Volume 3: Taking Roots 2016 Chapter 626 Opening Ceremony
This time, Zhou Dongsheng traveled thousands of miles to the city of Sijiu, which was under the feet of the emperor. Finally, he was no longer alone.
Not only did he bring an assistant, but he also had a several-member team responsible for filming. The group walked out of the airport in a grand manner, and they really had the style of big stars, attracting the attention of passers-by at the airport.
After all, in Beijing, it is not uncommon to see all kinds of big stars. The number of stars who have been caught here alone is so large that you can’t even count them with two hands.
Who knows, there might be a few mysterious Chaoyang people hiding among these pedestrians, watching them closely.
Well, of course Zhou Dongsheng is absolutely a good citizen who abides by the law. He dare not touch the red line of breaking the law and committing crimes at all. After all, the unspeakable sword of Damocles hanging over his head will have the power to "destroy the world" once it falls.
Getting back to the point, the reason why Zhou Dongsheng mobilized so many troops this time was certainly not because he became famous overnight and started to have the burden of being an idol and started to act like a big star.
Just having such a good opportunity to participate in the opening ceremony of "Wolf Warrior 2", plus "bringing money into the crew" and taking on a guest role and many other elements come together, isn't this an excellent material that is right in front of us?
Now that "The Boring Life of Zhou Dongsheng" has been produced and has been a successful start, Zhou Dongsheng is naturally in the mood to play and wants to make the show bigger and stronger.
And if he wants to achieve the effect of surpassing his predecessor, he naturally cannot take the usual path. Compared with the steady and cautious approach of the original version, Zhou Dongsheng naturally wants to take the path of making a big splash without making a sound.
The effect he wants to achieve is obviously not a phenomenal series of works created by piling up quantity, but quality rather than quantity. Each issue of the work must have a certain quality assurance and have a high probability of becoming a hit.
The approach is to not open for three years and then make a living for three years after opening. After all, Zhou Dongsheng does not need to make a living from this, and there is no so-called pressure to update. It all depends on personal preference. This is just his entertainment project.
There are enough money-making projects, and there must be some entertainment projects to cultivate one's sentiments.
From the first short video, Zhou Dongsheng obviously wanted to create a cynical character, otherwise how could he show that "the life of rich people is so simple and boring"?
Investing in a movie and playing a cameo role in it obviously falls into the category of being simple and unpretentious.
As for the polishing and dubbing of the lines, it is obviously enough to leave it to the post-production team. The photography team around Zhou Dongsheng only needs to accumulate materials.
At the same time, we can also take this opportunity to promote "Wolf Warrior 2" and expose it in advance. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation for everyone?
It will also allow his phenomenal popularity to make full use of its residual heat, and when he creates the box office record that dominates the history of Chinese film in the future, Zhou Dongsheng will have a larger share of the credit.
With their minds busy calculating, they all left the airport, got into the car that had been waiting for a long time, and headed to the hotel that Director Wu had already prepared for them.
The opening ceremony was just about to take place in the next two days. Director Wu, who had high hopes for this film, naturally did not neglect it at all. Even for the opening ceremony, he invited many guests to come to the scene to liven up the scene.
These guests are basically from major film and television companies in the industry, and are also the investors of the films. Although they are behind the scenes, the audience knows little about them.
Even though their company's name appears at the beginning and end of a movie, that's obviously not what the audience cares about.
There is no doubt that compared to the group of stars standing on the stage, these talents are the real backbone supporting the development of the film and television industry.
Compared with these professionals in the film and television industry, the role played by Zhou Dongsheng, the investor, is indeed becoming more and more like a "coal boss".
But besides giving money, Zhou Dongsheng can play a bigger role...
After the group arrived at the hotel and settled down, before Zhou Dongsheng could take the initiative to look for him, a dark-skinned man wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and a baseball cap appeared in front of Zhou Dongsheng.
There was also a striking white logo printed on the thick of the black short-sleeved shirt. As if noticing Zhou Dongsheng's gaze, Director Wu turned around and showed the even more striking logo on the back.
A white logo with steel wings spread out, with the two words . At the same time, there are eight concise and to the point characters arranged vertically below, "Whoever offends China will be punished, no matter how far away they are"!
