Entertainment News: I'm Not a Scumbag After Rebirth!

"Even films by Li Jun, a director from Chengdu, are getting such poor screenings in his hometown? Apart from a few screenings at two art cinemas near universities, most of them are in garbage time slots like 10:00 AM and 10:30 PM."

Fang Zhi's voice trembled with anger:

"They're openly sabotaging us; it's outrageous!"

Li Jun took the phone and scrolled through the messages one by one, his face expressionless, except that his jawline tightened a little.

Huayi's methods were more direct than he had anticipated.

This is an attempt to use industry dominance to completely shut down "Love is Not Blind" from the start, denying it even a chance to speak.

"Brother Jun, we've already sent out the copies, but many cinema managers are hesitant, saying that scheduling is difficult and the schedules are too full."

Jia Peng called as well, and in the background you could hear the clicking sound of him operating the editing software.

"And there's something even more outrageous. A cinema chain in the south directly said that our film's subject matter was sensitive and its emotions were negative, and that they needed to observe public opinion further. Wasn't 'Love in the Wind' the same thing? Why didn't they shut it down?!"

Li Jun's voice was calm:

"For cinemas with fixed screening schedules, even if it's just one showing, stick with it. For those that haven't been finalized yet, keep negotiating, especially for cinemas near universities and in areas frequented by young professionals, late-night screenings are quite suitable."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Liangying looked at him with concern:

"Your movie..."

Li Jun returned the phone to Fang Zhi:

"As expected. Huayi is just making a show of force."

He spoke casually, but Zhang Liangying saw him clench her hands tightly when he turned around.

That's a little gesture he only makes when he's under immense pressure.

In the days that followed, he accompanied Zhang Liangying to rehearsals, helped her analyze the characteristics of other contestants, and adjusted her song selection strategy.

After all, music is his home turf, and he needs to expand his influence in that area.

On the other hand, it spread to dozens of cities across the country via telephone and the internet.

He, Jia Peng, and his hastily assembled distribution team fought almost non-stop.

The following is a comparison of the key aspects of "Love is Not Blind" and "Windy City" as of late April, illustrating the severity of the situation:

"Love is Not Blind": Extremely low budget, student team; promotion relied on online topics and song collaborations, and offline materials were rudimentary.

"Love in the Windy City": It claims to have an investment of over 30 million yuan, a full-channel advertising blitz, celebrity roadshows, and GG everywhere.

Li Jun's strategy was to "encircle the cities from the countryside." Directly competing for prime-time screenings in mainstream cinemas would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock; he concentrated all his resources on two types of venues:

First, cinemas near major universities across the country, where students are the core audience for "copywriting style" and "emo" emotions;

Secondly, there are late-night venues where emotions are at their peak.

He authorized Jia Peng to use the phrase "Chengdu Super Girl champion Zhang Liangying sings the theme song".

They negotiated the film with "the most anticipated heartbreak healing film on the internet" as its core selling point, and even allowed cinemas to lightly link the film with "Super Girl" during promotion.

At the same time, he personally took charge of continuously posting retouched stills from the movie and clips of Tang Yan's acting on several of the most popular film and relationship forums, and guided the popular posts about clips from "Love is Not Blind" to continue to spread.

He didn't directly attack Huayi Brothers, but kept emphasizing that this was a movie that truly understood heartbreak and was dedicated to everyone who couldn't sleep at night.

He hired several skilled writers to pose as ordinary viewers and write lengthy posts expressing their expectations and emotional resonance for the film, thus boosting its reputation and anticipation.

This is an extremely asymmetrical war.

Bad news kept coming from Jia Peng's side:

A cinema that had agreed to the deal suddenly changed its mind, a shopping mall that had promised to give a poster space was snatched away by Huayi Brothers with a higher price, and even some sporadic negative comments began to appear online about the poor production of "Love is Not Blind" and the director's use of the Super Girl competition for publicity.

Li Jun knew that this was part of Huayi's combined strategy.

Wang Zhonglei not only wanted to win, but to win cleanly and decisively, leaving no room for criticism.

Actually, none of these things matter. The most troublesome thing is how to face the upcoming chaotic situation.

Speak of the devil, and he appears; Tang Yan called.

"Did I disturb you?"

Tang Yan's voice came softly through the phone.

"I see a lot of people discussing the movie online, and I'm a little nervous."

"Don't be nervous, you acted very well, and more discussion is a good thing."

Li Jun leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Don't overwork yourself. Jia Peng said you haven't slept much these past few days."

Tang Yan paused, then lowered his voice even further.

"I've heard about the movie's screening schedule. Don't worry, even if... even if not many people watch it in the end, I'll be happy as long as it's finished being filmed."

These words, like a tiny needle, unexpectedly pierced a very soft corner of Li Jun's heart.

He has always been a pillar, a strategist, and cannot show the slightest sign of fatigue.

It seems that only with Tang Yan can he be allowed to say "no" and be comforted with "it's okay".

A complex mix of emotions welled up inside me: gratitude, guilt, and an indescribable feeling.

He said in a hoarse voice:

"I believe in our film. You should get some rest; you might have to do some promotional work later."

"Okay, you should go to bed early too."

Tang Yan obediently agreed and hung up the phone.

The phone went dead, but Li Jun held it and sat in the dim light for a long time.

Zhang Liangying came in carrying a small stew pot, a smile on her face:

"The hotel kitchen gave me rock sugar pear soup to soothe my throat. Listen to how hoarse I've become."

She walked naturally to his side and touched his forehead:

"Do you have a fever? You look so pale."

Li Jun instantly snapped out of his dazed state and took the stew pot:

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired."

Zhang Liangying looked at him and suddenly said:

"Xiao Jun, after the competition, no matter what the ranking is, let's go see a movie together."

Her eyes sparkled, full of anticipation.

Li Jun took a sip of the sweet pear soup, which made his throat feel a little better, but his heart tightened even more.

I am standing on an extremely dangerous balance beam.

Zhang Liangying isn't the kind of person who can tolerate Tang Yan, and Tang Yan might not be able to accept someone else sharing her love. How can she have the best of both worlds?

Li Jun closed his eyes, knowing he had no choice but to deal with whatever came his way.

A few days later, even worse news arrived.

Jia Peng, who was in charge of nationwide distribution, reported in near despair:

Huayi actually managed to use its connections at higher levels to suggest optimizing the schedule.

This means that the capacity of films released during the May Day holiday is limited. In order to ensure the screening benefits of key domestic films, it is recommended to adjust the screening schedule for smaller films.

This is practically an invisible ban.

The already pitiful screening rate of "Love is Not Blind" faces the risk of being further reduced by half.