Chapter 586: A Whale Falls and All Creatures Come to Life
"Don't be discouraged. If it doesn't work out this time, there's always another time. This is your first time as a director, and achieving this level is already very rare."
After the last fan meeting of the roadshow ended today, the main creators of the "Sky Hunter" crew got in the car and returned to the hotel to rest.
Li Chen took a look at the real-time box office data, sighed, and stared blankly out the window.
Seeing this, his girlfriend held his hand tightly and comforted him softly.
“That’s easy to say, I’m afraid there won’t be a next time.
According to the current box office trend, our movie will lose nearly 100 million yuan.
No one will ask me to direct a film anymore.
Sky Hunter is probably my first and last movie.” Li Chen turned around, looked at his girlfriend’s beautiful face, and said with a wry smile.
He knew that the other party was comforting him. Everyone understands the truth, but how many people can really think and see things from a positive perspective?
"If you can't be a director, just continue to be an actor. Look at Xu Zheng, Gu Wei, Wu Jing and others. Even though they were so successful as directors, they still turned back to being actors. It's no big deal.
As a new director, it is already excellent to be able to make a movie like "Sky Hunter".
It’s just that everyone’s expectations of you are too high, so they want a huge investment of over 200 million right from the start.
If you make a low-budget movie first, you might become a new generation of dark horse director."
Fan Bingbing knows how to comfort people. The reason why she has been able to do so well in the circle over the years is not just because of her looks, but also because she has a firm grasp of the ways of the world.
"Will it?"
"certainly."
Bingbing nodded. She knew that what her boyfriend needed most at this moment was her positive feedback.
"Look at director Ning Hao's famous film Crazy Stone, which cost 3 million yuan to invest, but the box office was less than 20 million yuan.
Lu Yang's "Blade of the Assassin" cost only 30 million yuan, and the final box office was just over 200 million yuan.
They are professional directors who were afraid to try big investments when they first started out. You are mainly burdened by the cost.
I remember that Wu Jing’s first movie, Wolf Tooth, had a box office of less than 5 million, which was a huge loss.
Later, the "Wolf Warrior" series was filmed.
So don’t lose heart, whether you want to continue to be a director or focus on being an actor, I support you.”
With his girlfriend's gentle comfort, Li Chen felt a little better.
He was also very touched by Fan Bingbing's support.
"Thank you, Bingbing, I'm not afraid of anything with you around.
The movie is still in theaters. Although the current box office trend is not ideal, I will do my best to promote it and minimize the losses.
I will consider carefully whether to act or film in the future.
Even if I plan to make a new movie, I won’t make such a huge investment like this time.
You are right, I am a new director, and a low-budget movie may not be a big hit, but it has low risk and high returns, and it can also let the outside world see my true ability."
Seeing that her boyfriend had regained some confidence, Fan Bingbing smiled with relief.
To be honest, with her experience, she can see that her boyfriend really doesn't have that talent.
There's no way he can compare with people like Ning Hao, Xu Zheng, Gu Wei, and Wu Jing.
But it doesn’t matter. At least the woman is stronger than the man, so Li Chen is very calm and obedient in front of her.
And what she wants right now is this stability and obedience.
If she wanted to find someone who could help her career, she had plenty of candidates and would never establish a relationship with Li Chen.
To put it bluntly, Fan Bingbing has been working in the entertainment industry for more than ten years and has gained fame and fortune, so he just wants to find an honest person to take over.
Although Li Chen has many ex-girlfriends, he is still very honest after being with her.
Unfortunately, if Fan Bingbing maintained her status as the wealthy Fan Ye, the two might really have gotten married.
But she didn't know that Li Chen, a so-called honest man, was not only incompetent, but also lacked much responsibility.
A person's experience determines his attitude towards things and his final achievements.
Wu Jing, who has been practicing martial arts since childhood and has experienced many ups and downs, has an indomitable will. The failure of "Wolf Fang" cannot defeat him. He is determined to make movies even if he has to sell his house and borrow money, so his success is inevitable to some extent.
Even if "Wolf Warrior" fails again, maybe he will make "Tiger Warrior" or "Dragon Warrior".
Li Chen has had a relatively smooth journey since he entered the circle. Although he is not cowardly, he is the type who is content with a small fortune, accustomed to stability, and will retreat when faced with difficulties.
So Fan Bingbing is now at the peak of his career, and the two of them are very loving. If something happens in the future, they will definitely run away separately.
After all, he is not Jiang Wen. Even if they break up and become ex-boyfriend, he can still run around for his ex-girlfriend.
In this respect, Wu Jing and Jiang Wen are more similar. They are both male chauvinists who value friendship and have a wolfish nature.
All I can say is that those who are loyal are usually butchers, while those who are unfaithful are usually scholars.
Regarding the failure of Sky Hunter, some people are sad, some are regretful, and some are glad.
Mr. Yu from Bona is the one who is relieved.
At first, he was also interested in investing in "Sky Hunter". After all, Bona has always focused on positive and patriotic films.
However, when the film was being prepared, Bona did not participate because there were many financiers who were optimistic about the film.
