This director is vindictive.

Chapter 491 Onlookers, take your positions! Let's fight! Let's fight!
To be honest, Feng Dagang's performance this time really brought back many old viewers' memories of their youth.

Many netizens are jokingly saying that the outspoken and bold "Little Cannon" is finally back.

Back then, Feng Dagang held a truly prestigious position in the film industry, dominating the Lunar New Year film season for many consecutive years and rightfully earning the title of 'King of Lunar New Year Films'.

Compared to the aloof poet Chen, Feng Dagang, just like his nickname suggests, has a strong and straightforward personality. He is never afraid of offending people and often publicly criticizes various phenomena, providing plenty of topics for gossip enthusiasts.

Unfortunately, whether it was due to old age or other reasons, he gradually became taciturn. But everyone knew in their hearts, could Feng Dagang, who no longer fired his guns, still be called "Little Cannon"?

Of course, it can also be said that things are different now. Back then, Little Cannon was full of ambition, and his movies were also considered "down-to-earth," so he really did have quite a few fans.

In the words of netizens: "Here he comes again! He's finally here!"

And to be fair, Feng Dagang's actions this time were indeed much more skillful, completely different from his previous methods of using Zhao Liying's refusal to act as a publicity stunt.

It's important to understand that celebrities value their reputation above all else. If you use a sensitive topic like "professional ethics" to create hype, they'll definitely turn against you, since it's already a personal attack to some extent.

But this time he learned his lesson and directly confronted the issue head-on.

It's basically just mutual criticism. If I say you're bad, you can say I'm bad too. That's how the topic gets hyped up, and it promotes both movies.

What's even more interesting is that, on the surface, he wasn't the one who started the trouble this time.

You see, the host deliberately stirred things up to get him to speak, and what he said was all about the facts, without intentionally targeting anyone. This way, he achieved the desired publicity effect without making people think he was deliberately trying to cause trouble.

Compared to the previous low-class hype, this operation is obviously much more sophisticated.

Even if it were someone else, they would still have to thank him. After all, when directors bicker with each other, they generate buzz, which in turn generates publicity, and the general public can also enjoy the drama. It's a win-win situation!

At Chen Mo's home.

Chen Mo couldn't help but laugh while watching Feng Dagang's interview.

"You can still laugh?" Zhao Liying frowned, looking at Chen Mo with a puzzled expression.

"Why can't you laugh? What's there to be angry about?" Chen Mo asked in a relaxed tone.

"Feng Dagang directly criticized you by name, yet you're not angry at all?" Zhao Liying asked in confusion.

This was unlike the Chen Mo she knew. Back then, Chen Mo had been seeking revenge against the Backstabbing Cult from morning till night.

"You've been in the entertainment industry for so many years, and you still can't see this? This time, they're just testing their chemistry with me!" Chen Mo said with a smile.

"Looking for tacit understanding? Him with you?" Zhao Liying looked completely bewildered, and her gaze towards Chen Mo became somewhat strange.

"What are you thinking? I'm talking about movie promotion! Both of our movies are being released in the same period. By stirring up this war of words, he's directly linking 'Sunflower' and 'Tang Dynasty' together. This is a standard promotional tactic, even a bit retro. In the early days of movie promotion, there weren't so many fancy methods, so war of words was the most traditional and effective promotional tool, although it seems a bit old-fashioned now," Chen Mo said with a smile.

"You mean, he did it on purpose? Hmm, thinking about it carefully, it really seems that way. So, are you going to cooperate?" Zhao Liying had been in this industry for many years, although she was more involved in the drama circle, which is a bit different from the publicity in the film circle. But as soon as Chen Mo said it, she immediately understood.

"What else can we do? Our movie is about to be released, we can't just let him insult us without saying anything back, can we? These kinds of verbal battles seem like they're going head-to-head on the surface, but both sides know perfectly well that they're just trying to create hype for each other. In this situation, I have no choice but to fight back," Chen Mo said.

"Look, now even casual netizens are tagging me to fight back. Actually, netizens know perfectly well that this is just a publicity stunt, but they can't help it, the criticism is real! They love this kind of gossip." Chen Mo took out his phone and opened his Weibo page. Wow, so many netizens left comments below, urging Chen Mo to retaliate.

Zhao Liying peeked over, but the next moment she couldn't help but laugh.

Because the comments from netizens were just too...
"@ChenMo, stop playing dead! Feng Dagang is already attacking us head-on, can you tolerate this? Hurry up and fire! Where's the grandeur of the thousands of troops in the 'Tang Dynasty' trailer? Take it out and confront him!"

"Hilarious! Little Cannon says 'The Great Tang Dynasty' has no soul? Then is the soul of 'Sunflower' entirely in Yao Dazui's exaggerated acting? @ChenMo, quickly slap him in the face with your box office success!"

"Let's fight! Director Feng criticizes commercial films as low-class, Chen Mo quickly retorts by calling art films pretentious! I suggest the two directors settle this during the Spring Festival season; whoever has the lower box office should retire from the industry!"

"@Director Chen Mo said your movie is a 'money-burning, soulless visual fast food,' so tell me, how many hundred million is the soul of 'The Great Tang' worth?"

Even netizens offered advice to Chen Mo: "Fun fact: Director Feng's last movie scored 5.8 on Douban, while Chen Mo's produced works averaged 8.2. So @ChenMo, all you need to do is post a screenshot of the rating, which will be extremely damaging and insulting."

"I'm taking Chen Mo away, no thanks! Some washed-up directors aren't satisfied with riding the coattails of 'Ne Zha,' so they're trying to piggyback on 'The Great Tang Dynasty'? @ChenMo, let's teach them a lesson with our box office success!"

