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

Chapter 1386 Go to prison and repent!
"The Wandering Earth 2, a sci-fi/adventure/disaster film produced by Feiyue Films, directed by Guo Fan, and starring Wu Jing, Liu Dehua, and Li Xuejian, grossed 5.33 million yuan on its opening day."

"Huanxi Media issued a notice stating that the suspense/comedy film 'Man Jiang Hong,' directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Shen Teng and Yi Yangqianxi, grossed 4.23 million yuan on its opening day."

"The animated film 'Boonie Bears: The Big Adventure' made a stunning debut, grossing 1.56 million yuan on its opening day."

"The spy thriller 'Nameless,' starring Tony Leung and Wang Yibo, grossed 1.43 million yuan on its opening day."

"Deep Sea" and "Exchange Life" grossed 8536 million and 1.27 million respectively on their opening day.

"The film '749 Bureau' grossed 1.63 million yuan on its opening day, but its critical reception was lukewarm and its ratings plummeted, causing a crash upon release..."

……

As we approach the second day of the Lunar New Year, the box office results for the first day of the Spring Festival film season have been released, with all the data radiating a scorching heat in the morning light.

Adding up the box office of all the movies, the total box office for a single day reached a staggering 16.27 billion!
If we include the previous films "The Octagonal Cage", "Avatar 2" and "The Return of the South China Sea", then the total box office will directly exceed 20 billion!
The moment this number was announced, the entire film industry was in an uproar!

This not only set a new record for the Spring Festival film season, but also set a new record for the highest box office on the first day in the past five years, directly refreshing the market's expectations for the Spring Festival film season!

Among the results, the most eye-catching comparison is between "The Wandering Earth 2" and "Bureau 749".

The former leads the pack with a box office of 5.33 million yuan and receives rave reviews.

Although the latter, thanks to its pre-release marketing and traffic boost, temporarily ranks third with a box office of 1.63 million yuan, its reputation has completely collapsed, with its Douban score dropping to 4.0 and the comments section filled with complaints of "fraudulent marketing" and "worst of the year".

This stark contrast between "high box office but low critical acclaim" and "high box office and high critical acclaim" instantly brought netizens back to four years ago.

At that time, "The Wandering Earth 1" burst onto the scene, igniting the market with its hard science fiction!
In contrast, "Shanghai Fortress," released around the same time, despite also being touted as a "sci-fi blockbuster," became a laughing stock due to its weak plot and crude special effects. Netizens joked, "The Wandering Earth opened the door to Chinese science fiction, but Shanghai Fortress closed it again."

Now, "The Wandering Earth 2" continues the positive reputation of its predecessor, proving the progress of Chinese science fiction with its strength.

However, "749 Bureau" repeated the mistakes of "Shanghai Fortress", relying on marketing and traffic to make quick money, and was ultimately voted off by the audience.

One netizen offered a scathing review:
"Four years have passed, and it's still the same old formula: a well-made film to carry the show, and a cash grab to fill the gap. History always repeats itself, only this time with a different name."

Some even dug up an old interview with Teng Huatao, the director of "Shanghai Fortress," and compared it with Lu Chuan's silence in the face of negative reviews, lamenting:
"As it turns out, audiences' tolerance for bad movies has never increased. The only difference is that some teams are learning from their mistakes and moving forward, while others are still stuck in the same old routines."

Chen Fei was having tea with the old man when he saw these discussions.

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Guo Fan: "Don't worry about '749 Bureau,' focus on 'Man Jiang Hong.'"

In his previous life, Dong Ping had pulled off quite a few outrageous moves.

Given his profit-driven nature, Chen Fei didn't think he would stop this time.

Guo Fan replied almost instantly: "Don't worry, Director Chen, we're keeping an eye on things right now."

Putting down his phone, Chen Fei looked at the trending search data, already having made his decision.

A single-day box office of over 20 billion yuan reflects the market's enthusiasm and the audience's expectations.

The rise and fall of "The Wandering Earth 2" and "Bureau 749" is just another proof that what can truly stand the test of time are those works that respect the audience and have reverence for film.

Meanwhile, Lu Chuan sat in the empty office, her eyes filled with cold indifference.

The 1.63 million yuan opening day box office for "749 Bureau" seems pretty good.

But in his eyes as a director, this string of numbers was like a red-hot iron, burning him so badly he could hardly breathe!
Because he knows better than anyone how much of that 1.63 million yuan came from Wang Junkai's fans booking out entire theaters, how many were viewers lured into the cinema by "mystery marketing," and how much was just a bubble created by capital pushing for more screenings.

Even more striking are the word-of-mouth data that followed!

It has a Douban rating of 4.0.

