Chinese entertainment industry in disarray? Hollywood goddess welcomes strict father!

boom--

bang bang-

The real, piercing sound of gunfire echoed throughout the performance hall.

In the film, an assassination attempt against the Xu family patriarch is unfolding on the streets of Shanghai's bustling Bund. There are no fancy techniques; it's just real and bloody.

But this is undoubtedly a way of portraying the scene. Just moments before, the powerful and influential Old Master Xu lay in a pool of blood and scattered oranges. His second son, who was with him, wanted to draw his gun to fight back, but he was so frightened that his hands trembled and he couldn't hold the gun steady. Only after the assassin fled did he lie on his father's body and cry out in grief.

On the other hand, the male protagonist, Xu Wenqiang, was still spending Christmas with his foreign girlfriend until the newspaper published the news of the assassination of Xu's father, a bigwig in Shanghai. Only then did the male protagonist and his foreign girlfriend rush home separately.

The situation at home was far more dire than imagined. The elderly father was in the hospital, his life hanging in the balance, and a key member of the family had been murdered by hostile forces and thrown into the Huangpu River to be fed to fish. The other side then sent two dead fish, shocking everyone in the Xu family...

The plot took a sharp turn for the worse, but the audience in the hall, who had been making a fuss earlier, suddenly fell silent.

This means they've completely become engrossed in watching!

"Look..."

Olsen nudged Lu Lin and Scarlett Johansson in the ribs, gesturing for them to turn and look at the engrossed audience. "Actually, no one seems to have trouble reading subtitles!" she exclaimed in surprise.

Generally speaking, Europeans and Americans are not used to watching foreign films. Even if they do watch them, they prefer English dubbed versions because foreign language dialogues presented with English subtitles are really messy and they don't have enough attention to read the subtitles.

The film "Lost in the East," starring Lu Lin and Scarlett Johansson, achieved good box office results in North America before the Lunar New Year. This was because the story unfolds from the perspective of the female protagonist played by Johansson, who experiences the local customs and culture of China and has a chance encounter with the male protagonist played by Lu Lin.

To put it simply, the dialogue is mainly in English, with a few nonsensical Chinese exchanges, which actually add to the humor and exotic atmosphere!

The movie "Shanghai Bund" being shown in front of us, except for the male lead and his foreign girlfriend who speak in English, is entirely in Chinese. Even the English subtitles, which are as concise as possible, are still quite garbled.

What's amazing is that the audience, who were packed with viewers, actually got absorbed in the film!

"This is because the actors' performances are superb, and the cinematography is extremely simple yet rich, allowing viewers to understand the plot smoothly without having to pay too much attention to the subtitles..."

Scarlett Johansson glanced back at the audience, a hint of envy in her eyes, and said, "Besides, subtitles aren't really a problem. This is the premiere, so we're showing the original Chinese version. The general audience can choose to watch the dubbed version. I feel the box office will definitely be high; it might even reach over 500 million US dollars in North America!"

Hearing the exaggerated claims, the young woman calmed down and hesitated, saying, "Over 500 million in North America alone? Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"

"This isn't some blockbuster movie; it's just a crime drama."

"Furthermore, our perspective is largely different from that of the average moviegoer."

"We're experts, we can see the craftsmanship, but the average moviegoer doesn't care about that; they only care about whether it's entertaining!"

That's the truth, even a profound insight.

Professional filmmakers often have a taste for highbrow art that is difficult for the average viewer to appreciate, and they may not share the same interests as the general audience.

Like many award-winning films, it's common for them to flop at the box office!

"Lu, what do you say...? Are you confident about the box office...?"

After a brief exchange, Scarlett Johansson and Elizabeth Olsen both looked at Lu Lin expectantly and asked.

Lu Lin shrugged: "If the box office is bad, pull it from theaters. Go ahead and get it on streaming platforms soon."

Black Widow: "..."

Olsen: "..."

This guy is a disgrace to traditional filmmakers. Just how obsessed is he with streaming media? All he talks about is getting off the big screen and onto streaming platforms as soon as possible!

The two of them were inwardly complaining, but stopped asking him and continued to focus on the movie.

At this point, the protagonist of the movie went to the concession hospital to visit his elderly father who was seriously injured and in a coma. However, the concession hospital was not a peaceful place. The protagonist discovered that the guards protecting his father had disappeared. He asked a nurse and learned that they had been arrested by the concession police on the grounds of disrupting hospital order.

So the protagonist decisively put on his coat, put his hands inside it, and stood guard outside his father's hospital room, pretending to be a fierce man carrying a gun, which successfully scared away the lone wolf assassin who had infiltrated the hospital.

The protagonist's actions demonstrated remarkable composure and wisdom, saving his elderly father's life and bringing a sigh of relief to the tense audience in the hall.

She even subconsciously applauded the male lead: "Clap clap... buddy, well done..."

The audience became more and more engrossed in the film, but the protagonist was drawn into the power struggles between various families in Shanghai in order to protect his father. He, the youngest son of the Xu family who had already joined the army and left home, was no longer an outsider in the gangland feud.

Moreover, the enemy has clearly bribed the police to wipe out the entire Xu family!

The male protagonist takes the initiative to protect his family. In a roadside Western restaurant in the 1930s, he personally shoots and kills the rival gang leader and the police chief of the foreign concession. He then flees to Hong Kong overnight to seek refuge, and completely loses contact with his girlfriend, played by Ao Mei.

But while one door closes, another opens. While seeking refuge in Hong Kong, the male protagonist meets another foreign woman, played by Scarlett Johansson in a cameo role.

"Oh ho ho... nice..."

Scarlett Johansson's cameo appearance caused a burst of excited screams in the hall.

It's not that the characters' appearances were particularly stunning; it's purely a case of "Lost in the East" syndrome. Most Western film fans who enjoyed Lost in the East would love to see the two reunite.

It's important to know that the plot of Lost in the East tells the story of a young American woman, played by Scarlett Johansson, who comes to China to work with her photographer husband. Feeling lonely and bored because she doesn't understand Chinese, she meets the male lead who speaks fluent English. The two have a great time together, but the male lead is a typical married American man who constantly talks about his wife and children. Ultimately, nothing happens between him and the lonely young woman, and their ambiguous and beautiful relationship ends in a regretful separation…

In short, the regret is that the two are the finishing touches of Lost in the East, leaving the audience with a lingering feeling. But it is precisely because of this lingering feeling that people especially want to see them continue their relationship and have a happy ending.

Whether in real life or in other movies!

Lu Lin knew what moviegoers wanted to see, so when filming "Shanghai Bund" began, he had Scarlett Johansson make a cameo appearance, portraying a couple who eventually got together. It's not surprising that moviegoers reacted this way.

But hearing the excited shouts behind her, Elizabeth Olsen realized that her spotlight had been stolen by Scarlett Johansson, and she couldn't help but feel a little defensive. She angrily retorted, "Fuck you all! I'm the leading lady!"

She didn't lower her voice; instead, she shouted it loudly behind her.

This silenced the noisy performance hall, followed by an even louder uproar of laughter: "Pfft... Hahaha..."