Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

"I can't even remember the last time I went to the cinema. After all, there are only four kinds of Chinese films nowadays: the first is the 'scar literature' of the Fifth Generation; the second is the 'forced sentimentality' of the Sixth Generation; the third is the 'great spirit' of the August First Film Studio; and the fourth is the 'comedy jokes' of Feng Xiaogang."

I had heard of "My Sassy Girl" before, and it broke overseas copyright sales records even before its release; of course, there was also the huge outdoor GG banner I saw every day when I passed Wangfujing on the bus (Fan Bingbing is so beautiful, Fan Bingbing is so beautiful, Fan Bingbing is so beautiful, I'm saying it three times to prove I'm a Bingbing fan), etc., but I still didn't think about going to the cinema to see it.

But I still went, and I still spent 150 yuan to buy the premiere ticket from a scalper. All this was because I have a petite and lovely girlfriend from Sichuan Province. She said that couples must watch the movie on Christmas Eve, otherwise she wouldn't come to my house to stay overnight.

The movie was pretty good. My petite and adorable girlfriend laughed uncontrollably several times, and even nearly convulsed in my arms a few times, which made me quite uncomfortable, since it was a theater for a thousand people, not a theater for two.

So I had to focus my attention on the movie, and it was surprisingly good.

Although it includes a plot point about an ex-boyfriend's death, it doesn't feel as awkwardly pretentious as the sixth generation of films. They all have such miserable faces, and they act like they're not artistic unless they say something nonsensical. Damn it, if I met someone who talked like that in real life, I'd slap them across the face. Please understand, their movies really made me feel nauseous and stressed.

Gradually, I became more involved because I was once someone's backup option, what Cantonese calls "water bubble." Usually, it's left aside to dry, and people only use it when they're heartbroken, lonely, or have an abortion. After getting through the difficult times, it's discarded.

There's nothing wrong with saying this. Everyone has the opportunity to be someone else's backup option, or to treat someone else as a backup option.

There will always be stories where you love her, she loves him, and he might also love someone else—a common trope in romance dramas. However, in reality, it's highly unlikely that anyone will have that melodramatic ending.

Okay, I admit that I'm really jealous of the fact that Niu Geng and Fan Bingbing still have a happy ending, so jealous that I'm almost going crazy.

After jealousy comes disappointment. This happy ending is really bad. The same goes for "Comrades: Almost a Love Story". After repeatedly missing each other, Leon Lai and Maggie Cheung still meet at a street corner. Both are still single. After so many years, do the male and female leads have no psychological or physical needs?

In real life, what happens more often is that years later, the two meet unexpectedly, only to sigh, "Things have changed, and we can never go back." How poignant that is.

I was puzzled. The screenwriter on stage, Yang Che, was a bit more handsome and stylish than me, and he should also be a bit more talented (his song "Fleeting Years" is really good). He should also be a bit richer, so he shouldn't have the same feeling as me of being a backup candidate. But he confidently said that he drew inspiration from his past experiences.

I thought and thought, and finally, after doing what I was supposed to do with my girlfriend late at night, I had an epiphany and understood.

The old man in the ending should be the elderly Niu Geng, because a frog popped out of the time capsule. This young screenwriter, who is four points better than me, finally gave this movie a realistic ending, after all, he is four points better than me.

Yang Che wrote his story with his ex-girlfriend into a screenplay and made it into the movie "My Sassy Girl"; Qi Qin wrote a song called "Missing You Is a Disease" after breaking up with Joey Wong; and I've also fallen ill after typing these incomprehensible words, because I've started missing someone, even though my petite and lovely girlfriend is sleeping in my bed.

Yang Che read the article twice. Yes, this was not a film review; it was a highly skilled essay.

He also learned that "Missing You Is a Disease" was indeed written by Chyi Chin, and that Chang Chen-yue later added an R&B style to it, turning it into the version he was familiar with.

Yang Che looked at the comments again. Some people criticized Hu Zhu for criticizing the sixth-generation director, while others resonated with his simple and sincere words. After all, neither laughter nor anger could hide the bitterness and inability to let go of the pain of being a blister beetle.

Of course, many people also said, "Wow, after reading your article, I've decided to go see this movie."

"Let's go together, let's go together."

"My hometown is a county in Hebei Province. If I wanted to watch it, I would drive to the provincial capital. But after doing the math, I decided to wait for a pirated VCD to come out."

"I was surprised to find that this movie was released on the same day as those in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Of course I had to see it. The seven single guys in my workplace have already made plans for a team building activity, and the expenses will be reimbursed with public funds. Haha."

"I'm from Shanghai, and I've already pre-purchased tickets for the movie's promotional tour in Shanghai. They were priced at 50 yuan here and sold out in two hours, mostly to college students... But I think they should also act as scalpers. After all, I bought scalped tickets for 150 yuan in Beijing, so the price in Shanghai can't be any lower."

"I don't understand, how can there be scalpers for a movie ticket?"

"I'm from Guangzhou and I've already pre-ordered my tickets for the roadshow. There are gifts included, and I can also interact with Fan Bingbing."

"........."

The comments under the movie reviews posted by the part-time male college students were mostly similar, which made Yang Che sigh that people nowadays are really simple and honest.

Of course, he doesn't rely entirely on online marketing. After all, online marketing only has a higher conversion rate. People have plenty of money, but its influence is limited. They still have to watch TV.

At 10:30 AM, entertainment news reports about "My Sassy Girl" began airing on Beijing-Taiwan Cable TV and Tianjin-Taiwan Cable TV. According to Yin Junjie, it will be broadcast on 126 local TV stations across the country within a week.

There were even more newspapers.

We've achieved coverage; now it's time to see how the conversion rate goes.

Around noon, Huang Haibo and Cheng Er, who had just finished an interview with the Beijing Film Academy's student newspaper, came over.

"Haibo, how's the signing with Wang Jinhua going?"

"I still want to wait until I graduate to think about it."

Yang Che put his arm around his shoulder: "Awesome."

Huang Haibo scratched his head: "I'm just waiting for the right price, haha."

Yang Che feigned displeasure: "I thought you were going to say you'd wait until I start my own agency."

Huang Haibo chuckled: "Brother Che didn't want to open it, but if you do, I won't think about it anymore."

At this moment, Cheng Er spoke up: "Brother Che, Wang Zhonglei invited me to Huayi, saying he can build a team for me."

"Was that said by Wang Zhonglei?"

"right."

"What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything, so what's your suggestion?"

Yang Che paused for a moment: "If it was Wang Zhongjun who said it, you can go, but forget about Wang Zhonglei."

Everyone was puzzled. Why was Che-ge so calm? He was trying to steal someone else's girlfriend.

How could he not be calm? Cheng Er is an artist; he can't afford to support her.

However, Cheng Er didn't think so. He smiled and said, "I'll go back to the Shanghai Film Studio after 'My Sassy Girl' is finished."

Just then, Old Sun ran out of the back room excitedly shouting, "Boss, you're on TV!"