Chapter 640 638. The Death of the Soviet Union
《Big news! The crew of "Jinling Thirteen Hairpins" fired four leaking actors! "
When Xu Xin saw the news, the plane was about to take off.
He didn't read the content.
Some things, just know the result.
What's more, this process was planned by him alone.
After turning off the IPAD, he sent a message to Yang Mi:
"The news is out."
"Well, see, fire. What else needs to be done next?"
"Wait. Zhang Weiping is not a guy who likes to suffer from being dumb. If he suffers this time, he will definitely get it back in other ways. We just need to wait for him to make a move."
"...what if the guide suffers a loss?"
"Loss, the old man will definitely eat it. If he doesn't suffer, why should I continue to operate?"
"Okay. Then let's talk about it, where are you going now?"
"Chengdu."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, okay?"
"Happy cooperation, brother."
"Hee hee, good, big brother!"
Laughing, he ended the communication with his wife.
Soon, the private plane burst into the clouds.
A new journey begins.
…
For "The Hawthorn"... If Xu Xin were to sum up this promotional itinerary, the biggest feeling would be tiredness.
After leaving Yanjing and arriving in Chengdu on the night of the 14th, he traveled to two cities a day on average and flew across the country.
On the 15th, Chengdu in the morning, Chongqing in the afternoon, and then boarded the plane to Guangdong that night.
Guangdong, AH, Zhengzhou, Wuhan…
On average, one city in the morning and one city in the afternoon, combined with publicity such as radio broadcasts, online media interviews, etc., the time is tight like a spell to urge death.
wears him out.
It made him miss the old days very much.
How easy it was in the past, he is a little transparent in the entertainment industry, and he has no opponents when the movie is released, just follow the crew to mix a few promotions.
But...Since this society has entered the era of smart phones, the promotion carrier seems...the rhythm has become a little different.
The box office of Chinese-language movies has been rising year after year, but the investment ratio that can be promoted has become larger and larger.
The total cost of filming "The Hawthorn Tree" was only 1,800 to 2,000, but now the cost of publicity, excluding the previous ones, has been stretched to 15 million since the official publicity period.
Ridiculously high.
What a good family? Fifteen million for ten days?
The money flowed out like running water.
Xu Xin felt that the publicity expenses were a bit exaggerated...
It's not that I feel sorry for money, but I look at it in terms of "shooting costs".
The publicity cost of a movie is almost catching up with the shooting cost. Are you saying something outrageous?
But someone is more exaggerated than him.
"If You Are the One 2" compared to the test screening, they prefer to use resources with great fanfare.
The background of the Beijing circle was suddenly placed in front of everyone.
The first is Weibo.
Huayi's artists collectively called for Director Feng's movie.
Everyone's Weibo will have a Weibo related to ""If You Are the One 2" will be released on December 22nd".
Then, with the "Footprint" function developed by Weibo, everyone can see which Weibo posts their favorite stars have posted comments on. Many people liked the news related to "If You Are the One 2".
And these "indiscriminate bombings" are like a complex but extremely precise tree diagram, which makes the online marketing of "If You Are the One 2" quite overwhelming.
Then there are various media conferences.
Please watch the media, interview after watching, and the interview video will directly appear on the boards of various entertainment news websites.
High-definition, no ads, watch casually.
Then, the entrances of theaters in major cities, the most golden advertising spots, and the life-size advertisements of "If You Are the One 2" with Ge You, Yao Chen, Shu Qi, Sun Honglei and others became even more important.
From the beginning of the promotional period of the movie, they haven't come down.
And don’t mention all kinds of radio, commercials, or hot posts...
They also took over the 30 seconds of prime advertising time before the filming of movies in major theaters.
Compared with "If You Are the One 2", in Xu Xin's eyes, the propaganda method of "The Hawthorn Tree", which Xu Xin finds extremely absurd, is like a younger brother.
Moreover, the overwhelming publicity of "If You Are the One" made Xu Xin feel ashamed.
In the past, he only knew that the Beijing circle was very powerful, but he never dared to underestimate this circle.
But now... as this tangled thing suddenly revealed the tip of the iceberg, the majestic background still made his heart tremble.
Knew it…
They didn't lose this battle, and we didn't win either.
Tut.
He was full of emotion, but he didn't feel unconvinced.
I don’t even think there’s anything wrong with being “poor” who works so hard to promote.
Some things in this world pay attention to an equivalent exchange.
Their stupid method costs less money but is hard work.
How about the propaganda of "If You Are the One", is it powerful? The answer is yes.
But they also cost a lot.
