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

Chapter 361 A Frenzy of Terrible Movies!

July arrived quickly.

The overwhelming publicity from internet capital has indeed been remarkably effective.

Countless moviegoers were drawn in by the bold pronouncements of the young directors, coupled with the seemingly well-made movie trailers and the call for the rise of domestic films. In the end, they all spent money to buy tickets to support domestic films.

On July 1st, the "Domestic Film Protection Month" officially kicked off, with cinemas across the country packed with more than 30 new domestic films, and even midnight screenings were filled with low-budget suspense films.

The cinema located in Wanda Mall was particularly lively.

Located in a prime area, this shopping mall, jointly developed by Wanda Properties and Huaying International, leveraged the movie premiere to launch a grand opening event that attracted a large influx of movie fans.

Liu Jiasheng struggled through the crowded throng and finally managed to squeeze into the screening room.

Today's premiere is "Building Dreams in the Entertainment Industry"—the film's director, Bi Zhengnan, has been enjoying immense popularity in recent months.

From casting to the finished film, and even the interpretation of its artistic style, discussions about this movie have never ceased on the internet and in various media outlets.

Director Bi even styled himself as a rising star in Chinese cinema, speaking eloquently about the future of the film industry in front of various media cameras, and was once the talk of the town.

Liu Jiasheng had lost count of how many news stories he had heard about Bi Zhengnan.

The investors put on a grand show for "Building Dreams in the Entertainment Industry" this time, with a star-studded premiere, including renowned directors like Li Zhengtao and Chen Kai.

Although Liu Jiasheng rarely watches movies outside of Zhou Yang's system, he couldn't resist the incredible hype surrounding this film online and finally couldn't suppress his curiosity, wanting to see for himself what this overhyped movie was really like.

In addition, President Zhou instructed him to come and take a look...

So, here he comes.

……

As the lights in the screening room dimmed, Liu Jiasheng was still immersed in the artistic vibe of the trailer's "montage deconstructing the entertainment industry."

However, the moment the movie started, he realized that he seemed to have been tricked!

He stared blankly at the screen!

My head was buzzing, and my mind was completely blank!
This film employs 11 parallel storylines, but each storyline feels like an unfinished short video script, with such confusing character relationships that Liu Jiasheng had no idea what the film was about halfway through…

But the movie seems to have all the elements: a love triangle + car accident and amnesia, a rich man keeping a female student as a mistress, brothers turning against each other without any foreshadowing, and key plot points being advanced through the characters' narration...

Damn, all sorts of tricks are emerging one after another, it's shocking.

Aside from that, the character portrayals in the film are absolutely outrageous!

The acting was terrible!

How rotten is it?
Damn, you can't even tell this is a movie. It's like they just grabbed a pretty girl and made a film out of her. All the characters are just using hysterical screaming to convey emotions.

The acting was bad enough, but the character's behavior defied common sense...

Everyone was acting like madmen, inexplicably becoming gloomy, inexplicably collapsing, and then inexplicably laughing!

Is this a script that's been in preparation for a year?

Liu Jiasheng gasped, then forced himself to suppress his nausea and continued watching the movie…

Then, I noticed the film's camerawork, which was amateurishly flawed. Dialogue scenes were frequently out of focus, close-ups were too close to the actors' nostrils, and the color grading style kept jumping between ghastly filters. In the film, the extras would suddenly and inexplicably burst into laughter, and there were a lot of continuity errors, with the dubbing not matching the lip movements...

……

The plot of the movie "Monkey King vs. Superman 2" at least has some logic and character development!
And this movie...

……

Liu Jiasheng sat blankly in the screening room, surrounded by a tidal wave of curses.

On screen, the chaotic narrative of "Building Dreams in the Entertainment Industry" continues, with 11 subplots tangled together like an overturned paint bucket, and characters sometimes screaming hysterically, sometimes grinning foolishly at thin air.
Suddenly, an audience member in the front row threw down a popcorn bucket and yelled, "This is what you call a movie? Fuck your mother! Refund!?" The entire theater erupted instantly, with some people shouting for refunds and others simply leaving.

Liu Jiasheng stared at the screen...

At least the fight scenes in "Kung Fu Basketball" are exhilarating, and the special effects in "Ultraman Cosmic" are quite impressive.

This "hundred-million-yuan blockbuster" that claims to be an "artistic innovation" has even its most basic narrative logic broken.

When Liu Jiasheng saw the female lead suddenly start dancing a robotic dance at the funeral, he finally broke down and covered his eyes, with only one thought in his mind: "If Zhou Yang's movies are bad, what is this?"

