Chapter 49
The trailer for "Empress Wu Zetian" has been released.
Despite the negative reception of the show online, Yang Hui, a loyal fan of the band Eryuetian, watched it as soon as possible.
She came with a supportive attitude, but she didn't actually have high expectations for the show.
Consider it a trial run.
She thought.
However, after watching the trailer, she completely overturned her previous thoughts. Who said February Sky was just testing the waters? She clearly dropped a bombshell into the entertainment industry!
The trailer for "Empress Wu Zetian" was very short. Yang Hui watched it once but felt it wasn't enough, so she couldn't help but watch it again.
The paused video resumed playing, and after the three large ink-wash characters of the title "Wu Zetian" slowly faded from the screen, background music began to play. It was a eunuch loudly proclaiming an imperial edict in his slightly high-pitched voice.
"A woman from the Xuanwu clan enters the palace—"
As the eunuch's drawn-out voice faded, the fourteen-year-old Wu Zetian appeared on screen.
The film opens with a close-up shot.
The golden hairpins and jade hairpins, the towering high bun, stunned Yang Hui, who was watching from outside the screen, so much that her pupils dilated. What a beautiful face, what elegant and gorgeous clothes.
Even if she watched it again, she would still be shocked by this scene.
Before Yang Hui could remain in shock for long, the scene shifted dramatically after Wu Zetian received the imperial decree. The atmosphere instantly became tense, with Emperor Li Zhi confronting his uncle, the powerful and influential Changsun Wuji.
"My mind is made up; I will make Meiniang my empress!"
This is a common technique used in film and television editing: grafting.
The purpose was to mislead the audience, making them subconsciously connect the two scenes and thus generate the thought, "So the person who entered the palace was Emperor Li Zhi."
Yang Hui was the unsuspecting viewer.
She thought the emperor was quite handsome; at least he wasn't the middle-aged or elderly type often seen in movies and TV dramas, so it wasn't too unfair to the female lead.
The camera continued to flash by.
Wu Zetian became Empress, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian ascended the throne hand in hand, the two emperors ruled together, and finally Wu Zetian, dressed in a dragon robe, surveyed the entire court from above...
The trailer is only about forty seconds long.
This short trailer, just over forty seconds long, was edited by a dedicated team at Xilaidu, condensing the essence of the entire series, and is therefore packed with information.
The video finished playing quickly.
Yang Hui, however, was still immersed in the ultimate visual feast that the video brought her.
The trailer is nothing like the negative comments online. The high-definition and vibrant visuals are stunning. If the entire series is as good as the trailer, I can't imagine how happy she will be this summer.
Yang Hui turned off the video, still wanting more.
She didn't notice that the female lead was wearing a dragon robe in the last scene and was standing in the very center of Yingtian Gate, but some people did.
TK short video platform.
Lao Mao is a well-known blogger in the film and television section, and now has more than 4.8 million followers.
As soon as the summer dramas scheduled to air on the four major platforms were released, more than one fan left a message in his comment section, asking him to quickly make a video predicting who will be the champion of this year's summer drama season.
He wanted to satisfy his fans' requests, so he immediately watched the trailers as soon as they were released on the four major platforms.
The trailers for the other three were as he expected, but with this one, "Wu Zetian," he immediately noticed the female lead's final attire—it wasn't a phoenix robe but a dragon robe.
The dragon robe... its meaning is self-evident.
The old cat stared in disbelief: "!"
What a daring drama!
You should know that in the history of their Yu Kingdom, there has never been a precedent of a woman ascending to the throne. Have the screenwriter and director of this drama gone mad? Don't they know how much controversy this show will cause?!
Controversy is a headache for production companies.
Old Cat felt an excitement and tremor from the depths of his soul. He realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain followers, and if he seized it, he might have a chance to reach new heights.
He's been stuck at 4.8 million followers for a long time.
He knew that he had already absorbed most of the audience in the film and television sector. Unless he could create a video that broke through the existing audience and attracted the attention of people outside the industry, it would be extremely difficult for him to cross the five million mark.
Here comes the opportunity to break through the circle: the female emperor who ascended the throne in the feudal era. Isn't that an attractive topic?
Old Cat watched the trailer for "Empress Wu Zetian" over and over again. He even went to the official website of "Empress Wu Zetian" and found all sorts of behind-the-scenes photos. In short, he searched for everything he could find, just to gather more information for his article.
I didn't sleep a wink all night.
The next morning, Old Cat started recording a video while staring at his pair of dark circles under his eyes.
He doesn't need to show his face anyway, so his image isn't important. The most important thing is to finish making the video and release it as soon as possible, otherwise it would be bad if someone else beat him to it.
So, on the afternoon of the second day after the trailer for "Empress Wu Zetian" was released, it seemed that Lao Mao finally heard the fans' calls and released a video predicting the dark horse of the summer season.
The video content was quite unexpected for the fans.
The video begins in the same style as Lao Mao's, where he shows various trailers and gives brief comments. Up to this point, everything is normal.
The final prediction part, however, left fans completely astonished and exclaiming "Holy crap!"
In this section, Lao Mao focused on analyzing the trailer for "Empress Wu Zetian," saying that the female lead in "Empress Wu Zetian" eventually killed the emperor and ascended the throne herself.
He said this drama would be a dark horse in the summer season and another classic masterpiece that would revive the Xilaiduo video platform.
