At 10 o'clock in the morning of June 6, 2005, the sky in Shanghai was gloomy, and it suddenly rained heavily, as if it was the powerful demon who toppled Tianhe.

The rain fell and crackled on the ground.

In the Yangtze River Grand Theater, many customers held umbrellas, avoided the rain, and hurriedly ran in.

The rain swept the wind, and even if the umbrella was opened, it could still go around, and the customer's sleeves and trouser legs were wet obliquely.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Who knows, it's still fine in the morning, and suddenly it's raining heavily."

"Alas, my shoes are wet, what should I do, I knew I wouldn't have come, just to watch a movie."

Customers ran into the theater, and many people complained.

Li Shengyao was standing at the door, dressed in civilian clothes and wearing a mask, so he didn't have to worry about anyone recognizing him.

For him, today is a special day, the annual Shanghai Film Festival has started the day before yesterday, "Punch, Dad" has long applied to radio and television, and has obtained the qualification to participate in this film festival, which will be screened once.

In other words, the first film in his life will be aimed at ordinary audiences for the first time.

The organizers of the film festival arranged it in a medium-sized theater of the Yangtze River Grand Theater, which can seat more than 300 people.

There was originally a hall that could seat more than 1,000 people, and the film festival also hoped that "Punch, Dad" would go to the hall, but Li Shengyao refused.

He participated in the screening event in the hope that he would have a good reputation before the screening, not to add an extra burden to himself.

At this time, piracy is rampant, and it is even more difficult to supervise in the hall, in case someone takes a secret photo, and there are pirated resources flowing out, then it will be too late for him to cry.

In order to facilitate management and supervision, he chose a medium-sized theater that can seat more than 320 people, of which more than 60 are reporters and film critics specially invited by Li Shengyao.

Naturally, it is impossible to give red envelopes, that is, to invite them to a meal.

In ten minutes, "Punch, Dad" will be screened.

He left an assistant to stay in the theater, and he himself, hearing the pouring rain outside, came to the door of the theater.

At this time, the heavy rain is falling, and the cool breeze with the rain can sneak in.

The rain dripped on the back of his hand, and with a click, it fell apart, but it also had a big impact, as if something important was broken.

"Hey, how many people are seated?"

Li Shengyao looked at the raindrops on the back of his hand, waved it off, then took out his mobile phone and called his assistant.

In addition to the more than 60 reporters who were invited, film critics came early, and the others were ordinary audiences.

Some came early, but the vast majority came just in time for the movie to show.

However, the sudden heavy rain disrupted everything.

Li Shengyao just heard a lot of people complaining that the rain soaked their clothes and shoes, and they shouldn't come over.

These people came, and some did not.

After all, it's just a movie, and it's not an important thing, so you need to brave the rain to get there.

"Boss, there should be two hundred people by now."

The theater of more than 320 people only came with 200 people, and two-thirds of them came to the full house.

The film is coming soon.

This first film screening couldn't even be filled.

During the Shanghai Film Festival, more than 200 films will be screened, some films will be shown three times, and some films will be shown once.

It can be said that there are not many opportunities to watch.

And movies like "Punch, Dad" are the first time in the world that they have been broadcast, attracting many fans, and in less than three hours after the news was released, more than 300 tickets for "Punch, Dad" were all sold out.

It can be known that it is not that movie tickets cannot be sold, but that the heavy rain prevents the audience from coming to watch the movie.

At this time, there are many customers outside hurrying over, some holding umbrellas, some wearing raincoats and rain boots.

Umbrellas are hung with rainwater, and raincoats hide a lot of rainwater.

When they entered the hall of the Grand Theater, the water of the umbrella immediately fell on their bodies, which was cool and brought a chill.

The cleaning aunt of the big theater took a mop and kept mopping the floor to clean up the rainwater.

But the customers from outside came in intermittently, and the water stains on the ground never dried completely.

The cleaning aunt finished mopping one floor, and soon the rest was wet again.

It's annoying to be wet.

Li Shengyao looked up at the time, there were still five minutes before the screening, and more than 20 people had just arrived, and the "Punch, Dad" theater should have divided a few people, but overall, there should still be a lot of vacant seats.

He looked outside.

