After all of them were reborn, who would still be an actor?

Chapter 734 A Century of Whitewashing, Miss's Film Release

"Juanjuan is great in this respect. She says what she wants directly. Of course, she can only tell me the truth. When facing reporters, she must say that she wants to be a good actress, has reverence for acting, and hopes to be a pure person. She would go crazy if she didn't act and longs to challenge different roles."

"Wow! Brother, what you said was so nice, I'm going to write it down!" Juanjuan clapped her hands excitedly.

Juanjuan's mother was stunned for a while before she realized that there weren't that many good actors in the entertainment industry who actually wanted to act; they were all just in it for the money.

Li Mingyang is a big capitalist; how could he not understand?

So she immediately dropped the pretense and asked for money! The "overseas returnee elite" label is just self-promotion; ultimately, it's all about making more money!
“Auntie, your reaction wasn’t as good as Juanjuan’s; you were too slow. But it was still the right decision. Dropping out of school in America is quite troublesome, and you might not be able to get the money back. I’ll make up for this loss later…”

Next, Li Mingyang taught Juanjuan's mother how to do things: find a private high school in Tianjin, and three years later, go directly to the Beijing Film Academy.

"Can't we go next year?"

"The process of the three years of high school is very important. You don't want Juanjuan to be exposed later for not finishing high school and getting into Beijing Film Academy through connections, do you?"

Juanjuan's mother had many concerns: money, resources, schools, and many demands!
He talked on and on for more than ten minutes.

Finally, Li Mingyang asked, "Are you questioning the prestige of being a Palme d'Or winner as a director?"

One sentence was enough to completely subdue Juanjuan's mother, whose face was full of fawning smiles.

The Palme d'Or doesn't really work well in Europe and America, but it does in Asia, in Tokyo!

This thing is like a divine artifact.

Whether you're a "banana" (yellow onion, white onion, or Asian), you'll accept this stuff!
However, no one expected that Li Mingyang would not use the divine weapon to dominate the battlefield, but instead used the Golden Palm as a tool to concede defeat!

At noon, Li Mingyang took Juanjuan and her daughter, along with Jin Sae-ron, to the Bouquet Restaurant for lunch.

As soon as Juanjuan's mother entered the Rose Room, she couldn't see Juanjuan anymore; all she could see was Yuan Bin.

After Won Bin agreed to take a photo, Wu Zhi Kui clung to him, taking up Wu Zhi Kui's spot and refusing to return it.

The director of Train to Busan was forced to sit down next to the two young girls.

After dinner, Li Mingyang went to the One-Punch Man movie set next door, where his anger and rage surged uncontrollably.

The internal and external fires were raging, and in just a moment he was drenched in sweat.

Damn, we've been messing around with this for four or five hours and it's still not done.

Li Mingyang returned to his office and called Cao Manman, asking the head of the marketing department to post a message online that he wanted to hire people!
Only high school graduates aged 18 to 20 are eligible to apply!

Cao Manman was stunned. What does hiring have to do with me? Isn't that HR's job?
She voiced her doubts.

Then Li Mingyang said, "I need some students who follow online news to recruit people using online marketing methods. The more people I recruit, the better!"

"And what about the benefits?"

"Give them a low price, eight hundred or a thousand, as long as they can survive!"

"Then they make grand promises."

"You've made progress!"

"It's all thanks to the boss's excellent training... How many people are you planning to hire?"

"A thousand people!"

"..."

After hanging up the phone, Cao Manman immediately notified the entire management team of a meeting.

After briefly explaining Li Mingyang's requirements, the management team brainstormed and quickly finalized the recruitment document and promotional plan.

Achieve the greatest results with the least amount of money.

Around 6 PM, the flower bouquet marketing department was all set up, and the online marketing team was in place to begin their online promotion.

Just as everyone was carrying out their promotions methodically, preparing to push the recruitment search into the top ten.

Suddenly, all the Weibo posts about hiring were blocked, and more than a dozen QQ groups were bombarded.

Countless troll accounts have been permanently banned!

YY channels have all been blocked.

The marketing team was stunned.

They had only encountered this kind of situation once before, when Li Mingyang's fans caused trouble. It was blatant targeting!

"Boss! Something's not right! We didn't do anything! How did the group chat get bombed?!"

"Yes! It's just a normal job recruitment!"

