On June 15, 2012, at 11:30 p.m., outside the gate of a movie theater in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

A long-haired woman wearing a black cap, a pink mask, long sleeves, and jeans and sneakers stood on the side of the road.

There are many fitness girls on the street, or girls who are on technology, and their bodies are not as attractive as this girl.

And from the way it was exposed, she was very white, white and glowing.

This woman is undoubtedly a beauty.

Many men passing by were ready to move, stepped forward to show their strength, some showed off their brand-name watches, some directly parked their luxury cars, and some deliberately accosted them in English.

"Beauty, let's play together?"

"No, thank you."

Shirley smiled and bent her eyes, even more coquettish, and then politely refused when the man opposite was drooling.

"Ten million, stay with me for one night, ten million."

The peninsula has a well-developed astringent industry, and on the south gate of Seoul, there are only two or three hundred thousand jobs a night.

Ten million is a really high offer.

Still smiling, Shirley shook her head, "No, thank you." ”

The other men stopped when they saw Shirley's refusal of 10 million.

The men of the peninsula are notoriously stingy, and they are reluctant to spend so much money.

At this moment, an ordinary modern car came and a girl wearing a long shirt, a small suit, and a short skirt and high-tops came down.

The girl also wore a black hat, a pink mask, and the same long hair shawl.

Although not as good as Shirley's figure, it is much stronger than ordinary girls on the street.

"It can't be a female idol, right?"

There is speculation.

Shirley saw someone coming and greeted her happily, "You're finally here." ”

This girl in a small suit is Shirley's best friend - Li Zhien.

Many people in the K-pop idol circle have excellent family backgrounds and superior lives, and they can live a life that ordinary people envy if they are not idols.

And Li Zhien and Shirley are more special, they belong to the very poor category, if they are not idols, they will really starve to death.

Li Zhien's parents are ordinary office workers, but they are not white-collar workers, but factory workers.

She has been a left-behind child since she was a child, her parents went to work in Seoul, and she and her younger brother lived with their grandmother.

It is said that many times when the family has no money, grandma pawns jewelry to get by.

As for Shirley, it's even worse.

Li Zhien's family was reunited, and Shirley's parents divorced when she was very young.

She lives with her brother and brother with her mother.

But her mother is a bastard who doesn't care about the three children.

Shirley's only reliance is on her brother, who makes money to support her.

Later, the two signed a contract with a brokerage company, but they didn't like to go home, because the company had a place to live and enough food, which was a condition that their family did not have.

A similar experience made the two hit it off at first sight and quickly became each other's best friends.

Li Zhien was holding a bag in her hand, she took out a cup of hot coffee from the bag, handed it to Shirley, and then said, "What's the matter with you, those stinky men are talking, why do you still laugh at them?" ”

"They didn't hurt me, they want to be friends with me, why should I be cold-faced?"

Shirley happily took the coffee and then drank it and talked back.

"You, you, those men just want to sleep with you, and they don't really want to be with you, don't think that they look kind and are good people, their thoughts are very disgusting."

Shirley has lacked love since she was a child, and her brother is the only one who cares about her.

As a result, she is very eager for love, even if some men have bad intentions, she will not refuse immediately, but enjoy the feeling of being sought after.

Li Zhien has long known the character of a good friend, and she has persuaded her many times, hoping that Shirley can change, so as not to meet a scumbag in the future.

Shirley smiled and nodded, "Got it, let's go, the movie is about to start." ”

The two are not the same agency.

As they quickly became popular on the peninsula, they spent less and less time together.

Recently, they happened to have time, and the two of them planned to play crazy together, watch movies first, then go singing, then go drinking, and tomorrow they won't do anything, and they will sleep together in a hug.

Recently, there have been quite a few movies on the peninsula, not only local films on the peninsula, but also Hollywood films, animated films from island countries, and a movie from China.

This movie from Huaxia is called "Parasite", which will be released at six o'clock tonight, and it is said that the reputation is good.