Before the movie ended, he couldn't stand the nausea anymore and ran out of the theater!
Fuck!
The movie ticket costs 20 yuan!

Nima!

Is he crazy, coming here to spend money and suffer?
……

Despite the churning in his stomach, Liu Jiasheng left the screening room of "Building Dreams in the Entertainment Industry" and, still unwilling to give up, bought tickets for several other movies.

He gritted his teeth and walked into the theater for "The Domineering CEO Falls in Love with a Zombie," only to find a zombie dressed in an Armani suit performing a robotic dance in a conference room within ten minutes of the movie starting. Damn it, it was like watching an Indian dance movie from beginning to end. The plot was a complete mess, an insult to one's intelligence...

When I watched "Nezha Mining Coal," I was even more shocked by how ridiculous it was—Nezha rides his Wind Fire Wheels through a coal mine shouting "Safety first!" and then the miners die, and Nezha goes to the underworld to rescue them...

The most outrageous one is "Bao Gong vs. the Demon Knight," which is filled with a jumble of nonsensical elements. A bunch of people sing some nonsensical Peking Opera, then ride bicycles and act crazy. There's practically no plot at all...

After watching five movies in a row, Liu Jiasheng slumped onto a plastic chair in the cinema corridor. In a daze, he felt that the entire screen during the "Domestic Film Protection Month" was distorted and deformed, and that those directors who touted "artistic innovation" seemed to have been collectively possessed, treating film as graffiti walls in a madhouse.

He pulled out his phone to message Zhou Yang, typed and deleted, finally managing to squeeze out only one sentence: "These people aren't making movies, they're causing mental pollution! Mr. Zhou, I fucking can't watch anymore, it's killing me! Damn it, can you please report this to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television of China? Why were these movies approved?"

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

In fact!
Moviegoers were already mentally prepared when they entered the theater.

Clutching their movie tickets, they joked with each other, "Consider it supporting domestic films." Before the movie's release, some even posted on [Kuaibo]: "As long as it's a bit better than 'Calabash Brothers Save Grandpa'!"

This is already their lowest expectation for domestic films.

Even when the lights in the theater dimmed, some people muttered, "Could something be worse than 'Monkey King vs. Superman 2'?"

A few scattered laughs echoed in the darkness. Everyone remembered that groundbreaking "bad movie" from back then. The special effects were crude and the acting was exaggerated, but at least the story was understandable, the fight scenes were exciting, and you could still laugh and complain after watching it.

However, when the movie was halfway through, the audience completely broke down!
They never dreamed that these directors would produce such appalling works.

Compared to these films, damn it, Zhou Yang's early works, which were once regarded as "benchmarks of bad movies," have now become the quality ceiling that they can only look up to!

……

The scorching July sun beat down on the earth, but the Chinese film industry was hit by an unprecedented cold wave.

When the first group of viewers staggered out of the theater clutching their stomachs, the entire internet was instantly flooded with a wave of anger.

[Quick Search] Among the top ten trending topics, #DreamBuildingEntertainmentCircleTicketRefund#, #DomesticFilmProtectionMonthScam#, and #BiZhengnanGetOutOfTheFilmIndustry# are climbing at an alarming rate, with thousands of angry comments piling up under each topic...

Theater managers were the first to feel the impact of this storm. At Wanda Cinemas, Manager Zhang stared at the plummeting ticket sales figures on the real-time system, his fingers trembling as he dialed headquarters: "Today, the refund rate for 'Building Dreams' has reached 63%, and the other films are even worse. Yes, audiences are practically cursing at the ticket counters..."

After hearing feedback from major cinema chains across the country, the investors weren't alarmed...

Initially, the investors tried to use Zhou Yang's "black and red are also red" hype strategy.

After the premiere, Bi Zhengnan, in an interview on Weibo, arrogantly declared, "If you don't understand it, it's because your aesthetic standards are lacking! This movie is absolutely a masterpiece!"

The "Zombie" production team bought articles to boast that they "created a new genre of zombie romance films," and the entire internet was quickly flooded with all sorts of things praising domestic films...

Furthermore, investors are going to great lengths to hype up how difficult the current situation is for domestic films, what kind of predicament they face, and how much support they need...

Not long after these announcements were released, the investors suddenly realized that Zhou Yang's path was simply not viable!
The audience isn't buying it at all!
[Quickly] The hashtag #Refund# on Weibo surged to tens of millions of views in half an hour, and angry viewers directly lowered the rating of "Building Dreams in the Entertainment Industry" to 2.1. Director Bi's line "If you don't understand, it's because you have no aesthetic sense" was turned into a meme and went viral. Theater managers' phones were ringing off the hook, and ticket counters were crowded with viewers holding up their ticket stubs and cursing.