"The big boss is a Palme d'Or-winning director, he shouldn't be targeted!"

"Could it be that Director Li's lack of effort has angered the public?!"

"No way……"

"Director Li could have won an award by kneeling at Cannes, but he insisted on winning it standing up. Director Li has seen all kinds of storms, and he's not afraid of being directly targeted."

"The movie 'Miss' will be released in just over eight hours. Is it a competitor?"

The marketing department was in chaos. Cao Manman was upset and was about to call an acquaintance at Sina when the acquaintance called her first.

It turns out that their recruitment copy contained too many sensitive words, which triggered the account ban.

Bouquet Entertainment, Li Mingyang, Golden Palm, Wolf, 'Failure is xx, success is xx'...

"How did these words become sensitive words?" Cao Manman asked, puzzled.

"It's all because of your Director Li. The higher-ups suddenly gave orders to start the operation today... Under the guise of cracking down on prostitution, they're deleting Director Li's old material. You just happened to run into them."

"Damn! I've banned so many accounts, can they be unbanned?"

"It should work, but we'll have to wait until the operation is over."

"How long will it take?"

"I don't know! I estimate it will take at least ten days! There are too many Weibo posts about Director Li."

"You guys have powerful connections, right? It's just a matter of lifting a finger! Why is it taking so long!"

"I can't go into details, just behave yourself for now. Okay, I'm hanging up now, let's get beauty treatments together later!"

After hanging up the phone, Cao Manman immediately called Li Mingyang and told him what she had learned from an acquaintance inside Sina.

Upon learning this news, Li Mingyang gave everyone in the marketing department a holiday.

The promised exoneration has come true, and Li Mingyang is overjoyed.

I was so happy until late at night that everyone seemed adorable.

He's been vilified for so many years, and now he's finally getting a major cleansing!
He has a sense of shame! He cares about his reputation!
He doesn't want to be a clown! He wants to be a hero!

Financial freedom, the Palme d'Or in hand—what's the point if not to achieve lasting fame and become the biggest national icon?

Li Mingyang opened a bottle of good wine, called over Wu Zhikui and Bai Bin, and together they flooded the screen, waiting for the momentous whitewash to arrive!
……

On July 4th, "Miss Best Film" was released simultaneously in China and South Korea.

As many movie fans and media predicted, the film "Miss" will not perform well at the box office in mainland China, as the mainland version has been cut by eighteen minutes!
All three sex scenes were cut, as well as some subtle and violent scenes.

The most attractive part of the film for viewers was its three explicit sex scenes, but the domestic version completely removed this biggest selling point, essentially emasculating it physically.

It was released simultaneously in China, but the version shown domestically was censored; the Korean version was the uncut version.

Before the release of "The Lady," countless netizens in mainland China clamored online to wait for a pirated Korean version and refused to watch the censored version.

And then many netizens really did what they said they would do...

Around 3 PM, the girl's real-time box office reached 3 million.

Released on the same day, "Coming Home" topped the real-time box office, leading by a wide margin with 3100 million yuan.

The second place went to Andy Lau's Blind Detective, with 2350 million.

The third place went to Tiny Times, which was released at the end of last month, with 2100 million.

Fourth place is the uninhabited area, with 1830 million.

The fifth place goes to Man of Steel, which was released at the end of last month, with 1420 million.

The sixth place went to "Switch," which was also released at the end of the month, with 670 million yuan.

……

Miss is ranked tenth, ahead of which are Star Trek: Dark Infinity, Poison War, and Deadly Black Orchid.

Because of poor pre-sales, Miss's screening share dropped from 35% all the way down to 18% on the day of its release.

With only 18% of the screenings, it ranked tenth at the box office on its opening day; Li Mingyang couldn't even be bothered to pay attention to it...

The cinemas were quite cooperative, calling to say they wouldn't withdraw the screenings today, but would do so tomorrow...

I really have to thank these people... They don't give when they should, but they rush in when they shouldn't.

Miss has fewer screenings than Comeback, No Man's Land has only 15% of screenings, and Blind Detective only 11%.

The box office in mainland China has exploded; it's all over.

Meanwhile, the Korean film next door has seen explosive growth in terms of occupancy, screening schedule, and audience numbers, with art films and R-rated movies achieving a record-breaking 700,000 viewers by 3 PM.

