Chapter 58: Is This Commotion Enough? (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Because of growing up, we are inevitably forced to get used to it~"
"Because of growing up, we suddenly part ways just like that~"
Xu Ming and young Song Jia gazed lovingly at each other as they finished singing the song.
"Thank you to Xu Ming and Song Jia for performing the song 'Just Say We'll Part' for our audience, and we hope they will often visit our 'Happy Camp' as guests in the future."
He Jiong and the other four hosts walked out from both sides and shouted loudly, "July 25th, 'Love is Not Blind', let's see each other in the cinemas!"
Clap, clap, clap!
The audience off stage frantically burst into applause.
Light boards bearing the two characters 'Xu Ming' were glowing brightly at the scene, visible everywhere.
To be honest, Xu Ming never expected that he would one day possess such fanatical fans.
Singers really have it good these days.
During this period, he had been running back and forth non-stop between media performances and music chart promotions.
The promotional effect of the movie had not yet been seen, but he had personally reaped quite a few dividends.
Like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, Xu Ming fan clubs were springing up all over the country.
What was even more awkward was that many young girls, since Xu Ming had never released any relevant posters, could only buy merchandise of him wearing a Scottish kilt...
"The gentle breeze blows leisurely, coming purely for Ming."
"Xu Ming, Xu Ming, I love you, just like crispy rice loves the bottom of the pot."
"The sun of Xu rises in the east, his fame will endure through the ages."
The cheering slogans resounded like hypnotic spells, continuously reaching Xu Ming's ears.
He raised both arms toward the numerous fans and made a large heart shape.
Amidst the numerous screams, he accelerated his pace quite a bit as he turned and left the stage.
Sure enough, the life of an idol is not something anyone can handle.
"Why walk so fast? Don't you want to interact more with your fans? Your momentum right now is no worse than those Hallyu idol singers," Song Jia said with a trace of envy.
Before Jay Chou uttered the line "Don't let the Hallyu wave become increasingly arrogant; Mandopop is the coolest" at the 2012 Baidu Hotspot Ceremony, the Hallyu wave had already been running rampant in the domestic market.
The combat effectiveness of the fans was so exaggerated that the entire entertainment industry looked at them with awe.
Especially Hunan TV, which achieved remarkable results by importing Korean dramas and repeated the trick by inviting numerous Hallyu idols to appear on variety shows, making them arguably the biggest beneficiaries of the Hallyu wave domestically.
Otherwise, in 2013, Fatty Du wouldn't have knelt down to present an award to G-Dragon.
"To me, they are just the icing on the cake, not indispensable. A little bit of maintenance is enough; relying too much on the fan economy makes it prone to a backlash."
"In the current domestic environment, winning in the end still depends on works," Xu Ming shook his head and said.
He had skyrocketed through "Not Bading for Money", and his popularity was already high enough; what he needed more now was consolidation.
"You make it sound like we won't need works in the future."
Song Jia curled her lips, feeling that the other person was just mystifying things.
Xu Ming did not explain. Aside from her, had he not known about future developments, he would never have imagined that one day a star could become famous without any works.
"Then you could also consider releasing an album. Orange Sky arranged for me to release one last year, but unfortunately the results weren't good."
Song Jia said in a regretful tone, "Otherwise, the commercial performance market for singers is much stronger than that for actors."
Not only commercial performances, but variety shows were also more inclined to invite pop stars.
Singers could dance and sing upbeat songs on stage, but actors surely couldn't go up and perform a scene live for the audience...
That would be better than inviting crosstalk comedians.
"Let's wait for a while. I've been too busy these past few months to spare the time," Xu Ming said.
He wasn't resistant to releasing albums; being multi-talented was a market norm.
Even Crystal Liu had once attempted singing and dancing in stockings.
"What about tonight then? Can you spare some time?" Song Jia asked, acting as if it were completely casual.
"Depends on the situation. Send me the room number; once there, it's the old secret signal: three long and two short," Xu Ming said.
"Such rogue behavior."
