Huayu: Are you even sitting up straight? You're going to be the director?

Chapter 153 Hurricane! Emotions! Severing Ties!

"Director Cao, the premiere was a great success!"

The following afternoon, Jiang Zhiqiang called Cao Zhong, his voice brimming with emotion.
"I've sent you the premiere coverage from major Hollywood media outlets. It's currently receiving very positive reviews in the thriller/suspense genre, and it's being discussed on many forums. I'm optimistic about its box office performance!"

Cao Zhong didn't hang up the phone. He opened his email and looked at the Hollywood news reports.

The Guardian commented: James brought his talent to Hollywood, and his explosive acting skills captivated countless viewers at the premiere!

Empire magazine's review: Shyamalan has rediscovered himself, cleverly using dark humor and appropriate suspense to cover up his plot holes, and as always, delivering surprising twists and turns. McAvoy's award-winning performance ignited the theater, becoming the film's biggest surprise!
The Hollywood Reporter commented: "The pacing, suspense, and tension of 'Split' are among the best in the horror genre. Although the plot is somewhat mediocre, it's enough to keep you glued to the screen as long as you're in the theater!"

Cao Zhong looked at the comments; most of them were positive.

Moreover, since the film has not yet been officially released, not many film critics have specifically pointed out the intelligent Asian female lead played by Yang Mi.

Although the West has been trying to tame Asian audiences through techniques such as "paternity structures" and "desexualization symbols,"

But this has already formed a paradigm through years of experimentation.

Faced with the Chinese people's reverse nail-driving, and the fact that the female lead was almost suppressed by the male lead, these film critics and viewers did not notice anything amiss at first.

"How about Hell Jazz 2?"

Cao Zhong asked Jiang Zhiqiang,
"After the premiere, the reviews of this movie were quite interesting. Some people said it was the most successful and best-looking fantasy adventure film in recent years, and it's also rare for a sequel to be a better popcorn movie than the first one. It has action, humor, emotion, spectacle, special effects, and acting."

Jiang Zhiqiang said, "But there's no plot. So it's hard to say what level it is."

"Then let's meet each challenge head-on," Cao Zhong instructed. "Have you two reviewed Cheng Long's 'The Equalizer'?"

“We’ve already done it, but we’re keeping it from Yuen Woo-ping. We’ve rehearsed our stories, and he now thinks I provided the script.”

Jiang Zhiqiang said he keeps his mouth shut.

"The copyright for 'Urban Heroes' is currently under negotiation," Jiang Zhiqiang said. "However, it's not difficult. We've already tested the waters, and they don't have any plans to launch a film series. I'm confident."

"What about the director?"

“I’ve already checked. Last year, after the release of ‘Shooter’ directed by Anthony and starring Wahlberg, the box office was less than 100 million, and Paramount was very dissatisfied. They’re free this year, so I think we can try to lower the price. If that doesn’t work, Yuen Woo-ping has an alternative. He has a younger brother in Hollywood who used to work with him as a martial arts choreographer and assistant director. His name is David Leitch.”

Cao Zhong hadn't expected this connection and smiled upon hearing it.

"Try to sign David Leitch when you have time. I have a lot of scripts here."

One more thing, when you were casting Shyamalan last time, didn't you mention a screenwriter named Langdon who also wanted to be a director?

Christopher Langdon?

“Yes, contact him and get him to sign it,” Cao Zhong said. “At the latest, Fan Bingbing will also be there in a month to start a new project.”

Jiang Zhiqiang was taken aback upon hearing this, and then asked:
"Director Cao, aren't you taking a bit too big a step? Can the funding keep up?"

Although you kept it low-key and didn't publicize it, Chairman Han didn't hide it from you. It's all over the industry: you donated all the box office revenue from "My Disqualified Daughter."

"The profits from 'Nanjing Photo Studio' have come down."

Cao Zhongdao said, "The copyright of 'My Disqualified Daughter' was also sought after by South Korea and Southeast Asia. They made some money from the buyout and distribution fees, although not much, only a few million US dollars. But since the copyright is in Chengying's hands, it's all pure profit."

"Director Cao really has the Midas touch."

Jiang Zhiqiang was full of admiration, but his eyes hurt so much that he felt like he was getting conjunctivitis.

