Chapter 181 Involving Press Releases

Chapter 181

"Look, they've started fighting!" Feng Zeng had a steaming hot bun in his mouth, unable to take it with his other hand, so he had to bite it first.

Lin Yuan also took one, eating while reading gossip: "You're a prophet."

“I’m not a prophet.” The agent said calmly, “Chen Cong is impressive, but the director and screenwriter of ‘Grandpa’ are no pushovers either.”

Feng had previously read interviews related to "Grandma's Persimmon Tree" and could see that the director himself was quite assertive. Before gaining recognition through this film, he was just a relatively unknown new director.

However, he persuaded the investors for "Grandma's Persimmon Tree," found the actors himself, and led the filming process, leaving no room for others to interfere.

This shows that the director is quite assertive and intolerant of any flaws.

Feng Zeng didn't know why Chen Cong was chosen as the lead actor in "Grandpa's Little Courtyard." He only knew that Chen Cong had a way of doing things and could always achieve his goals.

"That's a bit unethical." The steamed bun was indeed very hot, and Lin Yuan sucked in air as he ate it. "When 'Grandpa's Little Courtyard' was getting a high number of screenings, why didn't he speak up for justice?"

Lin Yuan had also seen the data for "Grandma's Persimmon Tree". "Grandma" defied the odds with only 9% of screenings, broke through the fierce competition, and finally won more than 1 billion yuan at the box office.

Even with Ren Maoxing's connections, he couldn't secure more than 10% of screenings for "Bloody Past" on its opening day, so the director of "Grandpa" may not have that kind of power either.

When the crew of "Sniper Wars" protested, the director remained completely silent.

"Just eat steamed buns and watch the show," Feng Zeng ruffled Lin Yuan's hair. "The steamed buns smell so good."

"really."

"Sniper" and "Bloody Past" still occupy the top two positions on the box office charts. As a gunfight film, "Sniper" has started to decline in daily box office revenue, while "Bloody Past" continues to maintain a stable trend.

The phenomenon of defying the trend and rising in popularity doesn't last forever. After the number of screenings increased, "Bloody Past" maintained a box office of over 20 million for two days. After that, it fluctuated between 19 million and 18 million. Just when others thought it was going to succeed, it would rise by several hundred thousand.

In short, the box office performance was quite bizarre.

In "Bloody Past", the most widely circulated scene is Lin Yuan's performance. Wei Liang crawls out of the pit, leaving only his dark eyes. Wei Liang wanders aimlessly in the forest. Wei Liang completes his revenge... These wild scenes, in the words of some film critics, can be called classic scenes in the history of Chinese-language films.

Some people may not know that the actor who played Wei Liang was Lin Yuan, and some may not have even seen "Bloody Past". However, Wei Liang's scenes are very impressive.

Even non-movie enthusiasts will have some movie scenes in their minds.

For example, a red dress fluttering in the vast desert, a pale face illuminated by a red lantern, or a confrontation on the rooftop...

Lin Yuan was drawn to the charm of these characters, and after becoming an actor, he also wanted to leave behind some classic roles.

The artistic atmosphere of "Bloody Past" is very strong. Combined with the natural landscape, the scene of scenery and people coexisting has a strong impact.

Lin Yuan's acting skills were already widely recognized in the industry. He showed a strong presence in "Thousand Mountains".

However, in the audience's impression, Lin Yuan's acting skills are comparable to or no less than that of so-and-so. They are impactful and quite shocking, but they don't make people feel that he completely crushes anyone.

"Bloody Memories" is a film that leaves this impression.

Lin Yuan thus transcended the mundane world.

The Wall Award had already caused a stir, and with the completion of "Bloody Past," Lin Yuan had become a figure who surpassed other actors in the audience's mind.

Although the plot of "Bloody Memories" is simple, audiences are willing to pay for the performances. In any case, a movie must have at least one highlight.

Less than a week after its release, "Bloody Past" finally broke the 100 million yuan mark at the box office. After a full week, the total box office reached 120 million yuan.

Of all the films Lin Yuan has acted in, this one had the worst box office performance, but considering director Ren Maoxing's past box office records, "Bloody Past" still delivered a pretty impressive result.

Moreover, although there were new films released in the new week and the National Day holiday would follow, "Bloody Past" still managed to stay at the box office for quite a while with over 10 million yuan.

Before the National Day holiday, "Bloody Memories" officially surpassed 200 million yuan in total box office revenue. According to the production team's estimate, if it lasts a while longer, the film's final box office revenue should be able to exceed 300 million yuan.

Director Ren Maoxing was almost moved to tears.

This is not only a personal breakthrough for him, but also a record that is hard to break in the field of art films, especially among award-winning overseas films.

"Bloody Memories" is now a hit on all fronts. It's doing well in overseas distribution, selling DVDs, and has achieved great success in theaters. Next, the film will compete for domestic awards, and its online rights have also been sold.

Thanks to its outstanding box office performance, the production team had leverage when negotiating with the platform and sold the film for a very good price.

For the director, this is not a matter of money, but a matter of dignity.

His films began to be recognized by audiences.

...

In fact, the conflict between the crew of "Grandpa's Courtyard" and "Bloody Past" is related, although the crew of "Bloody Past" was completely unaware of it.

"Bloody Past" ultimately grossed over 300 million yuan, while "Grandpa's Courtyard" did not.

At the time of their release, the two films were not compared at all.

There's no need for comparison; the gap is too large.

However, now, "Grandpa's Courtyard" has not even beaten "Bloody Past", which makes the director feel quite embarrassed.

The director was filled with rage.

In addition, Lin Yuan's performance in "Bloody Past" completely overshadowed Chen Cong's performance in "Grandpa's Courtyard," making the contrast between the two extremely stark.

