Chapter 859: Eating Melons and Stealing Home
The 1990s was the golden age of print media. Ordinary people still have the same faith in print media as they did in the 1970s and 1980s.
But unfortunately, the quality and moral bottom line of these media have plummeted in just a few years.
This is of course related to some people who are the first to stir up trouble. One bad apple can spoil the whole barrel, but the more important reason is the role of market regulation. Attracting attention and sales has become the top priority of many media and journalists today.
Lin Weimin has witnessed how these media have degenerated over the years, but this is not something he can control.
Wenhui Daily criticized Hero. Unlike any other review of an ordinary movie, the film became much more popular after its release than any other movie. It not only sparked heated discussions among many people in the film industry, but also had a wide impact among the general public.
Lin Weimin would never let this wave of public opinion pass by so easily.
This is not because he is angry. It's market competition, and everyone is using their own methods. As long as there is no malicious smear or attack, it is not a big problem.
The main reason is that this kind of public attention is rare. Now that Wenhui Daily has already fired the first shot, it would be a waste of this wave of public opinion if we just let it go.
It would be better for both sides to have a verbal battle to increase the popularity of their respective movies, so as to attract more audiences to the cinema!
When it comes to guiding public opinion, no one is better than Lin Weimin, who has experienced the Internet and mobile Internet trends of later generations.
"Okay, I understand."
Yu Dong answered the phone, like a yes-man.
After hanging up the phone, he sat there thinking for a while.
The editor-in-chief called and instructed him to respond to an article published in Shanghai's Wenhui Daily two days ago in an authoritative newspaper as soon as possible, and to take a firm stance. He did not explain much else.
He also noticed the article in Wenhui Daily. During the days since the release of Hero, it has taken away the jobs of many of his peers, so it was not surprising that Yu Dong was scolded a few times.
He hadn't even thought about responding, but the president's call left him confused.
Yu Dong has known Lin Weimin for several years and claims to understand him well. The president is by no means a petty person. "Hero" is now invincible in the market. Logically, they should maintain the posture of a winner and try not to pay attention to such public opinion.
But the president’s operation...
Yu Dong was puzzled, and suddenly remembered what Lin Weimin had said when they were having dinner together before. Because Liu Yanming, who worked in advertising, was present at the dinner, everyone naturally talked about the increasingly hot advertising market and the various marketing methods.
"It's different now than before. Even good wine needs to be marketed well. Good products also need good publicity. It's the eyeball economy!"
Eyeball economy!
These four words exploded in Yu Dong's mind, and he instantly understood the meaning behind Lin Weimin's call.
After figuring out the meaning behind this, Yu Dong immediately began contacting the media.
Two days later, the new issue of "Yanjing Youth Daily" was on the market.
An article titled "Hero Opens Up a New Path for Chinese Films" appeared on the front page of the newspaper. As soon as the article was published, it attracted the attention of many people in the film industry.
"We have noticed that some media and peers have recently expressed some opinions about the preferential treatment that Hero has received in theatrical screenings, and I can understand their feelings.
Cinemas have limited screening resources. With more screenings of "Hero", some other films have fewer screenings. It's normal for them to complain, but I despise the behavior of some media and colleagues who seek personal gain under the guise of "considering the industry."
If "Hero" is screened more, it will hurt Chinese films, but if their films are screened more, it will be good for Chinese films. So they represent Chinese films? Why don't they jump out when foreign blockbusters occupy the theaters' screenings?
The screening schedule for Hero was not snatched away, but added by the theaters on their own initiative. Why? Because the audience loves to watch it!
A good movie is one that is popular among the people.
We at Wenhua positioned "Hero" as China's first commercial blockbuster. The current performance of "Hero" is enough to prove that the path we are taking is correct. I think this has also paved a brand new path for Chinese films and broadened the development path of Chinese films.
"Hero" was just released in Hong Kong last week. It is expected to be released in the United States in August and will be released in more overseas countries later.
Instead of complaining about the world, some of our peers and media should think about how to improve their own competitiveness, adapt to the cruel market competition, and contribute to the internationalization of Chinese films - Yu Dong, general manager of Yanjing Wenhua Film and Television Co., Ltd. "
It is similar to the article in Wenhui Daily titled "The monopoly of theater screenings by blockbusters is a huge harm to Chinese films". They are clearly opposed to "Hero", while the article in Yanjing Youth Daily titled "Hero has opened up a new path for Chinese films" has an equally clear attitude and stance, which is to support "Hero".
At the same time, the content of the newspaper's interview with Dong was not embellished, breaking the restraint of conventional interview articles, and anyone could see the targeted nature of the article.
As soon as this article came out, the smell of gunpowder gradually spread throughout the Chinese film industry.
It takes two to tango. First there was the Wenhui Daily, and then there was the Yenching Youth Daily. The two articles were diametrically opposed, and a tense atmosphere emerged.
The article in Wenhui Daily included criticism from the famous director Xie Jin, and the article in Yanjing Youth Daily included a response from Yu Dong, the general manager of Wenhua Film and Television, a heavyweight company in the film and television industry. The two sides exchanged views and public opinion was instantly driven.
These two newspapers are located in the south and the north, and the two voices represent the two film forces in the north and the south of the country. As public opinion trends, many media in the two places also take action.
Today the media here publishes a commentary article, and tomorrow the media there publishes an interview draft. Both sides may openly praise or openly criticize, or openly praise or openly criticize.
