The final step before screening

  On the morning of April 20th, a group of people gathered in the screening room of Kyoto Film Studio. These visitors were representatives from national theater chains that had collaborated with Kyoto Film Studio.

  Because the summer slot is definitely reserved for movies with big stars, big productions, or foreign blockbusters. So in order to fill the blank period of more than a month before that, cinemas generally choose low-cost films for screening, and as one of the representatives, Kyoto Film Factory is naturally also the first choice for cinemas.

  In a pavilion outside the screening hall, Ye Sumang Ning Hao and Huang Bo were huddled together, waiting to watch the movie with the institute's representative. If they were lucky, they might even be able to sign a contract on the spot.

  "Yehzi, you think there will be a representative from the film company to watch our movie?" Huang Bo's face was filled with anxiety, constantly asking Ye Sumang.

  "Haven't you seen the trailer? Didn't you laugh too?" Ye Sumang's expression was calm, and his tone in responding to Huang Bo was also relaxed, because he had great confidence in his movie.

  "That's not right, I laughed so hard my stomach hurts. How come I didn't notice how funny it was when I took the picture?" As soon as Huang Bo mentioned the photo, his mouth couldn't help but twitch with laughter, it was really too hilarious.

  "What are you worried about now? It's not a good time, there are no big productions competing with us. I think our movie will definitely get the favor of the theaters." Ye Sumang's words were full of confidence, and he seemed to be very prepared.

  Although it's not easy for small productions to get mixed, there are often problems that pass the audit but can't pass the cinema, but Ye Sumang feels that his movie has all the factors of success, and it shouldn't be a big problem to show it in theaters.

  "As long as there is confidence, it will be fine... As long as there is confidence, it will be fine..." Huang Bo muttered to himself, but he still had no bottom line in his heart.

  He had previously filmed a movie, unfortunately it was not released and eventually only played on the film channel, becoming a TV movie. He also clearly remembered that when Director Guan Yu drank with him at the beginning, he complained about the difficulty of small production survival, so he was least confident about whether this movie could land on the big screen.

  Ning Hao, who was standing beside him, was also very nervous, constantly sipping the mineral water in his hand. However, he showed it much less obviously than Huang Bo, with only a pair of eyes staring blankly into the distance, lost in thought.

  "Hey, Ye Xiaozi, the judges are about to start screening. Your film is scheduled last, do you want to go in now or wait a bit and I'll call you?" Just then, a middle-aged man wearing a Beijing Film Academy uniform walked over and shouted towards Ye Su Mang in the pavilion.

  Ye Sumang looked up and immediately smiled and called out "Uncle Li".

  This middle-aged man named Li Qing is in charge of the projection work at the factory and is also considered an old subordinate of his maternal grandfather, so the two people are quite familiar with each other.

  "Uncle Li, how many movies are being shown today?" Ye Sumang handed a bottle of mineral water to Li Jing and inquired about the news.

  "You stinky brat, you think a bottle of water can buy me off?" Although Li Qing cursed, he still smiled and accepted the mineral water, saying: "Except for some short films, there are six formal movies being screened today. The most famous one is Chen's newly released film 'Moonlight', which is said to be adapted from a famous writer, and the leading actor is also a first-line star, quite promotional. The theater representatives are clearly most interested in this film, so it will definitely be shown. As for the rest, they are basically small productions of tens of millions, and the genres are all art-house films. Only your movie is a comedy, so it's ranked last."

  Li Qing actually had another sentence in her heart that she didn't say out loud.

  That's why Ye Su Meng's movie was scheduled last, not because of the genre, but because it had the least investment and no eye-catching stars to support it, so it was basically ignored by the high-level film studio and theater representatives.

  And because he attributed the reason to the type of movie, this nonsense was just that he didn't want to disappoint the boy in front of him.

  Li Qing and Ye Sumang chatted for a few more sentences before bidding farewell and leaving. In his heart, he was actually very dissatisfied with Ye Sumang's direction of this film. He thought that this movie was just a product of Ye Sumang's anger, and the final result would only be wasting Old Man Ye's money.

  At the same time, the screening hall of Beiyang Film Studio has started playing movies, waiting for the representatives of the film companies to make their selections.

  The first to be released was Chen's directorial work "Moon", touted as a "ten million production".

  The story doesn't have much of a highlight, mainly telling the story of how a couple in rural areas abuse each other and finally end up together happily.

  Although the story is not bright, there are many passionate scenes between the heroine and hero in the film. Although some overly exposed shots were deleted during the review, some hot scenes were still retained.

  "Director Chen is really impressive, able to get the copyright of 'Moon' and invite a top actress like Li E, I think this film will be a success, it's no problem to screen it for a month." Halfway through the movie, a fat man who looked at least 300 pounds made up his mind, and some theater representatives next to him nodded in agreement.

