Chapter 128: The White Moonlight Marketing Campaign
Zhou Xun had already been given a heads-up by Li Chen about winning the award, so she wasn't as emotional and tearful as she had been in her previous life.
The tears she needed to shed had already been shed in Venice a few months prior.
When Zhou Xun went up to the awards stage, Li Chen, without hesitation, personally presented her with the bronze statue.
Zhou Xun first embraced Kent Cheng.
Then she opened her arms, smiling at Li Chen.
Li Chen smiled, stepping forward, about to embrace Zhou Xun.
But Zhou Xun playfully dodged him, and the guests in the audience burst into laughter.
Li Chen wasn't embarrassed, his face full of smiles.
Zhou Xun smiled into the microphone and said, "I won't hug my boss; two of his rumored girlfriends are here today, and I don't want to be the fourth."
The crowd erupted in laughter again, and the camera focused on the two beautiful rumored girlfriends, Liu Yifei and Tang Yan.
Zhou Xun went through the motions, thanking Chen Kexin.
Before stepping off the stage, Li Chen glanced at the three hosts, completely disregarding the suppressed anger in Zeng Zhiwei's eyes.
Li Chen didn't believe he would dare to curse back to his face; if he did.
Li Chen would simply stand up and leave with Zhou Xun and the others, and they would see who would be embarrassed.
Anyway, Zhou Xun had already received her award; as for the subsequent Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture, they could give them to whomever they pleased.
Zeng Zhiwei really wanted to curse back, but unfortunately, someone had already greeted him backstage.
If he continued to pester Li Chen, he would incur public wrath.
Xiang Huaqiang would not let him off the hook.
After getting off the stage, Li Chen and Kent Cheng had no further interaction, only chatting with Andy Lau.
"You were quite impressive today."
"I didn't want to be; if people don't offend me, I don't offend them."
Andy Lau didn't continue the topic, instead, he joked with Li Chen, "Maggie told me just now that she actually hoped you'd write a song for her rather than make a movie. Both of us are very envious of Harlem Yu."
"I can also sing 'those years,' why didn't she come to me?"
Li Chen smiled, not responding.
The three hosts went back on stage.
As Zeng Zhiwei walked, he shook his head and joked with the other two hosts, "Chen Ge from China is still young and impetuous; can't afford to provoke him, can't afford to provoke him."
Zeng Zhiwei really wanted to blurt out what someone had told him backstage just now.
But he still held back; he couldn't afford to provoke Xiang Huaqiang.
The other two hosts also stopped talking.
Du Wenze, who had been playing along with Zeng Zhiwei earlier, also didn't dare to chime in now.
This level of confrontation was beyond what a minor actor like him could get involved in.
Zeng Zhiwei was a big shot, he was just a small fry.
In the eyes of Xiang Huaqiang and that The Golden Palm director from China, he probably didn't even count as a fart.
Didn't you see that when Li Chen cursed Zeng Zhiwei just now, he didn't even mention him?
He completely ignored him.
The Golden Horse Awards ceremony was broadcast live on Sina, with China Film Report on Six Princess broadcasting with a delay.
At this moment, besides the stars and countless movie fans present, there were also a vast number of Sina netizens in China.
The click-through rate of the live broadcast page had already broken the historical record of any film festival live broadcast ever.
Even the Oscar couldn't compare.
Sina netizens, especially the fans of Liu Yifei, Tang Yan, and Zhou Xun.
First, they were dazzled by the stunning looks of the three.
Then, they gasped in surprise at Liu Yifei's crazy fan.
Finally, everyone was dumbfounded by Li Chen's sharp speech.
After reacting, they left comments one after another.
"Damn! That's so satisfying! That guy was involved in the Wutai Mountain tragedy! Li Chen is a true man!"
"Chen Ge still has to be Li Chen; what the hell is Han Chen! He'll end up in Stanley Prison sooner or later!"
Sina's top executives were full of admiration for Cao Guowei's wise move to bring in Li Chen during the blog's internal testing phase.
Li Chen alone almost led more than half of the entertainment industry's stars and artists to join the blog.
This made Sina's blog far ahead among the three major portal websites.
As long as it was news related to Rongchen Film and Television, Sina always got the first-hand information.
This made the other two portal websites more than a little envious.
The awards ceremony on site was still ongoing.
