Chapter 570: Project Launch: Master and Apprentice Shine Together

Sometimes you have to admit, once a big shot speaks, the efficiency of administrative departments is terrifyingly high.

The selection process for the general director of the Year of the Horse Spring Festival Gala took less than a week from start to finish, and the candidate was actually finalized directly.

"Director Feng Xiaogang has officially signed with CCTV to become the general director of the Year of the Horse Spring Festival Gala!"

"Huayi's stock price soared in response."

Watching the news, Wei Jin could already imagine that there would likely be quite a few faces of actors under Huayi appearing on this year's Spring Festival Gala stage.

But it's normal; having finally become the general director of the Spring Festival Gala, how could Huayi Brothers not arrange for their own people to go up and show their faces? Wei Jin could even imagine that there would be no shortage of people pulling strings in the industry during this period, just to stand on that stage.

After all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse; although the Spring Festival Gala has declined, for an artist, it is definitely the best stage to refresh their national popularity.

After sighing with emotion, Wei Jin turned his attention to the film market.

Another week passed, and the situation of the Summer Slot had changed drastically.

Xu Laoguai's film *Shendu Longwang* was performing very strongly.

In 10 days, the box office had already broken the 400 million mark, and currently, the daily box office was still maintaining a high level of 30 million, with quite long-lasting potential.

As for that *Tai Chi Hero*, it really made Han Sanping pay enough tuition; after the first three days of the opening weekend, the box office was actually less than 10 million. What the hell is this?

On the other hand, *Blind Detective*, relying on a 7.2 rating on Yinxiang Net, ushered in a wave of reversal; currently, it has been released for 11 days, and the box office has reached 150 million.

Liu Tianwang was calling on audiences and fans online almost every day to give the film a little more time and not to miss a good movie.

It just looked like it wasn't very effective, with the daily box office barely maintaining seven or eight million.

"Boss, the front desk informed us that President Zhang and Director Yan from Mahua FunAge have arrived."

The voice of Assistant Huang Mengying pulled Wei Jin back from his mobile phone screen.

"Good, bring them over."

Mahua FunAge was very attentive to the film *Goodbye Mr. Loser*; they had made an appointment some time ago, but unfortunately, Wei Jin was busy with post-production, so he notified them to slow down.

Now that the post-production work was finished, it was time to start.

Soon, Wei Jin met Zhang Cheng, one of the founders of Mahua FunAge, in his office.

Zhang Cheng was wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and jeans, with glasses, and his shoulder-length hair had quite an artistic flair.

His way of speaking also had a bit of a literary style; words not commonly used like "this humble one," "long time no see," and "yearn for" kept popping out of his mouth, sounding a bit strange.

However, there are all kinds of people in the world, and Wei Jin was not surprised.

After the pleasantries, the guests were seated, and Wei Jin did not engage in too much small talk, getting straight to the point.

"The two of you should know that there are still some differences between stage plays and films. I wonder what modifications have been made to the script?"

Hearing this, Yan Fei took the materials out of his briefcase and handed them over with both hands.

"President Wei, you are an expert, please provide your corrections."

At the same time, he was explaining, "President Wei, the story lines of the main characters in the stage play are already very full; this time we mainly adjusted the roles of the supporting characters."

While listening, Wei Jin flipped through the script and could see that even the detailed budget had been made at the back.

A few minutes later, Wei Jin closed the materials and nodded.

"President Zhang, Director Yan, there is no problem with the script; you can follow this. It's just that for the budget, 20 million is too little, let's make it 30 million."

Zhang Cheng was a founder after all and could keep a straight face, but Yan Fei became excited, and a strange flush appeared on his face.

Before coming, they were worried about being picked apart; they didn't expect it to be so easy. This was absolute trust.

Taking in the reactions of the two, Wei Jin calmly asked about the arrangement of the roles.

"President Wei, for a stage play adaptation, the original cast is definitely the best, after all, they are experienced..."

When Yan Fei said this, he felt his boss poke him, immediately reacted, and changed his words:

"But professional actors are definitely no problem. I wonder what arrangements you have, President Wei?"

"I wouldn't call it an arrangement. Just leave the role of the second female lead, Qiu Ya, to me. For the other roles, just follow your original cast. By the way, for Shen Teng, tell him to lose some weight."

"Uh, that's no problem, I will definitely urge him to slim down."

"Hmm, alright then. You can start the pre-production. The company will arrange a relevant team to assist you. Director Yan, no objections, right?"

Yan Fei waved his hands hurriedly, "President Wei, what are you saying? We have no experience; having your company's help is exactly what we were hoping for, haha."

