With only two days left until the National Day Golden Week, the official Weibo account of the film “A Farce,” which had remained dormant and unresponsive to all the criticism, swearing, and frenzied mentions, finally posted an update.
A Farce V: The National Day holiday is almost here. Happy holidays in advance, everyone! Don’t forget to come to the cinema and watch me. [Video]
The attached video turned out to be a compilation of a trailer and street interviews for promotion.
Many melon-eating netizens moved their small stools to eat melon under this Weibo. Few netizens were genuinely interested in the content; most were inquiring about the various issues surrounding the film that had emerged recently.
Some even directly screenshotted and shared the critiques and condemnations from film critics, attempting to attract the official account’s attention, hoping it would make some shocking statements to satisfy everyone’s expectations.
With everyone harboring different motives, the comments under the official account’s post became chaotic, with questions and doubts becoming increasingly sharp and pointed.
However, the staff managing the Weibo account had been instructed beforehand not to respond to any comments or questions. After posting this update, they swiftly retreated and returned to their dormant state, ignoring any mockery or taunts from netizens without responding.
Unable to get a response, those who had prepared a slew of doubts and intended to stir up trouble had no better option but to swallow their questions.
After this wave subsided, some finally began to pay attention to the trailer and interview footage itself.
Industry insiders immediately recognized the editing as highly professional and outstanding. Despite being less than two minutes long, the video packed in one punchline after another, with the trailer alone making viewers laugh out loud.
Industry insiders who originally had a wait-and-see attitude toward the film began to reevaluate it.
If the movie was indeed as funny as the trailer suggested, avoiding clichés, then even without deeper substance and being purely a nonsensical comedy, it might still achieve a decent box office performance.
However, given the common issue of trailers being better than the actual films, the general public had long lost faith in them.
So, despite the impressive “A Farce” trailer, most still didn’t have high hopes for the movie itself.
After all, from the current situation, the massive online hype surrounding this film had little to do with its quality but was more a result of excellent timing and the production team’s outstanding ability to capitalize on it through exceptional marketing.
Moreover, with such high expectations, there was also a risk that if the film’s quality and word-of-mouth were poor, it could face severe backlash.
The crew of “A Farce” was now standing on the edge of a cliff. One step forward would lead to a bottomless abyss. If the movie itself couldn’t live up to the hype, the slightest misstep would result in them crashing and burning.
As the assistant director had said, this was a high-stakes gamble.
If they won, their marketing efforts could potentially become a case study for future reference, providing a new approach for others.
If they lost, a financial loss would be the least of their concerns. The lead actors and director would face severe setbacks. Actors might have a chance to recover, but for Director Ye Zhou, a fall would jeopardize his entire career’s future prospects.
Under such immense pressure, not only were netizens highly curious about the film, but many industry insiders and media outlets were also intrigued.
Would this gamble result in a win or a loss?
While undercurrents swirled outside, the crew involved in the film’s production had regained a sense of calm after their initial panic.
They carried out Ye Zhou’s orders in an orderly manner and made final preparations for the film’s release.
Under the scrutiny of the masses, the National Day Golden Week finally arrived.
After the extended marketing efforts and continuously rising hype, Ye Zhou’s endeavors to pique audience curiosity were finally bearing fruit.
Three days before the premiere, pre-sale tickets were nearly sold out. Apart from a minority who couldn’t get tickets for other films and wanted to watch a movie during the holiday, most purchases were driven by the intensive, almost brainwashing marketing campaign.
Regardless, having sold almost all tickets before the premiere, the film’s publicity team had exceeded expectations from a marketing perspective.
That night, after bidding Jiang Tingyuan good night, Ye Zhou didn’t check any messages. He simply turned off his phone and went to bed.
Though he expected it might take a while to fall asleep, unexpectedly, his mood was remarkably calm and unruffled. He fell asleep within minutes of lying down.
At 11:30 PM, a gossip blogger with millions of followers posted a picture of a movie ticket.
The Number One Melon Eater V: Originally planned to watch “Hidden Dragon,” but fans kept @-ing me to check out the controversial “A Farce” and see if it’s good or bad. To satisfy their wishes, I had to painfully give up the “Hidden Dragon” premiere. Half an hour before showtime, I’m currently waiting in the theater’s resting area for admission. I’ll give you all the inside scoop. [Image]
Apart from them, many other influential bloggers in the industry also posted similar updates about sacrificing themselves to help fans assess the film’s quality.
The topic #AFarcePremiere# even appeared on Weibo’s hot search list, rapidly climbing the ranks and successfully making it to the fifth spot just before midnight.
At midnight, the film officially began screening, and the first batch of audience members who purchased pre-sale tickets entered the theaters, initiating the first wave of examination into the film’s quality.
The assistant director’s wife looked at her motionless husband sitting in front of the computer with concern: “Lao Meng, don’t stay up anymore. You haven’t had proper rest for a while now. Get some sleep early tonight; we’ll know the results in the morning.”
Indeed, the assistant director had been under immense pressure, sleeping less than five hours per night, staying up until the wee hours, and waking up early. After nearly half a month of this routine, his originally plump figure had visibly thinned.
The assistant director turned to his worried wife and sighed slowly: “You go ahead and sleep. Tonight is the premiere; we’ve put in so much effort, and it all comes down to tonight. I really can’t sleep.”
As his wife, she was well aware of her husband’s efforts and hard work put into this film. Understanding his dedication, after unsuccessfully persuading him twice, she didn’t insist further.
She poured him a cup of hot water, took out a blanket from the cabinet to drape over him to prevent him from catching a cold, and then returned to their room.
The assistant director’s computer browser had over a dozen tabs open, including Weibo, major media outlets, and several short video platforms, all exclusively searching for “A Farce.”
