"Master, your film was so brilliant! The action sequences were absolutely amazing!"
Wang Baobao chattered incessantly to Wang Shu as they exited the cinema.
"Those are just flashy moves. True martial arts are killing techniques. I'll teach you when the time comes!"
Wang Shu's lips curved into a proud smile as he patted Wang Baobao on the shoulder.
"Yi Mou, do you think there were any issues with this film?"
Wang Shu then turned to Zhang Yi Mou, who was standing beside him, and asked.
"There were minor issues, but they barely detracted from the overall quality. Your film is truly excellent, and as a martial arts promotional film, it has certainly achieved its purpose!"
Zhang Yi Mou analyzed it point by point.
He was familiar with the film's director, Chen Bo, who had graduated from the Beijing Film Academy.
Although Chen Bo hadn't achieved meteoric success in the film industry over the years, he had at least gained a modest reputation.
Many medium to large-scale productions invited Chen Bo to direct.
On one hand, Chen Bo's capabilities far surpassed those of less experienced directors.
On the other hand, his fees were significantly lower than those of renowned directors.
Therefore, considering all factors, Chen Bo was often a suitable choice.
When he saw this film today, he initially expected it to be like Chen Bo's previous works, with excellent cinematography but a mediocre storyline.
However, to his surprise, Chen Bo had managed to compensate for the storyline's weakness this time, making the entire film feel much more complete.
Especially since the pacing of the story was so brisk, better suiting the audience for commercial films.
It was a stark contrast to his earlier artistic style, though not entirely different.
This was because the film's cinematography and visuals were outstanding, even serving as a highlight.
While the audience might not fully appreciate these aspects, as a professionally trained director, Zhang Yi Mou paid particular attention to them.
He was also sensitive to visuals and colors, and when filming his own projects, he paid close attention to the color palettes and framing of shots.
Therefore, upon noticing these details in Chen Bo's film, he couldn't help but marvel that Chen Bo was even more accomplished in these areas than himself.
"You must have noticed the camera work in this film, and the colors. You understand what they signify, don't you?"
Wang Shu remarked calmly.
Zhang Yi Mou, walking beside Wang Shu, was taken aback by his question. He hadn't expected Wang Shu to ask such a professional question.
After all, many industry professionals who had graduated from this field might not even pay attention to such details, yet Wang Shu, who was not professionally trained, was able to notice them.
"I didn't realize the boss also had an interest in audiovisual matters!"
Zhang Yi Mou said to Wang Shu with a hint of disbelief.
"I just have a little understanding."
Wang Shu replied with a faint smile.
...
"The first screening of the film has concluded. Everyone, please monitor the reviews on various film forums. Report any issues promptly!"
In Chen Bo's studio, many employees were intently staring at their computer screens.
The screens displayed various film discussion forums, and their task was to quickly find comments related to "Kung Fu Youth."
Then, they needed to control the narrative and engage in public relations for any negative feedback.
The film reviews on the opening day directly impacted subsequent box office performance.
If the opening day reviews were overwhelmingly positive, the box office would experience increasing growth in the following days.
Conversely, if the word-of-mouth was poor on the first day, the box office would plummet dramatically.
Therefore, conducting thorough public opinion monitoring on the opening day was of utmost importance.
It was even common for competitors to deliberately organize online trolls after the premiere to post a flood of paid articles.
These articles would then shape public opinion, aiming to ruin the film's reputation and divert traffic to their own productions.
...
"Have the articles about Wang Shu and 'Kung Fu Youth' been written yet? If so, send them out quickly!"
At this moment, in Guo Jinming's studio in Shanghai, employees who were working overtime were busily writing articles.
"Almost done! There aren't many negative points about this Wang Shu, and most of them have already been spun. There are no well-known scandals!"
One employee stammered.
"Even if there are no negative stories, you need to fabricate them! Make up things about diva behavior, sleeping with fans, anything!"
A woman weighing over 200 pounds glared sharply at everyone in the studio.
"It was because of our mistake earlier that we lost our pre-sale champion. We cannot afford any more slip-ups this time, or you can all pack your bags!"
The woman spoke with a harsh tone.
The others nodded, not daring to utter a word, and continued typing on their keyboards.
A few minutes later, the film discussion forums began to see new posts appearing.
'Saw 'Kung Fu Youth' and felt deeply dissatisfied, I must say!'
