I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 328 Abstract!

When the end credits song of "Kung Fu Basketball" started playing, Liang Xiaogang had no idea how he walked out of the theater.

The sung catchy tune of the overalls player still echoed in his ears, and his mind kept flashing back to mentally polluting images such as 720-degree spin dunks, steel spring backboards, and basketball fire effects.

The corridor lights were so bright they made his vision blur, and his steps became slightly unsteady...

This "masterpiece," which combines expressionless acting, absurd plot, and fantastical basketball, completely shattered his bottom line as a director.

As he passed the restroom, he suddenly splashed cold water on his face repeatedly.

It wasn't until the icy touch stung my cheeks that I regained some clarity.

He breathed a sigh of relief; he had actually made it through!
Outside, the bursts of laughter from the audience continued to echo.

This movie uses the "passionate" plot of street basketball versus gambling scandals as its framework, but it is filled with all sorts of absurd, exaggerated, and illogical comedic scenes.

The laughter generated by this unconventional "plot" style sounded particularly jarring to Liang Xiaogang. Despite the enthusiastic response from the audience, he could never understand the appeal of this kind of humor.

The entire film is filled with a bold, almost absurd, performance style. The actors' exaggerated body language and illogical dialogue make this work transcend the traditional category of "bad movies" and more like a deliberately absurd performance of mental illness...

This kind of performance is not only sick, but also extremely low-class!

As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, he took a deep breath. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhou Yang walking towards him. That humble-smiling face now seemed like a monstrous beast to him.

He quickened his pace, almost jogging across the corridor, his clothes billowing in the wind.

When he heard the call of "Director Liang, please wait!" from behind, he walked even faster, as if a demon was coming to claim his life. He didn't even wait for the elevator and rushed to the emergency exit with the security personnel.

His frantic footsteps echoed in the stairwell, as if the basketball fire from that absurd movie was still chasing after him...

At that moment, all he wanted was to rush into the parking lot and get as far away as possible from this devil who was corrupting people's minds.

Oh shit!

If that guy stops him and forces him to comment on the movie in front of the media, or even implies that the movie has something to do with him.
If someone were to create something like "Dark Knight" and insist that it was his idea, then even if it wasn't already garbage, it would become garbage!

Fuck!
If I can't afford to offend you, can't I just hide away?

……

evening!

Liang Xiaogang returned to the villa, locked himself in the study, smoked silently, and repeatedly played the Blu-ray disc of "The Last Supper." The more he watched, the more he felt that his film should have been a masterpiece recorded in film history.

With its Shakespearean tragic core, refined Tang Dynasty aesthetics, and Zhang Yi's powerful performance, every frame exudes a sense of sophistication.

He stared at the close-up of the flower petals floating on the water as the empress bathed on the screen. He shot this scene 37 times before he was satisfied, and the composition of the light and shadow was comparable to a Renaissance oil painting.

I went back to watch Ge Hui's five-minute monologue. Every micro-expression of the actor was carefully designed, vividly portraying the emperor's inner struggle.

This!
That's what makes a truly good movie!

And at this moment...

The image of "Kung Fu Basketball" flashed through his mind again...

Next!

Closed his eyes.

Liang Xiaogang repeatedly compared the serious aesthetics of "The Last Supper" with the absurd style of "Kung Fu Basketball," and every time he recalled it, his eyes stung and his stomach churned as if he wanted to vomit.

"Why should this kind of garbage be allowed to be shown in theaters? What's wrong with today's audiences! Why do they ignore 'The Last Supper' and insist on watching these kinds of movies?"

He muttered to himself, but received no response in the empty office.

He turned on his computer and opened the comment sections of various movie websites.

As expected, "Kung Fu Basketball" has become a trending topic.

Seeing the screen full of negative reviews and the audience's negative comments about the movie, his originally devastated emotions were slightly relieved.

He breathed a sigh of relief...

It seems that at least my own aesthetic sense is not the problem, or rather, the aesthetic standards of mainstream experts, film critics, and the media are still normal...

....................................

"Holy crap, this is the first time I've ever seen such an abstract film!"

"Me too, my mind went completely blank from beginning to end!"

"..."

"Kung Fu Basketball is a desecration of cinematic art! This farce, which crudely grafts martial arts fantasy onto street basketball, is filled with vulgar jokes and anti-intellectual logic, and can be called the worst aesthetic regression in the history of Chinese cinema!"

"This movie is like 'The Monkey King', which was made by Hong Kong comedy star Deng Xingzu after his transformation in the 1990s. The whole movie is full of vulgar and absurd plot. Even Deng Xingzu, who was once very popular, could not save 'The Monkey King' from its market failure. So what about your disgusting 'Kung Fu Basketball'?"

