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

Chapter 27: A masterpiece that defies all reason!

Chapter 27: A masterpiece that defies all reason!
"Great news! Great news! Starting tomorrow, buy your movie tickets at [Feihe Cinema]! Half price! Half price! Yes, half price!"

"Great news! Great news! China's first blockbuster fantasy sci-fi film is about to premiere! It's about to premiere!"

"Visually stunning, cool kung fu, ultimate special effects, cosmic battles!"

"World Premiere!"

Don't miss it! Don't miss it!

"Hollywood blockbuster, world premiere!"

"..."

evening.

The cicadas' chirping thickly enveloped the blue bricks and gray tiles, and the setting sun cast the shadows of locust trees onto the mottled walls.

At the entrance of Feihe Cinema, the loudspeaker's hawking, mixed with the chirping of cicadas, made passersby stop.

The banner reading "Global blockbuster, The Longest Nite 2, is now showing!" stood out prominently in the sunset.

2003 was a year of decline for Hong Kong films, while Hollywood blockbusters ignited the world with their stunning visual experiences.

Chinese moviegoers, having been exposed to Hollywood blockbusters, have reached a peak in their expectations for Hollywood films, viewing the term "Hollywood" with a natural filter.

Especially when words like "Hollywood movie," "world premiere," "stunning visuals," "cool kung fu," and "space battle" blend together in a single film...

Some people finally couldn't contain their curiosity and went over!

"Hello, boss, is this a sci-fi movie?"

"Yes, it's a science fiction movie!"

"Is it that sci-fi movie they advertise on TV? That one, that Superman?"

"Almost like Superman..."

How much are the movie tickets?

Five yuan!

"So cheap? Okay, then give me a movie ticket!"

"it is good!"

"I want one too!"

"Ok!"

"I'll take one too..."

Under the sunset.

[Feihe Cinema] The proprietress, Zhang Muxue, sat in the corner with her face flushed red, watching Zhou Yang and a group of young people wearing t-shirts shamelessly selling handwritten tickets.

She was too embarrassed to wear that t-shirt with the big lettering on it, and she couldn't even look directly at the words "迢人2" on the t-shirt!

This is a complete scam!
Moreover, the movie is scheduled to be released in two days, but I heard that this so-called "Liao Ren 2" hasn't even finished post-production editing yet.

More importantly, the more Zhang Muxue learned about the movie, the more horrified she became!
A film crew of seven!

Filmed in ten days!

The total cost, including labor, is less than 30,000 yuan!

Furthermore, based on her understanding of Zhou Yang, most of the crew's wages are currently in arrears...

What kind of garbage could possibly be made from a movie like this?!

A movie like this, showing in its own theaters, isn't this...?

Looking at those expectant, excited expressions...

Unable to bear the pangs of conscience, Zhang Muxue eventually hid in the movie theater office.

After sitting there for more than ten minutes, he finally couldn't suppress his unease and called his assistant, Xiao Chen, to his office.

"Has the sample arrived yet?"

"Not yet, they're still editing it... but it seems like it's already been submitted for review..."

Has the approval been granted?

"The script has been approved... Mr. Zhang, do we really want to screen this kind of movie?"

"..."

When Xiao Chen walked into the office and was questioned, he had a slightly distressed look on his face.

Clearly, at this moment, Xiao Chen was also suffering from a guilty conscience, feeling that every minute he spent in the movie theater was torture.

Isn't this blatant fraud using trending topics as a pretext?

Zhang Muxue watched as more and more people gathered outside...

Especially after seeing Shen Hu leading a group of elementary school students this way, she closed her eyes in despair!
These people...

Special!

They even cheat children out of their money!

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

Ten o'clock in the evening.

The annoying horn blaring had stopped. After hesitating for a long time, Zhang Muxue finally decided to talk to Zhou Yang.

She went downstairs.

Watching Zhou Yang sitting in the chair, silently counting his five-yuan movie tickets...

When he saw her come down, Zhou Yang smiled.

"Mr. Zhang, we sold 210 tickets, totaling 1050 yuan. The moviegoers are very enthusiastic and have shown unprecedented anticipation for our film. Tomorrow, our team will step up the promotion, and we estimate we can fill the entire premiere theater at 9 o'clock on the 11th... By the way, bring in popcorn, cola, and stuff like that; we can make a considerable amount of money!"

