Chapter 343: Never Defeated

Fang Hong was just messing around out of boredom, yet some people took it seriously.

Only because the matter quickly spread within the company, Liu Yin and Li Anran being dragged by the Principal to burn incense became the talk and laughingstock of many.

"Did you hear? Liu Yin and the others ran up to the eighteenth floor and got dragged by the Principal to burn incense."

"I heard. Said it could bless them with wealth, and they actually believed it."

"Hahaha, that's hilarious!"

"What's so funny? Worshipping a statue is indeed more useful than worshipping the God of Wealth—at least the Principal can see it, and really gives out money. Didn't you see Liu Yin and the others strike it rich and even buy a big flat-floor apartment? Can any of you match that?"

After hearing that, those people immediately couldn't laugh anymore.

"You go to a temple to worship a god for wealth, the god doesn't know a damn thing, but the Principal really knows."

"Wasn't there news recently? Lots of young people under life pressure like going to temples to worship gods. Feels like it's still not as useful as worshipping the Principal."

"Damn, you even want to worship the Principal."

"Worshipping the Principal won't do, but worshipping the statue is fine. Didn't the Principal say it? The Jade Rabbit blesses us with wealth, hahaha."

This was meant as a joke, yet some people specifically ran up to the eighteenth floor to burn incense there, simply because the Principal really could see it.

You worship a god, the god can't see you.

Of course this didn't start any trend—only a small number of people were curious, while many felt the act was too childish; earning money through work is only right and proper.

On what grounds should we worship a capitalist like the Principal?

Fang Hong didn't take this matter to heart. He had plenty on his plate, adjusting the share allocation for TV dramas.

Legend of Lu Zhen recently wrapped up perfectly, with the finale pulling a 2.283% viewership rating and 6.76% market share—a scorching performance.

The finale's online playback volume exceeded one billion. Fang Hong didn't know how many times this figure had been multiplied—probably not much, still quite conservative.

Because Chang'e Video's traffic surged wildly during the last few episodes.

But after the broadcast ended, traffic dropped again, though not by too much—some rewatched, many watched full episodes.

Moreover, the second-round broadcast rights for Legend of Lu Zhen have already been sold. The licensing fee isn't too high, around twenty million, equivalent to 440,000 per episode.

Three Satellite TV stations purchased them—Shenzhen Satellite TV, Shanxi Satellite TV, and Guangdong Satellite TV—for a total of sixty million.

The earlier first-round exclusive was changed to 200 million; 500 million is too exaggerated! For everyone's information.

Recently Zhao Xiaodao's popularity is high, and she's gotten into it with Da Mimi's fans, who say she looks like Da Mimi and is copying her.

This made Zhao Xiaodao blow up, posting: {Why do you always mistake me for Da Mimi? Don't you know what your own idol looks like? Just because someone has big eyes, a center part, and films palace dramas, does that make them Da Mimi? }

What she didn't expect was that these words stirred up a thousand waves!

A Wangyi hit back at her: "Who do you think you are? Can you compare to even one finger of Da Mimi?"

"Get out of the entertainment industry!"

"."

Facing the surging tide of ill-intentioned Heizi, Zhao Xiaodao promptly issued an apology, but still couldn't stop the cursing.

Zhao Xiaodao is still too green, lacking the later composure and calm—she couldn't hold up under this.

This is normal. When you're famous, controversy follows. To leap across class, everyone has to go through that. Don't think becoming famous is that simple.

To make a leap upward, any star has to endure being slandered and cursed. Liu Tianxian went through exactly this.

"Don't try to explain, don't try to clarify the rumors. You can't make it clear. If you get close to anyone, people might say you're dating them, that you're looking for a toy boy. The internet is just like that." Huang Bing did ideological work with Zhao Xiaodao.

"But what they're saying hurts my heart. Some things I clearly never did—I don't even know where these messy rumors came from." Zhao Xiaodao was very annoyed.

Many rumors are truly baffling, like saying she was a hostess.

"Don't take them seriously. Your status means you have to bear these things. If a dog bites you, are you going to bite back? If a kid curses you, are you going to take them seriously? You're now a top-tier star. When people several levels below you come to leech off you, do you have to respond?" Huang Bing said.

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaodao fell silent. Indeed, many things can't be explained clearly. If she lowered herself to argue with ignorant, ill-mannered people, she'd be dragged down to their level.

And right now she's hot—if she responds, she's giving people the chance to leech off her.

"You're in the rising phase of your career now. What you need to do is solidify your popularity. The company has already arranged your upcoming dramas. Don't pay attention to anything else. Learn more from Liu Tianxian." Huang Bing said.

Zhao Xiaodao nodded. Right now she was still a bit immature, whether facing public opinion or handling sudden incidents.

But those are secondary. Although she has popularity now, it's not consolidated. To consolidate her popularity, she needs to keep producing works.

The Secret of a Wife and Boss & Me are her next two works.

Gu Man's novel copyrights are all under Jade Rabbit.

Fang Hong didn't handle these matters. He was adjusting the TV drama share allocation. Since TV drama production isn't as refined as film, as long as the story is told clearly, shares only go to the screenwriters, Producer, and director.

Behind-the-scenes staff don't get shares; behind-the-scenes work can be outsourced.

The Producer isn't one person but a group—of course the leader gets the bigger share.

Giving it all to one person would be too extreme. Jade Rabbit produces many shows; giving it all to one person would make others feel unbalanced.

