Entertainment from Divorce

In December, the cold wind swept through the streets of Beijing, carrying scattered snowflakes, making the city's outline appear even more desolate and cold.

The office building of Brilliant Entertainment, however, was warm and inviting.

Lin Qingye's directorial debut, "Time Ticks," has officially entered its full-scale promotional period.

In the open-plan office area of ​​the public relations department, all members of the team responsible for the "Time Tick-Tock" project were on duty.

On each person's computer screen, monitoring interfaces for multiple social media platforms, such as Weibo, were open simultaneously. Fluorescent green data streams were constantly refreshing, recording every discussion related to the movie.

Team leader Li Meng stared at the screen, her fingers flying across the mouse, highlighting a Weibo post that was gaining popularity.

"This topic, 'Lin Qingye's transition to film, with Tan Yue as his support, and 'Time Ticks' being a must-see for the New Year's Day season,' has been shared over 10,000 times in half an hour. We need to follow up closely and contact several film and television influencers to share and spread it."

The intern next to her, Xiao Zhang, pushed up his glasses and said excitedly, "Sister Meng, the topic of Lin Qingye's first movie experience has also come up on Douyin. Many netizens are sharing photos of the TV series directed by Lin that they watched before, and the comments section is full of people saying they trust Director Lin's aesthetic sense."

“Compile these positive feedbacks into a briefing and summarize it every two hours.” Li Meng didn’t even look up, continuing to stare at the monitoring data.

"In addition, we need to see if any professional film critics have analyzed the situation in advance, or if netizens have raised any potential questions. We need to prepare solutions in advance."

In the director's office at the far end of the office area, Engineer Wu was reviewing the latest public opinion briefing.

The key data on the first page of the briefing are highlighted in red.

The total readership of movie-related topics exceeded 8 million, with over 500 million discussions. Positive reviews accounted for 68%, neutral reviews for 25%, and negative reviews for only 7%.

He ran his finger over the "positive evaluation keywords" column.

Among the positive discussions, the most representative one is the long commentary by the netizen "Film and Television Observer".

"Lin Qingye has always maintained a very steady control over the narrative rhythm."

"This time, although the subject matter of the film has shifted from period drama to contemporary drama, the core themes are still time and choices. 'Time Ticks' is likely to be the dark horse of the New Year's Day season."

This long review was shared nearly 30,000 times, becoming an important basis for many netizens' anticipation of the movie.

On Douyin (TikTok), the topic of Lin Qingye's transformation and challenge has generated a great deal of interaction among netizens.

"A film directed by Lin is bound to have great visuals!"

Short video platforms have a strong reach; in just two days, the movie's official account gained over a million followers, and the trailer garnered tens of millions of views.

However, negative and questioning voices were not absent.

The question, "Can Lin Qingye handle film? The difference between TV series and movies is more than just a little bit," has attracted many industry insiders and netizens to participate in the discussion.

One netizen left a comment.

“TV series are slow and meticulous, emphasizing plot development and character relationships; movies are only two hours long, so they need to grab the audience’s attention in a short time and complete the narrative loop. Lin Qingye has never made a movie before, so he may have a ‘TV series mindset’, which could lead to a slow pace.”

Some people are also worried about the subject matter.

"The story of the old watchmaker and his granddaughter is about their family bond. With the addition of the fantasy element of time travel, this kind of subject matter is easy to make into a sentimental and cliché film."

"The competition during the New Year's Day period is so fierce, with comedies preceding it and action films following it. The audience for this kind of heartwarming film is too narrow, and the box office prospects are probably not optimistic."

Some netizens even directly predicted its failure.

"Many TV drama directors have failed when they switched to movies, and Lin Qingye will most likely be no exception to this rule."

Mr. Wu marked each of the negative comments, but he wasn't flustered.

His years of public relations experience taught him that it is normal for a highly anticipated work to have both positive and negative discussions in the early stages of its promotion. The key is to guide public opinion and let the quality of the work itself speak for itself.

He closed the briefing and leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.

The current negative feedback mainly focuses on whether the transformation will be successful and the target audience for the subject matter.

These questions cannot be completely resolved through public relations rhetoric; we can only respond with concrete content after releasing more trailers and holding preview screenings.

"There's no need to specifically respond to negative comments for now." Engineer Wu picked up the phone and called project leader Li Meng.

"We have the team continue to closely monitor public opinion, focusing on collecting the core questions from netizens. We'll compile them into a list, and then have Director Lin Qingye address them specifically in interviews."

