Chapter 404 New Year's Eve
"Brother Meng Bai, do you really have as much money as the news says?"
Before the premiere began, Zhao Jinmai was idling around Meng Bai and asked curiously.
"Don't listen to the nonsense on the Internet. I can't even take out 200 yuan from my pocket now." Meng Bai replied casually.
Zhao Jinmai didn't care, as if he just wanted to find someone familiar to chat: "I also saw on the Internet that Pinduoduo was also opened by you."
"If you run for the US president, I will definitely vote for you, and then transfer all the Apple, Nvidia and the like to me."
"So that's not it?"
"Of course not, I just have a little bit of shares."
"Well, if you are a shareholder, then you don't have to spend money to buy things on Pinduoduo?"
"I have a super account, just like your QQ, all kinds of red diamonds, green diamonds, colorful big black diamonds, when I buy things, the backstage sees this account and directly pays for me."
"Really?" Zhao Jinmai's already big eyes widened a little bit.
She had just made a childish joke - high school students are not elementary school students, how could they not know what an e-commerce website is - but she didn't expect Meng Bai's answer to be too smooth, and it didn't sound illogical, which made her suspicious again.
Looking at Zhao Jinmai who looked suspicious, Meng Bai couldn't help but secretly laugh in her heart.
It's said that little girls are easy to deceive. She can think seriously about a question that sounds nonsense for so long.
While enjoying the fun of deceiving the little girl, a crew member ran over to tell him that La Peikang and the others had arrived.
Speaking of which, compared with the premieres of other star-studded movies during the Spring Festival this year, today's press conference for "The Wandering Earth" can be said to be low-key and grand.
Low-key is that, except for the leading actors and creators of the crew itself, there are basically no other stars present, and there is no entertainment such as the red carpet.
And grand is that the head of China Film La Peikang, the general manager of Beijing North Culture Song Ge, the vice president of Maoyan Entertainment Zhang Bo, including Meng Bai and other industry leaders, all came to the scene in person to support.
After greeting everyone and chatting about the pre-sale box office data of the movie, it was almost time for the
show to start. "Are you still thinking about it?" Meng Bai called out to Zhao Jinmai who seemed to be thinking about something, "Get ready, the premiere is about to begin."
"Oh, okay."
Zhao Jinmai responded, and when he walked past Meng Bai, he couldn't help asking, "Brother Meng Bai, can your super account be recharged to get it? Or does it only have you guys?"
Meng Bai's mouth twitched, and he said in a steady tone, "No need to recharge, if you want me to give you one."
"Really?!"
"Of course, the method is also very simple." Meng Bai said sincerely, "You first register an account, then bind a bank card, and choose bank card payment. In the future, as long as there is money on the card, the website backend can directly pay for you when you buy things."
"Ah? Then... won't the money on the card still be deducted?"
"Yes, I only said payment on your behalf, which means paying on your behalf, not that you don't have to spend money."
"..."
Meng Bai smiled and spread his hands, and then left happily in the confused expression of the little girl.
Zhao Jinmai finally realized that she had been deceived, and a mouthful of anger blocked her chest, but she couldn't rush up to him to settle the score. She could only frown at the back of this "evil big brother", and at the same time, she did not forget to keep this matter in mind and wait for a chance to "retaliate" in the future.
...
The premiere press conference of "The Wandering Earth" was relatively simple. Because there was still a week before the official release, there was no movie viewing session. Only Guo Fan, Wu Jing and other main creators came on stage to talk about the production process of the film, and then the leading actors talked about their role experience.
The original author of the novel, Liu Cixin, was also invited to the scene
and praised the adapted film. It has to be said that except for Wu Jing, no one in the entire "The Wandering Earth" crew is more popular than this "fishing master". Therefore, after the promotional video and press release of the movie premiere were released, it attracted many science fiction enthusiasts.
Many fans of Liu were not very optimistic about this movie. After all, there was a "Three-Body" movie that has not been released yet. Who knows if it will be reliable this time.
But when Liu Cixin praised the movie on the spot, his expression was very sincere. It was different from the "hesitant" expression that year, and it didn't look like he was just saying polite words.
Therefore, with the endorsement of the original author, many people have more expectations for the movie.
——After
the Little New Year, time officially entered the countdown to the Spring Festival. Students have already had their winter vacation, and most of the workers have started to pack up and prepare to go home for the New Year.
In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve.
Meng Bai rarely went home this year, mainly because Meng's father and mother had decided to visit relatives on the first day of the New Year, and then fly directly to Italy with friends for vacation.
In this regard, Meng Bai had no objection at all, and told the two elders to just play outside and swipe their son's card if they had something to do.
