I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 173 The eve of the war!

"Fuck!"

"Zhou Yang has gone mad!"

"This guy is really crazy, holy crap, when I saw this video, I was completely stunned!"

"Isn't this a complete break with the entire Chinese film industry?"

"It would be abnormal for Zhou Yang to be normal; it would be normal for him to be crazy! Since Zhou Yang started his business, when has he ever not been completely insane? This guy will jump on any trending topic, and if there's no trending topic, he'll create one himself!"

"That's right. I first learned about Zhou Yang last June, and since then, his movies have been generating a lot of buzz online, mostly with negative comments. I never expected him to become so popular and influential!"

"Who says it's not?"

What has been the reaction from the film industry?

"The reaction was huge. I even saw Liang Xiaogang, a director from the fifth generation, come out!"

"Ok?"

"It seems like several representative directors from the Beijing film circle have come out!"

"..."

In the morning, when Zhou Yang's "declaration of war video" was released on the internet, it instantly caused a huge uproar!
Immediately afterwards, the popularity of [Movie House] skyrocketed!

Countless netizens stared blankly at the video, shocked by Zhou Yang's audacity and madness!
At the height of their popularity, they actually dared to declare war on the entire Chinese film industry!
This is beyond everyone's comprehension!

And just as they were in shock...

They saw a message!
That is, Liang Xiaogang, one of the leading figures in the five generations of Chinese directors, has emerged!

They saw the video of Liang Xiaogang's media interview, and his words were extremely sharp!
"This person doesn't understand movies!"

"Yes, he doesn't understand movies at all. All the movies he makes are terrible. As mainstream, senior figures, we generally don't bother with these younger people!"

"But he was far too arrogant!"

"Suppression? Banning?"

"I find it very strange that if he is suppressed or blacklisted, will the entire film industry still be able to hear about him?"

"There was no suppression. All I saw was them disrupting the Golden Horse Awards ceremony and making outrageous remarks!"

"You mean their movie box office? DVD sales?"

"If sales volume determines everything, then I guarantee that every single one of those AAA films, as long as they can be sold freely, will sell over ten million copies. Pirated sales could even be tens of millions. Are they all masterpieces?"

"Furthermore, I've seen Zhou Yang's movies on the street. What's the reason that Zhou Yang's DVDs sell so well?"

"It's all fraud and deception! This is 'Superman,' and that is 'The Man from Beyond,' the cover design, even the synopsis, it's all copyright infringement!"

"In reality, out of all the movies he's made, which one is truly outstanding? 'Love Rollercoaster' even grossed over ten million at the box office?"

"Heh, don't you know how bad and rubbish the content is? I'll even say it bluntly: if we let people like this get away with it in the Chinese film industry, then the aesthetic standards of Chinese films will regress by at least twenty years!"

"This is a liar, a fraudster, a sinner against China Film Group. He should kneel down and kowtow before the China Film Group brand!"

"I don't represent the mainstream; I only represent my personal opinion. But if a Chinese Directors Association or a Chinese Film Association were to be established in the future, I would be the first to exclude directors like Zhou Yang!"

"Alright, let's not discuss this anymore. There's no need to let such a person gain more attention. It's shameful. It's truly embarrassing for the Chinese film industry to have produced someone like this!"

"..."

[Movie House], [Wandou Movie Network], [Movie Fans' Home], [Sodu Tieba]...

The video of Liang Xiaogang criticizing Zhou Yang during a reporter interview went viral on these portal websites.

The China Film Evening News even devoted a large section to a picture of Liang Xiaogang pointing at Zhou Yang's DVD with spittle flying everywhere!
With Liang Xiaogang stepping in...

Following them were Lu An, Chen Liangquan, Li Jingchou...

One by one, directors from the Beijing film circle, spanning several generations, began to give interviews to the media, bombarding Zhou Yang with all sorts of harsh language.

They are calling on everyone in the Chinese film industry to stay away from Zhou Yang!

........................

evening.

sunset.

After the snow melted, the chill gradually intensified!
[Huaying International]

From morning till evening, Dong Qichang locked himself in his office, looking at internet data.

At this very moment, he was watching a video of a series of fifth-generation directors standing up and joining directors from Taiwan and Hong Kong in angrily criticizing Zhou Yang…

this moment!
Zhou Yang seems to have paid a heavy price for his arrogance, instantly becoming the target of public criticism!

Dong Qichang felt a colossal wave sweeping across the internet, surging forth...

No one knows whether Zhou Yang can withstand this monstrous wave!

Just at 6 o'clock, as darkness began to fall, there was a knock on the office door.

Immediately afterwards...

The assistant rushed over with a document in hand!
"Is there any result?"

"Got it! Pre-sale tickets for 'The Spirit of Zhao Zilong' are now on sale!"

"Ok?"

"According to data reported from the front lines, all the advance tickets for this movie were sold out in just over ten minutes at the cinemas that partnered with Zhou Yang!"

Dong Qichang took the data brought by his assistant, glanced at it silently, and then looked somewhat surprised: "The average movie ticket price is only 7 yuan?"

