Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

Early the next morning,

Zhuang Huai'an received a message from the king.

[Director Zhuang, the skewer-loving Kekexili also wants to go to Berlin. Could you make another offer?]

Ha, what a pipe dream you're having.

Zhuang Huai'an sneered, threw his phone on the bedside table, and got up to wash up.

The movie "Kekexili: Mountain Patrol," which features barbecue skewers, was originally scheduled to be released on National Day, but it was postponed to the Lunar New Year holiday because the Asian regional manager of the investor, Columbia Pictures, had just taken office and had not yet sorted out various matters, and in addition, the aftermath of the incident involving Xiao Yanzi and others some time ago.

Sending "A World Without Thieves" to Berlin was a business deal; at least they had an original script and their own footage. But what about "Kekexili"? The documentary portion was almost entirely plagiarized!

The plagiarism detection rate is as high as 70%!

Zhuang Huai'an was unwilling to risk his reputation to endorse barbecue skewers.

However, Chuanzi never came out to criticize him from beginning to end. I don't know if it was because his father instructed him or because of the intimidation of being the "Holy Son of Beijing Film Academy".

As a result, Zhuang Huai'an had Zhong Lifang buy all the copyrights from Liu Yujun, the director of the documentary "Me and the Tibetan Antelope," early on. In case of unforeseen circumstances, he also granted all the copyrights to a subsidiary of MGM for five years for $1.

I was just thinking of waiting for the guy to jump out so I could stab him.

Unexpectedly, Chuanzi was quite pragmatic. Several times when they met, he didn't even dare to call him "Junior Brother," but instead addressed him as "Director Zhuang," making it difficult for Zhuang Huai'an to deal with him.

While plagiarism is indeed despicable, it must be said that the release of "Kekexili" has brought more attention to this region and indirectly prompted relevant departments to crack down on poaching.

Therefore,

Zhuang Huai'an had been thinking about how to make this fire burn brighter, and once the hype was widespread, he would get MGM to issue a direct warning. In today's world, such a transnational dispute could easily ruin the director's future career!

Do my family members watching this think I did the right thing?

the other side,

Seeing that Zhuang Huai'an hadn't replied to the message, the king understood what he meant. So he called over some barbecue skewers, explained the situation, and reassured him:

"Through yesterday's conversation, it's clear that Zhuang Huai'an has a deep-rooted foundation in the three major companies. Let Director Feng take the lead this time. Next time there's an opportunity, the company will definitely promote you."

He was somewhat reluctant to eat skewers; copying and creating "Kekexili" had nearly killed him, and the theme for his next film, which also involved copying and creating, was still nowhere in sight. How easy would it be to seize such an opportunity again?

After thinking about it, Lu Chuan had a sudden inspiration: why not have Lu's father use his connections at the Beijing Film Academy to contact Zhuang Huai'an? Feng Kuzi is willing to give up his profits, so I can too!

But he dismissed the thought as soon as it crossed his mind; Chuanzi was just bad, not stupid.

Compared to Zhuang Huai'an, the two of them, father and son, were nothing more than roadside figures, and he had no right to control the film's profits. What could they possibly use to negotiate?

A profound sense of loss washed over him, and Chuanzi finally realized the gap between a sect's direct disciples and a holy son.

"Yes, Mr. Wang, I accept the arrangement."

The king saw the boy's resentment and sneered inwardly, "If it weren't for your father's connections, would you even be worthy of Huayi Investment?"

In the afternoon,

Zhong Lifang brought two documents to Da Wang, and after affixing the official seal to each, the contract became effective, and they were just waiting for the shortlist to be released.

A few days later, the king called to say that "A World Without Thieves" had been sent to Berlin and the information had been registered just in time for the penultimate day.

Upon learning the news, Zhuang Huai'an also sent an email to the middleman, Volker Schlöndorff, and the matter was settled.

There is one month left in 2004.

