Chapter 474 The enemy is really weak
On Monday, December 26, the box office of "The Ferryman" unexpectedly plummeted. Affected by the poor reputation of the film, the single-day box office on weekdays was directly cut to the ankles, dropping directly from 85.53 million on Sunday to just over 20 million.
The single-day box office was almost the same as that of "The Great Wall" which was in its third week of release, while "Railroad Tigers" won the national box office championship that day with a box office of 32.64 million thanks to its slightly better reputation than the other two films.
That afternoon, the crew of "The Love Master" held a premiere press conference for the film in Beijing.
The low-budget comedy film "The Wei Ming World" was not grandly prepared. Director Wen Muye, producer and special guest Gu Wei, and starring actors Xiao Yang, Xiao Shenyang, Yan Ni, Qiao Shan, Clara and others attended the film's press conference.
Many news media came that day. Although the production cost of "The Love Master" was not high and the actors were not very famous, with a big star like Gu Wei making a special appearance and promoting the film, the film received a lot of attention and was one of the most promising movies to be released on the 30th.
On the stage, Gu Wei led the cast and crew of "The Love Master" in a row. He stood in the middle, director Wen Mu also stood on the left, lead actor Xiao Yang stood on the right, and other actors were on both sides.
It's not that Gu Wei wants to steal the limelight from Wen Muye and Xiao Yang. In addition to making a special appearance, he is also the producer of the film. Of course, this producer is actually just a figurehead, just like the bosses of major film and television companies, such as Wang Zhongjun and Yu Dong, who almost all have their own company's name on the films.
Moreover, a large part of the film's current promotion and publicity relies on Gu Wei's fame to attract audiences, and the media also pays more attention to him.
Wen Mu is still a new director, and "The Love Master" is his first independent film.
Although the film's leading actors Xiao Yang, Xiao Shenyang, Qiao Shan and others were once very popular, they are not considered first-line stars in the entertainment industry today and have limited appeal.
Only Gu Wei is the hottest and most talked-about superstar now. Even the blockbuster "The Great Wall" used him as a promotional topic. The crew of "The Love Master" will certainly not waste their boss's fame.
When it comes to his own company's films, Gu Wei will not be as perfunctory as he was when promoting "The Great Wall", and he puts in a lot of effort.
"Director Wen Muye is a very talented director, and he is also my senior at Beijing Film Academy.
Although this is my first time working with Director Wen, and my main role is producer rather than actor, during the entire filming process, I always think of the time when I just debuted and filmed "The Blade of the Assassin" with my senior brother Lu Yang.
Although the two people have different shooting techniques, their talent and creative desire that seem to be overflowing are really very similar.
The movie has been previewed for a while now, and we have received a lot of positive reviews from the audience.
I have confidence in the film, and even more so in Director Wen, and I believe his carefully crafted work will not disappoint the audience."
"Xiao Yang and I are old friends, and this is my third collaboration with him.
In fact, many people asked me at the beginning, saying that you found Xiao Yang when filming "Detective Chinatown 1", why did you ask him to play a different role in the second part? Aren’t you afraid that the audience will confuse the two films?
Today I will tell you that because Xiao Yang is an extremely good actor, when I wrote the second script, I didn’t think of anyone else for that role, I felt that he was the most suitable!
As everyone knows, Xiao Yang debuted as a singer, but from the time I met him and filmed my first movie until now, the impression he gave me is that of a very talented actor.
From "Kun Tai" in "Detective Chinatown 1," "Song Yi" in "Detective Chinatown 2," and now "Xiao Han" in "The Love Master," everyone is seeing three completely different Xiao Yangs, but each one is 100% immersed in the role."
At the press conference, Gu Wei opened the meeting first, taking the microphone to praise Wen Mu and Xiao Yang.
There was no fixed words for this kind of press conference and no rehearsal. The two people standing next to him felt a little embarrassed by what Gu Wei said.
After he finished speaking, the media asked some more questions and the topic gradually shifted to other people.
Everyone talked about some interesting things that happened during the filming of the movie, and even the Korean beauty Clara greeted everyone in halting Chinese.
