Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 448 Riding the coattails! Ning Hao becomes a big director? "Crazy Stone" versus "A World Without Thieves"?
"Mr. Ning Hao, how is 'Crazy Stone' different from its predecessor?"

"The story's setting is different now; we've moved to a big city!"

"Haha...that's Chongqing."

"Yes, this is it, it really is a big city. And the people of Chongqing are so warm and welcoming..."

"Thank you very much, Teacher Ning Hao..."

So you're directly calling him 'Teacher Ning Hao'?

What's the current situation with this guy?
On the television screen, Ning Hao is being interviewed by media from Chongqing.

This scene infuriated the Wang brothers!
Because this isn't right!

What's up with Ning Hao?
He's only made a few films!

But now he's being treated like a big director. Look at his demeanor, and the reporters interviewing him, calling him "teacher" over and over again.

I bother!

The Wang brothers immediately took action, gathering everyone they could.

Now that "A World Without Thieves" has entered the promotion and distribution stage, it's normal to invite everyone to come and discuss it.

As a result, Feng Xiaogang, Chen Guofu, and several other old acquaintances came to Huayi Company.

Upon everyone's arrival, the Wang brothers naturally exchanged pleasantries with them first.

Then they got straight to the point.

"Everyone! Please watch this interview video first..."

Soon, Ning Hao's large face appeared before the bosses, as well as Feng Xiaogang and Chen Guofu.

There were more than one interview, and naturally, more than one video.

Anyone with even a modicum of logical thinking will easily notice that all of Ning Hao's videos highlight one key word.

A great director!
Clearly, this is the message these videos are trying to convey.

But if Ning Hao has become a great director, what about Feng Xiaogang?
It's true that our little cannon is now showing the makings of a Lunar New Year film king. After watching these videos, he had only one reaction.

Smile.

No words were spoken.

However, although the smile was slight, it still produced a sound, which clearly carried disdain.

With Feng Xiaogang's behavior, the big bosses present, including Chen Guofu, naturally understood what he meant.

The Wang brothers simply continued to comment on Feng Xiaogang's performance.

"Everyone! I don't think I need to explain this to you. Our biggest competitor this Lunar New Year film season is Ning Hao's 'Crazy Stone.' Let's talk about this movie. It's absolutely a nonsensical piece of junk."

"That's right! He actually dared to challenge our Teacher Feng, and look at his performance right now, what is he! Him? A big director, indeed! Humph!"

Alright, these two have really livened up the atmosphere. And, glancing furtively at Feng Xiaogang, although our king of the Lunar New Year films didn't explicitly say anything, he subtly nodded in agreement.

A slight movement is enough.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xinming frowned. "But I remember this director Ning Hao; his previous works did quite well at the box office."

His words drew strange looks from the crowd.

Yes, you're right, but that's not the point right now!

Qin Hong spoke up, "Boss Zhang, Ning Hao has only made a few films, how can he be qualified to be called 'teacher'!"

He went a bit too far, but the point is valid.

In any circle, status and position matter. Although Ning Hao's first movie did very well at the box office, this is only his second one.

Looking at these videos again, he has the air of a big director.

That's absolutely infuriating!
Some people are smart enough to see more problems.

Thirteen Young Master's face grew increasingly pale, but he had to attend Huayi Brothers' "A World Without Thieves," since they were all involved.

He coughed and said, "I think someone is benefiting from Ning Hao's behavior. They're making him act this way on purpose. I heard he's a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, so he can't possibly be unaware of the rules of the director's circle."

That hits the nail on the head.

So, who made him do that?

"Ma Xun! It must be him!" Qin Hong was seething with hatred again.

Everyone nodded.

Since we agree on this, let's continue the deduction.

Thirteen said, "In my opinion, Ma Xun did this with one intention: to put these two films on the same timeline. What I'm saying is..."

He was about to explain, but everyone just nodded.

"We understand what you mean."

"Young Master Thirteen is right!"

"Originally, we in 'A World Without Thieves' had no rivals at all!"

"That's right, Ning Hao is so flamboyant, always putting on airs like a big director, he definitely wants many movie fans to think that way!"

Surprisingly, these guys guessed the key!
Yes, Ning Hao's actions were a kind of hint.

I'm a great director, and Feng Xiaogang is a great director too. Our movies are being released one after the other... Movie fans, what do you think?

Originally, the two films weren't really in competition, but now they're easily put side by side.

The problem is that this actually elevates the status of "Crazy Stone"!

Two films that were originally incomparable can now be compared, which is definitely beneficial to this 'stone'.

Now that everyone understands, here's the question.

"Everyone, do you have any countermeasures?"

The Wang brothers simply raised the issue directly this time.

It may seem irresponsible, but in reality, all the bosses know what's going on.

Someone will surely come up with a good solution.

In fact, there are only two kinds of countermeasures.

