Chapter 258: Jingtian Has Artistic Pursuits: The 1 Billion Era

Contrary to Wei Jin's expectations, the Waterloo encountered at this year's Golden Globe Awards did not cause much of a stir domestically; he had even notified the group's public relations department to prepare for the public opinion fallout.

In fact, when one thinks about it, the logic holds; failing to win after a nomination is perfectly normal. People like Zhang Yimou, Chen Shiren, and others rush for the Oscar every year and fail every time, so everyone's psychological resilience has long been forged—at most, there is only some disappointment.

Moreover, Wei Jin had already taken home the Best Screenplay Award, which could already be considered winning glory for the country, so public opinion would naturally not be harsh.

Media reports were more focused on interpreting the "inside information" of this Golden Globe Awards; after all, even the foreigners' own media were criticizing it.

Not only that, the domestic public opinion atmosphere even made Wei Jin feel a hint of warmth. Many enthusiastic netizens went to his Weibo to offer comfort, encouraging him to keep up the good work and strive for gains at the Oscars.

Regarding this, Wei Jin specifically posted a Weibo: "Thank you all for your encouragement. All that is past is prologue. See you at the Oscars in March!"

This Weibo was quickly liked and reposted by netizens, its popularity instantly rising, and it climbed onto the Weibo trending list in less than half an hour.

Just when everyone thought Wei Jin would surely be waiting in North America for the Oscar announcements to return in glory, he and Ceng Li had already quietly returned to the country. — Inside the Chairman's office at Shanhe Media, Wei Jin was comforting Xu Laoguai.

"Director Xu, don't overthink it; having achieved these results is already quite good."

During this period, the domestic film market was still ruled by *Avatar*. Under the rampage of this Hollywood behemoth, no domestic film could survive, and *Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame* was no exception. In the days Wei Jin had been away, the box office had barely moved, remaining at 270 million, with only a little extra change.

But from a commercial perspective, this film cost 80 million, or about 100 million including promotion and distribution, while the combined box office from the Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan regions had already exceeded 380 million.

Just the box office share alone had already earned tens of millions, and if you add the 12 million from product placement and 8 million USD from copyright trading, the profit was nearly 100 million, which could be called a great success.

The reason Wei Jin was comforting him was also for fear that Xu Laoguai could not accept it psychologically; after all, being suppressed and beaten was truly a blow to one's self-esteem.

"President Wei, I have also been through great storms. To be honest, it was a bit uncomfortable at first, but after going to see *Avatar*, I have to admit that Cameron is truly amazing; the 3D effects are simply too great. I think..."

Speaking of 3D, Xu Laoguai seemed to perk up, sharing many of his own understandings and insights.

Wei Jin was also willing to share his own views and opinions; after all, he had spoken with Cameron privately about this topic.

The two chatted more and more enthusiastically, and at one moment, Xu Laoguai seemed to suddenly touch a certain switch.

"President Wei, I suddenly have an idea in my head. Let's stop here for today; I need to go back and seize the inspiration..."

Watching Xu Laoguai's hurried retreating figure, Wei Jin couldn't help but laugh; this was indeed a very pure filmmaker. — Perhaps because of the blow brought by *A Simple Noodle Story*, the Zhang Yimou team high-profilely announced the restart of a script they had already prepared—*Hawthorn Tree Forever*.

This was also a traditional skill of domestic big directors. Back when *The Promise* failed, Chen Shiren also chose to return to the field of art films, filming the biographical movie *Forever Enthralled*.

However, compared to Chen Shiren, netizens seemed to be more friendly toward Zhang Yimou, and there were many supportive posts; after all, the Olympic halo was truly too powerful.

Once the news came out, the entire circle was boiling. As a top-tier big director, Zhang Yimou's return to his most proficient field of art films was too tempting for actors in the industry.

Many people began to pull strings, hoping to seize this opportunity; after all, Zhang Yimou's art films would certainly have no problem being shortlisted for film festivals, which meant there was a high chance of winning the Golden Horse Best Actress or Best Actor at the European Big Three.

"Li Jie, do you want to try?"

Wei Jin looked at Ceng Li with some teasing. As a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama from the 90s, her student days were exactly when Zhang Yimou was sweeping the European Big Three, so she definitely had an obsession with acting in a Zhang Yimou film.

"Forget it. Listening to the name, it should be about period romance. My age isn't suitable either..."

Ceng Li wouldn't fall for it. Although she was somewhat moved inside, firstly, she already had honors enough to fill a room; secondly, she truly felt it didn't fit her character positioning; and thirdly, nothing was more important than Dudu right now.