It has the potential to become the first Korean film to surpass one million viewers on its opening day.

There are many South Korean films that have attracted over a million viewers in a single day, but it's rare to see one with such a high number of viewers on its opening day.

Especially Thursdays... not the weekend.

The film "The Lady" is a runaway success in South Korea, receiving rave reviews and a 9.31 rating on Naver Movies!

Lee Byung-hun, Ha Jung-woo, Kim Min-hee, and Kim Tae-ri all had their eyes squinting from laughing during their promotional tour.

If the lady wins the Palme d'Or and it surpasses 10 million viewers in South Korea, then she'll have achieved a triple slam of awards, critical acclaim, and box office success!

This is the masterpiece among masterpieces.

For an actor to encounter a film that achieves a triple crown in their lifetime, they need not only talent and opportunity, but also a bit of luck—all three are indispensable!

The uncut version of "Miss" has been met with widespread outrage among Korean audiences, media professionals, film critics, government officials, filmmakers, and other groups.

The reputation of the censored version of the actress... is unclear.

Because Weibo is full of people clamoring to watch pirated content.

There are plenty of people waiting, and even more pragmatic ones who specifically went to South Korea to film illegally. To cater to Chinese moviegoers, CJ released a version with Chinese subtitles… competing with Chinese cinemas for viewers.

Mingyang Entertainment, 9th Floor.

“The box office in mainland China is absolutely terrible…” Li Mingyang said helplessly.

"So many good ones were cut. Putting myself in their shoes, I'm also waiting for the Korean version." Wu Zhikui laughed loudly, his face flushed from drinking.

"Hey, let's not talk about it." Li Mingyang turned off his phone and continued refreshing Weibo, looking for dirt on himself.

I have to say, this time it was really fierce.

We started our operation at midnight today, searching for sensitive words in the backends of various platforms. Once we found them, we didn't rush to delete them. Instead, we followed the trail, checked the account IPs, and traced them back to their source.

Those who have registered with their real names, write them down; those who haven't, block their IP addresses directly.

Many online marketing companies were inexplicably attacked, and multiple studios under Sina experienced large-scale account bans.

Without any prior notice, these were all sacrifices...

"Director Li is incredible! The amount of information on the four major portal websites, Weibo, blogs, Mop, Douban, Tieba, Tianya, and all sorts of other websites is in the hundreds of millions," Chen Wenbo said, taking a sip of red wine and laughing loudly.

"Director Li has always been the king of traffic, even after going to South Korea, he is still the king of traffic at Dongda University!" Wang Changtian rarely held a wine glass, and his face was flushed from drinking.

The two arrived early in the morning and informed him that the operation had begun.

As for why they didn't give prior notice, but only told him after the operation began, Li Mingyang didn't ask.

He only cares about his reputation now, constantly searching for dirt on himself.

There are still dirt on him, but Li Mingyang believes these grasshoppers won't live long. The higher-ups have set up a special case for him; it's truly a national effort!
While Li Mingyang was excited, he also felt a lingering fear...

This is quite a generous gift! And more than a dozen departments are working on it simultaneously...

This also made Li Mingyang realize that the higher-ups' control over the internet was far more powerful than he had imagined.

Combating piracy is just a matter of a few words.

However, the reality is that online piracy is rampant, and Kuaibo is incredibly popular! It has become the number one streaming media platform in China in terms of market share.

It's all a trap!

Wang Xin from Kuaibo came to see him a few days ago, looking very confident and arrogant, even more so than Jack Ma and Pony Ma, constantly talking about money and cooperation...

He wasn't given a chance to speak at all.

I really don't know how to write the word "death"!

Li Mingyang plans to send Wang Xin back to China later.

This guy was arrested in South Korea... that was his territory!

Li Mingyang was immersed in the pleasure of clearing his name.

Sweetie, Shishi, and Mimi learned that his scandals were being deleted and countless accounts were being banned.

They called specifically to inquire about the situation.

Regarding this…

For the first time, Li Mingyang spoke without restraint, boasting and exaggerating his own abilities, even calling himself a saint!
“I am a good person, always have been a good person, but I stand out from the crowd and have been slandered. The authorities are just clearing my name.”

"A tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind; a person who excels above others will be criticized by the masses. What a fine poem!"

