This director is vindictive.

Chapter 468 Mediation? Chen Mo: I'm on the defensive!

In fact, this trend of "showing off refunded tickets" not only worsened the pre-sale data of the two films, but also made Chen Mo's influence as a film critic a myth once again.

Some netizens even joked, "Before a movie is released in the future, we should ask Chen Mo if he is willing to go easy on us."

"How come these netizens are so funny? They can even turn posting about refunded tickets into a trend?" Fan Binbin, wearing a lace-trimmed see-through nightgown, leaned back on the sofa scrolling through the news, laughing heartily as she looked at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo smiled and said, "I was quite surprised too, but then again, it's quite normal."

"Normal? You actually think it's normal?" Fan Binbin asked, looking puzzled.

"This is clearly not normal, is it? This seems to be the first time this has happened, right?"

Chen Mo laughed and said, "These days, film producers are controlling comments too blatantly. Back when 'Detective Chinatown 3' was released, they controlled comments almost in every aspect. And usually, people assume that comment control is done before and right after the film's release, but they controlled it for a very long time!"

"And now, both 'Fengshen Part 2' and 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' are also controlling comments in the early stages."

“In today’s society, especially online, this kind of manipulation of public opinion is actually very disgusting. It’s just that in the past, we couldn’t fight against the powerful, so we could only endure it. But this resentment has been accumulating, so when they find an outlet, the power is self-evident!” Chen Mo thought for a moment and said.

This was what he thought of after seeing this bizarre scene.

There's nothing inherently wrong with controlling public opinion, since the initial purpose of controlling public opinion is to prevent being deliberately smeared. However, the current level of controlling public opinion has reached an outrageous point.

Fan Binbin looked at Chen Mo with her big, watery eyes and clicked her tongue, saying, "Your film review is even more damaging than a censorship order!"

Chen Mo reached out and fiddled with the object while sneering, "Actually, they've got one thing wrong—the audience isn't stupid. A bad movie can fool the box office for three days with paid online commentators, but it can't fool people's hearts."

Chen Mo has a clear conscience regarding the matters concerning "The Investiture of the Gods Part II" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

Mainly, he also looked down on the other party's tricks. To put it bluntly, what kind of garbage were they filming!
Chen Mo didn't believe that they, as directors, really didn't know what kind of movies they were making.
Take special effects for example. The special effects in "Fengshen Part 2" were so bad that even a fool could see that they were just perfunctory. Did the director not understand that?

Hundreds of millions invested! Dude! Where did all that money go? Those who know, know!

As for Tsui Hark's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", it was completely plot-driven. How so?

Chen Mo believed that this was Xu Laoguai's level, after all, he had always been at this level.

The plot of "Zushan" back then was just as terrible, but I didn't expect that after all these years, Tsui Hark is still the same.

Just as Chen Mo was preparing to explore the next step with Pang Bing, his phone suddenly rang.

Chen Mo glanced at the caller ID; it was Zhao Ming calling.

"Hey, Brother Zhao, you'd better really have something important to say!" Chen Mo said somewhat irritably.

After all, he was just one step away from success, and then he called at this crucial moment.

Zhao Ming on the other end of the phone was a little surprised, but then he smiled wryly and said, "It really is something. Well, I just received news that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is going to hold a 'Spring Festival Film Quality Symposium'! They'll probably call you in a bit."

"Tsk tsk, looks like there's no fun left!" Chen Mo knew what was going on as soon as he heard that.

Obviously, those few companies couldn't sit still and started reporting on us, but thinking about it, that makes sense.

Actually, "The Second Part of Fengshen" is a bit easier to talk about, but the main problem is "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," which was mainly invested in by Huaying Group and Hengcheng Film & Television.

Furthermore, Wanda's attempts to plead on their behalf were unsuccessful, and this has now directly impacted their pre-sale box office, with refunds becoming a trend. The key issue is that they dislike Chen Mo and are unhappy with him, yet they are powerless to do anything about it.

So what can we do? We can only tattle on each other.

Of course, it's also because this incident has indeed become quite a big deal.

So the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television probably couldn't stand it anymore.

Sure enough, not long after hanging up the phone, Chen Mo received a call from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, asking him to attend a meeting the next day.

Fan Binbin's pupils contracted slightly, and most of his pent-up emotions dissipated instantly. He asked with some concern, "Does this mean they want to meet with you?"

Chen Mo, however, said dismissively, "Things have blown up, so they've gotten anxious and must have collectively reported on me. But I wouldn't call it a meeting; it's probably because this matter has become too big and has a bad impact that they're holding this meeting. I guess Wanda has put in a lot of effort."

"Don't worry, we're in the right. They might tattle, but wouldn't I?" Chen Mo said with a smile, reassuring Fan Binbin who looked a little worried.

He really didn't have anything to worry about.

This was actually an inevitable result. Once the wave of ticket refunds became a trend, the situation had already spiraled out of control.

Moreover, the timing was also interesting, as it happened to be before the premiere dates of "Detective Chinatown 1900" and "Operation Jiaolong".