The two little girls are going to watch "Parasite" together.

Shirley doesn't really matter, Lee Ji-eun is more ambitious, she not only wants to be a good singer, but also wants to be a good actor.

Of course, it may also be the fear of being eliminated, she knows that in the peninsula, the actor is forced to be higher, and the acting career is longer.

As long as there are good movies, Lee Ji-eun will watch them, hoping to improve himself.

"I heard that your boss took you to drink again?"

Shirley belongs to a stupid company, and everyone in the Korean circle knows that Li Xiuman likes to take Lin Yuna and Shirley to the chaebol's drinking party.

Basically, the two of them are stupid to pretend to be the company's façade to the outside world.

Shirley nodded, not caring, "Don't worry, I'll be fine with Sister Yun'er." ”

Lee Ji-eun is shorter, thinner, and looks more like a younger sister, but in the relationship between the two of them, she is the role of the elder sister, and she reached out and patted Shirley's arm.

"Don't expect others, those rich people really want to do bad things, do you think Yun'a can stop it? Yuna is only afraid that she will not be able to protect herself. ”

Hearing this, Shirley's eyes crooked with a smile, "I know, I'll be careful." ”

Seeing this, Li Zhien knew that his friend didn't take it to heart, and he had no choice but to decide to meet next time and nag her again.

Soon after, the two of them arrived at the theater and sat down in two places near the aisle.

Shirley had just sat down and stood up, "I'm going to buy snacks." ”

She didn't really care about the movie.

Li Zhien nodded, "Bring me Coke." ”

Soon after, Shirley returned, she handed a glass of Coke and a bucket of popcorn to Li Zhien, and then smiled: "I just saw a few men, they should have just finished watching "Parasite", and they actually squatted on the ground and cried. ”

When Li Zhien heard this, he laughed, "These are people who are not strong-willed, and I will never cry." ”

She has always been mature, and since she entered the entertainment industry, she has seen more and her heart is more resolute, and she hasn't cried for several years.

She then smiled at Shirley, "Don't cry. ”

Shirley is more sensitive, and she is more likely to cry when watching movies.

Shirley looked up proudly and snorted.

Her fair and slender neck was exposed, and Li Zhien smiled enviously.

The lights in the theater went out, and "Parasite" officially began.

It starts with a low basement where the hero's family sits together blowing water and someone pees in front of their window.

Then there was no signal at home, and the son and daughter were running around with their mobile phones, and finally squatted next to the toilet in order to connect to the wifi upstairs.

My son's classmate came over and introduced the job, thinking he was a good person.

As a result, this classmate directly expressed his intentions.

He wants to study abroad, but he can't let go of the rich man's daughter, and the reason why he introduced the actor's son is because in his eyes, his son is nothing but good for English.

A rich daughter will never like the male protagonist's son.

Then the son successfully became an English tutor, and then the daughter successfully became a painting teacher, but the rich man did not take them to heart, and when they met at home, they did not say hello.

Then the actor went to apply for a driver, and he was disgusted by the rich, and the rich man also tested the actor with a cup of coffee.

In the end, the hero's wife entered the rich man's house as a nanny, and the hero's family seemed to be smooth sailing, but the rich couple did not treat them as human beings, and they still disliked the smell on their bodies.

At this point in the plot, no matter how the hero's family operates, it seems that they have found stable jobs and are all developing on the good side.

But in the eyes of rich couples, they are unimportant people, and they show neglect if they are insignificant.

Li Zhien was still smoking Coke and chewing popcorn, but when he saw this, he didn't have such a mood.

She looked at the big screen in a daze, and she had a deep understanding of the situation of the actor's family.

It's not just the embarrassing living environment, it's more about the neglect of other classes.

The peninsula is such a place where the class divide is very serious.

When she was a child, her family was poor and she was a left-behind child, and some classmates with good living conditions were unwilling to take care of her.

Later, she became an idol and looked very beautiful, but in fact, the white-collar workers of those big enterprises still looked down on them.