The sky was overcast, the rain was heavy, the rain curtain was heavy, and the visibility was so low that you could not see ten meters away.

Even if Shanghai is prosperous and there are many high-rise buildings, it cannot be revealed at this time.

It was as if they had come to a world of water, and the water vapor was about to hide everything.

He then turned around and walked to the theater where "Punch, Dad" was played.

By the time he arrived at the theater, there were still two minutes to play.

"Zhao Zhiyu of grass you, don't go too far."

"I'm going too far, if you don't want to see it, just leave quickly, don't be embarrassed here."

"Where am I ashamed......"

"It's a shame from top to bottom, who do you see take off their shoes and socks? Have you ever thought about other people's feelings, or my feelings? ”

There was a sudden noise in the theater, but in the middle, there was a young couple arguing.

The staff hurriedly ran over to comfort and persuade them.

The two little couples didn't care about the staff's words, and they were still arguing.

"Can you stop arguing, the movie is about to start, many reporters are coming, don't be ashamed."

The behavior of these two young couples caused dissatisfaction among some customers around.

Hearing that there were many reporters at the scene, the two little couples hurriedly closed their mouths, but the theater was a little more noisy than before, the two little couples did not quarrel, but more people whispered, and the sound was much louder.

Li Shengyao stood at the door, frowning slightly.

It's not a movie-watching atmosphere.

He was even a little skeptical that his decision was the right one.

There is nothing wrong with showing it at the Shanghai Film Festival, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to gain word of mouth.

But in today's situation, it is obvious that God will not help him.

The lights in the theater have long been extinguished, and only the big screen in front of it can shine.

The big screen is naturally bright, but it is not a real electric light after all, and the whole theater still looks a little dim.

Four young men in suits walk back and forth, and they are staff members who supervise customers in order to prevent anyone from taking pictures secretly.

Li Shengyao retracted his gaze and waved his assistant over.

"Boss."

"What is the effect of the four supervising people?"

"I don't know yet, but it's too dark inside, and this theater is quite big, and they said that there is no way to completely guarantee it, so they can only minimize that situation."

Although the atrium of more than 300 people is not as spacious as the hall, it is actually not small, and it is indeed not easy to find others doing bad things in a not bright environment.

Especially now that candid photography equipment is becoming more and more advanced, it is possible that a candid camera is installed in a small bag.

This year, whether it is "Hero" or "Ambush on All Sides", no matter how strict protective measures are taken, but for three or four days at most, there will inevitably be a gun version of the movie on the Internet.

This is something that is unavoidable in all movies.

Li Shengyao naturally understands this truth.

He nodded and waved his assistant to get busy.

The assistant was holding his stomach, looking at Li Shengyao with a bitter face.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Boss, I ate half an iced watermelon last night, I seem to have a bad stomach, can I ......"

Li Shengyao seemed to smell a special smell, and he glanced at the assistant, "Hurry up." ”

The assistant nodded, clamped his legs, and left a little awkwardly.

At this time, there are still people outside who hurriedly enter the big theater, they hold umbrellas, or wear raincoats, bringing in rain, cool breeze, and noise.

"My shirt and pants are wet, what kind of movie are you watching?"

"I didn't know it would be like this, and I didn't order God to rain, what's the use of you complaining to me."

Another young couple quarreled, and they quarreled at the entrance of the big theater, but Li Shengyao could hear it inside, and the young couple had a very loud voice.

It's a pity that this is not a vegetable market, and being loud is not something to show off.

Li Shengyao shook his head speechlessly, looked up at the clock, and it was about to be shown.

Because of the heavy rain, the theater where "Punch, Dad" was broadcast could not be full, and at most 220 or 30 people were seated.

This was the first screening of his first movie.

All domestic films screened at the Shanghai Film Festival have very strict requirements.

Not only does it need to apply to the radio and television for filing, but the broadcast time is also a strict requirement.

At this time, there were radio and television employees in the Yangtze River Grand Theater, and they came to supervise.

Although the customers are not full, it is impossible to delay the showtime.

Li Shengyao knew this very well, he stood by the door, his gaze swept over, sharp and cold.

Although there was a little couple arguing just now, the younger generation is generally much better.

