Chapter 567: "3 Bodies 1" Pre-heating
Chapter 567: "Three-Body 1" Pre-heating
This February, the ancient costume fantasy idol drama "Eternal Love" co-produced by Xingyue Media, Jiaxing and Huace Media, under the Galaxy Group, directed by Lin Yufen, Yu Cuihua and Ren Haitao, written by Hong Huo and Tang Qi, and starring Yang Mi, Zhao Youting, Zhang Zhiyao and Di Lieba, was released nationwide in China.
After only 12 hours of the show being online, the total number of views on the entire network exceeded 6 million. Within 12 hours of being online on Star Video, the maximum increase in views was close to million.
On February 2017, 2, the drama's total online playback volume exceeded 16 billion. At the same time, the dubbed version of "Eternal Love" was also released in Japan, South Korea and some Southeast Asian countries.
The unique classical aesthetics and fairy-tale culture of China in the play, after being carefully portrayed by the screenwriter department of Galaxy Group and superimposed with the special effects technology of starlight and fantasy, has caused quite a stir in these countries.
Some Japanese and Korean media even exclaimed that China has surpassed them not only in movies, but also in the production level and sophistication of TV dramas.
Especially the magic special effects of flying and hiding in the ground in "Eternal Love" made many Japanese and Korean audiences sigh and wonder when they will be able to shoot and produce such sophisticated special effects TV series.
Perhaps only a market as huge as China can accommodate such a large-scale investment fantasy-themed TV series.
On February 2, the TV series "Eternal Love" broke through 25 billion traffic on Star Video Network, and the total network playback volume of the series exceeded 15 billion.
At the same time, the popularity of the TV series overseas also prompted the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation NHK and Tokyo TV to contact the Japanese branch of the Galaxy Group, expressing their desire to cooperate with the Galaxy Group to imitate "Eternal Love" and shoot a fantasy TV series set in the Heian-kyo period.
For example, in 2001, the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation NHK filmed a TV series called "Onmyoji", which also tells the story of Abe Haruaki. However, the special effects at that time are still a bit lacking when viewed now.
Originally, with the strength of the two TV stations, it would not be impossible to shoot another TV series like this, but when they wanted to achieve the same effect as "Eternal Love", they found that in the field of film and television special effects technology, their own strength was no longer as good as that of China.
Unless they go to Hollywood special effects companies, there is always a gap between Western culture and Japanese local culture, and the special effects and aesthetic styles of China are far closer to them.
Moreover, once the picture quality and production level of a TV series are improved, cost recovery due to excessive investment will also become a big problem.
Fortunately, China's cultural opening-up strategy has given Japan Broadcasting Corporation NHK hope. Since China's "Eternal Love" can be broadcast in Japan, the TV series they shoot may also be able to enter the Chinese market.
In this regard, along with China's cultural opening-up strategy, in fact, in recent years, quite a few Japanese film and television cultural works have entered the Chinese market.
It’s just that before, Sony and Galaxy Group mainly cooperated in movies, and then a co-produced TV series "Unnatural Death" entered the Chinese market and was broadcast on satellite TV stations in the mainland.
Although several other Chinese video websites have purchased a large number of TV drama copyrights in Japan, they only play them on their own video websites.
Not to mention being broadcast on satellite TV, it is very difficult for these Japanese dramas to be broadcast on local Chinese TV stations.
But the Galaxy Group is different, it has both technology and connections.
So the two Japanese TV stations approached them, which also represents that a part of the Japanese cultural circles are moving closer to the open Chinese cultural circle under the current circumstances.
However, similar incidents are still rare. For example, xenophobia in the Japanese film and television industry is still very serious. Only a few companies, such as Sony Pictures, cooperate with the Galaxy Group.
As for South Korea and Southeast Asia, not to mention the rejection from certain local film and television companies, Galaxy Group also encountered an opponent at the same time, that is Netflix from the United States.
This entertainment company, founded in 1997, was once an online DVD and Blu-ray rental provider, but has now successfully transformed into a membership subscription streaming platform, similar to China's Youku and iQiyi.
