Chapter 386: Official Announcement: Covering the Sky with One Hand, Forcing a Marriage

Time has reached the 9th, and the film market remains a scene of two titans vying for dominance.

"Mojin: The Lost Legend" has been in theaters for 25 days, with a cumulative box office of 973 million; the daily box office remains above 15 million, and breaking 1 billion is already a certainty.

"Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" has been in theaters for 9 days, with a box office of 442 million; the daily box office is maintaining above 30 million.

The two blockbusters have harvested nearly 70% of the market's box office.

As for "The Flowers of War", it has completely devolved into a foil, barely finishing its one-month theatrical run, and has officially been pulled from theaters with a box office of 612 million.

At the same time, inside the large conference room of Shanhe Media, a press conference is about to be held.

"Hey, why do you think Wei Jin is holding a press conference?"

"No idea, could it be a new movie?"

"It's possible, aren't they in negotiations right now? Maybe it's another big production."

A crowd of reporters, taking advantage of the time before the conference began, discussed it in twos and threes.

Logically speaking, for a press conference, shouldn't one tell people what the theme is? Otherwise, wouldn't others be completely unprepared?

But over these years, the number of times Shanhe Media has held press conferences can be counted on one hand, so after the media received the notice, despite getting no answers to their inquiries, they still ran over eagerly to prepare to get the first-hand information.

They also believed that Shanhe Media would certainly not shoot without a target; there was likely a major move afoot.

They did not keep the reporters waiting too long; soon the host took the stage, and the mysterious veil of this press conference was about to be lifted.

But upon seeing the two figures appearing on the podium, the entire media contingent erupted.

"Holy crap! Big news!!!!"

"Good heavens! Zhang Yimou and Shanhe Media have made an official announcement!!!!"

"My god! It's not even the New Year yet, and a big one has already arrived!!"

As expected, before the press conference for Zhang Yimou and Shanhe Media's signing had even ended, the entire entertainment industry had already exploded.

That is Zhang Yimou!

A renowned director who began his rise in the late 80s and became world-famous in the 90s, a two-time winner of the Golden Lion, a winner of the Golden Bear, a multiple-time winner of the Silver Lion, Silver Bear, and Cannes Film Festival Jury Grand Prize, and a multiple-time Oscar nominee.

The 2008 Olympics further elevated him to the altar.

Perhaps in terms of box office, Zhang Yimou and Wei Jin still have some gap, and he cannot be called the number one person in the country, but the influence he has accumulated over several decades is no simple matter.

It is no exaggeration to say that in terms of influence alone, Zhang Yimou is even superior.

You must know, it was precisely because New Picture had Zhang Yimou that Zhang Weiping dared to act like a vicious dog, frequently barking in the circle, railing against heaven, earth, and air, unscrupulous and without restraint, even daring to mock Han Sanping.

Everyone thought that with the discord between the two Zhangs, everyone had a chance to compete for Zhang Yimou's allegiance; who knew that Shanhe Media had already secured him without a sound! Now it's all over! One is the number one entertainment group in Huaxia, the other is an internationally renowned director with honors equal to his stature.

The two sides joining forces is simply a union of the strong!

Add in Wu Ershan, who is about to step into the ranks of billion-dollar directors, the genius director Xu Laoguai, as well as the most promising new-generation commercial director in Mainland China, Ning Hao, and the rising star and cutting-edge martial arts director Lu Yang.

The lineup of directors gathered by Shanhe Media is truly too luxurious.

The industry could already imagine the scene of Shanhe Media dominating the entertainment circle, covering the sky with one hand.

The era belonging to Shanhe Media and Wei Jin has already arrived! Beijing, New Picture.

Seeing the live footage of the signing press conference held by Shanhe Media for Zhang Yimou on the entertainment news broadcast, Zhang Weiping once again transformed into a "desktop cleaning master," instantly sweeping everything on his office desk to the floor, unable to stop himself from cursing loudly.

"Damn it, so these two bastards had been hooking up for a long time. This little brat Wei Jin, when I was making my fortune, he was still wearing open-crotch pants, and now he's riding on top of my head."

You must know, when Chen Zhiming came to buy out Ni Ni's contract two days ago, although he was somewhat unhappy, hindered by unspeakable matters, and with Shanhe Media bringing out real money, he just accepted it.

But by now, how could he not understand that those so-called pieces of evidence were obtained from Zhang Yimou.

Without a doubt, the two sides had long been in cahoots!

He, Zhang Weiping, was completely a clown, being played in circles by Wei Jin and Zhang Yimou.

