China Entertainment: Let you shoot for charity and make tens of billions?

The Star-Bearing Nation.

Warner Bros.

“Mr. Diane, you should know that although I am not currently the director of the film crew, I think that if this film wants to make a splash at the world box office, you should listen to my opinion.”

Su Yi's face was serious. After the start of filming for Aquaman 2, he was invited to the United States. However, after arriving there, he realized that it seemed that the other party did not want him to participate, but only wanted his reputation.

"Director Su, we're old friends now. I won't hold back. We're under a lot of pressure working with you this time. If we get photographed on set, we'll be in a very passive position. And many people are saying we're traitors, just to suck up to an Asian."

Upon hearing this, a strange smile appeared on Su Yi's face. Why did those words sound so familiar?
I never imagined that some of the things said in this short video could be contagious.

In Chinese parlance, Warner Bros. would be considered traitors.

Although a small number of people are boycotting, and they don't amount to much, it has still had some negative impact on Warner Bros., because everyone knows what Warner Bros. is currently in. They can't compete with Disney in the superhero movie field, so they can only cooperate with China to expand their market. In fact, this is the company's strategy, and it's a very normal thing.

Since China is now the world's second-largest film market, cooperating with them is actually the wisest choice.

Moreover, Su Yi's requirements for them were not very high.

As long as they don't spread baseless smears, that's fine. Fortunately, Warner Bros. has been strengthening its cooperation with China over the years. Even when filming Harry Potter, they would add more Chinese characters. Regardless of whether their purpose is to make money or something else, at least they are not like other movies that just spend their whole lives spreading smears.

However, Su Yi has ambitions for this film. He wants to break into the world box office and become number one. If he can make it into the top 10, that would be quite an achievement.

After all, it was Cameron's Titanic that dominated the list for a long time.

Even if I were to make a new movie, I wouldn't be able to surpass it!

Moreover, so much time has passed, and prices have changed considerably, yet there's still no way to change it. The same applies to Su Yi's own films. Previously, they were considered box office phenomenal, practically a box office miracle. Many said—it wasn't worth the ticket price—but there's a reason it became the highest-grossing film in history. At this level, even if you manipulated the box office figures, it's still a testament to your talent!
However, no one has the resources to inflate box office figures, since assets worth tens of billions would have to be split in half with cinemas, and over 50 billion would be spent just to build a reputation.

There is currently no one in the world as arrogant as him.

So once you become number one in the world, that's your achievement, regardless of the methods you use. Whether it's superpowers or your directorial skills, it's admirable and worthy of emulation.

After James Cameron's film was defeated by Su Yi's, many people said it was due to the era; if Titanic were released today, it certainly wouldn't surpass it at the box office. But regardless, Su Yi's reputation was established! He remains the world's highest-grossing director in every country's charts. This honor is more important than anyone could have imagined.

Over the years, this name has been like a heavy stone, suffocating Hollywood film companies, because it has always been their familiar territory.

How come a young man was able to break in so easily?
However, over the years, no one has been able to surpass it and make a movie that surpasses it at the box office. The Avengers had a chance, but ultimately failed to break through, despite several extensions.

With such a reputation and scale, it really made those Hollywood companies nervous. After collaborating with Warner Bros. for publicity, it actually caused some backlash from the United States.

In fact, everyone knows who did these things. Now that Warner and Su Yi are cooperating, who is the biggest threat? That's Su Yi!

Originally, Marvel Studios, a subsidiary of Disney, was planning to produce the Avengers series, along with many other superhero movies, which was a grand ambition.

If their release dates clash again, it's obvious who will suffer the most at the box office. Su Yi can now compete on his own on the world stage, let alone with a collaboration with Warner Bros.

However, after arriving here, I discovered that I was only a titled director, not the chief director.

The assistant director also served as the producer.

To be honest, the amount of power given was not low, but Su Yi was somewhat dissatisfied because the producer was basically just there to offer suggestions. Whether or not the producer made changes was ultimately up to the production company. The director was a well-known Hollywood director, although he couldn't compare to Spielberg or Cameron, he was still a near-first-rate director.

The previous collaboration had been arranged under his leadership, but now it seemed like he was being sidelined. This made Su Yi somewhat resentful.

Diane's explanation was, of course, quite conventional.

That's because there's one or more companies in the domestic stock market that are watching Huang Da Company closely. If Su Yi is mobilized again this time, the movie will definitely encounter many setbacks.

So Diane was somewhat helpless; as a producer, she couldn't afford to offend this supervisor this time.

“I understand what you mean, but I’m fine with not being the general director or having my name on the film. However, if this film is to achieve high box office returns and be associated with the Chinese market, I feel it’s necessary for me to take the lead in this film.”

Su Yi frowned slightly. He had high hopes for this movie, but the new director was only a near-first-rate one, and seemed quite arrogant!

The conversation with these two people was rather unpleasant; they were clearly hostile and seemed to have a sense of smugness about them.

Someone with such a clear adversary is definitely not trying to steal the spotlight, especially since he's the director in the film. He might not listen to you, so even if a conflict arises, it will likely be resolved quietly in the end.

If that's the case, then we're not prepared to continue our cooperation on the data.

Because it was destined to fail.

He looked into the other person himself, and there wasn't a single good film to speak of. His current status is mainly due to his regular film work, mostly collaborating with Hollywood big names. I wonder if this guy is short of money, to hire a director like this.

