"I'm going to ask the director for half a day off tomorrow."
"What's up?"
"Didn't we say we were going to use the song we wrote last night as the theme song for 'Where the Wind Is'? We need to record a demo, but I can't sing it for the director, right?"
Liu Yifei thought for a moment and suggested, "There's no night show tomorrow. Let's go to the movies together after you finish recording the song?"
"No problem, what do you want to see?"
Liu Yifei opened her phone and flipped through it.
"Recently released movies are all Hollywood movies, such as Uncharted, The Batman, Hotel Transylvania 4, and Fantastic Beasts: Mystery of Dumbledore.
Wen Muye’s new film is coming out soon, but it’s on May 1st, which is just over a week away.”
As she spoke, she looked up at Gu Wei and said, "[Miracle: Stupid Kid] is your company's movie, right?"
Gu Wei nodded and said, "Please help me promote the movie by posting it on Weibo after it's released in a few days."
Liu Yifei smiled and said, "No problem. How do you thank me?"
"I have already done my best, the next step is to teach you everything I know." Gu Wei raised his eyebrows and curled up the corners of his mouth.
Liu Yifei was stunned for a moment, then reacted and rolled her eyes.
"By the way, how about this movie from your company?"
"With a first-rate director, actors, and production team, plus a good script, Miracle: The Stupid Kid is definitely a good film!"
"How does it compare to Director Wen's previous film, 'Dying to Survive'?"
"That's definitely not comparable, not to that level."
Liu Yifei nodded.
"Director Mu Ye's previous films were all huge hits, especially 'Dying to Survive' and 'Zhou Chu Eliminates the Three Evils,' which grossed 20 to 30 billion yuan.
Can [Miracle] reach its previous heights? "
Gu Wei shook his head: "If I were to play the role, the movie would have a guaranteed box office of 2 billion.
But now the male lead is Peng Yuchang from my company.
Although Peng Peng has good acting skills, he has almost no appeal.
When the film was originally planned for publicity and promotion, it was decided to win by word of mouth, with the focus of publicity being placed on Wen Muye.
Judging from the quality of the film and the upcoming May Day holiday, "Miracle" has a high probability of earning more than 500 million yuan at the box office."
"This may sound very Versailles, but I have to admit that your performance really adds a lot to the film," Liu Yifei exclaimed.
In the past decade, if there is a superstar in the domestic entertainment industry, it is undoubtedly Gu Wei.
His achievements since his debut are too exaggerated. He is definitely the top star in the entertainment industry, no doubt about it.
"After chatting for a long time, have you decided which movie to watch tonight?" Gu Wei asked.
Liu Yifei hesitated for a moment: "Hotel Transylvania 4, right?
I have seen the first three, they are classic Hollywood animated films."
In April, [The Wind Chasers] was a hit.
Due to filming, Gu Wei did not participate much in the promotion. He just took the time to video chat with everyone and also accepted an exclusive interview with the crew from Tencent's online media.
However, due to his own extremely high fame and the promotion of the TV series, even though he has not been exposed much, he has still been firmly at the top of the artist popularity list since the beginning of the month.
Unlike Gu Wei, Wang Churan, the female lead of the TV series, has been very active during the broadcast of "The Wind Chaser".
[Yuekai Entertainment] Jia Shikai is an expert in artist marketing and he also knows that now is the best time for Wang Churan to become popular.
So over the past month, press releases about her have been almost everywhere.
Today I'm on the cover of a certain magazine, tomorrow I'm photographed at the airport, and the day after tomorrow I'm invited to a brand event.
The impression given to netizens and audiences is that this new actor named Wang Churan is very popular now.
The blessing that [Wind Chaser] gave to Wang Churan was enormous.
It may be a bit of an exaggeration to say that one drama made her a top star, but it did give her a representative work that allowed her to gain a foothold in the circle.
Moreover, due to the popularity of "The Wind Chaser", Wang Churan's popularity among the people has greatly increased.
In simple terms, it means that through a drama, you become familiar to the audience and are no longer an unknown person who is unknown to everyone.
At the same time, the hard work of the agency behind her also attracted a large number of fans who love her looks.
No matter whether Wang Churan’s nicknames of “Little Liu Yifei” and “High-end Liu Yifei” are well-deserved, everyone admits that she is beautiful.
She wasn’t popular before, and no one paid attention to her even though she was beautiful.
Now that she is famous, her beauty naturally attracts countless attentions. She is praised by many media for her brightness and elegance. She is one of the most beautiful young actresses born after 1995.
Unlike Wang Churan who is in high spirits, Yuekai's boss Yang Yang is not in a good mood this month.
At the beginning of the month, his transitional work, the military-themed TV series "Special Warfare Glory" was launched.
It was broadcasted jointly by two local satellite TV stations, Oriental TV and Blueberry TV, and three video platforms, Tencent, iQiyi and Youku.
