The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

Late at night, the opera troupe cautiously left the theater and found the streets desolate, littered with corpses.

Li Qin saw a mangled infant corpse, turned pale with fright, and covered her mouth tightly.

But they didn't get very far before they saw patrol officers on the streets. They tried several different routes, but the situation remained the same, so they eventually had to give up and return to the theater.

After daybreak, the thugs began breaking into houses and looting, searching for survivors.

Meanwhile, a small group of young people appeared at the theater. The senior apprentice greeted them with a smile and chatted with them. In the end, the young people left a few people to guard outside and then left.

The short film has no sound or subtitles except for the scene of the female lead singing opera and the sounds of gunfire and screams at the beginning.

It wasn't until his senior brother persuaded Li Lin to perform for the young military officer that he got a line of dialogue.

This one line of dialogue sent chills down Mr. Wang's spine.

Then the scene shifts, and Li Lin, dressed in theatrical costume and made up, takes the stage.

The audience was filled with ordinary people.

Li Lin began to sing, but no sound came out; instead, a piece of music began to play.

"As the play unfolds, the water sleeves rise and fall."

"Singing of joys and sorrows, of partings and reunions, has nothing to do with me."

……

"In this chaotic world, we drift like duckweed, watching the flames of war engulf our land."

"Though in a humble position, I dare not forget my duty to the nation."

Even if no one knows me.

"The audience members have passed by, and the old colors are no longer visible."

Upon reaching this point, the camera focused on the people below who were clapping and cheering.

"On stage, someone is singing a heartbreaking farewell song."

Tears streamed down Li Lin's face as she stood on the stage.

The word "love" is hard to put into words.

"Her singing must be accompanied by blood."

Suddenly, flames appeared outside, throwing the theatergoers into a panic.

Several soldiers in tattered uniforms and wounded rushed out from the left and right sides, throwing lit Molotov cocktails at the crowd.

"The curtain rises, the curtain falls, who are the guests?"

As the song ended, Li Lin continued performing on stage, while many children in the audience were set on fire, wailing and screaming in agony.

The final shot shows the theater engulfed in flames, before plunging into darkness.

Mr. Wang and several staff members from Sohu were stunned for a long time.

This short film has only a few lines of dialogue from beginning to end, and the people who appear are not mentioned by name.

Just like the lyrics say, even if no one knows me.

To be honest, the only truly impactful part of the short film was a short segment of dialogue.

But the final song elevated the entire short film.

"Mr. Wang, is the short film okay?"

Liu Yang calmed himself down and asked.

He had seen the short film, and every time he watched it, he was still deeply moved and felt very heavy-hearted.

"no problem!"

President Wang said solemnly, "Even if we hadn't promised Director Gu beforehand, Sohu would have vigorously promoted this short film so that more people could see it!"

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Wang. Mr. Gu's idea is that it should be launched tomorrow," Liu Yang said.

"Can!"

Mr. Wang nodded.

There are no self-produced dramas now, and websites aren't TV stations, so there aren't any time adjustments or schedules.

Liu Yang discussed the details with General Manager Wang and then left Sohu.

After personally seeing Liu Yang off, President Wang returned to the company and summoned his subordinates to arrange the screening of the short film.

"Mr. Wang!"

Mr. Wang had just sat down and hadn't even spoken when one of his subordinates spoke up. He frowned slightly in displeasure and said, "We can talk about it after the meeting."

"Mr. Wang, what I want to say is related to the content of the meeting."

The man said, "I have a good relationship with a colleague in the news department. He talked to me a couple of days ago about director Lu Chuan's recently released movie."

The theme of that movie is the same as the short film I just watched.

He had previously told me that director Lu Chuan and director Gu Ning had a conflict.

Director Gu Ning has been busy filming his new movie lately, but now he's released a short film, which I feel seems like it's aimed at Director Lu Chuan.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Wang asked in surprise, "Are you serious?"

