Huayu: Everyone's been reborn, who's still going to be an actor?

The release of "The Hunt" was a low-budget film, but it became incredibly popular, grossing nearly three million yuan on its opening day, which surprised Cheng Yuan.

However, it's hard to say how long this hype will last.

The film received rave reviews online, but moviegoers said it was too depressing and made them feel depressed.

Of course, many movie fans also felt: I'm depressed, how can my good brothers and sisters not share the joys and sorrows?

Amway, I absolutely have to recommend it!

Scam as many as you can, one at a time.

Of course, this won't significantly boost box office revenue.

Cheng Yuan didn't pay much attention to the film's box office performance. Of course, high box office would be ideal, but low box office would be expected.

At this moment, he was focused on Lu Chuan's evaluation of "The Hunt".

Moreover, his words were sensationalized by the media.

Then, Lu Chuan was scolded.

Of course, there were also quite a few people who agreed with Lu Chuan's words.

Cheng Yuan couldn't help but find those who agreed with Lu Chuan suspicious.

They don't seem like independent cultivators at all; they're organized and have a large following.

Those people not only praised Lu Chuan's evaluation of the film, but even criticized "The Hunt" more harshly.

Among them were not only Wang Yun, but also the media.

If there's no one behind this, probably no one would believe it.

Anyway, Cheng Yuan didn't believe it.

As for who it was, Cheng Yuan didn't even need to think about it.

What the hell did I do to you?

My own company's affairs are about to be exposed, and they're still keeping an eye on me.

It serves Wang Jinghua right that she had to take her artists to another company.

On its second day of release, the film still grossed over two million.

The box office exceeded five million in two days.

This surprised Cheng Yuan, who figured the movie was sure to gross tens of millions at the box office.

It was distributed by China Film Group and released simultaneously in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

However, the box office performance in Hong Kong was disappointing.

The market there isn't very welcoming to these kinds of art films.

Taiwan is not bad.

Of course, that's only in comparison to other art films.

However, the movie is quite well-known there.

We have to thank Wu Yusen for this.

You can hate him, but you have to admit that he has a lot of influence in the Hong Kong and Taiwan film industry now.

Wu Yusen has been pursued by the media there quite a bit during this period.

He kept hiding.

He knew very well that the Cannes incident would have a much greater impact on him than he had imagined.

Those judges lacked sportsmanship.

It was only later that I learned that the film "The Hunt" had been sold to EuropaCorp in advance.

However, now that mainland directors and media outlets have come out in support of him, an opportunity has arisen.

As for why those directors and media sided with him, that remains unknown.

That doesn't matter either.

"I'm a judge, I have to be fair and impartial. I can't just vote for it because it's a Chinese-language film, can I?"

"Besides, 'The Hunt' isn't the only film nominated! Johnnie To's 'Election,' Hou Hsiao-hsien's 'The Best of Times,' and mainland director Wang Xiaoshuai's 'Shanghai Dreams,' aren't all nominated?"

"His film certainly has many shortcomings, and it's not as good as the Dardenne brothers' 'The Child'..."

Wu Yusen's response immediately drew support from many Hong Kong and Taiwan directors, who were essentially criticizing Cheng Yuan's film.

Of course, I'm not saying the movie is bad, but rather that it has its shortcomings.

Many directors in mainland China have also spoken out, saying that the films are inadequate.

Then, rumors circulated online that Cheng Yuan's seemingly rebuttal was actually a mockery of the Fifth and Sixth Generation directors for making films on marginal topics simply to please foreign film festivals.

Then fifth and sixth generation directors jumped out to criticize Cheng Yuan.

However, this boosted the box office of "The Hunt".

As for the release of "Shanghai Dreams", let's not even mention it. There's hardly any media coverage of it, and even online, there's hardly any related news.

"I said those things? How come I didn't know?"

