Bright Era of China Entertainment

Chapter 842 Something is going to happen
"After two and a half years of waiting, it's finally going to be released!" - shouts from the fan group.

As fans, of course we all hope that our two idols can make a movie, given the idea that movies are superior to TV dramas, which came from nowhere, is unclear whether it is correct, and has subtly influenced everyone.

However, since the movie "New Police Story" in 04, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei seemed to have no intention of entering the film industry and have been filming TV series until now.

However, at the beginning of 2007, there was a rumor that Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei were going to make a movie, which made them very happy and looked forward to it.

However, from the online rumor at the end of 07 that Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei appeared in the Hong Kong Cheng family team for suspected pre-shooting training, to the official press conference in early 2008, and then to the announcement of the completion of filming during the summer vacation in the middle of the year, to now in the middle of 2009, nearly two and a half years have passed, and there is still no news of the film's release. It's really anxious.

Some time ago, it was rumored that the movie would be released during the National Day holiday, but there was no clear official announcement. In addition, there were too many groundless rumors on the Internet, which made people doubtful about such news.

It was not until seeing Reuters reports on the film's roadshow that some fans became convinced that the film would be released during the National Day holiday.

As a veteran fan of the entertainment industry, I naturally understand some rules regarding film and television dramas. For movies, if the crew starts a roadshow, it means that the movie is about to be released.

The fans are very happy. The movie they have been waiting for two and a half years is finally going to be released. It is also a authentic domestic science fiction movie that has never been seen in China before. Their two idols are the male and female protagonists in it, which makes them look forward to it very much.

"Let's go to Wuzhen! The final destination of the roadshow in Zhejiang is Wuzhen. Anyone want to go with me?"

As the leader of the 'Chu Yifeixuan' fan club, Xiaoyun began to organize herself spontaneously while in Shenghai.

Wuzhen is in Jiaxing, which is adjacent to the SJ District of Shenghai in the east. It is very close to Shenghai, and it is the weekend, which obviously makes the time arrangement for office workers very down-to-earth.

In the past, all activities in the capital were organized by Xiaoxi, the deputy leader. Now that the idol is so close to her, it is her turn to organize a wave of offline support activities.

Compared to the attention fans pay to their idols, every piece of news will always spread in the fan circle at the first time, making it seem like this matter is very popular. But in fact, it is just a roadshow, and it did not cause much heat when it was published on the Internet by passers-by in the form of Reuters.

#Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei's movie roadshow leaked photos#, this topic was on the hot search for a while, but it only stayed there for a few hours before it fell off the hot search list. It was obvious that netizens came for these two names, but were not interested in the content of the roadshow. The situation that they could only go to Wuzhen to watch a movie was even less attractive.

Instead, it was the official Weibo of #天幕：兵临城市# that sparked a small-scale heated discussion among many movie fans and science fiction movie enthusiasts.

"It's been two and a half years. You're finally alive. Do you know how I've been living these past two and a half years?"

"China's first science fiction film, I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to Wuzhen by bus on the 25th, don't let my trip be in vain!"

"When I first heard about it, it was still non-mainstream. When I see you again, you are already Mediterranean. Back then, you left me after you spread the news. Today, when I hear the news, I will definitely come to you with a bald head."

"Talents have always emerged from the comment section, and the above is excellent!"

“I’m not free on the 25th, but the 26th is fine. I’m coming to Wuzhen. Please don’t let me down, Skyrim!!”

In terms of the level of attention and expectations for this movie, the most popular ones are Cheng Long's fans and movie fans who love science fiction elements.

于诚龙的影迷而言，诚龙从豪莱坞回归国内后，拍过04年的《新警察故事》、05年的《神话》、06年的《宝贝计划》、07年的《功夫之王》、08年的《兵临城下》。

Cheng Long has a very obvious transformation in his personality compared to the first two. Movie fans are well aware that Cheng Long is too old to perform action scenes and wants to transform, but although it is clear, the style effect of this transformation is not obvious and is not satisfactory.

The subsequent "Baby Project" returned to the Cheng Long-style comedy, and the original feeling was indeed back a little, but the visual fatigue was still very serious. The routine of the movie plot had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of movie fans, and they could only give a mediocre evaluation of this movie. In their eyes, Cheng Long still had no breakthrough and did not give any surprises.

As for the 07 "The Forbidden Kingdom", it is difficult to comment on it. Apart from the few minutes of fighting with Jet Li, which were quite exciting, it is better not to watch the rest.

In the eyes of movie fans, it’s hard to say whether these four movies are good or not, but none of them can be considered a success for Jackie Chan. They are far from the level of Jackie Chan during the period of the world-famous "Rush Hour".

Now another blockbuster "Enemy at the Gates" is about to be released, and it will be the second collaboration with Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei. The two supporting roles, one big and one small, in "New Police Story" are now promoted to the male and female protagonists. What kind of changes and sparks will they bring with Jackie Chan?
Moreover, this is a science fiction film that Jackie Chan has never filmed before. Even though the previous four works did not bring any surprises, they are still looking forward to this movie.

