Chapter 219: Afraid of Laughing Out Loud

Before 2008, on the Chinese film box office list, the top three domestic film box office hits were:

2006, Zhang Yimou's *Curse of the Golden Flower*, 291 million.

2002, Zhang Yimou's *Hero*, 250 million.

And there was the just-passed 2008 New Year's slot, *Assembly* produced by Huayi. After Director Feng changed the cast,

With Tong Dawei taking the lead in the box office.

Finally, living up to expectations, with the help of powerful actors Zhang Hanyu and Huang Xiaoming, who had recovered from illness and returned with an even better performance state, it hauled in 203 million when it was taken off the screens a few days ago.

Although, the fly in the ointment was that on Douban and Tianya Forum, it was criticized by the audience whom Director Feng called "ignorant and not understanding movies" for having slight flaws in the actors' performances.

But so what?

The star strategy was a great success.

The all-star *Assembly* finally surpassed the shocking masterpiece of Director Chen Kaige back then, the 160 million *The Promise*, and stood in the third position.

This undoubtedly allowed Huayi Brothers, which had previously been mired in a scandal vortex, to catch its breath from the bottomless abyss.

At the very least, the bank loans could be repaid, and there was even a slight surplus, which made Wang Zhongjun quite satisfied.

The subsequent filming plans wouldn't be delayed either, at most the next loan to the bank would just have a few more interest points calculated. It could be counted as a full victory.

Wang Zong, who now held both the positions of chairman and general manager, was naturally satisfied with earning 10 or 20 million. He didn't know that *Assembly* could have originally sold 269 million, right?

Therefore, on the night of the premiere of *The Message*, Wang Zong was still in high spirits and called Wang Dong, whom he hadn't seen for a while, to his home, preparing to chat together about future plans and company development.

As a result, he didn't expect that after not seeing him for more than half a month since the New Year, his younger brother's face, which had looked a bit bloated during the New Year, had actually become a whole circle fatter,

Quite different from the famous diamond bachelor in the circle who was both wealthy and handsome.

Noticing Wang Zhongjun's gaze, Wang Zonglei smiled calmly and said: "Brother, it's nothing, just that I've been idle recently and ate a bit more. After going to the gym to exercise, I'll lose it in a couple of days."

Wang Zhongjun nodded and said: "Being fat doesn't matter, it's mainly that you aren't young anymore, and being too fat is bad for your health. I called you over because there's something I want to chat with you about... What do you think of *The Message*?"

Wang Zonglei looked at Wang Zhongjun's expression and probed cautiously: "I think... it should sell quite well. Brother, what do you mean?"

Wang Zhongjun frowned, looked his younger brother up and down, and said with increased emphasis: "What do you mean?"

Wang Zonglei said in a low voice: "Brother, you wouldn't still want to deal with Chen Nuo, would you?"

"Why? Are you afraid?"

"No, Brother... it's not that I'm afraid, it's just that we don't have to. This, the Oscars and such, he won it because he was lucky, and in the future... hmm, minding our own business is also quite good, right?"

Wang Zhongjun knew that his younger brother had always been fierce on the outside but weak on the inside and was a straw bag, but he never expected that a small setback would make him become this ghost-like appearance.

Wang Zhongjun was furious: "Are you that afraid of Chen Nuo? Have you forgotten how he bullied us? Fan Fan Binbing was poached by him, right? *The Banquet* was laughed at by people in the circle back then, that was his doing, right?"

"We were treated so miserably this time, and that traitor Li Bingbing was also instigated by him to bite back, right? How did you lose your general manager position, how did you bow and step down at the press conference, and how did you smash things all over your office afterward?"

"Why, you only dare to get angry at dead objects? When asked to deal with a living person, you have no guts?"

During Wang Zhongjun's speech, Wang Zonglei's face was also changing between green and white.

Hearing the end, he smiled bitterly and showed a bitter face, "Brother, I know everything you said. But, his momentum is strong now, if I want to mess with him again, what can I do? I heard he went to CCTV to record *Face to Face* yesterday, what does this mean, Brother, you know better than me."

