This director is vindictive.

Chapter 340: A remake? A reskin? No, this is Chen Mo's "nostalgia-driven butcher's knife."

The roar of the crowd on both sides of the red carpet almost lifted the night sky.

As Chen Mo's emotional voice faded, a middle-aged male fan wearing a baseball cap in the front row suddenly held up a yellowed DVD cover of "Love is Not Blind," a limited edition of Chen Mo's directorial debut in 2011.

The edges of the cover were worn and frayed, and the original premiere ticket stub was still tucked inside the transparent protective bag.

This gesture ignited the entire venue like a secret signal, and instantly more longtime fans raised up their treasured merchandise!
"Twelve years! From pirated DVDs to IMAX, I can finally stand tall and say 'This is the director I made famous!'" The male fan roared, veins bulging, and the crowd behind him echoed the sentiment: "Chen Mo is awesome!"

This scene brought tears to Chen Mo's eyes, a rare occurrence for him.

He took the marker from the staff and squatted down on the red carpet to start signing autographs.

As his pen traced the lines of those old objects that bore the marks of time, he suddenly looked up: "There's a line in 'Sunny'—'Time is a butcher's knife, but sisters are a whetstone.' Today I want to change that..."

As his fans held their breath, he smiled and patted a male fan on the shoulder: "Life is a marathon, and you are the supply stations along the way."

On the other side, several dozen meters away, Yang Mi was awestruck by the sheer scale of the "bee" formation—

Fans used glow sticks to create a gradient poster of her career's representative works, from the Qing Dynasty headdress in "Palace" to the flowing white gauze in "Eternal Love", and finally settling on her look in "Sunny Sisters".

As Yang Mi approached, the entire group suddenly switched on their phones, playing behind-the-scenes footage of her bloopers from twelve years ago on the set of "Chinese Paladin 3." In the blurry video, a 22-year-old Yang Mi flashed a V-sign at the camera, saying, "Always be an actress that makes my fans proud!"

"Is it still now?" the fan club leader cried out, his voice trembling with emotion.

Yang Mi grabbed the microphone: "Yes! I'll be troubling you all again for the next twelve years! I love you all!"

"We love you too!" the fan group shouted in unison!

Zhao Liying's "Baozi Army" turned fan support into performance art.

Thirty fans cosplayed as her classic characters: Hua Qiangu holding a sugar doll, Sheng Minglan holding a teacup, and even a male fan dressed up as Xue Shanshan, the foodie from "Boss & Me," wearing a "Zhao Liying's style" lunchbox necklace.

As Zhao Liying smiled and accepted the steamed bun-shaped support light, a fan suddenly pulled out a steaming hot meat bun from their pocket as if by magic: "You need to eat your fill to have the energy to break the record!"

And Fan Binbin's "popsicle" formation.

Five hundred people, all wearing bright red lipstick and silk scarves with dragon robe patterns, suddenly turned around when Fan Binbin walked in high heels—the prints behind her formed the classic dragon robe image from her Cannes red carpet appearance.

The fan club president presented a custom-made folding fan, which unfolded to reveal a line from the TV series "The Empress of China": "I will give you half of my empire."

Fan Binbin raised an eyebrow and smiled, then lightly lifted the chairman's chin with his fan: "Rise, my subject. Tonight's box office rankings—I want to see Wu Zetian ascend the throne."

The most surprising thing was probably the formation of Liu Yifei's "fans".

Liu Yifei's "fans" group takes a healing approach.

Fans held up light boards with stills from the TV series "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils". When Liu Yifei approached, the crowd parted like Moses parting the sea to make way for her. At the end of the way were three elderly fans in wheelchairs, the oldest of whom was 78 years old.

"My granddaughter was born the year Wang Yuyan aired."

The old lady tremblingly handed over a cross-stitch embroidered with the image of Little Dragon Girl, saying, "Now my great-granddaughter calls me 'Fairy Sister'." Liu Yifei immediately squatted down and hugged the old lady, the flashbulbs shining brightly like daytime.