They formulated an Asian market strategy in 2015 and began to enter the Korean market in 2016, using it as a bridgehead for their Asian and even global strategies.
On the one hand, Netflix, a super overseas streaming media, has not only accelerated its layout in the local market, but has also begun to rely more on Asian content producers to produce original dramas that suit global tastes.
Of course, Netflix is currently still at the stage of spending a lot of money to win people's hearts and minds while cultivating the market.
However, the emergence of this troublemaker with strong financial strength did eventually have a certain impact on China and Galaxy Group's Asia-Pacific cultural circle plans.
However, the Galaxy Group is not afraid. After all, Netflix is strong, and the Galaxy Group is not weak either.
Even in terms of creative ability and future prospects, Galaxy Group, which owns the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe], [Shushan Swordsman Universe], and [Fengshen Animation Universe], is stronger than Netflix.
It's not just Netflix. When Wang Hao thinks about the DC movie universe that has been constantly restarted in later generations, Marvel's transformation from the Avengers to the "League of Heroes", and Hollywood's political correctness to the point of turning Snow White into Snow White, Wang Hao's confidence has soared.
Who would have thought that the successors of the two pillars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man and Captain America, would be two black people, a man and a woman.
Not only the Chinese audience can't stand this guy, but even their local audiences don't like him either.
As for Galaxy Group, the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] has only developed to the second stage, and the third stage has not yet begun. In the future, there will be big killers like "The Wandering Earth".
From this perspective, China's cultural industry seems to be on the road to "win, win, win".
Anyway, Galaxy Group had a good start in 3 with "Detective Chinatown 2017" and "Eternal Love".
On March 3, the total online playback volume of "Eternal Love" exceeded 10 billion.
On the same day, the American fantasy adventure film "Kong: Skull Island", co-produced by Galaxy Pictures, Wanda Pictures, Legendary Pictures, and Universal Pictures, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, and starring Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Jing Tian and others, was released worldwide.
"Good Will Hunting" and "Final Fantasy 15" released at the same time did not pose a threat to it, so on the first day of its release, "Kong: Skull Island" won a box office of 1.55 million Chinese yuan in China.
As for the box office in the first three days of the week, it earned 3 million yuan, becoming the box office champion of the week with a 4.98% share of the weekly box office.
With its wonderful visual effects, luxurious lineup and unique monster theme, and after Wang Hao participated in the planning of the project, the "Monster Movie Universe" formed by linking it with "Godzilla" has won the recognition and support of the audience.
Not only did it have a strong domestic box office performance, easily earning 4 million yuan in 5.57 days, 5 million yuan in 6 days, and finally breaking 10 billion yuan in the mainland, but Kong: Skull Island also earned 5 million US dollars overseas, and eventually pushed the global box office to more than 6 million US dollars, making Galaxy Pictures a small profit.
And the key is that the production of this kind of film has greatly trained the production level of Starlight Fantasy Special Effects Company on special targets such as "giant objects", and accumulated certain experience for them to shoot and produce movies like "Pacific Rim" in the future.
Just as "Kong: Skull Island" was hitting theaters around the world, the annual enrollment season for major art schools also began, attracting the attention of many entertainment media. As Wang Junkai became a freshman at the Beijing Film Academy, he also attracted many fanatical fans to the scene.
Of course, Wang Junkai is not the only student enrolled in art schools such as Beijing Film Academy this year.
Many of the young talents from the "Spark Plan" previously implemented by the Galaxy Group have been admitted to these colleges.
Zhang Jingyi, Hamabe Minami, Kim Sae-ron, Liu Haocun…
These young people from various countries and regions have entered a new campus with full of dreams for the future and love for literature and art. In the future, they will meet new friends and enter a new stage in life.
In this regard, Wang Hao did not pay much attention to the beneficiaries of the "Spark Plan". After all, this plan was not for just one term. The original students entered art schools, and new students came in an endless stream to squeeze in, ready to contribute to China's cultural undertakings.
However, in his spare time, when Wang Hao was inquiring about the business of the group company, he would also remind the economic department responsible for this area when looking at this "Spark Plan".
