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

Chapter 383 The Sound of Battle!

10 month 20 day.

In the conference room of [Hongsheng Capital], Chen Lei gazed at the hazy moonlight outside the window and slowly put down his phone.

The online discussion continues to ferment, and the level of interest is constantly rising.

International public opinion is pressing them relentlessly, and the overall situation is increasingly in their favor.

However, Chen Lei knew that in order to completely suppress Zhou Yang in the public opinion arena and shake his position in the Chinese film industry, he had to win over the most influential voice in the industry.

As one of the three most representative directors in Chinese cinema, Li Zhengtao is undoubtedly the most crucial figure!
This internationally renowned director established his position in the film industry with classic works such as "Qin" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," and was a pioneer in creating the era of Chinese blockbusters. His industry influence is enough to sway the direction of the entire film industry.

In fact, over the past three years, many veteran Chinese directors have launched joint letters and spoken out collectively in public, sparking a considerable wave of public opinion resistance.

However, when Chen Lei reviewed the list of directors who had jointly boycotted Zhou Yang over the years, he never saw Li Zhengtao's name.

This heavyweight director remained silent at every crucial moment of the public opinion battle, neither taking sides nor expressing his opinion. This neutral attitude ensured that the entire boycott lacked the most influential industry voice, and also gave Zhou Yang a chance to breathe each time...

Chen Lei squinted and tapped his knuckles lightly on the desk.

As a capital operator, he firmly believes that profit is the only lever that can move people's hearts.

Li Zhengtao's ambiguous attitude towards Zhou Yang over the years is ultimately just a matter of not having enough leverage.

And the Oscars!

Hollywood!
International market!

This is the holy grail that this Chinese director has sought for half his life, enough to shake the principles of any artist.

He believed that Li Zhengtao would not refuse, and absolutely could not refuse.

Moreover, from the very beginning of the film investment, they had been paving the way for Li Zhengtao, and Chen Lei really couldn't think of any reason why Li Zhengtao would refuse the proposal!

Time passed slowly, and Chen Lei's brow furrowed deeper as he watched the directors in the conference room, each expressing their own opinions and speaking with great indignation. Li Zhengtao's response took much longer than he had anticipated.

Just as he was about to call Li Zhengtao again, his phone rang first. On the other end of the line, Li Zhengtao's voice was calm: "Sorry, we just want to make the movie quietly and don't want to get involved in anything."

"If you agree, I can get all seven major Hollywood studios to jointly guarantee it—it's the Oscars! Nomination, winning! It's all up to you!"

"Sorry." Li Zhengtao's response was still brief and firm, and then he hung up the phone.

Chen Lei's expression darkened.

And at this moment...

Li Mingrui, a representative of Hong Kong directors and former chairman of the Golden Horse Awards, approached Chen Lei with a complicated expression: "Director Liang just called back. Not only did he refuse the interview, but he also berated us and said a lot of nasty things. He has completely gone mad..."

"What about Director Chen Kai?" Chen Lei pressed.

"What about Director Chen?" Li Mingrui hesitated, then continued, "He said he's sick and hospitalized, and it's inconvenient for him to answer the phone."

Chen Lei looked up at the ceiling, a sense of powerlessness welling up inside him.

The three former top directors in China, including the two who had previously been critical of Zhou Yang, were now all unwilling to stand on their side.

Even more surprisingly, very few directors from the mainland Chinese film industry were able to attend this meeting. Even the directors under Tianyu Media, although present, remained silent.

It's as if the golden halo of the Oscars and internationally renowned directors have suddenly lost their former appeal to them.

But Chen Lei eventually called each of these directors again.

At this moment, they were unwilling to miss any opportunity to use their last strength to bring down Zhou Yang!

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

In the lounge of Yanjing Film Studio, Liang Xiaogang and Chen Kai stood side by side in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside the window, the autumn rain pattered, enveloping the entire city in a hazy mist.

"Old Chen, your phone is ringing again." Liang Xiaogang saw the vibrating phone in Chen Kai's pocket, and the words "Chen Lei" on the screen were particularly glaring.

Chen Kai took it out and immediately pressed the mute button.

This time, it was Liang Xiaogang who took the initiative to contact him.

