Chapter 318: Hiring Internet Trolls

The news from the premiere of "Lost in Thailand" spread.

First, Xu Zheng said they would win a complete victory over "The Last Supper," then Lin Nan said they could rival all the films in the New Year's slot.

The key was that Jiang Wen also jumped out, not fearing the chaos, saying he agreed with Lin Nan and Xu Zheng's views, blah blah blah, the meaning was very direct: just go after Lu Chuan!

The heat of public opinion directly suppressed the scattered reviews of "Back to 1942" and "The Last Supper" online.

"Where does Lin Nan get such big talk? It's not even a movie he directed himself."

"To be honest, the movies produced by Lin Nan Film Industry so far have all made money. Oh, right, except for 'Blind Mountain.' But for that movie, they never thought about making money when they invested in it."

Many film companies in the industry were discussing it.

Many people thought Xu Zheng's words might come true, but Lin Nan's words sounded a bit too much like hype.

There were even more netizens joining in the fun.

"'Lost on Journey' was very good to watch; 'Lost in Thailand' with the original cast is completely worth going to the theater for..."

"Who would go watch 'The Last Supper'? 'City of Life and Death' was filmed by that dog!"

"Just finished watching 'Back to 1942,' it's very good, but I suggest everyone consider it carefully, especially don't go as a whole family; it's too miserable..."

Lin Nan was leaning on a rocking chair in the garden, basking in the sun that didn't have much warmth, scrolling through the news.

Yesterday, the premiere of "Lost in Thailand" ended, and those two movies had also been publicly screened for a day.

By now, in the film and entertainment news of the portal websites, the headline news was clearly box office data.

"'Back to 1942' was released on its first day, with a box office of 26.2 million; it has received rave reviews in the industry and is tear-jerking."

"Director Feng Xiaogang used 'Back to 1942' to trace back that bitter and heavy history; it is the truth of millions of people displaced and starving to death under a natural disaster."

Lin Nan admitted that Feng Xiaogang's "Back to 1942" couldn't be criticized.

Every audience member has their own criteria for judgment, but in front of this movie, the worst reviews from the audience were "don't want to go to the theater to make myself miserable" or "won't watch it a second time."

Except for those "things" that aren't human, their reviews certainly wouldn't count as audience reviews; they actually questioned the authenticity of this event!

This was the highest-rated film among Feng Xiaogang's works so far; the scores on professional websites were uniformly high.

But there is a saying that rings true: once you've been given unparalleled word-of-mouth, the box office will just...

"26.2 million!"

At this moment, inside Huayi, the atmosphere was unusually cold.

"Back to 1942," with a total cost of 210 million and a filming period of nearly eight months, only had 26.2 million on its first day?

This number, let alone overturning Lin Nan's "Bad Genius," don't even think about 1 billion; it didn't even have a possibility of breaking even.

Wang Zhongjun's eyes were bloodshot, and his face was so gloomy it looked like he was going to eat someone. Wang Zhonglei, sitting to the side, was the same.

The executives were silent, not daring to speak.

Only Feng Xiaogang was relatively calm, and it even felt like there was a trace of a smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Can we find a way to apply for an extension key?"

"Unless the box office is very good by the time it's pulled from theaters, at least 700 or 800 million?" Wang Zhonglei said uncertainly.

The key is that among the films invested in domestically now, those that have received extensions of a month or more, besides films endorsed by the government, are only "Pacific Rim."

But "Pacific Rim" broke 1 billion in a month, which is how it got the opportunity.

Even for the fiercer "Bad Genius," because of the need to take care of other domestic films, the Film Bureau only gave an extra week.

Hearing this, Wang Zhongjun closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, "Add another 20 million in promotion funds, go handle it immediately."

"Okay." Wang Zhonglei nodded and agreed.

"Director Feng."

"Chairman Wang, I'm here."

"The fame you wanted, 'Back to 1942' has given you, and the company has also done its best to support you, but Huayi is a listed company. You've also seen it; in just one day, the stock price has fallen below the lowest level of the year..."

The executives present all knew that Feng Xiaogang's movies were the barometer for Huayi's stock price.

Just like what was rumored in the circle back then, whenever Feng Xiaogang caught a cold, Wang Zhongjun would immediately cough.

Now, not only was the movie going to lose money, but the stock price had also dropped by nine points; those present were all shareholders.

Feng Xiaogang understood what Wang Zhongjun meant and immediately smiled bitterly, "I will immediately prepare the next movie, a pure commercial film, a comedy."

In the past, the film circle often compared the two Zhangs with Feng Xiaogang and the Wang brothers, because they were all combinations of big directors and big producers.

But unlike that fool Zhang Weiping, who didn't use a strict contract to bind Zhang Yimou, Huayi was different.

Although Feng Xiaogang had stocks and high remuneration, he also had an extremely strict contract, a binding contract.

"Hmm, Director Feng, if you need anything, tell Zhonglei at any time, as soon as possible."

"Okay."

Lin Nan felt like he was going to be squeezed dry; he needed to supplement or exercise his body.

Is a Golden Horse Award worth being excited about for so many days?

"Here."

A fair and delicate hand reached out in front of Lin Nan, with slender fingers holding a peeled apple.

"Thank you, Producer Liu."