The popular Zhihu post, "Why '749 Bureau' is the biggest movie scam of 2023," has garnered over 100 million views.

The hashtag "Lu Chuan, come out and apologize" even trended on social media!
In the comments section, a flood of mockery, such as "Shanghai Fortress 2.0" and "wasting five years of preparation time," swept away the little fame he had accumulated in the past.

At this moment, he recalled his high spirits during filming, confidently telling the publicity team that "mystery is the greatest weapon," and the media's persistent questioning when the premiere was canceled, to which he stubbornly insisted that "good movies don't need hype."

But now it seems those words were more like a fig leaf to cover up a guilty conscience.

On the phone screen, the box office figure of 5.33 million yuan for "The Wandering Earth 2" was particularly eye-catching, followed by a flood of positive reviews.

Looking back four years ago when "The Wandering Earth 1" was released, he made a sour comment on his WeChat Moments saying "It's just good luck," and then turned around and mocked "Shanghai Fortress" as "terrible."

But now, the movie he directed himself has become, in the eyes of netizens, "another sci-fi disgrace after 'Shanghai Fortress'", forming a stark contrast with "The Wandering Earth 2"!
"No, I absolutely cannot be implicated in this..."

He grabbed his phone, found the number of the public relations manager, dialed it, and immediately ordered, "Proceed according to the original plan."

"Okay, Mr. Lu."

A response came from the other end of the phone, and then the call was disconnected.

……

The night passed, and it was now the third day of the Lunar New Year.

When the box office data for the second day of the Lunar New Year came out, the daily box office of "749 Bureau" dropped directly to 3100 million yuan, a drop of nearly 80% compared to the first day, which was almost a precipitous decline!
This number was like a slap in the face, landing hard on Lu Chuan's cheek.

Just then, a large number of press releases and anonymous posts suddenly appeared online, all pointing the finger at Wang Junkai.

"The reputation of '749 Bureau' collapsed, and Wang Junkai's acting skills dragged it down: he had a blank expression throughout the film and his lines were unclear."

"In the end, it was all because of his popularity that things went wrong! Wang Junkai acted like a big shot on set, and his frequent NGs during actual filming delayed the progress."

"An industry insider revealed that the original script of '749 Bureau' was excellent, but it was ruined by Wang Junkai's team's forced changes."

In no time, the hashtag #WangJunkaiActingSkills# topped the trending searches.

Clicking in revealed nothing but mockery of his performance in the film, along with old material from several years ago being dug up.

However, it's clear to everyone that the production company is trying to shift the blame!
"Huh? Isn't this just a repeat of Teng Huatao shifting the blame to Lu Han back then?"

Some netizens dug up old news from four years ago, and a press release clearly stated: "Shanghai Fortress flopped, and the director said he made a mistake in casting Lu Han."

Now that "749 Bureau" has collapsed, Wang Junkai has been dragged into the spotlight again...

This made netizens both angry and amused, and they all complained: "Damn? It's one thing to plagiarize a movie, but to plagiarize PR tactics too? Can't you come up with something new?" Lu Chuan didn't say anything, but was just playing tricks behind the scenes.

But he clearly forgot that Teng Huatao had connections in the Beijing entertainment circle behind him, so even if he was criticized for shifting the blame, there would always be resources to take over.

But what about himself?
He's just a second-generation rich kid who rose to power through his father's connections. He hasn't accomplished anything in all these years and has been swindling people everywhere. How could anyone be willing to bail him out?
The netizens' mockery quickly turned around:
"Does Lu Chuan have any shame? She made a terrible film herself, and she still has the nerve to blame the actors?"

"Holy crap? Five years of preparation and this is the thing they come up with? Now they want to blame it on traffic? Dream on!"

"Go out and commit seppuku obediently, like your Japanese father, then I might look at you with more respect."

Even more ruthless are Wang Junkai's fans.

Seeing their idol being made a scapegoat, fans instantly went wild, and the process of controlling comments, fighting back against negative publicity, and digging up dirt on their idols was carried out smoothly.

"You were the one who begged our brother to join the crew, and now that it's flopped, you're the one shifting the blame. Lu Chuan, don't you want to take a look at the garbage you've produced?"

"The problem on set is clearly that the director himself lacked ideas and kept revising the script, so why is he blaming the actors now?"

"I suggest checking Lu Chuan's finances. Did he use all the investment for marketing, resulting in this cheap, low-budget special effects film?"

In no time, Lu Chuan's Weibo comment section was flooded by fans, and even his past low-budget films were dug up and criticized for his "bad movie gene".

In particular, the plagiarism of "Kekexili" has been brought up again and discussed extensively.

Seeing the overwhelming criticism online, Lu Chuan was completely dumbfounded.