"So what?" Wang Zhongjun looked at him coldly, "Are you just going to let it go with him? Let him ride on our heads and shit and piss in the future?"

Wang Zonglei was silent for a while and said: "Brother, you are right, we definitely can't just let it go! Then Brother, what do you want to do? You say it, I'll listen to you. It's just that the momentum of *The Message* has already risen, it's not easy to suppress it."

Wang Zhongjun said faintly: "Doing it openly definitely won't work. Now that China Film Group is involved, many methods are not easy to use. But from another aspect, it might not be impossible..."

Wang Zhongjun bit the tobacco in his mouth, spat lightly, then lit the cigar and said slowly: "I recently heard... in the Hong Kong side's 'Edison Chen photo scandal,' there is a woman who is now living with Chen Nuo."

Wang Zonglei was shocked and said: "Brother, this news of yours... is it true or false?"

Wang Zhongjun said faintly: "This isn't any secret either. That kid, I don't know if he really has a clear conscience or is bold enough to defy the heavens, he didn't hide this matter from anyone."

"That woman is named Angelababy, she is a small model from Hong Kong, and she used to date Edison Chen. So, there is her in those photos on the internet."

"This Angelababy has always had a pretty good relationship with Chen Nuo's girlfriend, that little girl surnamed Wen. It should also be because of this that after the incident in Hong Kong, Janice Man brought her to Beijing."

Wang Zonglei listened intently and asked: "Then Brother, what do you mean? What do you want me to do?"

"You have to find a way to get in touch with that woman. I've seen her, she looks quite good, and her figure is passable." Wang Zhongjun said with flickering eyes, "You are right, he was on that program, and now ordinary scandals can't move him."

"However, if you can make that woman agree, find a way to take a few nude photos of him."

"It's best if it's her, Janice Man, and Chen Nuo, the three of them together in those kinds of photos. Heh. When the time comes, we will do the same as in Hong Kong, put it on the internet, and create another 'nude photo scandal' for him in the mainland."

"You say, what will be the consequence? So what if he won an Oscar?"

Wang Zonglei's eyes became brighter as he listened, until the end, he was so excited he stood up and shouted: "By then, don't talk about an Oscar, even if he is the Monkey King descending to earth, he will have to be pressed under the Five Fingers Mountain!"

Wang Zhongjun smoked a cigar and said faintly: "This kind of method hurts one's virtue; if it weren't for him being too bullying, I wouldn't want to use it."

"Zonglei, you have nothing to do now, so I will hand this matter entirely to you."

"Remember, this matter can be a bit slow, but whether it succeeds or not, it must be kept secret, and not a single whisper can be leaked."

"You find a way to get in touch with that woman. As long as she agrees, she can set any conditions. I expect that woman has nothing now; as long as our Huayi promises to give her a straw to save her life, she will definitely find a way to grab it."

"Zonglei, this little beast Chen Nuo has finally revealed a flaw. You must make good use of it. But you can't be in a hurry; it would be best if you can expose the scandal while *The Message* is being shown, but if not, then lay a long line to catch a big fish."

"In short, take it slow, as long as you don't expose yourself. If this woman doesn't work, then the next one."

"I've been thinking for so long, and I've finally thought it through. This brat Chen Nuo doesn't care about fame or money, and is impervious to outside influence."

"However, he is still a man after all. If a woman delivers herself to his door, I don't believe he won't take the bait."

If Chen Nuo knew that in Wang Zhongjun's heart, he was actually a person who didn't care about fame and fortune but only cared about women, he would definitely be dumbfounded.

Heaven knows how much thought he put into being able to make money on *The Message*.

Walking such a small red carpet, he was more than ten times more attentive than at Cannes.

If his North American fans saw him like this now, they would know,

It turns out Chen doesn't just know how to wave and smile and give a thumbs up; he also knows how to pick up a pen and sign for people!

Although he only signed three, for Chen Nuo, this could also be considered a breakthrough in overcoming his psychological barriers.

