Chapter 209

"Cao Yang Bar" is now the largest bar in the country, with over 5 million members and over 300,000 daily check-ins, accounting for almost one-third of the entire Tieba.

In the eyes of Baidu's top management, pushing for "Cao Yang Bar" back then was truly a wise decision, to the point that Tieba itself has become popular along with it.

The number of Tieba users and their activity are growing rapidly, and many popular topics and discussion areas are starting to form. For example, Tieba related to some stars, games, and interests are starting to appear and attract a large number of users to participate in discussions.

Especially with the scheduling of "District 9," the traffic of "Cao Yang Bar" and even the entire Tieba has started to surge, and the daily user activity and check-in numbers have also started to surge.

This makes Boss Li of Baidu very glad that choosing Cao Yang as one of the third-round financing targets back then was truly a very wise choice.

"Cao Yang is going to heaven. On March 12th this year, 'Milk' was released, and 'Nine-Tailed Fox' was released on the 1st of October. It's only been two months, and 'District 9' is about to be released. Three films in one year, he's truly a fast shooter."

"The OP is clearly a newbie. I checked the OP's level, a little newbie. Sure enough, a newbie. As an old-timer in the bar, I'll reluctantly educate you.

'Milk' was approved in 2002 and completed as early as February 2003. It participated in the Cannes Film Festival in May and won the Palme d'Or. It won Best Picture at the Oscars on February 29th this year. This film was released on March 12th after more than a year.

'Nine-Tailed Fox' was completed in March this year. I don't know why, but it wasn't released until October 1st.

'District 9' took more than ten months from its approval at the beginning of the year to its current release.

To be precise, his three films took nearly three years to complete, but they were all concentrated for release this year."

"Compared to other directors, Cao Yang is considered a fast shooter. From his debut in 2000 to now, in nearly five years, he has shot six films."

"Let's not discuss whether Cao Yang is a fast shooter; only certain actresses might know that, haha. I'm just looking forward to his first Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster. The quality of this guy's films is still guaranteed."

"Wrong, it's not a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster, it's a sci-fi blockbuster co-produced by China and Hollywood, also known as a co-production."

"Uh, the guy above, you're really nitpicking."

"Sorry, forgot to add the dog head, haha..."

"December 24th, let's go. It's said that this film, like 'Nine-Tailed Fox,' is an experimental film. I really look forward to Cao Yang being able to better balance commerce and art."

"Looking forward to it too. His first film, 'Nine-Tailed Fox,' was slightly biased towards commerce. I hope this one can do better."

"I actually think it's better to be biased towards commerce; that way the rhythm will be faster and it will be more enjoyable to watch. What's the point of digging into human nature? The story is more important."

"You're wrong, guy above. I actually think we should learn from the Europeans. Art-house films should look like art-house films. It's still pretty good to watch as a small film, dog head."

"You guys should really watch the uncut version of 'Milk.' The scale is truly large. Depp, who played Milk, has many perverted scenes, and Anne Hathaway was fully exposed."

"Hathaway is really tender, and the nipples are still pink, dog head."

"So, I'm also looking forward to Cao Yang returning to pure, remember, pure art-house films, just like 'Milk.' It's best to keep up with the Europeans."

"Stop, let's continue discussing 'District 9,' otherwise the administrator will appear."

"Maybe the administrator has been lurking for a long time..."

On December 5th, "A World Without Thieves" first held a premiere in Shanghai without showing the film. Xiao Xiao Gangpao and several leads were all present, mainly to promote the film.

It's estimated that to attract attention, one of the leads, Pang Bing, arrived in a hurry after the premiere had started for a while. This move caused dissatisfaction among many reporters and the audience.

Pang Bing immediately explained that she had prepared a very beautiful dress and intended to come and see everyone looking beautiful, but found that she couldn't find her shoes at the last minute.

In the end, she had to change into her usual clothes, which is why she was late. As she spoke, she burst into tears.

That was real crying; tears were streaming down.

Xiao Xiao Gangpao turned into a protector of flowers, holding Pang Bing with one hand and a microphone in the other, comforting her incessantly.

Many people couldn't understand what kind of routine this was. You're about to attend a premiere, and you say you can't find your shoes? Are you playing this crazy?

Anyway, it achieved the goal of attracting attention and was reported by the media as a key story.

On December 6th, "A World Without Thieves" returned to Jingcheng to hold a premiere. To promote the film, they came up with new tricks.

The "A World Without Thieves" Charity Premiere was grandly held at the CPPCC Auditorium. Yes, Xiao Xiao Gangpao also chose the CPPCC Auditorium.

