Chapter 101



Before June 21, almost everyone thought that this was just an ordinary blockbuster movie.

Just like the previous hits released by Xingmang Entertainment, it is undoubtedly good-looking and may maintain its popularity for a long time, allowing a large number of audiences to happily enjoy an audio-visual feast.

What’s strange is that before the release date of this movie was set, management from several major cinemas frequently visited Star Entertainment.

After "The Player" was scheduled, some movies that were trying to compete at the box office during the same period also changed their release dates, although nothing could be learned about them.

No one is stubborn. After all, Star Entertainment is now an undisputed giant in the entertainment industry.

Those who are really stubborn would have been killed long ago when it produced one hit after another.

Everyone quickly withdrew from the show and slipped away, but then felt puzzled again.

"She's making such a big splash, and I heard the investment is huge, can't they wait a little longer and release it during the Spring Festival?" The producer surnamed Lu felt unlucky: "After careful selection, it happened to collide with Xing Mang's movie. Now, all the previous publicity is wasted."

At the drinking party, after hearing him say this, Mr. Huang immediately said , "Movies are always like this. Who would have thought that at the beginning of the year, people said that Xingmang would not make any big moves, but in just half a year, they made a movie linked to games. What do you think Mr. Sheng was thinking? He suddenly became interested in e-sports and suddenly wanted to make an e-sports movie."

Now no one says that Mr. Sheng is unstable just because he is a young man. Even if some people said so at the beginning that after Xingmang Entertainment quickly became one of the top three companies in the industry in just a few years, these people shut up.

In the past, when the CEOs and directors of these middle and upper-level entertainment companies got together, they would talk about Sheng Quan behind his back, basically using words like "youthful and energetic" and "aggressive and cutting-edge".

Later it was transformed into "a young man with some ability", "a real family heritage of learning", and "the new generation pushes the old generation forward".

By now, the adjectives used to describe Sheng Quan have skyrocketed to "shrewd and cunning" and "unfathomable".

Although everyone knows that Sheng Quan herself doesn't go to the company very often, sometimes when they participate in some activities together and others praise her, President Sheng will smile and say that she has basically handed over the company to Gu Zhaohe and the management, and that the credit for Xingmang's rapid development mainly lies with them.

But think about it, a chairman who seldom goes to the company often can still make everyone from the president to the ordinary employees loyal to her. Even though Xingmang has grown to such a scale, she still has the final say in the entire company.

It sounds even more unfathomable, doesn't it?! Especially when someone like Gu Zhao could bow down to her, and he had been working diligently to develop the company for several years without any second thoughts, which was a stark contrast to when he was in Wansheng.

Could it be that Gu Zhao suddenly became harmless after leaving Wansheng? Definitely not! Regardless of other things, just seeing that Sheng Quan was able to subdue Gu Zhao, she must not be underestimated.

"So, for someone like Director Sheng, I don't believe that she just wanted to make a game movie for fun. Xingmang has never been quick to do things, but the time for this movie is so tight. I bet she definitely has some plan."

Although Mr. Lu cried miserably, his IQ was still online. Although he was reluctant to spend the money on publicity, he still made a prompt decision and ran away as fast as he could.

"But the subject matter is actually holographic. Can it be filmed well in such a short time?"

Holographic gaming themes are a common theme for popcorn movies, but because of the need for gorgeous special effects and the need for big stars to help out, the cost is much higher than other movies.

Most of the audience came for the big screen special effects and various novel settings. Generally, such movies are more common in Europe and the United States, but rarely in China. The last movie to feature holographic elements was "War of the Worlds."

"Of course they can. Tianying is the official special effects company of Xingmang Entertainment. I wanted to ask them to do the special effects before, but they said that all the special effects artists in the company were fully booked." Another CEO Liu also said, "I guess they are rushing to produce the special effects for this movie."

"Otherwise, all of Xingmang's projects are so popular." The person who spoke was full of envy and jealousy. "Not only is it rich, but it also has a branch company like Tianying that is well-known for special effects. Even the artists it signs are all very popular. How can it not be popular?"

"Yeah, this kind of hastily produced movie can be a huge hit, and it hasn't even earned its box office revenue yet. I heard that Xing Mang is preparing another big production. I can't stop envying it."

"Another big production?"

The eyes of those who were originally chatting suddenly lit up. They missed this train, but maybe they could catch the next one.

"Xingmang is really rich and powerful."

"They have a lot of money. The previous hits have brought back a lot of money. And the robot dogs, those cost one or two million. They are extremely expensive, but people all over the world are rushing to buy them."

