1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhou Yan also has some supporters in Xiangjiang, such as Zhong Zewen and his girlfriend Qiqi.

Last time, when Zhou Yan's first movie The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly was released in Hong Kong, Zhong Zewen was still pursuing Qiqi. When Zhou Yan's second movie was released, they were already a couple.

The Sixth Sense had just been released in Xiangjiang, and the two of them went to the cinema hand in hand, and they also deliberately found a cinema that was a little away from the school, instead of choosing the nearest one.

Because Qiqi's two roommates also wanted to watch The Sixth Sense, Zhong Zewen didn't want to touch those two light bulbs.

But what Zhong Zewen didn't expect was that they met Song Yawen and Xu Huilin in the cinema lobby.

Seeing Zhong Zewen and Qiqi, Song Yawen and Xu Huilin also rolled their eyes.

Zhong Zewen didn't want to see these two light bulbs, and they didn't want to be with these two couples who showed off their affection every day, so they also chose a movie a little further away from the school.

Unexpectedly, the four of them bumped into each other in the cinema.

The only good news is that they are not seated very close together.

After checking in and entering the theater, Zhong Zewen looked at the attendance rate of the theater and couldn't help but sigh, The attendance rate this time is much better than that of Zhou Yan's first movie.

The audience has not yet completely arrived, but the attendance rate has exceeded 50%. The afternoon screening is already very good. Most of the people who come to watch movies in this cinema at this time are students.

Qiqi nodded and said, It's indeed much better. There are Tony Leung Ka-fai and Joey Wong in this movie. Don't you really like Joey Wong?

Zhong Zewen quickly denied, No, absolutely not, I only like you.

Qiqi curled her lips, Why are you reacting so harshly? It's normal to like actors. I'm not jealous. I also like Zhou Yan myself.

Hey, I like Zhou Yan too. I don't know what the style of this movie is. Looking at the poster, it seems quite dark.

I heard there's a ghost.

Zhou Yan has a wide range of styles. It's like a horror movie. It's okay. If you get scared later, just crawl into my arms. Zhong Zewen patted his chest.

Hey, we still don't know who will get into whose arms.

Although Zhong Zewen is a man, he is very timid. They watched July 14 together before, and Zhong Zewen was so scared that he screamed.

Qiqi, on the other hand, acted very calmly.

Song Yawen looked at Zhong Zewen chatting and laughing with Qiqi in front of her, and couldn't help pouting. Fortunately, she didn't sit next to them, otherwise she would be mad to death.

Hui Lin, I heard that Zhou Yan also participated in the movie. I don't know if it's true.

It seems to be true. I heard from my cousin that he also played a very important role.

Wow, I'm really looking forward to it.

I look forward to it too.

In fact, Song Yawen and Hui Huilin are not usually star-chasers. They don't catch the Four Heavenly Kings and Biary Weekly.

Zhou Yan is the only star they really pursue.

And the reason why they chased Zhou Yan was because of their adventure in that restaurant the year before last.

They came into contact with Zhou Yan in real life, and in that way. Since then, the image of Zhou Yan playing the piano has been in their hearts.

The names Zhou Yan signed for them were framed and kept at home.

After a while, the lights in the theater dimmed and the movie started.

The audience, who had been whispering to each other, fell silent and looked at the big screen seriously.

Song Yawen and the others were pleasantly surprised at the beginning of the movie. There was no doubt about Zhou Yan's score quality. The first piece of music quickly drew her into the movie.

The soundtrack, light and shadow, and camera use at the beginning of the movie all made people feel a bit depressing, but Song Yawen and the others were mentally prepared, because the movie's poster already reflected this.

They even watched it as a horror movie.

In fact, this is indeed a ghost movie, but it's not overly scary.

There is a sense of tension and a bit of terror everywhere in the movie, but there are no exciting scenes throughout.

Seeing the back, even makes people feel very healing.

The hero and the little boy completed each other's redemption.

Especially later, the conversation between the little boy and his mother is really touching.

My mother once had a quarrel with my grandmother because she thought she didn't go to her dance performance.

But in fact, grandma went.

This misunderstanding was only resolved through the little boy's words many years later, after his grandmother had passed away.

She hid behind it so you wouldn't see it. She said you looked like a fairy on stage.

She said... you went to the place where she was buried and asked her a question, and her answer was every day... What question did you ask her?

At this time, my mother's emotions were completely out of control and she was even speechless.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice was stuck in her throat. After a while, she finally said, I...do I make her proud?

When my mother said this.

The emotionally sensitive Song Yawen was already crying. The performance between the young male protagonist and his mother in this scene was so tense.

