Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

After the premiere,

Zhuang Huai'an and Jiang Wen didn't attend the banquet. They secretly slipped out, dressed in smart suits, and devoured lamb skewers at a stall in Houhai. They each took a bottle and went home to sleep.

Although "House of Deception" was only average, with the support of Zhang Yimou and a star-studded cast, it grossed 15.8 million yuan on its opening day, breaking the previous record of 13.5 million yuan held by "Hero". Within three days of its release, it grossed 55 million yuan in mainland China, after which its upward trend came to a halt.

Many film critics have published scathing reviews in their columns, calling Zhang Yimou's film a complete money-grabbing scheme. They say that Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro still only know how to pose and act cool, Zhang Ziyi still looks lifeless and pretends to be melancholy, and Song Changying looks exactly like a peasant woman who has just returned from the fields, and so on.

Zhuang Huai'an felt that the first three people's evaluations were correct, but Song Changying was truly an innocent victim. Her role was a last-minute replacement for Mei Yanfang.

The current mainland box office market is very barren; there's no such thing as a steady stream of revenue, nor is there any organic promotion.

The box office revenue within a week of its release was basically two-thirds of the total box office revenue.

The same pattern was seen with films like "Hero," "Parasite" by Zhuang Huai'an, and "House of Flying Daggers." They grossed over 100 million yuan in their opening week, and then only made a few million yuan each day.

On July 24th, the 7th CCTV-MTV Music Awards were held at the Beijing Olympic Sports Center. As a national-level official music awards ceremony promoted by CCTV in recent years, this event was broadcast live in its entirety.

Liu Yifei was also nominated. The young girl specially rushed back to Beijing from Xiangshan Film and Television City and took Zhuang Huai'an to the scene.

As expected, "Little Little" beat Lu Yi's "Confession" to win the title of best-selling album of the year in mainland China, and by a single vote, it beat Pang Hong to win the title of most popular female singer in mainland China.

Even Zhuang Huai'an won the Best Lyricist Award.

This year's music awards ceremony generated a lot of discussion. Sun Nan, Pang Hong, and Qi Qi all lost the Most Popular Singer award, the Best Male Singer award was left vacant for the first time, and the second generation of dragons won the Most Promising Singer in Hong Kong award without even releasing an album, which was quite dramatic.

No one questions Liu Yifei, because her album "Little" is indeed impressive, and she also has a patriotic song called "Bauhinia Blossoms," which is said to protect her and ward off evil.

With the support of mainstream awards, Liu Yifei can now call herself a singer.

By the end of the month,

The "Little Swallow Pregnant Woman" scandal broke out.

Coupled with the "military flag incident" she was involved in two years ago, this once-famous actress was now universally condemned.

Although there are inside stories and twists in this matter, the fact that Xiao Yanzi dared to make a move on the other party during her pregnancy shows that this person is not only big-eyed but also very bold.

This incident had a very negative impact. Even Liu Gongzhu (a popular internet celebrity) made a program to criticize it. Her "boyfriend" backer died in a car accident last year while visiting her on set in Hoh Xil. Without the financial backing to help her control public opinion, people in the entertainment industry are also hesitant to speak out.

Only the two of them lacked discernment.

While Zhang Ziyi was still touring the promotional tour, she gave a media interview and made a few very righteous criticisms, saying things like "learning morality before learning art."

After this interview was released, it immediately attracted even more attention. Regardless of whether Zhang Ziyi has any professional ethics, it is undeniable that among mainland actresses today, she is second only to Gong Li.

Both being members of the golden generation of '96 and listed among the four leading actresses by the media, Zhang Ziyi and Xiao Yanzi have long harbored a grudge against each other.

There are rumors that when Zhang Yimou was making films about his father and mother, his first choice was Li Zi from the 96 class of the Central Academy of Drama, but this was just Li Zi's team giving her a boost in status.

Zhang Yimou's real first choice was Xiao Yanzi from the 96 class of Beijing Film Academy.

The role had already been booked, but Xiao Yanzi became a nationwide sensation because of "Princess Returning Pig". After much thought, Zhang Yimou felt that Xiao Yanzi was too spirited and couldn't portray the simplicity of "Zhao Di". So he went to the Central Academy of Drama to find someone.

When Xiao Yanzi learned of this news, she also thought that Zhang Ziyi had snatched the resources, so she took the initiative to get close to Columbia Pictures, which led to a series of leading roles in movies.

With Du Hua and Zhang Lu, two gossip experts, around, Zhuang Huai'an has plenty of gossip to enjoy every day.

The leading actresses of this era are truly willing to personally engage in public feuds!

Originally thought to be just a dispute between two big stars, who knew that a few days later, Chen Kun, who was known as one of the "Three Musketeers" of Beijing Film Academy along with Xiao Yanzi and Xiao Ming, also jumped out to support Bai Yueguang.

Due to public opinion constraints, Chen Kun did not mention the incident of Xiao Yanzi instructing the driver to beat someone, but instead responded to Zhang Ziyi's remarks.

"The old motto of the Beijing Film Academy is 'Upholding Morality, Establishing Words, and Establishing Actions.' Is Zhang Ziyi implying that the Beijing Film Academy doesn't know how to teach students?"

Good heavens, one sentence has stirred up a hornet's nest.

Chen Kun's words escalated the personal feud between the two men into a conflict between two major art academies.