Mr. Liu raised his right index finger and made a [1] gesture: "I estimate that Xingmang's cash flow is definitely the best in our circle."

"I can't envy you enough, I can't envy you enough, hahahaha."

After everyone got together and talked a lot, the drinking party ended and everyone got into their own cars. Mr. Lu, who had withdrawn from the show, was playing the victim during the meal. As soon as he got into the car, he immediately took out his cell phone and called Sheng Quan:

"Hey, Mr. Sheng, it's me, Old Lu, hahaha, nothing much to say, I just wish your new film a big hit. You know I'm quite capable in publicity, if there's anything you need help with, Mr. Sheng, just let me know..."

"By the way, I heard that Xingmang is preparing a big project, and our company just signed a new contract..."

In the black luxury car behind, Mr. Liu also took out his cell phone and wanted to call Sheng Quan to congratulate him in advance, but when he called, he was told that "the other party is on the phone."

"Fuck! Which grandson got ahead of me!"

Mr. Liu knew without guessing that it must be the ones who had just had dinner together.

To be honest, everyone is jealous of Sheng Quan, but that doesn't stop them from admitting that Sheng Quan is an impeccable person. She never eats alone. Even if she eats the meat herself, she doesn't mind giving others some soup.

Otherwise, as the saying goes, the first bird to stick its head out gets shot, why is it that Sheng Quan is so popular, but he has remained safe and sound until now.

——Of course, this also has something to do with the dozen or so bodyguards around her.

He asked his secretary, "Do you know what public schedule Mr. Sheng has recently?"

The secretary sitting in the co-pilot seat immediately turned around and said, "President Sheng is going to C University to attend the anniversary ceremony on the 3rd of next month. Do you want me to make arrangements for you?"

"Arrange it, and prepare some information about our company's new artists. I'll take it to show to Director Sheng."

Although it sounds a bit strange that he didn't graduate from C University and didn't receive an invitation letter, but what does it matter?

"Let's see if C University has any donations. Didn't President Sheng invest in students before? I'll also donate if possible."

The assistant reminded: "C University's investment projects are basically related to scientific research and are very expensive."

"As long as I can get closer to Sheng Quan, it's worth any amount of money."

Mr. Liu rolled down the car window and watched the trailer for The Player playing on a loop on the big screen in the mall outside: "I have a feeling this movie will definitely cause a big response."

There are actually quite a lot of people who have the same hunch as Mr. Liu. Most of them have cooperated and competed with Xingmang. They are all in the same circle and have some understanding of each other.

Xing Mang, who has always been as steady as an old dog, suddenly sped up the production of the movie, saying that he did so just to take advantage of the popularity of the global competition to promote the movie and get box office revenue, but no one believed it.

The amount of investment made by Starmang this time is too high, so high that even if the movie becomes a hit as people expected, the box office will not be able to generate huge profits.

They all vaguely realized that Sheng Quan was up to something.

But no matter how hard everyone tried to analyze what was going on, they still couldn't find any clue.

Some people retreated and planned to watch from the sidelines, while some people relied on their intuition and wanted to give it a try to see if they could be in the same boat with Sheng Quan.

There was even a CEO who held a meeting to discuss the reasons why Star Entertainment was so abnormal this time.

"No one could have guessed it."

Sheng Quan smiled slightly like a villain, muting his phone which was constantly receiving new calls and put it aside: "Even if I have laid out the facts in front of them, no one will believe that holographic technology will really appear in front of people so soon."

"You have no idea how much fun the holographic cabin is. Although the images you see are just for testing, they are extremely addictive."

Compared to Sheng Quan who was chatting while eating, Gu Zhao who was sitting opposite her ate the last grain of rice in his bowl in a serious manner, put down his chopsticks, and signaled the waiter to take away his bowl and chopsticks...

——He took out his laptop and placed it on the dining table skillfully.

He turned the screen to Sheng Quan: "This is a forecast of the impact of holographic technology on our company's business. We have made adequate preparations in all aspects."

Even though he was used to it, Sheng Quan still didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this extremely fast one-shot transformation:

"Didn't we agree to not talk about work during dinner time but just chat?"

Gu Zhao looked at the computer in his hand: "I've finished eating."

Sheng Quan: "No wonder you were eating so seriously just now."

It turned out that in his eyes, "meal time" meant just finishing eating. She was sure that the entire time from when Gu Zhao put down his chopsticks to when he picked up his computer was less than twenty seconds.

Gu Zhao also realized that he had misunderstood Sheng Quan's meaning. He raised his slender fingers and was about to close the computer.

Sheng Quan stretched out his hand to block it: "Give it to me , I also want to see it."

