Chapter 94 094 Remote Influence

Chapter 94 094 Remote Influence

"If creating [crap] is considered art, then I never want to understand such art in my lifetime."

"As someone who doesn't understand art, I never even considered watching *The Swordsman*."

"LOL, this humble viewer hasn't even complained about how bad your movie is, and you're already blaming the audience."

"I will never contribute another movie ticket to Zhang Zhizhen in my life."

Zhang Zhizhen's comment section was inundated with a flood of criticism. He still wanted to put on the airs of a big director, but the netizens simply weren't having it.

Zhang Zhizhen, accustomed to being high and mighty, completely failed to grasp the thoughts of ordinary viewers. Naturally, the viewers didn't need to understand his thoughts either.

Just keep criticizing.

In the end, it was the investors of *The Swordsman* who stepped in and demanded Zhang Zhizhen to shut down the comment section, and this war of words finally came to an end.

Going against the audience means going against money, and the investors clearly understood this fact better.

However, by this point, *The Swordsman*'s reputation was completely ruined.

On Friday night, *The Swordsman*'s box office stalled at 74.23 million and didn't budge further. By Saturday morning, when the weekend box office heat should have started to surge at this point, *The Swordsman*'s total box office was only 1.76 million.

Yes, just 1.76 million.

On the daily box office charts, *The Swordsman* was currently in 7th place, trailing behind two newly released films and several successful summer blockbusters.

As eye-catching as the 1.76 million box office was, *The Swordsman* still held the top spot in terms of screening rate.

Among the films released that day, *The Swordsman* had twice the screening rate of the top-grossing suspense film, yet its box office revenue was less than one-tenth of the latter's.

"The ultimate move to drive away the audience, never seen anything like it."

"Let's be honest, isn't this what the *The Swordsman* crew deserves?"

"Director Zhang, don't be discouraged. At least the 1.76 million box office audience understands your art."

Throughout Saturday, *The Swordsman*'s daily box office didn't break 10 million. As a result, while the box office of the comedy and suspense films released in the same period had already surpassed 100 million, *The Swordsman*'s total box office was still only over 80 million, failing to break 100 million.

Even more awkwardly, half of the 80 million box office came from pre-sales before the movie's release.

Despite the dismal performance, yet no one expressed sympathy for *The Swordsman*.

If the director says the audience doesn't understand art, should those who don't understand art rush to contribute to the box office?

#Not that desperate#

The power of Zhang Che's fans alone clearly couldn't save *The Swordsman*'s box office.

On Saturday, *The Swordsman* managed to maintain a high screening rate, but by Sunday, even the wealthiest cinemas couldn't afford to waste screening slots on *The Swordsman*. Its screening rate kept dropping, quickly falling behind the two films released in the same period, even lower than a film that had been out for 20 days.

The investors and distributors also found it hard to continue buying trending topics for *The Swordsman*—the production cost had already exceeded 100 million, and the promotional expenses were also a staggering figure. Since the movie wasn't making money, they at least needed to save on costs.

"At this rate, *The Swordsman* will struggle to break 100 million," Xu Wen said. "Yesterday's box office at least passed 10 million, but today, I doubt it will even reach 5 million."

The box office trend was like a rollercoaster, plummeting straight down.

Lu Xu commented, "Quite remarkable."

But he felt that "The Swordsman" deserved this.

The script made no sense, and at most, the audience might think Zhang Zhizhen was uneducated. But he blamed the low box office on the audience—who could tolerate that?

Having been an actor for so many years, the only lesson Lu Xu could summarize was that those who disrespect the audience will definitely pay the price.

Zhang Zhizhen's arrogance was palpable, but the key was, what right did he have to be arrogant?

Just because he directed the nonsensical movie "The Swordsman"?

Lu Xu wasn't angry because Zhang Zhizhen snubbed him and then talked behind his back. To be honest, from the beginning to the end, Lu Xu had been very dissatisfied with the script of "The Swordsman."

"The Swordsman" was definitely not made for the audience but to satisfy Zhang Zhizhen's so-called "fantasy" of art. It could even be said to be his artistic fetish.

There was no difference between this and an exhibitionist, except that exhibitionism is physical, while Zhang Zhizhen's was mental.

He felt sorry for everyone who watched "The Swordsman."

"I wonder how the 'The Swordsman' team will handle this next," Lu Xu sighed. "Things are probably going to heat up again."

"Absolutely," Xu Wen said. "Just wait and see."

"The Swordsman" had an investment of around 300 million, with most of the scenes shot on location, and only the fight scenes used green screens. The movie had a massive promotional budget since its launch, and although the final effect was limited, the money was indeed spent.

Assuming the total costs amounted to 500 million, the film would need to gross about 1.5 billion to break even.

But now, "The Swordsman" has a total box office of less than 100 million, and the theaters will inevitably take their share first.

In other words, who will cover the massive loss from "The Swordsman"?

The lead actor Wei Qiao had vanished, while Zhang Zhizhen was busy arguing with netizens. Logically, the director himself should take the blame.

But who is Zhang Zhizhen?

A veteran in the film industry. He had been making movies even before the concept of box office existed in domestic cinema. With his temper, he would never accept blame for "The Swordsman's" failure.

After all, he preferred to blame the audience for not appreciating the art than admit that "The Swordsman" was a piece of crap.

So, on the day "The Swordsman" flopped, Zhang Zhizhen, with his temper restrained, appeared in front of the camera.

He gave an exclusive interview to "Film" magazine.

In the interview, Zhang Zhizhen admitted that he was not well-prepared for "The Swordsman." He had created a "self-imagined" martial arts world but failed to create the one the audience wanted to see.

