Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 411 Must Replenish Warehouse
The entire release meeting lasted for more than two hours, ending at around 12:10 pm.

Next was a buffet lunch.

Hilton's banquet hall is resplendent in gold, with long tables covered in snow-white silk laden with delicacies from around the world. Waiters in sharp black and white uniforms move among the guests, carrying silver platters to fill champagne or red wine, amidst the clinking of glasses and lively conversation.

Nolan didn't leave, and neither did Chen Nuo.

About forty minutes into the banquet, Chen Nuo took a photo with a cinema manager from France. He signed the Chinese characters "Chen Nuo" along with the English "To Lena, wishing you happiness every day" on a collectible "Chen Doll" that the manager had brought.

Amidst the beaming smile of the bearded Frenchman, he chuckled and said "Excuse me," then turned and walked toward the side door.

Seeing this, Gulnazar quickly swallowed the salmon in her mouth, put the plate she was holding on the table, apologized to the handsome British man in front of her, and then hurried after him.

Qi Yuntian, who was not far away, glanced at her, then looked in the direction Chen Nuo had left, before turning back to continue chatting with David Carter of AMC about the various interesting things at Georgian University, letting out a burst of cheerful laughter.

So, being an ABC (American-born Chinese) who graduated from a prestigious university does have its advantages. You can run into alumni everywhere, and connections will pop up in front of you every now and then.

As a junior assistant, Gulnazar did not have such social obligations.

She had just chatted casually with the British man who had struck up a conversation with her to practice her spoken English, so when she saw Chen Nuo leave her seat, she followed him without much thought.

She pushed open the wooden side door, revealing a corridor. After glancing at the restroom sign in the hallway, she hesitated for a moment, then followed.

This toilet seems to have been recently renovated; it's quite quiet as there's no one around at this hour.

The high heels clicked on the floor. As Gulnazar approached the bathroom door, she hadn't yet decided what to do next—whether to wait there or go in and pee herself.

Then I heard a pattering sound.

The sound of the water was clear, conveying a sense of robust and powerful strength.

Gulnazar paused for a moment, then her cheeks flushed slightly. She thought of going to hide in the other toilet, but then she immediately thought, since we're already here... then we'll be coming out soon.

But staying put would be too awkward.

So... what should we do?
Before Gulnazar could make up her mind, Chen Nuo walked out of the men's restroom.

Seeing a girl in a floral dress standing at the door, he was taken aback for a moment and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Gulnazar was startled and exclaimed, "I just arrived, I didn't hear anything... No, no, I just came to see if you need anything, Mr. Chen, and if there's anything I can help with."

As soon as she said it, Gulnazar felt a little strange. Then, some very bizarre images flashed through her mind, and her face suddenly burned.

As Chen Nuo washed his hands, he looked at Gulnazar in the mirror and asked, "Have you been drinking?"

"I didn't...yes, I only drank a little bit."

After washing his hands, Chen Nuo tore off a piece of paper, wiped his hands, and said irritably, "Drink less alcohol. How old are you? I heard from Michelle that you used to drink with her at hotels every few days. Don't blame the company for not raising you properly when your parents see you've become an alcoholic after you go back to XJ."

Gulnazar couldn't help but grin, feeling a strange warmth in her heart. Suddenly remembering the purpose of her visit, she said, "No...Mr. Chen, are you hungry? Would you like me to get you something to eat?"

"Uh... here?"

"I noticed you were talking to them the whole time, Mr. Chen, and didn't even have time to eat. You probably won't have time to eat again after you go out. What do you say?"

Chen Nuo touched his stomach, which was indeed a bit flat.

there's no way.

This summer's movie season is packed with strong contenders.

毕竟，6月17号的《绿灯侠》，6月22日的《赛车总动员 2》，还有6月25号上映的《变性金刚3：月黑之时》。还包括7月22号上映的《美国队长》，8月5号的《猿族崛起》，这全都是他们的竞争对手。其中派拉蒙的变三和漫威的美国队长，则是一前一后的主要竞争对手。

They will take turns competing with them in theaters worldwide for screen time, release dates, IMAX theaters, and audiences.

