Huayu: As a child star, I just want to be famous

Chapter 597 The Lighthouse's Call

After handing over some of the liaison tasks to Sister Mei, Chen Linfeng also started making phone calls himself after returning home.

For those with whom he has a close relationship or who hold a high position, it is better for him to make the contact personally, such as Principal Zhang Jun of Yanying School, Zhang Yimou, Jiang Wen, and even writers and editors in the literary world like Liu Cixin and Zhao Changtian.

Its main purpose is to represent the voices of the general public, despite the large number of people involved.

Some of the people brought over were just there to lend their support; they could simply be there to make a cameo appearance. Others, like Jiang Wen, were good at talking, especially when it came to theories.

However, although Lao Jiang seems tough, he is actually quite gentle when facing his superiors.

Chen Linfeng didn't elaborate on this point during the phone call, but planned to press him further during the meeting.

Sisi watched him make phone calls as soon as he returned, listening curiously.

After listening to two or three phone calls in a row, I couldn't help but ask during the break between hanging up.

"Xiao Feng, are you trying to get into a fight with the leaders?"

Although he sounded relaxed on the phone, she wasn't stupid; she sensed that her husband was about to do something big.

"No, it's just a normal reaction. At most, there were a little over a hundred million people who went," Chen Linfeng replied casually.

"Oh."

Sisi didn't press the matter; she simply noted it down, planning to attend the event herself and get a closer look at the gossip.

Anyway, she's part of the crew, so maybe she can help out later.

"By the way, have you seen today's box office results?"

Although the box office statistics function initially developed by Maoyan has not yet been officially released as an app, it is already available to internal staff. Xixi, who has nothing to do at home, pays close attention to it.

"Not yet," Chen Linfeng put down his phone and asked curiously, "How were everyone's results today?"

Sisi counted on her fingers and said, "The Heist has surpassed 200 million, and that doesn't even include tonight's showing. The final figure will definitely be higher than yesterday's."

"About Time" just surpassed 1 million views.
"The Longest Day in Chang'an" is similar; it will definitely surpass 1 million in the end.
As for the rest, I don't remember much.

Upon hearing that "Now You See Me" maintained its box office and continued to break 2 million, Chen Linfeng nodded slightly, without showing much surprise.

He was somewhat pleased to hear that the next two films would also maintain their success.

All of these films were written by him, and "The Heist" benefited from the positive reputation of his previous works.

Before his golden image is broken, audiences will continue to have high expectations for his directorial works, and these expectations will be among the highest in China.

Furthermore, he concentrated the best promotional resources and enhanced the original work from the previous life, so such results were within his expectations.

As for the other two films, he only provided the scripts and didn't really interfere with the filming process.

One film was shot by a newcomer, while the other was directed by Chen Kaige, a veteran director known for his stubbornness, willfulness, and penchant for rewriting scripts. Both films achieved good results, maintaining a strong box office performance during the first three days of the Spring Festival holiday.

The results have basically stabilized.

This means that his scripts have a certain universality.

Finding people to film will be much easier in the future; we can be more open to different candidates.

Chen Linfeng rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

Thinking of this, he stopped making the call and instead picked up a laptop, sat down next to Sisi, and started reading the latest online comments.

This is their little pleasure: they always secretly peek at netizens' discussions and then either feel delighted or complain.

Early the next morning.

"Xiao Feng, Pete called you. I answered and asked him what was wrong. He seemed to be in a hurry."

"Oh, here it comes."

Chen Linfeng spat out the toothpaste foam from his mouth, then quickly rinsed his mouth, wiped his face, and took the phone.

"What's the matter? Why are you calling so urgently so early in the morning?"

Pete is aware of the time difference between the two places, and he usually wouldn't call at this time unless it's an emergency.

Chen Linfeng pondered what it might be, and considering the time, he had a guess in his mind.

really.

"Chen, as you know, after the Oscar nominations are announced, the competition among the films enters a fierce stage."

"Hmm, I understand. Has some negative public opinion emerged?"

“That’s right,” Pete said in a serious tone, “It’s the same old thing, emphasizing your status, saying that the Oscars should be given to your own people or something.”