Wen Mu also revealed that when casting for "Love Saint" was first started, Gu Wei had no intention of playing any role, but he felt that his image was just right for the role of "Wang Kun" at the beginning, so Gu Wei also contributed the first "posthumous photo" in his film career!
In real life, Xiao Yang is not as cheerful as his movie characters. He always responded to questions from the media with a smile, and thanked Director Wen and Director Gu, with whom he has worked since the film "Detective Chinatown," for their appreciation. He also said that he would take filming seriously and concentrate on his career as an actor.
After the interview, the media critics and audience present watched the movie "The Love Master" together.
This was also the first time that Gu Wei watched this comedy produced by his own company with the audience. It was very similar to the original version of "The Love Master" in his memory. The main line had not changed and the story was still the same, but after all, the directors were different and the effects presented were also different.
From Gu Wei's perspective, this version of "The Love Master" is better than the original version he has seen in terms of details, camera usage, and the effect of jokes are all better.
Wen Muye’s title as a genius director is not just talk. He was able to make "Dying to Survive", which shows that he surpasses ordinary directors in both basic skills and creativity.
As it turns out, this is indeed the case.
From the moment the movie started, the audience laughed almost every minute and every two minutes, and laughed nearly 100 times in less than 2 hours, which is enough to show the film's comedic skills and the audience's love for the movie.
After the movie screening, the main creators went on stage to interact with the audience and answered some questions that everyone was interested in.
Finally, Xiao Yang led hundreds of audience members in singing the ending song of the movie. The light-hearted and cheerful lyrics instantly stirred the emotions of the audience, and the premiere of the movie ended in this pleasant atmosphere.
Gu Wei and other main creative staff left the stage, and the media immediately interviewed some of the audience.
“I never thought this movie would be so funny!”
"These actors are all comedians I like very much. I never thought they would come together to act in a play, and I never expected it to be so hilarious!"
"Although Gu Wei has very few scenes, I felt that the opening scene was quite interesting. I think Gu Wei has a talent for comedy and he can try to expand his acting range in this area in the future!"
"It's quite funny, one thing leads to another. I'm going to watch it again when the movie is officially released!"
“.”
The next day, all major online entertainment media outlets published news about the premiere press conference of "The Love Master" yesterday, and some film critics who attended the event also wrote their reviews of the film on their official Weibo accounts.
#If I don’t laugh once more, 2016 will be over! #
#【Love Saint】: Life is like a game, you are playing with her, and she is also playing with you! #
#Chinese comedies can finally make the "matters between men and women" interesting! #
##
Overall, before the film officially met the national audience, the media and film critics were quite optimistic about the film.
Of course, this has something to do with the red envelope from Wei Ming Tian Xia, but I have to say that the movie Love Master is completely qualified as a comedy movie that is simply meant to make you laugh.
"What's the final schedule set by the cinema chain?"
In the office, Gu Wei asked while browsing various movie-related news.
"Major cinema chains nationwide, including Wanda Cinema Line, Shanghai United Cinema Line, Guangdong Dadi Cinema Line, China Film Star Cinema Line, and China Film Digital Cinema Line, have all responded. On the first day of release on the 30th, the nationwide screening share of "The Love Master" will reach approximately 28%."
Yang Liwen replied while looking at the several information sheets in her hand.
"very good!"
Gu Wei clapped his hands and a smile appeared on his face.
Whether a movie can achieve high box office depends on the screening schedule. Director Feng's tricks when "I Am Not Madame Bovary" was released were mainly for publicity, but scheduling the film was also one of the purposes.
Good movies are like delicious snacks produced in a factory, and cinemas are like supermarkets of all sizes. No matter how popular your product is, it needs to be placed on supermarket shelves in large quantities before consumers can buy it. Otherwise, the terminal supermarkets will not stock it, and no matter how good the product is, it will not have good sales.
"It seems like there aren't any major movies coming out during the New Year's Day period this year?"
"In fact, the three most promising blockbusters at the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday, The Great Wall, The Ferryman, and Railroad Tigers, are this year's three most promising blockbusters. If the box office is strong, these three movies will normally occupy a large part of the box office market during this New Year's Day holiday. But you know the reputation of these three movies.
