This director is vindictive.

Chapter 471 The Director's Last Words: If we're going to die, we'll die together!

Director Wang's swift and decisive methods proved extremely effective.

Less than three hours after the meeting ended, the trending topics on major social media platforms suddenly "cleaned up"—humorous topics such as #UltramanFightsTheSmurfs# and #HelpDirectorXuRaiseToyMoney# disappeared without a trace, replaced by a uniform list of #RecommendedFilmsForSpringFestival#.

The absurd negative reviews on Douban about "Shen Gongbao's unspoken rules" and "Bald Qiang's logging" have been erased without leaving a trace, as if wiped away by an eraser.

Then they started banning accounts on a large scale.

Finally, everything seemed to have returned to normal.

However, the impact it caused was indeed extremely negative.

Moreover, it was an indiscriminate attack. From this perspective, the goal of "Fengshen 2" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" in stirring up trouble has been achieved to some extent.

However, its usefulness is only so-so, barely better than nothing.

After all, as the saying goes, if you want to control public opinion, smear your opponents, and clear your own name, you need to have something to clear your name too!
Once viewers have seen the movie, images of things like "Ultraman mediating a fight in a kindergarten," "Teletubbies," "The Smurfs," and "Voldemort" will inevitably come to mind.

High ticket cancellation rates persist, and pre-sales remain lackluster.

It's fair to say that other films released during the same period owe a debt of gratitude to Chen Mo, because his two film reviews directly eliminated two competitors for them.

However, it must be said that there are still some highly skilled people in the film promotion and distribution industry these days.

But then, the Legend of the Condor Heroes suddenly took a step back to advance, changing the official Weibo slogan to "The greatest heroes correct their mistakes!"

Immediately following this, a WeChat group for film and television investors suddenly erupted in chaos. Someone shared a blurry screenshot: an internal email from Hengcheng Film and Television indicated that the possibility of "technical withdrawal" for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was being assessed.

Soon, the phone of the publicity director of Shengshi Pictures was bombarded with calls from all sides, and Chen Mo's side was no exception.

Immediately, the hashtag #FirstFilmWithdrawnFromSpringFestivalSchedule# is trending at a rate of 100,000 discussions per minute!

"Wow, there's a real expert here!" Chen Mo exclaimed as he looked at the newly trending news.

"Won't it really be withdrawn?" Fan Binbin also became a little worried.

Chen Mo shook his head and said, "How could that be? So much publicity and promotion resources have been invested in the early stages. If the film is withdrawn, all those publicity and promotion funds will be wasted. Besides, there are only a few days left in the Spring Festival season. Even if they want to withdraw, the theaters will not agree."

"Then this..." Fan Binbin was already astonished.

"It's just a publicity stunt! However, this time their tactic of feigning retreat to advance is indeed quite clever!" Chen Mo couldn't help but sigh.

Because of the comments under #FirstFilmWithdrawnFromSpringFestivalSchedule#, many people have begun to sympathize with "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

"Reviewing this epic blunder: 1. Huaying misjudged that mediation could stop the damage. 2. They didn't expect Chen Mo's film review to have 'delayed damage'. 3. The most fatal mistake was forgetting that competitors would take advantage of the situation. Now, 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' is like Ouyang Ke, who has been crippled by Hong Qigong, while 'Detective Chinatown' is like Huang Yaoshi, who is happily collecting heads!"

"Actually, when you think about it carefully, 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' isn't that bad!"

"Chen Mo's power is terrifying. If the film is really pulled from the schedule, then Chen Mo will set a new record. One film review can pull a blockbuster from the schedule!"

That's a really good way to play the victim card!

Meanwhile, the phones of industry media professionals were constantly busy. Everyone sensed the impending doom—if even one film was forced to withdraw from its release, the entire Spring Festival film season's scheduling landscape would be completely reshuffled.

At 2 AM, Hengcheng Films finally released its statement: "The release of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' as scheduled is a misinterpretation; the so-called withdrawal is purely a rumor!" However, the statement's line "We reserve the right to pursue legal action against those spreading rumors" was wildly forwarded by marketing accounts along with screenshots of Chen Mo's film reviews.

"This is such a dirty trick," Chen Mo shook his head and chuckled.

"You can still laugh?" Fan Binbin looked at Chen Mo speechlessly as she tried on the new dress sent by Huayun.

"Why can't I laugh? Well, I'm still lacking in guts! If they were really tough and actually pulled the release, I might have a better opinion of them. But now, haha, do they really think netizens are fools?" Chen Mo said dismissively.

In fact, this wave of rumors about "withdrawing the release date" did allow "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" to wash away some of the negative impact by playing the tragic card, but even a fool can see that this was absolutely self-directed and self-acted.

However, Chen Mo didn't care at the moment, because the premiere of "Ne Zha" was just around the corner.

Given that Chen Mo predicted this film would break 10 billion yuan at the box office, coupled with Chen Mo's 1 billion yuan gamble and the chaotic promotional situation during the Spring Festival period, it's no exaggeration to say that this premiere was the focus of the entire nation.

After all, there has never been a Chinese-language film with a box office of 10 billion yuan!

Therefore, this premiere attracted a lot of attention. After all, everyone was very curious about what kind of charm this movie had that made Chen Mo say that "10 billion" was just the beginning.
The premiere was incredibly lavish, with countless media reporters who had traveled from all over the country gathering outside the venue early in the morning.