Then Gao Yuanyuan, Zhang Yuqi
Media professionals and film critics alike were utterly astonished by what they witnessed.

It should be said that this is roughly the ceiling for the promotion and distribution of domestic films.

They had never seen a more exaggerated publicity effect.

When the seven sisters finally gathered in front of the autograph wall, Chen Mo looked at the sea of ​​fans and suddenly laughed: "Now you believe me, right? What we filmed wasn't a movie—"

Yang Mi chimed in: "It's a ticket to the return of youth!"

The seven girls simultaneously tossed their markers into the air, and the large screen behind them suddenly lit up with the main feature: the teenage girls laughing wildly in the rain.

A veteran media professional, watching this scene, quietly pressed the send button: "Breaking! Premiere turns into a large-scale youth festival: When 30+ female stars and middle-aged fans flock to the event, we finally see the truth about so-called 'traffic' - it's not a data bubble, but amber that has been precipitated by time."

The premiere scene.

This time, the first row was completely taken over by the lead actors.

Many media professionals jokingly remarked that this time, "Sunny Sisters" had directly and authoritatively certified the most popular young actress in the entertainment industry!
After all, the main cast and supporting roles together number more than 20 young actresses from the entertainment industry.

Meanwhile, many film critics are also sharpening their knives!

You could say that no matter how good your marketing and promotion are, ultimately it's the movie that matters!

Although the previous wave of public opinion did seem to be directed at Chen Mo, it must be said that those so-called "seven deadly sins" were not just nonsense!
If the quality of a film fails to match the hype and publicity it generates, the backlash will be amplified.

Zhou Xiaobin and Bai Yue, two old friends, traveled together once again.

"Chen Mo and his sisterhood have an incredible influence!" Zhou Xiaobin exclaimed in amazement.

"Of course! I doubt you could find anything in the entire entertainment industry that could be replicated." Bai Yue nodded.

They have all witnessed the madness of Chen Mo's fans and her sister group's fans.

“However, ‘Sunny Sisters’ is not an easy movie to make! Do you think this movie will become Chen Mo’s Waterloo? I’m talking about its reputation,” Bai Yue asked again.

"It's hard to say, we'll know after we see it. But to be honest, I'm worried for Chen Mo. A lot of people want to see him fail, as you can see from the previous public opinion." Zhou Xiaobin said, looking at Chen Mo who was speaking eloquently on stage.

They can be said to have witnessed Chen Mo's rise from obscurity to become the top director in Chinese entertainment films.

In fact, just as they thought.

Immediately, I heard my colleagues in the back row discussing it as well.

"The publicity was indeed top-notch, but to be honest, I can't wait to see Chen Mo's downfall!" said a fellow film critic sitting behind them.

"That's right, a movie still has to rely on its content to speak for itself! Fan support isn't everything! It's hard to guarantee a big box office with just fan support, let alone a good reputation," another person said.

"Tsk tsk, she is indeed very beautiful. It's a pity that movies can't be made by simply piling up stars. Otherwise, they wouldn't need to cast every film; they could just bring in big-name stars!"

Bai Yue and Zhou Xiaobin exchanged a glance after hearing this and couldn't help but sigh.

"Perhaps this is the price of being willful!" Zhou Xiaobin said with a smile.

“He has the right to be willful. Even if the content of this movie is not good, I think it must have been filmed very ‘beautifully’!” Bai Yue said leisurely.

To put it bluntly, Chen Mo has a very deep foundation.

Despite the claims that many people want to see Chen Mo fail, in reality, even if "Sunny Sisters" receives poor reviews, it won't have a significant impact on Chen Mo.

As Chen Mo had said before, this movie was originally a "whimsical" and "hobby" project.

This is something everyone knows, after all, if it weren't just a hobby, how could the main characters be his entire harem?
This has never happened before in the film industry.

Finally, the premiere ceremony moved on to the film screening.

The lights at the premiere venue were dimmed.

The movie officially began screening.

Chen Mo didn't make many changes to the opening plot, mainly because the original opening was already very interesting.