Chen Cong also felt very embarrassed.

He didn't want to be compared to Lin Yuan, especially since he was playing a negative role.

Chen Cong was also filled with anger.

Next, anger clashed with anger.

The press release about the original lead actor for "Grandpa" not being Chen Cong was clearly written by the director. The press release was written in the tone of an insider. The male lead that the "Grandpa" production team had in mind was originally a gentle, approachable actor with audience appeal, but unfortunately Chen Cong stepped in halfway through.

Although the director and screenwriter felt that Chen Cong's image was not quite right, they had no choice but to accept it and started filming with the intention of "training" him.

Even someone like Lin Yuan, who isn't particularly sensitive to press releases, could tell that the "Grandpa" production team was criticizing Chen Cong for lacking affability and having a bad personality.

Chen Cong naturally noticed it as well.

The next day, Lin Yuan received a new forwarded article from Feng Zeng—in which the director of "Grandpa" was described as a tyrant.

The script says that after the success of "Grandma's Persimmon Tree," the director became arrogant and didn't listen to anyone's opinions. He kept asking, "Are you the director or am I the director?" and constantly talked about the return on investment of "Grandma's Persimmon Tree."

The last sentence is: "Perhaps, the director's arrogance was the reason why 'Grandpa's Courtyard' ultimately failed."

Lin Yuan couldn't help but whistle: "Wow!"

If the reports are true, Lin Yuan can only sigh that neither of these two are easy to deal with.

Arrogance clashed, truly.

On the third day, a new press release arrived.

Today, Lin Yuan didn't need his agent to forward it; he had already eagerly asked him for the link.

Feng Zeng asked slowly, "Are you sure you want to see this?"

"Is there anything I can't see?" Lin Yuan asked curiously.

Feng admitted: "It is true."

Lin Yuan: "..."

The more he does this, the more curious he'll become, okay?

Lin Yuan still read it.

Today's press release was, of course, issued from the director's perspective, and its content was—"Chen Cong's crew berates Lin Yuan."

Lin Yuan: "?"

Is he sick?

The war of words between the crew of "Grandpa's Courtyard" has attracted a lot of attention. The two sides have been exchanging insults, and even Lin Yuan has been watching the drama every day. Naturally, the number of people paying attention is increasing.

As a result, inexplicably, with so many people concerned, Lin Yuan was dragged into it.

"What's it to me?"

The previous press release was vague and did not name names, and no one knows who the director originally intended to cast was. Netizens can only speculate.

But this article today actually named names.

The article states that Chen Cong was extremely jealous of Lin Yuan. After hearing the news that Lin Yuan had won the Wolverine, he couldn't sleep at night and felt that Lin Yuan was completely unworthy of it.

With "Grandpa's Courtyard" and "Bloody Past" clashing in release, Chen Cong prepared a bunch of press releases, planning to release them after "Grandpa's Courtyard" outperforms "Bloody Past" at the box office, to severely criticize Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan: "..."

Isn't this just plain crazy?

But the approach taken by the "Grandpa" production team did indeed attract a lot of attention immediately.

What's the point of the director and Chen Cong tearing each other apart? The media and gossip-loving public have limited interest in the director, but Lin Yuan is different. Who wouldn't want to see Lin Yuan and Chen Cong tear each other apart?

Lin Yuan had just returned to the film set to shoot "The Detective with the Magic Eye" when he was spotted by reporters who had caught wind of the news.

Reporters swarmed the film crew all day, making it seem like Lin Yuan couldn't escape, asking him what he thought about Chen Cong's outburst against him.

Lin Yuan really couldn't avoid it. He didn't want to delay the filming schedule, as he had been quite busy lately and had a lot of scenes to film.

Lin Yuan seemed helpless in the face of the reporter's questions.

What could he possibly think? Would he be happy about it?

He couldn't possibly retaliate by verbally abusing Chen Cong in front of reporters.

One of the reporters had his microphone almost shoved in his face. Lin Yuan sighed and said, "How about this?"

The reporters stared wide-eyed with curiosity, their ears perked up.

“Go and call him over, let him curse in front of me.”

Reporters: "?"

This is clearly impossible.

Lin Yuan then said that he didn't hear how Chen Cong cursed him, but if the other party cursed him to his face, he could hear it clearly and even retaliate with his fists. That way, the reporter's KPI would be met.

This is clearly a win-win-win situation.

If Chen Cong gets his fill of cursing, he can beat people up, and reporters can publish reports about it.

Seeing Lin Yuan's expression as he envisioned his grand plan, the reporters couldn't help but look speechless.

They had long felt that Lin Yuan was not quite normal in some ways.

This impression is gradually deepening.

It's just... not quite normal.

Left with no other option, the reporters could only ask Lin Yuan what he thought about Chen Cong's plan to release a press release to discredit "Bloody Past".

Lin Yuan said, "Don't worry, we have money now."

He applied for a marketing budget from the production team, and the production team paid for it all himself.

Reporters: "?"

At first, the reporters didn't understand what Lin Yuan meant, but they quickly grasped it—

Shortly after this interview, press releases for a certain movie began to flood the internet—

[With "Bloody Past" outperforming "Grandpa's Little Courtyard" at the box office, how far is Chen Cong from reaching Lin Yuan's level?]

[The press release is stuck in his hands; Chen Cong's resentment is heartbreaking.]

Why didn't I get the reward I wanted from this film that I put so much effort into making?

It's simply because you don't love it enough; love can overcome anything.

Reporters: "???"

They really wanted to know if the press release from the "Bloody Past" production team was deliberately written by a low-priced writer from Zhiyin.

Why does it taste so strange?

Could we spend a little more money to hire a better writer?

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Author's Note: It's here!!! [Starry eyes][Starry eyes][Starry eyes]