"Brother, this is your schedule for today! Please confirm it!" As soon as he woke up, his assistant presented Cheng Long's itinerary for the day.
At 8 AM, which was now, Cheng Long was supposed to get out of bed, spend an hour on washing and breakfast, and then at 10:00 AM, he was to catch a flight to Modu. The entire morning was dedicated to the promotional activities for "Around the World in 80 Days" and a media interview.
Lunch was allocated for an hour for eating and resting, followed by a car ride to Changsha, where he would attend the next promotional event for "Around the World in 80 Days."
At 4:00 PM, he was scheduled for a phone conference with director Tang Jili to discuss cooperation on the new film "The Myth."
In the evening, he was to have dinner with investors who were interested in funding "The Myth."
By 10:00 AM the next morning, he would be on his way to Xiang Province TV to participate in their nationally renowned flagship program, "Happy Camp," to continue promoting the film "Around the World in 80 Days."
In short, it was an extremely packed schedule. Apart from the brief respites on planes and in cars, Cheng Long would barely have a moment to rest throughout the day.
The following morning, he would have to continue pushing himself.
This put Cheng Long in a slightly bad mood, but he had no choice but to follow the schedule. However, during the promotional event for "Around the World in 80 Days" that morning, a reporter suddenly asked, "Mr. Cheng Long, many netizens on Facebook have invited you to participate in this two-minute challenge. Are you willing to respond to the passionate anticipation of your fans?"
"What did you say?" The question caught Cheng Long completely off guard. The reporter quickly explained that a recently hit TV drama, "Chinese Paladin," featured a two-minute continuous martial arts shot, and many netizens hoped Cheng Long would replicate it.
As soon as this was said, Cheng Long's expression changed.
His mood was already sour due to his busy schedule, and now an oblivious reporter was bothering him with this question.
Who was he?
He was the magnificent Cheng Long!
In 2004, Cheng Long was the undisputed leader of the Chinese entertainment industry, with a status arguably even higher than the "Four Heavenly Kings."
After all, no matter how great the Four Heavenly Kings were, their activities were primarily concentrated in Hong Kong and Taiwan, with infrequent participation in mainland China's events.
But Cheng Long was different. He had always maintained a close relationship with the mainland, was enthusiastic about participating in various government-organized activities, and had excellent relationships with the mainland media and authorities. His image in the eyes of the audience was exceptionally good, and he had also received numerous resources. Coupled with his achievements in the film industry over decades and the establishment of the "China Dragon" image, Cheng Long was undoubtedly the elder statesman of the entertainment industry in the early 21st century, with an unassailable status.
Although Cheng Long had always maintained a persona of humility, kindness, and mentorship, asking him to imitate a two-minute martial arts scene from a drama starring a newcomer was tantamount to slapping him in the face.
It would be more fitting to have the newcomer imitate Cheng Long's martial arts moves.
It was akin to the idiom "showing off one's skill before an expert," though not a pleasant saying, Master Guan would likely not hold a grudge against such an ignorant junior. If there were media present, he would probably even smile and offer guidance, creating a touching story.
However, if one were to ask Master Guan to display his great saber at a junior's doorstep, Master Guan would kill him.
Therefore, upon hearing the reporter's request, Cheng Long, no matter how good his temper, immediately became enraged.
However, this was a media interview, a crucial moment for promoting a Hollywood film, and given his established persona, Cheng Long couldn't afford to lose his temper outright. He merely replied somewhat coldly, "I haven't heard of these things, but fight choreography is merely a basic standard for any martial arts actor."
Cheng Long's words were simple, seemingly without any evaluation of the long take. However, the phrase "basic standard" was enough to convey Cheng Long's attitude.
Immediately, the surrounding reporters began to jot down Cheng Long's words. It was likely that before long, news reports along the lines of "Cheng Long Tells Young Actors to Master the Basics" would emerge. With such news, the future of that young actor was likely doomed.
After all, with a single word from Brother Cheng Long, the entire internet would know how displeased Brother Cheng Long was with this young actor, and people would either consciously or unconsciously avoid him. Various resources would also steer clear, and this young actor would likely have no future.
Deciding the fate of a young actor with a single statement, Cheng Long did not feel it was inappropriate. In his opinion, this so-called two-minute long take was undoubtedly a meticulously prepared marketing stunt by their company, and they were attempting to piggyback on his fame.
Piggybacking on his fame was one thing, but to instigate netizens to ask him to imitate his martial arts moves was simply preposterous. If they chose to do such a thing, they should be prepared to face his anger.
During the rest of the interview, Cheng Long was clearly distracted. After the interview concluded, Cheng Long, still somewhat incensed, hurried to his car to leave.
"Brother, your phone!" Suddenly, Cheng Long's assistant handed him his mobile.
"Who is it!" Cheng Long asked irritably.
"It's Director Li!" the assistant replied.
"Which Director Li? There are many directors in the entertainment industry surnamed Li!" Cheng Long said impatiently.