After signing the last girl's, he still couldn't bear the fear in his heart, waved his hand, said thank you, and continued to walk forward with a smile.

Even so, those few male and female fans outside the fence who got his autograph were already so happy they were about to faint.

Does anyone in all of China have Chen Nuo's autograph?

Do they?

Don't know about others, at least among the hundreds of thousands of Nuo Mi, not a single person has one; they haven't even heard of it.

On the spot, among that pile of people, someone actually wanted to offer 10,000 yuan to buy that piece of white paper that looked like a ghost's drawing.

And this insane behavior was actually spat at by the person next to them, saying: "You really take people for fools, you want it for 10,000 yuan?"

It was indeed so; those three people holding the autographs didn't even lift their eyelids, and didn't even stay any longer, leaving immediately with their friends. They looked like they were afraid that if they stayed too long, something would go wrong.

Speaking of which, the order of the *The Message* crew walking the red carpet this time was decided by Chen Nuo.

When they were discussing it, he had been in a slight stalemate with China Film Group and the event company,

However, now when he spoke, there was a little golden man shining behind him, so how could they argue with him?

In short, the red carpet for *The Message* ended up in this messy state.

Fortunately, those guest-starring Japanese and Korean superstars didn't come, otherwise it might have been even messier and more disorderly.

The entire main cast and staff team of *The Message* didn't even distinguish between big names and small names, big stars and second-tier stars, and all walked the red carpet together.

Jiang Wen and Zhang Songwen were actually walking together, the two of them didn't know what they were talking about; one was the pillar of the Central Academy of Drama, the other was a resigned teacher from the Beijing Film Academy, and they were actually chatting quite happily.

Beside them was Fan Fan Binbing in a bright red evening gown, graceful and luxurious, radiant; her dress train seemed too long, and Yu Hewei immediately picked up the train for her.

Behind Yu Hewei, who was helping Fan Fan Binbing, were Janice Man, Liu Yifei, and Duan Yihong.

Janice Man was in a backless white dress today, looking a bit cute and a bit sexy. Liu Yifei, under Liu Xiaoli's suggestion, wore a V-neck black fishtail dress, which added a bit more femininity than usual, which was three parts similar to her look in the play. Duan Yihong wore a suit and tie, but didn't look like a sissy, and had much more masculinity.

After signing, Chen Nuo ran and caught up with the pace of Huang Bo, Ning Hao, and Gao Qunshu in the last row.

The three men were chatting happily, as if they weren't at a premiere, but attending someone's wedding, all with joyful expressions on their faces.

Wong Kar-wai was alone, hanging at the very end, still wearing his eternal style of sunglasses, smiling and waving left and right, not knowing where such high spirits came from.

However, when it was time for interviews, Wong Kar-wai spoke first, telling the reason for his good mood: "This movie isn't my movie, it's the movie of Ning Hao and Gao Qunshu, it's the movie of such a group of good actors like Chen Nuo and Jiang Wen. The place where I'm happy is right here." "... Of course, new filmmakers have made good movies, we old guys will naturally be happy. I sincerely hope that the mainland and Hong Kong will communicate more and film together more in the future, so that one day, we Chinese people will film a movie that is truly recognized by the world."

Wong Kar-wai truly knows how to speak; no wonder he is not only awesome at filming but his company is also very profitable.

He finished saying the serious words, and when it was Jiang Wen's turn, he started joking directly: "My *The Sun Also Rises* last year also sold quite well, sold a lot of money, but I bet *The Message* will definitely sell more than it."

Chen Nuo almost couldn't hold back the smile on his face when he heard this curse.

In the end, Chen Nuo didn't say any long-winded remarks during the host's interview segment, only a few words.

After all, he had received enough interviews during this period, so let his throat and the netizens' fingers rest for a while.

After *The Message* was finally edited, Chen Nuo had seen it.

However, he didn't know whether this style, as well as the performance path and plot direction, which were completely different from his previous life, could satisfy the domestic audience.

