Chapter 912: Association Status Skyrockets; Compensation

On the morning of the 22nd, the entire film and entertainment industry witnessed a massive joke, and the Beijing Film Academy's Performance School had its face slapped loud and clear.

Admittedly, industry insiders might flatter *Pure Heart: Dream of the Entertainment Circle* out of social obligation, or avoid discussing how trashy the film was, to confuse the initial judgment of audiences and fans.

But theater chains are realistic; they rarely speak much or critique films, but they will certainly use actual actions to show their stance. This is also a form of respect for the market and respect for box office revenue.

"Written and directed by Bi Zhifei, the youth inspirational film *Pure Heart: Dream of the Entertainment Circle*, which took 12 years to forge, landed in national theaters at 6:00 AM this morning and officially opened...

However, according to statistics from China Film Distribution, every single domestic theater chain gave the film an ultra-low market screening rate... the comprehensive screening rate was only 0.4%, far below even the treatment given to pure art films!"

That's right, a news report about the screening rate basically maxed out the promotional effect of *Pure Heart: Dream of the Entertainment Circle*.

Of course, it was all reverse and negative publicity.

Because just imagine, can a film that every theater chain dislikes be any good?

The answer is obvious: this film is not only not a good film, but it is also rotten to the core and smells foul;

Otherwise, why would theater chains not even bother to "trick" the audience on the first day of release? Even the theaters couldn't bear to let the audience go in and eat shit, which shows just how foul this "shit" is!

And with the birth of the first batch of "shit-drenched" viewers at noon, the online abuse instantly converged into a massive wave, and the Beijing Film Academy also received the "impact."

"Damn it, one star, this film must be given one star! Not because it's only worth one star, but because there is no lower rating option!"

"Are the censors dead? How could such a completely negative film pass censorship? Is this a theatrical film? If I hadn't seen it in the theater, I would have thought it was an internet movie specifically selling on edge-ball content!"

"Still *Pure Heart*? Still *Dream of the Entertainment Circle*? Is it you, Dr. Bi Zhifei, who wants to dream of the entertainment circle? A 98-minute film, with a hidden rule every six or seven minutes! Are you dreaming of the entertainment circle with your lower body? Is your little head controlling your big head?"

"I remember this Director Bi didn't seem to have been in the circle before! Then how did he write this plot? Hearsay, adding fuel to the fire? I'm afraid his heart isn't very pure either, is it?"

"This director is purely a fool with high standards but low ability, relying entirely on edge-ball shots to grandstand and grab attention..."

"Listen, 11 narrative lines? Director Ning Hao and screenwriter Xing Da are so awesome, but their *Crazy Racer* only managed 6 narrative lines... Bi, if you don't have the skill, don't pretend to be a badass! And this editing is rotten to the point of being completely exposed, it looks like it was edited by a freshman at the Beijing Film Academy!"

"Speaking of the Beijing Film Academy's Performance School, that's also trash! Actually standing up for this kind of film, supporting it in every way, and finding so many big directors and big names to show up..."

"If you asked serious film directors to deliberately make a bad film, they probably couldn't make it this rotten!"

"The Performance School's official Weibo has been stormed; they just turned off the comment function five minutes ago." Liu Yifei shared the gossip with Lin Nan with a giggle, watching the joke of their alma mater's major together.

"There are also a terrifying number of netizens cursing the censorship. They say that in the past, they only blocked good films, but now they've gone from bad to worse, actually letting this kind of trash out to disgust people. Hahaha..."

Lin Nan was also happy to watch the spectacle, and he reckoned that the school must be in a total mess right now:

The Performance School is like an ant on a hot pot, while other departments are eating melon seeds and laughing in "comfort"... The school leaders probably have the urge to kill someone...

"Hmm? Wang Dong is calling, probably also about this film?" Liu Yifei handed the phone on the table to Lin Nan and guessed.

"Wang Dong, congratulations, the first opponent of *Sewing Machine Band* in the National Day slot has died on arrival just like that."

