Chapter 648 Film and Hearsay (Two chapters combined) The film employee is a veteran film critic.
As a film influencer with over five million followers on Weibo and over one million followers on Pixiv, Film Employee naturally keeps a close eye on film trends. She watches every new film released each month, then picks out a few that are of good quality or ridiculously bad to analyze or criticize.
The film market has been sluggish lately. November and December are typically slow months, with the box office shrinking. Several films, lacking any real appeal, are lukewarm at best, neither good nor bad. You can't bring yourself to praise them, and if you criticize them, nobody cares; the revenue isn't even enough to cover the electricity costs of making videos.
Ye Chu's "The Forest Without Flowers" has finally brought some life to the stagnant film market. While box office numbers may not be high, Ye Chu's star power guarantees plenty of buzz. The film is being shown in Taiwan, meaning most of Ye Chu's fans can't cross the strait to see it and can only learn about it through film critics. With a large number of die-hard and casual fans, and the inherent controversy and discussion surrounding LGBTQ+ films, a lucrative market awaits.
Film critics need to eat too. Traffic equals money.
And so, like many other film critics and influential figures, the film crew rushed to Taiwan immediately.
As a veteran film critic, she had some connections at the film studio and managed to get a seat at the premiere. Unfortunately, on the day of the premiere, just before arriving at the premiere's art-house theater, she spilled coffee on her clothes. After rushing to change, she arrived at the venue quite late.
The film crew felt the atmosphere on set was a bit strange.
Film premieres are attended by at least eighty to a hundred film critics. The time before the film actually starts is quite tedious. Monotonous speeches, pre-designed questions, celebrities taking photos, and the creators giving long-winded speeches. It's an assembly line process; she could recite it from memory.
Film critics aren't big shots; they get interviewed by reporters, and no celebrities come to greet them. During this pre-screening period, all film critics can do is wait. Wait for the film to officially start.
During this awkward period, film critics usually check their phones, chat with fans on Weibo or Pixiv, or take a photo and post it on Weibo or WeChat Moments: I've arrived at the premiere of XX, waiting for you to taste the film!
However, the atmosphere at the premiere of "The Forest Without Flowers" was quite different. Even though the film hadn't started playing yet, she felt... how to put it? Everyone in the audience seemed very excited.
Several familiar film critics were present, none of them on their phones. Instead, they were whispering amongst themselves, huddled together in twos and threes, discussing something. The gossip on their faces was evident even from a distance.
Writers often belittle each other, and film critics are no exception, each believing their own interpretation of a film is the best. It's rare to see such lively banter before a film's release. What could possibly bring these haughty, intellectuals together like this?
What's even stranger is that the reporters are all sweating profusely and their faces are flushed. Some are beaming with joy, some are excited, some are dejected, and some have dark faces, looking like they're about to smash their equipment.
What's wrong now? The movie hasn't even been released yet, has it? And the more formal post-screening interviews haven't even started...
The film employee was absolutely furious about that damn coffee. She was only fifteen minutes late, but it felt like she'd missed the whole world.
The film crew member looked around nervously, and finally couldn't hold back any longer. He pulled a long face and said to a film critic next to him, "Comrade, may I ask what's going on? Everyone seems a bit... restless?"
The film critic was a middle-aged, thin man who did not know the film staff, yet he showed no surprise whatsoever.
"Um," the middle-aged, thin man wiped his face, "didn't you check Weibo?"
"Huh?" The film editor was surprised. "The movie hasn't even been released yet, and it's already trending on social media?"
“It’s up there,” the middle-aged thin man said. “I can’t explain it to you in a few words. You’ll see for yourself when you go. I’ve seen everything in my life.”
The film crew member opened Weibo, and before even clicking on the trending topics, saw a video reposted to the homepage, the cover featuring Ye Chu and Yang Huanyi. He patted his pocket and muttered to himself: "Damn it, I forgot to take my earphones out of my pocket when I changed!"
In a public place, you can't exactly play music from your seat. The film employee glanced at the time; there was still some time, so he quickly headed to the restroom, intending to eat some melon seeds there.
As the employee entered the restroom stall, sat on the toilet, and turned on his phone, he heard the sound of heels clicking on the floor, followed by the sound of running water washing his hands.
Why would someone specifically come to the restroom to wash their hands before using the toilet? The film employee found it quite baffling. She couldn't be bothered with other people's business and was about to impatiently click on the video when she heard a slightly complaining voice:
"Ye Zi, you've rubbed all the powder off my neck."