"It's Director Li Guoli from Tangren!" the assistant hastily clarified.
"Director Li from Tangren!" Cheng Long's expression changed, and he immediately took the phone from his assistant.
Cheng Long might not have given others face, but he certainly dared not disrespect Li Guoli.
After all, Director Li Guoli was currently one of the most influential figures in the mainland entertainment industry. The drama "Liang Jian" he directed in the first half of the year and "Soldiers Sortie" he produced in the second half had practically dominated the top three positions in the mainland annual viewership rankings, making him a director that any actor in the industry would want to curry favor with.
It was widely circulated in the industry that anyone who could join Director Li's next production was guaranteed to be remembered by the audience.
And if they could become the lead actor in such a drama, overnight stardom was almost a certainty.
Of course, given Cheng Long's current status and his primary focus on filmmaking, he had no need to fawn over Director Li.
However, Director Li's backing was Tangren Pictures, and Tangren Pictures was backed by Jiangnan Group, which made Cheng Long's scalp tingle.
Not to mention, as a senior figure in the industry, Cheng Long had faintly heard whispers that Tangren Pictures was brewing a top-tier blockbuster film. This film was rumored to break all film investment records in China, and even the world, with some Hollywood capital involved, and it was slated for a global release.
If Cheng Long could be part of this film, it would also be beneficial to his increasingly precarious Hollywood career.
Thus, Cheng Long immediately answered Director Li's call and said in a very cordial tone, "Director Li, this is Cheng Long. Please tell me what's on your mind."
"Not at all! Not at all! I actually called specifically to apologize. Some low-class reporters are ignorant and speak without thinking. I assure you, this matter was not intentionally marketed by our company; it was an accidental occurrence, and that reporter has no affiliation with us whatsoever. I hope you can overlook this, Brother, and not damage our good relationship!" Director Li said.
"What! Is that so!" Cheng Long exclaimed, surprised. He wasn't foolish and quickly realized that the reporter Director Li was referring to was the one from earlier. It was likely that this young actor was affiliated with Tangren, which was why Director Li had called to explain.
No, he absolutely could not afford to damage his relationship with Tangren Pictures, especially with Boss Huang behind Tangren Pictures.
It was better to offend the audience, or even gangs, than to offend the wealthy. This was a conclusion Cheng Long had reached after more than thirty years in the entertainment industry.
So, Cheng Long immediately followed up with an apology, stating that he had no idea the TV drama was produced by Tangren Pictures, and if he had known, he would never have said what he did.
Director Li also repeatedly apologized. In the end, both parties happily agreed that it was all the fault of that scummy reporter, who was trying to create trouble and damage the harmonious relationship between the two parties.
After chatting for over ten minutes, Cheng Long hung up the phone, closed his eyes, and after some thought, asked, "What is the name of this TV drama? Is it indeed a production of Tangren Pictures?"
"Yes!" The assistant, having already cleverly completed the relevant data investigation, quickly reported, "This TV drama is called 'Chinese Paladin.' It is Tangren Pictures' key promotional and marketing drama for the second half of the year, receiving substantial resources from Tangren Pictures. Many resources from Jiangnan Group are also fully allocated, and the results have been excellent. The entire Facebook is abuzz discussing this TV drama, with related discussions reportedly exceeding 16 million posts. At least 4 million people on Facebook have participated in the discussion about this TV drama."
"Four million people… that's terrifying…" Brother Cheng shook his head, clicking his tongue in amazement. "The mainland population is just too large. This is almost comparable to the entire population of Hong Kong."
"Then do you think this so-called long take was a calculated marketing move by Tangren Pictures?" Cheng Long asked.
"I'm afraid not!" The assistant shook his head. "I investigated the origin of this topic. It started with a video creator on Facebook who boasted about it being the most incredible martial arts long take of the 21st century, causing many people online to disagree."
"These netizens argued back and forth, with no one able to convince the other. So, many people went to our Facebook account to leave comments, hoping that Brother Cheng would act as a judge to see if this long take was truly remarkable."
"The entire incident was instigated by netizens themselves; no media was involved initially. It was only later that many media outlets, seeing the situation escalate, jumped on the bandwagon to gain attention, leading to the audacious reporter's question this morning!" the assistant explained.
"This is bad. If that's the case, then we've truly offended Jiangnan Group!" Cheng Long's expression changed. He was always cautious and operated on the principle of never offending anyone, especially powerful and wealthy individuals.
If Jiangnan had proactively sought his attention for marketing, then his outburst would have been understandable, as they had provoked him first.
But now, it seemed he had proactively offended them, creating a lingering issue. While Li Guoli had called to apologize, it was likely out of necessity for the current ratings of "Chinese Paladin."
Who knew if Jiangnan would hold a grudge and try to trip him up in the future? This would be a huge problem, as despite his increasing caution over the years, he wasn't entirely without flaws.
Not to mention, Cheng Long then thought of his unpromising son.