Chapter 186 Lunar New Year

The release date of "Mei Lanfang" was suddenly brought forward, and the media are all reporting on this matter. It is highly likely that this is to avoid the release date of several other films.

As the release date is advanced, the corresponding premiere must also be advanced. Brother Chen Kai's return to biographical films will soon fire the first shot of the domestic Lunar New Year box office.

"Kah, the crew will have a day off tomorrow, everyone can take a day off."

"Okay, director."

The crew members were quite happy to be able to take a break, although the atmosphere in the crew was already very good.

Brother Chen Kai and his wife both attended the premiere of "Interstellar", so Gu Wei will definitely go to the premiere of "Mei Lanfang" this time.

Besides, Brother Chen Kai even called him specifically, and Han Sanping also mentioned this matter, after all, it was invested by China Film.

...

The world premiere was scheduled to be held at the China Film Huairou Film and Television Base in the capital.

When Gu Wei and Liu Yifei arrived at the scene, Chen Kaige was being interviewed by media reporters.

"I believe that everyone will like the movie "Mei Lanfang". I hope that this movie can accompany everyone through this cold and heart-warming end of the year."

Regarding the evaluation of this film, Brother Chen Kai said that he did not dare to give a score, but only hoped that everyone would enjoy this carefully made film.

Well, every failure makes one wiser. Director Chen didn't dare to open the champagne in advance. He said he wanted to keep a low profile, but the arrangements on the scene didn't seem to be low-key at all.

The premiere venue was decorated with strong Peking Opera colors both inside and outside. Facial makeup, appearances, costumes, and Peking Opera props could be seen everywhere. There were also many invited guests, all of whom were famous.

This year's Lunar New Year box office was a competition between China Film Group and Huayi Film Group. For this reason, the online media even organized a competition to compare the box office of the two films.

"Do you think Mei Lanfang has a chance to surpass If You Are the One?"

When Han Sanping arrived at the venue, he asked about this matter as soon as he saw Gu Wei. He was a man who cared a lot about his reputation and took this matter very seriously.

"Director Han, who gave you the confidence?"

Gu Wei was too lazy to say the rest. The two films were of different genres. Besides, Feng Xiaogang's commercial films did have some tricks and were always victorious in the Lunar New Year period.

Han Sanping smacked his lips without saying anything, then turned around and talked about the new science fiction blockbuster he had invested in.

"The subject matter is very good, a bit like The Terminator, and all the artists who joined are big names."

Now Gu Wei was speechless. He didn't know who gave him the confidence, maybe it was Fish Leong.

After chatting for a while, the premiere officially began.

Special guests, popular idol singers Li Yuchun and Xin sang passionately on the spot.

Then the lead actor Li Ming came on stage and sang the song "It's Me" with deep emotion.

Finally, Han Sanping, Chen Kaige and all the crew members of "Mei Lanfang" came on stage together and returned the borrowed relics of Mr. Mei Lanfang to Mei's descendants in their original pieces.

The movie started, Gu Wei and Liu Yifei sat together and watched it.

How should I put it, the first half of the movie was okay, but the further I watched, the more annoying Gu Wei became.

"Senior, why are you taking pictures?"

“Why is the back shot like this?”

Liu Yifei turned into a man who asked a hundred thousand questions, and in the second half she kept asking in a low voice.

“Well, maybe this is what you call a half-classic.”

Hearing what Gu Wei said, Liu Yifei looked at him in confusion.

After the premiere, Gu Wei and Liu Yifei left the China Film Huairou Base.

The temperature in the capital was getting colder in December. Both of them wore down jackets and masks and came to the parking lot.

"Senior, it's only half a classic because the latter part is too bland. The movie doesn't rise to the level."

In the passenger seat, Liu Yifei seemed to suddenly understand.

"Yes, my ability to appreciate movies has improved a lot."

Holding the steering wheel with both hands, Gu Wei was a little surprised. The little girl was growing up very fast.

"I follow a famous director all day long, so I have to learn a few tricks."

...

The first-day box office of "Mei Lanfang" was over 1500 million, which is quite good for an art film.

As for "Wolf Tooth" which was released on the same day, it was not very popular. The media were all reporting on Chen Kaige's movie.

"I'm very confident that the box office will be at least 6000 million."

Wu Jing gave a very informative answer to the media interview.

Feng Xiaogang's "If You Are the One" is scheduled to be released at the end of the month. The two blockbusters have staggered their release dates to give each other some respect.

"If You Are the One" has no pressure to make back its investment, and the in-program ads have already recovered half of the cost."

The total production cost is only 50 million, and the pressure is more on "Mei Lanfang".

Meanwhile, the biggest financial fraud in history was happening in Hollywood.

According to media reports, Bernard Madoff has been handcuffed and one of the biggest Ponzi schemes has been slowly uncovered.

The scam involved the Hollywood circle. After all, the investment in the movie was too high, and some Hollywood people became victims, including director Spielberg.

This person also had a bad year. His mansion was burned down and the money he invested was lost.

Regardless of what is happening outside, Gu Wei is still immersed in the filming of "A Dog's Purpose".

"The dog is so cute. I want to take it home and keep it as a pet after the filming is over."

The filming process of the movie has passed the halfway point and the whole film has reached its climax in the second half.