The two chatted about the past and tentatively asked Chen Kai what he thought. Although Chen Kai did not express his opinion clearly, he already understood.

In a sense, the box office battle of September has become a dividing point in the history of Chinese cinema.

In the past, how he denounced Zhou Yang, how he united to resist and even blacklist Zhou Yang, all of that was insignificant...

After all, Zhou Yang was just an insignificant nobody back then.

But now...

Standing at the crossroads of fate, he clearly saw two completely different paths stretching out before him.

Every path leads to an unknown future, and every step carries with it unease and choices...

All he can do is remain silent, act as an observer, not participate, not express his opinion, and ideally, not even show up for media interviews...

"Actually, I still don't like Zhou Yang, but call me a coward who succumbs to power, call me a coward who's been beaten... but at least he won, and he can still make a living..."

Liang Xiaogang lit a cigarette, his emotions somewhat complicated.

Just then, Liang Xiaogang's phone suddenly rang.

The moment the call connected, Chen Lei's deliberately lowered voice came through: "Director Liang, the film industry is now facing a life-or-death crisis."

"Bullshit!" Liang Xiaogang cursed directly. "I'll say it again! Don't try to morally blackmail me!"

"Director Liang, a director of such high moral character and prestige..."

"When 'The Last Supper' flopped, why didn't you say I was highly respected? When I asked you for investment for my new movie, you made all sorts of excuses and insisted on signing this and that gambling agreement, and you even tried to squeeze in all sorts of people with connections. Damn it, I've been your grandson, your dog, and you still didn't want me. Now, damn it, you only remember me when you need my help?"

Chen Lei's voice suddenly turned cold: "Director Liang, you'll regret this! You'll never get into the Oscars again. I'm warning you again, this time..."

"Fuck the Oscars! I don't want it anymore!" Liang Xiaogang cursed and threw his phone aside.
Oh shit!

What a fucking pleasure!

Cool!
Right after he finished cursing, Liang Xiaogang felt a sense of relief all over his body...

The phone rang again, and Liang Xiaogang answered it impatiently, only to hear news that surprised him.

Zhou Yang suddenly started a live broadcast in the middle of the night, and this broadcast was unusual because it was a public one, cooperating with the relevant departments' review and approval process.

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

11:25am.

[Xuan Shi Entertainment] is brightly lit.

Outside the company, it was as bright as day, but from a distance, it was a dark mass.

People from relevant departments arrived; behind them were representatives of Hollywood film investors…

In fact, after the international public opinion fermented, the Ministry of Commerce and relevant departments have held multiple rounds of consultations with overseas parties.

After repeated negotiations, both parties finally reached an agreement: each will send representatives to form a joint investigation team to carry out the work together under the supervision of the Chinese side.

Despite attempts by overseas media to intervene, they were firmly refused entry; no overseas media were permitted to enter the company for review, except at the entrance…

It is worth mentioning that before this incident escalated, the three companies, [Xuanshi Entertainment], [Movie Home], and [Kuaibo], had already taken precautions and jointly invested in the establishment of the professional live streaming platform [Fengqi Live].

The platform uses the latest server technology and can support 500,000 users watching online simultaneously with a data transmission delay of up to 1 minute.

This is already the most advanced level in China today!

11 points.

Zhang Changlong led a group of representatives into the conference room, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.

He looked up at Zhou Yang, who was standing by the window. The other man stood silently, but his gaze behind his glasses was so calm it was unsettling.

As the delegates were busy exchanging pleasantries and taking their seats, Zhang Changlong took the opportunity, while organizing documents, to approach Zhou Yang, his Adam's apple trembling slightly.

"Feel sorry……"

These two words were as light as a sigh.

His gaze swept over the frayed threads on Zhou Yang's cuffs...

This man, who was always joking and cursing, was unusually wearing an old suit at this moment, and it looked so cheap that it seemed to be rented.

Not only Zhou Yang, but everyone else was also wearing similar cheap clothes: some wore wrinkled casual clothes, some wore yellowed sneakers, and some wore shirts that were obviously faded from washing...

This scene slightly startled Zhang Changlong, who didn't understand what they were going to do...

Then...

The door opened.

Zhang Jingya, along with a group of former directors and employees from the early days of [Xuan Shi Entertainment], all dressed in very simple clothes, entered the conference room one after another.