Some media outlets have re-ranked the "Four Dan Actresses" and "Four Little Fresh Meat," with Zhang Ziyi and Fan Bingbing replacing them. The two no longer need to force themselves to ride on the coattails of others' popularity, finally fulfilling their wish.

The four leading men are Xiaoming and Tong Dawei, who are "enemies"; Nie Yuan, a disciple of Chen Long, who is known for his clear thinking; and Yan Kuan.

These eight individuals have once again formed a new generation of top-tier players in mainland China.

At the same time, they also created a group of four young actresses: Liu Yifei, Shu Chang, Dong Xuan, and Wan Qian. The latter three are all artists from Madou Media, and all four are closely related to Zhuang Huai'an.

For a time, 91 Company became a mecca for many young actors, and in some people's eyes, the name Du Hua was even more effective than that of Wang Jinhua, the top agent in mainland China.

"Love Like a Bouquet" was originally intended for the Lunar New Year release, but after Professor Ren's coordination, it was finally scheduled for December 22, two days before Christmas Eve. After all, foreign monks are better at chanting scriptures, and Christmas Eve in Shanghai and other areas is still very lively.

Since his debut, Zhuang Huai'an has taken the initiative to bring the crew to participate in various promotional programs for the first time. The main crew members are the male lead Qin Hao and the female lead Dong Xuan, both of whom are newcomers to the film industry. Even good wine needs advertising.

Upon learning that Zhuang Huai'an needed publicity channels, the first company to visit was Guangxian. Wang Changtian had already benefited greatly from their previous efforts, so this time he came directly with a camera.

Zhuang Huai'an did not refuse. In the entertainment news industry in mainland China today, Enlight Media is indeed a leader. Its flagship program, "Entertainment Live," has cooperation agreements with more than 100 TV stations, not to mention the network information team he has.

The true king of online trolls.

However, since "Entertainment Live" mainly focuses on news reporting, this time they recorded a different program, "China Radio and Television Report × Celebrity," a traditional one-on-one interview program. Lao Wang once again took the microphone and personally served as the host.

As a top student from Fudan University and a journalist who had worked within the system for several years, Lao Wang's interview content was naturally not limited to the film itself. Faced with this seasoned veteran, Qin Hao and Dong Xuan were easily defeated with just a few words, and kept casting pleading glances at the unscrupulous boss who was watching the commotion from the sidelines.

Zhuang Huai'an didn't stop him. If he wanted to pique people's curiosity and get them into the movie theater, some ambiguous gossip was necessary. Besides, Lao Wang was quite sensible and hadn't touched on any privacy issues yet.

"Director Zhuang,"

At the end of the interview, Lao Wang suddenly changed the subject, "Your previous films have always focused on human nature and the lives of the underprivileged. What made you want to make a romance film this time?"

"Because I'm still a young man myself," Zhuang Huai'an took the microphone. "Mr. Wang, I have to add a special element to your statement: this is a special kind of romance film."

"Oh? Director Zhuang means it will be like the 'Gone Girl' type?"

"It's not that abnormal,"

Zhuang Huai'an smiled and said, "But there is something in common between the two. If the disappearing lover is the seven-year itch of marriage, then the bouquet is the seven-year itch of dating. The former is horror, and the latter is regret."

A quiet, unnoticed regret.

Wang Changtian wanted to ask a few more questions, but the director stepped forward and whispered, "That's enough, boss. We've recorded for about two hours, and it's all solid content. We could make two episodes."

Old Wang quickly raised his hand to look at his watch, and it was indeed true.

"Okay, I'll say a few more words to wrap things up."

After giving Zhuang Huai'an a look, Lao Wang turned to the camera and read out the names of the sponsors' brands, ending the interview.

"Tsk, Brother Wang, judging from that long list of brand names, you must have made a fortune!"

"Haha," Wang Changtian waved his hand, "Small-scale business is nothing to mention, nothing to mention."

"Alright, shall we go upstairs and brew a pot?"

"Let's go."