Chapter 374: Ready to Go, Prepared

As the night deepens, the moon hangs high in the sky.

But outside the Yangshi Gate, there were still a large number of guns and cameras waiting.

“What’s going on? Didn’t the language programs start being reviewed this afternoon?” A paparazzi looked puzzled, “Why haven’t any of them come out yet?”

“I don’t know! Something must have happened.” Another paparazzi shook his head, looking very excited. “Good if there is something! If there is something, there will be news.”

“It’s Director Zhen who has taken care of us. Ever since he took over the Spring Festival Gala, there has been no shortage of news about it, and the popularity has never cooled down!”

After Zhen Jiecheng and Xihu Ma finished their talks, Alibaba’s cooperation with the Spring Festival Gala was quickly launched. Once the “Collect Five Blessings” activity was launched, it quickly became popular across the country. The already highly anticipated Spring Festival Gala in the Year of the Snake was taken to a higher level and became a hot topic in the streets and alleys.

“What’s going on with Liu Yifei’s fairy powder and Liu Shishi’s little lion? Oh, and Yang Mi’s little bee.”

“Who would have thought that Director Zhen would let Director Jing form a group with these three? Now the quarrels are getting even more lively!”

“We can just write some content and add some thinking, and it will sell like hot cakes!”

“Who said it wasn’t?” A voice took over, “There are also Fan Bingbing, Gao Yuanyuan, Qin Lan, and Liu Tao. To be honest, just hearing these names, I know that this year’s Spring Festival Gala will definitely be both beautiful and pleasing to the eyes!”

“Director Zhen must understand aesthetics, art, and the audience!”

“It’s a pity that he doesn’t understand it. Alas! He’s already 31 years old, why can’t he incorporate his twenties into his diet like he did when he was young? Director Zhen has changed and has forgotten his original intention!”

“That’s the truth!” A relatively older paparazzi sighed upon hearing this, “Alas! The 85 generation has grown up, but they don’t have Director Zhen to nourish them like their predecessors. How much of their growth has been lost!”

“Also, Director Zhen’s professional ability has declined recently. How long has it been? And there is no improvement.”

“It was so hard to shoot a new movie, and I found Jiang Wenli. I thought it would be another hot topic, and it was about the friendship between fellow students and fellow travelers. But he dragged Jiang Wenli and Wang Jiawei and focused on training actors. He didn’t look like a moral pioneer at all.”

“Here they come! Zhao Benshan, Chen Peisi and the others are out!” A suddenly raised voice interrupted the paparazzi’s discussion. The next second, cameras and microphones swarmed over, and all kinds of microphones were stuffed into their throats.

“Teacher Zhao, how is the program review going? Can you tell me a little bit?”

“Teacher Chen, how do you feel about returning to the Spring Festival Gala stage again? Will your lawsuit with Yangshi affect the review of your work? For example, will the review attitude be cold, and will the comments be targeted and difficult?”

“Teacher Feng Gong, may I ask why you two came out together? Did something happen during the review?”

“Nothing happened, everything is normal.” Feng Gong forced a smile, “The reason we came out together is because we haven’t been together on the Spring Festival Gala stage for a long time, so everyone stayed backstage to chat after reviewing the program.”

“The legal dispute is a thing of the past!” Chen Peisi waved her hand. “Besides, let’s keep it to ourselves. It will not affect the review of my work at all, and there will be no targeting.”

“Teacher Chen, what about attitude? You haven’t answered the question of whether your attitude is cold or not.”

Chen Peisi: (￣ー￣)
“Teacher Feng Gong, since everything is normal, I guess your work has passed the review, right? Congratulations!”

Feng Gong:ヽ(ー_ー)ノ

“Teacher Zhao, why haven’t you said anything? What’s going on with the program review?”

Zhao Benshan: (;￢＿￢)
The microphone was handed to Song Xinxin and Guo Donglin. Without exception, all they received was silence.

It wasn’t until Cao Yunjin, who had relatively little experience, finally pried open his mouth.