It may seem very childish at first glance, but these eight characters really make one's blood boil. As long as one's blood is still hot, one will always be touched by the profound meaning contained in them.
"How about it? Dongsheng, isn't my shirt nice? I prepared one for you as well. Everyone will get one at the opening ceremony. That scene will definitely be grand!" Director Wu pointed at himself with his thumbs up and boasted in a very cocky manner.
"Okay, now that I'm here, then of course everything will be arranged by Director Wu. After all, in the crew, the director is the most important person in the world." Zhou Dongsheng said readily.
"Okay, you are quite sensible boy. I didn't expect that after becoming so popular recently, you, a young hunk, didn't let fame and fortune go to your head!" Director Wu showed a happy smile, put his arm around Zhou Dongsheng's shoulders, and teased with great satisfaction.
"This little fame and fortune isn't enough to go to my head, but the achievement of starring in Director Wu's movie is enough for me to brag about for a while." Zhou Dongsheng seemed to be being carried by others in a fancy sedan, but he was just telling the truth as if joking.
"Well, it's too early to say that now. It's better to wait until I finish shooting the movie. But I dare to guarantee that this must be a great movie..." Director Wu said confidently.
After all, if the director doesn’t even have this much confidence in his work, how can he convince investors? At present, the market for the movie "Wolf Warrior 2" has reached an investment scale of 200 million yuan.
This scale has already reached the threshold of blockbuster films in the film industry and can be called a Class A production. In terms of odds, it is second only to the famous directors standing at the top of the domestic pyramid.
Of course, the establishment of this investment confidence was also earned by Director Wu through the best-selling previous work. This trust is still relatively weak at present. If the box office of this sequel fails miserably, I believe that most investors will flee without mercy .
A relationship dominated by interests is strong yet very fragile at the same time; this contradiction is precisely human nature.
"That's natural. From the moment I decided to support Director Wu's film, I firmly believed that this would be a great film. It would surely be a blockbuster when it is released and rewrite the history of Chinese films..."
“If I didn’t think so highly of Director Wu, I wouldn’t have chosen to take the risk, right? I’m risking my old face…” Zhou Dongsheng said with a righteous look on his face, as if he was going to hell if I didn’t.
"Okay, I like your enthusiasm, and I'll remember this kindness, but let's be honest. Filming is no joke. If you can't meet the standards, we have to change people..."
In line with his responsible attitude towards the film, Director Wu still said very seriously that although he was very envious of Zhou Dongsheng's bonuses and the invisible benefits that his guest role could bring to the film...
However, the subject matter of this film itself has already determined that it will not be easy to shoot, and Director Wu will naturally not compromise on quality because of investment.
Otherwise… there are plenty of investors who want to insert young actors in his movies, and the price they offer is not a small amount. If the previous movie faced the dilemma of mortgaging the house, maybe Director Wu would really be tempted…
"Director Wu, don't worry about this. Since I dare to come here, it means I am mentally prepared to learn something from you. I am not a lucky person like Principal Wang who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I am serious about hard work..."
Zhou Dongsheng assured with a serious face that although he could play around, he had done enough mental preparation. After all, for such a huge project worth 5 billion, Zhou Dongsheng didn't want to be the worst part of it.
At the very least, we have to be the icing on the cake. It would be even better if it can make the box office record higher.
"Okay, let's not talk too much. I'll take you to meet some leaders and friends of the film production company. I heard that you have invested in another movie, so you must need connections in this area..."
"After all, the entire process of a movie, from production to distribution, needs to be handled by professionals." Director Wu put his arm around Zhou Dongsheng's shoulders affectionately, and was extremely satisfied with Zhou Dongsheng's performance, and pulled him out.
"Director Wu is quite well-informed. You know all this. Okay, let's go. By the way, you should have seen my short video, right?" Zhou Dongsheng mentioned casually.
“I’ve seen it. Although it’s only less than a minute, it’s not hard to see that you have some acting talent. It’s not just your appearance…” Director Wu was so happy that he couldn’t stop smiling.
"I have thought of the material for the second issue. I will use this movie as the material to create the second short video. By the way, I can also promote it for us. What do you think?" Zhou Dongsheng gave Director Wu a shot of prevention in advance.
Director Wu naturally accepted this good thing without hesitation. For any film producer, the more publicity and promotion resources there are, the better.