I know Song Yawen, the actress who plays the mother, who played the hero's mother in The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly.

Although they are both mothers, the styles in this movie are very different, which made Song Yawen really feel the acting level of this actress.

No wonder Zhou Yan used her in two consecutive movies.

Xu Huilin is stronger, but her eyes are also red.

Although this is not a movie mainly about family love, it interprets family love so well.

It seems that Zhou Yan has such ability. This is Song Yawen's second time crying for Zhou Yan's movie. Previously, when she watched The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly, when the young male protagonist's grandfather passed away, she shed tears unsatisfactorily.

Song Yawen was not the only one who shed tears in the theater. The sobbing of other audience members could also be heard nearby. Although some people did not cry loudly, they were silently wiping their tears.

Zhou Yan is really a very bad director. He clearly said it was a horror film, but he wanted to make it so touching, and he inadvertently earned their tears.

Just when the audience thought this was the final climax of the movie, the movie suddenly took a super turn.

The male protagonist is actually dead!

When he saw this paragraph, Zhong Zewen was stunned. It was like a current flowing through his body quickly, making his scalp numb.

Movies can actually be shot like this!

The key is that after being surprised, Zhong Zewen felt that everything was logical.

The previous plot seemed to have planted a seed in his heart. This seed took root in his heart, and finally broke through and sprouted near the end of the movie.

yes!

The heroine never seemed to pay attention to the hero. Before, they thought it was because the heroine was angry with the hero and deliberately ignored him, but now it seems that the heroine can't see him at all.

The little boy said that the undead would feel cold when they were close to him. No wonder the heroine would shrink her neck every time the hero approached him.

From the beginning to the end, the young male protagonist was the only one who communicated with the male protagonist.

The previous plots were all preparing for the reversal at this moment. When Zhong Zewen saw this paragraph, all the previous clues came to mind and connected in series.

Zhong Wenze affirmed that this is definitely the best movie he has seen this year.

If Song Yawen and the others knew what Zhong Zewen was thinking at this moment, they would definitely agree.

But when the movie ended, Song Yawen suddenly thought of a question.

Where is Zhou Yan?

Didn't Hui Lin's cousin say that Zhou Yan also participated in this movie and was a very important role?

But from beginning to end, she didn't see where Zhou Yanren was.

I recalled the plot of the movie again, and there was indeed no sign of Zhou Yan.

She looked at Xu Huilin next to her, Where's Zhou Yan? Didn't you say that Zhou Yan will also participate in the show?

Xu Huilin herself was surprised, Yes, that's what my cousin told me.

Her cousin was in the Mainland, and this time the movie was released in the Mainland first. She specifically asked her cousin.

Originally, her cousin wanted to tell her about the spoiler, but she sternly stopped her.

Maybe he lied to me. Anyway, he has never been very reliable.

All right.

Although the movie was very good, Song Yawen was still a little disappointed not to see Zhou Yan.

When they left the theater, they heard many audience members discussing the plot of the movie.

Some people were moved, some applauded, and of course some viewers expressed doubts. Since the male protagonist is dead, why can he still talk to the female protagonist and the mother of the little boy? Why didn't he realize it until the end?

In fact, it is normal to have these doubts. They were misled by some plots in the movie.

For example, when a little boy sees the male protagonist for the first time, the male protagonist and the little boy's mother are sitting across from each other. The audience will take it for granted that the male protagonist was talking to the little boy's mother.

It is even believed that the male protagonist is the psychiatrist hired by the little boy's mother to treat the little boy.

For another example, the male protagonist goes to a restaurant to find the female protagonist. The male protagonist has been talking to the female protagonist, and the female protagonist also said something to the male protagonist. In fact, the female protagonist said it to the air, but the audience thought that the female protagonist was responding. Male protagonist.

Although there are many details in the movie indicating that the male protagonist has passed away, not every audience will notice these details.

Of course, if you don’t understand it, it just gives everyone room for discussion.

Some people who understood it began to explain it to those who didn't understand it very well.

Even if you understand everything, there is still room for discussion, because there are always some details that you cannot notice, but after discussion, you will find that the other party has discovered details that you have not noticed.

Through discussions, they also gained a deeper understanding of the film.

Do you remember the thermometer on the wall when Xiaotian went to the bathroom? Although it was small, the thermometer dropped, which meant that there was an undead presence nearby.

Yes, I also saw this detail.

Is there this detail? I didn't even find it.

Actually, when I saw the male protagonist going to the restaurant to find the female protagonist, I felt that the male protagonist was already dead.

I didn't realize that the male protagonist was dead, but I always felt like something was wrong.

