Chapter 591: Publicity is too easy to take the blame
"I've noticed that whenever you show up, there's always some news that becomes a hot topic. Teacher Wang Feng should be particularly envious of this." After Gu Wei returned to the crew, Zhao Liying looked at him and said jokingly.
“In the first two years after my debut, I even bought trending searches, but now I can’t suppress them anymore.
Being too popular is also a problem." Gu Wei shrugged.
"Showing off"
After returning from the capital, Gu Wei continued to devote himself to the filming of "The Story of Minglan".
Time quickly entered November.
On the 3rd, "Thor 3: Ragnarok" was released. As one of the Marvel superhero movie series, Thor's popularity in China is actually average.
The first film didn’t even make over 100 million yuan at the domestic box office.
However, in recent years, the construction of the Marvel Universe has become increasingly perfect, and various heroes that were originally less well-known have become increasingly popular thanks to the huge sales of "Avengers".
Although Thor: Ragnarok was not particularly popular in China, it still earned nearly 400 million yuan in box office revenue in its first week.
It's not a huge hit, but judging by the trend, it should gross around $100 million in the domestic market, which will significantly contribute to the film's global box office.
A week later, on November 9, the Sino-US co-production film "Fenghuo Fangfei" starring Liu Yifei held its premiere press conference in Beijing.
The next day, the movie was officially released.
Unfortunately, this anti-Japanese war drama only earned 5.12 million on the first day, and less than 13 million in the first three days, which was obviously a box office failure.
"I'm afraid that if three people make a tiger, the accumulated criticism will destroy you. No matter how heroic you are, everyone in the world will call you a bastard. After a long time, everyone in the world will believe it.
Didn’t you suffer this loss in the beginning?”
Gu Tingye and Minglan sat hugging each other on the bamboo couch in the bedroom.
At this time, Minglan was wearing a pink brocade dress, dressed like a married woman.
She held a white handkerchief and wiped Gu Tingye's face and ears while talking to him.
"I'm a jerk, and Madam is standing up for me?"
Originally he was unhappy because of some things that happened in the court, but when Gu Tingye heard his wife say this, he looked at her happily again.
"We are one, we prosper together and suffer together. Of course I have to consider you in everything."
"That's not necessary. I've come through many hardships, why would I care about these things?" For some reason, when Gu Tingye heard Minglan's very reasonable words, his face darkened again and his tone became stiff.
"Are you angry again?" Minglan was a little puzzled.
Suddenly Gu Tingye hugged her and kissed her on the mouth, which confused Minglan.
Then he kissed her again.
"You can't run away anyway, there's still a lot of time to go."
After saying that, he stood up with a smile as if he had found a bargain and walked outside.
He didn't forget to turn around and say something to Minglan.
"Let's have dinner together tonight, hehe"
Minglan was a little confused, with a little sweetness in her heart, but she still looked angry.
"He's a scoundrel, moody, happy one moment and then angry the next for no apparent reason.
Even the Bodhisattva is not that difficult to serve."
"Ka! This time it was great, I passed!"
When the director's voice came, Zhao Liying breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on her face.
She and Gu Wei filmed this not-so-difficult scene several times. It wasn't that there was anything difficult about it, but she kept laughing.
When she finished her previous lines and Gu Wei suddenly kissed her twice, she couldn't help laughing, so she had to retake the scene over and over again.
But it’s nothing. It’s normal to laugh while filming, and no one takes it too seriously.
"I just kissed you twice, is it that funny?" Gu Wei's character appeared on camera first and waited for Zhao Liying to finish filming.
"I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to laugh at that time." Zhao Liying still has a smiling face now.
"Did you enjoy filming our scenes together these past few days?"
"How do you say that?"
"Our current status is like I'm the heroine, desperate to fall in love with you. I'm being coy and trying to make you jealous, so I can express my love for you as my husband.
You, the lady, are really focused on your career, never pay attention to details, and are very clear-headed about everything."
After Gu Wei finished speaking, Zhao Liying couldn't help laughing.
"Isn't this good? There are so many dramas about girls falling in love, so this makes our drama seem fresh and new.
When the show airs, your character Gu Tingye will surely be liked by many girls."
After finishing the morning scenes, they took a break at noon and sat face to face to eat lunch together.
"Do you think it's hard for a movie with a female lead to achieve good box office results?"
"Why do you ask?" Gu Wei took a bite of food and asked curiously.
Zhao Liying pouted and tilted her head slightly.
