Entertainment: Who still wants to fall in love when there are cheats?

Chapter 260 Movie Release
The premiere of "Dying to Survive" was held in both China and South Korea.

The domestic version is directed by Li Boda, hosted by South Korean actress Son Ye-jin, and co-hosted by Wang Chuanjun and Wang Baoqiang.

Meanwhile, South Korea had stars like Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae in charge, and the team was divided into two groups.

In China, although "Dying to Survive" is not a special effects blockbuster, its premiere was still a lively affair. Just like the premieres of "The Holy Grail War" and the "Infinite Terror" series, almost everyone who could attend came.

Of course, the movie "Dying to Survive" is indeed worthy of such a grand scale, after all, it won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice International Film Festival.

Before the film started playing, many reporters kept asking Li Boda about his feelings on winning the Golden Lion Award, why he made the film, what special ideas or significance he had in making it, and some even asked whether the film "Dying to Survive" was based on the experiences of Lu Yong in China.

Li Boda mostly brushed off these questions casually. But for the last one, he simply shook his head.

"Regarding the background of the film 'Dying to Survive,' I personally know nothing about it. I only received an invitation from South Korea to direct the film. As for the script, it was written by a South Korean screenwriter. I simply made the film according to the script. It has nothing to do with Lu Yong himself..."

Some things need to be said with great care.

So now, they're directly claiming that "Dying to Survive" was written by people from South Korea, pushing all the problems onto South Korea.

In fact, apart from the director's name being Li Boda, there is no other mention of Li Boda in the movie "Dying to Survive". Even the screenwriter is a South Korean.

Finally, under repeated questioning from these reporters, Lee Bo-da directly stated that this was a script adapted from the personal experiences of South Koreans, and had nothing to do with his own country. Only in this way could he separate everything from the issue.

Then the reporters started asking Son Ye-jin a lot of questions, but most of these questions were about men and women.

For example, how Son Ye-jin views Lee Bok-dae, and what her feelings are towards him, etc.

Erson Ye-jin naturally praised Lee Bo-da to the skies, exaggerating his virtues to the heavens, describing him as the best man in the world.

Son Ye-jin's behavior elicited excited and ambiguous expressions from the reporters. Instead of writing about things that were difficult to write about, they decided to write about the gossip between Son Ye-jin and Lee Baek-da.

After all, Son Ye-jin is already very famous in China, and she is such a beautiful woman, a goddess in the hearts of many. The fact that a Korean goddess has been conquered by a Chinese director is a topic that deserves a lot of attention.

Many reporters have already figured out how to report the story and what headlines to write.

"The Korean goddess has been conquered by a domestic director."

"The affair between the Korean goddess and Director Lee."

"Director Lee forcefully conquered South Korean goddess Son Ye-jin."

"Son Ye-jin's relationship is in trouble, she may get a divorce and remarry a famous domestic director."

"The charm of Lee Bo-da has captivated even the Korean goddess Son Ye-jin."

……

After the movie started, the theater gradually quieted down, and the audience began to settle down and watch the movie at their own pace.

The movie opens with the failed life of Cheng Yongjun, played by Hwang Jung-min: he beats his wife, his wife divorces him and wants to take their child abroad, and his father is bedridden, yet he has no money to treat his father.

The image of a failed, decadent middle-aged man appeared before everyone.

Although Cheng Yongjun's life is terrible, and much of it is his own doing, his situation and the helplessness of a middle-aged man still resonate with many viewers. Middle-aged men suffer!

When Wang Chuanjun, who plays Park Shouyi, appeared, many domestic viewers couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised.

"Hey, isn't that so-and-so?"

"Who is he again? Who is he again? He looks familiar, very familiar!"

"Guan Gu Shenqi, it's Guan Gu Shenqi!"

"Huh? Is that really Guan Gu Shenqi? No, Guan Gu Shenqi is such a handsome young man, but look at him like this in the movie, they're like two completely different people!"

"Yes, this Park Shouyi is pale, his eyes are lifeless, and he looks very weak. He seems completely different from Guan Gu Shenqi from that little Japan country!"

Wang Chuanjun's appearance sparked considerable discussion in the movie theater.

Wang Chuanjun, who was sitting at the front, couldn't help but light up when he heard the people talking.

Wang Chuanjun has always wanted to get rid of the character Guan Gu Shenqi. If he can't get rid of this character, his acting career will definitely not go far. That's why Wang Chuanjun paid so much to get the role of Park Shouyi.

Hearing some viewers say that the character Park Shouyi bears almost no resemblance to Guan Gu Shenqi makes him feel happy.

When the movie showed Son Ye-jin performing a pole dance, some people in the theater even whistled.

After all, Son Ye-jin is very beautiful, and we don't usually get to see her in these kinds of dramas, so it's no wonder we're excited to see her now.

