you think our school is full of old-fashioned, conservative people? Even directors like Zhang Yimou from the fifth generation have started making commercial films, so why would the school belittle them?"

Ning Hao was even invited by the directing department to give a speech before, so what's this compared to that?

"Is that so?"

Gu Ning asked in surprise, "How come I've never heard of this before?"

Xu Bing said smugly, "They just didn't make it public because they were worried about the directing department's reputation. They're too ashamed to say it out loud."

"Why doesn't our photography department promote itself?" Gu Ning asked curiously.

It's indeed a bit embarrassing for a directing student to learn from a director who is a cinematographer.

But the directing department doesn't promote it, and the cinematography department certainly doesn't promote something that brings them so much prestige.

"How do we promote it? Should we get all the photography students to become directors?"

Xu Bing said irritably, "Being a director also depends on talent. If someone has that idea, the school can't interfere. But the school can't actively or indirectly guide them either, understand?"

"Understood."

Gu Ning nodded in realization.

This is similar to how many people abroad drop out of university to start their own businesses. Although there are some reports about them in China, their dropping out of university is rarely emphasized.

It wasn't until later, when everyone had internet access, that many people started posting these kinds of messages online.

If you mention it too often, it can give people the impression that studying is useless.

Many drop out of school to start their own businesses, but only a few truly succeed.

It's a tradition at the Beijing Film Academy for the cinematography department to produce directors, but the school can't promote it too much.

"The directing department also wants to organize some students to watch it, and then you can share some of your filming experiences with them," Xu Bing said.

Since the millennium, the film market has been growing at a rate of 40% to 50% annually.

Nowadays, commercial films are the mainstream, but there are not many directors in mainland China who can make commercial films that do well at the box office.

This has put a lot of pressure on Beijing Film Academy, after all, it is the top film and television academy, not only in Asia, but also in the world.

"Don't worry, you won't suffer any losses."

Xu Bing said, "Didn't you say before that you wanted the school to help with distribution? I can have the directing department contact someone from the Central Motion Picture Corporation who is in charge of distribution so we can watch the film together."

If we can get your hands on it, you can directly discuss distribution.

"Isn't the school afraid that my movie will be mediocre?" Gu Ning asked.

"It doesn't matter. If it's well-made, it can be used as a positive example; if it's not, it can be used as a negative example. As long as the students can improve, that's fine," Xu Bing said.

"..."

Gu Ning was silent for a moment before saying, "I can agree, but the school has to help me with the film's approval. I plan to release it on the first day of the Lunar New Year."

"Is the first day of the Lunar New Year January 26th?"

Xu Bing frowned and said, "At most, we only have two months. Isn't that a bit too rushed?"

"That's why we need the school's help; the review process can't be delayed for too long," Gu Ning said.

He initially just wanted to see if he could catch the tail end of the Lunar New Year film season and release it in February.

However, the filming went smoothly in the early stages, and he also analyzed the films scheduled for release during this period, and found that there were no good films to be released after the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Both Zhang Yimou's and Feng Xiaogang's movies were released in December and had already finished their theatrical run by the first day of the Lunar New Year.

With its release date set for the first day of the Lunar New Year, its only real competitor is Ning Hao's "Crazy Racer".

However, he scheduled the release date for January 20th, which is almost a week later, so the impact was limited.

"You shouldn't be asking the school about this. If China Film Group takes over the distribution, you can talk to them. It's not difficult for them to handle this kind of thing," Xu Bing said.

"The school's help makes it even more significant."

Gu Ning naturally knew that China Film Group had a way, but to China Film Group, his low-budget film was nothing.

Although the distribution company receives a percentage of the revenue, a slight difference in box office performance has little impact on China Film Group's profits.

China Film Group is unlikely to put much effort into this.

The school has to speak up for them before they'll take it more seriously.

"I can help you bring it up, but whether the school will agree is hard to say," Xu Bing said.

"As long as Teacher Xu says so, I agree to this," Gu Ning said with a smile.

Xu Bing said, "When you get to the editing room, just go find Lao Ma, and he'll arrange it for you."

"Thank you, Professor Xu. I'll be going now," Gu Ning said, standing up.

"Take your things with you, and don't try this on me again," Xu Bing called out to him.

"Teacher Xu, I need to go to the editing room now, so please leave it here for now."

After Gu Ning finished speaking, she immediately made her escape.

"That kid."

Xu Bing chuckled and cursed, then shook his head.

…………

For the next period of time, Gu Ning focused entirely on editing the film.

On December 2nd, the Hollywood blockbuster "Next" was released, but its box office revenue only broke 12 million in its first week.

After the box office results were released, many media outlets predicted a downturn in Hollywood.

Gu Ning almost burst out laughing when she saw this kind of news. A release in early December? That's just for warming up the audience.

In China, a film's theatrical run is typically only one month. By Christmas and New Year's Day, the film is almost finished showing.

On the contrary, the release of "If You Are the One" at the end of the month was a very good time to choose.

"I don't know how much our movie will do at the box office," Liu Sanxi said.

"There's still some hope for 50 million."

Gu Ning shook her head and asked, "How many people have you signed?"

"Thirteen, and a few others said they need to think about it some more," Liu Sanxi said.

"That's enough. As long as the scaffolding for each group can be set up, we can just hire some temporary staff for the rest."

Gu Ning was quite pleased to hear that thirteen people were willing to sign contracts.

"Hey kid, it's time to hire someone in charge of the company. We can't keep making me run errands for you all the time, can we?" Liu Sanxi said irritably.

"I'm just busy, I'll be fine after these next couple of days," Gu Ning said.

"Is the editing almost finished?" Liu Sanxi asked in surprise.

"Yes, it should all be done by the day after tomorrow at the latest. Remember to invite your two friends to watch the movie then," Gu Ning said.

"Okay, I'll call them in a bit," Liu Sanxi said.