Chapter 221 There is no one who can fight
Giving the role of the heroine of [Tang Detective 2] to Liu Yifei was not a hot-headed move by Gu Wei, nor was it a deliberate show of favor on his part.
But as a friend, without touching his own interests, he really wanted to help Liu Yifei a little so as to return the favor.
To be honest, the two of them have known each other for almost 3 years.
The two met on the set when Gu Wei was filming "Xiu Chun Dao" in 2012. At that time, Gu Wei was still a little-known film and television college student. He was just starting out and had no reputation. Apart from being rich, he had nothing else. Nothing left.
At that time, Liu Yifei was already at the top of domestic female stars. Although she was able to participate in this movie because of China Film's reputation, she also really used her fame to make a great contribution to the movie. .
The box office of the original movie was less than 100 million. With the blessing of Liu Yifei's fame and excellent publicity that is different from the original, "Xiu Chun Dao" can sell more than 200 million.
This movie also gave Gu Wei his initial fame, and it was also the first money he made in the entertainment industry.
Liu Yifei did not mind that Gu Wei was a junior, and the two became friends.
Later, Gu Wei insisted on filming "Tang Detective". Before the movie was released, in order to increase his reputation, he released a song to promote it, and asked Liu Yifei for help, and the other party agreed without hesitation.
You know, with Liu Yifei's character, she almost never promotes others except when her own movies are released.
This time Gu Wei was promoting [The Return of the Great Sage] online, but he didn't even open his mouth, and the other party took the initiative to help. He had to accept these favors.
Looking back on the past three years of knowing Liu Yifei, as a friend, it seems that the other party has always been helping him, but Gu Wei has never had the opportunity to return these favors.
It just so happened that he was going to film "Tang Detective 2" this time, and he wanted Liu Yifei to play the female lead, which would not only increase the film's fame, but also return a favor.
In fact, although the heroine of "Tang Detective 2" seems to be a good resource, in fact, for ordinary actresses, her role is not as good as that of a popular TV series.
Because it does not attract fans, it can only provide actresses with a beautiful film performance.
Like the original heroine, because she was not famous to begin with, after filming "Tang Detective 2", the movie became a box office hit, but she was not popular.
But it is different for 85-year-olds like Liu Yifei or Yang Mi. The nationality of these people is already very high, but what they lack is film performance that they can achieve.
This kind of role allows them to maximize their profits.
Just when the online and offline promotions of [The Return of the Great Sage] were in full swing, it was February 10th. [The Hunger Games 3: Mockingjay (Part 1)] was released in the country.
[The Hunger Games] is as big an IP as [The Twilight Saga] in Hollywood, and the first two films have achieved excellent box office results in the North American market.
This film [Mockingjay (Part 1)] reached a box office of US$333.18 million in North America, becoming the annual box office champion in North America in 2014!
Unfortunately, this global best-selling movie was a little acclimated after entering the Chinese market. The box office on the first day of release was only 21.62 million, and the Douban score was only 6.2, making it the lowest-rated film in the series.
On the 11th, the second day after the release of "The Hunger Games", the national box office revenue was 19.87 million, which is a normal decrease. This situation also indicates that this movie can win the North American box office championship in 2014. In the Chinese market, the box office may ultimately be more than 200 million.
Another Hollywood blockbuster has failed. This year’s Lunar New Year season seems to be under a spell. Movies that were expected to achieve high box office have failed, and the movie market continues to be cold.
Because there are no good movies to be screened, the total national movie box office in a single day continues to decline, even less than 100 million yuan on weekdays.
This is the single-day box office performance nationwide, and it is during the most popular Lunar New Year period in previous years.
You must know that after a year of theater construction in 2015, the total number of domestic theaters has exceeded 6,000, with a total number of 32,000 screens, nearly 10,000 more than in 2014. The number of screens directly catches up with North America, the world's largest movie market.
At present, there is no shortage of hardware facilities such as theaters and screens in China, as well as the enthusiasm of audiences for watching movies. There is just no shortage of good movies.
During last year’s Lunar New Year, the viewing conditions were not as good as now, but because of popular movies such as "Detective Chinatown", "Private Order" and later "Journey to the West: Upheaval in Heaven" and "Macau" When it is released, the national box office in a single day is often around 200 million, and sometimes it can even reach 300 million.
