Chapter 373: Bad Brother, Good Brother

The highly anticipated "The Flowers of War" held its premiere in Beijing one week early.

By all rights, a film directed by the National Master, and a blockbuster with an investment of 600 million, should have been packed with guests.

But because of Zhang Weiping's previous backstabbing, he had offended all the production companies in the industry, so those who went to show support were only deputies or mid-level staff, and some companies couldn't even be bothered to put on a show of courtesy.

Even this was only out of respect for Zhang Yimou.

As a result, this premiere was surprisingly cold and desolate, leaving the media stunned.

The media also loves to watch the fun, directly asking Ni Ni if "I Acted in Bed Scenes with Bale" was written by her personally.

Although several days had passed since the incident, Ni Ni's complexion was still not good, and it was Zhang Yimou who stood by to draw fire for her.

Facing the media's cameras, the usually kind Zhang Yimou had a dark face and sternly denied it:

"This matter has nothing to do with Ni Ni; she is also a victim. That was a despicable act committed by some people who engage in malicious hype."

The media were no pushovers; Zhang Yimou's implication was almost an open secret, and everyone instantly threw the topic to Zhang Weiping.

"I only found out about this after the fact. It was done privately by an employee of the company. Although his starting point was for the sake of the film and the company, this behavior is indeed unacceptable, and we have already dealt with it seriously."

Zhang Weiping distanced himself completely and then immediately shifted the topic to talk about expectations for the box office.

"This film has an investment of 600 million. I believe that it will definitely achieve a new breakthrough in box office."

Once the premiere ended, the production companies that came to show support didn't even attend the cocktail party and left one after another.

The media who stayed for the cocktail party discovered a problem: the iron duo of Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping had no interaction throughout the entire event, and the same went for the actors.

This made the media very excited, and all kinds of guesses and scoops emerged.

"The Two Zhangs suspected of discord; no interaction throughout the premiere."

"According to informed sources, Director Zhang intends to end his cooperation with New Picture, and his attitude is firm!"

"It is reported that Zhang Weiping has contacted lawyers multiple times."

Looking at the fresh reports online, Zhang Weiping decisively opened fire on Weibo.

"This is blatant rumor-mongering. I have worked with Yimou for over a decade and have never had a conflict. I do not rule out malicious smearing by competitors. New Picture will take legal action."

Unfortunately, there are no fools in the entertainment industry. It would have been better if Zhang Weiping hadn't refuted it; by refuting it, wasn't he just saying "there is no silver buried here"?

For a time, the eyes of a group of film company bosses began to glow green.

That is the National Master, after all; which company wouldn't covet him?

Beijing, New Picture.

"Who has approached him in the last two days?"

Facing the boss's inquiry, the Assistant answered honestly.

"President Zhang, apart from Shanhe Media, most of the production companies in the circle have sent people over: Huayi, Enlight, Orange Sky, Starmei, Emperor, Bona, LeTV..."

Listening to the list of familiar names, Zhang Weiping gritted his teeth in hatred, then suppressed his anger and asked.

"And what was his reply?"

"There is no news yet. Director Zhang probably hasn't given an answer."

Hearing this, Zhang Weiping breathed a slight sigh of relief; it seemed there was no need to worry for the time being before the film's release. He then turned his gaze to another person.

"Lawyer Zhu, are you sure he can make a clean break from the company?"

Facing Zhang Weiping's inquiry, Lawyer Zhu gave a professional answer.

"Yes, President Zhang. The cooperation agreement between New Picture and Director Zhang terminates when 'The Flowers of War' is pulled from theaters. Both parties have not signed a new contract, and Director Zhang can leave at any time."

Zhang Weiping's face turned ashen, regretting why he had agreed to let Zhang Yimou open a Studio.

"What about those artists?"

"Except for Zhou Dongyu, the contracts of the others are with New Picture. Director Zhang has no right to appeal this."

"Thank you, Lawyer Zhu, I understand."

After the lawyer left, Zhang Weiping lowered his voice and spoke to the Assistant.

"How is the preparation for that matter going?"

"President Zhang, He Jun has already agreed..."

Waving to dismiss the Assistant, Zhang Weiping's eyes were sinister.

"Wanting to part ways? It's not that easy. Since you are heartless, don't blame me for being unrighteous."

Guo Fan was, after all, a first-time director making a film.

Although he had followed film crews before and had done the preparatory work.

But when it came to actual operation, Guo Fan still felt he had thought too simply and would encounter problems from time to time.

Regarding this, he could only call Wei Jin to seek help.

