Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 454, Section 452: Strike while the iron is hot and take your life.
Jingxin Building.

In the president's office.

The winter sun shone through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, making the room bright and airy.

Wang Sheng stood by the window, looking down at the endless stream of cars below, holding a newly delivered briefing in his hand.

Li Tingting stood quietly not far behind him, waiting for instructions.

In the briefing, besides the news that "Night at the Museum" raked in 4984 million yuan at the box office in its opening weekend and broke multiple records, the most eye-catching thing was the brief statement in the corner about the withdrawal of "Hero".

In light of recent significant changes in the film market environment... the release date has been adjusted, and the specific time will be announced later...

"A major change in the market environment?" Wang Sheng turned around, casually tossing the briefing onto the large desk with a soft thud. "Zhang Weiping certainly knows how to save face."

Li Tingting stepped forward at the opportune moment and reported: "President Wang, according to the public opinion we have monitored, the news of the withdrawal of 'Hero' from the schedule has sparked widespread discussion."

Most voices expressed understanding, believing it was a wise move to avoid direct confrontation with our film, *The Museum*; however, many also mocked it, saying they were cowardly before the battle even began, especially considering the huge investment in pre-release promotion, and that withdrawing the film now would result in significant losses.

Wang Sheng walked behind his desk and sat down, leaning back slightly.

"A wise move? Perhaps." He said calmly, "But since you've chosen to retreat, you must be prepared to bear the consequences. On the battlefield, you can't just come and go as you please."

He raised his head, looking directly at Li Tingting, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable determination:
"Notify the public relations department to keep a close eye on 'Hero.' As long as it dares to be released in China, no matter when or where, immediately activate the highest level of contingency plan and launch a comprehensive media siege against it."

Li Tingting's expression hardened, and she immediately took out her notebook and quickly made notes.

Wang Sheng paused, then added in a low but weighty voice: “Let’s set a standard for them—if the final box office of ‘Hero’ in China exceeds 50 million, the public relations department’s year-end bonus will be halved for everyone.”

Li Tingting paused slightly, then nodded emphatically: "Understood, President Wang. I will convey your instructions verbatim."

This figure seems lenient—compared to the momentum of "Night at the Museum" approaching 50 million in its opening weekend, 50 million seems to be just a drop in the bucket.

However, Wang Sheng and his public relations team knew that with Shengying Media's all-out attack and the controversial reputation of "Heroes" itself, breaking through this number would be no easy task.

This is both pressure and a warning: "Hero" must be completely suppressed in its infancy, and it cannot be given any chance to make a comeback.

The order was quickly transmitted to the public relations department of Shengying Media through the internal communication system.

……

The department director received direct instructions from top management, and when he heard the additional condition of "halving the bonus," he instantly felt immense pressure, but at the same time, it also ignited his strong fighting spirit.

Shengying's salary and bonus system is known in the industry for being efficient and generous; no one wants to go against their own wallet.

"Attention everyone, emergency meeting!" At the director's command, all the core members of the public relations department, including the heads of the media relations group, public opinion monitoring group, content planning group, and online guidance group, quickly gathered in the conference room.

Without any further pleasantries, the director simply repeated Wang Sheng's instructions.

"President Wang's meaning is very clear: the film 'Hero' must be crushed in the domestic market. Our mission is to mobilize all resources to make it impossible for it to make a single step forward, at any possible time it might be released!" The director's gaze swept over everyone present. "Fifty million in box office revenue is our red line, and also our line of shame! Whether we can hold onto it or not depends on your abilities!"

The atmosphere in the meeting room instantly became tense, then quickly turned into excitement.

Those who can establish themselves in Shengying's public relations department are all capable individuals with keen senses and shrewd methods.

They knew that this was not just a business competition, but a life-or-death battle of public opinion.

"Director, we've already done some preliminary research." The head of the content planning team immediately turned on the projector. "We've identified several main attack directions to address the potential weaknesses of 'Heroes'."

Several keywords were listed on the screen:
The "Olympic bid film" is out of touch with the domestic market.
Form over substance, empty narrative

It imitates "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and lacks originality.

Director Zhang Yi's penchant for art-house films is ill-suited to commercial blockbusters.
“Very good!” The director nodded. “Especially the third point, ‘imitating Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ should be our core attack point! We need to instill in the audience the idea that Hero is nothing more than a poor imitator!”

“Understood!” The content planning team leader said confidently. “We have checked the actual data. Li An’s ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ achieved an astonishing box office of $1.28 million in North America in 2000. However, in mainland China, despite its good reputation, the box office was only about 1500 million RMB (Note: According to actual data, ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ grossed about 1500 million RMB in mainland China). It can be said to be a typical case of ‘blooming inside the wall but fragrant outside the wall,’ or rather, it suffered a Waterloo in mainland China.”

