The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

6 month 11 day.

There are 9 days left until the release of "Fame and Fortune".

The atmosphere in the chairman's office of Dingxin Film & Television was somewhat tense.

"The opening day box office for 'Breaking News' was only 20!"

There was no schadenfreude in Zhao Hongwei's tone, only deep worry.

The first victim of "House of Flying Daggers'" dominance of the summer box office has emerged.

To make way for "House of Flying Daggers", the imported blockbuster "Troy" was rescheduled to the 10th, clashing head-on with "Big Event", which was already scheduled for the 10th.

Directed by Johnnie To and starring Richie Jen, Zhang Jiahui, and Kelly Chen, the film grossed 90 HKD on its opening day in the small Hong Kong market, but only 20 HKD in mainland China.

"Fortunately, our movie is still 9 days away from release."

Shen Qing wasn't sure either, but she still offered words of comfort.

He wasn't in a rush to prepare for his next film; he wanted to see how "Fame and Fortune" performed at the box office first.

Time flies, and it's already the 19th.

The premiere of "Fame and Fortune" was held at a small cinema in Beijing, inviting a group of film critics and media reporters, and their travel expenses were certainly generous.

Fortunately, Liu Yifei has a certain fan base, so the premiere theater was at least full.

All the main cast members were summoned to Beijing to participate in the film's promotion. Shen Qing went on stage and told a few jokes related to the film's production, finally managing to liven up the atmosphere.

After the interactive session, the movie screening began, and "Fame and Fortune" was finally officially released.

……

11 a.m. the following morning.

A cinema in Beijing.

Zhang Yuan and Su Wenjun walked out of the screening room chatting and laughing, their faces full of smiles.

"That was awesome! Now that's what a movie should be!"

"Only Americans could make blockbuster movies like this!"

"What kind of films do our domestic directors make?"

"In China, only Zhang Yimou's films are decent; all the other directors are garbage!"

"Zhang Yimou's movies are truly amazing; they make your mouth water!"

"So this matter is not going to be resolved, is it?!" Su Wenjun said angrily.

When "Hero" was released in 02, Zhang Yuan and Su Wenjun, childhood friends, went to see it together.

When Zhang Yuan saw the sex scene in the red cloth, he couldn't help but glance at his childhood friend next to him. He was afraid that if he was too focused, his friend would laugh at him. As a result, he witnessed the famous scene.

My childhood friend was staring intently at the big screen, completely unaware that drool was dripping from the corner of his mouth, which unfortunately landed on his black down jacket.

Zhang Yuan laughed so hard at that moment.

"Let's go eat!"

Seeing that his childhood friend was really angry, Zhang Yuan patted him on the shoulder and planned to treat him to a meal to apologize.

To everyone's surprise, Su Wenjun walked straight to a movie poster.

"Wang Yuyan is in a movie?"

Zhang Yuan walked over and said, "She's so beautiful. This outfit makes her look much more mature than in Tianlong. It's so pretty it makes my mouth water."

Su Wenjun punched his childhood friend, and after hearing his friend's exaggerated "Ouch!", he said, "Then what are you standing there for? Go buy a ticket!"

"I'm going to buy it! I'm going to buy it!"

After finishing his sentence, Zhang Yuan smiled and walked towards the ticket window, saying to the ticket seller, "Hello, give me two tickets... for 'Making a Name for Yourself'."

He turned and looked at the poster again before saying the name of the movie, which he didn't know anything about.

The two bought Cokes and waited for more than ten minutes before finally getting up to enter.

After finding a good spot, we chatted quietly. People gradually came in, not many, and many seats became empty.

Soon the lights in the screening room dimmed, and the movie officially began.

……

The film opens with a brief introduction of the characters, and the camera follows the perspectives of Li Jiahui and Guan Jingnian to the interior of the mansion.

One character after another appears, and a few small details suggest that their relationships are complicated and that they have had significant past conflicts.

Su Wenjun leaned close to Zhang Yuan's ear and whispered, "Damn, we've been tricked. So many characters appeared right away, we can't even tell who's who, and Liu Yifei hasn't even appeared yet."

Zhang Yuan joked, "Damn, you've already lost patience after not seeing Liu Yifei for the first three minutes?"

Su Wenjun shook his head: "Movies by unknown directors are really not worth watching. I acted impulsively this time!"

The movie continues.

The two sides were arguing when the kung fu actor Chen Xiaoda stepped in to meddle. Zheng Qianli asked him what it was to do with him.

