Nobody knows movies better than me

Chapter 23 Future Stars

Looking back at the history of Chinese-language cinema, the most important film for the commercialization of Chinese-language films is undoubtedly Zhang Yimou's "Hero".

The film was released in the year China joined the WTO, which was also the first year of the cinema chain system reform in the film market.

Flying snow, broken sword, nameless sky, desert twilight, Jiuzhaigou's green waters—Tan Dun's drums, Christopher Doyle's eyes, Ching Siu-tung's sword, and Perlman's piano—all these elements combine to create the myriad charms of "Hero."

Chinese audiences haven't been this excited about a movie in a long time, and that's the greatest achievement of "Hero".

Although the film was accompanied by a lot of controversy when it was released, for example, many people criticized Zhang Yimou for losing the critical edge of his previous works, and accused him of having visuals but failing to tell a good story.

But from a market perspective, the contribution of one "Hero" is equivalent to that of ten "Red Sorghum".

Among them, producer Zhang Weiping, who collaborated with Zhang Yimou, deserves great credit. He adopted a bold marketing strategy, combining commercial operations with film, and achieved unprecedented success.

This was the first time mainland filmmakers had ever seen that film promotion could be done this way!

One of Zhang Weiping's methods was to introduce the preview screening method to mainland cinemas.

In fact, preview screenings are not uncommon in Hollywood, having a history of over half a century. However, in the mainland Chinese film market, it was "Hero" that pioneered this approach.

Before its nationwide release, "Hero" held a seven-day preview screening in Shenzhen.

To prevent piracy and unauthorized recording, strict security measures were implemented at the cinema during the preview screenings. Every audience member had to undergo security checks to ensure they did not possess any recording devices before being allowed entry.

These days, a video recorder is quite large, and it's practically impossible to smuggle it into a movie theater without being searched.

As for mobile phones, although they have video recording functions, their memory is small and the pixels are not clear, unlike later smartphones which can be used as tools for voyeurism.

The purpose of the preview screenings of "Hero" was to compete for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, but it unexpectedly opened up a new avenue for the film's promotion.

Some of the audience members who watched the preview screening were interviewed and excitedly praised the film's visuals, aesthetic style, and grand scenes in every way.

Some viewers who attended the preview screenings shared their viewing experiences online, and combined with Zhang Weiping's series of promotional tactics, "Hero" became a hit even before its official release.

Following "Hero", another film that adopted a preview screening strategy was called "Warriors of Heaven and Earth".

This film is a co-production between Columbia Pictures and Huayi Brothers, starring Jiang Wen, Wang Xueqi, and Nakamura Kiichi.

Released in September 2003, it grossed 41 million yuan at the box office in mainland China.

Following this, Hollywood films such as "The Matrix" and "King Arthur" also adopted the method of preview screenings for promotion before being released to the public.

Thus, preview screenings have become a standard film marketing tactic.

As for the issue of piracy, viewers who can tolerate such low-quality images and viewing effects from pirated copies in this day and age are not the target audience for theatrical films.

Even pirated copies can't stop someone from going to the cinema.

Even if anti-piracy measures completely eliminate pirated content, people who don't want to pay to see movies in theaters will still choose not to go.

Of course, that's what they say, but the work still needs to be done.

Fortunately, "Little Miss Sunshine" was screened in colleges and universities. This isn't to say that there aren't bad guys among college students who want to piracy, but rather that preventing piracy is relatively easier on campuses.

The "Little Miss Sunshine" crew visited many universities. Before allowing university students and faculty to enter, they would first issue a warning sign and then go through security checks before being allowed to enter the venue.

While a high level of education does not necessarily equate to high quality, the audience members who attended the preview screening of "Little Miss Sunshine" were at least of good character.

Having visited so many universities, I haven't found anyone with ill intentions.

The cast and crew visited the Beijing Film Academy, the school where Ji Chen, one of the film's lead actors, is studying. He was quite excited because this was his way of returning to his alma mater as a lead actor to promote the film.

Zhang Jun was alright; he didn't have any special feelings for the Beijing Film Academy, after all, he was from Tsinghua University...

