I make a thriller, it's God chasing and feeding

Chapter 400 [Occasional Work]

“What he said actually makes a lot of sense.”

The American version of The Grudge was taken off the screen less than a month after it was released, which is why Lu Zhengyi was able to see the movie on the Internet early on.

After the film was removed from theaters, Anderson, the director of the remake, posted an extremely long blog post on the Internet.

The content of the letter accused the capital side of inaction and the author's own helplessness.

From the text, one can clearly feel that Lu Zhengyi is not without confidence in his work as Zhang Xueming originally thought.

On the contrary, he has a certain confidence.

However, due to poor publicity and promotion, lack of support from theaters and distrust from investors, his work died shortly after it was released.

"What the hell is this? Is this a horror movie?"

“It’s a wonderful work. Many of the scenes scared me.”

"From the quality of the work, it can be seen that the investors really have no vision."

“Can outsiders not instruct insiders on their work?”

"Let's be honest. The management is right. If this stuff were released, it would definitely be criticized."

……

Since director Anderson was commissioned by investors to shoot this film, his ability and experience must have been recognized before the film was released.

He is an all-round director like Lu Zhengyi.

He is able to fully participate in every aspect of film production, including screenwriting, photography, art design, music composition, etc., and his work experience in directing far exceeds that of Lu Zhengyi.

Director Anderson himself has fans, and his blog also has a lot of followers.

Such direct confrontation with investors quickly promoted his blog post, and the film's attention also increased.

And as the situation continued, the investors also began to publish articles to refute the allegations, and the two sides actually started arguing directly on a public platform using blog posts.

Although this kind of thing is very common on the outside Internet, thanks to the "disputes" and "oppositions", the popularity of the American version of The Grudge has been increasing after it was taken off the screen.

It has even crossed the ocean and attracted the attention of netizens in Dongzhou and Tang State.

The population base of Tang State is very large, and Lu Zhengyi’s home court is also in Tang State.

They all knew about the copyright of The Grudge when it was purchased by a company in the United States, but they were not aware of the release because there was no large-scale publicity.

But after this quarrel, everyone knew about it.

Everyone started looking for resources on the Internet, and after reading it, they quickly joined the battlefield.

They not only commented on the original blog post, but other bloggers also made separate videos comparing the two versions of The Grudge and giving their evaluations.

Some people think that Anderson just can't make horror movies.

Comparing the two versions of The Grudge, the quality of the American version is much worse. To be more precise, it is inconsistent with the theme. It is more like a science fiction film or a zombie film.

However, some people think that the film was okay. They agree with Anderson's approach and think that it was the investors' problem.

In their perception, the weird, creepy horror is far less impactful than the bloody violence.

It's like a Serbian dancer who stands on the street and dances. Once someone approaches and disturbs her dance, she will chase the person like a madman, laughing, and kill the person.

There is no special atmosphere or details. The simple rules coupled with bloody violence made the term "Serbian dancer" a hot word in the West for a while, and some people even imitated it.

"So Director Lu thinks that The Grudge is of high quality. Do you approve of it?"

In the horror park that has not yet opened,

Lu Zhengyi was invited, and standing beside him were self-media bloggers from different platforms.

They held cameras, walked around and filmed.

This park is different from other amusement parks. All the elements are from Lu Zhengyi's horror films. For example, the door of the haunted house is pitch black, and you can vaguely see a strange Buddha face in it.

In the carousel, what is rotating is not the wooden horse, but black snakes with bloody mouths.

There are also Ferris wheels, roller coasters...

All entertainment programs were produced with reference to the films shot by Lu Zhengyi, including some peripheral gifts given on site.

Almost two years had passed since the filming of Terror Cruise ended, and Lu Zhengyi had another opportunity to work. Under the arrangement of Light and Shadow, he was invited to attend the opening ceremony of this amusement park.

Accompanying them are some internet celebrities and bloggers.

