This director is vindictive.

Chapter 473 Three Denials: Coincidence! Fiction! Don't Guess!

If before this, many people were focused on Chen Mo's earlier "billion-dollar boast," then at this moment, many film critics, media professionals, and even audiences have temporarily forgotten about it.

The main problem is this movie, it's just... how the hell should I put it?

In short, it's a total bastard!

We've all seen movies with metaphors, but it's rare to find one where the metaphors are seamlessly integrated into the plot, so perfectly that you could say they're metaphors but the viewer doesn't even acknowledge them.

Sure enough, the premiere screening ended, and director Jiaozi led the main cast and crew onto the stage to express their gratitude. The media reporters immediately swarmed around them.

I can't help it, I have too many questions to ask.

Finally, we arrived at the interview segment.

Media reporters swarmed forward, pointing their microphones at Director Dumpling and eagerly bombarding him with pointed questions: "Director, does the design of Jade Palace allude to a certain country in reality?"

Do the green fairy pendant and the bald eagle symbol have any special meaning?

Upon hearing this, Director Dumpling immediately took a half step back, waving his hands frantically, and showing a "pure" look of confusion on his face: "Huh? No! This is just a mythological scene!"

Pointing to the Nezha logo on the backdrop, he said sincerely, "Everyone is overthinking it. We're just making an animated film adapted from a traditional myth."

Undeterred, one reporter directly quoted Ao Bing's line from the movie, asking, "What about the line, 'He calls himself a beacon but bullies the weak'—"

"Oops!" Director Dumpling slapped his forehead and laughed innocently: "This is the character's personality setting! Ao Bing is going through a rebellious phase, that's just kids talking nonsense! It's like Nezha saying: 'My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens,' it's become a catchy rhyme, it's actually the same idea!"

He turned to the screenwriter beside him and pretended to complain, "See, I told you the lines needed to be more subtle!"

It's impossible for someone to admit it to be a mature adult. Director Dumpling knows this well. No one can say anything if he doesn't admit it, but if he does, a whole bunch of trouble will be waiting for him.

He's not stupid; he had already thought of this when the plot was designed this way.

Chen Mo was suppressing a laugh from the audience. He hadn't expected that this guy, who looked so handsome with thick eyebrows and big eyes, was actually the sixth brother!

However, Chen Mo thought Director Dumpling's answer was quite good. That was exactly the kind of official wording they wanted: "This story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is purely coincidental!"
Just looking at Director Jiaozi's seemingly harmless and obedient appearance, both the media reporters and the film critics on site almost burst out laughing.

Holy crap, this is unbelievable! Who said Director Jiaozi was kind? He's clearly a shrewd shrew!

A film critic in the audience couldn't help but interject loudly: "The currency symbols and architectural fragments on that Yuanding tripod couldn't be a coincidence, could they?"

Director Dumpling immediately widened his eyes, putting on an exaggeratedly innocent expression: "What currency? That's the pattern on the alchemy furnace! As for the fragments—"

He suddenly bowed to everyone and said, "I would like to apologize for this!"

"To be honest, the special effects team was lazy and directly used models from free online material libraries."

The scene erupted in uproar, with some reporters shaking as they tried to suppress their laughter.

Seeing this, Director Dumpling quickly changed the subject, raising his phone and shouting: "Everyone, please pay attention to our official Weibo giveaway! Retweet for a chance to win a limited edition shuttlecock!"
By the way, I'm not part of the premiere's usual program. Director Chen has been waiting for you all for a long time, so don't miss this opportunity! It's been a long time since Director Chen attended a premiere!

Director Dumpling knew how to change the subject, and even winked at Chen Mo.

After he finished speaking, he grabbed the producer and quickly left the set, followed by a chorus of "Director, don't go! Ask one last question—" But all they received in response was Director Dumpling's distant, triple denial: "Really not! Don't guess! It's all a coincidence!"

Director Dumpling fled in disarray. Although the media reporters were somewhat disappointed, they quickly shifted their focus.

Director Jiaozi is absolutely right. If it weren't for the fact that the film's metaphors are so damn obvious and so damn explosive, it would be truly amazing.

They were already heading straight for Chen Mo by now.

However, it's not too late.

The reporters immediately turned their attention to Chen Mo, surging towards him like a tidal wave. They surrounded him instantly, their cameras and microphones exploding in a blinding flash. Some reporters even stepped on their colleagues' feet without apologizing, rushing forward with their recording pens in hand.

"Director Chen! As one of the producers, did you authorize the addition of the currency symbol to the Tianyuan Ding?"

The reporter from Film Weekly was the first to attack, almost shoving the microphone into Chen Mo's chin.

A reporter from "Entertainment Frontline" immediately followed up, asking, "Did Ao Bing's words allude to reality?"

Chen Mo coughed twice and said, "Actually, I also asked Director Jiaozi about these issues, and he said..."

The reporters stared at Chen Mo with exaggerated enthusiasm.

Chen Mo smiled and said, "He said that this story is purely fictional, and any resemblance to actual events or persons is purely coincidental!"

