Generation Z Artists

Chapter 357 You are arrogant! Shameless! Vicious!

There's something about Kai Zi that Fang Xinghe truly admires.

That is the stubbornness of never thinking you are wrong.

Fang was very puzzled—who gave you the courage to do a post-screening interview like we do, making it look so awful?

There was a media interview session after the premiere of "Hero", so "God of War" must have one too?
No one knows what Kai Zi was thinking, but he confidently led the lead actor back onto the stage and continued to make pronouncements.

"This is a special world reconstructed with magical elements. I've put a lot of effort and poured my heart and soul into it, and I believe the audience will love it..."

The audience was quite restless.

Hmm, I probably don't like many of them.

However, the first few reporters' participation was generally a pleasant one – they all received payment.

Unfortunately, the questions from the collaborating media were not newsworthy, so the subsequent reporters had to muster their courage and ask more in-depth questions.

So, a female host with a great figure mustered up her courage and asked, "Director Chen, if the result isn't as good as expected, will it hurt your self-esteem?"

This was actually a very common question, but Kai Zi immediately exploded and launched into a tirade of angry rebukes.

I'm very unhappy with what you said!

"Your question is too malicious. What have I done to offend you?"

"This question itself is very unfriendly. Are you someone's shill?"

“Someone came to my child’s one-month celebration and asked me: ‘What would you do if your child died?’ I think that’s extremely rude!”

Such sensitive emotions and such strong stress responses, completely intolerant of any questioning or disobedience, make Kai Zi truly unique among great directors.

Faced with this sudden storm, the female host was stunned and trembled with fear.

The question "Whose shill is this?" drew everyone's attention to the center of the first row.

Who would hire a shill to question this?

It's so hard to guess...

Fang Xinghe glanced at the female reporter and, sure enough, it was Liu Yan.

In her past life, she had an interview opportunity before the film's release, asked the same question, and received the same reprimand.

In this life, Kai Zi didn't appear on her show. Instead, she tried to learn from Fang Xinghe's tactics, hoping to make a splash at the premiere and generate the most buzz. However, she still displayed the same paranoid tendencies.

Personality really does determine everything.

Fang Xinghe shook his head, then suddenly stood up and stretched out his hand to the side: "Give me the microphone."

Liu Yan paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up. She rushed over and, as if throwing away a hot potato, shoved the microphone into his hand.

"Wow..."

A gasp rippled through the hall as everyone craned their necks to watch this rare sight, their hearts pounding like drums.

On stage, the atmosphere froze instantly.

Kaizi's eyes widened, clearly stunned. He had never been a quick-witted person; as the saying goes, he was good at causing trouble but not at cleaning up messes.

Producer Chen wanted to control the situation, but the microphone wasn't in her hand. By the time she tried to move, Fang Xinghe had already spoken.

"First of all, thank you Director Chen for thinking of celebrating my birthday on such a special day. Although this idea was obviously not out of friendship, you have successfully made my birthday extremely unforgettable."

With the opening remarks, the outcome was already decided.

No one dared to snatch Fang Xinghe's microphone or stop him from speaking—what's the point of making money if you're going to fight a Martial Saint?
Therefore, whether it was Kai Zi, Producer Chen, or even the major production companies in Hong Kong and Taiwan that were not far from Fang Xinghe, they could only watch helplessly as Fang Xinghe "went crazy".

"Secondly, the lady's question was quite common. Director Chen, your reaction was excessive and lacked grace."

"Finally, if I have any objections, I will raise them personally. I won't go through the trouble of hiring someone else. You don't need to make a fuss about it; it's pointless."

Kai Zi was furious, her brows furrowed tightly: "What do you mean by 'making a fuss over nothing'? She was so rude, can't I say anything?! Director Fang, you were rude too!"

I'm sooooooooooooooo!
They've really started arguing!
Reporters throughout the venue raised their cameras and photographic equipment high. Some went around to the side to aim at Fang Xinghe, while others stayed in place to aim at the stage. They completely ignored Mrs. Chen's warnings and only wanted to capture today's big news.

"Director Chen..."

Fang Xinghe raised his voice slightly, and the strong, resonant tone in his chest made it sound particularly powerful.

"I have been releasing my new book on April 1st, my birthday, for many years in a row. Since you chose this day for the premiere and specially invited me to appreciate your masterpiece, you should assume that I am qualified to comment on your work and this act itself!"

Liu Yan pinched her thigh hard, her eyes suddenly shining: Oh my, that's brilliant!
Concise and straightforward, logical and well-founded, it gets straight to the point and instantly seizes the high ground—is this the power of a master of verbal sparring?

No, this is just the opening line of the troll god; the real test of his skills comes later.

Kai Zi was speechless for a moment, while Fang Xinghe continued calmly.

"If the film is very well made, you can take all the heat off me, and don't worry about whether I'm happy or not."

Because in the art world, the artwork is king. If you use your excellent work to legitimately step on me to make money, I have to admit it no matter how much I resent it.

But you specifically called me over, and then served up this mess? I'm very unhappy about that..."