I originally thought I could get a good result and smoothly realize my transition from an idol to a tough "soldier king", but it ended up clashing with the release schedule of "The Wind Chaser" which was launched almost at the same time.
Throughout April, "Storm Chasers" almost sucked up all the heat from TV dramas. Its TV broadcast data was far ahead of others, and its online broadcast volume and discussion level were far ahead of other dramas of the same period.
[Special Warfare Glory] naturally became the cannon fodder of the same period.
In fact, the quality of the drama "Special Warfare Glory" is quite good. Director Xu Jizhou has directed "The Unforgettable Number" and the movie "Psychological Crime: City of Light", and is also the director and screenwriter of the original time and space "Storm".
His dramas pay special attention to the script and story, so "Special Warfare Glory" has done a good job in polishing the plot, but there was a problem with the casting.
Actors are very important to a play. The same play can have completely different effects when shot by different actors.
Since his debut, Yang Yang has been acting in idol dramas, playing roles such as male god, handsome guy, and domineering boss.
It was the first time for him to play this kind of "soldier king" type role. He tried hard to get rid of his idol image, but ended up trying too hard and turned the special forces "soldier king" into a "tall king", which lowered the viewing experience of the entire TV series by several levels.
In late April, another drama starring Yang Yang, "Who Rules the World", was broadcast online on Tencent Video.
At this time, the 38-episode "Wind Chaser" is about to be broadcast, and Tencent wants to direct some traffic to this S-level costume drama produced by itself.
As a result, after the broadcast of "Who Rules the World", it received another round of negative reviews.
The male and female protagonists Yang Yang and Ruth were nicknamed "Prince Duan" and "Princess Duan" by netizens because of their straight posture and stiff acting skills.
After the broadcast of "The Wind Chaser", Tencent released a new drama, and iQiyi was not far behind, launching the costume spy drama "The Wind Rises in Longxi" directed by Lu Yang.
A small courtyard of a B&B in Xiaguan Town.
After that night, Gu Wei directly asked his assistant to book this two-story house with a courtyard.
He felt that the place was spacious, private, and comfortable, and it was a good place to stay during the filming of "Where the Wind is" (To Where There Is Wind).
".Why do I have a bit of trouble understanding this [Wind Rises in Longxi]?"
After watching the two episodes of the TV series updated today, Liu Yifei frowned slightly.
She had already finished watching "The Wind Chaser" and because she had some friendship with Lu Yang, she simply moved on to watch the subsequent "The Wind Rises in Longxi".
Gu Wei sat next to Liu Yifei and watched the show with her.
"This drama was very popular before it aired. It was Lu Yang's first time directing a TV series, starring Chen Kun, Bai Yu, Nie Yuan, Wang Xiao and others. It was also a costume spy drama, and every aspect of it was very attractive to the audience.
However, the reputation and data have been declining since the show started, and it seems to be a failure now."
“I saw that the rating of this drama on Douban is over 8 points, which is very high.
And most of the reviews are good.
I don’t know why the playback data is getting worse and worse.”
Gu Wei smiled and said, "The reason is very simple. Didn't you just tell me?"
Liu Yifei was confused: "What did I say?"
"You said you couldn't understand it, and that's the biggest reason why this show didn't do well."
Gu Wei continued to explain, "Actually, Lu Yang approached me when he was first planning this TV series.
I didn't take the role because my schedule wasn't right at the time, and also because the script was a bit difficult.
[The Wind Rises in Longxi] is based on the Three Kingdoms period, and requires the audience to have a certain understanding of the history of the Three Kingdoms in order to better understand the plot, which raises the threshold for watching the show.
The drama has a very fast pace and the story is complicated and brain-burning, making it difficult for ordinary audiences to keep up with the development of the plot.
Just like you said, if I can’t understand it, I’ll naturally give up on the show.”
"It's a shame if you say so. According to the plot, this should be a good drama."
Gu Wei shook his head: "The music is too highbrow for the masses.
The high rating of "The Wind Rises in Longxi" is because the audiences who understood it liked it very much.
The reason why the show didn’t perform well is that most viewers couldn’t understand it, or simply didn’t have the patience to watch it.
I have always believed that good works must be universal and popular among the public.
From this perspective, the data difference of [Wind Rises in Longxi] is understandable."
Liu Yifei nodded.
"I saw a lot of people online saying they chose not to watch the film because Yang Ying was in it."
"No, I can't really blame Baby if this drama doesn't perform well.
[The Wind Rises in Longxi] is essentially a male ensemble drama, and the rivalry between several male characters is the most important. Baby does not have many roles in it, and only appears in the fifth episode. Her performance is considered average.
And compared to her, don’t you think the male lead Chen Kun’s performance is more awkward?”
