novellhall Chapter 51: I am Fan Binbin
Chapter 51: I am Fan Binbin
The next morning, Wei Yi opened the Beijing Film Academy's internal forum.
The pinned post has been changed.
This is no longer the old post titled "Breaking News! Wei Yi, a 05 graduate of the Directing Department of our school, has been favored by the fashion editor of VOGUE."
Instead, it was Li Hua's post from last night: "Has anyone seen the rough cut of the film I directed, directed by Wei Yi? Let's chat?"
Nearly 800 buildings have been constructed below.
Wei Yi scrolled down.
"Holy crap, are you sure this is the finished product and not just behind-the-scenes footage??"
"Wei Yi's photography skills are so outrageous, how could he take such a picture? He must be fishing."
"Stop washing upstairs. A photographer and a director are two different things. Being good at taking photos doesn't mean you can make a movie."
"Just between you and me, I've suddenly gained some confidence. Turns out even geniuses can have their mishaps."
"I've seen that dress before. Mu Tingting wore it in Hengdian, so this wrestling scene is real, not staged."
"So, does that mean this movie was really badly made?"
Is it possible that the top scorer in the college entrance examination will never make a movie? After all, a perfect score is achieved entirely through rote memorization and practice.
Some people spoke up for him.
"You just wait, the full movie will prove you wrong."
"Have you forgotten those photos Wei Yi took of Gong Li? I bet this film will have a plot twist."
Is it possible that this world is a giant script?
The two groups have been arguing since last night until this morning.
The post was always tagged "HOT", and the number of online users never dropped below three digits.
Wei Yi opened Tianya again.
Li Hua's post, "Insider News: The Debut Film by the Top Scorer in the Beijing Film Academy's Entrance Exam May Flop...", has been marked as a featured post by the moderator. The comments section below is even more lively.
"Finally, someone's telling the truth. I always thought this was too far-fetched. A top scorer in the college entrance exam, shooting fashion spreads and making movies—does that make sense?"
"Even Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li can't save this movie? Then I'll truly believe it's awful."
"Haha, I love watching geniuses fail. It's so satisfying."
Some people have raised questions.
"OP, you say you're in the industry, what proof do you have? Are you just making things up?"
Li Hua replied to the comment questioning him with "Believe it or not," followed by a cigarette-lighting emoji.
This response actually made more people believe it.
in the afternoon.
Wei Yi received a call from Tian Erzhuang.
As soon as the call connected, Tian Erzhuang's voice cracked: "Wei Yi! You better go check out Tianya right now! Your movie's been bombarded with negative comments even before it's released!"
"Teacher, I saw it."
"You saw it and you're not worried?! I just had someone contact Sina Entertainment to ask them to take the news down, but I don't know anyone on Tianya. You need to find Han Sanping quickly..."
"Teacher," Wei Yi interrupted him, "I had someone post that thread on Tianya."
There was a three-second silence on the other end of the phone.
"...What did you say?"
"I asked Li Hua to post that thread on Tianya and the one on our school forum."
Tian Erzhuang lowered his voice, filled with disbelief: "Do you know what you're doing? Your own movie hasn't even been released yet, and you're paying people to smear it?"
"It didn't cost any money," Wei Yi corrected. "I just treated him to a meal and gave him two packs of Xuanhemen cigarettes."
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
"Teacher," Wei Yi leaned against the editing table, his tone unhurried, "you've seen my film, do you think it's bad?"
"...Not rotten."
"That's right. The film is good, but the problem is that the audience doesn't know it's good. If we take the traditional route—newspapers praising it, television praising it, press conferences praising it—the audience will passively accept it, but they won't actively spread it. Because they think 'good' is something they should expect."
Wei Yi switched the phone to his other hand and continued:
"But if we first let them think it's 'bad,' let them criticize it, let them laugh at it, let them think I've failed, then on the day of release, when they go to the theater and watch it, all the 'bad' will turn into 'good,' and all the laughter will turn into a slap in the face."
"At that point, they weren't just passively accepting it; they would actively recommend it to everyone around them. This kind of influence is something that ten million in advertising fees can't buy."
Tian Erzhuang remained silent for a long time.
Then he said, "...Who did you learn from?"
"I figured it out myself."
"Was this in the marketing plan you showed Han Sanping?"
"Um."
"You think you can do this? Yu Jianhong might not be able to!"
"Teacher, I got a perfect score on the college entrance exam."
What does a perfect score have to do with marketing?
"It's not a big deal," Wei Yi smiled. "I just wanted to remind you that I don't always play by the rules."
Tian Erzhuang sighed, whether out of helplessness or resignation, it was hard to tell.
"Fine. Since Han Sanping supports it, he must have his reasons."
"Um."
After hanging up the phone, Wei Yi picked up the instant noodles on the table; they were already cold.
He didn't pay any attention, finished his meal in big mouthfuls, and threw the empty bowl into the trash can.
at the same time.
The posts on Tianya and various university forums are still gaining traction.
Fan Binbin's agent, Zhang Chuanmei, was the first to call, her voice tense: "Director Wei, there are people attacking you online. Do you need our help...?"
"No need," Wei Yi said. "Let the bullets fly a little longer."
Gong Li's phone call followed immediately.
After he explained a little, I understood that he had done it on purpose.
She chuckled on the phone, "Xiao Wei, that's quite a novel trick you've come up with. Does it really work?"
"I'm not sure either, but let's give it a try."
"That's quite interesting." After a pause, she said, "When your movie becomes a huge hit, I want to see you surprise everyone."
After hanging up on a bunch of concerned phone calls, Wei Yi sat down at his computer, opened the post on Tianya, and refreshed the page.
The number of comments is almost 10,000.
Looking at the entire Tianya forum, this is an extremely exaggerated figure.
The top comment reads:
"To be honest, it's a bit of a pity. He was the top scorer in the national college entrance examination, one of only a handful in the whole country. Wouldn't it have been better to do scientific research? Why did he have to go and make movies? Now look what's happened, his money went down the drain, and his reputation is ruined."
The thirty-second comment was a long one, consisting of several hundred words.
The gist is that "Wei Yi is a fraud from beginning to end. His good photography skills are because the Beijing Film Academy hired ghostwriters to shoot for him, and his perfect score on the college entrance exam was also a publicity stunt. Now that he's making movies, his true colors have finally been revealed."
Wei Yi smiled after reading this.
He shut down his computer, grabbed his coat, and went out the door.
The evening wind blew into the stairwell, carrying the dry chill unique to winters in the north.
I've been spending all my time in the editing room lately, and I've lost weight. I don't even know how many days it's been since I shaved off the stubble on my lip.
I've arranged to have dinner with Fan Xiaopang tonight, so I'll take this opportunity to get some fresh air and catch up with her.
With the internet buzzing like this these past few days, she must not be sleeping well either.
She needs to know beforehand that she added the water herself, so she won't worry unnecessarily.
I just stepped out of the teaching building.
My phone vibrated again.
This time it's a short message.
An unknown number sent a very short message, just one line:
"Director Wei, hello. I'm Li Binbin. I've heard there's been some negative feedback about your film online lately. I'd like to say that even if the film isn't perfect, your talent in cinematography is undeniable. If it's convenient, my sister and I would like to invite you to dinner to discuss future collaborations."
Wei Yi stared at the short message for a few seconds.
I thought to myself, no wonder this person was able to succeed.
This kind of perseverance is something most people can only dream of.
He looked up at the Beijing Film Academy campus under the night sky.
Then he looked down and typed a few words in reply:
"I am Fan Binbin."