“I didn’t pass, but I wasn’t eliminated either. Director Zhen, emmm, the judges’ opinion is: change it.” Cao Yunjin glanced at Sun Tao and said, “Brother Sun is a little better than me.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Tao, who became famous in 09 for his line “I’m proud” in the skit “The Three Lucky Treasures”, twitched the corner of his mouth.

Yes, it’s a little better.

Isn’t “revise again” just one more word than “change”?
“Teacher Sun”

Facing the microphones rushing in, Sun Tao quickly spoke,
“Actually, I’m not that good. There are many people who are better than me.”

Looking towards Cai Ming,

“For example, Sister Cai is a little better than me.”

Seeing this, Cai Ming, who received the comment of “go back and revise”, pointed at Shen Teng awkwardly.

“You can ask Xiao Shen. Xiao Shen performed better than me in this round of review.”

Shen Teng: (/_)/
Scratched his head,

“Sister Cai is joking. Please don’t believe me! Sister Cai is being modest and helping a junior like me.”

“My level is still far from that.”

As he spoke, his eyes involuntarily glanced at Feng Gong and Guo Donglin.

As “Not funny, change it”, we look at “Not funny enough, change it” with a desire for progress.

Although the glances were withdrawn immediately, the paparazzi had sharp eyes and saw through everything immediately and handed over the microphone.

“I” Feng Gong stumbled for a long time before finally uttering a sentence, “Donglin, you speak.”

“Ah?” Guo Donglin was dumbfounded. He had never expected that his old partner and big brother would suddenly stab him in the back. “What did I say? How did I say it?”

“Look at what you’re asking. If I knew what to say and how to say it, would I still ask you to say it?” Feng Gong poked Guo Donglin’s waist. “Go ahead and say it. Say whatever you want. You can say anything you want.”

“I” Guo Donglin touched his bald head, “I still have to work hard to catch up with Teacher Chen and Teacher Zhao, and strive to achieve the same evaluation as Teacher Chen and Teacher Zhao in the first round of review in the next round of review!”

Chen Peisi: (￣ー￣)
Force yourself to cheer up and put on a smile.
“Director Zhen is very knowledgeable about art! The comments made by the judges during the program review were brilliant and to the point!”

“It firmly grasps the essence of language programs: the funny part!”

“And start from this, with high standards and strict requirements.”

Take a deep breath,

“Director Zhen provided strong support for our creation and placed high hopes on our performance.”

“In a word: it can be better!”

“His spirit of never being satisfied with the status quo and having the courage to reach new heights is not only what Director Zhen demands of himself in his career, but also what he sets for us by leading by example.”

“Therefore, after the first round of review today, all of us who are participating in the language programs of the Spring Festival Gala in the Year of the Snake have firmly established the same idea and clarified the same concept.”

“That is: there is no best, only better and better!”

The sonorous and powerful speech made Old Zhao’s scalp numb. His pupils widened and he stared straight at Chen Peisi’s bald head.

Fuck you!

The captain has already shot at you, and you are still speaking for him?

Chen Xiaoer, ah Chen Xiaoer! I didn’t expect that even a sly guy like you would betray the Imperial Army?
Zhen Jiecheng felt very uncomfortable.

It wasn’t until we were driving home that we finally laughed our ass off.

Facts have once again proved that the so-called people are “more knowledgeable” and have “higher sense of humor” are just objective reasons.

For a group of performing artists who have broken free from the constraints of burdens, even if they don’t create memes, even if they are just old wine in new bottles, they can still use vivid performances to make people laugh.

Performance is never just about lines!
Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao’s “Eating Noodles” is evidence of this: there are not many lines, which are mainly used to advance the plot, and most of the jokes are in the interpretation of body language and micro-expressions.

Even when they got home, the smile on Zhen Jiecheng’s face was still there, and he kept chatting with Cheng Hao.

“Hubby, you are so mean!” Cheng Haole narrowed her eyes, “But Teacher Chen, Teacher Zhao, and Teacher Feng are not young anymore. It’s not good for them to endure this.”

“You’re overthinking it! What kind of storms and waves haven’t these old bones seen? The fact is: they can endure more than young people! And the longer they endure, the more delicious it tastes!”