But this time, unlike before, there was slightly more media coverage.

"These companies' people at Emilyken also sent emails mentioning it, but at the time there were only sporadic reports," Chen Linfeng rubbed his temples. "Has the impact gradually expanded now?"

"Yes, starting today, there is a gradual trend of expansion, and mainstream media are also publishing articles about this."

"That's definitely not right."

“I’m worried that the public outcry will only grow stronger, and if it spreads from the media to social media platforms, then it will be impossible to stop it.”

"You're right."

Chen Linfeng looked very serious; this information was indeed worth taking seriously.

It's not the first or second time that his identity has been brought up, but it's mostly limited to a small circle, with some tabloids reporting on it to get more space.

Major newspapers, even those leaning towards the Elephant Party and being conservative, rarely bring this up.

The money they made for Hollywood companies wasn't earned for nothing.

Besides, Americans these days still have some self-respect and haven't lost their confidence.

[But it seems the Americans are starting to lose their composure, after all, the deadline is fast approaching.] He sighed inwardly.

America's competitors have also started using this tactic.

People may not usually care about identity, but when it comes up at a crucial moment, it can reveal differences in closeness and distance, and may affect the final outcome.

Now is a crucial moment.

"Is it possible to find out who's behind this?"

Knowing who the opponent is allows for targeted action, and mutual deterrence might force the other side to relax its defenses.

"It's difficult in a short time. By the time you find out, it's already too late in terms of timing."

Finding a middleman is something anyone can do.

Unless the other party is foolish enough to personally intervene, it won't be easy to find out who did it.

Back in the day, there were very few idiots like Nicholas Chatterley, the producer of "The Hurt Locker".

You can't expect your competitors to be idiots.

"What strategies does the public relations team have?" Chen Linfeng asked.

“Yes,” Pieter nodded, “they offered two methods.”

One approach is to escalate the situation by accusing someone of unfair competition, posing as a victim.

This can somewhat offset public opinion.

Chen Linfeng nodded. There are many liberals in Hollywood. Regardless of their private behavior, they at least outwardly promote openness and inclusiveness.

This practice of using one's status to exclude others clearly contradicts the very principles they advocate.

But then again, it's only on the surface.

Everyone knows who they are; often, the more something is touted, the more likely it is to be lacking.

Humans naturally tend to reject outsiders who are different from themselves. If a major public opinion event were to occur, someone might not have initially intended to do so, but seeing the news might spark their own thoughts, leading them to vote for someone else.

"But this approach isn't very reliable. The public relations manager advised that it might backfire."

Sure enough, they had the same concern.

"What's the other way?"

"Another method is to eliminate identity differences."

"Hmm?" Chen Linfeng frowned.

“Chen, I know what you’re thinking,” Pete said immediately. “You’re a true patriot, you wouldn’t betray your country, I understand that.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "At least, we can give everyone the illusion that you will waver."

Pete said earnestly, "I actually received some inside information about this matter."

"Purely hearsay," he emphasized.

"I see."

Chen Linfeng understood immediately; it was just a rumor, sometimes more reliable than official information.

"That's right, there's a voice coming from the higher-ups that thinks you've gained too much in Emily Kent, not just from Hollywood, but also from investment returns and the literary world."

Everyone has given you so much, but you haven't given back at all, which has really hurt their feelings.

“Part of what I heard was,” Pete cleared his throat, mimicking the words, “that Chen is so outstanding that he doesn’t seem like a yellow person. Such a genius shouldn’t be on the other side of the Pacific, in that autocratic and backward country. It shouldn’t have someone like him.”

He naturally belongs to our great America; the beacon of our nation is calling him, and isn't that enough to make him abandon everything?

"..."

Although it sounded like a compliment, Chen Linfeng still felt disgusted.

He has the air of an old white man who still lives in the last century.

Pete didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said; he sincerely believed that his friend deserved such praise.

As for "autocratic and backward," although he knew it was not true after visiting China, everyone said so, so he wasn't surprised at all.