"I suggest Chen Mo make a short video: send the old man a box of quick-acting heart medicine, with the caption 'I heard you have a heart condition, I'm afraid you'll faint on the spot after watching 'The Great Tang' break box office record'."

"Haha, this generation of netizens is really cunning! So, Director Chen, how do you plan to retaliate?" Zhao Liying asked curiously.

Chen Mo smiled and put down his phone, then winked at Zhao Liying: "Since netizens have already come up with the words for me, of course I have to play along."

He opened Weibo and quickly edited a post:
"I just finished watching Director Feng's interview and benefited a lot from it."

So the soul of a movie is low screen time, poor box office, and audience dissatisfaction? I've learned something new!
However, Director Feng may have forgotten that every penny of *Ne Zha 2*'s 15 billion yuan box office was a "soul vote" cast by the audience with their movie tickets. As for *The Great Tang Desert*—releasing on April 1st—Director Feng is welcome to bring his heart medication to the screening, because our "visual fast food" box office numbers might cause some "flesh-and-blood" films to collapse on the spot. [doge]

Then he thought about it and realized it wasn't enough, so he edited another message.

"Director Feng's logic is quite interesting - if his own movies don't sell well, he blames others for being too successful?"

The screenings of "Ne Zha 2" were booked by audiences one by one, and the additional screenings in theaters were due to supply falling short of demand.

As for 'monopoly'.
Eight films competed in the Spring Festival film season this year, so why didn't anyone say that *Ne Zha 2* had a monopoly? Also, that "buried" newcomer film that Director Feng mentioned had a 5.2 rating on Douban and a box office conversion rate of less than 1%. Can that be blamed on *Ne Zha*? (Shrugs) The market never rejects good movies, but some people should make a good film before talking about sentimentality.

"How is it?" Chen Mo turned to Zhao Liying and asked.

"You're being too sarcastic. But are you sure it's okay to post this?" Zhao Liying couldn't help but laugh.

The netizens below finally got what they wanted and started fighting.

This is making things more and more interesting.

"Chen Mo's slap in the face was too ruthless! He has absolutely no respect for elders or children!!"

"Upstairs, I can understand not respecting the elderly, but what kind of nonsense is this about not respecting the elderly and caring for the young?"

"Hilarious! When Feng Dagang dominated the New Year's film season back then, why didn't he shout 'Let a hundred flowers bloom'? He's a master of double standards!"

On the other hand, Feng Dagang wasn't as angry as before when he saw Chen Mo's Weibo post, after all, this was what he wanted.

As the two began their war of words, the buzz quickly started to rise.

The #ChenMoFengDagangFight# directly topped the trending searches, even overshadowing the box office of "Ne Zha 2" surpassing 160 billion yuan.

Sometimes, things are just that surreal.

After all, the box office dominance of "Ne Zha 2" is old news. Whether it's 15 billion or 16 billion, it's nothing new.

However, it has been a long time since the Chinese entertainment film industry has seen two big directors going toe-to-toe and verbally attacking each other.

The media, of course, wouldn't miss this opportunity to generate buzz. That very evening, a trending post on a film and television forum was titled: "Shocking! Two directors challenge each other on Weibo, the April box office battle is already set for the year's biggest gossip event!"

Of course, the ultimate goal of the verbal battle was to promote the movie.

Feng Dagang quickly launched his first wave of publicity campaign.

The official Weibo account of "Sunflower" suddenly posted a message late at night: "While you are indulging in fictional heroic myths, someone is recording the struggles and redemption of the real world."

Tomorrow at noon, the documentary "Female Prisoner's True Story" will premiere online, taking you inside the lives of women behind bars—@ChenMo, films should have the power to reflect reality.

The accompanying images are a nine-grid black-and-white still from the film: close-ups of the numb faces of the female prisoners, the shadows of the iron bars in the cells, the trembling hands of family members during visits, and the last image is a serious profile of Feng Dagang in front of the camera, with the caption "We owe them a look."

This was quite effective, considering that normally, documentaries like this wouldn't attract much attention.

But things are different now.

Netizens have been waiting for the flame war to continue.

Sure enough, the comment section split up instantly as soon as the Weibo post was published:
"That's what a responsible director looks like! Unlike some people who just make popcorn movies to make money!"

"This group indeed receives very little attention, perhaps that's the significance of realistic films?"

"Disgusting! Using vulnerable groups as marketing tools? 'Sunflower' is destined to flop at the box office!"

Chen Mo laughed when he saw this, but it was quite a coincidence.

Because he actually prepared a documentary for "The Great Tang Dynasty in the Northern Desert".

Isn't that a coincidence? This is truly a perfect match.

The next morning, "The Great Tang Dynasty in the Northern Desert" also released a counter-announcement: "The last remnant of the Anxi Army defended the Western Regions for 42 years, but the history books only recorded 29 words about it."

The documentary "The Great Tang Anxi Army" premieres tonight at 8 PM. See how these white-haired soldiers, with their blood and flesh, interpret the spirit of "May the soul return!"—@Director Feng Dagang, the realism you requested, we offer even more.

The trailer flashes between scenes of cracked Tang Dynasty armor amidst swirling yellow sand, tattered flags planted on the ruins of the ancient city of Kucha, and a historian trembling as he reads aloud fragments of Dunhuang manuscripts that read, "In the third year of Yuanhe, the Anxi army was completely wiped out." The trailer finally freezes on the scene of the archaeological team excavating artifacts in the desert.

(End of this chapter)