"In addition, we contacted the platform to release behind-the-scenes footage, actor interviews, and other content of the film in batches to maintain the topic's popularity."

"Okay, Mr. Wu, we'll take care of it right away," came Li Meng's crisp reply from the other end of the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Mr. Wu's gaze fell on the snowflakes falling outside the window.

He recalled Tan Yue's earlier statement, "Let your work speak for itself," and felt even more confident.

He had seen clips of the post-production sample of "Time Ticks By," and Lin Qingye's use of the camera and control of emotions exceeded his expectations.

The scenes in particular, where the old watchmaker repairs his ancestral clock and resolves his long-standing misunderstanding with his granddaughter, are genuinely moving without being overly sentimental. I believe that as long as the audience goes to the theater, they will be touched by the story.

Unlike Wu Gong's composure, Lin Qingye was in a state of tension and excitement at this moment.

The walls were covered with promotional posters and roadshow schedules for "Time Ticks". On the table was a thick stack of interview outlines and movie scripts, with dense annotations written in the margins.

Lin Qingye was wearing a black down jacket over a simple white T-shirt, and his eyes had a faint bluish-black tint.

To catch up on the film's post-production, he worked almost non-stop for the past few days. As soon as he finished post-production, he immediately threw himself into promotional preparations.

He sat in front of the computer, repeatedly reviewing the process of an online live interview he was about to participate in. His fingers tapped unconsciously on the desktop, and his heart pounded like a rabbit's.

This was his first time facing large-scale publicity as a film director, so the pressure was immense.

The transition from television drama director to film director may seem like just a change in creative medium, but in reality, it places entirely different demands on narrative rhythm, cinematic language, and emotional expression.

A TV series can slowly unfold a story over dozens of episodes, but a movie needs to convey the core emotions with the most concise shots within a limited time, which is a huge challenge for him.

"What if I mess this up?" This thought had crossed his mind more than once.

He recalled the scene when Tan Yue approached him and suggested that he switch to making movies.

I hesitated for a long time at the time, and even admitted that I "didn't have confidence".

Tan Yue patted him on the shoulder and said, "The TV series you directed have warmth in the lens and a delicate control over emotions, which is exactly what 'Time Ticks' needs."

It was this unconditional trust that gave him the courage to make the transition.

Although Tan Yue did not interfere much during filming, he always provided accurate advice whenever problems arose.

For example, in the scene where the old watchmaker reminisces about his youth, he originally wanted to use a conventional flashback shot, but Tan Yue reminded him to do so.

"We could try using a long shot with warm tones, paired with the ticking of an old clock, to create a connection between memory and reality, making it more immersive." This scene later became one of the most acclaimed shots in post-production.

"I can't let President Tan down." Lin Qingye took a deep breath and rubbed his cheeks hard, trying to dispel the tension in his heart.

He opened his phone and found the messages Tan Yue had sent him earlier.

"Believe in yourself, you've done a great job. The core of a film is emotion, and as long as the audience can feel the warmth in the story, they won't be disappointed."

As Lin Qingye's fingertips traced the words on the screen, a warm feeling welled up inside him.

He turned off his phone, looked back at the interview outline on his computer screen, and his eyes gradually hardened.

"Director Lin, the publicity team is already waiting for you in the conference room. Let's go over the schedule for tomorrow's roadshow." The assistant's voice came from outside the door.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Lin Qingye stood up, straightened his clothes, and quickly walked out of the office.

Inside the meeting room, all members of the publicity team had arrived, and detailed information about the cities to be featured, along with event schedules and contingency plans, were laid out on the table.

Upon seeing Lin Qingye enter, everyone immediately stood up to greet him.

"Director Lin!"

"Have a seat, let's quickly go through it." Lin Qingye walked to the head seat, sat down, and picked up the roadshow agenda.

"The fan meeting is expected to have 300 attendees, most of whom are longtime fans of your dramas. We have prepared interactive segments."

"For example, there were Q&A sessions with the audience, unreleased trailers were shown, and there were video calls with the actors. The media screening invited more than 20 mainstream media outlets and more than 10 film critics, and there were brief interviews after the screening."

"Were there any issues anticipated during the interactive session?" Lin Qingye asked, his tone serious.

"For example, will audiences ask about the pressure of transitioning to a new role, or interesting anecdotes from filming?"

"We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions, which you can refer to."

"In addition, we have prepared a response to potential negative questions, such as 'Will the movie be inferior to the TV series?' We will emphasize the uniqueness and emotional core of the movie and avoid direct comparisons with the TV series."

