Reborn in the Entertainment Industry: This Top Star Has Real Achievements

Since it's a publicity campaign, it needs to create enough of a sensational effect and news buzz.

Therefore, the group did not choose to go through the back entrance of the cinema, but instead parked the car directly at the main entrance.

It was a weekend, and the area in front of the cinema was already bustling with people.

Seeing this scene, the crowd naturally began to gather in this direction.

In addition, the cinema had put up promotional posters several days ago, and anyone with a discerning eye could immediately guess that the crew of "Under the Hawthorn Tree" had arrived.

Director Zhang was the first to get out of the car, and as soon as his face appeared, a large crowd quickly gathered around him.

There weren't any fans shouting exaggerated things like "Director Zhang, I love you," since he's not an idol.

Among the entire cast and crew, only Li Xiang and Little Yellow Duck could be remotely associated with being "idols".

Li Xiang has the looks to be considered good, but aside from the premiere, this was his first real public appearance.

It's unrealistic to expect audiences to become devoted fans based solely on his looks without having seen his work.

As for Little Yellow Duck, although she carries the halo of being a "Zhang Yimou Girl," her appearance and temperament simply don't fit the public's general perception of an idol.

Compared to those glamorous leading actresses, her star quality is ridiculously weak.

Therefore, the crowd merely gathered to watch the excitement, shouted "Director Zhang" and "Support the movie" a few times, and then made way for the film crew to enter the cinema.

After entering, the crew first gave a brief interview.

After the first film screening ended, Director Zhang led Li Xiang and the others into the theater through a side door and had a chat with the audience.

Afterwards, the group bowed again to express their gratitude and then rushed to the next cinema.

Before leaving, Zhang Yimou quietly pulled the cinema manager aside and expressed his request to have the banner removed.

The manager originally planned to hang the banner for another two or three days to attract more people, but since Director Zhang had spoken, he naturally couldn't refuse.

Besides, he also felt that the words on the banner were indeed a bit awkward, so he nodded in agreement.

The following day, Li Xiang was extremely busy. By 9 p.m., they had already visited more than ten cinemas.

Furthermore, I need to get up and fly to Shanghai at around 4 a.m. tomorrow.

Sister Zhou followed his instructions and inquired about the entire roadshow schedule. When she returned, she didn't look too happy.

It turns out that in order to boost box office sales and solidify its reputation, Zhang Weiping required the crew to travel to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and several other first-tier cities within seven days.

Such a high-intensity, high-density roadshow arrangement is unprecedented in this day and age.

Li Xiang hadn't expected Zhang Weiping to be so ruthless, but upon reflection, he felt it made perfect sense given Zhang's character.

I reckon Director Zhang has been busy preparing for the Olympics these past few years, and then his film "A Simple Noodle Story" flopped critically. Even with box office revenue sharing, after deducting all the costs,

The net profit that Zhang Weiping ends up with is at most ten or twenty million.

So it seems that Director Zhang hasn't made him any big money for a while.

Seizing this opportunity, Zhang Weiping naturally wanted to do everything in his power to gain as much profit as possible to make up for his previous losses.

After all, what kind of decent manners can you expect from someone who can even try to withhold a director's salary?

As for resorting to some underhanded tactics, it's probably because several highly respected veteran actors were present during today's roadshow in Beijing, so they were mindful of propriety and didn't dare to make any rash moves.

"Take a nap if you're tired," Sister Zhou handed over a neck pillow. "You'll be busy at the next stop."

"Sigh..." Li Xiang sat in the car, looking out the window at the street scene that flashed by, its light and shadow cut off by the streetlights, and sighed softly.

This non-stop pace was already too much for him on the first day alone. If he were to run the whole thing, it would probably wear him out completely.

But he also knew what was good and bad, after all, it was his first movie, and only by holding up the box office could he have a better future.

So even though he was exhausted, he didn't complain to Sister Zhou.

Now is not the time to relax; he must gather his strength—he knew in his heart that starting tomorrow, the other party would probably really get serious.

Sure enough, at the first roadshow in Shanghai, after only a few words of interaction with the audience, someone in the audience raised a question, their tone clearly skeptical:

"Director Zhang, some people online have commented that the film deviates significantly from the original novel, especially in terms of screen time allocation. It's understood that the male lead is a student at the Beijing Film Academy..."

Did you change the original female-centric drama to one with more balanced male and female roles due to camaraderie from your school days?

What if the male lead even stands out more?

Upon hearing this, the audience and reporters below the stage were all taken aback, then their eyes lit up with anticipation for a good show.

This is a really tricky question; it's clearly meant to stir up trouble.

On stage, the little yellow duck, which had been looking a bit tired, suddenly perked up as if a switch had been flipped, its eyes wide open.

Despite her efforts to remain calm, her less-than-perfect facial expressions couldn't hide her inner emotions.

The schadenfreude that unconsciously crept onto his lips was clearly seen by everyone in the audience.

Especially those tabloid reporters who didn't get direct interviewing privileges and specialized in digging up gossip saw this as a bright opportunity.

They all lowered their heads and quickly jotted down notes in their notebooks. This was a ready-made hot topic; they wouldn't have to worry about running out of content for tomorrow's page.

But Zhang Yimou seemed to have been prepared for this, showing no sign of panic on his face, and calmly said:

"There are inherent differences between the script and the original text, and it is unrealistic to completely replicate the original work. Furthermore, it involves considerations of artistic re-creation."

Furthermore, since it's about pure love, in my opinion it should be complementary and balanced; it can't be that only one side shines while the other is dim and lifeless.

Therefore, during filming, the production team adjusted the scenes based on the perspective of story integrity, and nothing else.

"Can you guarantee that you didn't give the male lead any special treatment because he's a student at the Beijing Film Academy or because of your personal relationship with him?" The man persisted, relentlessly pursuing her.

"I don't know how this viewer discovered so much external content in a movie; perhaps it's a natural talent."

Even if we concede that there was an element of consideration for school ties, as the director of this film, I haven't done anything wrong, have I?

These words surprised Li Xiang greatly.

In his memory, Director Zhang was always low-key and reserved, and rarely confronted others so directly in public.

When audiences go to the cinema, their main focus should be on whether the film itself is exciting and whether the story flows smoothly.

These adjustments made by the production team were precisely to make the entire film more high-quality and entertaining.

I'm curious why you're so fixated on this point, while ignoring the film's content itself? Did you not understand it?

A low chuckle came from the audience. The man was taken aback by the question, a hint of unease flashing across his face. He tightened his grip on the microphone, unsure how to respond.

Fortunately, most of the people present were genuine audience members.

Although people enjoy watching a spectacle, this person's repeated harping on the issue had long since annoyed them.

Immediately, an audience member stood up, took the microphone from the reporter, and handed it to someone on the other side who had already raised their hand and wanted to ask a serious question.

A new questioner spoke up, and the topic returned to the film itself. The tense atmosphere that had been building up instantly dissipated, and the storm was temporarily calmed down.

However, those with keen senses present, especially the reporters who regularly cover entertainment news, understood perfectly well:

What just happened was clearly a deliberate attempt to target the male lead, trying to label him as having "gotten in through connections."

And then, thinking back to the little yellow duck's barely concealed schadenfreude...

Several clues intertwined, and various novel ideas suddenly emerged in the minds of some reporters, which began to flow down an even more bizarre path.

"Zhang Weiping, unable to obtain what he desired, resorted to ruthless violence."

The conflict between the two Zhangs was actually caused by a boy.

"Three men and one woman, the untold love and hate entanglements."

In short, it was all fun.