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This year's summer season did not start well. The two main theme blockbusters released on July 1, the Party Founding Day, failed at the box office.

Among them, [1921] was jointly produced by Shanghai Film Group and Tengxun Films, directed by Huang Jianxin, starring Huang Xuan and Ni Ni, and brought together a number of well-known actors such as Chen Kun, Liu Haoran, Li Chen, Dou Xiao, Wang Junkai, and Zhu Yilong.

With an investment of more than 400 million yuan, the final box office barely broke 500 million yuan, with a loss of more than 200 million yuan.

Another [Revolutionary] was not as good as [1921].

Produced by Guangguang Films, directed by the famous director Guan Hu, and joined by stars such as Zhang Songwen, Tong Liya, Li Yifeng, Peng Yuchang, Bai Ke, Han Geng, and Qin Hao, the cost was as high as 500 million.

As a result, the final box office was less than 200 million, which was a terrible failure.

The failure of these two main theme blockbusters at the box office also made everyone realize a fact that money from main theme movies is not so easy to make.

Movies like Wolf Warrior 2, Operation Red Sea, and My People, My Country are selling so well because they really have something to impress the audience.

Simply piling up stars and playing the patriotic card cannot make a movie a big hit.

In the second week of July, Chinese Doctor was released.

This film about epidemics is the first big hit in this summer.

The total box office exceeded 800 million in two weeks, and the reputation is also quite good.

Unfortunately, according to the box office trend, the final box office of Chinese Doctor is unlikely to reach 1.5 billion, and Maoyan predicts that the box office of the movie is 1.3 billion.

This result is completely a big hit for ordinary movies, but it is still more than 1 billion short of the box office of the similar theme of The Captain.

The market data of the summer season has not been rising, and the theaters are also very anxious. Everyone puts their hopes on Life Events and Fury, which will be released at the end of the month.

[Raging Fire] is a pure Hong Kong-style gangster film. After 7 years, director Benny Chan returns to his best gangster action film. With Zhen Zidan and Nicholas Tse as the leading actors, the film has been very popular before its release.

The theme of [Life Events] is not very pleasing. As a pure drama film, it is usually difficult to achieve much at the box office.

But who can blame Gu Wei, whose box office appeal is no longer questioned.

The previous [Better Days] and [Send You a Little Red Flower] are both realistic films, and they are still selling well at the box office.

This year's [Life Events] has naturally become the most anticipated movie in the summer season.

"The character I play is called "Mo Sanmei", a person who has been released from prison. The industry she is engaged in is also very special, specializing in the funeral industry."

Gu Wei finished recording [Fifty Kilometers of Taohuawu] in Hainan, flew back to Beijing, and accepted an exclusive interview about [Life Events] by the movie channel.

".The movie mainly tells the story between "Mo Sanmei" and the little girl "Xiaowen."

"Sange's life is a failure. He always feels that he is an unimportant person, but in the process of getting along with Xiaowen, he slowly finds that Xiaowen needs him.

Being needed by others is actually a very happy thing. Later, he found that he could not do without Xiaowen.

In this way, the two helped each other and grew up together."

"Regarding the role of Sange, I did not specifically say that I would challenge different styles or different personalities.

Because I had already cut my short hair when filming [Better Days] and [Send You a Little Red Flower].

The main thing is that the story of [Life Events] is very Very good, I like it very much.

Because funeral itself is a very special industry, and the theme of the movie is life and death, which is actually a bit heavy.

But the story itself, because of the interaction and emotions between the little girl and the third brother, brings more warmth to everyone. "

"There must be gains. I feel that I can gain something more or less from every movie I make.

Through filming [Life Events], I learned more about the funeral industry.

We came to this world decently, and they will also let us leave decently.

So I have more respect for this industry."

In fact, interviews can sometimes show how good an actor is.

There are some traffic stars in the circle who have no culture and no brains. If they don’t memorize the script in advance when they are interviewed by the media, they don’t know what to say.

When people ask him what he is acting, he doesn’t know.

What is the mental journey of the role, he still looks confused.

Anyway, when filming, he does whatever the director asks him to do. If he can’t memorize the lines, he can count numbers.

Of course, this has nothing to do with Gu Wei. After so many years in the industry, he has long been familiar with dealing with interviews.

