Chapter 482: Mainland Entertainment Hegemon, Mainstream-Melody, and the Invitation from Ni Ni

On the official website of China Film Group, the release dates for many films were announced all at once, among which several related to Shanhe Media attracted widespread attention within the industry.

"Jointly produced by Shanhe Media, Bi Gao Film, and Huaxia Culture, directed by Zhou Xingxing, 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons' is set for release on February 10."

"Produced by Shanhe Media, directed by Lin Yufen, 'Left Ear' is set for release on March 8."

"Produced by Jiahe, directed by Lin Chao-xian, 'Witch' is set for release on March 29."

"Jointly produced by Jiahe and Emperor Entertainment, directed by Lu Yang, 'Kung Fu Jungle' is set for release on April 27."

Although the industry had long anticipated the production speed of Shanhe Media, placing four films within three months so densely still sparked quite a bit of discussion.

"The Spring Festival Film Season, the Qingming slot, and the May Day slot—they've basically taken them all; the first half of the year is just them playing by themselves."

"'Seattle' and 'Journey to the West' are too close, aren't they? There was absolutely no need for that."

"You don't know a damn thing. What does this represent? It means their later slots are already booked. I'm afraid the competition in the second half of the year will be even more intense. Wei Jin is simply not acting like a human being."

"."

Some media outlets, wanting to stir up trouble, specifically listed the box office figures for films produced by Shanhe Media and Jiahe this year.

Not mentioning 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' and 'Flying Swords of Dragon Gate' released at the end of last year, nor films like 'Ex Machina' and 'A Simple Life' that didn't break 100 million at the box office.

Just with films like 'Once Again', 'Whiplash', 'Saving Mr. Wu', 'SPL: Sha Po Lang 2', 'The White Storm', 'Storm', and 'Bottom-Tier Girl', they have already raked in over 3 billion in box office revenue.

This already accounts for half of the domestic film market share so far this year; it is truly terrifying.

Without a doubt, Shanhe Media has become the undisputed hegemon of the Mainland China entertainment industry, and no one wants to go up against it.

But there is no helping it; given the production capabilities of Shanhe Media, this was only a matter of time.

It's just that no one in the industry expected that while everyone was still considering how to break the deadlock, an outsider would actually jump out.

It's funny to say, but I don't know when it started—as long as there is a "Journey to the West" themed film, the presence of Six Teacher is indispensable.

At this moment, Six Teacher began to lash out.

"Fabricated lines, vulgar plots, and exaggerated, artificial performances—these are all stains and blasphemy against the great classic 'Journey to the West'!"

"Adaptation is not random fabrication; this behavior of ruining a classic must stop, otherwise the producers must apologize to the national audience."

"I call on everyone to boycott it together; theaters must absolutely not screen such dross films."

The film industry has always paid little attention to Six Teacher's antics, and this time was no exception; even the person involved, Zhou Xingxing, just treated it like a fly buzzing around.

However, netizens were quite amused and actually started debating it online.

"I support it. Some adaptations are truly outrageous. Either Sun Wukong is falling in love, or Tang Seng is falling in love. Can these directors not make a movie without falling in love? They are simply corrupting children."

"Right, there are so many stories in the Journey to the West theme; it would be better to film more of the Great Sage fighting monsters. They just have to obsess over romance. It's insane."

"Six Teacher is right to be angry. Who told the producers not to pay him copyright fees? Hahaha."

","

"Jumping around like that is indeed a bit disgusting, making it seem as if he wrote 'Journey to the West' himself!"

"Sigh, Six Teacher just has the final right of interpretation for 'Journey to the West'. Not convinced? Go see whose photo is hanging in the former residence of Wu Cheng'en, hahaha."

Wei Jin had no time to pay attention to the fun online. 'New Police Story 2013' had its filing approved, and as one of the producers, he was invited to a certain department under the Ministry of Public Security.

Inside the conference room, Wei Jin, Ye Ning, a vice chairman from China Film Group, as well as Cheng Long, director Ding Sheng, and others were present.

Contrary to Wei Jin's expectations, the atmosphere at the scene was quite relaxed. A middle-aged man in his forties wearing a uniform was chatting and laughing with Cheng Long.

"When I was young, I watched Big Brother's 'Police Story' and always liked it. I hope that through this cooperation with Big Brother, we can showcase the image of our Mainland China police to the people..."

Cheng Long wore his habitual smile, "You are too kind; this is what I should do."