According to Wang Sicong's words, "If You Are the One 2" is just a trailer on the big screen at the entrance, the price of a day is astronomical.
Not to mention anything else, only the 30-second commercials before the start of other movies, Wanda counts in terms of "hall".
One week, one hall, 30 seconds, 4,500 yuan.
This figure seems cheap at first glance. In a week, so many movies are shown in each hall, and an advertisement will be played for you in the first 30 seconds of each movie, and the fee is only 4,500 yuan. Cheap, right?
It's almost like cabbage.
However, there is a problem here...
How many halls does a single Wanda Cinema have?
Old Wang gave an accurate number:
“As of now, Wanda has a total of 142 theaters in operation in 73 cities across the country, with a total of 1,247 large screens.” (Note 1)
1247 screens are 1247 halls.
The number of screens in movie theaters across the country exceeds 8,500.
There are more than 30 movie theater brands in chain operation.
Although he didn't know how many theater brands other than Wanda had released "If You Are the One 2".
But I want to come...the top 10 brands must have launched.
As for the Guang Wanda family, the 30-second opening advertisement for a week is more than five million, and this does not include the advertising space of the brand name at the entrance of the theater, and the advertising space of the promotional film that is played outside the theater and is charged according to the number of times.
You just think about it.
Start at 5 million, and then decrease according to the number of theater brands. No matter how you estimate it, in ten days, the cost of rigid advertising alone will not be less than 70 million.
Combined with the overwhelming publicity campaign, the Huayi people spent nearly 150 million on publicity expenses at least.
The publicity of 150 million real gold and silver has created today's overwhelming.
How can I compare the 15 million yuan that I feel is an exaggeration with others?
This exaggerated scale, in fact, anyone with a discerning eye knows what's going on.
Normally, the Huayi people would not spend so much money on a movie... Not to mention, "Tangshan Earthquake" had a box office of 670 million, and its promotional cost was less than 70 million.
A "If You Are the One 2", if there is no other reason, if it is promoted normally, 50 million will not be used up.
Why would they do this?
Didn't he just want to suppress Xu Xin?
Suppress Xu Xin, suppress the Northwest Circle.
Who made them make such big moves in the past two years.
But the problem is...
You are a commercial film, how did you think about it? Comparing publicity and box office with a literary film.
Reasonable or not, let alone...
What can you do even if you win?
Is it glorious?
…
"I got the news. I just found out. Their total budget for this time is close to 140 million. The theater chains including Wanda have given a lot of discounts, and they have also increased the share ratio. But Wanda gave the least. , this should be due to Sicong."
Hearing this, Xu Xin sat on the sofa and asked on the phone with some doubts:
"It's so good, why do other people give such a big discount?"
"It's not clear. But...they are definitely pushing."
Qi Lei's voice also had some doubts.
But before he finished speaking, Xu Xin asserted:
"But this kind of force is not normal."
“…Which aspect specifically?”
Qi Lei asked.
"I... have to think about it, this thing is kind of weird."
Xu Xin fell into deep thought.
Indeed, this force is not normal.
It is normal for theaters to give discounts for the large amount of advertisements.
It is normal to increase the share ratio.
After all, so much advertising money has been invested in you, so it’s not too much to sell in proportion.
but…
Intuition told him that something was wrong.
How does it feel... There is a pit in it.
After being silent for a while, Qi Lei said:
"Okay, don't think about these things for now. The movie will be released the day after tomorrow. After the last stop tomorrow, let's go back to Yanjing and talk about it, how about it?"
"...Okay, that's it for now, Brother Qi, I'm dead."
The phone hung up, his eyes were a little empty, and he fell into deep thought again.
And just then...
"Old Xu, here we are."
Xu Xin subconsciously picked it up with his hand, and a cigarette landed on the table next to his hand.
Lin Zhixin threw it over.
Seeing that the two of them were about to smoke, Liu Yifei, who was sitting on the sofa on the other side, got up and opened the window.
The three are in Shenzhen now.
And now it is the night of the 20th.
After many days of hard work, everyone's faces were covered with a layer of wind and frost.
But the weather in Shenzhen is warm, so it's quite comfortable to stay here.
"Hoo..."
He lit the cigarette and let out a long sigh of relief.
Then he threw the lighter to Lin Juxin.
Smoking has no fire, second-class smoker.
After Lin Xingxin ignited it, he flicked it, and threw the lighter on the table again, but it was still some distance away from Xu Xin.
But neither of them cared.
I heard Lin Xunxin say:
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"
"…Um."
Xu Xin responded.
"Is there a conspiracy?"
He continued to ask.
