Chapter 129 Brother, Happy New Year.

Hengdian Hotel, banquet hall on the second floor.

A large red banner was hung on the front desk.

[Tangren Films and Light and Shadow Times jointly produced the large-scale Xianxia TV series "Legend of Sword and Fairy" to hold a press conference! ]

The banquet hall was already full of reporters and media, carrying long guns and short guns, looking at the side door expectantly.

"Squeak--"

Under the watchful eyes of the public, the side door was pushed open, and Cai Yinong and Wu Yuan led the leading actors of "Legend of Sword and Fairy" into the banquet hall.

In an instant, the whole banquet hall was filled with the sound of "clicking" cameras, and countless flashes were constantly exposing, flashing people's eyes.

Unlike the stars who are used to this scene and have received professional exposure light training, Wu Yuan has always hated this kind of high explosion, so he prepared a pair of sunglasses in advance.

With a smile on his lips, Wu Yuan walked calmly to the interview seat on the stage and sat in the middle without hesitation.

"Director Wu is so handsome." A female reporter couldn't help shouting.

Well, the smile that just appeared was immediately taken back by Wu Yuan, and he looked at the reporter who spoke awkwardly.

I am a director, and I don't rely on my appearance to make a living.

"Ahem, everyone, please sit down." The host of the press conference was a guest director of the crew. He quickly asked the main creators of the crew to take a seat.

Director Li Guoli sat on Wu Yuan's left, Cai Yinong sat on his right, and the rest of the actors sat on both sides according to the importance of their roles.

After everyone was seated, the reporters in the audience immediately became restless, and all raised their hands to scramble to interview and ask questions.

"Reporters from Sohu Entertainment in the first row, please ask questions first." The host gestured with his hand.

It was this female reporter from Sohu Entertainment who just called Wu Yuan handsome.

As expected, she stood up and raised the microphone to Wu Yuan: "Director Wu, your movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" shot in the United States has been released in the mainland for one and a half months, and the box office has exceeded 35 million RMB."

"The North American box office of this movie has accumulated 350 million US dollars and the global box office is 650 million US dollars."

"You have once again set a box office record for a mainland director."

"What do you think of the mainland film market? Do you think the mainland film market has the opportunity to develop to the same scale as North America?"

I didn't expect the first question to be this.

Wu Yuan shook his head with a frown on his face: "Now is the opening ceremony of "Legend of Sword and Fairy". I will not answer any questions that are not related to this TV series."

"Please focus on our new TV series, my journalist friends."

But he thought about it, and just as the female reporter sat down disappointedly, he said: "Well, I will answer this question. Please don't ask irrelevant questions in the following questions."

"I have always been very confident about the film market for our Chinese-language films."

"China is a country with a large population. Since joining the WTO, the economy has also been growing rapidly, and movies, as a kind of mass entertainment, have become more and more popular and welcomed by everyone."

"Now there are dozens of cinemas being built all over the country every year. I believe that in the near future, our mainland film market will catch up with or even surpass North America."

"After all, we have a larger population and greater potential for film consumption!"

"I believe that the mainland film market will get better and better in the future, and I will bring more good-looking Chinese-language films to mainland audiences!"

Considering that it seems inappropriate to just talk about his own affairs, Wu Yuan smiled and looked at Hu Ge and Liu Yifei sitting on both sides. ׺°”˜˜`”°º×

“Let me tell you a piece of news. Our male and female protagonists Hu Ge and Liu Yifei from “The Legend of Sword and Fairy” are not only the male and female protagonists of this TV series, but also the male and female protagonists of my new movie.”

“This new movie has been filmed and is in post-production. It will soon meet mainland movie fans!”

“So, don’t think that Hu Ge and Liu Yifei are newcomers and can’t act well in this TV series!”

The filming of “Your Name” was kept almost confidential. Wu Yuan did not hold a press conference for the start of filming, nor did he notify any reporters.

He didn’t miss the early publicity exposure, but was disgusted by the trivial things such as reporters visiting the set during filming.

Wu Yuan prefers to concentrate the publicity work on the one or two months before the official release of the movie.

