Chapter 330: The Biggest Winner, Modifying Rules, and Slot Selection

As time entered mid-July, in the film market, the box office of *The Raid* was advancing triumphantly, with its single-day box office firmly stabilized at over 20 million.

As of now, *The Raid* has been released for 11 days, with a box office as high as 238 million; breaking 300 million is just around the corner.

Looking at *Beginning of the Great Revival*, its growth during this period has been extremely slow; in one week, the box office only increased by less than 30 million, and after 25 days of release, the box office stands at 360 million.

As for *Snow Flower and the Secret Fan*, which had been hyped up to a fever pitch previously, the theaters couldn't wait to pull it from the screens just after half a month of release, with a box office of less than 50 million.

That film *Pretending to be Lovers* by Huang Bai and Jiang Yiyan was struggling for survival in the cracks between a crowd of commercial films; less than two weeks after release, the box office barely crossed 20 million, but the single-day box office had already fallen below 100,000, and the producers directly chose to pull it from theaters.

The situation for *The Fortune Buddies* was much the same, barely crossing the 50 million mark, with the single-day box office falling below 1 million, and it is currently struggling bitterly.

That comeback work *Wu Xia*, which Zhen Zidan had pinned high hopes on, has already fallen into a half-dead state, with the single-day box office barely maintaining around 10 million; after one week of release, the box office is 86 million.

The industry unanimously judges that there is no problem with this film's box office exceeding 100 million, but 200 million is absolutely impossible; the final box office landing will likely be about the same as the production cost.

Although the Summer Slot has only just begun, the industry has already reached a unanimous judgment: among the crowd of domestic films, *The Raid* will undoubtedly be the biggest winner. —— *Once Again* set.

After a scene ended, Wei Jin beckoned the actors to come over to the monitor to watch the playback.

Although he had the shots in his mind, with the improvement of his level over these years, Wei Jin was also finding ways to improve the film's quality, striving to break through the constraints of the original film.

So, during the filming process, discussing performance methods with experienced actors was a very good method.

"Teacher Wang, for this scene, do you feel there is anything inappropriate?"

After watching the playback, Wei Jin asked Wang Zhiwen for advice with a smile, his words full of respect.

"Director Wei is too polite. This scene is very good; Yifei acted very well, and she has made great progress these past few days."

As Wang Zhiwen spoke, he gave a thumbs up, the smile on his face indicating he was very happy; this was the joy from the bottom of his heart after being respected by a top-tier director.

"Thank you, Teacher Wang; it is all because you taught well."

Facing the praise from a powerful senior, Liu Yifei was also very happy, a sweet smile appearing on her face.

"Alright, this take is passed; prepare for the next shot." —— After finishing the day's filming, Wei Jin returned to his room and began browsing industry news.

Seeing the first piece of news, Wei Jin shook his head; the acting department of Beijing Film Academy is truly becoming more and more unbearable.

For several consecutive years, the admission score line has been rising, but this year it suddenly dropped by a lot without any warning; clearly, the number of people admitted is so small, so why lower the score? Obviously, this is opening a convenient door for those few art examinees who "stepped on the line" to pass at the beginning of the year.

The public opinion on the internet is very turbulent, but the acting department doesn't care at all, stating externally that this is just a normal adjustment of the admission score line.

Shaking his head, Wei Jin could only sigh in his heart that this circle is becoming more and more closed; everything is decided internally in advance, and they don't even hesitate to modify the rules. It is becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary people to get ahead.

Coincidentally, those old guys at the Golden Rooster have also started to modify the rules.

This year's registration standards added a new regulation: films with an investment of less than 8 million are all ineligible to participate in the competition for individual awards.

This means that low-budget films cannot compete for Best Film, Best Director, Lead Actor, Supporting Actor, Screenwriter, and all other individual awards.

Just as he was about to continue reading, Wei Jin heard the sound of the door opening; turning his head to look, he saw Liu Yifei wearing cartoon pajamas, acting like a thief, quickly and quietly closing the door.

"You, why go to such trouble every day?"

Wei Jin stood up and pulled the girl into his arms, burying his head in her still slightly damp hair, breathing greedily.

"There are so many people in the crew; I'm embarrassed."

Liu Yifei rubbed her head against Wei Jin's chest, then raised her head and asked with some curiosity.

"Brother, what are you looking at?"

"Look, a bunch of old men have started their blind operations again."

Wei Jin pointed at the computer page and curled his lips; looking at major film festivals around the world, there has never been a restriction on films competing in the main categories based on production costs. The Golden Rooster can be considered to have created a historical precedent.

"Ah? Then how is it determined whether the film cost reached 8 million? By issuing an invoice?"

