The train driver in the courtyard

After the premiere.

The Hollywood Reporter's reporter, Smith, was dumbfounded when he saw the opening day box office figures.

Despite being underestimated, "Kung Fu Panda" grossed $800,000 on its opening day.

The highly anticipated "Spartacus" only grossed $110,000 at the box office.

The two are vastly different.

Thinking back to the report he had made a couple of days ago, Smith felt like he had fallen into a trap.

The first priority of news reporting is to be truthful.

As a journalist, Smith needs to protect his reputation (at least on the surface).

"Mr. Smith, I'm from Universal Pictures' public relations department. Our company is planning to hold a seminar at a beach resort. I've heard the beach there is particularly beautiful. Would I have the honor of attending with you?"

The office door was knocked open, and a beautiful woman walked in, her high heels clicking as she entered.

She was voluptuous, had a knack for swaying her hips, and walked with a graceful, bouncy gait, just like a ripe peach—exactly Smith's type.

"Ahem, I've been too busy lately, I really need to relax." Smith forced himself to move away from the peach, casually took the ticket, and stuffed it into his pocket as if nothing had happened.

As a journalist, one is not allowed to accept money or gifts, but this does not apply to seminars.

This is also why some large foreign companies, especially pharmaceutical companies, particularly like to hold seminars.

Smith stared at the swaying buttocks for a moment until it disappeared through the door before turning back, picking up his pen, and starting to write a press release.

"The phenomenal opening day box office success of 'Kung Fu Panda' does not necessarily indicate its popularity; 'Spartacus' has strong staying power and will surely surpass it later on."

With The Hollywood Reporter firing on all cylinders, her workload was significantly reduced, and other entertainment newspapers in the US followed suit.

"Kung Fu Panda only had the advantage of novelty; Spartacus is the best action film."

Despite a lackluster opening day, experts warn that "Spartacus" has great potential for long-term success.

How many female characters in Spartacus have exposed breasts?

Lou Xiao'e saw The Hollywood Reporter the next morning.

Ruan Qingqing said angrily, "This reporter is clearly trying to make trouble for us."

"Ignore it."

Lou Xiao'e, now brimming with confidence, asked, "What about the other newspapers?"

"They're all people who look down on us. It's said that Universal Pictures and Disney put pressure on those newspapers." Ruan Qingqing poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to Lou Xiao'e: "These people are so despicable."

Lou Xiao'e accepted the tea and sipped it slowly: "We're basically snatching meat from their mouths right now, are we not allowed to fight back? The theaters probably won't cooperate with them, right?"

Mentioning this, Ruan Qingqing perked up and handed a document to Lou Xiao'e: "I just received a notification from the cinema chain that starting today, our screenings will increase by 50%."

"Fifty percent. Maybe it really will break the highest box office record, just like Brother Aiguo said." Lou Xiao'e stood up and walked to the window, then suddenly asked, "Has anyone come to our company for a job interview in the last two days?"

Li Aiguo was well aware that outstanding talent was essential if he wanted to continue his foray into the animation and film industry.

Since the film and television company opened, Lou Xiao'e has been posting job openings, hoping to attract outstanding talents from the animation industry to join her.

But now it's been almost a month, and not a single job applicant has come to our door.

"Not yet. The talent pool in Hollywood is monopolized by a few big companies. We should recruit in other cities." Ruan Qingqing stopped mid-sentence.

The animation industry is a niche industry, and its requirements are different from other film and television industries. For positions such as painters and illustrators, in addition to education, experience is even more important.

If we were to train painters from scratch now, it would take at least two years, by which time it would be too late.

"No need, continue recruiting. If anyone comes to apply, remember to let me know." Lou Xiao'e couldn't understand why Li Aiguo was so sure that someone would come to interview soon, but she still gave Ruan Qingqing a word of advice.

She looked up at the window.

The sun rises from the east, hanging low over the rows of tall buildings, emitting a faint golden light.

Early in the morning, long queues formed in front of more than a dozen movie theaters on Broadway.

These people are all waiting to buy tickets for the movie "Kung Fu Panda".

Some viewers who had already watched the video initiated a discussion.

"This animated film is amazing! It left me speechless and incredibly excited. Before watching it, based on the poster and synopsis, I really thought it was one of those lousy animated films. But the story is extremely exciting, especially Po the panda, who is absolutely awesome."

