This director is vindictive.

Chapter 403 Old Feng and Old Wang are true kindred spirits!
Chen Mo also saw these discussions. As for netizens teasing him for being petty, Chen Mo said, "No problem, I am petty."

"So what if I'm petty? Seriously, if it were now, I would never let Yang Mi act in a movie like 'The Shallows'!" Chen Mo was not ashamed of this, but rather proud of it.

As a man, he really couldn't be as generous as Feng Dagang or Zhang Yuqi's ex-boyfriend, Lao Wang.

Chen Mo really couldn't understand it at all. Maybe this was just someone's quirk?

Well, if you explain it that way, it seems to make sense.

Chen Mo's straightforward, masculine thoughts made Zhao Liying look at him with a hint of spring in her eyes.

Actually, for Zhao Liying, who is a woman, Chen Mo's "petty" nature is actually a plus, since she doesn't have that kind of quirk.

Zhao Liying was curled up on the sofa painting her nails when she heard this and suddenly laughed so hard she leaned against his shoulder, the nail polish brush almost poking his shirt.

Her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had discovered something interesting: "Hey, what if Director Feng and Sister Yu Qi's exes all sat at the same table—"

She couldn't help but draw out her words, tracing circles on his chest with her fingertips: "Could we publish a 'Cuckold Director's Handbook' by exchanging tips on how to personally send your wife to someone else's bed?"

Chen Mo coughed, choked by her lewd words, and pinched her chin, shaking it: "What are you thinking about all day with that little head of yours?"

But then he chuckled, his thumb brushing against her lips, leaving a touch of rosy red: "But speaking of quirks, I heard that when Director Feng was filming 'Aftershock,' he personally watched his wife act out a bed scene with someone else on the monitor, and after filming, he would hug Xu Fan and praise her acting—"

"nausea!"

Zhao Liying suddenly pounced on him and bit his ear, her warm breath carrying the sweet scent of lipstick: "If you dare to imitate them, I'll..."

Before she could finish speaking, Chen Mo pushed her down onto the sofa, pinning her kicking legs with his knee, his nose brushing against her suddenly reddened earlobe. "What? Hmm? I'm a petty person—"

He said his palm slid down her waistline.
"I want to break the designer's legs even though your slip dress has a 2-centimeter high slit."

"Hey, look at this trending topic!" After a while, Zhao Liying was scrolling through the news on her phone again when she suddenly burst out laughing.

Chen Mo peeked out and saw that, well, this generation of netizens really did think of that.

Because the trending search terms have completely changed, Feng Dagang successfully made the list, but the terms themselves are quite ironic.

#Feng Dagang's Artistic Dedication#
Feng Dagang never expected that things would not turn out the way they had imagined.

Of course, this wave of hype was indeed successful.

After all, it trended on social media several times, and successfully made everyone aware that his new film focuses on marginalized groups that are often overlooked.

From this perspective, it can indeed be considered that the goal has been achieved.

However, the direction of public opinion has long since slipped out of their control.

This is normal, after all, they can only guide, but cannot really manipulate public opinion.

After the novel that inspired Feng Dagang's new film "Sunflower" became known to the public due to this wave of public opinion, the public opinion trend quickly became even more bizarre.

Why do you say that?

The content of "The Story of Educational Reform" focuses on the various events that happened to those female prisoners after they were released from prison.

Feng Dagang's original intention in making this film was to tell the story of marginalized groups that are often overlooked.

And the film must be a film that uses feminism as its selling point.

Then the problem is coming.

It's not a big problem for other people to make this kind of movie. "The Story of Educational Reform" is also fine, since no one knows Feng Dagang's script.

However, when Feng Dagang made this type of film, Chen Mo directly rejected it on behalf of Zhao Liying because the script was too explicit.

Look, some people are saying Chen Mo is petty, while others are saying Zhao Liying is unprofessional and lacks the spirit of dedication to art.

But conversely, isn't this movie supposed to give women a voice?

And what happened? Zhao Liying refused to act simply because of the explicit content, yet this was used as a publicity stunt. As for why people know it's a publicity stunt, well, netizens aren't stupid.

See, is this respect for women? Aren't actresses women too?

Isn't Zhao Liying one?
"Director Feng's 'women's welfare' is truly ironic! On one hand, he claims to be speaking out for marginalized women, while on the other hand, he's making a scene by harassing actresses who refused roles. So, in his eyes, 'artistic dedication' equals actresses having to take their clothes off? I suggest renaming the movie 'Sunflower: Except for the Director's Wife'!"

"Upstairs, you're wrong. The director's wife isn't an exception either. Here's a link to the passionate scene clip from 'Aftershock'!" "Wait a minute, I specifically went to read the original novel, 'The Story of Educational Reform,' and it seems there's no explicit content in it at all. So what's with this explicit scene? Adding scenes is just a publicity stunt, isn't it?"

"I also checked the original novel of 'The Story of Educational Reform,' and the most explicit description in the whole book is 'she washed her face'! So, Director Feng's so-called 'large scale' means he plans to have actresses perform pole dancing in prison? @ChenMo, good for stopping him!"