As a director, Li Chen also invested a lot of money himself. In addition to having confidence in himself, he also wanted to create a gimmick after the movie was released that the film’s budget was not enough and the director had to pay for it out of his own pocket.
When Wu Jing wanted to sell his house to make a movie, Gu Wei generously invested in it, and it became a good story among netizens.
Li Chen wants to learn this.
As a result, [Sky Hunter] flopped and the gimmick turned into a joke.
Fortunately, we did not invest at that time, so Bona avoided losing money.
Yu Dong also realized that the subject matter of a movie is important, but the people who make the movie are even more important.
Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy was successful because the director was Xu Ke.
The huge success of Operation Mekong is also due to Lin Chaoxian and Gu Wei.
Not to mention [Wolf Warrior 2], with Gu Wei and Wu Jing, the quality, popularity and box office appeal are all at full capacity.
The subject matter and story of Sky Hunter are actually quite good, but Li Chen is too disappointing and the directing is not good, so no matter how good the story is, it can't be filmed in a wonderful way.
On October 8, after the National Day holiday, a piece of news shocked the entertainment industry and directly topped the hot search list.
Lu Han announced his relationship without any warning on Weibo.
"Hello everyone, let me introduce to you, this is my girlfriend @Guan Xiaotong."
Guan Xiaotong replied: "Oh my, snap! @鹿韩"
This incident immediately sparked public opinion.
Countless fans commented on Lu Han’s Weibo post, but most of them were not blessings.
[No. Why do I feel that they don’t have any CP feeling at all? They feel completely unrelated, and the height difference is awkward.]
[Oh no, the person I like the most likes the person I dislike the most. What should I do? ]
【If I can get married, I lose! 】
[They endorse different phones, so how can they possibly fall in love?]
[You're kidding! How could Lu Han possibly fall for Guan Xiaotong? They're not a good match at all!]
[I heard they fell in love while filming "Sweet Smash." They are so sweet, and I'm so excited for the fans!]
[I'm quitting being a fan. I spent so much money on support and bought so many endorsement items, and now I'm told that they're officially dating so early. They're such a poor idol!]
[Lu Hanchun is a real man, officially announcing his relationship right away. This gives Guan Xiaotong a sense of security!]
[Blessings to the two of them. Although this news is somewhat unexpected to me, I still hope that Lu Han and Lu Sao can be happy.]
【.】
In just half a day, Lu Han's Weibo post received 1 million comments, and even the platform was paralyzed for a while due to the rapid influx of traffic.
Fans felt a mixture of shock, sadness, and anger.
Many fans were heartbroken and quit following them, and most people were not optimistic about this couple, thinking that they were not a good match and would not last long.
The man lost fans and was criticized as a disqualified idol, while the woman gained a group of black and mocking fans.
Lu Han’s Weibo also lost hundreds of thousands of followers in half a day because of his official announcement of his relationship.
“Lu Han is too impulsive, but he is really responsible.
I always thought he was a bit effeminate, but this time he looks very manly!"
At noon, the crew of "The Story of Minglan" took a break and everyone gathered together to eat and watch melons.
Zhang Jianing put one end of the chopsticks in his mouth and sighed while looking at his phone.
"Jia Ning, I think it's necessary to tell Xiao Lu that you think he is very effeminate." Gu Wei looked at Zhang Jianing with a smile and threatened her to tell tales.
"My focus is on the second half of the sentence, which praises Lu Han. You are taking it out of context," Zhang Jianing argued.
After having dinner and watching a movie together that night, the young actors in the "Do You Know" crew obviously got along better.
Originally, everyone thought that Gu Wei and Zhao Liying were big stars and would not be easy to get along with, but after getting to know them, they found that they both had very good personalities.
Gu Wei has a gentle personality, is not arrogant, and speaks in a humorous way.
Zhao Liying is focused and serious about her work, but she never blames people for the issue, and is also easy to talk to.
"I don't care. Yilong can testify to this, right?"
Zhu Yilong, who was concentrating on eating, was startled to find that Gu Wei and Zhang Jianing were both looking at him.
“Yeah!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Jianing glared at him and quickly changed his words.
"Is it still wrong?"
"You owe me a meal, and I'll keep this a secret for you." Gu Wei patted Zhu Yilong's shoulder. "I'll take you with me when the time comes."
"Okay, stop teasing Jianing," Zhao Liying said.
"How come you're not surprised at all by such a big thing?"
"I'm not surprised that they are together, because I knew it a long time ago. But I was surprised that Xiaolu made it public so quickly," Gu Wei said as a matter of course.
When he finished speaking, everyone turned their eyes to him.
"You knew it a long time ago?" Zhang Jianing was a little surprised.
"Yes, not only I know, Deng Chao also knows.
I have a good relationship with Lu Han and Guan Xiaotong, so isn't it normal for me to know about this?"
As he spoke, Gu Wei glanced at his phone. On Weibo, all the members of the Running Man team sent messages to congratulate Lu Han, including Guan Xiaotong's friends, such as Ma Sichun and Chen Duling.
After thinking for a moment, Gu Wei put down his chopsticks and picked up his phone, and replied to the official Weibo post:
Congratulations to Xiaolu and Xiaotong. I'm so happy for you. May you continue to walk happily together! Come on!