"After waiting for so long, my dream has finally come true. The road ahead is long and I'm ready to explore, but thankfully you're by my side. I've been looking forward to this day for so long..."

"Don't you know who I am? How could I be an unfaithful, unjust, or unfilial person? You haven't misjudged me, I'm a good person, haha!"

"What do you mean by spending money! What do you mean by wasting money! This can't be achieved by spending money! This is the will of those above!"

"This Palme d'Or was well worth it, haha!"

"I'd be happy even if I went bankrupt!"

"What do you mean 'don't be too happy'? Mimi, you're just worrying unnecessarily. Do you still want to be on the Spring Festival Gala?!"

……

Chen Wenbo and Wang Changtian watched Li Mingyang bragging, both smiling, while secretly plotting how to negotiate a loan with him.

Although FBTV has too many people with veto power, many things cannot be moved forward.

However, when it comes to building scale, seizing market share, and selling copyrights, apart from Hollywood, other parties are very willing to spend.

In addition, the soaring popularity of the Battle of the Century has caused FBTV's traffic to increase day by day, reaching new heights every day!
The higher-ups felt that two billion US dollars wasn't enough to keep Li Mingyang in check, so they wanted to continue borrowing money to stabilize the situation—two billion US dollars!

Even top-tier private enterprises on the roster might not be able to withstand annual interest of four billion US dollars.

If Li Mingyang can hold on, the higher-ups will stop interfering with him.

That sounds nice... Streaming platforms are notorious for having high revenue but low profits; they basically operate at a loss.

Aside from real estate, only the exorbitant profits of major online game companies can withstand the annual interest of four billion US dollars.

When the two learned of this news, the first thing they thought of was the 'Six-Syllable Mantra' posted on Wuzhi Mountain.

The Five Finger Mountain couldn't suppress Sun Wukong; the Six-Syllable Mantra was needed.

They chatted and laughed until it was already evening. Li Mingyang didn't want to go to the restaurant for dinner, so he asked the front desk to notify the restaurant to send the food to his office.

While drinking, I refreshed the page, and the negative posts disappeared visibly, while a ton of news articles whitewashing him appeared.

Taking advantage of the release of "Miss," the Beijing Film Academy mobilized its network to support Li Mingyang, with everyone displaying their unique talents, creating a spectacular scene.

Eight out of ten of China's top directors come from the Beijing Film Academy.

The Southeast University Film Directors Association is essentially a small part of the Beijing Film Academy's territory.

Taking advantage of the release of "Miss," renowned directors such as Jia Zhangke, Zhang Yimou, and Chen Kaizi praised the film to the media, calling it excellent and praising Li Mingyang's character as exemplary.

Praise Li Mingyang for his outstanding contributions to the film program at Dongda University!

Jia Zhangke.

"The Miss is an excellent film. Putting aside the erotic content, it is still a rare suspense film. The camerawork, color, and lighting are all masterful. I hope that movie fans will go to the cinema to see it."

"The schedule for 'Fate' hasn't been set yet. I'll let you know as soon as it is."

"Director Li is my junior from school. I've been following him since his debut. We're very good friends. He's a genius, an extraordinary genius. Geniuses always encounter unfair treatment and malicious slander on their path to success. I've experienced that too. Is that normal? It's not normal at all!"

"Director Li is a kind person. We appreciate each other. We deeply love this land and sincerely hope that it can become prosperous and strong!"

Kind people should not be let down.

"Director Li is no longer directing? Where did you get this news? That's nonsense. Director Li's passion for film is something even I am ashamed of. We're currently working on something big: founding a new international film festival. We hope that more people around the world will pay attention to Dongda Film Festival."

Zhang Yimou.

"The Handmaiden is an undisputed Palme d'Or winner. Director Li looks very young, but he actually understands film very well, in every aspect, whether it's technique, emotion, or editing. I like his editing the most; he really knows how to control the rhythm of the film. Sensuality is part of the film The Handmaiden, but not all of it."

"I've seen both versions of 'The Lady,' and they're both excellent films. The suspenseful techniques in 'The Lady' fully unleash Li Mingyang's talent for rhythm, which is really great."

