Chapter 497: Charlotte and the Newcomer
In Wang Hao's opinion, the so-called "box office appeal" of actors in the circle is actually just a false proposition.
Filmmaking is an art form of teamwork, and the final box office performance is the result of the combined influence of multiple factors.
A good script, a good director, good actors, a good team, good publicity, and even a little good luck.
So actors can influence the box office, but actors cannot determine the box office.
However, this situation is often based on a mature market.
In today's China, the film and television industry is still in a stage of rapid development, so various situations will occur, and cases of human security dramas are endless.
To the extent that for some actors, as long as they appear in a movie, the audience will buy tickets to support them when they see that they are in the movie.
This situation first occurred with Hong Kong superstars such as Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, and Andy Lau, or mainland Chinese superstars Li Lianjie and Ge You.
Next are Huang Bo, Zhang Yi, Wang Baoqiang, Wu Jing, Shen Teng and others. These actors have a strong sense of personal IP and can attract audiences into the theaters. At the same time, they have good abilities and are smart enough to know how to choose good scripts and cooperate with production teams.
However, with the development of the industry, more opportunities and a larger market, another situation has emerged, that is, the second type of traffic stars represented by Wu, Lu and others.
The box office appeal of this kind of traffic star is that fans buy tickets to support their own brothers, no matter how bad the movie is.
To be honest, these are the actors who truly carry the box office, but the market will eventually prove that traffic stars cannot carry too high a box office.
It's like a certain actor named Xiao. Before his martial arts movie was released, the pre-sale box office exceeded 3 million yuan. He was touted as the "masterpiece" and "box office savior" of the Spring Festival. However, after the movie was released, the box office performance quickly fell to the bottom, and even experienced negative box office growth, which is extremely rare in the history of domestic films.
So those who booked movie tickets in advance ended up getting their tickets refunded, right? What happened to your promise to support your brother wholeheartedly and not change your mind? What happened to your promise to always protect your best brother?
Your brother and you are close friends, so you are playing tricks on your brother, right?
Of course, Shen Teng in "Charlotte's Troubles" definitely does not belong to this category. Although he was called the school idol of the Military Art Academy when he was young, he is no longer a traffic star now. He is a real talent in the comedy field.
Especially with the release of the movie "Charlotte", which earned 6 million yuan at the first week box office a week later, he became popular again, continuing the popularity of "Should I Help You or Not" on the Spring Festival Gala a few months ago.
At the same time, various classic lines in the movie began to spread virally on the Internet. Not only Shen Teng, but other supporting actors also became popular.
Like "Charlotte is a miserable child. His father has been missing since he was born", "What Dongmei", "Still looking at your sister-in-law", "I call you brother and you call me dad, we each have our own way", "No!".
There are countless similar Internet buzzwords and memes, all contributed by the movie "Charlotte's Troubles".
In addition, various famous scenes are also talked about by people. Nowadays, unlike in the past, with the increasing size of the Internet, the audience has more say in a work.
Therefore, a work that has more out-of-the-box content and can be discussed by more people often means that it has the foundation for success.
For example, in "Charlotte's Troubles", Yuan Hua, played by Yin Zheng, calls Qiu Ya and is rejected, with the soundtrack of Yi Jian Mei superimposed.
There is also Teacher Wang who saved Xia Luoma Dongmei and opened the fan, setting an example for others.
And their reunion many years later, Yuan Hua dressed as Tidal Sea Spirit.
Then there was Jay Chou who got beaten up for his good voice.
Oh, by the way, speaking of Jay Chou getting beaten up for his good voice, in the movie "Charlotte's Troubles", the male protagonist Charlotte traveled back in time and became famous for copying songs. Then there was a plot where he was invited to participate in the Spring Festival Gala with Na Ying and sang "See You in 98".
After he became famous through "Meet in 98", he became a superstar. Later, he hosted a variety show called "Good Voice" similar to "The Voice of China", and beat up "Jay Chou" whose luck was taken away by him.
In the original version of "Charlotte's Troubles", these scenes involving real celebrities were difficult to invite because the Happy Twist team was not well-known at the time, so they could only invite some people who looked similar to them.