Lin Qingye took the document, carefully looked through it, and occasionally offered his own thoughts.

To prepare for his role as an old watchmaker, he spent half a month learning watch repair techniques at a watch shop. The calluses on his hands during filming were real; his dedication was truly inspiring.

“This is a great point; it shows the sincerity in the film’s production.” Sister Wang immediately noted it down. “We can guide the audience to ask questions during the interactive session, or highlight it in subsequent promotional materials.”

Over the next hour, Lin Qingye and his publicity team confirmed details one by one, including the roadshow process, interactive segments, and media liaison.

He knew that the promotional period was the first window for a film to reach its audience, and only by showing enough sincerity could he persuade the audience to go to the cinema.

The discussion ended after 6 p.m.

The snowflakes outside the window were falling even harder, and in the halo of the streetlights, the snowflakes looked like countless white sprites dancing in the air.

Lin Qingye walked out of the conference room and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the corridor, looking at the bustling crowd downstairs. The tension in his heart was gradually replaced by anticipation.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Tan Yue: "President Tan, the schedule for tomorrow's roadshow has been finalized, and everything is ready."

Not long after, Tan Yue replied to the message.

"Don't be too nervous, just do it at your own pace. Remember, sincerity is the best form of advertising."

He replied, "Thank you, Mr. Tan. I will, and I will certainly live up to your trust."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Qingye turned and walked towards the elevator.

He knew that for the next month, he would be traveling non-stop between cities, participating in roadshows, giving interviews, and interacting with audiences.

This was a test of both his physical strength and energy, but he did not complain at all.

For this film, for Tan Yue's trust, and for his own love for the film and television industry, he was willing to give his all.

At this moment, in the president's office on the eighth floor, Tan Yue had just finished processing the filming progress report for "The Three-Body Problem".

Lu Chuan sent a message saying that the location shooting in the Gobi Desert of Inner Mongolia has been successfully completed, and they are currently filming interior scenes at the Hongan Base. The actors are in stable condition, and the filming progress is a week ahead of schedule.

After reading the message, Tan Yue nodded in satisfaction and replied to Lu Chuan with the instruction, "Take care of yourself and keep warm, and take good care of the team."

He put down his phone, picked up the "Time Ticks" promotional plan on the table, and looked through the roadshow schedule.

Fourteen cities, twenty-one events—Lin Qingye's schedule was packed.

Tan Yue felt a pang of emotion. He had witnessed Lin Qingye's hard work in transforming himself from an unknown assistant director to someone capable of handling things independently and even transitioning into a film director.

"Mr. Tan, this is the latest public opinion briefing from 'Time Ticks.' Mr. Wu asked me to bring it to you." Chen Ye knocked on the door and entered, handing over a document.

Tan Yue took the briefing and quickly flipped through it.

Seeing that nearly 70% of the reviews were positive, a smile appeared on his lips.

He didn't care about the negative comments that questioned the transformation and the subject matter.

“Mr. Wu’s judgment is correct. There’s no need to rush to respond,” Tan Yue said. “Let the publicity team proceed as planned, focusing on the roadshow and preview screenings, so that the audience can experience the quality of the film for themselves.”

“Okay, Mr. Tan.” Chen Ye nodded. “Also, Shanghai TV just contacted us again, wanting to invite you to send a message to ‘Time Tick’ via video during the New Year’s Eve gala. Would you like to agree?”

Tan Yue thought for a moment and said, "Okay. The video doesn't need to be too long, just a few words of blessing will do. The key is to let Lin Qingye and the actors appear more often."

"Understood, I'll get back to you right away." Chen Ye turned to leave, but Tan Yue called him back.

"By the way, have the artist department arrange an assistant for Lin Qingye to accompany him on his promotional tours and take good care of his diet and rest."

Tan Yue added, "He must have been working very hard lately, so let's not let him collapse from exhaustion."

“Okay, I’ve made all the arrangements,” Chen Ye replied.

Tan Yue nodded, indicating that Chen Ye could leave.

He picked up the promotional plan for "Time Ticks" again and turned to the page with the cast list.

The snow outside the window was falling heavier and heavier, covering the city with a thick layer of silver.

Tan Yue stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the snow-covered streets and the streaks of light left by car headlights, his heart filled with anticipation.

Filming of "The Three-Body Problem" is progressing smoothly, and the promotional campaign for "Time Ticks" has officially begun. Brilliant Entertainment's strategic layout in the film and television industry is being realized step by step. (End of Chapter)