So You’re the Great Director Everyone’s Talking About?

One thing the Chinese film industry and capital are doing is driving away audiences: movie ticket prices and values. So now nobody goes to the movies anymore. I haven't been to the movies for years; every time I do, I'm disappointed. They distort my values ​​so badly, I can't stand it.

This book seems to suggest the protagonist doesn't make movies, and the author seems to be using a deconstructionist approach to expose big names in the film industry. If that's the case, there's no need to set the protagonist up as a directing student at the Beijing Film Academy; it's redundant and only adds a constraint.

Taking a video blogger too seriously; there were quite a few people criticizing "The Flowers of War" and "Nanjing Nanjing" when they were released.

I absolutely love these kinds of Chinese entertainment novels! These days, they're always talking about the three major Oscars? What era are we living in? Don't they understand foreign culture? For example, if I were reborn in the 90s or 00s and directed a film, would I die if I didn't pursue awards and just chased high box office returns?

There's no need to read any Chinese entertainment novel where the protagonist criticizes others. They're almost certainly plagiarizing and thinking they're the only genius. What right does a plagiarist have to criticize a work adapted to the times? And they even dare to claim they have sound values? A truly morally upright protagonist doesn't belittle others to justify their plagiarism; they leverage the generational gap to lead the elite of their time.

I feel like disenchantment is something that people are increasingly exposed to as China becomes more powerful in recent years. The disenchantment of celebrities, the disenchantment of foreign countries, the disenchantment of products, the disenchantment of life, the disenchantment of worldviews.

Some director reviews these days are laughable. They lack understanding of audiovisual language, haven't experienced film set life, and genuinely believe they can simply copy classic films just because they know the plot—it's utterly ridiculous. Furthermore, they don't even know which good films to copy.

The author's aggression is too low. What he considers to be the sharpest and most powerful attacks seem to the reader like a childish whine, weak and powerless. So what was supposed to be a pleasant experience turned into a frustrating one. Secondly, the author clearly doesn't understand how to operate a social media platform; the resulting copy is far less interesting than Zhang Shuo's and is extremely aggressive.

The lead actor has offended everyone in the film industry; how can he possibly have any actors or behind-the-scenes connections? Even if you manage to make it, what if they burn your film stock? What if there's a car accident involving the lead actor? What if theaters give you ghost screenings? What if they conspire to steal half of your box office revenue? Therefore, your movie is doomed to fail.

To help Westerners understand what happened in Nanjing in 1937, it's essential to use a language they can understand… Regarding the Flowers of War, aside from Zhang Weiping's questionable actions, there's not much else to say. After all, it involved 250,000 lives, and it's fair to praise the founders and guardians of the international safety zone.