Chapter 43: To do art you need to eat first

The summer season of 2005 was a carnival for the media. Sales of newspapers and magazines soared, and clicks on online media surged!

For the audience, after watching "Crazy Stone", they are happy themselves, their relatives and friends are happy, they can drink Coke and get coupons. It's pretty good.

For movie theaters, this is a long-awaited grand event. Audiences are willing to go to the theaters again. They can earn box office revenue and sell popcorn.

For China Film Group and Qingdao Film Group, small investment and big returns not only brought political achievements but also high profits.

For Lin Yicheng, this was his moment to become famous in the film industry. In the future, whenever Director Lin wanted to make a movie, investors, cinemas, and actors would all give him face, and the audience also recognized him.

For other companies in the film and television industry, they have learned so much, whether they want to enter the film industry or are already in the film industry.

Lin Yicheng's dazzling operations left them dazzled. For the first time, they realized that movies are not just movies.

……

But for the Hong Kong circle, it is a disaster.

They couldn't figure out what was going on.
They are aware of the decline of Hong Kong films. They are also aware that they have been defeated by Hollywood in Southeast Asia, especially in Taiwan. They are even more aware that they are on the verge of losing the local market!

So in this situation, they chose to save themselves and made "Infernal Affairs" to save the world, but it was only a flash in the pan, and other films remained the same.

We tried to enter the mainland and open up new markets, but unfortunately we suffered a lot.

Haven't those mainland bumpkins always liked to watch Hong Kong movies? What's wrong with this now?
Why is it that we have come up with all kinds of tricks, such as costume comedy, modern police and gangster movies, and still can't do it? Now even martial arts films like "Seven Swords", with big casts and big productions, have failed?
Why, apart from Zhou Xingchi, other famous directors including Wang Pangzi, Huang Baiming, Du Qifeng, Chen Jiashang, etc., have repeatedly failed? Now Xu Ke has been added to the list!
What happened to the bumpkins on the mainland?
If they have become smarter and are not easy to fool, what should we do?
Almost all film practitioners in Hong Kong are thinking about these issues.

……

You see, this is the biggest problem in the Hong Kong circle.

They have always looked down upon mainland audiences from a high position.

I thought that the mainland audiences had never seen tall buildings, luxury cars and beauties, or gunfights and fighting scenes...

They always shrink there, like a frog in a well, thinking that the sky is only that big.

They always like to use the old methods from 20 years ago such as selling casts and trailers, flying papers, rushing to finish the film, etc.

They just keep reshuffling the protagonists. Today, Zhang San plays the protagonist, and Li Si plays the supporting role. Tomorrow, Li Si plays the protagonist, and Zhang San and Wang Ermaizi play the supporting roles.

They just tinker with things from 10 or 20 years ago, replacing the big brothers in the drama with mobile phones, and desktop computers with laptops, and giving them a new look. This is innovation.

So, even if they were trampled by dinosaurs and hit by big ships, even if they suffered a lot in the mainland market.

They never think that there is something wrong with them, but rather that Hollywood is too overbearing, local citizens do not support Hong Kong films, mainland bumpkins are difficult to please, and so on.

Come on, it’s the 21st century! The whole village has internet access!
……

Okay, let’s get back to the topic.

When the time came to August 8, after more than 27 days of screening, the box office of "Crazy Stone" officially exceeded 40 million!
China Film Group, Qingdao Film Group and Galaxy Film Group held a celebration banquet at a hotel in Beijing.

All the well-known people in the circle, anyone who has a name, wants to get in.

Whether it's to establish good relations with China Film Group Qingying or to become familiar with Lin Yicheng, it's all fine!

Right now, just like the premiere day.

It’s just that more people came today, and more people came for Lin Yicheng!

Lin Yicheng, Han Sanye and Xie Xiaojing raised their hammers together and smashed them on the 200000000 ice sculpture, and applause broke out at the scene.

……

After receiving a business card that was about the thickness of a deck of playing cards and looking at more than a dozen pairs of car lights, Lin Yicheng found a quiet place to sit down.

The big guys either gathered in groups of three or five, discussing cooperation, or raised their glasses and talked loudly, arousing cheers from the people around them.

The actresses were all dressed up, walking between the producers and directors, smiling sweetly and charmingly.

Look, what a brilliant and beautiful circle!

In his previous life, he yearned for such a circle and tried his best to climb up. In this life, he was in this circle and suddenly felt a little bored.

Lin Yicheng chuckled and realized that he was being pretentious.

At this time, Huang Bo came over.

"Director, are you free?"

"Yes, what's wrong, Brother Bo?" Lin Yicheng asked.

The two have a pretty good relationship and can often chat with each other.

"It's like this, someone wants to ask me to film a movie, but I don't know whether I should accept it or not."

"What drama?"

"A director named A-Gump approached me and Zeng Zhiwei, but when I read the script, I found it a bit strange."

"Strange?" Lin Yicheng thought about it, could it be that "Big Movie"?
"It's just quite nonsense." Huang Bo said tactfully.

"What did Zongge say?"

Previously, through Lin Yicheng's introduction, Zong Shuai's company signed Huang Bo and Dong Shu.

Lin Yicheng had previously considered whether Xinghe Film and Television should engage in artist management, but later gave up.

The main reason is that actors’ pay is too low nowadays. Even if there is income from commercial performances, the agency cannot make much money.

Xinghe Film and Television Company has few staff to begin with, and cannot spare anyone to take charge of the agency business.

If you meet a suitable actor now, you can introduce him to Zong Shuai, and then you can invest in his company later.

As for the arrival of the traffic era, you can consider signing a few top traffic stars.

"Brother Zong means that I can accept it or not, it depends on my own opinion."

"How much do you get paid?"

Seeing the numbers Huang Bo gestured, Lin Yicheng understood.

"Then take it. But Brother Bo, for some dramas, it's okay to take one or two, but if you take too many, it will affect your reputation and backfire."

That "Big Movie" is just a bad movie, it was made purely for the purpose of making quick money. Currently, the most popular actors in mainland China can be said to be the leading actors in "Crazy Stone".

Veteran stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan + the most popular male/female actors from the mainland, what a familiar money-making routine in the Hong Kong circle, still being used 20 years later.

"Actually, I can tell from the script what the play is like, and I also know why they chose me, but sometimes, alas..." Huang Bo sighed.

Lin Yicheng could understand what he meant.

The reason why this guy was later praised for his high emotional intelligence was because of his past experiences.

He has formed his own band, started his own company, and worked as a resident singer in a bar. In order to be able to act, he took a detour and enrolled in the dubbing class of Beijing Film Academy. He was the oldest student in the class of 02, ten years older than the others.

Only he himself knows how much sadness and contempt he has experienced along the way.

His salary for "Crazy Stone" was only 1 yuan, but now someone is offering him a salary of dozens of times higher than that. Who wouldn't be tempted?

You need to make a living to do art.

As far as Lin Yicheng knows, many people including Guo Tao, Liu Hua, Yue Xiaojun and others have received many invitations.

Many actors don’t have that many plans for themselves. They are happy just to have a role to play and get paid.

"Brother Bo, I will look for you to film in the future. No matter what, don't give up your acting skills. This is what you do to make a living." Lin Yicheng patted Huang Bo on the shoulder and said.

"I know that with my looks, if I don't have acting skills, I really won't be able to make it." Huang Bo smiled, with a clear understanding of himself.

(End of this chapter)