I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 246 - 246 245. Set for May Day_1

Chapter 246: 245. Set for May Day_1 Chapter 246: 245. Set for May Day_1 “It got through the approval, huh, not easy.”

Lu Ban had been worried that a movie with intense scenes would get held up, since in the world where he originally lived, these kinds of things were strictly censored.

To his surprise, it could be released in theaters without any cuts at all.

Could there be something fishy about this?

After receiving the approval results, Lu Ban felt much more at ease. He first produced the third trailer, and before releasing it, he approached Mei Juan, the person in charge of the theater distribution sector.

This was an efficient middle-aged woman, who had also been in charge of contacting Lu Ban for the premiere of “Cry”.

“Mei, I have a new film that I want to release, can you schedule a time slot for it?”

Although that’s what Lu Ban said, in reality, there were many procedures for a movie release, such as submitting a sample film, application documents, proof of approval, and then both parties would need to negotiate and discuss the schedule, revenue split, and arrangements for screening, which inevitably involved a lot of trouble.

But as Mei Juan was in charge of the theaters for Jiangcheng Industries, and Jiangcheng Industries was Lu Ban’s backing, the two were essentially one and the same, allowing some complications to be skipped. Lu Ban was essentially giving her a heads up, somewhat like a notification.

“A new movie, let me see, the nearest slot is probably around May Day…”

As Mei Juan was speaking, she suddenly snapped back to attention.

“Wait a minute, Lu, when you say new film, do you mean ‘The Madman’s Mouth’???”

“Yeah, it’s already passed the approval, just waiting for you to arrange everything.”

Lu Ban answered.

“You’ve finished it???”

Mei Juan found it hard to believe.

Although Lu Ban had previously released films quickly, considering the stockpile of films, it wasn’t that outrageous.

But this time, “The Madman’s Mouth” obviously started its preparation only after “Cry” was completed, and there was also a short film “Nameless City” in between. If that was truly the case, it would mean Lu Ban had finished a new film in less than three months and obtained the qualifications to be screened in theaters.

This speed, even a production team’s donkey wouldn’t be able to match.

As everyone knows, the more accomplished the director, the more they like to work on their projects. Some directors spend over a decade preparing for the movie of their dreams, while others can spend several days shooting a single scene, striving for excellence.

Therefore, good works are rare, and even renowned directors don’t have such high output.

This isn’t a matter of funding or manpower; it is simply not doable.

But Lu Ban’s efficiency was just too high, and the quality of his work was consistently solid.

Mei Juan had been in the movie industry for a long time and had never seen a director like this.

“Yeah, it’s done. May Day works too, it’s a holiday after all.”

Lu Ban wasn’t hung up over it.

He was confident he could meet the conditions within a month.

Actually, from Lu Ban’s point of view, an ideal release time would be during Qingming Festival, as it would be fitting for the occasion.

But reality was not that simple; these complex processes could not be completed in just a few days.

After several days of effort, once the release date of May 1st was settled, Lu Ban released the third trailer.

Zheng Li, a forensic medicine student from Yannan Medical College, had been following Lu Ban since “Cry”, naturally including the Silence Project.

Previously, because he didn’t believe “Cry” was so scary, he made a bet online and watched the movie offline with others.

After watching the movie, “Cry” earned him a group of good online friends.

It was a friendship forged by wetting their pants together, tight as iron.

After the release of the first two trailers for “The Madman’s Mouth”, the internet was abuzz with all sorts of opinions, and various comments about Lu Ban emerged.

But Zheng Li thought all of that was nonsense.

If they had seen “Cry”, they wouldn’t have such opinions.

They’d probably gape, eyes widened, paralyzed and peeing themselves at the slightest hint of gossip.

Just like Zheng Li at that time.

Besides, his online friends had discussed it with him.

A large part of the reason why Lu Ban had so many detractors now was because he touched someone else’s cake.

Zheng Li was initially puzzled; high box-office results and good movies should be a boon for the film industry, right?

But after his net friends explained it to him, Zheng Li had an epiphany.

In the past, many movies in the industry were shoddily made, with markets saturated by celebrities known more for their popularity than talent. Even the better-produced films featuring a mix of fresh faces and veterans could only be considered mediocre at best.

The audience’s sense of aesthetics had been brutally assaulted, nearly losing the knowledge of what a good movie really was.

After all, if the movies released every year were trash, watching anything felt much the same.

Why would these film companies stand up and make quality films when they could just lie down and make money?

But Lu Ban’s movies were fine productions that had audiences exclaiming with delight. After watching a Lu Ban film, seeing any other crudely made ones felt like an eyesore.

Many people, including those in the media and film circles, would say it’s very difficult to make good movies—with restrictions everywhere—it was almost impossible to produce quality films out of necessity.

However, Lu Ban’s movies loudly slapped these people in the face, telling the audience that good movies can indeed be made.

Comparatively, those mass-produced trashy films naturally found no refuge and could hardly make any box office impact. The film companies that invested in these duds, along with the capitals behind them that couldn’t easily profit, naturally regarded Lu Ban as a thorn in their side and wished to see him fail.

In such circumstances, armies of paid internet trolls became active.

And their methods of denigration varied.

Some were bluntly derogatory, claiming that Lu Ban’s works were subpar and garbage. That kind of trolls usually didn’t confuse the general public, as the quality of the films was evident for all to see.

Others practiced reverse psychology, heaping excessive praise on Lu Ban, elevating him to a god-like status in the new world, and using him to disparage other movies in an attempt to provoke conflicts. This type required some discernment to identify, and not all the undiscerning public could avoid being led astray.

Still others were more cunning, appearing objective and fair while secretly employing bait-and-switch tactics and concealing biases, praising with faint damnation. In the internet age, many viewers who skim content could be misled.

However, these debates vanished into thin air after the third teaser of “The Madman’s Mouth” was released.

As soon as the teaser went live, Zheng Li clicked on the video.

This teaser differed from the previous two, with a greater focus on narrative, virtually laying out the film’s central plot: the search for a missing novelist, whose writings seemed to have turned into reality.

The special effects of the monsters shown were incredibly realistic, as if such creatures truly existed. Simply by the visuals alone, this movie could make back its investment.

“However, now that the main plot is out, it seems easy to clone,” Zheng Li thought.

Zheng Li had seen some video platforms already producing knockoff web series like “Madman’s Mouth,” “The Maniac’s Mouth,” and “Tomb Raider: The Lunatic’s Mouth.”

With this new premise where reality and fiction intertwined, wouldn’t high-quality clones proliferate?

With so many clones, there are bound to be one or two that accidentally hit the mark in terms of plot, wouldn’t that be awkward then?

But before his doubts could settle, Zheng Li saw the end of the teaser.

At the end, a few big characters revealed the release date of the movie.

May 1st.

Not next year, not the year after, but this year’s May 1st.

That is, in less than half a month.

Zheng Li had thought the movie would premiere soon, but he never imagined it would be this soon!

“Is this the speed of Lu Ban?”

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Asking for recommendation tickets, asking for monthly tickets!