After all, talent cultivation is needed—cultivating many Producers.

Additionally, TV dramas only distribute first-round shares; second and third rounds don't get shares, and online licensing fees don't get shares either. If second and third rounds also got shares, and online licensing fees too, the time span would be too long, the wait too drawn out, and the financial accounting workload too heavy.

Step by step, Fang Hong will distribute the money to most veterans through other means. It's just that his Jade Rabbit still needs to develop now, needs to accumulate some capital.

Distributing too much would hinder development. After all, the enemies haven't been eliminated yet; the revolution hasn't succeeded.

On Friday, June 7th, The Fault in Our Stars opened in 53 countries worldwide. In North America, it took the weekly box office crown with a 26.06 million USD opening day.

In its first three days, it took the North America crown with a 48.20 million USD opening box office.

It became a rare breath of fresh air amid the roaring Best Special Effects summer slate.

Tom Cruise's sci-fi commercial blockbuster Oblivion performed miserably, failing to break 30 million USD in its opening three days—not only unable to shake "The Fault" from its champion throne,

it couldn't even surpass The Great Gatsby in its second week of release. How lamentable!

Box office data from other international regions hasn't come out yet, but the most eye-catching performer was Brazil, which took 13.15 million USD in its first week, becoming that country's box office champion.

Next came the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Australia, each with first-week box office exceeding five million.

Such box office performance made Universal's General Manager Donna grin from ear to ear, overjoyed!

Obviously Fang Hong prefers working with Universal — apart from The Conjuring series, all his other films are basically collaborations with Universal.

That Warner bastard never once came to China to see him, yet Donna came once.

And even helped promote Lucy 1!

The Fault in Our Stars was a massive hit, and the United States' Time magazine commented:

"Young female viewers believe that meeting a perfect lover at the cost of cancer is worth it. Although the cancer theme is cliché, cliché isn't a fatal flaw — as long as it's cliché enough to be romantic, graceful, and refreshingly pure. For female viewers with the heart of a young girl, the pure-love fairy tale of a boy and a girl will never go out of style."

"The Fault in Our Stars has a very good script, and the Performance Department is also excellent — sharp yet witty and full of wise observations. Fans of the novel will be pleased by the film's faithful adaptation of the original." — United States Today.

"The film's greatest strength comes from the script and Yu's direction, which ensured the film did not sink into a stereotypical cancer drama, but instead created two vibrant and trustworthy young characters!" — The Hollywood Reporter.

"Compared with a sharply edged plot-driven film, The Fault in Our Stars is more like a soft watercolor painting — extremely warm. This is thanks to Yu's direction, which never overdoes it and keeps striving for perfection." — The Times.

Yu Xian once again made the mainstream international media; his appearance and demeanor were published again, making him one of the world's renowned directors.

Facts proved he can not only make horror films and erotic films, but also refreshingly pure romance films.

When foreign reporters asked him why he was so successful, he answered: "Because Mr. Hong is guiding me."

This "Mr. Hong" immediately sparked much speculation.

This time Yu Xian once again rose to fame abroad; seeing that the films he made were normal, China no longer banned him, letting his "wind" blow in.

"Chinese director Yu Xian's masterpiece The Fault in Our Stars is a huge success!" — Sina.

"The Fault in Our Stars becomes the world's highest-grossing film; Yu Xian: Mr. Hong is guiding me!" — People's Daily Online.

"Yu Xian's new work The Fault in Our Stars receives high praise from Hollywood!" — Huanqiu. com.

"The Yu Xian you have to talk about — three years braving Hollywood, never once defeated!" — Sohu Entertainment.

Not only did major media outlets report it, but even on social media, Wangyi was also discussing and digging deep into this person.

"Who exactly is Mr. Hong?"

"I discovered a secret — the very first film he made was actually the Jade Rabbit Abortion Trilogy's So Young, holy crap!"

"It's said he used to be the Principal's cameraman."

"Why doesn't this Yu Xian cast Chinese actors? Doesn't he love his country?"

Weibo, Tieba, QQ groups, Bilibili.

"."

For a time Yu Xian's name appeared across internet media, mainstream media, social media, and everywhere else — many people were discussing his deeds.

They said all sorts of things — how many films he had made in Hollywood, whether he loved his country or not.

Of course, some also speculated about who "Mr. Hong" was. Felt like the Principal, but the Principal seemed to be surnamed Fang, so it didn't quite seem like him.

For a time the discussions were quite lively, though of course they didn't generate any earth-shattering traffic.

It was only because people found him very unfamiliar — they only knew one film, So Young, and had never seen a single one of the films he made in Hollywood.

Such a person whose name was heard but whose works were not, sparked intense interest among netizens and the entertainment circle.

Coincidentally, word came that the Shanghai International Film Festival would open on June 15, and Yu Xian had been invited to attend.

He gladly agreed. He wasn't coming to sell his film for awards — the film wouldn't even be imported — he was purely coming to show off, to experience the treatment of being a "Li An."

To be rich and not return home is like wearing brocade robes at night!

Of course he was still far behind Li An — Li An's Life of Pi directly deified him, and just this year, he won an Oscar.

Another reason was that Lao Wang Zong called again to urge Fang Hong to arrange a meeting, his tone even impatient: "It's been a month — why is there still no news at all?"

"I arranged it. He's coming to Shanghai tomorrow for the film festival. Whether he meets you or not, I can't guarantee — this is all I can do." Fang Hong was in a difficult position.

(End of chapter)