HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 406 [406] Warner Bros. should apologize for their poor performance this time!
The reason people reacted so strongly is because a reporter just asked Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, director Brett Ratner, and other key members of the production team what their box office expectations were.

With "Jurassic Park 3" preceding it and "War of the Apes" following, the creative team wasn't entirely confident, but they couldn't let a poor number diminish their prestige.

After a moment's thought, Brett Ratner gave what he considered a reasonable figure: 2.7 million to 3 million.

With this box office performance, "Rush 2" has already made a profit. With the addition of revenue from DVDs, copyrights, and merchandise, it will be enough for New Line Cinema to make a fortune.

He can use this film to build a very impressive resume as a director.

When asked by reporters, Qi Yuan didn't mince words and said, "I think the director is being a bit conservative. 'Peak 2' is a very good action comedy film. It's not a problem for it to gross over 3.5 million worldwide, and it's not impossible for it to reach 4 million."

!!!

Fans were stunned! Reporters were stunned! Even Brett Ratner and Jackie Chan were stunned!

Dude, we just wanted you to say a few good words for us, but we didn't expect you to go this far! This is amazing, even we wouldn't dare to brag about it!

If they hadn't encountered those two films, they were confident they could have made $3 million; $3.5 million and $4 million were things they never even dared to dream of.

After a brief moment of surprise, Brett Ratner, Cheng Long, and New Line President Robert were overjoyed.

Qi Yuan is the most dazzling newcomer in the American music scene this year, constantly clashing with the media and contradicting the Grammys.

Qi Yuan is a hot topic in the United States. He gave an exaggerated prediction for the box office of "Rush 2", which will definitely be widely reported by the American media. "Rush 2" can gain a lot of popularity and exposure as a result.

Even if the box office doesn't reach 3.5 million in the end, it's Qi Yuan who will be proven wrong, not them.

Robert had to admit that spending a million dollars to have Qi Yuan write the theme song was a damn good deal! The hype alone was worth a million dollars, or even more.

Cheng Long was both happy and troubled. Qi Yuan had given him too much face, and he would have a hard time repaying such a big favor later.

Even if Qi Yuan asked him to wear a flamboyant suit of armor tomorrow to lead his brothers in attacking the city, and then exclaim, "Wow, the drop rate is really high!", he wouldn't be able to refuse.

……

Afterwards, news about "Rush Hour 2" began to appear in large numbers.

Under intense scrutiny from the American media, Qi Yuan became one of the main figures in these news stories, mentioned as many times as Cheng Long.

However, most of them are either teasing or sarcastic.

For example, the New York Post's sharp critique of the creative team's decision to have Qi Yuan endorse the film was a huge mistake. One fan can be more powerful than ten haters, and his comments would drag down the entire movie.

The Los Angeles Times commented: 'This rising star of the world music scene from the East has switched careers to become an analyst, but it's obvious his level is 'disastrous,' as bad as a hot dog that's a week past its prime.'

Qi Yuan himself didn't care about these criticisms. He knew how successful "Rush 2" would be, as it was Jackie Chan's masterpiece in Hollywood.

In its previous life, the film grossed 3.47 million worldwide. In this life, with the theme song he sang, his support, and the boost he gave to "Rush Hour 2," there's no doubt that the box office will surpass 3.5 million.

Once the opening weekend box office figures for "Rush Hour 2" are released, Warner Music can seize the opportunity to market their predictions as successful and capitalize on the momentum of "Rush Hour 2" to release the album's fourth number-one single.

Just then, the production company and investors behind "The Princess Diaries" heard that Qi Yuan had come to the United States, and they knew a little about the relationship between Hathaway and Qi Yuan.

They contacted Qi Yuan through Hathaway and invited her to the premiere of "The Princess Diaries".

The premiere, originally scheduled for early August, was moved up to July 27th, in order to capitalize on the popularity of Qi Yuan.

However, the official release date is still set for August 3rd, to avoid competing with "Peak 2" and "War of the Apes". Qi Yuan was overjoyed, even wondering if his 'strong luck' had worked in the dark.

He capitalized on the huge success of both "Rush Hour 2" and "The Princess Diaries." If Warner Bros. can't release a new chart-topping single for him, they really should apologize.

On the afternoon of the 27th, Qi Yuan appeared at the premiere of "The Princess Diaries". He used the same trick as before, saying that he was very optimistic about the box office of the film and Hathaway's personal development.

"This is a very good film. I think it will be one of the highest-grossing low-budget films of the year. My good friend Annie will definitely become a world-renowned actress in the future..."

The film's creators and investors practically wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Qi Yuan. Dude, you really pulled it off!

Hathaway was deeply moved, and that night, to thank Qi Yuan, she put on Catwoman's suit once again...

……

On the evening of July 28, Qi Yuan, who had taken a trip to the United States, returned to Beijing.

Zhang Hao reminded him, "Get some rest and don't overdo it. The concert starts tomorrow night."

Three concerts over three days, 70,000 attendees – absolutely no mistakes are allowed.

Even if Qi Yuan only has a cold, it will have very serious consequences.

About half of the audience at these three concerts are foreigners. If the concerts cannot be held due to Qi Yuan's personal reasons, the publicity effect will be lost, and it may even have the opposite effect.

Compared to these issues, getting a refund or ticket refund is a minor problem.

Qi Yuanyi retorted righteously: "When have I ever been promiscuous? Don't slander me!"

Zhang Hao: "..."

Didn't you play games with Anne Hathaway from "The Princess Diaries" last night? You dare say you didn't have any fun?
Oh well, oh well. Who told Qi Yuan to sell so well in both record sales and concert ticket sales? He's Warner Music's big daddy. Whatever his daddy says is right, and he, as the manager, can't discredit his daddy's reputation.

Fortunately, Qi Yuan behaved himself after returning to Beijing, resting properly and adjusting his time difference before the concert to get himself into the best condition.

This made Zhang Hao very happy! He likes artists who can distinguish between what's important and what's not.

……

The first show of the Heroes of the World concert in Beijing will begin at 7 p.m. tonight.

The concert attracted such a large audience that it broke domestic records, and there were also 20,000 to 30,000 foreign spectators.

The authorities in Beijing took the matter very seriously, deploying more than 1,500 officers to maintain order, and implementing traffic control measures within a radius of several kilometers around the stadium.

At the stadium entrance, there were over a hundred ticket checkpoints, and it still took nearly three hours for all 70,000 spectators to enter.

Huang Bo and his girlfriend Xiao Ou were two of the 70,000 audience members. They won one ticket and then bought another.

They were deeply moved by the scene.

Looking around, they saw a large number of foreign faces, and they all had a misconception.

They weren't attending a concert by a Chinese singer, but a concert by a foreign singer, and the venue was overseas.

(End of this chapter)