This director is vindictive.

Chapter 493 Whose sisters are getting sworn sisters to worship Guan Yu?

The entertainment industry is not about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and worldly wisdom.

Actually, apart from the incident where Zhao Liying refused to act, Chen Mo and Feng Dagang didn't have any deep-seated hatred for each other.

Moreover, when it comes to that matter, the fact that they invited Zhao Liying to play the female lead was actually quite a show of respect. However, Chen Mo refused, and the other party took the opportunity to use this to create hype, so they just went through with it.

It was precisely because of that dispute that this "mutual insult" publicity stunt took place.

Although the two sides did not communicate at all, they maintained a very good understanding and cooperated well.

The results were clearly quite good.

As for being direct competitors? So what? It doesn't prevent us from cooperating on promotions.

It was a cost-effective way to promote the movie. Although Chen Mo was rich, he wouldn't be pretentious about it since he could promote the movie so easily.

Of course, although everyone knows that this move, while seemingly full of tension, is actually a well-coordinated publicity stunt.

But neither Chen Mo nor Feng Dagang will admit it.

At the same time, this "battle" is not only something that can be promoted during the publicity period; it will also be a good gimmick for bundled promotion when the movie is released later.

Of course, at that point, it will depend on the quality of both films.

Chen Mo remained calm and even cooperated with Feng Dagang in the verbal battle because he had confidence in "Sunflower"!
In my past life, some people said this was an art-house film, and that it was because of its subject matter, etc., which was basically just making excuses for the film's failure. But what was the reality?
A bad movie is a bad movie! At least in Chen Mo's opinion, this is a bad movie.

Simply put, you could tell what the director was thinking just by reading the script.

It tells women's stories entirely from a male perspective. How can you expect people to resonate with that? Resonate my foot!
Then, "Sunflower" will naturally fall behind. The two films seem evenly matched now, so they can be promoted together. But once the gap becomes too big, it will be trampled underfoot.

In time, all the hype generated by the bundled marketing will be absorbed by Chen Mo's new film.

As for whether "The Great Tang Dynasty in the Northern Desert" will be successful, Chen Mo is not worried at all.

First of all, the plot of this movie is not particularly surprising. Chen Mo mainly expands on the plot of the original film.

Some scenes were added, especially those featuring the white-haired soldier, as well as some scenes set in Chang'an.

Closer to home.

Chen Mo's collaboration with the other party in this publicity campaign was partly out of necessity, because the other party had already started stirring things up, and even if he ignored it, public opinion wouldn't allow it!
Chen Mo was full of confidence, and Feng Dagang was equally confident.

Feng Dagang put down his phone, a smug smile on his face, and turned to his wife Xu Fan, saying, "How about it? This wave of hype is pretty strong, isn't it? Chen Mo is quite savvy, he cooperated well."

Xu Fan handed him a cup of tea, shaking his head with a smile: "You, at your age, are still arguing with young people. But this time you were definitely smarter than last time, at least you didn't use that actress for publicity."

Feng Dagang took a sip of tea, squinted, and said, "Last time was an accident, but this time it's a serious 'battle of ideologies'."

He pointed to the soaring search index on the tablet: "Look, the Baidu index for 'Sunflower' is almost catching up with that of the Spring Festival film season. Chen Mo must be secretly delighted right now—our actions have saved us at least 50 million yuan in marketing costs."

He certainly has reason to be proud of this wave. After all, what could be more effective than just opening his mouth to gain publicity worth tens of millions?

Moreover, he thoroughly enjoyed himself. After all, it had been a long time since he had engaged in any verbal sparring; it had become a kind of sentimental experience. Of course, this also shows that Feng Dagang's status in the entertainment industry is still very stable!
Xu Fan glanced at the data and couldn't help but remind him, "Don't overdo it. I watched the trailer for 'The Great Tang Dynasty,' and the war scenes are truly breathtaking. What if..."

"Nothing unexpected!"

Feng Dagang suddenly raised his voice and slammed his teacup on the table: "Chen Mo is good at making commercial films, but this time we're going to win!"

He confidently analyzed, counting on his fingers: "First, our subject matter is superior; realism is the policy trend this year. Second, Yao Chen's acting skills are undeniable, far superior to those of popular idols. Third—"

He lowered his voice mysteriously: "Old Wang from the Film Bureau privately revealed that our film has been included in the 'key recommendation' list."

Seeing that his wife was still somewhat worried, Feng Dagang simply opened his phone's photo album and pulled out a few screenshots: "Look, the early film critics' scores on Douban for the preview screenings are 7.8! This is the real score without any censorship. And what about Chen Mo's side? It's all praise for the special effects, the story score is only 7.2."

He became more and more excited as he spoke, "Audiences are already tired of popcorn movies, and our kind of profound works perfectly fill a market gap!"

"No matter how many tricks Chen Mo uses, such as co-creation or marketing, what's the use? In the end, a movie is all about quality! Rehashing old material is just rehashing old material. No matter how much he talks or how much he exaggerates, what's the point?"
Moreover, our films are not just about box office success. This film focuses on marginalized groups and female themes, which can be said to be in line with the pulse of this era.