“Well, it’s true what you said.
Every time I see him appear, I feel a little awkward. He is obviously a senior spy, but he always has an expression that says "I am very handsome."
I feel like he's no different now than he was 20 years ago when he filmed The Golden Age. He hasn't improved at all."
Liu Yifei complained bluntly.
It is generally acknowledged that she has a bad relationship with Chen Kun.
When she first entered the industry and filmed her first drama "The Story of a Noble Family", she had no acting experience, could not speak the lines, and did not know how to move. She was a complete "newbie".
At that time, Chen Kun, the male lead, looked down on her in every way. Not only did he express his dissatisfaction many times, but he also led other crew members to isolate her.
Liu Yifei was only 14 years old that year.
It was also from that time that the two of them had a grudge and never cooperated again in all these years.
“Haha, everyone in the industry considers Chen Kun to be a talented actor, but in my opinion, he is not as good as his old classmate Huang Xiaoming.
Brother Xiao Ming has won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor, but Chen Kun seems to have only won the Hundred Flowers Award once.
As for his works, his movies and TV series have basically all failed in recent years, and he has been relying on his past achievements to survive.
The nickname "Pukun" given to him by netizens is well-deserved."
After Gu Wei finished speaking, Liu Yifei beside him burst out laughing.
"Pukun, this is the first time I've heard of this nickname."
From the perspective of the whole year, the May Day period is a small period.
Unlike the Spring Festival and summer vacation periods, which often last dozens of days, the May Day period has a shorter release period and the characteristics of the period are not distinct enough.
This has led to many heavyweight films choosing to avoid the May Day period and instead be released during other periods.
Without the support of blockbuster movies, it is naturally difficult for the May Day film market to become popular.
A total of 7 movies were released during the May Day holiday this year, including Wen Muye's "Miracle: Stupid Kid", "Prosecutor Storm" starring Huang Jingyu and Bai Baihe, Kaixin Twist's "Hello, Brother", the drama "Hello, BJ" and three animated films: "I Am a Tyrannosaurus Rex", "Pig Man Movie: Ocean Diary" and "Mini World: Awakening".
It can be seen from the titles and the leading actors that these movies released during the May Day holiday are either low-budget or not expected to be big sellers.
Only one comedy film by Happy Twist is likely to perform well at the box office.
However, "Hello, Brother" is starred by Chang Yuan and Ma Li. Chang Yuan has now become a professional in bad movies like Huang Cailun, and there will basically be no surprises in the movies he stars in.
According to the publicity and promotion plan, more than a week before May Day, "Miracle: Stupid Kid" had already started large-scale previews across the country.
After a period of word-of-mouth fermentation, this feature film shot by Wen Muye has gained a good reputation online.
On the eve of the film's release, many celebrities, led by Gu Wei, recommended the film to their fans on Weibo, further increasing the popularity of "Miracle".
“.Tomorrow, the screening schedule for [Miracle: Stupid Kid] in theaters will probably reach 30%, which is the highest among all the films released during the May Day holiday.
[Hello, Brother] ranks second, with about 20% of the screenings.
Although everyone knows that this movie is likely to be a bad movie, Happy Twist's comedy still has a certain influence.
Many viewers don’t care whether it is a bad movie or not, they just want to watch a comedy.
The remaining 50% of the screenings will be shared by the other five films released before May 1st and the films that have not yet been released.
On the set of "Where the Wind Is", Gu Wei is talking on the phone with Yang Liwen who is far away in Beijing, discussing information about the upcoming film "Miracle·Stupid Kid".
"How's Director Wen's roadshow going?"
"The roadshow went very smoothly. Director Wen, along with Peng Yuchang and the main creative team, traveled to more than ten cities in two weeks.
According to the previously planned publicity and promotion plan, they will continue the roadshow promotion after the movie is released until the end of the May Day holiday."
“Thanks for their hard work.”
After ending the call with Yang Liwen, Gu Wei called Wen Mu again to inquire about his schedule and roadshow work in recent days.
The two chatted for a while before hanging up the phone.
"Are you done?"
Liu Yifei, who was standing by, asked when she saw that Gu Wei didn't call again.
“It’s done.
Communicate with the company about the movie that will be released soon."
"Seeing how busy you are every day, it seems that being an actor is easier."
While filming "Where the Wind Is", Liu Yifei was with Gu Wei almost 24 hours a day from morning to night. She knew that when he was not filming, he was busy with various things most of the time.
Reply to emails, make calls or hold video conferences with the company.
She definitely couldn't do it.
Gu Wei smiled and said nothing.
If you want to get something, you naturally have to pay something. This is an eternal truth.
"By the way, tomorrow is May Day. After the show tonight, let's go watch Director Wen's film 'Miracle', shall we?" Liu Yifei asked.
"Okay~" (End of this chapter)
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