Huayu: Are you even sitting up straight? You're going to be the director?

Chapter 69 Interview, Deconstruction!
The reporters were so excited they were numb.

Compared to Cao Zhong's movie box office reigniting the heat of this late summer, they still prefer this.

Who doesn't want to be a gossipmonger?
The most important thing is, who doesn't want to be at work eating gossip?

I'm so excited about work! I want to work overtime!

The sharks have gone crazy!
Cao Zhongsha has gone mad!
Blood flowed like rivers! I want to see blood flow like rivers!
The reporters were excitedly cheering and celebrating, eager to promote "Nanjing Photo Studio" online. One reporter, Ma Yufei, even revealed his identity as a film critic and logged into his blog to praise and promote "Nanjing Photo Studio".

These days, China is in the midst of a clash of ideas, and as long as you speak harshly among the general public, you won't receive any special treatment.

Cao Zhong kept his word. He pointed at Ma Yufei and said, "You, my friend, can choose tonight or tomorrow."

"Tonight, tonight, I want tonight!"

Ma Yufei nodded excitedly, fearing that something unexpected might happen after tomorrow!
He wants to make the headlines.

The battle for headlines has always been like this!
Cao Zhong chuckled and turned to look at Qi Jiuzhou: "Together?"

Then he looked at the reporters and said, "Please give 'Nanjing Photo Studio' a lot of publicity. I will still give interviews, but I definitely won't give you any traffic if you spread bad rumors. Thank you everyone, and go home early."

That evening, Ma Yufei and Cao Zhong chatted until 11 p.m.

Then Ma Yufei immediately called the editor-in-chief that very night, exclaiming, "It's blown up! It's blown up!"

"What exploded?" the editor asked, puzzled.

"Cao Zhong's new interview! Explosive remarks! But he demanded that it be released first thing tomorrow morning."

"Revenge is taken swiftly, isn't it!"

The editor-in-chief wasn't someone who couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong. He went back to work that very night. Cao Zhong's popularity had been making them very happy these past few months!
That afternoon, when Jia Zhangke released explosive remarks in an attempt to attack and influence Cao Zhong's "Nanjing Photo Studio," before online public opinion had formed a decisive effect, Cao Zhong, that evening, through an exclusive interview with Ma Yufei, tore away the veil of metaphor he had previously used regarding his senior from the Literature Department, and carried out a deconstruction of the entire Chinese art world and a public massacre of all films! He also made a prediction.

……

That evening, the editor-in-chief saw the interview content.

As he read on, he suddenly trembled all over!
Ma Yufei asked: Golden Lion Award-winning director Jia Zhangke said in an interview today that "Nanjing Photo Studio" may be a cultural event that touches sensitive nerves, and he made many criticisms of you. What do you think?
Cao Zhong: I reiterate my point from yesterday. He is a rare breed, as rare as Wang Guanghai of "Nanjing Photo Studio," doing shameful things while considering himself a hero, chewing on bones while claiming it as art. Ma: Let's discuss this in detail.

Cao: You are a good reporter, you have a conscience, because you know that "Nanjing Photo Studio" is indeed good, so I will speak my mind.

Ma: He called your film "exploiting suffering" and "selling tragedy." What do you think of that?
Cao: That's pure double standards. When communicating, it's easy to fall into the trap of the other person's narrative because you can't refute it or prove your point. For many people, when faced with this kind of situation, they just accept it—it's just bad luck. Yes. So if you ask me to argue, I have nothing to say. Everyone has their own perspective.

I have a question too. Was the Three Gorges Project a hardship? No, it was a magnificent project. Perhaps for centuries to come, when people talk about it, they'll think of the Grand Canal and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. It was a transformative project of our time, a grand undertaking undertaken for the benefit of the people. As far as I know, the vast majority of those involved in such a project, which benefits the country and its people, have been properly resettled by the government in various provinces and cities across the country… and the support they received is countless. I understand the loneliness of leaving one's hometown, but it's definitely not the kind of suffering or tragedy portrayed in his film. Perhaps it's more like exploiting suffering and peddling pathos?

My films can help people remember this memorable year, whether they went to the theater or not, and remind the people of today to be self-reliant and strong. What about his films? Besides instilling a sense of personal insignificance in some viewers and evoking a sense of identification in foreign judges, what other use do they serve?
What are you trying to change? What can a movie that nobody watches change?
Ma: Your point of view is very sharp... So what do you think about the "disregard for the big picture" that you talked to him about?
Cao: Does this even need to be incited? I've roughly read the interview, and my suggestion is that he should go to the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre and recite the original text there.

Ma: What about your criticisms of things like "fictional characters"?
Cao: Isn't art just fiction? Golden Lion Award-winning director Jia Zhangke has already shown me this with "Still Life." And I must remind you that the historical background I used were all photos from textbooks, and even the real-life figures from the photo studio were based on real people. I used them in "The Bloodstained Evidence of the Massacre" back then; I just made artistic adaptations of them.

Ma: It's clear that Director Cao is using Cao's own words against him.

Cao: I call this a formula. I can also teach it to people who watch interviews later. In my opinion, a director whose narrative is emasculated doesn't count as a director, so I generally prefer to call this kind of talk nonsense.

Ma: How should we understand the statement "a director whose narrative has been castrated"?
Cao: Some directors pursue art, light and shadow, and color, and are then selected to become benchmarks. Going back to the establishment of the Three Gorges Dam, how do foreigners view this project? And then look at the types of award-winning films and the time of their awards, and you will feel that this may not be a coincidence, but an inevitability.

Ma: Let's put that topic aside for now and move on to the next topic: how do you evaluate the other party's assessment of your film as "whitewashed"?
Cao: Do ​​you remember the question you raised earlier? Look at your question again. Doesn't it feel like a stupid battle between the left and right brains? In general, when these two kinds of language appear in a disease, we call it epilepsy.

Ma: I didn't realize it until you said it, but this contradicts the aforementioned view on the relationship of influence.

Cao: Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. I don't have a problem with that. I just find it a bit funny that the other party is acting illogically, like a seizure.

Ma: What is your response to the criticism that you deliberately create heroic figures with a patriotic theme?

Cao: Actually, I'm most indignant about this issue. This is also the moral right and the right to interpretation that I mentioned at the premiere. The Chinese people endured fourteen years of arduous and heroic resistance against Japan, sacrificing 35 million lives. These included innocent civilians and anti-Japanese heroes who gave their lives for their country. Even if the script is based on real people, or even if I created fictional characters, they represent the awakening of our nation, a symbol of unwavering resolve. They shouldn't be labeled with forced, pretentious, or empty symbols. So, whether someone's stance is skewed or not is immediately apparent.

Ma: So, you saw through it?

Cao: I understand you want a sensational story. My answer is already in the book title.

Ma: Director Cao found out... So, how did you respond to his accusation that you made unethical attacks on him, and his discussion of the films nominated for the main competition at this year's Venice International Film Festival, namely "The Sun Also Rises" and "Eileen Chang," and his question about whether these two films contained any "ugly" elements?
Cao: I haven't seen the movie, but based on my guess, it should be.

(End of this chapter)