The first half of the movie "Dying to Survive" is a standard action-packed film.

Led by the protagonist Cheng Yongjun, the group not only saved lives but also made money by selling Indian generic drugs. With piles of cash in their hands, everyone turned their lives around, transforming from miserable to winners in life.

The people in the movie theater also enjoyed themselves along with Cheng Yongjun and his friends.

Especially the scene where Hyun Bin's character, a nightclub manager, starts pole dancing after being showered with cash by Cheng Yongjun, makes everyone in the theater burst into laughter, especially those who know Hyun Bin, who find it hilarious.

After all, Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin are a married couple. Hyun Bin made Son Ye-jin do pole dancing, and now he's being forced to do it, while Son Ye-jin is yelling from below, "Dance!" "Take it off!" "Take off your pants!" It's all so funny and amusing.

Of course, when you put yourself in the storyline, Son Ye-jin's appearance is both heartbreaking and incredibly satisfying.

However, the more enjoyable the beginning of "Dying to Survive" is, the more unpleasant the ending becomes.

Cheng Yongjun was worried about being arrested, so he decided to stop. After Cheng Yongjun stopped, Park Shouyi's thin appearance lying on the hospital bed made people envious, and more sentimental people couldn't help but shed tears.

"There is only one disease in this world, and that is poverty!"

The moment this line appeared, it evoked a flood of emotions in countless people.

When Lee Jung-jae was investigating the Indian generic drugs, the elderly woman with gray hair pleaded with him, "Sir, I'm begging you, please stop investigating Indian drugs, okay? I've been sick for three years, and I've been taking the original drug, which costs four million yen a bottle, for three years. It's cost me our house, and it's bankrupted my family. Everyone has to deal with someone who gets sick sometimes. Can you guarantee you'll never get sick in your life? If you arrest him, we'll all be waiting to die. I don't want to die, I want to live, okay?"

Seeing the old woman's appearance, the audience felt even more distressed.

Because the old lady did nothing wrong, and the policeman Lee Jung-jae did nothing wrong either, and then—it was all the fault of the Korean conglomerate.

The movie "Dying to Survive," directed by Li Boda, directly portrays South Korean conglomerates as the biggest evil in the film.

However, this kind of setup is very common in South Korea. In South Korean movies that are highly rated and have high box office success, the villains are almost always South Korean conglomerates. And the conglomerates don't care about this setup at all, because most of the investors in these kinds of movies are conglomerates themselves. If the box office is high, the money earned is all from the conglomerates.

Therefore, if conglomerates are willing to set aside their pride and let their subordinates criticize them as much as they want, they won't lose anything and can instead rake in huge sums of money. This kind of deal is absolutely worthwhile.

Of course, the reason for this is that in South Korea, conglomerates can control everything. Unlike in China, where wealthy people who do wrong are caught, they are required to give the public some explanation, even if it's just a minor one. That's still a gesture, isn't it?

In South Korea, however, it's completely different. Conglomerates are everything, they are the sky, the earth, and everything. No matter how bad their reputation is, they won't be punished. That's why they exchange their reputation for money.

Wang Baoqiang's character, Huang Mao, is hit and killed by a car. Cheng Yongjun grabs Lee Jung-jae's collar and roars, "He was only twenty years old! He just wanted to live! What crime did he commit!"

This plot twist once again brought another wave of tears.

Finally, Cheng Yongjun was arrested and tried in court.

Unlike the real-life Lu Yong, who was acquitted, he was sentenced to thirty years in prison.

As the court pronounced Cheng Yongjun in prison for thirty years, to be served immediately, the big screen went black, and the movie ended.

After watching this movie, countless people felt a surge of anger and frustration that they couldn't quite release. In the theater, many couldn't help but shout out loud, a chorus of unanimous protest. In fact, this ending played a significant role in the film "Dying to Survive" winning the Golden Lion Award.

Utter darkness, no probation, no acquittal, the kind are imprisoned, and the conglomerates still hold absolute power.

However, while this setup might win awards, it wasn't very beneficial for the film's box office performance.

If this movie could have made some compromises in certain areas, such as the ending where the protagonist is acquitted, so as not to leave the audience feeling so frustrated, the movie's box office performance would have been better.

However, since Li Boda was aiming for the award from the beginning, he set up such an ending.

After the movie ended, the audience members who came out of the theater couldn't help but start discussing the plot.

"South Korea is so dark!"

"What does this have to do with South Korea? Let me tell you, the real-life inspiration for the movie 'Dying to Survive' is Lu Yong from our own country. This movie is about things that happened in our country."

"Huh? Really? So Lu Yong was also sentenced to thirty years in prison?"

"Uh, it seems not. Lu Yong seems to have been acquitted."

"...Then you still say that the prototype of 'Dying to Survive' is Lu Yong, but they are completely different."