"You like cats, don't you? Besides, are you going to take all 16 dogs home to raise?"

Gu Wei was a little puzzled. Although this movie was made for Liu Yifei, the change was too fast.

"Oh, I can't bear to give up that one. I'm so conflicted." "Director, what do you think our movie can achieve at the box office?"

After finishing the filming, Gu Wei, Chen Daoming and others came to the restaurant and chatted.

"The quality of the film is fine, the final box office revenue can only be left to the audience."

"There will be no problem with the box office. With Director Gu here, the audience will definitely like it."

Chen Daoming suddenly said.

"Haha, Teacher Chen is right."

As actors, they must be confident about the box office performance of the movies they star in.

Well, except for some individuals.

Wu Jing was really miserable. "Wolf Tooth" was removed from the shelves by the theaters just four days after its release.

The box office in mainland China was 420 million, and including that in Hong Kong, it just reached 500 million.

The box office is so low, not to mention the copyright of the movie, Wu Jing will probably have to wait for a few more years.

There are more and more comments about "Mei Lanfang" from the outside world, and most of them have a good reputation.

"Director Chen Kai is back, and his new film has reached the level of Farewell My Concubine again."

Of course, there were also rebuttals, and netizens were fighting endlessly on Tieba and Tianya, making it extremely lively.

"As for movies, the box office still speaks for itself."

"The poet feels like he is floating again, it seems he has just walked out of The Promise."

"Don't talk nonsense, be careful of the lawyer's letter."

...

Brother Chen Kai also accepted several interviews with reporters and said frankly that it was not difficult to be shortlisted for the main competition unit in Berlin and he had a 50% chance of winning the Golden Bear Award.

No director has ever dared to make such a statement before the film festival awards are announced. Director Chen is worthy of his name, he has done it again.

Unfortunately, starting from the 11th, Xu Ke’s new movie "Women Are Not Bad" will be released in domestic theaters, and Feng Xiaogang’s new movie will be released next week. For Brother Chen Kai, the road ahead is not smooth.

...

Tangren’s publicity and marketing are indeed offensive. The filming of “Chinese Paladin III” which started in August is about to be completed.

"Little Liu Yifei" frequently appears in media reports, but there must be a bottom line when it comes to riding on the popularity of others.

"What are you two mumbling about?"

When he returned to the hotel, Gu Wei saw Liu Yifei and Su Chang holding their cell phones with unhappy expressions on their faces.

"It's still Tangren. She keeps promoting and exploiting Sissi, but she doesn't even look at her own age. She's older than Sissi."

Seeing Gu Wei coming over, Su Chang stood up for her best friend with an indignant look on her face.

"How about I talk to Cai Yinong and tell her to shut up."

"Forget it, it's no big deal."

Liu Yifei waved her hand and spoke indifferently.

If they want to take advantage of it, let them do so. After all, the audience has sharp eyes and the fans are not stupid.

"Okay, let's hurry up and shoot these few days. We have to go to Hollywood at the end of the month and hold a celebration party."

"Okay, I haven't seen Leon in a while."

The girl learned a lot of acting skills when she was on the crew with Leonardo. They often send messages to talk about each other when they are free and have a good relationship.

The next day, filming continued.

During the filming, the dog had more NGs than the actors, and sometimes one shot required more than ten takes.

Thanks to a professional dog trainer, the film’s shots were shot perfectly.

Gu Wei did not attend the premiere of If You Are the One, and neither did anyone else in the crew.

The film was in its later stages of filming and Gu Wei didn't want to go back and forth anymore.

"Boss Wang, I wish you a big box office success."

I just said a few words to Wang Zhonglei of Huayi and regarded it as a visit, which made him a little depressed.

However, no matter how depressed he was, Wang Zhonglei didn't dare to say much. If he angered Director Gu, he would return your stocks.

Although Gu Wei did not attend the premiere, Feng Xiaogang knew how to hype it up. All the other big domestic directors came from academic backgrounds, but he was the only one who came from a different background.

"I will take back the Mandarin film box office champion."

Seeing Feng Xiaogang speaking so confidently, many people believed him.

The Internet is really developed nowadays. The next day, reporters came to the Hengdian crew and many crew members were interviewed and asked what they thought of Feng Xiaogang's remarks.

When it was Gu Wei's turn, he just said he was busy and kept silent.

"Senior, why don't you respond?"

"They are all here to take advantage of the situation. If I say one more word, the media will make up a lot of stories. Just ignore them."

"If You Are the One" is a typical Feng-style comedy, and coupled with its novel subject matter, it does have the potential to become a hit.

However, the cause of this story is really a bit confusing, with a big bug. It might as well be like winning the lottery. It makes no sense at all.

There is never a shortage of topics in the circle. Originally, Chen Kai's movie was affected by "Zhong", and a lot of film clips were cut, and now Zhang Ziyi is added.

Even Gu Wei, who was filming a movie, felt tired for the other party. He thought that he might as well change his career and put up with this kind of shit. It’s not easy to make a movie every day.

Zhang Ziyi's various scandals are getting more and more serious, one after another. Fortunately, she has a thick blood volume. If it were an ordinary person, he would have been drowned several times.

If she hadn't made a comeback later with the role of "Gong Er", her name would probably have been almost forgotten in the circle.

(End of this chapter)