“But if you keep going like this, won’t it dampen their enthusiasm?”

“Don’t worry! I’ve planted a spy!” Zhen Jiecheng raised his eyebrows. “According to the secret report, Mr. Chen somehow got himself into the spy’s shoes and encouraged us in the background. Now, everyone has a positive attitude! Although we are a little depressed, we are all working hard to get a few more comments in the next review.”

“Even if it’s just one more word, it’s progress!”

“Hahaha!” Cheng Hao held her stomach and doubled over with laughter, “Hubby, are your words good enough?”

“Do you even need to ask?” Zhen Jiecheng rolled his eyes. “There are plenty of words!”

“By the way, honey, who is the spy?” “Guess!”

“Give me some hints?”

“He’s an honest man with thick eyebrows and big eyes.”

“Teacher Zhu Shimao is not right! Teacher Zhu can’t be, otherwise Teacher Chen would definitely notice it.” Cheng Hao frowned and pouted. She was obviously full of the charm of a young woman, but her face showed a cute and ignorant look. Zhen Jiecheng couldn’t take his eyes off her and lingered on her.

“Oh, I see! Is it Teacher Guo Da?”

“Yes! It’s Teacher Guo!” Zhen Jiecheng nodded with a smile and pecked his wife. “If you are honest, you won’t be suspected. If you have experience, your words will carry weight. If you are not participating in the crosstalk or skit program of the Spring Festival Gala, you can stay out of it. Therefore, there is no better spy than Teacher Guo!”

“Wife, just wait and see! This year, I will try to get the majority of the audience across the country to stay in front of the TV for not a minute!”

Zhen Jiecheng held his head high and chest puffed out.
“Ratings, I want them!”

“Word of mouth, I want it!”

“The advertising is making money like never before!”

“The impact of radiation will never be forgotten!”

“I’m going to make next year’s and the year after that’s Spring Festival Gala a hot potato! Whoever touches it will tremble!”

“I want to make sure that for at least the next ten years, or even twenty years, I will be disliked by the audience and criticized by the media every time!”

As he spoke, he lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke.
“No matter who reviews the history of the Spring Festival Gala in the future, they will have to count the legend of the 2013 Spring Festival Gala!”

“Look up to me, and spread my name, Zhen Jiecheng!”

Cheng Hao said nothing, but just pricked up his ears to listen and opened his eyes wide to watch.

It’s been almost eleven years, how come I can’t hear enough or watch enough?
Participated in the blockbuster “Life Events”; witnessed the youngest Golden Palm winner in history of “Parasite”; watched the legendary opening ceremony of the 08 Olympic Games in “Return of the Phoenix”;

Two Golden Lion trophies are on display at home! Including the Oscar, countless honors are collected in the display cabinet.

But why, after going through so much, can a mere Spring Festival Gala still make people so excited?
“Puff~Put~”

My heart beat faster and faster.

Eleven years have passed, and it seems that nothing has changed. I am still as excited as I was when I first fell in love, and my cheeks are flushed by the stimulation of a thick eyebrow and big eyes.

Cheng Hao raised his hand and pressed the left atrium.

but.
“Honey, I can’t hold it back!”

“What can’t you hold down?”

“My heart is beating!”

After the first round of review was completed, Zhen Jiecheng was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

He called Feng Xiaogang and invited him to attend the premiere of “Lost in Thailand” to show his support for the guy who had applied for his graduate program.

In the past, because the box office performance of “Lost in Thailand” was too outstanding, it was compared with “1942”, which was also competing in the Lunar New Year box office.

As a director, Feng Xiaogang certainly cares about the box office gains and losses, but the main reason for his discomfort is that the work he has invested so much energy in is not recognized. It just so happened that “Lost in Thailand” was a failure, and the media used it for comparison. Then, in a fit of anger, Feng Xiaogang directly pointed his spearhead at “Lost in Thailand”, causing a lot of disputes.

But this life is different. The little cannon is busy producing “Tiny Times”, Guo the Dwarf and Bi Caiji.

In addition to Zhen Jiecheng’s invitation and Jing Tian’s current status in the circle, Feng Kuazi could only complain about it in private, but would never make it public.

