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

Chapter 382 This is his era!

Golden autumn October.

Everything is desolate.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, spilling onto the villa's balcony and illuminating An Xiaoshi's delicate face.

Three years have shed her naivety, but they have also gradually eroded her passion for film.

Since the release of "Transformers: My Girlfriend is a Robot", her long-suppressed urge to confide seems to have been completely released.

Although the film's box office exceeded 2 million, apart from the initial brief joy, she felt an indescribable calm at this moment.

An Xiaoshi took a sip of coffee and her gaze fell on the latest news in the entertainment industry.

This box office war, which began with "Transformers," completely disrupted the tranquility of the entertainment industry...

At this very moment, chaos is rampant both inside and outside the industry. The capital camp led by Chen Lei is currently being interviewed by major authoritative media outlets, constantly condemning Zhou Yang for "damaging the industry ecosystem" and accusing him of "suicidal dumping" of his 8-yuan ticket price.

During a media interview, Li Dachun and other coal mine owners rudely launched into a tirade of insults, claiming things like, "Why didn't anyone advocate for the rules when Hollywood had a monopoly? Now that they've lost their advantage, they're resorting to shameless mudslinging?" Some even publicly challenged him to a fight, saying they'd slap them a few times...

On social media, public opinion has been completely divided into two camps: under the hashtag #WeeklyDefenseBattle#, young viewers enthusiastically praised the film, saying "I love watching this kind of movie"; while on the other hand, film critics denounced the film as "a knock-off that lowers the bar for the industry, and Zhou Yang is the culprit".

As "Iron Man" surpassed 1.8 million yuan at the box office, the media storm intensified, subtly igniting a trend that would impact the entire Chinese film industry...

In fact, from the moment Zhou Yang publicly declared war on Transformers in September, An Xiaoshi was acutely aware that she was at the center of a vortex of epochal change.

The entire film industry seemed poised for a dramatic upheaval, and she happened to be at the forefront of this storm.

After reading these news articles, An Xiaoshi subconsciously picked up her phone to call Zhou Yang, but stopped before dialing...

Based on her understanding of Zhou Yang, the last thing this man needed at that moment was comfort.

Just as she was lost in thought, her phone suddenly rang.

The caller ID showed Zhang Jingya's name, and a hurried voice came from the other end of the line: "Something's happened."

Upon receiving Zhang Jingya's call, An Xiaoshi's expression changed drastically, and she immediately drove to the company.

Along the way, the assistant solemnly reported the latest situation: due to the escalating international pressure, relevant departments had no choice but to intervene and investigate, and would review and collect evidence on all films of [Xuan Shi Entertainment], requiring each director of the company to cooperate in explaining the details of projects over the past three years.

Meanwhile, the company's security personnel became agitated and confronted the gathered protesters. The situation was escalating and threatened to spiral out of control...

More than an hour later.

An Xiaoshi's car slowly stopped at the street corner. Looking into the distance, the dark mass of people in front of the [Xuanshi Entertainment] building resembled a boiling wave.

Young people holding banners that read "Support the domestic film industry" chanted slogans and shoved each other in confrontation with protesters on the other side who were holding signs that read "Resist plagiarism culture".

Flashbulbs went off incessantly in the crowd as reporters carrying cameras weaved through the throng. Foreign journalists with blond hair and blue eyes were urgently reporting into their cameras in English, while local entertainment reporters desperately stretched their microphones out to every emotional passerby.

At the company entrance, the human wall of security guards was shaken by the force of the attack. An Xiaoshi even saw several burly men who looked like coal mine owners, with their bodyguards, rolling up their sleeves and pointing at the other side, cursing and swearing, as if to say, "If you come any closer, I'll kill you." Meanwhile, the media and reporters excitedly captured the scene on camera; who knows what they'll write about it...

Escorted by security guards, An Xiaoshi struggled through the crowd, surrounded by shouts and camera shutters. Some recognized her and shouted, "Director An! We support President Zhou!" Others cast disdainful glances and cursed, "Accomplice to plagiarism," "Damn it, it's plagiarism."

She walked quickly into the building with her head down, and only when the elevator doors closed did she finally shut out the noise from the outside world.

Pushing open the conference room door, she immediately saw Zhou Yang standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

At this moment, Zhou Yang stood with his back to the door, his hands in his pockets, quietly looking down at the chaotic scene below.

Sunlight streamed through the glass, casting a golden glow on him, which only accentuated the loneliness of his silhouette.

As An Xiaoshi gazed at Zhou Yang's retreating figure, she felt as if the entire world was weighing on his shoulders...

Over the past three years, he single-handedly supported the entire [XuanShi Entertainment] company, and also supported the dreams of one young director after another, taking those dreams to the extreme...

this moment……

A sudden pang of sadness welled up in her heart, an emotion she couldn't quite describe.

For the past three years, the spotlight has always been on him, and the media has captured his moments of high spirits.

But the man standing by the window at this moment, though motionless, seemed to be silently conveying the untold pressure and weight he carried...

However, when An Xiaoshi approached, she noticed a slight smile on his lips, as if he were an observer, as if everything downstairs was nothing more than an absurd farce.

"You came."

"Aren't you worried?" she couldn't help but ask.

Zhou Yang shook his head, his eyes still fixed on the scene below: "What's there to worry about? The more fiercely they criticize me, the more attention I get. Now, it's even reached the international level..."

"Can……"

He paused, then turned to An Xiaoshi, interrupting him: "You know, I'm someone who loves excitement and lively atmospheres... This is perfect! It's been so long since it's been this lively..."

There was no anger or panic in his tone.

There was even a hint of anticipation in it!

An Xiaoshi suddenly realized that the man in front of her had already foreseen all of this, and even...

