Chapter 479: Counterattack Storm
Although they are not in the same circle and have not dealt with each other much, Meng Bai and Huayi are not completely without intersection.
For example, when Taiyang Chuanhe was first established, it relied on a group of people brought out from Huayi by Yang Ming as the initial team. It was only later that it relied on Arc Light and ByteDance, and gradually got rid of the shadow of Huayi.
However, although the company is no longer related, the personal connections are still there. Chen Zhixi took this opportunity to make an appointment with Huayi and planned to sit down and talk.
Meng Bai did not go to the negotiation process. After all, with his current status, he had to talk directly to Wang Zhongjun.
And he didn't think he could get any results from the negotiation. After all, Hengteng's name was not directly mentioned in the essay. Going to him with this point would have been a disadvantage.
According to his idea, there is no friendship between everyone anyway, whether you are intentional or unintentional, just counterattack.
If you hit it right, it is a normal counterattack. If it is an accidental injury, it can also make the other party understand that next time before writing a short essay, think carefully about what to say and what not to say.
However, there was nothing wrong with Chen Zhixi's "be polite before using force" attitude, so Meng Bai let her go.
But from her expression after the talk, she didn't seem very happy.
"I'm so angry! It's not the first day for everyone to do this. Don't you know that they want to divert public attention?"
Chen Zhixi slammed the table and said angrily: "That Liu guy has the nerve to say that he is 'speaking out of his feelings and not targeting anyone'. Haha, it's so funny, if he is not targeting anyone, why would he add a sentence 'a movie that is also being released'. Isn't this talking about "Famous", could it be the re-release of "Harry Potter"? "
"Liu guy?" Meng Bai asked.
"Liu Ge, the one who posted on WeChat Moments. He is the general manager of Huayi Distribution. He is responsible for the deposit for "Eight Hundred" this time." Chen Zhixi explained to him while holding back his anger.
"Didn't any of the big and small Wangs from Huayi go?"
"Humph, what are you talking about? When we first arranged it, it was said that Wang Zhonglei would go. But in fact, it was Liu Ge who went, and the little Wang didn't come at all."
"Tsk tsk, Sister Xi, let me say this, it's obvious that they don't take you seriously." Meng Bai said, adding fuel to the fire.
Chen Zhixi had a gloomy face and didn't speak.
Meng Bai continued with a smile: "I heard that there have been a lot of rumors in the industry these days, saying that Hengten is backed by platform capital such as Evergrande and Tencent, so its position is not on the side of the producer. This time Huayi was in the front line to "fight against stealing box office", but we turned out to be traitors and stood with the theaters, dragging them down..."
"Bullshit!"
Chen Zhixi didn't care about his image at this time, and he cursed angrily: "We are doing normal publicity, and Huayi was both in charge and failed, and now it wants to drag us into the water, what a bunch of shit."
"That's right, so I said, there is no need to pay attention to the so-called "first courtesy, then force". Since they started the fight, we just fight back." Meng Bai cooperated.
Chen Zhixi snorted: "They did it on the first day, so don't blame us for doing it on the fifteenth. It's just writing a short essay and finding a water army. It seems that everyone can do it. I'll contact..."
"No need to contact, I have a professional."
Meng Bai interrupted her and took out her mobile phone to send a message. After a while, someone knocked on the door of the office, and then a young man walked in.
"Boss."
The man greeted, then looked at Chen Zhixi who was sitting across the table, and smiled and said: "Hello, Mr. Chen, my name is Li Mu, and I am the head of the brand department of Arclight Film and Television. Mr. Meng has already explained to me what happened in the past two days. If you need anything, you can tell me directly."
Chen Zhixi looked at him: "Brand department?"
"Deal with false public opinion on the Internet and shape the corporate brand image."
"..."
Chen Zhixi glanced at Meng Bai speechlessly. You can just say the head of the water army, and what is the "brand department".
But then again, although she had never heard of this Li Mu before, she still believed in his ability.
As a leading company in the film and television industry, Arclight Film and Television must be commonplace for all kinds of smears, rumors and gossip.
However, Arclight has always maintained a good reputation online and among the audience. Although it has the foundation of the high quality of the work itself, the "defense and counterattack" behind it is absolutely indispensable.
