From Online to Offline, OLD BOYS Soon Released as A Feature

Five years ago, a short film named OLD BOYS presented by Youku, China’s biggest video website, moved millions of local audiences.

It was a story about two boys chasing dreams to be a professional duo, a 42-minute film from the people, by the people and for the people. “People” here refers to the grassroots: more specifically, those underprivileged Chinese who cherish great expectations for their lives and dreams. Chopsticks Brothers, XIAO Yang and WANG Taili, wrote the story, directed the film and made the soundtrack. They became household names. In a rapidly-changing society, people love watching stories about Diaosi (the underprivileged) clinging to their dreams, despite unpredictable surroundings.

Now, Chopsticks Brothers are back with their first feature OLD BOYS: THE WAY OF THE DRAGON. The film is presented by Beijing Ruyi Xinxin Film Investment, LeVision Pictures (LeVP) and Youku Original. It is the first time in China that an online short film expands into a full-fledged feature with a national theatrical release.

The film’s producer KE Liming from the production company Ruyi said: “In the past, directors won’t get such a big chance until they turn about 40. But look at OLD BOYS, this feature is made possible as 80 million of clicks of its original short film is a sound proof of its popularity. China’s film industry is becoming much more accessible to young filmmakers.” Ke himself is a Balinghou (post-80s, a catch phrase referring to those born after 1980s) and is one of the producers of the winning SO YOUNG, directed by Vicki ZHAO Wei.

Local producers have long realized that money is not an issue in China, but the lack of quality IP is. OLD BOYS is, however, an acclaimed IP. But that was five years ago. What if the past fans have changed their taste? If not, how to locate them and make further promotion?

ZHANG Zhao, CEO of LeVP confessed: “The nostalgic touch stays in the feature while romance and action have been blended in. We have various data sources: data from Youku, the online video giant; data from Wanda Cinema, which occupies the first and second tier cities and Dadi Cinema, the third and fourth tier cities, besides, data from movie-goers’ nest Mtime and art film fans’ gathering Douban. Each week we track the data and analyze it to adjust our regional promotion devices. We worked with the local media and launched a number of roadshow theatrical releases to wake up the fans. Assorted promotional materials are published online and offline step by step: stories, videos and trailer to the PR flow going.”

Earlier this year, Zhang announced that he is transforming LeVP into an internet company to answer the irrevocable trend of the digital era. He explained: “China’s e-Commerce and social media might be no competitor to their U.S. counterparts, but we do have a chance when it comes to the online video/film business. Just look at the scale of our online videos. Quality IP from the video sites could be a great creative origin to China’s film industry. We can no longer divide ourselves into different circles and work alone. Be it the internet arena, the finance field or the film industry, boundaries should be crashed and forces joined so that our creative business can still survive and thrive.”

In fact, from online to offline, OLD BOYS reactivated its fans with a song called XIAO PING GUO (Little Apple). Its music video went viral in the past weeks. People have been making parody videos and posted on Youku, the Guangchangwu (a national craze for dancing in the public squares) ladies dance to the song, even the kids love this song and can sing along after a while. Last time China was so crazy about one song was the GANGNAM STYLE fad. This craze is sure to convert into movie tickets to watch OLD BOYS. Audiences should not be surprised if Singalonga Karaoke screenings would be available in the cinema. Also, in the open-air screenings, some might dance to the song during OLD BOYS’ screening?

Youku has made a number of omnibus films for over 4 years in thee kinds of film projects: ‘The Masters’ Short Films’ supported by directors like Ann Hui, Tsai Mingliang and Kiyoshi Kurosawa; ‘Young Directors’ Projects’ supporting directors like Xiao Yang and Teng Huatao; and Photosynthesis Projects – PGC – content created with Youku’s partners. These two years, Youku also participated in launching box office hits like FIRESTORM and OVERHEARD 3.

Frank WEI Ming, Youku’s President said the film OLD BOYS is an experiment in filmmaking. In the future, there will be a bigger overlap of the internet users and the movie audiences. The collaboration among the above three companies is to maximize a collective edge in production, promotion and distribution. We build the online platform Youku in order to create more audio-visual content to those who need it.”

Two months ago, Youku received an investment of $1.22 billion from China’s e-Commerce Alibaba for 16.5% of its stake.

OLD BOYS: THE WAY OF THE DRAGON is to be released on July 10. Index on Baidu, Weibo and Youku all predicts a robust box office performance.

More chances for the young and closer cooperation among different industries. Game on.