"Yes, I was shocked too! It's during the Spring Festival! The most expensive movie ticket on New Year's Eve was only 10 yuan, and the cheapest was only 6 yuan!"

"..."

Dong Qichang frowned upon seeing this unprecedented movie ticket price!

It's fine if it's on weekdays!

But that's the Spring Festival movie season! All movie tickets have gone up in price, ranging from 20 to 40 yuan!

They even booked tickets for the first screening of the movie "The Gangster" for 45 yuan each.

Although you can make money even with 8 yuan, during the Spring Festival season when it's packed with movies, if you don't make a killing, you'll have worked for nothing all year!
However, his expression gradually turned serious!

He suddenly realized that Zhou Yang's movies were different from other people's movies. Other people's movies only made money from movie tickets, but Zhou Yang's movies were different!

In a sense!

I'd even be willing to pay 5 yuan for a movie ticket!

....................................

The internet is in an uproar!
Five generations of directors emerged one after another, firmly nailing Zhou Yang to the pillar of shame in the Chinese film industry.

The three major cinema chains have all stated that they will not screen any of Zhou Yang's films...

but!
Suppressing everything!
But it was completely useless!

"The popularity of 'The Spirit of Zhao Zilong' has surpassed that of our 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'!"

"Oh shit!"

"Their movie tickets are so cheap!"

"Damn it, how could he use a movie title like 'The Gangster's Tale'!"

"Where's the Ministry of Justice? Did all of you in the Ministry of Justice go eat shit?"

"..."

【Tianyu】

Xu Haibo, the deputy general manager of the film and television department of Tianyu Media, slammed his hand on the table!
He stared at the internet data with a gloomy expression!
He launched into a tirade of abuse at the legal department!

The head of the legal department lowered his head, his expression complicated: "Registering a movie title doesn't involve copyright, and it's not a trademark. Most importantly, the movie's content has nothing to do with us. In fact, we've been collecting all sorts of evidence and materials since 'The Distant Man,' but damn it, it's useless. Although the other party is unethical and shameless, they're not breaking the law! Unless we register every single Chinese character after 'The Distant Man,' we really have no way to do anything!"

After hearing this, Xu Haibo was so angry that he was trembling all over!
He then waved his hand, telling those bastards in the Ministry of Justice to get lost!
After that bastard from the Ministry of Justice left!

Xu Haibo received a phone call!

His face immediately darkened!

"All the advance tickets for the four major cinema chains they partnered with for the past seven days have been sold out?" Xu Haibo's eyes widened.

"Yes, they're all sold out!"

"Moreover, tickets are extremely difficult to obtain!"

"The 'Movie House' is going crazy with people asking for tickets. Everyone wants to see what Zhou Yang's new movie is all about! All the cinemas under the four chains of 'Chang Kong Cinema,' 'Wan Xin Cinema,' 'Xin De Cinema,' and 'Mei Xing Cinema' are packed, except for the cheapest rural cinemas and the most remote ones. They even added extra screenings and all-night shows, but every single one sold out as soon as it became available. It's unbelievable!"

"They must have bought the movie tickets with fake tickets, right?" Xu Haibo asked through gritted teeth after hearing this.
"Did you see [Movie House]? Zhou Yang's fans there have gone crazy! They're all shouting to support Zhou Yang, and even many fifth-generation directors who refuted him are being insulted by them! And the popularity of Zhou Yang's [Zhou Yang's Home] is even higher than [Wandou Movie Network]..."

"..."

After Xu Haibo finished the call, he opened [Zhou Yang's Home]!
Just opened...

I just saw a newly released video of Zhou Yang!
then……

"Someone asked me why the movie tickets are so cheap!"

"Some people asked me, 'Aren't you making money? Why are other movies priced at thirty, or even forty for the premiere, while our most expensive is only 10, or even 6?'"

"why?"

"Because the movie 'The Spirit of Zhao Zilong' is mainly for children!"

"The children have limited pocket money! There are just so many things to buy during the Lunar New Year!"

"I don't want children to spend unnecessary money on movies!"

"I appeal to, I implore, the owners of the cinemas I cooperate with, to offer movie tickets at a lower price and with more discounts, provided that we can break even!"

"I know we are in extraordinary times, but we are not competing for box office revenue, we are just fighting for our reputation!"

"Yes, everyone, not only for our film 'The Spirit of Zhao Zilong,' but also for all our future children's films, we will offer them at least half the market price, and this will continue in the future..."

"In addition! Mothers with children will get an extra 5 yuan discount on movie tickets, and parents and children will each get a 1 yuan discount!"

"We hope that our film can accompany children through this wonderful Spring Festival!"

Thank you all for your support!

He saw that bastard Zhou Yang and stepped forward again!

He used a disgusting act of "sincerity" and "honesty" to say these words in front of the media!

Then, the comments below went absolutely wild!
A feeling of being moved!

Oh shit!

It looks like it was machine-printed...

There were even disgusting and outrageous statements like "Zhou Yang, our darling, we will always support you!"
Xu Haibo was almost sick of watching it!

Oh shit!

A woman's money!

The child's money!

Are you trying to scam me again?
After you've scammed them, are you going to scam money from the elderly?

Grass!
(End of this chapter)