In comparison, it better highlights the deserted market during this period of this year.
Just as people in the industry have focused their attention and expectations on several blockbuster films released during the Spring Festival on February 19th, on February 12th, [Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage] was released on The movie's premiere conference was held in the large conference room of Beijing Wanda Hotel.
As the last publicity before the film’s release, the press conference took advantage of the relationship between Wanda Media and Enlight Media to invite nearly 100 media outlets across the country.
Because it was not a premiere, but a movie conference, no celebrities were invited to support the event.
Only the main creative team of [The Return of the Great Sage], the organizers of the publisher, and various media in the audience were present.
At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the lights in the large conference room dimmed, leaving only the lights on the stage in front.
Gu Wei, as the nominal producer of the film, walked on stage together with director Tian Xiaopeng and Wang Changtian, the representative of the film's investor and distributor.
The host of the press conference is Liu Yan from Enlight Media. She wore a blue and white cheongsam today, showing off her good figure to the fullest.
After a beautiful welcome speech, the host announced that the film premiere conference of [Journey to the West: The Return of the Monkey King] has officially begun.
The host briefly introduced the basic information of the film’s investors, producers, and distributors, and then handed the microphone to Director Tian Xiaopeng, who was standing in the middle of the stage.
He is the protagonist of today's real life.
“Hello friends from the media, my name is Tian Xiaopeng, and I am the director of the movie [Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage].
Thank you all very much for coming today. To be honest, [Big Sage] "The Return of the Saint" was successfully produced and released, and today I can stand here and talk to everyone. This is very dreamy for me.
I have loved science fiction and animation since I was a child, and I entered it after graduating from college. A foreign animation design company.
In 1997, my company received the production of some episodes of the cartoon "Journey to the West". I was responsible for 4 of the episodes. When I was producing the animation according to the requirements, I felt that I just thought, if I had made Journey to the West, I would definitely not have done it in such a childish way
Later, I started my own company. In 2007, I saw my son watching Ultraman and Batman with gusto at home. I suddenly felt that I should do something, so I had the idea to make a three-dimensional animated version of "Journey to the West". idea.
What I was thinking at the time was, if Americans and Japanese can make good-looking animated films, why can’t we Chinese.
Now that I thought of it, I immediately started taking action.
The construction of [The Return of the Great Sage] started at that time.
Unfortunately, I was still too naive at the time and ignored the huge cost to truly produce an animated film comparable to Hollywood Disney.
I spent all my money at home and borrowed money from relatives and friends to make the film. Unfortunately, these were only a drop in the bucket for the production of the entire animated film.
And the market at that time was not optimistic about domestic animation. Everyone thought that the content of domestic animation was low-quality and shoddy. There was also the precedent of "Magic Ring" which cost 130 million and had a box office of 4 million. No investors were willing to pay for it. Give money to domestic animation.
Fortunately, I later met Mr. Wang from Enlight Media and Mr. Gu from Weimingxia. They donated generously and spared no expense, just to make a high-quality animated film that belongs to the Chinese people. "As he said this, Tian Xiaopeng looked around at Wang Changtian and Gu Wei.
"I did not disappoint the two investors, and finally completed this eight-year animation at the beginning of this year. The movie is made.
In my heart, "The Return of the Great Sage" is perfect, and I believe it will definitely become a landmark work in Chinese animated films.
Thank you everyone! "
Director Tian looked very excited. He said a lot of heartfelt words and also made some nonsense.
Of course, in his opinion, it was not rhetoric. [The Return of the Great Sage] 】It’s really that good.
After Director Tian finished speaking, the audience burst into applause. Everyone could see that he has a deep affection for the movie.
The hardship of eight years of creation cannot be explained clearly in one or two sentences.
Neither Gu Wei nor Wang Changtian said anything, and then entered the media interaction session.
The reporters first asked Director Tian some questions about film production, and then the media attention turned to Gu Wei. After all, compared to the unknown Tian Xiaopeng, Gu Wei is the one who is most famous related to movies. Interviews about him are also more likely to grab the audience's attention.
“I would like to ask Gu Wei, as an actor, how did you come up with the idea to invest in an animated film and also serve as the film’s producer?”
