The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"I'm sorry, movies are not history. I just want more people to be willing to watch them and learn about this truth."

After Lu Chuan finished explaining, she looked at the host next to her.

The host understood, raised the microphone to his lips, and said, "Time is limited, each reporter can only answer one question. Please welcome the next reporter to ask a question."

Under the host's control, the reporter, though unwilling, had no choice but to sit down.

Other reporters, however, did not have such a strong sense of decency. After all, they had been paid, and although their questions were also quite sharp, they remained within a controllable range.

Lu Chuan was prepared and faced the situation calmly.

He was already prepared to face criticism when he was making this film.

After the premiere, the invited reporters and film critics rushed back to write their articles.

Most journalists still have a lot of "professional ethics," adhering to the principle of doing things for money. Even if they think it's a pile of shit, they still write news articles praising it.

The main reason is that they understand that not only have they been bribed, but those above have also received benefits, so even if they are belittled, it may not be reported.

Some reporters wrote news reports truthfully, but after submitting them, the editor-in-chief rejected them and made them rewrite them overnight.

Only a small number of media outlets chose to report the facts truthfully.

And most of the film critics are similar.

The following morning, major entertainment media outlets rushed to report on the news of the movie "Jinling! Jinling!"

"Director Lu Chuan's work is incredibly powerful. Every atrocity and atrocity is vividly unearthed from history and rewoven into this epic narrative. The use of black and white imagery further enhances the visual tension, giving the film a sense of distant history from the very beginning. This is definitely not an entertainment film, but as a memory and testament to history, it is absolutely unique..."

"Director Lu Chuan is a master of storytelling, like Akira Kurosawa or Martin Scorsese. He excels at highlighting individual characters within chaotic scenes. No other film so impactfully and powerfully portrays the torment and suffering women endured during wartime. 'Jinling! Jinling!' is a classic that must be seen in theaters! Director Lu Chuan immerses the audience in the unspeakable terror of war's madness, realistically depicting its complexity and heroism..."

"Lu Chuan wanted to say everything, but he didn't get to the heart of the matter. He wanted to conquer all the audiences with this film, but unfortunately, it was just an essay he wrote on his own initiative..."

"The artistic appeal of *Jinling! Jinling!* is strong, but it falls into the trap of historical nihilism. Historical nihilism has two main characteristics: first, it exaggerates the tributaries of history while ignoring the mainstream; second, it emphasizes the inaction of the individual within the inevitability of history. Kadokawa's perspective, and his dejected self-reflection and self-destruction, are a concrete portrayal of these two points..."

…………

Liu Sanxi had been keeping a close eye on the release of Lu Chuan's movie, and unusually, he got up early to buy all the entertainment newspapers.

After reading the reports, which were mostly positive with very few negative ones, he became a little anxious and took out his phone to call Gu Ning.

"Feed?"

Gu Ning was sound asleep when she was woken up by the phone call. She answered the call without even looking at it.

"You're not up yet?"

Liu Sanxi noticed the languidness in Gu Ning's voice and said urgently, "That bastard Lu Chuan's movie has been released, and you're not even paying attention?"

"What's there to be concerned about?"

Gu Ning regained some composure and said, "What kind of good movies can someone who became famous through plagiarism make?"

"But the newspapers are all reporting on it positively!"

Liu Sanxi asked worriedly, "Could his movie really be that good?"

"You didn't go see it last night?"

Gu Ning felt that Shu Chang in her arms had woken up, and gestured for her to be quiet.

"I'm crazy to try and boost his box office."

Liu Sanxi said irritably, "Besides, you were so sure before that it would be a terrible movie."

"Then wait two more days. If you're really worried, go and see for yourself, and you'll be at ease."

Gu Ning said, "I have something to do, I'll hang up now."

After hanging up the phone, she squeezed her hand and turned her head to tease, "It seems like you've gotten quite a bit bigger lately."

Shu Chang rolled her eyes at him, pushed his hand away, and sat up: "I should go back."

"It's still early, we can talk about it later."

Gu Ning hugged Shu Chang and lay down.

…………

"How much did it gross?"

Seeing that Lu Chuan had hung up the phone, Qin Lan quickly asked.

"Three million two hundred thousand, I did it!" Lu Chuan excitedly hugged Qin Lan.

"That's great!" Qin Lan exclaimed excitedly upon hearing the number.

Although it doesn't sound like much, it only officially premiered at 8 pm last night, and to have three million in box office revenue in four hours is already very high.

And yesterday wasn't even the weekend.

"Let's go, it's time for the roadshow," Lu Chuan said, taking a deep breath.

"Mm!" Qin Lan nodded.

The two joined the other lead actors and headed to the cinema for a promotional tour.

The other actors were delighted to learn about yesterday's box office results. However, the first promotional event poured cold water on their enthusiasm.

Today is Thursday, and most people who can go out to see a movie in the morning are relatively free.

Most of them were attracted by media reports.

As for Lu Chuan's influence, it's really nothing.

Although he had previously filmed several works and won many awards.

However, these awards are generally not very prestigious. They may be somewhat well-known within the industry, but most ordinary viewers are unaware of the person's background.

If they came specifically for Lu Chuan, then being fed a load of rubbish is one thing.

But they were drawn in by media reports, and once they were fed a lump of food, the experience was completely different.

Therefore, when Lu Chuan appeared with the actors, the audience did not feel the joy and excitement of encountering celebrities; instead, they were met with a barrage of criticism.

Lu Chuan managed to cope for a while, and with the help of the cinema staff, she led the actors away in a hurry, almost as if she were fleeing in panic.

"Director Lu, is it still necessary to continue the roadshow?" Gao Yuanyuan asked, her face looking rather grim.

The person who received the most criticism from the audience was not director Lu Chuan, but the actress herself.

Most viewers don't recognize Lu Chuan, but Gao Yuanyuan is the most famous among the actors.

Therefore, when the audience started to hurl insults at her, they instead turned their anger towards her.

Gao Yuanyuan felt wronged by this. She was just an actress who was paid to act, and she only saw the specific script after joining the crew.

Moreover, the script and the final cut of the film are quite different in terms of sensory experience.

"Naturally necessary."

Lu Chuan forced a smile and said, "It's normal to have controversy. If there's no controversy, it means nobody cares, which is the most fatal thing for a movie."

Art is inherently sophisticated and accessible to a select few; it's perfectly normal for most ordinary people not to understand or appreciate my good intentions.

The greater the controversy, the more viewers will watch, and naturally, more and more viewers will come to understand.

Goodwill will gradually improve, and at that point, we shouldn't run away; instead, we should increase our advertising!