He's worked in Hong Kong for so many years, and he's never made millions of dollars from a single movie!

……

Will Smith is a box office magic bullet.

"Hancock" topped the North American box office, grossing over $100 million in its opening week.
It also performed well in mainland China, grossing over 45 million RMB in just five days, effectively suppressing the dominance of "Kung Fu Panda".

However, with the release of "Red Cliff Part I", Hollywood blockbusters also felt powerless against the overwhelming push from domestic blockbusters.

With a box office of over 2900 million yuan on its opening day, Red Cliff's performance has brought a brand new victory to the entire summer movie season!

Not only did it break the new record for the opening day of a Chinese-language film,
This further boosted the previous record of over 25 million yuan in single-day box office for "Nanjing Photo Studio" by a whopping 4 million yuan!
During prime time at major cinemas, the theaters are almost always packed!

John Woo was extremely excited. Previously, his heart had been filled with gloom when faced with Han Sanpin's resistance to him.

At this moment, John Woo finally vented his anger!
During the interview, he even informed the entire nation of China:

"The success of 'Red Cliff Part I' is a compliment to me by the audience's aesthetic appreciation. 'Red Cliff' may well achieve the same level of success as Cao Zhong's 'Nanjing Photo Studio'."

The confidence in his tone, the boldness in his voice,
This can be seen as John Woo expressing his lofty aspirations.

Cao Zhongneng has been able to maintain stable box office performance, even achieving a turnaround. A film like "My Disqualified Daughter" managed to gross 2.7 million yuan.
In his eyes, the 400 million for "Red Cliff Part I" was no different from taking candy from a baby.

But he has forgotten that Cao Zhong's beating of Wang Xiaoshuai and the media during the release of "My Disqualified Daughter" had become a public cultural and entertainment incident.

It garnered significant attention, and at the time, there were more viewers on Cao Zhong's side.

The main cast and crew of "Red Cliff" were also extremely excited.

Numerous media outlets began to comment that "Red Cliff," with its unprecedented cast and massive investment, successfully created a hurricane during the 2008 summer season, breaking numerous box office records!

Supporters even claim that this is the most romantic epic film ever made in China!
But John Woo noticed something was wrong.
Although box office revenue soared, controversy also exploded.

In its first four days, the box office grossed over 1.12 million yuan.
However, the online mockery and parodies of this movie have formed a spontaneous form of entertainment and revelry.
It has little to do with the film itself anymore; all that's happening is criticism and abuse.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood, the opening week box office results were released.

The opening week box office results for "Split," which was released on the same day as "Hell Jazz 2," have brought an unusual surprise to Hollywood.

"Hellboy II" grossed $3588 million in its first three days, beating "Hancock," which had been in theaters for two weeks, to take the top spot at the North American box office. The third place went to a 117-minute horror thriller, "Split," which had a budget of only $9 million!
The box office figures for the three days were $783 million, $820 million, and $967 million, respectively.
With a total of $2570 million in revenue over three days, it defied the trend and emerged as a dark horse!
With his rookie appeal and explosive acting skills, LeBron James created a unique superhero thriller, bringing a completely different surprise to Hollywood!

Split is an outlier, but it is precisely because of its outlier that it has received such rave reviews that it has attracted countless viewers to try it out, thus becoming a dark horse!
First, there's the appeal of LeBron James' good looks, the endorsement of Jackie Chan, and the strong promotion within the niche horror/thriller community.

The collaboration between the three parties resulted in a reasonably good opening weekend performance.
Then, leveraging the publicity surrounding M. Night Shyamalan's return to form, and capitalizing on his fame from "The Sixth Sense,"
And James' amazing acting skills have drawn rave reviews from the audience!

They've even started targeting Hell Jazz 2 and Hancock!
While the three-day results weren't exactly phenomenal, they were a pleasant surprise for Edko Films.

Edko Films quickly made a name for itself among independent production companies throughout Hollywood.
Jiang Zhiqiang and Yang Mi entered the spotlight and scrutiny of Hollywood almost simultaneously!
Faced with this result,

Jiang Zhiqiang was not excited, but rather shocked and quiet.

Cheng Long also fell silent.

20th Century Fox has fallen silent.

This situation doesn't seem right!

The box office statistics over three days signify a very clear fact.

