Chapter 51: Taking a Stance
The press conference hadn't even begun.
Rongchen Film and Television's public announcement indirectly caused another sell-out of dae jang geum DVDs.
Whether industry professionals or ordinary citizens, they flocked to video stores to buy or rent dae jang geum DVDs.
The scene was like the immensely popular Princess Pearl from back in the day.
Unexpectedly, the first to openly support Li Chen was Zhang Guoli from the Beijing Circle.
"I watched one episode of "dae jang geum" and it made me so angry! I never want to watch it again!"
"I completely support Rongchen Film and Television's view!"
"The drama actually claimed that acupuncture originated in Korea!"
"The education I received since childhood was that acupuncture was researched by Chinese people, so how did it become of Korean origin?"
"There are many similar plots."
"Regarding these serious errors, I don't know why it was imported?"
"We in China have many more enjoyable TV dramas than "dae jang geum"!"
In Rongchen Film and Television's chairman's office.
Yang Siwei excitedly said, "Boss, even Zhang Guoli has spoken out. You're brilliant, boss!"
Li Chen shook his head and chuckled, "I have to say you're naive again."
Yang Siwei looked puzzled.
"Although Zhang Guoli spoke out, he didn't hit the nail on the head."
"His words are also contradictory; how can he know there are many similar plots after only watching one episode?"
"Also, this drama doesn't explicitly state that acupuncture originated in Korea."
Yang Siwei had also watched dae jang geum these past few days.
Now, thinking about it carefully, it did seem to be the case.
Zhang Guoli was the first well-known actor to take a stance, and his statement added fuel to the public opinion.
As Li Chen expected.
Before South Korea even made a move, many people in China had already come forward to refute Zhang Guoli's statements as baseless.
dae jang geum never mentioned that acupuncture was invented by them.
Hong Kong also couldn't stay silent, as dae jang geum was currently popular throughout Southeast Asia and every country.
In January of this year, it also landed on Hong Kong's TVB television station.
It aired for three months.
And during prime time, it squeezed out the broadcast time of many Variety shows.
Many people sang praises for this Korean drama, but there were exceptions.
little heavenly king: Jay Chou.
"dae jang geum? I haven't watched it."
"Don't let the Korean Wave become more and more arrogant. The Chinese Wave is the coolest."
As soon as this statement was made, the little heavenly king, with his massive fan base, was also pushed onto the headlines.
A large number of patriotic netizens were joined by a powerful new force, primarily composed of the little heavenly king's fans.
Public opinion widely applauded the little heavenly king.
Now, any celebrity or artist in the mainland with a brain knew which side to take.
Fan Bingbing: I've never watched Korean dramas, let alone their historical dramas. Is five thousand years of our own history not enough for me to watch?
Zhang Ziyi: After watching our historical dramas, is there still a need to watch others?
Following closely, the popular Li Bingbing, Hu Ge, Deng Chao, and Nie Yuan also came forward to express their support.
Even Miss Liu couldn't stay silent: "The Return of the Condor Heroes hasn't even finished filming, and I haven't even had time to watch Chinese Paladin, so how could I have time to watch dae jang geum?"
Li Chen seriously suspected that Miss Liu was coerced by Bearded Zhang.
"Director Li, keep up the good work! This girl represents the Return of the Condor Heroes crew and supports you, hehe."
At a time of high winds and dangerous waves, Li Chen played his first card.
Recently, twenty top domestic TV drama producers collectively launched an attack on Korean dramas!
Zhang Qiang, the general manager of Beijing Forbidden City Film and Television, which produced scripts like "The First Building in the World" and "Shenzhou," spoke out.
"I watched dae jang geum, but it's nothing special!"
"In terms of production level, costumes, and props, it simply cannot be compared with our domestic TV dramas!"
"I completely agree with Rongchen Film and Television's view!"
And Director Yan of the Central Academy of Drama Film and Television Production Center spoke even more passionately.
"The Korean Wave won't last for many years!"
"They don't have complete independent production companies; they are all produced internally by television stations."
"The production cost of each Korean drama episode is around 1.2 million RMB, and better ones are 2 million."
"While we only have three to four hundred thousand!"
"We can produce films of much higher quality than their cost, despite such a large difference in production costs."
