Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 654 Storm, Clash of Arms? (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)
Guo Fan's words caused a stir in the cinema.

The media, who had caught a whiff of blood, were not the only ones excited.

The audience also got excited, enjoying the spectacle. Competition makes for a good show, and competition leads to better movies.

"it is good!"

Someone shouted out, and the theater erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.

"Director Wu, is it possible?"

Zhang Lin from Wanda sidled up to Wu Chen, his face beaming with excitement.

If it really works out, that would be so prestigious!

A film with a production cost of less than ten million is being made to compete with a blockbuster that claims to have an investment of 150 million. If this gets out, it's something to brag about in the industry for a year!
Whether it will succeed or not depends on everyone's joint efforts.

"I understand! I understand!" Zhang Lin nodded repeatedly, as if he truly understood. "When I get back, I'll immediately arrange for people to increase the publicity efforts!"

The media surrounded the main creators on stage, asking them questions one after another. Finally, they still couldn't give up and handed the microphone to Wu Chen again.

The main thing is that tonight's highlight is really something to watch.

"I know what you want to ask." Wu Chen waved his hand with a smile. "I won't accept individual interviews. However, I will definitely give my full support to what Director Guo Fan just said."

He had barely finished speaking when Zhang Lin, standing beside him, followed suit, addressing the camera with a resounding voice:

"Wanda too! We will provide full support for the release of 'Ex Machina'!"

Han Sanping remained calmly seated, observing everything with perfect clarity.

He didn't believe that Guo Fan's remarks about the box office hadn't been discussed with Wu Chen beforehand.

That evening, the media outlets quickly published their reports.

New director Guo Fan boldly declares: "Ex Machina" will likely outperform "Wu Xia" at the box office, and its profits will far exceed those of "Wu Xia"! How did Peter Chan respond?

[Newcomer Guo Fan "attacks" renowned Hong Kong director! Is a new force rising in the mainland film industry?]

[A war over "cost-effectiveness": Can Ex Machina achieve huge box office returns on a low budget?]

[Ex Machina Premiere Receives Ratings! Wu Chen Shows Strong Support, Wanda Announces It Will "Protect" the Film!]

The news caused an uproar in the industry.

Although the media has been hyping up whether "Ex Machina" can boost the July box office in the past few days, to be honest, most industry insiders think that it's just the media trying to grab attention and talking nonsense.

After all, everyone knows that Ex Machina is a debut film by a new director with a low production cost, and it is more like a "practice" work.

But now, the new director himself has already made bold statements publicly.

The box office performance is likely to be good, and the profits will far exceed expectations.

This is a completely different matter.

"Is this going to be another 'Love is Not Blind' movie? That can't be that far-fetched, can it? This is soft science fiction, how could it possibly have that many viewers?"

"I don't think there's a problem with the profit exceeding the budget, since the cost is low. But if the box office is close to or even surpasses that of 'Wu Xia,' that would be really outrageous."

"Is Starry Night Pictures about to welcome another great director?"

While the industry was in an uproar and full of speculation, the "Wuxia" production team was having a tough time.

They were still touring the country, tirelessly explaining the controversy surrounding the reputation of "Wu Xia" to the media and audiences;

As a result, before the explanation could be fully explained, this unexpected new challenge arose.

Chen Kexin's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He was holding a fire in his heart.

Since when did an unknown new director dare to piss and shit on his head? Shamelessly claiming that the box office will be comparable to "Wu Xia" and the profits will far exceed those of "Wu Xia"?
This is simply a shame!
The following day, Wanda Pictures really put in a lot of money.

Obviously, promotional reports about "Ex Machina" have flooded major portal websites and social media platforms.

Coupled with the positive initial word-of-mouth from audiences, media, and film critics at the premiere, the promotional effect was indeed quite impressive. "A 'high-concept' domestic science fiction film, it explores the ultimate dilemma that each of us may face in the age of artificial intelligence."

"The ending twist is the most amazing ending I've seen on the big screen so far this year! Bar none!"

"If you're tired of the fighting and killing in 'Wu Xia' movies and want to see a film that can really make you think, go see 'Ex Machina', you definitely won't be disappointed."

The martial arts genre is certainly not to be underestimated either.

Of course, Peter Chan would never allow a new director to rise to power by stepping on his reputation.

A direct confrontation would be beneath his dignity, but he instructed his publicity team to emphasize the "blockbuster quality" and "industrial standards" of "Wu Xia" in their promotional materials.

"The audiovisual experience that a film with an investment of 1.5 million yuan brings to the audience is completely different from that of a film with an investment of less than 1000 million yuan."

"We respect the explorations of all our peers, but the progress of the film industry requires real investment, not opportunistic concepts."

Hong Kong media also stepped up to support their directors.

[A new mainland director makes outrageous remarks, but Chen Kexin laughs it off, displaying the demeanor of a master!]

[The overseas rights sales for the martial arts genre are booming; it's a hit both domestically and internationally!]

[Looking at the industrial gap in Chinese-language films through production costs!]

With the waters stirred up like this, the industry is quite eager to see what the final outcome of these two films will be.

Nevertheless, the decline of the martial arts genre is undeniable.

In its second week of release, the daily box office has dropped to around 1000 million.

At this rate, if the final box office reaches 200 million, we should be incredibly grateful.

However, another movie surprised everyone.

The box office results for "Mysterious Island," starring Yang Mi, surprised everyone after its first week.

This low-budget horror film, which originally opened with around 700 million RMB, saw its box office continue to rise despite declining word-of-mouth, earning over 2400 million RMB in its first week!
Now, not only those in the industry can't understand it, but even ordinary viewers can't understand it either.

"Wait, buddy, who's watching this? Didn't the Douban rating drop from 3.3 to 2.7? How come the number of viewers is still climbing?"

"Surely not? Those two lumps of meat, can they really be worth that much?"

"I don't understand it, I really don't understand it."

Yang Mi herself was shocked when she saw the box office figures, and then she grinned and burst into laughter.

Yang Mi, she's finally gotten herself into this mess!
"Mimi! Good news! Great news!" Agent Zeng Jia rushed into the dressing room, her face beaming with even more surprise than Yang Mi herself.

"You know Chen Hong, right?"

"You mean Director Chen Kai's wife?" Yang Mi took a deep breath, trying to calm her excited emotions.

"Yes, yes, yes! It's her! Director Chen's new film is casting, and they've seen your recent popularity and want to invite you to audition for the second female lead!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Mi's mind began to wander uncontrollably into fantasies.

It seems like she's really starting to have good luck.

She secretly thought to herself, "I might be able to walk the same path that Liu Yifei has walked."

Of course, while some are happy, others are sad. The one with the most complicated feelings is her former best friend, Liu Shisi.

Seeing Yang Mi gain such immense popularity and commercial value with a terrible movie, she felt a huge sense of disparity.

"I wish I could have acted last year."

She remembered the drama "Scarlet Heart" that she had missed.

Amidst this clamor, controversy, and surreal reality, July 15th finally arrived, albeit belatedly.

Ex Machina has officially premiered.

All the media and industry insiders are eagerly awaiting the first day's box office figures.
This data will directly determine how far Guo Fan's "bold words" at the premiere will actually go.
(End of this chapter)