The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Chapter 112 Source Code Release

On October 17th, Shen Qing left the film crew to attend the 27th China Golden Rooster Awards. She arrived in the evening, got out of the car to cheers from fans, and walked the red carpet with Yuan Quan, Qin Hailu, and others. She then took official photos, gave media interviews, and entered the venue.

"Nanjing Photo Studio" became the biggest winner of the night, taking home numerous awards including Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Recording, Best Art Direction, and Best Music. Hou Yong won Best Supporting Actor, Yuan Quan won Best Actress, and Qin Hailu won Best Supporting Actress.

The following day, they returned to Hengdian to continue filming "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".

During filming, when Shen Qing personally performed, he often had the entire crew in stitches. Initially, everyone thought it would be a standard "Shen Qing-style" comedy, similar to *Lost in Thailand*. But gradually, some people started to notice something was off; the performance style and plot were somehow reminiscent of Stephen Chow's nonsensical comedy!

When you mention it to others, they often slap their thighs and indicate that they think so too.

Is this film actually a Stephen Chow-style nonsensical comedy?

However, it is almost universally acknowledged in the industry that if anyone else were to perform Zhou Xingchi's nonsensical comedy, it would be a poor imitation. Only Zhou Xingchi can truly embody Zhou's unique style of nonsensical comedy!

Shen Qing is now a bigger star than Zhou Xingchi. Isn't it a waste of effort to learn Zhou's nonsensical style? First of all, it's impossible for him to learn it well. Secondly, even if he did learn it well, could he possibly be better than Zhou Xingchi himself?

But as filming continued, more and more people began to have a thought that they themselves found absurd: the director's performance actually felt better than most of Stephen Chow's own works!

Then most people attribute it to their own delusion.

In reality, Shen Qing possesses the strength of Zhou Xingchi at his peak. Combined with Shen Qing's own abilities, it's highly probable that he will act even better than Zhou Xingchi himself.

When filming the scene where the Empty Prince makes his entrance, the entire crew burst into laughter. Shen Teng's comedic talent was recognized by the entire crew. Shen Teng complained that the director had promised him to be the most handsome character in the entire crew, with white-clad maids attending to him wherever he went, but the white-clad fairy he imagined turned out to be a white-clad old lady.

Before we knew it, it was mid-November, and filming for "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" had officially wrapped up.

Upon returning to Beijing, he immediately threw himself into the promotional work for "The Original Code," which will be officially released nationwide on December 3.

《阿凡达》国内档期则从12月19日推迟到了2010年的1月4日，据说是为了给《三枪拍案惊奇》和《十面围城》让路。

Previously, Zhang Weiping, the producer of "A Simple Noodle Story", criticized China Film Group for using imported blockbusters to suppress domestic films.

However, many in the industry believe that this release date adjustment was primarily to make way for "Bodyguards and Assassins." "Bodyguards and Assassins" had its release date adjusted several times before finally being officially scheduled for December 18th.

"It won't have much of an impact on us."

Chen Zhixi commented.

Shen Qing gently shook her head.

The postponement of Avatar's release date is actually beneficial to Code X, which was released on December 3, but detrimental to Gravity, which was released in China on February 14.

别看1月4日到2月14日隔了41天，要换其他影片都该下映了，但沈青知道前世《阿凡达》可是整整上映了3个月时间。

Even though Avatar has been in theaters for a full three months, its regular version doesn't pose much of a threat to Gravity. It's estimated that by the time Gravity is released, Avatar's total box office will have already surpassed 1 billion yuan, leaving only 200-300 million yuan of potential. That's about it.

但《阿凡达》的IMAX3D版可不是这套逻辑，其IMAX3D据说1月份前5天就把整个1月份的位置卖出去了9成以上，一票难求到黄牛票被炒到2500块一张票。

At that time, there were only 14 IMAX 3D screens in the entire country, and 5 of them were in Beijing. (The entire Avatar...)

During its theatrical run, IMAX 3D screens, with only 0.23% of the screen area, captured 12.2% of the entire film's box office, a truly remarkable result.

The postponement of Avatar's release date is definitely detrimental to the IMAX 3D version of Gravity.

"Even after 41 days, there's still an effect?" Chen Zhixi asked in surprise.

Shen Qing nodded and said, "Avatar is the most significant Hollywood blockbuster of the last decade, and so far everyone has underestimated it."

11 month 25 day.