"I'm sorry, Director Su Yi! This director was appointed by the company boss. We were unable to work with Director James Wan, whom you recommended before, due to some special reasons."

Diane felt somewhat helpless, and he also looked down on the actions of some high-ranking officials.

This is practically a case of discarding a useful tool after it has served its purpose!
However, there's not much that can be done about certain things, but after all, he's just a small shareholder, and this time he's just a producer.

He even thought the person who made this decision was out of their mind, because they had just finished filming "I Am a Great Director." This documentary had caused a huge uproar worldwide. The influence of each episode could even affect whether a country would rebel. For such a director to be an assistant director, or even just a part-time job, was simply a huge joke. It was clearly paving the way for the main director. In fact, Su Yi had already thought about these things before he came. He didn't need to be the main director, but he hoped that James Wan would be the main director.

Because if he had to find a director to use to boost his own fame, he would prefer James Wan.

However, the other party did not return, but entered the Dragon Kingdom and was very interested in foreign culture.

Everything had already been agreed upon, since Aquaman was directed by Molecular Man, and it was at the recommendation of Benedict Cumberbatch. Everything seemed to be going smoothly with Aquaman 2, but unexpectedly, a white Hollywood director joined the project.

That's a brilliant plan!
If the box office flops, that's their own problem; if it's a huge box office hit, then it's all thanks to this white director. He's really playing the fool.

For whatever reason, Su Yi would never allow him to belittle him at will, nor could he allow the Dragon Kingdom to be smeared!
"But I don't care about anything else. This is something that must be done: during my filming, the director must shut up or be replaced. I still maintain that the director in charge is a very promising director. If he hadn't cooperated with me this time, the film's box office might not have been very successful."

Diane looked at Su Yi's serious expression, and after a long while, finally nodded gently.

He wasn't actually going; he was just a high-level employee carrying out orders from above. He also felt this was a bit excessive. He didn't know what the head office boss was thinking. They had gone to great lengths to connect with Su Yi, but now they were doing this.

He even felt somewhat ashamed in the face of this situation.

However, if you're doing your job well, you still need to explain things clearly.

"I have two days left to waste. Contact the head office as soon as possible."

Su Yi checked the time, and just then the director from before walked over. A hint of amusement appeared in his eyes as he looked at Su Yi.

"Director Su Yi, if there are any disagreements about the film, we should make sure to reach an agreement first. I think there's too much Eastern mythology involved, so we need to make some cuts to better cater to the Western market."

Seeing the other party's face, Su Yi smiled disdainfully. After becoming famous, he usually ignored such provocations.

Talking too much to them would lower your own status.

Seeing that Su Yi was even drinking his coffee by himself, the director's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Su Yi was just thinking that it seemed not all of Warner's higher-ups liked him.

However, the filming period this time is about half a year, and he didn't plan to stay here for too long. He just wanted to have a good chat with director James Wan and share his thoughts with him.

Only then will this film have a chance to top the global box office. This is not arrogance, nor is it that only he can make high-grossing films.

For Westerners, however, movies are more intuitive.

This is also a covert propaganda war. The director in front of us is clearly hired by some Warner Bros. executives who are dissatisfied with him.

Despite his good relationship with Warner, there were still some people secretly dissatisfied with Su Yi. This was understandable, but this time, all their interests were at stake, which he simply couldn't tolerate.

After planning for so long, this opportunity has finally arrived.

Therefore, the approach adopted is two-pronged: first, to promote the film through a poetic and artistic platform; second, to use film collaborations to pique the interest of foreign audiences, which can also increase the box office of domestic films. Previously, under his appeal, many media companies have begun to initiate projects to shoot films about the mythology of the ancient dragon kingdom.

However, the lack of a box office leader has dampened their confidence, leading to the rapid abandonment of many projects after their inception.

If things continue like this, I won't play this game anymore, and I won't make similar movies again.

Therefore, given such a character, there must be a storyline about the East in Aquaman, and it must take up more than 50% of the screen time.

This is where the conflict escalated. The new director almost perfectly understood Su Yi's idea and directly edited it down to 15%.

This is downright provocative!

It has little to do with normal movie filming.

Su Yi's attitude was simple: either he would replace himself, or the other party would be replaced; there was no third option. Therefore, he had no regrets whatsoever, even if it meant becoming the world's richest man this time.

Even in movies, they wouldn't dare to portray something like this, right?
Of course, he didn't greet the director afterward, but his tone suggested that he knew the director should be replaced this time.

He hadn't expected everyone's attitude to be so firm, but it was fine this way, as he was now on Su Yu's side. Back when they were filming "Thirteen Years a Slave," he had already greatly admired Su Yi.

However, the company was not his, nor was it under his control. Even so, he encountered many setbacks. From the project's inception to the present, he has faced numerous attacks, both big and small. Even the authorities have been finding fault with him, and the project was even abandoned at one point. At that time, Su Yi was also contacting domestic companies to film a documentary.

This is a movie I'm not very familiar with, but that doesn't matter. Once Su Yi is in charge of directing, there will be some surprises.

If Aquaman 2 were to top the global box office—Diane was filled with excitement at the thought, though she estimated that the initial ratings wouldn't be too high.

"Don't worry, something like this won't happen again! This time I'm going to demand an explanation from head office. Since you, the chairman, are useless, I'll do it my own way!"

Diane took a deep breath.

We absolutely must film this successfully! (End of Chapter)