Some film producers even resort to all means, even resorting to despicable tactics, in order to compete for such a small amount of publicity and promotion resources.
After all, so-called decency is worth only a few dollars. When it comes to real money, no matter how ugly the behavior is, it is not excessive. After all, decency can only be maintained with money.
…
The next day, at a film and television base located on the outskirts of Beijing, there were red flags waving, crowds of people, loud gongs and drums, and firecrackers, creating a bustling scene of excitement.
In an open space, a table was covered with red satin, on which were placed three incense burners, two large candles, exquisite fruits and roasted suckling pig. There were also several cameras covered with red cloth on the side.
This opening ceremony, which is said to have originated in Hong Kong Island, has now become an unwritten rule in the Chinese film industry. As the saying goes, the poor tell fortunes, while the rich burn incense. In projects involving investments of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions, everyone is obviously happy to abide by such rules for the sake of a good omen.
This kind of ceremony is certainly not unfamiliar to Zhou Dongsheng. Compared with the grand level of Chaoshan worship of gods, this opening ceremony is already very subtle.
Only a roasted suckling pig was used to replace the three livestock and five animals. It was purely a process diagram with good intentions, just like cramming before a battle. It is a good thing to worship with no harm and no one will suffer.
Above the incense burner, there was a banner that read "The Start-up Ceremony of the Movie "Wolf Warrior 2"".
All the people related to the film at the scene were wearing Wolf Warrior T-shirts prepared by Director Wu. The uniform black clothes were obviously not a good sign.
But for the movie box office, it is a well-deserved good omen. What title could be more satisfying than "box office dark horse"? (Funny)
A film crew consists of a few people in front of the stage, but there are nearly a hundred people behind the scenes to protect the entire crew.
Not to mention the representatives of film and television companies and some reporters who were present. The entire opening ceremony was extremely lively and not as deserted as Zhou Dongsheng had imagined.
The process of the opening ceremony was also very simple. It started with a collective incense-burning session. This process alone took more than half an hour. The three incense burners were filled to the brim, and the scene was filled with a strong incense-burning atmosphere.
Afterwards, Director Wu, as the director, walked in front of the crowd with the manuscript and delivered his speech amid applause.
"Today in 2016 is a great day, a great movie is about to be born..."
There was thunderous applause at the scene, and Zhou Dongsheng took the lead in cheering, attracting everyone's attention.
"We are all gathered here for the movie Wolf Warriors 2. I am very excited. 20 years ago, I joined Huanyou and filmed my first movie. Now, 20 years later, I am back with my own achievements and my own team..."
Director Wu gave a speech reminiscing about the good and bad times, but it was not sentimental. After finishing it briefly, he began to introduce the guests one by one.
“…and my good brother, investor and friendly guest star in the movie, Zhou Dongsheng! I’m sure everyone is familiar with him, so I won’t introduce him in detail!” Director Wu smiled and pointed at Zhou Dongsheng.
"We have a tight shooting schedule and a heavy task, but I still want to emphasize again and again that safety, safety, and safety are our crew's top priority. I hope everyone can demonstrate their best attitude and best professional skills to make Wolf Warriors 2 a masterpiece and create greater glory! Thank you all!"
After the director finished his speech, everyone gathered together symbolically and ceremoniously unveiled the red veil of the camera, thus completing the opening ceremony.
After that, there was a group photo session and interviews with reporters. However, unexpectedly, the most popular person among reporters was not Director Wu, who directed and acted in the film, nor Ni Ni, who played the leading female role. Instead, it was Zhou Dongsheng who attracted the most attention.
"Hello Mr. Zhou, can I interview you? What do you think about the sensation caused by the short video "Zhou Dongsheng's Boring Life" on the Internet?"
"It is reported that this is a short video series of micro dramas. When will the next work be released?"
"He just finished shooting the short video and started filming the movie the next moment. Is Mr. Zhou planning to enter the film and television industry in a big way..."
Topics like these came pouring in along with the microphone, almost hitting Zhou Dongsheng in the face. Although Zhou Dongsheng was somewhat overwhelmed, he still put on a dull face as if he was indifferent to everything...
Because, at this time, his photographer had already set up the camera to faithfully record this rare footage...