Now even the celebrities who were just watching the drama couldn't sit still. Although it's not appropriate to comment on the Little Swallow incident, they could at least retaliate against Zhang Ziyi and Chen Kun's statements and defend the school!

So today, two actors from the Central Academy of Drama told the media that Chen Kun does not represent the Beijing Film Academy, and tomorrow two actors from the Beijing Film Academy will say that Zhang Ziyi is making a big deal out of nothing.

In an effort to capitalize on the hype, some well-connected media outlets somehow found a photo of the child Chen Kun supposedly "adopted," and after consulting with several so-called experts who compared the photo, they declared that this was Chen Kun's biological son!

They say you shouldn't bring trouble upon your family, but this news is like opening Pandora's box. You mess with me? Then I'll mess with you too!

In an instant,

Scandals involving various celebrities are flying everywhere, and even artists from the Shanghai Theatre Academy who were not involved in this vortex have been exposed quite a bit.

The incident escalated, turning the entire entertainment industry in August into a mess that people avoided at all costs.

"House of Flying Daggers" was the first victim, its box office revenue just exceeded 100 million yuan before it stopped growing and had to be pulled from theaters in a hurry.

Enraged, Zhang Weiping personally intervened, publicly berating Zhang Ziyi for causing trouble and stating that New Pictures would refuse to work with her again.

Simultaneously,

Another person came to Company 91 to block Zhuang Huai'an, wanting to hear his opinion on this matter, given his status as a prominent figure at Beijing Film Academy.

"I've heard about the situation, and based on the current debate, let me summarize for everyone: Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama, as the leading institutions in the domestic film and television industry, should complement each other, not cause disputes and damage harmony because of one person's baseless remarks."

Facing the camera, Zhuang Huai'an did not shy away from speaking freely.

"The following statement represents only my personal opinion. I believe that her dirty clothes do not represent the Central Academy of Drama, nor do Zhao Daye and Chen Kun represent the Beijing Film Academy. Both schools have stood the test of time and made indelible contributions to the development of the domestic film and television industry. I have said more than once that in my heart, the Beijing Film Academy is the best art school in the world, but I also respect the Central Academy of Drama. The reason why I say that the Beijing Film Academy is the best is because I am a student of the Beijing Film Academy and have benefited from the school."

Therefore, I urge all my colleagues to think twice before speaking and to quickly quell this pointless debate.

"Director Zhuang,"

A reporter interrupted him, saying slyly, "What you just said seems to have been an attempt to downplay the issue and smooth things over."

"I understand what this reporter means. You've come to ambush me just to create a bigger sensation, haven't you? I can give you that."

Zhuang Huai'an smiled and pointed at him, continuing, "As a director who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, I can't just rely on my thick skin to call on everyone to stop the war. Here, I'll state my position first: since both sides of the public opinion are wrong this time, I will not take sides."

I hereby formally announce that I, Zhuang Huai'an, along with 91 Company, Hollywood Sugar Company, and MGM Studios, are unilaterally blacklisting Zhang Ziyi, Xiao Yanzi, and Chen Kun, effective today. Furthermore, we will indefinitely refuse any investment in film or television productions involving these three individuals.

What the hell!

The reporters present were stunned. "I came to block the door just to ride the wave of popularity, but I didn't expect to get such a windfall."

Zhuang Huai'an waved his hand and laughed, "I've given you the juicy tidbit, everyone please go back now."

After saying that, he turned and walked into the company, surrounded by security guards.

"Director Zhuang, this..."

The reporters present came to their senses and looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Wow, that's amazing! They managed to ban two of the four leading actresses and one of the newly selected four leading actors with ease."

One reporter remarked, "It seems that this farce by the three of them has really angered Director Zhuang. Since his debut, he has never been known to have a falling out with anyone."

"That's right," someone chimed in, "After several award ceremony speeches, who doesn't know the Beijing Film Academy's place in Director Zhuang's heart?"

"If you ask me, Zhang Ziyi is an idiot too. She's an actress who became famous for wearing a bellyband, does she really think the success of 'House of Flying Daggers' owes something to her? And she dares to try and take advantage of the Beijing Film Academy?"

"Hey guys, two of these three are from the Beijing Film Academy. Do you think this might be something the Beijing Film Academy is behind?"

"It's hard to say, after all, these two are the face of the new generation at Beijing Film Academy."

"Nonsense! Among the new generation of actors at the Beijing Film Academy, only Director Zhuang has real star power; the rest are just amateurs!"

"have to."

An older reporter chuckled, "Let's not try to guess what the big boss is thinking. We should hurry back to the company and get the news out there."

"Brother, you're right!"

"Let's just back out. Once this news breaks, this matter will be over."

"Let's go!"

...

That night,

Five media outlets, including the Beijing Evening News, Southern Metropolis Daily, Shanghai Miscellaneous Talks, Quyi Stories, and Wenhui Magazine, simultaneously published Zhuang Huai'an's statement.

This news was like a bomb, turning the entire entertainment industry upside down.

Zhang Ziyi, Xiao Yanzi, and Chen Kun were utterly terrified and all tried to use their connections to plead for leniency.

One call after another was made, and all that could be heard from the phone was the busy signal.

Chen Kun's face was ashen.

He recalled an afternoon two years ago when he had sneered at the inexperienced Zhuang Huai'an, saying:

Can just any Tom, Dick, or Harry teach people to act?

The boomerang hit him squarely between the eyebrows.

Chen Kun knew he was finished.