Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years

Popup advertisements are arguably the most annoying things in the internet era.

But they are really useful.

Especially when advertising one's own products.

Moreover, in these days of rampant internet growth, popups are everywhere, and popping one doesn't make people feel too annoyed.

On the contrary, everyone is very curious.

Have movies nowadays become so audacious that they dare to make Penguin create popups?

On closer inspection!

Oh, it's Qi Hao's new movie.

That's fine then, he's Penguin's daddy.

Although he's just one of many daddies, and a very insignificant little daddy, he's still a daddy.

Why would anyone mind him popping a window for his own shareholders?

The Spring Festival travel period has just ended, but its aftermath has not faded away; this film, focused on Spring Festival travel, stirred quite a few people's attention and discussion as soon as it was released.

With the previous experience of the "First Love" topic, this time the promotional side launched a topic called "Spring Festival Travel."

Encouraging everyone to share stories of what they encountered during Spring Festival activities.

Providing everyone with a window to vent.

There are simply too many stories to be told, with the number of people traveling for work sharply increasing this Spring Festival, railway passengers alone numbered as high as 210 million trips.

That's 210 million trips, not 210 million people.

With such a large crowd, if even one percent fuels this topic, it will blaze brightly.

The effectiveness of a tactic isn't about novelty; it just has to work.

It must be said, the discussion level of this topic is extraordinarily high, because Spring Festival travel is now one of our greatest pains.

Actually, this kind of publicity strategy carries risks.

Isn't this creating trouble for the country?

Everyone knows the difficulty of Spring Festival travel.

The geometric increase in Spring Festival crowds is rooted in deep social issues, with hundreds of millions of workers shuttle between urban and rural areas like migratory birds pursuing development opportunities, striving to integrate into bustling cities.

Nonetheless, given the current situation of regional development imbalances, this is a necessity for economic growth.

If you're lagging, you have to catch up.

What, should everyone just stay home and farm? Then when outsiders invade again, we'd have to sacrifice another generation of lives to fend them off.

However, Bern is ultimately professional, and Yu Dong, who used to work at China Film, always had a good grip on Zheng Ce.

This time, their publicity was titled "Comedy."

Although it's based on reality, it's not a realistic theme; we're a road movie, a comical journey that makes people laugh and cry.

Additionally, regarding the depiction of Spring Festival travel, the promotional team considers it a public hope that our government will deepen reform in transportation, enhancing capacity on various fronts so everyone can make it home.

And that's indeed what the government is doing.

On August 1, 2008, the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway opened, marking the start of the high-speed rail era for Spring Festival travel.

It's not just high-speed rail; also highways, new airports, and new routes are being launched.

Though you can't say this problem will be solved quickly, it is indeed being addressed.

If you oppose the government, your film won't be positive; but if you align with policy, then you have broad vision, focusing on people's livelihood development.

As for the pickpockets at train stations, the sellers of sleazy discs, they too adopt a comedic angle, including scenes where railway police discover them, leading to their frantic escape.

"First Love, This Little Thing" didn't hold a premiere nor a celebration banquet because Qi Hao was filming "hello! Mr. Tree" at that time and simply didn't have the time.

But now, since Qi Hao has the time, arrangements are naturally made.

First, hold the "Lost on Journey" premiere, followed by the "First Love, This Little Thing" celebration banquet; perfectly allowing the creators of "First Love" to also attend the "Lost on Journey" premiere.

This is convenient for the media too.

Although the two events are not in the same place, they're at least in the same city, so they can just tag along.

"Lost on Journey" is a low-budget film produced by Feiyang Media and distributed by Bern, not attracting too many people. But catching on the heat from "First Love" is a different story.

"First Love" is a blockbuster movie with nearly 200 million at the box office.

"Big Soldiers and Little Generals," starring Fang Long and Wang Lihong, these two combined are definitely more powerful than Qi Hao and An Feng, but their box office is only 160 million.

Moreover, it almost lost any audience interest in the later stages, losing the value of extending its screening.

"Jinyi Guard" collected 140 million.

"All's Well, Ends Well" and "Time Traveler's Treasure Box" had more stars, with total box office roughly around 130 million.

Chow Yun-fat's "Confucius" barely passed 100 million at the box office, with costs of 120 million.

"The Wedding Invitation 2010" only had a 60 million box office, but the film's production cost was really low, so the return rate was quite good.

This year's Chinese New Year lineup could be described as star-studded.

However, "First Love," such a campus youth film unexpectedly became the box office champion for domestic movies in the Chinese New Year lineup.

This is limited to domestic films; it's incomparable to "Avatar."

Many said domestic films are done for.

Let such a low-cost idol film, devoid of real content, become the champion; this industry is beyond saving.

If you say it's finished, there is indeed some truth to that.

But when you pull all the Chinese New Year films together, none of them have much substance.

