Chapter 27: Insane Masterpiece!

“Good news, good news! Starting tomorrow, buy tickets at the Feihe Cinema! Movie tickets half price, half price! Yes, half price!”

“Good news, good news! China’s first fantasy sci-fi blockbuster is about to premiere, about to premiere…”

Stunning visuals, cool martial arts, extreme effects, cosmic warfare!

“World premiere!”

“World premiere!”

“Don’t miss it, don’t miss it as you walk by!”

“Hollywood blockbuster, world premiere!”

“…”

Evening.

Cicada songs clung thickly to the blue bricks and gray tiles; the setting sun burned the shadow of the locust tree onto the weathered wall.

At the entrance of the Feihe Cinema, the loudspeaker’s hawking mixed with the cicadas’ drone, causing passersby to stop.

The banner reading 【Global Blockbuster, Tiao Ren 2: Stunning Premiere!】 glowed vividly under the sunset.

In 2003, Hong Kong cinema was in decline, while Hollywood blockbusters, with their stunning visual experiences, ignited global excitement.

Chinese moviegoers, having been conditioned by Hollywood blockbusters, now held their highest expectations for Hollywood films, viewing the very words “Hollywood” through a natural filter of awe.

Especially when the phrases 【Hollywood Movie】, 【World Premiere】, 【Stunning Visuals】, 【Cool Martial Arts】, 【Cosmic Warfare】 blended together in a single film…

Some could no longer resist their curiosity and walked over!

“Hello, boss, is this a sci-fi film?”

“Yes, it’s a sci-fi film!”

“Is this the sci-fi film advertised on TV? That one, the Superman one?”

“Something like Superman…”

“How much is a ticket?”

“Five yuan!”

“So cheap? Okay, give me one ticket!”

“Alright!”

“I’ll take one too!”

“Got it!”

“I’ll take one as well…”

Under the sunset.

Zhang Muxue, the owner of the Feihe Cinema, sat flushed in the corner, watching Zhou Yang and a group of young people in T-shirts shamelessly selling hand-written tickets.

She had a thin skin; she couldn’t bear to wear the T-shirt emblazoned with the giant characters 【Tiao Ren 2】, nor could she bring herself to look directly at the words on it.

This was outright fraud!

And in two days the film was scheduled to premiere, yet rumor had it that even the final editing of this so-called Tiao Ren 2 hadn’t been completed yet.

More importantly, the more she learned about this film, the more terrifying it became.

A crew of seven people!

Shot in ten days!

Total cost, including labor, under thirty thousand yuan!

And based on her knowledge of Zhou Yang, most of the crew’s wages were still unpaid…

What kind of trash could possibly come out of a film like this?

To screen such a film on my theater’s screen—this isn’t, this isn’t…

Looking at those pairs of eager, excited faces…

Zhang Muxue could no longer endure the guilt, and finally retreated into the cinema’s office.

After sitting there for over ten minutes, unable to bear her unease, she called her assistant Xiao Chen into the office.

“Has the preview copy arrived yet?”

“Not yet, they’re still editing… but it seems they’ve already submitted it for review…”

“Has it been approved?”

“The script has been approved… Boss Zhang, are we really going to screen this… this movie?”

“…”

Xiao Chen entered the office, his face grim as he answered the question.

Clearly, Xiao Chen too was tormented by conscience, feeling every minute spent in this cinema was torture.

This was clearly exploiting hype for fraud!

Zhang Muxue watched as more and more people gathered outside…

Especially when she saw Shen Hu leading a group of elementary schoolchildren toward the cinema, she closed her eyes in despair!

These people…

Damn it!

They’re even scamming children’s money!

……………………………………

Ten p.m.

The annoying loudspeakers had fallen silent.

After much hesitation, Zhang Muxue finally decided to speak with Zhou Yang.

She went downstairs.

She saw Zhou Yang sitting on a chair, quietly counting stacks of five-yuan movie tickets…

When he saw her come down, Zhou Yang smiled.

