Chapter 175: Shock the Investors

In Screening Room One of the Beijing Film Studio, the lights gradually dimmed.

Zhang Weiping, with one leg crossed over the other, idly twirled a fountain pen: "Xiang Shao, you must've spent quite a bit on the special effects for this film, right?"

Xiang Fei smiled without speaking, simply pressing the remote.

On the screen, the deep blue ocean suddenly split apart; a twenty-meter-long megalodon shark burst out of the water, and the laser projection made every single fang gleam with a chilling glint.

"Holy shit!" The popcorn in Wang Zhonglei's hand scattered all over the floor.

Han Shanping's glasses slid down to the tip of his nose and he forgot to push them back; Zhang Weiping's fountain pen clattered onto the floor with a "clack."

When the end credits lit up, the screening room fell dead silent for a full ten seconds.

Wang Zhongjun was the first to leap to his feet: "This the fuck is domestic special effects?!"

"To be precise, it should be." Xiang Fei pointed at the credits.

Zhang Weiping's hands trembled as he bent down to pick up the pen: "It has to open during the National Day slot! Whoever tries to grab it, I'll go after them!"

Han Shanping suddenly pulled out his phone: "I'm calling the movie channel right now to give up the screening slots for 'Mother and Son'!"

The small conference room was wreathed in smoke.

"The entire first day of National Day is yours." Wang Zhongjun slapped the screening schedule. "But Huayi wants the overseas distribution rights."

Zhang Weiping immediately bristled: "Bullshit! Our New Picture has already invested two million in domestic promotion!"

Xiang Fei leisurely brewed tea: "Here's the deal—if domestic box office breaks one billion, I'll give everyone red envelopes; if it breaks two billion..."

"Then what?" several voices asked in unison.

"I'll get Jackie Chan to get bitten by two sharks in the sequel."

Amid the group's laughter, Han Shanping suddenly turned serious: "Honestly, this film can change Hollywood's perception of Chinese-language cinema."

The next morning at dawn, billboards at bus stops in thirty cities across the country were simultaneously replaced with massive posters.

Beside the still of Jia Jingwen being chased by the shark were blood-red characters: "The Only Deep-Sea Disaster Epic This National Day!"

Wang Zhonglei was screaming into the phone until his voice went hoarse: "Buy out the ad slots before the Xinwen Lianbo broadcast, all the way until one week before release! Yes! That AR effect of the 'shark leaping out of the phone'!"

At the same time, Xiang Sheng of Xiangjiang Yongsheng personally took charge of the battle.

On the LED mega-screen at Victoria Harbour, footage of Jackie Chan battling the shark played on loop, drawing tourists to stop and watch.

Jackie Chan went even further—at a promotional event in Times Square, he suddenly shoved the host into an inflatable pool: "This is what happens if you don't buy a ticket!"

The most hard-working was Wang Qianyuan—this guy actually wore a wetsuit on his road show tour, and when he entered theaters he brought his own "shark attack" screaming sound effects.

A professor at Tsinghua posted on Weibo: "'The Meg' marks the true maturation of China's film industrialization."

The result was roasted by netizens: "Professor, wake up! The thing that dies the most miserably in this film is your theory!"

The most savage was a piece by a Hollywood reporter: "When Chinese directors can make monster movies like this, we're still making Forrest Gump..."

On the eve of release, Xiang Fei stood on the rooftop of his company, gazing at the billboards filling the city.

Zhang Hong came running with a bird's-nest hairdo: "Xiang Shao! Just got word—presales broke two hundred million!"

"Mm, not bad. Tell Uncle Han to ramp up promotion. At tomorrow's premiere, everyone must be there."

Xiang Fei stood up, walked to the window, looked at the night view of Jingcheng, and took a sip of red wine.

"Alright, Xiang Shao, do you think this time we can hit two billion at the box office?" Zhang Weiping gazed at this man who had created a miracle in Chinese cinema, and couldn't help but ask.

"Where sincerity goes, even metal and stone will yield—how would we know without trying?" Xiang Fei said, holding up his wine glass and looking at the red wine inside.