On March 25th, at eight in the evening, the submission deadline for the promotional film trailers ended.
Due to new regulations, a total of thirty-six film and television companies submitted their trailers.
Compared to the original one hundred and sixty-eight companies that registered to participate, this was a reduction of two-thirds.
National Radio and Television Administration.
Following the recent internal purge, Ye Sucheng was temporarily in charge of the International Day promotional film, while the General Police Department dispatched Deputy Director Ge Qing from the Propaganda Department.
The former director of the film review department had also been arrested for violating the law and was now being temporarily replaced by Deputy Director Wang Heming.
Film Review Room.
Ye Sucheng sat in the main seat, with Ge Qing and Wang Heming on either side. Below them were the staff of the film review department.
After everyone was seated and the computers were turned on, Director Ye began, "Tonight is the first round of review. The main check is for any artists with misconduct, or personnel from non-compliant teams and companies appearing in the trailers. No segment can be overlooked."
"Yes!"
After the arrangements were made, all staff began the first round of review.
After more than three hours of screening, a total of fifteen trailers contained artists with misconduct, or personnel from audited teams and companies.
The first round of review directly halved the number of submissions.
"The second round of review will check for overly revealing scenes and excessively vulgar segments within the films."
Ye Sucheng announced the rules for the second round of review.
Many films nowadays relied on vulgarity and suggestive content to attract audiences.
However, this selection was for International Day promotional films, and overly vulgar or revealing content would not be considered.
At one in the morning.
After strict screening and selection, only eleven films remained.
When the list was submitted, the deputy director of the film review department approached with a computer and said to the three responsible leaders, "Leaders, this is a trailer from Feihe Film and Television. It may require your personal review."
Upon hearing "Feihe Film and Television," Ye Sucheng and Ge Qing exchanged looks of confusion, except for Wang Heming.
The relationship between Gao Fei and Ye Sucheng was well-known, and it was three sentences spoken by Comrade Gao after drinking that prompted Director Ye to vigorously rectify the entertainment industry.
Ge Qing, as the responsible person sent by the General Administration, had also been instructed by his superiors to pay close attention to Feihe Film and Television.
Now, with the deputy director of the film review department specifically presenting Feihe Film and Television's trailer, it made the two of them curious.
Could it be that Feihe Film and Television's film was also skirting the rules?
However, this was the review stage, and the two of them could not interfere too much. If there were indeed violations, they could only proceed according to regulations.
The deputy director opened the trailer, dragged the progress bar to the end, and pressed play.
The next second, what appeared on the screen was not filming footage, but segments with pixels blurring out certain parts.
After watching the five-minute segment, Ye Sucheng and Wang Heming both turned to look at Ge Qing, as the scope of the segment was beyond their decision-making authority.
Noticing their gazes, Minister Ge understood their meaning. After some thought, he said, "The issue with Feihe Film and Television needs to be reported tomorrow. I will notify you as soon as the result is out. For now, you can temporarily announce the list of the other ten selected films."
...
The following morning.
As the filming for each crew's movie was completed, there were no major sensational news items for the paparazzi to break.
The top trending topics on the three major social platforms were political news, livelihood news, and some social hot topics.
Compared to the previous era of entertainment stars exposing each other's scandals before the rectification, the trending lists were now orderly.
At nine o'clock, a celebrity-related trending topic finally appeared.
It was about Lang Yuan, a famous pianist from Long Guo, performing a new piano piece at a concert in Shencheng.
The popularity was not high, only ranking twenty-fifth on the trending list.
At eleven o'clock, the National Radio and Television Administration issued a statement, announcing the list of selected films.
One was the general list of participating selections, and the other two were the list of selected films and the list of eliminated films for the International Day promotional film.
The three lists, after being promoted by the platforms and garnering attention from netizens, topped the trending list within twenty minutes.
As countless netizens finished reading the entire list, they suddenly discovered a problem.
Where was Feihe Film and Television's film?
The film "Black and White Edge" from Feihe Film and Television was clearly listed on the general list.
However, it had mysteriously disappeared from both the shortlisted and eliminated lists.
Everyone knew that Feihe Film and Television was invested in by Gao Fei and Wang He, and Gao Fei also served as the male lead in the film.
Therefore, netizens had been looking forward to the film starring Gao Fei.
But now, besides the general list, the film had vanished from the other two lists, which inevitably brought to mind the previous rumors of Gao Fei being blacklisted.
In less than half an hour, the trending topic of "Gao Fei is blacklisted" reached tenth place on the trending list.
Closely following it was "The film starring Gao Fei has been silently blacklisted by the Administration."
The emergence of these two trending topics immediately caused an uproar online.
First, a few production companies whose films were selected for the International Day promotional film began to leverage the trending topic of Gao Fei being blacklisted.
"Feihe Film and Television is a new company, but being too high-profile is not a good thing. It's normal that they weren't selected. Please netizens pay attention to Cheng Bo Film and Television's 'Pursuit,' which features several big stars and is definitely worth watching."
"Whether Feihe Film and Television has been blacklisted is another matter. If you like stories of love and hate, please pay attention to Songsong Film and Television's 'Fireline Moment,' which is full of love and hate..."
The selected production companies were very direct, making a few comments about Feihe Film and Television before advertising their films in the trending news.
The actors who participated also started to come online, promoting their respective films in the trending topics about Gao Fei being blacklisted.