No matter what questions the reporter asks, he can talk freely.

"Teacher Gu Wei, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be interviewed."

After the last question, the female reporter from the movie channel smiled and thanked Gu Wei.

"You're welcome. I also hope that "6 Princesses" can help promote [Life Events]."

"Of course, your interview will be broadcast in the next two days, and it will be more or less helpful to [Life Events]."

After the most important interview with the movie channel, Gu Wei and the director of [Life Events] Rao Xiaozhi accepted interviews from several online media.

Then the two joined other film creators to start a national roadshow lasting one and a half weeks.

As early as the end of June, [Life Events] had released a fixed poster, officially announcing that the film will be released nationwide on July 30.

Then, the trailer of "Remember You", the poster of "Looking at You", the special edition of "Wishing Stars in Dreams" and the MV of the movie's promotional song "Going to Heaven" were released one after another.

On July 24, the movie started a national road show with Beijing as the first stop, and the popularity of "Life Events" gradually reached its peak.

"Our play was finished in 2019, and now it can finally meet the audience!" After the road show in Beijing ended, Rao Xiaozhi said with emotion on the plane to the second stop, Wuhan.

He has always looked at this funeral-themed movie he directed differently, and discussed the release with Gu Wei many times after the filming.

Now that it is about to be released, it can be regarded as one of his wishes.

"Good food is not afraid of being late, the movie is undoubtedly excellent, and waiting for two years is also to choose a suitable time," Gu Wei replied with a smile.

"I understand this.

I am not worried about the box office of our movie. In fact, I am more looking forward to the audience's feedback and the evaluation of the movie's reputation after the release of "Life Events".

Just like a chef makes a dish, what he most looks forward to is the reaction of the diners when they taste it!"

Gu Wei couldn't help laughing when he heard what Rao Xiaozhi said.

He could fully understand the other party's feelings.

In Rao Xiaozhi's eyes, "Life Events" is undoubtedly excellent, and it may even be the most satisfying one of all the movies he has made.

That's why he is looking forward to the release of the movie so much.

To put it simply, I finally made such a great movie, of course I have to show it to everyone as soon as possible, so as to receive praise and applause.

Seeing through it but not saying it, Gu Wei smiled and turned to other topics.

"How are you preparing for [The Journey Home]?

When will it start filming in the second half of the year?"

"Almost ready.

The actors have all been decided, and the crew has been formed.

I flew to Ningxia some time ago to select the location, and some venues are being built there.

The film will probably start filming after the National Day."

Gu Wei nodded.

[The Journey Home] is about the evacuation of Chinese nationals from Africa, but it is still somewhat inconvenient to film abroad now, and filming in China saves time and effort.

Even if we build a venue in Ningxia to replicate the African environment, it will save money and be much safer than filming abroad.

"Who are the actors?"

"Zong Dawei, I found Zhang Yi, his acting skills and fame are no problem, and he is very suitable for this role."

Speaking of this, Rao Xiaozhi glanced at Gu Wei and continued.

"Originally I thought Zhang Songwen from the company could also play this role, but you also know that the box office of the two movies released at the beginning of this month was not very good.

He participated in both, and one of them was the male lead.

I think his fame and appeal are still a little different from Zhang Yi."

Gu Wei saw Rao Xiaozhi's concerns and waved his hand: "I didn't participate in [The Journey Home]. You are the director and of course you have the final say on what actors to choose."

Speaking of it, Zhang Songwen was unlucky. The ratings of the two movies [Revolutionary] and [1921] were actually good, and his performance in them was also good, but the box office was not good.

As the leading actor of one of them, he should bear some responsibility.

"But I asked Zhang Songwen to play the first-class secretary Zhang Ning.

Among the female characters, Bai Huanding has the most scenes. Zhang Tianai.

The newcomer Cheng Langding is a young artist under the company Zeng Shunxi. I personally auditioned him and his performance was not bad."

Gu Wei looked at Rao Xiaozhi with some surprise.

He did not intervene in the preparation of "The Journey Home". Although Rao Xiaozhi was the director of the drama, it was originally Guo Fan's project, and Lu Yang was also involved.

His initial idea was to let them do it themselves, and "Wei Ming Tian Xia" would just provide the money and the people.

Now that Rao Xiaozhi has selected so many actors from his company, it is likely that Yang Liwen found him.

