While the relationships between actors may affect the presentation of the film, the biggest problem lies in the script.
In the script, most of the romantic scenes between Xiao Fengque and Xie An have been cut. It can be said that the complete romantic storyline in the original novel has been almost entirely removed in the film.
Even in the seventh installment, "Xiao Fengque: The Phoenix Returns to Its Nest," Xiao Fengque and Xie An still maintained a somewhat strained partnership, with an atmosphere of "it's better to die than to fall in love." Then, in the final installment, their romantic storyline suddenly accelerated, fast-forwarding to marriage and children—what's wrong with that? Anyone who didn't know better might think the director and screenwriter had developed a matchmaking addiction.
Yi Tianzhao originally wanted to ask Jiang Shang Nongchaosheng to helm the project, cutting all the romantic scenes in the final installment and having the two characters, who were not close to each other, go their separate ways. At least this would create a sense of closure and prevent the films from feeling too disjointed. However, after carefully studying the script, Yi Tianzhao realized that this was simply impossible.
No matter how much was cut in the earlier parts, it didn't significantly affect the plot. But in the final installment, the romantic storyline between Xiao Fengque and Xie An takes up a huge portion of the story; changing one part affects the whole narrative.
If the cuts in the previous installments were like getting a haircut or trimming your nails, then in the finale, if they wanted to completely remove the romantic storyline between the two characters, it would be like cutting off their limbs.
What's more, the happy ending was changed into an open ending. In the original novel, the characters were wealthy and had many children, and the young lovers lived happily ever after; but in your movie, they are all lonely and their enemies are extremely hostile to each other... Not to mention Yi Tianzhao, even the original author Jiang Shang Nongchaosheng will probably face a storm of public opinion.
Filming has progressed to the point where the supporting characters' storylines are almost complete, but the scenes between Xiao Fengque and Xie An haven't changed at all. Yi Tianzhao, with a bitter face, sent a message to Jiang Shang Nongchaosheng.
"Teacher Jiang, there are a few more questions about the script. Can we discuss them in person?"
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While Yi Tianzhao was worrying about the film, Shang Yechu and Ji Juntao were also worrying about the film.
The opening day box office figures for "The Mute Woman" are in.
1.66 million.
This number was undoubtedly quite dismal. Even though Shang Yechu had prepared herself mentally, her heart still skipped a beat when she saw the first day's box office statistics.
The film "The Mute Woman" had a 3% screen share in theaters, but its box office share was only 0.5% of the total box office of the day.
The average attendance per screening was pitifully low. Shang Yechu realized for the first time that a movie could have an average of only 0.9 viewers per screening—a story even more terrifying than simply buying a ticket and having the entire theater to herself!
The opening day box office is the peak, or even the pinnacle, of a film. If the opening day box office is this dismal, then it can only mean that the box office of "The Mute Woman" still has a lot of room to drop.
Shang Yechu did the math. The box office in the first three days of the movie was of utmost importance. Assuming that the box office could maintain 1.66 million yuan per day for the first three days, the box office in the first week... the box office after the National Day holiday... etc., because the box office was sluggish, the number of screenings in theaters would definitely be greatly reduced afterward. This calculation was still too optimistic.
Shang Yechu sadly discovered that Ji Juntao's dream of breaking even was almost over.
Ji Juntao's vision went black; on the other end of the phone, her voice sounded like it was about to burst into flames.
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