However, Galaxy Pictures, which has invested in and produced "Charlotte's Troubles", has already registered the copyright of "The Voice of China" in advance by Wang Hao. This program is a collaboration between Galaxy Group and the TV station.
Now that they are filming "Charlotte's Troubles", they have the Galaxy Group's brand and the copyright of "The Voice of China". There is no place for "The Voice" or the counterfeit, and they just let the real thing take the stage.
So in "Charlotte's Troubles" that the audience saw, Charlotte really sang on the same stage with Na Jie, and he also beat up the real Jay Chou on the stage of "The Voice of China".
When people in the cinema saw this scene, they burst into laughter.
But what they didn’t know was that just to make Na Jie and Jay Chou in the movie look younger and fit the time period in which the plot took place, Starlight Fantasy also charged the crew a friendship price for special effects.
There is also a small easter egg in the movie. Although the movie "Charlotte's Troubles" is difficult to integrate into the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] due to style issues, it can at least be regarded as a work of the Galaxy Group. In addition, it is a comedy, so an easter egg was added at the end of "Charlotte's Troubles".
The rebirth of Charlotte in the movie is no longer just a dream, but a combination of "Buried" and "The Shallows" in the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe], arranging that everything she experienced before was caused by a dream machine. Charlotte was in a car accident and then awakened by the subconscious therapy device.
At the end of the movie, there is a special shot of the equipment in front of Charlotte's bed. The "maze-shaped" "Fantasy Technology" company logo on it is extremely obvious, which makes the audience who have watched the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" series couldn't help but smile.
Of course, this movie definitely doesn't have a post-credits Easter egg, and it doesn't belong to the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] series. If we really have to make an analogy, it is somewhat similar to the previous "Lost on Journey" and "Lost in Thailand", which Xu Zheng later obtained authorization to shoot from Galaxy Group. They are all fan creations and have nothing to do with the main universe.
Even if it has nothing to do with the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, the efforts made by the "Charlotte's Troubles" team to make the audience laugh are worth it.
At least when the main creative members of the crew were on the roadshow, the audience saw them all and screamed and shouted enthusiastically.
Following this trend, Tao gave the final box office estimate for "Charlotte's Troubles" - 18 billion.
At the same time, many film and television companies extended olive branches to Shen Teng, and some comedy scripts were also handed to his agent.
However, Galaxy Group had already invested in the Happy Twist team before filming the movie "Charlotte's Troubles", and in addition to this "Charlotte's Troubles", the company also signed the copyright of "The Richest Man in Xihong City" and prepared to shoot and produce it. So he had to wait until this movie was finished before he could take on new film and television projects.
But let’s not talk about future projects for now. At least now in August, the end of this summer season, with the appearance of several works such as "Monster Hunt" and "Charlotte's Troubles", it has finally come to a successful conclusion.
After all, with the end of summer vacation, both elementary school students and college students have to start school.
On the campus of Shanghai Film Academy, the September sunshine penetrates the branches of the plane trees, casting flowing spots of light on the concrete floor in front of the performance building.
Minami Hamabe lowered her head and adjusted her light gray skirt. She stood in front of the gate of the Film Academy, looking at her brothers and sisters who were slightly older than her coming and going at the door, listening to the unfamiliar language, and the toes of her patent leather loafers unconsciously drew circles on the ground.
This is her unique little gesture when facing an unfamiliar environment. When she was in Japan, she was often praised for being cute by people who liked her.
But before she could continue to be nervous, a wisp of wind with a scent of citrus suddenly brushed past her ears, and then a soft and familiar voice appeared beside her accompanied by the sound of footsteps.
"Hello!"
Hamabe Minami subconsciously turned her head to look in the direction of the voice, and saw a beautiful girl who was about her age, greeting her with a sweet smile.
"Konni-chiha!" Minami Hamabe quickly bowed slightly and responded in Japanese, "I'm Minami Hamabe, from Tokyo."
"What a coincidence, my name is Nagano Meiyu, and I'm also from Tokyo."
Mei Nagano smiled brightly. It was indeed a happy thing to meet fellow countrymen in China.
"Senior Nagano, are you here to study as well?"
"Yes, I came here last year. You are a freshman this year, right? I don't know where the classroom is. I will take you there..."
