Soon, with the help of various parties, whether intentional or not, the atmosphere between "Silent Search" and "Law of the Jungle" became extremely tense after only a few days of promotion.
Upon closer inspection, however, "Law of the Jungle" is actually superior.
After all, with Director Ren's previous works as a precedent, and the acting skills of the lead actors Liu Zehang and Xiao He being generally recognized by the market, everyone has a lot of confidence in this work.
On the other hand, thanks to the popularity of online movies, many people's impression of domestic zombie films is still stuck on the type of "My Zombie School Beauty," and they have low expectations for Director Feng's "Silent Search." Moreover, the lead actor, Tong Junhui, has been completely retired from the entertainment industry for many years, and his fans are not recovering very quickly. Therefore, compared to the two, "Silent Search" is actually at a disadvantage...
Inside a hotel in Shanghai.
"Bang--"
Dong Zeng angrily smashed the vase next to him on the ground, while Feng Zhengyang on the sofa remained as steady as a mountain, slowly smoking a cigarette. However, his face was also hidden in the white smoke, making it impossible to see his inner emotions.
"Stop smashing it."
Feng Zhengyang said calmly, "You've already smashed up several rooms these past few days, aren't you satisfied yet?"
"I'm just really annoyed," Dong Zeng said bitterly. "Everything we do here is going wrong."
“At least we’ve accomplished half of our goal. Once we sell off all our shares, we can leave,” Feng Zhengyang calmly analyzed. “Didn’t you tell Xu Youyou to wait until the movie is released? By then, we’ll have already run away. She’s no threat at all.”
“But we haven’t sold off all our shares yet, and I’m afraid things might change,” Dong Zeng said in a low voice. “Xu Youyou came to find us, and the police must have followed. They might already be investigating us.”
“We are a cross-regional investment company, and the packaging companies are all in Hong Kong. If they want to investigate us, they need to work with the police there. And the old man’s people are helping to keep an eye ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) on things there. If the police are already investigating this matter, he will definitely notify us.”
As Feng Zhengyang spoke, he casually flicked the ash from his cigarette.
They came to the mainland this time for only one thing: money!
The first step, naturally, is laundering: creating a basic project, fabricating project costs, and using affiliated companies to create false contracts to inflate costs to billions or even higher, while simultaneously reducing the actual costs. This allows illicit funds to flow between affiliated companies, transforming them into legitimate income and returning them to one's own pocket.
This step can be completed during the film production or distribution stage, which is part of what they have already accomplished.
The second step, naturally, is to lure investors in: packaging the project, fabricating gimmicks such as a star-studded cast and big production, creating the illusion of "guaranteed profit," and then splitting the film into shares and selling them to retail investors or other investors to attract them into the game.
On the surface, they want to invite everyone to share the box office revenue from the future film release, but in reality, they are polishing their own shares and converting them into money so that they can maximize all the income before the film is officially released—and this is what they are currently doing.
“All that money has already gone into the old man’s pocket. If we don’t get our share back before the movie is released, we’ll have really worked for free.”
Feng Zhengyang risked his entire reputation, and the price he paid was unimaginable. He wouldn't leave without receiving appropriate compensation.
Dong Zeng was also the kind of person who would risk his life for money. He immediately responded to Feng Zhengyang: "I know, I just don't want to be threatened by a woman."
Back when the higher-ups hadn't yet taken action, what kind of fools hadn't these gangsters seen? A woman like Xu Youyou, he would have her face hacked to pieces, leaving her barely alive as she was thrown out of the police station—no one else would dare utter a sound.
But now the world has changed. The state apparatus is powerful and influential. If these people don't follow suit and retire from public life, they might really be on their graves.
"Forget about that woman for now," Feng Zhengyang said. "We should be more worried about our publicity. We're touted as a big-budget, guaranteed-profit project, but our publicity can't even beat 'Law of the Jungle.' What will the other investors think?"
The fact that the film was released during the Qingming Festival has already made many investors hesitate. After all, the Qingming Festival is not a particularly good time to release a film. If it is a big production that is satisfied with the film, it will definitely be released during the Spring Festival or May Day. Those holidays are longer, more people watch movies, and it is easier to make money at the box office. It should not have been relegated to the Qingming Festival.
However, their production speed could not keep up with the Spring Festival, so they had to settle for another time. But May Day was too far away, the timeline was too long, and there were too many changes. They were eager to make money and leave, so they certainly didn't dare to delay too long. In the end, they chose Qingming Festival.
They never expected that the Qingming Festival film season, which they thought would be theirs, with "The Silent Search" sweeping aside other films and dominating the box office, would suddenly be replaced by a similar competitor, "Law of the Jungle," whose momentum is comparable to theirs.
This is simply a major obstacle to their making big money!
After all, each genre corresponds to a certain audience, and the Qingming Festival is not a particularly long holiday. Even if most people want to watch a movie, they are mostly only willing to choose one movie to watch during this holiday. So, between "The Silent Search" and "Law of the Jungle," the audience always has to make a choice.
At this point, promotion becomes especially important.
Especially the pre-release publicity, no matter how much hype they put on it, doesn't matter. All they need to do now is reassure the other investors and trick them into continuing to buy movie shares—as for the release date, it doesn't matter, since they've already got the money.
The audience isn't important to begin with. Of course, it would be even better if there were fools willing to provide them with a share of the box office revenue.
"I'll find a way to cause some trouble for the people over there."
After pondering for a moment, a chill appeared in Dong Zeng's eyes.
Feng Zhengyang frowned: "I suggest we continue to increase publicity efforts, just enough to overshadow them. The situation is getting more and more serious now, and the higher-ups are watching very closely. You'd better not make it too obvious."
"So what?"
Dong Zeng retorted, "Didn't Tong Junhui fall for my tricks back then? Look at him now, he's still one of our dogs."
"Heh, but those were those years, and now is now," Feng Zhengyang sneered.
"What's the difference between then and now? Are you scared?" Dong Zeng stared at Feng Zhengyang impatiently. "You even dared to—"
"Thump!"
Feng Zhengyang suddenly reached out and smashed the ashtray on the coffee table to the ground. His eyes were gloomy, and he exuded a strong aura of danger. His imposing presence was even more intimidating than that of Dong Zeng, the former underworld boss who had killed many people. He stared straight at Dong Zeng and said in a low voice, "I was threatened by the old man with this matter and came here to help you make money. I consider myself unlucky..."
"But that doesn't mean I can tolerate your threats indefinitely."
Dong Zeng was momentarily stunned by Feng Zhengyang's words. He remained silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, his tone was much softer: "I know, we all have our own difficulties."
"snort."
Feng Zhengyang snorted coldly, finally not going head-to-head with Dong Zeng again, and instead said: "However, the world has indeed changed now. I have been observing the entertainment industry here recently. Although it is true that it is no longer popular to do dirty tricks in real life, it is a different story online."
Dong Zeng narrowed his eyes: "You mean—"
Feng Zhengyang said meaningfully, "Public opinion is a good thing—"