"Boss, this is a complete list of all project documents and filming materials from the past three years."

"At the same time, our legal team is ready to provide professional legal responses and evidence to the alleged infringement allegations made by Hollywood."

“…” Zhang Changlong stared at the mountain of documents piled up on the conference table, momentarily stunned.

This information is incredibly comprehensive!

From movie copies and promotional plans to content archives, each document is so clearly categorized and complete that it's astonishing.

Even more surprisingly, all the lawyer's letters and internet public opinion monitoring reports from previous years were also included, as if [Xuanshi Entertainment] had already made thorough preparations for this censorship.

When he looked up at the overseas legal team, he found that the representatives were also stunned and frozen in place.

They seemed to have never seen such neatly organized documents and information before, and for a moment, they didn't know where to begin...

But soon, the overseas legal team came to their senses and began to review the various accusations accumulated since "Monkey King vs. Superman 2", neatly spreading these documents out on the conference table!
........................

On the Internet!

The moment Zhou Yang's censorship livestream started on [Fengqi Live], the entire internet instantly went wild!

A live stream link will pop up on the homepage of all websites under the 【Xuanshi Flagship】 brand!

The movie review section of [Movie House] instantly turned into a comment battlefield, the top 20 trending topics on [Kuaibo] were all related to the topic, and even the shopping page of [Xuanshi Mall] was filled with pop-up windows advertising "live broadcasts".

Netizens were shocked to discover that as long as any XuanShi account had been logged into, clicking on any associated website would automatically redirect them to the live stream room...

Data shows that within 28 minutes of the broadcast starting, the number of concurrent viewers in the live stream exceeded 240 million. However, due to server capacity limitations, only 50 people were able to enter the main live stream room to watch. The remaining viewers could only learn about the situation through text-based live updates on various websites.

At the same time, [XuanShi Entertainment] has also launched an overseas live streaming platform to provide live streaming services for international audiences...

……

The headquarters of [Xuanshi Entertainment] was brightly lit late at night, and an epic legal battle was unfolding under the live broadcast camera.

When the overseas legal team slammed their fists on the table and angrily accused Transformers of plagiarizing Transformers, Lin Han, the legal director of [Xuan Shi Entertainment], simply smiled, and a detailed comparison report of thirty pages instantly popped up on the big screen.

These reports are clearly itemized and well-supported with evidence. At first glance, they seem to be exploiting legal loopholes, but upon closer inspection, they are all reasonable and compliant!

Damn it!
So perfect that there's no way to criticize it!
Even more ruthless, they released a series of overseas data reports!

In Hollywood, and indeed in the global film market, nearly 2000 films have faced similar copyright infringement disputes, yet none of them have ultimately been resolved.

"If compensation is absolutely necessary, then in front of all the live streamers in China—no, I mean all the overseas ones—we at [Xuanshi Entertainment] promise to compensate everyone together!"

While the two sides were arguing, Zhou Yang stared at everyone and silently said these words in front of the camera!
In an instant...

The entire conference room fell into a brief, deathly silence.

But soon, the other party casually changed the subject...

At 3 a.m., while the overseas legal team was relentlessly pursuing the dispute over film titles such as "Steel Man" and "Transforming Steel," the young female lawyer suddenly produced a copyright document for the original "Transformers" comic book.

“Even if it constitutes infringement, the compensation should go to ‘Warman Pictures’.” She tapped the licensing chain on the projection screen with her fingertips: “We’ll pay the 130 million compensation to Warman Pictures, we’ll accept it. But the six major Hollywood studios? Sorry, we haven’t infringed on your rights, at most we’ve borrowed from them!”

The entire conference room fell into a long argument and physical altercation, with both sides going back and forth, neither willing to back down...

It seems that they have fallen into the most protracted and drawn-out legal battle, and it is difficult to reach a conclusion in the short term!

And at this moment...

Zhou Yang and his team of directors quietly left the room, the conference room door closing silently behind them.

As dawn broke.

The number of real-time viewers on [Fengqi Live Network] has exceeded 300 million!
Amazing!

The platform suddenly added more than 20 live streaming rooms. Despite the 30-second delay, it did not dampen the audience's enthusiasm at all. More and more people flocked to the live streaming rooms to watch the live broadcast!

