The celebration party for "Black and White" was scheduled for the first Sunday in March. In addition to inviting the main creative staff of Optoelectronics and the crew, Tao Mu also invited the two screenwriter teams of "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" and "Soldier King" who served as plot consultants for the mainland remake of "Black and White". Apart from this, no external media or industry guests were invited.
This made the media and artists who had been watching Tao Mu's actions very regretful. The entertainment media are better, but it’s a pity that there is a lack of reports that can attract audiences. As for the celebrities who wanted to take this opportunity to make friends with Tao Mu, it was a pity. But everyone can understand that Tao Mu made careful arrangements to make his people have fun.
The celebration banquet was held in the rooftop restaurant of Yanjing Hotel. When eating, it is necessary to raise the glass and speak. The Xiangcheng production team is in a bit of an awkward situation. Especially after seeing the meaningful smiles of the optoelectronic masters present. Many people seemed to be able to hear the crisp sound of being hit on the cheek. Director Xu Musen, who had been the most vehement opponent before and had even ridiculed the leaders of the optoelectronics company for not managing personnel matters in front of media reporters, was so embarrassed that he kept coughing. He rarely lowered his head when toasting.
"...The remake of Black and White was released in mainland China this time, and it has achieved such good results, which is absolutely inseparable from the careful guidance of the leaders of the optoelectronics industry. I didn't understand the rules of your domestic film market before, and I accidentally offended a few leaders. I hope the leaders will forgive me--"
Before he could finish his words, Zhou Yanqing and Yan Yu, who were both very delicate and sensitive, frowned at the same time. Sure enough, just as Xu Musen raised his glass to drink, he was interrupted by the leader of Optoelectronics: "Director Xu, what you said is inappropriate. Xiangcheng has been returned for many years. No matter whether we are at home or abroad, we are all one family. We are one family and we should not have different opinions."
I just said something gently. In fact, the leaders of the optoelectronics industry are also annoyed by these Hong Kong filmmakers. When they have works to be released and want to come to the mainland to make money, they all say that they are Chinese. But when they make money, they say that the quality of your country and your circle is too low. Not worthy to be compared with us...Don't be too comfortable with the two faces.
Director Xu's unintentional mistake was specifically pointed out by the optoelectronics leader, and his face felt a little hot. He immediately apologized with a smile: "Yes, yes, it was my mistake. We are all Chinese, descendants of Yan and Huang."
The leaders of Optoelectronics just smiled and said nothing.
The atmosphere suddenly became even more awkward. The people of Xiangcheng looked at each other in bewilderment, and they could all see the aggressive attitude of the Optoelectronics leader. The only female star at the main table who has a high status is Fang Ruoti. When I go to dinner parties, I am used to playing the role of a sweet talker to create a good atmosphere. However, it was also Fang Ruoti's first time to have dinner with the leader of the mainland's optoelectronics department. She was also afraid that she didn't understand the taboos of the optoelectronics leaders and might offend them with a wrong word. So he was hesitant. He wanted to stand up and help Director Xu, but he didn't know what to say.
Zhou Yanqing and Yan Yu hurriedly poured the wine. They had enough status and influence in the circle, but it was not appropriate for them to step in and apologize on behalf of Director Xu. I had no choice but to explain to Director Xu with a smile. But the atmosphere at the dinner table was still a bit depressing.
As the host, Tao Mu certainly couldn't just watch the atmosphere of the dinner go off the track like a wild horse running away. He immediately stood up with a smile and said, "Let me say a few words. In fact, before Director Xu found me, I never thought that Director Xu would be interested in a student like me to play the role of Zhou Yuanting. I never thought that Director Xu would cut the role of Zhou Yuanting so much. Of course, I didn't expect that a newcomer like me who just debuted not long ago would have the opportunity to be the producer of the remake of such a classic movie. First of all, I am very grateful to Director Xu for his kindness, and I am very grateful to Director Xu and the members of the production team for trusting me so much. I am also very grateful for everyone's teaching and guidance during the filming. I have benefited a lot."
Tao Mu said this and drank a glass of white wine in one gulp. The Xiangcheng production team members and main actors present were also full of emotion. I didn't expect Tao Mu to be able to train so well in such a short time. There is no need to talk about the acting skills, the key is that the production level is so high.