The Best Actor award went to Tony Leung Ka-fai for 'dragon city years'.
Best Director: Du Qifeng for 'dragon city years'.
Best Picture was still 'dragon city years', presented by Jackie Chan, with Xiang Tai accepting the award on behalf of Xiang Huaqiang.
How interesting, Xiang Tai went on stage to claim credit for Xiang Huaqiang: "Actually, my husband truly loves and supports our film industry. He's willing to lose so much money to make films."
"But this upcoming 'genius gunner' finally won't lose money."
Everyone felt that Xiang Tai's words made sense.
Now, as long as it was Li Chen's script, as soon as a movie project was established, advertisers and film distributors would already be making moves.
Even Wu Yusen from Hong Kong couldn't compare.
Wu Yusen's 'red cliff' had only completed 80% of its overseas copyright pre-sales so far, and the key was that there weren't many overseas film distributors in total.
But 'genius gunner' had just been announced, and already more than a dozen film distributors and advertisers had contacted China Star.
The camera focused on Xiang Huaqiang, and Mei Ting next to him also appeared on screen, both smiling broadly.
The camera then turned to Li Chen, who smiled without speaking.
"Hua Ge, it's so embarrassing. For the last three major awards, not a single winner showed up."
"It's like an ancestral worship ceremony. Only Du Qifeng is still adhering to the Hong Kong-style triad."
"It reminds me of a phrase: 'Glory of the Last Days'."
Andy Lau was also filled with regret; Li Chen had hit the nail on the head.
Last year, Hong Kong only released over 40 local films in total, setting a new historical low.
Although tonight's Golden Horse Awards were star-studded, it was truly a bit like putting on a brave face.
The Hong Kong filmmakers on stage were still arrogant and couldn't see the situation clearly.
In his opinion, Zeng Zhiwei offending Li Chen was simply foolish.
The center of Asia's film industry, due to the sudden emergence of Rongchen Film and Television in the past two years, had already shifted from Hong Kong to China.
This was an undeniable fact.
This sign had already appeared when Zhang Yimou's 'Hero' was released.
Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat, and Jet Li returned from Hollywood and plunged into the embrace of China.
Stephen Chow, and himself, including bigwigs like Yang Sheng and Xiang Sheng, were all smart people.
They had long seen the general trend; compared to the market in China, Hong Kong was just a province.
After the awards ceremony, the media had already been waiting at the Peninsula Hotel.
Li Chen was surprised not to see paparazzi chasing after him; it turned out they had learned their lesson.
They knew that all the big stars used internal passages to get directly into cars and leave.
If you were to ask who was most depressed tonight, Fan Bingbing would definitely be at the top of the list.
During the awards ceremony, she had already received a message from her agent.
Her swaying green Gucci gown had been utterly crushed by Liu Yifei's Gucci princess dress.
If she had known this, she would have worn Chanel, even if it meant displeasing Li Bingbing.
Colliding with Zhang Jingchu and Li Bingbing was better than being outshone by Liu Yifei.
Netizens were hotly discussing whether Liu Yifei had truly become Gucci's spokesperson.
But this style had never been seen before, and it wasn't even in Gucci's official website's spring/summer new collection.
There were also posts on forums about Zhang Jingchu stepping on her, with alarmingly high click-through rates.
"Zhang Jingchu steps on Fan Bingbing at the Golden Horse Awards, so what if I step on you?"
Fans from both sides were already cursing each other on the forums, and it was estimated that it would be on the headlines by tomorrow morning.
Li Chen didn't attend the celebration banquet held by the Golden Horse Awards association.
Zhou Xun and her boyfriend went.
After greeting Andy Lau, Xiang Huaqiang, and others, Li Chen took his group and returned to the Peninsula through the internal passage.
As soon as they got into the car, Liu's Mother's call came in.
She had just seen the red carpet scene and broke out in a cold sweat.
Liu Yifei looked at Li Chen with tender affection and a smile: "I'm fine, Mom. Luckily, Li Chen was quick-witted and pulled me away."
Li Chen reached out and took the phone: "Auntie, Xixi is fine, please rest assured."
"It was my oversight. Once we return to China, I'll find her a 24-hour personal female bodyguard. Nothing like this will ever happen again."
