Chapter 343 Bad Movie
In China, the film industry is bustling.

Abroad, the crew of "The Chinese Zodiac" was also welcomed by the local tourism and culture departments after arriving in Paris.

Not only that, as soon as they got off the plane, they met many fans at the airport who asked for autographs and photos. Of course, this was a treatment only for Jackie Chan and Liu Yifei.

After all, Jackie Chan is an internationally renowned kung fu superstar with many fans here, including royal aristocrats and celebrities.

Liu Yifei, on the other hand, made Europeans remember this sweet-looking oriental girl thanks to "Interstellar" and "Inception".

In addition, she just won the Berlin Film Festival Award. It can be said that Liu Yifei is now the most famous Chinese actress in the eyes of Europeans.

The next day, in addition to fans, officials from the French tourism department also came to visit Cheng Long in person, and took a photo with him and Liu Yifei before leaving.

"Brother Cheng Long still has a higher international status." Liu Yifei couldn't help but sigh as she watched the other party constantly pulling Cheng Long's hand and patting his shoulder with the look of a star-chaser.

The main filming location for the "Chinese Zodiac" crew in France is the Château de Chantilly, which covers an area of ​​7800 hectares and is known as a combination of the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles. It is full of priceless cultural relics, and a single book may be an antique from the 19th century.

Before the crew arrived in France, they had conducted many negotiations and were finally able to enter the castle to film. Even so, the other party did so out of consideration for Jackie Chan.

...

Since the premiere of "Warring States", Starry Night has once again stepped up its publicity efforts.

The shadow of this movie can be seen everywhere in the media and in theaters.

At the same time, the producer of "Warring States" also announced that the release date will be advanced and it will be released simultaneously in North America.

It is estimated that Lu Zheng wanted to get ahead of "Guan Yunchang" and reap the box office first. It is hard to say whether this decision is good or not. The key lies in the quality of the film.

Now, Lu Zheng has started to use money offensive again.

The effect was quite good, and even the media began to praise "Warring States": "The simultaneous release of "Warring States" is an encouragement for Chinese films to go global."

Finally, the day of the release came.

The headline "Warring States will be officially released today" was posted on major portal websites long ago.

"The popular young actress Jing Tian plays the role of Tian Xi, a female general who is both civil and military in "Warring States"!"

“The special effects of Warring States are stunning, and the visuals are astonishing. You can’t miss it.”

"As the top special effects company in China, Xingchen Films provided the best special effects production for "Warring States"."

After the Spring Festival, the domestic film market has been in a downturn. Although there was a mixed competition among many films in March, there was still an urgent need for a strong blockbuster leader, and the domestic box office continued to decline.

"Warring States" also saw the right opportunity and wanted to make a good start for the April film market.

On the other hand, Ning Hao's "The Golden Robbery" finally completed post-production, a little earlier than expected.

"I have no choice. I've been busy with movies every day these days. If I don't get it done, my wife will divorce me." Looking at Ning Hao, who was slumped on the sofa with a helpless look on his face, coupled with his big gold chain, he didn't look like a billion-dollar box office director in the entertainment industry at all, but just a street gangster.

"You're not deliberately taking your time editing the movie just to avoid your wife, are you?" After all, the couple has reached middle age, and they are in a state where even a kiss would give them nightmares for several nights. The last time he went to Ning Hao's house for dinner, Gu Wei discovered that Xing Aina's temper had become even worse after they had a child.

"Oh, don't mention it. My status in the family has plummeted. After I had that bad boy, my wife likes the dog at home more than me." At this moment, Ning Hao was like a wronged young wife, and she pulled Gu Wei and started to nag.

"Stop it, I'm not married yet, don't make me afraid of marriage." Gu Wei waved his hand, not wanting to listen to him anymore.

Then the two chatted for a while and began to discuss the release date of the movie.

"I don't plan to release it this year. Look at the movie schedule announced by China Film Group. Every one of them is very exciting. To be honest, I don't have enough confidence."

There is nothing wrong with what he said. Gu Wei has certainly seen "The Great Robbery". Compared with "The Racer" and "No Man's Land", the quality is indeed a bit worse. The problem is not in the shooting, but in the logic of the story.

To be honest, Ning Hao started out with black comedy, but in this movie, there are obviously not enough laughs and too few story lines. As a qualified commercial film, it is certainly fine, but it cannot be considered a masterpiece.

"It's up to you. I'm not in a hurry anyway. Let's do it next year." Gu Wei didn't care. The film company didn't invest much, so a few days wouldn't matter.

"I feel relieved when you say that. Before I came here, I was worried that you would rush me."

Ning Hao breathed a sigh of relief after dealing with Gu Wei. After all, the other directors in the company were quick shooters, but he took the longest time to shoot a movie. Xing Aina often nagged him about this.

……

The box office of "Warring States" on the first day was pretty good, over 1700 million, but its reputation has plummeted to pieces. It can be said that even dogs are a little disgusted with it.

After all, after the film was released, netizens were not so easy to talk to because of the existence of the Internet.

"I am heartbroken."

"Juan, don't go, I'm scared." "Whose idiot designed such a ridiculous line in the script? Come out, I promise I won't beat you to death."

"The director is seriously lacking in historical knowledge, the screenwriter has not even graduated from elementary school, and the actors are all acting awkwardly..."