"By the way, Xiao Jin, are we going to hold a hundred-day banquet for Dudu?"

"Let's hold it. Set the time before the Spring Festival. Call your uncle and aunt; we can consider it celebrating the New Year together. By the way, let's see if Dad has picked a good name for his precious granddaughter."

Previously, because they were in North America, Dudu's full-month celebration wasn't held. Wei Jin felt that a sense of ritual was still very important, even if the little one might not understand anything.

"Then can I invite Jingjing? Let her bring her child too; we promised to be each other's children's godmothers..."

Perhaps it was truly the bond between sisters; Hu Jing also gave birth to a child at the end of November last year, a boy, only ten days younger than Dudu.

"Of course, Li Jie. Aside from our elders on both sides, you decide the rest of the guest list yourself."

Dudu's existence, told within a small circle, was no problem at all. No one would be bored enough to risk offending Wei Jin to leak this matter.

Moreover, Wei Jin also believed that Ceng Li would know who could be invited and who could not.

"Hmm, okay." — Zhang Yimou was indeed a man of great energy; the *Hawthorn Tree* project was already preparing for casting.

Everyone in the circle was watching, and no one knew which lucky person would become the next "Mou Girl".

At the same time, Huayi publicly announced the news of their breakup with Zhou Xun.

You have to know that last year, by virtue of *The Message*, Zhou Xun won the Golden Horse Best Actress, becoming the first Three Gold Grand Slam actress in Mainland China. Plus, holding original shares of Huayi, her not renewing her contract was definitely major negative news for Huayi.

To stabilize the stock price, Wang Zhonglei urgently held a press conference, stating that there was no conflict between the two sides and it was entirely Zhou Xun's personal choice. Huayi respected every artist's reasonable demands, appearing very magnanimous.

Despite this, Huayi's stock price still saw a slight decline, making the Wang Brothers feel heartbroken.

"I didn't expect the stock market to be so dangerous. Just one piece of news, and I've already lost nearly 100,000."

After Zhou Xun left Huayi, she invited Wei Jin and Huang Xiaoming to dinner at the first opportunity. Her current net worth came mostly from Huayi's stocks.

"But speaking of which, I have to thank you two. Forcing me to buy the stocks back then made this contract termination unexpectedly smooth."

"Hey, as a shareholder, if you turned around and wrote a little essay, what Huayi would lose wouldn't just be tens of millions. The Wang Brothers aren't stupid."

After an artist holds company shares, their status and position will be greatly improved, and at certain times, they can even influence the company's market value. This was also one of the reasons why Wei Jin stripped away artist management.

"That wouldn't go that far. President Wang is also someone who wants to save face. Let's part on good terms..."

Huang Xiaoming, who had just returned from wrapping up *Flirting Scholar 2*, habitually tried to smooth things over. He wasn't like the two in front of him who could speak so casually.

Zhou Xun glanced at Huang Xiaoming and remembered something.

"Xiaoming, I remember your contract is also about to expire, right?"

Huang Xiaoming nodded: "Hmm, the three-year contract I signed back then is indeed about to expire..."

"Then what are your plans for next?"

"To be honest, I want to open a studio. This way it's convenient for me to do investments and be a Producer. I can promote myself and sign new people. It's not as good as President Wei, but I can also be a small boss and be free and easy, haha." The two in front of him weren't gossips, so Huang Xiaoming didn't hide anything and told them his plans very frankly.

"That's great. I don't have your talent, so in the future, I'll just rely on Old Wei's support. President Wei, you wouldn't abandon me, would you?"

Zhou Xun gave Wei Jin a wink and deliberately changed to a "clamping" voice, giving the latter goosebumps.

"Young Master Zhou, President Wei, what is this?"

Huang Xiaoming's reaction was also fast; after all, there were the examples of Fan Bingbing and Liu Yifei before him.

"Hmm, we already talked about it. Once I rest for a while, I'll go to Shanhe Media to sign the contract. Old Wei, is the signing gift ready?"

Zhou Xun's words carried a bit of teasing and a bit of anticipation. The previous studio stars all had big gifts presented to them, and she felt that with her relationship with Wei Jin, it wouldn't be bad at all.

"Movies, TV series, you choose for yourself."

Wei Jin was not stingy either; Zhou Xun's status and acting skills were both top-tier, and she would absolutely be an asset to the project.

"President Wei, what you've said has me tempted. Why don't you take a stake in my Studio when the time comes?"

Before Zhou Xun could speak, Huang Xiaoming interjected. Being his own boss didn't mean he wanted to eat alone; if he could leverage the resources of Shanhe Media, his starting point would undoubtedly be much higher.

