The announcement of the premiere of "Pegasus" instantly turned the film crew's official Weibo account into a hub of discussion.
Comedy films, on the surface, seem easy to make. As long as there are jokes and punchlines, they can elicit laughter.
However, contemporary comedy films often lack that authentic spark, relying on stale jokes. Audiences have grown weary, and what's intended to be funny can often feel awkward.
This is why many directors prefer making coming-of-age or artistic films over comedies. After all, crafting a coming-of-age drama is straightforward; a few misunderstandings and breakups following a template are usually sufficient and reliably effective.
Comedies are different. A joke loses its impact after the first use, as the audience will no longer find the same unexpectedly hilarious feeling the second time around.
Consequently, the comedy market has been stagnant for years, with no blockbuster comedy film emerging for quite some time.
"Jiangnan is quite confident with his tagline this time – 'laugh until you cry.' But isn't he usually the one writing poignant stories? Can he really write something comedic?"
"And I heard he's a director currently enrolled in university. I doubt the film's quality will be very high; it might just be a trial run."
"Let's wait and see. We'll check the reviews before buying tickets."
"You guys wait. I'm going to the premiere. Just for the name Jiangnan, I'll support it."
"Based on the production quality of his last film, 'Fearless,' any movie with Jiangnan as the screenwriter won't be bad. So go ahead and wait, but don't you dare snatch tickets from me!"
"Don't underestimate newcomers. Newcomers can also create great works. That's the lesson Ting Yu taught everyone, and it applies to Jiangnan too."
"When 'Chinese Paladin' airs next month, if you think she's incapable, would Jiangnan let her direct two shows? Is he just burning money?"
Online discussions about the film were mixed.
However, the majority expressed their support. After all, Jiangnan's reputation was undeniable. The success of "Fearless" had garnered him a fanbase, and many fans from the online literature community also pledged their support.
As the premiere of "Pegasus" approached, the crew finally began their promotional efforts.
Among them, lead actor Chen Jinjiang, in addition to attending the premiere ceremony at the cinema, also took to Weibo to post: "This film is absolutely worth the ticket price!"
In the public eye, Chen Jinjiang was merely an unsuccessful actor, never having played a leading role. Apart from portraying numerous supporting characters, he was generally seen as a recognizable bit-part actor.
Furthermore, there was a known conflict between him and the popular idol Zhang Qingyun.
According to leaks, Chen Jinjiang was a supporting actor in the drama "Ask Sword Seek Immortal." During a scene, Zhang Qingyun allegedly forgot his lines and threw a tantrum, getting Chen Jinjiang kicked out of the production. For this, Chen Jinjiang was severely criticized by Zhang Qingyun's fans for a long time.
Later, it was rumored that Jiangnan had taken notice of him and cast him as the protagonist in "Pegasus." Zhang Qingyun's fans continued to mock him, questioning what good a "background actor" could possibly produce.
However, a subsequent online trend emerged: "Cursing Zhang Qingyun leads to fame." This resulted in Zhang Qingyun's Weibo being attacked by numerous smaller accounts, causing his fans to temper their behavior.
Now, with "Pegasus" nearing its release, this incident has resurfaced.
"Zhang Qingyun is truly suffering. If Chen Jinjiang becomes popular again, his 'metaphysical' rumors might be confirmed..."
"I heard that Wu Xingyang became a hit with 'Fearless.' Zhang Qingyun's Weibo comments were so vicious he had to disable them and only recently reopened them."
"Haha, is this the power of metaphysics? Zhang Qingyun probably never imagined that as a popular young star, he'd be cursed online because of metaphysics."
"If I were an actor in the film industry, I'd try it too. Maybe it really works."
"I have a feeling that after 'Pegasus' becomes a massive hit, Zhang Qingyun will also benefit."
For the onlookers online, popular idols were generally disliked, so they were more than happy to spectate.
They even hoped "Pegasus" would be a huge success to see if the "metaphysical" influence could truly challenge Zhang Qingyun's top-tier status.
Like any other film, upon its release, many film critics would emerge to analyze the cast and market potential.
Douban, an authoritative film review and rating website in the industry, generally considers films with a score of 7 or above as high-quality productions.
Since this was Jiangnan's first comedy film as a screenwriter, many were curious yet hesitant, planning to wait for the film's score before deciding to watch.
Douban scores are typically updated on the second day after the premiere, as audiences need time to watch and then rate the film.
However, even without the official scores, many critics were already making predictions.
"The cast of this film is even weaker than 'Fearless.' The success of 'Fearless' was largely due to Ting Yu's theme song."
Unlike "Fearless," which featured Ting Yu singing the theme song, the premiere of "Pegasus" saw no sign of Ting Yu, aside from the crew's promotional activities.
The cast of "Pegasus" was indeed weaker, with the entire film featuring actors with no prior recognition, and even the lead roles were filled by actors who had previously played minor parts.
"Fearless" benefited from Ting Yu's theme song drawing in audiences; Ting Yu herself is a massive draw, so its success was understandably attributed to her influence.
This film, however, had done nothing of the sort. After a simple promotional push from the crew, it was released directly.
Everything seemed rather casual, not at all like a big-budget production with extensive advertising.
Therefore, many professional film critics were not very optimistic about the film's prospects.
Gu Qianqian and the crew members went to attend the premiere ceremony. Zhang Guizhi, however, had woken up Su Yu and the others early, preparing to go to the cinema with relatives to watch the film.
As it was Gu Qianqian's first film, the relatives naturally wanted to support her.
Lin Yanyu, seeing everyone's enthusiasm, decided to book an entire cinema hall.
"Yanyu, you don't have to spend so much. We can just buy tickets," Aunt Su Yunfang said, exceptionally pleased today.
Her daughter, Gu Qianqian, had become a prominent director, an experience that felt rather extraordinary to ordinary people.
From last night until now, she had posted over a dozen times on her social media, urging everyone to go to the cinema to support her daughter, Gu Qianqian.
Watching television is a common form of entertainment, and the entertainment industry feels distant to ordinary people. They would post about seeing celebrities, but now, to see a film made by their own daughter, Su Yunfang felt an exceptional sense of pride.
"Sister Qianqian's film is a comedy. If we book the whole hall, you won't have to worry about disturbing other viewers when you laugh," Lin Yanyu said with a smile.
"Let's go! The premiere is about to start. This is the first time we're all watching a movie together," Zhang Guizhi urged.
With that, they no longer hesitated.
The entire family, a formidable procession, headed towards the cinema.