"According to the relevant opinions of the review committee... the film 'The Richest Man in Xihong City' contains several scenes showing off one's wealth in an explicit manner. Considering that this may violate social order and morality and seriously affect the values of the audience, we require you to make appropriate revisions and edits and submit them to the guild's review committee for re-examination within seven days."
"According to the relevant provisions of the Film Association's review regulations, if you obtain a joint nomination from three standing committee members, you can also file an appeal..."
…
Just four days after the acquisition was quietly underway, DreamWorks received a formal letter from the film industry association.
"The Richest Man in Xihong City" failed the initial review.
To be more precise, it was not fully passed.
Need to change.
In the office, Lu Hao looked at the letter written in black and white, shook his head and smiled.
A bit unexpected.
But it's not very surprising.
I was mentally prepared.
The film guild in this world is completely different from what he imagined. It is not an official organization in the full sense of the word, but an industry internal association composed of all film companies, theater organizations, and a public jury.
Any film company can become a member of the Film Guild as long as it applies.
DreamWorks, of course, also has some seats.
The film review process also follows a democratic voting system.
The Audit Committee randomly selects nine members to form an audit team to issue an audit opinion.
Under normal circumstances, as long as five votes are passed, it can be considered to have passed the review.
Of course, the various rules, unspoken rules, and intricacies involved are extremely complicated and outsiders simply cannot understand them.
This also means that there is a lot of room for maneuver.
To put it bluntly, it’s still a question of discourse power.
It's easy to guess that the reason this kind of review opinion was issued must be because Star Sky Film and Television were behind it.
Star Sky Films is a huge company with influence penetrating every aspect of the film and television industry.
Although there is no way to directly kill this movie, it is entirely feasible to tamper with it and influence the review opinion.
They don't have to do a lot.
First of all, it affects the quality of the film.
Many highlight shots, which are full of visual impact, would definitely affect the quality if they were deleted.
For example, in "The Richest Man in Xihong City", the scene where the protagonist stands on the mountain of money is a classic shot and also the main shot. Whether it is modified or deleted, the impact will be huge.
Secondly, it delays time.
There is less than a month left until the Spring Festival. If the film fails the review, it will be like a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, and we will not be able to carry out the promotion and marketing normally.
After all, if the publicity and promotion is too big, but it fails to pass the review in the end and cannot be released as scheduled, it would be too embarrassing and tragic.
…
The office door was gently pushed open.
Chu Wen walked in expressionlessly, glanced at Lu Hao, and forced a smile.
She already knew the review opinion.
In fact, she has much more experience in this area than Lu Hao. In order to pass the review for her previous two films, she had to deal with the film guild a lot.
"Have you got a meal yet?"
After pouring a glass of water, Chu Wen asked softly.
"Not yet. Not very hungry."
Lu Hao said with a smile, looking very relaxed. He looked at her, thought for a moment, and said, "Just say whatever you want to say."
"I asked someone, and the two people who contributed the most to this review opinion are Song Ge and Wang Libo. They are both behind Star Films."
"Song Ge is a veteran in the industry, and Wang Libo is a senior executive at Starry Sky Films, specifically the vice president in charge of public relations. Both of them have considerable influence within the guild."
"In the review meeting, three people abstained from voting, which was the main reason why it did not pass the review."
Chu Wen carefully considered her tone and spoke with a slightly serious expression.
Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes.
There were censorship issues with her movies before, and they were really explicit.
The review committee makes fair decisions based on personal aesthetics, ideology and values, and on the premise of fairness.
But this time, things are very different.
It's much worse than my own situation.
The struggle for discourse power between DreamWorks and Star Pictures seems to be already on the table.
It would have been fine if it was a democratic review and no one was leading the discussion, but Star Pictures did lead the discussion and DreamWorks did not have any corresponding countermeasures. It was like someone punched you hard and you couldn't fight back.
It is normal for centrists who cannot see the situation clearly for the time being to abstain from voting.
After all, for them personally, Star Pictures is a behemoth that they cannot afford to offend, and DreamWorks is also a rising star that is showing its brilliance.
"I see."
Hearing Chu Wen's words, Lu Hao smiled and asked, "Then what?"
The acquisition was carried out in secret. It was not appropriate to publicize this kind of thing. Even Chu Wen was not aware of it.
In fact, when Lu Hao first saw this document, his first reaction was that among the three goals, he chose to acquire Star Cinema's shares. This move was indeed the right one.
The opponent's punch was quite powerful.
However, they probably don't know that I am already planning to blow their ass up.
Big companies have the advantages of being big, powerful and strong.
But small companies also have advantages: speed, accuracy and ruthlessness.
"Then?"
"Then... PR, what else can I do..."
"Maybe you have to step in. It's almost Chinese New Year, right? Go and work on your connections, find someone to mediate. The Spring Festival holiday is coming up soon, and the film guild won't really cut off anyone's financial resources. You still have to consider the overall situation."
"Even if it's Starry Sky Films, they're just messing around. If 'The Richest Man in Xihong City' really can't be released, there's going to be a huge mess. They're not the only one in the guild. If everyone does this, we won't be able to play anymore."
Public relations means giving in.
Chu Wen said with a hint of helplessness.
This is the rule of the game in this circle. If you want to stand out, there will definitely be people who suppress you, but if they can't suppress you, they will pull you in to play together.
When you are not awesome enough, you have to be humble and behave yourself.
Not to mention licking the boots of all the big guys, at least you have to make appropriate concessions, negotiate terms, and make money. Everyone has been through this.
"What if I don't want to give in?"
A classic scene and lines popped up in his mind. Lu Hao lit a cigarette, exhaled a long puff of smoke, and had a half-smile on his face.
Chu Wen seemed not surprised by his answer at all. She supported her head with one arm and stared at Lu Hao with light in her eyes.
"Then I won't give in."
"If they want to fight, then let them fight!"
"Anyway, we are still young. We can outlast them."
Chu Wen spoke in a relaxed tone and had a bright smile.
Lu Hao: ...
speechless.
Why don't you speak according to the routine?
Can't respond.
I also want to say the classic line "I want to stand and make money" in a domineering manner...
…
…
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
