I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 381 - 381 380. He stuffed money didnt he_1

Chapter 381: 380. He stuffed money, didn’t he?_1 Chapter 381: 380. He stuffed money, didn’t he?_1 “A new movie? Yeah, I guess it’ll be available to watch by then?”

Bai Qiquan was a bit distracted while video calling his girlfriend.

They had just had a holiday over the New Year, and now they were about to have another break. Despite having worked overtime until after ten every night for the past month, Bai Qiquan still felt that his job was incredibly chill.

He was planning to take advantage of the holiday to take his girlfriend abroad for some fun, and while discussing destinations, they happened to mention the film festival.

“Cannes is in France? I’ve actually been wanting to visit France.”

His girlfriend, Pang Zhen, stayed in Yannan for work, and the two were currently in a long-distance relationship. Nevertheless, Bai Qiquan felt that with his current income, it wouldn’t be long before Pang Zhen could move to Jiangcheng and find a more relaxed job to slack off at.

“How about we go to France for vacation and catch your movie along the way?”

Pang Zhen had a moment of inspiration and made the suggestion.

“Ah, I’ve watched that so many times myself, it’s just a heartwarming, artsy romance film. It should be released domestically too, right?”

Bai Qiquan wasn’t so sure.

He wasn’t too optimistic about this movie’s box office prospects.

Although the film was excellent, he felt it wasn’t as breathtaking as “Magic Tide,” and the target audience for artsy romance films wasn’t as broad as that for epic blockbusters. Furthermore, without a global simultaneous release, its box office might not even match that of “The Madman’s Mouth” or “Cry.”

Plus, it seemed a bit off to watch his own production while on a rare trip abroad with his girlfriend.

“Then you can’t accompany me to watch it?”

Pang Zhen said with a tinge of annoyance.

“Of course, I can, no problem, totally no problem, it would be an honor!”

Bai Qiquan didn’t make a fuss.

Where to go wasn’t important, who he went with was. What movie to watch also didn’t matter, watching it with someone did. After all, he had enough money.

“Is the movie any good?”

Pang Zhen asked again.

“It’s alright, pretty warm and healing, a road movie with just a touch of adventure elements.”

Bai Qiquan thought for a moment before answering.

“Then I’ll hype it up to my friends when the time comes, help you pull in some box office.”

Pang Zhen said excitedly.

“Domestically, it should be released in May, right? I’m not too clear on the schedule, it might be around June or July.”

Bai Qiquan’s team wasn’t responsible for the distribution, so he wasn’t sure about the exact release date.

However, the films participating in the festival would definitely be screened in France during the event.

Apparently, some hardcore fans of Director Lu Ban had already booked their flights and hotels for Cannes well in advance, just to catch this movie as soon as possible.

Bai Qiquan couldn’t quite understand them.

After finishing the video call and saying goodnight to his girlfriend, Bai Qiquan’s nightlife could finally begin.

He didn’t play games, because lately Pang Zhen had learned how to check his scores. If she found out he was still brawling late into the night, she might just give him an earful.

He could only log into his alternate account and play casually in the suburbs.

However, Bai Qiquan really didn’t play video games today.

He scrolled through some videos, watched a few supernatural ones to help with sleep, and then came across a notification.

“Cannes Judge Meredith Leslie Praises Director Lu Ban’s New Movie”.

This was a brief press release, primarily about the preparations for the Cannes Film Festival and the films being showcased, with a section dedicated to interviews with some well-known judges.

Mrs. Meredith’s interview stood out among them.

Firstly, she is a sharp-tongued queen, best known for fiercely critiquing works with her incisive words, and generally scathing towards commercial directors’ productions.

Secondly, she had previously published a brief article asserting that Lu Ban’s films were not even worthy of a nomination, which had sparked considerable attention, mainly because many of Lu Ban’s domestic detractors used it as a gospel to echo repeatedly.

Therefore, the sudden about-face of Mrs. Meredith in this piece of news caught people by surprise.

“After I finished watching ‘Peaceful Days in Spring,’ I reflected a lot. I had many words to describe this movie, but in the end, I gave up trying because any attempt to do so would be pale and irreverent. The best way to showcase a movie is the movie itself. I believe that every viewer who has seen this movie can feel its unique charm,” she said.

Bai Qiquan was somewhat taken aback by such a statement.

Wasn’t this person still criticizing the movie, and now she’s changed her mind after watching it?

Is this a bit… too exaggerated?

Bai Qiquan himself had seen the entire movie and, upon introspection, felt its content was indeed excellent, but just excellent. To transform a critic with such initial prejudice into what she is now, had Director Lu really added some computer components to the film?

It couldn’t be, really it couldn’t be.

He scrolled down to read the comments.

[Director Lu’s movie is truly unbeatable, the judge who used to look down on it is now licking its boots!]

[Am I the only one who finds it odd that a judge who was angrily criticizing Lu Ban a week ago is suddenly singing praises now? Could it be they were paid off to change their tune, or was it Lu Ban’s own PR stunt all along?]

[These comments don’t contain any key information, feels like they could be applied to any film, probably just lip service]

[I can understand if you say Lu Ban’s movies are scary; after all, we’ve all been frightened by them. But Cannes is for art awards—do his horror films really contain artistic elements?]

[I still have a lot of faith in Director Lu’s ability to shut those critical judges up with the quality of his work, impressive indeed!]

[No way, no way, are there still people who don’t understand the PR stunt of badmouthing to gain attention and then white-washing by reversing into over-the-top praise? Classic marketing.]

[When will this movie be released domestically? Are they only showing it overseas and not in our country?]

The comment section was yet another battleground, and Bai Qiquan had seen it all before. Initially, it made him angry, watching rhythm leaders change their tune and grit their teeth.

But later, he became indifferent, arguing that works are not money and not everyone will like them.

However, reading these comments still made him speculate.

If he hadn’t seen the original film, Bai Qiquan might really think it was super amazing, but he had seen it, and according to his own feelings, it didn’t seem like it was worth all the hype.

“Could Director Lu really have bribed someone?”

He became somewhat uncertain.

In mid-May, the Cannes Film Festival was about to commence.

This year’s festival gained additional business attention due to the screening of Lu Ban’s film; hotels around the city were booked full a month in advance, and even hotels in neighboring cities were hard to secure.

Previously, many festival tickets could be bought easily, with no worries about unavailability. But this year, tickets for ‘Peaceful Days in Spring’ were highly sought after, resulting in increased sales for other films as well.

Luckily, Bai Qiquan had two tickets given by his company.

He could take his girlfriend to see the movie together.

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