Now mainland reporters are not so sharp-nosed, and they can’t compare with Hong Kong paparazzi.

So now the outside world doesn’t know that he has filmed a new movie.

Wu Yuan dropped this bombshell, and the reporters who were originally not interested in interviewing Hu Ge and Liu Yifei immediately brightened up and looked at the two of them.

"Okay, next reporter."

Immediately, the next reporter who stood up to ask questions pointed the microphone at Hu Ge: "Hello Hu Ge, I am a reporter from Southern Metropolis Daily."

"As a newcomer, how do you feel about being able to act in Director Wu's movie for the first time, and now being the male lead in the TV series "Legend of Sword and Fairy"? Can you talk to us about it?"

"Of course I feel honored, but besides being honored, I am also under great pressure." Hu Ge seemed to have some kind of interview-obsessed syndrome. Although it was his first time to accept a public interview with the media, he was not nervous at all.

Not only did he talk to reporters about his pressure in the crew and the pressure on the male lead of "Legend of Sword and Fairy", he also praised Wu Yuan's directing level and Li Guoli's directing ability. He didn't look like a newcomer at all, but like an old star who was used to being interviewed.

As for the other heroine Liu Yifei, her interview was all about sincerity. She answered whatever the reporter asked, and she said it very seriously.

"I had a great feeling when I was filming Director Wu's new play, which was told to me by the director."

"As an actor, blindly pursuing things like performance and explosiveness is actually a superficial performance."

"That is to say, the kind of very difficult performances require the most natural reaction, not the so-called explosiveness."

"And this kind of performance without any traces and the most natural is also the most precious and difficult. I am still in the process of exploring and learning."

"In fact, I think filming is also a different form of learning performance, which is also what Director Wu taught me."

"Then the teacher also asked me to write a performance experience after each filming."

"I am not the kind of person who sharpens the knife before the battle. I write every day during the filming process, and finally accumulate an experience."

"For example, after filming Director Wu's play, I wrote a very good experience and handed it to the teacher, and the teacher praised me in class!"

"This time when filming "Legend of Sword and Fairy", I will also seriously learn the performances of my predecessors in the crew and write my experience."

It seems a bit too fake.

However, the reporters at the scene looked at Liu Yifei's sincere eyes and inexplicably felt that this little girl was not lying. She really summarized her experience and wrote her thoughts every time she filmed.

Even in 2004, there were very few actors who worked so hard and took acting seriously.

"The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" was broadcast in November, and Liu Yifei can no longer be regarded as an unknown little actor.

She played Wang Yuyan in the play, which left a very deep impression on the audience.

Although there are not many scenes in total, the focus of the discussion of netizens on the Internet about the TV series "The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" is inseparable from Wang Yuyan.

She has even been hailed as the most beautiful Wang Yuyan in history, and the title of "Fairy Sister" has also been widely circulated on the Internet.

However, the reporters are still relatively unfamiliar with Liu Yifei, and do not know what this little girl is like in real life.

This press conference gave them the opportunity to get to know Liu Yifei.

The more they got to know her, the more they found that this 16-year-old girl was much more mature and real than her peers.

Not only her, but the entire cast of "Chinese Paladin" was mostly actors who were not very famous in the mainland, including Ady An and Liu Pinyan.

For journalists, there was too much news to write about in this press conference.

In contrast, Wu Yuan was ignored in the subsequent interviews.

There was no way. Apart from his identity as an investor, he did not answer any questions unrelated to "Chinese Paladin". After several attempts, several reporters had to give up asking Wu Yuan questions.

Anyway, he revealed his new movie, which was big enough news for everyone to write reports.

In this way, except for the first ten minutes of the one-hour press conference, Wu Yuan watched other people being interviewed leisurely and relaxed.

"Okay, thank you all for coming to this opening ceremony."

"The interview session is over. Please move to the restaurant next door. Our "Legend of Sword and Fairy" crew has prepared a sumptuous lunch for everyone."

A little after eleven o'clock in the morning, the press interview ended. Cai Yinong stayed to give these reporters travel expenses and asked them to write more good words about "Legend of Sword and Fairy".

