Chapter 31: Criticism from All Sides and Promotion Strategies

"Silver Bear Director's new film, set for the New Year Slot, aims its sword at Huayi!"

"A new cinematic talent, marching into the New Year Slot, can he continue the miracle?"

"A newcomer director, aiming his sword at the New Year Slot, is it confidence or arrogance?"

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Regarding Wei Jin's new film being set for the New Year Slot, the media had all sorts of speculations; some were optimistic, some were not, and others were simply waiting to see a joke.

Teacher Jiang from the school also called to understand the situation, so Wei Jin had to explain it a bit, and took the opportunity to ask about the progress of the preparations for *Lurking*.

Wei Jin was mentally prepared for the sensation that setting the film for the New Year Slot would cause.

Among current domestic directors, there are truly few rivals for Feng Dapao in terms of commercial box office; in the 90s, when other domestic films were still hovering at a few million in box office, his films had already reached tens of millions.

In '97, *Party A, Party B* took a massive 36 million, hoisting him into the position of a major commercial director.

In '98, *Be There or Be Square* made 43 million, making him even more prominent.

Since then, he has had works released every year, with a minimum box office of over 30 million, not to mention last year's *Cell Phone*, which set a new high of 56 million.

In addition, there is a recognized Comedy King; it is said that "there is a Best Actor every year, but a Zhou Xingxing only once in a century." This is not to say that Zhou Xingxing's acting skills are how amazing, but that Best Actors appear every year.

But in terms of comedy, Zhou Xingxing is a once-in-a-century genius, not to mention that *Shaolin Soccer* from a few years ago is still at the forefront of the Hong Kong film box office charts; the Hong Kong local box office alone exceeded 60 million, and one must know that Hong Kong only has a population of a few million.

In short, for this New Year Slot, the opponents have chosen Feng Dapao and Zhou Xingxing; this time, Wei Jin will either become famous in one battle or become a laughingstock.

"Brother, do you think this kid is getting carried away? Is he trying to go head-to-head with Xiaogang?"

At Huayi, in a certain tea room, the Wang Brothers and Feng Dapao gathered together, discussing exactly the matter of Wei Jin's new film release date.

"Not necessarily, after all, there are only so many good slots, didn't he stagger it by a few days?"

Wang Zhongjun was rather indifferent and unfazed; for the film industry to develop, slot competition would appear sooner or later; without him, Wei Jin, there would be others.

"Besides, why are you worried about him? You aren't even in the same league."

"Zhongjun is right; don't look at him as a Silver Bear Director, in the commercial film sector, he is still far behind."

As a major domestic commercial film director, Feng Dapao did not take a college student like Wei Jin seriously.

"But his previous award-winning film took over 35 million in box office, really no need to pay attention?"

Wang Zhonglei thought of *Buried*, which was released a few months ago; it had dropped everyone's jaws at the time.

"That's different; that film won because of its tricky angle and novel subject matter; it cannot be generalized."

Feng Dapao spoke to explain, then felt a bit dissatisfied: "Zhonglei, what's wrong with you? You've seen the film too, why so little confidence?"

"Xiaogang, you say that—how could I not have confidence in you? I'm just thinking that the pie is only so big; if one more person shares it, we have to earn a little less."

Wang Zhonglei explained; after all, Huayi and Feng Dapao are tied in cooperation, and he didn't want to cause the other party any displeasure.

"Alright, Zhonglei, don't overestimate Wei Jin; with Xiaogang here, we have nothing to fear."

Wang Zhongjun both pacified his younger brother and flattered Feng Dapao; this art of speaking is truly powerful.

"By the way, Xiaogang, are you planning to rest for a while, or continue with a new project? If you need support, speak up as soon as possible."

"Hmm, let's rest for a while; the script still needs polishing, can't ruin our Huayi brand."

Feng Dapao was very pleased with Wang Zhongjun's attitude; these words truly made him feel like a part of Huayi.

The outside disturbances did not affect Wei Jin; at this moment, he was discussing the film's promotion and distribution plan with General Manager Han of China Film Group. After browsing through the promotion and distribution plan prepared by the China Film Group's department, Wei Jin was a bit speechless.

The promotion and distribution of this era is still too crude; it is basically newspaper exposure, television interviews, theater ground promotion, plus a grand premiere.

"Director Jiang, I have read the promotion and distribution plan; it is very meticulous in traditional channels."

Wei Jin put down the plan in his hand and first affirmed the work of the China Film Group's promotion and distribution department; everyone helps carry the flowery sedan chair, and there will be cooperation in the future.

"I have some new types of promotion and distribution methods here, would you like to see if they are useful?"

Director Jiang is an old fox; of course, he understands that the other party didn't like the plan he made, but out of respect for General Manager Han being present, he was saving his face.

"Director Wei is too polite; you young people have many ideas and novel concepts; please go ahead and say them, let me learn a thing or two as well."

Wei Jin then stated his ideas; actually, it was simple, just the tricks that were used to death later on.

Wei Jin planned to start from three aspects: first, hype it up from the novel, hold a few book signings, and build momentum for the film.

Secondly, the promotion and distribution department should push the song of the same name to the charts to form massive exposure.

Finally, initiate topic discussions about youth on the internet, and place the focus on the film.

In Wei Jin's view, this was a very ordinary promotion and distribution plan, but placed in this era, it was simply a dimensionality reduction strike; the heads of the China Film Group's promotion and distribution department heard this and treated it as golden words, directly saying that Wei Jin is truly a genius of promotion and distribution.

Immediately, Han Sanping made the final decision to proceed according to this plan, with an initial promotion and distribution budget of 5 million, and an additional 5 million depending on the results later.

One must know that the film's cost was only 10 million; if the promotion and distribution cost is 10 million, that is a one-to-one ratio, which is unprecedented for domestic films.

On November 20, the promotion and distribution campaign for the film *Those Years* officially began.

For ordinary people, the most intuitive feeling was that it seemed like they could hear Li Jian singing *Those Years* everywhere; this song became popular again after two months.

For novel fans, this was a gospel.

As a well-known bestselling author, this was Wei Jin's first time holding a book signing, so the fans participated enthusiastically; it can be said that every event was packed with popularity.

To cooperate with the film's promotion, Wei Jin held book signings in multiple major ticket-selling cities in succession; after several rounds of signings, he signed over ten thousand copies, which made Wei Jin feel as if he had returned to the time when he was writing the novel by hand, with a kind of fear of being dominated by typing.

Even at the Shanghai book signing, he was asked by fans to sing the song of the same name, *Those Years*; Wei Jin could only bite the bullet and get on stage, and finally, he didn't make a fool of himself.

However, the result of the hard work was worth affirming; it not only promoted the sales of the genuine novel but also brought Wei Jin closer to the fans, and it was a very good promotion for the film; many fans expressed that they would definitely go to support it when the film is released.

At the same time, on major internet bulletin boards and forums, topics about youth also emerged one after another:

"Is there such a person who makes you unforgettable?"

"In your youth memories, are there any regrets?"

"."

Many people participated in the discussion, leaving messages one after another to share their youth; under the guidance of the internet water army, the topic fell onto the film:

"If your youth has regrets, go watch *Those Years, We Were Chasing After Together*, reconcile with your regrets, and say goodbye to your youth."

For a time, it seemed that both online and offline were filled with news about *Those Years*; amidst the overwhelming publicity, the film's premiere also officially arrived.

As a new author writing a book for the first time, I humbly beg for your collections, follows, reading progress, and recommendations. Thank you all. As a new author writing a book for the first time, I humbly beg for your collections, follows, reading progress, and recommendations. Thank you all.

(End of chapter)