Hey, I found a question. At the beginning of the movie, Wang Zuxian felt cold. Was there an undead in the cellar at that time?

It's really possible that the previous patient like Xiaotian could also see ghosts, so when he came, the ghosts also came.

Hey, after hearing what you said, I feel like this movie has become more terrifying.

Although it doesn't look scary, you can't think about it. The more you think about it, the more scary it becomes.

Yes, I'm very moved, but I can't help but feel scared.

I want my roommate to come and see it. He was too scared to come.

You must not tell him any spoilers, otherwise the experience will be diminished.

I want the video tape of the movie to be released now, so that I can buy it and take a closer look to see what details I haven't discovered.

You can buy a ticket and go to the cinema to see it.

Movie tickets are so expensive and I don't have the money.

…

The Sixth Sense was released in Hong Kong for two and a half days during its first weekend, with a box office of 4.3 million Hong Kong dollars. This result is not very good, but it won the box office championship this week, and it has been for three consecutive days. Won the box office title of the day.

The reason for this situation is that the recent schedule is average and there are no competitive movies released in Hong Kong.

Among the movies released in Xiangjiang in June, The Overlord of Western Chu and Sister Love can be said to be full of big names.

The male lead of Sisters is also Leung Ka-fai, and the female lead is Anita Yuen, who just won the Academy Award for Best Actress. The Overlord of Western Chu is even more amazing. Lu Liangwei, Zhang Fengyi, Gong Li and Guan Zhilin, these four people The total remuneration for the film is several million.

However, the box office performance of these two movies is also average. Both movies have just been released for half a month, but their box office is just over 10 million. The final box office should be around 15 million Hong Kong dollars.

By this time, these two movies had completely run out of stamina, and were naturally not comparable to The Sixth Sense.

As soon as the first weekend box office of The Sixth Sense came out, naturally some people were happy and some were worried.

When Guan Zhilin saw The Sixth Sense winning the box office championship for a single week, she was so angry that she almost threw the glass. Tomson had invited her to play the heroine before, but at that time she looked down on Zhou Yan and The Sixth Sense 》production, so I didn’t agree.

How could she have imagined that The Sixth Sense would perform so well at the box office. According to the current situation, the box office would definitely surpass The King of Western Chu.

However, Guan Zhilin didn't think there was anything wrong with her choice at that time, it was just bad luck. However, Wang Zuxian was very lucky, and she picked up a good movie.

…

After a good start with 4.3 million in the first week, in the second week, the momentum of The Sixth Sense not only did not weaken, but actually increased.

The next week The Sixth Sense directly won the single-week box office championship, with a total box office of 13 million Hong Kong dollars.

But at this time, Tomson didn't pay much attention to the box office in Xiangjiang, because The Sixth Sense was released on Neon.

Xu Feng and the others had high hopes for Neon, so they added additional publicity expenses for The Sixth Sense in the later period. In addition to Tomson and Neon's copyright dealers, Shiseido was also helping.

The director of The Sixth Sense is Zhou Yan, and the heroine is Wang Zuxian. Both of them are spokespersons for Shiseido, so they are quite interested.

When filming an advertisement for Shiseido before, Zhou Yan had a full-color screen installed outside the Shiseido Hall.

Zhou Yan originally planned to have Shiseido remove the full-color screen after the commercial was filmed and install it anywhere else.

But after the commercial was shot, Shiseido did not remove the screen. Instead, it was kept outside the club to play Shiseido's commercials, including the one shot by Zhou Yan.

After the advertisement was aired, it received unanimous praise. Some young people found the creativity of the advertisement very interesting and even went to play outside the Shiseido Hall.

They would stand next to the big screen, wait until Wang Zuxian's hair on the screen was about to be blown up, and then fan violently next to them. It would look like they were fanning Wang Zuxian's hair on the screen.

In addition to those using fans, there were also people who were blowing air or running quickly in front of the screen.

Seeing how much people like this billboard, Shiseido is even more reluctant to tear it down.

Nowadays, people come to take pictures in front of this screen every day, which makes Shiseido say that the money is well spent.

This time Zhou Yan's new movie was released on Neon. Not only did they increase the frequency of playing the advertisement on the big screen, they also put the poster of The Sixth Sense on it to increase the popularity of the movie.

There are even some Shiseido counters that display Zhou Yan’s endorsement posters and movie posters together.

So this time, the movie's promotion efforts are much stronger than before for The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly.

This point was clearly felt by Tian Zhongjian and others.

Before the movie was released, some students were already heard discussing the movie in the school.

When the movie was released in Tokyo, they went to the cinema and found that the attendance rate was very high. Fortunately, there were many movies scheduled this time, so they would not be unable to buy tickets.