"Good, then that's it."

Just as Wei Jin said, the promotional warm-up for *Edge of Tomorrow* had begun, and the promotional posters had crossed the ocean and appeared online.

On the large poster, there were only Jing Tian and Tom Cruise, the absolute core in the C-position.

The background of the poster was the sky full of broken fighter jet wreckage, paired with the mecha full of a sense of fragmentation on the two leads, giving people a feeling of the apocalypse.

At the bottom of the poster were the name of the film, the list of producers, and the release date.

There was no need for the producers to say anything; the media and the internet reported it spontaneously.

The industry was reminded once again that this abyssal giant crocodile would land in the New Year Slot! With the example of *Pacific Rim* before them, the industry had a clear judgment of this film; perhaps it would rule the entire New Year Slot with the support of the three major Chinese producers, and no one would dare to test its edge!

However, no one expected that at this moment, three more films announced their release dates.

"The action crime film *New Police Story 2013*, jointly produced by Wanda Pictures, China Film Group, and Shanhe Media, starring Cheng Long, with the passionate participation of Lei Jiayin, Gao Ye, and others, is set for release on December 6."

"The second installment of *The Four* series, directed by Chen Jiashang and starring the Four Young Dan, will be set for the New Year Slot and released on November 29."

"The comedy film *Personal Tailor*, produced by Huayi, written by Wang Shuo, directed by Feng Xiaogang, and featuring many stars such as Ge You, Fan Wei, Song Dandan, Bai Baihe, Li Xiaolu, and Zheng Kai, is set for the New Year Slot and will be released on December 13."

Although the three films tacitly chose to avoid *Edge of Tomorrow*, setting their release dates in the New Year Slot simultaneously still made the media and the film and television circle boil over. Counting them up, there were already several major productions in the entire New Year Slot; it was truly lively.

That film *Tiny Times*, after 20 days of release, had completely fizzled out.

Even after calling on fans and moviegoers several times to contribute to the box office, *Tiny Times* still couldn't cross the 500 million mark, and its performance was not even as good as *Left Ear*.

"As of yesterday, the total box office of *Tiny Times* was 452 million, with a daily box office of less than 10,000. Its potential was exhausted, and it was pulled from theaters ahead of schedule."

"*Tiny Times* box office is far from expectations; fans bluntly state that this is the result of suppression."

"Guo Jingming cried out that he was being squeezed out and bullied by the industry, calling on relevant departments to rectify the market atmosphere. He also stated that he and the creative team would meet with fans and moviegoers on the 8th of next month for *Tiny Times 2: Qingmu Times*, and they would definitely be there!" Honestly, this result was within Wei Jin's expectations.

After all, with the arrival of the internet era, especially after Yinxiang Net went public, the word-of-mouth of a film is always the top priority.

Don't you see that even for someone as powerful as Zhang Yimou, Chen Shiren, and others, if a film has a poor reputation, it still won't sell at the box office?

That *Tiny Times* has managed to survive until now is entirely due to the support of those die-hard fans; at least eighty percent of the box office was contributed by those young girls in their twenties.

But precisely because of this, *Tiny Times* is destined to be recorded in film history, and it will enter with negative labels such as "corrupting public morals" and "shattering values."

Yet one point cannot be denied: this film allowed Guo Xiaosi to gain a firm foothold in the film circle because he made money for the producers, and even many production companies are green with envy.

It is foreseeable that in the future, films that harvest fans like this will continue to emerge one after another.

"President Wei, Guo Xiaosi is still encouraging himself by saying he wants to learn from you. He said that *Those Years* also faced a lot of criticism back then."

Hearing Lao Chen's words, Wei Jin was displeased.

"Is this the same thing? It's not the same matter at all."

When *Those Years* was released, it was mainly because the schedule was chosen for the New Year Slot, competing against Feng Dapao and Zhou Xingxing, which touched the nerves of quite a few old-timers.

The points of accusation were all about Wei Jin being overconfident; it had nothing much to do with the film itself.

"So, Guo Xiaosi has been scolded miserably by netizens again, and many directors in the circle are scolding him for 'porcelain-touching' 【clout-chasing】."

Speaking of this, Chen Zhiming couldn't help but laugh, though Wei Jin found it hard to say anything.

After all, given his current status, and with Guo Xiaosi putting himself in such a low position, being petty about it in words would seem a bit beneath him.

"Fine, this time let Guo Fan teach him how to behave."

Wei Jin has high hopes for this film; beating the second installment of the *Tiny Times* series is absolutely no problem.

"By the way, how is the promotion for *About Time* going?"