"That's right. Didn't Director Li explain before that the prototype of this movie is actually from South Korea? It's said that the prototype of the main character was really arrested and sentenced to thirty years in prison."

"real or fake?"

"Really, absolutely 100% authentic!"

"Tsk, so it's better to say that things are better in our country. For the same thing, South Korea sentenced someone to thirty years, but in our country they were acquitted."

"This shows that the rule of law in our country is more humane."

After returning home, many of these viewers began posting their opinions about the film online.

After the Douban rating was released, the score immediately soared to 9.9, which is almost the highest score among all movies on Douban.

Some people who hadn't managed to snag tickets or were still hesitant couldn't resist going to the cinema to see the movie after seeing these ratings.

Of course, some people who have seen the movie say they would watch it a second time, but others say that this movie should absolutely not be watched a second time because the aftereffects are just too strong.

In South Korea, the audience's reaction was mostly the same.

Moreover, South Korean audiences didn't think the movie "Dying to Survive" was an exaggeration at all; on the contrary, they felt that it was incredibly realistic.

Because the ending of the movie "Dying to Survive" perfectly aligns with their understanding of the law and corporations.

"Oppa, how about it? Let's go all out!"

"But--"

"Don't hesitate, Oppa. The world is vast, but making money is the most important thing. If you want to make money, you have to use special methods. Look at how clearly it's explained in the movie 'Dying to Survive'. As long as we dare to make a move, we can definitely make a fortune. At worst, we can make a few moves and then stop."

"Okay, done!"

Some people in South Korea had a sudden inspiration after watching the movie "Dying to Survive" because they discovered a way to make money: smuggling and selling generic drugs from India. Even if they were caught and severely punished, it wouldn't stop their determination to make money, because the path to making money properly was just too difficult.

An ordinary person, even if they work diligently, can never afford to buy a house in their entire life.

In fact, it's not just South Korea; even in China, some people who have seen the movie "Dying to Survive" couldn't help but be moved.

People in China, in particular, learned that Lu Yong had been arrested for selling counterfeit drugs from India, but was acquitted and released on the spot.

It's a safe way to make money, and you can even get acquitted if you get arrested.

As a result, many people have already started taking action.

On Li Boda's Weibo account, many people are asking him how to do it, how to buy the medicine, how to transport it back, and how to sell it.

Then, there are indeed quite a few experts online, and some people directly said in the comments that they know where to buy medicine in India.

Some people even said they knew how to get the medicine back.

Some leukemia patients have said that they would definitely buy the medicine if you could ship it to China!

Good heavens, before Li Boda has even said anything, an entire industry chain has already taken shape under Li Boda's Weibo account.

This incident actually made it to the top of Weibo's trending topics, attracting many people to join in the fun.

Finally, even more people were intrigued and prepared to learn more about the industry.

At the same time, generic drugs for not only leukemia, but also for other diseases, have begun to appear in the public eye.

Some netizens even asked if cold medicine is cheaper in India.

Suddenly, Indian generic drugs became the hottest topic.

Then, the movie "Dying to Survive" attracted more and more viewers. Even though the ending of the movie was depressing and made people feel depressed, a large number of viewers still went to the cinema to watch the movie.

As a result, the film "Dying to Survive" grossed nearly 200 million yuan on its opening day.

Even later on, the daily box office figures were roughly the same, around 200 million.

After a week in theaters, the movie "Dying to Survive" has grossed a staggering 1.2 billion yuan at the box office.

The release of this box office data caused an uproar among countless people in China.

The main issue is the movie "Dying to Survive," which is positioned as an art film. As far as art films are concerned, how much box office revenue can it generate?
Most art films are critically acclaimed but not commercially successful.

Ironically, the movie "Dying to Survive" was both critically acclaimed and a box office success.

Not only domestically, but also in South Korea and Japan, the box office performance was very good.

Only in Europe and North America did the box office performance not look good.

Of course, the main reason is that the movie features only people with yellow skin; there are no white or black people. It's normal that the box office wasn't high in those places.

However, Li Boda didn't care about the low box office performance in Europe and North America.

Art films, generally speaking, are sold for a fixed price and there is no revenue sharing from box office revenue.

If the box office is high, Li Boda won't get more money; if the box office is low, Li Boda won't get less money either.

In fact, Li Boda didn't expect to make much money from this movie from the beginning. The fact that it achieved high box office returns in countries like South Korea and Japan was already a pleasant surprise for Li Boda.

In reality, although Li Boda didn't intend to make a lot of money from the movie "Dying to Survive," the profits it ultimately brings will likely be substantial.

After all, aside from the box office revenue, the film's copyrights in various countries and the prices they fetched are not small sums.

Of course, "Dying to Survive" is not a commercial blockbuster and does not have the support of special effects, so its final profit is naturally not as good as the "Infinite Terror" series.

(End of this chapter)