Chapter 332: Flowing Water Does Not Compete for the Lead, But for Unceasing Continuity

Since entering December, the entertainment circle has been quite lively.

Yi Nengjing's "hand-holding scandal" caused a major uproar; she is also a well-known actress who has developed northward in recent years, exerting considerable influence across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong.

More importantly, Yi's previous public image was that of a virtuous wife and devoted mother; this incident not only shattered her image but also dragged her husband, the popular singer Yu Chengqing, into the controversy.

A female star's infidelity, intertwined with celebrity marital breakdown and mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflicts, plus additional revelations that Yi Nengjing had issues with Hua Yi's young boss Wang Jia—this made her a nonstop topic and the defining drama of late 2008.

Another major drama involved Zhou Huimin and her fiancé.

The latter was photographed kissing another woman, after which Zhou Huimin generously forgave him and declared the wedding date unchanged, sparking outrage and mockery from netizens.

In addition, various related roundups were relentless.

For instance, Weibo launched an "Entertainment Power Ranking," directly comparing and pitting companies against each other.

The key showdown was between Hua Yi and Yi An.

Although Weibo and Yi An share the same boss, their commentary was sharp—even criticizing and mocking Yan Li without restraint.

They particularly highlighted the "blog scandal" and "yacht scandal" and their impact on his personal reputation and company.

They questioned whether Yi An, after the merger, could overcome its hidden risks, streamline its production and distribution operations and theater business, rather than merely maintaining an empty shell and being dragged down by money-consuming theaters.

Honestly, at first glance, outsiders might think Sina had planted a mole in Weibo—how else to explain such vicious mockery of its own side? Don't they want to survive?

In fact, if you read the full article, you'd realize it's all apparent criticism with hidden praise.

It picked out a few faults, even daring to target Boss Yan Li, giving the impression of being objective and authentic.

But then, the tone shifted abruptly, beginning to summarize Yi An's achievements over the year—in short, Yi An had an extraordinary year.

Then it simplified the earlier criticisms.

It made readers feel that if Yi An merely fixed those mistakes or paid attention to certain risks, it could easily avoid them entirely and march forward unimpeded.

In contrast, the article targeting Hua Yi was overt praise with covert criticism.

It first praised Hua Yi's achievements and momentum this year, then introduced a "but," pointing out Hua Yi's various flaws and latent risks.

The impression given was that Hua Yi was like oil poured on fire—impressive on the surface, but one misstep could plunge it into a bottomless abyss.

Journalism, then, is not simple; there are many subtle tricks, many soft knives that kill.

Undeniably, after acquiring Weibo, Yi An now holds a decisive advantage in public opinion manipulation.

Other entertainment companies try to steer narratives through media or hired trolls.

Yi An, however, controls a platform with nearly 100 million users, primarily focused on information and social interaction; if Yan Li wants to wage a public opinion battle, he can ruin an opponent's reputation in a short time, leaving them almost powerless to respond.

Forget cooperating with other platforms—given Weibo's current speed and immediacy of information dissemination, no ordinary platform can compete.

By the time they react and deploy their own platform mechanisms for effective counterattacks, the water is already thoroughly muddied, and the outcome irrecoverable.

However, due to numerous reasons, Yan Li usually only arranges to fan the flames, never recklessly deploying such extreme public opinion control tactics.

Aside from gossip and year-end roundups, the most anticipated event was still the Spring Festival film lineup.

This year's Spring Festival lineup featured many films.

Among the films released in December before the New Year, the most closely watched by the public and industry insiders were Feng Xiaogang's "If You Are the One" and Chen Daida's "Mei Lanfang."

Although "The Assembly" was affected last year and pulled from theaters midway, its box office was still impressive; Feng Kuzi's reputation remains undiminished.

Now returning to his signature Feng-style comedy, with his longtime collaborator Ge Daye by his side, industry insiders are highly optimistic—he'll definitely break 100 million, and the chance of breaking 200 million is also high.

Clearly, the emergence of several films last year—"Red Cliff: Part I," "The Warlords," "Painted Skin," and "Chang Jiang Seven"—which each grossed over 200 million, has raised the market's upper limit.

Breaking 100 million is still a strong result, but major hit projects now aim for 200 million+.

Compared to Feng Kuzi's steady rise, Chen Daida's situation is less certain.

"The Promise" was a devastating fall; Chen Daida has been dethroned from his pedestal and still faces constant mockery.

His new film, "Mei Lanfang," is another biopic; while lead actors Li Tianwang and Zhang Ziyi are famous, their box office draw is mediocre.

Thus, public expectations for this film are ambiguous, causing Chen Daida to complain during promotions.

But in fact, the masses' judgment remains sharp.

"Mei Lanfang" lacked sufficient promotional appeal, and Chen Daida's reputation no longer matched his former height, resulting in disappointing box office performance.

Initially, it earned nearly 30 million in three days, showing decent momentum—but then box office trends plummeted; at this rate, breaking 100 million is questionable.

The reasons for this include not only the film's weak appeal but also the arrival of a formidable rival.

"Ip Man" has been released!

Both "Mei Lanfang" and "Ip Man" are biopics—one about an artist, the other about a martial artist; one literary, one martial; their release dates are close, making them direct competitors.

Beforehand, the vast majority favored "Mei Lanfang."

Even if Chen Daida's reputation had declined, it still surpassed director Ye Weixin's; the combination of Li Tianwang and Zhang Ziyi was far stronger than Donnie Yen carrying the film alone.

But after the films premiered, everyone realized they were wrong.

"Mei Lanfang" tells of an era, art, and love, with a style leaning toward art-house.