The voice sounds somewhat familiar.
Su Ge's acting skills are notoriously bad, with many people criticizing her original voice acting. This voice, however, is very distinctive. The film crew member only needed two seconds to recall the memory.
Goodness, this means she can hear Su Ge's original soundtrack. The film production staff thought—
etc.
leaf.
leaf!
Besides Ye Chu, who else could Su Ge call like that?
Heavens! No way, could it be that she's incredibly lucky to bump into Ye Chu herself in this restroom? The film crew members were excited and forgot about the trending topic, listening intently to what Su Ge and Ye Chu were discussing.
Ye Chu and Su Ge have a good relationship. After the illegitimate daughter incident, Ye Chu neither kicked Su Ge when she was down nor severed ties with her. She even liked Qin Tianye's Weibo post speaking up for Su Ge. There were even photos of Su Ge visiting Ye Chu on the set of her drama "Tianjun". The film crew was also very curious about the private conversations between these two best friends.
The sound of running water washing hands stopped, and the film employee heard a somewhat indifferent, slightly hoarse voice: "Sorry, how about I fix it for you?"
It's definitely Ye Chu! The film crew member covered his mouth on the toilet to avoid screaming. Ye Chu's voice is very distinctive; she's used her own voice 100% of the time since her debut. It's just that it sounds a little hoarse today; maybe she's not used to the environment in Taiwan.
“I don’t want you to fix it,” Su Ge muttered. “Your makeup skills are far worse than mine. Let it be like this, anyway, no one is taking pictures of me.”
This topic is quite common. I just don't know why Ye Chu rubbed against Su Ge's neck. Did it happen during a hug?
"Yes, yes, my skills are far inferior to yours." Ye Chu hesitated for a moment. "Tangtang, if you don't act, why don't you try being a makeup artist? Having a job is better than staying at home."
The film crew members wore expressions as if they'd just eaten pickles. Ye Chu actually called Su Ge by her nickname in private. Even stranger, Ye Chu actually advised Su Ge to get a job. Given Su Ge's privileged status and terrible reputation, for Ye Chu to say something like that, it seems the two are quite good friends.
Su Ge said nonchalantly, "Makeup artists are so tired, and they have to take the blame for the artists. I'm not doing it."
Ye Chu paused for a moment, then said helplessly, "That's true."
Although the way they addressed each other was a bit too affectionate, the topic was quite casual. Just as the film employee had this thought in mind, Su Ge added:
"Ye Zi, do you not like that guy surnamed Cao?"
There's a melon.
The film crew immediately perked up their ears, quickly trying to recall any celebrities in the entertainment industry with the surname Cao. Several names came to mind, but none of them seemed to have any connection with Ye Chu.
Ye Chu's voice was calm: "We're all strangers, we've only met once, what's there to like or dislike?"
“But I can tell he doesn’t like you at all.” Su Ge’s voice was indignant. “Who is he trying to impress with that attitude? You ill-mannered thing… Teachers would never act like that.” When she mentioned “Teacher X”, her voice suddenly became very soft, and the film staff didn’t hear her clearly.
"It's alright," Ye Chu said. "We'll just ignore him."
Su Ge's voice became gossipy again: "But he and Yang Huanyi are quite a good match. I heard he's an investor in this movie. I thought he'd be bald and fat like my dad. I didn't expect him to be so handsome. Such a good face, wasted on a dog."
After a few seconds of silence, just when the film crew thought she was about to comment on Su Ge's taste, Ye Chu said, "They're a good match? Why do you think that?"
"They're a perfect match in height, looks, and age," Su Ge chuckled. "Although his character isn't great, he panics when Yang Huanyi frowns, so they seem to have a good relationship. And most importantly—guess what?"
"What is it?" Ye Chu and the film employee asked the same question at the same time, but one said it aloud and the other kept it to himself.
Su Ge exclaimed excitedly, "Their fates are perfectly matched! One is surnamed Yang, and the other is surnamed Cao. Sheep eat grass, doesn't that mean Yang Huanyi has him completely under her thumb? Yang Huanyi's name is Yi, and his name is Shi, Shiyi, Shiyi, even Heaven says they are a perfect match. Isn't this a match made in heaven?"
Film worker: "..."
Ye Chu: "..."
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