"Look at Liu Yifei's film "The Flowers of War" these days, the box office performance is terrible.
She became famous so early, and her fame and popularity are so high. However, apart from the "Detective Chinatown 2" she filmed with you, the box office performance of the movies she starred in in recent years have not been very ideal.
It seems that in recent years, there are almost no female main characters in the hit movies, most of them are just vase.
The same thing happened with my previous film, Riding the Wind and Breaking the Waves."
“Well, what you call a heroine-led movie should be a movie that unfolds from a female perspective.
There are relatively few such films in the market, and since the base number cannot be increased, the chances of a hit becoming a success are very small.
This is also because most creators in the film and television industry are men, including directors, screenwriters, and producers. Naturally, the films they create are mainly from a male perspective.
As for the fact that "The Flowers of War" was not a box office hit, it has nothing to do with whether the protagonist is a man or a woman. It's mainly a problem with the movie.
Just like the previous "The Great Wall", people have little interest in the love story between an unknown foreign pilot and a Chinese widow.
Besides, how can Danish directors know what Chinese audiences want to see? There is a high probability that what they shoot will not be well received by the local audience.
So even Liu Yifei couldn't save [Fenghuo Fangfei]."
Zhao Liying nodded slightly.
"Then how do you think a movie with a female protagonist should be performed to make it popular?"
"Comedies and romances." Gu Wei answered without hesitation.
"From the perspective of the domestic film market's preferences, comedy is still a panacea.
It is the best weapon to achieve high box office with low cost.
And it doesn't distinguish between men and women.
In the 11th-hour drama "The Shameful Iron Fist", Ma Li's role is no less than Allen's. She is not just a decorative vase, but the absolute protagonist supporting the plot.
Then there are romance films.
The more successful chick flicks Bai Baihe had previously filmed were all typical urban romance films.
From a female perspective, the story is down-to-earth and touching, so it's naturally popular with the audience."
Gu Wei's success in the film industry is unmatched by anyone in the domestic entertainment industry, and Zhao Liying naturally agrees with his words.
"Do you think my film, Kingdom of Women, will be a big hit during the Spring Festival?"
Gu Wei looked embarrassed.
"I haven't even seen the movie, how can I analyze it? Am I just guessing?"
"Then just guess." Zhao Liying said coquettishly.
"The audience for Journey to the West-themed films in China is definitely huge. Director Cheng Po-rui's previous films, Havoc in Heaven and The Monkey King 3: The Legend Begins, also performed quite well.
However, this kind of classic adaptation can easily become a thankless task.
If you make too many changes, the audience will say that you don’t respect the original work. Adaptation is not fabrication.
Just follow the original story, and then they say you are lazy and have no ideas of your own.
Unless the story is very exciting, there will always be criticism from the audience."
After Gu Wei finished speaking, Zhao Liying held her little face and looked away.
"I'm a little worried when you say that."
"The movie isn't just yours. I saw the promotional posters before, and Aaron Kwok and Feng Shaofeng's names were listed before yours.
Here’s a piece of advice: unless you’re certain the film will be a success, don’t make yourself too prominent when promoting it.”
Zhao Liying blinked her big eyes and listened to Gu Wei continue speaking.
“Being too self-centered in film promotion has two consequences.
Either the movie is a big hit, and the audience and industry insiders recognize your acting skills and box office appeal.
Either the movie fails and you take the blame."
Gu Wei's words were rather polite. In fact, "Journey to the West: The Women Kingdom" was a major Waterloo for Zhao Liying in her foray into the film industry.
In the past two years, she has achieved successive success in TV dramas and her popularity has skyrocketed, which is why she was able to get the leading role in a big production like "The Monkey King 3: Kingdom of Women".
Before the movie was released, it was promoted and hyped under the banner of Zhao Liying.
Titles like "Queen Gong Ying" and the most beautiful "Queen of the Kingdom of Women" have whetted the audience's appetite.
As a result, after the movie was released, it lost both at the box office and in terms of reputation. The harder it was promoted at the beginning, the more badly it was criticized later.
This failure ruined Zhao Liying's good start in "Sisters Who Make Waves", and even her acting skills were questioned.
There was no choice but to return to the field of TV dramas that she was familiar with.
But to be honest, Zhao Liying was actually only the third female lead in "The Monkey King 3", with Aaron Kwok and Feng Shaofeng playing before her.
These two people have acted in many more bad movies than her, but they are still not affected at all and have no shortage of subsequent resources.
At night, the crew’s hotel room.