But Xu Xin shook his head:
"Don't know, but I think it's kind of weird. Maybe it's not a conspiracy, but it doesn't feel right to me."
"What's wrong?"
"I…"
Xu Xin, who couldn't tell why, waved his hand:
"I'll think about it myself."
Afterwards, he fell into deep thought.
But after thinking about it for a while, I found that I couldn't figure it out.
Subconsciously, he took out his phone and called Wang Sicong.
"Doo...Hello."
Wang Sicong's voice was a bit noisy.
"Where are you?"
"I was about to go out for dinner with others in the car. Seventh Brother introduced a music producer who knows many singers. I'll go see him. What's wrong? Say it."
"...you help me ask the people in the theater who is talking about the cooperation with "If You Are the One", the detailed content details, etc., help me ask, how about it?"
"OK, now?"
"Yes, now."
"Okay. Then you wait for my news."
Wang Sicong agreed without any delay.
After finishing the call, Xu Xin leaned on the sofa and let out a long sigh.
Then I saw Sister Shenxian staring at the table, the fruit plate and snacks presented by Wanda Hotel were in a daze.
"…You are hungry?"
he asked.
But Sister Shenxian shook her head vigorously, swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said:
"Not hungry."
Lin Juxin was immediately happy when he saw this:
"Aren't you hungry?"
"Don't be annoying!"
Liu Yifei rolled his eyes:
"I ate two cucumbers at night, and I'm having trouble right now."
"Don't you tell Lao Xu that you are not hungry?"
"I'm just not hungry! What's wrong!"
"OK OK OK..."
The two started talking and laughing.
Xu Xin, on the other hand, was rather simple, picking up a piece of macaron from the snack plate:
"Here, try it? This is 0 calories for people who are not fat."
"You! Why are you as annoying as him!"
Sister Immortal's mentality is a bit broken.
Simply ignore them.
The three of them are now in the hotel, waiting to participate in the event tomorrow.
After many days, in order to cope with the publicity period, they are all exhausted. And because of the intensive itinerary, everyone is basically at the hotel and the work site.
I have spare time, and I don’t have any entertainment.
The biggest solution is that the three of them get together to fight the landlord.
After joking for a while, Wang Sicong wrote back:
"Hey, I asked how they talked... It's nothing wrong, it's all the same routine. I hope to use a large amount of advertising in exchange for advertising discounts and increased revenue. With me, the people in the company will definitely not agree. And Their negotiating routines are all normal, and they mentioned long-term cooperation...but everyone has heard enough of this kind of empty talk..."
"Wait a minute. What did you just say?"
Suddenly, Xu Xin was taken aback.
"…What?"
"What long-term cooperation?"
Xu Xin felt as if he had grasped something, so he hurriedly asked:
"They said they want a long-term cooperation?"
"That's right... Hey, who would believe such words? They're not children. Let's not mention the relationship between the two of us. Objectively speaking, they made such a big move this time, isn't it just to target you? But what about the next one? Hua Righteousness is true for big companies, but they can only produce a few movies a year? Even if they target you everywhere, for the theater chain, it is not something that shakes our own interests. This is telling you and the boss: You give me cheap Let me introduce some more clients to you. This sentence makes sense..."
"..."
Wang Sicong said it easily, but Xu Xin frowned completely.
Frowning, thinking, until Wang Sicong asked the sentence:
"What's the matter? Why don't you talk?"
He suddenly asked:
"But what if this matter is really long-term?"
"Chick."
Wang Sicong sneered directly:
"That's even more impossible. Let's not talk about whether their intention of targeting will be so obvious...I won't mention it, just talk about Xiying Studio. They really think Xiying Studio is easy to bully? Others won't fight back?"
"But what if all they want is for us to fight back?"
Xu Xin said another sentence.
Now, Wang Sicong was stunned.
"Well…"
"How do you think the Soviet Union died?"
Xu Xin suddenly asked such a sentence.
And his words made Lin Juxin and Liu Yifei frown at the same time.
But Xu Xin himself has a feeling of seeing the moon through the clouds and mists at this moment.
Although he was still not sure whether what he had imagined was right or wrong, he finally found the "rationality" of this matter.
Question: How did the Soviet Union die?
Maybe people with different answers can submit different answers.
But for him, there is only one answer.
The country's industrial structure is unreasonable, resulting in a serious imbalance in productivity.
eventually led to the demise of this behemoth.
Maybe one-sided, maybe in the eyes of others, this answer is ridiculous.
But at this moment, it is the most appropriate answer when used here.
but…
He still needs to think about it carefully, so after leaving a suspense for Wang Sicong, he said directly:
"I'll hang up first."