Liu Yifei snatched the phone back: "It's not that exaggerated, don't listen to Li Chen, Mom, I don't want a bodyguard, it's not like we're abroad."
"I think Li Chen is right. Even if it's not 24 hours, it's good to have someone with you when you go out. Mom and Li Chen can't always be by your side."
Yang Siwei was quietly talking on the phone with someone below her. After hanging up, she told Li Chen about the online discussion regarding Liu Yifei and Fan Bingbing's dresses.
Yang Siwei secretly thought that Xiao Fan was truly brainless. Knowing that Yifei and Gucci had been rumored to be close for a while, why would she still choose Gucci?
Chanel, Dior, LV, Armani, there were so many, weren't they enough for her to choose from?
Look at Zhang Ziyi, dressed in Armani; it might have been a bit ugly, but at least it was unique, and no one else wore the same outfit.
"Boss, will Gucci reveal your relationship with Yifei?"
With so many people discussing the dress online, Gucci would definitely come forward to speak.
Li Chen smiled and said, "No, they won't disclose the information of a high-level VIC without their personal consent."
"At most, they'll reply that Xixi's dress was a personal tailor for a high-level VIC."
Yang Siwei and Tang Yan exchanged glances, both a little speechless.
Any fool could guess that the high-level VIC wasn't Liu Yifei.
Who else could it be? Besides their boss, there would be no second choice.
Liu Yifei hung up Liu's Mother's call, smiling as she held Li Chen's arm: "Then who wouldn't guess that you're that high-level VIC?"
Fan Bingbing and Leon Lai's 'haunted mansion' was scheduled to begin filming in Hong Kong tomorrow.
She had originally thought she would outshine everyone tonight, but who would have thought she would encounter the strong offensive from Liu Yifei and Tang Yan, and collapse midway.
She could already imagine how netizens would complain about her tomorrow.
Compared to Liu Yifei's fans, she simply couldn't compete.
Upon arriving at the hotel, the paparazzi, like piranhas smelling blood, completely blocked the car.
It was the hotel security personnel who formed a human wall, allowing Li Chen and the others to escape.
On the other side, Zeng Zhiwei was 'invited' to an office at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
Inside, only Xiang Huaqiang was seated, with Wen Jun and one of Xiang Huaqiang's subordinates standing nearby.
Zeng Zhiwei found this scene somewhat familiar.
As soon as he entered, he forced a smile: "Qiang Ge..."
Wen Jun gave him a look from beside Xiang Huaqiang.
Xiang Huaqiang was expressionless; Long Wu reappeared.
"Wei Zai, are my words no longer effective?"
"What are you saying, Qiang Ge?"
"I told Ajun to tell you not to cause trouble, are you deaf?"
Sweat was already beading on Zeng Zhiwei's back.
The person he feared most in Hong Kong was absolutely the one in front of him.
Although there were only four people in this office, including him.
But Xiang Huaqiang put too much pressure on him.
Zeng Zhiwei grinned and said, "Qiang Ge, tonight I was possessed, I will apologize to Li Chen right now!"
Saying that, he feigned taking out his phone, and even Wen Jun, who was beside him, was somewhat impressed by Zeng Zhiwei's ability to bend and stretch.
Xiang Huaqiang didn't even blink: "Alright, stop pretending, I don't want to see a next time."
With that, Xiang Huaqiang stood up and left.
The man accompanying him patted Zeng Zhiwei's shoulder as he passed by.
He almost knocked the weak-kneed Zeng Zhiwei to the ground.
Only after Xiang Huaqiang left did Zeng Zhiwei let out a long breath.
"I told you not to cause trouble, but you wouldn't listen. Now look, sigh!" Wen Jun shook his head repeatedly.
Wen Jun also felt fortunate at this moment, relieved that he had stopped before it was too late and hadn't followed Zeng Zhiwei down a dark path.
This was the live version of 'dragon city years'!
The next day, Li Chen took the 'those years' crew back to Beijing.
The internet was already filled with news from last night's awards ceremony.
"Zhang Jingchu, dissatisfied with Tang Jili holding hands with Fan Bingbing, deliberately steps on Fan Bingbing."
"Golden Horse Awards ceremony, two Chen Ge's engage in a public war of words."
"Liu Yifei, Tang Yan lead, China's actresses outshine Hong Kong's actresses."