  As the director of this film, Chen Mantang also had a smile on his face at this moment. This time he actually pulled in a large investment, although not millions, but it's said to be around 7 or 8 million.

  The factory originally wanted him to shoot a comedy film, but after reading the script outline, he lost interest.

  Can that kind of movie win an award?! If it can't win an award, what else can he use to entice those big stars who want to win awards? Without big stars, why would investors give him money again?

  So although he verbally agreed at the time, behind his back he secretly contacted a writer he knew and bought the copyright of one of his award-winning works. At the same time, he also invited stars, and after all the preparations were ready, he immediately broke up with the film studio.

  It's too late for regrets now, and the film studio can't do anything about it either.

  It seems now that Chen Mantang is very glad he made the 'right' decision, just look at the reaction of the film side and you will understand everything.

  Because of Chen Wantang's "big investment" earlier, the theater side was no longer interested in the subsequent films. By the time it was released as the fourth part, many people had already fallen asleep.

  "Director Chen, are you free now? Let's find a nearby restaurant and have a good chat." The chubby representative, with a smiling face, extended the invitation to Chen Mantang beside him. After watching these few movies, he was already feeling drowsy and had lost interest in continuing to watch.

  "Of course I have time, what do you mean?"

  "Of course, it's time to discuss the issue of film release." The fat man had a sincere expression on his face, but in his heart, he was thinking about how to get the most benefit for himself during the negotiation.

  "Alright, but no rush, there are still a few more to finish. Why don't you appreciate them all first and then decide?" Chen Mantang was very pleased in his heart, but his mouth remained humble, as if he didn't care about the movie being shown at all.

  "What else can we watch? With your masterpiece in front of us, we won't consider any other films for a while!"

  "Oh dear, how can I bear it if you put it that way? Actually, although the quality of these films is not good, there are still some redeeming qualities."

  Two people are flattering each other insincerely, but making the listeners nearby feel sick.

  The studio representatives were a bit better, after all they still had to interact with each other and who knows how many hypocritical words they would have to say. But the most unbearable ones were those film directors, listening to Chen Mantang's subtle sarcasm about their own films, seeing the uninterested eyes of the studio representatives, the whole person turned grayish white in that moment.

  As soon as the fourth movie was shown, a group of people suddenly stood up in the screening room, all surrounding Chen Mantang's side, hypocritically flattering him and loudly promising to provide so many cinemas. In an instant, only three people were left in the entire screening hall, including two who were still immersed in sadness and hadn't come back to their senses - the film director.

  "Hey, Liu, aren't you coming over together?" The fat representative suddenly discovered a middle-aged man wearing a suit and sitting upright when he walked to the door. His eyes lit up instantly, and he asked with a sarcastic tone.

  "Not yet, I still have two more movies to watch." The middle-aged man who was called turned his head, seemingly not catching the sarcasm in fatty's words, and smiled politely at him again.

  "Cut, look at this joke of investing millions, thinking it's the gold mine that can save your cinema." The fat man snorted in disgust and ignored him. But Chen Mantang on the side became interested.

  "Is this person also a representative of the hospital?"

  "What about him?" The fat man glanced at the middle-aged man still sitting in the projection room and said disdainfully: "A small alliance of a dozen or so scattered households, with only a few dozen silver screens. Moreover, they don't even have a regular theater chain license, and can only buy films directly from the production company. What kind of theater representative is this?"

  "Why don't they just join a film studio?" Chen Mantang asked in puzzlement.

  "Who knows, maybe he's got a screw loose!" The fat representative didn't understand either, but couldn't stop the ridicule in his heart.

  "I do know a bit about this." Just then, a woman in her forties chimed in: "It's not that they don't want to join the theater chain, it's just that the theater chain looks down on their cinema."

  "What did you say?"

  "It's not just that the equipment in the cinema is too old and can't keep up with the times. Many foreign blockbusters can't be screened at all, and to renovate their cinemas would cost a lot of money, which they can't afford. The chain wouldn't be willing to invest in these small, run-down cinemas either."

  "So it was like that."

  "Indeed, this small cinema really has no benefits."

  "I think after they go bankrupt, I can directly buy the land at a much cheaper price, haha."

  The representatives of these factions were talking to each other outside the door, without any concealment in their voices, and everything was heard by Li Mao sitting inside.

  Li Mao was furious in his heart, clenched his fists, and several times wanted to stand up and go out to refute those people, but in the end they all turned into waves of helplessness. After all, what those people said was not wrong, their cinema had indeed gone astray.

  But he believes that heaven will not cut off the way for people, and during this period, he has turned around more than 20 film studios of all sizes across the country, just to find a film that their cinema can normally show and can help them win the funds to save their lives.

  Kyoto Cinema is now his twenty-first and last hope. If no suitable film comes along, their cinema will really have to close down for good.

  ;