Chapter 98 Chapter 98 I was wrong, and I asked my wife for punishment...
Chen Zhuo received a video call from Jiang Jun. This was their first video call since she left the country. Jiang Jun, on the other side of the screen, was startled when the call went through. She leaned back strategically, "What's wrong with you? Did the Black Mountain Demon suck away your yang energy, Shao Chengzhang? You look like you're running low on energy and blood."
Chen Zhuo held his forehead and smiled bitterly: "I've been too upset recently. Not to mention the lack of energy and blood, I'm almost out of breath."
Jiang Jun: "Ah, what's wrong?" She has been busy attending classes and adapting to the environment there since the start of the school year. At first, she complained to Shen Zhuo that she couldn't keep up. Later, she started to hang out in the library every day. Both of them were busy and talked less. Until now, she didn't know that "Like Her" had been released.
When Chen Zhuo mentioned again that he had lost nearly two million, he was already quite calm.
After listening to her, Jiang Jun slapped his thigh and said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Chiara Morelli, the director of 'Like Her', is our visiting professor. She just gave us a presentation last week!" As he spoke, he picked up his tablet and searched for something.
"Do you know why the box office is so low right now? It's still because the promotion wasn't effective. Look, there were only 12 marketing events, not many marketing topics, and the highest ranking on Weibo's rising list was only 7th..."
Shen Zhuo curled his lips and sighed: "Isn't this because we don't have money for publicity?"
Jiang Jun snapped his fingers. "Have you ever thought about holding a screening? This movie undoubtedly has a large female audience. Why not hold an all-female screening? I have friends in City A who have organized several of these before, and they've always been fully booked."
Chen Zhuo hadn't considered this idea. After all, Jiang Jun was a screenwriter, so she knew more about film-related activities than she did. Shen Zhuo was worried about taking up Jiang Jun's time, but he learned that she was currently on a bank holiday, which gave her three days off, including the weekend.
Jiang Jun waved his hand: "Okay, don't worry about it, I'll take care of it for you."
It's not that Chen Zhuo doesn't believe Jiang Jun, but the screening schedule for the May Day holiday has already been occupied by two top films. Now the screening schedule of "Like Her" is basically concentrated in first- and second-tier cities. Even in City A, the remote cinemas on the outer ring road have no screenings. Even if a few movie viewings are held, it will only be a drop in the bucket.
Jiang Jun was also a man of action, quick to act. Within a few hours, someone added Shen Zhuo on WeChat. It was a business card Jiang Jun had recommended. After accepting the offer, the person told her it was Nana, who had previously organized private screenings. Nana had worked with several cinemas and possessed extensive planning experience. She shared her plan with Shen Zhuo.
Nana is responsible for contacting the cinema and posting messages to find audiences. Each movie ticket is priced at 59 yuan, but the ticket price agreed by the distributor and the cinema is 40 yuan per ticket. Nana will prepare a small gift package for each moviegoer for the extra 19 yuan, as well as the labor costs for organizing the event.
The ticket price was reasonable and he didn't need to do any extra work, so Shen Zhuo gladly accepted it.
In the evening, Jiang Jun sent her another picture, which was a screenshot of an email written entirely in English. Shen Zhuo looked at it again and again, and even asked Shao Chengzhang to help confirm it.
"Is this what I understood? Director Chiara Morelli wants to communicate with the audience online?" Shen Zhuo still couldn't believe it.
Shao Chengzhang returned the phone to her and nodded, "That's what I mean."
Shen Zhuo didn't expect that Jiang Jun would actually email the director to invite her to have a post-screening exchange with domestic audiences.
There was a director exchange session, and Nana received many registrations as soon as she posted it. Chen Zhuo saw that the movie viewing group was full in less than an hour. The movie was scheduled for two screenings on Sunday afternoon and evening.
As the copyright holder, Chen Zhuo was also invited by Nana to go on stage to communicate after the screening. After repeated refusals, she had to agree and talked about her views on the film and the reasons why she wanted to introduce it.
Chiara Morelli is Italian, and Italy's family values, social relationships, and historical processes are highly similar to those of China. Therefore, Chinese audiences deeply empathized with the film's heroine's situation and choices. Therefore, even though the online video link was held, the female audience's enthusiasm could not be resisted, and the originally scheduled half-hour exchange and sharing session was extended to 50 minutes.
An audience member posted the clip of the director's communication online, and unexpectedly it became a hot topic. This successfully attracted the attention of female audiences in other regions, and they strongly demanded that local all-female movie viewings be organized.
Originally set for a month, Chen Zhuo extended the release date by another month. Chiara Morelli, upon learning that many Chinese audiences enjoy the film, was very cooperative. She often connected with the film online during weekend afternoon and evening screenings, and her answers frequently went viral.