"That's absolutely amazing!"

"I went there for the Eastern kung fu, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was incredibly good and truly inspiring. I brought my son here today so he could see how Po fights off the local bullies. This is the best movie of the year."

"Spartacus next door is not bad either."

"What? Are you kidding me? These muscle men only know how to show off their muscles, and their movements aren't even as good as A Bao's! The women only know Luna, so vulgar. The director is completely insulting this legendary story."

Compared to that, Kung Fu Panda is so adorable! The script, the soundtrack, the camerawork—everything is superb! The plot twists are executed flawlessly, a perfect blend of intelligence and excitement. It's been a long time since I've seen such a fantastic movie.

Several viewers who were about to buy "Spartacus" exchanged glances upon hearing this and silently moved to the back of the next line.

Movies have a strong attraction effect; the more people who watch a movie, the more viewers will come to watch it.

Kung Fu Panda has become a complete hit.

If you haven't seen "Kung Fu Panda" and can't hum and hae a few times, you'll feel embarrassed to greet people.

Across North America, lines of moviegoers queue to enter cinemas.

As a result, theaters had no choice but to continue adding screenings. When they could add no more midday and evening screenings, they had to continue reducing the number of screenings of "Spartacus".

Thus, a scene that violated the fundamental laws of Hollywood film sales occurred.

Kung Fu Panda's second-day box office: $120 million

Spartacus's second-day box office: $50,000

Upon seeing this result, Hollywood newspapers fell silent, too embarrassed to even utter a word of praise.

Smith recalled the beautiful public relationswoman from Universal Pictures, hesitated for a moment, picked up his pen, and wrote: "A good film, like fine wine, needs time to mature. Please support 'Spartacus'."

The next day, the sun rose in the east as usual.

Kung Fu Panda box office: $150 million

Spartacus box office: $20,000
Looking at the box office figures, Smith picked up his pen with trembling hands and wrote: "Spartacus will definitely be the box office champion of the year. Please give it a little more time."

Fourth day.

Kung Fu Panda box office: $180 million

Spartacus box office: $1

Smith wanted to write another press release, picked up his pen, but didn't know where to begin.

180:1
This is a blatant slap in the face.

This goes beyond his usual bragging level.

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and the editor-in-chief strode in, informing him, "Smith, you're fired. Pack your things and get out of here." "Fired? How can you fire people so easily? I'm going to report you to the journalists' union!" Smith roared in fury.

The editor-in-chief said coldly, "You must have received a lot of bribes from film companies over the years. Should I submit those materials to the court?"

Some things are nothing on the scale, but once you put them on, they weigh a ton.

The newspaper had long had evidence of these reporters' misconduct, but it hadn't published it because these reporters could make them money.

Smith has now become a major problem for the newspaper due to his repeated writing of factually inaccurate press releases, which has angered many subscribers and necessitates his immediate dismissal.

Upon hearing this, Smith was speechless and could only hang his head and leave the newspaper office with the box in his arms.

He couldn't understand why an animated film from the East could become so popular across America.

Even a Disney artist named Shuke couldn't understand why Kung Fu Panda was so amazing.

After watching it three times in a row, Shuke understood.

"Resistance! Abao's spirit of resistance!"

“We should also be like Ah Bao and bravely resist the boss’s exploitation of us.”

Steve, who was also resting in the basement, handed him a cigarette: "Shuk, so you've decided to join our team."

Disney suffered a major setback with "Sleeping Beauty," losing a large sum of money, and Walt Disney decided to lay off employees to reduce operating costs.

Layoffs aren't the problem; the real issue is the lack of compensation.

Walter's henchmen collected the employees' minor mistakes from their daily lives, intending to use this as a pretext to fire them.

It's fine if there's no compensation; these people can find other jobs after they leave.

More importantly, the agreement I signed with the company stipulated that once I left the company, I would be permanently barred from working in the animation industry.

This could be fatal!

The artists in the company decided to organize themselves and fight against old Walter.

Shuk had been invited before, but declined because he was afraid of old Walter.

After all, a few years ago, all those old painters who resisted were falsely accused, some were imprisoned, and others were expelled from the industry.

"The only true hero is myself!" Shuke repeated Abao's line, nodding emphatically: "I've made up my mind!"