Although the conflict between Gu Ning and Lu Chuan was reported by many media outlets at the time, it quickly subsided because Gu Ning did not respond.

Although Sohu Video's business has a lot in common with the entertainment industry, as a vice president, he doesn't have time to pay attention to these things.

But it's really strange that a director like Gu Ning, who already has a reputation, would shoot a short film but not submit it for awards and instead give it away for free on Sohu.

He hadn't thought much about it before, but now he understood the reason.

"You can find all of this online," the man quickly replied.

Mr. Wang waved his hand and said, "Little Sun, tell me about that movie directed by Lu Chuan."

He knew about Lu Chuan's movie release, which caused quite a stir, but he just hadn't seen it.

After listening, Xiao Sun quickly recounted the general plot of the movie.

After listening, Mr. Wang pondered for a moment. The investors behind this movie were all quite powerful. If the plot described by Xiao Sun was followed, the release of the short film would definitely have a huge impact on the movie.

Sohu's aggressive promotion of short films will inevitably offend those investors.

Given Souhu's size, they naturally have nothing to fear, but offending them for Gu Ning's sake is clearly not worth it.

However, he had previously signed a contract with Gu Ning, and if he withheld the release or refused to provide promotional resources, Gu Ning would not let it go easily.

"The meeting is adjourned for now. You can all go about your business."

After finishing his speech, Mr. Wang took the USB drive containing the video content, left the department, and took the elevator to Zhang Chaoyang's office.

After the secretary's announcement, he was led into the office.

"Mr. Zhang!"

"Old Wang is here."

Zhang Chaoyang gestured for him to sit down and said to his secretary, "Go and brew some of my treasured Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao tea for Old Wang to try."

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, the secretary went to make tea.

"But what difficulties are Sohu Video encountering?" Zhang Chaoyang asked.

"It's not exactly difficult."

President Wang explained the conflict between Gu Ning and Lu Chuan, along with the short film incident, to Zhang Chaoyang.

"If the short film can make you hesitate, it must be very good. Show it to me," Zhang Chaoyang said.

If this were a multiple-choice question, the answer would definitely be Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan's family background, plus the investors behind the film, far surpasses that of Gu Ning, a mere up-and-coming director.

Normally, there's no need to come to him for such a trivial matter.

Mr. Wang's request to consult him clearly stemmed from his desire to launch a short video online, a move that would offend many people.

"Mr. Zhang, here's a USB drive." Mr. Wang handed over the USB drive.

Zhang Chaoyang took the plug and inserted it, just as his secretary brought him tea.

"Have some tea first, I'll watch the video."

After Zhang Chaoyang finished speaking, he used the mouse to quickly find and play the short video.

The short film was only a dozen minutes long, and I finished watching it quickly.

Zhang Chaoyang pondered for a moment and said, "There are many logical flaws, but it is indeed a good story."

This kid's approach is to my liking; let's do it as agreed.

Last year, Sohu became the Internet content service sponsor of the Olympic Games, and its stock price soared, making him the richest man in China again.

Although the period was short, Changyou went public in the US at the beginning of this month, and his net worth surged again, making him the richest man in China once again.

At this time, Zhang Chaoyang was full of vigor and ambition, not yet the depressed man he would become a few years later.

Therefore, he admired Gu Ning's actions in retaliating against Lu Chuan.

In his view, if someone bullies you, you have to fight back.

This kind of fighting doesn't mean actually taking action; it requires strategy.

Otherwise, it would be reckless.

However, all of this is predicated on the premise that Gu Ning's short film is indeed good.

Otherwise, it would be just as stupid.

Of course, the essence of a businessman is still profit.

The reason Mr. Wang hesitated was that when the short film was released, it would impact Lu Chuan's film box office and also generate a great deal of buzz.

This led to an increase in the number of viewers of the Sohu video.

That's the real reason.

"I understand, I'll make the arrangements right away."

"Remember, promote it across all channels. I will notify other departments to cooperate," Zhang Chaoyang said.