The *The Message* of his previous life was released in the National Day slot of 2009, fought a battle with *The Founding of a Republic* for a period of time, and finally achieved a box office of 220 million, ranking seventh for the year.

220 million, this was Chen Nuo's goal in this life.

He and Qi Yuntian had calculated that 150 million box office was about their break-even baseline.

After that, for every 10 million more in box office, their company could earn a profit of about 3 million.

If it could sell 220 million, their company could earn 20 million.

So, just surpass the 200 million *Assembly* of Huayi, as for the 290 million of *Curse of the Golden Flower* and the 250 million of *Hero* that ranked first and second on the box office list...

Don't even think about it.

Although the distribution department of China Film Group felt that this small goal was absolutely too low when they heard it, their goal was to surpass the 250 million of *Hero* and finally rank second in the domestic film box office.

Chen Nuo happily agreed and encouraged everyone to work hard together, but in his heart, he didn't really have much expectation.

But still the same thing, Chen Nuo was timid, and his vision wasn't that far-reaching.

Investing in filming a movie for the first time, he would thank heaven and earth if he didn't lose money. If he could earn 20 million, and then add his other acting fees, he could buy a unit in Tomson Riviera.

He was satisfied.

That's what he said, as if 220 million was easy to get, but in fact, it wasn't.

If having superstars meant high box office, then there wouldn't be any movies that lost money in the whole world.

The audience doesn't like your movie, they don't care what Golden Statue Award or Silver Bear Award your lead actor has won.

Whatever "sticky rice" or "brown rice" fans were, they were making a huge fuss on the internet every day, but if you really wanted to ask parents for a few dozen yuan for a movie ticket to support Chen Nuo, it wasn't as easy as supporting Wang Yibo or Yi Yangqianxi in the cinema ten-plus years later.

He had things weighing on his heart, and the person he was facing was someone he didn't need to be too guarded against, so a bit of heaviness couldn't help but appear on his face.

Su Mingming saw this and said cautiously: "Wang... no, Chen Nuo, we didn't disturb you, did we?"

Chen Nuo smiled: "Of course not, how could that be. I've already seen the movie, just chat with Troupe Leader Su, so I don't get bored sitting inside. Come, sit, sit, sit. This backstage is a bit messy, Sister-in-law, Little Sister, don't mind it."

Su Mingming and the others had arrived half an hour ago; this Poly Cinema wasn't hard to find.

Likewise, entering the cinema was also quite simple.

Coming out of Li Jiawen's car, they sent a text message, and then a man who was incredibly handsome met them at the entrance of the mall, and then took them into the cinema.

Originally, the family of three, Su Mingming, Li Jiawen, and Su Sisi, thought they would have to wait a long time.

After all, the formation seen outside didn't look like watching a movie anymore; the reporters' long guns and short cannons made this place look like the front line of a war.

The perception after walking into the cinema was even more exaggerated, because tonight, except for the premiere audience in a certain screening hall, others were refused entry.

So, in the whole cinema on the fifth floor of the mall, except for media reporters, there were size-able stars being interviewed; they didn't see any ordinary people like them.

This made Su Mingming, who originally felt he was coming to see a friend openly and honestly, feel a bit nervous, let alone Li Jiawen and Su Sisi.

After all, when the faces of people who were usually only seen on TV programs appeared in front of them, normal people would feel a bit unable to distinguish the boundary between reality and illusion.

However, they didn't expect that the family of three had only been sitting in this backstage dressing room for maybe ten minutes, chatting with that handsome man surnamed Qi,

With an "Ah" sound.

Su Sisi looked at the boy who suddenly opened the door and walked in, and screamed instantly.

But the next action wasn't to rush up, but to shrink back directly.

She hid behind Li Jiawen, who was smiling bitterly, her whole face red to the point of dripping blood, only daring to reveal half of it, staring at the person who entered the door.

Afterward, in the process of chatting with Su Mingming and the others, although a part of Chen Nuo's heart couldn't help but think about his own movie, in fact, meeting old friends always made people happily throw themselves into it.

