Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years

Tap water and floods are vastly different.

Previously, some people questioned Lu Yu, which is tap water. This group of people, based on their own experiences and with the conscience and sense of responsibility of Huaxia People, challenged Lu Yu and his film.

Unfortunately, there were few responders, and they were ridiculed by the water army hired by the film company, causing them to doubt themselves. Some even received warning letters from lawyers.

On top of that, the issue of how to pass the review process was like a poisonous thorn, prompting many to leave this battlefield with a broken heart.

So, although a lot of tap water had been poured into the pool, because of the ebb and flow, this tap water never formed a substantial scale nor exerted much influence.

Now, the water army costing millions poured in like a flood, instantly filling up the pool.

Moreover, the publicity for Lu Yu's film was certainly focused on the movie itself.

And not on his behind.

So, faced with this one-sided heavy blow, Lu Yu's side was almost powerless to counterattack and plunged into a whirlpool of public opinion.

Additionally, Zhanqi Laiden, after initiating an all-out attack, didn't spend just tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.

To prevent any "interdimensional" energy from forcefully intervening, he went all in with three million.

An advance payment of one million!

An additional one million!

A final payment of one million!

He even reserved two million in operational funds, with the endorsement fee from Penguin all thrown into this by Qi Hao.

He didn't care about this money.

Mrs. Hua will be listed in October, by then he can get billions in funds in one go.

From then on, the attacker will become the defender!

Of course, money isn't blown in by the wind—well, mostly it was blown in by Tongzi—but if Lu Yu hadn't gone too far, Qi Hao wouldn't have struck back so hard.

Three million in marketing expenses isn't much for a commercial film.

Lu Yu's film cost eighty million, with at least thirty million for publicity.

However, his film had already been out for over a month.

The publicity certainly happened earlier, with the box office earnings occurring in the first ten days, especially as they entered the extended film key phase, by which point there wasn't much publicity budget left on Lu Yu's side.

Moreover, the best defense is a good offense.

Zhanqi Laiden poked a hole with three million, and even if Lu Yu spent five million, it might not be enough to plug it.

The film was dissected like a sieve.

Lu Yu went from having both parents to being worse than a beast.

What left Lu Yu's side most hurt was that although this eighty million budget film earned nearly a hundred million in box office in the first month, it definitely stood to lose money.

With an eighty million budget, it needs over two hundred million in box office to break even.

If it didn't make a billion in the first month, are they hoping for a miracle in the second month?

So, there will be no additional investment.

The producers have already lost their shirts; you can't expect them to go even further.

For a time, the internet and some media were filled with negative news about Lu Yu and his film.

Since Qi Hao invested so much money, the negative news from Lu Yu's previous two films was dredged up too. The pursuit of Lu Yu was relentless, and none of these PR experts were willing to cut him any slack.

Lu Yu's evil did not stop there.

The story of his spending money on drafts to smear Qi Hao also came out.

A PR company came out to "confess."

They said they felt guilty for taking on Lu Yu's business, which had them smearing Qi Hao and "Steel Piano."

They were blinded by greed, casting dirt upon Qi Hao and "Steel Piano."

This wasn't a slander by Zhanqi Laiden.

They truly did throw dirt at Qi Hao, and it was indeed money from Lu Yu's side.

A moral high ground disqualifies one from working in PR marketing.

Since they could take Lu Yu's job, naturally, they could also be bought by Zhanqi Laiden.

In fact, many in this flood had served Lu Yu before.

Last month they were still helping Lu Yu in his evil acts.

This month, they began to mend their ways.

Compared to the whole public opinion storm, this was just a sidebar of this wave of public opinion.

However, from the perspective of ordinary people, this sidebar is incredibly powerful.

Because righteousness is too distant for common people, but this jealousy-fueled desire to ruin someone is something they can relate to.

Lu Yu, who has been a director since 2002, is someone so arrogant he would keep his chin up even in death. Yet, fearing that Qi Hao, directing for the first time, would overshadow him, he used despicable means to tarnish Qi Hao's name.

This person... is truly wicked.

Ordinary folks listening to storytelling love asking one question: is this person bad?

When the public decides you're a bad person.

Then you really shouldn't struggle anymore.

Lu Yu's side will definitely quibble, ah no, explain.

He claimed it was a misunderstanding, that someone on the promotion side of the film company deliberately stirred things up without his knowledge.

There is surely some effect from this explanation.

Blame-shifting is an art.

As long as you throw it out there and someone catches it, things can go from big to small, and then to nothing.

Regardless, Qi Hao and his film "Steel Piano" are victims, objects of sympathy for the general public.

Surprisingly, the lackluster box office of "Steel Piano" experienced a surge.

It truly surged.

Much more than the box office gain "Wait and See" saw due to Qi Hao's "driving without a license" and "playing games in internet cafes."

"Steel Piano" premiered on a Friday, with a box office of two million, and the subsequent two days also surpassed two million, reaching seven million in its first week.

After all, it was Qi Hao's first film.