The paid online trolls, who had just posted messages about "art needing tolerance," were immediately overwhelmed by the anger of real viewers. All sorts of these troll accounts were exposed and brought to the internet...

At 7 p.m. on July 1, all investors were suddenly horrified to discover that the criticism of the bad movie was completely out of control!

To their even greater surprise, a large number of online troll accounts were immediately reported and banned by angry movie fans. Within just a few hours, their carefully constructed public opinion defense collapsed completely, resulting in heavy losses...

Despite such a massive media campaign, "The Dream Makers" barely grossed 580 million yuan on its opening day, but the audience refund rate was as high as 63%, leaving cinema managers sweating bullets as they watched the real-time data.

Other films released at the same time, such as "The Domineering CEO Falls in Love with a Zombie" and "Ne Zha Mines Coal," fared even worse, failing to even reach the 500 million yuan mark on their opening day, and all stuck in the awkward range of two to three million yuan.

Even more alarming was the second day's pre-sale data. The cinema system showed that the ticket sales rate for prime-time screenings was less than 10%, and there were even more empty seats for midnight screenings. Some cinema managers were devastated to find that some screenings even had "zero pre-sales"—a complete failure.

This is, damn it, only the second day of the premiere!
Summer blockbuster movies!

The topic of #ticketrefundwave# has exploded on the internet, cinemas are inundated with calls from angry moviegoers, and investors are holding meetings overnight but are at a loss.

Director Bi's team, who initially boasted about the "100 million yuan production," has fallen silent. Meanwhile, platforms like Wandou Film Network, which once strongly supported these films, now have their ratings filled with one-star reviews, and highly praised comments in the comment section include: "At least 5 million of this 5.8 million yuan box office revenue is fraudulent!"

And at this moment...

Countless investors were instantly jolted awake!

They realized that...

Zhou Yang's "black fame" is built on solid entertainment value...

And what they've promoted might be...

It's pure industrial waste!

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

In the early hours of July 2nd, several investors stared at the plummeting box office curve of "Building Dreams in the Entertainment Industry" on their computer screens, their fingers trembling as they dialed Director Bi's number.

The receiver chimed with "The number you dialed is currently unavailable," and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He then tried calling Director Wang of "The Domineering CEO Falls in Love with a Zombie" and Director Li of "Nezha Digs Coal," but both calls went to busy.

The office door was suddenly kicked open, and the secretary rushed in holding several photos: "President Chen! Director Bi and the others have all gone missing! Their hotel luggage has been cleared out!"

The photo shows pictures that the paparazzi just took...

Director Bi, wearing a baseball cap, was running wildly through the airport VIP passage...

After filming, several directors all obtained passports and fled the country...

They stared at Director Bi's flamboyant signature at the end of the contract, and suddenly remembered how this young man had confidently guaranteed a box office of 300 million three months ago. Their vision blurred instantly!
This is not the "next Zhou Yang" at all; it's clearly a fraud gang that's trying to fleece people!

………………

【Tianyu】

"We received news that all the directors of the films we're about to release have run away..."

"Quick, fucking stop them!"

"We couldn't stop them. They realized things weren't going well during the premiere, that the market wasn't right, so they ran away! More than thirty of them ran away, some of them apparently went to Southeast Asia..."

"what!"

Deng Baichuan suddenly stood up from his chair, his pupils shrinking sharply!

Immediately afterwards...

He realized something was wrong!

Just then, the phone rang.

The call was from Zhang Zhonglei of [Huashang Brothers]...

Zhang Zhonglei's voice on the phone also carried a hint of panic.

How's your director doing?

"My directors, seeing things weren't going well, all of them fucking went abroad!"

"What, you too..."

"Grass!"

After hanging up the phone, Deng Baichuan was dumbfounded!

Just at this time……

The cinema's phone kept ringing, and after answering the call, Deng Baichuan's expression changed drastically.

He hurriedly gave instructions to his secretary.

"Quickly, release those romance movies!"

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

Early morning on December 7th.

As news of the mass exodus of young directors spread throughout the industry, the entire film and television circle instantly descended into unprecedented chaos.

The investors held an emergency meeting overnight. Faced with an empty director's chair and calls from theater managers urging the release of the film, they finally gritted their teeth and brought their long-shelved romance film, originally scheduled for release in August, to the big screen to save the day.