"Ji Chen, you're famous now! You'll definitely be popular at school after the movie is released," Zhang Jun said with a smile.

Ji Chen scratched his head and said, "I'm alright, but some of us in the performing arts department became famous a long time ago."

To say nothing of far-off examples, Liu Yifei, who is a year younger than me, starred in "The Story of a Noble Family" and "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" at a very young age, and was quite famous at school.

"Whoa!"

Zhang Jun exclaimed in surprise, "Will she be there today?"

"They shouldn't be here!"

Ji Chen shook his head: "They're very busy filming, they have film contracts all year round, and they don't spend much time at school. I've only seen them twice."

No wonder the "Fairy Sister" acted like a wooden doll for a long time afterward; it turns out she didn't study hard in school and was busy filming every day.

However, even without formal acting classes, acting skills can be gradually honed through the experience of watching numerous dramas.

Those who haven't trained might be lacking in effort or simply lacking talent.

Zhang Jun was still a little disappointed that he couldn't meet the fairy sister.

However, there are still many future celebrities who came to the Beijing Film Academy's preview screening today, such as Luo Jin, who was in the same class as Liu Yifei, as well as Jiang Yiyan, and Zhu Yawen, who has not yet become a hormone.

Looking at the sign hanging outside the auditorium, Luo Jin and Zhu Yawen stopped and looked at the introductory text on it.

Jiang Yiyan happened to be passing by and, seeing the two of them so engrossed, asked, "What are you two doing? Why don't you go inside?"

Zhou Yang, standing to the side, chuckled, "Those two are just envious of Ji Chen's good fortune, getting to star in a movie. This movie's a huge hit online now, and I heard the director is from Tsinghua University?"

Luo Jin turned around and nodded upon hearing this, saying, "Yes, and not even in art, but in astronomy. Students at Tsinghua University are so amazing!"

Zhu Yawen added, "I heard he even won an award at the College Student Film Festival. I really want to meet him and see what kind of person he is."

"Alright, alright."

Jiang Yiyan interrupted, "There are photos of him online, I've seen them all, he's quite handsome."

Besides, can't we meet today?

"That's true!"

The four of them went through security together and entered the school's small auditorium. The auditorium was already quite full, with many alumni returning after graduation.

Jiang Yiyan even met Huang Xiaoming and Chen Kun, which shows that it wasn't just the students at the Beijing Film Academy who were curious about the movie, but also the established stars.

Just as Jiang Yiyan was wondering whether she should go up and greet the two senior students, a boy wearing a baseball cap walked over.

Jiang Yiyan was wondering which junior student was so bold as to strike up a conversation with two already famous celebrities when she took a closer look and realized it was Zhang Jun, whom she had seen online.

In reality, he is even more outstanding in person than in the photos.

What's most striking is his maturity and confidence, which are rare among young people his age.

Jiang Yiyan had never been to Tsinghua University or Peking University, but she figured that even if the students at these two top universities were different from others, there probably weren't many who could match Zhang Jun's temperament.

"Look, that's Zhang Jun." Jiang Yiyan nudged Zhou Yang's arm.

The group of four immediately spotted Zhang Jun. Zhu Yawen exclaimed in surprise, "So this is Zhang Jun! He's about our age and already a director?"

"It really is him!"

Jiang Yiyan affirmed, "I've seen his photos online, and seeing him in person, I feel he's even more handsome than in the online photos."

Luo Jin asked Jiang Yiyan, "You're paying so much attention to her, do you like her?"

Jiang Yiyan answered without hesitation: "It has nothing to do with whether you like it or not. This director is only twenty-two years old this year, and the movie 'Little Miss Sunshine' has already generated a lot of buzz."

Can you imagine how much he, as a director, will develop in the future once this movie is released and becomes a success?

Honestly, if he dared to propose to me right now, I'd say yes on the spot.

"Indeed, marrying a promising future director would be a huge help to one's acting career," Zhou Yang agreed.

Zhu Yawen expressed his regret: "We're both men, you two might have had a chance!"

"It's hard to say, maybe she just likes men!" Luo Jin joked.