Seeing the confusion appearing on the girl's face, Wei Jin reached out and slipped into her pajamas, grasping her conscience.

"Hehe, the highlight of this regulation lies right here; how much the cost is, is all up to them to decide. Think about it, how much room for manipulation is there in this?"

"Hmm~~ But, Brother, they are being too excessive, aren't they? It's one of the Three Golds after all. If this causes public anger and resentment, what will happen if no one participates?"

Facing the man's hands, the young girl endured and asked the doubt in her heart.

"Yifei, you are overthinking it. If those old guys cared about the opinions of directors in the industry, would the Golden Rooster have fallen to this point today? They are probably hoping that famous directors don't participate; isn't it good for their own people to rack up honors?"

Speaking of this, Wei Jin shook his head; the Golden Rooster is also going to follow in the footsteps of the Hong Kong Film Awards, falling into a bush-league award that just circles around and amuses itself.

"Alright, Yifei, stop worrying about the old guys' business. A spring night is worth a thousand gold; come and play music for your husband."

While speaking, Wei Jin's hands were already resting on Liu Yifei's shoulders, applying slight pressure; a blush rose on the girl's face, and she slowly squatted down.

"Mm, Yifei is truly great." —— *Once Again* set.

Looking at the image on the monitor, Wei Jin nodded with satisfaction.

"Cut, this take is passed; the crew will rest for ten minutes."

Getting up and leaving the monitor, Wei Jin walked straight to Wang Zhiwen.

"Teacher Wang, the performance in this take was great; this afternoon is Bai Yu's scene, I'll have to trouble you again."

After finishing, Wei Jin looked at Bai Yu who was standing to the side.

"Xiaobai, lines are your weak point; in the coming time, follow Teacher Wang and learn more. He is an expert in this area."

"Don't worry, Director Wei, I will learn with heart."

Bai Yu nodded repeatedly, looking like a well-behaved child.

"Director Wei is too kind, but being a teacher is my old profession. Xiaobai, while there is time now, take the script and come over there with me to practice."

Wang Zhiwen smiled, waved his hand, and turned to leave; this crew experience truly made him feel happy.

Wang Zixuan, Liu Yifei, Shu Chang, and others on the side all followed over to listen to the lesson.

After these days of getting along, everyone knew that Wang Zhiwen's line foundation was quite formidable, and they were unwilling to give up this opportunity to improve themselves.

Of course, perhaps there was also the reason of showing their attitude in front of Wei Jin and earning some performance points.

Watching everyone's attitude of competing to learn, Wei Jin nodded with satisfaction; having a good teacher in the crew can definitely make the overall performance of the crew's actors better and improve the film's quality.

And Wang Zhiwen's ability was indeed beyond reproach, worthy of his respect.

Taking advantage of the break, Wei Jin browsed the online news for a while.

After two and a half months of filming, *White Vengeance* has wrapped up, and the internet is full of related news. "The 200 million investment historical epic *White Vengeance* held its wrap-up press conference in Beijing today, with the entire main cast making an appearance."

"The legend of *White Vengeance* is set for November 29, firing the first shot of the New Year Slot."

"One of the Four Dan Actresses, Yang Mi, plays Yu Ji, the sole female lead of the entire film."

"Director Li Rengang stated that he hopes the domestic box office will break even, with a target of 600 million!"

Many photos from the press conference were also released. One could see Yang Mi standing in the center, her face beaming with a smile, wearing a form-fitting white long dress that left nothing to the imagination regarding her excellent figure.

Wei Jin only then remembered that he hadn't injected capital into this woman for several months, and he felt a bit nostalgic for her talent; the last time, the "ice-honey" encounter had left him savoring the memory for a long time.

The time for a cigarette ended, the crew was already prepared for the next shot, and the actors with roles in the scene had returned to their positions.

Wei Jin stood up, walked to the monitor, picked up the megaphone, and shouted.

"Action." — The filming time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, half of July had already passed.

News came from Hunter that *Twilight 4 (Part 2)* had finished its theatrical run.

Because of *Transformers 3*, the North American box office reported 330 million, with almost no box office revenue coming in during the final ten days or so.

Fortunately, the overseas market was quite strong, with a cumulative global box office of 840 million USD, setting a record for the series and serving as a perfect conclusion to it.

Additionally, news also came from Warner that the special effects shots for *Pacific Rim*, which they are responsible for, will be completely finished this month.

As Wei Jin expected, upon receiving the news, Han Sanping hurriedly called:

"About when will the Shanhe Ink portion be finished?"

"Probably in these next few days."

Wei Jin answered truthfully. Before the movie started filming, he had specifically gone to Shanhe Ink to check the progress. At that time, the person in charge gave an answer of ten days to half a month; calculating the time, it should be about right now.

