On January 5th, Xincun Entertainment's blockbuster movie "The Battle of Mingliang" was officially released. It was the first big shot of 2014 for Xincun Entertainment.
Tang Jinyan sneaked into the theater with T-Ara and experienced the movie that his company had spent more than 20 billion on.
How should he put it … the special effects were good, the graphics were good, and the money was well spent.
As for the plot, looking at the nervous expressions of the T-Ara girls and their starry-eyed admiration for the "Great Sage Lee Shunchen," it was obvious that it was more in line with the Korean people's tastes.
However, in Tang Jinyan's opinion, this was the Korean version of the "anti-Japanese war drama". The historical facts could not stand up to scrutiny, and the logic of the plot was also a bit problematic … What was the point of annihilating more than 9,000 Japanese soldiers? F * ck, there were only 7,000 Japanese soldiers in that battle … What was the difference between this and EXO fans saying that they had 800 million rice?
In business, as long as the movie could attract box office sales, there was no need to be so serious.
However, Tang Jinyan felt uncomfortable all over. The historical movie he wanted to watch was not the kind that was magically modified like "The Strange Empress" or "The Battle of Mingliang" …
Especially "The Battle of Mingliang," as a Chinese's understanding of history, was very different from the Korean's perspective.
From the Korean's perspective, the Korean's achievements in the battle against Japan were all attributed to the North Korean army and Lee Shunchen, and the Ming Dynasty's contributions were completely ignored. This was a very awkward feeling for Tang Jinyan, especially when the movie was produced by him, a Chinese. It was especially awkward.
From what he knew, the Battle of Mingliang was far from the historical value that the movie promoted. In fact, there were several naval battles in the Korean Rebellion, and the Battle of Mingliang was the only one where the North Korean army was the main force. The result of the battle was only to defeat the Japanese vanguard with an ambush, which basically had no impact on the overall strategy. After the defeat, the Japanese army still destroyed the North Korean naval port and took control of the sea.
In the overall situation, it was far less important than the "Battle of Mingliang" commanded by Admiral Chen Lin of the Ming Dynasty Navy. The Japanese main force was annihilated in the Battle of Mingliang.
He didn't have a choice when he was an audience member, but now that he was a big boss, could he make a movie according to his own ideas?
As for the company's film and television production, he usually didn't interfere and gave the film and television professionals enough autonomy. With the current situation, he didn't know if he could try to interfere.
If "The Battle of Ming Liang Sea" could become popular, then the next movie would be a sister story, "The Battle of Ming Liang Sea". Who knew how it would turn out … At the very least, the box office sales in China would be better than "The Battle of Ming Liang Sea". The box office sales of "The Battle of Ming Liang Sea" in China would not be good.
But in Korea itself, perhaps Battle of Mingliang would be very popular … Tang Jinyan sank into deep thought as he looked at the girls' glowing faces.
Perhaps not only would the people like it, but it might also be useful in politics.
This was a "theme" blockbuster with a lot of nationalistic sentiments. A hero who appeared out of nowhere would have an unparalleled effect on the people who were at the bottom of the valley of confusion.
In the current political situation, Kim Jong Un had been in power for so long, but her ideas of "creative economy" and "economic democratization" had not achieved the desired results. The uplifting effect of this theme would give the people some confidence boosters. The situation where Kim Jong Un was gradually being questioned would improve. The people's expectations of the "hero who saved the world" would also shift their doubts towards Kim Jong Un.
There was no need to doubt the political effect of a movie. This was normal in Korea.
Tang Jinyan guessed correctly. Less than two days after the movie was released, he received a call from Kim Jong Un. Moreover, it was a call from Kim Jong Un himself, not through the secretary.
"'The Battle of Ming Liang Sea' was filmed well."
Kim Jong Un's tone was very clear with praise. "This kind of uplifting theme movie can be filmed a few more times."
Tang Jinyan smiled faintly. "Making a movie has to make money, Mr. President."
Kim Jong Un pretended not to understand. "Is' The Battle of Ming Liang Sea 'not making money?