"F*** your mother!"

The assistant on the side trembled, silently shrinking into a corner, and only after watching his boss output to the air for over ten minutes did he weakly ask.

"President Zhang, should the subsequent matters continue?"

"Continue? Continue my foot."

Zhang Weiping sat in his boss chair, panting heavily; don't look at how furious he was, but ever since Zhang Yimou insisted on terminating the contract, he knew this day would come.

He had intended to bring out some things to completely ruin Zhang Yimou's reputation, but now, he didn't dare to make a move.

Although he knew the other party might not necessarily use such tactics, Zhang Weiping didn't dare to gamble.

Although "The Flowers of War" lost money, he had no intention of paying back things like bank loans; the money he had earned over these years was completely enough to support him in continuing to live extravagantly.

But if he really were to carry out the plan, it would be declaring an irreconcilable feud with Shanhe Media.

With Wei Jin's connections and Shanhe Media's energy in the industry, he feared he would only be able to leave his homeland and flee overseas.

Regarding this point, Zhang Weiping could not accept it; deep down, he was still a person who advocated for returning to one's roots.

But watching Zhang Yimou appear at the press conference with a smile on his face, praising Shanhe Media and Wei Jin, Zhang Weiping only felt a rush of blood surge to his head.

"F***! Change the ticket to North America to the nearest flight, immediately!"

The overseas copyright for "The Flowers of War" was his last chance for a comeback, and it was just right to take advantage of the Golden Globe Awards ceremony to leave the country, so as not to see those two bastards being all lovey-dovey!

Out of sight, out of mind!

"Alright, President Zhang, should the others be brought along?"

"Bring them? Those few won't even answer their phones, how are you going to bring them? Just notify Tong Dawei and the few others."

At the same time, Beijing, Huayi Zongbu.

"Damn it, we talked to Zhang Yimou several times, and the conditions we offered weren't even worse than what Xiaogang got, but this old guy just wouldn't respond; turns out he had already talked it over with this kid Wei Jin."

Wang Zhonglei lit a cigarette, took a fierce drag, and felt somewhat depressed.

The core team of Huayi is Feng Dapao, and the Wang brothers had always wanted to make up for the awkward situation of walking on one leg, so when they learned the news of the two Zhangs' breakup, they couldn't have been happier.

Who could have expected that Shanhe Media, which hadn't made a move, would actually have the last laugh.

"Forget it, in terms of film content, we really can't compare to Shanhe Media; even if we added Zhang Yimou, we wouldn't be able to do it, so rather than that, it's better to shift our focus."

Wang Zhongjun takes a very open view of this matter; with the layout of cultural tourism real estate over these years, the profit share generated by film and artist management has become increasingly low, and he no longer wants to expend any more effort in this area.

"Besides, the ones who are truly uncomfortable are not us."

Wang Zhongjun lit a cigarette, leaned back in his boss chair, and an inexplicable smile appeared on his face.

"Brother, are you talking about Boss Jia?"

Boss Jia usually always wears an appearance of harmony bringing wealth, but at this moment, the smile on his face had completely vanished.

He truly had not expected that after lowering his status to go out in person and making contact back and forth several times, the result would actually be like this.

The boss was in a bad mood, and the group of LeTV Pictures executives sitting in the conference room were also on pins and needles.

However, everyone could also understand; Zhang Yimou defecting to the embrace of Shanhe Media had completely affected the next phase of LeTV Pictures' layout.

No matter who encountered such a setback, their mood would not be good.

Watching the crowd in the conference room remain silent, deeply afraid of being called out, Boss Jia took a deep breath, and the corners of his mouth pulled into a smile once again.

"I didn't expect Wei Jin would actually succeed in the negotiations, but everyone need not be discouraged. Without Zhang Yimou, we still have the international master director Wu Baige. In the future, LeTV Pictures will fully unfold cooperation with Director Wu's Studio, gradually elevating LeTV's image and influence on the international level."

"The Crossing is the first project controlled and handled by LeTV Pictures, and it is also a painstaking work that Director Wu has polished for several years. Even Han Dong of China Film Group thinks highly of it; it will absolutely be the Titanic of the East, destined to be recorded in film history."

Boss Jia is indeed a master of hoodwinking; a series of cadenced, impassioned remarks instantly made the people in the conference room perk up, and he even talked himself into a state of excitement.

At the end, Boss Jia changed the subject.

"However, LeTV is after all controlling such a large project for the first time, and we still need to find more like-minded friends to move forward together. Old Zhang, has the side with Little Ma been settled?"