At least, in this way, he will no longer be told about "getting married quickly after establishing a career".
It's not that he doesn't want to get married, but he is a philanthropic person, so he wants to give each of those beautiful girls a warm home.
Although he has to stay in Beijing North, he is not very lonely. Guo Fan and Gongger are both staying in Beijing this year because they are busy with the film. Meng Bai plans to have a New Year's Eve dinner with them.
"Hey, where are you?"
"Still in the company. I haven't started yet."
"Mr. Meng, why are you so dedicated?" It was Guo Fan who called. "Your sister-in-law and her family have started making dumplings. Hurry up and come over."
"Okay, I'll leave now."
Meng Bai responded and hung up the phone. After reading the remaining documents on the computer, he stood up and prepared to pack up and leave.
It was already dark outside, but there were still many places in the Arclight Film and Television building that were lit. Although the company had been on holiday since yesterday, there were still some local employees or employees who did not go home to continue working overtime. After all,
the five-time overtime pay during the Chinese New Year was still very attractive.
When Meng Bai walked to the door of the company, he was about to go out when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the name of the caller and couldn't help but smile.
"Hello, Boss Li, Happy New Year.
" "Happy New Year, Teacher Meng." Li Yitong's smiling voice came from the phone.
It sounded very quiet on her side, and it seemed that she was alone. Meng Bai walked out and said casually, "What are you doing?"
"I'm watching a silly person trying to get in the car."
Meng Bai, who was about to open the car door, was stunned when he heard this, and then took a step out and looked around.
Sure enough, not far from the gate, a petite figure wearing a black windbreaker and a blue scarf waved to him, and then walked over slowly.
"Clang clang! Surprise inspection, Mr. Meng is not planning to go out and have dinner with a little girl, right?" Li Yitong stood in front of Meng Bai and teased with a sweet smile.
"Indeed, I have such a plan." Meng Bai replied, and then asked with some surprise: "I thought you were still in the crew."
Li Yitong is currently filming "The Undocumented Crime" in Harbin. The filming started around New Year's Day and will not be finished until the end of February at the earliest.
"It's the New Year, the crew will have a day off tomorrow, and we will finish work early today. I checked the flight time and I can fly back just in time." "
How did you know I was in the company?"
Li Yitong raised her eyebrows proudly: "Hehe, then I naturally have my own way."
"Did Huahua tell you?"
"No, this little girl is wearing the same pants as you now. She said she didn't know anything I asked."
Li Yitong replied angrily, and then explained: "Actually, I don't know either. I just planned to come here to take a look and didn't call you again. I didn't expect to see you when I got off the car just now."
"What do you mean by wearing the same pants as me? Huahua chose to stand on the side of justice and was not instigated by you, the former boss." Meng Bai smiled proudly, and then took her arm, "Let's go, get in the car first, and go to have the New Year's Eve dinner together later."
Fortunately, it was not too late at this time. Meng Bai called Guo Fan first and apologized to explain that he had something to do here and would not go over.
As a person who has been through this, Guo Fan knew that this situation must be related to the girl. He smiled and said it was okay, and reminded him to "be careful".
"Who is it?"
Li Yitong asked curiously when she saw Meng Bai put down the phone.
"Director Guo Fan, I told you before."
"Ah, I remember." Li Yitong said: "Your science fiction movie will be released tomorrow, how much is the pre-sale box office now?"
"About 25 million." This is the data given by Maoyan in the morning.
Li Yitong smiled and said: "It sounds like a lot..."
Meng Bai took a long breath: "The pre-sales of "Speeding Life" and "The New King of Comedy" are more than 50 million, and "Crazy Alien" is 65 million!"
"Ah, so..."
Li Yitong smiled awkwardly. She has not made many movies, so she doesn't know much about this aspect. When I heard that the pre-sale alone was 25 million, I thought this result was very good.
In fact, if it were in normal times, this result would indeed be acceptable. But when compared horizontally, it seems a bit embarrassing.
The four big-budget movies during the Spring Festival were called the "Spring Festival Top Four" by the audience. Unfortunately, judging from the pre-sale data, there is a huge gap between the fourth place and the first three.
Fortunately, Meng Bai and his team had expected this result before, so they were not disappointed. But the gap is so big that they still feel a little sad.
"It doesn't matter!" Li Yitong raised her voice and encouraged Meng Bai: "Many movies before were not optimistic at the beginning, but were supported by the audience later. I believe that the quality of your movie is definitely fine, and it will improve later."