As for the legendary chaebol, with Li Zhien's appearance and figure, he can't get into the eyes of people at all.

Lee Ji-eun feels like a male protagonist, being looked down upon by richer people.

The movie continues, the hero's family was quickly beaten to the bottom after a short period of enjoying the villa life, and then came to the rich man's son's birthday party, the daughter was killed, the male protagonist was furious, assassinated the rich man, and finally fled in a hurry.

At the end of the movie, the male protagonist is not dead, he hides in the basement of the villa, and often sneaks out in the middle of the night to find food.

He was like a parasite and looked very shameless and disgusting.

Li Zhien held his chin with one hand and looked at the big screen seriously.

She didn't cry, she was a person with a strong character, and she wouldn't let herself cry in public.

But she was really uncomfortable, as if someone had lifted her mask, showed her face, and then announced to the world with a loudspeaker that Lee Ji-eun was originally a poor ghost, she wanted to climb up, she wanted to escape from her old class.

The film looks contemptuous and spurning for the poor.

Lee Ji-eun is very uncomfortable, she doesn't like the portrayal of the movie, as if the poor are guilty, as if the poor are all jokes for their efforts.

At this moment, there was a round of applause, but it was the other audience who clapped their hands.

Li Zhien came back to his senses and thought about it calmly, only to realize that this movie is simply telling the story of the peninsula.

The basement, the college entrance exam, studying abroad, the English fever, and the coffee, the cram school, the driver, the expensive house price, all the details, are exactly the same as the peninsula.

If it weren't for the fact that the people in the movie spoke Mandarin, the plaques on the streets would have written traditional characters.

It really makes people suspect that it is not Hong Kong Island, but Seoul.

This film will definitely resonate with the people of the Peninsula, whether it is touting the rich or mocking the poor, the people of the Peninsula must be deeply touched.

"Woohoo."

Shirley was crying, sobbing under her breath.

"What's wrong?"

"The hero's daughter died, and I think she's so pitiful."

Li Zhien waved his hand, "It's just an artistic design of the movie, don't think about it, let's go, let's sing and drink." ”

"Do you want to sing?" Shirley wiped her tears, "I want to eat something and go to bed." ”

"Parasite" also made Shirley very uncomfortable, and she was not in the mood to sing and drink.

"If you're in a bad mood, you should do something to cheer you up, don't be afraid, I'll accompany you."

Li Zhien was gentle and relieved, and he also made a gesture of cheering.

Shirley thought about it, and when she saw Li Zhien's expectant gaze, she didn't want to disappoint Li Zhien, "Okay, go and sing." ”

The two men went on to sing, but instead of drinking, they ate something and went back to sleep.

Li Zhien is reluctant to let "Parasite" affect her mood, but I have to say that this movie has a lot of momentum, and when she stops to rest, she always thinks about it unconsciously, and the more she thinks about it, the more uncomfortable it becomes.

She seems to see herself, at a certain time, she was abandoned by capital, and in the end she could only become a despicable parasite like the male protagonist.

In the next few days, Li Zhien couldn't help but think of the plot of "Parasite", the ending of the hero's family and the rich family, and she couldn't help but check the information of "Parasite".

"Parasite" received 100 million won on its premiere day on the peninsula, setting a record for the highest premiere day this year, and a number of local films and Hollywood blockbusters are not as good as "Parasite".

Then on the first three days, as well as the next week, and the third week, "Parasite" won three consecutive championships without suspense and won the box office championship for three weeks.

The movie really exploded on the peninsula.

It's not an ordinary popularity, but an explosion that has sparked national discussion.

Many people say that this movie reflects the story of the peninsula.

There are also many people who call on young people not to roll, not to be so tired, and to just lie flat.

Under such high popularity, there are many new local films in the peninsula at the end of June and early July, as well as Hollywood blockbusters.

For example, "Special Forces 2: Revenge", "Amazing Mike", "The Amazing Spider-Man", and "Ice Age 4: Continental Drift" have not stopped the trend of "Parasite" to grab the box office.