The two girls from the same place walked into the Shanghai Film Academy while chatting enthusiastically in their hometown dialect and sharing their experiences.
The school is not very big. Mei Nagano led the way and quickly brought Minami Hamabe to the classroom.
At this time, there were a dozen or so young boys and girls who looked similar to them, all around fourteen or fifteen years old, sitting sparsely in the classroom. Some of them were gathered together chatting, while others were sitting alone at their desks, daydreaming.
After saying goodbye to Senior Nagano, Hamabe Minami took a look at the situation in the classroom and quickly locked on her target. She strode to the second row on the left side of the classroom and sat down next to a girl who was probably the same age as her.
"Hello, my name is Hamabe Minami!"
The girl had long straight black hair, wide facial features and a fleshy face. Although her face was small, only the size of a palm, she did not have a delicate pointed chin. Looking at her, she made people feel very comfortable, as if the white moonlight, good student and obedient girl in youth campus literature were all embodied.
When Hamabe Minami greeted her in the broken Chinese that she had only learned for half a year, the girl was stunned for a moment, then she reacted and responded a little nervously.
"Hello... Hello, my name is Zhang Jingyi."
Zhang Jingyi showed a decent smile on her face. Although the girl in front of her looked like a foreigner and she knew before enrolling that this was an international exchange class, the young people of the new era were no longer as cautious, sensitive and inferior as people in the past when facing foreigners.
Moreover, Zhang Jingyi herself is a generous person. Although she has the face of a studious student, in fact, when she was in school, she also participated in the school art festival and campus news recording many times.
As for Hamabe Minami, although she is young and a little restrained because she came to China alone, she actually participated in the "2011th Toho Cinderella Contest" in 10 when she was years old and won the New Generation Award. She took this as an opportunity to enter the entertainment industry and made her official debut in the same year by starring in the short film "Sorairo Monogatari" directed by Miki Takahiro.
After that, in 2012, Minami Hamabe starred in several suspenseful mystery Japanese dramas starring Mikako, "Naniwa Boy Detectives", and took over the Noto Peninsula earthquake reconstruction support film "Noto no Hana Yome, Sorekara".
In 2013, he played the childhood of the character "Miyachi" in the special drama "Female Nobunaga's First Night" produced by Fuji TV.
In 2014, she also starred in the warm Japanese drama "My Survival Time" starring Haruma Miura, and in the same year she starred in the short film "Setagaya Ward, 39-chome".
It can be said that Hamabe Minami debuted as a child star and has more acting experience than all her peers in this room.
So there was no awkwardness when two people like this sat together, and they quickly became familiar with each other. Even though they stumbled a little during the conversation, they were still very happy chatting.
Following this communication, they discovered that the reason they met in this classroom was the same.
The reason why Minami Hamabe came all the way from Japan to China was the same as Zhang Jingyi and the others, which was to participate in the acting youth class jointly organized by the Galaxy Group and the Shangjing Film Academy.
To be more precise, this is an official training camp jointly organized by Galaxy Group and Beijing Film Academy. The boys and girls in it are all young people from China and neighboring countries who have certain aspirations for a career in the performing arts.
Galaxy Group brought them together and trained them imitating the trainee model of Korean brokerage companies. On the one hand, it was to cultivate excellent new generation of actors for the Asian film and television cultural industry and select suitable seedlings from an early age. On the other hand, it was also to establish correct concepts and awareness for the younger generation of artists.
In particular, there are many young talents from neighboring countries, such as South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Letting them study and live together with young Chinese artists is like the ancient system of sending hostages to study in China, which can greatly enhance their favorability and impression of China.
And as long as they meet the learning requirements in this training camp and their college entrance examination scores meet the score requirements, they can successfully enter the undergraduate class of Shanghai Film Academy to continue their studies.
At the same time, before they entered school, the Galaxy Group also promised that they would be given suitable roles in the company's movies and TV series in the future.
Those with outstanding performance may even have the opportunity to participate in the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" and work with the internationally renowned director Wang Hao.
This is exactly the reason why Hamabe Minami, a child star who has already debuted and is still somewhat famous, is willing to give up her career in Japan and come to China for training and study.
