69novels On the eve of Chapter 75's release
On the eve of Chapter 75's release
On the eve of Chapter 75's release
Li Jian also interacted with Zhang Jun: "Wow, your movie is really, really wonderful, I was completely immersed in it."
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"I have to thank you for the music you composed, senior. It really enhanced the film," Zhang Jun said gratefully.
Li Jian said, "Music alone is not enough for a movie. The story itself must be exciting enough. I am optimistic that this movie will be a box office hit."
After Li Jian, Zhang Jun chatted with guests such as Huang Xiaoming.
He also specifically instructed Huang Xiaoming to set aside time and undergo some action training, because the next film will not be as easy as "About Time".
After that, Zhang Jun talked with Chen Kun and Gao Yuanyuan about doing roadshows.
"Two weeks before the release, I'll be doing promotional tours with you guys. Just a few cinemas in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, that should be enough."
Gao Yuanyuan was very interested in Zhang Jun's new film: "Director Zhang, I heard you're preparing a new movie?"
"What? Are you interested?" Zhang Jun asked in return.
Gao Yuanyuan nodded. Not to mention her, even Chen Kun was very interested.
However, Zhang Jun said, "If you come, you can only play supporting roles. I'm afraid you'll feel disappointed!"
The two quickly said they felt no sense of loss and would be happy even if it was just a cameo role.
Zhang Jun didn't refuse; he would arrange for the two to make cameo appearances in the film. He didn't have the habit of using familiar actors repeatedly in a single film; he considered whether the roles suited them.
After letting the two deal with the reporters and media, Zhang Jun returned to the Guanzhi Film Studio office to check on the preparations for the film's release.
Because China Film Group has allocated its schedules, "About Time" has received preferential treatment in terms of screenings, which has enabled the film to reach a wider audience to the greatest extent possible.
At the same time, the distribution department began to exert its efforts, frequently mentioning the film's name in the media and online.
Especially online, the movie started a discussion by asking, "If you could travel back in time, what would you do?"
Many netizens contributed quite interesting and witty comments, which were dazzling.
"If I could travel through time, I would probably accomplish three things."
First, one must achieve financial freedom through lotteries or sports betting; in today's world, you need money.
Secondly, I will go further afield to see the world of dinosaurs.
Third, go back to the Qing Dynasty, use modern medicine to cure Cao Xueqin, let him live, and allow him to finish writing *Dream of the Red Chamber*.
One comment read, "Dude, your dream is too small. If I could travel back in time, I'd become a king, or at least stop a century of humiliation."
The concept of time travel is not unusual. From "The Battle of Qin Terracotta Warriors" to "The Search for Love", the concept of time travel is also becoming popular in online novels, which are just starting out.
Therefore, for most young people, understanding the concept of time travel is not difficult.
Moreover, Hollywood across the Pacific has produced a plethora of time-travel films, and many viewers have encountered them to some extent.
It is precisely because there are many time-travel themed works that "About Time" is so amazing when it presents an understanding of time travel that is different from other time travel works.
A reporter from Sina Entertainment who attended the premiere wrote a report afterward.
"The moving thing about this story is its ordinariness. People have seen too many stories about time travel, which often have amazing textures or plots."
Unlike "About Time," it simply describes how an ordinary man continues to live an ordinary but slightly better life after gaining this magical ability.
This is the most worthwhile film to see in theaters this year. It's not just for couples; families can enjoy it together. I believe you will gain a deeper understanding of the essence of life through this movie.
It's customary to give red envelopes to the reporters at the premiere, so unless a movie is ridiculously bad, the media will usually praise it.
If there's really nothing to praise, they'll say that the director is very skilled or that the actor performed well; that's called industry practice.
However, reporters don't need to strain their eyes to find merits in the movie "About Time." As long as you're not blind, this movie is full of merits.
A reporter from Sohu News, who was also attending the premiere, praised the casting, especially the choice of female roles.
"Of course, when Fan Bingbing's character Luo Wei appeared, I thought a goddess had descended, but when Gao Yuanyuan appeared later, I was even more moved."
Without a doubt, both Fan Bingbing and Gao Yuanyuan exuded charm under Zhang Jun's lens. The other female characters were also outstanding, with Sun Li and Hu Jing performing exceptionally well.
Amidst a cast of outstanding female characters, Chen Kun performed his role admirably, and his father-son relationship with Wang Xueqi is one of the biggest highlights of the drama.
Actually, this reporter didn't understand that Zhang Jun deserves a lot of credit for Chen Kun's outstanding performance.
Playing the same role too many times can lead to path dependency. Before Yu Huatian in "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate," Chen Kun was known for playing wealthy young masters.
In "About Time," Chen Xiu, an introverted young man from a small town, may very well help Chen Kun break free from preconceived notions.
During filming, Wang Xueqi once said, "How well an actor performs depends largely on the quality of the production."
Even if the actors perform well in a bad movie, they will still go unnoticed by the audience.
A good show and a good performance complement each other.
That makes sense. Chen Kun was also eager to break through his established image, so he worked very hard during filming.