The casting process also had its flaws: "We didn't stick to the initial choices, and some actors misinterpreted the script. I shouldn't have compromised."

The "Film" magazine reporter didn't inquire about the identity of "some actors," but in the following interview, Zhang Zhizhen praised the male lead Wei Qiao and also praised the actress Yin Yin, who played the adopted daughter in the film.

So, it was clear who the "some actors" were.

Zhang Che's fans were livid.

"Twenty minutes can't be worse than your 140-minute disaster, can it?"

"Oh, so now you're passing the buck, huh?"

"The movie itself is terrible, thank you. It's terrible, yet you keep pushing Zhang Che into the trending topics daily. What exactly are you thinking, Mr. Director?"

"Without Zhang Che, 'The Swordsman' wouldn't have even made 50 million at the box office!"

In fact, it's not entirely Zhang Zhizhen's fault.

Because Zhang Che was in a funk again.

He didn’t dare to post a public Weibo, but instead popped into a fan group one night to express his regrets.

"I couldn’t make sense of the script and felt anxious every day."

"There were some parts of the script I didn’t understand, but I didn’t dare to ask. If I had, I’d have definitely gotten an earful from the director."

"It’s on me. The director was so worked up, I should’ve stepped in, otherwise things wouldn’t have escalated to this point."

"I just can’t wrap my head around how The Swordsman turned out this way."

Someone took a screenshot of Zhang Che’s words and sent them to Zhang Zhizhen.

Zhang Zhizhen hit the roof.

Zhang Zhizhen brought Zhang Che on as a stand-in for Lu Xu. He hadn’t even pointed fingers at Zhang Che, and here Zhang Che was, airing his grievances!

Did he beg Zhang Che to join The Swordsman or something?

It’s just that Lu Xu turned it down, and Zhang Che was all gung-ho about it. As a somewhat well-known actor among the younger generation, Zhang Zhizhen settled for him.

Zhang Che feels like he got the short end of the stick, but if he hadn’t acted in The Swordsman, where would his high-end endorsements come from? Where would those top magazine covers have come from?

Sure, The Swordsman bombed, but that doesn’t mean Zhang Che didn’t gain something from it.

Now he’s pointing fingers at The Swordsman for marketing it as "Zhang Che’s debut film." Wasn’t that a handshake deal between The Swordsman team and Yehai Agency?

Besides, the character Zhang Che played wasn’t exactly a masterpiece of artistry. In terms of understanding film art, Zhang Che was inferior to other actors in the crew.

This is obviously the fallout from doing too many TV dramas.

Zhang Zhizhen went all out to fix Zhang Che’s bad habits. Even the one scene Zhang Che could brag about was only good because Zhang Zhizhen nailed the angle and vibe.

Zhang Che doesn’t even look like that in person!

Zhang Che started it, so he can’t cry foul when Zhang Zhizhen finishes it.

Zhang Che should be thanking his lucky stars he got to be in The Swordsman.

Zhang Zhizhen’s blunt comments in his Movie Magazine interview were clearly a shot at Zhang Che, but soon, Yehai Agency also reacted—

Soon after, a longtime former employee of Zhang Zhizhen’s studio spilled that he’d been "on a losing streak for years." The role in The Swordsman was initially offered to Lu Xu, but Lu Xu refused after reading the script.

"Anyone who watched the movie knows how bad it is. Lu Xu’s known for his script sense—why would he dive into this dumpster fire?"

"Lu Xu didn’t agree, and then he started saying he didn’t know Lu Xu. Didn’t you invite Lu Xu first?"

"This guy’s a mess. There’s no end to the shady stuff about him. Logically, the director should take responsibility for The Swordsman’s flop, right? But he insists on blaming Zhang Che. The protagonist of The Swordsman is Wei Qiao, not Zhang Che."

Yehai Agency had high hopes for The Swordsman, as Zhang Che is currently their most profitable male artist. Seeing Zhang Che being ruined by The Swordsman, Yehai naturally no longer cared about Zhang Zhizhen’s prestige in the industry.

The Swordsman really did a number on Zhang Che.

But—somehow, the blame looped back around and dragged Lu Xu into it again.

A reporter specifically went to interview Lu Xu, asking him what he thought about The Swordsman’s flop and if he was glad he didn’t take the role in The Swordsman.

In the high-definition close-up shot, Lu Xu's entire expression was filled with confusion: "Huh?"

The reporter: "..."

His face was good-looking, but he... looked a bit clueless.

The interview was going nowhere.

Of course, Lu Xu eventually responded—he posted a meme of a puppy riding a bicycle and running away, with the caption: "Dog knows nothing."

"Mixing Chinese and English, very clever."

"Definitely someone who gets art."

"LOL, if he really got art, he’d have read 'The Swordsman' script and taken the part."

"Lu Xu: Thankful for my younger self who didn't understand art."

Lu Xu tried to shift the blame, since 'The Swordsman' failure wasn’t his fault. He didn’t get why the reporter linked him to this movie.

He’d at least auditioned for 'Rising Sun,' but never touched 'The Swordsman.' The second he saw the script, he knew he’d steer clear of this movie.

The problem was—

When 'The Swordsman' came out, 'The Year I Was 18' was wrapping up.

While 'The Swordsman' team was fighting, 'The Year I Was 18' kept getting more popular. Netizens joked that Lu Xu was 'low-key flexing,' teaching 'The Swordsman' a lesson across genres.

Lu Xu: "..."

#I didn’t do it, don’t make things up#

#Am I really that capable?#

#I’ll try it someday#

#How do you chant the spell again?#