Chapter 1005: The future release of Chapter 1005, "The Dragon".
Xiao He had no idea that his casual remark had given the uninhibited Director Zhuang a new inspiration.
If he knew that the "Yu Ye" production team was so diligent in holding wrap parties for "death characters" to generate buzz for future publicity, then Xiao He would probably have to go back and strike a wooden fish every time he attended one of those parties.
Upon seeing Zhuang Hongyi approaching, he greeted him with great pleasure.
"Director Zhuang, it's been a long time."
"Xiao He, it's been a long time."
Zhuang Hongyi looked at Xiao He, his smile deepening. His first words were about the current sales of the "Time Confrontation" figurines: "I heard that the online sales of movie merchandise in your area have exceeded 100 million yuan, and the pre-orders are already booked until next year. If the IP value can continue to perform well, I really can't imagine what will happen."
Whether Director Zhuang was driven by his passion for anime and manga figures or by his business acumen, Xiao He had no idea. But when it came to this topic, he didn't want to show off his limited knowledge in front of him, so he simply waved his hand modestly and said, "These figures are only good during the Spring Festival period. Once this period is over, the IP's popularity will decline."
They are quite self-aware; "Time Standoff" is currently relying on this kind of success—the hype comes and goes quickly, all thanks to special effects and trending topics to attract attention and keep the show going. If "Time Standoff" doesn't plan to make a second season, then its popularity will basically end this year.
This is actually quite normal. Perhaps the only thing that didn't expect was that major cinema chains were so obsessed with selling merchandise related to "Time and Space Standoff" that they were willing to extend the film's run. The longest extension was even conservatively extended to May Day.
When Xiao He first learned about this, he was a little speechless. He hadn't expected that their movie would also be postponed until May Day. But after learning about the popularity of mecha in several neighboring countries, Xiao He felt relieved.
So when Xiao He heard that Boss Huang had opened more than twenty production lines at once, he was able to remain calm.
Ironically, even so, Huang Junhao still didn't dare to open a pre-sale link—even though he was expanding his own production line, he also found seven or eight external factories to share the orders.
LOL, no pre-orders, no in-stock items, no domestic availability, and even less so internationally—this link is simply unaffordable.
The merchandise for the movie "Time Standoff" will be available to everyone equally during the long pre-sale waiting period.
Looking at the soaring revenue figures, Xiao He didn't know what to say. He could only continue to comfort Xiao Huang and encourage him to keep up the good work.
After all, making money from intellectual property is really damn profitable!
Thinking this way, Xiao He couldn't help but cast another admiring glance at the person in front of him.
Compared to the merchandise for their movie "Time and Space Standoff," no one knows better than Zhuang Hongyi when it comes to making money from merchandise production.
After all, the comic adaptation IP "Yu Ye" is more suitable for producing fan-made merchandise than "Time and Space Standoff". When the first and second seasons were popular, the merchandise sold extremely well, and the fan-made merchandise business was booming. Even before Killer A appeared, Yin Qi was the character among all of Xiao He's characters whose fan-made merchandise sold the most and was the most popular.
Ancient-style Yin Qi, Q-version figurines, blind boxes of figurines, fan-made cards... The charm of an IP lies in its comprehensive product coverage. If you can think of it, you can buy it. In the end, there will always be a product that perfectly meets your needs.
So whenever Xiao He saw the booming sales of this merchandise, he couldn't help but sigh that director Zhuang Hongyi was truly a very qualified businessman.
Even many of their sales tactics for merchandise related to "Time Confrontation" were learned from Zhuang Hongyi!
Zhuang Hongyi, who received Xiao He's admiring gaze, simply smiled and was even more humble than Xiao He. After chatting with Xiao He for a while, he brought up the arrangements for "Long".
"I've decided to submit 'The Dragon' to the Cannes Film Festival in May so that it can be screened there."
Zhuang Hongyi's expression changed from smiling to serious.
"After the screening in Cannes, we will release it in Hong Kong."
As he said this, Zhuang Hongyi looked at Xiao He: "I heard that because of 'The Blackbird,' you and Director Gao Zhongbo have a pretty good relationship. I wonder if you could help introduce us again later?"
Don't let Gao Zhongbo's current situation fool you; his film "The Blackbird" still relies on Xiao He's fame to boost its box office performance and generate buzz in mainland China. But in Hong Kong, Gao Zhongbo's presence is still very significant—after all, they were among the most influential veterans in Hong Kong's entertainment industry back in the day!
Xiao He raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask Zhuang Hongyi why he didn't use his own connections to contact them. Instead, he readily agreed: "Sure, no problem. Director Gao was contacting me a while ago. I heard they're coming to the mainland soon. I'll go and meet with Sister Liu then."
"I see... okay."
Zhuang Hongyi took out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled before looking at Xiao He: "Would you be disappointed if it couldn't be released in mainland China?"
𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Xiao He was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head helplessly: "It's really not that bad."
From the moment he accepted the script, he hadn't considered such a thing.
Rather, he was already surprised enough to be able to participate in screenings at overseas film festivals—looking back now, it was indeed a wise choice for Director Zhuang to forgo investment from Beijing capital and directly have a company in Hong Kong initiate the project and produce it.
Perhaps noticing Xiao He's silence, Zhuang Hongyi coughed lightly, smiled and shook his head: "The movie isn't even sure if it can be released yet, but you seem more at ease than I am."
Xiao He shrugged, somewhat casually: "There's nothing I can do about it. I've already been tricked onto Director Zhuang's pirate ship, so I can only follow suit and place my bet."
After all, seasoned veterans like Director Zhuang...
Well, to put it bluntly, this kind of director is the most ruthless at exploiting loopholes. Even if something really goes wrong, the punishment will only be a light slap on the wrist.
Xiao He was genuinely not worried that Zhuang Hongyi might cause any problems that would prevent "Long" from being released.
Sometimes, seeing Zhuang Hongyi's methods, Xiao He finally felt that others viewed him as a madman from beyond the law.
"What kind of look is that?"
Zhuang Hongyi sensed something and asked with a deep look in his eyes.
"Director Zhuang, keep it up!"
Xiao He spoke with utmost sincerity.
Director Zhuang can be reckless in front, while he can stay put in the back. It's good that someone is blocking his way.
This is the first time I've felt so at ease.
Zhuang Hongyi:?
...
A few days later, "The Corner" held its first wrap party.
The wrap party was held at a farmhouse restaurant near the film studio.
However, it wasn't until he arrived at the scene that Xiao He finally understood Yuan Sitong's sinister intention in choosing this location—
"No, you can fish here?"
Xiao He looked at the small river over there, then at the fishpond over here.
"You can even choose either of the two locations?"
“Yes, that’s right.” Yuan Sitong nodded very seriously. “This is a popular fishing spot in the film and television city. Many actors who like fishing come here to cast a line after filming.”
"The fish in the fishpond are raised by the owners and are very suitable for beginners. As for the fish in the river next to it, they also regularly release fish fry into it, which is within our fishing range, but it is more difficult to catch them."
"The fish on both sides can be caught and then handed over to the kitchen for processing..."
After she finished introducing everything, she gave Xiao He a "friendly" smile: "So, Brother Xiao, the fish for our wrap party today is all yours. Want to go fishing in the pond? At least make it easier."
"Go to what fishpond?!"
Having understood the difference, Yan Shaohan put his arm around Xiao He's neck and said with great enthusiasm, "We're definitely going to fish in the more challenging river!"
Xiao He:?? Who's with you? What does it have to do with me?
Who else told you that I like fishing?
Impossible, absolutely impossible in this lifetime!