"What are you talking about? I didn't even take it seriously. I'm calling you to let you see the red-headed document just publicized by the Bureau two minutes ago. The detailed regulations on actor pay are even harsher than the last draft..."

In an instant, both Lin Nan and Liu Yifei took it seriously and hurriedly grabbed the tablet.

They saw that the trending headline in the film and entertainment section had already changed from *Pure Heart: Dream of the Entertainment Circle* to *Guiding Opinions on the Cost Allocation Ratio of TV Drama and Web Drama Production*!

"For a film or television work, the total pay of all actors cannot exceed 40% of the total production cost, the total pay of main actors cannot exceed 70% of the total pay, and the total pay of other actors cannot be less than 30% of the total pay...

If the total pay of all actors exceeds 40% of the total production cost, the production party must file a record and explain it to the three major associations and the China Federation of Radio and Television Actors Committee... Effective immediately..."

Wang Changtian spoke very quickly, simplifying and introducing the document content to Lin Nan and Liu Yifei.

"Lin Nan, this can be considered as officially drawing a red line on the high pay issue. But I'm sure your focus right now is definitely not on this issue, right?"

"Hmm." Facing Wang Changtian's inquiry, Lin Nan nodded and said seriously: "The power of these four major associations is skyrocketing!"

"But they aren't even public institutions, just social organizations supervised by public institutions! Once this document comes out today, I can guarantee that in the future, plenty of actors and stars will sharpen their heads to get into associations and mix into the establishment..."

While Wang Changtian, Lin Nan, and Liu Yifei were discussing how the status of major industry associations would skyrocket in the future, over at Huayi, the two brothers were also pondering "over-the-wall ladders" and "countermeasures" with full confidence.

"Still the same saying, even if the higher-ups have set strict detailed requirements for pay, what does it have to do with us?

Whatever the higher-ups set, we sign the contract accordingly. Of course, it's the contract on the surface! Besides, haven't we been executing it 'that way' for several years?"

"Then what about the upcoming *Cell Phone 2*?"

"Continue. Her current pay is already in the top tier, so doing this kind of operation is naturally very convenient and efficient. And haven't we cooperated with her many times already? Besides, she hasn't done less of this kind of operation with other companies in the past two years. Everyone does it this way, everyone makes money, why not?"

"Good, then I will continue to 'hint' to her according to the plan." Wang Zhonglei smiled and nodded.

Suddenly, the landline on Wang Zhongjun's desk rang, which really gave the two a fright.

"Seems to be from the Bureau?" Wang Zhongjun glanced at it and said suspiciously. After saying that, he answered the phone under Wang Zhonglei's puzzled gaze.

In less than ten seconds, the former's face turned as dark as ink. But he couldn't vent at all, because the phone hadn't hung up yet.

"Don't worry, I will call a meeting to notify this matter in a while... I will reply to the Bureau as soon as possible... We will change it again..."

Two minutes later, Wang Zhongjun, looking furious, slumped in his chair.

"Big brother, what exactly happened?" Wang Zhonglei asked urgently.

"Quick, call Feng Xiaogang and tell him to come to the group... Something big happened."

Wang Zhongjun's face was ashen, but he was also gnashing his teeth. Looking at Wang Zhonglei, he was already hurriedly calling to urge Feng Xiaogang.

"Tens of millions in promotional costs... just went down the drain like this? Tell Ye Ning over there to stop the promotion of *Youth* immediately, don't invest any more funds."

Wang Zhonglei had just hung up the phone when he heard this. In an instant, he felt as if he had been punched in the chest, feeling somewhat suffocated.

"How could this be? August First Film Studio, China Film, Emei Film Studio..."

"How could this be? I also want to ask how it could be like this? The public screening permit was already issued... The last time something like this happened was Jia Zhangke's *A Touch of Sin*!"

Wang Zhongjun was hoarse, after all, that phone call just now meant Huayi had lost tens of millions, nearly a hundred million, out of thin air.

...... ===== CHAPTER 913 =====