Screenings of "Like Her" have been organized not only in cities but also at universities, with professors participating in post-screening discussions. Netizens have been clamoring for more screenings online. The film, which grossed less than 10 million yuan, has already surpassed 20 million yuan in just one month. She extended the release date for another month, anticipating a box office of just over 30 million yuan.
The situation reversed, and the original loss of 2 million yuan turned directly into a profit of 2 million yuan or even more. Shen Zhuo finally seemed to come back to life. She negotiated with two platforms for the streaming rights, and each platform contributed 1.2 million yuan, almost recovering the copyright cost of the film.
While keeping a close eye on the box office, she also kept up with artist management. Over the past two months, Shen Zhuo had received numerous offers from artists for contract signings. What she hadn't expected was that Bu Fan had actually stopped renewing his contract with Jingxi and then approached her.
When asked about the reason for stopping the contract renewal, Bu Fan said that she was not satisfied with the projects provided by Jingxi later and she wanted to cooperate with Shen Zhuo.
"But dear, to be honest, my small studio can't afford to sign you to a film or television contract right now," Shen Zhuo said truthfully. After all, Jingxi has been a film and television company for over a decade, so they still have enough resources. But Shen Zhuo is still a newcomer, so she can't promise Bu Fan a few films a year.
Bu Fan smiled and said, "I told you I'm collaborating with you. Please help me review the script. Joey is still a little behind you. Or if you have any good scripts, you can give them to me. The fee is negotiable."
Chen Zhuo smiled and agreed: "Okay, if there is a role that suits you, I will give it to you even if I don't discuss the fee."
"Is Si Yu in any dramas recently?" Bu Fan suddenly asked.
Chen Zhuo was stunned for a second, then smiled, "He just finished filming in Hong Kong and said he wants to take a break for a while."
"A while ago, a variety show approached me. It's the first variety show in China that integrates directors, screenwriters, and actors. I think it's quite interesting. If Si Yu is interested, I can recommend it to the casting."
Shen Zhuo smiled and replied, "Si Yu said before that he would not participate in variety shows."
"Okay." Bu Fan shrugged. "What a pity. I really want to work with Si Yu."
Chen Zhuo smiled and said to her, "There will definitely be opportunities in the future."
After seeing Bu Fan off, Chen Zhuo searched for the variety show she'd mentioned and, to her surprise, saw Mai Xu on the list of potential guests. She quickly asked Xiaoyun if she'd received an invitation to the variety show. To her surprise, she had, but Xiaoyun had already turned it down. Xiaoyun asked if she wanted to accept it, but Chen Zhuo shook his head and said no, and told her not to mention it to Guan Siyu.
As soon as she returned to the office, Nadia rushed in to find her and asked her in surprise, "Have you still discussed cooperation with Dreamora?"
Shen Zhuo looked at her suspiciously: "What do you mean?"
"Just look at the trending searches yourself." Nadia raised her chin at her.
Could it be that he knew about her relationship with Shao Chengzhang? Shen Zhuo guessed as he opened his phone and clicked on Weibo. Unexpectedly, the first hot search was a term related to Dreamora.
#Dreamora and Like Her Link#
Huh? When did the collaboration happen? Chen Zhuo clicked on it and found that the first post was from Dreamora's official Weibo account: "To support the movie 'Like Her,' viewers can use their movie ticket stubs to redeem any regular blind box at the offline store."
Shao Chengzhang had never told her about this matter, so she had no idea...
Chen Zhuo raised his head and gave Nadia a perfunctory smile, "Well... I have a friend I know."
Nadia gave her a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "You really made a killing this time."
Chen Zhuo smiled and said, "How can I pay you if I don't make money?"
After Nadia left, Shen Zhuo took a screenshot and sent it to Shao Chengzhang.
Chen Zhuo: "What's going on?"
Shao Chengzhang responded quickly: "Go home and say [kiss][kiss]"
After returning home, Shen Zhuo sat in the living room, scrolling through her phone, waiting for Shao Chengzhang. Since Dreamora's announcement, she had already seen a lot of online posts about people exchanging ticket stubs for blind boxes.
"I have to support this movie. Oh my god, who understands the redemption of being able to watch a movie for 50 yuan and get a chance to win a blind box? I love Dreamora."
"Our ticket price is 40 [sideways smile]"
"I'll go after work. I want to smoke Lumi. I hope it's still available by then [praying]"
"Oh my god, I didn't keep my ticket stub. Is it okay to have a record of my purchase?"
"You can go and see it again, just to support the box office!"
"I will decide to go for ten brushes!"
"I didn't expect Dreamora to be so generous. I've never bought a blind box before, but I'm a huge fan now."
