Chapter 490: A Feast for the Eyes

Actually, Jade Rabbit doesn't really have many variety-show regulars; that's determined by its DNA. Its foundation is film and television, so there are plenty of actors and actresses.

For variety shows, they usually invite outside stars.

As for who to invite, Fang Hong generally doesn't get too involved, but if some of Jade Rabbit's actors want to develop in this area, they still need to be supported.

Giving it to Nazha is fine too; this girl is easy to manage, doesn't have much ambition.

Like Zhao Xiaodao, the others all have ambition.

If Jade Rabbit can't keep them in check, it's estimated that later some people will leave Jade Rabbit and set up on their own.

Once they're famous, they want to go solo.

"I'm planning to get into cinemas. Jade Rabbit must take another step up; you need to feel the pressure." Fang Hong said to Chen Zhixi.

"What? Cinemas!" Chen Zhixi was very surprised.

"Right, to connect the entire chain from production to distribution to screening." Fang Hong said very seriously.

"This is a capital-heavy business; it still requires a lot of money." Chen Zhixi reminded him.

Cinemas need to employ a lot of people, and require long-term operations and long-term maintenance—fixing seats, fixing or replacing screens—all of which are no small expenses.

Don't look down on small sums like these; once they accumulate and the number of cinemas grows, small money turns into big money.

Besides, cinemas don't make money year-round; there are plenty of slow seasons. Only a few release windows each year, only a few movies, actually turn a profit.

"I know, which is exactly why Jade Rabbit needs to take another step up. Only by stepping up can we have the capital to maintain a cinema operation of that scale later." Fang Hong said.

"If animation can't be monetized and keeps being dragged out, we won't be able to step up." Chen Zhixi stated plainly.

Animation can burn through any amount of money—losing hundreds of millions a year. This thing can't be monetized, so there's no way to go all-in on something like cinemas.

With so many professionals on the payroll, plus all that equipment, dragging it out like this—how could it possibly make money?

Hearing this, Fang Hong thought for a moment before saying, "Just proceed according to plan. I'll handle these matters."

Seeing that General Manager Fang was so determined, Chen Zhixi couldn't very well dissuade him and could only let him do what he thought the development called for.

For animation, Stone Spear had promised him it would absolutely be ready for release in October.

If it failed, he would cut the animation division entirely.

If they can't make a good European and American animated film, then making domestic animation is pointless—it doesn't make much money. For "Demon Child: Descendant," just investing will do; there's no need to be heavily involved.

There aren't many animated films that actually pull in great box office.

Time passed quickly. At 2 p. m. on August 21st, "The Four Great Constables 3" held its premiere press conference in Beijing.

Reporters on site had already set up their long lenses and short lenses, aimed directly at the stage ahead. The big screen on the stage was playing the "The Four Great Constables" trailer.

The visual tone was very hype, and the lighting was vivid.

The venue was already packed with audience members and fans, and some artists had come to show support for Enlight, such as Bao Beier, Liu Yan, and others.

Fang Hong came with Wang Zhangtian; the two were chatting about something. Once these two bosses arrived, all those actors and stars had to give them their full attention.

One boss from Enlight, one boss from Jade Rabbit—in this film circle, they could be said to carry enormous weight.

But those audience members and fans didn't really recognize the two of them, nor did they have much of an impression, at most having a slightly deeper impression of Fang Hong.

After all, he had acted in films before, and recently had frequently trended alongside Liu Tianxian, with people saying the two were dating.

The two sat in front-row seats; behind them, separated by a railing, was the press area, and behind that was the audience.

And next to Fang Hong, besides Wang Zhangtian, there was also Chen Jiashang. Back in the day, Fang Hong had mocked him as a muddled old fool who couldn't even make a decent film.

"Director Chen, this is General Manager Fang, also known as Principal—you should know him." Wang Zhangtian made a point of introducing him.

"I know, I know. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to meet the Principal twice." Chen Jiashang's hair had turned much whiter, and he still wore a pair of upturned mustache; his tone was quite emotional.

Back then, when this guy came to their set to visit Liu Tianxian, he was just an obscure little boss. In the blink of an eye, a few years had passed, and he'd become a big boss.

At the time, he could have ignored him, because Fang Hong often sat around their set for long stretches back then.

"Oh, then you two should be quite familiar with each other!" Wang Zhangtian said.

"Not really familiar." Fang Hong said.

This put Chen Jiashang in an awkward spot—such an impressive person right in front of him, and back then he hadn't seized the opportunity.

The result was that the "The Four Great Constables" series was filmed terribly, and in Neidi, hardly anyone wanted to hire him to make films anymore.

It really was filmed terribly. With such a great cast and such a powerful Enlight backing, each film only made one or two hundred million at the box office.