Apart from other things, the acting department of Beijing Film Academy now only regrets that they can’t give Jing Tian more love. If anyone in the circle dares to say anything bad about Jing Tian publicly, they will immediately prick him like a hedgehog, including Feng Xiaogang!
The premiere of Love Is Not Blind was already quite a big deal, and now Lost in Thailand has taken it to the next level. The acting department mobilized all their connections and gathered a brilliant star that even surpassed the Golden Rooster Awards.

The performance of Lost in Thailand did not disappoint, earning 3900 million yuan in the first day (including midnight screenings), becoming the best performance of a film opening on a Wednesday in the history of China’s box office. Compared with the production cost of just over million yuan, it is almost a “bloody profit” engraved on its face.

Then continue to race!

In the first three days of its release, the film was screened about 7 times, with nearly 400 million viewers and box office revenue of nearly 1.29 million yuan.

By the weekend, the number of moviegoers continued to rise, with 278 million people attending the film in a single day, setting a new single-day record.

On the same day, it earned about 9300 million at the box office, setting a new record for the highest single-day box office performance of a domestic film!

“Director Zhen!” Lu Zheng grabbed Zhen Jiecheng’s hand and shook it vigorously, “Thank you! Thank you for training Tiantian!”

“I would never have thought that Tiantian would be able to become one of the top commercial directors in China one day!”

“‘Those Years’ was already a surprise enough! ‘Love Is Not Blind’ was already outrageous enough!”

“I never thought that there would be a movie like Lost in Thailand!”

“That’s exactly what it is.”

Lu Zheng stumbled for a long time but couldn’t come up with a suitable adjective.

So I could only blush and hold my hands tightly.

“Jiecheng!” Teachers from the Department of Performance kept calling and visiting me.

To sum it up, it can be summed up in two sentences.

“When does your teacher want to take over? Remember to inform us.”

“Do you want to get promoted? The acting department will sell everything they have and will definitely rebel with all their might.”

They even talked openly in the office of the directing department of Beijing Film Academy, and did not hide their words even when senior Zhang Huijun pushed the door open.

Drop the next sentence,
“Dean, you have done a great job! Cultivating a brilliant young generation for Beijing Film Academy!”

“Dean, congratulations! Even if you retire now, you won’t have to worry about not having a suitable successor!”

The discussion is raging on campus, and heated discussions are spreading inside and outside the circle.

Even Yangshi raised their enthusiasm several levels when Jing Tian appeared again, calling him Director Jing all the time.

Unlike Xu Zheng in his previous life, Jing Tian has established himself as a great director after the films “Those Years” and “Love Is Not Blind”.

However, he doesn’t look like a great director at all.

“Senior!”

“Brother!”

Either follow behind Zhen Jiecheng’s p-stock;

Or they would stick to Guo Fan and ask him questions to gain experience in “project management”.

Zhen Jiecheng strongly suspected that this woman was not there to learn, but to include Guo Fan in her “project management” in the future. Then, in her crew, she would be in charge of the actual “project management” work with various honorary positions such as “art director” and so on.

“Ah! How did such a thing come about?”

Zhen Jiecheng sighed, feeling deeply sinful.

A direct disciple, although focusing on making up for weaknesses such as camera language, it still cannot cover up the essence of “a project manager in disguise of a director”.

An external student who was about to start his postgraduate studies had opened up a new realm on the path that had already been trodden by predecessors like Lu Chuan, Xu Jinglei, Zhou Jielun, etc.: a producer in disguise of a director!
“Forget it, forget it, it’s already like this, do whatever you want!”

He patted Liu Yifei’s shoulder and touched Tianxian’s head.

“Sissi, you are still good.”

“Even if we go astray, we will never forget our original intention.”

“Ah?” Liu Yifei was stunned and blinked her confused eyes. “Senior, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“That’s right, you don’t understand!” Zhen Jiecheng gave a thumbs up in approval, “Your eyes are as clear and bright as ever!”

“Go ahead, and remember to relax when you twist your butt later, don’t be shy.”

(End of this chapter)