......
In short, his videos are full of praise.
As he predicted, his prediction video instantly propelled the drama "Wu Zetian" to the forefront of public opinion.
-Comed here because of its reputation.
-Let's take a look at the ascension of the first female emperor in the history of the Yu Kingdom [doge].
-I knew the actress looked familiar. Oh, it's Tang Ningshuang! Is there anyone who doesn't know her? She's practically a walking scandal. And now she dares to play an empress. She's got money to burn.
- TV dramas are basically just storytelling. What's wrong with the screenwriter creating a fictional female emperor? Why are there so many people with sensitive skin in the comments section?
-The crew must be crazy. There are basic rules to follow when making a TV series.
- I thought something major had happened. It's just an empress, why are you making such a fuss?
-Old Cat, let me tell you, you're just making easy money and taking advantage of others.
- You don't even need to look to know that it's all men who are vulnerable.
- You're boxing, right?
- A paradise for feminists.
- Haha, don't use feminism as a pretext for everything. That's how feminism has been tarnished.
- This is suspected to be the screenwriter's last fantasy before his death.
-I@￥@Y%R*&
......
Old Cat's video went viral.
He posted the video at 5 pm, and before midnight, the video had over 20,000 comments and tens of millions of views in no time. Clicking into his homepage, his number of followers was also increasing rapidly.
Thirty thousand followers, that's a gain of thirty thousand followers.
Old Cat, who had stayed up for a day and a night, was so excited that he couldn't sleep. He hadn't experienced the joy of gaining followers like crazy in a long time. It seemed that he had made the right bet this time, and five million followers were just around the corner!
Old Cat's video went viral, but the official website of the TV series "Empress Wu Zetian" was overwhelmed.
A few days ago, when Xilaiduo's TV series announced its release date and released its posters, netizens were simply pessimistic and regretful. However, after the official trailer was released yesterday, its reputation has actually improved slightly.
After all, the trailer for "Empress Wu Zetian" is indeed visually stunning, and the costumes and makeup of the characters are particularly innovative and beautiful.
Unfortunately, the slight increase in the TV series' reputation quickly collapsed after Lao Mao's video was released.
The netizens still have a bit of a rebellious streak. The more Lao Mao praised him, the less they believed him. Many people questioned in Lao Mao's comment section whether he was paid to do so, otherwise how could he exaggerate so much!
In addition, the fact that the female lead of this drama ascended the throne did touch on some people's sensitive points, so netizens flocked to the official website of the TV series to flood it with comments.
The comment section under "Empress Wu Zetian" is now a complete mess.
After Mao's video went viral overnight, it was pushed to more passersby the next day, and even topped the trending search list on DaYan. It successfully made countless netizens aware that there was a drama in which a woman ascended the throne.
Hahahaha!
This is outrageous; I don't even know where to begin complaining.
I don't usually watch bad shows, but I have to watch one that's this bad.
Take care of your eyes.
-She pulled a huge lump.
......
Passersby gathered to watch the spectacle, while a few extreme individuals directly sent private messages to hurl insults.
Zhou Xingyun saw the trending topic and called Xu Ying to complain: "I don't know what's wrong with that old cat. He's ruined the good reputation of the TV series. And I didn't give him a single penny, okay? Now everyone's saying we're in cahoots..."
He really ruined my life.
While listening to the phone call, Xu Ying opened the video that Zhou Xingyun had forwarded to her on her tablet.
In the video, Lao Mao's voice was very excited. It was clear that he was very excited when he was narrating "Wu Zetian". However, his tone was too excited, so much so that it became distorted and unreal. Xu Ying was momentarily confused. Was he really praising her or was he being sarcastic?
"This old cat is quite clever."
After watching the entire video, Xu Ying came to the conclusion that Lao Mao was a smart man.
She could already foresee that if the summer vacation ended and "Empress Wu Zetian" successfully topped the charts, Lao Mao would be a true prophet. And if "Empress Wu Zetian" continued to be a hit, he could change the subject and say that he actually had ulterior motives back then.
Without even reading the comments section, some people were confused and asking whether he was praising or criticizing!
Xu Ying expressed her opinion.
Zhou Xingyun on the other end remained silent for a moment, then watched the video again. The more she watched, the more she felt that Xu Ying was right. This old cat was too cunning. Listen to what he said:
"This marks a new chapter for Yuguo Film and Television; this drama is a milestone, a guiding light..."
A positive anode must be a negative cathode, and a negative cathode must be a positive anode.
The same applies to words; if you speak too definitively, it will sound sarcastic.
"This is absolutely shameless! Isn't he just using our drama to climb the ladder? Whether our show does well or badly, he's unlikely to be discredited, right?"
Zhou Xingyun was furious.
Xu Ying comforted her, "Don't be angry, isn't this great? We made the TV series famous without spending a penny."
"It would be better if this reputation didn't exist."
Zhou Xingyun sighed. The show hadn't even aired yet, and the criticism was already pouring in.
Even the production team had planned it all out. Tang Ningshuang's comment section was the most lively. Netizens are definitely more concerned about the actors in front of the camera than those behind the scenes. Tang Ningshuang and Du Jing are about to be criticized to the point of being ridiculed.
Especially Tang Ningshuang.
"I'll call Tang Ningshuang later and hope she won't be affected by public opinion."
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