After his wife left, the assistant director could no longer hide his anxiety, gripping the mouse and constantly refreshing the pages, attempting to view any emerging news about the film instantly.
Although he knew that even if the audience reactions were negative and online criticism began surfacing, being aware earlier wouldn’t change anything.
Yet he couldn’t control his compulsive page refreshing.
To the assistant director, it felt like an eternity had passed, but the clock in the bottom right corner showed only five minutes had gone by.
“F*ck,” he muttered a curse under his breath, opening his desk drawer to retrieve a pack of cigarettes, taking one out and putting it in his mouth.
The trembling from excessive nervousness prevented the assistant director from lighting the cigarette in his mouth despite several attempts with the lighter.
This only aggravated the already anxious assistant director, prompting him to toss the cigarette and lighter back into the drawer.
Staring at the computer screen, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
He had been in the industry for so many years and worked with dozens of productions. On average, he participated in the shooting of two to three movies every year and worked as an assistant director for various directors, including many famous directors.
Yet never before had a film caused him such anguish and sleeplessness – or perhaps there was one time he felt this way.
It was when the first film he worked on was nearing its premiere shortly after he started his career.
He couldn’t recall how many years it had been since he last experienced such anxiety-induced insomnia.
In fact, this time felt even more unsettling than his first experience.
He wasn’t alone in sharing this sentiment.
Hardly any crew members involved in “A Farce” could sleep soundly that night. Using their phones or computers, each anxiously monitored online comments about the film.
This night was no different from any other night, but it was exceptionally agonizing for the crew.
Of course, the person who should have been the most anxious, Director Ye Zhou, was sleeping soundly in his bed.
Not because he didn’t care about the film – after such exaggerated marketing, Ye Zhou had staked his entire career on this gamble.
Was he not anxious? Of course, he was.
In fact, his anxiety was no less than any other crew member’s that night. His method of coping, however, was unique – going to sleep early.
At 12:20 AM, the first comments about the film began appearing online.
The influential blogger ” The Number One Melon Eater,” who had promised fans a live commentary and feedback before entering the theater, posted:
12:21
The Number One Melon Eater V: Hahahahaha what the f*ck is this ridiculous plot!
12:36
The Number One Melon Eater V: Hahaha they’re all dumbasses for sure, laughing my head off!
1:36
The Number One Melon Eater V: Don’t ask why it took so long to update, it’s because I was laughing!
2:11
The Number One Melon Eater V: To be frank, this director is just too witty. It’s like an old sow wearing a bra, one absurd twist after another – you’ll never guess what ridiculous development comes next! Hahahahaha
2:23
The Number One Melon Eater V: The showing is over, the showing is over! The movie was high-energy all the way through. A few words can’t do it justice – let me collect my thoughts first, then I’ll give you a proper review!
This blogger’s fans waited for the review until after 4 AM, but apart from a screen full of “Hahaha,” they found no useful insights. Instead, they were left even more intrigued and furious enough to curse him out.
Flooding the comments were remarks like “Asian Pigeon King1In Chinese internet slang, the word “pigeon” (鸽子 ge zi) is used to refer to someone who fails to deliver on a commitment or “flies away” from their responsibilities. It comes from the notion of homing pigeons getting lost and not returning.,” “Heartless Haha Maniac,” “Useless Dimsum,” and “Haha Champion at Being Useless.”
Many other bloggers found themselves in a similar predicament. It wasn’t that the film had no flaws, but these bloggers had already labeled it as a bad movie when they bought the tickets initially.
They had zero expectations, but upon actually watching it, they were caught off guard, realizing…
Hey, this movie doesn’t seem as bad as imagined, it’s actually kind of good??
It’s like expecting a 20/100 score for a film but being pleasantly surprised by it scoring 70/100 – far exceeding your initial low expectations. The shock and delight can temporarily overshadow most of its flaws.
Of course, there were still negative reviews, but the criticisms echoed the pre-release doubts that netizens were already tired of hearing, offering nothing novel.
Naturally, the fresh “Hahaha” and “So good!” praises stood out more than the reheated complaints.
After the premiere, apart from Weibo, the short video platforms that had been hotbeds of discussion also started buzzing with activity.
In contrast to Weibo’s mixed reviews, the comments on these more mainstream video platforms catering to all age groups, from youth to middle-aged and elderly, were overwhelmingly more positive than expected.
The acceptance level was clearly much higher compared to youth-dominated social apps like Weibo, Zhihu 2某乎 (Mouhu): a nickname for Zhihu (知乎), question-and-answer site similar to Quora, where users can ask and answer questions on various topics. The raw says Mouhu, but I am keeping at as Zhihu, and Haijiao Forum3海角论坛 (Haijiao Forum): A forum site similar to Reddit, where users can create and join communities, post and comment on various topics, and vote on content..
It’s not that there were no negative reviews, but they were far fewer than expected. On the contrary, the positive reviews far exceeded initial expectations.
As online discourse became increasingly imbalanced toward negative commentary over time, the crew had braced for the worst.
But this outcome was far beyond anyone’s expectations.
With bloodshot eyes, the assistant director browsed audience reviews all night without blinking.
The next morning, his wife woke up to find him absent and opened the study door to see him in the same position as the previous night, motionless in front of the computer.
“Lao Meng?”
Addressed by name, the sleep-deprived, haggard-looking assistant director with a pallid complexion and dark eye circles turned around, startling his wife.
She hurried to his side, anxiously asking, “What’s wrong? You didn’t sleep at all? Is your body not feeling well?”
Under his wife’s worried gaze, a relaxed smile finally emerged on the assistant director’s pale face.
“It’s a success.”
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