In just a few days, a war of words suddenly broke out and the two sides were having a lot of fun.
Not only people in the film industry were watching the show, but even many ordinary people who originally didn't care about domestic films also paid attention to this war of words that was happening across the country and in newspapers.
With attention comes the motivation to understand.
The popularity of "Hero" has once again been hyped up to a new level, and even "Opium War", a movie that has been released for more than a month and whose popularity has long faded, has returned to the public eye.
The direct result was that the screenings of both "Hero" and "Opium War" increased, and other domestic films released during this period were almost completely eliminated.
The war of words between "Hero" and "Opium War" fully illustrates a sentence.
When the eldest and the second oldest fight, the third oldest is often the one who dies.
Many of the people involved only came to their senses after the screening was cancelled and were left with no tears to cry.
While he was eating the melon, his house was robbed.
They cursed angrily, but this time there was a new target.
"It's just a publicity stunt. Director Xie and I are old acquaintances, so it's not like he doesn't know this. If you go to the cinema, you'll see that the screening schedule for The Opium War has increased a bit!"
On Friday afternoon, Han Shanping asked Lin Weimin to visit Teng Jinxian. The next day, when they arrived at Teng Jinxian's house, he asked Lin Weimin about what happened in the newspaper. Lin Weimin had to explain a few words with a smile.
The debate between "Hero" and "Opium War" was fierce. Behind one side was the behemoth Guowen Publishing House, and behind the other side was Xie Jin, a highly respected director.
If things get too tense, it won't be a good thing.
Teng Jinxian called this time because he was asked to do so.
One of the producers of "The Opium War" is Emei Film Studio, which is where Lao Teng started his career.
"I understand Director Xie is a little bit grouchy, but you don't think I don't have that much tolerance, do you?
The newspapers may curse him, but that’s all, it’s just propaganda.”
Seeing Teng Jinxian's hesitant expression, Lin Weimin continued.
Teng Jinxian nodded, "I feel relieved when you say that."
Then he sighed again, "Oh! I can't imagine that a movie of yours could create such a high box office. Even those Hollywood blockbusters couldn't do that. I dare not think about it. We didn't even dare to think about it at that time."
Lin Weimin laughed and said, "That's not the case. If we look at the number of viewers, the number of viewers of Hero is far less than that of Shaolin Temple, The Shepherd, and Romance on Lushan Mountain."
Teng Jinxian shook his head and said, "Times have changed. Although the number of moviegoers in the country was declining in the early 1980s, it was more than 20 billion per year. Now the number of moviegoers in the country is less than one twentieth of that time. According to the ratio, your "Hero" is not weaker than "Shaolin Temple"."
Han Shanping, who was standing by, said with a smile: "No matter when, good movies will always have a market. There is one sentence in this round of public opinion war that I particularly agree with: a good movie is one that the people like to watch. The success of Hero fully proves this point."
Yanying Studio is one of the producers and distributors of "Hero". Just by collecting the distribution and affiliation fees, they can earn tens of millions of RMB this time. Add to that the box office share from the producers, and Yanying Studio will make a lot of money.
“Indeed. It has been four or five years since the film reform began, and everyone is always complaining about the bad market environment and that we shouldn’t have allowed Hollywood movies to be released, but they just don’t reflect on themselves.
Now that Hero has appeared, it has proven that we Chinese filmmakers can make good movies that can achieve high box office success.”
Teng Jinxian is a supporter of film reform and also one of the participants. Over the years, he has watched the film industry go downhill but was powerless to do anything about it. He feels sad and angry about the collapse of many domestic film studios.
"Go back and tell Old Tian about this and ask him to support our work more." Lin Weimin joked.
Hearing this, Teng Jinxian pointed at Lin Weimin with a smile on his face, "You, you are so ungrateful. How else can he support you? Even a retired old guy like me was mobilized to watch the movie. Didn't you get the ticket money for the private screening?"
"He owes me this, okay? If he hadn't forced me to do this, I wouldn't have taken such a big risk to make Heroes."
"You are the kind of person who takes advantage of others and acts ungratefully," Teng Jinxian said sarcastically.
Han Shanping said: "With such a huge investment, the risk of Hero is much greater than that of ordinary movies, but high risk also means high return..."
At this point, Teng Jinxian asked, "The box office has exceeded 200 million now, right?"
"It's already passed. Last week's box office was 81.3 million, and the cumulative box office in three weeks is 227.2 million. "Hero" is now the number one box office in Chinese film history." Han Shanping said quickly.
"Good fellow, are you aiming for 300 million?"
Lin Weimin shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. Piracy is hard to prevent now, and the box office in the fourth week is expected to drop more."
In preparation for the release of "Hero", Wenhua Films and several producers and distributors deployed a monitoring team of more than 500 people to crack down on concealing and underreporting box office revenue and piracy.
It is not difficult to conceal or underreport box office revenue, but it is difficult to prevent piracy, which is hard to guard against. In the first 21 days, the monitoring team made tremendous efforts to prevent it, and the results were good.
But it is impossible to prevent piracy with just a few hundred people. In the fourth week of the release of "Hero", pirated discs have been circulated on the market on a large scale.
Han Shanping said: "I don't think we need to be too pessimistic. One of the biggest advantages of making blockbusters is that the audio-visual effects of pirated discs are far inferior to those in theaters. There will still be many viewers who choose to watch movies in theaters."
Lin Weimin smiled calmly, "Shan Ping's words make sense."
(End of this chapter)
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