At the same time, in a meeting room inside the Yunsu Group headquarters.
Gareth, who was wearing a grey suit, held a wine glass in his hand. He gently shook his right hand, causing the liquid in the glass to sway gently. He smiled faintly at the sky outside the window, and said calmly:
"Mr. Lin, do you think this is the last struggle of Huaying Animation?"
His words were vague, but it did not affect the other party's understanding of his meaning.
The man called Mr. Lin frowned slightly. His expression was not as relaxed as Gareth's. There was even some undisguised nervousness between his eyebrows. He spoke with some hesitation: "Are you sure these people's appearance will not affect the situation?"
"Of course." Gareth looked at him in surprise, as if he was puzzled by his idea. The man said as a matter of course: "Business and art have always been two different worlds. The aesthetics of the two are almost completely opposite. If you can move the cultural circle, you can get a high box office. Then how come those art films with great reputations have failed in recent years?"
Mr. Lin was not easily persuaded. He frowned and said, "Don't forget that even among ordinary people, Harry Potter is not badly popular among the audience."
Gareth said calmly, "So that's why we need excellent commercial films like "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" and "Madhouse" to suppress "Harry Potter", right?"
"Respecting Mountains and Rivers" and "Madhouse" are two of the works that Yunsu Group arranged to suppress.
The former is adapted from a popular IP and stars top-tier stars. The latter is directed by a well-known genius director in the commercial film industry. Either of these two films, if released in other schedules, would have been able to compete for the monthly box office champion, but they were put in the Lunar New Year schedule as cannon fodder to suppress Harry Potter.
In fact, this is exactly why Mr. Lin is uneasy.
"It's not your work, so of course you don't care, but 'Respect Mountains and Rivers' is the hard work of our company!" Mr. Lin rubbed his temples. If the person standing opposite him was not the vice president of Yunsu Group, he would almost be unable to control his inner anger at this moment.
Originally, the fans of the popular star were furious when they heard that the movie "Respect Mountains and Rivers" starring their brother was put on the Lunar New Year holiday as cannon fodder. In recent days, they have been tearing the company apart many times. Two days ago, they even tore apart a partner that the company valued very much!
If it weren't for the fact that they were eyeing Huaying Animation's IP and hoping to get the live-action TV series and movie rights for several of the animations after Huaying fell apart, who would be willing to use "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" as cannon fodder!
He wanted to say something, but when he looked up and met Gareth's suddenly cold gaze, he was stunned and didn't dare to speak for a while.
No matter what, Gareth is the vice president of Yunsu Group after all. It's okay for him to say a few words, but he dare not offend the other party. It is also for this reason that even though Mr. Lin is now full of anger, he has to suppress it in his heart and remain silent.
"That's enough," Gareth said coldly, with a tone of impatience: "This is just the first batch. No matter how strong Harry Potter is, can it withstand the pressure of more than a dozen movies? If everyone is like Huaying, who sells pity to fans and gets high box office, then the film industry should just stop making movies properly and just compete to see who can sell pity more."
Mr. Lin said dryly: "It's better this way."
"This is a dead end," Gareth said calmly, "Just wait and see."
This conversation only took place between the two of them, so naturally it was not enough for outsiders to know. As the release date of "Harry Potter" approached, the atmosphere in the entire Blue Star Film Circle became more and more tense.
In order to welcome the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, some people have simply analyzed and compiled the first list of people to attack "Harry Potter" - in terms of timing, there are seven or eight movies that happen to be close to the release date of "Harry Potter", and among them, only two are most likely to have an impact on the box office of "Harry Potter".
One is "Respect the Mountains and Rivers", an ancient political conspiracy movie starring popular traffic stars and adapted from a well-known online novel IP. Before signing the film copyright, the original novel had a very high popularity on the Internet. With the participation of popular traffic stars, the popularity of the movie will only go to a higher level.
Another movie is called "Madhouse". The director is recognized by the film industry as the most gifted director of the new generation. The box office of his last commercial film was as high as 10 billion. Among young directors, this result is terrifying.
The most important thing is that even these two films are just the best among the first batch of siege films.