Kai Zi was furious, his face turning bright red.

"What do you mean by 'this thing'? You...you...arrogant! Shameless! Vicious!"

He broke down, but Fang Da's trolling hadn't even really started yet...

“You are a top director in mainland China, and so am I. Let’s reason with each other and not act like a shrew.”

Fang Xinghe waved his hand, and with just one sentence, Kai Zi saw stars.

Kai Zi had completely lost in terms of manners and, even more so, in terms of eloquence. She took several deep breaths, but still felt dizzy and disoriented.

“…Fine!” Anger was forced out through clenched teeth, his voice equally forceful. “Let’s see what logic you can come up with!”

That's too much.

Fang Xinghe has never been a so-called reborn director who can only copy and paste. Through his own efforts, he has solidly established a profound understanding and high level of knowledge about film. He can make good films and also has theoretical knowledge.

His words immediately convinced those around him.

"Art films are the personal expression of the author. The creative mechanism is: I will shoot however I want to express myself. It doesn't matter whether the audience can understand it or not. The work has only one mission - to please myself."

Apart from that, it is not responsible to any outsiders.

But commercial films are different. The foundation of commercial film creation is the market, the audience, and the self.

These are two completely different things: one is about digging inward and being extremely true to oneself, while the other is about digging outward, restraining one's desire for personal expression, and fully respecting the market and the audience.

You are undoubtedly a master in the field of art films.

In "Yellow Earth," you used highly stylized cinematic language to gaze upon this land and the culture and humanity it nurtured.

In "Farewell My Concubine", you achieved a high degree of unity between epic narrative, human depth and dramatic tension.

When I first learned how to analyze films, these two classics were must-sees; I must have watched them dozens of times.

But you can't use the arrogance of art films to make "The Promise"!
This is a fantasy blockbuster, and its foundation must be a coherent story.

What does it mean to be fluent?

It has all the necessary elements—introduction, development, climax, and conclusion—making it easy for the audience to understand.

A higher standard is a complete narrative, clear logic, and appropriate emphasis. Have you achieved that?
The plot is nonsensical, riddled with basic bugs, and the narrative is disjointed and chaotic.

The barbarian wars were all about spectacle for the sake of spectacle, disregarding basic military common sense. The spectacle itself was also poorly executed, lacking any sense of grandeur or impact, and were less impressive than village skirmishes.

The Wuhuan Army is merely a background element, noisy and weak, with extremely poor coordination; it would be better if they were not there at all.

The character development is particularly weak, and all the motivations behind everyone's actions are so ridiculous that not a single character can stand on a realistic level—no, in fact, they can't stand on a comprehension level either; they're all mentally ill.

The dialogue is empty, exaggerated, and contrived, as if the director didn't bring his brain with him when he left home. He's a living puppet of the director!
I'm touched by you.

Director Chen, from whom did you receive such profound emotion that you made this abrupt line with no emotional connection appear repeatedly in the mouths of various characters?
You ruined my chance to be a good person!

Because I failed to capture Qingcheng as a slave in my childhood, I cannot be a good person, and I even have to change my name to Wuhuan...

Director Chen, this is outrageous.

Is it really possible for a character to be so unhappy and obsessed with a little girl he failed to bully as a child, eventually becoming a psychopath?

Moreover, although you clearly wanted to discuss love and freedom, you endowed every character in the film with extremely strong sexual desire, with very early estrus, extremely fast estrus speed, extremely wide range of estrus occasions, and extremely violent estrus process.

I really think they are different from normal humans, not Homo sapiens, they should be called almonds..."

Fang Xinghe had intended to finish his rant, but he couldn't—an uncontrollable burst of laughter erupted in the hall, completely interrupting him.

Actually, they didn't really want to laugh; they were afraid of interrupting such a rare and precious moment.

But... I can't do it!
The almond thing was hilarious! I just finished watching the movie, and even thinking about it briefly makes me laugh.

Amidst the laughter, Kai Zi's face quickly turned from blood red to ashen.

He has been standing high above others for too long. In reality, no one has ever dared to humiliate him like this. To put it more objectively, ever since "Farewell My Concubine" won the Golden Horse Award, no one in the industry has dared to be disrespectful to him in the slightest.

Now, this troublemaker has suddenly appeared, and he can't accept it; his mind has completely gone blank.

"You...you...arrogant! Shameless! Vicious!"

The same words were repeated.

Kai Zi is really bad at swearing, especially arguing face to face; he's not even a tenth as good as Xiao Gang Pao.

Fang Xinghe was too lazy to bully him anymore—of course, he had to make his attitude clear.

So, like a heartless killer, he concluded: "You're trying to explore philosophical themes of fate and freedom within the framework of a blockbuster commercial film. Great, that's fine."

But you have overestimated your abilities. This is a grand but out-of-control authorial expression.

The overly complex concept and the overly weak narrative execution create a serious disconnect, making it difficult for ordinary viewers to resonate with the story, and even professionals would likely find it hard to connect.