'Worst film of the year, no exceptions, it has to be 'Kung Fu Youth'!'
'Truly speechless, what kind of trash movie, it affects my sleep! @'Kung Fu Youth''
...
Within minutes, a cascade of negative articles erupted, as if in a sudden burst.
They even occupied the entire page of the forums.
Upon clicking on these posts, one could find lengthy diatribes, criticizing "Kung Fu Youth" from every conceivable angle.
"No, is the楼主 (OP) sure they watched this movie? If I hadn't just walked out of the cinema, I would have thought I watched a different film."
"Exactly, the楼主 is completely fabricating things. This film is of very high quality, arguably one of the best domestic action films in recent years!"
"Hilarious. Have you even watched 'Kung Fu Youth'? You can't even find good points to criticize."
Meanwhile, many audience members were also leaving the cinemas and were preparing to write their own reviews on the forums they frequented.
However, as soon as they opened the sites, they encountered several posts with similar writing styles, blindly attacking "Kung Fu Youth."
Consequently, they began to retort.
However, the accounts that posted these articles seemed like robots; no matter how much they were argued with, they never replied.
More and more people began to understand what was happening.
"Director Chen, we've just detected that some film forums are intentionally posting articles to slander us."
An assistant entered Chen Bo's office and informed him.
"Have the IP addresses been traced?"
Chen Bo asked.
"Yes, they're from Shanghai accounts!"
The assistant replied directly.
"Shanghai? How many companies with films currently showing have offices in Shanghai?"
Chen Bo inquired further.
"Only one, Guo Jinming Studio, which produced 'Era of the Petty Bourgeoisie'!"
The assistant answered.
"Guo Jinming! Hmph! That scoundrel would only resort to such despicable tactics!"
Chen Bo slammed the table in front of him, speaking angrily.
"What's the current situation? Is the impact significant?"
Chen Bo looked up at the assistant and asked.
"Currently, many audience members who watched our film are reporting and refuting these slanderous articles. Their tactics aren't having much of an effect this time!"
The assistant replied.
"Alright, continue monitoring. Do not let your guard down!"
Chen Bo waved his hand at the assistant.
For him, although the film was completed, this was the most tense period.
The film's release meant his work was being evaluated by the audience, so his mind was highly strained.
Moreover, he had to be extremely cautious, as sometimes a small detail could determine the stability of the entire structure.
Just like now, Guo Jinming had already made a move against him.
He would not easily let this insult slide.
As the posts fermented, in just over half an hour, those few posts were directly turned into trending topics by netizens.
Many unsuspecting viewers clicked to see what was happening, only to find pages filled with criticism.
They then gradually understood that these were misleading propaganda articles.
In the second screening, the box office for "Kung Fu Youth" even exceeded that of "Era of the Petty Bourgeoisie," which ranked second, by double.
"No wonder, 'Era of the Petty Bourgeoisie' is truly garbage!"
"If my girlfriend hadn't insisted on watching it, I wouldn't have come to see this terrible film, it was a waste of time!"
"Don't even mention it, I slept through the entire movie!"
More and more viewers began to criticize "Era of the Petty Bourgeoisie" as being terrible.
The number of people criticizing it even surpassed the number of posts that had previously attacked "Kung Fu Youth."
This was the effect of backlash.
If a film's pre-release promotion is too aggressive, but its quality upon release is poor, then this situation will occur.
"Era of the Petty Bourgeoisie" had an enormous promotional budget before its release.
In the week leading up to its release, it had banner advertisements on major websites and screens in supermarkets for an entire week.
It even deliberately created marketing concepts to target the so-called "petty bourgeoisie" demographic.
However, when the audience was lured in by the overwhelming promotion, only to find the film to be so poorly made.
They would unreservedly criticize and condemn the film.
And because "Era of the Petty Bourgeoisie" had a substantial pre-sale box office, it led to even more criticism.
Within less than an hour, most of the posts were discussing why "Era of the Petty Bourgeoisie" was so terrible!
"Boss, our articles are completely ineffective. Our movie is already being trashed like this!"
In Guo Jinming's studio, an employee said to the overweight supervisor weighing 200 pounds.
"In that case, release all those negative stories about Wang Shu I compiled earlier. We need to divert their attention!"
The overweight supervisor said directly.