A reporter from Sohu Media asked first.
"I also met Director Tian by chance. I was mainly impressed by his attitude towards doing things. In addition, I watched some of the films that had been produced at that time and they were astonishing. I never thought that domestic animated films could also To achieve this level.
So it was natural to invest in "The Return of the Great Sage" and later become the film's producer. "
"You have never thought about the domestic animation market. If there is a recession, is it possible that your investment will be in vain?"
Gu Wei smiled and said:
"Investment must be risky, no one can guarantee it? Every investment is guaranteed to be successful
But I feel that regardless of whether this investment is a loss or a profit, we are doing the right thing and working hard for the rise of domestic animated films.
This is enough, the rest is left to the market and the audience. "
After saying this, the reporters didn't have much reaction. Director Tian Xiaopeng looked at Gu Wei eagerly, his eyes full of emotion.
The expression was like Yu Boya met Zhong Ziqi in the mountains and rivers, and Gu Wei, the "financier" who was willing to pay regardless of reward, was Tian Xiaopeng's "Zhong Ziqi"
"Can I ask, are you and Mr. Wang together? How much money was invested in this animated film? ”
Gu Wei and Wang Changtian looked at each other and said.
“It is inconvenient to reveal the specific investment share, but I can tell you that the total investment in [The Return of the Great Sage] is 100 million yuan!”
As soon as these words came out, the whole audience was in an uproar.
The media were talking among themselves, but no one thought that this "cartoon" could cost so much money.
The reporters then asked Gu Wei and Wang Changtian some questions about the movie. Both of them have been tested by the media for a long time and naturally answered fluently.
After the interactive session, Director Tian Xiaopeng shared some of the difficulties during the production of "The Return of the Monkey King" and brought several key staff members of his team over to give their personal opinions.
The media present also lamented that it was not easy for him to make.
After a total of more than 2 hours, the press conference finally came to an end.
Looking at the media members packing up their photography equipment and heading out one by one, Gu Wei said to Tian Xiaopeng:
“Director Tian, don’t worry too much, we have done our best in everything we can do. Well, as I just said, the rest depends on the audience and the market.”
"I also know that actually being able to achieve this level is beyond my imagination at the beginning. I am already very satisfied.
I'm just afraid that if the box office of tomorrow's release is not satisfactory, I'm sorry to Mr. Gu and Wang General expectations. "
Gu Wei laughed after hearing Tian Xiaopeng's words and patted him on the shoulder.
“Keep it in your heart, why don’t you have confidence in your own work now?
We will definitely be a hit at the box office!
Right, Mr. Wang? "
Wang Changtian listened to the whole conversation between the two.
He also smiled and said:
"Although I don't have as much confidence as Mr. Gu, I still I think our movie is of good quality.
And I have more confidence in Mr. Gu. After all, Mr. Gu has been successful since I met him. I like to work with successful people. ”
"Haha~ Mr. Wang, you are flattering me. Let's be mutually beneficial and make money together."
Listening to the words of the two investors, Tian Xiaopeng's nervousness was relieved.
On February 13th, [Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage] premiered nationwide.
Thanks to the strong efforts of the two distribution companies, Enlight Media and Wanda Film and Television, and the in-depth pre-publicity of the film, the proportion of films scheduled nationwide on the first day was as high as 31%.
There are almost no well-known movies in the same period. The three comedy-romance films released last week, "Surprise All the Way", "You Love Me", and "The Detective Arrives", have shown signs of fatigue after a week of screenings. .
And today, released together with "The Return of the Great Sage" is a love movie "I Just Want Us to Be Together" starring Yang Gongru.
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that "The Return of the Great Sage" was released in February, Gu Wei paid special attention to all the movies released in February, and he would have no impression of this movie at all.
The low-budget romance film probably won both box office and word-of-mouth reviews, otherwise The Original Spacetime would not have lost any fame at all.
It can be said that "The Return of the Great Sage" released at this time is the most handsome guy in the movie market. Looking around, there is no one who can beat him.
Now there is no need to consider the issue of competition. The subsequent box office results will all depend on how many viewers the movie can attract to the theater.
Another chapter today is enough. I will make up for it tomorrow with 3 chapters.
(End of this chapter)