"Gucci responds that Liu Yifei's dress comes from Gucci's high-level VIC personal tailor."
As soon as the 'those years' crew got off the plane, they were blocked by China's media at the airport exit.
"Director Li, are you Gucci's high-level VIC?"
"Director Li, Director Li, just admit it!"
The media had long experienced Li Chen's sharp words, so they were more concerned about his rumored relationship with Liu Yifei.
Several assistants escorted them to the car, with the media hot on their heels.
Li Chen had no choice but to step forward and respond, with Liu Yifei, Tang Yan, and Yang Siwei standing to one side.
"Yifei, are you and Director Li in a relationship? Just admit it!" Seeing Li Chen not respond, the media turned their attention to Liu Yifei.
Liu Yifei smiled and said, "How can a girl talk about such things? You should ask him."
The media were not fools; just by seeing Liu Yifei's loving gaze at Li Chen, they had their answer.
However, these two simply wouldn't admit it, and netizens had many complaints about their work efficiency.
The media all pointed their microphones at Li Chen.
"Director Li, seeing as we came to pick you up so early, please say a few words!"
The media, seeing that intimidation wasn't working, had started to play the victim.
Li Chen couldn't help but smile and say, "What do you want me to admit? If you want me to admit whether I like Yifei."
"Well then, I admit it."
As soon as Li Chen said this, not only did the media get what they wanted.
Even Liu Yifei and Yang Siwei, who were standing nearby, were stunned for a moment.
Liu Yifei wondered if he was going to announce it? But this was too sudden, she wasn't ready yet.
Yang Siwei had a splitting headache; her boss always launched surprise attacks, and she was on the verge of collapse.
The media were about to ask further questions.
Li Chen raised a hand and smiled, "I'll only respond this once, listen carefully."
Li Chen looked at Miss Liu with gentle eyes.
"Just like Shen Jiayi in 'those years,' for Ke Teng, she was the cinnabar mole in his heart."
"And Yifei, in the eyes of us post-80s, is more like the white moonlight."
"Wang Yuyan, Zhao Ling'er, Little Dragon Girl, which one isn't desirable yet unattainable?"
"Even the Duan family of Dali, the Quanzhen Sect leader, and the Condor Hero were all smitten with her."
"Isn't it only natural for a commoner like me to like her?"
The entertainment reporters were completely stunned by Li Chen, and Yang Siwei was also full of admiration for her boss.
Not only did he openly admit his liking for Yifei, but he also promoted 'those years'.
Cinnabar mole, white moonlight, such beautiful words, she had never heard them before, how did her boss come up with them?
The entertainment reporters had a huge harvest today; Li Chen's few words contained a lot of explosive news.
Everyone noted down the keywords: cinnabar mole, white moonlight.
Once in the car, Liu Yifei's beautiful eyes sparkled, gazing at Li Chen with tender affection, without blinking.
She too was completely captivated by Li Chen's public confession. Cinnabar mole, white moonlight, was he really talking about her?
"Boss, with this killer move of yours, not only did Yifei 'surrender,' but even I am prostrating myself in admiration! How did you come up with these words?"
Li Chen patted Miss Liu's soft hand: "Go read Eileen Chang's 'Red Rose and White Rose' when you have time, and you'll find the answer."
"Siwei, although what I just said was from the heart, it was also to promote our 'those years'."
"Entertainment reporters will definitely hype it up, and you can't just do nothing."
"Cinnabar mole, white moonlight, that's our second marketing strategy."
"Everyone has a white moonlight in their heart. What is a white moonlight?"
"Fairy Sister is, Ling'er is, Dragon Girl is, Shen Jiayi is, Liu Yifei, even more so!"
Yang Siwei felt as if her meridians had been instantly unblocked; she finally understood the profound meaning of her boss's actions.
This was about creating a god! What kind of god? A goddess!
Who was the goddess? Wasn't it Miss Yifei, who hadn't even reacted yet?
This movie 'those years' would likely solidify Yifei's supreme divine status in campus youth dramas.
After Liu Yifei, there would be no more school beauties, no more academic elites, no more... white moonlights!
Yang Siwei sighed, "Boss, you've done so much; if I still can't do well, I might as well smash my head against a piece of tofu and die!"
Tang Yan, who was standing nearby, was filled with envy; she could already predict that 'those years' would become a sensation across the country.
