Phantom of the Theatre

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1

Thief!

Thief!

Help! Stop the thief!

Someone help!

Freeze! Don't move.

Grab him!

He stole my wallet!

Don't move!

- Stay right there!

- Hurry!

Don't go in there!

Why can't we go inside?

Why aren't you going in?

That place is haunted.

The lights!

See? Ghosts!

What the hell is this place?

Ghosts!

There's no such thing as ghosts.

What the hell is this?

Can't even get a meal for this.

I'm not gonna die hungry.

You killed us!

Mr. Tang, Ms. Pan.

Ms. Pan.

You're the frontrunner

for the Film Queen Award.

Is your acceptance speech ready?

Naturally, I have to thank

the fans who have

supported me all along.

Mr. Tang,

when do you plan to

get hitched with Ms. Pan?

Mr. Tang! Mr. Tang!

Please give us a comment!

Welcome, everyone,

to the First Film Queen Award ceremony.

Mr. He,

why are we having this event?

The people love movies

and they love movie stars even more.

Especially female movie stars.

Everyone wants to know

who among the screen

goddesses out there

is the most popular one.

That's why this poll was created.

We used the Hollywood voting system.

This isn't some courtesan beauty pageant!

Now, let us welcome the five finalists

to grace the stage.

First up, box office sensation Pan Ru Yu.

Next, the youthful Cheng Yan Yan!

The romance queen, Wang Ren Mei!

The alluring He Shang Xia!

Our last finalist

may surprise some of you.

Her fame rocketed over

the past two years.

The beloved idol, Meng Si Fan!

My friends.

It's time for the moment of truth.

This envelope holds

a combination of our reader's votes

and our judges' choice.

Now, let us welcome Mr. Tang Shiyao!

And now, time to announce

the winner of the First Film Queen Award.

Pan Ru Yu!

A well-deserved award!

Just a minute!

It seems like the award committee has added

a Miss Photogenic Award.

Miss Photegenic?

That's right.

Did someone pick that up from the west?

The Miss Photogenic Award goes to...

Meng Si Fan!

Mr. Tang, please present the awards

to our Film Queens!

Ms. Pan,

care to share your feelings?

Of course, I'm honored

to be chosen as the Film Queen.

You had to share the spotlight

with Meng Sifan.

Aren't you bothered?

Of course not!

She deserves the exposure.

Ms. Meng, I wonder

what genres are you willing to do?

If given the opportunity,

any film genre

is a possibility.

Here comes Meng Si Fan!

Hurry, over there!

Mr. Tang,

was Meng's award

decided early on?

Hello, Ms. Pan.

I've just returned from France.

I've written a script.

I hope that you'll give it...

I'm not in the mood!

It was not decided from the start.

Thanks a lot.

It was a fair and transparent process.

You should be talking to Ms. Meng.

A few words, Ms. Meng.

Watch out.

- Change is inevitable.

- You're on it!

I know that audiences

like new faces,

- but a newcomer like me...

- Excuse me.

- ...still have a lotto learn from my seniors.

- Who's this guy?

- Thank you.

- Sorry. My script...

Thank you, Ms. Meng!

Would you work with

a first-time director, Ms Meng?

Ms. Meng! Are you working on a new film?

Ms. Meng!

The corpse is 180 cm tall.

The body is in ash-like gray.

Possible burn victim.

Veins are cracked.

Traces of burns on his hair.

I'd say he looks shocked.

He must've gotten quite a scare.

Hey, cutie,

is he really a burn victim?

Please call me Dr. Fei.

Phyllis will do, too.

Then you can call me Mr. Ma.

Large blocks of hematoma on his head.

So he was beaten, then burned.

No, they were caused by the heat.

We call it

a heat gelatinized

subdural hematoma.

It's normal in burn victims.

Where did the fire come from?

When we found the body,

there was no evidence that he was burned.

That's strange.

The fire was from internal combustion.

Impossible.

This is way too weird.

Forget it, Dr. Fei.

That theater is haunted.

This was the work of ghosts!

If there is such a thing,

then I leave it to you

to find the ghosts.

Dr. Fei! Dr. Fei!

I suggest that

we call it a day for now.

I have a suggestion.

Mr. Ma and Dr. Fei go out for coffee.

How's that?

Sorry, I'm meeting someone.

Dr. Fei.

I haven't officially asked you out.

I'm meeting the man standing behind you.

You...

Allow me to introduce,

my boyfriend, Weibang.

This is Mr. Detective.

Hello, Mr. Dee.

Ma Ru Long.

Mr. Ma.

Pleased to meet you.

My mistake.

Excuse me.

How did it go, Mr. Filmmaker?

It was great.

My script caused quite a stir.

Your fragrance powder

covers the smell of the chemicals.

You must've found your heroine already?

The Film Queen won't read my script.

So I still have no lead actress.

Don't worry.

You will get what you want

if it's meant to be.

Ms. Meng.

Are you enjoying the night?

To receive a grand gift

like the Miss Photogenic award...

I should be the one buying you dinner.

But you're doing the treating instead.

You're such a clever and generous girl.

This award is only the beginning for you.

I'm looking for Mr. Tang.

Sure.

Ms. Meng.

This is such a special occasion.

I have a special treat.

A red wine that I ordered

directly from France.

Excuse me for a second.

Sure.

You look gorgeous tonight, Si Fan.

I raise my glass to you.

I hear that you're looking to investing in movies

When it comes to making movies

I'm totally clueless.

Considering my social standing,

money and fame don't matter to me.

Then what is your reasoning?

For you, of course.

From now on, all your films

will have my full support.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Si Fan, I've been looking everywhere.

Here you are.

Don't drink it.

Who are you?

Mr. Tang, I'm...

He's my boyfriend.

It was getting late,

so I asked him to pick me up.

Thank you for your generosity.

Our next dinner is on me.

This drink is to you.

Let's go.

- Ms. Meng.

- Young Master.

Uncle Han.

Get in.

Come on. Get in.

Let's get in the car.

Why were you there?

Are you stalking me?

Of course not.

I went to see Mr. Tang.

I wanted to show him my script.

Who are you?

I'm a filmmaker.

My name is Gu Weibang.

I've just returned from France.

I've written a script.

I want someone like you for the lead.

I'm sorry.

You can let me go here.

Well... get some rest, Ms. Meng.

Give me your script.

Good night.

How did you know that I love acrobats, dad?

Of course I do. I'm your father.

Today's your birthday

and this troupe is performing just for you.

Really?

My father is the best!

Weibang.

You want to shoot a film here,

and you even want to

move your office here?

That makes me both

happy and worried.

Worried?

The truth is, 13 years ago,

there was a fire here.

During the fire,

an acrobatic troupe was trapped here.

Everyone died.

Look, I'm a film buff.

I'm also what some people call...

an atheist.

I don't believe in deities

or the supernatural.

I bought this theater

to fulfill my cultural ambitions.

Who'd expect that after the renovation,

people say that they saw ghosts

of the late acrobats here.

Once the news got out,

people stayed away from here.

It was abandoned for over a decade.

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