Song Jia rolled her eyes at Xu Ming and walked away with a smirk at the corner of her mouth.
Nearby, Xiao Yuan was long accustomed to the situation between the two of them.
"Because of your song 'Just Say We'll Part' and the explosive popularity of the trailer, our promotional effect has far exceeded expectations. The investors are asking if we should increase the advertising and promotional budget?"
"No, slow down. Promotion and distribution also require a rhythm of tension and release. Tell them to save all their ammunition for the half-month surrounding the release; that's the main battlefield," Xu Ming said deeply.
Judging by the release dates announced by various studios so far, this year's summer slot was bound to be overcrowded.
If "Love is Not Blind" wanted to stand out, it would have to crush quite a few competitors.
Every bit of promotional funds saved right now would be a bullet fired at the enemy during the summer season.
"Anything else?"
"Director Zhang notified that the film will start shooting in Zhangye in a week."
"Sigh, got it."
...
June 9th.
Zhangye Danxia Geological Park, Gansu Province.
A full five hundred square kilometers of the geological park had been booked by the crew.
Originally, according to Zhang Weiping's usual routine, it would be to strictly guard against media reporters and not leak a single shred of information about the crew.
The purpose was to use secrecy to arouse the curiosity and exploratory desire of the general film fans.
However, after witnessing Xu Ming's performance at the boot ceremony of "Love is Not Blind", he completely changed his routine and gathered a small group of media to come in for interviews.
"Jinming, stand behind me."
Xu Ming waved his hand, signaling Li Jinming to stand behind him so that she could at least get a bit more exposure.
The latter was someone he recommended to the crew for an audition.
Whether it was out of regard for his face or because Li Jinming was truly suitable, she was chosen for the minor role of a female prisoner.
The actress playing the female prisoner alongside her was Wang Sisi, an actress selected by National Teacher Zhang to participate in the opening and closing ceremony performances of the 2008 Olympics.
Actually, given the size of this role, Li Jinming didn't need to stay with the crew.
However, since she had the willingness to do so, and Xu Ming also felt he lacked a companion in the crew, he brought her along.
After all, having to shoot for three or four months in this godforsaken place, he couldn't possibly look to丫蛋 and Yan Ni to relieve his loneliness...
At the boot ceremony, Xu Ming behaved very obediently, with no intention of stirring up trouble whatsoever.
It wasn't a movie he invested in; no matter how you looked at it, he was just one of the main actors, and there was no need to expend too much effort.
Even when reporters intentionally directed questions at Xu Ming, he simply yielded the spotlight to Sun Honglei or his other senior/junior fellow apprentices.
This also caused Zhang Weiping, who was speaking on stage, to cast strange glances at Xu Ming from time to time.
This kid isn't acting right.
How come he turned so wilted when it's his turn?
At this rate of development, wasn't the press conference held in vain?
"Aren't you usually quite capable, kid? Stir up some action," Uncle Benshan said in a low voice.
He had invested money in this film, so naturally he cared about it deeply.
"You said it, Master," Xu Ming confirmed repeatedly.
"I said it."
Uncle Benshan readily agreed. How much trouble could this kid possibly stir up?
"May I ask Teacher Xu, what are your thoughts on participating in Director Zhang's film?" a reporter asked routinely.
They no longer held any expectations for major bombshells and were just waiting to finish quickly and get off work.
"I feel deeply honored. Director Zhang is undoubtedly a world-class director, and the core of what this film actually tells is that what belongs to the nation belongs to the world."
"He genuinely wants to tell a good story to everyone, rather than blindly piling up stars like certain directors..."
When he reached this point, the reporters' sharp intuition sensed something was amiss, and they instantly perked up.
National Teacher Zhang on stage opened his mouth slightly, realizing something was wrong.
Before he could stop him, he heard Xu Ming continue his wild rhetoric.
"Please rest assured, and please let the fans rest assured, our movie will definitely not feature lines like 'Mengmeng, stand up'."
Having finished, the former took a step back and spread his hands toward his twitching-eyed master.
Was this commotion enough?