This director is vindictive.

Chapter 426 Vote Now! The Ruthless Bandit Captain
The other party called personally, so what could Chen Mo do?
In fact, Chen Mo knew that the other party's original intention was probably just to say hello, since this promotional model was Chen Mo's original creation.

There's nothing wrong with you imitating it, but shouldn't you have informed me beforehand?
So, this is because they're giving me face, even though they know that the movie is basically a flop.

But the movie hasn't been filmed yet, let alone released, so promotion is definitely necessary.

Chen Mo was in a bit of a dilemma! After all, he had stumbled upon this thing by accident.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Mo suddenly thought of the trending topic #GeSiClarification# and had a flash of inspiration: "I do have an immature idea here, and I can't guarantee how effective it will be."

Old Wang over there laughed and said, "Your ideas, Director Chen, are all brilliant, and you don't need to guarantee them. After all, they should be grateful that you can even offer suggestions."

"Ahem, Chairman Wang, you flatter me. My idea is, how about we do something in reverse?" Chen Mo said.

"Reverse operation?" The other party seemed puzzled.

"The idea is to have Professor Duan, as an economic crime investigation expert, do a live broadcast, using a script adapted from a real case from 'Operation Fox Hunt' as a case study, and guide netizens to 'solve the case'."

"Between the live streams, we can insert 'police anti-fraud mini-lessons,' which not only fits the theme but also allows viewers to participate—that's what immersive legal education is all about!"

After a few seconds of silence, the other end burst into hearty laughter: "As expected of you! A marketing genius is a marketing genius. This idea is great! It can promote the movie and educate the public about the law at the same time. It's very meaningful."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Mo immediately switched his phone to airplane mode.

Zhang Yuqi sneered as she fiddled with Chen Mo's shirt buttons: "Do you really think they can successfully replicate this by borrowing Duan Yihong's help?"

Chen Mo shook his head and said, "They are fundamentally different. Maybe it will have some effect. After all, as you know, we really didn't decide on the actors before the co-creation vote, but these other companies have basically decided on them. So, maybe it will have an effect, but I guess it might backfire if things go wrong."

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. I've put my phone on airplane mode, so you know what that means," Chen Mo said with a smile.

Zhang Yuqi smiled and opened her arms.

Chen Mo simply picked her up and carried her in his arms.
Yes, Kun is right, he's really angry! He needs to be calmed down!

On the other hand, many companies are planning to be the first to try replicating existing products.

The Shanghai Film Studio is the fastest.

They directly announced that the movie "Operation Fox Hunt" has started a "co-creation mode"!
Furthermore, they directly tagged Chen Mo, indicating that they had obtained Chen Mo's consent.

In a way, this was quite cunning; they were clearly trying to ride on Chen Mo's popularity.

Netizens have already gone through three rounds of gossip about "co-creation," but they're still being quite accommodating.

Of course, most people are just watching the drama unfold and wondering what kind of gossip it will be this time.

"Will the co-creation model of 'Operation Fox Hunt', which replicates the style of 'Great Tang Desert,' be successful?" Soon, various related press releases were issued.

It certainly made quite a splash.

Other film and television companies, seeing that Shanghai Film Group had taken the lead, stopped and began to observe.

After all, while there's nothing theoretically wrong with replicating, Chen Mo is a very eccentric person; those who resemble him live, and those who are like him die.

This has happened more than once in the past.

Therefore, whether the remake of "Operation Fox Hunt" can be successful has become their focus.

The actions taken in "Operation Fox Hunt" are quite cunning.

The first role, the economic crime investigation team leader, was chosen for casting.

Surprisingly, several of the casting candidates overlapped with those who had previously cast Chen Mo as a veteran in the film adaptation of "The Last Transfer in the Northern Desert of the Tang Dynasty".

Duan Yihong was already a shoo-in, and then they also invited Wang Qianyuan, Pan Yueming, and Zhou Bo!
They immediately capitalized on this wave of popularity.

It can be said that the start of this "Fox Hunt" operation was indeed very successful.

After all, three of them overlap.

I just participated in it recently, and the buzz is still going strong.

However, when this news was first announced, it did indeed arouse the interest of many netizens.

However, controversy soon followed.

"No way? This is a complete blatant imitation, Director Zhang, are you sure you're casting?"

"The role of the economic crime investigation team leader was being considered for 'Operation Fox Hunt,' so why was Wang Qianyuan also among the candidates?"

"Good heavens, good heavens! Have you forgotten that he successfully portrayed the villain Zhang Hua, a desperate kidnapper and outlaw, in 'Saving Mr. Wu' back then, winning the Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actor and becoming an overnight sensation?"

So many years have passed, but when people recall Wang Qianyuan's eyes as Zhang Hua, the kidnapper in "Saving Mr. Wu", many people can't help but feel a sense of unease. To use a popular phrase now: He doesn't look like he's acting!
And then suddenly you're telling us that he might switch from playing a hardened criminal to playing a police officer?

"Besides, isn't this a serious crime thriller? Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"This attempt to ride the coattails of someone else's popularity is so obvious, but it's a complete mess. Wang Qianyuan playing a policeman? Are you kidding me?"

"He has played good guys before, but it seems like he always flopped, right?" Suddenly, the hashtag #WangQianyuanPlaysGoodGuy# became a trending topic among netizens.

He himself was also somewhat depressed.