Most audiences couldn't appreciate the Peking Opera elements; the romance between the famous performers was both realistic and dreamlike, and the film's attempt to cover an entire life was too rushed and disjointed.

"Ip Man" is about martial arts and patriotism—a pure commercial film.

Martial arts are universally understandable, the visuals are strong, the plot is simple: setup followed by fighting Japanese invaders, one man taking on ten; except for minor plot points, it's nearly nonstop, thoroughly satisfying.

Which film is of higher quality is debatable, but which is more enjoyable—ordinary audiences voted with their feet.

On its first day, "Ip Man"'s box office was stable; on the second day, it surpassed "Mei Lanfang"; on the third day, it began aggressively grabbing showtimes, severely impacting "Mei Lanfang"'s box office.

Meanwhile, seeing "Ip Man" emerge as a surprise hit of the Spring Festival season, Yi An ramped up its promotion and distribution efforts.

Weibo, ground promotions, and distribution all pushed hard, causing "Ip Man"'s box office to climb steadily; though it didn't rival "Painted Skin"'s frenzy, it was clearly on track to break 100 million.

This was already very impressive!

Despite Yi An's loud claims, the only film it actually co-produced that broke 100 million was "Painted Skin."

If "Ip Man" breaks 100 million, it will be Yi An's second such film—so even Yan Li was stirred; he personally attended the Hangzhou roadshow for "Ip Man," praising Donnie Yen as a kung fu superstar.

Yeah, anyone who makes him money is a superstar.

That said, Donnie Yen has always held a solid position in the industry, with notable fame and influence, and over the past two years his rise has been rapid, subtly becoming the new flagbearer of action actors after Cheng and Li Zhi.

Times have changed; it's hard for Donnie Yen to break into Hollywood, and he may never reach Cheng and Li's status.

But if he can hold onto third place and successfully succeed them once Cheng and Li grow older, he will be the new generation's kung fu superstar.

Previously, Donnie Yen's honors and achievements weren't bad, but he never starred in a breakout hit.

*The Conductor* and *Sha Po Lang* received decent reviews and box office, but didn't become blockbusters.

If *Ip Man* breaks 100 million, combined with strong word-of-mouth, it can fully make up for this weakness; calling him a superstar might be exaggerated, but he will certainly enter the top tier of film stars, and opportunities to lead films alone will grow increasingly frequent.

The entertainment industry is always realistic and mercenary.

Previously, Wu Jing gained minor fame through his role as Pang Yong in *Painted Skin* and was seen as a rising candidate for the new generation of kung fu superstars.

But his self-directed and self-starring *Wolf Teeth* became cannon fodder during the New Year season; box office projections struggle to reach 50 million, and praise over the past two months turned to mockery.

Similarly, *Jiang Shan Mei Ren* flopped at the start of the year, and Donnie Yen was widely written off; when Wu Jing rose to fame, many pulled him down, but now that *Ip Man* is a hit, Donnie is being lifted to the heavens.

Even industry heavyweight Yan Li isn't immune to this trend—he personally invited Donnie to the year-end Weibo Night and brought up Donnie's next project.

*October Siege*

This is also a project in which Yi An Investment is involved; originally, the production team considered Deng Chao as the lead, and at least Yi An supported Deng Chao.

Now that Donnie Yen is at his peak, with strong drawing power and temporarily better cost-effectiveness than other Hong Kong big names, Boss Yan is going with the flow and insists on pushing him to the top.

Besides *October Siege*, there's also *Ip Man 2*.

Originally, Donnie Yen's contract with Oriental Film ended after *Ip Man*, and the film never initially considered a sequel, so the plot ended with Ip Man leaving to live in seclusion.

But now that the film is a hit, things are different—the sequel can certainly be considered.

Hong Kong isn't suitable for fighting Japanese invaders, but it's perfect for fighting triads and British colonists; Master Ip is still in his prime and always has a place to shine.

As for contract expiration, it can be renewed, or paid per project.

Yi An is a mainland giant; Oriental's influence in Hong Kong is also substantial; Donnie Yen cannot avoid cooperating.

Besides, making a sequel to *Ip Man* means he earns money and gains fame—why not cooperate?

"Yen, the mainland market is exploding, Yi An is expanding its territory, and we're desperate for talent. In the future, we may have many more opportunities to collaborate—you provide people and effort, we provide money and resources, achieving win-win cooperation."

Yan Li prefers mainland artists but never rejects Hong Kong and Taiwan artists.

Donnie Yen isn't a saint—he has plenty of flaws—but how many saints are there in the entertainment industry?

As long as he has no major moral failings, no principled issues, and possesses some credibility and earning power, he's a good partner.

Currently, the market still finds the Hong Kong and Taiwan artists' drawing power highly credible.

But most are controlled by Hong Kong capital; using them means sharing profits, while a few top stars operate independently, charging prices that are terrifyingly high.

Donnie Yen currently belongs to the category of a new major star who has just broken free from his patron but hasn't yet become fully independent.

His momentum is strong, and in the short term, his salary hasn't caught up to veteran big names.

Hmm, perhaps it will catch up—but he won't ask Yi An for such a high fee.

Film companies tailor their offers to the artist, and artists do the same.

Yi An is large and powerful, with substantial resources, and within it there are many "favor" accounts.

At this stage, Donnie Yen is in the Rapid Growth Phase, with some independent autonomy, but still lags behind veteran big names in resources and connections.

By cooperating with Yi An, he accepts slightly lower pay, and Yi An provides protection, resources, and support to help him through his development phase.

If he wants to cash in while he's hot, he can cooperate with Yi An while also partnering with smaller companies or wealthy fools.

These people have money but no resources, and their projects lack appeal—they can only lure stars by throwing cash around, and many so-called sky-high salaries originate from this.