Chapter 238: The Big Explosion Series Tsk, another one...
As it turned out, just as the chubby producer Huang Zheng predicted, "The Man in the Jianghu," a film that almost no one had high hopes for before its release and which was released in such a mediocre period that it could be described as being out of the loop, miraculously produced an unimaginable box office miracle!
The first premiere was met with thunderous applause and rave reviews. The extra screenings at night and in the early morning also sold out in a very short time. Except for a few people who were so excited that they wanted to watch the movie three times, almost all the tickets came from word-of-mouth recommendations.
Of course, the reason why even the night sessions are so popular is partly because most members of the community prefer to be out and about at night. But in any case, after the night sessions became a huge hit, the daytime sessions naturally followed suit.
At that time, "The Gangster" will sweep through the entire Hong Kong city with an unstoppable force, just like these ubiquitous gangsters.
Compared to Li Sishi, who had already witnessed and experienced "overnight fame" as a beauty pageant winner, the rest of the crew, apart from the director, screenwriter, and producer—three seasoned veterans—were almost completely bewildered.
Especially Cheng Erjian, who had always been in the mid-tier, neither famous nor unknown, suddenly became a sensation overnight and gained countless male fans with strange backgrounds. When he came out of the movie theater, a group of burly, floral-shirted gangsters rushed up to him, crying and shouting, calling him "Brother He Nan" and saying that they wanted to follow him in the future. The scene of Cheng Erjian, who was a big bad wolf on the surface but a rabbit on the inside, was so shocking that he almost crashed on the spot.
Fortunately, Li Sishi had already mentally prepared herself for being called "Sister-in-law" by a group of hooligans in floral shirts. Combined with the pre-existing protection provided by her rebirth cheat, she was able to withstand these unprecedented shocks more effectively than Cheng Erjian at that moment.
However, considering that she and Cheng Erjian were old friends and fellow students, and that Cheng Erjian had thoughtfully promised not to forget her when she ran away and to let her hold on to her past, Li Sishi, who had withstood the first wave of shock, instantly transformed from a wild junior sister into a domineering sister-in-law, taking full responsibility and pulling the brain-dead Cheng Erjian to the car and running wildly.
As for the comments behind the scenes like "The boss and his wife are so loving" and "His wife is so devoted to He Nan"... just pretend you didn't hear them.
After all, in the eyes of this group whose minds are mostly one-dimensional, it's better not to explain than to explain. No matter what you say, they will only act according to their own ideas.
In short, this is another type of "CP fan" who is particularly good at filling in the gaps in their own imagination to create the truth. It's just that while their fighting power may not be as good as others in other aspects, they are almost invincible on a physical level...
Li Sishi rushed headlong into the van, then used a series of drifts to shake off the gangsters whose chasing experience was no less than that of Hong Kong paparazzi. She let out a long breath before finally having time to check on Cheng Erjian's mental state, who had seemingly lost control of his brain.
"Hey, are you awake yet?" Li Sishi patted his face.
Cheng Erjian's confused and disoriented eyes suddenly focused and sharpened with her movements, then transformed into a pair of starry eyes that still shone brightly even after staying up all night: "That was so exciting!"
Well, I was worried he'd been scared off by that group of men earlier, but turns out he's just an unconventional "playboy"!
Looking into his eyes, which seemed to still hold a hint of unfinished business, Li Sishi couldn't help but recall the rumored story of Cheng Erjian causing a ruckus in the film studio at midnight with Luo Xuan, Ling Chen, and other youngsters. She sighed inwardly, realizing that she had greatly underestimated the big gray rabbit beside her—this guy wasn't actually soft and cute, but rather slow-witted.
But once he realized what was happening, it was like a mad dog unleashed, a demon released from its cage, eager to stir up trouble...
Therefore, his ability to play the role of He Nan well is not only due to his acting skills, but also because his unique adventurous spirit as a gamer is exceptionally consistent with the character's personality and progression.
After confirming that the person next to him was alright, he, who had also stayed up all night with the film crew to observe the projection effect, leaned back and immediately collapsed into the back seat of the car as if he had no bones.
Only then did Cheng Erjian notice that Li Sishi looked exhausted. He panicked and frantically searched for a blanket but couldn't find one. In the end, he took off his coat and covered Li Sishi with it, saying, "Why didn't you go back earlier?"
"I'm also worried and looking forward to the screening results," Li Sishi said softly.
After all, this was different from the plot she remembered. Although the main plot was adapted from the original comic and she had a certain degree of confidence in her performance, the unease of having her memories altered her fate lingered around her and bound all her nerves until she saw it for herself.
In other words, she only felt slightly relieved after seeing with her own eyes that the final screening was even more lively and popular than the reports she remembered. Then, due to the extra screenings added by the chubby producer Huang Zheng, she had the idea of seeing more samples before drawing conclusions, so she simply...