"Chen Mo's 'The Great Tang Dynasty' is outdated stuff. It was only popular for a short time a decade or so ago. Now, haha!" Seeing Feng Dagang's smug look, Xu Fan couldn't help but laugh.

This is the Feng Dagang she knows; this is the confidence she wants.

However, her opponent was still too strong, strong in every aspect, so she was quite worried.

Seeing her husband's beaming face, Xu Fan suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, about the theaters..."

“It’s all taken care of!” Feng Dagang waved his hand confidently: “Although we can’t get as many screenings as ‘Ne Zha 2,’ we can at least get 35% of the screenings during the Qingming Festival. Old Zhou’s chain cinemas have also agreed to set up themed theaters, with oil painting posters of ‘Sunflower’ hanging all over the walls.”

"Moreover, the popularity of 'Ne Zha 2' has consumed a lot of commercial films and visual effects, and audiences will get tired of it. So it's a good opportunity to change things up. Do you know why I chose to release it in April?"

Because everyone was tired of the same old Nezha movies in theaters, with noisy, unruly kids watching them.

"Our film has everything going for it – the right time, the right place, and the right people. How could we possibly lose?" Feng Dagang is currently riding high on his success.

After all, this promotional campaign was incredibly effective, so many people felt that the movie had a chance to be a hit.

Furthermore, he believed he could outshine Chen Mo, who was currently the most popular figure, so he was naturally even happier.

Feng Dagang added with a laugh, "We also ran a promotion of 'free toilet paper when you watch an art film'—it's a movie with lots of crying scenes, so we need to prepare some for the audience to wipe away their tears."

A few birds chirped outside the window. Feng Dagang went to the balcony, stretched, and turned back with a gleam in his eyes: "Just wait and see. This time, we're not only going to take the box office, but also the Golden Rooster Award for Best Film. That visual spectacle Chen Mo and his team came up with..."

He scoffed dismissively, "The public is already tired of this kind of aesthetic!"

"However, the most urgent task now is to continue to push up this wave of popularity, and it remains to be seen whether Chen Mo will take the plunge!" Feng Dagang said with a smile.

On the other side, Chen Mo was also discussing a similar topic with Zhao Liying.

Of course, he was also very confident.

Chen Mo leaned back on the sofa, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, a smile playing on his lips: "Feng Dagang's move was actually quite interesting."

Zhao Liying raised an eyebrow at him: "What, you actually admire him?"

"I wouldn't say I admire him, but at least he learned his lesson this time."

Chen Mo shrugged and said, "Those low-level tactics of using 'artistic ethics' for publicity in the past were useless except for offending people. But now? He criticizes me, I criticize him, the audience watches the show, the hype rises, and the film's publicity effect is maximized—a win-win situation."

Zhao Liying said thoughtfully, "But what if 'Sunflower' really becomes a hit? After all, realistic themes have been quite popular in recent years."

Chen Mo scoffed, "Explode? With what?"

He picked up his tablet, swiped a few times, and pulled up the script analysis for "Sunflower." "The biggest problem with this film is that the director uses a male perspective to depict women's suffering, and thinks it's 'profound.' Audiences aren't stupid; who will pay for this kind of fragmented 'empathy'?"

He paused, then added, "Besides, no matter how strong Yao Dazui's acting is, it can't save the script from its flaws. Believe it or not, when the movie is released, there will be a lot of people online complaining, 'Does this director have some misunderstanding about women?' or complaining about the recent buzzword 'male eccentricity'!"

Zhao Liying couldn't help but laugh: "The way you're saying this makes it sound like you've already seen the ending."

Chen Mo glanced at her and thought, "Good heavens, how did you know I saw the ending in my past life?"
“Because the ending is quite obvious. You’ve read the script, so tell me your own feelings,” Chen Mo said with a smile, looking at Zhao Liying.

"Uh..." Zhao Liying was at a loss for words. She had actually felt something was wrong at first, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Chen Mo laughed and said, "This film focuses on the struggles of Gao Yuexiang, a woman released from prison, and attempts to present the truth about the survival of marginalized groups in society. He (Feng) has been in his comfort zone for too long and is unwilling to truly step into the lives of women at the bottom of society. As a result, a film about marginalized women filled with a male perspective is destined to be neither fish nor fowl."

Take, for example, the climax's "sisterhood oath" ceremony, which is completed by bowing to a statue of Guan Yu. This insertion of masculine,江湖-like elements completely exposes the director's misinterpretation of the essence of female mutual assistance. At least in this film, the alliance of lower-class women should be a survival strategy, not a gender-swapped version of江湖义气 (a code of honor among men).

To be honest, Chen Mo couldn't understand it at all. If it were directed by a Hong Kong gangster film director, Chen Mo could understand the sworn brotherhood and worship of Guan Yu.

After all, in Hong Kong, whether it's triads or the police force, they all worship Guan Gong.

But why would Feng Dagang use such a ceremony? Chen Mo couldn't figure it out.

It's hard to evaluate anyway.

(End of this chapter)