The next day, the atmosphere in the General Administration of Customs' conference room was so heavy it could have been squeezed out of you.

When Chen Mo pushed open the door, he found that Wu Ershan, Xu Ke, Chen Sicheng and others were already sitting upright, as were the heads of various film and television companies.

Upon seeing him enter, a hint of unease flashed across the faces of the group.

Both Lao Wang from Enlight Media and Jiaozi, the director of "Ne Zha," gave him a worried look.

They clearly knew this meeting was mainly because of Chen Mo. In fact, even they hadn't expected Chen Mo's influence to be so exaggerated.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm not late, am I?" Chen Mo asked with a smile.

"Alright, come on in and sit down. We've been waiting for you." Deputy Director Wang, who was chairing the meeting, was an old acquaintance of Chen Mo, so he didn't stand on ceremony and said directly.

Chen Mo sat down next to Lao Wang from Guangming.

Deputy Director Wang, who was chairing the meeting, then tapped the lid of his teacup: "The main reason I invited you all here today is to emphasize the issue of healthy competition during the Spring Festival film season."

"The recent wave of ticket refunds triggered by certain film reviews has already disrupted the normal order of the industry."

Director Wang glanced meaningfully at Chen Mo, only to see the other man leisurely twirling a pen. He had no choice but to be direct: "Director Chen's analogy is indeed novel!"

At this point, Director Wang's lips twitched slightly. To be honest, he almost burst out laughing when he saw Chen Mo's film review.

Originally, this matter didn't need the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to get involved, but no one expected things to escalate so much, and with several other organizations coming to file complaints, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television had no choice but to act as a peacemaker.

"Ahem, but the combined refund rate of the two films has wiped out nearly 200 million yuan in pre-sale box office revenue, so this is not simply a matter of film reviews."

"Isn't that right? What Ultraman-led kindergarten? That's complete nonsense!" Old Xu said indignantly.

Wuer Shan followed closely: "And what about Teletubbies and the Smurfs versus Voldemort?"

Many people at the scene tried hard to suppress their laughter, especially a few attendees who were not directly involved, and couldn't help but pick up their water cups and pretend to drink.

I really can't hold back anymore!
This is absolutely hilarious, unlike anything I've ever seen before!
"Alright! Everyone knows what happened, so don't act all aggrieved! Besides, we didn't call you all here to settle scores!" Wang Ju interrupted Wu Er Shan's accusations, as he himself felt ashamed.

You started this fire, and then you got yourself into an awkward situation. If you're so capable, why did you have to report it?
Wuershan and Xu Laoguai's expressions immediately turned rather ugly.

Well, if they were given another chance, they probably wouldn't dare to mess with Chen Mo, that tiger's backside, even if they were beaten to death.

He looked at everyone and said, "Competition is inevitable, but it must be healthy competition, not a back-and-forth that creates chaos!"
Here I would like to make three requests:
First, effective immediately, all videos are prohibited from controlling or deleting comments;

At this point in his speech, the heads of several film companies and the director all looked rather displeased.

However, I can only endure it, because I can't control myself at this point!
Director Wang added, "Secondly, directors are prohibited from publicly commenting on competing films;"

This is clearly aimed at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo, however, cracked a joke: "Director Wang, I'm not the director of 'Ne Zha'!"

Director Wang was stunned for a moment, then realized, "Good heavens, it really is!"
He glared at Chen Mo with annoyance and said, "Then let's not attack each other's competitors!"

Then he hesitated for a moment and glanced at Chen Mo before saying, "For this third point, Director Chen needs to post a Weibo message urging the audience to rationally request refunds."

Chen Mo immediately chuckled: "Director Wang, are you sure you want me to send it?"

Director Wang was speechless for a moment. He looked at Chen Mo with annoyance and asked, "What? Is there a problem?"

"I have no problem with it, but are you sure that posting this on Weibo won't backfire?"

Now it was Director Wang's turn to be taken aback.

You know what, what Chen Mo said might actually be true.

The others looked at each other in bewilderment, especially Chen Sicheng and his group, who were all on edge.

Wuershan and Xu Ke felt a bit uncomfortable, mainly because Chen Mo was really difficult to deal with.

Damn, the influence is too great.

If it were actually posted, who knows how netizens would react? And there's a high probability that it would backfire, just like Chen Mo described.

After all, the mediation by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television was indeed, to some extent, aimed at regulating order.

But what netizens will think is anyone's guess.

While netizens were still looking forward to Chen Mo's review of the next movie, Chen Mo suddenly posted a Weibo message saying that everyone should rationally request refunds.

What's wrong? We can't even get a refund for our tickets?
Of course, I'm not talking about Chen Mo!
"Alright, then forget about the third one. In short, don't cause any more trouble!" Director Wang was also extremely troubled.

Chen Mo shrugged and said, "Honestly, I've always been the one on the defensive, okay?"

Everyone present was speechless, but what Chen Mo said seemed to make sense.

Because he really didn't start the whole thing.

The meeting ultimately concluded with all participants signing the "Spring Festival Film Industry Self-Discipline Convention".

(End of this chapter)