Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 600 Three Essential Skills in the Martial World

The winter night in Beijing was bitterly cold.

The studio of Yu Zheng was filled with smoke.

He had just hung up the phone with Hunan TV and stared grimly at the strongly worded lawyer's letter on his computer screen.

The ashtray on the table was already overflowing with cigarette butts.

"Oh shit."

Yu Zheng stubbed out another cigarette, staring at the wording on the screen, feeling both frustrated and resentful.

Within a few days, those with a keen sense of smell in the industry had already noticed that something was wrong.

The promotion of "Palace" has suddenly become much more low-key compared to its high-profile promotion a while ago.

This is not normal.

It's worth noting that only a few days have passed since the finale of "Scarlet Heart," and its popularity is still going strong, making it the perfect time to continue the momentum.

On Weibo's trending topics list, "Ruoxi and the Fourth Prince's tragic love story" and "The ending of Step by Step is too tragic" are almost always at the top.

On online forums like Baidu Tieba and Tianya, female viewers huddled together and wept, wrote long posts analyzing Ruoxi's fate, and some even stayed up late watching the show, crying until their eyes were red.

"This ending is absolutely heartbreaking!"

"Hu Jing's acting was superb; she was completely Ruoxi herself!"

"I can't bear to part with Fourth Master! Please, screenwriter, give me a happy ending!"

"It's no use asking the screenwriter; we need to ask the boss to give Wu Chen a happy ending."

Some enthusiastic netizens even created a fan-made music video themed "Ruoxi and the Fourth Prince," which saw its views skyrocket on Youku and Tudou.

This should have been a time of celebration for "Palace" to capitalize on its marketing momentum, but it suddenly scaled back its promotion and went quiet.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

"Wasn't it said that 'Palace' was going to take over the popularity? Why haven't we heard anything about it these past few days?"

"I heard Shanda has already sent a lawyer's letter, saying they'll fight if you're not satisfied."

"Holy crap, is this for real?"

"Seriously, their legal budget is tens of millions a year. They could set up a separate team to keep an eye on you and you'd be in serious trouble. If you really hold on, the lawsuits alone could wear you down."

"Haha, the legal department was worried about not having any performance targets at the end of the year, now they have something to do."

"."

The discussion within the TV drama industry is quite heated, and people are mostly watching with a bit of amusement during their leisure time.

Yu Zheng has built his career over the years by "borrowing" and "borrowing" ideas, offending many people. Now that he's being humiliated, there are plenty of people gloating over his misfortune.

Upon hearing the news, Yang Mi patted her chest in fear, her body trembling.

She still wants to make it in the film industry, thankfully she didn't rush into things and frantically try to piggyback on Yu Zheng's fame. If she had offended Xingchen, her future would have been difficult.

However, Zeng Jia was stunned by this scene.

This seems like a pretty good fit for the role of Yang Mi in "Mysterious Island".
As the Chinese New Year approaches, Wu Chen and Liu Yifei's friends are inviting them out for meals more often, and naturally, Hu Jing, who is now very popular for her role as "Ma'ertai Ruoxi," is among them.

"Sister Jing said she had to treat us to a big meal no matter what."

Liu Yifei was holding her phone, the call was still going on, and Hu Jing's caller ID was on the screen.

Wu Chen took it and smiled, "Forget it, I've been going out every day these past few days, I'm a bit too full to eat anymore. Save that meal for after the New Year."

After saying that, Wu Chen was about to ask if he should hang up when Liu Yifei quickly took the phone and muttered something under her breath:
"By the way, Sister Jing, when you played Ruoxi, did you ever think about a happy ending? This is too cruel."

Wu Chen, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but chuckle.

However, it must be admitted that sometimes, tragedy is more memorable than comedy.

Seeing that Liu Yifei was having a great time chatting, he thought for a moment, then picked up his phone and dialed his mentor Mu Deyuan's number.

Even though we've graduated, exchanging greetings before and after the New Year is an essential courtesy.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Mu Deyuan inadvertently revealed a piece of information that piqued Wu Chen's curiosity. "Teacher, are you saying that Chairman Han's daughter initially considered applying for a master's program in photography and inquired with the department?"