"So fast? This efficiency is even higher than Warner's?"

The tone of Han Sanping on the other end of the phone was very surprised; he hadn't expected that Shanhe Ink could actually keep up with the rhythm of a Hollywood major studio.

"It's different, Han Dong. The complexity and quantity of the shots cannot be generalized."

Wei Jin knew clearly that the reason it was faster than Warner was because the portion Shanhe Ink was responsible for was relatively much smaller, accounting for about 40%, and it was also slightly inferior in terms of complexity.

"Hmm, that's also very good. Among domestic special effects companies, only Shanhe Ink can reach this level."

After sighing with emotion, Han Sanping changed the subject.

"Regarding the release schedule, what are your thoughts?"

"There's no rush for this. I'll be back in a few days, and we can talk in person then."

"Alright, I'll wait for you."

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin marveled at Han Sanping's swift and decisive nature; the final film wasn't even out yet, and he was already starting to consider the issue of the release schedule. — On the other side, after hanging up the phone, Han Sanping waved his hand to summon his secretary.

"Release the news."

"Understood, Han Dong."

In the afternoon, China Film Group officially announced this news.

"With an investment of 150 million USD, the Sino-US co-produced sci-fi epic *Pacific Rim* will complete production this month!"

After four or five months, this film appeared in the industry's line of sight once again, and all the production companies began to pay attention to the film's release schedule.

One must know that a hardcore co-produced sci-fi film with a super-large investment scale like *Pacific Rim* will definitely enter the domestic market.

Now it just depends on what release schedule the major producers choose, but no matter what schedule is chosen, once this kind of high-investment monster enters the market, a large batch of domestic films will definitely suffer.

Looking at the news online, Fan Bingbing was somewhat excited. Although this was a movie about mechs fighting monsters, her role was quite significant—undoubtedly the female lead. As the female lead of a 150 million USD major production, wouldn't she be able to ruthlessly suppress those big actresses this time? Let's see how they can still be so smug.

"Xiao Yang, during this recent period, send out more press releases."

"Don't worry, Bingbing Jie, it has already been arranged."

The chubby Yang Siwei replied immediately, though the joy on her face could not be concealed. Such a great opportunity—if she didn't hype it up ruthlessly, she wouldn't be worthy of her reputation as a marketing genius.

On the other side, the *Heart Surgery* crew in Shanghai.

"Zhang Yi, congratulations! Once the movie is released, you'll be an international superstar. Don't forget about me then, haha."

Zhang Songwen, wearing a white lab coat, said to Zhang Yi with a smile. Although they hadn't spent much time together, they were of similar age and shared the same surname, so after a few days, the two had already become quite familiar with each other.

"Songwen Ge, you're being modest. Who doesn't know that you were personally selected by President Wei to play the male lead in this film? In the future, I'm afraid I'll need you to look out for your little brother, haha."

Zhang Yi hurriedly waved his hands, but the joy on his face could not be concealed at all. Not everyone gets the chance to participate in a Hollywood major production.

"Hey, it's just good luck. I haven't even met President Wei many times myself."

The two began to engage in commercial mutual flattery. You praise me for being diligent and enterprising? Then I'll praise you for your superb acting skills. After a round of blowing smoke, Zhang Yi suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Songwen Ge, *The Piano Tuner* is coming out soon, right? Why didn't you ask the director to adjust your scenes?"

"Ours is just a small-budget film, relying on the subject matter and script to win. The company's idea is just to do some interviews and variety shows; it won't delay much. It won't start until the beginning of next month."

Zhang Songwen expressed his understanding of the company's arrangements. After all, the cast wasn't very strong, and promotional roadshows and the like wouldn't really have much of an effect.

"Alright, when it's released, our crew will definitely go to support it."

"That would be great, haha."

Unlike the beaming Zhang Yi and Fan Bingbing, Yang Mi, who was currently promoting *Snow Sword Stride*, felt very uncomfortable inside.

Ceng Jia, who was by her side, saw Yang Mi staring blankly at her phone and knew what the latter was thinking, so she hurriedly spoke up to comfort her.

"Mimi, don't keep thinking about things that have passed. We need to seize the present."

Upon hearing this, Yang Mi forced herself to perk up, a reluctant smile appearing on her face.

"Jia Jie, I know, it's just that whenever I think about it, I feel like I've lost out."

"Pull yourself together and stabilize your status. With President Wei's influence, you'll have your chance sooner or later."

Hearing this, Yang Mi thought of that man, and she inexplicably felt a bit more confident.

"Hmm, Jia Jie, I understand."

(End of chapter)