Under the same night sky, some people are happy and some are worried.
In Sheung Wan, Hua Guan Pictures' Xiangjiang branch, although it was already after 7pm, there were still many employees working overtime. The office area was shrouded in an invisible and depressing atmosphere, making everyone cautious.
Even the intensity of typing on the keyboard has become much softer, as if hitting the key points will cause disaster.
This low pressure lasted for several days in the company.
However, a week ago, the situation was completely different. "Painted Skin" produced by Huaguan Pictures and Star Entertainment was a huge box office success and crushed its opponents. It was such a great success that a celebration party was held early.
The atmosphere in the office was very relaxed at that time, and everyone was full of energy and enthusiasm. The common goal was to make "Painted Skin" break the 100 million box office mark in Hong Kong, and then take advantage of the victory to pursue the mainland.
But who could have imagined that the situation would take a turn for the worse in just a few days. The box office of "Painted Skin" dropped so much that people vomited blood, and the market reputation was terrible. Not to mention breaking 100 million, even breaking 50 million was a luxury.
Such a situation of ups and downs really makes people feel at a loss as to what to do. Many employees are even confused because of this. They don't know how long they can keep their jobs. Will Hua Guan Pictures, which suffered a disastrous defeat, withdraw from Hong Kong?
In fact, the same question is also asking Cui Xingxian, the head of Huaguan Pictures.
Huaguan Pictures was one of the first mainland film companies to enter Hong Kong Island after the new film policy was introduced in Hong Kong. At that time, Cui Xingxian was ambitious and joined forces with Xingyi Entertainment to flex his muscles and set up a project to film "Painted Skin" in the shortest possible time.
Cut the biggest piece out of an incredibly tempting cake.
"Painted Skin" has an investment of over 100 million, and Cui Xingxian's goal is to win a global box office of 1 billion, which will be the first shot of Huaguan Pictures going south to Hong Kong.
But the first step of his ambitious plan was met with a blow!
On the surface, "Painted Skin" has achieved quite good box office results so far, once breaking the weekly box office record for Hong Kong-produced (co-produced) films in Hong Kong.
But outsiders may not know it, but Cui Xingxian himself knows that behind the box office of "Painted Skin" is a huge investment in advertising and a lot of marketing expenses.
In terms of cost calculation, Hong Kong's box office share income is simply not enough to make up for the investment in advertising and marketing, let alone the cost of filming and production. The loss is a complete mess.
Huaguan Pictures has a huge business and can afford to lose tens of millions, but its partner Xingyi Entertainment couldn't stand it. The two parties had serious differences over the follow-up promotion of the film, and they almost came to the point of breaking up.
Thinking of the mean and stingy expression of the general manager of Xingyi Entertainment during the last meeting and negotiation, Cui Xingxian was so angry that he wanted to smash the ashtray on the table into the other party's face.
A bad fate!
When Cui Xingxian first came to Xiangjiang, he met a master at a gathering among friends. The master gave him a fortune teller and told him that he had a bad luck in his life recently, and any mistakes would be hidden.
At that time Cui Xingxian laughed it off, but now I know that this master is really capable.
His "evil" is undoubtedly Lu Chen!
Thinking of Lu Chen again, Cui Xingxian was filled with hatred. This kid who suddenly appeared from nowhere not only took away the beauty he had been pursuing, but also became a stumbling block in the development of Huaguan Pictures.
Let him fall into a big trap!
However, Cui Xingxian was helpless towards Lu Chen. Lu Chen had the support of the Li family behind him, and Cui Xingxian couldn't afford to offend him at all. His plot failed to lead to a head-on fight, and he was defeated again.
Lu Chen was simply his life star!
Sitting in the office, Cui Xingxian became more and more annoyed as he thought about it. He couldn't help but reach out and pull off his tie to make his breathing easier. Then he habitually held the mouse and opened the Hong Kong Island News webpage.
He just clicked on the webpage, and a news pop-up window popped up instantly.
"The box office of "A Chinese Ghost Story" exceeded 500 million, and stars gathered at the Shangri-La Hotel to celebrate!"
"****!"
Cui Xingxian finally lost control of his emotions. He grabbed the mouse and smashed it against the wall.
Bang! With a crisp sound, this valuable Bluetooth mouse fell apart on the spot and died!
The secretary sitting in the outer room across a wall was startled. He secretly turned his head and looked at the closed office. He was extremely confused whether he should go in and ask questions.
The boss's temper has been getting worse and worse recently, and she is worried that she will become the tool to vent her anger.
Cui Xingxian, who had dropped something, finally regained his composure. He pressed the internal contact button on the phone and asked his secretary to find him a new mouse while gritting his teeth and swearing secretly.
"Lu Chen, I'll let you be proud this time, we'll see!"
Unlike Hong Kong, Hua Guan Pictures’ home ground is still in the Mainland, and “Painted Skin” has not lost yet!
Cui Xingxian's resentment was so strong that Lu Chen, who was in the banquet hall of Shangri-La Hotel at this moment, felt a chill.
"What's the matter?"
Filia Chen, who was accompanying Lu Chen, shivered when she saw him, and couldn't help but asked with concern: "Cold?"
Lu Chen rubbed his nose and said with a smile, "No, I suddenly felt a little cold."
"Is it still cold?"
Filia Chen looked around and said with a smile: "It's already lively enough at night."
"A Chinese Ghost Story" was released for 7 days and the box office exceeded 50 million. It was natural to hold a celebration party. This time, under the strong request of Jiayang Pictures, it was extra grand.
In Hong Kong, it is traditional to hold a party to celebrate the success of a movie, and it is also a means of publicity or, more accurately, showing off. Therefore, the organizer invites all media and guests from all walks of life inside and outside the industry to support the event.
In this world, there are very few people who offer help in times of need, but there are countless people who add icing on the cake. Lu Chen Studio and Jiayang Pictures sent out invitations, and those who received the invitation would attend in person or send someone unless they really couldn't come.
All the friends Lu Chen knew in the Hong Kong entertainment circle came to support him. Liu Gangsheng was unable to attend because he was performing in the Mainland, and he even called Lu Chen to express his congratulations.
Therefore, the huge banquet hall of Shangri-La Hotel is crowded with guests, and well-dressed gentlemen and ladies gather in groups, making this place a real place of fame and fortune.
As the protagonists of this celebration dinner, Lu Chen and Filia Chen undoubtedly received too much attention. No matter where they were, they were the center of attention. Countless people came to chat with them whether they knew each other or not.
Lu Chen actually doesn't like this kind of social interaction very much, but if Lu Chen's studio wants to develop and grow in Hong Kong, it is very necessary to expand the network of people and resources in the circle.
This is probably what is called people having no control over themselves in the world.
Of course, I don’t know how many people would envy this kind of “inability to control themselves”, pursuing hard but not getting it! ——