It's reasonable for me, a stuntman, to live a crazy life, right?

Chapter 1362 "Parasite"

"The film 'China's Table Tennis: The Last Stand' has been officially announced today. It will be co-directed by Deng Chao and Yu Baimei, and will feature an all-star cast..."

"The urban drama 'The War of Roses,' starring Huang Xiaoming and Yuan Quan, will premiere on multiple platforms on August 8."

"Jedong Pictures, together with Shanghai Film Group and CCTV, jointly issued a statement announcing that the TV series 'Prosperity,' directed by Wang Jiawei and starring Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, Xin Zhilei, Zheng Kai, and You Benchang, has officially wrapped up filming today after 18 months of production!"

July 7th was another busy day.

The official cast of "China's Ping Pong: The Last Stand" has been announced. Deng Chao and Sun Li will be starting a husband-and-wife filming model, co-starring in the new movie.

Fans left comments in the comment section, looking forward to the unique chemistry this "comedic" couple would create on the big screen, and speculating on how they would portray the passion and excitement of the table tennis match.

Meanwhile, Huang Xiaoming's first TV series after his divorce, "The War of Roses," will premiere on multiple platforms on August 8.

The media and audiences are paying close attention, eager to see how he will interpret the character in a completely new way and break through the shadow of public opinion following his divorce.

And Wang Jiawei's "Prosperity" took nearly two years to film and has finally come to an end!
This drama boasts a star-studded cast, with the brilliant performances of Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, and other celebrities highly anticipated.

As soon as the news of the wrap-up was released, netizens began discussing the plot and eagerly awaiting the premiere date.

Those in the industry know that Wang Jiawei is notoriously meticulous when it comes to filming.

When filming "The Grandmaster," one scene was shot seventeen times!

During post-production editing, he could spend the whole night studying a single frame, even meticulously calculating the duration of the piano's sustain in the background music down to the second.

It is this almost obsessive attention to detail that made "The Grandmaster" a benchmark of critical acclaim, and also gave the audience a more certain expectation for "Blossoms Shanghai".

After all, "Blossoms" has been labeled as "slow and meticulous work" since the day filming began.

The production team directly recreated a Nanjing Road from the 90s at the Shanghai Film and Television Base.

From the enamel signs on street phone booths to the patterns on the revolving doors of the Peace Hotel, everything is reproduced 1:1 according to the old photos.

An extra revealed that Wang Jiawei even checked the year of the grain coupons in the actors' pockets against their records.

Now that "Blossoms Shanghai" has finally wrapped up filming, netizens' expectations have long since shifted from "when will it premiere" to "whether it will surpass "Chungking Express".

Some people dug up Wang Jiawei's words from an early interview: "A good work is like stewed pork; when the heat is right, the aroma will naturally follow."

The most upvoted comment in the comments section reads: "I'm willing to wait two years for a great show that I can remember for ten years."

In a time when fast-paced dramas are everywhere, Wang Jiawei's "slow" approach has become the most reassuring expectation for viewers.

Logically, these trending topics should be enough to attract netizens' attention and keep the entertainment industry's popularity rising.

However, at this moment of great excitement, a piece of news was like a bombshell, causing a huge uproar on the internet!

There's a problem with the drama audition process...

Dong Ping was eager to ride the wave of popularity, but he ended up losing more than he gained.

Seeing that things were not going well, he quickly deleted the Weibo post.

He dared not get involved in this situation.

The online turmoil is too great; if things aren't handled properly, the person involved could be banned!

Under these circumstances, "Man Jiang Hong" must absolutely not be affected!

It was already past midnight, but Dong Ping's office light was still on.

The ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts, and the filming progress chart for "Man Jiang Hong" on the computer screen was densely circled in red.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and dialed the public relations director's number, his voice hoarse from staying up all night: "From now on, the official Weibo account will be suspended for three days and banned from posting."

"Mr. Dong, how's the film crew doing?"

"Have the assistant director oversee the set, and everyone must keep their mouths shut. Interviews should only discuss the script and the character. Also, Yi Yangqianxi's scenes should be temporarily suspended, and all group scenes should be postponed. Tell the styling team to put his costumes away in the props warehouse and tell the public that 'we are adjusting makeup and costume details.'"

After hanging up the phone, he opened his chat history with Zhang Yimou and scrolled to the dialog box where they discussed "actor selection options" last month.

At the time, I just thought it was a precaution, but now I never expected that trouble would actually arise.

Although replacing the actor would also result in huge losses, if the film itself were to suffer problems, the entire project would be lost!
No one in the entertainment industry is irreplaceable; preserving your films is the only way to survive!

On July 8th, "Detective Wars" was officially released, sparking a small-scale movie-going frenzy.

This is another film co-produced by Golden Harvest and Golden Harvest, featuring a host of Hong Kong artists including Lau Ching-wan and Choi Choi.

The box office on its opening day was 3538 million yuan, and the word-of-mouth was mediocre.

Making money is still possible by taking advantage of the summer movie season, but there's little hope for a box office smash.

On July 11th, the box office figures for the first three days of "Detective Wars" were released.

The film's box office of 1.51 million yuan has caused a slight stir.

However, it still failed to break through the suppression in the face of the overwhelming online public opinion.

The PR team of the "fresh meat" brand launched an emergency plan overnight, and its marketing account matrix worked simultaneously to try to divert attention by "creating new gossip".