"Uh... good."
Wang Sicong hung up the phone, and sat in the car also lost in thought.
How did the Soviet Union die?
Old Xu's question... Interesting.
He was thinking about this all the way, and he didn't stop until the commercial vehicle arrived at the hotel.
When Guo Ping was looking for a room, he followed behind, always looking preoccupied.
Until the door of the box was pushed open.
"Hello, Brother Cong."
Hearing this, he looked up and found Xi Wei herself, and said to Guo Ping:
"Okay, Apple, you can go to Dafa."
"OK."
Guo Ping nodded and left quickly.
After greeting Xie Wei, Wang Sicong asked:
"That one hasn't come yet?"
"Teacher Liang hasn't arrived yet, so it's probably coming soon."
"oh."
Wang Sicong nodded, sat down on the reception sofa in the luxury box, and fell into deep thought again.
Seeing this, Xi Wei asked curiously:
"Brother Cong, what's wrong with you? You look absent-minded."
“…I was thinking about something.”
Wang Sicong responded.
Xi Wei was taken aback for a moment:
"What's the matter?"
“…how the Soviet Union died.”
"..."
Xi Wei's mouth twitched.
Accident?
Not really.
Brother Cong is indeed a very talented person, and his talent... people who have little contact with him may not be able to see it.
But after being in contact with him for a long time, I can feel that many things in his mind are beyond the understanding or thought of by ordinary people.
Although the matter in the Soviet Union is a "historical issue", but...
"Isn't the disintegration of the Soviet Union because of the United States?"
Isn't the answer obvious?
Xi Wei doesn't understand this.
This kind of thing has long been qualitative, what is there to discuss?
But Wang Sicong shook his head:
"No, there are "many kinds" of reasons why the USSR died, but I'm trying to find the only one that's right."
"..."
Now, Xie Wei was really speechless.
Brother, what are you talking about?
Bully me for being uneducated?
Or do you people who study philosophy like to talk like this?
but…
Let alone.
Brother Cong thinks about the problems that ordinary people really seldom think about. Tsk tsk, it's really different to be a talented person after all.
She looked at Wang Sicong and said heartily.
…
"You mean, Hua Yi... regards us as the Soviet Union?"
Compared to the puzzled Xie Wei, the two on Xu Xin's side were exceptionally clear.
Because they followed the development of the situation, they followed Xu Xin's thinking and were gradually brought to the present step.
After hanging up the phone, Liu Yifei was silent for a while, probably after having made a judgment on the matter in his heart, he asked this sentence.
Xu Xin nodded:
"I dare not say that what I think is right. After all, I am not a roundworm in their stomachs. However, after I put forward this point of view, I followed this line of thought, and suddenly found that if we go down this road, it will be very unfavorable to us... So, even if things are not right, I have to plan ahead.”
While speaking, he dialed Qi Lei's phone number.
"Doo...Hello?"
"Brother Qi, how did the Soviet Union die?"
He threw out a classic question again.
…
"So, you mean...it's not just Hua Yi who is against us?"
In the quiet room, only Qi Lei's voice came from the phone.
"One Huayi can't fight against us. Huayi also has shareholders and beneficial partners, doesn't it?"
"..."
Qi Lei fell into silence again.
Just now, Xu Xin had expressed his thoughts.
In fairness, Qi Lei's first reaction was also absurd.
This is so good, how come it looks like a cold war?
But after being absurd, he quickly realized the seriousness of the matter.
Propaganda, like an arms race.
To put it bluntly, according to Xu Xin's intention, Hua Yi wanted to use this seven-injury fist, which kills one thousand enemies and damages seven hundred, to start a battle for real money.
I spend 100 million yuan on a movie promotion, will you do it? If you don’t do it, I’m like "If You Are the One", squeezing your movie promotion space. If you want to make money, you must increase your publicity to fight me, otherwise, your movie will not be watched by anyone after it is released.
This kind of thinking is unreasonable. It seems that when "Tangshan Earthquake" was released in July this year, who remembers the movie "First Love Red Bean Ice" starring A Niu and Cao Chrome?
The nature of commercial movies, why do you like to invite big names and stars instead of actors with guaranteed acting skills and cheap actors?
In the final analysis, it is to attract the audience into your own cinema.
This is the importance of publicity.
Or this matter is nothing to Xu Xin.
The name of a person, the shadow of a tree.
The reputation as a director has already given him the guarantee of becoming a box office appeal.
Those famous directors themselves are the guarantee of the box office.
but…
There is not only one Xu Xin in the factory, nor does it plan to, or even rely on only one Xu Xin.
