Chapter 178: Guan Yunchang

《Warring States》stumbled along, barely holding on for half a month.

In the end it slunk out of theaters in disgrace, becoming a cautionary tale for the industry.

Industry peers ran the numbers on this film.

Investment reached 150 million, yet the box office was only 80 million.

This 《Warring States》cost Brilliant Splendor nearly 120 million yuan in losses!

Just when everyone thought this company would keep a low profile for a while, reality proved the opposite.

Lu Zheng gave an interview with the media.

"Films, well, what company can claim every single one turns a profit? The film industry is high-risk; losses are inevitable. I've always been mentally prepared for that.

Still, Brilliant Splendor won't stop in its tracks. We've already drawn up a new plan — in the second half of the year we'll be investing in two more films…"

Once this news broke, quite a few production companies in the industry took notice.

They'd just lost a bundle on one big-budget film, and now in the blink of an eye they're greenlighting two more — talk about deep pockets!

Honestly, Lin Nan even admired Lu Zheng's boldness.

Besides, the two films Brilliant Splendor mentioned — no need to overthink it — the female lead was bound to be Miss Jing Tian again.

…………

《Star Luck》was about to have its premiere at Cannes, so promotional materials and posters were essential.

Lin Nan had already arranged people to start production, making sure everything was as perfect as possible.

Everyone had originally assumed this year's Cannes Film Festival would only have one Chinese-language film: 《Star Luck》.

But no one expected that, just in the past two days — at the very last moment for submissions — Chen Chen Kexin's 《Wu Xia》had also charged in.

"Director Chen Chen Kexin's period epic 《Wu Xia》will enter the Cannes Film Festival's 'Midnight Screenings' section!"

"New films from directors Lou Ye, Jia Jia Zhangke and others have been confirmed as missing from this year's Cannes International Film Festival…"

"In the rights-trading market, 《Wu Xia》and 《Star Luck》will be the vanguards of Chinese-language films."

Lin Nan genuinely felt these Hong Kong media folks were making trouble where there was none, bored out of their minds.

Reporting on 《Wu Xia》would be fine, but they just had to drag Lin Nan and 《Star Luck》into it.

Claiming martial-arts films are our specialty and have always drawn plenty of attention overseas.

In terms of rights trading, 《Wu Xia》was sure to crush a pure art-house, romance film like 《Star Luck》…

Plenty of netizens started mocking them.

"This is an international film festival. Whether rights sell for more or less depends on awards and film quality — it's about the international influence of the director and lead actors!"

"Just the five words 'Main Competition Section' alone are worth more than 'Midnight Screenings' by who knows how much."

"Small-town folks really are clueless — all they know is the Hong Kong Film Awards…"

And so, the netizens on both sides inexplicably went to war.

Quite a few acquaintances came to Lin Nan to joke about it.

"《Wu Xia》competed with 《Painted Skin 2》at the domestic box office, and now at Cannes it'll be compared with 《Star Luck》on rights-trading revenue. Chen Chen Kexin just can't avoid you no matter what, haha…"

…………

During its promotion lately, 《Guan Yunchang》had repeatedly taken potshots at 《Warring States》.

Now, the former had finally gotten its own release date.

The solo poster of Donnie Yen in armor, gripping a crescent-moon blade, had already been plastered across every major theater chain.

The media were all rallying behind this film.

Because 《Guan Yunchang》was the most likely big-budget hit in the film market in the past two months.

With 《Warring States》as the cautionary tale before it, many audiences were being cautious this time.

Including Lin Nan, a large number of film industry people were watching 《Guan Yunchang》's opening-day results.

"How much?"

"14.2 million…"

Hearing that number, Lin Nan couldn't help but want to laugh.

That was worlds apart from the crew's target of 600 million!

It needed at least 30 million on opening day to have a shot at 500 million, then 600 million — and the film would also need tremendous staying power.

"Director Lin, the reviews for this film are something else — you should check online…"

Yue Jun set down the poster design draft for 《Star Luck》and left the office.

Lin Nan browsed the reviews for 《Guan Yunchang》.

How to put it — there was a familiar feeling; they were very similar to the comments on 《Warring States》a few days ago!

"An investment of 150 million! Did they cut corners on that Green Dragon crescent-moon blade? It's so short, so small, so thin…"

"Give him a big one and he'd look off-balance! A 'Saint of War' barely over five-foot-seven — can you imagine?"

"Pale-faced Lord Guan — that's Donnie Yen!"

"Where are the magnificent whiskers?"

"Do Hong Kong directors all like playing the buddy game? Cao Cao's lines to Guan Yu are way too bromance-y: 'I just like you…'"

"Yet another historical script full of made-up nonsense — Hong Kong screenwriters just can't handle this kind of work."

……

……

Lin Nan couldn't help but laugh out loud — sometimes the mockery from netizens and audiences was more entertaining than the film itself.

The early comments were still pretty surface-level, but the further down he scrolled, the better it got.

"Oh my god! Heavens, my eyes! What am I seeing?

"Lord Guan's Green Dragon Crescent Blade broke? It was snapped in two by a pair of feet!"

……

"The loyal, righteous Lord Guan flirting with his elder brother's wife? The screenwriter and director must have had their fontanelles cracked open—how could they write it like that?"