"It's a pleasure to work with you." Zhou Yanqing raised his glass and clinked it with Tao Mu, saying sincerely, "You are a genius and you work very hard. I look forward to more cooperation with you."
The leaders of Optoelectronics did attend the celebration banquet with the intention of calling for blame and slapping someone in the face. But considering Tao Mu's feelings, he wouldn't go too far. Just a few words and that’s it. He also said with emotion: "Hong Kong's film market developed decades earlier than the mainland, so it is more complete in all aspects. This is also where our mainland film market needs to learn. This is the fact, and we have to admit it. But we actually have many talented and capable actors and filmmakers in the mainland, and of course there are more themes that can be explored in depth. We also hope that filmmakers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong can cooperate sincerely, learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses, share what they have, and jointly develop the Chinese film industry better, so that Chinese culture and values can be transmitted to the West as soon as possible."
As expected of a leader within the system, he can summarize the topic to a high level in just a few words. Some of the Hong Kong film people present were not used to this way of speaking, but with the box office having made a huge profit of over 100 million in two weeks, everyone could only laugh and chat with the leaders awkwardly.
Fortunately, the leaders of Optoelectronics also know that they are not welcome among these filmmakers. You have vented your anger and got slapped in the face, but you still have to take care of your child's emotions and face. The proud leaders of the optoelectronics industry finally had a few drinks with the Hong Kong filmmakers and left early.
Before leaving, the leaders of Optoelectronics explained to Tao Mu the issue of increasing the film scheduling rate in the next two weeks. To be honest, the leaders of Optoelectronics really treat Tao Mu as their own son. Because Tao Mu participated in this movie, the leaders of Optoelectronics considered supporting their new talents and took into account the types and schedules of other movies when scheduling the film. Except for the first week when it encountered a Hollywood 3D blockbuster that was unstoppable worldwide, causing its box office to lag behind others. At the beginning of the second week, due to its excellent reputation and cast, "Black and White" actually surpassed the Hollywood 3D blockbusters at the end of autumn and became the champion of the box office rankings in the second week.
Considering that several other films released at the same time were overshadowed by the Hollywood 3D blockbuster, the leaders of the optoelectronics industry simply hinted to theater distributors to remove some of the really weak films from the shelves and give the screens to "Black and White". Ensure that the box office of Black and White will surge in the third and fourth weeks. At least don't be too badly compared with Hollywood blockbusters in terms of big data - even if the leaders of the optoelectronics industry don't like the attitude of Hong Kong filmmakers, "Black and White" is also a co-production. Moreover, the film was produced by the young people they favor the most.
The leaders of Optoelectronics are dedicated to the public. Although there are times when things don't go so well, as long as there is an opportunity to promote national prestige, national self-confidence and pride, and let Chinese local films shine, they will do their best to support it.
——Just because of this instruction before leaving, Director Xu and other members of the Xiangcheng production team were able to reluctantly let go of the humiliation of being slapped in the face by the leader of the optoelectronics department at the celebration banquet. I sincerely thank the leaders for their support and cooperation.
The leaders of Optoelectronics do not like Hong Kong filmmakers represented by Director Xu very much. However, I still admire superstars like Zhou Yanqing who have good professional skills, good character and personality, and who also likes to do charity work in the mainland. In particular, Zhou Yanqing has also begun to support emerging mainland directors in making films in the past two years. Optoelectronics leaders hope there will be more influential actors with a leadership spirit like this. Even to some extent, he secretly promised: "Mr. Zhou is a very good actor, and Tao Mu is a very good film and television producer in the mainland. We also hope that you can have more opportunities for cooperation and cultivate more film talents for the mainland."
Director Xu and other members of the Xiangcheng production team stood at the door of the hotel with a smile, watching Tao Mu send the old men from Optoelectronics away one by one. This scene was captured by reporters who were waiting at the hotel entrance.
So the next morning, all the newspaper headlines were filled with the huge headline "Optoelectronics leaders attended the celebration party for "Black and White", and Hong Kong producers lined up to see them off." He also thoughtfully attached the box office figures of "Black and White" in mainland China.
Compare this with the various reports in recent years that have been exposed by the media about Hong Kong film crews bullying mainland actors. The profound meaning behind this is quite interesting.
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