Yunsu Group's plan is simple and crude:
As we all know, the box office of a movie is usually the highest in the first one or two weeks after its release, and it will gradually decline as time goes by. The so-called encirclement and suppression is taking advantage of this law. In other words, "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" and "Madhouse" are just the main players that Yunsu Group specially selected to deal with "Harry Potter".
A week later, when "Respect Mountains and Rivers" and "Madhouse" experience their usual box office decline due to lack of stamina, the second batch of anti-China films arranged by Yunsu will also be released as scheduled.
The entire Lunar New Year holiday season will continue in this way until Harry Potter is taken off the screen.
After realizing this, both netizens and media outlets have been mocking "Respecting Mountains and Rivers" and "Madhouse":
"It's a good movie. Why did it have to be released in any other time slot? Why did it have to be released during the Lunar New Year holiday? Is it so cool to be Yunsu's dog?"
"Fans of the original novel of "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" are crying. They were looking forward to this drama, but now the operation of the film and television company is too disgusting. Whoever wants to watch it can watch it. I won't go to the cinema to watch it anyway. I will wait for it to be released and watch it for free on video websites. Anyway, I have VIP membership on all the websites."
If the appearance of "Respecting Mountains and Rivers" caused countless netizens to complain, then the focus of media reporters and film critics was on "Madhouse".
"If the cannon fodder of "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" can be considered excusable, the choice of the release date of "Madhouse" is something I cannot understand in any way." Facing the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, one of the film critics said: "As the most outstanding young director of the new generation of Blue Star, Director Ryan could have clearly rejected this schedule, but he did not."
"Why? I guess it's because Yunsu Group offered him benefits that he couldn't refuse, so he was willing to become a member of the group that sniped Harry Potter. Frankly speaking, I once thought that Director Ryan was one of the young directors with the greatest hope of becoming a big director in the future... I'm sorry, I can't say any more, he disappointed me so much..."
However, in response to the netizens' clamor, both Yunsu Group, the mastermind behind the scenes, and the film and television companies that are part of this Shura Field, chose to turn a blind eye. In the face of absolute interests, the so-called reputation can be ignored. At this time, not responding is the best response.
Of course, not responding does not mean that these film and television companies have done nothing.
Although they had already regarded these movies as cannon fodder and sentenced them to death since they arranged them to the same schedule as the film studio, it was not an easy task to be one of the cannon fodders that could drag down "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" even if they were cannon fodder.
Therefore, as early as a month before the movie was released, various companies began their massive publicity and marketing!
On February 1st, just overnight, the trailer for "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" appeared on the billboards of every subway station on Blue Star.
On February 4, Ryan, the director of "Madhouse", announced that his new film "Madhouse" would be screened in advance before its official release, and welcomed senior film critics to watch the film. The next day, the film "Madhouse" was successfully completed.
Although many people are dissatisfied with the release date of "Madhouse", when it comes to the plot of "Madhouse", even the most picky film critics have to admit that, apart from this special release date, "Madhouse" is indeed an impeccable and excellent movie.
On February 7, "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" opened for advance ticket booking, and in less than half an hour, the first batch of one million movie tickets were sold out!
That afternoon, word spread online that fans of "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" were planning to raise funds together to book several cinemas. They also claimed that every qualified traffic fan should watch the movie at least 20 times, and anyone who watched it less than 10 times would be considered a failure.
On February 9, "Madhouse" ranked second on the list of the most anticipated movies of the year, second only to the "Harry Potter" series of Huaying Animation, and its actual support rate was only 0.1% lower than that of Huaying. At the same time, "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" had not yet been officially released, but in just two days, its pre-sale box office had reached 90 million!
In contrast, there is the promotion of painting and film.
When film and television companies' promotional ads were everywhere, intentionally or unintentionally letting fans go crazy, Huaying Animation showed a completely opposite attitude -
You can watch it multiple times, but the prerequisite is that you want to watch it, not just for the sake of watching it multiple times. Don’t use the company’s position to morally blackmail passers-by to watch it multiple times.
The fans felt both relieved and helpless.
Fortunately, even at this critical moment, Huaying is still the sincere and pure Huaying. Unfortunately, Huaying could play the sympathy card to attract uninterested audiences to contribute to the movie tickets, but he is unwilling to do so and refuses fans to watch the movie for no reason.