Besides "About Time," Jackie Chan's "The Myth" is also a time-travel film this year, and he even collaborated with Korean star Kim Hee-sun.
However, this film is scheduled for late September and does not compete with "About Time".
Time slowly passed until August 11th, which is also the traditional Qixi Festival, the day when, according to legend, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet.
With the aim of attracting couples, "About Time" officially hit theaters on this day.
Actually, China Film Group initially wanted to arrange a midnight screening, but Zhang Jun felt that "About Time" had a small overall investment and no big-name actors, so it was unnecessary.
Midnight screenings are a form of gambling, a concept that has been around since The Matrix Revolutions was released in mainland China in 2003.
At the time, some media outlets reported that this film allowed mainland audiences to connect with the international scene for the first time.
However, the midnight screenings were not as good as expected. While "House of Flying Daggers" and "Kung Fu Hustle" achieved good results, many other films had very few midnight screenings.
If the media reports on it at this point, it could easily create the impression that "this movie is terrible," which would leave a bad impression on the audience.
Chen Kun, Gao Yuanyuan, Fan Bingbing, Sun Li, and others clearly cannot compare to Andy Lau and Stephen Chow in terms of box office appeal; their influence is limited to the small screen.
This is a common problem for many actors who come from television drama backgrounds; they can't attract audiences when they appear on the big screen and can't compare to Hong Kong actors who have accumulated experience over a decade or even several decades.
So don't blame the directors for favoring actors from Hong Kong Island; for the sake of box office success, they have no choice but to cast them.
Few people can do what Zhang Jun did, attracting audiences with just one story.
The most famous actors from "Little Miss Sunshine" are Li Baotian, Fan Wei, and Song Dandan. These three are typical small-screen actors, and even sketch comedy actors.
In terms of box office appeal, it's practically nonexistent.
The success of "Little Miss Sunshine," which even sold its overseas rights, was entirely due to Zhang Jun's excellent directing.
But a good film doesn't guarantee a good second one. In fact, many in the industry believe Zhang Jun was just lucky and won't be so fortunate with his next film.
This is why Zhang Jun has failed to establish his own brand appeal; not only do people in the industry question him, but the media and the general public also have a negative view of him.
The solution to reverse this impression is simple: success. Success will reverse all negative perceptions.
The film, which would determine whether it could reverse public skepticism, faced its test on Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day).
At the Ping An Grand Theater on Shifu Road Pedestrian Street in Guangzhou, cinema manager Wu Bin directed his staff to clean and tidy up early in the morning in preparation for the arrival of the first group of audience members.
Today is Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day), and it's also Thursday, a workday.
According to Wu Bin's experience, there are usually not many spectators in the morning, and the number of spectators gradually increases in the afternoon and evening.
So Wu Bin said during the meeting, "Four theaters are enough for this morning. We'll show the new movie 'About Time' in two theaters, and the other movies will be shown in the other two theaters in rotation."
The copy of "About Time" arrived yesterday. Wu Bin personally opened the warehouse with a key, took out the copy, and placed it in the best theaters, No. 1 and No. 2.
The movie "About Time" has been heavily promoted recently, and as a cinema manager, Wu Bin still has a keen sense of the market.
His experience told him that the film should initially see a surge in viewership.
But what happens next depends on the quality of the film.
Ping An Grand Theatre underwent a modernization last year, becoming a cinema with multiple screening rooms. Thanks to the foot traffic from the pedestrian street, it doesn't lack audiences.
But without a movie that is attractive enough to the audience, he cannot attract customers out of thin air; movies are the foundation for the survival of cinemas.
Wu Bin had previously attended a meeting where the distribution company specifically emphasized that box office fraud and underreporting were strictly prohibited.
Wu Bin was well aware of the intricacies of the situation; if it were other distribution companies saying this, he could completely ignore them.
But China Film Group is different; they control the import quotas for Hollywood blockbusters. What if China Film Group discovers that they are being two-faced and refuses to grant screening rights for the next Hollywood blockbuster?
Wu Bin, who has direct contact with frontline audiences, knows very well the appeal of Hollywood blockbusters; a movie theater without Hollywood blockbusters is a terrible thing.
So he specifically emphasized to the ticket staff: "The movie 'About Time' doesn't use handwritten tickets; all tickets are printed out by a ticket machine."
Handwritten tickets are a common way to steal box office revenue.
The usual procedure is that a viewer comes to the cinema, says they want to see movie A, and the ticket seller writes a ticket by hand for them to see movie A.
But the ticket machine printed the name of movie B.
In this way, the audience saw movie A, but the box office revenue went to movie B.
Underreporting box office revenue is even simpler; no tickets need to be issued, just handwritten tickets for audiences to enter. The cinema receives this portion of the box office revenue but doesn't have to share it with the distributor or producer.
Ping An Grand Theater often operates on similar procedures, and long-time staff members are well aware of this.
Upon hearing Wu Bin's words, the ticket seller understood that the movie "About Time" was on the protected list, so the large stack of handwritten tickets was thrown into the trash can.
Undoubtedly, this created a very favorable environment for "About Time".