Combined, it wasn't even as high as Deng Chao's casually filmed "The Breakup Guru" at the box office. Who would still hire them to make films? No box office, no reputation.

Just then, the venue music kicked in, the stage lights blazed, and the first to appear was Zhou Zhaolong, wearing sunglasses, dressed in a suit, looking cool.

Applause kept coming; the atmosphere was pretty good.

Then came Deng Chao, Liu Tianxian, Jiang Yiyan, and Liu Yan making their entrance.

Deng Chao in a fitted suit; Liu Yan in a V-neck red gown; Jiang Yiyan in a plaid short skirt, showing off a pair of long, slender Baymax-beautiful legs. When she spotted the Principal in the audience, the smile on her face suddenly changed.

It became a touch unnatural—she still remembered how Fang Hong had slapped her back then.

But Fang Hong had long forgotten, and didn't look at her; instead, his gaze fell on Liu Tianxian.

Liu Tianxian wore high heels, her figure looked very tall and slender, in a silver strapless gown, breathtakingly beautiful. Around her neck hung a huge necklace, as thick as a steel hoop.

She also spotted Fang Hong, and her face bloomed with a smile.

Then Chen Jiashang also went up on stage, and the host even led out a dog for him—a dog from their set.

That was basically the main creative team. They introduced themselves and shared some experiences and fun stories from filming.

Zhou Zhaolong stood on the stage recounting his filming experiences.

Liu Tianxian, meanwhile, sat down next to Fang Hong, temporarily taking the seat beside him; she'd have to go back on stage later.

Chen Jiashang went to sit on Liu Tianxian's side instead.

Liu Tianxian turned her head, smiled at Fang Hong beside her, put her hand near her mouth, and whispered, "In about an hour we can leave."

"Mm!" Fang Hong nodded.

Liu Tianxian rested her hand on his leg, then turned her gaze to the stage.

"The scene where Wuqing leaves reminded me of my two younger sisters — they both suffered from depression and took their own lives, one after the other."

Hearing Zhou Zhaolong recount his tragic family, the previously good atmosphere on set faded, and the audience fell silent.

Liu Tianxian, who had been quite happy, suddenly plunged into a low mood, as if tears were welling up in her eyes.

Fang Hong looked at Liu Tianxian, thinking she'd been fine just a moment ago and was about to cry now.

"I never said anything on set so as not to affect everyone. Today I bring up this painful past only because I can't let it go." Zhou Zhaolong's voice choked on the last three words.

Liu Tianxian also choked up for a moment, nearly bursting into tears — she was just too sentimental.

Someone handed Liu Tianxian the microphone, and she said: "I had absolutely no idea while we were filming."

Saying this, she couldn't help but stand up: "Actually, when I heard about it, I was shocked. I've been wanting to talk to you about this. What I want to say is, although you've lost two younger sisters, you've gained one more."

"Clap clap clap!"

Applause immediately erupted on set. Zou Zhaolong was also greatly comforted, nodding gently a few times to express his gratitude.

He knew Liu Tianxian was truly kind-hearted — they had worked together on *The Forbidden Kingdom* before, so he knew her.

No one else offered to be his younger brother or sister; only she did. Her heart was surely in the right place.

Liu Tianxian sat back down, unable to hold it in any longer. She tilted her head back, trying to force the tears back, but they stubbornly fell anyway.

"Here!" Fang Hong handed her a tissue and gently patted her back.

Liu Tianxian took it and wiped her tears. She simply couldn't bear to see human suffering — seeing it made her uncomfortable and made her want to comfort others.

After this segment, the atmosphere on set wasn't great, but when others took the stage — Deng Chao, for instance — he livened things up again.

After the talks came the game segment.

Liu Tianxian's mood had improved considerably, and she went up on stage to join them in the games.

"General Manager Wang, you're not screening the film but playing games for buzz — that's a bit abstract!" Fang Hong said.

"Sigh, it's a sad story. If the movie were any good, would I not show it to the audience?" Wang Changtian said helplessly.

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The first two films had terrible word-of-mouth, and this one's the same. How could I dare screen it first? Whatever audience I can trick into the theater, I'll trick.

Wang Changtian added: "Those Hong Kong directors are really no good."

He only said this because Chen Jiashang wasn't here — if he were, he wouldn't have said it.

At this moment, the stage was playing Musical Chairs — whoever grabbed a chair and sat down won.

Whoever failed to grab one had to accept a punishment.

As the music played, Liu Tianxian, Deng Chao, Jiang Yiyan, and Liu Yan circled three stools.

At the host's command: "Sit!"