"Zhen Starring Zhen Zidan's action scenes are too weak, and his dramatic scenes are awkward. That perpetual frown, that forced, restrained air of depth—it's terrible…"

"Sigh, we cursed 'Warring States' too early…"

Back then, the way netizens had torn into 'Warring States' was now being recycled wholesale to mock 'Guan Yun Chang'.

But the latter did have one advantage and bright spot, and that was Jiang Wen's Cao Cao.

The one thing the overwhelming majority of viewers actually praised about this film was Jiang Wen's Cao Cao!

"Director Jiang is stealing scenes again!"

"Director Jiang Wen, in this 'Cao Cao Biography', brought out that domineering, heaven-and-earth-belong-to-me flamboyance, and that laughing-scolding-the-world, unfettered heroic spirit…"

"Zhen Starring Zhen Zidan did all right as a supporting role—how is it that his screen time ended up so much more than the lead's?"

………

The industry had already given up all hope for 'Guan Yun Chang'.

Given its opening-day box office and reviews, there was only one thing worth watching.

That was how long this film could hold on, and in the end, just how much money it would lose.

On the second and third days, 'Guan Yun Chang' reported roughly 18 million and 17 million respectively…

The daily box office rose—not because the film was any good, but because most viewers had walked into the theater out of curiosity…

The result was predictable: more and more people cursing the crew and mocking Zhen Starring Zhen Zidan, while Jiang Wen was not among those being scolded.

The reputation Zhen Starring Zhen Zidan had built up through the two 'Ip Man' films was once again stripped away by more than half.

Then came something that shocked the industry.

The producers of 'Guan Yun Chang' posted a 100,000-yuan bounty, hoping to catch the masterminds behind the "organized, premeditated" "malicious reviews" of the film online.

Whether it was hype or a real bounty, it made one thing clear: this film's word-of-mouth had completely collapsed.

Some people really aren't all that bright—Zhen Starring Zhen Zidan, for instance.

Whenever the media brought up Jiang Wen, or the latter's Cao Cao, in front of him, his face would darken on reflex.

With that kind of ability to manage his expressions, he'd be nothing but an action actor for life.

Right after that, Hong Kong media outlets began, one after another, accusing Jiang Wen of being unprofessional and a scene-stealer—a supporting role deliberately hogging the spotlight.

And such remarks kept growing, with a faint trend of escalating into a full-blown flame war…

………

Liu Liu Yifei had already begun preparing for her trip to Cannes, a little over two weeks away.

This was her first time attending an international film festival with a work in competition.

Liu Liu Xiaoli and the Red Studio team were unusually busy.

Because Liu Liu Yifei carried a number of Gao She endorsements, and the Cannes red carpet was a top-tier global occasion the brands were not willing to miss.

Gowns, jewelry, watches, clutches…

Several coordinated looks had already been locked in over these past days, and they were still being fine-tuned.

"Meaning the opening ceremony red carpet too?"

When Lin Nan attended film festivals in the past—even Berlin and Venice—he rarely showed up for the opening ceremony red carpet.

Liu Liu Yifei pouted, put on an innocent look as she gazed at Lin Nan, then playfully winked at him.

"Yep, you'll have to walk the opening ceremony red carpet with me.

You don't want me walking it all alone, do you?"

Liu Liu Yifei knew Lin Nan's habits—whenever he went to a film festival, he rarely walked the opening ceremony red carpet.

The red carpet at an international film festival was extremely important for an actress, so of course Lin Nan wouldn't refuse.

"Fine, of course I won't let you go alone. When the time comes I'll walk it with you and be your backdrop—happy?"

"Mm."

………

When its first week ended, 'Guan Yun Chang's' box office, amid a chorus of curses, had reached 110 million.

The one-sided bad reviews and rotten word of mouth finally caused the box office to turn on itself.

On the eighth day, the daily box office dropped below five million, and kept sliding…

This box-office trajectory was identical to 'Warring States'.

Many industry insiders were estimating that 'Guan Yun Chang's' total box office would land around 150 million, and no higher.

The "war" between Zhen Starring Zhen Zidan and Jiang Wen online showed absolutely no sign of dying down.

Jiang Wen's explosive temper was not something just anyone could afford to provoke.

When the media asked, he fired back on the spot:

"Don't call me a scene-stealer. Just because I acted well and stole the lead's thunder, you go and slander me like this! If you've got that kind of energy, you'd be better off putting it into honing your acting.

Cultivation, grace—get them up to par. Nearly fifty years old and still not the least bit mature…"

Plenty of people on the mainland felt Jiang Wen's words were both honest and cutting.

Though he hadn't named names, everyone could tell he was talking about Zhen Starring Zhen Zidan.

Arrogant, self-important, overweening, looking down on everyone—especially after 'Ip Man', it had become even more obvious.

Roughly the same age as Liu Liu Dehua and the others, but in terms of personal cultivation, character, and wisdom, he was streets behind them!

To put it bluntly, in Lin Nan's view, Zhen Starring Zhen Zidan was a textbook case of a guy with no brains.

The very next day, rumors began circulating in the industry.

Wen Jun of Hong Kong Island personally stepped in to mediate, and after considerable effort, finally got Jiang Wen to stand down and let the matter pass...

That side only had this one remaining "action superstar" who could still put up a fight, so naturally he had to be protected.

However, this behavior of striking first and then seeking reconciliation gave Hong Kong Island's film circle the illusion of having a wound torn open.

Times have changed; Hong Kong Island filmmakers no longer have the dominant capital they once had...

Next chapter, a bit later.