Chapter 112 Exhibition and Big Melon

It is indeed difficult for the current film market to accommodate two films with a box office of 30 million yuan at the same time.

One of the important reasons why Liu Zhou and Feng Kuzi’s movies both got such high box office last time was that the two movies were released nearly twenty days apart.

In addition, the quarrel between the two caused a lot of controversy at the time. Neither the media nor the audience in the mainland had ever seen two public figures arguing with each other like ordinary people.

So everyone feels it is very fresh, the media is happy to report it, and the audience loves to watch it.

But the audience is not stupid. Now that you two have another movie coming out and you start clamoring again, everyone will understand that you are just hype.

Although doing this a second time might still have the same effect, it is also overdrawing people's favorability towards you.

Since doing so would be more trouble than gain, and neither his superiors nor Han Shanping would allow Liu Zhou to do so, he certainly would not be so stubborn as to insist on doing so.

Besides, the mainland film market grew very rapidly, especially after "Hero" greatly stimulated everyone's desire to watch movies. In less than two years, by the end of 2004, the mainland film market was able to accommodate two films, "Kung Fu" and "A World Without Thieves", both of which had box office revenues of over 100 million yuan.

There will be plenty of opportunities to face off against Feng Kuzi in the future.

"So when will your movie be released?" Han Shanping asked.

Although China Film Corporation did not participate in the investment of Liu Zhou's "The Piano Tuner", this did not affect his attention to Liu Zhou's new film at all.

China Film Group has a greater responsibility than just focusing on box office revenue.

So Han Shanping didn't think it was a big deal that Liu Zhou didn't involve China Film Group in the new project this time.

He was attracted by Liu Zhou as a person and he had high expectations for him.

Liu Zhou pondered for a while and said:
"Let's wait until next year to release it. I plan to send the film to the Sundance Film Festival first."

Although the Sundance Film Festival is not a Class A international film festival, it is much more famous than most Class A international film festivals in the world. At least the Shanghai International Film Festival is far less well-known.

It is dedicated to independent filmmakers and is the world's leading independent film festival.

If the three most important European festivals are awarding awards and selling films, then the Sundance Film Festival is a festival that is purely for selling films.

Many directors and actors who have entered the mainstream Hollywood film industry have come out of here.

Liu Zhou planned to participate in this film festival to try his luck and see if he could sell some copyrights to make some money back.

Suspenseful and brain-burning movies like "The Piano Tuner" are quite popular among foreigners.

“I think the Sundance Film Festival is in January next year?”

"Yes, it's January 1th to 18th every year, so if it's going to be released, I plan to do it after the Chinese New Year, in February or March."

"No problem, I'll help you coordinate the schedule."

"Thank you, Mr. Han!" Liu Zhou said with a smile.

This is the benefit of having the support of China Film Corporation. A single release date can determine the life or death of a film to a certain extent.

"I don't need you to thank me verbally. As long as you make more good movies in the future, that will be the best thank you for me."

"We will definitely live up to the organization's trust!"

"Get out of here, kid!"

"Then I'm really leaving, haha!"

"Go away and don't disturb me while I'm working."

After leaving Zhongying, Liu Zhou went directly to the small courtyard in Dengcao Hutong.

Although Liu Zhou spent most of his time there after buying the villa, he still felt more at home here.

Now Zeng Li is filming a movie, and the two of them rarely come back here, and those entertainment paparazzi no longer hang out in this area.

At this time, Liu Zhou was alone and just happened to return to the courtyard to live for a while.

After being busy for half a year and with still several months to go before the movie is released, Liu Zhou is ready to take a break.

At first, Liu Zhou felt a little uncomfortable staying alone in this small courtyard, but he gradually got used to the lively alley life.

The neighbors around him already knew that he was a writer and director. Except for their initial amazement, they didn't treat Liu Zhou differently afterwards.

Such casual interactions and communication made Liu Zhou feel particularly comfortable.

Taking advantage of this period of time, Liu Zhou prepared to write the last part of the Ghost Blows Out the Light series, "Wu Gorge Coffin Mountain".

After finishing writing the Ghost Blows Out the Light series, Liu Zhou no longer has to worry about this matter.

However, Liu Zhou did not stay at home all the time to write books. He would occasionally invite Qin Hao, Tian Zheng or other friends in Beijing to get together.

After Zhang Tong finished filming "The Piano Tuner", she didn't receive any acting offers, but she would come here with them from time to time.

After spending more than a month together in the crew, Liu Zhou and Zhang Tong have become more familiar with each other. Plus, she is also a generous girl, so it feels very comfortable to get along with her.

However, the two had never met alone, and Liu Zhou still had some sense of propriety in this regard.

Time gradually came to the end of November. When Liu Zhou was leisurely enjoying the hutong life, a big melon suddenly broke out in the entertainment circle, causing a sensation in the entire mainland.

The Beijing News published a photo of Boss Zhao wearing clothes that resembled a military flag, which set off a storm in the mainland entertainment circle. Then, with a large number of media follow-up reports, the story spread to the entire mainland.