"Abstract, so damn abstract. I watched it for a few minutes in the theater, and after that, I couldn't take it anymore and ran away. How could anyone make a movie like this?"

"Yes, it's really bad!"

"No acting skills, no plot, just showing off his cool the whole time. Ugh, it gave me cringe-worthy moments..."

"Holy crap, what the hell is that overalls dance? Is it some kind of Iron Mountain Lean? It actually looks like it, holy crap!" "I don't know why, but I feel like I'm addicted. I actually, I even went and imitated it!"

"I poke!"

"..."

After the premiere of "Kung Fu Basketball", the entire film industry was plunged into unprecedented chaos.

When the audience left the screening room, their faces were filled with shock and confusion.

They had never seen such an unconventional film style before.

Although Zhou Yang's previous abstract films were already quite "outrageous," this new work is like opening a door to another dimension, completely breaking through everyone's cognitive boundaries.

They had never seen such a "heart-stirring and soul-touching" movie!

As more and more viewers finished watching the film and flooded various film review websites, they began to criticize this astonishing movie.
This movie is becoming incredibly popular!

After its release, "Kung Fu Basketball" quickly swept across major film review websites and topped the trending search lists on social media platforms such as [Kuaibo] and [Weibo].

Older film critics had never seen such an "alternative" film before, and they published articles criticizing it, believing that Zhou Yang was destroying the art of film.

In an interview, Wang Lei, editor-in-chief of Film Weekly, expressed his deep sorrow, saying that this film was simply going to nail Chinese cinema to the pillar of shame. Even Liu Jiasheng, Zhou Yang's go-to film critic, posted dozens of question marks on [Kuaibo], launching a fierce attack on the film.

however!
By 9 p.m., the comment sections of major film review websites, especially [Movie House], showed a strange polarization: on one hand, angry film critics denounced it as "a desecration of the art of film", while on the other hand, young viewers were frantically forwarding various "abstract" stills.

In fact, it started with a group of new accounts that appeared out of nowhere, suddenly creating some "stills" and memes to criticize the movie and releasing all sorts of "outrageous" materials!

Then, more and more people started to share it, among which the "male protagonist 720-degree spin dunk" video was the most common, and it quickly spawned many versions!

There are just too many people on the internet who enjoy watching the spectacle!

Just a few hours!
No one expected that the GIF of the male protagonist doing a 720-degree spin dunk, accompanied by the text "This ball is hot to the touch," would instantly go viral on the internet!
Some film critics were shocked when they saw this scene, while astute bloggers quickly realized that this debate about aesthetics had transcended the film itself and contained a huge potential for generating traffic.

Following this, with a tentative idea in mind, they began posting a series of analyses of various mesmerizing moves from "Kung Fu Basketball" on their own public social media platforms such as [Kuaipiao] and [Weibo], imitating those new accounts that appeared out of nowhere...

As expected, just as they predicted, the level of attention skyrocketed!

As more and more bloggers started getting involved and creating "fun," the most bizarre scene on the internet has emerged!

What professional film critics considered a disastrous work with "expressionless acting and a brainless plot" has suddenly become a stress-relieving masterpiece for young audiences.

In particular, the "Iron Mountain Lean" dance during the basketball game in the film was turned into a viral GIF by netizens, and its unique style of movement immediately went viral on the Internet.
Until the early hours of the morning...

As more and more people get involved and start playing these things!

The "Overalls Warrior" suddenly surged to second place on the trending topics list...

More and more netizens who hadn't seen the movie before began to pay attention to it out of curiosity...

When they saw the ticket price for this movie...

All shocked!

....................................

Three o'clock in the morning.

Liang Xiaogang sat in the chair, his emotions somewhat complicated.

He seemed to increasingly feel that he was falling behind the times.

He looked down and glanced at the opening day box office of "Kung Fu Basketball"!

Just now, the box office figures for the premiere of "Kung Fu Basketball" were announced!

The opening weekend box office was 600 million!

This box office figure is not good. Compared to other films released by Zhou Yang, this box office figure is average, or even a complete flop!
but……

When Liang Xiaogang saw the box office figures, he didn't feel gratified; instead, his eyes widened in disbelief!

Behind the opening weekend box office figures, another set of data appeared before Liang Xiaogang!

On the opening day of "Kung Fu Basketball", the number of viewers was close to 60!

This is almost the same number of viewers as their top domestic film!
He looked down at the ticket price for this movie...

This movie!

Tickets are only 10 yuan!

Yes, you read that right!

Not only are the tickets only 10 yuan, but you also get a free glass of iced water with every movie ticket purchase!
"How are the advance ticket sales for this movie going?"

He dialed the phone...

After hearing the response on the other end of the phone...

He closed his eyes!

(End of this chapter)