Is it something we're waiting for to happen?
"What should we do next? If you need any help, just let me know..."

"Around midnight this morning, investigators from the relevant departments will arrive when there are fewer people around. When they ask you anything, just answer their questions, and if they ask for any specific artwork, just produce that artwork..."

"Any more?"

"This review will be broadcast live..."

"Okay, is there anything I need to be careful about?"

"There's nothing to be careful about, just say whatever you want..."

"Aren't you worried about what might happen if public opinion..."

"Ha ha……"

Zhou Yang laughed. Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open, and directors Shen Long, Che Xiao, Jiang Litao, and others stormed in angrily, cursing under their breath.

The once quiet meeting room instantly became noisy.

Zhou Yang then made a phone call to Yang Bo.

"Is our live streaming platform ready to attract traffic?"

"All right!"

"Is the server okay?"

"can!"

Have you contacted the media?

"I've made contact!"

"That's good!"

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

Outside Yanjing (Beijing).

On the set of "The Great Wall: Taotie".

As the rain shrouded the Great Wall entrance under construction, Li Zhengtao frowned slightly as he stared at the unfinished special effects shots on the monitor.

In fact, for nearly seven months starting in April of this year, Li Zhengtao has been filming the movie "The Great Wall," almost cutting himself off from everything in the entertainment industry.

This film, which brings together most of the celebrities in the Chinese film industry, is expected to be released during the 07 Spring Festival. It is the film he has the highest hopes for and is also his work to return to the peak of his career.

However, the filming process gradually became increasingly painful.

Although the co-production between China and the United States involved a huge investment, the capital relationships were complex and many casting decisions were beyond Li Zhengtao's control.

The investors even forced in several popular young male celebrities, including Zheng Yichen.

This actor had been out of the public eye for a long time after the scandal with Zhou Yang in 03, until last year when he returned to the spotlight with a few works that were favored by investors, well, although the box office was just average.

Now, the investors are clearly pushing him hard, having given him an important role in the drama.
However, this character has absolutely no acting skills...

After letting out a sigh, he became serious and began adjusting the special effects and subsequent production of "The Great Wall: Taotie" again, hoping to make up for some flaws in the special effects.

Just then, the phone rang.

When he saw that the caller ID showed "Chen Lei", his brows furrowed even more.

However, he eventually signaled to the assistant director to pause the playback, and went to a quiet place to answer the phone.

"Director Li, only you can save this industry now!" On the other end of the phone, Chen Lei's voice was hoarse, but it was filled with unprecedented sincerity. In the background, there were faint sounds of discussions in the conference room, and a few familiar voices seemed to be mixed in. Hmm, they seemed to be the group of directors from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"What's wrong, Mr. Chen?"

"For the past month or so, Zhou Yang has been disrupting the market with an 8-yuan ticket price, suppressing Transformers through plagiarism and vicious competition... International public opinion has exploded! Hasbro and Warner's legal teams will be at the Ministry of Commerce tomorrow... But, in China, Zhou Yang's influence is astonishing. So far, although we have substantial evidence, we need a heavyweight to come and stabilize the situation. You know what I mean?"

"What do you want me to do?" Li Zhengtao glanced out the window, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Tomorrow's interview with *Filmmaker Weekly*, as long as you publicly state your position..." Chen Lei's speech suddenly slowed, each word carrying a chill: "saying that Zhou Yang's knock-off films are destroying the foundation of China's film industry... You are one of China's three major film directors, and a titan of the industry. You are the backbone. Only if you truly step forward will the Chinese film industry stabilize somewhat..."

"..."

Li Zhengtao stared blankly at the edge of the film set, but did not say anything immediately.

"I know that all these years you've dreamed of stepping onto the international stage and aspiring to become the first Chinese director to lift an Oscar trophy. We've seen all the efforts you've made in the film industry..."

"..."

"After all these years of hard work and dedication, this moment will finally bring you to a perfect end. I promise you, 'The Great Wall: Taotie' will be the most glorious chapter of your directing career and your best opportunity to prove yourself to the world!"

The wind blew in through the window.

Li Zhengtao listened silently to the inspiring voice on the phone.

After a moment of calm, he sighed.

"Although I don't know the specifics of what happened, it seems that the battle in September was very fierce, or rather, in a sense, you lost?"

A long silence followed on the other end of the phone, then a calm voice said, "This isn't a failure; *Transformers* still broke box office records. It's just...we can't bear to see the future of the entire film industry ruined like this."

After listening, Li Zhengtao nodded, gave a few perfunctory replies, and then hung up the phone.

Afterwards, I returned to my temporary office and looked at the news from the past few days.

After watching it, I silently closed my eyes, and scenes from the 80s to the present flashed through my mind...

I don't know how much time passed before I opened my eyes, and at that moment I had already made my choice.

Just then, the assistant director walked in excitedly!

"Director Li! We just received a notification that we're about to receive an invitation to the Oscars!" The assistant director excitedly pushed open the door and entered.

Li Zhengtao flipped through the script without looking up: "Focus on making the movie, don't think about these things."

"But the investors..." The assistant director's smile froze on his face, and his voice became urgent: "They said if we can't keep Zhou Yang in check this time..."

“I said!” Li Zhengtao slammed the script shut and stared at the assistant director: “We only have one thing to do! Make a good movie.”

"That interview in Filmmaker Weekly..."

"Reject it." Li Zhengtao stood up, picked up the walkie-talkie, and strode towards the film set, his voice suddenly becoming stern: "From now on, all interviews must be approved by me. Anyone who gives an interview without authorization will be rejected!"

He whirled around and glared at everyone: "Don't blame me for being ruthless!"

(End of this chapter)