He anticipated that shifting the blame would cause controversy, but he didn't expect it to turn out like this.

Not only did he fail to clear his name, he also got himself into trouble and became the target of ridicule across the internet!
Two more days passed, and the movie's box office was still dropping, while the online abuse was becoming increasingly intense...

The PR manager finally couldn't take it anymore and called nervously: "President Lu, the online public opinion... we can't suppress it anymore, should we withdraw?"

Lu Chuan held her phone, her knuckles turning white, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

However, while he was still racking his brains over his failed attempt to shift the blame, he didn't realize that the real storm was just beginning.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the daily box office figures for "749 Bureau" were released.

1100 million!
This number not only dropped another 60% from the previous day, but it also couldn't even catch up with a fraction of the number of "Boonie Bears" films, completely becoming a "background" for the Spring Festival film season.

Just when everyone thought the film would flop quietly, a piece of news suddenly spread online.

"The special effects production costs for 'Bureau 749' have been suspected of being misappropriated by someone..."

The news caused an uproar across the internet!
Netizens immediately realized what was going on.

"So it wasn't that the movie was bad, it was that they pocketed the money!"

"Holy crap! I knew it! How could a sci-fi movie have 5-cent special effects? Turns out there's more to it than meets the eye."

"Tsk tsk, Lu Taro is going to keep Song Ge and the two Wang brothers company!"

Those netizens who previously mocked Lu Chuan for shifting blame now find it surreal: "Compared to bad acting, this is the real disaster, isn't it? I feel sorry for Wang Junkai, being dragged into this mess."

The film and television industry was in an uproar.

The producers were in an uproar, with one person revealing: "I'd heard there were problems with 'Bureau 749' before, but I didn't expect Lu Chuan to be so bold as to mess with Tencent."

"Lu Chuan has really shot himself in the foot. Which company would dare to hire him in the future?"

"Tencent's legal team is no pushover; they've got the Nanshan Nursing Home! They're a household name in the industry!"

On the other hand, Wang Junkai's studio also released a statement immediately, completely severing ties with Lu Chuan and the "749 Bureau" project:
"We are completely unaware of the rumors circulating online. We have urged the production company to clarify the situation and reserve the right to pursue legal action against any parties who have damaged the artist's reputation."

When Lu Chuan saw the news online, she slumped into her chair.

He never expected that Tencent Video would be so ruthless, not only ruining his reputation but also sending him to jail!
After a while, he quickly picked up his phone, his fingers trembling so much he could barely press the numbers, and finally managed to dial Sun Zhonghuai's number.

"Mr. Sun! Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

Lu Chuan's voice was hoarse, even tinged with tears, completely devoid of the high spirits she had before the movie's release.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Sun Zhonghuai's icy voice: "Lu Chuan, do you know how much Tencent Pictures' stock price has dropped because of this movie?"

Lu Chuan was taken aback. He was only thinking about his own mess and hadn't paid any attention to the stock market.

"A 4.7% drop in a single day, with nearly 10 billion yuan in market value evaporated." Sun Zhonghuai's voice was like ice. "Do you think this is just a matter of one movie? Now the whole internet is criticizing us for investing in bad movies and for inadequate supervision. Even our partners in other projects are backing out."

"I...I was wrong! Mr. Sun, I was wrong!" Lu Chuan panicked completely and cried into the phone, "I'll return all the money! Not a penny less! No, I'll return double! Please give me another chance and forgive me this time!"

He pleaded incoherently, as if grasping at a last straw, but there was only deathly silence on the other end of the phone.

A moment later, Sun Zhonghuai's voice rang out again, brief and resolute:
Go where you belong and repent!

"Beep-beep-"

The busy signal came through, striking Lu Chuan's heart like a heavy hammer.

He collapsed to the ground, finally realizing that he was completely beyond saving.

Actually, he wasn't ignorant of the intricacies of the matter.

In the film industry, project funding flows are complex, and occasional "manipulation" is not uncommon.

As long as the box office is a huge success and the company makes a fortune, who would really care about those "small tricks"?
Tencent Video initially turned a blind eye, perhaps with the intention of "settling scores later when the project succeeds."

But "Bureau 749" messed it up, and messed it up so badly!
The box office plummeted, the word-of-mouth was terrible, and it also attracted widespread questioning of Tencent Pictures, the investor, from the internet.

At times like these, if a company doesn't offer a proper explanation and completely shirk responsibility, it will only be dragged into an even deeper quagmire.

As for Lu Chuan, he was both the director and the person directly responsible for embezzling funds, so he naturally became the best scapegoat.

Sacrificing him would both quell public anger and demonstrate to shareholders and the market that "the company will never tolerate violations," so why not do it?
(End of this chapter)