The performance of Neon's domestic movies in the past two years has been average. So far this year, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla has performed well, but the rationed revenue has not yet reached 2 billion Neon coins.

And Godzilla should be considered last year's movie, because it was released in mid-December last year, but the rationed revenue is counted this year.

In addition, the three movies such as Dragon Ball Movie 10, Slam Dunk The Movie and Arale The Movie 08 were limited releases, and the combined ration for the three movies was less than 1.5 billion. Rainbow coins.

The screening performances of Torajiro 46 and Fishing Fan Diary 6 were similar to previous years, with the allocation of just over 1.5 billion neon coins.

Under such circumstances, The Sixth Sense actually has advantages as an Asian film released on Neon.

Moreover, there are no other strong competitors at the same time. The Lion King will not be released until three weeks later. By that time, the release of The Sixth Sense is already in its later stages.

Neon is not quick to compile statistics on ration revenue, but Tomson still got the approximate ration revenue figures for The Sixth Sense during Neon's first weekend.

At noon on July 6, Zhou Yangang directed the construction workers to put the newly arrived Steinway B112 into the recording studio, and the pager received the message from Chen Kaige.

After seeing the news, Zhou Yan was quite confused. He didn't know what the little master was doing with him if he wasn't filming in Su City right now. Could it be that he knew that the box office of The Sixth Sense in Hong Kong exceeded 15 million. So you came here to fulfill your promise to treat him to dinner?

He went to the office and called Chen Kaige.

Hey, Mr. Kai, are you too anxious? The news just came out that the box office of The Sixth Sense exceeded 15 million, and you came to me.

It's just a meal, is it worth my special call?

Then why are you looking for me? Didn't you go to Sioux City?

Do you know how much The Sixth Sense's allotment earned during its opening weekend in Neon?

How much? Zhou Yan asked, and at the same time he was also surprised as to why Chen Kaige came to tell him this.

Three hundred million neon coins. Chen Kaige almost said these words through gritted teeth.

The so-called fear of brothers suffering and fear of brothers driving Land Rover. Although Chen Kaige and Zhou Yan are not good brothers, his mentality is almost the same.

Whether it was because of his personal relationship with Zhou Yan or because of Xu Feng, he hoped that The Sixth Sense would have good results, but the premise was that the results could not be better than Farewell My Concubine.

But The Sixth Sense received 310 million neon coins in its first weekend of neon allotment.

Farewell My Concubine was released on Neon in February and grossed a total of 1.9 billion at the box office, but The Sixth Sense failed in two and a half days. The gap was so big that he couldn't believe it.

Zhou Yan was also very happy when he heard the news. This was just a small amount of money.

But Zhou Yan was still curious, How did you know the news?

When the company got the news, they wouldn't tell him immediately. Instead, they would tell Chen Kaige.

Isn't this a coincidence? I called Mr. Xu to talk about Feng Yue and asked me casually. She had just received the news and hadn't had time to tell you yet.

Zhou Yan nodded, That is indeed a coincidence. Don't worry, you have done a good job in reporting the good news. When you return to Yanjing, I will treat you to a big dinner.

A big meal is a must, but have you drugged the Neon People? Why are they so willing to buy it? You can't say that just because you like your music, you support your movie, right? If that's the case , those music masters will definitely be popular if they go to make movies.

Zhou Yan laughed and said, It has nothing to do with music. The main reason is that your shots are too advanced and ordinary audiences may not be able to understand them. Unlike me, I am willing to surrender to the public. I will shoot whatever they want to see.

What you said is a bit false, but I am quite happy to hear it.

As long as you're happy, how's the filming of Feng Yue going?

When talking about the filming of Feng Yue, Chen Kaige said, No, it rains too much here. It rains every three days, and the teacher stopped working. I called Mr. Xu today to talk about this. I I estimate that the cost of filming will increase a lot.”

It must rain more over there than in Yanjing. This is normal. Don't be impatient. Take your time. Farewell My Concubine has been in preparation and filming for a year and a half. What are you worried about now about this small scene?

It's impossible not to be anxious. Fortunately, Mr. Xu is more supportive. Okay, I won't tell you anymore. I still have something to do here.

Okay, chat back.

After hanging up the phone with Chen Kaige, Zhou Yan was about to go back to the recording studio. After the piano came in, he hadn't tried it yet.

But as soon as he walked out of the office door, he met Wang Xiaoshuai.

Director Zhou, do you want to leave?

Looking at Wang Xiaoshuai, Zhou Yan said with a smile, Hey, the best director is back.