Cheng Yuan has been busy writing the script for "Love" these past few days, preparing to compete in Cannes again, but the public opinion has become increasingly intense, leaving him completely numb.

Am I, Cheng Yuan, someone who's easy to bully?

"Do you know who did it?"

Jiang Wen looked at Cheng Yuan and asked.

He could naturally see that someone was stirring up trouble and sowing discord.

Those who spoke out were not necessarily motivated by what was being said online.

Are people in their seventies or eighties still online?

Those rumors were just a pretext for them to jump out and criticize Cheng Yuanli.

It's not that we're taking advantage of our seniority to criticize Cheng Yuan; it's that the kid mocked them first.

"Is that even a question?" Cheng Yuan said. "Huayi. You didn't ask Huayi to invest, did you?"

Jiang Wen smiled and shook his head.

Although they are both from the Beijing circle, his relationship with Huayi is not good now, and besides, he has to consider Cheng Yuan's feelings.

How could he not know the relationship between Cheng Yuan and Hua Yi?

Even within the Beijing elite circle, there are different sub-circles.

Huayi is one circle, while he and Cheng Yuan are now in another.

"China Film Group has allocated me a budget of 20 million," Jiang Wen said. "In addition, Chairman Han has organized a gathering and asked me to invite you to go with him tonight. I guess he's planning to bring in an investor from the Hong Kong film industry."

Emperor Yang Shoucheng!

A person instantly popped into Cheng Yuan's mind.

In his previous life, he naturally had no chance to come into contact with such big shots.

However, compared to other Hong Kong and Taiwan capital, this person leans more towards the mainland.

Of course, whether it's for entering the mainland market or for other reasons remains unknown.

They're much better than those Hong Kong filmmakers who eat their fill and then curse their employers.

That evening, Cheng Yuan and Jiang Wen went to their appointment together.

Jiang Wen took Zhou Yun with him.

They are now a proper married couple.

When the three of them arrived, there were already four people in the private room.

Han Sanping, Yang Shoucheng, and Cheng Long, and another beautiful woman with an outstanding temperament should be Huo Xiwen, a senior executive of Emperor Entertainment Group.

After exchanging pleasantries, they each took their seats.

Since they were all in the industry, the topics they discussed naturally revolved around movies.

"Your movie script has been approved; it should be released for public review in the next couple of days," Han Sanping said. "Has the budget been finalized yet?"

"It'll cost at least thirty million!" Jiang Wen said. "That doesn't even include the actors' salaries."

How much is your company planning to invest?

Han Sanping nodded and looked at Cheng Yuan.

Cheng Yuan has his own company, and he was deeply involved in Jiang Wen's film, even drawing the storyboards. It's impossible for Jiang Wen to kick him off the table.

Moreover, it was Jiang Wen who was in charge.

"My company doesn't have much money; the budget for this film is only ten or twenty million," Cheng Yuan said. "Chairman Han, how about Yuancheng Pictures taking a 30% stake?"

The production cost was only 3,500 yuan, and with the actors' salaries, it's estimated to be 40 to 50 million yuan.

Given Jiang Wen's habit of overspending, the auction is estimated to cost sixty to seventy million.

Cheng Yuan didn't mean he didn't want to take more; he simply didn't have the money.

"Emperor offers a 10% premium, and we'll give you as much of a share as you want. What do you think, Chairman Han?"

Yang Shoucheng spoke up, and the premium was a statement of his stance.

If you want to get on board, you have to show the right attitude.

The way out for Hong Kong filmmakers lies in the mainland, and the same goes for Hong Kong film capital.

Jiang Wen's comeback project, whether it makes money or not, we have to follow it.

This presents an opportunity to enter the mainland market.

Jiang Wen is a worthwhile person to invest in, not to mention Cheng Yuan as well.

Han Sanping didn't say anything, but looked at Jiang Wen.

"Mr. Dong from Huayi contacted me a while ago," Jiang Wen said. "You should leave him some."