For science fiction fans, the reason for looking forward to this movie is even simpler, simply because there are no real science fiction movies in the country.

Even though there have been one or two movies and TV series with science fiction elements in the past, those things cannot be considered film and television special effects at all, so it is difficult for people to associate them with the word "science fiction". Moreover, most of the movies and TV series with science fiction elements appeared in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and there was only one movie in mainland China, "Magic Phone".

"Magic Phone" is a fantasy drama, but forget about science fiction.

Since the micro-film "Hope" was released in 06, its gorgeous special effects and high-precision picture texture have made science fiction fans regard it as a domestic science fiction masterpiece. Later, "Hope" won the Cannes Award abroad, which made fans even more pleased and appreciative.

I thought the next one would be the movie "Hope", expanding the micro-movie into a normal screen movie, but the production team, which was once the most popular, chose to take a step back and came up with "Enemy at the Gates".

The official Weibo account of "Hope" stated that "it takes preparation and adjustment, and we hope that fans will give it some time." Although fans regret not being able to see the film in time, they can understand it. After all, micro-movies are different from regular movies, and the preparations must be even more cumbersome.

However, the special effects team of "Enemy at the Gates" and the special effects team of "Hope" are from the same company. Considering the quality of "Hope", the special effects of "Enemy at the Gates" should not be bad either. With the participation of Cheng Long, Chu Xuan, Liu Yifei and a group of veteran big-name actors, this movie is really worth looking forward to.

The end point of the Zhejiang roadshow is Wuzhen. Even though they are far away from Wuzhen in various parts of the country, some Chenglong fans and science fiction fans are ready to buy tickets to come here.

Fans chase stars, moviegoers chase movies, viewers watch Reuters, and onlookers peek at the screen... The small response caused by the roadshow is treated differently by different groups of people.

However, in addition to this, the competitors of this year's National Day holiday are taking this matter more deeply and paying more attention to it.

——Beijing Huayi Brothers Group.

On the sofa in the office, Wang Zhongjun sat in front of the tea tray, holding a cup of tea in his hand. The cup lid was half-covered with a tiny crack, and tea trickled down into the small cup through the crack.

He poured the tea slowly, looking like a tea master: "It's still more than two months away from the release, and the roadshow has already begun. I'm looking forward to it."

Although the release date of "Enemy at the Gates" has not been confirmed yet, Huayi is naturally qualified to know the planned news from the theater alliance in advance given its size.

Although the release date has not been set, the October 10st release date is set in stone. With a large production and cast, plus the support of the China Film Group, there is no objection or doubt about the film occupying a place in the National Day holiday.

Wang Zhonglei chuckled: "An investment of 2 million yuan, from Chenglong, Chu Xuan, and Liu Yifei, how can the expectations be small? It's within expectations."

Under normal circumstances, it is enough to hold a few roadshows one month before the movie is released. After the roadshow, previews, premieres and pre-sales will be carried out in one go. A tight schedule can better generate popularity and allow the audience's enthusiasm to be effectively and timely exerted into buying movie tickets. Such a "one-month" promotion model is also common in the industry.

In the past few years, Brilliant Times has also released two movies, both of which are from Ning Hao's "Crazy" series. There is a gap of two or three years between the two movies. This shows that Brilliant Times did not devote too many resources to the development of movies before. Otherwise, it would not be one movie every two or three years, but a development model like Huayi with two or three movies a year.

The brothers speculated that they were not ready for competition before the Brilliant Era and had been waiting for an opportunity.

This opportunity is when the box office market rises to a certain level and the cinema system of Brilliant Times expands to a certain scale. When the two are achieved and added together, Brilliant Times can drop another bomb and take off with the wind.

The high box office proves that the local science fiction pioneered by Brilliant Era is feasible, which means that Brilliant Era is leading the industry. If the market recognizes the brand strength of this domestic science fiction, Brilliant Era will benefit greatly.

It goes without saying that the larger the cinema system, the greater its voice. The greater the voice, the fewer constraints there are in scheduling films, and naturally the greater the push for high box office.

Brilliant Times is organizing a roadshow for "Enemy at the Gates" so early, which is incomparable to the promotion of Ning Hao's "Crazy" series.

Brilliant Times obviously has the idea of ​​raising the popularity to a higher level than the normal market situation, so as to make a big splash in the film circle when the film is released and officially enter the film industry.

In this way, the glorious era of making several movies a year may be coming, and they will have to share some of this growing pie.

This is the speculation of the two brothers, and it should be almost correct.

"When Hope came out, I thought The Forbidden Kingdom could compete with this movie, but I didn't expect Hope to be cancelled."

"Another "Enemy at the Gates" came out, and I thought it could compete with "The Forbidden Kingdom" at the same time, but I didn't expect their efficiency to be so slow. It took almost 3 years to get it released."

Hearing Wang Zhonglei's words, Wang Zhongjun smiled faintly and poured him a cup of tea: "For science fiction, the pre-production and post-production are tedious and complicated. Even Hollywood science fiction takes two years to make, let alone them."