One option is to pretend we didn't see it and just proceed as planned. After all, Feng Xiaogang is the king of the Lunar New Year film season, and this movie is of excellent quality; we're sure to win.

But I didn't see this one, it's really sneaky.

The other option is to do the opposite: fight the other side!
Didn't you, Ning Hao, want to put the two movies together?

Okay! I'll grant your request!
And taking Feng Xiaogang's "A World Without Thieves" as an example, these bosses are confident of winning!
Or rather, we were destined to win anyway!

However, this essentially gave Ma Xun the upper hand, and also helped elevate the status of "Crazy Stone." So, while this move seemed shrewd, it wouldn't be wrong to say that they fell for Ma Xun's trick.

These are roughly the two methods.

Which one should I choose?
Everyone looked at one person, Chen Guofu.

Actually, the fact that "A World Without Thieves" was able to be made is largely due to Chen Guofu.

This guy is smart; he's really quite capable.

Putting aside the fact that he introduced Milk Tea to the film, the fact that this movie was able to pass censorship smoothly was also because Chen Guofu persuaded Feng Xiaogang.

The idea was to get Feng Xiaogang to reconcile with Wang Shuo, so that Wang Shuo would help him out.

And it actually worked!
The reason for the film "A World Without Thieves" being reviewed is that, although the two thieves did good deeds, they are still thieves after all.

Gotta die!

The bureau's rectification plan was that the offender must die; otherwise, the application would not be approved.

But this won't do!

If they all die, how can the audience accept it?

Because these two thieves have already changed for the better.

They did protect Shagen.

How can this be resolved?
Wang Shuo is indeed quite clever; he offered a clever little trick.

Get this female thief pregnant!
The female thief isn't described much in the novel; she doesn't die in the end, but it's not mentioned that she's pregnant either.

Actually, this novel is quite short.

And so it was changed.

Wow, it actually passed the review!
The Wang brothers and Feng Xiaogang were naturally very happy, and Chen Guofu deserved the most credit for this!
Now, all the bosses have figured it out.

Chen Guofu must be someone the Wang brothers rely on very much; calling him a strategist wouldn't be wrong.

Okay, let's see what he has to say.

really!

"Bosses, Mr. Feng, now we all see through Ma Xun's methods. This guy is just trying to cause trouble for us! I believe he doesn't think his 'Stone' will beat our 'A World Without Thieves' either."

in this case……

We should seize this opportunity! Why don't we just be upfront about it?

They're clearly determined to completely defeat this "Stone"!

Huh? He chose this?
The bosses remained silent; they felt it was a acceptable option.

But some people couldn't resist anymore.

“Chen Sheng,” the Thirteenth Young Master spoke up, “we really don’t need to fight like this, why bother with such a petty argument?”

Upon hearing this, Chen Guofu laughed.

"You can't look at it that way. This isn't a battle of egos. Besides, you have to understand that even if we don't do anything, Ma Xun will definitely have ways to make these two movies be compared side by side!"

Ah this...

Upon hearing this, everyone realized that Chen Guofu was indeed more skilled.

Just then, someone came and whispered a few words to the Wang brothers.

The Wang brothers' expressions turned very strange after hearing this, and then they said a few more words to Feng Xiaogang.

Feng Xiaogang's expression also looked strange.

But in the end, Feng Xiaogang still smiled, and he even smiled specifically at Chen Guofu.

"Mr. Chen, you were absolutely right! Ma Xun has launched an attack on us!"

An attack? What did that guy do?
When everyone was puzzled, Feng Xiaogang revealed the answer.

"He invited us to the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival!"

Oh, in an instant, everyone understood!

Yes, this film festival can be used for promotion, or even for a premiere.

The opening film, you know.

But what if "A World Without Thieves" and "Crazy Stone" appeared together at this film festival...?

They're right here together!
Then, coupled with Ning Hao's current practice of giving interviews everywhere, acting like a big director.

Hey! Anyone would agree that this movie is a formidable competitor!

Ma Xun's main strategy is to piggyback on others' fame!

But you can't avoid his shoving!

The bosses all looked grim, but Chen Guofu laughed and said, "Alright! Let's go to the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival!"

They're really going to clash!
……

Sanya.

"Boss, I've been..."

"Are you cool?"

"It feels great! But I haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Look at you!"

"Yes, I'm a complete mess, I know, sigh..."

Ning Hao was preparing to participate in the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, but he was really uneasy.

But what about Ma Xun's side?

He was extremely confident, especially after the latest news arrived.

"A World Without Thieves" will also be participating in this film festival!

Of course, it will be shown as a film in an exhibition.

However, it certainly won't be that simple.

Ma Xun laughed and said, "You'll see how powerful it is in a moment."

"Huh?" Ning Hao was dumbfounded.

What exactly makes it so powerful?

Not long after, just before the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, a bunch of articles criticizing Ning Hao appeared!
(End of this chapter)