For a while, not only the media, but also a large number of people were criticizing and cursing her.

Then Boss Zhao issued a five-point statement on the matter, but it did not calm the incident down. Instead, it caused greater controversy and criticism on the Internet and among readers. A few days later, under pressure, Boss Zhao had to issue an apology letter to the media and formally apologize to the public.

But people still didn't buy it, and later, when he attended an event in Changsha, he was splashed with feces in public.

Liu Zhou looked at the incident up close this time and could only say that Boss Zhao deserved it.

Damn, you are the Achilles' heel of all Chinese people, and you actually wear such clothes openly.

Although it was later explained that the clothes were arranged by the organizer and she had no right to decide.

But anyone who is Chinese would feel very uncomfortable looking at that dress. She, a big star who is very popular in Asia, actually succumbed to the opinion of a small organizer.

This is so hilarious!

Liu Zhou felt that Boss Zhao was a little too proud.

In recent years, Boss Zhao has become extremely popular because of "My Fair Princess".

Although Zeng Li has the blessing of the Spring Festival Gala, she is still not as popular as Boss Zhao in terms of national popularity.

People today may not be able to imagine how popular Boss Zhao was at that time. Even ordinary elderly people in rural areas knew her.

You may not know her name, but you can recognize her appearance and even refer to her as "big-eyed girl".

Wherever you go, you are supported by everyone. How can you not be popular?
If it were Liu Zhou, he would also be able to drift.

However, considering her actions in later life, apart from her beauty, this may be her own choice which is the main reason.

But the people at that time were too tolerant. Even though such a big thing happened to Boss Zhao, nothing would happen to him after a while.

She made movies when she should, and TV series when she should. Even the Beijing circle supported her, and Boss Zhao's resources became better.

If this happened more than ten years later, she would have been banned countless times.

However, although Liu Zhou despised Boss Zhao's behavior, he was not familiar with her and just treated it as gossip to chat with friends after dinner.

By mid-December, Boss Zhao's situation was still escalating, and Liu Zhou had officially finished writing "Wu Gorge Coffin Mountain".

There are a total of eight parts in the Ghost Blows Out the Light series, and all of them have been completed.

This series of novels is indeed a money-making machine. After only half a year, Liu Zhou received more than 10 million yuan in royalties.

Now, not only is there enough money for the company's operations, but it's also enough to pay taxes on the revenue from the movie "Only You."

However, at present, perhaps only Liu Zhou himself knows that the time for Ghost Blows Out the Light to really make money has not yet arrived.

After putting the manuscript of "Wuxia Coffin Mountain" into the drawer, Liu Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Zhou pushed open the door and saw that the snow in the yard was already very thick.

He didn't clean it up, so the naturally fallen snow looked pretty nice.

In just ten days, the year 2001 will be over.

The next day, Liu Zhou came to the studio for a rare visit.

With the addition of Zhong Lifang, Liu Zhou indeed felt a lot more relaxed.

The studio is not too busy now, it’s mainly just some trivial matters that used to be handled by Liu Zhou, but now they are all handled by Zhong Lifang.

So Liu Zhou can come to the studio only once every ten days or half a month.

Now the studio and the drama troupe are on the right track.

The staff for each department of the studio have been recruited, and the release of "The Tuner" will be the first test for them.

So at this time, all departments are working together to develop a detailed publicity plan.

Ning Hao, who had just joined the team, came up with a script called "Incense". Seeing that the investment was only 100,000 or 200,000 yuan, Zhong Lifang invested in the name of the studio.

He also helped him set up a crew, which saved him a lot of trouble, which made Ning Hao very grateful.

Liu Zhou didn't pay much attention to such trivial matters and left everything to Zhong Lifang.

Ning Hao now is not worthy of Liu Zhou's special kindness.

Moreover, if Liu Zhou did this, people might suspect that he had bad intentions, and it would be embarrassing if he covered his flower bud and ran away.

As for the drama troupe, the theater there has been renovated and has already started rehearsals. It will begin trial operations next year.

At present, the drama troupe has been rehearsing four plays. In addition to "The Donkey Gets Water", "Cuihua, Serve the Sour Cabbage" and "Erna. Assault", Zhang Chen has also rehearsed "I Want to Eat Mahua and I Want to Twist It for You".

However, the most profitable one at the moment is "Duds", while "Erna. Assault" can barely break even. This type of military-themed drama has a limited audience.

However, the good news is that this play was picked up by the Comrades Repertory Theatre of the Beijing Military Region. Zhang Chen also knew how to make choices and allowed them to perform in the military region for free. Originally, all the staff of the play were from their troupe.

"If You Want to Eat Mahua, I'll Twist It for You" will be officially staged at Zhoushan Theater next year. It will be the opening drama of Zhoushan Theater and is currently being promoted all over Beijing.

Through the successive performances of "The Donkey Gets Water" and "Cuihua, Serve the Sour Cabbage", Zhoushan Drama Troupe has now gained some fame in the Beijing drama circle.

Zhoushan Theater has less than 400 seats, so it should be no problem to fill them all during the performance.

(End of this chapter)