So, despite being buried in editing work, Wei Jin still set aside two hours every day to go to the set to take a look.

Most of the time, Wei Jin didn't speak, only offering his opinions on certain aspects and shots that could clearly be optimized, helping Guo Fan review.

Honestly, the plot of this film was quite simple, relying mainly on the sci-fi setting and atmosphere to win.

Regarding a film like "Ex Machina," Wei Jin clearly told Guo Fan that if the shooting cycle exceeded one month, it meant his ability as a director was insufficient.

Wei Jin's words also made Guo Fan more attentive and stricter with his requirements during the filming.

It must be said that Guo Fan's ability to learn was truly strong; after a few days, Wei Jin clearly felt his improvement.

Just like that, time quickly arrived at Monday, December 5th.

This was a very ordinary day, but for the producers of "White Vengeance," it was not ordinary at all.

If they had any fantasies about the box office before, with the weekend over, this dream should wake up.

In such a popular New Year Slot, "White Vengeance" handed in a single-day box office of less than 20 million over the weekend, which was truly disappointing.

As of now, the film had been released for 6 days, and the box office had barely crossed the 100 million mark, but the single-day box office had already fallen below 10 million.

Following this trend, when "The Flowers of War" is released in two days, the data for "White Vengeance" will surely be even uglier, and it is even very likely to be pulled from theaters directly.

While the production team and the main cast were feeling depressed, that guy Lu Chuan jumped out quite happily to announce in a high-profile manner:

"A historical epic, especially the turning point and highlight of the Chu-Han Contention—the story of the Hongmen Banquet—still requires slow work to produce fine results. From the director to the actors, everything needs to be meticulously crafted."

"As everyone knows, my directed film 'The Feast' took 13 months from script to preparation to filming, and post-production will continue for another year, all just to present the most classic historical feast to everyone. I believe that in next year's New Year Slot, everyone will definitely not be disappointed!"

This Weibo post by Lu Chuan seemed to be promoting the release date of 'The Feast'.

But choosing this timing was undoubtedly stepping on 'White Vengeance' to elevate himself. Of course, there was also a sense of revenge involved; after all, Lu Chuan had been kicked out by the investors back then.

And don't say, this promotional tactic of Lu Chuan's was quite effective, attracting a large amount of discussion and attention.

But the production team of 'White Vengeance' didn't indulge him either, directly firing back in his face.

"From 'Kekexili' to 'City of Life and Death', Director Lu Chuan has truly refreshed the bottom line for filmmakers. With such character and integrity, how does he have the nerve to come out and spout nonsense? Big words spoken too early will make it painful when you get slapped in the face later. Oh, I forgot, Director Lu has long since lost his face."

There were also many trolls online. Although the reputation of 'White Vengeance' was terrible, everyone felt that roasting Lu Chuan was perfectly fine, and they flocked to like this post.

Lu Chuan failed to act cool and was mocked by netizens for a good while, causing him to break down.

Looking at the fun online, Yang Mi wanted to laugh, but she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. She had to admit that 'White Vengeance' was truly a bad film.

When she first accepted this role, she had come for the investment scale, the production team, and the cast.

But who could have imagined that such a historical epic, during the popular New Year Slot, would have box office results that showed absolutely no improvement, and crucially, its reputation had collapsed to the point of being unwatchable.

"No wonder Senior Brother told Liu Yifei to refuse; he probably knew the film wouldn't work long ago."

Seeing Yang Mi's somewhat dazed state, Ceng Jia felt it was necessary to offer some guidance.

"Mimi, don't think so much. The film losing money and its reputation collapsing has nothing to do with you. Look, aren't the things being scolded online the script, the costumes, makeup, and props, and the director?"

Yang Mi shuddered at these words, instantly sobering up.

That's right, the film's poor box office and poor reputation—what did that have to do with her, Yang Mi? She was just a vase character; not even the audience was scolding her.

On the contrary, this film had raised her status, increased her market value, and gained her more fans. No matter how you calculated it, it was a good deal.

What's more, in the entertainment industry, where are there so many good things where you can have both fish and bear's paw?

Once she thought of this, Yang Mi felt completely at ease.

"Mm, Jia Jie, I understand." — Receiving a call from Yang Rong, Wei Jin was quite surprised.

However, thinking of the charm of this mature woman, Wei Jin gladly accepted the invitation; after all, he had been exhausted from editing these past few days.

Wei Jin arrived at the Golden House with practiced ease, only to see Yang Rong already standing gracefully inside. Today, she was wearing a white high-neck sweater paired with a light blue long skirt, fully revealing her proud figure.