With nearly three million viewers, "Parasite" has become Peninsula's highest-grossing film so far in 2012.

As of the next screening, the total box office of the peninsula has reached a total of 68 billion, about 340 million yuan.

It has become Peninsula's highest-grossing Chinese-language film, a non-English film.

Li Zhien even saw the relevant box office news, saying that the total box office of "Parasite" in mainland China was about 300 million yuan.

And the total box office of "Parasite" in the beautiful country is 45 million US dollars.

That is, the cumulative box office of "Parasite" on the peninsula should be the highest existence in a single country in the world.

The box office of this movie on the peninsula surpasses that of the two strongest economies in the world, Pretty Country and Huaxia.

Li Zhien saw this data and was stunned, do Peninsula people like "Parasite" so much?

What happened to the people of the Peninsula?

Did you fall victim to Lee Shengyao's poison?

……

The box office of "Parasite" on the peninsula turned out to be the first in a single country in the world, surpassing the beautiful country and Huaxia.

The incident was immediately hyped up by the Peninsula media.

Both KBS and SBS reporters went to the mainland to interview Lee.

"I'm glad that the audience on the Peninsula likes to watch "Parasite", in fact, I once had a dream, in which I saw the results of "Parasite" on the Peninsula, and I got 430 million yuan, and now I get 340 million, I think it's okay."

Regarding Li Shengyao's somewhat inexplicable words, the media on the peninsula were very puzzled.

However, this does not affect the results and high topics of "Parasite" on the peninsula.

Such an achievement made many filmmakers on the peninsula tremble.

The peninsula has a small market, and they barely maintain the peninsula film industry by relying on the people's fanatical movie-watching habits.

If more excellent Chinese-language films enter the peninsula and reap the box office like "Parasite", then local filmmakers will play a hammer.

In the past, when Hollywood films entered the peninsula, local filmmakers had to cut their fingers.

After the results of "Parasite" came out, a group of Peninsula filmmakers immediately prepared knives, wanted to cut their fingers, asked the Peninsula Cultural Port to establish a treaty, and refused to allow Chinese-language films to enter the Peninsula on a large scale.

Park Il-il, the section chief of the Hallyu Cultural Center at the Peninsula Cultural Port, got the information and immediately called the petitioning filmmakers to his office.

"Don't worry, we must carefully study and analyze everyone's demands, I can pack tickets here, we will definitely restrict Chinese films from entering the peninsula, and we will not let Chinese films destroy our film industry."

can't stop Dad's Hollywood blockbuster, can't you stop the Chinese film next door?

Park Yitian didn't take this matter to heart, he swore to the filmmakers and showed his attitude.

He is well aware of the attitude of the top brass of the peninsula.

Dad is the first, as for Huaxia, it is at the bottom, casually black, you don't need to care.

A group of filmmakers were also relieved to see Park Yitian's attitude, who wants to cut their fingers, it's not really helpless.

"Section Chief Park, we must do it as soon as possible, in recent years, Chinese films have improved very fast, and we can't let them occupy our market."

The peninsula established itself as a cultural state in the last century, and they originally wanted to use idol dramas to open up the Southeast Asian market.

As a result, Lee Shengyao produced a large number of high-quality idol dramas, completely got rid of Peninsula dramas, and easily occupied the Southeast Asian market.

It even attracts fans on the peninsula, and many peninsula girls like to watch it.

Now the first destination for girls on the peninsula to marry abroad is Huaxia.

The peninsula has always tried to steal ideas, but they can't steal them at all.

The peninsula has no cultural heritage, and it is not comparable to the mainland at all.

Several stations in the mainland are now in full swing and have created many excellent stories.

The mainland's current sweet dramas and idol dramas have become the most popular foreign dramas in Southeast Asia, and the peninsula has no way to start.

Moreover, the development of Peninsula boxing is very rapid, and the current Peninsula female audience is more and more fond of the plot of black and deep.

