Chapter 361 - A Heap of Dog Excrement

"They were always talking about your movie together, weren't they? They even scheduled it alongside yours. Isn't that an attempt to compete?" 

Controversy generates attention and audiences like that. Journalists, of course, hope to dig up some even more sensational aspects.

Laila replied calmly, "It's probably just a coincidence. You know the summer blockbuster season is coming up soon, and it's not surprising that others would target the same time. Big productions are all competing for the summer slot, so small productions like ours have to pick times when there isn't strong competition. At least this time, we've been quite successful, haven't we?"

She was completely ignoring "The 13th Warrior" as a competitor! The journalist left satisfied, as Laila's words were enough for him to write some impressive comments.

"Director Moran does not consider films in the same time slot as rivals," "The 13th Warrior is just a small pebble on their path," and so on. These statements would let the audience know about her strong confidence and disdain for "The 13th Warrior."

It doesn't matter if both sides deny the competition; as long as everyone else believes there is one! The audience loves this, and they produce it for them! Does it matter if both sides admit it or not?

Laila's colleague, Roy, didn't understand why Laila was denying it. Wouldn't admitting it make them look more successful? He remembered how the other side had hyped things up from the beginning, from the start of production to promotion, but had denied it outright after failing. They wanted a fight, whether they admitted it or not. How could they get away with everything?

Laila smiled slightly in response to his question. "Don't you think denying it benefits us more?"

"Absolutely not!" Roy confidently answered.

"Well," Laila explained, "if I admit it, it might embarrass the other side a bit, but what benefit does it bring to us? It would make us look arrogant after a victory, and public opinion about us would decrease."

"And do you think that denying it would make people believe that nothing ever happened? To prove that our denial is wrong, the media would help both sides uncover what happened back then and rehash it. In that case, who do you think gains the upper hand? Of course, it's still us! And we demonstrate our tolerance and forbearance, leaving a better impression on others. So, do you think we should admit it?" Roy asked.

Roy was stunned. "What's going on in your head? How can you think of all this in such a short time?"

Laila chuckled and tapped her temple with her finger. "You have to use your brain regularly; otherwise, it will rust. Similarly, the more you use it, the more flexible it becomes. When you use it as much as I do, you won't have these doubts."

Roy nodded thoughtfully but then widened his eyes. "Wait a minute! Did you just say my brain is rusty?"

Laila didn't say anything but replied with a meaningful smile. She managed to annoy him but left him with no choice but to watch her.

In the new week, Laila returned to the filming location. With the biggest hurdle in her heart now removed, new challenges awaited her.

Meanwhile, problems erupted on the "13th Warrior" front.

If "Kill Bill" had been praised by moviegoers for its word of mouth, then "The 13th Warrior" saw a steep drop in box office due to its poor reputation.

The film's spectacular action scenes somewhat compensated for the weak plot. - eFilmCritic

The actors' performances saved this movie. - AboutFilm

"The 13th Warrior" looks like a low-budget TV movie. - The Washington Post

Most media outlets gave it a terrible review, expressing disappointment in the director, the screenwriter, and the fact that over a hundred million dollars had produced a pile of dog excrement.

Some critics suggested that most of the film's budget must have gone into hiring the cast. They had assembled a cast of Oscar-winning actors, and even the extras were seasoned actors. There was not a single rookie in the entire film.

Yet, this group of people managed to create a tragedy, proving that having talented actors alone couldn't save a movie. To make a movie popular, they needed a good script and a director with a better sense of aesthetics.

When people entered the cinema with excitement, ready to enjoy a blockbuster featuring the best ensemble cast, who would have thought that the director of "Predator" and "Die Hard" and the screenwriter of "Jurassic Park" would collaborate on such a bland film? 

As audiences left the theater, some were yawning, while others were extremely angry. This was not the movie they had hoped to see. They had chosen it over other films during the same period to have an enjoyable weekend, but what did they get? A pile of dog excrement!

It's no wonder that moviegoers were angry. They believed the extravagant claims in the marketing, trusting that a great director, a great screenwriter, and great actors could create a great film. However, the result was so disappointing that some people around them even mocked them, saying they deserved it and should have chosen another critically acclaimed film by a renowned director.

Think about it. On one side, you're angry because you wasted your weekend watching a terrible movie, and on the other side, people are mocking you for not having taste. How many people can stay calm in such a situation?

So, enraged moviegoers vented their anger on the internet. For every person praising "Kill Bill," there were just as many cursing "The 13th Warrior."

However, while Laila paid more attention to the online response, the "13th Warrior" team cared more about the opinions of traditional media. But what could they see? Mostly, it was reviews paid for by money, saying positive things about them.

Were those reviews even valuable?

In Laila's view, apart from luring some viewers into the cinema and making them leave cursing, they were utterly worthless.

Perhaps those paid reviewers looked like they were making money, but at the same time, they were losing their credibility. After being deceived repeatedly, even the most naive viewers wouldn't believe their lies anymore.

And the quality of a movie wasn't something that a few reviewers could define. With a few positive reviews and a flood of negative comments online, who would viewers believe?

Laila knew that, according to future trends, as the internet continued to develop, the profession of film critics was gradually losing its arrogance. More and more people who genuinely loved movies could publish their reviews online, and amateur reviewers would become the mainstream.

So, from the beginning, she never took the opinions of film critics to heart. With a Cooper in front of her, expecting her to have a favorable opinion of film critics was simply too much to ask for.