Xu Xin's movies may be able to attract audiences by virtue of his fame.
But what about the others?
What about other people?
Theatrical movies produced in the Beijing circle each year account for at least one-third of the Chinese film industry.
Looking for an opportunity to touch the Northwest Circle of China...it couldn't be easier.
They are fighting with you for armaments. If you don’t fight, they will continue to play this kind of "overwhelming" at a price that is much higher than the general movie promotion budget, but they can definitely afford it.
If you fight hard, then everyone will have more money than anyone else.
But the question is... more than money, is it worth it?
Definitely no match.
If it is really comparable, the Northwest Circle will become the Beijing Circle.
If the money in the factory is spent like this, it will definitely be spent very quickly.
And once there is no money, it will be difficult to release good works.
But in the Beijing circle, people are not afraid.
Too many companies, too many intertwined roots, support their big tree to continue to grow towards the sun.
If the Northwest Circle really collapses, then they will naturally be able to step on the corpse of the Northwest Circle and become absolute hegemony again, just like the United States, which has enjoyed global dividends after the Cold War.
hiss...
After thinking about this, Qi Lei gasped.
The idea...
Who came up with it?
What a vicious mind...
"what should we do?"
"Don't panic, Brother Qi."
Seems to have felt the emotions on the other end of the phone, Xu Xin comforted him first, making him feel at ease.
"Their plan is not perfect. It seems perfect, but the flaws are also obvious."
"...say?"
"For example, although the power of money is huge, it is not as powerful as the human heart."
Xu Xin said while picking up the cigarette case from the table.
First, he threw a cigarette to the frowning Lin Gou, and then took one to his mouth.
But when he was about to ignite it, he found that...the lighter was on the table a little far away from him.
Just about to get up to get it, but someone next to him moved faster.
Liu Yifei frowned, and didn't shy away from the loose sweater she was wearing. She bent over and picked up the lighter on the table, and walked to him.
Xu Xin glanced at her and nodded.
After the cigarette was lit, he continued:
"Hiss... Phew. The money offensive is indeed scary, but it is not without its drawbacks. Although there are many movies produced in the Beijing circle every year, the quality of most of them cannot withstand scrutiny. Of course, why those movies can be shown in theaters... this is the question. There are too many things to say in it. But in essence, he is taking a different path from ours. They just want to snipe me now, it doesn’t matter that we can push other people.”
While he was speaking, after Lin Juxin was sure that Liu Yifei didn't mean to give him a lighter, he rolled his eyes speechlessly.
Xin said you should be more obvious?
Then he got up and took the lighter.
"…you mean?"
Qi Lei seemed to understand something, and asked subconsciously:
"The quality of the video can be..."
"Quality is definitely the top priority. But our selection criteria have to be relaxed. They can snipe one, two... But what if we bloom more? In a cycle of successful movies, they can't go Sniping other movies. Commercial movies and box office are destined to be one-on-one singles like ancient knights.
Therefore, the best way to break this situation is actually to test out whether they really have this meaning, and then we start to comprehensively promote the directors, actors, and film and television works in the Northwest Circle, and strive to give the audience Leave an impression of "Xiying's product must be a high-quality product". With this impression, then this round...we dare not say we won, but at least we won't be so passive anymore. "
Hearing his words, Qi Lei's voice sounded again:
"That is to say... you want to advance the plan for the second phase?"
"...?"
"..."
These words made Lin Juxin and Liu Yifei stunned at the same time.
second stage?
plan?
Is there such a thing?
But Xu Xin didn't explain.
In Liu Yifei's eyes, the confident man's eyes were shining brightly, his spirit was high, and he said with the confidence of Zhizhu:
"Otherwise? The war has already begun. Anyone who is lucky in the center of this war will not survive. And there is only one thing we can do."
Suddenly, accompanied by words, the wise man seemed to change his body, and turned into a high-spirited man who swallowed thousands of miles like a tiger.
With Ling Yun's fighting spirit, he said word by word under the obsessive eyes of the woman who tried hard to hide:
“Don’t be afraid of the long and difficult road, but you must strive for victory. Because without victory, you cannot live.”
"..."
"..."
"..."
The three were speechless.
In this absolute tranquility, Liu Yifei got up silently and walked towards the bathroom.
Enter the house and close the door.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
The face is as red as a peach blossom.
Only…
Eyes dimmed.
(Note 1: The number of Wanda screens is the number in 2011. I haven’t found the exact number in 2010. Don’t be too serious if you are a party member. One last sentence: single heroine single heroine single heroine!)
(end of this chapter)