(End of this chapter)
In Wang Hao's opinion, the so-called "box office appeal" of actors in the circle is actually just a false proposition.
Filmmaking is an art form of teamwork, and the final box office performance is the result of the combined influence of multiple factors.
A good script, a good director, good actors, a good team, good publicity, and even a little good luck.
So actors can influence the box office, but actors cannot determine the box office.
However, this situation is often based on a mature market.
In today's China, the film and television industry is still in a stage of rapid development, so various situations will occur, and cases of human security dramas are endless.
To the extent that for some actors, as long as they appear in a movie, the audience will buy tickets to support them when they see that they are in the movie.
This situation first occurred with Hong Kong superstars such as Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, and Andy Lau, or mainland Chinese superstars Li Lianjie and Ge You.
Next are Huang Bo, Zhang Yi, Wang Baoqiang, Wu Jing, Shen Teng and others. These actors have a strong sense of personal IP and can attract audiences into the theaters. At the same time, they have good abilities and are smart enough to know how to choose good scripts and cooperate with production teams.
However, with the development of the industry, more opportunities and a larger market, another situation has emerged, that is, the second type of traffic stars represented by Wu, Lu and others.
The box office appeal of this kind of traffic star is that fans buy tickets to support their own brothers, no matter how bad the movie is.
To be honest, these are the actors who truly carry the box office, but the market will eventually prove that traffic stars cannot carry too high a box office.
It's like a certain actor named Xiao. Before his martial arts movie was released, the pre-sale box office exceeded 3 million yuan. He was touted as the "masterpiece" and "box office savior" of the Spring Festival. However, after the movie was released, the box office performance quickly fell to the bottom, and even experienced negative box office growth, which is extremely rare in the history of domestic films.
So those who booked movie tickets in advance ended up getting their tickets refunded, right? What happened to your promise to support your brother wholeheartedly and not change your mind? What happened to your promise to always protect your best brother?
Your brother and you are close friends, so you are playing tricks on your brother, right?
Of course, Shen Teng in "Charlotte's Troubles" definitely does not belong to this category. Although he was called the school idol of the Military Art Academy when he was young, he is no longer a traffic star now. He is a real talent in the comedy field.
Especially with the release of the movie "Charlotte", which earned 6 million yuan at the first week box office a week later, he became popular again, continuing the popularity of "Should I Help You or Not" on the Spring Festival Gala a few months ago.
At the same time, various classic lines in the movie began to spread virally on the Internet. Not only Shen Teng, but other supporting actors also became popular.
Like "Charlotte is a miserable child. His father has been missing since he was born", "What Dongmei", "Still looking at your sister-in-law", "I call you brother and you call me dad, we each have our own way", "No!".
There are countless similar Internet buzzwords and memes, all contributed by the movie "Charlotte's Troubles".
In addition, various famous scenes are also talked about by people. Nowadays, unlike in the past, with the increasing size of the Internet, the audience has more say in a work.
Therefore, a work that has more out-of-the-box content and can be discussed by more people often means that it has the foundation for success.
For example, in "Charlotte's Troubles", Yuan Hua, played by Yin Zheng, calls Qiu Ya and is rejected, with the soundtrack of Yi Jian Mei superimposed.
There is also Teacher Wang who saved Xia Luoma Dongmei and opened the fan, setting an example for others.
And their reunion many years later, Yuan Hua dressed as Tidal Sea Spirit.
Then there was Jay Chou who got beaten up for his good voice.
Oh, by the way, speaking of Jay Chou getting beaten up for his good voice, in the movie "Charlotte's Troubles", the male protagonist Charlotte traveled back in time and became famous for copying songs. Then there was a plot where he was invited to participate in the Spring Festival Gala with Na Ying and sang "See You in 98".
After he became famous through "Meet in 98", he became a superstar. Later, he hosted a variety show called "Good Voice" similar to "The Voice of China", and beat up "Jay Chou" whose luck was taken away by him.
In the original version of "Charlotte's Troubles", these scenes involving real celebrities were difficult to invite because the Happy Twist team was not well-known at the time, so they could only invite some people who looked similar to them.