The event included a charity dinner and a premiere screening. 600 guests would purchase admission invitations worth 5,000 RMB, and 500 audience members could also purchase premiere screening tickets for 800 RMB each.

That's right, an admission invitation cost 5,000 yuan, and a ticket for a regular premiere screening cost 800 yuan.

The Jingcheng charity premiere was full of gimmicks and would also hold a charity auction, with on-site bidding.

People in this era are truly awesome. Film premieres are constantly being renewed; first there was Old Old Mouzi's song and dance gala, and then there was Xiao Xiao Gangpao's charity auction premiere.

Xiao Xiao Gangpao also combined Old Old Mouzi's song and dance gala, inviting singers including Liu Huan, Sun Nan, and Yang 32.

The first thing auctioned was the DV used for extortion in the film.

In fact, Xiao Xiao Gangpao called Cao Yang to ask if he wanted to come and join in the fun.

He also knew that this kind of highly commercial activity was a different matter from a traditional premiere, so he didn't send an invitation.

If it were a traditional premiere, or even a song and dance gala-style premiere like Old Old Mouzi's, Cao Yang would have gone, but this kind of bidding premiere under the slogan of "charity" was unnecessary.

A few days ago, when Cao Yang was discussing the true meaning of life with Li Li Xiaoran, he already knew the content of the premiere.

He even joked with Li Li Xiaoran, saying, "Why don't you just bid for the DV, and we can use it to shoot some very meaningful short videos."

Who knew Li Li Xiaoran actually bid for the DV, and when she came back, she studied postures with Cao Yang... no, it was knowledge, and they shot several short videos in one night.

On December 8th, "A World Without Thieves" went to Times Square in Causeway Bay, Xiangjiang, to hold a premiere.

To create heat, they played some tricks this time too.

The story of this film takes place on a train heading west. To highlight the story background of the film, the promotion of "A World Without Thieves" was unique. At noon on the 7th, an express train named "A World Without Thieves" departed from Jingcheng and arrived in Xiangjiang at noon on the 8th. The main creative staff and reporters from dozens of mainland media outlets followed the train south to Xiangjiang to launch a promotional campaign.

It can be seen that Xiao Xiao Gangpao really went all out for this film, with constant tricks, and kept shouting the slogan that this was an experimental film.

He even made insinuations in front of the media.

"After making He Sui films for so many years, it wasn't until this year that I encountered a real opponent. Don't look at Director Cao Yang as young; he is still very capable. We are very good friends.

Because the number of cinema screens in the country is limited, cinema managers have indicated that if we squeeze together, everyone's box office will be greatly discounted.

In fact, they are wrong. Director Cao Yang's film is a sci-fi film, different from my experimental film, so we won't form a competitive relationship.

I hope that one day there will be enough cinemas and screens so that two or three films can be released together. That way, I can be released together with Director Cao Yang. I hope that 'A World Without Thieves' and 'District 9' can fly together in this year's He Sui slot."

Xiao Xiao Gangpao's meaning is very clear: first, to bind himself to Cao Yang as much as possible, and second, to secretly indicate that his is an experimental film, while Cao Yang's is not an experimental film but a commercial sci-fi film.

Thinking about it, it's still very interesting.

Xiao Xiao Gangpao no longer labels himself as the No. 1 in the commercial film field, but insists that he is shooting an experimental film, while the well-known art-house director Cao Yang is said to be shooting commercial films.

!

On December 9th, Thursday, "A World Without Thieves" was released.

The box office of "A World Without Thieves" was still very fierce.

In the first four days of its release, the box office exceeded 30 million. After the first weekend, the box office continued to grow, especially in large cities like Jingcheng and Shanghai, where it performed particularly well.

As of December 24th, when "District 9" held its premiere, the total box office of "A World Without Thieves" had already exceeded 90 million, and it still had a box office of about 5 million on weekdays.

According to the current box office trend, many professionals, including Xiao Xiao Gangpao, believe that the total box office of "A World Without Thieves" will be around 150 million even if it doesn't exceed 200 million, and there is a high probability that it will exceed "House of Flying Daggers."

Xiao Xiao Gangpao was so excited.

What level of investment was "House of Flying Daggers"? That was 280 million!

"A World Without Thieves" only invested 30 million. Isn't this much more awesome than Old Old Mouzi!

At the premiere of "District 9," Xiao Xiao Gangpao's old problem flared up again, and he started to talk big to Cao Yang with the attitude of a senior.

