Chapter 14: The Viral Marketing Spectacle Unfolds

On October 31st, just after seven in the morning, Pang Bing’s phone began to ring. She was busy rehearsing for “Miracle Boy” when she fell from her horse during the fifth take and had to pause. Grabbing her phone, she smiled and said, “It’s Sister Hua calling again, probably bringing Li Bingbing to envy my daily life.”

She could afford such confidence because, despite the efforts of Huayi's beautiful and talented team who were still hustling, Li Bingbing had yet to land a single role. Forget about a third female lead; she hadn’t even surpassed an extra to become a minor supporting character.

Among the four leading actresses, Xun Ge and Xu Jinglei typically had no shortage of mainland resources, though their box office draws were weak.

Zhang Ziyi, the internationally acclaimed Zhang, was still playing supporting roles in major blockbusters. Wei Zhentian had gained fame thanks to “Shaolin Soccer,” but aside from the star power of director Zhou Xingchi’s films, her resources were just average.

Pang Bing, on the other hand, not only had the freedom to choose to play the second or third female lead in “Miracle Boy,” but Zhang Guorong had also promised her lead roles in several upcoming films.

Even if the scripts weren’t finalized yet, the ones written specifically for Zhang Guorong were guaranteed to be good.

Listening to Pang Bing’s boastful tone, Li Wenyu was somewhat speechless. “Go ahead and brag all you want, but be careful your acting skills don’t fall behind and get roasted by the crowd…”

With the three attribute points accumulated so far, including today’s, he had originally planned to save them up to lend to Brother Rong for better health. But after thinking it over, he decided to lend them to Pang Bing first to boost her to 82. Zhang Guorong was currently at 59, slightly sub-healthy, and half of the younger generation in the industry suffered from sub-health.

He would save a little for himself and accumulate gradually. Pang Bing’s acting would only be worthy of a Golden Horse Best Actress nomination once she reached 82.

After all, Pang Bing had become his girlfriend—someone he knew inside and out. Elevating her to a powerful actress and major star who made big money wouldn’t be a loss.

After the wrap party, his work involved editing and post-production for “Shatan,” gradually compiling the script for “The Happiness Behind the Clouds.” After some thought, he officially titled the script “Let Me Embrace Happiness.”

The phrase “clouds” referenced a Western proverb, similar to the Chinese saying about hope emerging after darkness and hardship.

He also planned to hire online mercenaries in Hong Kong Island to launch a strong marketing campaign on the interconnected forums and portals of Hong Kong, Macau, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Posters featuring Pang Bing and others would also be photographed and showcased at appropriate times.

Having been reborn for nearly half a year, the scale of his efforts felt a little weak now—almost regretting not just starting off by selling computers...

At 8:20, when Li Wenyu and Pang Bing went to the restaurant for the buffet, Wang Jinghua arrived with Li Bingbing, Li Xiaolu, Ren Quan, Hu Jun, and others to greet them.

This top mainland talent agent managed many stars—not only the ones she brought now, but also veteran Hong Kong actresses like Guan Zhilin, Liu Jialing, and Yuen Wing-yee, who had moved with her after she left Huayi four years ago.

Li Wenyu gave a brief greeting and then slipped away.

After he left, Pang Bing smiled and said, “Director Li is still busy with film editing and post-production; he worked until two in the morning last night.”

She was referring to the extra shifts he was pulling.

Wang Jinghua sighed with resignation, “Bingbing, you’re on the rise now. With enough connections, you might just rival A-Zhi in the aura of a pure and innocent queen. Congratulations in advance.”

Li Bingbing and Li Xiaolu exchanged a glance, but Pang Bing, always candid, said, “Thanks to Sister Bingbing’s reminder last time, I got a heads-up about the opportunity. I just failed the audition—the role of the second female lead in ‘Miracle Boy’ is still waiting for A-Zhi. She has backing; it’s a good project with lots of competition. Her backers are the Xiang family.”