I heard that recently, CJ Cinemas have been full of people for this movie. CJ has even arranged a few more shows. "
"The investment for this movie is too big. It may not be able to make much money just by relying on the local box office.
Besides, 'The Battle of Ming Liang Sea' makes money, but it doesn't mean that other theme movies will also make money. "
"Then how about letting 'The Battle of Ming Liang Sea' make more money?"
Tang Jinyan was startled. "How do I make more money?"
Kim Jong Un said lightly, "In two days, I will bring the officials of Cheong Wa Dae to the cinema to watch this movie."
Tang Jinyan took a deep breath. Kim Jong Un's expectations for this movie were higher than he had imagined. This could only mean that her political situation was worse than he had imagined.
His heart was a little heavy for a moment. No matter what, Kim Jong Un still gave him a lot of support, and Kim Jong Un's political orientation was also extremely beneficial to him. Once Kim Jong Un could not control the situation, it would also have a great impact on him.
Time waits for no man … He had to get rid of his dependence on Kim Jong Un as soon as possible.
However, Kim Jong Un was right. This move could indeed make 'The Battle of Ming Liang Sea' make more money … In Tang Jinyan's eyes, when Kim Jong Un led the public to watch 'The Battle of Ming Liang Sea', he saw that Kim Jong Un's situation was getting worse and worse. From the perspective of the public, it reflected the horror movie's publicity effect.
Less than a week after the movie was released, Kim Jong Un really led the officials of Cheong Wa Dae to the cinema to watch the movie with the public.
When the news spread, the Koreans were shocked. It almost caused an earthquake in the movie industry.
The president personally came out to advertise. The effect of this advertisement was stronger than any celebrity effect. The movie that had been gradually losing its popularity suddenly brought a new wave of people to the cinema. The tide of people rushing to the cinema made CJ feel a little panicked. In his memory, the horror movie craze of the past few years could be traced back to 'Avatar'.
Even 'Thieves Syndicate' did not have such a scene …
The craze of the movie did not only drive the popularity of the cinema chain.
The 'Lee Sun-sin' effect once again exploded among the people. All the peripherals related to Lee Sun-sin, such as novels, turtle boat toys, etc., became the new favorites of the retail industry. The well-prepared New Village Group's shopping malls made a lot of money just by selling these peripherals.
The cultural relics related to Lee Sun-sin became popular attractions. The buildings, docks, and warship models related to Lee Sun-sin in Tang Dynasty Film City became the place with the most tourists every day.
A movie once again became a social and cultural phenomenon. This kind of thing was rare even in Korea where the movie culture had a strong influence.
In other words, this movie that Tang Jinyan did not pay attention to from the preparation to the post-production to the review process. Other than the approval of funds, he did not know the progress of the movie at all. But now, it was popular, it was very popular …
According to CJ Cinema's statistics, the number of people who watched 'The Battle of Ming Liang Sea' did not drop at all. The curve was soaring and was about to break ten million.
How many movies in Korea had broken ten million at the box office?
The highest record so far was' Avatar's' 13.62 million!
From this curve, 'The Battle of Ming Liang Sea' had no problem breaking 15 million!
And it was going to continue to rise!
It was going to break the record?
And it was going to break the record by a few million?
Tang Jinyan had to admit that he was lucky. He was not even mentally prepared for this sudden success … He was still dissatisfied when he watched the movie …
And this profit … No wonder people said that entertainment was the most profitable. Just the profit from this movie alone was enough to feed his New Village Entertainment for three years.
He still had to thank the president for giving him a push.
Tang Jinyan rubbed his head and called Prime Minister Yang. "Thank you, Mr. President, for personally advertising …"
"We each take what we need."
Prime Minister Yang smiled. "Do you have an idea for the next movie?"
"Taking advantage of the popularity of 'The Battle of Ming Liang Sea', let's do a sister story."
"Sister story?"
"Yes, 'The Battle of Ming Liang Sea'."
Prime Minister Yang went silent, as if he was analyzing the pros and cons of making a movie with China as the main credit. After thinking for a while, he could not come to a decision, so he calmly pretended to be cool. "I believe you know your limits."
Tang Jinyan smiled. "I know my limits."