"President Jia."

Zhang Zhao, who came out of Enlight Media and is in charge of the film department, stood up instantly.

"It has been settled. President Li of Little Ma thinks very highly of this project, but they are currently in the process of acquiring a Hollywood special effects company, so it is estimated they cannot spare too much capital."

"It doesn't matter. There are as many domestic production companies as there are hairs on an ox. Huayi, Huace, Xingmei, and even the production companies over in Hong Kong, you can go and make contact with them. You must shoulder this project and produce a clear timetable and plan as soon as possible." "Understood, President Jia."

Wei Jin has no time to pay attention to the thoughts of his peers in the industry; he is currently eating melons on the scene.

"Director Zhang, how did Zhang Weiping offend Old Zhao and Teacher Song?"

As the news of the signing with Zhang Yimou spread, quite a few artists came out to speak up on the internet.

Among them, Old Zhao from the Northeast directly stated: "Congratulations to Yimou for escaping the sea of bitterness!"

Song Dandan also declared: "I once expressed that I would never participate in Director Zhang's films, but that was mainly targeted at that one person. Now that Director Zhang has joined Shanhe Media, I retract those words. Congratulations to Director Zhang."

The former Mou Girl Gong Li also directly expressed: "It's quite good that Yimou left there. I wish everything goes smoothly in the future."

Logically speaking, it is not easy for artists to take sides in such matters; after all, no matter what, New Picture is still a production company, and a lean camel is still bigger than a horse.

For an artist to publicly express congratulations is to offend people.

Gong Li is easier to explain; there are many rumors in the industry saying that it was because of Zhang Weiping's interference that the two of them, Zhang and Gong, broke up.

But for Old Zhao and Song Dandan, Wei Jin was truly very curious.

"President Wei, this person has a very bad temper, is arbitrary and dictatorial, and never cares about others' feelings in his words and actions, only caring about his own gratification. Over these years, he has offended I don't know how many people."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yimou gave a bitter laugh, and then recounted some of the situations he knew. The grudge between Old Zhao and Zhang Weiping had to start from A Simple Noodle Story.

Previously, when filming A Simple Noodle Story, it was inevitable for the crew to have dinners together.

One time at the dinner table, Zhang Weiping was extremely disdainful toward a certain director, disparaging them in various ways.

It just so happened that the person was a friend of Old Zhao, so Old Zhao spoke up to defend them a couple of times, which made Zhang Weiping quite dissatisfied, and he began pointing fingers at Old Zhao.

The so-called pointing fingers here was not just verbal; Zhang Weiping actually reached out and pointed at Old Zhao's head.

One must know, the rumor in the circle is "Once you pass the Shanhai Pass, look for Zhao Benshan."

It might be a bit of an exaggeration for Old Zhao to be called the "King of the Northeast," but at the very least, he is a person of status and reputation in the circle.

To be mocked in public by Zhang Weiping like that, where could he put his face? Old Zhao was so angry that he left the table immediately.

It took a great deal of effort from Zhang Yimou to get Old Zhao to calm down and continue the cooperation.

As for Song Dandan, it is even simpler.

This fellow Zhang Weiping has always liked to fire cannons. During an interview once, he directly spoke about the gap in domestic actors and the lack of variety in genres, and his words contained much discrimination against female actors.

And Song Dandan has always had a bit of a public intellectual attribute, so she directly bombarded him publicly. Zhang Weiping then declared that he would never cooperate with Song Dandan.

Song Dandan would not indulge him either, directly retorting that he only knew how to boss people around by relying on Zhang Yimou, and she didn't even care for it anyway.

These actions of Zhang Weiping truly opened Wei Jin's eyes.

However, thinking about it again, someone who could point at Han Sanping's nose and call him Zuoshandiao could indeed do these things; it really cannot be inferred by common sense.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Wei Jin looked at Zhang Yimou.

"Director Zhang, it's almost the New Year, you should rest for a while."

"That would be good."

The industry was still expecting Zhang Weiping to come out and fire cannons, but who would have expected that the media report would come out that very evening.

"New Picture person-in-charge Zhang Weiping leads Tong Dawei and others to head to Los Angeles to prepare for the Golden Globe Awards; Director Zhang Yimou, Ni Ni, and others did not accompany them."

Once this news came out, doubts arose in the circle; after all, Zhang Dapao is famous for his foul mouth, so he actually admitted defeat just like this?