This shows that these kinds of martial arts films, designed to cater to the Eastern imaginations of overseas judges and audiences and with a more artistic and abstract style, do not meet the viewing habits and emotional needs of mainstream mainland audiences. "Yes! Let's make an issue of that!" The director slammed his fist on the table. "We need to repeatedly emphasize that *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* didn't do well at the mainland box office! Its success was a product of a specific era and a specific cultural curiosity; it cannot be replicated! *Hero* trying to follow its old path is destined to fail in China!"

The head of the public opinion monitoring team added: "Based on feedback after the preview screening in Shenzhen, many comments mentioned that the story of 'Hero' is weak and the characters are symbolic."

We can amplify this point and draw a parallel with *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, criticizing Zhang Yimou for sacrificing the film's fundamental narrative function in pursuit of awards and so-called "international aesthetics," thus deviating from the original intention of domestic commercial blockbusters to serve local audiences.

"And then there's director Zhang Yimou himself," the head of the media relations team interjected. "His film 'Happy Times,' which he directed last year, attempted to grab a share of the Lunar New Year box office, but it failed both at the box office and in terms of critical reception."

We can use this to question his ability to handle commercial genre films, arguing that he's still fundamentally stuck in the mindset of making award-winning art films. Seeing the overseas success of *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, he couldn't wait to imitate it. How can such a copycat film, lacking cultural confidence, possibly create a truly moving masterpiece?

The ideas were quickly unified, and the attack strategy was clearly defined.

After the meeting, Sheng Ying's public relations department, a highly efficient machine, immediately got to work.

Within hours, a batch of meticulously crafted and quirky commentary articles and forum posts began to be quietly distributed through partnered media channels, hired well-known film critics, and controlled online troll accounts to the entertainment sections of major portal websites, film and television forums, university BBS, and newly emerging blog platforms.

The titles and core arguments of these articles are highly inflammatory and offensive:
The Truth Behind the Withdrawal of "Hero": Not Fear of the Market, but a Feeling of Guilt!

The article incisively points out that the fundamental reason for "Hero's" last-minute withdrawal from the project lies in its lack of confidence in its own quality.

It attempted to replicate the success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" overseas, but ignored the film's dismal performance in the mainland market. This kind of martial arts film, designed to please overseas judges and filled with Orientalist exoticism, was destined to fail in the face of increasingly sophisticated mainland audiences.

Analyzing "Hero": A Large-Scale "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Imitation Show

—A detailed comparison of the similarities between "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in terms of aesthetic style, narrative structure, and even thematic expression was made, criticizing Zhang Yimou for lacking originality and merely clumsily imitating the shell of a successful film while losing the soul of the movie.

The article questions: "When we have a new martial arts film like 'Brotherhood of Blades' that is robust and full of life, why would we want to watch a copycat that is just a step behind it?"

From "Happy Times" to "Hero": Zhang Yimou's Commercial Film Myths

—Looking back at Zhang Yimou's "Happy Times," which failed to gain traction during last year's Lunar New Year season, critics argue that he brought his "pretentious profundity" and "slow pacing" from art films into his commercial film creation.

The article argues that Zhang Yimou fundamentally lacks the ability to tell a story that resonates with the masses. "Hero" is merely a blind imitation of the success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and its core remains a weak and unconvincing arthouse film, out of touch with the market.

Where does cultural confidence lie? — A critique of the self-positioning dilemma of the film "Hero"

—The criticism points to a deeper cultural level, accusing "Hero" of deliberately creating an "Oriental spectacle" that is detached from historical reality and full of symbolic piling up in order to cater to so-called "international tastes," lacking a real cultural foundation and confidence.

In stark contrast, "Night at the Museum" exudes a calm and confident charm, rooted in Chinese civilization and telling Chinese stories in a universal language.

These articles present clear viewpoints and seemingly sufficient evidence (especially citing real data on the dismal box office performance of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in mainland China). They are written in a sharp style, even with a touch of scathing satire.

They quickly spread online and were widely reposted and commented on.

At a time when "Night at the Museum" is enjoying immense popularity and national pride is at an all-time high, this kind of rhetoric that "criticizes followers and supports original creators" and "questiones pandering to overseas audiences and praises cultural confidence" is very likely to resonate with the public.

Countless viewers and netizens, ignited by the passion of "The Museum," almost instinctively accepted these views and joined in the verbal attacks against "Hero."

"You're absolutely right! I just couldn't understand 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' it was so boring, no wonder it didn't sell well in China!"

"Movies like 'Brotherhood of Blades' and 'Night at the Museum' are still the most exciting to watch! They have their own unique flavor!"

"Zhang Yimou should just go back to making his rural art films; he really can't handle big-budget movies!"

"They pulled the film from theaters before it was even released. Looks like they knew it wasn't going to be a hit!"

"Support Sheng Ying! Support Wang Sheng! This is the kind of Chinese film we want to see!"

Public opinion, guided consciously by Shengying's public relations department and driven by public sentiment, has become almost entirely one-sided.

Even before its official release, "Hero" has already been firmly labeled with negative tags such as "imitator," "out of touch with the masses," and "lacking in self-confidence."

Zhang Yimou's halo as a "master of art films" seems to have dimmed somewhat amidst the flood of criticism.

(End of this chapter)