It can be seen that Li Mu and his "brand department" obviously have some means.
Chen Zhixi took a deep breath. It's good to have means. She needs such "professionals" now.
...
Huayi's "distraction" plan is relatively successful. After Liu Ge's small essay in the circle of friends "swept the screen", the discussion of Huayi's "overlord clauses" and private breach of contract immediately decreased.
The topic of online debate has gradually shifted to the problem of "stealing box office" that the film industry has always been difficult to solve.
Many people think that no matter what Huayi's reputation is, at least there is nothing wrong with this matter.
As for the small theater owners who have paid the deposit, they are still speaking out. It's just that they belong to different regions and theaters, and there is no connection between them. There are even complaints between the internal because of the different discounts. The result is a mess, which can't withstand the impact of large-scale water army soft articles.
With Huayi’s strong voice outside and the inability to unite and cooperate internally, many theater managers gradually became disappointed and felt that they could only swallow their losses this time.
However, just when they were about to give up, they suddenly felt that the trend on the Internet had changed again.
First, new articles began to appear on various information platforms, combing through the Huayi incident from beginning to end in the form of industry revelations or entertainment gossip - of course, the stance was definitely not on Huayi's side.
Soon after, a number of "industry insiders" appeared on short video platforms, using professional analysis and other styles to bring Huayi's "tyrannical terms" back to the public's attention.
But this is only the first layer. Soon after, some "negative comments" about the movie "Eight Hundred" gradually appeared on the Internet, including but not limited to questioning the movie's plot, setting, and stance.
As one of the only two new movies released recently, "Eight Hundred" itself has been very popular and controversial. Now with the addition of a group of people fanning the flames, the public opinion field of the movie has become even more chaotic.
For a movie, not all popularity is positive. If the voices of doubt are too loud, it will still have a counterproductive effect.
Today's "Eight Hundred" has a bit of this meaning.
But this is not the end. Immediately after the movie, the third level of attack came again.
Seeing the event regain its popularity, many small cinema owners regained their confidence and began to question Huayi's "deposit clause".
As the voices of doubt expanded, some people began to question whether Huayi's purpose of asking cinemas to pay a deposit was really for what they said, "limiting box office theft", or to absorb funds in this way to make up for the company's capital loopholes.
Compared with the previous "customers bullying the store" and so on, the topic of funds and property of listed companies is very sensitive. Especially for a company like Huayi that has a "bad record", it is even more likely to be suspected.
Many netizens and investors began to check Huayi's financial reports, and then found that there seemed to be something wrong here.
Several consecutive years of losses have led to a year-on-year decrease in Huayi's company assets. At the same time, the company's two major shareholders, the big and small Wang brothers, have pledged more than 90% of their shares, and they have pledged them continuously.
Although it is not an outrageous operation for company shareholders to pledge shares in exchange for funds, such a large proportion of pledges for a long time still makes people wonder if there are any problems with the company's operations and capital.
After checking the company's first quarter and semi-annual reports this year, it was found that Huayi, as a non-physical film and television company, had worse performance and revenue than asset-heavy cinema companies. This shows that even without the sudden situation of influenza, the company's own operation is not very good.
As a result, coupled with the "fanning of flames" by various marketing accounts, Huayi's stock price is also a bit unstable.
If the previous online comments can be ignored, then Huayi cannot help but pay attention to the issue of stock prices.
There is no way, the stock market, or the financial industry, is the only industry where "my thinking power" is really useful.
Originally, Huayi's current business situation is a bit on the decline. If it continues to develop like this, it is very likely that there will be problems.
"Bang!"
In the office, Wang Zhonglei slammed the table and shouted to Liu Ge standing opposite: "How did you talk with Hengteng? How did it become like this?"
That was your own decision, and you stood them up. Liu Ge lowered his head and said secretly in his heart.
However, as a "qualified" subordinate, the first responsibility is to help the boss take the blame. So he did not refute, but said in a deep voice: "Sorry, Mr. Wang, it's my fault. I underestimated the strength of Heng Teng's counterattack."
Speaking of which, he was indeed a little confused. He knew that Heng Teng would definitely fight back against them, but he did not expect that the strength would be so great, and he also accurately found the weakest point on his side to attack.
