Superstar's Development Diary-Chapter 888 - 890: A Thorny Issue

Jinxia did not take all the credit but calmly analyzed, "Director, it’s not just me driving the box office. My popularity does help in Huaxia, but the prerequisite is that your movie is good. If the movie wasn’t well-made, there’s nothing I could do to drive it."

Stanlanca waved his hand, looking delighted, and even with his head of gray hair, he appeared very energetic, giving an impression of aging with vigor.

"No matter what, we really owe the movie’s success to you! You’ll need to work a bit harder for the promotion in Huaxia. The crew needs your help to promote the film."

When filming first started, Jinxia initially thought of Stanlanca as an old-school, serious and rigid director. But as filming progressed, Stanlanca’s playful traits were revealed.

Underneath his serious exterior, he’s actually quite a cunning person. While he’s very strict during filming, after work, he can be quite the convivial friend.

It was then Jinxia realized why Director Wilson, who seemed so carefree, could become friends with Stanlanca. It turned out they were essentially kindred spirits.

Now that the box office results are promising, Stanlanca is all smiles every day.

The movie she starred in is selling well at the box office. Although it didn’t sell better than "Special Action" initially, everyone knows that classic films are difficult to replicate, so Jinxia is quite satisfied.

"It’s only right to help the crew with promotion. If the overseas promotion needs me, I can also go along. Who wouldn’t want to become a member of the billion-dollar box office club?"

Jinxia blinked mischievously, smiling slyly.

She hasn’t starred in many films. Her first debut film "Eighteen Years Old Sky" strictly didn’t count as her being the lead actress, as there were three leading ladies in the film, and each had limited screen time.

If we’re really counting those where she was the lead, it would only be "Special Action" and "Devil’s Sea 4: Misty Jungle."

Now, "Special Action" has achieved a global cumulative box office of 60 billion, and given the current trend of "Devil’s Sea 4" in Huaxia, breaking through 20 billion is not a problem.

The most significant box office contributor for "Devil’s Sea 4" is still overseas. Contributing another 20 billion doesn’t seem like a problem. The question is whether it can reach the 50 billion mark.

Hearing Jinxia’s underlying meaning, Director Stanlanca also looked hopeful.

"50 billion, huh, who wouldn’t want to hit that box office?"

Especially since the first installment of "Misty Jungle" reached nearly 70 billion at its peak box office!

It’s normal for series of movies to not perform as well as their predecessors. The only thing that can be guaranteed is that the box office won’t drop too drastically.

Producing a series of movies usually involves a big IP and large productions, which often means they won’t make a loss, almost like securing a box office giant in advance. Therefore, the industry is quite optimistic about the prospects of movie franchises.

This fourth installment definitely looks livelier than the flop of the third one, though it’s uncertain if it can reach the height of the second installment.

Back then, the second installment hit 50 billion in box office!

Stanlanca pondered, "The overseas promotion needs to start next week because we want the movie to coincide with Huaxia’s Spring Festival schedule. That’s why we started promoting early in Huaxia, but it hasn’t been released overseas yet."

It must be said, using Huaxia as the initial battleground was a big gamble for Stanlanca, betting on making a big profit in Huaxia.

And now it seems, he made the right bet!

Jinxia slightly furrowed her brows. It’s early March, and in four days, it will be the eve of the Spring Festival. If she starts the promotion next week, she might not be able to celebrate the New Year in Huaxia.

She said, "Director, I totally understand. I also really want ’Devil’s Sea 4’ to succeed. But this year is my first year of marriage, and the Spring Festival is very important in Huaxia. It’s like your Christmas overseas. All relatives come over, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to run off to do promotion so quickly."

Stanlanca nodded, "I know about this, so I didn’t include you in the initial overseas promotional events. You can go after the fourth day of the Lunar New Year."

Jinxia felt relieved; thankfully, Stanlanca was understanding.

"As for the questions that journalists ask, I’d naturally prefer they ask about the crew. But they seem more interested in your relationship with Sheng Yan..."

Stanlanca hesitated, frowning slightly, sensing this might be a bit tricky.

Jinxia apologized, "Sorry, the media’s curiosity is too strong."

Stanlanca sighed, "Even I’m curious about you two—proposing so quickly, getting married so fast, as if it were all premeditated. But if this continues, all the crew promotion in Huaxia will turn into your personal Q&A session!"

Cheng Xiaohua didn’t drive, sitting in the back quietly listening and promptly reporting updates to Zhang Ming. She also relayed Stanlanca’s concerns to Zhang Ming.

After pondering for several minutes without finding a good solution, Jinxia received a good PR suggestion from Zhang Ming through Sister Xiao Hua.

"Perfectly recreate the scene and performance in the movie during the roadshow, with costumes matching those from the crew’s, and host fan events with photo opportunities and Q&A sessions."

Jinxia took Sister Xiao Hua’s phone and read Zhang Ming’s suggestion aloud, falling into deep thought.

In Huaxia, when doing promotions, they also have roadshows, most of which involve performing in the clothes of the day, recreating the performance scene at that time.

Only when recording variety shows will they recreate the outfits and scenes from the movie, as they are about to do for the program they’re going to record next.

Before long, Zhang Ming sent over several more feasible suggestions.

Mainly about how to modify makeup in the performance to bring out Jinxia’s original aura, distinct from the character she plays as the Elf Princess, adding novelty for the audience.

Also, mentioning to journalists that after the promotional period, there would be a special interview discussing her life before and after marrying Sheng Yan, and requesting some private space, so the media might hold back a bit.

Jinxia was still a bit resistant to the last suggestion.

Some celebrities are used to putting on a show, even using marital life as part of it, but she’s not used to it, not in the least.

She doesn’t want to share Sheng Yan with others or let people know what they’re up to, nor does she feel any obligation to explain to the netizens.

This is her own life. It just so happens that the person she loves is a superstar and a public figure. Should that mean she’s entitled to no privacy at all?