“…”
Opening the data monitoring app again, Shen Zhuo discovered that the estimated box office had risen to nearly 40 million.
Hearing the beeping sound of the electronic door lock, Shen Zhuo stood up and went to the door to greet him.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw his wife. "Wife..." Shao Chengzhang smiled and hugged her, burying his head in her neck. Since the box office increased, Chen Zhuo had finally regained his appetite, his insomnia was gone, and the flesh around his waist had finally grown back.
Shen Zhuo couldn't wait to know what the linkage was all about. She patted his back and said, "Tell me what's going on first."
"It's just what you saw." Shao Chengzhang stood up and led her inside.
"Shao Chengzhang, I don't need you to help me like this." Shen Zhuo suddenly stopped and pulled his hand back.
Shao Chengzhang guessed she would say that. He walked to the sofa and sat down. He looked up at her and said with a smile, "Who said I was helping you?"
Shen Zhuo frowned slightly. What did he mean?
"Dreamora's user base is mostly female, and 'Like Her' is a female-themed movie that has been very popular recently. Supporting female works has already shown an attitude, which will naturally increase the female group's favorability towards the brand and thus increase user stickiness. Moreover, people have the mentality of 'it's a waste not to miss it'. Even if they are not Dreamora users, they may develop into potential users after getting the blind box." Shao Chengzhang explained.
“So, the collaboration between Dreamora and Like Her is essentially an exchange of resources, a mutually beneficial one.”
Shen Zhuo could accept this statement.
She walked over and pushed Shao Chengzhang down to lean against the sofa, straddling his thighs with her long legs, and pointed her index finger at his chest. "Well, Shao Chengzhang, you've grown courageous. You're even plotting against your wife?!"
Shao Chengzhang rested his head on the backrest, smiling as he watched her pretend to be angry. He raised his hands and placed them on her waist and hips. "I was wrong. Can I ask my wife for punishment?"
Shen Zhuo snorted and leaned over him, her cheek pressed against his chest. She could hear his pounding heartbeat. She said, "Actually, you really don't have to do this."
How could she not know whether it is profitable to develop potential users or loss-making to exchange blind boxes?
"There's no need to feel burdened. It's just Dreamora's publicity expenses, which is less than half the cost of working with an artist."
He could say that, but Shen Zhuo couldn't think that way. She just felt that she was a little too useless. If it weren't for Jiang Jun and Shao Chengzhang, the box office really couldn't be saved.
"I feel really lucky to have Jiang Jun and you," said Shen Zhuo.
"Wife, because you are worth it." Shao Chengzhang held her face and made her look at him, "Because love comes back when you give it, and blessings come when you give them."
The collaboration lasted ten days, during which a prominent blogger won a hidden edition, sparking a wave of followers. The film ran for three months, and on its final day, it grossed over 50 million yuan, exceeding Chen Zhuo's expectations.
After deducting taxes and distribution fees from the profits she shared with the cinema, she finally received 10 million yuan, which was something she had never dared to imagine.
At the company, I could only suppress my excitement and work calmly, but when I got home, I couldn't help but laugh with Shao Chengzhang.
"I have 10 million!" Shen Zhuo jumped up and down with joy as her assets increased from A8 to A9. "I can't believe I've suddenly become a rich woman."
She sent a message to Jiang Jun, but she probably was still in class and didn't reply until she was about to go to bed.
Seeing Chen Zhuo still grinning while holding her phone, Shao Chengzhang got on the bed next to her and asked, "Why are you so happy?"
"Hmm." She hummed softly with a nasal voice.
Shao Chengzhang also laughed with her.
Chen Zhuo put down his phone, put his arm around his neck, and lingered on the back of his neck and behind his ears, caressing gently. "Be my gigolo from now on, and I'll support you."
Shao Chengzhang smiled and nodded, "Okay, you can support me. I'm easy to support."
"Then do you know what the first principle of a pretty boy is?" Shen Zhuo leaned close to him and said in a low voice.
Shao Chengzhang raised his eyebrows and asked, "What?"
"Of course, we have to serve the sponsor well."
Shao Chengzhang put his arm around her waist and pulled her into his arms. He locked his gaze with hers, moving closer and closer, then kissed Shen Zhuo on the lips, "I promise to satisfy Mr. Shen."
A server should have the consciousness of a server. Knowing what Chen Zhuo liked, Shao Chengzhang took off his pajamas and let her stare at him. He pulled out a wet towel from the bedside and slowly wiped each finger clean.
His hands were beautifully shaped, with large, broad palms, long but not thin fingers, and protruding veins on the backs of his hands. His nails were always trimmed short and would never hurt her.
After cleaning his hands, Shao Chengzhang leaned over and kissed her.
Chen Zhuo closed his eyes and began to enjoy his service and this wonderful night.
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