My objective assessment is: a failing grade for a terrible film – perfect art direction, 9/10 for visuals, and 8/10 for costumes. You successfully wasted my entire evening.

Perhaps this isn't a matter of ability, but rather a matter of mindset.

To this day, I still firmly believe that "Farewell My Concubine" is a masterpiece of Chinese-language cinema. It's a pity that you are no longer the best director in the Chinese film industry.

Arrogance has utterly destroyed your thinking, execution, reverence, and vitality.

For me, this is not tragic; for you, perhaps it is not tragic either; but for your fans who respect you, it is a great tragedy.

That's all I have to say. Farewell!

Seeing that Kaizi was about to collapse, the Critic quickly made a run for it.

Don't faint in front of me, that would be really bad...

As it turned out, Kai Zi was stronger than expected; he didn't faint.

However, he was more stubborn than expected—he picked up the microphone again.

"You bastard! You're deliberately trying to smear me! To appreciate my movies, you need a high level of understanding. Just because you don't has it doesn't mean others don't!"

Okay, okay, I didn't, I didn't. Well then, just you wait and see who in the world has this kind of understanding.

Fang Xinghe didn't want to argue with him anymore, so he waved his hand, turned around to look for Liu Yan, and wanted to hand the microphone back to her.

However, at that moment, Kai Zi, without thinking, chose to swear.

His raised fingers trembled, his expression was broken, and his roar was heart-wrenching.

"I've never seen such a shameless person as you! You're afraid my movie will surpass yours, so you chose to cause trouble at my premiere! You're so despicable, you'll definitely get your comeuppance!"

Huh? You can say that?

Fang Xinghe stopped in his tracks, turned his head to the side, and looked at the stage.

The slight upturn at the corners of his mouth was not a sign of joy, but rather a chilling premonition.

"Director Chen, I don't know whose idea it was, but since you specifically chose to premiere on my birthday and insisted on having me accompany you, this is a blatant declaration of war."

If you make a good film, then I will definitely keep my mouth shut and accept whatever hype the media may have.

But you made such a terrible film that it's unbearable to watch, so why can't I criticize it?
To force such a terrible movie to coincide with my birthday, ensuring its eternal place in film history, and then not even allow me to be angry! Director Chen, you can't treat people like this, Brother Chen Kai!

The final sentence landed with a resounding thud, eliciting a murmur of surprise from the entire audience.

Anyone with a modicum of sense can feel the impact of this famous quote.

Poison darts? Bullets? Coffin nails?
Not only that, not at all.

Once this phrase becomes a popular meme, Kai Ge will surely have a place on the pillar of historical shame.

Old Chen's face turned deathly pale, and he began to sway unsteadily, as if he would faint completely at any moment.

Mrs. Chen could no longer appease him, so she hurriedly grabbed the microphone, intending to apologize and soften her stance to try and get through this.

Unfortunately, once Brother Fang got angry, he didn't stop venting his anger, and now no one can stop him.

The spitting god's eyes were icy cold as he swept his gaze across the producers in the front row and the main creators on stage, his overflowing murderous aura forcing them to lower their eyes.

His final summary was nothing short of devastating.

"The producers are clueless about the future, the production managers are obsessed with money, the directors are naive and stubborn, and the actors are clueless."

You bunch of worthless scoundrels, always thinking that you can continue to wield power by sticking together. What, you were glorious for a short while, and now you've never woken up again?

Is "Hero" so easy to copy? Ridiculous!

I stopped Director Zhang from expressing his personal desires and maximized commercial value. Who stopped Director Chen from messing around?
I used seventy or eighty bruises all over my body to shoot the best action scenes in the history of world cinema. Your action choreographers changed from Lin Dian to Dong Wei and then to Cheng Xiaodong, but they still made soft and weak films. They didn't strive for subtlety and just did a perfunctory job. You still expect this kind of thing to fool idiots? Where did you get the wishful thinking?
To resonate with the audience, I meticulously refined the performance and dialogue. Liu Yifei nearly collapsed on the execution platform, yet you had Feng Zai, speaking with a thick Hong Kong accent, muttering like he was having an epileptic seizure: 'Why do I keep you all locked up in a gold cage? Because you are all my birds.'

Are mainland Chinese audiences maggots? They'll eat anything?!
The film market that "Hero" and "You Are the Apple of My Eye" worked so hard to open up is not for you to ruin like this!

I pushed the Chinese film market forward by eight years with two films, but you guys pulled it back by ten years with just one film, owing the market two years in total!

With this kind of mindset, this kind of attitude, and this kind of behavior, how dare you try to get me involved in this for publicity? Huh?!

If you're not feeling well, go home and drink two more boxes of Brain Gold!

Since you're so ungrateful, then let's all just stop playing this game. My attitude towards this terrible movie is... I don't recommend it to any normal person!
Don't go crying to the higher-ups again, saying I'm going to censor you. This time, I'm doing this for the sake of all my compatriots!

He threw down the microphone with a bang and strode away.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, except for the grating, deafening sound of the microphone nozzles screeching against the floor...

(End of this chapter)