These companies, after being selected, did not consider buying trending topics to get on the list. Instead, since the popularity surrounding Gao Fei was already high, why not use this opportunity for free to promote their films? At least it could save some expenses.
Seeing that the National Radio and Television Administration had not come out with an explanation, Yuanfei Studio had also remained silent, and Feihe Film and Television's official account had not posted anything.
The anti-fans, who had been waiting for an opportunity, could no longer sit still.
With Gao Fei and Wang He collaborating, the number of anti-fans had increased more than tenfold. The trending news was immediately dominated by the army of anti-fans.
"Finally, this brat Gao Fei has been blacklisted. It feels so satisfying. I heard Wang He and the others invested fifty million. Now their film is wasted, and they're going to lose it all!"
"What fifty million investment? That's an exaggeration for the public. The actual investment was one hundred million. These two internet scums, losing one hundred million, they deserve it!"
"Investment? Tens of millions? I don't understand! I only know that Gao Fei is blacklisted, and Wang He's money is wasted. That's all that matters, it's comfortable!"
"What good films can two popular internet personalities make? A bunch of brainless fans still expect their films. Unbelievable!"
The anti-fans were already celebrating with champagne in the trending news.
However, Gao Fei's fans were accustomed to this. As long as it wasn't an official ban, external news was considered rumors to his fans.
Therefore, the fans merely treated it as a joke and did not confront the anti-fans directly.
But Wang He's fans did not have this mindset.
Everyone had been looking forward to Feihe Film and Television's film. The sudden emergence of the "Gao Fei is blacklisted" trending topic immediately made them restless.
First, they posted comments in the trending news, telling those spreading rumors to shut up.
But after being educated by the anti-fans, they immediately went to Yuanfei Studio's account and Wang He's account comment sections to inquire about the truth of the ban.
Wang He's account comment section was relatively calm, filled with comments like "Poor Young Master Wang."
However, on Yuanfei Studio's account, Wang He's fans seemed to have gone mad, scolding fiercely in the comment section.
"Gao Fei, you son of a bitch! Since there was a risk of being blacklisted, why did you still take the leading role, preventing our anticipated film from being released."
"Instead of focusing on making music, you started investing in films and even took the male lead. It's fine if your tens of millions are wasted, but my husband's funds are wasted, where can he turn for justice?"
"You bug, can't you just play by yourself? Why did you have to drag Young Master Wang into it? Now look, the invested money is gone, the film has disappeared, and the country has completely banned you!"
Within minutes, Yuanfei Studio's account was filled with comments from Wang He's fans cursing Gao Fei.
Gao Fei's fans, who were waiting for an official announcement, did not want to comment. But seeing Wang He's fans becoming increasingly offensive, the two groups of fans immediately started fighting in the comment section.
The small anti-fans who received the news also entered the comment section, fanning the flames and spreading hate.
Yuanfei Studio's account became a battlefield for three factions.
Just as the selected production companies were heavily leveraging the trending topic to promote their films, and fans and anti-fans were engaged in a three-way battle,
The National Radio and Television Administration once again issued a statement.
"After deliberation, to ensure fair competition, selected films will be released in the designated cinemas and on designated websites.
Selected production companies are requested to submit their completed films by April 1st, along with a film introduction and stills.
Regarding Feihe Film and Television's 'Black and White Edge,' due to certain segments requiring further discussion, it is still under review.
The result of whether it passes the review will be announced within three working days.
Furthermore, we hope netizens will refrain from spreading rumors online. We also hope that relevant platforms will control the authenticity of trending topics and news."
The official account of the Administration's statement announced the subsequent regulations for the selected films.
At the same time, it cleared Gao Fei's name, stating that he had not been blacklisted and that the trending topics online were all rumors.
After the Administration's statement, the online war instantly subsided.
It wasn't that the anti-fans and fans stopped fighting, but rather that the three major social platforms, after being reminded by the Administration, immediately removed the trending topics related to Gao Fei being blacklisted.
They also simultaneously pinned the Administration's news to the top of the trending list.
Now that the truth was revealed, no one continued to smear Gao Fei, and the anti-fans also fell silent.
Wang He's fans, seeing that the film was still under review and had nothing to do with Gao Fei, immediately went into hiding and stopped speaking.
However, Gao Fei's fans were not willing to let it go.
When the truth was not out, they blamed Comrade Gao. Now that the truth was revealed, and without an apology, they were pretending to be silent. All of Gao Fei's fans immediately flooded Wang He's account.
The verbal battle only subsided when Young Master Wang went online and closed the comment section.
The biggest beneficiaries of this battle were those shortlisted production companies that had aggressively leveraged the trending topic of being blacklisted to promote their films.
Ten film and television companies, even after the trending topics were removed, had gained millions of views. They had truly reaped a bountiful harvest.
Gao Fei and Wang He, although they also gained attention from the rumored trending topics,
The fans of both sides, who were originally like family, were finally divided by this incident.
...
On March 27th, Feihe Film and Television's "Black and White Edge" was successfully selected.
...
On April 1st, eleven film and television companies had submitted their completed films to the National Radio and Television Administration.
At the same time, the Administration announced:
"All eleven films will be released in designated cinemas and on designated websites on April 5th.
For a period of ten days, the top three films will be determined based on box office performance and website purchases.
The top three films will be showcased on international cinema screens."
Following the announcement, the four-day film promotion from April 1st to 5th officially kicked off.