Gu Wei was sitting on the sofa watching TV. Zhao Liying was wearing a pink silk pajamas. She put her legs on him and was eating an apple in her hand.
"You're absolutely right, Zhang Songwen's acting is really good.
Zhou Yiwei and Zhai Tianlin are also good, they both seem to be excellent actors."
The two were watching "The Birth of an Actor" which was broadcast on Blueberry Channel on the 28th of last month.
This variety show has been very popular since it was aired, and the internet is full of discussions about the actors' acting skills.
"After all, I've won the Best Actor award, and frankly, my acting skills are definitely no worse than those of Zhang Ziyi, Liu Ye and other mentors.
There is absolutely no problem judging people." Gu Wei said bluntly.
"Haha. You are the best." Zhao Liying smiled and put the apple in her hand to Gu Wei's mouth. He also cooperated and took a bite.
[The Birth of an Actor] has three competitions in one episode. In today's first competition, Zhang Songwen PK Wang Liang [Halfway Brothers]. Zhang Songwen easily won with his superb acting skills.
The gap between the two is so big that even non-professional audiences can see it.
The second match is Ouyang Nana PK Zheng Hao [My Father and Mother].
After the competition, Ouyang Nana also contributed the famous "Ant Race for Ten Years" meme.
"Hiss, with such acting skills, how dare you come to such a variety show that requires high acting skills." The judges on TV were still commenting on the performances of the two contestants, and Zhao Liying looked incredulous.
Before Gu Wei could get back to her, the show's tone suddenly changed. Zheng Hao, whose acting skills were overwhelming, was not praised but was questioned by the judges as a "drama tyrant". In the final voting session, he even lost to the "Ant Race".
"What's going on? Can we win with this?"
"Well, it's not surprising. This girl has some background. It wouldn't look good if she was eliminated in the first round. The production team probably only wants to keep her for this episode." Gu Wei explained.
"What's the background?"
"My parents are entertainers in Taiwan and have some connections.
But I can only help her gain some small opportunities."
Zhao Liying nodded after hearing this.
In the entertainment industry, second-generation stars are very common.
Their starting point is higher than that of ordinary people and they have more opportunities, but whether they can stand firm in the end depends on themselves.
Xiao Fangzi is considered the most powerful second-generation star in the entertainment industry. Which Chinese celebrity dares to say that he is more famous than Jackie Chan?
But even so, before the incident, despite his father's constant support, he still didn't become famous, and was neither high nor low.
"Among the actresses, Shu Chang and Xin Zhilei from the previous episode were both pretty good, much better than this one!"
"It's a pity for Shu Chang. I watched her 'Lotus Lantern' and 'Magic Phone' when I was a kid. Xiaoyu and Shanu were very popular back then.
Later I heard that she went to college, but to a school that had nothing to do with acting.
After returning to the entertainment industry, his popularity had completely vanished, and he never recovered from it."
"So choice is really important, and you must not miss the opportunity. Once you have the opportunity, you must seize it firmly!"
Zhao Liying's background is much lower than Shu Chang's, and she understands better than anyone how hard opportunities are to come by.
Xin Zhilei is just the opposite of Shu Chang. She is a late bloomer. She is one year older than Zhao Liying, but she did not become famous until the release of "The Map of the River" last year.
Of course, her popularity is not just among the audience, but within the industry, directors and producers all know that there is a cheap actress named Xin Zhilei who has good acting skills.
At least I won’t have to worry about not having any movies to shoot in the future.
Time always passes quickly when the crew is filming, and before we knew it, Gu Wei's scenes were about to be finished.
Good news came from the company one after another.
The first round of satellite TV broadcasting rights for "Go Go Squid!" were finally won by Mango TV, and the online broadcast rights will be broadcast simultaneously by Tencent Video, iQiyi, and Mango TV.
The total copyright fee is 615 million yuan, and the copyright fee for a single episode is similar to that of "You Are My Glory".
After communication with several streaming platforms, "Dear, Beloved" is scheduled to be launched after next year's Spring Festival.
Like this year's "Eternal Love", it is the opening drama of 2018.
Gu Wei has no objection to this. He is confident in "Go Go Squid!". Although it is just an idol drama, its performance and popularity will definitely not be low.
After sending the script of "Sito" to Jingtian, Da Tiantian made a special call to Gu Wei to express her gratitude and invited him to dinner.
Gu Wei readily agreed, but the time still needed to be discussed. After all, both of them were currently filming and were busy.
(End of this chapter)
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