It's still a script bought for three million.

Lu Yu's attack on Qi Hao, although controversial, also brought some heat.

However, since the film is ultimately an art house film, the daily box office fell below one million starting from the fourth day.

Overall, if the movie can reach fifteen million in box office revenue, that would be good enough.

Yet, Lu Yu's antics sparked public opinion, evoking sympathy for "Steel Piano".

On the second weekend, "Steel Piano" set a new record, reaching five million in a single day.

By this time, the total box office already reached fifteen million.

Zhang Meng called Qi Hao probably after having too much to drink, this middle-aged man cried on the other end of the line.

He wasn't thanking Qi Hao for reviving his film.

He was complaining about this distorted movie market.

He said if he had directed, the film would only make six or seven million at best.

But with Qi Hao's traffic and hype, the movie reached fifteen million in box office within less than half a month, easily growing to twenty million with subsequent increases.

Why is that?

What is wrong with this industry?

He exposed his movie to more viewers, yet he not only doesn't appreciate it, but complains. However, Qi Hao does not think his perspective is skewed, nor does he answer the question because Qi Hao is an interested party.

Just like Lu Yu won't answer why his movie passed review.

He simply listened to Zhang Meng's complaints, only hanging up when there was no sound from the other end.

With Qi Hao's movie box office soaring, correspondingly, Lu Yu's situation turned dire.

Lu Yu's new movie's release was postponed, yet its box office plummeted unexpectedly, with daily earnings dropping from several million to hundreds of thousands, even tens of thousands.

This release postponement was for nothing.

The originally agreed school and organization viewings were also canceled.

Without engaging high-level powers from the start, unable to curb the overwhelming public opinion, Lu Yu and his film were forced to be sacrificed.

On June 20th, Qi Hao wrapped up filming for "First Love, This Little Thing".

Shooting lasted nearly two full months.

Filming this movie was very relaxed, almost as if Qi Hao was vacationing in Xiamen.

Lu Yang was extremely useful.

Having the chance to go to internet cafes to play games or practice driving occasionally.

He even took An Feng and a few others to an internet cafe once.

Almost got discovered.

Because they were too engrossed in games, returning late, An Feng's phone ran out of battery and shut down, prompting Ms. Liu to call him.

She seemed worried Qi Hao was up to no good.

Oh well, Qi Hao could only say that despite helping An Feng and having "favor" on him, Ms. Liu remained as stubborn as during "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

This old lady loses her rationality when it comes to her daughter's affairs.

Who knows what she'll do when her daughter starts dating.

Will she just watch from the sidelines?

After a farewell dinner, Qi Hao flew directly to Shen City to attend the Shen City International Film Festival.

Best New Director Award...

Here I come!

The red carpet at the Shen City International Film Festival was fairly lively, but the opening ceremony was the liveliest; whereas the closing ceremony and award ceremony red carpet, where Qi Hao arrived, seemed somewhat dull.

Qi Hao, Zhang Meng, Wang Qianyuan, Qin Hailu, Zeng Li, Tian Yu, the six of them walked the red carpet together.

Qi Hao walked in the center, flanked by Qin Hailu and Zeng Li.

These two Central Academy of Drama class of '96 beauts each held one of his arms without any shame.

Qi Hao knew Qin Hailu was helping Zeng Li.

If Qin Hailu didn't hold his arm, Zeng Li would definitely feel embarrassed to extend hers.

In the movie, one played Wang Qianyuan's ex-wife and the other his current wife, holding Qi Hao's arms made Wang Qianyuan look ridiculous.

Now, with both arms being held, although the rumors spreading weren't pleasant, there might be some mystical effect.

Qi Hao could refuse Zeng Li, but couldn't refuse Qin Hailu.

So if they want to hold, let them.

Holding arms and hands on the red carpet is basic etiquette.

Previously someone walked the red carpet and did a dramatic single-knee kneel, almost tearing a dress off a female celebrity in an accident.

This time, that accident-involved female celebrity was also here.

When she saw Qi Hao backstage, she gave him a flirtatious smile.

"Long time no see, you never come out when I invite you for tea. What have you been up to lately?"

"Filming," Qi Hao pretended to be very tired.

In fact, he had just wrapped up "First Love, This Little Thing" yesterday; if it wasn't for a mystical cheat, the resting chair, he would surely be very exhausted.

His faint dark circles didn't look out of place.

"Sister Zeng Li, mind if I borrow Qi Hao for a moment?" Fan Xuexue looked at Zeng Li who was still holding Qi Hao's arm.

Once famous and established, the aura is different.

At least at this moment, Zeng Li really couldn't stand up straight in front of her.

"You guys talk, I'll go take a look over there."

Zeng Li voluntarily retreated; she didn't want to offend Fan Xuexue and wasn't going to cling to Qi Hao forever.

"You seem really tired. Want to find a place where I can massage your head?"

Fan Xuexue suddenly asked after Zeng Li left.

"No... no thank you!"

So unrestrained, Qi Hao was a bit scared.