This director is vindictive.

Chapter 404 A PR genius! Always 2.0
Chen Mo was originally planning to join in the fun as well.

But before any action could be taken, this scene unfolded.

Instead, he joined Zhao Liying in gossiping.

"Do you think their approach will be effective?" Zhao Liying asked Chen Mo curiously, looking at the statement issued by Feng Dagang's Mela Culture.

"There will definitely be some effect! After all, Feng Dagang's identity is what it is, and those with vested interests will not sit idly by and let public opinion continue to target him."

Although "Sunflower" is just a movie, it involves many stakeholders.

"It's impossible to completely quell public opinion, but do you think this is their only public relations tactic?" Chen Mo said dismissively.

Although Feng Dagang has faced backlash from public opinion, the problem isn't actually that serious because he's a director, not an actor.

If it were an actor, it might really be a disaster, but for a director, the difference in status is completely different.

Don't you see that a certain director stopped acting and was immediately criticized by netizens for being a "poisoner"? But he still drinks, makes movies, and dances as usual!
Feng Dagang is not so easily defeated by public opinion.

"So what do you think they'll do next?" Zhao Liying asked.

"It's nothing more than a few tricks, such as contacting actresses who have worked with him to speak out in support. After all, Feng Dagang has a lot of influence in the industry, and those people have no choice but to stand up even if they don't want to," Chen Mo said with a smile.

"Then I guess they'll shift the blame to the censorship, since it involves issues of censorship," he added.

"Anything else?" Zhao Liying continued to ask, like a curious child.

"Anything else? If there's anything else, it's simple: hire online trolls to stir up trouble. But hopefully they won't drag us into it, otherwise I wouldn't mind adding fuel to the fire and turning things around," Chen Mo said calmly.

Chen Mo's words soon came true.

Zhao Liying suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, you really guessed it! Look!"

Miao Miao, who had been named in previous public opinion, was the first to stand up and speak out in support of Feng Dagang.

"Director Feng's strict requirements for the actors stemmed from his artistic pursuits. Every shot in 'Youth' was meticulously designed. The act of taking off our shoes to dance was just an impromptu segment. We all had a good relationship in private. Netizens have over-interpreted it."

However, this person is not a big star, and her voice of support had a somewhat counterproductive effect.

The main issue is that many netizens were initially indignant on her behalf, but then, wow, the general fought a bloody battle on the front lines, and His Majesty surrendered directly?
For a moment, many netizens felt like they had been betrayed.

"Ha! So what are we? What is Director Chen? Goodness, some people really don't deserve any sympathy!"

"Now it's considered over-interpretation? Go to sleep. He really is a big director; how can you know what's going on if you're not the fish? The clown is actually us?"

"I'm outta here, I'm outta here, life's not worth it! Hehe!"

"I don't blame her, I even feel sorry for her. She was clearly wronged, but she still had to stand up and speak out! It feels like when Chen Mo was slandered by the Backstabbing Cult, and when the truth came out, he still had to come out and apologize!"

"Disgusting! I'm talking about this public relations campaign!"

It's no wonder netizens reacted this way. The main reason is that this person chose the "appropriate" timing to speak out. It's obvious to everyone that Feng Dagang's side is making their move.

Chen Mo shook his head as well. He could understand why the other party would bring up this actress who had been called out by the marketing account before to speak out, but this move was really baffling.

As expected, it backfired!
Then, very quickly, another actress spoke out in support.

Tang Wei is another example of Feng Dagang's disrespect for women, which was previously mentioned by marketing accounts!

The actress, who once rose to fame by taking off her clothes, posted: "Director Feng's portrayal of female characters is always full of compassion, and there has never been any overstepping of boundaries on set."

Director Feng's comment back then, "Women's IQ is limited," was just a joke. I rolled my eyes at him, and he praised my reaction as genuine (laughs). Artistic discussions shouldn't be taken too seriously; I hope "Sunflower" will let the work speak for itself.

However, after seeing this, Chen Mo couldn't help but shake his head.

This time, he complained even more than when Miao Miao spoke out before.

"No, Feng Dagang is really old, and even his PR team is incompetent. Why did they have to choose her?" Chen Mo complained to Zhao Liying.

"Um, I don't think there's anything wrong!" Zhao Liying said, somewhat puzzled.

“You’ve forgotten, this is a true representative of ‘dedication to art’,” Chen Mo said with a smile.

Tang Wei's performance in "Lust, Caution" is still fresh in our minds. It can be said that it is definitely one of the most explicit films in Chinese entertainment.

The key point is that the issue of scale has just come up in public opinion.

So here's the question: do people really think she was sacrificing herself for art?

Male viewers know what I mean. Everyone goes to see that movie for the sheer amount of art; it's all about the striptease!
Art? Hmm, even male viewers understand this, no problem, it's art!

As expected, netizens didn't buy it at all.

A screenshot of Tang Wei's black-faced expression at the press conference for "Destined to Love You" was shared online, with the caption: "Being offended and still having to whitewash the perpetrator? Is this the 'female awakening' that Director Feng wants?" Another meme was created: "Feng's three-step feminism: 1. Say you have a low IQ 2. Make you take your clothes off 3. Criticize you for not being artistically dedicated enough."