However, Galaxy Pictures, which has invested in and produced "Charlotte's Troubles", has already registered the copyright of "The Voice of China" in advance by Wang Hao. This program is a collaboration between Galaxy Group and the TV station.
Now that they are filming "Charlotte's Troubles", they have the Galaxy Group's brand and the copyright of "The Voice of China". There is no place for "The Voice" or the counterfeit, and they just let the real thing take the stage.
So in "Charlotte's Troubles" that the audience saw, Charlotte really sang on the same stage with Na Jie, and he also beat up the real Jay Chou on the stage of "The Voice of China".
When people in the cinema saw this scene, they burst into laughter.
But what they didn’t know was that just to make Na Jie and Jay Chou in the movie look younger and fit the time period in which the plot took place, Starlight Fantasy also charged the crew a friendship price for special effects.
There is also a small easter egg in the movie. Although the movie "Charlotte's Troubles" is difficult to integrate into the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] due to style issues, it can at least be regarded as a work of the Galaxy Group. In addition, it is a comedy, so an easter egg was added at the end of "Charlotte's Troubles".
The rebirth of Charlotte in the movie is no longer just a dream, but a combination of "Buried" and "The Shallows" in the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe], arranging that everything she experienced before was caused by a dream machine. Charlotte was in a car accident and then awakened by the subconscious therapy device.
At the end of the movie, there is a special shot of the equipment in front of Charlotte's bed. The "maze-shaped" "Fantasy Technology" company logo on it is extremely obvious, which makes the audience who have watched the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" series couldn't help but smile.
Of course, this movie definitely doesn't have a post-credits Easter egg, and it doesn't belong to the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] series. If we really have to make an analogy, it is somewhat similar to the previous "Lost on Journey" and "Lost in Thailand", which Xu Zheng later obtained authorization to shoot from Galaxy Group. They are all fan creations and have nothing to do with the main universe.
Even if it has nothing to do with the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, the efforts made by the "Charlotte's Troubles" team to make the audience laugh are worth it.
At least when the main creative members of the crew were on the roadshow, the audience saw them all and screamed and shouted enthusiastically.
Following this trend, Tao gave the final box office estimate for "Charlotte's Troubles" - 18 billion.
At the same time, many film and television companies extended olive branches to Shen Teng, and some comedy scripts were also handed to his agent.
However, Galaxy Group had already invested in the Happy Twist team before filming the movie "Charlotte's Troubles", and in addition to this "Charlotte's Troubles", the company also signed the copyright of "The Richest Man in Xihong City" and prepared to shoot and produce it. So he had to wait until this movie was finished before he could take on new film and television projects.
But let’s not talk about future projects for now. At least now in August, the end of this summer season, with the appearance of several works such as "Monster Hunt" and "Charlotte's Troubles", it has finally come to a successful conclusion.
After all, with the end of summer vacation, both elementary school students and college students have to start school.
On the campus of Shanghai Film Academy, the September sunshine penetrates the branches of the plane trees, casting flowing spots of light on the concrete floor in front of the performance building.
Minami Hamabe lowered her head and adjusted her light gray skirt. She stood in front of the gate of the Film Academy, looking at her brothers and sisters who were slightly older than her coming and going at the door, listening to the unfamiliar language, and the toes of her patent leather loafers unconsciously drew circles on the ground.
This is her unique little gesture when facing an unfamiliar environment. When she was in Japan, she was often praised for being cute by people who liked her.
But before she could continue to be nervous, a wisp of wind with a scent of citrus suddenly brushed past her ears, and then a soft and familiar voice appeared beside her accompanied by the sound of footsteps.
"Hello!"
Hamabe Minami subconsciously turned her head to look in the direction of the voice, and saw a beautiful girl who was about her age, greeting her with a sweet smile.
"Konni-chiha!" Minami Hamabe quickly bowed slightly and responded in Japanese, "I'm Minami Hamabe, from Tokyo."
"What a coincidence, my name is Nagano Meiyu, and I'm also from Tokyo."
Mei Nagano smiled brightly. It was indeed a happy thing to meet fellow countrymen in China.
"Senior Nagano, are you here to study as well?"
"Yes, I came here last year. You are a freshman this year, right? I don't know where the classroom is. I will take you there..."