Pete continued, "It was because of these kinds of comments that I felt things weren't so easy to resolve, so I made a special call."

"Pete, let's talk about how to create a false impression."

Chen Linfeng specifically emphasized the word "illusion".

“Sigh,” Pete sighed, “okay.”

Deep down, he also hoped that his friend could change his nationality and become one of his own.

Having spent so much time together, he knew Chen well and therefore had little confidence from the beginning.

Yes, that's how patriots are.

Moreover, Chen comes from China, a communist country.

Thinking back on some of the revolutionary stories he had heard in the past, Chen Neng maintained a firm attitude, which was very much in line with his stereotypes.

As a top Hollywood heir, Pitt is not like ordinary people who are brainwashed by the media offensive; he knows some of the truths about the other side of the world during the Cold War.

The older generation sometimes talks about this when they chat.

It's just that from the perspective of a big capitalist, they express their incomprehension of those who have a mindset that doesn't seem like that of normal people.

How could anyone not like money?

Ideals can't put food on the table.

Fortunately, the fall of the Russian bear made everyone even more convinced of the power of money.

However, there have been quite a few exceptions.

Pete believes Chen is a similar special case.

"In the afternoon, I discussed this with the public relations team. If you really don't want to change your nationality, you can also do some goodwill to make the big shots here temporarily relax their offensive against you."

"Hmm, how exactly do I do it?"

“Chen, I want to emphasize that this is only temporary, an illusion. If you ultimately fail to deliver, there will be a backlash.”

"I understand, as long as we get past the Oscars, everything will be fine."

Chen Linfeng never expected to have a smooth and successful career in Hollywood for long.

However, his original target date was 16, which now seems too optimistic.

It's good that we're transferring back early, since Xixi is pregnant now and we were planning to spend more time with her at home anyway.

After finishing the disclaimer, Pete continued, "I can help you explain through some channels that you have already decided to embrace the beacon of democracy, and you can't undermine me."

"Hmm...I understand," Chen Linfeng replied, pinching his nose.

"It would be best if your people cooperated as well, such as Mei, who can represent you to some extent. Let her come to Emilyken as well."

"……good……"

"Furthermore, CC is pregnant, right? I think we can make a fuss about that."

"If Chen's child were born in Emily Kent, I think those guys would be more convinced of your sincerity, which would allow us to drag things out for much longer."

Chen Linfeng frowned and said sternly, "Pete, this is going a bit too far."

"Uh, easy, easy, it's all an illusion, didn't we agree on that?"

Pitt earnestly advised, "Your career in Hollywood is quite successful. Are you willing to give it up just because of a minor issue with your status?"
Even if you don't want your child to become a citizen, you can wait until they turn 18..."

“Children should not be used as tools,” Chen Linfeng interrupted. “Besides, I also need to give an explanation to China; I don’t want to disappoint them.”

“Fine, you decide everything.” Pete said sheepishly.

The attempt failed.

As Chen's closest partner in Hollywood, he was actually a little anxious.

If this matter continues to escalate, the situation will become very bad over time.

Even if those conservatives don't take any major actions, their propaganda offensive alone could very well lead to a reduction in cooperation between Hollywood and Chen, or at least make the cooperation less smooth.

Moreover, subsequent developments are unlikely to be so simple and could very well lead to major upheavals.

In his view, this is a lose-lose situation.

Chen Linfeng pondered for a moment, "Pete, I will cooperate with the two points you mentioned earlier."

Furthermore, I can allocate additional funds to ensure that nothing unexpected happens with the Oscars.

He thought for a moment, "Let's set the limit at ten million. If there are any unexpected situations, you can contact me again."

Pete was speechless; Chen had completely figured out how the US played its game.

Regardless of differing ideologies or whether someone is an outsider or not, as long as there's money, most things can be easily resolved.

Especially since the current situation has not yet risen to the political level, its outward manifestation is merely some public opinion trends.

Since it's just a rumor, it means it's still up in the air and there's no need to worry too much for now.

"Okay, I'll let Bolton (the PR expert) know the specifics of the job."

"Okay, I'll have Sister Mei connect with him."

(End of this chapter)