Chapter 237: Happy Sister Shang Likes Sunny Days
Director Lu’s newly scheduled film truly deserves to be called a blockbuster.
In fact, since his debut, he seems to have never shot a project with a weak cast lineup; before filming starts, he’s always a focal point of attention from both inside and outside the industry.
This time, the movie he’s collaborating on with Zhang Guowen is the special effects action blockbuster that caused a huge stir before filming began, an adaptation of the classic IP Kunlun Mountains《》.
This film’s cast lineup is extremely strong, featuring movie emperors, film empresses, top streamers, famous directors, and other key elements, and it’s also hailed as one of the rare industrialized representative works in the domestic market.
So, it’s perfectly normal for them to schedule it in the National Day Slot; after scheduling, taking away the Girl《》’s scheduling is even more normal.
Additionally, the reason Kunlun Mountains《》 is scheduled for the National Day Slot actually has little to do with Chi Ye.
As the saying goes, the National Day Slot is one of the hottest slots in the year; starting from last year, the market has already recovered to its peak before the film and TV winter hit.
And such a hot market represents what?
Money, countless bills—Shen Bin and Ma Li’s casually shot comedy movie last year grossed over 4 billion at the box office, which says it all.
So even if it’s just for making money, movies of their caliber must choose the National Day Slot or Spring Festival Slot.
As for whether there’s deliberate targeting of Chi Ye and the Girl《》, to say there’s none at all would be a joke, but it’s definitely not specifically aimed at them—Chi Ye and the pitifully low investment cost of the Girl《》 aren’t worth them doing that.
“To be honest, last time Old Yang was the problem; you throwing yourself under the bus was one thing, but it made the Big Shot《》 look like a god of war. Look, an ordinary quality crime film ended up creating a box office miracle, and even let that kid Chi Ye win an award… so embarrassing.”
Kunlun Mountains《》 activity live performance, backstage.
Director Lu crossed his legs and vented to the group of friends beside him: “No heroes means villains become famous. Look, let’s see how he stirs things up this time.”
Everyone around burst into laughter; Zhang Guowen looked down at his mobile phone: “That’s right; last time on a variety show, he even dared to mouth off against me and Old Wu. You tell me, how clueless is this guy.”
“Speaking of Old Wu, doesn’t Old Wu have a movie in the National Day Slot too? And Guoshi and Han Han; this year’s National Day Slot competition is pretty fierce.”
Teacher Bao, the second male lead of Kunlun Mountains《》, said.
“Yeah, but he’s not the lead; it’s Du Ou’s youth film as the lead. Wasn’t that Hong Kong film last year pretty profitable? He’s following the trend and shooting one too.”
Zhang Guowen said casually: “Starring Du Ou and Ling Han; my company also invested a bit.”
“That clashes genres with that whatever Those Years《》.”
Director Lu was surprised: “You’re in the same track this time; that’s a bit of a loss.”
Although they look down on Chi Ye, they have to admit Chi Ye’s current popularity and traffic, as well as… the Big Shot《》 and Golden Rooster Awards’ boost, which indeed adds a halo to Chi Ye now.
The Girl《》 may not match the other big productions in the National Day Slot, but if it’s the same type… how can Du Ou this freeloader compete with Chi Ye and Shang Youshu?
Rely on Ling Han alone?
“Youth film, investment just tens of millions, with Old Wu in a cameo, Du Ou and Ling Han as leads— it’ll break even in minutes.”
Zhang Guowen grinned, very pragmatic: “What same track? We’re in the money-making track; as long as it makes money, it’s fine. Can’t beat them? No big deal.”
Everyone: “…”
Director Lu gave a thumbs up: “You get it, Old Zhang; you really get it.”
Zhang Guowen smiled and said no more.
But Director Lu and Kunlun Mountains《》’s female protagonist Xu Yingying shook their heads, genuinely looking down on Zhang Guowen’s behavior of shooting bad movies for quick cash… as for them shooting some too… theirs aren’t bad movies!
At least in their hearts, they’re shooting epic juggernauts, masterpieces to save China’s industrial films.
“Alright, get ready; the activity is about to start… oh right, how much scheduling has Chi Ye’s youth film lost now?”
“Started at 20%, but after Guoshi and us scheduled, it lost 10%; now around 10% left.”
“Not good enough, still too much; communicate more with the cinemas. With our production investment, and they give so little scheduling—do they want to make money or not? Old Xu, you have connections; you go communicate.”
“Okay.”
Xu Yingying smiled and nodded.
…
The film circle isn’t a vague term, but a real, tangible circle that exists.
It has its own members, divided into many small circles; these small circles fight internally and compete for resources, but externally, they are undoubtedly “united.”
This unity isn’t childish kid stuff like “I’m good with you, you’re good with me”; understanding it that way is too naive.
The chain connecting them is very real and pragmatic: interests and money.