"Mm, everything is going according to plan. Guo Fan has already taken the cast to record variety shows. This time, he is holding his breath, wanting to enter the Billion Yuan Club."

"Tsk tsk, his dream is too small."

Wei Jin shook his head, hoping that after this time, Guo Fan's self-confidence can be established.

"How is the premiere arranged?"

"Mm, the invitations have all been sent out, and it's set for the 31st."

"Alright."

As August draws nearer, the Summer Slot is nearing its end, and the films about to be released have all begun their frantic promotions.

The film *About Time*, directed by Guo Fan, can be said to be highly anticipated by the industry, simply because it is a script personally written by Wei Jin.

This film will also lead the charge in August, being the first to be released, and it has recently been appearing frantically on major variety shows.

Immediately following are popular domestic films such as *A Story of Wind, Flower, Snow and Moon* starring Huang Xiaoming and Yang Ying, and *Tiny Times 2*.

It must be said that Huang Xiaoming is truly sparing no effort to promote his girlfriend; with half a month left, he posts on Weibo almost every day to help with the promotion.

As for Yang Mi, perhaps she was burned too badly by the first *Tiny Times*, so this time she is completely silent.

Including the other leads of *Tiny Times*, they have all acted as if they disappeared, leaving only Guo Xiaosi jumping up and down.

However, compared to these popular films, that low-budget *Young Style* has attracted even more attention from netizens.

Because many well-known actors and A-list stars in the circle are posting on Weibo to help promote and advertise this film.

This makes people incredibly puzzled; it's not a big production, the director is unknown, and the leads haven't even been heard of, so why are there so many stars helping to stand for it?

Soon, knowledgeable netizens came out to popularize the information.

"Who is the male lead Dong Zijian? He is the son of Wang Jinhua, the number one Agent in the domestic entertainment industry, and his father is the actor who played the Five-Tiger Bagua Staff in *Kung Fu Hustle*."

"Damn, so he's a second-generation star."

"Awesome, he's the male lead right out of the gate, and he has Best Actress Qin Hailu acting alongside him; the configuration is fully maxed out. I have to be convinced!"

"Isn't this too unfair? Many professionally trained actors can't even get a bit part."

"Brother, what are you thinking? Do you want to bridge the gap of decades of your ancestors' struggle with just ten years of hard study?"

"."

Watching the discussion online, Wei Jin has to admit that there is no such thing as fairness in the entertainment industry; in fact, there cannot be absolute fairness in any circle.

Moreover, Wang Jinhua's power in the domestic entertainment industry is actually far from being this great; this time, she must have used all her connections just to pave the way for her son's debut work.

One can only say, the hearts of parents are truly pitiful! Just as numerous films were poised for release, the Venice International Film Festival officially announced the first list of films shortlisted for the Main Competition Section.

*Nomadland* and *The Distinguished Citizen* were prominently on the list! Once the news broke, the entire film circle was in an uproar. The master and apprentice were both shortlisted at the same time, which is a grand occasion rarely seen in the Chinese-language film circle for many years.

"The realistic English-language film *Nomadland*, directed by director Wei Jin, has been confirmed to be shortlisted for the Main Competition Section of the Venice International Film Festival."

"After the regrettable loss of *Whiplash*, director Wei Jin is once again launching an assault on the Venice Golden Lion and the European Three Major Film Festivals Grand Slam!"

"Director Jiang Wen is serving as a judge; can he help director Wei Jin achieve the Grand Slam? We shall wait and see!"

"Following the shortlisting of *Search* for the Berlin International Film Festival, Beijing Film Academy Director Department Head Tian Zhuangzhuang has once again been shortlisted for the Venice International Film Festival with the Wei Jin script *The Distinguished Citizen*."

"This year's Venice International Film Festival may witness the grand occasion of the master and apprentice shining together!"

Compared to Wei Jin, the reports on Tian Zhuangzhuang were much fewer, and most of them were reported alongside his student; after all, the media also knows whose traffic is greater.

However, for Wei Jin, it was even more gratifying that his mentor could be shortlisted, so he called immediately to congratulate him.

"Wei Jin, I have to thank you. This script might be the closest I've ever been to winning an award."

Across the phone, Wei Jin could feel his mentor's joy. Directors of their generation are indeed very persistent about awards.

"Don't worry, Teacher, there will definitely be a good result this time."

After hanging up the phone, Wei Jin went over to Liu Yifei's side.

As the female lead of the Venice International Film Festival, shouldn't they celebrate properly? So that night, Wei Jin once again experienced the charm of the uniformed celestial beauty. (End of chapter)