Chapter 186: The Collapsing Reputation and Zhou Xun's Plans

On July 10, the large-scale historical epic *Red Cliff*, with a budget of 600 million, was officially released.

Prior to this, relevant media had already published news headlines claiming that "the 2008 Summer Slot will undoubtedly belong to *Red Cliff*"; after all, the film had been the subject of much hype and buzz for nearly two years, and audiences were highly expectant.

As for theater chains, almost all gave *Red Cliff* the highest number of screenings. There were few other major films released during the same period, and compared to a massive production like *Red Cliff*, there was no need to even consider them, with the exception of the Hollywood blockbuster *Hancock*.

This film starred Will Smith, who still held a certain level of influence in the country, and it also rode the coattails of *Superman*; after being released for over a week, its box office had already reached 40 million, which could indeed pose a certain threat to *Red Cliff*.

Benefiting from the as-yet-untarnished reputation of Wu Baige, the addition of a host of well-known actors, the large fan base of the original work, and the super-high screening allocation from theaters, the film's opening day box office reached as high as 31.3 million.

This result surpassed the opening day box office record of 31 million set by *Brotherhood of Blades*, refreshing the domestic film opening day box office record.

For a time, many media outlets predicted that *Red Cliff* would very likely create a new box office record and might even break the 400 million mark.

China Film Group and the various investors were grinning from ear to ear; looking at this momentum, the media's predictions might truly come to pass.

However, Wei Jin knew that ever since Yinxiang Net went public, opening day box office did not represent everything; the key still depended on word-of-mouth.

Sure enough, unlike the unanimous praise from the media, the word-of-mouth online was simply indescribable; a large number of viewers who had seen the film gave low ratings one after another, followed by their own rants.

Dengxiawuying: "What kind of trash did Wu Baige film? It simply ruined a classic."

Xingyueshenhua666: "After watching the entire 2.5-hour movie, all I remember is 'Mengmeng, stand up'; it was just f***ing ridiculous."

Against the Heavens: "Hong Kong directors filming gangster movies truly never disappoint; the struggle between the Cao and Sun gangs, plus the subplot of stealing a woman, is truly something to savor."

Boredom Personified: "The person above understands how to review. I just want to ask, does the screenwriter have shit in their brain?"

God of War's Pride: "It is said that screenwriter Lu Wei's script was thrown away by Wu Baige long ago; basically, none of it was written by him."

Glory of Wei: "Only China Film Group is foolish and rich enough to let Wu Baige ruin things; actually, this guy's reputation in Hollywood has long since stunk."

Great Dao of the Primordial: "To the one above, elaborate, please elaborate."

Soon, this knowledgeable netizen dug up Wu Baige's classic track record in Hollywood—single-handedly nearly bankrupting the Hollywood giant MGM.

In 2002, MGM, already in a state of distress, took a gamble and took out the company's limited remaining funds, 120 million USD, to support Wu Baige in filming *Windtalkers*.

As a result, after three weeks of release, the film's box office was no more than 30 million USD; MGM lost everything, and a group of executives resigned collectively, adding insult to injury for an already difficult situation.

Although one cannot simply attribute the decline of MGM to Wu Baige, the fact that *Windtalkers* had a dismal box office and lost over 100 million is an indisputable fact. From then on, Wu Baige never received any more projects in Hollywood and had no choice but to return to the country to develop.

Nidenmingzi5cm: "Hehe, seeing everyone ranting, I feel relieved. I recommend everyone watch Director Wei's graduation speech; he predicted it two years ago that Hong Kong directors can't film historical movies well. He is truly god-like."

Soon, quite a few netizens actually found the resource; no one knew which little cutie from Beijing Film Academy uploaded the video.

Cigarette in Hand: "Holy crap, it's actually true. *Red Cliff* hadn't even been greenlit back then, right? He could predict this? I suggest the relevant authorities investigate; could this guy be an alien?"

Xianzhizhimingchuanfang: "Seconded +1."

There were simply too many trolls on the internet, and soon the thread went off-topic, but it was undeniable that the word-of-mouth for *Red Cliff* had collapsed.

On the second day of release, the box office dropped to 24 million, and for the following two days of the weekend, the box office would usually see a surge according to convention; unexpectedly, *Red Cliff* broke this rule.