"Yes, Principal Zhang also thought about it. After some consideration, we decided to let her discuss it with Han Sanping first. In the end, she switched to applying for the directing department. I guess Han Sanping's initial intention was for her to become your junior."

"Not that much."

"You've jumped ship. You don't know, but there are advantages to being in the photography department. Of course, given your relationship with Han Sanping, it wouldn't really matter if she went to the directing department."

Mu Deyuan saw through it all.

"The directing department must have objections; this news definitely couldn't be kept from them."

Wu Chen's expression was a bit strange. If he remembered correctly, Han Sanping was studying in the directing department.
"They wouldn't dare to criticize Han Sanping, would they?"

Mu Deyuan couldn't help but chuckle. "Some older professors might mutter to themselves at most, but when it comes to choosing a major, isn't there bound to be freedom of choice?"

Meanwhile, at the Han family...

Han Jianu was also at home whispering with her father, Han Sanping.

"Dad, I think the photography major is pretty good."

I've been following the photography department at Beijing Film Academy for years. I've heard it's thriving, surpassing all other programs, and even ranking among the top art schools in the world.

"It's possible in the cinematography department. Although many directors these days aren't proficient in cinematography, directors who understand cinematography are the most orthodox. However, it's not bad in the directing department either."

Han Sanping said sullenly that Jiang Shixiong had called him these past two days, and after thinking about it, he decided to let Han Jianu go to the directing department.

In the world of human relationships, many complexities of human interaction are ultimately unavoidable.

"Okay, I was thinking of studying under Professor Mu Deyuan. I heard his graduate programs are the hardest to get into."

"Going there has its pros and cons. You'll easily be compared to others, you know? The pressure of graduate students is immense."

Han Sanping thought a lot about his daughter's sake.

"I see."

Just as China was approaching the Spring Festival and enjoying a peaceful atmosphere, the public relations battle for Hollywood awards was reignited.

Although the Oscar nominations won't be announced until the 25th, Paramount and Sony's classic counterattack is clearly not aimed at the nominations a few days later, but rather at the final awards ceremony on February 27th.

Didn't Harvey Weinstein want to package "The King's Speech" as a "story of an ordinary person's struggle"?

Alright, let's tear off this warm and sentimental wrapping paper piece by piece in front of all the judges!
Rebecca Sarkin and Sony's classic PR team launched a precise and sharp public opinion offensive.

The first wave of attacks directly targeted the substitution of its core concept.

A commentary written by a veteran film critic and published in the Los Angeles Times has a highly provocative title: "Is the King's 'Struggle' the Same as Our Struggle?"

The article incisively points out:

"We certainly applaud the Duke of York for his perseverance in overcoming his stutter, but this is fundamentally different from the struggle of an ordinary person."

When an ordinary person faces difficulties, he has to worry about rent, bills, and the next meal.

A future king, with access to the nation's top medical resources and countless experts at his service, finds his "struggle" more akin to a rehabilitation program with extensive logistical support.

The second wave of attacks was more precise, delving into the historical details of the film and amplifying them.

Some historians have begun to appear on various television talk shows, "invited" to discuss the "artistic embellishment" in The King's Speech.

The third and most devastating wave of attacks came from Paramount and Sony Classics, who jointly funded several full-page ads in The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

On the left-hand page is a poster for "The King's Speech," with a question prominently displayed in red:
Is it a king's struggle or a beautiful fairy tale?

The right-hand page features posters for the films "The Social Network" and "Black Swan" side by side.

The Social Network's tagline is: The story of our time.

The tagline for "Black Swan" is: "About perfect art."
The overall message conveyed is simple and direct, yet it hits the nail on the head:

Judges, are you going to cast your votes for a romanticized royal fairy tale from the last century?

Or do you want to choose the transformation that truly represents our era, and the ultimate exploration that represents the future of film art?
These three moves have once again made the public opinion landscape in Hollywood unpredictable and volatile.

(End of this chapter)