Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 742 Jing Tian is Jealous? "Warring States" and "Laughing" are listed side-by-side!
"Oh? I heard someone outside say that it's going to surpass Avatar? Hahaha... That's quite ambitious!"

After Zhang Zhao finished introducing the story of "The Laughing Swordsman," the unassuming middle-aged man began to speak with a smile.

Actually, everyone in our little group knows who this guy is.

It's Taiwanese director Zhu Yanping.

First of all, Taiwanese films are indeed very good, having produced many excellent directors, such as Hou Hsiao-hsien, Ann Lee, Edward Yang, and so on. Su Zhaobin, who is often criticized by Ma Xun, can also be considered one.

Ma Xun criticized Su Zhaobin because he does have some flaws, but this guy is really not weak either; "Double Vision" is indeed a very impressive film.

However, when it comes to directors from Taiwan, whether from a commercial or award-winning perspective, let's just talk about the small island of Taiwan.

Zhu Yanping is actually the number one!

I'm sure many people would disagree with this statement, but in Taiwan, whether it's business owners, movie fans, or anyone else, they would all think this way.

Just hearing this name, mainland movie fans might not know who this guy is, but if you mention some of his movies, everyone will instantly recognize him.

The entire "Oolong Courtyard" series, "Island of Fire"... and so on.

These movies were incredibly successful at the box office in Taiwan, and they were actually made later than his earlier, more successful films.

Zhu Yanping truly deserves the title of the island's top director.

But in recent years... well, in Ma Xun's eyes, this guy is really doomed.

But in other people's eyes, look at him, he can still take pictures, can't he?

The reason I say this is because his films in recent years are like this: "Kung Fu Dunk" in 08 and "The Treasure Hunter" last year.

Yes, those two movies were absolutely awful!

However, don't forget that in the eyes of capital and the gang behind him (this Zhu guy is the director of the Zhu Lian Gang), this Director Zhu is still very profitable.

The reason this movie is so bad yet still makes money is because of Jay Chou.

These thoughts flashed through Ma Xun's mind in an instant, and the island's top director was now chatting with these bosses in a very江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) manner.

In fact, many people are unaware of the behavior of Taiwanese directors and even some artists. They are often very江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry), and some are even hooligans or delinquents.

Now, this renowned director from the island has finally come before Ma Xun.

"Mr. Ma, I've heard so much about you."

"Director Zhu, I've heard so much about you."

However, in this situation, the proper etiquette still had to be observed. Although Ma Xun didn't particularly like this Director Zhu, he was well aware that the guy had considerable influence behind him.

The two quickly exchanged a few words, but Director Zhu's arrogant demeanor could no longer be contained.

"Mr. Ma, I've long heard that you're the number one figure in the mainland entertainment industry. Meeting you today, I can see that you are indeed extraordinary. You're young, handsome, and incredibly wealthy."

But I'd like to ask you your opinion on this year's Lunar New Year film season: which is better, 'The Warring States' or our 'The Laughing Swordsman'?

Hey! This guy puts this movie on the same level as "The Warring States".

It's important to know that "The Warring States" is a top-tier production in the entertainment industry, with a substantial investment of funds and resources.

What's so great about your "The Laughing Swordsman"?
There was a little Shen... well, to be fair, there were quite a few celebrities, like Zeng Zhiwei, Sun Xing, and Uncle Benshan's Zhao Family Class, all of them who could come, and this Lin Xilei too.

However, it's obvious that the amount of money invested is not much!

This money, of course, refers to the money other than the star's salary.

But Ma Xun couldn't say this directly, and besides, given Director Zhu's positioning of his film... was it grouped with "The Warring States"?

Two terrible movies?
Well, he's the director himself, so he certainly wouldn't say his own movie is bad.

In addition, to be fair, "The Laughing Swordsman" can't really be considered a bad movie. It's a comedy, and from the perspective of a comedy, it just needs to make people laugh. And this movie has accomplished that task very well.
Moreover, many classic memes are still circulating online more than a decade later. For example, Uncle Benshan borrowed a classic line from Star Wars, which his apprentice translated as: "Did you understand? Don't be too presumptuous, it's useless!"

But Ma Xun knew perfectly well that this film had indeed been met with a barrage of criticism after its release, and had been branded as a terrible movie.

That being the case...

"Indeed! I heard that Zhao Benshan's troupe has joined the film, and with Hong Kong stars like Ms. Lin Xilei also participating, 'The Laughing Swordsman' is definitely a blockbuster!"

"Great!" Upon hearing this, Zhu Yanping burst into laughter!
But can anyone else be happy with this laugh?

Jing Tian frowned. "Director Zhu, didn't you use toilet paper mummies to fool people in last year's 'The Treasure Hunter'? Are you going to repeat the same mistake this time?"

Hey! That's a really spot-on comment!
Jing Tian came alone today. Actually, Mr. Lu should have come, but he had something to do, and Ma Xun was there, so it was fine for her to come alone.

Even if you come alone, you still have to maintain a strong presence; in fact, the more alone you are, the more important it is to project a powerful aura.

Although Jing Tian was young, she understood these things, so she directly confronted Director Zhu.

As for "The Treasure Hunter"... you're absolutely right!

