Huayu: Starting with Marketing Bad Movies

The scene was very lively on the day filming began.

Xu Feng did not notify the media, but reporters still came.

They all came for Xu Feng and Liu Yifei; as for the rest of the crew, there was no point in interviewing them.

Xu Feng, a director with a budget of 400 million, is also the number one marketer of "evil cultivation foot bath water".

Although many people in the industry look down on him, thinking that Xu Feng is just doing crooked things and will eventually fail, box office results are the only true measure of success.

The popularity of the "a little sweet" meme hasn't died down yet, and it might even make it onto the Spring Festival Gala. Of course, reporters would like to interview the person in charge behind the scenes.

Liu Yifei goes without saying; she's known as the "Fairy Sister." Everyone who watched her dramas back then is a fan, and she's never short of attention.

The fact that these two suddenly teamed up to make a movie naturally attracted attention.

But I didn't pay much attention to it.

There weren't many reporters present, only a few.

Xu Feng is, after all, the director and a behind-the-scenes worker. It's June now, and the popularity of the movie "The Warring States" and the foot bath water has already dropped significantly; almost no one is paying attention to them anymore.

That's how memes are: they become incredibly popular in a short time and everyone knows them, but as time goes by, the public will quickly forget about them.

Jia Junpeng, the whole country knew back then that your mother was calling you home for dinner, but who remembers that now?

Not all memes can remain popular and become a major academic discipline like "You're So Beautiful."

Liu Yifei goes without saying; fans remember her, but that's about it. The failure of "A Chinese Ghost Story" further lowered her status in the industry, and she's not far from fading into obscurity.

If it weren't for the lack of material, the reporter probably wouldn't have wanted to come.

But unexpectedly, there was another surprise at the start of filming for this low-budget movie, because Han Sanping showed up.

Even Xu Feng didn't expect Han Sanping to come. Although he gave China Film Group a 10% share, he simply wanted to establish a good relationship with them.

As long as you're doing business in China, China Film Group is an insurmountable obstacle; having a good relationship with them is never a bad thing.

Even the glamorous CEO Liu didn't attend this launch ceremony; only the manager showed up.

The company's main purpose was to promote Jing Tian; they didn't care about anything else. If it weren't for Xu Feng's relationship with Jing Tian, ​​they probably wouldn't have invested at all.

Wang Changtian, the general manager of Enlight Media, did come; he values ​​Xu Feng highly.

Currently, Huayi dominates half of the domestic film and television industry, having gone public early and claiming to be the leader in the domestic entertainment circle.

Given the current influence of the Hua-Yi people, this title was well-deserved, as the Hua-Yi people were at their peak during this period.

Wang Changtian was naturally unwilling to accept this, and he also planned to take his company public, preparing to find an opportunity to overthrow Huayi and become the number one entertainment company in the country.

He prefers to collaborate with accomplished directors like Xu Feng. If Xu Feng's film is successful, he wouldn't mind forging a deeper relationship with Xu Feng.

Like Hua Yi and Feng Xiaogang.

Enlight Media lacks directors like Feng Xiaogang and has to rely on outside investors, a fact that Wang Changtian finds regrettable.

The Hua-Yi people set a good example, and since they were the strongest at that time, everyone naturally followed their example.

Wang Changtian's arrival was due to his belief in Xu Feng's potential. What was Han Sanping's purpose in coming? Why would this big shot come to the opening ceremony of a low-budget film?

Reporters were very curious and crowded around, even refusing to interview Xu Feng and Liu Yifei.

This man is the number one figure in Chinese cinema. If he stomped his foot, the entire film industry would tremble, and the whole film world would have to look up to him.

Even a casual revelation from such an important figure has immense news value, and reporters certainly wouldn't let it pass.

When interviewed by reporters, Han Sanping remained calm: "I have high hopes for director Xu Feng. He has achieved so much at such a young age, and I believe that he will become a pillar of the domestic film industry sooner or later."

"The domestic film market is currently taking off, and young people are the future of the industry."

Everyone was shocked; they hadn't expected Han Sanping to think so highly of Xu Feng.

These words, while not enough to make Xu Feng invincible, will certainly make anyone who tries to mess with him think twice, and he will be looked up to wherever he goes.

After saying these words, Han Sanping fell silent, and the reporter could only shift his attention to Xu Feng.

"What do you have to say about the foot bath water being a little sweet?" The reporter immediately asked the question that the public was most concerned about.

That's all the news value Xu Feng has. As for the rest, who cares about him as a director?

"No comment." Xu Feng did not answer.

In Hollywood, such successful marketing would be considered an extremely brilliant achievement. People there don't care how you market yourself; as long as you make money, you're awesome.

Even if the money is stolen, robbed, or cheated, as long as you have money, you are a superior person.

But not here. If your money comes from illegitimate sources or you take crooked paths, you'll easily be looked down upon.

Xu Feng has already reaped the benefits of the foot bath water marketing campaign, and it's time to cut his losses. He can talk about it later when he's achieved great success.

At that time, the water used for washing feet will no longer be a dark history, but a path taken back to the past.

"Why is the investment in your new movie so low, only ten million, less than one-tenth of that of 'The Warring States'?"

The reporter was very curious about this question. Other directors' films have increasingly larger and larger investments. It's not uncommon for directors to have low investments like Xu Feng, but it's rare to see one that's this low.

"I believe that the investment in a film is not important; what matters is the quality of the film. A good film can be made even on a low budget."

"Why did you invite Liu Yifei to star in the film? What were your considerations? Did you and Jing Tian have a conflict?"

The reporter asked several sharp questions in a row, trying to dig out some news from him and Liu Yifei, or even from him and Jing Tian.

Unfortunately, Xu Feng's answer was rather conventional, failing to give the reporter a chance to uncover any juicy details.

"Ms. Liu Yifei, why did you choose to act in this movie?"

"What are your thoughts on the failure of 'A Chinese Ghost Story' due to its clash with 'The Warring States'?"

"Do you know about the relationship between Xu Feng and Jing Tian?"

Unable to get any information from Xu Feng, the reporter turned their attention to Liu Yifei.

In this respect, Liu Yifei was more experienced than Xu Feng, leaving the reporter no loopholes.

The reporter left disappointed. Luckily, Han Sanping was there; otherwise, there would have been no news value at all.

Before leaving, Xu Feng gave them red envelopes as a small consolation to the visiting reporters.

Xu Feng did not deliberately invite reporters to the opening ceremony because he did not want to give out red envelopes (cash gifts).

The film's production cost was low, and he didn't want to waste money.

The media plays a role in promoting movies, but with the development of the internet, its effectiveness is weakening. However, they can still influence a movie's reputation to some extent.

Red envelopes can be given in small amounts, but not at all; otherwise, it's considered a bad rule and will be boycotted by the media industry.

The opening ceremony was very simple: a group of people gathered together, took a photo, and that was how filming officially began.

Xu Feng did not worship any gods, not even the cameras, which is extremely rare in the entertainment industry.

In the film and television industry, success is largely a mystery, and many practitioners like to find some psychological comfort, even big directors are no exception.

The Hong Kong side is the most extravagant; they can make even a simple opening ceremony into something elaborate.

Xu Feng didn't need these things to bolster his courage; he firmly believed that he would succeed.

Because he has cheat codes.