RPAGF The release of Chapter 18 is fine, but what about promotion?
The release of Chapter 18 is fine, but what about promotion?
Zhang Jun received concern from his parents, who asked him about his well-being and whether he had enough money or needed any favors.
Zhang Jun refused, saying, "I'm already working, I have a salary, and I can take care of myself."
Yao Xia felt much relieved, and then became concerned about Zhang Jun's marriage: "Now that you've graduated, you need to think about marriage. You should find someone to bring home as soon as possible."
Zhang Linwan looked at Yao Xia with dissatisfaction. "You forbid me from dating at school, but you allow my brother to find a wife. That's not fair."
But in reality, Zhang Jun had never been in a relationship during high school either.
Zhang Jun laughed on the other end of the phone, "Don't worry, I'll bring you ten or eight daughters-in-law, as long as you can handle it."
"You silly boy, one wife is enough. Not only will there be no room for ten or eight, but the policy also doesn't allow it!"
Yao Xia chuckled and scolded, "Alright then, you go ahead with your work, remember to come back for the New Year..."
Before she could finish speaking, Zhang Linwan snatched the phone from Yao Xia's hand; "Brother, it's me! When are you coming back?"
"How about around Chinese New Year? Mom said, don't worry, she'll bring you a gift. How about 'Three Years of College Entrance Exam, Five Years of Simulation'?" Zhang Jun joked.
"cut!"
Zhang Linwan was very dissatisfied: "I don't want to! I can't even finish my homework every day, please have mercy on me!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Zhang Jun was happy; he had finally experienced what it was like to make high school students happy.
In this era, students still prioritize exam scores above all else, and Zhang Jun expressed his inability to help his stepsister with her suffering.
Thankfully, he didn't transmigrate directly into a high school student; otherwise, forget about making a movie, he'd be lucky to even pass his exams.
This was also a way for him to connect with the original owner's family and prepare himself mentally in advance to avoid an awkward situation when he went back to meet them.
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Jun continued working.
Today, representatives from China Film Distribution Company came to watch the movie "Little Miss Sunshine." The purpose of this visit was to secure more favorable distribution terms for Guanzhi Pictures.
Although all the profits from the film's success would go to Guanzhi Pictures, Zhang Jun still valued the matter highly, since having more theaters would mean higher box office revenue.
The higher the box office, the greater the director's fame, and the easier it will be to attract investment for his next film.
In the newly renovated screening room of Guanzhi Pictures, Cheng Yang led a few people from the distribution department to watch "Little Miss Sunshine".
"How about it? Lao Cheng, I didn't lie to you, did I?" Jiang Tao looked very confident.
Cheng Yang was still savoring the feelings this movie had given him when he heard this and nodded, saying, "No wonder you were so confident on the phone, this movie is indeed very special."
Frankly speaking, among current domestic films, there aren't many similar ones.
The road movie genre itself is not a popular one, and basically no one in China makes them. It is generally believed that "Go to the End," released in 2001, is the pioneering work of Chinese-language road movies.
The film, starring Mo Wenwei, Jiang Wu, and Zhang Zhenyue, flopped at the box office.
With such examples around, other directors who want to make road movies will have to think twice.
The failure of "Go to the End" was due to director Shi Runjiu's imitation and borrowing of Hollywood road movies, while ignoring the crucial factor of localization.
But the "Little Miss Sunshine" that Cheng Yang saw was different. The story is about a family who set off together because their daughter, Xiao Guo, wanted to go to the capital to participate in a children's talent competition.
Many hilarious and heartwarming things happened during this process, and while the laughs were plentiful, they also gave people something to think about.
During the movie, Cheng Yang couldn't help but laugh out loud several times. He personally thought the combination of road movie and comedy elements was fantastic.
Cheng Yang was more curious about the film's director, because the beauty of the film's visual language, the smoothness of the plot, and the skill of the director's techniques were simply not something a new director could achieve.
"Old Jiang, tell me the truth, was this movie really directed by that 22-year-old director? Did no one help you?"
"Look at what you're saying... Would I lie to you? I was the producer, and I watched the whole process of how our director, Xiao Zhang, made the entire movie." Jiang Tao expressed his displeasure at Cheng Yang's skepticism.
"It's not that I doubt it, but this matter is a bit unbelievable."
Cheng Yang expressed disbelief: "If no one helped, it means he's a genius director. No wonder you switched jobs to this company; you've struck gold."
Afterwards, Cheng Yang met Zhang Jun. Putting everything else aside, just based on Zhang Jun's height and looks, he seemed like a very talented person.
He also heard that Zhang Jun was a graduate of Tsinghua University and that he had filmed "The Tuner" during his university years, which won an award at the College Student Film Festival. This made him even more convinced that Zhang Jun was a genius.
Little did people know that Zhang Jun's so-called genius was actually his film production skills and experience, which were 40 years ahead of his time. These were his valuable assets.
"Xiao Zhang, right? You're quite something, young man. I didn't believe it at first, but after meeting you and watching this movie you made, I can only sigh that the future belongs to you young people."
Zhang Jun said politely, "Manager Cheng, you flatter me. I have to thank Brother Jiang for this. He helped me a lot on set. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been easy for a novice like me to film this."
Jiang Tao laughed from the side, "I only helped with some odd jobs; it was actually our Director Zhang who took the lead."
Old Cheng, about this distribution matter…”
"Sure, sure."