There were 12 movies released during the three-day New Year's Day period, including "The Love Master," but most of them were low-budget comedies or dramas, so our film was considered a heavyweight among them."
Gu Wei nodded after listening to Yang Liwen's explanation.
This is indeed the case. This week is the third week of release of "The Great Wall", and the second week of release of "The Ferryman" and "Railroad Tigers". If these three films can be as strong as "The Mermaid", "Monster Hunt" or "Detective Chinatown 2", the movie market during the New Year's Day period will not be able to squeeze out so many screenings.
[The Love Master] is now highly valued by theaters. It’s not because he is so outstanding, but because the enemy is too weak.
"The Ferryman" has only been released for 5 days, and the single-day box office has dropped to less than 20 million. Can you believe that this is a blockbuster that took in 280 million in the first 3 days and is backed by a star-studded cast and famous directors?
The box office trend is not much different from that of "Tiny Times". Both of them sold well in the first three days thanks to publicity, but then fell into decline after word of mouth spread.
Speaking of this, Yang Liwen remembered something.
"Boss, Mr. Zhao has news that filming for 'Ashes of Love' will wrap up in the next few days. He will be returning to Beijing with Director Wu Jinyuan and the crew after finishing up."
"This film has been shot for half a year, right?"
"The filming started in July, and it took more than five months in total."
Gu Wei nodded.
"Ashes of Love" is also a major project that he has his eyes on, and in his opinion, with the broadcast of "Princess Agents" and this drama, Li Xian will definitely be promoted to a top star in the domestic entertainment industry.
After all, it was thanks to this drama that Deng Lun rose directly from a third-tier male star to a top star. Now that "Ashes of Love" is gone, it is unknown whether Deng Lun can become a top star again.
Maybe this is not necessarily a bad thing for him. Without such a big name and the ability to make so much money, he may not suffer such a big setback in tax matters.
When Li Xian ascended, Xiao Yang joined Li Xian. One was in the field of film, the other was in the field of TV series, one was a powerful actor and the other was an idol. In addition to Gu Wei, [Wei Ming Tian Xia] also had a male artist who could truly carry the flag.
"Have you discussed copyright with major TV stations and video websites?"
Although "Ashes of Love" has not been completed yet, the post-production time for this kind of fantasy drama will not be too short.
However, the dramas of [Wei Ming Tian Xia] often communicate with major familiar satellite TV stations and platforms according to different types from the beginning of the project, first determine the intention of cooperation, and then discuss the specific price after the drama is released.
Yang Liwen thought about it.
"All major platforms are very interested in our new Xianxia drama, but the leading actors, Yang Zi and Li Xian, are not currently famous or popular enough. I estimate that the copyright fees will be much lower than those of "Eternal Love" and "Princess Agents."
Gu Wei nodded in understanding.
"Eternal Love" has him and Yang Mi, and "Princess Agents" can have no problem relying on Zhao Liying alone. Now Yang Zi is not the future top female star born in the 1990s, and she has not yet started her journey to become a top female star with every drama she stars in. It is normal that "Ashes of Love" cannot be sold at the price of top dramas.
Of course, this only means that the first round of copyright for "Ashes of Love" will not be as profitable as those two films, but it will still be no problem to break even and make a small profit.
However, Gu Wei knew that "Ashes of Love" would be a big hit in the future, and he could not accept it being "sold at a low price" in the first round.
"Wait for President Zhao and Director Wu to come back and do the post-production for this film first. Don't be too anxious when the finished film comes out. Put it on hold and wait for a good opportunity to release it."
Yang Liwen said she understood.
She thought Gu Wei wanted to wait until "Princess Agents" was broadcast and Li County's reputation had improved to a certain extent before selling the drama, so as to maximize the utilization of resources.
Many film and television companies in the entertainment industry do this. Many films shot by celebrities before they became famous were withheld for various reasons and not broadcast. After they became famous, the film and television companies or platforms took them out and sold them for a good price.
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(End of this chapter)
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