Yang Mi plays a housewife who visits her hospitalized mother and mocks the melodramatic TV series. However, in the next second, "Sunny Sisters" still falls into the plot of terminal illness!
She bumped into the eldest sister, played by Jing Tian, ​​at the hospital. The eldest sister was terminally ill and missed her former sisters, wanting to reunite them.

The story unfolds from there!

It's perfectly acceptable for remakes to have a high degree of similarity.

However, because the film had such a great publicity campaign beforehand, and the director was Chen Mo.

Therefore, the audience in the theater couldn't help but laugh when they saw this scene.

But film critics were all writing "Reskinned?" in their sketchbooks.

That's right, they're practically watching this movie with a magnifying glass right now.

Even the slightest flaw will be magnified!

Such similar plots naturally became the target of their film reviews.

As the plot unfolded, they increasingly felt that this movie was just a reskinned remake, because the structure was very similar to the original. In the same way, the eldest sister in the group of girlfriends was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and in the same way, they started to find the "lost" sisters through a private investigator, and then the two time periods switched.

Zhou Xiaobin and Bai Yue also frowned slightly, because at this moment they also felt that the plot was somewhat repetitive.

However, as the plot progresses...

Soon, differences appeared in different places.

The differences between the Korean and Chinese versions of the film "Sunny" are beginning to emerge, or rather, the localization aspects are starting to appear. The timeline of the Korean version of "Sunny" is different from that of the Chinese version.

Chen Mo's version describes 20 years of changes!

Twenty years ago was in 2003.

Chen Mo cited the background of the story that took place that year.

The passing of two legendary singers, Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung, and the passing of two superstars!
This scene brought back memories for many audience members.

In particular, the reason why the girlfriends fought was because they heard someone saying bad things about their brother, and then they started fighting.

This sounds hard to understand; fighting over a celebrity seems really outrageous to many young viewers in 2023.

However, for the audience at the premiere who came from that era, it actually resonates with many people.

The effect can be described as excellent, and it is also self-consistent.

This setting resonated strongly with middle-aged people.

At the premiere, many audience members over 35 had tears in their eyes when they saw this scene, and some even whispered among themselves, "Back then, someone in my class actually got into an argument with someone because they were defending the older brother."

"I got into a fight over this in Changsha's Jiefang West area back in 03!" Three or four middle-aged men immediately chimed in.

Meanwhile, in the younger audience section, a girl with blue hair was quietly asking her boyfriend, "Is it really that serious?"

My boyfriend's phone screen was still on the search page for "Who is the brother?"

However, for film critics, especially those who scrutinize with a magnifying glass, this has also become a point of contention in their eyes.

Some young film critics, in particular, find it difficult to understand the plot.

"To take action over a single bad comment? Isn't that just making trouble out of nothing?"

"Isn't this a bit too far-fetched? It feels like they're forcing dramatic conflict; this fight is so inexplicable!"

The veteran film critic took off his glasses and wiped his eyes: "You don't understand. Back then, we didn't even have online mourning, which was completely different from the mainstream and reasonable celebrity worship of today!"

Of course, older film critics can understand, but some still find it hard to accept.

They acknowledged that fans were indeed fervent in that era, but questioned whether the film was exploiting the emotions of the deceased: "The passing of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui is a pain for countless people. Using this as a reason to fight, isn't that 'emotional blackmail'?"

Some even wondered if they were profiting from the fact that their deceased brother and Anita Mui were involved.
However, Zhou Xiaobin and Bai Yue seemed to be enjoying it immensely.

In fact, the movie has exceeded their expectations to some extent.

While the characters are indeed unbelievably beautiful, even to the point of seeming somewhat unrealistic.

But the visuals and shots are indeed very beautiful.

What's even more remarkable is that the localization of the storyline is done very well.

The biggest challenge in remaking and adapting movies for local audiences is how to reasonably integrate them into the local environment and historical context.

In this respect, this version of the movie is quite good!

For example, after the fight scene, there is a monologue: "Back then, we didn't know what 'reason' meant. We only knew that the purest part of our hearts had been trampled on."

