Well, when an industry person like Lao Wang says that a movie is "not good", he is actually saying "I don't have much confidence anyway", or simply "I look down on it a little".

This...... It's really surprising, but it's not too surprising.

The surprise is that the idea of "My Neighbor Totoro" came from Wang Wei after all - and Wang Wei has been like a flashbang in recent years, like a stock with a demonic trend, as long as his name is hung, many people have more confidence in the box office.

Then, Lao Wang chose to sing about this movie, which is hard not to be surprised.

But it's not incomprehensible.

This is indeed a very special animated film.

As Lao Wang said——

"It doesn't have a story with a beginning and an end in the popular sense, no interlocking plots, and even its main character, the big Totoro, only appears four times in the movie, and the first appearance is when the movie is nearly twenty minutes into it;"

And this non-human protagonist has no lines, no backstory, and even an unpredictable personality...... I advise you not to be too optimistic. ”

Yes, he didn't say that he thought the animated film was "rotten and hopeless" — otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to invest in it — he just wanted to say that expectations for the film weren't too high.

Especially at the box office!

And the feedback from the internal preview held later also proved his opinion-

Almost all the representatives of the theater chain criticized the story of "My Neighbor Totoro" for being too poor, and even felt that there was no complete story after watching it; The character is not prominent enough, and the protagonist appears too few times......

In short, the theater side basically expressed their reluctance to promote this extremely flat animation.

——This can be said to be the most unpopular work produced by Dunhuang in recent years, even if it is the sky cinema of the strategic partner, it has a flat attitude.

On the other hand, among the critics who participated in the internal preview screening, this anime was very well received!

Most critics said they liked the work, which was both real and fantastic, and some even described the character of My Neighbor Totoro as "purer and more awe-inspiring than any of Wang Wei's other characters......

This extremely polarized word-of-mouth, although not uncommon, is really not common.

Generally speaking, the success or failure of a movie is basically in the embryonic form from the moment the final cut version is born.

And the word-of-mouth of the internal preview screening probably hints at the final quality of the film; Many big bad movies and street hits, before they are released, insiders will know that their performance cannot be too good, and many data analysis agencies also make their first-day estimates in this way.

For the word-of-mouth of the internal screening of "My Neighbor Totoro", it is very likely to indicate the result of its applause.

What's even more painful is that some filmmakers can make modifications to the finished film in response to some bad opinions after the preview screening, so as to improve the quality; But "My Neighbor Totoro" can't change it if you want to-

If the story is too simple, how else can you change it? Overthrow and start over?

- In fact, Wang Wei finalized the decision after the internal test screening, and there is no need to change this version.

However, the content can not be changed, and the release plan cannot be modified without the feedback from the internal preview screening.

Of course, the evaluation of the internal preview screening is not absolute.

The film received very average reviews at the internal preview screening, and was even sentenced to death by the theater and film critics, but then it was a super hit, and it is not uncommon.

Lao Wang can only hope that the representatives of the theater line will collectively look away this time.

However, looking forward to it, if you want to release it on the scale of the original plan, it means that Dunhuang must give up profits to the theater party.

After all, the theater chain is not a Kaizi, there are not enough benefits, why should people show films that they are not optimistic about, instead of those that are relatively optimistic?

This is still seen in the name of this movie written by Wang Wei - generally speaking, for this kind of film that the representatives are collectively not optimistic about, the theater side will not waste the scheduling resources, even if it may only waste a day or two and adjust it back.

However, what Lao Wang didn't expect was that the person who was least likely to raise an objection instead raised an objection-

"There's no need to give concessions to theaters, we might as well shorten the screening cycle of "My Neighbor Totoro" as much as possible."

Wang Wei suggested.

"Shorten the screening cycle? Are you trying to make box office sales explode in a short period of time through large-scale publicity? ”

Lao Wang asked in surprise.

This is a powerful tool for commercial blockbusters to quickly harvest the box office, but it often also means that a lot of pre-publicity is required, and a lot of publicity costs need to be invested!

It's not that Dunhuang has no money, but-

"Although I don't know what the hell the other four are doing, I have heard some rumors that the other four have reached a more unified front, and it is possible that all their media channels will block us."

Lao Wang's expression became serious.

That is to say, if Dunhuang could still rely on the price of "unrefusible" in the past, it would open some openings in the five major blockades; Nowadays, it may be useless to add money.

——This also shows that the speed of Dunhuang's progress may have caused the strongest sense of crisis in the five major ones!

"I certainly know, I mean, to lower the box office expectations for this movie, well, even lower than you expect."

】

Lao Wang was a little dumbfounded when he heard this!

- Are you admitting that "this is really a street hit"!?

"I thought you were very optimistic about this anime?"

Wang Wei shrugged simply, "I'm very optimistic about it, this is indeed a good animation!" ”

“……”

No, then what kind of mystery are you doing?

It's actually quite simple.

Whether it is the memory of a past life as a reference, or Wang Wei's personal judgment, it proves one point - some good movies are indeed recognized classics, but they are just not suitable for viewing in theaters.

This "My Neighbor Totoro" is such a work in Wang Wei's opinion.

Because its story is really gray and simple, and the real charm lies in the emotional recollection of innocence, like a sleeping dreamland, which needs to be savored by the audience.

Such a work is naturally not suitable for most audiences who just want to go to the cinema to pursue visual spectacle and vigorous sensory stimulation.

Its true destination should be-

"After shortening the theatrical screening cycle, you can start TV broadcasts earlier; Well, in order to praise truth, goodness and beauty, in order to maintain the innocence of children, and for world peace...... Well, in short, it's not impossible to give it to the TV station for nothing. ”

Wang Wei slowly showed a great benevolent smile.

Lao Wang couldn't get it, he was dumbfounded when he heard it!

What the hell are you talking about?

Also, don't want the box office, and give it to the TV station for nothing, what kind of operation is this?

……