Hearing this, Wang Xiaoshuai waved his hands in embarrassment, Director Zhou, please stop teasing me. My prize is nothing.

Oh, you can't say that. Just this award has helped the company earn more than one million.

After Wang Xiaoshuai's film Winter and Spring Days was filmed, it was sent to major film festivals for exhibition. A few days ago, he finally won an award - the Best Director Award at the Taormina Film Festival in Italy.

That's why Zhou Yancai said he was the best director.

The Taormina Film Festival in Italy is not as bad as Wang Xiaoshuai said. Although many people have not heard of this film festival, it is the longest-running film festival in Italy, and its attention in Italy is still good.

After winning the award, the film's copyright also attracted the attention of many film producers, and they sold some money, basically making back the cost of the film.

Zhou Yan turned around and took Wang Xiaoshuai back to the office, Sit down, I'll make you a cup of tea.

I'll do it myself.

Sit tight, you should serve tea to the best director. Zhou Yan waved his hand and told him to sit down, You are here just in time. I want to share the good news with you. The income of The Sixth Sense will be rationed during the first weekend of Neon. Out.

Really? How is it?

Three hundred and one hundred million neon coins.

Wang Xiaoshuai took a breath, 310 million Neon coins in the first weekend. This is a really good result. Most Chinese movies cannot achieve this result after one or two months of Neon release.

This is ration revenue, not box office.

If a movie like The Sixth Sense is released on Neon, the rationed revenue will be about 55% of the box office, which means that the first weekend box office of The Sixth Sense will be about 5.6 billion.

A few years ago, Jackie Chan's Police Story only received a ration of 1.13 billion in Neon and a box office of 1.87 billion.

But looking at Zhou Yan's previous results, it's normal. His debut film received a quota of more than 1 billion in Neon.

As the film's assistant director, I was naturally very happy to learn that The Sixth Sense had achieved such good results.

After this movie, your popularity in Neon will definitely reach a higher level.

Zhou Yan smiled. Actually, it’s hard to say. Unless the movie’s box office can take Neon by storm, it won’t have much impact on his popularity in Neon.

Neon people know him mainly because of his music.

The influence of the two albums Mysterious Country and Piano Boy on Neon cannot be compared to two movies with a box office of more than 1 billion.

The key is that he is just the director and has not shown his face.

If The Sixth Sense could achieve the same results as last year's Jurassic Park, with revenue exceeding 8 billion, the situation would be different.

Of course, this is impossible. According to the current situation, the ration of The Sixth Sense can exceed 1.6 billion, and even 2 billion is almost impossible.

Passing the tea to Wang Xiaoshuai, Zhou Yan himself sat down opposite with a tea cup, How is it? What are your plans later?

Wang Xiaoshuai blew on the tea foam and asked, What plan are you talking about?

new movie.

Wang Xiaoshuai shook his head, I haven't dared to think about it yet.

Zhou Yan said with a smile, Think about it. You have been holding it back for so many years. Why don't you take more pictures now that you have the opportunity? If nothing else happens, many people will definitely ask you to make movies after a while.

Wang Xiaoshuai nodded and said, I've thought about this. With the results of The Sixth Sense being so good, those film companies will definitely be eyeing the director. If you, the chief director, can't be hired, they will naturally settle for me as the assistant director. .”

It's just that when they came to me, they definitely wanted me to make a movie that would be a hit at the box office, but I'm not good at that either, so I would definitely disappoint them.

Zhou Yan shrugged, Why do you care so much? They are looking for you. If there is a script that you think is good, then go ahead and don't care whether it makes money or not.

Wang Xiaoshuai nodded, but said nothing because he didn't know what to say. After all, Zhou Yan and him were in very different situations.

Although Wang Xiaoshuai admires Zhou Yan very much, they have different views on movies. Wang Xiaoshuai is a typical artistic film director, and he pays more attention to self-expression in movies.

Although Zhou Yan also pays attention to expression, he is actually more commercial-oriented. He prefers to use stories and shooting techniques to arouse the emotions of ordinary audiences.

This is why Zhou Yan's movies are always loved by a large number of audiences, and he is willing to use his camera to serve the audience.

Seeing that he was silent, Zhou Yan probably knew what he was thinking, so he stopped talking about this topic.

I'm going to Yinchuan in a while. I have an interview with Shanghai TV. You and Li Hong can take some actors there.

Is it okay if you don't go?

No problem, I told them.

Which actors are coming with us?

Liang Jiahui, Hu Ke and He Saifei. He Saifei is currently filming Wind Moon in Sioux City. Let Li Hong pick her up when the time comes.

Okay, I understand. (End of chapter)