The four scrambled for chairs. Deng Chao and Liu Tianxian went for the same one, but Deng Chao couldn't beat her to it.

Liu Tianxian was having a great time, giggling away, completely free of the sadness from earlier.

"Did you even try? You can't even snatch a seat from a girl," the host asked Deng Chao.

"I was scared!" Deng Chao said into the microphone.

"Scared of what? You're snatching against a girl and you're still scared?" the host asked, puzzled.

"The Principal has been watching me from the audience. I was afraid if I snatched Liu Tianxian's seat, he'd come up and hit me."

Deng Chao's words made everyone on set laugh.

Fang Hong had no particular reaction, just smiled — he knew it was a joke.

"Hey Deng Chao, if you can't snatch, you can't snatch — why drag others into it?" Liu Tianxian suddenly spoke up.

"Fine, fine, I lost. Tell me how you want to punish me!" Deng Chao said, very carefree.

Actually, he didn't quite dare argue with Liu Tianxian — he was a little afraid of her, mainly because the Principal really was here. If he weren't, it'd be easier to talk.

Liu Tianxian whispered a few words to Jiang Yiyan, and the two women plotted together.

In a setting like this, Liu Tianxian could interact with anyone, and she even handed the chance to administer punishment over to Jiang Yiyan.

"We've unanimously decided — Deng Chao, you take that whip and do a pole dance."

"Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!"

Jiang Yiyan's words immediately triggered a wave of heckling from the audience.

The host, holding a whip, handed it to Deng Chao and said: "Before the performance, is there anything you'd like to say to Sun Li?"

"Anyway, I haven't been home in two months, so I just won't go back at all — it's just that there's no one across from me, I wouldn't know how to use it." Deng Chao's dirty joke came out of nowhere.

Even the host couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, walking away in embarrassment.

Liu Tianxian tilted her head toward Jiang Yiyan, not intending to chime in — she knew where the line was.

Although she often traded dirty jokes with Fang Hong too, in public she knew to steer clear, knowing what should and shouldn't be said.

After all the horseplay, Deng Chao still did the pole dance — the sight was absolutely eye-searing, extremely seductive.

Then came two chairs for three women to snatch — same rules: whoever failed to snatch a chair had to take the punishment.

As the music played, Liu Tianxian and Jiang Yiyan shared one chair, each sitting on half a buttock.

"Time to show what good sisters you are — who's going?" Deng Chao said with a face that said "your turn at last."

"What are you trying to do?" Liu Tianxian said.

"Same as before — do a pole dance like I did," Deng Chao said.

"Playing is fine, I have no problem. The issue is, you need your whole butt on the chair — what does it count if two of us do it like this?" Liu Tianxian was quite earnest, and quite bold.

"Then I'll leave it to the audience — I can't judge who wins or loses between you two."

After Deng Chao said this, the host whispered a suggestion to him, and he then said: "How about you both go together."

The audience immediately heckled, and someone shouted "Go Yifei!"

This made Liu Tianxian a bit embarrassed, but then she loosened up and said: "Bring it on — like you've worked at a nightclub, doing it just like that."

Her tone was aggressive, and she strode boldly toward the pole—after all, when it came to having fun, she had always been very open about it.

"Tch, you actually noticed." Deng Chao minced, following her over to the pole.

As the music started, Liu Tianxian and Jiang Yiyan each gripped the pole with one hand and simply circled around it; the live music and lights were dazzling.

The audience was egging them on too, very lively.

They didn't really dance—Liu Tianxian just flipped her hair, which really was black and thick.

"I don't know if the Principal has seen it or not, but we sure got an eyeful." Deng Chao teased.

Fang Hong just smiled and said nothing, watching the noisy, bustling stage as they played games—interesting, yet somehow not.

In any case, the live audience was pretty fired up.

He was chatting with Wang Zhangtian: "Does General Manager Wang plan to sell his shares in Tu Piao Piao?"

"Sell at a time like this?" Wang Zhangtian looked at him in surprise—he had no intention of selling now.

"An institution wants Tu Piao Piao shares and says they can offer a premium. If you want to sell and make some money, you can let me know." Fang Hong made it up on the spot.

Hearing him say that, Wang Zhangtian asked, "How much of a premium?"

"If you have that intention, then we'll talk about the premium." How could Fang Hong possibly give him a specific number at this point?

This made Wang Zhangtian fall to thinking, and he looked again at the man beside him, feeling it didn't seem like a joke.

Actually, he did want to sell—the films of recent years hadn't really made any money.

They'd all been copied by Jade Rabbit, so how could they possibly make money?

Besides, Tu Piao Piao didn't do much for him either, so he could invest elsewhere; hearing Fang Hong mention a premium did give him a bit of a flutter.

(End of chapter)