They are all from the same company. As Yang Liwen is the general manager of the artist management company, Rao Xiaozhi must give her face.

"Okay, whatever you think is appropriate." Gu Wei nodded.

Speaking of which, the three young male actors under his company have big movies to play in the second half of the year.

Xiao Zhan successfully auditioned for "Unknown" and will play with Liang Chaowei; Zeng Shunxi has this "The Journey Home" and will partner with Zhang Yi; Peng Yuchang will star in Wen Muye's new film "Miracle·Stupid Kid", and is definitely the first protagonist.

After the release of these three movies, the status of the three will be raised to some extent.

The second stop of the roadshow was arranged in Wuhan because it was the filming location of [Life Events].

The film was shot in Wuhan, and actors such as Gu Wei also spoke Wuhan dialect in the play. The local Wuhan audiences present at the roadshow burst into great enthusiasm.

At the scene, the movie ended and the audience burst into long and warm applause.

"Director Rao, can you tell us the special meaning of the movie title?"

After the main creators came on stage, it was the turn of reporters and audiences on the scene to ask questions.

"There is a saying: There is nothing big in life except death. Our movie tells a story about the funeral industry, and this industry faces death every day.

Xiaowen's grandmother died, and Mo Sanmei's father also died. What the movie wants to tell us is: Respect death and live in the present."

After he said that, the reporter turned the topic to Gu Wei.

"Teacher Gu Wei, how do you understand the theme of the movie: People who plant stars."

Gu Wei took the microphone from Rao Xiaozhi and thought about it.

"You can understand that all the stars in the sky are transformed from our deceased relatives.

This expresses a unique view on death. People's physical form will disappear, but their spirit will last forever.

Just like the various forms of funeral culture in our country, whether it is burning paper or paying homage, they express nothing more than the grief of the deceased for the loss of their loved ones.

No matter they are in the underworld using the huge amounts of money and expensive cars and BMWs we burned in the past.”

Everyone laughed at this.

The most typical Chinese traditional funeral culture is burning things. It is believed that deceased relatives are in the underground world, and money can be given to them by burning gold and silver treasures tied with paper.

Of course, there are other things that are burned, from cars and cruise ships to paper figures and horses.

“It still turns into a star in the sky, and the emotion it represents remains unchanged.

This is what the movie wants to tell each of us.

There is nothing important in life except death. We should cherish everything now and the people around us.

Life will eventually fade away, but love will last forever.”

After he finished speaking, the audience burst into applause again.

After all the processes are completed, the last road show of the day is over, and the creators are ready to go back to the hotel to rest.

"That's so good. When you answered the question on stage just now, I was so moved that I almost cried."

Xin Zhilei approached Gu Wei and said.

"Is it that exaggerated?" Gu Wei glanced at her.

"You think I'm flattering you, but you're really touched!"

"Why didn't I see that your tear level was so low before?"

"An elder of mine passed away some time ago. When I was watching our movie, I couldn't help but feel a little emotional when I heard what you said." Xin Zhilei sighed slightly.

"Uh, sorry." Gu Wei looked at her and said apologetically.

Xin Zhilei smiled instead: "Whatever you are embarrassed about has nothing to do with you.

I don't feel much sadness now, just like you said, only love will never die.

Living well and cherishing the people in front of you is the best way to remember the loss of your loved ones."

Gu Wei looked at her and nodded.

As the road show progresses, [Life Events] has launched large-scale screening activities across the country.

This is also one of the promotion strategies before the movie is released.

Screening is sometimes a magic weapon for winning at the box office, and sometimes it is the culprit for a movie's failure on the street.

Not all released movies dare to use it.

The reason is simple.

If the quality of the movie is excellent, like "I'm Not the God of Medicine", screening it will naturally be a good way to promote it.

Everyone sees the movie early, word of mouth spreads first, and it will naturally have better box office results after it is released.

And some bad movies, such as "Little Times", will definitely suffer a serious decline in reputation along with large-scale movies.

Everyone already knows it’s a bad movie before it’s released, so they won’t watch it after it’s released.

"Life Events" is undoubtedly the former. Although it may not be as good as "I'm Not a Medicine God" in terms of quality, it is definitely at a very good level among domestic movies. (End of chapter)