Led by Hua Yi and the backstage capital of the drama circle’s three major platforms, supplemented by collaborations between major film circle first-tier and super first-tier big stars, famous directors, screenwriters, and capital, this forms the current internal entertainment film circle.
They belong to different companies but have intricate private connections; they control over 80% of the film circle’s resources, including, naturally, the most important terminal cinema chains.
Such as China Film Stellar Media, China Film Digital, Bo Hai Cinema Chain, etc.; meanwhile, in recent years, Yue Na and Taiyang Entertainment have also been laying out cinema chains, through investment or cooperative holdings, initially taking shape on a scale.
Why is the film circle so closed and hard to enter?
Because Beijing Circle and other small circles control the content（ frontend production, casting, filming, post-production）; the capital they collaborate with controls the terminal cinema chains, and in recent years, through cooperation with Yue Na and Taiyang, they’ve gradually entered streaming media, Douyin, Kuaishou, and other platforms, filling the marketing publicity and distribution gap in the middle.
So, this circle has formed a perfect internal ecological circulation; outsiders wanting to break in have no choice but to integrate and join them.
Xu Yingying has wide connections, known as the internal entertainment’s Magneto King; she basically handles the Beijing Circle’s cinema chain relations, so most of the scheduling taken from the Girl《》 belongs to cinema chains affiliated with capital close to the Beijing Circle.
During the Big Shot《》, Chi Ye had Hong Kong Circle backing, plus the massive upset explosion and “Fortress incident” at release; to make money, even cinema chains close to the Beijing Circle went crazy with scheduling.
But this Girl《》 is a project completely independently completed by Chi Ye Studio; in other words, it has zero relation to the Hong Kong Circle. Meanwhile, Chi Ye’s various performances after the Big Shot《》 look very unsatisfactory in the eyes of the film circle’s “big shots.”
Thus, everything goes without saying: a small-budget youth film with a visible ceiling wants to stir up a storm in the National Day Slot—it’s far more difficult than imagined.
…
Mid-September.
The Girl《》’s roadshow and publicity and distribution are proceeding steadily.
And with the annual National Day Slot approaching, several big films set for release this year have been thoroughly hyped up.
Major media platforms, self-media accounts, including industry film critics, have lined up this year’s box office champion contenders.
Among them, three blockbusters are the most anticipated.
Namely: Rock《》 Kunlun Mountains《》 Climbing Number One《》
These three films: Rock《》 is directed by Guoshi, starring a film circle first-tier movie emperor, dual movie emperor setup, with major top streamer peanuts and veteran actors in supporting roles, a crackdown on gangsters crime film.
It has a bit of the vibe from this year’s Big Shot《》 early on; even the promotion keeps saying “on par with and surpassing.”
From the various “large-scale” clips circulating on Douyin, this film is obviously hot before release; many viewers who were baptized by the Big Shot《》 early this year and haven’t had enough are all looking forward to this movie’s release.
Dual movie emperors; the Big Shot《》 had just one, not to mention Rock《》 is Guoshi’s first crackdown on gangsters film—truly anticipated.
Maoyan, Taopiaopiao, and other professional software platforms predict final box office: 3.5-4 billion range（ with the Big Shot《》 precedent ahead）.
Second, Kunlun Mountains《》, no need to say more: film circle first-tier middle-aged actor movie emperor Zhang Guowen + one of the four great flowers Xu Yingying’s top-tier cast lineup, hailed as China’s industrialized special effects blockbuster, predicted box office 3.8-4.5 billion.
Finally, Climbing Number One《》.
This Climbing Number One《》 is also terrifying; it’s starring Wu Jing, currently China’s highest box office earner and box office guarantor, top of the six middle-aged actors, with Teacher Zhang as second lead, a climbing film piled with movie emperors and top streamers from film and drama circles.
Due to Wu Jing’s terrifying past performance, this film’s predicted box office is the highest, up to 4.5 billion+.
After that comes Chi Ye and Shang Youshu’s Girl《》, and Du Ou, Ling Han, Wu Yibo’s To Youth《》… and two animated films.
Because the opponents are too strong, with perverted cast lineups and genre reasons, the box office predictions for Girl《》 and To Youth《》 aren’t high; Girl《》 gets 800-900 million prediction thanks to Chi Ye’s boost, surpassing last year’s Fleet of Time《》 total box office.
But with the juggernauts successively arriving, Girl《》’s scheduling is severely compressed, and current predicted box office has dropped to around 600 million.
To Youth《》 has been hovering at 400-500 million.
Heroes gather, the grand curtain rises.
September 20.
Girl《》 Douyin activity live performance.
After the interaction, Chi Ye and Shang Youshu take a mid-event break.
Sister Shang shakes her head dejectedly, her long legs boredly lifting and lowering—she’s hungry, she’s tired, she’s so bored.
Chi Ye takes a phone call nearby; after hanging up, he sees Sister Shang’s miserable state.
“Get you some takeout?”
Sister Shang’s eyes light up: “No Wallace!”