Attending the Golden Globe Awards shouldn't stop him from writing a little essay, right? Or is it that because Curse of the Golden Flower was sniped by Wei Jin back then, Zhang Weiping now has "Wei-phobia"? The most confused was Zhang Yimou; he knew Zhang Weiping's dog-like temper well and had already prepared for a protracted war, and even his wife at home, Chen Ting, had already written the little essay.

But this fellow actually ran straight to North America; could it be that he is brewing some evil scheme? "It should be that President Wei put in some effort there. This is also good, so as to avoid him taking those dog-shit matters out to splash dirty water on you."

Chen Ting was actually very open-minded about this matter; not bickering is the best, as it preserves the final shred of dignity for both sides.

However, at the thought of the debts Zhang Weiping owed, Chen Ting's expression became a bit unpleasant again.

Calculating it, the unpaid salaries for A Simple Noodle Story and Hawthorn Tree amount to nearly twenty million.

Seeming to notice his young wife's mood, Zhang Yimou spoke to console her.

"Alright Tingting, after the Oscar ends, we can slowly bicker with him. Now that we have joined Shanhe Media, we won't lack money in the future, so be happy."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ting's expression finally improved quite a bit.

"By the way, did President Wei not arrange any new projects for you?"

"No, President Wei told me to rest for a while first, but the basic monthly salary is still 200,000; he is truly generous."

Zhang Yimou felt somewhat moved; an annual salary of over two million for doing nothing, while not much compared to his own net worth, revealed an attitude that made one feel incredibly comfortable—no wonder the other party could build such a massive career.

"Old Zhang, we cannot take President Wei's generosity for granted; you still have to..."

Listening to his beloved wife's advice, Zhang Yimou nodded repeatedly.

"Mm, I know."

There are many smart people in the circle, and Wang Changtian is one of them.

"Brother Wei, congratulations! You've quietly stirred up quite a big event; truly a brilliant move, haha."

In Wang Changtian's words, there was a touch of wisdom from someone who understood the inside story, as well as a bit of emotion; this Brother Wei was truly remarkable now.

"Chairman Wang, some things shouldn't be said carelessly; it's just a normal business cooperation."

Wei Jin did not want to chat much about this topic; instead, he was somewhat curious about Wang Changtian's attitude.

"Speaking of which, Chairman Wang, Enlightened Media was very proactive before; don't you find it a pity?"

"Hey, what's there to pity? I have self-awareness; Enlightened Media didn't have much hope to begin with."

Wang Changtian felt no sense of frustration from failing to pursue the "goddess," but instead remained all smiles.

"Besides, given the relationship between our two companies, if Enlightened Media has a good script and Zhang Yimou is willing to direct, you, brother, surely wouldn't set up obstacles for me, right? Haha."

"Chairman Wang is insightful!"

Wei Jin cursed the old fox under his breath; Wang Changtian was indeed worthy of being a tycoon who had navigated the entertainment industry for decades—this ability to see through to the essence was truly superb.

"Hahaha, you flatter me, you flatter me."

After some casual chatting, Wei Jin hung up the phone and turned his head to look at Ceng Li beside him.

"Li Jie, do you really want to appear in Zhang Yimou's film?"

"Of course."

Ceng Li answered extremely readily; the actresses of her generation all grew up listening to the legends of Zhang Yimou, and their feelings toward the latter's films could be described as nothing less than longing.

"Alright then, I'll arrange a script suitable for you when the time comes."

The corners of Wei Jin's mouth curled into a smile, his hands firmly grasping Ceng Li's breasts.

"Really?" Ceng Li looked pleasantly surprised.

"Whether it's real or not depends on whether Li Jie can show some sincerity."

Seeing the mischievous smile on Wei Jin's face, how could Ceng Li not understand? This little man was about to start acting up again.

However, having been together for many years, Ceng Li had also grown to like this dynamic, so she immediately changed her expression and said with feigned arrogance:

"Hmph, who do you take me for? Don't even think about things like 'casting couch' rules."

Wei Jin's heart stirred; oh ho, his sister really knew how to play, actually wanting to stage a scene of forced submission? "Heh heh, beautiful lady, at this point, it's no longer up to you."

Wei Jin played along with the performance, one hand grasping her breast while the other slid toward the mysterious zone.

"Look, if I use this move, how will you respond?"

"Mm~~~ no, you can't do this, stop it quickly."

Appreciating Ceng Li's vivid performance, Wei Jin felt like a bully possessed, turning over to pin the beauty beneath him.

"Beauty, you cannot escape from the palm of my hand; you'd better just submit obediently, hahaha."

Soon, a spectacular drama was staged inside the room. (End of chapter)