The group of reporters were stunned. Chen Mo, however, calmly straightened his collar, which had been askew, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's talk about something cheerful at today's premiere?"

He casually picked up a few plush toys from the table and waved them around: "Like this Ao Bing figurine, only 500 of them were ever made."

"Director Chen, don't change the subject!"

The male reporter wearing black-rimmed glasses interrupted directly, saying, "Film critics on Mtime have already pointed out that the molecular structure of the Soul-Destroying Pill is completely identical to the patent diagram of a certain country's laboratory!"

This man came prepared; he showed a comparison image on his tablet, and a collective gasp immediately rose from the crowd.

The scene fell into an eerie silence for two seconds.

Chen Mo squinted at the screen, then suddenly burst out laughing: "You guys really know how to jump to conclusions. Didn't Director Dumpling just say that the special effects team was just being lazy and used free materials from the internet?"

"Alright, let's not discuss that anymore. Do you have any more questions? If not, I'm a little hungry, I need to go get something to eat! After all, I don't cultivate immortality, and I don't have any immortal status, so I still need to eat!"

Seeing that Chen Mo was also pretending to be clueless, the reporters knew that it would be difficult to get any sensational information from him.

He had no choice but to change the subject, but still asked with a hint of ambiguity, "Director Chen, is your confidence in a 10 billion yuan box office from this?"

Chen Mo gave the reporter a deep look and then laughed, "Are you kidding me? I hadn't even seen the finished product back then!"

"So, Director Chen, you mean the 10 billion prediction was purely for publicity purposes?" A reporter noticed a loophole in Chen Mo's answer.

Chen Mo laughed; of course, he did it on purpose.

He can take advantage of any opportunity to profit. The effect of the 10 billion prediction is already very good, but he wouldn't mind if it were even better!

"You said that, I didn't. I just have confidence in this movie. Besides, the 10 billion in cash is still frozen. You think I'm talking nonsense? That's not true!" Chen Mo said calmly.

However, the reporters had already gotten what they wanted.

"Alright, one last question! I'm really hungry!" Chen Mo said, raising his hand to look at his watch.

"Director Chen, please give your evaluation of 'Ne Zha'!" a reporter asked.

This is the real Chen Mo's signature routine for attending premieres.

Chen Mo's exclusive program!

Facing the swarm of reporters, Chen Mo smiled slyly, calmly took the microphone, and said in a relaxed yet meaningful tone: "I want to say that you really don't need to think too much about this movie, because it's just an animated film, a mythological story. As for Nezha, he's just a rebellious little brat, born with a rebellious spirit, who can't stand hypocrisy and can't stand being told what to do—but he's just that capable enough to make a hole in the sky."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the film critics' section below, and added pointedly:

"But what I admire most about him is that no matter if the opponent is a god or a monster, as long as they dare to bully him, he'll swing his Universe Ring and fight them off. After he's done, he'll even ask them with righteous indignation: 'Who do you think you are?'"

The audience burst into laughter, and a reporter immediately followed up with, "Is Director Chen implying that Nezha's 'rebellious spirit' is a reflection of reality?"

Chen Mo shrugged, revealing his signature feigned ignorance: "Hey, I didn't say that! If you insist on interpreting it..." He suddenly lowered his voice, imitating Nezha's tone from the movie, "Then I can only reply with one sentence—'My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens!'"

The audience erupted in excitement, with film critics frantically taking notes, while Chen Mo turned away with a flourish, even flashing a Nezha-style "cool and aloof" gesture at the camera before leaving.

After leaving the premiere and returning home, Chen Mo and the three women had a late-night snack and chatted about "Ne Zha".
"So, your confidence comes from those metaphors?" Fan Binbin asked while taking a bite of her vegetable salad.

Yang Mi and Zhang Yuqi also looked at Chen Mo curiously.

Chen Mo shook his head and then nodded: "Yes and no! Actually, 'Ne Zha' also has quite a few flaws, but the flaws don't overshadow the merits. It can be said that this film is wonderful enough in terms of both special effects and the carefully designed 'metaphors'. Although the plot has some shortcomings, it is still enough!"

"Of course, the most important thing is to compare it to the competition!" Chen Mo said after taking a bite of noodles.

In fact, the reason why "Ne Zha" was able to achieve such high box office in its previous life has been studied by countless people, and many conclusions have been drawn.

However, some things cannot be researched and discovered simply by studying them.

In hindsight, it seems that everyone has their own version of events, and everyone seems to have found the real secret, but in reality, it was all just hindsight.

The real reasons are never singular; in fact, they involve a combination of favorable timing, location, and human factors, all of which are indispensable.

It is not replicable at all.

"The biggest advantage of this movie is that it has enough topics for people to discuss. At the same time, the plot may not be to everyone's liking, but at least most people can understand it and enjoy it!" Chen Mo added.

After finishing the last bite of noodles, all four of them simultaneously picked up their phones or tablets and started reading online comments.

(End of this chapter)