The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"Thank you very much, Mr. Wang!"

Gu Ning wasn't too surprised when President Wang said that Sohu Video would be promoted across all channels.

"Omnichannel" refers to the entire Sohu company. Although the previously signed contract was limited to Sohu Video, Sohu Video's market share is not high at present, and he is confident in his short films.

Once Sohu Video has access to good resources, it is naturally willing to invest in attracting traffic to itself.

Even if I don't stream his short film, I will choose to stream other excellent videos.

This is also why Gu Ning chose to cooperate with Souhu. Souhu Video does not rank highly among current video platforms, so it can secure better promotional resources.

If it were another video platform, the support would be less, and perhaps Lu Chuan and the capital behind him could step in and have the video taken down directly.

Even if his short films become popular, it's just icing on the cake for other platforms.

"By the way, our General Manager Zhang said he'd like to get to know Director Gu sometime," General Manager Wang said with a smile.

Gu Ning asked in surprise, "Is it General Manager Zhang Chaoyang?"

"That's right!"

Mr. Wang said, "The decision to provide full-channel support was made by Mr. Zhang, who also greatly admires Director Gu and wants to deepen their cooperation."

"It's my honor that Mr. Zhang is willing to see me. I will definitely visit him once I'm done with my work here," Gu Ning said.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with President Wang and ending the call, Gu Ning thought to herself, "Sohu should know about my conflict with Lu Chuan by now."

President Wang was just subtly hinting at him; if it were a normal collaboration, how could it have alarmed Zhang Chaoyang?

These days, Lao Zhang isn't so free. He either goes to nightclubs or goes to class when he has nothing to do.

Only if Boss Wang knows about his conflict with Lu Chuan will this matter likely alarm Old Zhang.

Gu Ning originally thought that Souhu would only know after the short film was released.

After all, his conflict with Lu Chuan wasn't a secret, and it wouldn't be long before it was exposed once the short film was released.

Sohu found out about the short film before it was even released, which surprised him.

Fortunately, things turned out well.

Mr. Wang called him because he wanted to do him a favor.

Otherwise, he would have seen it as just a normal collaboration, but now it's different. It's as if he's being told that Souhu has chosen him over Lu Chuan.

Gu Ning knew that Souhu must have other considerations, but she wanted to remember this favor.

"However, from what President Wang said, it's clear that Lao Zhang really wants to see me. Otherwise, he could have just asked if he heard that he and Lu Chuan had a conflict."

Gu Ning thought about it again and again but still couldn't understand why Lao Zhang wanted to see him. If he just wanted to invest in his movie, there was no need for Lao Zhang to show up himself.

"Does he want me to make a movie for him?"

That's really hard to say. Didn't Old Ma also make a book called "Gong Shou Dao"?

Old Zhang is probably even more spirited than Old Ma was back then, so it's not impossible for him to make a short film for himself.

However, Gu Ning didn't dwell on it. Whatever the purpose, she would know when she met him.

…………

After a day of promotion, Sohu officially launched the short film at 10:00 AM on April 29th.

When the short film was released, it was also recommended via an in-app pop-up, which drew many curious viewers.

Some people were attracted by the previous promotions and came specifically to watch the short film.

Within an hour of its release, the short film had garnered over a million views.

This data will be insignificant a few years from now, when smartphones are widely available and network fees are reduced and speeds are increased.

But in the first half of 09, it was already quite rare.

"I've seen too many films and TV series about the War of Resistance Against Japan. Every year there are many TV dramas and movies on this subject. Although I always admire the martyrs of that time, I've become somewhat immune to them after watching so many. But Director Gu's short film has moved me all over again."

Especially the several camera cuts after the final song started, they gave me goosebumps.

The short film doesn't mention anyone's name from beginning to end, just like the lyrics say, "Even if no one knows me!"

"What the person upstairs said is the same as what I thought, but I think the most shocking part was when the junior sister questioned the senior brother."

"Director Gu truly deserves his Golden Bear award for Best Short Film at the Berlin Film Festival. His humble position doesn't diminish his patriotism; this moment embodies that spirit!"

"While the martyrs whose names have been passed down are certainly admirable, there were far too many nameless martyrs during that arduous and tragic period. I feel that the fact that no one's name was mentioned in the short film means that the junior sister is not just one person, but represents all those nameless martyrs who bravely sacrificed their lives!"

"Am I the only one who thinks this short film could be made into a movie? It's much worse than that Lu Chuan movie."

"The person upstairs is addressing her incorrectly; she's Lu Taijun. I've heard a little insider information that Xiao Rizi's company invested in this film, Lu Taijun." The fact that Xiao Rizi was willing to invest in this type of film speaks volumes.

"Holy crap, is what the guy upstairs said true? A small, reputable company really invested?"

"No wonder his butt was crooked; he took money!"

"How can a movie like this be released? Is it just one person's problem? We urge the government to conduct a thorough investigation!"

……

The short video not only had a high click rate, but also even more comments. Most of the comments were positive, while many others criticized Lu Chuan.

The staff monitoring the data immediately reported it.

President Wang didn't care at all. What did it matter to him if Lu Chuan was scolded?

He is more concerned about how many new active users have been added.

…………

When Sohu promoted Gu Ning's short film, the titles they used almost always included the prefix "Best Short Film Golden Bear Award-winning director at the Berlin International Film Festival".

This attracts not only viewers, but also many journalists.

As a reporter for Sohu News, I have an even greater advantage.

They had watched the short film before it was released online and wrote a news article to promote it, as required by the instructions.

Cheng Yan was one of those reporters, but his sense of smell was even more acute.

He was an entertainment reporter, and when Gu Ning and Lu Chuan had a conflict, he followed up and wrote several news articles.

Although it didn't cause much of a stir, he was well aware of the conflict between the two.

Gu Ning released this short film just a few days after Lu Chuan's movie premiered. If you said it wasn't aimed at Lu Chuan, his three-year-old son wouldn't believe it.

Unlike his colleagues who racked their brains trying to find ways to praise the short film, he directly compared Lu Chuan's film with Gu Ning's short film.

Actually, he initially wanted to write about the conflict between Gu Ning and Lu Chuan, and then make it clear that this was Gu Ning's revenge on Lu Chuan.

He knew very well that gossip about grudges and feuds within the industry was more likely to attract viewers.

His previous reports on the conflict between Gu Ning and Lu Chuan went unnoticed because the two were relatively unknown.

Gu Ning hadn't won any awards yet and was practically unknown at the time.

Although Lu Chuan has won some awards and was once embroiled in a public opinion storm due to plagiarism, the number of people paying attention to her is limited, and several years have passed since then.

He is only somewhat famous within the industry, and most ordinary viewers have no idea who he is.

Things are different now. Gu Ning won an award, and her previous film achieved good box office results. Lu Chuan has also gained a lot of exposure recently because of the film that was released.

Releasing information about their conflict at this time will definitely attract a lot of attention.

However, after he wrote the manuscript, the editor-in-chief did not approve it.

Although the higher-ups asked them to help promote the short film, saying it was to cooperate with other departments.

But there aren't many fools in the workplace. Gu Ning's short film is something the company is currently promoting heavily. Who knows what kind of relationship she has with the higher-ups?

After Cheng Yan's draft was rejected, he proposed to write a news article comparing Lu Chuan's film and Gu Ning's short film.

This time, the editor-in-chief did not object.

This tactic of using comparison to elevate the other side is very common in the news.

Comparing the two sides side by side is a way to capitalize on trending topics for publicity.

So, on the day the short film was released, news about Cheng Yan was also published.