At this time, "Punch, Dad" officially began to be screened, subtitles appeared on the movie screen, and the theater was much quieter, almost no one chatted, and the big guys were very focused.

Li Shengyao saw it in his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon after, the assistant returned, Li Shengyao asked the assistant to watch, and he himself left the theater and sat down on the iron chair outside the theater.

There is air conditioning in the big theater, and the iron chairs are cold.

It's a lot more sobering.

Li Shengyao sat quietly and listened quietly to the movements in the theater group.

Soon after, there was a burst of laughter.

The script of "Punch, Dad" has set up a lot of funny places, and the actions designed by Hong Jiaban are also funny.

It's normal to have such laughter at this time.

An employee of the theater saw Li Shengyao and brought him a cup of hot water.

"Director Li, I'm your fan, your movie will definitely work."

Li Shengyao can hide it from ordinary people, but he can't hide it from the people who work here.

He took off his mask and smiled and nodded his head in gratitude.

The cup is filled with hot water, warm and drinkable.

Li Shengyao held the cup and drank it in small sips.

The laughter in the theater was even louder, and at this moment, a rush of footsteps sounded, and I saw a person running out quickly.

Not long after, this person came back, but it was a film critic who was invited, and when he saw Li Shengyao, he gave a thumbs up, "Director Li, the movie is really good, I think it's the best movie I've seen this year." ”

The critic then left.

Li Shengyao still sat there quietly.

The assistant came out of the theater from time to time to report on the progress of the movie.

It's mainly about the regulatory situation, everything is going well at the moment, the screening is going well, and at the same time they haven't found anyone secretly filming and recording.

Li Shengyao's hanging heart relaxed slightly.

When the film was released on a large scale across the country, it was inevitable that it would be filmed secretly, but fortunately, there was no problem with this screening.

Enough is enough.

"Boss, I observed the reactions of those film critics and reporters, and I think they were all very happy to watch, and the rest of the audience was even happier."

Li Shengyao nodded, "Okay, let's continue to observe." ”

The assistant left, Li Shengyao stood up, he came to the door of the room on the side of the theater, and watched quietly for a while.

No one noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Just like the assistant said, everyone watched it happily.

He relaxed even more, and then withdrew.

About half an hour later, the movie ended, and there was a burst of cheers in the theater.

"Punch, Dad" was successfully screened, although it was not so pleasant at first because of the heavy rain, but after the film was screened, the effect was good, the laughter continued, and there were applause and cheers at the end.

Li Shengyao is basically satisfied.

The audience exited the theater in an orderly manner, and Lee Shengyao's people were putting the finishing touches on it.

Not long after, the assistant came to Li Shengyao, "Boss, many reporters and customers have just asked me if we have a second screening. ”

"I also secretly listened to interviews with several reporters, and the audience recognized it very much, saying that it was both funny and warm, and the audience predicted that it could exceed 100 million.

"The quality of the film is high, and everyone is looking forward to it."

Li Shengyao listened to the assistant's words, smiled and nodded.

On the whole, it was successful, and then it was waiting for the media to publicize it, and word of mouth fermented.

Soon after, they packed up everything, and Li Shengyao led Fenghua's employees out of the Yangtze River Theater.

When I arrived at the door, I found that it was a little brighter outside, and before I knew it, the heavy rain had stopped.

More audience fans flocked to the big theater, and they all had smiles on their faces.

Compared to the previous group of noisy fans, they are much gentler.

There were more people, but very orderly and quiet.

After the rain, the air in Shanghai is much fresher.

"Let's go, eat, and then go back to Yanjing."

Li Shengyao took a deep breath and strode out.

"Punch, Dad" only participated in the screening, and did not participate in the Shanghai Film Festival award competition, and the subsequent film awards have nothing to do with Li Shengyao.

He was too lazy to stay, he planned to return to Yanjing and make every effort to prepare for the large-scale national release of "Punch, Dad".

The first shot was fired in the heavy rain, and there was still a sound.

The next step is to see if they can take advantage of this sound to run and sprint on the track and achieve good results.

I didn't have a good rest yesterday, I got up early and became a dog, and there are three chapters, which I sent at one o'clock at noon.

(End of chapter)