Wang Zhonglei nodded: "I couldn't meet them when I wanted to, but now I have met them. It's really a coincidence."

"The Whistleblower", a spy war film, is led by two Huayi ace artists Zou Xun and Huang Xiaoming, plus "Little Swallow" Zhao Wei, with supporting roles by a group of big names including Zhang Hanyu, Su Youpeng, Wang Zhiwen, Yingda, etc. It is scheduled to be released on October 10, which coincides with "Enemy at the Gates".

Just as Wang Zhonglei said, when you want to use special effects to meet special effects, you can't meet them. When you give up this idea, the competition comes just in time.

If the films are released at different times, they can avoid head-on confrontation and the loss of profits caused by the collision will be reduced.

But if they are both released on October 10st, that means they will be released on the same day and the same day, and they will have to compete head-on for 1 consecutive days.

However, science fiction cannot be said to be unpopular in China. It can only be said to be a pioneering genre that is even less popular than unpopular.

In the past two years, spy wars have been the mainstream and are a subject that conforms to the current public aesthetic.

"When the mainstream and the pioneering flow fight, it's no wonder if they win, but it's not a good look if they lose." Wang Zhonglei said, holding up the teacup, with a joking tone mixed with seriousness.

Wang Zhongjun hummed "huh", said nothing, and picked up the teacup to drink tea.

Logically speaking, when the mainstream collides with the pioneering, the former's natural mass market cannot be compared with the latter at all, so there is nothing to worry about.

But to be honest, the special effects strength demonstrated by Brilliant Times in the previous "Hope", Tang Jili, a blockbuster director who is very familiar with the Hollywood style, the market situation where the audience's aesthetic taste for blockbusters is increasingly inclined towards the West, and a large cast such as Cheng Long, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei who are not weaker than "The Sound of the Wind" or even stronger than it, all of these cannot be ignored.

When you put all these elements together, the so-called mainstream or pioneering, it's hard to say whether the advantage belongs to me or him.

It would be fine if other companies were competing with them, but this company is Brilliant Times.

Back then, Wang Jinhua led his group to leave Huayi. This grudge made the brothers have a bad impression of Brilliant Times, but at least they still felt unhappy.

No permanent friends, only permanent interests.

We have collaborated before on "Zhu Xian" and "Assembly", which was a win-win situation in terms of interests, and all the grudges can be put aside.

But now that Brilliant Times is about to enter the film industry, a head-on collision in the film industry is about to come, and then there will be a collision between companies. This is an ironclad competitive relationship, and it is no longer the marginal relationship of one making TV series and the other making movies.

Be it Wang Jinhua or Chu Xuan, they were just their subordinates before, but now they have to confront them head-on.

Based on this kind of grudge relationship, it would be fine if an old company won the fight, but if it lost, it would be somewhat embarrassing in the industry.

Of course, face and other things are trivial matters and are nothing in the face of interests.

His focus is not on this competition. The market will judge who will win and who will lose during this National Day holiday. Whether "Enemy at the Gates" becomes a hit or their "The Sound of Wind" takes the lead or some other dark horse emerges, it is just another game in the film industry in a year over the years.

His focus is that if "Enemy at the Gates" is the winner, it means that a pioneering science fiction has defeated a group of mainstream market players, and then Brilliant Era will be the leading industry player in the capital market including investors, and subsequent developments will pose many obstacles to the development of Huayi Brothers.

But then again, if Enemy at the Gates is a winner, it will prove that the domestic science fiction market is digible, and it will open up another avenue for the development of the industry, including Huayi, which is also beneficial to them. The brothers have talked about this before.

However, even if it is favorable, they cannot escape the fact that the brilliant era is ahead of them and the industry.

No one who has the ability is willing to follow behind others.

They, Huayi Brothers, are the top stars in mainland China. Even though many people in the industry believe that Brilliant Times is already the leader of the mainland entertainment industry, let’s not talk about that for now, but in terms of movies, it is undisputed that they are number one.

Who wants to be number two when you can always be number one?

To achieve this, Enemy at the Gates must not be the winner.

"Let's see. It's just the roadshow. We'll see how the pre-sales perform." Wang Zhongjun stood up, stretched, and yawned. "There are four confirmed movies that will be released in October, including our "The Sound of Wind" and the planned "Enemy at the Gates". The ones that are still under discussion will probably add up to 10 or . They are all competitors. No one can see the situation clearly before the pre-sales are released. As long as the pre-sales meet the target, anyone can become a dark horse."

"That's true." Wang Zhonglei nodded.

The potential of a movie before its release is largely reflected in the pre-sale box office. There are still two months to go before the pre-sale period, which starts a few days in advance on October 10. Whether it is "The Message" or "Enemy at the Gates", only by then can we predict the release situation through the pre-sale situation.

However, pre-sale tickets are different from release tickets. Release tickets are non-refundable, but pre-sale tickets are refundable.

Once a wave of ticket refunds starts, the movie schedule will be greatly affected on the theater side.

If the pre-sales of Enemy at the Gates are good, then this would be the best time to think of something to do...

(End of this chapter)