“Boss Zhang, we’ve sold 210 tickets, totaling 1,050 yuan. The fans’ enthusiasm is incredible—they’re expecting our film with unprecedented excitement. Tomorrow, our team will ramp up promotion further; we’ll likely fill the entire premiere screening at 9 a.m. on the 11th… By the way, stock up on popcorn and cola—you’ll make a nice profit!”

“…”

Zhang Muxue stared at the money in Zhou Yang’s hands, then at him, hesitating: “Boss Zhou, aren’t we… cheating people here?”

“Cheating? Where’s the cheating? Wait, Boss Zhang, we’re making a movie and selling tickets—what are we cheating people of?”

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

“Our movie’s fine…”

“But this… this… could this movie possibly be… really, really… in short, it’ll get torn apart…”

Zhang Muxue held back for a long time, but the word “terrible” never left her lips.

When Zhou Yang heard this, he frowned, then looked at Zhang Muxue seriously: “Boss Zhang, since the year 2000, thousands of Chinese films have been made, with wildly varying quality—that’s normal…”

“But our movie…”

“Boss Zhang, don’t worry—we didn’t make a bad film. We took our filmmaking seriously, we just shoot fast and our techniques are wildly romantic…” Zhou Yang said, dividing the 1,050 yuan into two equal piles and handing half to Zhang Muxue: “Boss Zhang, here’s your share of the first day’s advance ticket sales. Take it.”

Zhang Muxue stared at the money, her gaze growing more complex, and ultimately did not take it.

“Boss Zhang, if you’re worried this will burden your conscience, just stay behind the scenes from now on—I’ll handle everything publicly. If there’s public backlash, I’ll take the blame. You won’t be touched—everyone will only curse me and our movie, never the cinema.” Zhou Yang’s smile faded as he gazed out the window.

Zhang Muxue remained silent.

“Boss Zhang, I’ve got to go. The movie Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2 isn’t just premiering here—I’ve licensed it to other cinemas too…”

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

Just as he was about to walk out, Zhang Muxue stared at his back for a long moment, then followed after him.

“Boss Zhou, as long as the film passes review and gets the dragon seal, screen it!”

“Alright!”

…………………………

In this world’s 2003, mainland China’s film censorship system was not as strict as in the original world, nor was approval so slow…

As long as the film didn’t violate core principles—no blood, violence, or incitement to crime…

Even in the original world’s 2003, though approval took longer, it wasn’t nearly as harsh; obtaining the dragon seal wasn’t difficult.

Screening reviews were also less stringent.

Didn’t you see? Even now, at midnight, many horror films from Hong Kong were still playing in theaters…

Only in 2014 did official regulations emerge forbidding ghostly imagery in films.

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

Since the late 1990s, they had swept the globe with their unique Hollywood industrial model, and within two years, the once-glorious Hong Kong film market collapsed completely.

Seeing mainland Chinese cinema on the verge of being crushed by Hollywood, China’s authorities held a meeting in early 2003.

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

On the morning of July 10, dozens of new films appeared in the Chinese Film Review Department.

Zhou Wenchang, responsible for the children’s film review section, poured himself a cup of coffee and methodically reviewed these films as usual.

He reviewed them while offering revision suggestions.

Of course, Zhou Wenchang’s reviews were relatively lenient—if a film didn’t break core rules or contain bloody scenes, it almost always passed on the first try.

By ten a.m., as he reviewed…

Zhou Wenchang came across a film titled Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2.

He had a vague memory of this film.

Hadn’t the script been reviewed just over ten days ago?

Wait!

Has this movie already been filmed?

So fast?

He opened the movie "Sun Wukong vs Superman 2" with some curiosity.

Half an hour later.

Zhou Wenchang stared at the movie in shock...

The movie’s core is fine—it can pass.

But!

"Who the hell directed this movie?!"

"Did I commit murder, arson, or treason in my last life? What have I done in this one to be reviewing such a masterpiece?!"

"..."