The Light and Shadow Group not only has actors and stars, but also has a complete "Internet celebrity incubation" mechanism, which can be regarded as half an Internet celebrity guild.

Because their main projects are not in self-media or live streaming, they can only be considered a guild.

But even if it is only half, its size exceeds that of many guilds in the live broadcast and self-media circles, ranking among the top.

The developer of the amusement park is considered to be Guangying’s own family, and these bloggers have also signed contracts with Guangying, so they can also be considered family members. Today, Lu Zhengyi is taking care of his own people, using his own popularity to give them some pictures to support and encourage their growth.

"The market itself is different. Even when I am shooting, I will take into account the market's needs and respect the audience's perspective at the beginning."

"Later, as our fan base grew, they began to get to know our crew through our works and were willing to spend more time and energy on our films. Only then did we start to develop some...subjects that were different from the market."

"We have to run towards the audience first, and then the audience runs towards us. This is a two-way selection process."

Standing next to Lu Zhengyi, a man wearing a skull mask was holding up a mobile phone and broadcasting live. The first issue he talked about was the recently much-discussed The Grudge of the Star-Spangled Kingdom.

The internet celebrities present included food lovers, outdoor lovers, PK lovers, product promoters, and comedians...

There are all kinds of types, and the one standing next to Lu Zhengyi is not the most famous blogger present, but he is more compatible with him in terms of elements.

A ghost story blogger.

They had worked together before. When Lu Zhengyi was not well-known, Zhang Xueming contacted him and asked him to help promote the movie with videos.

"Bloody violence can also be considered a type of horror thriller."

The blogger with the skull mask smiled and chatted, looking at the barrage of comments on his phone that were scrolling and difficult to read, while replying, "I used to like watching it, too. It was like walking alone on the street at night, watching a movie with a clown mask standing in the shadows."

"Or the kind where you go on a trip and come across a hotel on the street, then see it on the news, and then start to flee from a chainsaw killer."

"But now I do... prefer something with a bit of atmosphere. Director Lu's influence is still quite profound."

Obviously, this blogger can understand what Lu Zhengyi meant.

The current craze for horror and thrillers was brought about by Lu Zhengyi. Naturally, most people would think that the bloody and violent films shot by Anderson are outdated, not good to watch, and ruin the original work.

"But if you take a break for too long, director Anderson has made many good works, and maybe the trend in the future will be a different style." The blogger joked.

"If that's the case, I think it's great."

Lu Zhengyi looked very serious, "A market should allow a hundred flowers to bloom, and... I like the career of being a director, but there is a prerequisite, that is, I love watching movies."

"I liked watching movies first, and then I wanted to be a director because of watching movies. There is a sequence."

"So if a director can make some good works, I will be happy to watch them, and if necessary, I will also help promote them."

At this point, he paused and considered his words, "Maybe everyone will think that what I said is more official, and it sounds like it doesn't have much... weight."

"But in fact, I have seen several horror films that were released recently in China. How should I put it? They are just average."

"Normally, I don't promote it. If it's well made, I will post some updates on my blog to help promote it. Recently, there are indeed two works that I am looking forward to."

"Oh?"

The blogger holding a mobile phone next to him brightened up. Is this inside information?
He quickly adjusted the camera, thinking that when the video editors edited out Lu Zhengyi's segment, they would also edit themselves in.

Regardless of whether it can be remembered, it is definitely good to have a picture.

"I can't reveal more, because there has been no official announcement for these two works, and confidentiality measures have been taken for both the start and the filming."

Lu Zhengyi looked at the blogger's little action next to him, but he didn't care. He stood aside to give him more space and more screen time. "But I have good relationships with both crews, and I have a general understanding of their abilities, so I am looking forward to it."

"Of course, it's just expectation now, and the expectation may not be met."

"I just hope that if you are not satisfied, you can give me some suggestions. I don't mean the kind that just raises questions and says this is not right and that is not right."

"I hope that when you point out a problem, you can also talk about your solution. Don't just raise the problem. While raising the problem, you can also think about how to solve the problem and whether the solution can be actually implemented."