"What a sin I have committed, my eyes."

“I have to say, this is a very competent Jingtian photo album.”

"However, the special effects of the movie are still good. If you ignore the plot and only look at the special effects, it is undoubtedly a qualified blockbuster."

"It's only the special effects that are worth watching, otherwise I will definitely go and get a refund."

The movie did not receive high word-of-mouth reviews, but the special effects of Xingchen Film and Television Company were recognized by a large number of netizens. After all, special effects are so real that the audience who enter the cinema can tell at a glance whether they are fake, good, or whether they can bring the most favorite visual experience.

"Lu Zheng is going to lose a lot of money on this movie." Gu Wei could probably figure it out. If word of mouth didn't hold up, the movie would most likely collapse in the next two days. The special effects costs for "Warring States" alone amounted to tens of millions of real money, plus the film remuneration and publicity and promotion costs, it was not a small amount.

"It can't be that serious. President Lu made such a bad movie?" Ning Hao was still a little puzzled. What kind of bad movie was worthy of netizens' criticism online?

This lineup is full of stars, and most of them have good acting skills. No matter what, in Ning Hao's opinion, it is not so shocking.

Gu Wei smiled and did not respond. Although the finished film was not shown at the premiere, the comments from netizens were the most authentic.

"Director Ning, how about we find some time to go and watch it."

Some employees in the company's special effects department were also very curious at this time. They were responsible for special effects production and had not seen the entire film. Their interest was piqued by the comments.

"Okay, let's go as a group. After all, President Lu has spent a lot of money in the company, so let's go to the cinema to show our support." Ning Hao said carelessly.

After he finished speaking, there was a burst of flattering voices coming from all around.

"Lu Zheng is forcing things to grow. Can Jing Tian become the leading actress?"

Online, a netizen posted a post, which quickly received a large number of likes and views.

The post said that Jing Tian is not yet at the level where she can carry a movie as the heroine on her own. This can actually be felt when she was acting in "The Forbidden Kingdom". However, because of the presence of other outstanding actors and the gimmick of a Sino-US co-production, these problems were hidden. Moreover, Jing Tian is not the real protagonist. The two Js are the reason why netizens buy tickets to support her.

But now it seems that the movie "Warring States", which is known as a historical blockbuster, is actually a movie with a strong female lead. The story lines in the film almost all revolve around Jingtian. If the director does not find a way to solve this drawback, he can only wait to be scolded, not to mention that the script is really not that good.

In conclusion, the netizen also pointed out that Lu Zheng was probably fooled by the grand scenes and big production, thinking that as long as he spent money, he would get some gains. As a result, he forgot that the most important thing for a movie is quality.

Needless to say, as soon as this statement came out, it instantly gained support from netizens and audiences, and some people also said, "Jingtian can't be made popular."

In just three days, "Warring States" could no longer maintain its average daily box office of 1000 million.

On the fourth day, the daily box office fell below 1000 million. However, this should be the time when the word of mouth of a movie is fermenting and the box office is slowly increasing.

In addition to Jing Tian, ​​all the other leading actors in the film, including Sun Honglei, Wu Zhenyu, and Jiang Wu, were not spared and became the targets of criticism.

In the Starry Company, looking at the attendance and box office data from various theaters, Lu Zheng's face looked a little ugly, but it was not because of the box office, but because of the comments about Jingtian on the Internet.

After all, Lu Zheng invested in making the movie himself in order to promote Jingtian. As for the box office, it would be better if it had a hit, but it was also okay if it didn't, because he, Lu Zheng, had the money to afford the loss.

"During this period, try not to accept interviews from reporters, and ignore those comments on the Internet." Lu Zheng looked at Jing Tian, ​​who had a somewhat ugly expression, and said in a gentle voice.

"But, Uncle Lu, isn't it bad to not show up all the time?" Even though Jing Tian had a cheerful personality, he was hit hard this time and couldn't help but doubt himself, but he really liked filming.

"Uncle Lu, is my acting really that bad?" Jing Tian then asked weakly again.

"Uh." Lu Zheng didn't know how to answer. He couldn't just say yes directly, otherwise the girl would be so discouraged that she wouldn't want to act anymore.

"I've had people check, and many of the comments online were made by people hired by other companies. Don't worry, I've made plans. I'll continue to invest in you later, and you'll still play the leading female role. If that doesn't work out, wait for other big directors in the industry to start new projects, and then I'll help you find a role."

Lu Zheng's words made the lost Jing Tian's eyes brighten, and the spirit that had disappeared returned instantly.

At this moment, Jing Tian couldn't help but think of Liu Yifei. The two of them were about the same age, but the other party was already a world-famous commercial film star, and now she won the Berlin Film Queen Award. The gap between the two was getting bigger and bigger.

On the other side of the sofa, Lu Zheng, with a thoughtful look on his face, was already thinking about the next movie and Jing Tian's next role.

As for "Warring States", it has become like this. You can tell it cannot be saved without even watching it. He is too lazy to care how much box office it can earn in the end.

"Damn, I still have to work with big directors. These random directors are pure liars. Let's just consider this as a lesson learned." Thinking of this, Lu Zheng suddenly came up with a new idea.

As for which big directors they are, there are only five or six who can be called top-notch in the circle.

...

(End of this chapter)