Chapter 380: The Commotion

On the very night before the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony, Cheng Long held a brief press conference in Gusu.

It was called brief because the duration of the press conference was indeed very short—so short, in fact, that there was no time given for reporters to ask questions.

Yet, this brief press conference stirred up quite a wave.

From the official start of the press conference to the moment Cheng Long walked out of the venue, it took just over 8 minutes in total. Not only did the reporters fail to get any time for questions, but even Cheng Long’s own team was left stunned for a long time.

Cheng Long had followed neither the plan provided by his team nor the backup plan; even after he left the venue, the team had no idea how to smooth things over.

In those 8 minutes, Cheng Long angrily denounced the Hong Kong media for making a mountain out of a molehill and for their hype, and he even retorted by asking if the Hong Kong media had a grudge against him, if they wanted to destroy him, and if they would only be happy if Hong Kong cinema died out completely.

He reiterated the importance of a director to a film, stating that a genius like Director Cao Yang only appears once every hundred years in the film industry, and he hoped the media would not sabotage his collaboration with such a great director.

He also blamed the decline of the Hong Kong film industry partly on the Hong Kong media, saying they only thought about hype and grabbing attention all day long, completely disregarding reality—a classic case of being short-sighted...

In short, he unleashed his big move right from the start of those 8 minutes, and he was not subtle at all.

He once had a widely circulated interview later on, where he said there were many dark secrets in the Hong Kong entertainment industry that he dared not speak of now, but would write into a book to be made public only 100 years after his death...

If his team hadn't reacted in time—cutting his microphone and dragging him out just as the media were scrambling to ask questions after his 8-minute tirade—he probably wouldn't have needed to wait 100 years.

Given Cheng Long’s current state of not caring much about many things, he would have answered whatever the reporters dared to ask.

Not long after this short press conference, before the team could even discuss a response strategy, the news online was already overwhelming.

"The decline of Hong Kong cinema: Hong Kong media and paparazzi must bear some responsibility."

"Cheng Long angrily denounces Hong Kong media for disregarding facts, hype, and attention-seeking; calls them short-sighted."

"Cheng Long in a rare outburst, refutes Hong Kong media's lack of respect for film professionals."

"For a prosperous, healthy, and positive film market, the media must play a positive and guiding role..."

These were basically reports from mainland media; the report like the fourth one was an article by a special commentator for a local youth newspaper.

Such an article did not mention Cheng Long, nor did it mention the hype from the Hong Kong media over the past two days, but instead provided commentary on the theme of the development and decline of the film market.

Obviously, such an article seemed to mention nothing, yet it mentioned everything.

The Hong Kong media, however, were interesting.

Some media outlets vehemently refuted Cheng Long’s words and accused him of disrespecting the media.

Other media outlets used Cheng Long’s words to look back at the glory of Hong Kong cinema, and most interestingly, they actually partially agreed with him.

Some media outlets harped on about freedom, arguing that the media had the right to report and comment, and even cited examples of how the media in Britain and the U.S. behaved...

Other media outlets used Cheng Long’s words to angrily denounce paparazzi for fabricating stories and disregarding facts, which had led to a crisis of trust between the public and the media.

In short, the media over in Hong Kong was truly "letting a hundred flowers bloom"—there were those who agreed, those who opposed, those attacking each other, those admiring the British and Americans, and those reflecting on themselves...

Cheng Long’s team kept a close eye on media reports, and the attitude of the mainland media—especially certain specific outlets—made them faintly feel that what Cheng Long said at the press conference had received implicit support?

This... did it still need to be remedied?

As for the "free-for-all" over in Hong Kong, that also exceeded their expectations.

If it was a "free-for-all," it seemed that any attempt at a remedy would offend someone, so was a remedy even necessary?

They would certainly prepare several follow-up response plans, as that was their value, but as for whether they would be used, they decided to wait and see.

"He is truly brave!"

Li Xiaoran scrolled through the trending reports online and said to Cao Yang, "He has really offended the Hong Kong media to death with this; does he not want to work in Hong Kong anymore?"

Li Xiaoran could imagine that despite the "free-for-all" among the Hong Kong media, where everyone was saying something different, the mainstream was still mostly critical of Cheng Long; only some tabloids would come up with alternative viewpoints just to grab attention.

In that place of Hong Kong, having accepted nearly a century of colonization, many people’s values had long been Westernized, especially those of the media.

