This top guy is crazy!

"Movies are not meant to promote one's own ideas. Of course, that's not always the case. For truly good movies, we appreciate the ideas they convey and the thoughts they provoke in us."

"But ideas and personal agendas are two different things."

"An excellent film's ideas naturally grow from its story, characters, emotions, and audiovisual language. Through the advancement of the plot, the struggles of the characters, the hints in the shots, and the creation of the atmosphere, it evokes resonance or questions in the audience."

What the audience experiences is the depth inherent in the work itself and the creator's observations and reflections on the world.

"But what is personal agenda? Some directors are not telling a story or expressing an idea, but are eagerly promoting a pre-set, unquestionable viewpoint or position, turning the characters in the film into their puppets."

"The core difference between the two is that the former respects the audience, believes in the audience's ability to think, and allows the audience to draw their own conclusions, even if they are different from the creator's original intention; the latter does not respect the audience, tries to manipulate the audience's thoughts, and demands that the audience accept a certain answer in its entirety."

"Our Tianxia films have a lot of the latter, but relatively few of the former."

"Of course, I don't mean foreign films. In fact, foreign films have been made very poorly in the last ten years or so."

“For example,” Cheng Cheng said, looking at Lü Zhuofeng.

Lu Zhuofeng had a bad feeling.

No, why are you looking at me like that?
Cheng Cheng said:
"Director Lü's early films were thought-provoking and artistic, representing his generation's reflections and observations on the fate of the nation, cultural roots, and individual survival dilemmas during a specific historical period. I would like to commend him for this."

The entire room twitched at the corners of their mouths, and Lü Zhuofeng's face darkened. Even the leaders present were stunned.

Wait, you're actually praising her?
Were you in Lü Zhuofeng's early films?

“But!” Cheng Cheng hesitated for a moment, then continued, “Director Lü’s later films inevitably contained some personal biases. For example, his banned film, ‘The Chinese Map,’ completely served the rigid concept of ‘exporting the image of Tianxia,’ and he didn’t even do that well, to the point that he ended up having white people become the ancestors of the Tianxia people.”

Lu Zhuofeng sighed.

The "Chinese Portrait" remains a source of anxiety for him to this day.

At the head of the table, the leader coughed and said:
"Director Cheng, if you're going to speak, then speak. Try not to call on anyone by name."

Cheng Cheng said:
"Don't worry, boss, there's a twist later."

The entire audience reacted again: ┓(;_｀)┏ I'm impressed.
Cheng Cheng: "In addition, Director Lü's series of patriotic films are also very deliberate and awkward in conveying values, deliberately trying to evoke tears, and deliberately elevating national sentiment. This is a kind of forced indoctrination."

"but--"

The great director Cheng then said, "Even so, I think Director Lü is better than 90% of the directors in China. At least, what I mentioned above, such as rigidly serving a certain concept or deliberately trying to create value, is to some extent just a lack of ability, or rather, a formulaic way of expression."

Just like writing an essay, there is a fixed structure. When it's almost over, everyone knows that you should elevate the theme. It's just that if the elevation is not done well, it will seem deliberate.

But some directors are different. Their films may even be malicious, using the characters to promote their own poisonous ideas and values ​​that blur the lines between right and wrong.

Director Lü isn't shameless enough to be this despicable.

Lü Zhuofeng:
Thank you so much. Is this what you meant by a plot twist?

It's really a series of twists and turns.

Cheng Cheng:

"Here I'd like to mention Goodfellas and Birth of a Daughter again. In conclusion, in today's world where the lines between commercial and art films are becoming increasingly blurred, the most basic thing for creators should be to respect the audience, put down their airs, and stop trying to educate them. Many people are complaining that the film market is no longer profitable, that audiences don't like going to the cinema anymore, and that there are too many forms of entertainment available now."

"Excuse me for interrupting, my movie just surpassed 260 billion a few days ago."

"So, it's not that movies aren't profitable anymore, but that many filmmakers haven't changed their mindset. You're not some noble artist; you're just a service provider." "The reason the film market is bad right now is because too many directors are making a living from movies while ruining the film industry."

"So, I propose," Cheng Cheng said seriously, "that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television set up a separate department for me. In the future, all movies that are about to be released can be shown to me first. If I think they are acceptable, then they can be released. If I think they are not acceptable, I can send them back for reshooting or ban them directly. And for those that pass the review, I will give them corresponding evaluation scores, out of ten. Six points is acceptable, eight points is excellent, and nine points is a masterpiece. In this way, the audience can clearly know which movie is a good movie, and good movies can get more exposure. It is very humane."

After Cheng Cheng finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

They strongly suspect that Cheng Cheng is just spouting whatever comes to mind from his dreams. Why would they create a separate department for you and give you the power of life and death over all films? They even created a "Cheng Cheng Rating" that the audience regards as the ultimate standard?

How could the State Administration of Radio and Television be so foolish?

After a brief silence, the leader who was leading the meeting said:

"Hmm, we can clearly see Director Cheng's sincere desire to contribute to the film market. However, this proposal is a bit bold. Let's consider it again after we meet to see if it's feasible."

It was Cheng Cheng who did it. If any other director had dared to speak like that at the meeting, the leaders would probably have reprimanded him.

However, Cheng Cheng had just won the title of world number one, so he couldn't say it outright. He could only make excuses and say that they would discuss it later. In reality, there was no possibility of discussing it later.

"Which director is next to speak?" The leader quickly changed the subject, not daring to give Cheng Cheng any more time to speak, otherwise who knew what outrageous suggestions he might come up with.

So, will they listen, or not?

After Cheng Cheng finished speaking, the meeting continued for another two hours, and finally ended with a speech from the leader.

The meeting ended with the bell ringing, and everyone stood up.

Cheng Cheng and Li Zhuo had finished packing their materials. Li Zhuo had just shoved the notebook with Cheng Cheng's drawing of "a child with an elephant's head shaking its butt" into his bag, as if afraid that it would be left behind and picked up by someone else.

Several quick-witted young directors and bigwigs swarmed around them!

"Director Cheng! Wait a moment! I'd like to ask you something..."

"Director Cheng! I have a script..."

Everyone was talking at once, their enthusiasm burning like fire, as if Cheng Cheng were a walking gold mine, and whoever got close to him would become rich.

Cheng Cheng replied:

"Excuse me, I need to speak with Director Lü for a few minutes."

The person who wanted to strike up a conversation looked dejected, but Cheng Cheng added, "The script is worth reading." Cheng Cheng then turned to Li Zhuo and said, "Please keep it for me."

Several young directors burst into tears of joy.

Cheng Cheng then took two quick steps, easily squeezed through the crowd, and precisely "stuck" to director Lü Zhuofeng, who was about to leave.

"Director Lü! Director Lü, please wait!" Cheng Cheng was overjoyed, his smile so bright it was dazzling. He casually put his arm around Lü Zhuofeng's shoulder, the gesture as familiar as that of an old friend.

"Director Lü, why are you walking so fast?" He looked around, "Are you hiding from someone?"

Lu Zhuofeng looked at Cheng Cheng, who seemed completely unaffected, and his lips twitched:
Is it possible that he's just avoiding you?

Also, are we that close? Do we need to put our arms around each other? (End of Chapter)