The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

After Shu Chang returned, she was out of sorts for the first few days, but it took her a few days to adjust and for filming to get back on track.

Since Liu Yifei left, Gu Ning has called her several times but she hasn't answered, nor has she replied to her text messages.

This gave Gu Ning the illusion that she had been used and then abandoned.

Time flies, and it's already April 22nd.

That evening, Lu Chuan held a grand premiere in the capital.

Lu Chuan was extremely frustrated during this period. His film had been in preparation and shooting for several years and was originally scheduled for release during the Lunar New Year holiday. However, China Film Group suddenly changed its attitude and asked him to postpone the release.

It will be released on April 22nd. Although there is a short May Day holiday in between, the Lunar New Year film season has already absorbed most of the box office.

Normally, the period between the end of the Lunar New Year film season and the start of summer vacation is a low point for movie box office.

The movie has already been delayed for so long, he doesn't really mind delaying it for another two or three months until the summer release.

But when he approached Han Sanpin, Han Sanpin told him directly that there would be many Hollywood blockbusters released during the summer season, and if he didn't participate now, he would have to compete head-on with the Hollywood blockbusters.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan immediately backed down.

Since the release date can't be changed, we should focus on promotion.

Therefore, he and his crew began promoting the film in early March.

However, just as he and his girlfriend Qin Lan were talking to the camera about how difficult it was to make this movie, and how Qin Lan even invested all her savings to support him.

Tencent, however, partnered with entertainment media to launch a celebrity selection event.

Now look what's happened; nobody's watching his sob stories.

The entire period, both online and offline, has been dominated by celebrity selections.

I thought that once the celebrity selection event ended and the hype died down, he could still make a few more days of promotion.

However, after the celebrity selection ended, a flood of news interviews with those celebrities appeared.

Just as the hype was starting to die down, CCTV stepped in and broadcast news about the selection process, adding fuel to the fire once again.

Although the selection process launched by Tencent and the media was very high-profile, it was ultimately just a selection activity by a non-governmental organization.

In addition, the fans of the celebrities who were not selected were dissatisfied, and there was still a lot of skepticism.

But CCTV's broadcast of this news is tantamount to official approval, so the effect is naturally different.

Even now that the movie is about to be released, most of the news, both online and offline, is still about celebrity selections.

He spent over a month running around promoting the product, and while it wasn't entirely without effect, it fell far short of his expectations.

Despite feeling depressed, Lu Chuan was in high spirits at the premiere, a stark contrast to her previous gloom.

In his view, quality ultimately matters, and he has great confidence in the film.

"Mr. Chen, welcome, welcome."

Lu Chuan greeted the investor's boss with a big smile.

"Director Lu, the movie has finally been released, which has relieved a worry of mine. However, I'm not entirely satisfied with the timing," President Chen said coldly.

When Lu Chuan was seeking investment, he boasted a lot, saying he could arrange the best time slots.

"Mr. Chen, as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait."

Qin Lan, who was standing nearby, quickly smiled and tried to smooth things over.

"Although it's a less popular release date now, there's also less competition, so overall it won't have much of an impact."

"What Miss Qin said makes some sense."

President Chen looked at Qin Lan, who was dressed in an evening gown and looked radiant, and extended his hand.

Qin Lan reached out and shook hands with President Chen, then tried to pull her hand away, but President Chen applied a slight pressure. There were many media present, so she didn't dare to apply too much pressure, lest it look bad.

"Miss Qin looks beautiful tonight. My company is preparing to film a drama soon, and I think Miss Qin would be perfect for the lead role," President Chen said with a smile.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Chen, but I'm currently busy with film promotions and really can't spare the time."

Qin Lan forced a smile and looked at Lu Chuan for help.

Lu Chuan pretended not to see it and said, "Lanlan, since President Chen is so kind, why don't you keep him company and have a good talk? I'll take care of things here."

Qin Lan looked at Lu Chuan in disbelief. She couldn't believe that Lu Chuan couldn't see that this President Chen wanted to take advantage of her.

"Miss Qin, let's go," Mr. Chen said with a smile.

"Oh... okay."

Qin Lan came to her senses, but dared not make a scene, so she could only go inside with President Chen.

At 7:30, the guests arrived one after another, and Qin Lan was finally able to leave when the staff notified her to go on stage.

"Lanlan, are you alright?" Lu Chuan greeted her with concern.

"Now you're showing concern?"

Qin Lan said coldly, "You must understand what President Chen means by just pushing me out like this?"

"I have no choice. As you know, the investors have a lot of complaints about me because of scheduling issues, and I believe you can handle it."

Lu Chuan said seriously, "But things will be better after the movie is released. They'll be begging to invest, and we won't have to put up with their attitude anymore!"

Qin Lan's expression softened after hearing this. She knew the rules of the industry, which was why she was willing to risk her savings to support Lu Chuan.

Despite Lu Chuan's connections and background, capital is all about profit. When you can't bring benefits to others, you have to cater to the whims of capital.

"Let's go, it's about to start."

Lu Chuan said, "We'll talk about the rest after the premiere."

"Um."

Qin Lan nodded upon hearing this and took Lu Chuan's arm as they went up on stage.

The news of their relationship had already spread, so there was nothing to worry about.

After taking the stage, Lu Chuan first thanked the industry professionals and media reporters who came to the premiere, and then talked about her original intention to make this film and the difficulties she encountered during the filming process.

Finally, he and the crew answered some more questions from reporters before leaving the stage.

At eight o'clock sharp, the movie started.

As the movie began, before the plot unfolded, industry insiders were quietly discussing Lu Chuan's filming techniques and visuals.

It must be said that Lu Chuan is quite capable. The plot is still unknown, but in other aspects, she is above average.

However, as the plot unfolded, some people couldn't help but frown.

The film features a fictional character named Kadokawa, a "humanity awakener" who is afraid to fire a gun, falls in love with a comfort woman, and commits suicide after letting a Chinese person go.

Especially the ending of the film, where Kadokawa walks into the distance in the morning light, accompanied by a sacred soundtrack like the arrival of a savior, caused a great uproar.

After the film ended, there was a sparse round of applause.

Before Lu Chuan and the main cast had even settled in front of the screen, a reporter stood up and questioned, "Director Lu, I actually came to the premiere with a heavy heart."

No one in China is unaware of that period of history, and no one will ever forget it.

But personally, I wouldn't want to watch this kind of movie.

It's not that we've forgotten the cruelty our ancestors endured, but rather that that history was too brutal to bear looking at.

However, I find it difficult to agree with the ideas expressed in your film. What was your initial intention in making this film?

Lu Chuan smiled and said, "My purpose in making this film is to help people acknowledge and accept this history. Strictly speaking, this film is not made for Chinese people to watch. Chinese people already have enough classic works such as 'Tunnel Warfare' and 'Little Soldier Zhang Ga'."

"If it wasn't made for a Chinese audience, why was it released domestically?"

The reporter questioned: "When Director Lu said that the children should accept this, does he mean to weaken their animalistic nature, give them humanity, reduce their sense of guilt, and make them willing to accept and acknowledge this history?"

But history is history, whether they acknowledge it or not, it's a fact. Is this kind of acceptance and recognition gained through distorting history truly what those compatriots who perished so tragically wanted to see?