Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 269: Public Opinion Manipulation, Developing a New IP
The domestic film consumption market is growing larger and larger, and audiences are not fools. With the rise of the Internet, everyone can know whether a movie is good or bad through the Internet.

Ratings have become a key factor for viewers to judge whether a movie is good or bad.

Of course, there will be some bad apples too.

For example, those people who used to specialize in writing film reviews.

They used to make a living by writing film reviews, but now that they've found their power cut off by the rising internet, they've started causing trouble online.

Then a film critic jumped out and said something bad about the Ghost Blows Out the Light series, which caused Chen Shouzhe a lot of trouble.

"How can a novel with distorted values ​​be made into a movie? Is this promoting illegality? How can such a movie be shown in theaters? Where is our country's supervision? One was released last year, and another this year. Every year, another tomb raiding movie with distorted values ​​is released?"

The cultural relics that cultural heritage protectors have worked so hard to preserve are now being targeted by unscrupulous individuals who covet the ancestral burial objects buried underground because of your film. This kind of morally questionable film should be banned, and the author of the novel should also be banned.

After the story gained traction, many self-media outlets reposted his Weibo post, making Weibo quite lively with all sorts of comments.

Some people agreed with him, thinking he made sense, while others thought he was simply not thinking straight. They argued that adults should be responsible for their actions, and if watching a movie led to a crime, then he was not thinking straight and should be sent to a mental hospital.

Whether to do good or bad depends on one's own judgment; an adult has no judgment at all.

Just because someone watched porn and then committed a crime, does that mean watching porn is a crime?
This is just because the other person was wearing a skirt, so she deserved to be raped. It's the same logic as victim-blaming.

The comments section was lively, but Chen Shouzhe initially didn't take it seriously. There were many people like that; he had also been criticized when the movie "Mojin: The Lost Legend" was released.

Movies have good and bad aspects, and not everyone can accept them. It's normal for them to be criticized. If everyone likes them, things will backfire. Too much positive publicity can actually incite some people to rebel.

Therefore, it is impossible to have the best of both worlds.

However, as the Weibo post gained traction, Zhong Lifan called Chen Shouzhe, who was working on the post-production of the film "Little Dream".

"Is something wrong, Sister Zhong?" Chen's phone wasn't with him, so his assistant, Xiao Fang, brought it in for him.

"You should check Weibo. Feng Xiaogang has stepped in, and the higher-ups have taken notice. Public opinion is getting out of control, which could be detrimental to our future films," Zhong Lifan said in a deep voice.

Chen Shou did not hang up the phone, but instead switched to Weibo to check it out.

Feng Xiaogang posted a Weibo post that was quite simple. He agreed with the film critic's words, believing that movies should promote truth, goodness, and beauty, and should have positive energy. He then recommended the critic's film.

"You're being sarcastic, aren't you? Let him jump around a bit." Chen Shou was too lazy to argue with him. The more you paid attention to this kind of person, the more arrogant he became.

“But it will affect our future plans. Yunnan Insect Valley has already been filmed and is scheduled to be released next year. If it cannot be released due to restrictions…” Zhong Lifan said.

"I understand." Chen Shou immediately realized that she was trying to sow discord between him and others.

While Chen Shou was still figuring out how to handle the situation, Xiao Wang had already made his move again.

"If you can't poop, blame it on Earth's gravity; if you can't make money, blame it on the audience not knowing how to watch movies; if you watch movies, you'll be corrupted. Why don't you say that some people are born bad? Just look at what this person has said before, and you'll know what kind of person they are. They don't need to be corrupted; they're already a bad seed."

Xiao Wang's sarcastic remarks, without naming names, were all referring to Feng Xiaogang.

With the fate of the "nation's husband" in the spotlight, Weibo naturally became incredibly lively.

While others in the film and television industry remained silent, onlookers eagerly joined in.

There are quite a few fans of Ghost Blows Out the Light, and they have been standing up to criticize Feng Xiaogang one by one. The film critic who was criticized earlier was also among those who were criticized.

The two were both criticized and attacked, causing quite a stir. Fearing it would affect his upcoming film projects, Chen Shou decided to post a message on Weibo.

"Movies are art, but also commodities. They are presented on the screen through processing. I don't expect people to learn anything from watching movies. I just hope that they can have fun and have time to relax. I don't want people to feel like they've wasted their money. As for whether a movie is good or bad, I'll accept whatever opinions people have after watching it."

A film should not be rejected simply because of its subject matter. Society has legal restrictions, and people have moral standards.

I accept normal business competition and let my work speak for itself, but I will absolutely not tolerate deliberate smear campaigns.

After Chen Shouzhe posted his Weibo message, Wuershan and others joined in. He was the director of the film, and the other actors also expressed their support for Chen Shouzhe.

They even joked that the movie was about going on an adventure and taking nothing with you.

However, after being targeted this time, it won't be easy for his movie to be shown on the big screen in the future. The higher-ups have already taken notice, and some experts and scholars have also come out, probably to hold a seminar. In addition, Chen Shou's mortal enemies will definitely take advantage of his misfortune, since they finally got the chance.

"Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio has been restricted, and Ghost Blows Out the Light will probably be restricted as well. It seems we need to develop new IPs." Chen Shou stroked his chin. The company's three biggest IPs, Journey to the West, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, and Ghost Blows Out the Light, all have elements of gods and demons.

The Liaozhai series developed Painted Skin and A Chinese Ghost Story, but the others weren't explored much because the stories in them were too short.

He did want to develop the story of head transplantation, but after thinking about it, he realized it was too terrifying and ultimately didn't make up his mind.

It seems we can put the stories from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio aside for now and develop other IPs instead.

Chen Shouzhe did have an idea for the future. It was almost New Year's Day, so he could do something about it. He hadn't published a book in a long time.

The movie "Candle in the Tomb" grossed 10.4265 billion yuan in its first week of release, and is expected to surpass 2 billion yuan.

The reviews are alright, maintaining the high standards of Mojin: The Lost Legend. At least the audience enjoyed it. However, the authorities have already taken notice, as the subject matter is indeed somewhat sensitive.

第二周30号这天，1.67亿，31号2.12亿，再度破亿，过了31号便是18年的1月1号元旦节。

Every year, Deyun Society holds a New Year's Eve performance.

As Deyun Society expanded, this year's New Year's Eve celebration was held in three venues: Guo Yu led a team in the capital, Yue Yunpeng and Sun Pangzi led a team, and Guo Qilin also joined in, organizing a New Year's Eve event with Yan Da Nao and his friends.

The New Year's Eve performance was held in three separate venues, resulting in a significant decrease in the number of performers backstage.

Last year, there were many performances during the celebration, and it was very lively. This year, it was a little less impressive.

Guo and Yu arrived backstage early to wait.

Chen Shou came over with his daughter in his arms, just in time with Guo Lao Er. However, the two children were prone to fighting when they were together. Guo Lao Er had grown up to be chubby and fair-skinned, but he was still very afraid of Chen Caiyu.

"It's been a year since I last performed on stage," Chen Shouzhe said with a smile backstage.

"Or just one?" Lao Guo asked.

"Well, let me give you a simple answer. Now, even if you ask me to give a correct answer, I wouldn't know how," Chen Shou nodded.

"He hasn't been to space for seven or eight years, so let's not make things difficult for him," Yu Qian said with a smile.

"I've given you the middle section," Old Guo said.

"That's enough. Six programs over five hours. I'll call it a minute." Chen Shou smiled.

(End of this chapter)