Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

Yang Che said sincerely, "I'm serious. Lao Wang, I respect your decision to go public with your relationship, but shouldn't you avoid wasting this exposure? Either I release a movie, or you release an album..."

"Get lost, you're so irresponsible, I'm hanging up."

"Wait, when are we returning to Beijing?"

"I will not stay in Tanzhou on the 27th."

"I definitely won't be in Beijing at that time. I'll come to the port city to find you after I return from the United States."

"Whatever, I'm hanging up."

This time it really happened. Wang Fei is indeed going to participate in Dou Wentao's interview program "Celebrity Three People Talking", and as she expected, she will talk about marriage, love and family.

Dou Wentao brought up the rumors reported by the media last month, and asked, "Do you have someone by now?"

Unexpectedly, Wang Fei was not as frank and open as she was on other topics, because she didn't want to lie. She pursed her lips and said, "I don't want to talk about this."

The directors backstage were so excited they almost fainted.

Dou Wentao and another guest naturally caught this key information as well, and said with a knowing smile, "Something's up."

Wang Fei clicked his tongue and said, "I don't want to talk about this."

So Dou Wentao had to change the subject and continue talking about media gossip...

"The person I am in the newspaper is different from the person I am in real life, so as long as it's not too much, I sometimes take it as a joke."

"........."

After the episode aired, it naturally attracted attention, especially from the media. After some speculation, they intensified their surveillance of Wang Fei, waiting for her new boyfriend to appear... Of course, that's a story for another time.

Now that get out of class had ended, Yang Che waited in the hallway until everyone had finished before going back up.

Throughout the day, people kept greeting him, whether they were classmates or teachers. He was the most handsome guy in the crowd, the hope of the whole village.

This is not surprising. After the screening of "My Sassy Girl" held by China Film Group at the beginning of the month, Yang Che's reputation and perception in the industry underwent another change. Simply put, it went from "Where did this guy come from? He actually managed to fool the Japanese" to "He's really amazing. So this is how movies that can make money are made."

Yes, Yang Che opened up new avenues of thought for many film companies. After all, the few domestically produced films that can make money right now are the "Beijing-style" comedies like those by Wang Shuo and Feng Xiaogang, which others can't replicate. Wang Shuo once said, "Chinese films, I can conquer them with ease," and that's no exaggeration.

Someone asked, "The movie hasn't been released yet, so how can they think the audience will buy tickets?"

Because they are not only projectionists and distributors who have worked in this field for many years, but also moviegoers. They may not have the ability to make movies, but they certainly have the ability to watch movies and can judge whether they are good or bad.

Just like when "Crazy Stone" ran out of money during filming, Wang Hongwei took the edited clips to Han Sanping to ask for the budget for post-production and publicity. After watching it, Han Sanping immediately agreed and said that the box office revenue that "Crazy Stone" earned for China Film Group would be the investment amount for Ning Hao's next film.

So when it came time for editing, everyone who had seen it wanted to invest in Ning Hao's next film. Did they have to wait for "Crazy Stone" to be released?

After "Crazy Stone" was released, Ning Hao changed his phone number twice in a month, just to avoid answering calls offering him money. China Film Group ultimately earned around 800 million yuan. When "Crazy Racer" was released, Han Sanping pooled together 1000 million yuan to invest.

To say that before a movie is released, no one in the industry except the main cast recognizes it, and it is ridiculed and suppressed everywhere, until it is released and becomes a critical and commercial success, and those who did not believe in it are proven wrong... to believe this statement is the same as believing that a person who commands a million soldiers is falsely accused of treason and then goes to the palace alone to plead for justice.

This is a movie, a cultural and entertainment product based on subjective aesthetics, not a product with any new functions.

Some might cite "Grandma's Love Letters" as an example, but sorry, they are not the same thing.

Stephen Chow was deliberately suppressed by people in the industry. For example, the other main creators of "Kung Fu Hustle" swept various awards—cinematography, art direction, supporting actor, action choreographer—but they didn't win Best Screenplay, Best Actor, or Best Director. Ironically, they were nominated every time but never won, which made Wong Jing, who didn't get along with Stephen Chow, unable to stand it anymore and criticize him. After that, Stephen Chow stopped attending any award ceremonies...

When the award winners go on stage, they almost always say something like, "Thank you to the screenwriter, director, producer, and producer Stephen Chow." It's a way of expressing their gratitude for the unfair treatment.

Just like Yang Che, although he hasn't appeared in the media these past few days, Cheng Er, Fan Bingbing, Huang Haibo, Sun Nan, Wang Fei, Cheng Hong, and Xiao Taohong, who have appeared in the media, have all mentioned him.

Huh? Why are Cheng Hong and Xiao Tao Hong in there? After all, several TV stations are airing "Spring Bright Pigsy" as their opening drama of the year, and they need to do interviews.

Well, the situation is different, but that's roughly the idea.

The truth is, Stephen Chow offended so many people not because of his strong personality, but because of their quirky thought processes. Take Dai Long, for example, who played the Emperor Fried Rice in "The God of Cookery." Dai Long tells you the story and even makes a cameo appearance. Then you, in the movie, shamelessly criticize him, saying he's all show and no substance and only good at self-promotion. While that might be true, put yourself in his shoes—would Dai Long still have a good impression of Stephen Chow afterward?

This kind of thing happens a lot.

For example, Stephen Chow heard about Liu Yida's penchant for wearing women's clothing and his bisexuality, and used it in a movie scene, even casting Liu Yida himself in the role. Liu Yida played a man who had offended the abbot and wanted to leave... After the news broke, the two lost contact.

There are also stories about the Empty Prince in "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".

But it did a great job of satisfying the audience, hahaha.

It's true that "My Sassy Girl" opened up new ideas for many people. The first person to have an idea was Zhuo Wu from Shanghai Film Studio, who went to Courtyard No. 8 to find Yang Che the day after the screening.

Zhuo Wu devised a story overnight: a director and news anchor couple, already divorced, were suddenly tasked with planning a special report on the US-China trade negotiations—their last collaboration. The program would be interspersed with humorous anecdotes, patriotic sentiments, and the unspoken struggles of middle age, among other things...

Most importantly, they discovered during this process that they had long since become an integral part of each other's lives and work, and that neither could live without the other—a middle-aged version of a bickering couple. Finally, at the signing ceremony between China and the US, the two smiled at each other across the camera in the middle.

The idea is excellent and very much in line with the characteristics of the times. It also uses the fate of the couple's relationship as a metaphor for the relationship between China and the United States, since "the relationship between China and the United States is just like a marriage; they may quarrel, but they still have to live together."

Zhuo Wu wanted Yang Che to write the script and serve as the producer and executive producer, meaning he would co-finance the project with Shanghai Film Studio.

Yang Che was very touched, and then politely declined.