In the process of chatting, Chen Nuo explained the hidden difficulties of his identity back then and also thanked Su Mingming for taking care of him.

Unknowingly, they chatted for almost an hour, during which he also answered many childish and ridiculous questions from Su Sisi.

Finally, seeing that it was getting late, he gave Su Sisi a small hug and signed the value-inflated name "Chen Nuo" on the posters of *The Mute*, *Condor Heroes*, *If You Are the One*, *Blueberry*, and *The Dark Knight* that she had specially brought.

On the poster of the ferocious Joker, Chen Nuo also wrote a blessing: "Wish Su Sisi: Academic progress, happy every day. Chen Nuo. March 2, 2008, 01:35 AM."

The handwriting wasn't great, and the blessing was also uncultured. But Su Sisi buried her face in her mother's arms and cried.

Coincidentally, at this time point, *The Message* also entered a plot that made people's eye sockets heat up.

It was precisely the scene where Fan Fan Binbing collapsed under the torture of Jeon Do-yeon and Chen Nuo.

This scene had quite a few shots deleted when it was finally released.

For example, the close-up of Jeon Do-yeon showing the torture tools, those things like vaginal speculums, scissors, pliers, etc., on the tool table were deleted by the leaders reviewing the film on the grounds of being too cruel, not leaving a single second.

It also included the medium shots of Chen Nuo and Fan Fan Binbing, as well as some abuse shots that the leaders felt were too brutal, which were all deleted along with the scene of Huang Bo being tortured.

Resulting in domestic audiences wanting to watch the complete version of *The Message*, they could only wait for the Japanese and Korean versions in a while.

In short, in the end, the effect of this scene of Fan Fan Binbing being abused presented on the domestic big screen was far from the degree that Ning Hao wanted to achieve.

That kind of "making the audience, especially female audiences, return home, take a hot shower, and still be unable to help but feel cold all over, feel nauseous and vomit, to the point that they would definitely scream and wake up from their dreams at night" degree of being unforgettable for life.

When hearing Ning Hao make such a sigh while editing the film, even Wong Kar-wai couldn't help but comment: "Hao-zai, you have some personality."

Ning Hao didn't have any personality; he was completely a director who took pleasure in torturing, teasing, and playing with the audience in his bones. Now many domestic media evaluated him as an outstanding figure in the sixth generation of directors whose commerciality far exceeded Zhang Yiyi.

Making Chen Nuo almost laugh his teeth off after hearing it.

Therefore, a cruel person like Ning Hao, when he let go of his hands and feet and had first-class actors from China, Japan, and South Korea for him to command, was truly an unfortunate piece of news for the women who were watching the movie in the cinema.

Fan Fan Binbing's weak whimpering and dying struggle screams echoed in the screening hall.

Even though everyone knew it was fake,

But the charm of the movie lies in this: you know you are watching a movie, but you still can't help but share the joy and sorrow with the characters in the play.

In Beijing, in Shanghai, in Guangdong, in Chengdu, in Shenyang...

In every cinema that was playing the midnight show of *The Message*, whether it was ordinary audience members or film critics,

Everyone knew that Chen Nuo on the screen was not a Japanese devil, and Fan Fan Binbing, who was tied to the cross torture rack, was definitely not an underground worker.

But so what?

Under the dark red light, although they were just some fragmented, unsystematic clips, everyone's brain automatically filled in the blanks left after editing.

After experiencing the torture of the Japanese female spy, the beautiful woman was already covered in bruises, and at this moment, she was about to face a new round of inhuman torture.

The Japanese officer with a human face and beast heart finally stood up; the background sound in the movie all disappeared, and in the whole screening hall, only the sound of his military boots stepping on the floor remained.

"Step. Step. Step."

Every step made the pupils of the woman on the cross begin to contract, and also made the audience in the cinema deeply immersed in that scene.

Thanks to the big boss lw1495 for the reward!

Also thanks to all the big bosses who voted for monthly tickets, recommendations, and subscriptions...

Love you guys.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 220 =====