Hearing Liu Ge "admitted" his mistake, Wang Zhonglei's face looked better. After thinking about it, he slowed down his tone and said: "Okay, it's meaningless to say whose fault it is now. Think about how to deal with it next."
"Or, let's talk to Heng Teng again?" Liu Ge asked in a low voice.
"Are you saying that we should ask for peace?" Wang Zhonglei stared at him and asked.
Liu Ge hurriedly explained: "It's not about asking for peace, but about eliminating misunderstandings between each other."
This sounded much more pleasant, and Wang Zhonglei continued: "Ask... after eliminating the misunderstanding? Don't forget, our main problem now is the doubt about the company's operating conditions."
The company is not my responsibility, what does it have to do with me. Liu Ge secretly complained, but continued: "I think that everyone's main doubts are not about the overall situation of the company. After all, the annual financial report is public, and the specific situation is clear. As long as there are new growth points, it will give everyone confidence."
Wang Zhonglei vaguely felt that this sentence seemed to be directed at him as the general manager, but he couldn't put it into words. Shaking his head, getting rid of this inexplicable emotion, he thought: "Are you talking about "Eight Hundred"? "
"Yes, "Eight Hundred" is now doing very well. It is guaranteed to be 20, and it is not impossible to rush to 30. With this result, it is enough to maintain everyone's confidence."
Wang Zhonglei thought about it and felt that what Liu Ge said was still reasonable.
"Okay, then you contact Heng Teng again and see if everyone can sit down and talk to clear up the misunderstanding."
"Uh, Mr. Wang, I think it would be more appropriate for you to go there in person."
"I have to go there in person..." Wang Zhonglei was about to refute, but then he thought of his current situation and said helplessly: "Okay, then you can make an appointment with Mr. Chen for me."
——
"...Mr. Chen, there seems to be some misunderstanding about the dispute between us last time. I hope you can give us a chance to explain."
Looking at the "peace request" message from Huayi, Chen Zhixi gave a straightforward reply-no see!
You guys took the initiative, and we wanted to solve the problem and put on that posture. Now that you see that you are at a disadvantage, you call this a "misunderstanding".
I misunderstood you!
Chen Zhixi obviously has the "small mind" that should be possessed by this age. He turned a deaf ear to Huayi's peace request and asked Li Mu to increase his efforts.
Huayi couldn't help it now. After all, he was once the leader of the industry. Now the tree has fallen but the prestige remains.
It is not your turn as a rising star to take advantage of it. If you can't find the flaws of your company, then start with the movie. It's just a war of public opinion by the Internet. Since you don't want to negotiate, then just go for it. Who is afraid of whom? So
almost overnight, the Internet was full of bad reviews about "The Name of the People
", nitpicking from all angles to prove that the movie was not good. However, what Huayi didn't expect was that before Heng Teng had any reaction, it was the audience of "The Name of the People" who stood up first.
Everyone paid real money to buy tickets to the cinema, so they all knew the quality of the movie. It's nonsense
to say that this movie is perfect and has no flaws, but it's impossible to say that there is nothing to recommend from beginning to end as these "bad reviews" say.
Especially those viewers who have recommended "The Name of the People" online before, their voices are even louder.
Your bad reviews are not denying the movie, but denying my aesthetics! If you use this nitpicking method to watch "Eight Hundred", there will be more loopholes.
With Huayi’s short essay from the past two days, everyone naturally understood that these negative reviews must have been created by people hired by competitors.
Heng Teng did not fight back immediately, but instead turned the offensive and began to emphasize that "The Name Is Right" was a low-budget production, without any big stars to support it, and without any say, so it would be discredited.
Most people always have innate sympathy for the "weak" party. Facing the unknown "The Name Is Right", it must be "The Eight Hundred" that is bullying.
So for a while, many netizens spontaneously began to attack "The Eight Hundred". They said they would use the same means to pick out their mistakes.
Seeing that this continued, both sides would be affected. At this point, the official finally couldn't sit still.
Only one day later, the Film Bureau personally stepped in and called Huayi and Heng Teng together to jointly negotiate the incident.
(End of this chapter)
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