Gu Wei was not acting. He spoke publicly to express his support for the couple's relationship.
After the reply was sent, many netizens immediately liked and commented on it.
[Lu Han has made his relationship public. Gu Wei, please don't let anything happen to you. My heart can't stand the constant beatings.]
[Although I know you two have a good relationship, can you please not follow his example? Let's be proper idols. It's not that I forbid you from dating, just don't make it official. You have so many rumored girlfriends anyway, as long as you don't make it official, we'll just assume it's fake!]
"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if it's public. It's not a new thing these days for celebrities to date. Anyway, I just like the movies and TV series you acted in."
[Speaking of which, Gu Wei, you have so many rumored girlfriends, I guess you can’t make them public. It would be troublesome if you were exposed as a scumbag.]
【.】
Gu Wei's actions were seen by everyone, and his Weibo replies could also be seen by others.
"If you have a girlfriend, would you make it public like Lu Han?" Zhao Liying asked curiously as she looked at the fans' replies.
"Me?" Gu Wei thought for a moment.
"I feel this matter is not a big deal for me, and if there is a need to make it public, it's fine."
"Aren't you afraid of losing fans like Lu Han?
After all, you are now recognized as the most popular star in the circle and the star with the largest number of fans in China." After Zhao Liying finished speaking, the others also looked at Gu Wei.
"That's fine, if I officially announce my relationship I'm sure I'll lose fans.
I have quite a few girlfriend fans among my fans. If Lu Han does what he does, there will definitely be a large number of fans who will quit following him, and some may even turn against him out of love and hate.
But unlike Xiaolu, what I rely on now is not those fanatical fans, but the reputation and personal brand established by one film and television drama after another.
These things will not change whether I announce my relationship officially or not.
Let me put it this way, at the moment fans are the icing on the cake for me. It’s nice to have them, but it doesn’t matter if I don’t have them either.
Besides, even if I announced my relationship, only some of my female fans would stop following me."
After saying that, Gu Wei took a sip of water.
"Actually, Liying, you are in a similar situation now.
Let the work speak for itself, and the stage of relying on fans has long passed.
Don’t even mention announcing your relationship. Even if you marry someone else, your fans will only bless you.”
At first, Zhao Liying thought what Gu Wei said made sense, but when he talked about her own marriage, she rolled her eyes at him.
"I don't even have a boyfriend. Who should I marry? Will the government give me money?"
After saying this, Zhu Yilong and Zhang Jianing beside him both laughed.
The official announcement of Lu Han’s relationship has a significant impact, and it is even more detrimental to his career and even Guan Xiaotong’s career.
Unlike Gu Wei, Lu Han has few works that have really gone viral. In the years since he returned to China, he has been relying on his fans to support his status as a top star. In this respect, the four returning sons are all similar.
In terms of national popularity, they are still far behind those veteran actors who have been working in the film and television industry for many years.
In fact, even if it were Gu Wei, if he had not produced one hit work after another in recent years, he would still be far from the top young actors in the entertainment industry such as Huang Xiaoming and Deng Chao.
After all, he has been in the industry for more than 20 years and has produced excellent works that are popular all over the country. He has become familiar to audiences across the country entirely through time and achievements.
In this regard, young stars will certainly suffer some disadvantages due to their lack of time to mature.
For celebrities, being popular and being nationally famous are sometimes two different concepts.
Take Yang Zi and Zhang Yishan for example. Were they popular when they acted in Home with Kids? They were child stars, but no one would recognize how popular they were, at least they didn't have many fans.
The four returning boys became very popular after returning from South Korea, with many crazy fans.
But if you ask someone who is a little older what these people do, he probably won’t know them.
When Wu Jing was on the show, he was cyber-bullied because he couldn't recognize who some people were or even whether they were men or women.
Their fame is only spread within a certain range, and in terms of national popularity, they may not be as well-known as Liu Xing and Xiaoxue were in the past.
Now that Lu Han has officially announced their relationship, it seems like they are cutting off the support for their own careers.
His fans have been leaving, and many endorsements and variety shows have been cut. The film and television resources that were originally interested in finding him have also retreated, and his position as a top-tier star is shaky.
Guan Xiaotong is also not feeling well, mainly because many of Lu Han's fans have turned into her black fans. She was originally the most rising female star born after 1995, but now her momentum has been interrupted because of this incident.
However, when Lu Han fell, many people were secretly happy.
After all, when a whale falls, all things come to life. The fans and resources he loses will not disappear but will only be transferred to others.
For example, his former teammate Li Jiaheng, who has always been competing with him, Yang Yang, Li Yifeng, Deng Lun and Li Xian from Gu Wei's company who have been on the rise in the past two years, and Ren Jialun, Hu Yitian, Bai Jingting, Liu Haoran and others who have just emerged and gained some popularity.
Male celebrities of similar age to him will get some benefits to a greater or lesser extent.
Especially those male traffic stars who have a similar temperament and image as Lu Han or are of similar fame and status, are very happy to share the resources that are flowing away from him.
(End of this chapter)
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