"..."

Zhang Muxue looked at the money in Zhou Yang's hand, then glanced at Zhou Yang himself, and hesitated for a moment: "Mr. Zhou, isn't it a bit wrong for us to cheat people like this..."

"A lie? What lie? Wait, Mr. Zhang, we're making a movie and selling tickets. What are we lying about?"

“President Zhou, your movie…” Zhang Muxue’s expression was complicated.

"Our movie is pretty good..."

"But, this... this... is it possible that the movie will be... very... in short, be slammed and criticized to death..."

Zhang Muxue held back for a long time, but she still couldn't bring herself to say the word "rotten".

When Zhou Yang heard this, he frowned, then looked at Zhang Muxue very seriously: "President Zhang, since the millennium, China has produced thousands of films, with varying quality, which is normal..."

"But our movie..."

"Mr. Zhang, don't worry, we didn't make a bad movie. We're making a film very seriously. It's just that our shooting speed is very fast, and our shooting style is very romantic..." Zhou Yang said, while dividing the 1050 RMB into two portions and handing half to Zhang Muxue: "Mr. Zhang, this is our share of the first day's advance ticket sales at the cinema. Please keep it..."

Zhang Muxue looked at the money with increasingly complicated emotions, but ultimately did not take it.

"Mr. Zhang, how about this? If you're worried that this matter will weigh on your mind, you can stay behind the scenes from now on. I'll handle everything. For example, I'll take care of any public opinion issues myself. What do you think? Everyone will only criticize me and our movie, not the movie theaters." Zhou Yang's smile gradually disappeared, and he looked out the window.

Zhang Muxue remained silent.

"Mr. Zhang, I have to get back to work. The movie 'Monkey King vs. Superman 2' isn't just premiering here; I've also authorized other cinemas to premiere it..."

Zhou Yang put away the money and turned to leave the movie theater with Chen Jianfeng, Shen Hu, and the others.

Just as she was about to leave, Zhang Muxue stared at Zhou Yang's back for a long time before finally following him.

"Mr. Zhou, as long as the movie passes the censorship and gets the license, then let's broadcast it!"

"Row!"

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

In 2003, the film censorship system in mainland China was not as strict as it had been in the previous world, and the censorship process was not as slow...

As long as the film doesn't make any fundamental errors and doesn't contain elements such as gore, violence, or incitement to crime...

Even in the original world of 2003, although the review period was longer, it was not as strict, and obtaining the dragon seal was not difficult.

The screening review process wasn't that strict.

As you can see, right now, at midnight, many horror movies from Hong Kong are still playing in cinemas...

It wasn't until 2014 that some explicit regulations were introduced prohibiting the appearance of ghosts and monsters in movies.

This world is crazier than any other world!
Starting in the late 90s, it swept the globe with its unique Hollywood industry, and in just two years, the once glorious Hong Kong film market was instantly brought to a slump.

Seeing that mainland Chinese films were about to be completely overwhelmed by Hollywood films, relevant Chinese departments finally held a meeting in early 2003.

Ultimately, to encourage more creators to join the film industry, a special green channel was created for certain types of films.

On the morning of July 10, dozens of new films were added to the list of approved films by the China Film Censorship Center.

Zhou Wenchang, who was in charge of the children's section review department, poured himself a cup of coffee as usual and slowly reviewed the films.

While reviewing the films, we also provided suggestions for revision.

Of course, Zhou Wenchang's review process is relatively lenient. As long as the film does not commit any fundamental errors or contain any bloody or gory scenes, it is generally approved in one take.

The review was completed by 10:00 AM...

Zhou Wenchang saw a movie called "Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2".

He seemed to have some impression of the movie.

It seems that the script was just reviewed more than ten days ago.

and many more!

Has this movie already finished filming?

So fast?
He clicked on the movie "Monkey King vs. Superman 2" out of curiosity.

……

Half an hour later.

Zhou Wenchang stared at the movie in shock...

The core message of this movie is fine; it's acceptable.

but!
"What kind of lunatic made this movie?!"