China Film Group organized an internal screening of "The Original Code," inviting heads of national cinema chains and some theater managers to preview the film. Both lead actors, Shen Qing and Fan Bingbing, were present.

Fan Bingbing was somewhat smug. On December 3rd, the film "Original Code," co-starring with Shen Qing, was released. On December 19th...

On that day, her starring film, "Bodyguards and Assassins," was released.

At this stage, if she claims to be the second most bankable Chinese actress, no one would dare to claim to be number one.

Actors like Gong Li, Zhang Manyu, and Zhang Ziyi may still outshine her in terms of awards or art films, but in terms of global commercial value, they have been completely left behind by Fan Bingbing.

However, Fan Bingbing is very grateful. She knows who gave her her achievements today. Leaving aside other things, just take these two movies that are about to be released: "The Original Code" is Shen Qing's project, and "Bodyguards and Assassins" is a project that Shen Qing got for her from China Film Group. The female lead in "Shaolin," which has just officially started filming, was also obtained for her by Shen Qing.

Remembering the source of one's blessings, Fan Bingbing, having received tangible benefits, became increasingly docile in front of Shen Qing. If she used to be always responsive to Shen Qing's requests, now she was more inclined to anticipate what Shen Qing wanted and promptly provide it, often without Shen Qing even asking; a single glance was enough for her to act.

The internal screenings were well-received. Even if theater managers had a lot of confidence in Shen Qing, there was no precedent for a good sci-fi film in China, and this was Shen Qing's first attempt at the genre, so they inevitably had some doubts about the film's quality.

Are domestic directors really capable of making good films about science fiction?

Does China really have the gene for making science fiction films?

Before the internal screening, many managers actually had a big question mark in their minds.

Fortunately, the internal screenings went well, and in subsequent discussions, about 5% of the theater managers said the film exceeded their expectations, stating that it was a sci-fi film with a very Hollywood feel and that the box office performance should not be too bad.

Another 2% said the movie was somewhat bland and lacked the grandeur of a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster they had imagined, but overall it was watchable.

The final 2% of viewers praised the film highly, saying that although it lacked the grand scenes they had imagined, the plot was brilliant, somewhat reminiscent of *The Matrix*. Of course, it can't compare to *The Matrix*, but for a Chinese director's first science fiction film to be this good is quite remarkable.

12 month 2 day.

The premiere of the movie "The Original Code" was held at Wanda International Cinema in Beijing. Fan Bingbing once again took leave from the "Shaolin" film crew to attend.

It was the same old routine: arrival, red carpet, media interviews, interaction with the premiere audience, watching the film, post-screening interviews and interactions.

On the night of the premiere, film critics and netizens who attended the premiere posted their viewing experiences on the internet.

"Unbelievable! This sci-fi movie was actually made by a homegrown Chinese director!"

"After watching 'The Code,' I have full confidence in 'Gravity,' which will be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year."

"It's amazing, completely beyond expectations. I never thought Shen Qing's first science fiction film could reach this level."

"Let's see who dares to say China can't make science fiction films again!"

"I predict the Douban rating will be above 9 points."

"It has some flaws. If the movie had ended with that kiss, I would call it a masterpiece. Unfortunately, the director gave the protagonist a warmer ending for commercial reasons."

"The moment the image froze was astonishing, but the subsequent content wasn't superfluous; it was foreshadowed all along."

"You absolutely must see this! Director Shen Qing has opened a window for Chinese science fiction films, and we hope that 'Gravity' will be an even wider door. After so many years, we finally see hope for Chinese science fiction films. Our mission is to do our part to make this kind of film profitable!"

"Overall, it's 8.8 points, but to encourage domestic science fiction films, I'm willing to give it 10 points."

"You can always trust that Shen Qing will bring you surprises."

The reviews spread, and ordinary netizens were skeptical after reading them.

"The reviews seem pretty good, are they real? Or are they all shills?"

"There are definitely shills involved, but the film itself should be of good quality; many reputable film critics are praising it."

"I trust Shen Qing, but this is science fiction after all."

"I feel that even if it's not as good as the hype suggests, it shouldn't be too bad, right? I used to think Shen Qing wouldn't be able to handle serious and weighty historical subjects like the Nanjing Massacre, but what happened? Shen Qing has produced 'Nanjing Photo Studio'!"

"I'll just buy tickets to support Shen Qing's movies. I've never been too disappointed before, and he's got a credit limit with me."

2009 12 Month 3 Day.

"Source Code" has been officially released nationwide.

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