They robbed Chen of his money!

They needed to achieve three objectives by holding this launch event:
1. Request as many screenings as possible in the first week. 2. Try to secure screenings in IMAX theaters with high ticket prices and during prime time slots. 3. Strive for a simultaneous large-scale release to boost "global opening week box office" and generate buzz.

Although it seems to be working well now, these publishers' promises are ultimately just words.

They need to go back and spend 3-5 days completing final negotiations with theaters to secure screenings before the film can be officially registered in Warner Bros.' global distribution system, and the final number of theaters to release the film will be determined.

Therefore, at this time, the cinema representatives and theater owners who control the terminal channels are truly the masters.

Not only him, but even Keira Knightley and Ellen Page, who hadn't attended the meeting before, were brought in to drink with him, along with Nolan and his wife, and two Warner Bros. executives in charge of distribution.

Everyone went out together and chatted with representatives from key cinema chains such as UGC (France), CinemaxX (Germany), Toho Cinemas (Japan), CGV (South Korea), and Event Cinemas (Australia).

This time, Chen Nuo truly experienced what international distribution means. It's not like how he was in China, where he could just rely on a powerful backer after filming and do nothing but wait for theaters to automatically schedule screenings.

Once they leave their home market and step onto the global stage, no matter how big a star they are, they still have to fight tooth and nail for screen time, audience attention, and viewership with a meal, a drink, a few polite words, and a film schedule.

Even a staid Briton like Christopher Nolan would toast with the regional manager of a British cinema chain, coaxing the manager into agreeing to give all the prime-time slots of his three IMAX theaters to "Inception."

There's an old Hollywood saying: "The fate of a movie is decided in the seven days leading up to its release." You can't truly understand these things unless you're involved yourself.

Chen Nuo hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, go get it for me. Just take a little."

"Okay! Mr. Chen, wait for me for two minutes, I'll be right back."

Gulnazar hurriedly went to the banquet hall, filled a large plate with food, and grabbed a drink. When she returned, Chen Nuo ate while she stood by, silently watching with a glass of juice.

Seeing the man wolfing down his food, Gulnazar felt a pang of heartache for no apparent reason.

Sigh, being a big star is quite pitiful.

Chen Nuo finished eating in no time.

After taking the juice from Gulnazar and taking a sip, he couldn't help but think to himself, "Girls are so thoughtful. If it were Linghu, even if he remembered to get him food, how could he possibly think of getting him a drink?"
"Alright, let's go, let's go out."

"Okay, Mr. Chen, um, would you like to rest a bit more? We just finished eating..."

"No need. By the way, you've done a good job lately, I'll give you a raise next month."

"Huh?? Really?!"

"Correct."

"Thank you, Mr. Chen!!!!"

……

……

"How to say?"

"Well, we still need to reduce our screening schedule."

"I know, what I mean is, how much lower? 10%? 15%?"

“AMC and Regal... are going to cut 23% of our games.”

"What!?"

Richard Silverman suddenly stood up.

As Paramount's Executive Vice President of Global Distribution and a co-producer of "Transformers 3," I could hardly believe my ears when I heard this number from my North American market scheduling manager.

"Cut it by 25%? Are they crazy? We still had $4700 million coming in last weekend!"

The screening manager hesitated, saying, "It's not just us. Cars 2 has also had half of its screenings withdrawn, Green Lantern has had 70% withdrawn... and smaller films are also being cleared out. Some cinemas have even voluntarily added early morning screenings to reserve 10% of the time slots for Inception."

“WTF!? Warner Bros., what kind of spell did Warner Bros. cast on them in the UK!? FUCK! The whole world is saying it's profound and hard to understand, so where is the appeal of this movie?” Richard Silverman asked incredulously.

The scheduling manager said in a weak voice, "Could it be Nolan, Chen, or James Cameron's 3ds Max cameras?"

