Early in the morning, Chen Zhe arrived at the company with dark circles under his eyes.
He hadn't slept well because he'd been staring at the number one trending search last night, but he was happy. After all, it had surpassed Ting Yu and Mo Yan in trending searches, giving him immense prestige!
News of the premiere of "Shen Mo Ji" had been released, and today's main task was to discuss the premiere details.
Given the high popularity, "Shen Mo Ji" was a major IP and a massive production with an investment of 2 billion.
Generally, films with such large investments had strong star-making capabilities. Furthermore, this film was a collaboration between Guang Nian Entertainment and Ding Sheng Entertainment. The promotion from these two top entertainment companies would undoubtedly be the pinnacle of domestic entertainment.
Thus, even before its release, "Shen Mo Ji" was being advertised everywhere, generating immense buzz.
This was the comeback project for Guang Nian and Ding Sheng!
...
Meeting Room.
Executives from both Guang Nian and Ding Sheng were present.
Besides the company representatives, the male lead Chen Zhe and the female lead Yang Yingying were also there.
Having learned from the previous "Qing Qi Hua Ma" incident during "Wen Jian Xun Xian," Guang Nian Entertainment had invited Bai Ye, the author of "Shen Mo Ji," to serve as a script consultant.
With the original author on board, there would be no issues with the plot. Coupled with the experience gained from Jiang Nan's film adaptations using characters,
Male lead Chen Zhe was a powerful actor, and female lead Yang Yingying was the hottest traffic draw. With the addition of veteran supporting actors, it was undoubtedly a film with great potential.
"Teacher Bai Ye, thank you for your hard work during this period," said Chen Hua, the Operations Director of Guang Nian Entertainment.
"It's my duty," Bai Ye replied, his demeanor refined, as he adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and nodded.
As a supreme deity in the online literature circle, this was Bai Ye's first time as a scriptwriter. Before Jiang Nan emerged, IPs were simply sold to film and television companies, with authors rarely involved in the production.
However, Jiang Nan, acting as both author and scriptwriter, handled the entire IP operation process, achieving explosive popularity. This also led to market recognition for original online literature authors. To avoid negative reviews from original fans, companies would invite original authors to act as script consultants after purchasing film and television IPs. Of course, sometimes the author was merely a figurehead, as online literature and television production were vastly different, and not everyone was as versatile as Jiang Nan.
While Bai Ye might not be on Jiang Nan's level, he was a seasoned author in the industry.
Although "Shen Mo Ji" had lost to "Journey to the West," it could only be attributed to the immense power of "Journey to the West," not a deficiency in "Shen Mo Ji."
"Everything is ready now, just waiting for the release," said the project manager from Ding Sheng Entertainment with a smile.
The current configuration was incredibly luxurious: top actors, a major IP, and such a significant investment from both companies. Moreover, with many films scheduled for the October National Day period, there were no significant competitors this month.
Everyone was now waiting for the premiere to explode and rake in box office profits!
"Ahem... the premiere successfully topped the trending searches yesterday, overshadowing Mo Yan and Ting Yu. This is a good omen," Chen Hua stated, awkwardly changing the subject, hoping to claim credit for his son.
"It topped the trending searches?" Some people, who hadn't checked Weibo last night, were unaware of this.
"Of course. It remained number one all night. And we only spent a few hundred thousand to get there. It was still competing with Ting Yu's 'Qing Ge Wang' finale topic. This kind of result would be hard to achieve even with millions," Chen Hua said proudly.
A round of exclamations erupted in the room.
"It snatched the trending searches from Ting Yu and Mo Yan?" Zhang Zong, from Ding Sheng Entertainment, frowned.
He immediately took out his phone to check Weibo.
Trending Search No. 1: #Mo Yan Pens His Last Work, The Entire Audience in Tears!#
Where was it?
Then he saw Trending Search No. 2: #If You Are Well, It is Sunny. Ting Yu's 'Qing Tian' Evokes Countless Youthful Memories!#
#Every lyric in this song is about rain, yet the title is 'Qing Tian'!#
#The most beautiful love song intro. Gong Ju Ren's guitar playing short video is going viral!#
#Ting Yu's debut performance on the cello. What else can he not do?#
He continued reading.
Among the top ten trending searches, only the first was about Mo Yan; the rest were all about Ting Yu and Gong Ju Ren.
And their mentioned premiere was nowhere to be seen.
Even after flipping to the second page, it was still filled with topics about Ting Yu and Gong Ju Ren.
"Wait a minute, where are my trending searches???" Chen Zhe, who had intended to show off, found his hands trembling as he held his phone.
He had seen himself at number one trending when he left home. How could they all be gone now!
"Could it be a Weibo bug?" Chen Hua was also bewildered. He had spent hundreds of thousands on this trending search, and it only lasted a few hours, and that too in the late night when everyone was asleep. Now it was gone. Wasn't that money down the drain? It should have lasted until noon when everyone had seen it.
"Found it. It's at twenty-fourth place," said a high-ranking executive from Ding Sheng Entertainment, then looked up and smirked, "Is this what you call topping the trending searches?"
Are you trying to fake the data and embezzle this hundreds of thousands budget?
"Mr. Zhang, it was really number one on trending searches last night. I still have screenshots," Chen Hua quickly fumbled for his previous screenshots.
"Trending searches in the late night, what's the use?" Mr. Zhang glanced at him, unsatisfied with the result. "Moreover, you guys are truly audacious to provoke Ting Yu. Don't you know what Ting Yu represents in the Chinese music scene?"
"What does that matter? Our Guang Nian Entertainment doesn't have music industry business..." Chen Hua's voice gradually diminished.
Guang Nian Entertainment might not, but Ding Sheng Entertainment's main business was in the Chinese music scene.
"It would be one thing if the trending searches could last until today, but now the situation is that you've not only provoked Ting Yu but also failed to maintain the trending status. I will report this situation to Director Qi," Mr. Zhang from Ding Sheng said solemnly. Unlike Guang Nian Entertainment, Ding Sheng Entertainment owed its current position to the rise of Ting Yu, so they were naturally reluctant to provoke him.
The atmosphere in the meeting room became somewhat somber.
Chen Hua had done this to promote his son. Even if the number one trending search had lasted until noon, the hundreds of thousands would have been worth it. But now, not only had they provoked Ting Yu and Mo Yan, but they hadn't achieved the desired effect, making it difficult to explain.
Finally, Bai Ye, who had been silent, tapped the table, crossed his legs, and broke the silence: "Alright, it's fine if we didn't get the trending status. It's just a trending search. Are you that unconfident in my book? Without trending searches, no one in August can defeat us."
His words were full of confidence. As a supreme deity in the online literature circle, he had the right to say so.
Furthermore, despite losing to Jiang Nan's "Journey to the West," "Shen Mo Ji" had actually received excellent reviews and was one of the biggest IPs in recent years.
Therefore, Bai Ye was confident.
He knew that while everyone was arguing over a trending search, he, as the original author, should step forward.
"Huh? Just as I refreshed, a trending search has entered the top three?" Suddenly, a high-ranking executive from Guang Nian Entertainment exclaimed, "Jiang Nan's latest movie 'A Chinese Odyssey' premiere on August 6th. Witness a different Journey to the West..."
*Bang!*
A dull thud.
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the sound.
"Where is Teacher Bai Ye?"
"Teacher Bai Ye?"
"He was just here, how did he disappear in the blink of an eye?"
Bai Ye's voice came from under the table: "I dropped my pen, I'm looking for my pen!!!"
...