Chapter 27: A God-Tier Work of Insanity!

"Good news, good news! Starting tomorrow, come to 【Feihe Cinema】 to buy tickets! Half price on movie tickets, half price! Yes, half price!"

"Good news, good news! China's first magical sci-fi blockbuster, about to premiere, about to premiere..."

"Shocking visuals, Cool and Flashy Technique, ultimate special effects, interstellar war!"

"Global premiere!"

"Global premiere!"

"Don't miss it if you walk by, don't miss it if you walk by!"

"Hollywood blockbuster, global premiere!"

"..."

Evening.

Cicada songs thickly wrapped the green bricks and gray tiles; the setting sun branded the shadow of the locust tree onto the mottled wall.

At the entrance of 【Feihe Cinema】, the speaker's hawking mixed with bursts of cicada chirps, causing passersby one by one to stop.

The banner reading 【Global Blockbuster, Zhengban Tiao Ren 2 Shocking Release!】 shone especially eye-catching under the setting sun.

2003 was the year Hong Kong films declined, while Hollywood blockbusters ignited the globe with shocking visual experiences.

Chinese film fans, baptized by Hollywood blockbusters, at this very moment had their expectations for Hollywood films reach a peak; regarding the three words "Hollywood," they already carried a natural filter.

Especially at the instant when words like 【Hollywood Film】, 【Global Premiere】, 【Shocking Visuals】, 【Cool and Flashy Technique】, and 【Interstellar War】 blended into one movie...

Some people finally could not suppress their curiosity and walked over!

"Hello, boss, is it a sci-fi film?"

"Yes, it is a sci-fi film!"

"Is it that sci-fi film advertised on TV? That, that Superman?"

"Sort of like Superman..."

"How much for a movie ticket?"

"Five yuan!"

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

"Okay!"

"I'll take one too!"

"Alright!"

"I'll take one too..."

Under the setting sun.

Zhang Muxue, the owner of 【Feihe Cinema】, her face flushed red, sat in the corner, watching Zhou Yang lead a group of young men in T-shirts, shamelessly selling handwritten tickets.

Her skin was thin; she simply had no face to wear that T-shirt with the big writing on it, and dared not even look directly at the words 【Zhengban Tiao Ren 2】 on the T-shirt!

This was completely fraud!

Moreover, the movie was set to release in two days, but she heard that this so-called 【Zhengban Tiao Ren 2】 had not even finished post-production editing at this very moment.

More importantly, the more Zhang Muxue learned about this movie, the more terrified she felt!

A crew of seven people!

Filmed in ten days!

Total cost, including labor, less than thirty thousand yuan!

In fact, based on her understanding of Zhou Yang, most of the crew's wages were currently being owed...

What kind of thing could a movie like this possibly be?

A movie like this showing in her cinema chain, wasn't this, wasn't this...

Looking at those pairs of expectant, excited expressions...

Zhang Muxue simply could not bear the condemnation of her conscience and finally hid in the cinema office.

After staying for over ten minutes, finally unable to suppress her unease, she called assistant Xiao Chen into the office.

"Has the sample film arrived yet?"

"Not yet, they are still editing over there... but it seems it has already been submitted for review..."

"Has the review come down?"

"The script has already been approved... President Zhang, are we, are we really going to screen this kind, this kind of movie?"

"..."

Xiao Chen walked into the office; facing the inquiry, his face looked slightly bitter.

Obviously, at this very moment Xiao Chen was also suffering from the condemnation of his conscience, feeling that every minute spent in this cinema was torture.

Isn't this just shamelessly riding the heat and committing fraud!

Zhang Muxue looked at the growing crowd outside the room...

Especially after seeing Shen Hu pulling a group of elementary school students walking this way, she closed her eyes in despair!

These people...

Damn it!

They are even scamming children's money!

……………………………………

Ten o'clock at night.

The irritating horn sounds had already stopped.

After hesitating for a long time, Zhang Muxue finally decided to talk to Zhou Yang.

She walked downstairs.

Watching Zhou Yang sit in a chair, silently counting movie tickets in five-yuan increments...

When she came down, Zhou Yang's face broke into a smile.