Do you have to be so honest
Fans were so disappointed that they became online trolls. Worried that their overly arrogant promotion would cause disgust among passers-by, fans simply took out materials from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", added background music, and made various animation clips, which attracted many people to join in.
Logically speaking, faced with such a bloody competition for schedules, fans of Huaying should not have a good impression of "Respecting Mountains and Rivers" and "Madhouse".
In fact, fans of the film industry really don't have a good impression of these two films that are coming in with great momentum.
But not having a favorable impression does not mean that they will deliberately attack these two movies. Firstly, Huaying's own survival is hanging by a thread, and they no longer have the energy and energy to argue with others. Secondly, as the saying goes, every wrong has its perpetrator, and Yunsu's hatred does not need to harm others. After all, no matter what Yunsu does, the crew who passively become cannon fodder are innocent.
If the low-key nature of Huaying fans was still within the expectations of many people, then the attitude of fans of "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" and "Madhouse" towards Huaying Animation and "Harry Potter" was puzzling.
Perhaps it was because the recent shadow painting incident resonated with too many people, or perhaps it was because the fans themselves were also worried about the release date and had no intention of starting an online war of words. The fact presented to everyone right now is that whether it was "Madhouse" or "Respect the Mountains and Rivers", from beginning to end, the main audience of these two films were only focused on themselves and had no intention of discrediting "Harry Potter".
It's as if Harry Potter didn't exist.
But in reality—
There is only one day left before the official release of the three movies. In a fan group of the popular star starring in "Respect the Mountains and Rivers", someone suddenly asked: "Is it really okay for us to do this?"
She was answered with silence.
Of course, they also saw the recent Huaying incident, and were also moved by what happened to Huaying Animation. If "Harry Potter" had not happened to be their favorite, they would actually be willing to buy a "Harry Potter" movie ticket to show their support.
But…
"This is my brother's first movie. The box office of the movie will be directly linked to my brother's future resources. The rubbish film and television company is so unkind that they have to schedule the movie in this time slot as cannon fodder. What else can we do except support it? Are we going to watch my brother's first movie fail miserably?"
"How about we buy a ticket for Harry Potter as well?" Another fan suddenly said, "Isn't the rubbish production company trying to use Respect for Mountains and Rivers to consume Harry Potter? We won't let them succeed! This way, it won't affect our support for my brother, and it will also make the company's idea go awry!"
If it were other competitors, in order to compete with their rivals, they might not necessarily consider buying each other's movie tickets.
But animation is different.
As an animation, Harry Potter and the Phantom Flame has nothing to do with their older brother. As a competitor, the first Harry Potter film grossed 4 billion yuan, and no matter how arrogant they are, they are not ignorant enough to compete with Harry Potter in terms of box office.
Since the box office is destined to be lower than that of "Harry Potter", what do they have to worry about
It would be better to support the movie by buying a ticket for "Harry Potter" to offset the possible negative impact of "Respecting the Mountains and Rivers" on "Harry Potter"!
As the saying goes, if you are unkind, I will be unjust. Their beloved brother is having a hard time, and the stupid company will have no ease!
While the fans of "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" were still indignant about the treatment of their brother, the fan group of "Madhouse" on the other side fell into another awkward silence.
Fans of "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" can be dismissive of netizens and reporters' sarcasm - the fighting power of star-chasing girls is no joke. But for fans of "Madhouse" who were attracted by the talent of director Ryan from the beginning, the accusations of the media and newspapers are not groundless, but they express what they think in their hearts.
Movie works that pay attention to quality can naturally attract fans who also attach great importance to the quality of the works.
Before the release date of "Madhouse" was officially announced, many fans of "Madhouse" even joined the nationwide protest and made the same oath as everyone else. Some even went so far as to support both Ryan and Muxuxing. However, the news told them that one of their favorite directors was the culprit who pushed another director they liked to a dead end!
What is this
As a talented director, shouldn't Ryan stand on Muxuxing's side? Or is it really like what the media reporters said, that he stood on the opposite side of Muxuxing without hesitation because Yunsu Group promised him benefits that moved him
Among Ryan's personal fan group, when some fans tried to discuss the critics' reviews after the preview and talked about their expectations for the upcoming movie as usual, only a few people responded to him.