On the other side, Wei Jin was also chatting with director Ding Sheng. This director, who came from the Beijing Film Academy, had directed 'Little Big Soldier', 'Hard Men', and 'Underdog Knight 2', so he had a very good relationship with Cheng Long and Liu Ye.

If not for Wei Jin's interference, Liu Ye would have been the second male lead in this play.

It's a pity that this guy Liu Ye couldn't see the situation clearly. Even though he was a classmate of Ceng Li, he actually helped that fool Lu Chuan speak. Naturally, Wei Jin would not take him along to play.

After some small talk and reminiscing, the man in the uniform began to discuss serious business.

"At present, there are very few private companies and big directors in the country willing to take the initiative to shoot mainstream-melody films. As for the reason, we are also clear: firstly, box office results are hard to guarantee, and secondly, the review situation is relatively troublesome."

Wei Jin knew that these words were mainly meant for him to hear; after all, among those present, he was both the head of a private company and a big director.

Sure enough, the topic was soon steered toward him.

"As a renowned big director in the country, Director Wei, the several sci-fi blockbusters you collaborated on with Aerospace Science and Industry have all gone global. I wonder if you have considered shooting mainstream-melody films in the future to promote positive energy?"

"Leader, although I have not dealt with your department before, Director Lu Yang's 'Saving Mr. Wu' and my 'Big Shot' to be released next year are, strictly speaking, all related to the police profession, haha..."

In such an occasion, Wei Jin had to say some official words, not to mention that this was not a lie.

"As for mainstream-melody films, of course I have thought about it, but as you said, the review process is indeed a bit troublesome. Many times, one has to consider the impact of all aspects..."

The man in the uniform nodded, "Director Wei doesn't need to worry about this aspect. If it involves the military and police, or legal themes, and you encounter difficulties in review, you can come directly to us. In principle, we will definitely support it."

Ye Ning and the others listened with smiles on their faces, but they didn't take it to heart.

The leader's level is truly high; no one can really say for sure what "in principle" means.

'Police Story 2013' was only made because of Cheng Long and the support of the series.

If it were any other mainstream-melody theme, they would definitely have to be more cautious. For such films, one still needs the official administrative power to buy out the screenings to have confidence.

However, Wei Jin was different from them; he really had ideas about mainstream-melody films.

Moreover, the unit represented by the person in front of him was even more overbearing than Aerospace Science and Industry, CCTV-6, and the like.

To put it in a more intuitive analogy, Aerospace Science and Industry and CCTV-6 would at most ignore the General Administration, while the Ministry of Public Security could directly make the General Administration stand at attention and salute.

This was also the purpose of his coming here today. So Wei Jin stood up to express his stance, "Okay, Leader, if there is a need, I will not be polite."

It could be seen that Wei Jin was not just being perfunctory, and the man in the uniform also nodded solemnly.

"Mm, you are welcome at any time."

When leaving, Wei Jin chatted with Cheng Long for a few words, mainly about the promotional activities for 'Gravity'.

This time it was a global simultaneous release. It was impossible for the domestic promotion to be as crazy as before. The main focus before the release needed to be tilted toward North America, Europe, and other major box office markets.

According to Wei Jin's plan, after the Golden Horse Awards ended, the ten-day global promotion would begin, followed by the domestic premiere and roadshow, totaling 20 days.

Cheng Long had no objections to this; after all, it had already been agreed upon in the contract. Otherwise, would an 8 million USD acting fee really be so easy to collect? Furthermore, Cheng Long also hoped to use this collaboration to once again boost his international influence, and while he was at it, borrow the momentum of *Gravity* to help promote *Chinese Zodiac*.

After Cheng Long left, Wei Jin chatted with Ye Ning for a while about the issue of screening schedules, and the latter patted his chest, promising that he would absolutely do his utmost.

Just as they were about to part ways, Ye Ning couldn't help but offer a word of advice.

"President Wei, judging by what you meant just now, are you really planning to film a mainstream melody movie? You must think this through carefully. Aside from *Aftershock*, I haven't seen any that make money. If it weren't for Cheng Long's participation this time, our Wanda wouldn't have taken the bait."

Wei Jin understood Ye Ning's good intentions and nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry, President Ye. I have a plan in mind and won't rush into it."

According to Wei Jin's projections, he wouldn't consider a mainstream melody film until at least next year or the year after.

"Alright, as long as you have a plan, President Wei. Let's leave it at that for now. See you later."

"Mm, goodbye."

Time entered late October, and the film market remained lukewarm.

*Bottom-tier Girl* had been in theaters for three full weeks, and its box office had already broken the 600 million mark, reaching 608 million, with daily box office receipts still maintaining eight to nine million.

