dkrc Chapter 58 Victory Celebration Banquet
Chapter 58 Victory Celebration Banquet
"Today's celebration banquet is mainly to celebrate the excellent results achieved by 'Twelve Citizens'," Han Sanping said loudly from the stage. "As of midnight last night, the box office has exceeded 56 million. Compared to the film's investment, this result is truly outstanding!"
At this point, Han Sanping paused deliberately.
Applause immediately erupted in the banquet hall, warm and prolonged.
After a while, Han Sanping raised his hand to suppress the applause, and the applause subsided. He then said, "I won't say any more. Let's invite the main cast and crew to the stage for a group photo."
The celebration banquet itself was also a good opportunity for secondary publicity. The invited reporters had already found their spots, their cameras and microphones pointed at the stage, ready to take photos and conduct interviews.
The venue wasn't luxuriously decorated, but it had a strong sense of ceremony.
Besides the celebratory banner in the center, twelve large movie posters were hung on the background wall, one for each of the lead actors, creating a powerful atmosphere.
These days, luxury serves no purpose other than provoking resentment among netizens.
Lin Yu patted Nazha's hand and quickly walked onto the stage.
Following the photographer's instructions, stand next to Han Sanping and face the camera with the twelve main actors.
"Come on, everyone shout it together!" The photographer raised his camera. "Box office explosion!"
"The box office will be a huge hit!" everyone shouted in unison.
The clicking of camera shutters filled the air.
After the photo was taken, Lin Yu was about to step off the stage when Han Sanping grabbed her arm.
"Don't rush off," Han Sanping said with a smile, then turned to the audience, "Dear guests, let's have our Director Lin say a few words!"
How could Han Sanping let him go? He was so arrogant at the premiere, and the reporters present were most interested in him. Most of their questions were prepared for him. He was such a great topic generator. How could he let him get away?
Lin Yu shook his head with a helpless smile and took the microphone: "Looks like I can't escape today."
Good-natured laughter came from the audience.
He had anticipated that he would be giving a speech tonight and had prepared his speech in advance. Unlike the premiere, there were too many people to thank at the after-party; he certainly couldn't remember them all just by thinking about them.
Lin Yu took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his inner pocket, unfolded it, and cleared his throat: "First of all, I would like to thank all the guests and reporters who are here tonight. I am very excited to be standing here today."
He paused, then his tone became more sincere: "The success of 'Twelve Citizens' today is definitely not solely due to my efforts."
Lin Yu glanced down at the manuscript and began to express his gratitude in order: "First, I want to thank the school..."
The speech at the celebration banquet doesn't need to be as flamboyant as the premiere. The achievements are already there; now it's time to share the credit with everyone. As for generating buzz?
Once Lin Yu finished speaking, the reporters definitely wouldn't let him off the hook.
After thanking everyone, Lin Yu put away her notes and concluded her speech: "Okay, I will continue to work hard to bring more great works to the audience. Thank you everyone!"
Applause erupted again.
Lin Yu looked at the reporters gathered in a circle below the stage, their faces full of anticipation, and sighed inwardly. There was no host scheduled for today, so he would have to host it himself.
He raised the microphone, smiled, and said, "Now, let's hand the time over to our reporters. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have."
As soon as he finished speaking, hands shot up from the audience, and Lin Yu casually pointed to one.
"Director Lin, I'm a reporter from the Beijing News." The speaker was a bespectacled female reporter. "At the premiere, you said you were the best director, and now the box office has proven your ability. So, may I ask, compared to masters like Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, where do you see the gap?"
I'm so lucky, I just picked the one I really wanted to cause trouble for.
"What a pity. If it were at the premiere, you could have really made a big scoop." Lin Yu wasn't annoyed. That's just the nature of a reporter's job. If you don't want to make a big scoop anytime, anywhere, you can't do this job.
As long as it wasn't something blatantly biased or an invasion of privacy, Lin Yu didn't want to bother with it. As for the one who was sent in before, he clearly wasn't trying to create a big story; he was trying to stir up trouble—the nature of the matter was completely different.
"First of all, let me correct something." Lin Yu raised a finger. "I didn't say 'the best director,' I said that I was the best in the three-school exchange program. These are two different concepts."
"Director Zhang and Director Chen are both my seniors. Their achievements and experience are something I need to learn from for a lifetime." Lin Yu always had a gentle smile on his face.
He paused briefly, then added, "I'm just a newcomer in the directing world right now. I've managed to make a reasonably successful film with the help of so many seniors, that's all."
This answer greatly disappointed the reporters present; it wasn't the humble response they wanted. What they wanted was the arrogance of a premiere, sensationalism, and conflict!
However, Lin Yu would definitely not give them that chance. He couldn't steal the spotlight at the celebration banquet; the actors needed exposure more than he did.
Lin Yu answered the next few questions in a standard manner, and the reporters' enthusiasm gradually waned, with the questions becoming routine.
Lin Yu seized the opportunity and signaled for the last person to ask a question, which was arranged in advance.
"Director Lin, Entertainment Weekly." A young reporter wearing a baseball cap stood up. "Could you give us a hint about your next project? Many viewers are eagerly anticipating it."
"I can't say too much right now," Lin Yu replied with a smile. "I can only confirm that it's a big production. The script is still being revised and hasn't been finalized yet. But I can reveal that this will be a completely different type of work from 'Twelve Citizens'."
If you want to scam someone, you have to make sure that every word you say is true, because any lie risks being exposed.
Seeing that it was almost time, Lin Yu continued, "Alright, that concludes today's questions. There are still many key members of the production team waiting for your interviews, so please be gentle with your reports."
Lin Yu handed the microphone to Dou Xiao and turned to walk off the stage.
Seeing this, the reporters stopped asking questions and began to turn their attention to the actors on stage.
Simply saying "go easy on me" is definitely not enough. Back when the banquet was being arranged, Lin Yu had already prepared a small gift for each reporter present—not extravagant, just a standard gift.
As soon as Lin Yu stepped off the stage, Nazha was already waiting there. She smiled and took Lin Yu's arm, saying, "Brother Yu, you were so handsome on stage just now."
Hearing Nazha's praise, Lin Yu finally smiled and patted her head with a grin, "When have I ever not been handsome? Come on, let's go for a walk and let these people see you."