Cheng Yang patted his chest and assured, "The policy is fine, and our company is also providing strong support for films produced by small and medium-sized film companies."
I've seen your film. Although it's rare, it's really good. I'll definitely try to get you better conditions.
Jiang Tao said happily, "That's great! I'll be waiting for your good news."
After Cheng Yang took his leave, Jiang Tao said to Zhang Jun, "The distribution is secured, but we're worried about the publicity!"
The movie "Little Miss Sunshine" doesn't have any big-name stars. Although Fan Wei, Song Dandan, Li Baotian and others have a certain level of fame, this level of fame doesn't translate into box office success.
Currently, there are very few people in mainland China who can be called movie stars, and those who can carry the box office seem to be only a handful, such as Ge You.
This is also why big directors like Zhang Yimou and Feng Xiaogang sought out Hong Kong movie stars to play leading roles—audiences recognized that.
Chen Gezi even went too far, inviting Jang Dong-gun and Hiroyuki Sanada to star in "The Promise".
The fact that even a young Hong Kong star like Nicholas Tse can only play supporting roles for these two profoundly reflects the current hierarchy of discrimination in East Asian culture.
In the film industry, the so-called Beijing circle looks down on other circles, while many Hong Kong filmmakers have recently moved north to develop their careers, but they still look down on mainland filmmakers.
Then, South Korean and Japanese stars next door act arrogantly and domineeringly over Chinese film stars, making Chinese filmmakers seem inferior.
Nowadays, the entertainment industry is a place where many people worship foreign things and are biased towards foreigners. The view that foreign things are better than our own is widely accepted in the industry.
Even moviegoers agree with this view.
In this context, it is quite difficult for a film like "Little Miss Sunshine," which is entirely produced by mainland Chinese, to attract audiences with deeply ingrained preconceived notions.
Zhang Jun didn't have any good ideas either. The internet wasn't very developed these days. Otherwise, he could have hired some online trolls to promote the product through short videos, or found some film and television bloggers to do some promotion.
But the key issue is that it's underdeveloped and doesn't serve much purpose.
After considering for a while, Zhang Jun finally said, "Trust in the quality of our film. The audience has discerning eyes; they will like it."
There's nothing we can do about it; we can only wait for word of mouth from the audience. Even Zhang Jun, a skilled cook, can't make a meal without ingredients!
Meanwhile, when Cheng Yang returned to China Film Distribution Company, he learned that General Manager Wang Haoyan was looking for him.
"Mr. Wang, you wanted to see me?"
"Come, sit down and let's talk." Wang Haoyan pointed to the chair in front of the table.
After Cheng Yang sat down, he asked, "Have you seen the movie 'Little Miss Sunshine'? What did you think of it?"
"I've seen it!"
Cheng Yang recalled his viewing experience and then said, "The whole process was quite good. In my personal opinion, this is a very reliable film."
"So, does that mean China Film Group won't lose money distributing this movie?" Wang Haoyan asked.
"Not necessarily."
Cheng Yang remained conservative: "This movie doesn't have any big-name movie stars. I asked about the investment, and it's only six million, so it's a small production."
In the theatrical market, films lacking appeal are easily buried.
Cheng Yang's words reflected the reality, but Wang Haoyan, remembering Han Sanping's instructions, said, "It's alright, as long as the film's quality is guaranteed."
Mr. Han specifically instructed me to support the development of small and medium-sized film companies and to create convenience for them in terms of distribution.
"Perfect, let's use 'Little Miss Sunshine' as a pilot project!"
The two discussed the details and decided to take over the distribution of "Little Miss Sunshine." According to the schedule, they planned to release the film during the December holiday season.
However, China Film Distribution Company still needs to negotiate the specific distribution terms with Guanzhi Pictures.
Zhang Jun was very lucky; he caught a good time. In this era, China Film Group, as a state-owned enterprise, had a responsibility for the development of the industry.
No other distribution company has a distribution network as large as China Film Group's, nor do they have such favorable conditions.
But the reality remains. As Cheng Yang said, a film without big stars like this can easily be buried and become a forgotten gem of the times.
Ye Xiaoyi also heard Zhang Jun talk about the reality he was facing, and helped Zhang Jun come up with a few solutions, the first being the internet.
Although the internet is not as developed as it was later, it is not nonexistent.
For example, Sister Furong and the Back Dorm Boys, who are very popular on the internet today, became internet celebrities through various "weird" and "outrageous" behaviors.
Of course, the term "internet celebrity" doesn't exist yet, but that doesn't stop them from becoming famous.
Ye Xiaoyi suggested using BBS, blogs, forums, and other platforms to hype up Zhang Jun's identity.
"You are a graduate of Tsinghua University and a student in the Department of Astronomy, so you can say that you have nothing to do with movies."
Ye Xiaoyi said, "It's bound to pique people's curiosity that someone like this has won an award for a short film and now directed their first feature film."
We'll capitalize on this curiosity by generating some buzz online, thereby attracting people who are interested in you and the film to the cinema.
I think this is much better than our usual, step-by-step approach to promotion.
He Xuan, Zhang Jun, Jiang Tao, and the others looked at Ye Xiaoyi in surprise. Zhang Jun praised, "I sincerely want to commend you. No wonder you're from the Department of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University; you really did study marketing well!"
"So you mean, all the praise you gave me before was just empty words?"
"Not entirely, at least the part where they complimented you on your looks was true."