Even now, people still think the 10 billion prediction is ridiculous and just a publicity stunt by Chen Mo, but the fact remains that Chen Mo is the only person in the history of Chinese-language films to have done something like this!
Film critics are also eager to find out what kind of movie could make Chen Mo predict a box office of "10 billion".

Chen Mo didn't bring many people with him tonight, only Fan Binbin, Yang Mi, and Zhang Yuqi.

The main problem is that too much of a good thing can be bad. The publicity surrounding the 10 billion prediction and the 1 billion bet have already put "Ne Zha" in the spotlight.

Therefore, there's no need to resort to any other gimmicks.

As for why these three? Well, it's because they were involved in this "bet".

Upon arriving at the interview area, the media reporters, who had been waiting for a long time, began asking questions. The first question was: "Director Chen, regarding the rumors that you almost single-handedly caused 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' to become the first film to be withdrawn from the Spring Festival release schedule, what are your thoughts on this?"

"Hehe, so was it withdrawn?" Chen Mo asked with a faint smile.

The reporter suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"no!"

"Let's talk about it after the formation is withdrawn!"

The reporter pressed further: "Director Chen, you previously predicted that 'Ne Zha' would break 10 billion yuan at the box office. Now, given the chaotic situation with other films released in the same period, do you still hold onto this judgment?"

Chen Mo straightened his suit collar and revealed his signature calm smile: "Will online trolls writing negative reviews affect the quality of a movie?"

He pointed to the defiant cartoon image of Nezha on the huge poster behind him: "When audiences enter the theater, this little devil riding on his wind-fire wheels on the screen will show everyone through his actions—"

He suddenly turned to the camera and held up three fingers: "Three days, just three days, and you will understand why I said that 10 billion is just the beginning."

A burst of good-natured laughter erupted from the audience. At that moment, a reporter from *Film Weekly* grabbed the microphone: "But with the overall critical reception of films during the Spring Festival season being so poor, aren't you worried that the market environment will drag down *Ne Zha*'s box office?"

"An interesting question."

Chen Mo gestured for Fan Binbin to take the microphone, but then walked to the poster and patted Nezha's Universe Ring: "Do you know what I admire most about this character?"

He suddenly turned around, his eyes sharp as a drawn sword: "It's this 'my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens' spirit!"

A commotion suddenly broke out at the end of the red carpet, where director Jiaozi and his main creative team appeared pushing a five-tiered "magic ball" cake.

Taking the opportunity, Chen Mo put his arm around three female companions and walked into the venue, leaving the media with his last words: "I suggest you keep today's interview materials. When we break 10 billion, these will be valuable historical materials."

The interior of the premiere.

As soon as Chen Mo entered, he was led by the staff to Director Wang's side.

That's right, Director Wang is here too.

"How are you feeling? Any pressure?" Director Wang asked with a smile.

"With Director Wang here, how could I not feel pressured?" Chen Mo said with a smile.

"Hehe, don't be like that. I'm just curious what kind of movie deserves a box office of 10 billion. I guess many people have the same thought as me tonight," Director Wang said with a chuckle.

"Then let's wait and see! I believe I won't disappoint Director Wang or the audience!" Chen Mo said with a smile.

As the lights dimmed inside the premiere venue and the giant screen lit up, director Jiaozi was invited by the host to give a speech. He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, and his hand visibly trembled as he took the microphone.

"To be honest, my legs feel more bouncy than Nezha riding his Wind Fire Wheels right now."

He chuckled at the sea of ​​industry leaders in the audience, "The night Mr. Chen mentioned 10 billion, I spent the entire night scrutinizing the project budget sheet—even multiplying the usual box office of an animated film by ten times wouldn't be enough!"

Amidst laughter from the audience, the large screen behind him suddenly switched to a video message from Cheng Teng, the director of "Jiang Ziya": "Old Jiao, if you really break 10 billion, I'll be an intern at your studio!"

The image also included a spoof of a dumpling dressed in a dragon robe sitting atop a mountain of box office gold.

"Director Cheng is such a despicable bastard!"

Dumpling laughed and scolded, wiping away sweat: "But seriously—"

He suddenly became serious and pointed to Chen Mo, who was sitting calmly in the audience: "Now the whole industry is waiting to see President Chen crash and burn. Even my own mother asked me, 'Son, have you been kidnapped by capital?'"

The lighting technician shone the spotlight on Chen Mo at just the right moment, and he slowly raised a pre-prepared support sign that read, "Dumplings, fly bravely, crispy rice will always be with you"—clearly a prank on online trolls' support slogan. Fan Binbin and the other two immediately burst into laughter, falling back into their seats.

Amidst deafening laughter and applause, the lights in the screening room went out completely. The red glow of the Demon Clan's descent on the giant screen illuminated the final words uttered by Chiaotzu: "If we die, we die together!"

Another burst of laughter erupted from the audience.

After a series of procedures, the movie was finally officially released.

The lights dimmed, and everyone's eyes were focused on the big screen.

I want to see what makes this animated film, which has caused such a stir, so appealing, and whether it deserves its 10 billion yuan box office.

However, everyone quickly forgot about that, because it was still the same taste and the same recipe.

The film's opening scene elicited bursts of laughter from the audience.

And so the battle for "10 billion" movies has officially begun.

(End of this chapter)