"President Zhang, we sold 210 tickets, totaling 1,050 yuan. The fans' enthusiasm for us is high; they have erupted with unprecedented anticipation for our film. Tomorrow, our team will intensify the promotion; I estimate we can fill the entire premiere hall for the 9 o'clock screening on the 11th... By the way, get the popcorn, cola, and such ready; we can make a pretty penny!"

"..."

Zhang Muxue looked at the money in Zhou Yang's hand, then glanced at Zhou Yang again. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "President Zhou, is it not quite right for us to deceive people like this..."

"Deceive people? Where is the deception? Wait, President Zhang, we are making a film and selling movie tickets. What are we deceiving people about?"

"President Zhou, your film..." Zhang Muxue's expression was complex.

"Our film is quite good..."

"But, this, this... Is it possible that the film is very, very... Anyway, we will be scolded to death..."

Zhang Muxue held it in for a long time, but the word "terrible" finally still did not come out.

Hearing this, Zhou Yang frowned, then looked at Zhang Muxue very seriously: "President Zhang, from the millennium to the present, in these years, our Chinese films number in the thousands, with uneven quality; this is very normal..."

"But, our film..."

"President Zhang, rest assured, we have not made a terrible film. We are making the film very seriously; it's just that our filming speed is very fast, and our filming techniques are extremely romantic..." While speaking, Zhou Yang divided the 1,050 yuan Renminbi and handed half to Zhang Muxue: "President Zhang, this is our share of the first day's advance ticket sales for the cinema; keep it safe..."

Zhang Muxue looked at the money, her eyes becoming increasingly complex, and in the end, she did not take the money.

"President Zhang, here is the deal: if you are afraid this matter will burden your conscience, just hide behind the scenes from now on. I will handle everything in person. For instance, if there is any public opinion backlash, I will bear it myself. How does that sound? Everyone will only scold me and scold our film, not the cinema." Zhou Yang's smile gradually faded from his face as his gaze turned toward the window.

Zhang Muxue remained silent.

"President Zhang, I will go get busy first. As for the film 'Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2', actually, it is not just premiering on our end; I have also authorized other cinemas to premiere it..."

Zhou Yang put the money away, turned around, and prepared to leave the cinema with Chen Jianfeng, Shen Hu, and the others.

Just as they were preparing to leave, Zhang Muxue looked at Zhou Yang's back for a long time, and in the end, followed him.

"President Zhou, as long as the film passes the review and gets the seal, let it be broadcast!"

"Alright!"

…………………………

In this world's year 2003, the mainland film review system was not as strict as in the original world, nor was the review speed as slow...

As long as the film did not commit fundamental errors and contained no elements of gore, violence, or inciting crime...

Even in the original world's year 2003, although the review period was a bit long, it was not that strict; obtaining the Dragon Seal was not difficult.

The screening review was not that strict either.

Just look: at this very moment, in the middle of the night, many ghost films from Hong Island were still being played in cinemas...

It was not until 2014 that some explicit regulations were issued, stating that films could not feature ghost or monster images.

In this world, Hollywood films were even more crazy than in the original world!

Starting from the late 1990s, relying on its unique Hollywood industry to sweep the globe, in just two short years, the once-glorious Hong Kong film market was instantly beaten into a state of decline.

Seeing that mainland films were about to be beaten into a state of helplessness by Hollywood films, the relevant Chinese departments finally held a meeting in early 2003.

Ultimately, to encourage more creators to join the film industry, they specifically established a green channel for certain special films.

Early on the morning of July 10, dozens of new films appeared at the Chinese film review department.

Zhou Wenchang, in charge of the children's section review department, poured a cup of coffee as usual and leisurely reviewed these films.

While reviewing, he gave modification suggestions for these films.

Of course, Zhou Wenchang's review was still relatively lenient; as long as the film did not commit fundamental errors and no gore or similar scenes appeared, it basically passed in one go.

When the review reached ten o'clock in the morning...

Zhou Wenchang saw a film titled 'Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2'.

He seemed to have some impression of this film.

It seemed that the script had just been reviewed more than ten days ago.

Wait!

Has this film already been finished filming?

So fast?

Curious, he clicked to open the film 'Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2'.

……

Half an hour later.

Zhou Wenchang stared at the film with a shocked expression...

The core of this film had no problems at all; it could pass.

But!

"Which mental patient made this kind of film!"

"Did I kill people, set fires, or betray my country in my past life? In this life, what merit or ability do I have to review such a divine work!"

"..."