The localized adaptation of "The Breakup of the Sisterhood" is also quite different from the original.

In the original version, the girls' "big incident" was triggered by someone being disfigured!
But to be honest, this plot adaptation is completely inappropriate for localization.

Because there is no need for it.

In handling this matter, Chen Mo downplayed this point.

The reason is actually very simple: there's no need for it at all!

Graduation means it's time to say goodbye.

Some went abroad, some failed the college entrance exam, and some were forced to leave home to work at a young age due to family reasons.
There was really no need to make so much trouble!

Of course, this kind of setup will definitely sacrifice the sense of conflict and rupture in the plot.

However, film adaptations can never be perfect, after all, times and circumstances have changed a lot!

However, regardless of the circumstances, this movie is destined to receive polarized reviews!

This was something Chen Mo had thought of before.

The movie premiere has ended.

Chen Mo and the main creative team members accepted media interviews.

The first media reporter asked: "The passing of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui is a pain for countless people. Using this as a reason to fight, wouldn't that be considered 'emotional blackmail'?"

Chen Mo had anticipated this problem.

He said calmly, "It's a matter of opinion. In my personal view, the movie is not 'exploiting the deceased,' but rather restoring the emotions of the era—in that time, the death of an idol had an impact on fans no less than the death of a loved one, and fighting was a way to vent emotions."

"This is actually my personal experience, and it's not about exploiting the deceased, but about paying tribute to them! Because although they've left, they will live on forever in the hearts of every fan!"

"Clap clap clap!" Suddenly, enthusiastic applause rang out from the audience.

It was the applause from that group of middle-aged fans.

As Chen Mo said, they do not believe that this is exploiting the deceased, but rather a way of remembering them!
"Moreover, our crew obtained the consent of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui's families before filming!" Chen Moyou added.

Of course he wouldn't make such a basic mistake!

The premiere is over.

That evening, "Sunny Sisters" was officially released nationwide.

Indeed, opinions on this film are polarized.

On several film review websites, "Sunny" only scored 6.5-6.7 points!
It can be said that this has set a new low for the ratings of Chen Mo's films!

In addition, the promotion of "Sunny Sisters" was so effective that the expectations were naturally even higher.

Therefore, such a reputation will naturally arouse controversy!

After all, this is no longer the era where even bad movies could be huge hits!
Any movie that becomes a box office hit must at least have some merit!

That night, #ChenMoSuffersWaterloo# and #SunnySistersReceiveWideNegativeReviews# became trending topics.

"Chen Mo's first film with a rating below 7 is born!"

"Chen Mo's undefeated streak is broken, and the reputation of 'Sunny Sisters' is polarized!"

"Chen Mo suffered a major setback; this is the price of being willful!"

Actually, a score of 6.6 is not low for a remake.

No, even for original films, as commercial films, such as those youth films from the past, this rating is actually quite good.

However, it can't be denied that this is indeed the lowest-rated film among all of Chen Mo's movies!

Chen Mo's past films, even a movie like "The Shallows," have received ratings far higher than this!
Interestingly, among those who rated the film, the older ones almost all gave it high marks, while the negative reviews were mostly given by younger moviegoers!

This kind of polarization, especially in terms of age, is unprecedented.

However, one thing is certain: there are almost no 1-star ratings for "Sunny Sisters".

Even those who don't like this movie have to admit that, at least as a fan-oriented film, it's indeed very "beautifully" made!
However, the box office performance of "Sunny Sisters" surprised many who were pessimistic about Chen Mo's film.

Because it set another record.

The box office of 1.7 million yuan on the first day left many people dumbfounded.

Moreover, the number of shows booked out across the country has set a record.

Keep in mind, this is March! It's an absolutely off-season.

You can't really criticize the box office figures, after all, the data speaks for itself. It's absurd that a film released in March, a relatively unpopular period, broke the box office record for that period in film history in just one day.
Therefore, it can only be evaluated based on the quality and content of the film.

(End of this chapter)