Around 7:00 AM, the number of viewers for the live stream surpassed 5 million, and at the same time, media outlets that had long-term partnerships with Zhou Yang also sprang into action…

Although they were unable to enter the core conference room, they were granted permission to broadcast live within [Xuanshi Entertainment] and reached an agreement with [Fengqi Live] to open their respective live streaming rooms...

The corridor was filled with cameras, and reporters were interviewing employees one by one, some of whom looked excited, others angry...

……

[Hongsheng Capital] Office.

Chen Lei stared intently at the wildly fluctuating live stream data on the computer screen, his bloodshot eyes suddenly widening.

A sudden surge of inexplicable unease and suffocation welled up in my heart!

He watched all night, but at this moment, he suddenly realized a terrible truth!

Every time Zhou Yang tries to ride the wave of popularity or makes a "copycat movie," it's actually a carefully planned operation!
This madman not only thoroughly investigated the relevant laws and regulations, but also collected all the legal clauses that might be used in advance!

What’s even more terrifying is!
They couldn't immediately determine that Zhou Yang had plagiarized; at most, they could only consider it "reasonable borrowing."

Fuck!
This guy will borrow and plagiarize, and strictly demand the level of laws and regulations to rectify it!
But what alarmed Chen Lei the most was...
That's not even the worst part!
The moment I saw more and more live streams!
His whole body trembled violently!
He suddenly stood up!

He saw one newly opened live streaming room after another!
The area outside the [Xuan Shi Entertainment] building was already packed with media from all sides!
Reporters carrying cameras, commentators holding equipment, and live media broadcasts...

From one kilometer away from [Xuan Shi Entertainment], then to the entrance, and then inside...

Everyone's live-streaming!
"What the hell?" Chen Lei's pupils dilated, then he stared at the secretary next to him: "Tell me, tell me, how many people are streaming now!"

The secretary was somewhat shocked!

He nodded quickly...

Immediately afterwards, I went to check the data!

At 9:00 a.m., although the live broadcast of the negotiations inside the meeting had been paused and some media outlets had been instructed to terminate the negotiations, the live broadcasts outside the meeting room continued.

The secretary rushed in, looking shocked: "Their live stream has already surpassed 500 million viewers!"

Upon hearing these words, Chen Lei trembled slightly and stared down at the [Fengqi Live] website!

Even more alarming is the small print at the bottom of the page: "This platform is jointly funded by [Xuanshi Entertainment], [Movie Home], and [Kuaibo]".

Not long after, the analysis team rushed into the office, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

"President Chen, this time we not only failed to destroy him..." The leader's voice trembled, "but we might actually be used by him, yes, used by him!"

"The most crucial thing is! We just analyzed carefully what he did between 05 and 06!"

He's playing a long game!

"He's not plagiarizing at all; he's just riding our coattails!"

"He organized a global live stream! In this live stream, he not only promoted his company, but also his live streaming platform!"

"Back in 04, he had actually been laying the groundwork for a project themed around 'live streaming' at [Movie House]!"

"From the initial text-based live broadcasts, to the intermittent video live broadcasts, and now..."

"In fact, he is using all kinds of public opinion and popularity to build his own live streaming platform!"

"This is fucking creating a new business model!"

"A new business model for live streaming!"

In the office, the analyst's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief!

They muttered to themselves!

"We just analyzed it and found that this live streaming has huge potential for the future. It can be more than just event-based live streaming; it can even be used for games, other industries, and could even create one traffic-driven industry after another..."

The analyst had barely finished speaking!
A main live streaming room suddenly appeared on the [Fengqi Live] website...

And in this live stream room...

Zhou Yang has appeared!

"Everyone, I have faced a lot of criticism during this period..."

Zhou Yang's voice trembled slightly in front of the live broadcast camera, as if he was in great pain, yet it also revealed a strange firmness.

"But today, I want to tell you a story..."

"A story about dreams, entrepreneurship, and compromises with reality."

"please"

"follow me."

His voice gradually became deeply emotional, and his eyes suddenly reddened, as if he was trying to hold back something.

Chen Lei's pupils suddenly contracted!

In the footage, a group of collaborators had gathered behind Zhou Yang without him noticing.