Richard Silverman glared at him fiercely. "Do I need you to remind me? Call David Carter for me. I want to ask him myself what's going on!"

Meanwhile, in New York, Mason Collins was asking the same question.

The 50-share short position in Warner opened on Monday morning has been held for four days. He originally planned to close this position and add to his position today, but unexpectedly, he received news that was completely unexpected.

Warner Bros. now has 4489 theaters open in the US!
超过了《阿凡达》的3891家，超过了《变形金刚3》的 4088家，也比当初《黑暗骑士》创下的 4367家北美开画记录还多出整整101家。

This is an unprecedented opening lineup, and it's Warner Bros.' first summer blockbuster since The Dark Knight to have such a dominant start.

Moreover, this Inception seems even more terrifying than The Dark Knight.

According to a report seen by Mason Collins, data released by Box Office Mojo, a leading global box office data platform under IMDb, shows that the number of theaters worldwide currently scheduling the film has exceeded 9100.

This figure not only surpasses the 8370 opening weekends for Transformers 3 and The Dark Knight, but also the 8340 opening weekends for The Dark Knight, and even the record of 8452 opening weekends for Avatar!
Furthermore, this data does not include the Chinese market, where the release will be delayed by almost a month!

What is this concept?
The idea is that MOTHERFUCK and other global theater managers seem to have gone blind and lost their minds, treating a mind-bending suspenseful sci-fi movie as the savior of this summer's box office!
With Transformers 3 underperforming at the box office, Cars 2 flopping spectacularly, and Green Lantern failing to even save DC fans, these distributors and theater managers saw this complex, mind-bending sci-fi film as another Avatar that could fill seats, reverse the decline, and revive their weekly box office reports!
What’s the point!
“I don’t know what happened either. I just received a notification from higher up. I’m sorry I can’t help you, Mason.”

Mason Collins listened to the voice on the phone and forced a smile, "It's okay, Jeff, I'll ask someone else."

"okay bye."

"bye."

After hanging up the call from the AMC theater manager, Mason Collins pondered for a moment, then pulled out another number on his phone, hesitated for a while, and finally dialed it.

This is his inside player in Warner Bros., the real deal.

He pays $5 for each message he receives from the other party. He usually doesn't make any contact.

But this time, he had to find out exactly what had happened!
A few minutes later, he hung up the phone again.

“Mason, what do we do now?” his trader Jerry asked. “If we’re going to close out our positions, we need to do it quickly. It’s already gone up 5 points, and there’s no telling when other traders will jump in, which could trigger our liquidation line.”

"Don't rush, let me think about it, let me think about it."

Mason Collins stared at the soaring candlestick chart on his computer screen, feeling as if he had swallowed a handful of rusty nails; every breath he took was stinging.

Just five minutes ago, after the news of Inception's release was announced, Warner Bros.' stock price seemed to be ignited, surging from $12.10 at the opening to $12.87.

Mason's 50 short shares were added to his position at an average price of $12.2 when the market opened on Monday, with a target price of $11.5. However, this wave of "collective madness" among theater managers left him trapped at the peak.

Based on current prices, his unrealized losses have already exceeded $60!
Clearly, this confidence from global theater managers has significantly altered Wall Street's sentiment and expectations.

But is that really true?
Based on the intelligence he just received, Warner Bros.' "sweeping release schedule" might not actually be as stable as it seems.

But the problem is, what can he do now? Does he dare to wait any longer?

Given his current short positions, if there's a bandwagon effect or some black swan event, he might not even be able to secure his current position this year, let alone get a promotion.

But if I close the position...

He needs to pay the price of over $600,000 for that Chinese kid’s glib tongue and charismatic diplomacy.
A lunch party cost him six hundred thousand dollars!? Is that kid Warren Buffett?
Just thinking about it made Mason Collins want to smash the screen to pieces and then unleash every swear word in every language in the world at that Chinese man.

However, in the end, the rationality cultivated over years of investment management brought reason back to his mind.