The Saturday box office was 23 million, and the Sunday box office was 19 million; the total box office for the first four-day weekend was over 97 million, which greatly exceeded the expectations of the media and the producers.

Interested parties had already begun to notice the addition and damage that Yinxiang Net ratings had on films. Shanhe Technology had already received a call from the producers of *Red Cliff*, stating that as long as the reviews could be controlled, the public relations fees were not an issue, but they were ruthlessly rejected. Are you kidding? Wouldn't that just turn it into Douban? Eventually, even Han Sanping called Wei Jin, and Wei Jin only replied with one sentence: "Han Dong, do you think a film's box office performance is more important, or is a fair, just, and healthy film market environment more important?"

Upon hearing this, Han Sanping silently hung up the phone. — *Red Cliff* was still in theaters, but Mainland China audiences had already started watching it as a comedy; whether it was the lines or the plot, everyone was unable to immerse themselves in the serious atmosphere of the Three Kingdoms.

The over-emphasized romance, Xiao Qiao entering the Cao camp alone, and the awkward and funny lines—these had been parodied by netizens online in various ways these past few days.

Even Wu Baige himself said that he filmed this movie with a romantic and humorous mindset, and the theme was anti-war.

This made Han Sanping so angry; you, as a director, why are you adding to the chaos at a time like this? At least this Zuoshandiao was still in good health, otherwise, Wu Baige would have truly achieved fame and success.

However, the news from Japan made Han Sanping breathe a sigh of relief; for such a small market, the opening day box office was actually about the same as in Mainland China, which could be considered "the east is dark, but the west is bright."

Yu Feihong took the initiative to contact Wei Jin; the promotion for *Love Is Not Blind* had already begun. This film was targeting the Qi Xi Festival, but to be honest, the release date was not very good, as it was sandwiched right between *Now You See Me* and *The Incredible Hulk*; furthermore, the release period coincided with the Olympic opening ceremony.

But there was no help for it; it was originally a niche romance film adapted from a niche story. Fortunately, the copyright was sold for 1 million USD, and Wei Jin did not have too many expectations. It was possible that this film would become the Waterloo of Shanhe Media's distribution history.

Fortunately, the sales of the theme song *If Love* were quite good; Li Jian's singing skills were truly no joke. Since its release at the end of June, it had been crazily topping major music charts, which did bring quite a bit of heat to the film.

The domestic promotion for *Now You See Me* was not that grand; Wei Jin's drawing power was already there. As for North America, several actors had already started running promotions, and global promotion would begin after the release; it would just be hard work for the actors. — *The Equation of Love and Death* had officially finished its run, with a box office of just 40 million. In terms of box office alone, including marketing and distribution, it barely broke even.

Teacher Cao was embarrassed to hold a celebration banquet, but Wei Jin indicated that the main cast could still have a simple celebration.

The place for the celebration was a private kitchen restaurant in Beijing. There weren't many people; including the crew staff, there were not even two tables of people. It looked a bit desolate, but the main cast members were all very supportive. Just kidding, Boss Wei came in person; even if it were a street food stall, they would have been happy to eat there.

Wei Jin did not intervene in this film at all; the actors were all chosen by Teacher Cao himself, and they were all acquaintances: Zhou Xun, Deng Chao, Zhang Hanyu, Wang Baoqiang. "Baoqiang, Teacher Cao praised your acting skills as quite good. Keep it up; you will provide spiritual support to many actors with dreams."

Wei Jin's words were filled with emotion. The entertainment industry was becoming increasingly closed off; even the admissions of domestic art academies were starting to involve all kinds of connections, and ordinary people simply couldn't squeeze in. Over these years, the only one who truly walked from the bottom into the circle and became famous was Wang Baoqiang. As for the female version of Baoqiang, Zhao Xiaodao, she was still playing bit parts at this moment.

"Boss Wei, thank you for your recognition. I will. I'll toast you."

Wang Baoqiang and Wei Jin's collaboration was not just once or twice. He was very grateful for the opportunities Wei Jin gave him and could also feel Wei Jin's appreciation for him. If his contract hadn't already been signed with Huayi, and Wei Jin had never made an offer, he would have likely jumped ship long ago.

"I heard you're dating? And she's a college student?"