After ten minutes of awkward chat, someone suddenly said something without any context: "This is the last time."
The last time? The last time of what
Before anyone else could ask, the next second, all the fans who were following the group knew the reason, because soon, the person continued to type: "I will go to see the movie "Madhouse", but it's not because I like Ryan, but because I once promised that I would support all the truly excellent movies that I like until the day when quality is king."
"So, I will not give up supporting Harry Potter because of this. In my opinion, it is also an excellent animation work."
So what about the last time
What does this so-called last time mean
There was no need to ask. When the text "xxx has left the group chat" appeared on the screen, everyone understood the unfinished meaning of this sentence.
—This is the last time. From now on, I will no longer support the works of Director Ryan. Even if his films are still excellent, they will no longer be my favorite movies.
No one spoke.
As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Most of those who can join this group are normal fans who can distinguish right from wrong. There is no need for further analysis to know who is right and who is wrong between "Madhouse" and "Harry Potter". In fact, this is exactly why they feel hesitant and sad.
As for the director.
On one side is Ryan, who is focused on promotion and turns a blind eye to the fans' demands, as if he didn't see them at all. On the other side is Mu Suxing, who advises fans to be rational and not to rewatch the game for the sake of rewatching the game, and not to morally blackmail others because of Huaying's situation. One is in an invincible position, while the other is on the edge of a cliff and may fall into the abyss at any time.
It is clear at a glance who is superior and who is inferior.
With this comparison, the first person came forward again. Fans who had deliberately not mentioned "Harry Potter" also spoke up:
"To be honest, Ryan really disappointed us this time. Are the conditions offered by Yunsu so good? So good that he has lost the most basic empathy as a director?"
"I have been struggling with Shuangdan for several days, but now I don't want to struggle with it anymore. I will just support my Xingxing wholeheartedly."
"A few days ago, I swore an oath with my fans, but now, emmmmm, it's really too embarrassing. I don't want to say anything. If you can still be fans, it's because you are strong. I can't hold on any longer, so I'm leaving now."
Along with the rapidly scrolling messages, prompts to quit the group popped up one after another. Until the administrator came out to ban the message, the prompts to quit the group never stopped flashing.
As for what happened among the fans of "Respect the Mountains and Rivers" and "Madhouse", people outside the film industry naturally had no way of knowing. When the calendar turned over February 9th to the destined extraordinary February 10th, everyone's eyes were focused on the major cinemas on Blue Star.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is about to be released.
When Shen Nian arrived at the largest cinema in Xingning City, the outside of the cinema was already surrounded by audiences and fans waiting to enter.
There were many young girls wearing scarves in the colors of popular stars, there were young audiences who were obviously young but looked solemn and sad, and there were some who knew nothing and were therefore not affected by the overall atmosphere. They were just ordinary audiences who wanted to come to the cinema to watch a movie during the year.
besides…
When Shen Nian looked away from the ordinary audience and saw a group of middle-aged and elderly people who looked normal, even though he had been mentally prepared for this, he couldn't help but be shocked!
Look at those audiences who are just like ordinary people, quietly queuing in the queue!
The great director Ye Changlin, the writer Wang Chan, the painter Tan Qingyi, the animation master Xin Zongyi... almost without exception, all the mainstays of the cultural circles from all walks of life who had previously spoken out for Huaying on the Internet were present.
Most importantly…
Shen Nian lowered his eyes, and his eyes glanced calmly at the middle-aged men who walked out of the cinema, led by the waiter.
If she remembered correctly, the middle-aged man leading the group was the person in charge of this year's Muse Art Festival and the director of the official department of Blue Star Culture, Shen Laiming.
Noticing this, Shen Nian subconsciously took a breath.
Even compared with all the movies that have ever been released on Blue Star, the pomp and treatment of "Harry Potter" this time is probably unprecedented and will never be repeated, right
Thinking of this, Shen Nian didn't know what kind of mood he was in at the moment.
I am happy that my favorite work can be valued by everyone, but I am sad that such a seemingly calm and grand scene is just the final farewell for "Harry Potter" and Animation Studios.