Chen Xiaoda replied, "No, I won't shut down! But if something wrong happens, I'll stand up for it!"

He said he would stand up, but his body betrayed him by sitting down.

The audience was stunned.

The details here are inherently humorous, and with Shen Teng's comedic talent being brought out by Shen Qing, the result is that this segment is performed by Shen Teng, and with his subtle facial expressions, the comedic effect is off the charts.

Zhang Yuan and Su Wenjun both smiled knowingly, and most of the audience around them couldn't help but laugh as well. Most people in the entire screening hall were laughing.

Unfortunately, the attendance was only average, and it failed to achieve the desired effect of making everyone burst into laughter.

The movie continues.

Just when everyone was arguing and about to break up, Lu Ziye, played by Ni Dahong, made a timely appearance and brought up the sensational "Three Elders Case" in Shanghai, successfully keeping everyone on the sidelines.

The three elders were three powerful figures in Shanghai who suddenly met with a violent end, along with their respective bodyguards. But no one knew where the three big shots had met their demise.

Su Mengdie asked, "Who did it? Have they been caught?"

Zheng Qianli, the director of a bad movie, gave the answer: "He's been caught, and I heard he's about to be executed."

At this point, many viewers had a question in their minds: "They caught him? Then how does the story continue? A wrongful conviction? Will the main characters overturn the murderer's case?"

The group of screenwriters, directors, and actors began to create stories based on limited information, which led to many humorous situations.

For example, the mysterious case consultant tricked Li Jiahui.

For example, it pays homage to the classic door-cutting scene in The Shining.

"It's watchable, but it'll do in the time it takes."

Zhang Yuan muttered something under his breath.

The movie wasn't particularly good, but it was watchable.

It's alright.

Then, in the film, Lee Ka-fai accidentally dropped his pen. He bent down to pick it up by lifting the tablecloth, but suddenly discovered that one of the people present had heavy chains tied to his feet.

Chains binding death row inmates!

It was tied to the leg of one of the consultants who was supposedly well-informed about the case.

The background music suddenly became tense, and Li Jiahui could hear the conversation that everyone had just had.

"I have specially invited two consultants today who have an in-depth understanding of this case."

"Our most important task now is to find the killer."

"Has the killer been caught?"

He's about to be executed.

"It was indeed robbery and murder."

Li Jiahui's eyes met those of the consultant, who revealed a strange smile.

The real culprit in the case also came to the script reading session!

In the movie theater.

Almost everyone in the audience felt a jolt of unease, and then a thought popped into their heads simultaneously.

"This is getting interesting."

Zhang Yuan muttered to himself, "The movie has officially started!"

Su Wenjun muttered to himself, "Does this movie even have Liu Yifei in it? It's a bait and switch. But the plot is actually quite interesting."

In the movie, the group discusses the killer's motives.

Various speculations.

Zheng Qianli had a wild idea: the murderer was impotent.

So they go on to describe the perpetrator as perverted, violent, urinating or defecating anywhere—basically, they go on to guess the most disgusting things possible and humiliate the killer in any way they can.

They even went so far as to put their arms around the real culprit and belittle him.

Li Jiahui couldn't help but remind Zheng Qianli.

Zheng Qianli didn't understand.

Li Jiahui told him to stay away from the real culprit, but he couldn't say it outright. He also told him to come over, but the culprit ignored him.

Li Jiahui had no choice but to point under the table, practically stating the obvious: "Perhaps there's a problem underneath."

The script meeting was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; the atmosphere was incredibly tense.

Silent film actress Guan Jingnian seemed to understand and guessed, "You mean the murderer?"

The audience was on the edge of their seats, curious about their reactions once they realized the real culprit was among them.

Little did Guan Jingnian know that she had misunderstood.

He didn't guess that crouching down to look behind the tablecloth would reveal the killer; instead, he guessed, "You mean the killer isn't impotent, but simply doesn't have one?"

As she spoke, she even made a delicate pinky finger gesture.

Zheng Qianli immediately replied: "The last eunuch of China!"

This turn of events caught everyone off guard, but upon closer inspection, it made perfect sense.

If someone says the killer might have erectile dysfunction, and you immediately point to your genitals and say there's a problem there, wouldn't people then assume the killer is impotent?

Unexpected, yet perfectly logical.

As a result, all the audience members burst into laughter.

If the previous laughter was still quite mild, then at this moment it finally turned into a burst of uproarious laughter.

Some audience members laughed so hard that tears streamed down their faces.