Some netizens even mocked, "If Zhao Liying dares to follow your example and film 'Lust, Caution,' Chen Mo could shake up the film and television industry in no time!"

Another LSP quipped, "Oh right, that's spot on. Chen Mo is just too petty. He doesn't understand art at all, let alone what kind of art men like the most!"

Chen Mo was speechless and complained. This PR team was really too unprofessional.
"So, if you were Feng Dagang, who would you talk to?" Zhao Liying asked Chen Mo with great interest, looking at him like a reporter conducting an interview.

“I don’t know about others, but if I were Feng Dagang, it would be too easy. You must have forgotten that he had a very interesting nickname back then, ‘Whisper Baby’!” Chen Mo couldn’t help but grin.

"Whisper? You mean Shuqi?" Zhao Liying suddenly realized.

"Some things are perceived very differently in different eras. For example, the Always incident back then. Feng Dagang argued with netizens online and angrily denounced those who insulted her as 'worse than animals.' The fighting spirit of 'Little Cannon' back then was incomparable to that of today. He used a string of profanities on Weibo and argued with tens of thousands of netizens, yet he was still full of fighting spirit and did not fall behind," Chen Mo said with a smile.

"Back then, this incident, including the Always sanitary napkins, wasn't well-received. At that time, netizens believed that while Feng Dagang's support for his friend was reasonable, the personal insults were irrational, and that this was not the way to conduct a verbal battle."

“But looking at this matter now, many people would probably be much more tolerant!” Chen Mo said with a smile.

If the Always incident were happening now, there would probably be a lot of people supporting Feng Dagang.

Male chauvinism can vary depending on the situation, as seen in the Always incident.

Because some people really went too far.

“So, if I were him, having Shu Qi say a few words would be far more effective than those two!” Chen Mo added.

Zhao Liying nodded in agreement. "Isn't that right?"

Why is public opinion so one-sided this time?
Because of what Feng Dagang did and said, he showed a lack of respect for women.

However, on the matter of Always, it was quite the opposite; although his insults were somewhat offensive and uncivilized.

However, this behavior is actually a plus in today's context.

Just like Chen Mo was said to be petty, but in reality, many people praised him for being a real man!

"Wow, Chen the Prophet, is your mouth blessed?" Zhao Liying suddenly exclaimed.

"What? Shu Qi stepped in?" Chen Mo wasn't surprised by this.

After all, Feng Dagang did speak up for Shu Qi back then, and the two had collaborated many times.

Therefore, even if Feng Dagang hadn't informed her beforehand, Shu Qi would probably have offered to help after seeing the news.

as predicted.

Shu Qi posted a long article on Weibo: "Seeing the controversy surrounding Director Feng online reminds me of when I was maliciously photoshopped all over the internet more than ten years ago. He was the only director who dared to stand up and call me 'worse than an animal'."

Some people said he was vulgar at the time, but as a woman, I still remember his kindness in helping me in my time of need—at least he never used 'art' as a fig leaf to objectify actresses.

I think some people are shouting about respecting women while simultaneously turning "refusing nudity" into a trending topic. Isn't that the real double standard?
By the way, those who used to criticize him as a "protector of sanitary napkins" and those who are now forcing actresses to "undress for art" are probably the same group of "righteous heroes" [smile].
And here's something else: back in the first season of "If You Are the One," there weren't even any kissing scenes. In the second season, they originally planned for me and Ge You to have a kissing scene, but Ge You said the age difference was too big and refused. So Director Feng cut all the kissing scenes out.

He added that if they couldn't get to a certain point in the film, they wouldn't do anything at all, but he assured everyone that it wouldn't affect the movie's quality. He humorously added, "They don't kiss, but they love each other more than kissing!"

Therefore, I believe Director Feng; he is definitely not that kind of person!

Just as Chen Mo predicted, the netizens reacted enthusiastically.

"Although I don't like Feng Dagang, to be fair, when Shu Qi was maliciously photoshopped back then, only Feng Dagang dared to stand up to all the keyboard warriors on the internet. He was really manly back then. Although his criticism was a bit harsh, now that I think about it, those keyboard warriors really went too far."

"Whisper, what an old term. I think it was used to argue with Feng Dagang back then. But now that I think about it, although Feng Dagang's mouth was indeed very sharp, he did seem quite manly!"

However, some netizens commented that although he was quite manly back then, people can change.

For example, right now:

A New Interpretation of Feng's Feminism:
To Shu Qi: Whoever insults your father, I'll yell at them!

To Miaomiao: Take off your shoes and dance to add to the fun!

To Zhao Liying: Not taking your clothes off is unprofessional!

—I suggest renaming the film "The Director's Flexible Ethical Standards"

Zhao Liying raised an eyebrow as she scrolled through the trending topics: "You were right! Shu Qi's 'Whisper 2.0' has really stirred up a lot of trouble."

Chen Mo shrugged and said, "Feng Dagang's protection of Shu Qi back then was genuine, so he deserves to be backfired on now—who told him to forget about 'respecting women' when he made 'Youth' later?"

(End of this chapter)