I stayed up all night with the excited film crew, working straight through the night.
Even when surrounded by thugs in floral shirts upon exiting the theater, and glancing through the gaps in the crowd to see that the newly released screenings from that morning had sold out quickly, Li Sishi finally felt completely relieved. Then, with all her remaining strength, she dragged the stunned and bewildered Cheng Erjian away...
"Then you should go back and rest quickly," Cheng Erjian said again.
Li Sishi shook her head: "The movie 'The People of Jianghu' must have broken one million in box office revenue last night. I need to report this result to Miss Zhuang and then ask her to discuss with the theaters about adding more screenings."
She still has a share of the box office revenue from this movie—even without that share, this miraculous box office dark horse of the year will inevitably be a hot topic for a while. If she strikes while the iron is hot and makes more noise, she might be able to break the box office record of more than 20 million that she remembers, and reach the 30 million mark with a production cost of less than 1.5 million!
All things considered, among Li Sishi's domestic box office achievements so far, only "Hero in My Heart," in which she co-starred with box office guarantee Zhou Shengyi, has reached a box office of 36.92 million.
However, in the role of "Lili" in "Hero in My Heart", even though Li Sishi persuaded Zhou Shengyi to add more scenes for the character, she could not avoid the fact that she was just a pretty face riding on the coattails of box office success. In terms of box office performance, she was just icing on the cake rather than the main contributor. Strictly speaking, the box office results did not belong to her.
As for the later films "The Fake Son-in-Law" and "Mermaid Romance," one is an ensemble piece and the other is a youth idol film. Apart from "Mermaid Romance," which earned the lead actor more than 10 million in domestic box office revenue, the lead actor in the ensemble piece was just able to muddle through and add a line to his resume.
The art film "The Voice of Dreams" that followed was a win-win situation – although it has made a small profit of more than 7 million yuan according to current box office statistics, it is unlikely to go much higher.
Considering all of the above, this is why "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is her most promising film to date, potentially breaking box office records: despite playing the female lead in a male-dominated movie, her popularity and the character's recognition are the highest in the film due to the original comic's author's endorsement and the comic's readers' approval.
Therefore, her character's name in this movie is at a level that is worthy of being placed alongside the male lead, He Nan, in the "leading actor" category, and in terms of popularity and star power, she can definitely be considered a mainstay.
After arriving at the TV station, Cheng Erjian, despite his worries, could no longer stay in Li Si's...
So, before leaving, he gave Li Sishi a thousand and one instructions, and only when Li Sishi was almost showing signs of impatience did he finally relax, say goodbye, and depart.
After seeing off her overly talkative junior colleague, Li Sishi, along with her assistant, headed straight for Zhuang Menghua's office.
Less than a second after the knock, Lu Yiting responded with an "ein" from inside.
Li Sishi turned the doorknob and came in, immediately seeing Zhuang Menghua and Lu Yiting's satisfied smiles: it seemed that the two of them had already heard about "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" becoming a dark horse at the midnight screenings.
As Li Sishi had expected, Zhuang Menghua praised Li Sishi's "keen eye" for talent. With this low-budget production heading straight for one of the top ten highest-grossing films of the year, not only would Li Sishi's popularity and star power see a significant boost, but the film's revenue share alone would be enough to make her extremely happy.
Although Zhuang Menghua, as the head of TBL, was not short of money, he almost received hundreds of thousands of yuan in commissions for free. The subsequent salary trends, coupled with the fact that his new favorite Li Sishi was able to break box office records and secure her position as a box office lucky charm, greatly relieved Zhuang Menghua, who had been holding back his anger after being replaced at the last minute.
In the future, whatever movies Ah May wants to make, as long as they are not masterpieces with extremely high requirements from famous directors or those with slightly less than perfect conditions, basically no one can compete with her, right?
Even the consistently stable box office performance of renowned director Li Sishi's masterpieces is something that renowned directors would carefully consider and pay attention to—aside from that sunglasses-wearing director who is particularly capricious in making films, there shouldn't be any director who intends for their film to flop at the box office from the very beginning of its production, right?
Even when making art films to express ideas, they strive to "not lose money." As for making a "small profit," they make sure to remember it and collaborate again in the future.
After Zhuang Menghua finished praising Li Sishi, Lu Yiting also laughed: "It seems that 'Best Partners' will contact me soon to discuss filming a sequel to the movie."
Are so many people paying so much attention to "The Gangster" as a box office dark horse simply because of its unexpected rise in a stagnant film industry at the time?
Not absolutely, and not only.
Although "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" pioneered an almost entirely new film genre and carved out a niche for itself during a period lacking exposure and buzz, what these people are most concerned about is that it is derived from the original comic and is a brand new blockbuster IP.