"Young people are always a bit impatient. We, his seniors at the Beijing Film Academy, all hoped that he could slow down and take things one step at a time so that he could go further and reach higher. But he didn't listen to us. In fact, as everyone has seen, we were wrong. Director Li is truly outstanding. He is the future of Southeast University's film program and the future of the nation."

"Dongda Culture has been going global for many years and has achieved a great deal of success. However, due to certain reasons, it was interrupted at some point. The appearance of Director Li has continued this momentum, the mysterious power of the East."

"Public figures will always face some criticism. You can't make everyone like your movies, and you can't make everyone like you either. Once you're in this industry, you should be prepared for that. Director Li has a very firm will. Many of the miracles he has created require unwavering faith."

"Director Li has been busy with his work and hasn't paid attention to those rumors, which is good. But it has also emboldened some people, making them even more outrageous. Before Director Li won the Palme d'Or, the internet was full of accusations that he was a traitor. This must not be tolerated!"

“Last year, I was invited to attend the Grand Bell Awards in South Korea. After the awards ceremony, I had a long talk with Director Lee. He is a very patriotic person. Those malicious rumors are trying to push Asia’s most outstanding director away. They have very bad intentions!”

Chen Kaizi.

"Director Li and I share a common hobby: poetry and songs. Director Li once summarized himself with a poem: 'No one supports my lofty ambitions, yet I will tread the snow to the mountain peak myself. If fate does not grant me such fortune, I can still climb Kunlun alone.'"

"As my senior, I think Director Li is too young and impetuous. Too much rigidity leads to breakage, while too much gentleness leads to weakness. Only by combining rigidity and gentleness can one achieve success."

"Judging from the results, Director Li was certainly successful, but he took too many troubles and attracted too much criticism. He didn't consider the overall situation."

"People always grow. Director Li's mindset has changed. He has calmed down, which is very good... A gentleman cultivates himself with tranquility and nourishes his virtue with frugality. Without detachment, one cannot clarify one's ambitions; without tranquility, one cannot achieve far-reaching goals."

"Miss, my wife and I went to the cinema to see it. It was an excellent Palme d'Or film."

"I rarely pay attention to news online; it's all a mess. Director Li's acceptance speech at Cannes, where he confidently declared himself a director from Dongda University, is being accused of treason by his own people. I think the relevant departments should really take action and restore order to the film industry."

"Of course I hope to work with Director Li... I'd love to co-direct The Three-Body Problem with Director Li, haha..."

……

Three directors from Beijing Film Academy spoke out one after another, marking the first time the academy has publicly supported Li Mingyang.

Subsequently, prominent figures in the Beijing Film Academy circle, including Dean Zhang, Li Shaohong, Director Tian, ​​Zhang Fengyi, Zhao Yanzi, Huang Xiaoming, and Chen Kun, became enthusiastic advocates for Li Mingyang while praising his character as a role model.

Subsequently, other people in the Chinese entertainment industry followed suit and posted on Weibo to support Li Mingyang.

The scale of the conflict was comparable to last year's epic war of words.

All the big names in the Chinese entertainment industry are here.

When Li Mingyang won the Palme d'Or, the Hong Kong and Taiwan circles remained silent, pretending it never happened.

Now, the Hong Kong and Taiwan circles have also joined in, shamelessly praising Li Mingyang to the skies. Everyone claims to have met Li Mingyang, received help from him, and speak highly of him, especially regarding his character. They call him a pure white lotus in the Chinese entertainment industry, a moral paragon, and a model of morality!

Li Mingyang was thoroughly entertained by the chaotic scene of demons dancing wildly.

Li Mingyang had never been so happy. The Palme d'Or was real, but it didn't live up to its name.

The actions taken above were to crack down on his criminal activities, and the Beijing Film Academy intervened in a timely manner to support and whitewash him.

A two-pronged approach to sweep through the domestic entertainment industry.

While this treatment isn't unique, it's the kind of treatment a Palme d'Or winner deserves.

This solidified his status and position as a Palme d'Or-winning director.

Achieving both fame and fortune.

"Director Li, wasn't that great?" Zhao Wenbo laughed.

"That feels great! I haven't felt this good in a long time!" Li Mingyang scrolled through his own posts, including those clearing his name, praising others, emphasizing loyalty and filial piety, charitable acts, and vindication...

The darkness in my heart has been washed away, and the filth in my soul has been purified.

Feeling great from head to toe.

(End of this chapter)