"Okay, we plan to gather at the company gate tomorrow and block the entrance. If old Walter doesn't back down, we won't give in."

"Wait here, I'll call someone, we need to have a quick meeting."

Steve patted him on the shoulder, turned and left the damp basement, returning to his office.

A short while later, he came down with a dozen or so employees.

They include painters, illustrators, and key animators, covering almost all the jobs involved in making animated films.

"Shuke has joined too, that's great! Our momentum is growing stronger."

"I've prepared more than a dozen sticks. I'll bring them tomorrow and carry them around so no one can get in or out."

Shuke, being a meticulous person, frowned upon hearing this and asked, "Old Walter has dealt with this kind of thing before, he'll definitely contact the FBL. Sticks are offensive weapons, the FBL might take this opportunity to attack us."

“We know that, but there’s nothing we can do.” Steve clenched his fist and straightened his chest. “Struggle often involves bloodshed!”

The light bulbs on the roof crackled, casting flickering light on everyone's faces.

The team members were all prepared to bleed.

But the thought of FBL's methods sent chills down their spines.

FBL really knows how to make moves.

If you dare to resist, they might just open fire and empty the magazine.

“I read a book with a red cover that said, ‘Struggle must be done with care and methods; you can’t just act recklessly,’” Shuke interjected.

"There's nothing we can do about it, so this is the decision." Steve seemed to know that this method was inappropriate. He had something to say, but after looking around, he waved his hand to interrupt Shuk.

Shuke was puzzled. Did Steve have some concerns?
Before he could even savor the taste, the lookout's voice came from outside.

"The supervisor is here, come up quickly!"

The team members returned to the office and their respective workstations, pretending to be working diligently.

The manager, dressed in a sharp suit, strode around the office, and seeing that everything was normal, nodded in satisfaction: "You've all heard about what happened a few years ago. Don't even think about causing trouble, or else..."

After the supervisor left, a young painter's eyes darted around, and he suddenly clutched his stomach.

"Ouch, my stomach hurts, I need to go to the toilet."

He stood up and asked Smith for leave, unconsciously rubbing the hem of his clothes repeatedly with his hands.

Seeing his pale face, Steve waved his hand and said, "Go quickly, and avoid the supervisor!"

Going to the toilet during work hours is not allowed, and if he is caught, Steve will have his salary deducted, but he still agreed.

Hunter ran out the door as if granted a pardon, but instead of heading straight for the bathroom, he slipped into the shadows of the stairwell.

He leaned against the wall, panting heavily, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, reciting in a low voice: "The list of participants in Smith's plan to block the door at nine o'clock tomorrow morning is..."

He hurriedly stuffed the note back into his pocket halfway through reading it, looked around, and then quickly walked toward the supervisor's office.

Steve watched him disappear around the corner of the corridor, his brow furrowed.

Shuke, who was watching from the sidelines, leaned closer and whispered, "Team leader, Hunter's hands were shaking badly when he asked for leave just now, was he..."

"Stop talking!" Steve interrupted rudely, his gaze sweeping over the other artists who were engrossed in their work. "I know what I'm doing."

At that moment, the door to the supervisor's office quietly opened a crack, and as Hunter squeezed in, a suppressed, fawning laugh escaped through the crack.

"Manager, you guessed it all. Smith is planning something tomorrow morning."

"Well done, Hunter. Don't worry, I'll remove you from the layoff list and even promote you and give you a raise." The manager nodded at Hunter, seemingly very satisfied with his performance.

"This is all I should do. I just want to continue working under you. Those guys are incompetent. The company should have fired them long ago. They actually tried to cause trouble. They're shameless." Hunter fawned over his supervisor.

The supervisor was being licked so well that he promised to report his achievements to the boss.

"I'm going back to work so Smith doesn't find out. That guy's cunning." Hunter was finally satisfied and opened the door to leave.

Walking down the corridor, he took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

"Steve, you're a good person, but I have no choice. If I leave Disney, my future will be ruined. Since you're a good person, you certainly wouldn't mind helping me, right?"

After muttering a few words to himself, Hunter's guilt vanished instantly, and he went into his office.

Once my supervisor reports my achievements, the boss will definitely reward me handsomely!

(End of this chapter)