Li Xiaolu quickly praised before asking curiously, “Sister Bingbing, that Director Li is so young? It’s incredible to direct solo before even graduating university. When your blockbuster releases, we’ll definitely book the whole theater to boost the box office.”

Not only Li Xiaolu was amazed—Ren Quan and Hu Jun were too. It was their first time hearing about Li Wenyu’s existence and learning that he was making films with Pang Bing.

Pang Bing was thrilled. Li Xiaolu was a Golden Horse Best Actress and had starred in “Angel’s Mistake,” which was a hit domestically last year. Ren Quan rose to fame with the “Little Bao” series and “Angel’s Mistake.” Hu Jun had just finished filming “Lan Yu,” a strong contender for awards.

At this moment, Wang Jinghua leading the group felt like a boss bringing her juniors to pay respects, which was exhilarating.

...

In a post-production studio in Tsim Sha Tsui, Li Wenyu worked methodically on editing, working straight through until noon when he took a break to eat. His assistant, Xiao Hu, approached and said, “Brother Yu, as per your instructions, I’ve hired 100 internet trolls at a daily rate of 300 Hong Kong dollars.”

“What’s the next step?”

How to create viral internet marketing to boost the film’s momentum? The 1999 film “The Blair Witch Project” perfectly demonstrated a small miracle worldwide, earning $248 million.

Li Wenyu smiled, “These 100 internet trolls will tackle the online forums and portals in Hong Kong, Macau, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand for now. We’ll expand the team if necessary. For the mainland, I’ll go back personally to manage it. They’ll post at least 200 times daily with the number ‘12-22-08’ in comments across various international internet forums and portals.”

“The denser the cluster bombing, the better. This will last a month, costing around 900,000 Hong Kong dollars. But if the marketing succeeds, it’ll be worth it.”

“I’ll do a quick edit and ask Brother Rong to help with the soundtrack, then head back to the mainland to focus on the online campaign.”

The marketing for “The Blair Witch Project” was brilliant, and in 2008, a film called “Cloverfield” used the mysterious date “1-18-08” for marketing, attracting huge curiosity and earning $80 million in North America and $170 million worldwide.

The quality of “Cloverfield” was actually inferior to “Shatan.” At least “Shatan” had the peak, most beautiful Pang Bing with acting even stronger than the original.

If he pulled off this strategy well, there was hope to hit 30 million Hong Kong dollars at the Hong Kong box office and over 30 million in the mainland—a small miracle.

“Shatan” had the quality to sustain two 30-million-dollar milestones; the viral campaign could push it.

The bigger the scale, the higher the box office expectations!

Everyone has curiosity, especially around December 22nd, leading into the prime holiday season from Christmas to New Year’s.

Of course, he needed to reveal the significance of this key date first and have Zhang Guorong make his move and negotiate with the theaters. Brother Rong had already agreed on the release date with theaters in Hong Kong Island.

No other films releasing at the same hour should steal the spotlight!

Xiao Hu’s eyes widened in disbelief, feeling a strange mix of familiarity and confusion. “Just promote this one number?”

Li Wenyu nodded. “For now, just this one number. When needed, Brother Rong will announce it as the release date for his new film.”

After the discussion, Li Wenyu returned to editing. After finishing some minor special effects, the final cut came together quickly. He had already seen “The Future Answer.”

Having started the first edit on the 29th, it was time for him to visit Beijing Film Academy again. In 2001, the mainland box office champion was “Pearl Harbor” with 105 million RMB, followed by “Big Shot” with 43 million.

Fourth and fifth places were “My Brothers and Sisters” and “The Mummy,” each with only 23 million.

If the viral marketing succeeded and grew, surpassing 30 million in box office wouldn’t be a problem. It might even dethrone “Big Shot” with 43 million.

This wasn’t about the film’s quality competition, but it would definitely elevate the film and Pang Bing’s star power immensely.

Imagine it continuing to screen into 2002, accumulating box office—“Big Shot” had also opened at the end of the year yet was counted in 2001’s tally.