Holographic technology is not just for playing games, otherwise Sheng Quan’s first reaction would not be to contact the country after Ning Zhou achieved results.

Gu Zhao handed the computer to Sheng Quan. He usually didn't pay any attention to other people, but at this moment he couldn't help but praise:

“This is a technology that could change the world.”

“Even if you only look at the entertainment aspect, it can instantly change the entire current situation.”

Sheng Quan looked at the items on the screen, his eyes shining. He looked up and smiled at Gu Zhao: "The good news is that it is in our hands."

She read all the way to the end, signed electronically, and handed the computer to him: "Now what we have to do is to make it appear in front of everyone in the most impactful way."

The intuition of those colleagues was not wrong. The movie "The Player" is indeed exciting and attractive, but it is not the focus of this huge investment project.

——The key is how it will be presented to people.

*** Do you still remember Yu Miao, the girl whose favorite star was Lu Lu and who went to work at Xingmang Entertainment?

That's right, she came to see the movies again this time.

There are many people like her. Over the past few years, Star Mang's productions have cultivated the audience's aesthetic taste, allowing them to buy tickets without thinking when Star Mang-produced movies are released.

Yu Miao is very experienced and knows that in a situation like this where a movie has been popular for several days before it is released, it is very likely that tickets will not be available.

The good news is that she has a lot of experience in buying tickets.

With one minute left before the pre-sale time, Yu Miao rubbed his hands, checked the network, made sure that all other background software on the computer had exited, and confidently greeted the arrival of the ticket grabbing moment.

There were three seconds left and Yu Miao was about to make his move, but his hand slipped.

When I went to see the screen again, only tickets for the “special showing” were left.

Yu Miao: What is a special field?

And! Why is it so expensive?!

But there was no time to think, Yu Miao acted decisively and grabbed a ticket for a special show since the ticket could be refunded anyway.

This is her plan. After buying the ticket, she would first check online what special screenings are. If it is not so good, she would return it. She would just not be able to see the movie right away. At worst, she could watch it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

After buying the ticket, Yu Miao was surprised to find that there had never been a screening with a strange name like "Special Screening" in the cinema before.

The way contemporary young netizens deal with things: when they are undecided, they post.

Yu Miao immediately went to Weibo and searched for [Best Player Special Field] in real time, and sure enough, Weibo posts from other netizens with #Best Player Special Field# kept popping up.

[What the hell is the special scene of The Best Player? No other movie in the same time period has this scene.]

[The most expensive movie ticket I've ever bought in my life, a special screening of The Player, priced at 299. Is the cinema crazy? The price is so high???]

[Did I buy the wrong ticket? I've never heard of special screenings or anything like that.]

[299, am I crazy or is the film production company crazy???]

[Xingmang has always been very conscientious. Has it also leaned towards capital this time? But 299 for a movie ticket is too much. This is taking advantage of the audience.]

Yu Miao did not post anything, but just scrolled through the new Weibo posts that kept popping up. Some people thought it was outrageous, some people refunded their tickets after realizing they had bought the wrong ticket and planned to wait and see, and some people, like her, were die-hard fans of Sheng Quan, so even if they thought the ticket price was too expensive, they were still hesitant.

Seeing more and more new Weibo posts popping up in real time, with several appearing per second, Yu Miao guessed that it would become a hot topic.

Sure enough, soon #Best Player Special Scene# became a hot topic.

——"What?!!! The best player is having a special show, and the ticket price is 299? Is Sheng Quan crazy??"

Mr. Lu almost choked to death on the tea he was drinking. He quickly checked online and found out that it was true. He was very puzzled: "Special scene? Is it that there is interaction between the actors? That's not right. Even if there is interaction, it can't be charged 299."

"Can I still buy a ticket now? Please buy me one quickly. I need to see what Sheng Quan is doing."

——"Special venue?"

Bluebird Entertainment, Xie Wanzhao looked at the new hot searches on the hot search list and thought about how those movie theaters had been acting mysteriously recently. Although he still couldn't figure out the reason, he took out his cell phone and called a movie theater boss he knew.

"Lao He, it's me, Xie Wanzhao. Can you get me a ticket for the best player special? I want to go and take a look."

——"I said, there is definitely something going on here. Although I don't know what it is, Sheng Quan must be holding back a big move."

Mr. Liu was on the phone with his drinking buddies. He said confidently, "Just wait and see. Our Mr. Sheng never does anything without a purpose."

There are many bosses like them.

Selling movie tickets for 299 yuan can be described in two words, whether from the audience's point of view or from the film producers' point of view: crazy.