The main thing is to be fair and just when selecting talents. Galaxy Group is a large platform, and the entertainment industry is a place for making money. Projects like the "Spark Group" will naturally become popular in the eyes of some people, and they will think of ways to push their children into it.
Therefore, the review of program participants must be serious and thorough. It is not forbidden to have people with connections, but at least they should not squeeze out some truly talented performing talents.
Wang Hao made such demands on his subordinates, and his subordinates knew how much he valued this aspect, so they naturally restrained themselves in their actions.
Of course, the operation of a company or even a large enterprise cannot be controlled solely by a chairman like Wang Hao. What is more important is the soundness and rigor of the management system and regulations.
In this regard, as the Galaxy Group grows bigger, it has attracted a lot of talents, either recruited from other companies or discovered from within the company.
Anyway, in general, the promotion channels for employees within the Galaxy Group are still very smooth, and the overall atmosphere is relatively friendly and harmonious.
Coupled with its strong economic strength, endless creative materials, mature film industrialization system, and a wise leader, it is well-deserved to be the leader of the domestic film and television cultural industry.
In the first few months of the year, Wang Hao sorted out various situations within the company, while also not forgetting to increase investment in the promotion of the new movie "The Three-Body Problem 1".
The post-production of this film has actually been completed. There are still some problems in the review, and the higher authorities have some disputes at this time.
But Wang Hao was not worried at all, because he knew that with his current position in the industry and his weight in the eyes of the top management, plus the main theme of the film, the film would definitely be released. The only question was whether it needed to be cut? More or less?
Therefore, starting from March, Galaxy Pictures began to increase its efforts and investment based on the promotion of some materials released in the early stage.
The first thing is that some of the film’s main actors began to participate in various variety shows in batches, repeatedly appearing in front of the public to build momentum for the film.
At the same time, platforms such as Taopiao.com, Douyin, Xingyue Chinese, and Xingkong Video Network under the Galaxy Group are also making efforts simultaneously.
As for other things like subway posters, elevator advertisements, and large outdoor posters, we have everything.
Of course, the most important of these is the trailer for "The Three-Body Problem 1".
In fact, when "Detective Chinatown 2" was released in February, the first trailer of "The Three-Body Problem 3" had already appeared in front of everyone in the form of a patch advertisement.
However, the initial trailer contained very little information, and was mostly clips of previous movies in the second phase of the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, reflecting a sense of tension and urgency.
It wasn’t until mid-March that “The Three-Body Problem 3” released a preview trailer with new content.
This trailer shows Evans being interrogated, the solemn-looking "Wolf Warrior" Leng Feng, and the deserted streets of Magic City.
The overall time is very short, but with the gloomy cold colors and low soundtrack, it still creates a strong sense of oppression.
This also points out the overall story tone of "The Three-Body Problem 1", which is that the human beings on Earth will soon face a huge threat.
After that, "The Three-Body Problem 1" also began to release character posters one after another.
Their official account on TikTok updates these contents every two days.
With each update, the character accounts in Douyin are also updated accordingly.
Among them, the appearances of characters such as "Wolf Warrior" Liu Peiqiang, Han Duoduo, Qin Feng, Shi Qiang, and Evans were all within everyone's expectations.
But the appearance of certain characters also surprised and delighted the fans who followed the movie.
For example, Zhang Ying, the male protagonist of "Source Code", Dr. Ma Zhao who died in "Transcendence", Liu Qianqian, the big star who appeared in "Taken 1 and 2", Qiu Gangao, the "gangster" who disappeared for a long time, Ding Yi, the famous scientist, and even Han Duoduo's father Han Ziang, Luo Ji who only appeared briefly in the "Source Code" Easter egg...
These posters, one after another, basically foreshadow the luxurious cast of the movie "The Three-Body Problem 1", which is enough to set off a carnival about the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe".
The extra-long trailer released in early April and the Sino-Korean co-production "Train to Busan" released in April further aroused the curiosity of movie fans about the crisis.
(End of this chapter)