Director Zhu's film is a complete shoddy production. It's supposed to be a tomb raiding movie, but it tries to piggyback on the popularity of "Ghost Blows Out the Light." However, the zombies wrapped in white cloth that appear in the movie are actually mummies. How did they end up in the desert of China?
But that's how they filmed it, and it was so poorly made—they just used rolls of toilet paper as a white cloth.

This is amazing!

Not only are the props poorly made, but the plot is also unwatchable; it's a complete load of bullshit.

After its release, almost everyone criticized it; those who bought tickets to see Jay Chou all said they felt cheated.

Moreover, this movie also features Zhiling and Uncle Daoming... I guess this movie is a major stain on Uncle Daoming's artistic career.

It currently has a rating of just over 3 on Douban, which shows just how terrible this movie is.

Even Jay Chou's fans couldn't save him.

Jing Tian is now directly mentioning this "blockbuster" and even bluntly saying that Director Zhu is fooling people, which is indeed quite harsh.

"You, you..." Director Zhu was momentarily speechless.

After all, Jing Tian is backed by Wanda now, and Zhu Yanping knows this too.

Ma Xun watched this scene with a serious expression, partly because he felt Jing Tian had gone too far, and partly because he was holding back.

Because it's funny. Actually, Jing Tian is just copying Ma Xun, after all, Ma Xun has previously criticized quite a few big directors.

Of course, someone will step in to mediate this situation.

"The past is the past, and the present is the present. Besides, which director hasn't made a mistake? Even Zhang Yimou has made some films that were neither critically acclaimed nor commercially successful."

Zhang Zhao is something else; this statement is tantamount to bringing up Zhang Yimou again.

So how do others respond?

Ma Xun secretly gave Jing Tian a hand gesture, then he said with a smile, "Brother Zhang is right! I can say here that I have high hopes for this film, 'The Laughing Swordsman'."

So let's just leave it at that: let's make "The Laughing Swordsman," "The Warring States," and "Aftershock" all be blockbusters.

"We'll promote it like a blockbuster film, and we can give way to our other films."

To be honest, everyone was delighted when Ma Xun said that, except for Jing Tian.

However, Jing Tian knew that Ma Xun definitely had a plan, so he didn't say anything more.

Zhu Yanping was naturally very happy to hear Ma Xun say that.

"Haha... Mr. Ma really knows his stuff!"

But is that really the case?

……

This small meeting is a gathering of various forces to discuss things beforehand, so that we don't end up competing too fiercely like before, which makes things awkward and unpleasant.

However, it can also make decisions about some things.

For example, what aspects should we focus on in terms of publicity and distribution, and also in terms of cinema chains... Don't forget, we now have Wanda, which is not considered a state-run cinema chain.

In the past, people would definitely listen to Han Sanping or Ren Zhonglun, one from the Beijing circle and the other from the Shanghai circle.

But now that there's a strong third party involved, it's perfectly fine for everyone to have a discussion.

This is a transformation, but within this transformation...

"My dear Mr. Ma, you wouldn't be promoting 'The Laughing Swordsman' to blockbuster status just to give me face, would you?"

It was Lin Xilei who spoke, and shortly after, she found an opportunity to get into Ma Xun's car.

Since Ma Xun had already been with this last sexy beauty of Hong Kong cinema, he was naturally more able to control himself now.

"If that's what you want to be happy about, then I'll be giving you face."

This……

Lin Xilei couldn't help but frown. "Could this be considered playing me for a fool... and now you're repaying the favor?"

She didn't mention repaying the debt; this woman has good emotional intelligence.

Ma Xun laughed and said, "I've been with plenty of women, you're not that amazing. You just gave me a taste of Brother Hao Nan's pleasure."

That was such a hurtful remark that Lin Xilei couldn't help but reach out her hand.

Unfortunately, Ma Xun grabbed him instantly, and then his other hand came up...

Hey~ you...

Lin Xilei frowned, clearly unable to handle the man in front of her.

As for what happens next... let it happen as soon as possible.

Clearly, Lin Xilei seemed to be unable to forget that night.

Ma Xun, however, did not meet her expectations. He only teased her a few times before letting her go.

"Didn't you say you were retiring from acting?"

"This movie was filmed before I told you about it."

"Oh, no wonder."

"So……"

"Want me to fuck you?"

"Hmph! Vulgar."

"The first character is fine, but the rest..."

"You~"

Lin Xilei was now somewhat reluctant, but...
Ma Xun suddenly pushed her away, saying, "Stop thinking about it. You should worry about something else."

"What do you mean?" Lin Xilei seemed to have been jolted awake.

Ma Xun laughed and said, "I even pushed this terrible movie, 'The Laughing Swordsman,' onto the list, so what do you say..."

"Huh? A bad movie?" Lin Xilei was surprised, but... she quickly asked, "What exactly do you mean?"

Ma Xun whispered a few words to her, and then Lin Xilei smiled and left his car.

"You know, those young girls are getting impatient waiting for you!"

Who is the young girl?
Needless to say, it's Jing Tian, ​​of course.

"You...you slept with her?"

"Why are you jealous?"

"Humph!"

Jing Tian pouted, and Ma Xun simply drove off... to get away from here first, and then deal with her!
(End of this chapter)