It seems that even several blockbuster films couldn't stop the momentum of "Split".

The news reached China.

It even formed a real hurricane!

It also became a tool for people to ridicule John Woo.

"Yang Mi's movie grossed over 200 million yuan in just three days?"

"My goodness, I feel embarrassed for Director Wu."

He just finished bragging about how it was a compliment from the audience's aesthetic sense and appreciation, and then suddenly he was bombarded with criticism from netizens.

I could have just pretended not to see it, after all, he's a big director who came back from Hollywood.
But the fact that a relatively unknown actress like Yang Mi grossed over 200 million yuan in three days at the Hollywood box office is quite an awkward comparison.
"If I couldn't make it in Hollywood and then got criticized back in China, I'd be devastated if I were Director Wu."

Inside the hotel, John Woo saw the words "Can't make it in Hollywood," and his face twitched involuntarily.

But this comparison is far from over.

In its second week of release, Red Cliff Part I continued to suffer from a collapse in word-of-mouth, and its daily box office began to decline, dropping to only 21 million yuan per day, and it continued to decline.

In contrast, in Hollywood, Split's box office remained relatively stable at around seven million dollars per day.

On Thursday, "Split" had a mini-boom, with its daily box office even surpassing that of "Red Cliff Part I," raking in a whopping $1367 million—one in US dollars, the other in Chinese yuan.

When the news reached China, John Woo completely lost his composure and began to tremble.

He made a phone call to Jiang Zhiqiang, his tone resentful: "Why didn't you do it earlier or later? You're targeting me, aren't you?"

John Woo was somewhat emotionally distraught.
"If you have such strong operational capabilities, come to me. If you have a good script, come to me. What is our relationship? How many years have we known each other?"

Now look what's happened. This group of viewers who don't understand movies are comparing your film to mine. Is there any comparison?

How many screens are there in mainland China? How many screens are there in Hollywood? These idiots.

John Woo was furious, but he was able to communicate calmly with Bill Kong.
These two are still capable of having heartfelt conversations.

"This year has really been unlucky for me. I'm afraid I won't be able to surpass Cao Zhong's box office performance. I can only wait and see how things go with 'Red Cliff Part II'."
"Your achievements in Hollywood have led to these clueless viewers attacking me, leaving me speechless."

John Woo sighed, "It's really frustrating."

“If another good opportunity comes up in Hollywood, I can help you,” John Woo said.
"Your identity and the feud between you and Cao Zhong are precisely the opportunity for us to join forces. If we join forces, it's not impossible for us to make a comeback in Hollywood."

How can we let the reputation of Hong Kong entertainment circles, built up over so many years, be overshadowed by a mere young man from the mainland?

Han Sanpin's attitude towards me has changed.

It was because of Cao Zhong. Before, he was very polite to me, always referring to me by my official title and calling me Director Wu.
As a result, during the filming of "Red Cliff," they actually dared to check my accounts.
At the premiere a few days ago, they were also unresponsive.

John Woo said wistfully, "It's alright, it's alright that you've brought honor to the Hong Kong entertainment industry."

John Woo has been protesting his innocence, while Bill Kong has remained silent.

His expression was complicated; he didn't know how to reply.

Old Wu, I'm not the same person I used to be. I've already voted. I voted a long time ago.

I'm the big boss of investment in the Hong Kong investment circle!

Jiang Zhiqiang didn't know how to say these words. He gritted his teeth and reminded him:
"Old Wu, take my advice: you can't afford to mess with Cao Zhong."

“You’ve changed.” John Woo roared angrily on the other end of the phone. “When Cao Zhong was writing ‘Ailing’, he slapped you in the face so hard, and now you’re still speaking up for him. You have no backbone at all.”

Jiang Zhiqiang: ...

Jiang Zhiqiang, who meant well, was so insulted by John Woo that he hung up the phone in anger.

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Zhiqiang became increasingly angry.
Although Lao Wu had known him for many years, they were as close as brothers.

But today,
Jiang Zhiqiang glanced at the box office results of "Split": over $68 million in seven days, and couldn't help but take a deep breath...

It's time to sever ties.

Jiang Zhiqiang made a phone call to Cao Zhong.
"Director Cao, John Woo's box office performance is not good, but he has some resentment towards you."

(End of this chapter)