Liu Yifei was in high spirits, plopping down right next to Lin Nan. "Look, that movie *The Last Supper* is really miserable."

Lin Nan nodded; it was indeed miserable.

Although the box office of "Back to 1942" was a far cry from the target they had bragged about before, its word-of-mouth was explosive.

What did "The Last Supper" have?

Liu Yifei was already reading the comments online.

"Pretentious, is the director making a movie for himself? Who can understand it?"

"Spiritual and babbling, there's something wrong."

"Not all directors can write scripts; the script Lu Chuan wrote is really trash."

"The story is terrible, the plot and emotions fluctuate wildly, the character development is too thin, relying entirely on the audience's imagination; then what kind of movie are you filming?"

"Damn it, it's a pile of dog shit, it's a money-grabbing scam!"

"The intention is very lofty, but Lu Taro doesn't have the ability; he can't hold it!"

"What was said at the premiere of 'Lost in Thailand' yesterday was correct; there's no need to use the word 'complete victory' anymore; that's a bit of an elevation for Lu Chuan; it should be easily handling 'The Last Supper'!"

Unlike the "City of Life and Death" back then, Lu Chuan still had a large number of die-hard fans, but now "The Last Supper" was almost one-sided negative reviews.

Such a luxurious cast was directed by him into a bad movie.

Poor StarMe and Emperor, especially Emperor, with a total investment of 140 million, Yang Shoucheng put up 70%.

But this first-day box office was only 8.96 million; what are they playing at? Playing with a hammer!

"I really want to know what Yang Dong's mood is right now, haha..."

Lin Nan finished the apple in two or three bites and threw it into the trash can.

Speaking of Old Yang, Old Yang arrived!

The phone on the table buzzed, "Yang Dong's call."

After Liu Yifei handed the phone to Lin Nan, she changed to a comfortable position and rested her head on Lin Nan's lap.

Several cats also took the opportunity to crawl into her arms and curl up into a ball, meowing.

"Yang Dong, what made you think of calling me?"

"I finally understand why Lin Dao had that expression when I told him I invested in Lu Chuan's movie back then. It turns out it meant 'you're on your own'."

Yang Shoucheng's tone at this moment was exactly the same as Han Sanping's tone after being pitted by that bunch from Hong Kong.

"Haha, just treat it as paying tuition. That guy has never filmed a commercial movie; this was his first time, and what's more, it was a historical commercial movie, and he wrote the script himself, haha..."

Lin Nan laughed and complained.

"Damn, it turns out I was a sucker for once, letting him practice his hands."

Although Yang Shoucheng was old, he was still full of energy when he swore.

"Anyway, there are quite a few filmmakers and directors who don't get along with him; that 'City of Life and Death' of his is too disgusting."

"Lin Dao, what release date are you preparing for 'Kung Fu Jungle'?"

Sure enough, Yang Shoucheng couldn't have called for just one thing.

"First half of next year, the specific time will be decided later. Yang Dong, do you still want to ask about 'Ip Man 3'?"

Liu Yifei raised her hand, handed over a grape, and stuffed it into Lin Nan's mouth.

"Lin Dao guessed it; yes, this project has been talked about for a long time."

"'Kung Fu Jungle' will be released, and 'Ip Man 3' will be launched." Lin Nan gave an answer.

Hearing this answer, Yang Shoucheng finally breathed a sigh of relief; in fact, this was his real purpose.

"Kung Fu Jungle" had already been filmed, and it could be released whenever; what hadn't been decided was what Emperor cared about.

Especially now that "The Last Supper" had this kind of box office start, making Yang Shoucheng eager to seek other comfort, such as "Ip Man 3."

After chatting for another ten minutes or so, the two ended the call.

Lin Nan and Liu Yifei leaned against each other, feeling lazy.

"Mom is coming back from her hometown the day after tomorrow."

"Hmm, then we'll go to the airport to pick her up."

Just after Lin Nan finished speaking, Liu Yifei leaned into his ear, as if she were afraid of being heard by the cats.

Looking at Liu Yifei, who was acting coy, Lin Nan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What are you laughing at? Laugh again."

The gentle look from just a moment ago instantly turned fierce.

"Haha, I won't laugh, I understand, I understand; isn't it just that you can't sleep alone at night, woo woo..."

Before Lin Nan could finish speaking, he was tackled onto the sofa.

Miss Liu was riding on top of him, covering his mouth with her two fair, tender hands, her face flushed with shyness, "Still talking..."

Outside, something strange happened.

Suddenly, a large number of movie reviews for "The Last Supper" popped up, and they were all positive.

Five-star reviews on major websites were brushed out all at once.

In just one day, "The Last Supper" went from one-sided negative reviews to a state of polarized positive and negative reviews.

In the evening, media online reported directly:

"Director Lu Chuan's directed work 'The Last Supper' is suspected of hiring internet trolls to brush a large number of positive reviews online and brush five-star ratings on movie review websites in bulk..."

When this news came out, it instantly soared to the headlines.

In the eyes of the film and television circle, whether true or false, this was big news; after all, the movie had only been released for one day!

Just when everyone thought Lu Chuan would stand up and firmly deny it, Lu Chuan really stood up.

It's just that his operation made people doubt whether his brain was filled with shit?!

Lu Chuan admitted directly on Weibo: "Yes, we did hire internet trolls..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 319 =====