Director Feng: Art requires sacrifice!
Netizen: Could you let Teacher Xu Fan demonstrate one first?
Director Feng: That won't do, I need to save my wife for the awards [doge]

"Hilarious! A film that claims to be realistic is being criticized online for being unprofessional just because the actors refused to have explicit scenes? This perfectly illustrates what 'double standards' mean—the actors are just tools for them to promote art!"

"I'm guessing that Director Feng's script definitely includes a scene of 'prisoners being watched by prison guards while showering,' after all, he filmed a 20-minute shower scene for the performing arts troupe in 'Youth.' This director has always been very persistent in his 'artistic pursuit' of special scenes [eating popcorn]."

If that's all there is to it, then it's really nothing.

However, marketing accounts quickly dug up Feng Dagang's past.

As mentioned before, if it were another director, people might not have reacted so strongly, but Feng Dagang has a history of such behavior.

Marketing account Entertainment Without Limits: "I was puzzled when I suddenly saw news on the hot search about Feng Dagang's new film and Zhao Liying's refusal to act due to its explicit content."

What puzzled me most was that Feng Dagang was actually going to make a film focusing on special groups, to give a voice to this neglected marginalized group, and I inexplicably laughed.

Why? In fact, it can be seen from some well-known facts that some of Feng Dagang's practices are indeed questionable.

For example, during the promotional period for the movie "Youth", it is well known that Feng Dagang asked Miao Miao to dance to entertain the audience, but Director Chen smoothed things over by saying that Miao Miao was wearing high heels and could not dance.

As a result, Feng Dagang simply waved his hand and said, "Make her take off her shoes and jump."

Good grief, are you kidding me? What kind of occasion is this? Those who know, know.

That's not all. During the promotion of "Only You", Feng Dagang said to the camera, "Indeed, women's intelligence is limited", completely disregarding the embarrassment of the lead actress Tang Wei next to him.

No, even if it was a joke, saying something like that was done in front of a camera! So, now you know why I laughed, right?

The content released by this marketing account quickly attracted many netizens.

"Holy crap, it seems like Director Feng's actions are utterly baffling! On one hand, he claims to be speaking out for special groups, while on the other hand, he treats actors like tools in reality—he's the one who made Miao Miao dance barefoot, he's the one who said people have limited intelligence, and now he's forcing actors to perform in a daring way for 'art'? The double standards are off the charts! I suggest renaming the movie 'The Director's Obsession' [doge emoji]"

"Case solved! Director Feng's 'realistic' script probably wasn't written like this:"
Act One: The Prisoner Takes a Bath (Director's close-up shot for 30 seconds)
Act Two: The prison guard says, "Your IQ is limited" (a tribute to director Feng Xiaogang's classic quote).

Act Three: The end credits read, "This film calls for social attention to marginalized groups"—this isn't realism; it's just sensationalism!

"Why the explicit content? To put it bluntly, it's just a gimmick to attract viewers; it's just a commercial tactic!"

"Hilarious! When Director Feng made Miao Miao take off her shoes to dance back then, why didn't he shout 'Sacrifice for art'? So 'sacrifice' can only happen in front of the camera? @ChenMo, well done! Protect your artists from this kind of fanatical artist!"

"Suddenly I understand why Chen Mo stopped Fan Binbin twice! There are only two kinds of actors in Director Feng's films: either the 'tool' who was arranged to have a sex scene in 'Aftershock', or the 'work of art' that was closely filmed in 'Youth'—would a real realist director do that? Pshaw!"

"This reversal of public opinion is a huge slap in the face! Director Feng's team wanted to use the 'controversy over scale' to create hype, but netizens have exposed that he doesn't respect the actors' wishes at all. Now, 'Zhao Liying's refusal to act' has become a positive example—actors have the right to say no to unreasonable scripts! This is true professional ethics!"

Before Chen Mo could even utter a word, public opinion underwent a dramatic reversal.

This unexpected turn of events thrust Feng Dagang into the eye of the storm.

Although black and red are both red, sometimes, if it's too black, then it's no longer red.

Feng Dagang was furious. He never expected that their carefully designed "explicit marketing" would backfire on him like a boomerang.

The key point is that neither Chen Mo nor Zhao Liying has uttered a word so far.

As a result, public opinion had already turned against them.

Although "Sunflower" is still in the pre-production stage and the current public opinion is unlikely to last until its release, the internet is sometimes forgetful, but it does remember.

For example, weren't all those things Feng Dagang did before the culprit?

However, his team reacted quickly and did not allow the public opinion to continue to ferment.

They began to steer the conversation in a different direction while simultaneously launching an emergency public relations campaign.

First, Feng Dagang's team spoke out through the media.

"All the plot designs in 'Sunflower' serve the theme of 'female redemption,' and the so-called 'contentious issue' is actually a misinterpretation by the outside world. Director Feng's insistence on the creative principle of 'no cuts and no compromises' is the greatest respect for marginalized groups—art should not lower its standards because of gender differences."

In short, this is about artistic dedication!
(End of this chapter)