Every production company in the industry looked at these figures with a mix of envy and jealousy, but in the end, they were left with nothing but helplessness.

"The low-budget inspirational film *Bottom-tier Girl* shone brightly during the National Day Slot, and it is expected to rake in over 50 million more in box office before leaving theaters."

"*Dangerous Liaisons* won critical acclaim but lost at the box office, closing with 42.1 million, and has already been pulled from theaters."

"*Tai Chi 0* closed with a total box office of 84.8 million; its reputation collapsed, and it was forced to close."

"*Second Exposure* closed with 56.4 million, with daily receipts falling below 100,000; the producers claimed they had already achieved profitability and voluntarily pulled it from theaters."

Last year's National Day Slot produced a cumulative box office of around 1.5 billion. Everyone originally thought this year could replicate those results, and that domestic films would see a hundred flowers bloom during this hot period.

But the current result was that the overall market had shrunk significantly. Of the four films, two faced huge losses, one was slightly profitable, and only *Bottom-tier Girl* stood out from the rest.

But what made the industry sigh even more was *Mystery of the Floating City*.

As a highly anticipated film nominated for the Golden Horse Awards and the comeback work of director Lou Ye after a five-year ban, its buzz before release was definitely not low.

Yet, no one expected that its opening day box office would be less than a million.

"At this rate, this film probably won't last a week in theaters before being forced off the screen. Art films are truly hard to make these days."

Inside Shanhe Ink, Ning Hao was busy with the post-production of *The Unnamed* while chatting with Wei Jin.

"Mm, there's no helping it. Theater chains need to make money too. The 15-day guaranteed screening period is aimed at commercial films. However, Lou Ye should have already recouped his costs with this, maybe even made a small profit."

Normally, unless it's a big director with immense drawing power—like Wei Jin, Zhang Yimou, Chen Shiren, and others—everyone else shouldn't expect art films to turn a profit from the box office.

Although Lou Ye has long been deeply involved in art films, he is still eight streets behind the likes of Jia Kezhang, let alone Wei Jin and the others. Therefore, the poor performance of *Mystery of the Floating City* was entirely within Wei Jin's expectations.

"By the way, Senior Brother, how long do you estimate the post-production will take?"

"Mm, according to my judgment, two months is the absolute minimum, maybe even longer."

Wei Jin nodded. *The Unnamed* uses a three-line narrative, so post-production editing must consider structural issues and cannot be compared to the efficiency of conventional films.

"Alright, take your time. As for the release schedule, it will be at least the second half of next year, so no rush."

Receiving a call from Ni Ni was quite a surprise for Wei Jin. After all, they hadn't been in contact for the past seven or eight months, and he had assumed the transaction was settled.

However, thinking of Ni Ni's charming and alluring appearance, he didn't refuse.

That evening, when Wei Jin arrived at Golden House No. 6, Ni Ni was already waiting in the room, dressed up meticulously.

It had to be said that Zhang Yimou's eye was truly excellent; one couldn't say Ni Ni's facial features were peerless, but her figure and temperament were truly superb.

Whether it was her height-to-body ratio, waist-to-hip ratio, or even her chest shape and shoulder-neck lines, everything was excellent.

One wouldn't dare say such a figure was a top-tier femme fatale in bed, but it would be even more outstanding in terms of fashion and styling, which was no wonder she was called a "Red Carpet Killer."

For instance, at this moment, it was just a simple off-the-shoulder white dress, but worn on Ni Ni, it had an indescribable elegance.

Sensing the flash of amazement in the man's eyes, Ni Ni felt secretly pleased. There were too many female artists in the company, and she was very worried that she wouldn't be able to get in line in the future.

But it seemed fine for now; this man was still very interested in her, so she took the initiative to throw herself into Wei Jin's arms to show off her charm.

"Little brother, you haven't asked sister out for a long time. Is sister not fun anymore?"

Without waiting for Wei Jin to respond, Ni Ni stood on her tiptoes and took the initiative to kiss his lips.

Unlike a typical kiss, Ni Ni was very skilled. Each time their lips and teeth touched, it lasted no more than three seconds, and after pulling away less than a centimeter, she would quickly return, teasing one's heart until it itched.

While Wei Jin tasted her red lips and appreciated the charm in the beauty's eyes, his hands were not idle either.

Just the interaction through their clothing made Ni Ni's heart flutter.

Before long, she took the initiative to crouch down.

"Mmm~~ Great improvement."

Amidst Wei Jin's pleasant praise, Ni Ni buried her snow-white swan neck even deeper. (End of chapter)