I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Cheng Sheng wasn't angry about the reporters' plans, after all, he genuinely disliked Wu Baige's film "Red Cliff".

"Please don't compare my film to someone else's; they're not even in the same league," Cheng Sheng said bluntly.

Upon hearing this, the reporters' eyes lit up. One of them asked, "Director Cheng, are you implying that Wu Baige's 'Red Cliff' is inferior to your 'Three Kingdoms'?"

"Is there something wrong with what I said? Or did you not understand what I meant?" Cheng Sheng said with a smirk.

"Director Cheng, aren't you being too absolute? Red Cliff hasn't even been released yet, and you're already judging that Red Cliff is inferior to Three Kingdoms?"

The reporters were also puzzled. After all, Wu Baige is an internationally renowned director, and his films should be of high quality.

Judging from Cheng Sheng's words, it seems that "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" will crush "Red Cliff"!
Looking at the reporters' expressions, Cheng Sheng smiled inwardly. If he didn't know what kind of movie "Red Cliff" was, he really wouldn't have dared to make such a boast.

But Wu Baige's version of "Red Cliff" is absolutely terrible.

Red Cliff is definitely a big-budget film. Whether it's the lofty theme, the grand scenes, or the star-studded cast, everything about it showcases Wu Baige's personal ambition.

Then, with such a grand production, such an excellent director, and a star-studded cast including Tony Leung, Kim Sung-wu, Cheung Fung-yee, a certain Zhao, Tong Dawei, Lin Chih-lin, Hu Jun, Song Jia, and many others, it can be described as a behemoth-level Battle of Red Cliffs.

However, once the movie was released, it was swept away by the winds of word-of-mouth and spread like wildfire, but all of them were buried underwater.

Wu Baige's ambition was like Cao Cao's ambition to unify the country. She rushed to the battlefield of Red Cliff with great fanfare, but ended up fleeing in a sorry state.

Facing the puzzled reporter, Cheng Sheng said, "I've said before, don't be superstitious about international big directors. Their era is over. The so-called international big directors are those who have flopped many big productions in Hollywood, almost bankrupting MGM, one of the seven major Hollywood studios. Such a loser is actually being fawned over when he returns to China. I don't think such a person can make any great movies."

Although Cheng Sheng did not explicitly name Wu Baige, the reporter knew that Cheng Sheng was referring to Wu Baige.

All the reporters were excited; with Cheng Sheng's words, they had plenty of material to write news stories about.

I must write a 10,000-word news article when I get back.

They escaped the reporters' entanglement.

Cheng Sheng drove back to his residential compound.

To his surprise, Scarlett was waiting for him at the entrance of the residential complex.

"Mr. Cheng, this young lady is here to see you. She's been waiting here for almost an hour."

The car was parked at the entrance, and the security guard came up and said something.

Clearly, this man in his fifties doesn't care much about the entertainment industry, otherwise he would have recognized Scarlett Johansson long ago.

"Thank you, I know her."

Cheng Sheng thanked her and then waved to Scarlett.

Scarlett walked over and said, "Cheng, did I disturb you?"

"No, didn't you just go back to the hotel? Why are you looking for me here?"

Cheng Sheng asked.

"The hotel was so boring, and I couldn't find anyone to chat with, so I thought I'd come and find you."

"Get in the car! Let's go back to my house first," Cheng Sheng said.

Scarlett got into the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, and said, "I've heard that Chinese food is pretty good. I'd like to try it."

Cheng Sheng was taken aback.

I glanced at the sky outside the car.

It's almost midnight, where can we go for some good food?

Wait a minute. It's not that there aren't any.

"Hehe, haha! I'll take you to try some different kinds of food."

"I'm really looking forward to it."

Cheng Sheng drove to a snack street near the Central Academy of Drama.

This food street doesn't do business during the day; it usually only opens at midnight.

The food street in August is exceptionally lively, with a constant stream of pedestrians coming and going on both sides of the street.

Barbecue, a popular summer delicacy, is naturally the top choice for busy working people to relax after a long day.

The barbecue stalls were already packed, with dozens of tables full of customers eating barbecue, drinking beer, and chatting in a relaxed atmosphere. This kind of lively, down-to-earth atmosphere was truly unique.

Cheng Sheng parked the car on the side of the road, but he didn't get out immediately. Instead, he took a hat from the back of the car and handed it to Scarlett to put on.

Scarlett is no ordinary person.

If she gets recognized, then the two of them won't be able to have barbecue.

After getting dressed, the two got out of the car and walked to a corner table. They had Scarlett sit opposite her, while Cheng Sheng blocked other people's view. This way, unless someone was staring intently at Scarlett, they would hardly recognize her.

Cheng Sheng skillfully ordered grilled skewers and lobster, and also ordered a case of beer.

"Cheng, it's so lively here! It's nothing like the news about China I've seen in the US," Scarlett exclaimed in surprise.

Although this wasn't her first time in China, she rarely went out except when she was at the hotel due to work, so she naturally didn't know much about China.

"Is it because your country's media portrays China as backward and repressive? And that Chinese nights are particularly dangerous?"

Cheng Sheng said sarcastically.

Over the past few decades, Western media have never stopped shaping the image of China.

From its economic rise and foreign policy to human rights issues, every aspect of China seems to be magnified and distorted, even deliberately painted with a dark hue.

This propaganda is not simply the transmission of information, but the result of a complex historical, cultural, and political game.

The narrative framework of Western media: from threat theory to demonization.

The tone of Western media coverage of China had already begun to take shape at the end of the 20th century.

In particular, the US has a completely negative view of the Chinese people, and this percentage has been steadily rising.

At the same time, for their own benefit, the media fabricated many unfounded accusations and stories portraying China as the "villain" kept appearing in newspapers.

This approach naturally aligns with the psychological expectations of Western audiences and caters to the needs of some politicians.

Therefore, due to the propaganda of Western media, Western people also believe that China is a 'terrorist country'.

This has led many foreigners to believe that China is a place where they need to be careful at all times before they come to China.

But a lie is still a lie.

The moment you set foot on this land and step out of the airport, the script pre-arranged by Western media will be shattered.

“Cheng, I feel like I’ve been brainwashed by bad Western media since I was a child. After coming to China, I realized that your country is very great. It’s not as backward and ignorant as the media portrays it. On the contrary, it surpasses our country in many aspects.”

"Damn freedom of speech, those media outlets should all be shot. They've been deceiving me for over twenty years."

Scarlett yelled. (End of Chapter)