Huayu: Just started as a stagehand, but the director's comeback system

By January 15th, the funds from Jianghuai Province began to take effect. In the absence of other major domestic films vying for the media spotlight, almost one in three news items was about Crazy Stone.

Whether for better or worse, Crazy Stone certainly made a lasting impression on many people.

On January 23, the movie Master of the Far Side was released. Industry insiders unanimously speculated that the investment amount of this movie exceeded one hundred million US dollars, making it a truly big-budget production.

Jiang Huai and Huang Bo went to see it that day, since the other film was still showing on February 2nd, and if the other film was too popular, it could affect Crazy Stone.

"Damn, Brother Long, this movie is awesome."

"Be civilized. You're going to be a big star someday."

Jiang Huai casually kicked Huang Bo, who had just left the movie theater. In the entertainment industry, no one cares what you do in private if it's not discovered, but in public, you should at least be civilized and set a good example.

Unlike Huang Bo's surprise, Jiang Huai was much relieved. The Battle of the Seas was indeed a good movie, with grand scenes and gorgeous special effects, but it was about sailing warfare, and China had never had a large-scale sailing war.

A movie without a solid foundation might be appealing in its early stages because of its visuals, but by February 2nd, it no longer posed any threat to Crazy Stone.

On January 29, 2004, just after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Jiang Huai, along with several lead actors who had returned to the capital, began the film's roadshow.

Jiang Huai didn't decide on too many locations, including the capital and six surrounding cities. His first stop was his alma mater, Beijing Film Academy.

Thanks to the overwhelming publicity, the group found the Beijing Film Academy auditorium already packed with people when they entered.

Compared to Jiang Huai, who had already graduated, everyone preferred to interview Huang Bo, who was still attending classes on campus. After answering some questions, Jiang Huai stopped trying to make a fool of himself and went to chat with his teacher.

"Hey Zhang, how have you been lately? Anything keeping you busy?"

Jiang Huai sidled up to the instructor who was watching from the side and secretly startled him.

"That's great, I didn't expect you to actually figure it out."

Zhang Hua had been in charge of Jiang Huai for four years, so he naturally knew Jiang Huai's temperament and didn't pay much attention to his current appearance.

However, he really didn't expect that Jiang Huai could actually make a movie. Although when Jiang Huai was in school, he asked him to give guidance on the things Jiang Huai wrote, and he mostly encouraged him, it was also because there was so much room for improvement in Jiang Huai.

For colleges like theirs, the film released some clips, which, although not revealing much, were enough to judge a director's storyboarding skills.

Thinking that Jiang Huai had made such great progress in just a few months since graduation, Zhang Hua also had doubts. Could it be that his teaching methods back then had really misled his students?

Thinking about this, Zhang Hua became somewhat absent-minded. Although he was not a teacher in the directing department, he could not allow the professors hired by the Beijing Film Academy to mislead students with his teaching methods.

After exchanging a few more polite words, Zhang Hua hurriedly left the auditorium. Although Jiang Huai didn't know what had happened, he still went to chat with other leaders.

He was definitely going to express his sincere gratitude for lending them the auditorium for free for their roadshow.

"Hello Dean Zhang, thank you so much for your help today."

Upon seeing the school's deputy secretary and dean arrive at the auditorium entrance, Jiang Huai immediately jogged over and addressed him as "dean" to appear more approachable.

Although the other party hasn't made a movie in a long time, now as long as they write a book, it will be used as a textbook in domestic film academies. Besides, their students are employed in all sorts of prestigious places. With just a little bit of their money, Jianghuai's small company can live a life of luxury.

"You're too kind, Xiao Jiang. I'm happy to see young people like you who have graduated from school doing so well."

Dean Zhang was also happy to see Jiang Huai beside him. The students from Beijing Film Academy were able to make movies right after graduation, and they were even majoring in dubbing. If word got out, wouldn't that make them even better than the students from Shanghai Theatre Academy and Central Academy of Drama?

Of course, regardless of how the movie performs at the box office, the other party is still a young person, and the fact that the movie was made is enough for him to brag about.

Like Zhang Hua, he didn't stay long either. After all, others wouldn't feel comfortable with him there. He went on stage to offer a few words of encouragement and then left with his companions by his side.

The roadshow for Beijing Film Academy was almost over, but no one dared to rest. Several other cinemas in the capital were also holding roadshows today, and these people would be contributing to the box office later.

The roadshow lasted until midnight, finally ending Jiang Huai and his group's schedule for the day. Although there were occasional challenges and questions along the way, nothing major happened. Back at the hotel, they didn't have a get-together, since they were moving to a different city early the next morning and it wouldn't be very interesting not to drink.

……

On February 2nd, the group finally stopped their promotional tour, but they didn't rest. Immediately after the movie's release, they started looking at reviews of the film on various portal websites.

"It's quite interesting. Compared to those American blockbusters, I'd rather watch comedies like Crazy Stone during the Lunar New Year."

Jiang Huai glanced at the mouse and continued scrolling down. These were all reviews that he had hired people to generate on portal websites, so they definitely couldn't reflect real movie reviews.

"It was so-so. The movie was all over the place, and Zhang Ziyi, who was talked about for so long, only appeared for a minute."

The first negative review appeared six hours after the movie's release, while there were still many positive reviews on it. Even though many people felt that Zhang Ziyi's screen time was too short, they all admitted that the movie was still good.

After checking several portal websites, Jiang Huai jumped up excitedly. He was now completely relieved. Based on the online reviews, the movie was likely a sure thing.

Jiang Huai, who was still at the company past midnight, immediately called over the main actors and asked them to bring some barbecue, just waiting for the first day's box office results.

Huang Bo was the first to arrive. He had been paying attention to the online comments about him. Unlike the last Thursday and Wednesday, the character Hei Pi was mentioned a lot. As soon as Huang Bo entered the company, he cheered in front of Jiang Huai.

"Brother Long, I have a feeling our movie is going to be a huge hit. What about the sponsorship deal with Baleno, and my endorsement too?"

Taking advantage of the fact that the others hadn't arrived yet, Huang Bo mentioned to Jiang Huai that they should contact Baleno in a few days.

"I remember even if you don't say it. Let's talk about it together after the movie's opening week box office results come out."

Jiang Huai certainly couldn't forget this, since sponsorships after a film's release wouldn't be recorded in the film's revenue sharing; as long as the other party paid the sponsorship fee, the amount would go directly into Jiang Huai's personal account.

Furthermore, if Huang Bo could become the spokesperson for Baleno or serve as its brand ambassador, the company would also receive income, given that a formal contract has already been signed.

Thinking of this, Jiang Huai immediately opened a bottle of red wine that Huang Bo had brought. The two looked at each other and smiled. Without any formalities, they each drank a large glass.