Just like the gambling film genre that exploded in popularity a few years ago, where any movie with the word "gambling" followed by a god, hero, or demon could trick audiences into buying tickets and making a quick buck, leading to rampant imitation and eventually aesthetic fatigue, this type of film almost disappeared in Hong Kong. This time, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" comes with its own original comic book storyline that is long, complex, and interconnected—sequels, spin-offs, character stories, prequels, and sequels are all included...
The current trend of fast-paced Hong Kong films, which exploit every opportunity to fleece their victims until they perish, is a prime example of this.
They don't even need anyone else to rush the shooting; the three quick-draw geniuses at "Perfect Partner" company can produce a series of films based on the same IP in a very short time...
"In my opinion, let's push the momentum of the first part to its highest possible level first," Li Sishi said after a moment of contemplation.
"That's what I think too. If it's a sequel, it might not be your 'home turf' anymore." Zhuang Menghua nodded slightly.
The prevailing algorithm in Hong Kong's film and television industry is that female artists are at a disadvantage. Once a hit series is created, it can easily become a stepping stone for the male artists in the same group to rise in status. Now, while Li Sishi is still the lead actress in the first film, their promotional efforts will definitely be focused on this movie, prioritizing their own artists.
“I understand, Miss Zhuang.” Lu Yiting nodded and then took out another document, handing it to Li Sishi while explaining, “The new advertising script from Luo Ji Telecom has also arrived.”
Both being part of the same series, Lo Kee Telecom, a mobile phone company backed by a large conglomerate, is the complete opposite of the "small to big" strategy in the "People in the Jianghu" series; it's about "big to big."
Li Sishi sat down on the sofa and quickly flipped through the script: explosions, high-precision props and scene production, exterior and interior scenes, etc., were all followed by large sums of money.
The script for this advertisement is also quite cleverly designed—it even manages to form a series with last year's advertisement.
In last year's advertisement, the male protagonist, played by Ling Chen, was captured by the enemy after failing to board the helicopter, imprisoned in a dark room, and beaten. However, he suddenly returned safely just as the female protagonist was missing him—this in itself is a point of contention, and various speculations have arisen among the public.
Some even imagined the next ad would explain the story of the male protagonist escaping from the enemy.
However, this new script didn't follow their original plan. Instead, it directly continued the story of the male and female protagonists after their reunion, depicting their weariness of their spy careers, their retirement from the underworld to live a peaceful life, and then their renewed emergency...
Text messages awaken the adventurous spirit dormant in our peaceful lives.
"When will filming begin?" Li Sishi quickly glanced through the plot, gently closed the script, and then looked at Lu Yiting to ask.
Lu Yiting knew Li Sishi's schedule perfectly and didn't even need to look at her notes before giving her the time: "I've already arranged it for you, it'll start tomorrow afternoon."
After saying this, Lu Yiting looked at Li Sishi's slightly tired face and smiled: "Don't force yourself. Do you want to rest in the office for a while before going back, or do you want to go back and rest directly?"
"I'll just go back, wash up, and then memorize the script," Li Sishi replied after a moment's thought, somewhat embarrassed. "Did you guys notice?"
"I can guess without even looking that you'll be working through the night with the crew of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes.' After all, the results this time are really impressive. I wouldn't be able to sleep either." Zhuang Menghua laughed as well. "Go and get some rest. We have to keep working tomorrow."
Li Sishi nodded, went back to rest, and then carefully studied the script before letting out a somewhat helpless sigh.
Although her character has virtually no lines in this advertisement script, the "action scenes" seem to present a bit of a challenge...
With a slightly helpless feeling towards the screenwriter of this script, Li Sishi rested for half a day and then continued with her daily work.
Practice singing, practice acting, study the script and how to portray the characters, take a break to read a book, and then go to promotional events.
After returning, I reviewed the script again to deepen my understanding, and then got into the van to head to the filming location.
When she arrived, Ling Chen, the only male lead in the advertising series, had already arrived on set before her and had even changed into his costume.
Although his costume for this scene was just a very casual short-sleeved and short-short loungewear set.
"How are your preparations going?" After not seeing each other for a while, the first thing we did when we met was to film a bed scene. I carefully sat down on the headboard in the early morning, leaning back against the headboard cushion as the script required, my voice barely audible.
After glancing at his current attire, Li Sishi quickly changed into the same light blue tank top and super short hot pants, and immediately clicked her tongue inwardly: Tsk, another man who wears more clothes than her when filming a bed scene...
After giving an OK sign to the director in the early morning, Li Sishi grabbed the thin blanket on the bed with one hand to cover herself from the waist down after the director yelled "Action!", then pressed down on his shoulder with the other hand, and then used that force to smoothly straddle him.
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