The other main creators of the crew quickly left the hotel after thanking the audience.

Wu Yuan also took his assistant Xiao Zhang and got on the crew's bus to the hotel where the actors were staying.

There was nothing for him to do in the "Legend of Sword and Fairy" crew next, but he planned to take a rest today and leave for Beijing tomorrow.

He is such a big director, and there is no busy work next, so why rush so hard.

Cai Yinong had already booked a room for him, which was the most upscale suite in the hotel. He stayed in the inner room and his assistant Xiao Zhang stayed in the outer room.

This arrangement actually has connotations.

Now in the mainland entertainment circle, the wind of unspoken rules is gradually blowing.

Some young actors in the crew are thinking about climbing into the bed of the director, producer, and assistant director every day, in exchange for more and more important roles.

It is common for actresses wrapped in bath towels to knock on the doors of directors, producers, and investors in the middle of the night.

For directors who do not want to accept such unspoken rules or do not want to play with such "unclean" women, it is very important to have a diligent assistant living in the outer room at this time.

In particular, it can prevent some actresses with ulterior motives from getting the key of the director's room from the front desk and sneaking into the director's bed in the middle of the night.

Otherwise, if you get involved in such a thing, it will be like yellow mud sticking to your crotch, which is shit.

With an assistant guarding in the outer room, even if Wu Yuan is drunk, he is not afraid of being taken advantage of, and he can sleep peacefully at night.

He really doesn't think much of this kind of unspoken rule behavior now.

In the past, in his dreams, he passively accepted this kind of unspoken rule several times, but what level was he at that time? He was just the assistant director and executive director of the crew.

He has some power, but not much, and he can make some consensual deals with some 18th-tier actresses without losing anything.

But with Wu Yuan's status and position, he would no longer do that.

Whether it is great directors such as Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang, Jiang Wen, and Chen Kaige, or later directors such as Wu Ershan, Ning Hao, Wu Jing, Wen Muye, and Guo Fan.

Anyone who has made achievements will not make unspoken rules in his crew.

Even if they want to play with women, they are mostly looking for some young models and other direct monetary transactions.

Or let’s talk seriously about mistresses, mistresses, and mistresses.

Why?

The simple reason is that because they are responsible for their own film projects, they cannot assign roles to women just to sleep with them.

At their level, the roles assigned are too expensive, and at the very least they are important supporting actresses or even heroines.

Great directors are really reluctant to pay such a price.

And they don't like those young actors who knock on the director's door just for a small supporting role.

Those in the industry who like to engage in such unspoken rules are mainly TV drama producers and assistant directors. TV drama directors do not engage in such unspoken rules, which is not cost-effective.

Not to mention a movie director.

In their eyes, the most important thing is that the movie is well made and a hit at the box office. They will not give a woman a role just to sleep with her.

That is to say, assistant directors. They are not in charge of the movie, so their lower body controls the brain.

But the assistant directors cannot decide who will be the leading actors and the main supporting actors, so they can only choose to cast in the 18th line or even as extras.

The hardest-hit areas with truly unspoken rules are mainly TV drama producers and the vast number of assistant directors.

Wu Yuan once belonged to this group, but he has now separated from it.

After returning to the hotel with his assistant, Wu Yuan said to him: "Xiao Zhang, if there are any unknown people knocking on the door later, just send them away."

"Especially actresses."

"I'm going to take a nap first to catch up on my sleep."

He didn't sleep well last night and came to Hengdian from the capital early in the morning. Wu Yuan was now a little sleepy.

"Okay Director Wu!" On his first day on the job, Xiao Zhang, who heard Wu Yuan talk about some chaos in the industry, immediately promised: "I will never let others disturb your rest!"

Wu Yuan waved his hand, took off his coat, and walked inside.

He slept until after nine o'clock in the evening.

The dinner Xiao Zhang ordered for him was cooled and reheated three times before Wu Yuan woke up.

"Phew, I had a good sleep this time." He shook his stiff neck and got up from the bed.

"Director Wu, you're awake."

"I've ordered dinner for you and put it on the table."