“…You’re truly the net’s most respectful artist toward Wallace.”
Sister Shang grins: “Aw, Xiao Chi, isn’t this eating one loss and then another?”
Chi Ye: “Can you add ‘teacher’ at the end? How come after hanging out, you dropped my ‘honorific’?”
“Don’t sweat the details.”
Sister Shang wags her finger: “This makes us closer; I like calling you Xiao Chi because I’m older than you.”
“…Is being older something to be proud of?”
Sister Shang pauses, then thinks carefully: “Hmm… not proud, but it makes me happy, because then you’re the little brother, and you can keep yourself in check.”
Chi Ye: “?”
What kind of “Sister Shang logic” is this?
Don’t you know there’s a group that likes older sisters?
He shakes his head, deciding not to argue IQ issues with Sister Shang, since she’s clearly a bit silly, and he doesn’t want to bicker with her.
“Um… there’s some bad news I have to tell you.”
Sister Shang’s long legs pause; she side-eyes Chi Ye: “Don’t tell my ugly stuff!”
Chi Ye: “…It’s not me saying it; it’s already online—people blacking you for poor acting skills, coasting on past glory, fat and aware… oh right, and your ‘ugly photos’ comparison pics…”
Sister Shang opens her mouth, suddenly a bit angry: “Who! How dare they slander me out of nowhere!”
Chi Ye says nothing, but Sister Shang gets it: “The film circle folks again? Not only ‘soft banning’ me, but blacking me too?!”
Chi Ye feels a bit guilty: “Yeah, it’s them; several marketing accounts are fighting…”
“Wait.”
Sister Shang sees his expression and hears this, instantly sensing something off: “Did you do something?”
Chi Ye pauses, then says: “Didn’t do much; I just blacked them first.”
Sister Shang: “…”
“Then they have reason to black me.”
She actually understands him and sincerely says: “Then I’m not mad; we struck first anyway!”
Chi Ye: “…So envious of your mindset.”
“What else can I do, go die? I can’t; I’m so beautiful… I can’t have issues; I want to keep playing; I have decades of great times ahead.”
Chi Ye: “Sis is sis; respect.”
He really admires Sister Shang’s mindset; sometimes he thinks if you threw Sister Shang on a deserted island alone, gave her a mobile phone and regular snack deliveries, locked her up for a year or so, she wouldn’t get bored… because she could entertain herself—that might be her “dream” life.
Um… he doesn’t have that mindset, because he finds not just one “counterattacking” him; the ones he’s peng ci roasting are ally friends and Director Lu, but blacking him are Rock《》 Climbing Number One《》 and all the film circle investors.
Taiyang Entertainment didn’t black him because of Shi Jinwei.
But Yue Na did.
At this moment, the industry seems calm on the surface; Douyin and Weibo seem to be normally discussing plot, but related hot word topics like #Youth Film Gua Jiu Cai# #Shang Youshu Box Office Poison# #Deep Dive Chi Ye Studio# are steadily rising.
Among them, #Youth Film Gua Jiu Cai# really can’t be refuted… because to smear opponents, they even “friendly fire” the ally To Youth《》.
And it’s true; youth films are blatantly gua jiu cai; it’s been like that since last year, nonstop, even sneaking two “weird things” into the year’s hottest National Day Slot, with precedents.
But #Shang Youshu Box Office Poison# and #Deep Dive Chi Ye Studio# are a bit too much.
Because these two topics: one is Sister Shang personally getting madly blacked by little flowers jealous of her, the other straight pokes Chi Ye’s heart.
On the surface nothing, but with paid commenters fermenting, the topics inevitably reach Chi Ye after the Big Shot《》 not acting in good works, instead solely funding a youth film for his studio to scam fans for money, with the intent written on his forehead.
Wait… though it’s true, but… how can you poke through that paper window?
Besides, poor quality is gua jiu cai; good quality is a milestone work in Chinese youth films, a classic!
Truly unreasonable.
Chi Ye thinks more and more he can’t just let the film circle keep outputting at him…
He calls Keke again, discusses for ten minutes, then says: “Today then; release the song first, let them see how youth film marketing is done.”
“Okay.”
Keke hangs up.
Sister Shang, who just sneaked a taste of the activity organizer’s fruit nearby, smacks her lips, notices Chi Ye’s expression, curious: “Song? What song?”
“Related to the movie; what else could it be?”
“…Sunny Day《》?”
Sister Shang’s mouth drops open, eyes roll, whispers: “Then you… you have more than one; I remember you wrote a bunch for this movie, all used in the plot… but I like Sunny Day《》 best!”
“I like it too… um… lots of songs; gotta take it step by step.”
Chi Ye nods; for the Girl《》 movie, it’s probably the most “luxurious” OST in all his works so far, every track a killer gold hit.
Yes, Chi Ye said long ago: I’m not just an actor; I’m also a singer, marketing master.
How come no one pays attention?