The two girls from the same place walked into the Shanghai Film Academy while chatting enthusiastically in their hometown dialect and sharing their experiences.
The school is not very big. Mei Nagano led the way and quickly brought Minami Hamabe to the classroom.
At this time, there were a dozen or so young boys and girls who looked similar to them, all around fourteen or fifteen years old, sitting sparsely in the classroom. Some of them were gathered together chatting, while others were sitting alone at their desks, daydreaming.
After saying goodbye to Senior Nagano, Hamabe Minami took a look at the situation in the classroom and quickly locked on her target. She strode to the second row on the left side of the classroom and sat down next to a girl who was probably the same age as her.
"Hello, my name is Hamabe Minami!"
The girl had long straight black hair, wide facial features and a fleshy face. Although her face was small, only the size of a palm, she did not have a delicate pointed chin. Looking at her, she made people feel very comfortable, as if the white moonlight, good student and obedient girl in youth campus literature were all embodied.
When Hamabe Minami greeted her in the broken Chinese that she had only learned for half a year, the girl was stunned for a moment, then she reacted and responded a little nervously.
"Hello... Hello, my name is Zhang Jingyi."
Zhang Jingyi showed a decent smile on her face. Although the girl in front of her looked like a foreigner and she knew before enrolling that this was an international exchange class, the young people of the new era were no longer as cautious, sensitive and inferior as people in the past when facing foreigners.
Moreover, Zhang Jingyi herself is a generous person. Although she has the face of a studious student, in fact, when she was in school, she also participated in the school art festival and campus news recording many times.
As for Hamabe Minami, although she is young and a little restrained because she came to China alone, she actually participated in the "2011th Toho Cinderella Contest" in 10 when she was years old and won the New Generation Award. She took this as an opportunity to enter the entertainment industry and made her official debut in the same year by starring in the short film "Sorairo Monogatari" directed by Miki Takahiro.
After that, in 2012, Minami Hamabe starred in several suspenseful mystery Japanese dramas starring Mikako, "Naniwa Boy Detectives", and took over the Noto Peninsula earthquake reconstruction support film "Noto no Hana Yome, Sorekara".
In 2013, he played the childhood of the character "Miyachi" in the special drama "Female Nobunaga's First Night" produced by Fuji TV.
In 2014, she also starred in the warm Japanese drama "My Survival Time" starring Haruma Miura, and in the same year she starred in the short film "Setagaya Ward, 39-chome".
It can be said that Hamabe Minami debuted as a child star and has more acting experience than all her peers in this room.
So there was no awkwardness when two people like this sat together, and they quickly became familiar with each other. Even though they stumbled a little during the conversation, they were still very happy chatting.
Following this communication, they discovered that the reason they met in this classroom was the same.
The reason why Minami Hamabe came all the way from Japan to China was the same as Zhang Jingyi and the others, which was to participate in the acting youth class jointly organized by the Galaxy Group and the Shangjing Film Academy.
To be more precise, this is an official training camp jointly organized by Galaxy Group and Beijing Film Academy. The boys and girls in it are all young people from China and neighboring countries who have certain aspirations for a career in the performing arts.
Galaxy Group brought them together and trained them imitating the trainee model of Korean brokerage companies. On the one hand, it was to cultivate excellent new generation of actors for the Asian film and television cultural industry and select suitable seedlings from an early age. On the other hand, it was also to establish correct concepts and awareness for the younger generation of artists.
In particular, there are many young talents from neighboring countries, such as South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Letting them study and live together with young Chinese artists is like the ancient system of sending hostages to study in China, which can greatly enhance their favorability and impression of China.
And as long as they meet the learning requirements in this training camp and their college entrance examination scores meet the score requirements, they can successfully enter the undergraduate class of Shanghai Film Academy to continue their studies.
At the same time, before they entered school, the Galaxy Group also promised that they would be given suitable roles in the company's movies and TV series in the future.
Those with outstanding performance may even have the opportunity to participate in the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" and work with the internationally renowned director Wang Hao.
This is exactly the reason why Hamabe Minami, a child star who has already debuted and is still somewhat famous, is willing to give up her career in Japan and come to China for training and study.
(End of this chapter)