"Some people may think that if we can solve all the problems, then why do we need these crews? Of course, if conditions permit, you can solve the problems and organize the filming yourself. There is no problem with that."

"But if there are no conditions, you can submit relevant opinions and solutions to the various crews. Just like what I said just now, the audience and the crew are two-way. The audience hopes to see good works, and the crew hopes to present good works to the audience..."

Otherwise, it will be like the two parties in some companies.

Party A said: "This costume is not acceptable. It doesn't fit the plot."

Party B asked: "What is not consistent?"

Party A replied: “I don’t know, but I don’t think so.”

Party B: "I feel like...why don't you give me some general directions and we can discuss it in detail."

Party A: "You still need me to give you directions? I might as well do it myself."

Only when Party A and Party B communicate and discuss in sufficient detail and clarity, can Party B come up with the plan that Party A wants, and the same applies to filming.

This work did not meet some expectations in terms of plot, costumes, or props. While expressing opinions, you can also provide solutions in your mind.

Perhaps in the director's next film, these contents will change.

It is even possible that if these opinions are sufficient, the director will contact the audience privately to inquire about more detailed perceptions, allowing the audience to participate more deeply in the production of a film.

The premise is that you are ambitious.

There are also cases where a lot of people gave suggestions and sent a lot of private messages, but the director and crew didn’t read them at all, and just made the same mistakes again in the next work.

……

"I finally got to meet Director Lu. Two years, do you know how I've been doing these past two years? Hurry up and make some new works!"

"Damn it, why didn't you notify me? I missed the live broadcast."

"! This amusement park is located near my home. If I had seen it earlier, I would have gone to see it offline!"

"What works? The two that Director Lu mentioned."

"From what Director Lu said, it seems like he will be filming again in the future?"

With just a live broadcast and a dozen minutes of on-camera time, it immediately attracted a lot of attention, and related entries instantly topped the hot search lists on various platforms.

Everyone is guessing about the two works that Lu Zhengyi mentioned as being highly anticipated.

At the same time, the attention to the American version of The Grudge is also continuing to rise.

But after attracting this wave of attention, there has been no news about Lu Zhengyi himself.

He no longer made any comments on the online disputes, discussions and attention, disappeared from the public eye again and returned to his life.

"School officially starts today. When you get to school, you must listen to your teacher."

After a family of five, a cat, and a snake finished breakfast, Lu Zhengyi walked from the courtyard to the door. "There shouldn't be any homework or classes on the first day, right? Maybe we'll talk about the rules of the garden and so on, so that everyone can get used to it?"

Next to him, his wife was helping his son carry his schoolbag.

Later, my old mother and father-in-law and mother-in-law were also there.

"We have already adapted for half a year. We have already explained the rules and so on. I think we can start teaching right away."

Zhang Xueming had already opened the passenger door, but after thinking about it, she decided to sit in the back seat and accompany her son. "Mom and Dad, you guys go back. It's okay."

She waved to the people behind her.

"Grandma, grandpa and grandma, cat, big snake, goodbye~"

An An called out sweetly through the car window, waving his chubby little hands.

"Father-in-law and mother-in-law, remember to stay for lunch. I'll go buy groceries when I come back later." Lu Zhengyi also called out, and glanced at his wife in the rearview mirror, "Let's go then?"

"Let's go."

Zhang Xueming fastened her and her child's seat belts.

"Actually, there's no need to make such a big fuss. This isn't An An's first time going to school." Then, she continued, "He's already very familiar with the situation in the kindergarten."

"Old people pay more attention to this moment."

Lu Zhengyi smiled and glanced at the rearview mirror. "The birth of the child, the first birthday party, the full moon party, and the promotion party after going to school..."

"All kinds of things. I have more time after retirement, so I have to find something to do."

"And it's actually quite good. It was quite warm just now, with the whole family together. It's just a pity that my old man passed away too early."

(End of this chapter)