However, no one could have imagined that these hastily released films, while better than films like "Dream Builder"—at least less abstract and telling a serious story—would still fail to escape the audience's wrath.
—The clichéd love triangle, car accident amnesia, and domineering CEO falling in love with Cinderella plot are all old tricks that Zhou Yang had already played with before.

The yawns in the screening room were louder than the dialogue.

When the Nth kiss in the rain appeared on screen, some audience members finally couldn't help but stand up and flee the cinema, frantically complaining: "Did they use Zhou Yang's terrible script to make this?"

"Zhou Yang finished his meal and even licked the plate clean, and you guys are still picking up the scraps!"

The rating page of [Wandou Movie Network] was instantly flooded with one-star reviews. The top-rated review read: "Guess the ending from the beginning series +1. I suggest renaming it 'Zhou Yang Imitation Contest Award Ceremony'."

The theater manager was devastated by the plummeting box office figures!
These films were even worse, with their opening day box office falling short of 300 million, not even a fraction of what "Dark Knight" earned.

On July 5th, investors made a desperate gamble by releasing their last batch of "hidden gem" films to the big screen to save the day.

These hastily edited urban romance films and period dramas were crammed into the theater like expired canned goods...

If these films had been released last year, during the same "Romance Film Month" as Zhou Yang's films, they might have caused quite a stir...

but……

However, audiences have long since lost all patience due to bad movies—

When the "car accident and amnesia" scene appeared on the screen for the nth time, the entire theater erupted in deafening boos.

The rating on [Wandou Movie Network] plummeted to 2.3, and the hot review section was flooded with insults such as "industrial garbage" and "fraudulent movie".

……

The scorching July sun beat down on the headquarters building of Tianyu Media.

Deng Baichuan slumped in his office chair, staring at the constantly refreshed box office data on his computer screen!

The total box office for the day has fallen below 1300 million, setting a record low for the summer season in nearly ten years.

Just at this time……

The secretary cautiously pushed open the door and entered: "President Deng, the theaters just returned the 35mm film reels of 'Childhood Sweethearts,' saying that the audience collectively refunded their tickets after seeing the cast list."

"Change it! Put 'Urban Romance 2' in the spotlight!" Deng Baichuan waved his hand mechanically, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded.

This is the third time this week that films have been temporarily replaced. The backlog of youth films in the warehouse has been handled back and forth, and some have even been returned without being opened.

Meanwhile, the cinemas in Zhou Yang's area all issued statements saying that they would no longer screen these movies!
In the capital meeting room, ashtrays were piled up like a small mountain.

Someone stared at the ratings of more than thirty movies on the projector—the blood-red numbers below 3 points were so bright they hurt the eyes.

"Keep scheduling!" The leader suddenly slammed his fist on the table hysterically. "Move all the August films to this week! I refuse to believe that out of thirty, not a single one will be watchable!"

The CFO, trembling, handed over the report: "President Chen, we've burned through 2.3 million this week alone. Audiences are now cursing whenever they see our logo."

The cinema manager's phone suddenly came through the conference room loudspeaker: "Gentlemen, please have mercy! During the screening of 'The Domineering CEO Returns to His Mother's Home,' audience members were throwing water bottles at the screen! If this continues, we'll be shut down due to complaints from the shopping mall!"

In the early hours of July 25, the last batch of "market-saving films" were pulled from theaters amidst criticism.

The special page on [Wandou Film Network] features a shocking title: "July Movie Viewing Guide - How to Avoid the Minefield of Capital-Driven Bad Movies," accompanied by images of films produced by the four major film studios...

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

8 month 2 day.

Zhou Yang received a phone call.

"Boss, I can't help it. My movie is in pre-production and can't be released yet..."

"Those directors running away has nothing to do with me. I don't know if they're fraudsters. They came to my company saying they wanted to discuss scripts, so I just let them sit down. I didn't talk to them at all. They were just creating hype on their own. I didn't conspire with those directors to scam investors..."

"Really not..."

"These four major film studios are no match for me now... Do I really need to screw them over like this..."

"Their movie hasn't finished its run yet, right? Let them continue showing it..."

"If they want to create a god, let them. They all want to imitate me, but they lack innovation. What can I do?"

"Ahem, ahem, our theaters don't show other movies, we show movies we've made before..."

"Boss, I really can't save them!"

"Boss, I really have no choice..."

"If you ask me, we shouldn't have this 'domestic film protection month'!"

"..."

"What? Transformers is going to be released earlier this September?"

"Isn't this a coincidence?"

"In September, I happen to have five movies scheduled... all of them are Transformers type..."

"Sigh, we didn't finish filming in August, but we should be able to finish it in September..."

"Yeah!"

"These movies are specifically designed to target Transformers..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)