thefictionvixens Chapter 25 Ellipsis
Chapter 25 Ellipsis
"It's already decided, it's Dilraba. You write the script according to her temperament," Zeng Hao said. "The male lead is yet to be decided, we'll choose after the script comes out."
Fang Qing wrote the four characters "Dilreba" into her notebook and marked them with an asterisk next to them. "Okay, one week's outline, I understand."
"There's one more thing," Zeng Hao said, "You wrote this script, but the copyright belongs to the company. You're receiving the normal screenwriter's fee, without any additional profit sharing. Is that a problem?"
Fang Qing paused for a moment, then said, "No problem."
"Okay, go ahead."
Fang Qing stood up, put the pen cap back on, and turned to leave.
That afternoon, Zeng Hao finalized the project direction for "Diamond Lover," Fang Qing received the framework, and the rest was up to her.
Autumn has arrived in Qianhu City outside the window. The sycamore trees downstairs have lost half of their leaves, and the streetlights are on almost forty minutes earlier than last month.
Zeng Hao turned on the lamp, flipped to the last page of the memo, and wrote a few words in the blank space: Xue Zhijian, Xu Jiaying.
He remembered those two names and knew they would come, but he wasn't sure of the exact time. It should be around the end of the year when their resumes would be sent to the company.
I'm writing this down now to remind myself.
Once we arrive, we'll sign directly; no further discussion is needed.
He circled the two names and wrote next to them: "Pending entry into the warehouse. The contract terms will be based on the original market price of Xue Zhijian, with a 20% discount."
After finishing writing, I closed the memo, turned off the lamp, and stood up.
I've finished my work for today.
As he stepped out of the office, the lights in the hallway turned on automatically. He walked down the stairs, mentally reviewing the current lines of thought.
The box office for "Back to 20" is climbing, and its organic word-of-mouth marketing hasn't stopped, so we don't need to worry about that. Yang Shanshan's slot on "Happy Camp" is locked in, and the plan to hype up her romance has been handed over to Xu Wen. We'll see some activity when it airs. The outline for the script of "Diamond Lover" will be completed this week, and whether it can be submitted for approval by the end of the month depends on Fang Qing's speed. As for Xue Zhijian and Xu Jiaying, we just need to wait.
I went downstairs, pushed open the door, and a cold wind rushed in, making me pull my collar inside.
Autumn is short in Qianhu City, and winter will soon follow.
He buttoned up his coat and walked towards the parking lot.
My phone vibrated at that moment. It was a message from Xu Wen, brief: "President Zeng, the Maoyan score for 'Back to 20' has reached 8.3 today. Several film review accounts have started writing analysis posts on their own, and the popularity is still rising."
After reading it, Zeng Hao put his phone back in his pocket without replying.
He knew better than anyone what an 8.3 score meant for a low-budget theatrical film in 2015.
He doesn't need to worry about the box office results anymore.
Zeng Hao didn't go on the day of the Happy Camp recording.
Xu Wen sent a message saying everything was normal, the dressing room was ready, the production team's reception went smoothly, and Yang Shanshan was in good spirits. After reading the message, Zeng Hao turned his phone over and continued looking at the financial statements on the table.
He doesn't need to go to the scene.
Going to the set is the artist's manager's job, Xu Wen's job, not his. His presence in the Happy Camp dressing room only sends the wrong signal to the outside world—if this boss has to personally oversee his artists' appearances on variety shows, does Yangguang Entertainment even have a complete operational system?
Xu Wen sent a second message at 2 PM: The recording went smoothly. The production team added an interactive segment where the guests talked about their recent situations. Yang Shanshan did quite well, and the director gave a positive response. The atmosphere on set was lively.
Zeng Hao replied with two words: "I understand."
That same evening after the recording, Xu Wen called him to report the details. During the interactive segment, Yang Shanshan mentioned "Back to 20," saying she learned a lot from filming it. She also mentioned the male lead's name, saying that she enjoyed working with him and that they had a good relationship off-screen after filming.
This line was pre-designed by Xu Wen, not something Yang Shanshan came up with herself.
"Was the dialogue delivered naturally?" Zeng Hao asked.
"Naturally," Xu Wen said, "it didn't seem deliberate. There were people on set laughing, and the atmosphere was right. The host followed up with a comment, and Yang Shanshan blushed slightly. The effect was better than I expected."
Was the blushing genuine or an act?
Xu Wen paused for a moment, "I'm not sure, but it looks pretty real in the footage."
"It doesn't matter," Zeng Hao said. "Whether it's real or fake, it's all material, we can use it." He paused for a moment, "Three days before the broadcast, have someone post a photo of her and the male lead on set on Weibo, using a secondary account, without any text, just an ellipsis."
Xu Wen paused for two seconds, then said, "Just ellipses?"
"Regarding ellipses," Zeng Hao said, "readers will fill in the blanks themselves, and what they fill in is more effective than a hundred words you write, and it won't leave any handle that can be used to hold someone accountable."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a soft chuckle. "Okay, I'll handle it. Should we use our own account or find one from outside?"
"Find someone outside," Zeng Hao said. "Be completely separated from the company, so it's hard to trace the source if something goes wrong."
Xu Wen agreed, explained, and hung up the phone.
Zeng Hao updated a line in his memo: "Topic introduction, three days before the broadcast, external accounts release pictures, ellipses, accounts are listed as miscellaneous expenses."
Next comes the waiting.
The show aired about two weeks after filming, and during that time, the box office continued to rise.
1.2 million, 1.4 million, 1.6 million.
The number jumped one bar every few days. Zeng Hao didn't keep a close eye on it. He would occasionally open the peephole to check if it was still rising, then close it and continue doing other things.
On the day the film grossed 160 million yuan, a certified film critic's analysis article appeared on Maoyan. It was about 400-500 words long and analyzed why "Back to 20" was considered an anomaly among low-budget theatrical films. The last paragraph mentioned Lu Han's theme song and said that the choice of the song was accurate and the smartest move in the entire film's promotion.
One commenter wrote: "Exactly! When the theme song was released, I thought it was Lu Han's own new single. Later I found out it was for the movie, so I went and bought a ticket immediately."
This comment was shared more than three thousand times.
On the afternoon of the day the 1.6 million figure was reached, Li Hang, the screening manager of a cinema in Jiangcheng, sat in his office, staring blankly at the real-time occupancy rate data in the back office.
"Back to 20", Hall 11, 2 PM showing, 87% occupancy.
This number surprised him a bit.
In his experience, a low-budget film that has been in theaters for three weeks is considered lucky if it can maintain a 10% screening share, and its occupancy rate usually drops below 50%. But this film not only didn't drop, it actually increased.
He pulled up the data for the first two weeks of the movie and found a very obvious trend: the occupancy rate was 55% in the first week, 67% in the second week, and soared to over 80% in the third week.
This popularity wasn't generated through massive advertising campaigns; it came from word-of-mouth.
Li Hang thought for a moment and then called headquarters. "Hey, Mr. Liu, I suggest we increase the screening ratio of 'Back to 20' next week. The current 11% is a bit low. The occupancy rate is already 87%. If we don't adjust it, audiences won't be able to buy tickets."
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "Are you sure? How much was the budget for this film?"