Before Wei Jin could even speak, Yang Rong's alluring red lips had already pressed onto his.

Wei Jin responded while wrapping one arm around her slender waist, his other hand firmly grasping her breasts.

Wei Jin had to admit that among the artists under his banner, Yang Rong fit his aesthetic perfectly in both figure and appearance.

Moreover, this woman was quite sensible, never causing trouble, and the emotional value she brought him was also quite substantial.

Soon, Wei Jin discovered that the woman could no longer hold back, her hands beginning to wander proactively, and a smile couldn't help but curl at the corners of his mouth.

"Sister Rong, don't rush, leave everything to me."

As he spoke, Wei Jin undid the woman's restraints in a few quick movements.

Looking at each other, both sensed the heat in the other's eyes. After a bout of intimacy, Yang Rong nestled in Wei Jin's arms with a look of satisfaction, letting the man's large hands wreak havoc on her chest.

After calming down for a good while, Yang Rong looked up at Wei Jin, her tone gentle.

"Boss, thank you."

Although Yang Rong's words were somewhat out of the blue, Wei Jin understood her meaning.

Although the plot of the drama 'Zhen Huan Zhuan' was mediocre, after it aired, with the steady development of the plot, the ratings hadn't exactly 'swept through the storm', but they had grown steadily.

It had been airing for about 20 days now, and the plot was already past the halfway point. The peak ratings on Mango TV reached as high as 3.83%, Shanghai Television reached 3.11%, and Su Province TV reached 3.09%.

It was undoubtedly the number one in ratings for the same time slot nationwide.

Crucially, the reputation was also exceptionally good. Currently, on Yinxiang Net, over one hundred thousand people had rated it, with a score as high as 9.6, which could be called an example of both ratings and reputation soaring together.

Even many celebrities were chasing the drama, with the representative being the Taiwan actress Joe Chen.

This girl loved playing on Weibo; she had previously posted a line of dialogue from the female lead Zhen Huan on Weibo, which directly shot to the top of the trending searches.

From then on, it drove many celebrities in the circle to post photos of themselves watching the drama.

At the same time, many secondary creations were derived online; many characters and lines from the drama were turned into memes and spread widely.

Things like "Your servant cannot do it," "Bitches are just hypocritical," "Reward her with a scarlet punishment," and so on and so forth.

There even emerged "Zhen Scholars," similar to the Red Scholars who specialized in promoting the study of 'Dream of the Red Chamber'.

Of course, this statement was definitely a bit exaggerated; most of it was just some viewers posting plot analyses or releasing meme-based interpretations online.

But it could not be denied that these various actions made the drama's attention and discussion level extremely high.

It could be said that 'Zhen Huan Zhuan' had become a phenomenal work. Even when Wei Jin was busy editing these days, some employees at Shanhe Ink were discussing it, which showed just how high the heat was.

Such a phenomenal work had a huge boost for the actors.

Yang Rong, who played the female lead Zhen Huan, naturally became famous across the country. During the airing of the drama, her Weibo gained hundreds of thousands of followers every day.

Even Yu Feihong, who played the Empress, became popular again and called Wei Jin many times to thank him.

"Sister Rong, there's no need for us to say these things..."

Wei Jin held her breasts, his expression calm and composed.

"It's just, shouldn't you all be running the second and third rounds of promotion now?"

"Director Zheng said the heat is enough now, no need to run them."

Wei Jin nodded upon hearing this. This drama had only aired about forty episodes so far. Once the subsequent plot unfolded, the ratings would definitely break 4, and there was even a chance to break 5. By then, the TV stations wanting to buy the show would naturally come knocking, so there was indeed no need for further promotion.

Immediately, a playful look appeared on Wei Jin's face as he pulled the woman tighter into his arms, his large hands beginning to wander up and down.

"Sister Rong, does that mean we have a lot of time tonight?"

A mature woman knew very well what she wanted. Facing Wei Jin's teasing, Yang Rong did not show weakness, pressing her alluring red lips to the man's ear and sending a signal.

"Mm, bad little brother, tonight your sister is all yours..."

Without waiting for Wei Jin to answer, Yang Rong decisively moved downward, leaned over, and took him firmly into her mouth.

"Oh."

After some preparation, Yang Rong turned around, pressed herself against the bed, and wiggled her hips to signal him.

"Good brother, what are you still waiting for?"

Seeing this, Wei Jin did not hesitate; he grabbed her breast with one hand and squeezed her perky buttock with the other, pressing himself firmly against her.

"Oh~~ oh~~~ oh~~~~"

(End of chapter)