Paparazzi suddenly broke the news that a top male celebrity had secretly married and had a child, and marketing accounts collectively followed up with hype...

However, netizens quickly saw through the trick and discovered that the account that broke the news was related to the company that the young star belonged to, which only made the doubts intensify.

……

On July 10th, the official announcement of the start of filming for "China's Table Tennis: The Last Stand" was made.

China Film Group, iQiyi, and Shanghai Film Group joined forces to create hype, but the buzz was repeatedly suppressed.

On July 12, the premiere of "Parasite" was held in the capital.

As soon as Chen Fei and Liu Yifei arrived at the scene, Han Jianu pulled them into a corner. The other colleagues who were originally going to greet them saw this and walked aside, understanding the situation.

Seeing the girl's anxious expression, Chen Fei asked curiously, "Is something wrong?"

Han Jianu's fingers, gripping the hem of her skirt, turned slightly white as she lowered her voice and asked, "Senior brother, have you been paying attention to the recent trending topics online?"

"Yes." Chen Fei not only paid attention to it personally, but also inquired about relevant information.

Han Jianu sighed and said helplessly, "Do you think there will be any problems with the release of our film 'Parasite'?"

Chen Fei had anticipated this, and his expression remained unchanged.

He glanced at the many celebrities present and said, "Do you remember how many times we argued about the scene where Zhang Yi's family pleaded and cried in the pouring rain during filming?"

Han Jianu was stunned.

On set, Chen Fei insisted on keeping the long shot of the main characters struggling in the sewage-filled rental house, but she thought the scene was too cruel.

now……

She lowered her head slightly and replied in a muffled voice, "I remember you said that real life is more painful than anything on camera."

“It’s the same now.” Chen Fei said firmly, “Movies are just a mirror, reflecting what’s in the audience’s hearts.”

Some people want to use it to create conflict, and that's their choice. But our initial intention was never to engage in debate. We have only one goal: to create good work, and leave the rest to time and the audience.

Han Jianu's tense shoulders gradually relaxed, and the slight worry in her heart slowly dissipated.

At this moment, the host's enthusiastic announcement came from the stage, and the electronic screen displaying the countdown to the premiere began to flash.

Chen Fei turned around and walked forward, saying as he went, "The innocent are innocent, and the guilty are guilty. Whether they actually passed the exam or got the government job through connections, it has nothing to do with us."

If we were to shrink back from controversy, we shouldn't have made this film in the first place. Now, let the audience interpret the story for themselves.

Han Jianu took a deep breath, exchanged a glance with Liu Yifei, and quickly followed in her high heels.

……

The Palme d'Or winner, *Parasite*, held its premiere today.

Parasites infest filthy, dark, and indescribable "areas"!

The Metaphor of Parasites...

The media reports were incredibly "bold"!
Netizens seemed to have found their pillar of support and began to praise the movie.

On July 15, "Parasite" was officially released.

The midnight screening had just ended when online discussions erupted one after another.

"The scene of the whole family crying in the sewage on that rainy night was just like me when I was renting a room in a big city and was kicked out by the landlord in the middle of the night."

"Absolutely! We work ourselves to the bone, but the money we earn isn't even enough to pay the landlord's mortgage. What's the difference between us and the parasites in the movies?"

"After watching it, I felt a chill run down my spine. It turns out we are all insects trapped in social classes. Zhang Yi's final blow revealed the innermost thoughts of so many people!"

"I think we should rebel like the male protagonist!"

"Wake up, upstairs. Didn't the male lead end up hiding in the basement? A knife can kill a person, but it can't break the iron chains of social class."

The following morning, as word-of-mouth spread about the film, discussions about "class" on social media were completely ignited!
Someone captured a comparison of the living environments of two families in the movie and added the caption, "You work hard your whole life, but you're just someone else's starting point."

However, some rational netizens have expressed different opinions:

"Film is an artistic creation, but reality is far more complex than film..."

Unfortunately, the comment quickly disappeared without a trace.

This nationwide discussion ultimately translated directly into a box office miracle.

On its opening day, Parasite, an art-house drama, saw its box office numbers skyrocket, eventually settling at 1.77 million yuan.

Movie theaters were packed to capacity, and many theaters added midnight screenings.

On ticketing platforms, comments about "second-time purchase" and "third-time purchase" are everywhere.

One person even wrote: "Every time I see it, the sting of life becomes deeper!"

As word-of-mouth continues to grow, the topic of "Parasite" remains highly popular.

Online, the clashes between supporters and opponents have only amplified the film's influence.

Some say it is a "mirror of the times," while others criticize it for "creating anxiety."

But undeniably, this film successfully struck a nerve with some people.

At the same time, someone else also suffered a major misfortune, and all the glory that should have been theirs vanished.

"Parasite is awesome, haha, no wonder it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. This is the kind of movie we want."

"Sigh, I want to cry and laugh at the same time, it's so hard."

"I knew it. There's no need to like any young, handsome men. They're not scientists, educators, or soldiers. I don't know why so many people are willing to fawn over them. I'm speechless."

Once the dust settled, the hype surrounding the incident quickly died down.

However, the aftereffects are still ongoing.

Especially with the production of "Man Jiang Hong", although there was no need to change the cast, some problems still inevitably occurred.

(End of this chapter)