"Okay, I'll borrow your good words." Meng Bai smiled and said, "If the box office is good later, I'll give you a 'Meng's exclusive massage'."
"Tsk, who wants your massage that takes advantage of you."
Li Yitong rolled her eyes at him, took out her mobile phone and looked at it for a while, and suddenly said, "Hey, your movie has a midnight show tonight. How about we go to see it together after dinner, and support you with two tickets first."
"Okay."
It's said that the trend of social development is very fast. I remember that when Li Yitong went to Meng Bai's house on New Year's Day a few years ago, it was not easy to find an open restaurant outside. Now, even on New Year's Eve, the streets are still brightly lit.
Meng Bai looked at the streets full of people, and his heart was full of confidence in "The Wandering Earth".
The world is developing, and the audience's viewing level is also improving. The demand for large-scale science fiction themes is inevitable. Therefore, from the perspective of the entire film and television industry, "The Wandering Earth" can be considered a success as long as it can make back its investment.
The two of them found a place to eat something, and then walked around, dawdling until after eleven o'clock, and then walked towards the cinema.
After all, it is in northern Beijing, and the slightly larger theaters in the city basically have arranged midnight shows. Meng Bai and his friends went to Wanda.
Since the failure of the previous attempt to intercept the "Malaysia" project overseas, Wanda has had a hard time in the past few years. It has basically been selling its bottom, and Wanda Cinema Line has also been affected.
Coupled with the current film and television winter, I'm afraid they will have an even harder time this year.
Meng Bai actually considered whether to get involved in a first-hand theater line. After all, channels are an important link in any industry.
It's just that theaters belong to the heavy asset field, the demand for funds is huge, and the market is basically saturated. It may be difficult to rebuild a theater line. So if you really want it, you have to start with the existing theaters.
The previous break in the capital chain of Xingmei Cinema Line is a good opportunity. However, Meng Bai did not have much money at that time, and Arclight's foundation in the film industry was still shallow, so he did not make a move.
Moreover, the film and television industry is now in a downward trend and is far from the bottom. There are plenty of high-quality and low-priced assets, so there is no need to rush to consider theaters.
"What are you thinking about?"
Li Yitong came back after picking up the tickets and saw Meng Bai who was concentrating on thinking. As soon as he saw his expression, he knew that he must be thinking about work again: "It's the New Year and you can't take a break. No wonder you can make money."
Meng Bai, who was awakened, smiled when he heard the words and temporarily put the theaters behind his mind: "Of course I have to make money, otherwise how can I support you."
"Hehe, I can support myself well. I don't know who to support the extra ones." Li Yitong snorted.
"Haha...this movie ticket is quite expensive." Meng Bai wisely changed the subject.
But don't say it, the price of this movie ticket has obviously increased a lot this year. The main reason is that the previous "New Film and Television Regulations" cancelled the ticket subsidy policy of online sales platforms such as Tao Piaopiao and Maoyan, in order to avoid the phenomenon of spending money to grab the market and "box office inflation".
The biggest beneficiaries of this regulation are producers and distributors like Huguang. After all, ticket prices have increased, but the audience's viewing habits have been retained. With the same number of moviegoers, the box office can be higher.
Meng Bai changed the subject, and before Li Yitong could speak, she heard a low whisper coming from the side.
"Pfft - Hey, fuck, did you hear that guy next to you just now? That's so funny. He said earlier that he was still working to support his girlfriend during the Chinese New Year. I thought that he had to make a lot of money, but later I saw a movie ticket for 80 yuan and thought it was expensive, haha..."
Meng Bai and Li Yitong looked over in the direction of the voice. There were two boys talking not far away. They looked young, one tall and thin, and the other of medium height.
The tall and thin boy was the one who just spoke. It can be seen that he was afraid of being heard, so he deliberately lowered his voice, but it was quiet late at night at midnight, so he was still heard.
"Did you hear it, stingy guy." Li Yitong poked the man next to him, and his eyes curved and smiled like the crescent moon tonight.
Meng Bai was not angry, and said with a smile: "Yes, so I, a poor guy, have to ask Boss Li to support me."
"Okay, okay, then you have to perform well, haha."
The two people's voices were not loud, but they were also heard in this quiet hall.
The tall and thin boy naturally heard it, and immediately the embarrassment of being caught talking bad about someone behind his back surged into his heart. But then, he heard Li Yitong's laughter again, and suddenly he felt like he was shot by an arrow.
The middle-sized boy next to him glanced at his friend and added mercilessly: "At least he has a girl to accompany him, but I am the only one accompanying you on New Year's Eve. I don't know who should laugh at who."
"Me, you, fuck!"
(End of this chapter)
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