"Sure, but there won't be any signing bonuses for male artists, haha." — After the dinner ended, Wei Jin arrived at Dongshanshu.

What he didn't expect was that Jing Tian actually had ideas about Zhang Yimou's new film.

"Brother, could you go and ask for me?"

"I'm not exactly close with Director Zhang."

Wei Jin's hands wandered over Jing Tian's increasingly curvaceous body; his intention to demand a favor was very clear.

"Even if you aren't close, you're still better than me. Just go and ask for me, please~~"

Jing Tian naturally knew what the man was up to, and as she spoke, she had already started using her hands.

Although he wasn't optimistic, Wei Jin agreed anyway; it was just a matter of a phone call, after all.

"Fine, I'll ask if it's suitable for you, but don't blame me if you get rejected."

While speaking, Wei Jin took out his phone and dialed Zhang Yimou. Jing Tian very sensibly knelt down.

"Director Zhang, sorry to disturb you so late, it's like this..."

After the call connected, Wei Jin quickly stated his purpose, and the young girl beneath him also slowed her movements, pricking up her ears to listen for news.

"If it were any other film, I could really give you some face and let Jing Tian audition. But for this film, I won't hide it from you: I need a pure newcomer, someone who has never acted and has no romantic experience whatsoever, so..."

Wei Jin understood Zhang Yimou's words, but he didn't mind.

"No problem, thank you for the clarification, Director Zhang. So, are you planning to hold open auditions at art schools next?"

"Yes, I'll get it done within two months at the latest."

Zhang Yimou had already sent out several assistant directors to select people from famous art academies in the country. Seemingly thinking of something, he specifically mentioned one thing.

"As for art-house films, Zhang Weiping is still very supportive of me."

Wei Jin could naturally understand; the copyright trading of art-house films was the big money-maker, and quality was the key. If Zhang Weiping dared to interfere, he would be cutting off his own source of wealth.

"Alright, Director Zhang, I won't disturb you any further. Goodbye."

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin patted the young girl's head.

"You heard it all, right? You don't even meet the most basic requirements."

"Then forget it. I just heard that Director Zhang is very good at teaching acting, and I wanted to experience it."

This explanation made Wei Jin heave a sigh of relief. As long as she wasn't trying to win awards, it was fine; he really couldn't help her with that.

Among his four women, except for Ceng Li, the other three had no awards to their names. But if it came to winning awards, Gao Yuanyuan had at least a tiny bit of hope; the acting skills of Jing Tian and Liu Yifei were only enough to handle commercial films, and they were still too far off for art-house films.

"The film can be forgotten, but here, it can't be settled like that."

As he spoke, Wei Jin scooped the young girl up by the waist. A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold; he couldn't waste time.

"Mm, I'll follow your lead, Brother."

Holding the man tightly, Jing Tian was also filled with anticipation. — During the meeting earlier, Bureau Chief Tong said that the box office for *Avatar* would likely exceed 1 billion, and now it had been verified.

The domestic film market had given birth to its first film with a 1 billion box office, which also meant that the Mainland China film market had officially entered the era of 1 billion yuan for a single film.

The internet was reporting on this matter. Currently, on the domestic box office chart, the domestic films behind *Avatar* were *The Martian* and *Lucy*, but even combined, the two barely exceeded *Avatar*.

This data was brought out by netizens for comparison, and it looked very glaring. For a time, many netizens went to Wei Jin's Weibo to ask when he would be able to reclaim the top spot on the box office chart, as he was, after all, the one with the best hope of achieving this feat.

Regarding this, Wei Jin had no way to comment. *Avatar* wouldn't stop at 1 billion; at least this year, he couldn't do it.

However, Wei Jin felt that this was a good thing; at least *Avatar* let everyone see where the ceiling of the current domestic film market was.

One must know that the factors determining the capacity of a film market are nothing more than two aspects.

The first is the audience's enthusiasm for watching films, which depends on film quality and consumption levels.

In this regard, Wei Jin and Shanhe Media had already cultivated the audience's viewing habits, and the emergence of Yinxiang Net had given audiences an even clearer understanding of how to choose films.

The second is the infrastructure of cinema chains, which depends on the confidence of the cinema chains in the film market.

The emergence of Shanhe Cinema Line had already greatly accelerated the process of cinema construction, and coupled with the rapid development of the film market in recent years, a new round of construction by major cinema chains was already in full swing.

And when both of the above conditions are met, it will be the stage for the explosion of domestic films. First update of the day.

(End of this chapter)