But isn't black remnant deep just the routine of American dramas, no matter how well you shoot, can you compare to American dramas?

In such a situation, Peninsula filmmakers are really worried about whether the movie will be like a TV series, and it will be defeated.

Park Yitian was disdainful in his heart, this group of rookies had no way to compete, so they would close themselves off from the country, but he still recognized it very much on the surface, "It's okay, leave it to me, I will never let Chinese films enter the peninsula on a large scale, "Parasite" is a swan song." ”

There was a round of applause, and the Peninsula filmmakers applauded as a way to express their attitude.

……

Regarding the closure of the Al Jazeera Film Market to Chinese-language films, Lee is not very clear.

He was promoting Parasite in Europe at this time.

Because of the two consecutive Cannes Palme d'Or and the promotion of Leimon Pictures, Lee Shengyao now has some influence in Europe.

Warner wanted Lee to go to Europe to publicize, and he went over.

It's been almost a month since Parasite was released worldwide.

The box office everywhere is basically out.

The most outstanding place is naturally the Peninsula, which contributed 340 million people to the box office, almost 50 million US dollars, and "Parasite" became the highest-grossing film on the Peninsula in the first half of 2012.

In Li Shengyao's previous life, "Parasite" got a box office of 430 million yuan on the peninsula, almost 60 million US dollars.

This shows how much Peninsula people love this movie.

Everyone else was surprised by Peninsula's results, but Lee Shengyao had expected it.

The second is the mainland market, which received 3.1 billion.

This result is better than the 200 million predicted by Lee Shengyao.

But it's not bad, "Parasite" has a good reputation in the mainland, but the box office is not so high.

"Painted Skin 2", which was released at the end of June, has a stronger momentum, and the total box office is rushing to 700 million.

Next is the beautiful country, as well as Europe, as well as Hong Kong Island, Wanwan, Xinmatai and other markets.

The box office of the beautiful country is 45 million US dollars, and the total box office of European countries combined is about 150 million US dollars.

And Hong Kong Island has 70 million, just like the media predicted, "Parasite" broke the record of Chinese films on Hong Kong Island.

There are fewer bends, only 250 million, about 50 million yuan.

The results of Xinmatai and other places are okay, there are 30 million.

In addition, there are island countries, South American countries, and there are 20 million US dollars in bits and pieces.

In the end, on the whole, the global box office of "Parasite" should be 310 million US dollars.

A not-so-cool feature film got 310 million US dollars, which is undoubtedly very good.

Lee Shengyao counted the data and was very happy to see the total box office.

Although the mainland box office is not high, the movie did not lose money.

That is, I won the prize and made a lot of money.

For this movie, Lee Shengyao is very satisfied.

In this case, the mission of the film is over.

In fact, people from Warner contacted Lee Shengyao and asked him if he wanted to contribute money to lobby for next year's Oscars, and they thought that "Parasite" was very likely to win the Oscars, in which case, Lee Shengyao would be more famous and have more status in the film industry.

In Lee Shengyao's previous life, the producer of "Parasite" spent five million US dollars as the Oscar activity fund.

Then "The Determination to Break Up" did the same, spending 10 million US dollars as lobbying funds, trying to replicate the experience of "Parasite", but the 10 million US dollars were wasted.

Lee Shengyao refused, he knew it well.

"Parasite" can win the Oscar because Peninsula is a dog, and Dad just gave the dog a bone.

In fact, in the second year after "Parasite" won the Oscars, Peninsula Films collapsed, only ten films were profitable in 2020, and there was not a single new film in the first half of 2023, all of which were previous films.

Lee Shengyao has a special status, and it is impossible for the Oscar to give him the grand prize.

Unless he can make a movie, a movie that all the people of the beautiful country think is good, and the judges choose other films, and the people will scold them.

Before making such a movie, he didn't bother to participate in the Oscars, and as for spending money to lobby, it was even more impossible.

Director Li will never spend money lobbying, and he will never send money to the judges of the beautiful country.

(End of chapter)