"Can Korean dramas compare to that?"
Following this, Ding Xin, the producer of "Never Rest Your Eyes," also stated,
"Such a large TV drama market in China, yet a big piece of the pie is given to Korean dramas!"
"How could dae jang geum not be popular? Leave some space for domestic dramas!"
Han Sanping's call came, his tone already somewhat solemn.
"Li Chen, this time you'll either be recorded in film history or be utterly disgraced!"
"I'm risking my old life to go all out with you."
"If you mess this up, I'm not done with you!"
Li Chen laughed loudly on the phone: "Han Dong, don't worry!"
"If you really don't have confidence in me, then don't come to the press conference."
"Nonsense! Am I, Han Sanping, someone who retreats at the last minute?"
"They were beaten to a pulp during the Korean War, how can we disgrace our ancestors!" Han Sanping said angrily.
"I'm telling you, the live broadcast of this press conference is very important."
"Leaders from the bureau and even the ministry will be watching."
"Don't you take this lightly!"
He hung up Han Sanping's call.
Hou Hongliang laughed: "Han Dong is also anxious, probably because of pressure from above."
"Li Chen, you've kidnapped Han Dong this time. Han Dong is risking his career to fight Korea with you!"
Li Chen laughed: "You're playing a game no less significant than mine."
"I'll give you credit for the statements from these twenty TV drama producers!"
Hou Hongliang didn't dare to take credit: "No, this isn't my credit. Even if I didn't approach them."
"They were already planning to make a joint statement at the TV drama theme market seminar held in June!"
On April 19, another piece of news added more fuel to the fire for this press conference!
Sina, Phoenix Net, and China Economic Net immediately published a piece of news from the Cannes Film Festival.
The 58th Cannes Film Festival, scheduled to open on May 11, held a press conference today.
The list of nominees for this year's competition unit was announced.
China's sixth-generation Director Li Chen's "shoplifters," Wang Xiaoshuai's "shanghai dreams."
Taiwan director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "Three Times."
And Hong Kong director Johnnie To's "Election."
A total of four Chinese-language films will compete for the Golden Palm award along with 16 other films.
As soon as the news broke, it immediately shocked the Chinese film and television circles.
"Good heavens, no wonder shoplifters didn't accept interviews or set visits since filming began."
"It turns out Director Li was aiming for Cannes!"
"Director Li's style has finally become clear: either he doesn't make a sound, or he makes a splash!"
"I'm increasingly looking forward to the crossing the guandong launch press conference!"
Since Chen Kaige won the Golden Palm, no one had received this honor for more than a decade.
Unexpectedly, this time, four Chinese-language films were nominated for the main competition unit.
Mainland's sixth-generation directors accounted for half of them.
One of them was also the domestic billion-dollar Director Li Chen.
And he was the legal representative of Rongchen Film and Television, which is currently at the center of public attention!
Han Sanping enthusiastically called Li Chen, laughing triumphantly on the phone.
It seemed as if the pressure from the press conference had lessened somewhat.
The school leaders and Director Tian also called him back to school to give him a good encouragement.
The principal was even more delighted, stating in front of Director Tian.
If he could win, he would make shoplifters a textbook for Beijing Film Academy!
However, netizens always manage to 'affect the innocent.'
"I really hope Director Li and Director Wang come back empty-handed, so Director Chen can brag for another ten years."
"Especially Director Li, at this age, he's a big commercial film director and a member of the billion-dollar club."
"If by any chance he wins the Golden Palm award, sigh, it's a mess, a mess, everything's a mess!"
When accepting media interviews, Director Chen remained composed.
"I hope Xiaoshuai and Li Chen can achieve something after me, as winning the Golden Palm award is not easy."
Miss Liu immediately video-called someone: Congratulations, Director Li! Even I was kept in the dark. I'll deal with you when I return to Beijing!
In the video, Miss Liu, wearing a high-necked beige sweater and resting her hand on her cheek, looked vibrant and radiant.
Li Chen's heart softened.
The Return of the Condor Heroes is almost finished, Miss Liu is returning to Beijing soon, and I'm about to annihilate the Korean threat in one battle!
The beauty looks forward, awaiting my triumphant return…
Deleted a lot, felt like I didn't write much.