"Okay, excuse me." Nodding to Xiao Zhang with a smile, Wu Yuan walked straight to the dining table and started enjoying his dinner.

But before he could take a few bites of food, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Xiao Zhang, who had been remembering Wu Yuan's instructions, immediately stood up from the sofa, walked to the door in three steps and two steps at a time, lay down in the peephole and looked outside.

Two figures, one large and one small, were standing outside the door of Wu Yuan's room, and they were all women!

Xiao Zhang's heart immediately became nervous.

But when he saw clearly who was standing outside the door, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and shouted inside: "Director Wu, Liu Yifei and her daughter are outside the door. Do you want to let them in?"

Wu Yuan, who was stuffing prawns into his mouth, was stunned for a moment. Why are they here?

But he still said immediately: "Invite them in."

Soon, Liu Yifei and Liu Xiaoli walked into Wu Yuan's suite one after another.

Xiao Zhang even stuck his head out to look at the corridor to make sure no one was peeking outside, and then he closed the door with confidence.

"Qian Qian, Aunt Liu, do you have anything to do with me?" Wu Yuan asked with a smile.

Liu Xiaoli did not reply, but stood behind Liu Yifei with her arms folded, looking at Wu Yuan with a half-smile.

But Liu Yifei walked over to Wu Yuan and sat down next to him with a smile. She held her face in her hands and looked at him with bright eyes: "Brother, New Year's Eve is coming soon."

"I heard there will be fireworks outside today. Let's go to the rooftop to watch the fireworks!"

"Huh?" As a true Chinese, Wu Yuan didn't care much about the New Year's Eve. In addition, he had no relatives at home, and he didn't love the Lunar New Year very much.

So he didn't even care that today was the last day of 2003.

Looking at his watch, Wu Yuan felt helpless: "Qianqian, it's only around nine o'clock now, is it still early before 12 o'clock?"

"But fireworks have started to be set off outside." Liu Yifei muttered and pointed out the window.

Looking along her hand, Wu Yuan happened to see a firework rising into the sky from a distance, exploding into a brilliant display.

"Okay." Wu Yuan nodded and speeded up his dinner.

This is an invitation from the fairy sister. It’s really hard to refuse.

After finishing dinner in a hurry, he took Xiao Zhang and followed Liu Yifei and her daughter out of the house, and went up to the rooftop from the emergency passage.

Coincidentally, just when they stepped onto the rooftop, a firework shot into the sky from very close and exploded in front of their eyes.

The colorful colors magnified and bloomed in their pupils.

Liu Yifei raised her head and looked at the fleeting beauty with a bright smile.

"So beautiful~!"

"Yes." Wu Yuan also smashed his mouth and said in agreement.

It’s really cold in Hengdian in December. Even if I’m wearing warm clothes, I still feel the cold wind blowing into my neck while standing on the rooftop.

But neither Liu Yifei nor Wu Yuan was cold at all, they just looked up at the fireworks that kept blooming.

Behind them, Liu Xiaoli and Xiao Zhang stood together.

Ignoring Xiao Zhang's constant rubbing of his hands and stamping of his feet, Liu Xiaoli stared at the backs of the two people absentmindedly.

Liu Yifei, who has grown to 172 cm in height, stands next to Wu Yuan. They are really a perfect match. Just looking at their backs, they look very harmonious, and they look like a handsome man and a beautiful woman.

But a few years ago, she was still a little girl who would hug her mother's thighs and beg for candy.

How come she has grown into a graceful young lady in the blink of an eye?

Liu Xiaoli's mind was full of thoughts, melancholy and bitterness.

Liu Yifei's mood at the moment was very pure, only happy and joyful.

The new year is actually not special, and it is not worth her being so happy.

What is special is that during this New Year's Eve, the person who accompanies her.

Turning her head and quietly looking at Wu Yuan's profile, Liu Yifei whispered: "Senior brother, happy new year."

Wu Yuan also turned around.

Under the illumination of the fireworks, he saw Liu Yifei's bright and hot eyes.

For a moment, he felt his heart stop beating.

Pursing his lips, Wu Yuan looked away with a guilty look.

"Well, Happy New Year."