"Yangzi, let me tell you, you are still too young, and your concepts are too conservative. What era is this, and you're still doing the old-fashioned premiere? Look at me, a premiere should have tricks, should have gimmicks, otherwise how can you attract the audience's interest?"

Xiao Xiao Gangpao patted Cao Yang on the shoulder, grinning and showing his teeth as he spoke.

Cao Yang watched Xiao Xiao Gangpao brag with a smile, and then said lightly:

"I heard that the box office of 'A World Without Thieves' is expected to be 150 million. That's truly amazing. My 'Nine-Tailed Fox' was only 213 million, and North America was only 60 million USD, with a global total of only 130 million USD."

After speaking, he watched Xiao Xiao Gangpao's smile as if it were fixed on his face, and then continued:

"As for 'Milk,' I won't mention it. That's a foreign film, so it's meaningless to talk about the box office. A global 284 million USD isn't a big deal either."

Little guy, you're bragging to me. Wait until tomorrow and look at your own box office. Without accidents, "A World Without Thieves" can get about 150 million in box office, but "District 9" is your accident.

Xiao Xiao Gangpao turned his head and walked towards his seat. Sigh, boring, truly boring. Cao Yang, this grandson, is really not a thing. I kindly taught you how to create gimmicks, and what are you doing?

He wanted to see what kind of sci-fi film Cao Yang could shoot.

To be honest, Xiao Xiao Gangpao didn't really believe that domestic directors could shoot good sci-fi films.

Including Cao Yang.

Although Cao Yang had already made a name for himself, he was famous for his art-house films. Looking at all his films, they all had art-house attributes. How could he suddenly shoot a sci-fi film that had nothing to do with it?

This is not the same field, okay.

Wait for me to spray you, grandson!

There are actually quite a few people who hold the same idea, including Zhang Zhang Weiping, Lu Chuan, and others.

Even Zhou Zhou Xingxing bought a ticket at the first opportunity, disguised himself, and went to the cinema to see the quality of this film.

He also didn't really believe that an art-house director could shoot a very good sci-fi blockbuster, which was also the reason why he was dissatisfied with being rescheduled.

He always felt that he could fight with Cao Yang for a bit.

At the beginning of the film, Xiao Xiao Gangpao was unimpressed, even a little disappointed, feeling that Cao Yang would definitely fall this time. He had seen many Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters, and he had rarely seen one shot in the form of a mockumentary.

Xiao Xiao Gangpao couldn't help but think that it was probably the constant success that made Cao Yang, this grandson, float, and he still wanted to innovate. Innovation is not that easy to succeed!

You should just follow the Hollywood model and routine, and seriously shoot a Hollywood-style sci-fi film of personal heroism. That is the easiest way to succeed.

Still too young.

As the plot gradually unfolded, Xiao Xiao Gangpao couldn't help but curl his lips. It was still an anti-traditional protagonist, cowardly and incompetent, only knowing how to play small tricks. Such a protagonist is not likable.

Xiao Xiao Gangpao had already concluded that this film would definitely make Cao Yang encounter Waterloo. After watching the film, he would go and teach him how to shoot films as a senior.

Then, as he watched, Xiao Xiao Gangpao's expression began to become serious.

The plot reversed, the protagonist turned into a half-human, half-insect monster, and it could be clearly seen that the protagonist was turning into an alien prawn.

Especially during the conflict, as a human, Xiao Xiao Gangpao was actually thrilled by the scene where the alien prawn blew up the humans, completely standing on the side of the alien prawn.

Seeing the alien prawn grieving for the companions who died in the experiment, striving to return to their homeland, and even accepting the half-human, half-insect protagonist, Xiao Xiao Gangpao couldn't help but sigh that these alien prawns were more like humans than humans.

More like humans than humans?

Why do I feel a sense of identity with them?

Xiao Xiao Gangpao was stunned for a moment, carefully recalled the plot, and suddenly his scalp began to tingle.

This fucking film is just an art-house film wearing a sci-fi coat, reflecting racial discrimination and racial segregation!

Another experimental film!

The connotation and metaphor of "District 9" were more intuitive, more clever, and more artistic than "Nine-Tailed Fox."

Looking at the whole film, even if you don't think about the connotation, it is a very excellent sci-fi film. That is to say, Cao Yang combined commerce and art better in this film.

Damn it, phew!

Immediately, Xiao Xiao Gangpao began to worry, would the box office of "A World Without Thieves" be affected?

Similar to Xiao Xiao Gangpao's situation, after Zhou Zhou Xingxing watched the film, he was speechless for a long time, and a thought suddenly appeared in his mind: perhaps the He Sui slot is indeed not a good choice.

(End of chapter)