Cheng Long had offended quite a few people with this, especially the mainstream media.

With his current world-class influence and status, Cheng Long could be called the number one Chinese actor, and in the field of commercial films, he was in a league of his own.

If he were to gain recognition from the three major European film festivals, such as winning a Best Actor award, he would be world-class in both commercial and artistic fields.

With the hype-generating capability of the Hong Kong media, they would definitely have mythologized him, making him the "god" of Chinese actors.

But Cheng Long’s press conference today meant he had practically cut himself off from the Hong Kong media.

Li Xiaoran could imagine that even if Cheng Long really won a Best Actor award at one of the three major European festivals, the Hong Kong media would certainly not hype it up.

Cao Yang had not expected Cheng Long to be this brave.

The normal approach would be to either ignore the Hong Kong media’s hype, pretend to be unaware, and not get involved in such trouble.

Or to hold a press conference to explain his dedication to the film, and then explain that the actor’s immersive performance was because the actor had delved deep into the character to perform well.

The first approach could avoid trouble, but it might very well make Cao Yang unhappy, as the Hong Kong media had been implying something.

However, this was considered a safe approach; for instance, another actor from Hong Kong who had broken into Hollywood used "no comment" to stay out of it.

The second approach was the best choice for Cheng Long; it could explain why the actor was so immersed, boast about his professionalism, and implicitly suggest that the director was not to blame for the immersion.

Yet Cheng Long chose the third option—unable to stand the media’s hype and their hostility toward the director, he directly bombarded the media.

Cao Yang knew very well that with Cheng Long’s previous tact and emotional intelligence, he would definitely have chosen the second approach.

But he had been influenced by the immersion experience, especially since Cao Yang had deliberately added two more, which directly affected his emotions off-set.

Cao Yang had also summarized a pattern.

If the immersion experience added just the right amount to an actor, the actor could perform beyond their level, and the upper limit of this performance was likely the peak of the actor’s own acting ability.

The downside was that when the actor was not filming, they would be affected to a certain degree, though overall it was not significant; the actor could distinguish between reality and film, and their personality would not be too affected for the time being.

But if more immersion experience was added on top of the "just right" amount, it would break through the actor’s own limits, and they would almost become a real-life manifestation of the character in the film.

The downside was that when the actor was not filming, they would be affected to a great extent; although they could still distinguish between reality and film, their personality and behavioral patterns would be greatly affected—simply put, it was like they had become a different person.

"He is immersed; his personality might have been influenced by the film character, which is why he is a bit, a bit blunt."

Cao Yang replied.

Was it blunt? It was not caring about anything, saying whatever came to mind, just like the male lead in the film, not knowing or caring about other people’s feelings.

"Oh, I guess that must be it."

Li Xiaoran felt a bit of empathy, and she got angry just thinking about it.

Back then, this stinky man in front of her, in order to make her get immersed, "locked" her alone in a small courtyard by the sea, and made her watch sad movies and listen to sad songs every day, repeating this over and over—this "locking up" lasted for almost two months!

After two months, she felt that living was truly meaningless at the time...

Who knew the suffering she went through back then?

The Hong Kong media were really making a damn fuss; compared to the suffering she endured, Cheng Long’s little encounter was nothing.

Since she was angry, she had to stir up some trouble.

"Cao Yang, I heard you came on the same flight as that vixen; I’m a bit curious, why did you come here tonight?"

Li Xiaoran said leisurely.

The vixen she referred to was Gao Yuanyuan, a nickname she had given her during the filming of *Nine-Tailed Fox*.

Why did he come here?

It was because Gao Yuanyuan also felt empathy for Yu Feihong’s immersion, and her sympathy exploded, so she decided to go comfort Yu Feihong that night and share some of her own experiences with getting into and out of character.

Sigh, that’s why they say this woman is a bit foolishly cute.

Did she not think that although she herself was a Cannes Best Actress and had "immersion" experience, Yu Feihong was also a Venice Best Actress, okay?

If Yu Feihong hadn't been immersed, how could she have won the Venice Best Actress award?

But this silly woman with overflowing sympathy just couldn't think of that point; did she think Yu Feihong won the Venice Best Actress award based on her own acting skills alone?

"What are you talking about? We just happened to be on the same flight; there were many others on the plane besides her, including Tian Zhuangzhuang, Gu Changwei, Jia Zhang, Xiao Gangpao, Yu Feihong, Jiang Wenli, and Xu Fan."