"Yes, yes. I don't have much education, and I've suffered for it, so I must find someone with education, for the sake of the next generation."

Wang Baoqiang's simple and honest words made everyone at the table burst into laughter.

Looking at Wang Baoqiang's happy expression, Wei Jin nodded; there were some things that outsiders couldn't talk about.

During the meal, Deng Chao and Zhang Hanyu also came over to toast separately. It was said that they didn't get along well during *Assembly*, but Wei Jin didn't notice it; it was also possible that in this kind of setting, it wasn't easy to show it.

After the dinner, Wei Jin originally planned to go to Gao Yuanyuan's place, but he was held back by Zhou Xun. — "Old Wei, I plan to leave Huayi and set up a studio. Do you want to take a stake?"

Zhou Xun was not a coy person; as soon as she sat down in the tea house private room, she got straight to the point.

She still had one year left on her contract with Huayi, but this could not hinder her determination to leave; staying at Huayi was simply too stifling.

If she wanted box office, she had the box office record *Painted Skin*; if she wanted awards, she had plenty—Golden Rooster, Hong Kong Film Awards, Best Actress, Shanghai Magnolia Awards; she had won almost every one that could be named.

But even so, she was always suppressed by Li Bingbing at Huayi; anyone would have thoughts if they were in her shoes.

"Alright, you're delivering yourself to me to be exploited."

Regarding Zhou Xun's proposal, Wei Jin naturally had no objections. Although he had refused before, that was for a management contract; now, studio cooperation was different. There was no shortage of Taiwan capital; it was hard to say about film resources, but as for TV dramas, it would depend on whether Zhou Xun could let go of her status.

"By the way, did Chen Guofu mention any projects to you?"

"It's *The Message*, right? You used this to exchange for the stock subscription rights, didn't you? The company is currently considering casting. Li Bingbing has been running around quite diligently. Do you think highly of it?"

"Yes, this script has the potential to win awards, and the box office will likely not be low."

"Director Chen asked for my opinion. I'm still considering it. Hearing you say that, I'm interested."

Wei Jin nodded; it seemed Chen Guofu still held Zhou Xun in high regard, and this man would certainly persist when it came to his own films, so the only role left to scheme about was the other one.

"By the way, how is the progress on Painted Skin 2?"

Since the project had been handed over to Wu Ershan, Wei Jin had rarely asked about it, so he actually didn't know the specific progress.

The starring lineup for this film still continued to use Zhou Xun and Chen Kun, while the other roles were all arranged by the Artist Department itself.

Of course, Zhang Xu also understood his boss's temperament; if the acting skills were not up to par or the director did not approve, he naturally wouldn't force anyone in.

"The director you found does have ability, it's just that he films too slowly. The three-month schedule I was given doesn't look like it will be enough; you'll have to increase my pay when the time comes."

Although Zhou Xun was speaking in a complaining tone, she was still very grateful to Wei Jin in her heart; after signing with Huayi, her own company hadn't provided her with any resources.

On the contrary, here on Wei Jin's side, with two consecutive films, The Equation of Love and Death and Painted Skin 2, although there were considerations regarding the director's choice and the film series, it was ultimately a huge favor, which was also the reason she was willing to let Wei Jin buy a stake in her Studio.

"He's a new director, you have to be more understanding. Besides, do you think everyone is like me?"

Regarding his own filming speed, Wei Jin was quite confident; generally speaking, for other directors, a project took at least six months to a year, while he could basically get it done in three or four months.

"Like you in what way? Fast? Old Wei, let me tell you, it's not good for a man to be too fast, hahaha."

Having known each other for a long time, Zhou Xun was also familiar with Wei Jin's temperament; by joking appropriately, their relationship became even closer.

"Look at you, where is there even a shred of a woman's demeanor left? Saying I'm fast? I just have no interest in you, otherwise, I'd definitely let you witness my prowess."

"Then I'll thank you for that, but Old Wei, how exactly do you do it? None of those women cause a scene?"

"Hehe, I already told you, it all relies on having a strong body."

"Sorry, I haven't tried it, I don't believe it, unless..."

"You don't look like much, but you sure have beautiful daydreams."

"Get lost, you jerk."

The second update of the day, I earnestly request all readers to reward me with subscriptions, follow-up reads, favorites, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets. Thank you all! (End of chapter)