Obviously, Sheng Quan is not crazy.

In the hot searches, countless people who watched the movie and those who didn’t gathered together to discuss what this special scene was.

I called the cinema to ask, and got the same nonsense literary reply: "Special screenings are different from ordinary screenings, they are very special."

As for the bosses, they wanted to find out what the special screenings were all about, but the mouths of those theaters with special screenings seemed to be glued shut, and no matter what the relationship was, they refused to say anything.

As the popularity grew, everyone realized that the 299 special event might be a marketing campaign.

Haven’t you noticed that even those media outlets that don’t broadcast entertainment news have started broadcasting this “sky-high movie ticket price”? And because it was released simultaneously overseas, two major cinemas were also selling special screening tickets at sky-high prices, so now it feels like the whole world is discussing “how special are special screenings”.

Mr. Liu felt that Sheng Quan's move was too radical.

"If the things in the special venue are not special enough and fail, the reputation will be reversed instantly."

Movie tickets usually cost only a few dozen yuan, but Sheng Quan asked others to spend hundreds of yuan to watch the movie. This is an official action. Once the content fails to satisfy the audience, it will definitely backfire.

He was gloating and secretly waiting to see the show...that was impossible.

As the saying goes, it is easy to add icing on the cake, but difficult to provide timely assistance. Shengquan has a profound foundation, and it cannot be destroyed by a movie. Mr. Liu certainly would not be stupid enough to make enemies.

He even called to say hello, trying to offer timely assistance and express that if it was a mistake in the promotion of Xingmang Entertainment, he would be happy to help.

Sheng Quan thanked him for his kindness, and then said with a smile:

“Thank you, Mr. Liu, but I believe the content in the special show will satisfy the audience.”

Mr. Liu: “…”

Are you so confident?

No matter how special it is, it can only be used to watch movies, right? 299, when watching a movie, what kind of layout should be arranged here to satisfy the audience?

He became more determined to go and see it himself.

There are many people who think like Mr. Liu, including audience members who bought special tickets. Some of them are simply curious, while others are of the mentality of "If you dare to fool me, I will scold you to death."

Some thought the same as these CEOs, thinking that they had spent money to buy the tickets, and Star Entertainment was thriving and not to the point of bankruptcy and needing to raise funds, so they would definitely be given a viewing experience that was worth the price of the ticket.

Some people even speculated that there would be gifts on the seats in the cinema, and the value of the gifts must be more than 299.

As for Yu Miao, the reason why she did not refund the ticket was very similar to that of the last category of audiences. She did not believe that her own chairman, Sheng, would cheat the audience out of their money.

With trust in Sheng Quan, Yu Miao gritted his teeth and paid the 299 ticket price, and walked into the cinema on June 21.

Waiting, checking tickets, entering the theater, the only difference is that this cinema, I don't know what

At that time, there was an additional Hall 10.

"Polar - The Best Player" is in Hall 10.

Is it because of a special occasion? Is this specially arranged?

Sure enough, Mr. Sheng was such a nice person, he would definitely not let them waste their 299 yuan. Maybe it was something like an Easter egg! With a little curiosity, a little expectation, and a little excitement, Yu Miao stepped into this theater that was in front of people for the first time.

As soon as she entered, she was stunned.

The time hasn't arrived yet, so it's normal that the lights are on, but what's abnormal is why there are so few seats?

Even Yu Miao looked up and down, left and right, but couldn't find the movie screen.

"Where's the curtain?"

The other audience members who came in at about the same time as her also looked around in surprise: "Why is the seating arrangement so weird?"

"Which way is the curtain?"

"Is the special scene a live performance? No, I just want to watch a movie, not these fancy things."

"Is there a celebrity coming? Ahhhh it would be so great if it was Hua Qing!! I like her so much!!!"

"Maybe it's Yan Hui, Jiang Zhen! And Jiang Zhen!"

The audience talked a lot, but under the guidance of the staff with an expression that said "there is a big surprise waiting for you", they still sat in their seats.

Their mentality at the moment is probably: I want to see what big surprise you can come up with.

Yu Miao sat down, feeling even more excited and looking forward to more.

--Bang!

All lights are turned off and the movie is about to start.

A beam of bright light appeared in front of Yu Miao, like a beautiful star traveling in space, floating slowly in the air.

A reminder sounded: "This movie will be played using holographic projection. Please watch the movie quietly. If you are frightened, please contact the staff."

Yu Miao: “…”

Other audience members: “…”

They all opened their eyes suddenly in unison, with a look of confusion and disbelief on their faces.

Full, holographic...

Holographic projection? !!! (End of this chapter)


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