The audience's preference is actually what's most important.

This premiere is a bit different from previous ones, opting to watch the movie first without further ado.

Talk about other stuff after the movie.

Attending the film premiere, besides the production, distribution, and creation of "First Love" and "Lost on Journey," many relevant departments were invited, especially people from the transportation department to watch the film.

Many of Huaxia's film companies are located in the capital, just to conveniently invite people to guide their work.

Everyone gives face to each other.

Even if my film offends you in some way, as long as you lower your stance, it will be laughed off.

But if you behave ignorantly, even if you pass the review, they might still hold you back.

The reason for showing the film first is because this movie is not highly anticipated.

Spring Festival travel rush theme?

This thing isn't new.

For example, "All Year Round," directed by Wang Jing in 2008.

This film follows the protagonist Zhang Guodong, weaving in a complex storyline featuring people of various social statuses like migrant workers, doctors, and teachers, reflecting not just the Spring Festival travel rush but also other popular topics like unpaid wages, education, left-behind elderly, and doctor-patient conflicts.

It leans more towards the conflict effects in real life, with occasional documentary shots of outsiders carrying heavy luggage and sleeping in stations.

This film was made with only 2 million in investment, a low-budget film.

To promote this film, the director Wang Jing personally led the crew to Beijing Station, handing out luggage bags to travelers.

Unfortunately, the box office didn't do well.

The total nationwide box office didn't even reach 3 million.

Although it didn't result in a loss, it did cause many film companies to abandon the idea of focusing on this theme.

Actually, that film was really well made.

Qi Hao watched it once before shooting "Lost on Journey."

Reflecting real life from an ordinary person's perspective, allowing audiences to see in the fast-developing social tide, every effortful, kind, and resilient life, full of Chinese flavor.

At the same time, through the portrayal of characters, it vividly showcased the societal conditions and the street-smart, pretentious politeness of survival among the people.

The theme song at the end was "Blue Lotus" by Xu Wei, one of Qi Hao's favorite songs.

Qi Hao knows this film, and others know it too.

Thus, when Qi Hao says he's made a film about the Spring Festival travel rush, it leaves people puzzled.

But no one openly belittles it in front of him.

As a new member of the billion box office film club, few dare to teach him how to do things.

Qi Hao knows people don't hold much hope, so he simply lets them watch the movie first.

The opening scene is Qi Hao having a meeting with his staff.

Because he previously released a teaser, during the shooting period, Qi Hao attended events, so people weren't surprised by his bald look.

Such a handsome bald head, but his words are quite sharp.

Several employees in the company were fired by him.

As for Wang Baoqiang's appearance, initially there wasn't much of an impressive impact; he was known for his grassroots image.

Instead, Qi Hao's first rumored girlfriend Li Xiaoran's appearance brought amused laughter from the audience.

Li Xiaoran played Qi Hao's mistress.

Wang Baoqiang's highlight moment came when drinking milk at the airport.

At that moment, everyone truly understood the style of this film.

And they understood the selling point of this film.

Among the audience was Wang Jing, the director of "All Year Round" in 2008.

An invitation was sent to him for the premiere of "Lost on Journey."

He is preparing a new film "Heart Pierced by a Thousand Arrows," which received investment from Feiyang Media, so everyone had connections.

Although the box office prospects might not be good, the Coal Boss wants face.

Gao Yang hopes to release some high-quality films every year.

They don't expect Feiyang Media to make money; what's needed is quality, and the kind of connections this quality can expand for him.

Huaxia is a society of human relationships, and market economy is inseparable from human connections.

With the same land auction, a company with a tarnished reputation might not compete well against a company with an excellent reputation, even if you offer more money.

And Gao Yang, who focuses on cultural undertakings, naturally looks more favorable.

Qi Hao also doesn't expect Feiyang Media to make money.

He himself has Zhonghao Entertainment and West Hao Film Industry, along with Donghao Venture Capital for financial investment.

It's An Feng who hopes Feiyang Media can make money now.

However, An Feng is rather unique at Feiyang Media; she is not a fixed shareholder, she invests in projects given to her, and if unsuitable she doesn't have to invest.

Besides, she can start her own company in the future.

Now celebrities have money, and they all establish some companies; some exaggerate and may have ten or eight companies under their names.

Before Wang Jing came to the cinema, he didn't know what "Lost on Journey" would be like.

He had a lot to complain about in his stomach.

But after watching the movie, he couldn't complain.

Because he realized "Lost on Journey" and his "All Year Round" are entirely different.

Especially as the audience gradually delved deeper into the viewing experience, the feeling of this movie becomes more pleasant and smoother, and from time to time, there's laughter in the cinema.

But you can't say this movie is shallow.

It indeed presents many real issues, bringing both smiles and lots of reflection to people.

It's a good movie!

Wang Jing only felt that the young are formidable, and he is fading.