In fact, ever since "Saving Mr. Wu", his image as a "ruthless bandit" and "villain" has truly become deeply ingrained in people's minds.

What's even more interesting is that almost all of the films and TV shows where he played a good guy were actually box office flops.

However, a little controversy is unlikely to really make the other party give up the idea.

On the contrary, they think this wave of popularity is pretty good. Controversy creates opportunities for controversy!

Anyway, Wang Qianyuan can't really act in it, since Duan Yihong has already signed a contract.

So, they quickly disregarded the controversy and began the "first round of casting"!
Make sure every candidate participates in a "live legal education session"!
You know what, from a publicity point of view, it does make sense. There has to be controversy, right? Controversy generates buzz, doesn't it?
However, they clearly underestimated the reaction of netizens.

This content immediately went viral after it was published.

It's still Wang Qianyuan's!

"Having Wang Qianyuan do a live legal education program? I suggest changing it to 'The True Story of a Ruthless Criminal Surrendering'! One second he's explaining anti-fraud knowledge, the next he suddenly pulls out handcuffs off-camera: 'Officer, I confess!' — Who can deny this immersive acting? #EconomicInvestigationCaptainororFugitive#"

"When Wang Qianyuan said with a serious face, 'This is a common tactic used by overseas fraud groups,' I always felt that his next sentence would be, 'I used this trick back in the day' (doge). I suggest that the live broadcast connect with the crew of 'Saving Mr. Wu' so that Liu Dehua can identify him on the spot!"

"A collaborative creation for 'Operation Fox Hunt': Wang Qianyuan leads netizens in a recap of classic kidnapping cases, then suddenly changes his tune: 'These methods will all get you over ten years in prison. Don't follow my example, or you'll end up in jail.' #LawEducationClassForBandits#"

"Goodness, you guys know the secrets of traffic! While other celebrities are livestreaming to sell products, Brother Wang is livestreaming 'with a criminal record': 'Family members, surrender yourselves today to get a reduced sentence!' (Slams table) This kind of reverse legal education is an immersive experience. I suggest issuing a graduation certificate: 'Outstanding Student of the Bandit Reformation Program'"

Economic Crime Investigation Department: We want to use a co-creation model to promote anti-fraud efforts.

Netizens: No, you just want to see how jarring it will be for Wang Qianyuan to play a policeman.

I suggest next time we just make a documentary: "Rebirth: I Am the Economic Crime Investigation Captain - The Turnaround of a Ruthless Bandit"

Suddenly, Wang Qianyuan became popular again for no apparent reason.

He seemed quite happy.

But after seeing an article by a blogger that revealed that all five of his films since "Caught in Time" in 2020, as well as those in 2022 and 2023, had flopped, he was completely devastated.

"The Hunt and The Man Who Loves Me Most in the World in 2022, and the Storm, The Rescue and the Prosecutor in 2023, all five of these films scored below 6 on Douban. Not only did they fail to win critical acclaim, but none of them grossed more than 5 million yuan at the box office. The lowest grossed only more than 1 million yuan. From critical acclaim to box office success, they were all a complete disaster."

Even the two films in which he made cameo appearances at the beginning of this year, "Extreme Rescue" and "What's in the Zoo?", both flopped critically.
Two other films he starred in also flopped completely: "The Wandering Blade" (5.6 on Douban) and "Money Fortress" (3.7 on Douban).

Therefore, actually, compared to playing a kind-hearted but repressed good guy or a serious police officer catching bad guys, the role most suitable for Wang Laoshi is a ruthless bandit. In fact, the more wicked the bandit, the more it brings out his acting skills.

Good guy, really good guy!

You wouldn't believe it until you see it; even Chen Mo shook his head in disbelief.

Does anyone in the family understand this? There are so many cautionary tales!
However, after the first round of co-creation casting, Wang Qianyuan did indeed understand a bit of the secret to generating traffic.

Anyway, he's just going to play the wingman this time.

So he promptly posted a picture of the rooftop showdown from "Infernal Affairs" on Weibo, with the caption: "Actually, I want to be a good person!"

The effect is quite good.

Netizens immediately understood.

"Teacher Wang, no one is stopping you from being a good person, but please don't pretend to be one!"

"Hahaha, what the hell do you mean by 'don't play the good guy'? The literal meaning of that sentence just doesn't make sense to me!"

"All the movies and TV shows where you played good guys have flopped, so are you sure you want to continue?"

"Many actors make people hate them when they play villains, but when Teacher Wang plays a villain, he makes people really scared!"

"@Teacher Ning Lining's reverse smoking and Teacher Wang's ruthless bandit role are truly classic villainous roles! And here you are saying you want to play a good guy?"

Then, a dramatic scene unfolded.

The legal education livestream competition hasn't even started yet, but the voting channel is already open.

As a result, netizens overwhelmingly voted for Wang Qianyuan.

She received a landslide victory in the votes, ahead of the officially designated lead actress, Duan Yihong.

Old Duan was also helpless; it was over before it even started.

As netizens put it, if you dare to release it, we dare to vote!
Actually, netizens are just watching the drama unfold. The more they say they're not used to Wang Qianyuan playing good guys, the more unbelievable it seems for an actor whose "ruthless bandit" image is so deeply ingrained in people's minds to suddenly play a policeman.

And that led to the current situation.

This left the "Fox Hunt" team completely dumbfounded!
(End of this chapter)