"Do it, Jerry."

After struggling to finish saying those words, Mason Collins clenched his fists, his heart filled with resentment and humiliation.

After Jerry quickly finished his operations, he turned back and reassured Mason, "It's alright. It's okay, Mason. We still hold the 100 million short position we opened earlier. It still has a lot of profit. We can hold onto it. As long as there's a crash, it will make up for our losses and we can even make a fortune." Mason Collins took a deep breath and said, "You're right, Jerry. We'll keep a close eye on tomorrow night's box office. If there's any sign of trouble, we'll add back to our position and short it to the end. Those idiot theater managers, those stupid fans, and that damn... they'll all go to hell!"

……

……

"Clap!"

A faint sound came from the window.

Susan, who was dozing fully clothed, suddenly opened her eyes.

She listened intently to the sounds from the next room for a while, and finding everything quiet, she immediately threw back the covers and tiptoed out of bed.

It was 11 p.m. on this Friday night, which should have been her bedtime, but she found herself already dressed.

She opened the window and peeked out. There was a dark figure in the yard below. Through the streetlight, she could see that it was her good friend, Aurora.

Next, the white girl's way of running away from home was much more outrageous than that of the Chinese children.

Following the rope formed by the crumpled sheets, Susan slid down to the ground and successfully reunited with her friends.

Immediately afterwards, the two girls whispered and laughed together as they got into a car parked by the roadside.

Aurora's brother, Joseph, was driving, and his girlfriend, Chloe, was in the passenger seat. They were both students at Louisiana State University.

As soon as Susan got into the car, Chloe turned around and smiled, "Susan, I heard you took all your mother's money and bought Warner stock, is that true?"

Susan glanced at Aurora, and the bespectacled brown-haired girl grinned at her. Susan waved her fist at her and then said, "Yes."

"Wow, I'm really surprised your mom didn't kill you."

"Actually, Warner's stock has already risen quite a bit in the past two days."

"And then? Did you break even?"

Susan was taken aback. The price had indeed rebounded somewhat the day before yesterday, but it had been hovering around $13 for the past two days, still quite a distance from the $14.96 she had bought at.

Chloe chuckled in a particularly annoying way. "Looks like there's still a reason to kill you, isn't there?"

Susan pouted and remained silent.

At this moment, Joseph said in a muffled voice, "Alright, Chloe, stop teasing her. Check the movie tickets and make sure they're in your pocket."

Susan saw Joseph's upper face and his dark eyes in the rearview mirror, and her heart started racing.

"OMG! They're not here!" Chloe suddenly exclaimed.

"What!" Joseph slammed on the brakes and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

But immediately, Chloe giggled again, "Just kidding, hahaha. Look, here, four tickets, Inception at 00:00, Lockstreet Cinema, row 6, seats 09, 10, 11, and 12. The best seats."

Joseph restarted the car and said helplessly, "Come on, Chloe, it's 11 p.m. I already have enough of a headache dealing with two runaway girls, don't play jokes on me like this."

"Hahaha, relax. You're a top student with a first-class scholarship, you can handle it. Besides, Susan and Aurora will be very well-behaved; they'll come home with us after the movie. Don't you two agree?"

Aurora immediately replied, "Yes."

Susan looked at Chloe, who had turned around and was looking at her with a half-smile, and nodded helplessly, saying, "Yes. Don't worry, Chloe, I promise I'll go home after the movie."

……

When Susan and her group of four entered the movie theater, it was about to start in 5 minutes.

The movie theater was only about a quarter full, less than Susan had expected, which made her a little disappointed.

Aurora clearly shared the same thought as her, and as soon as she sat down, she turned her head and said, "It's okay, Susan. Lockstreet isn't a good movie theater. There isn't even an IMAX theater here. I heard that a lot of people go to see IMAX theaters, because that's where you get the best experience."

Susan sighed and said, "I hope so. I just really regret it. I shouldn't have been so impulsive and bought all my mother's money. But I was really like I was under a spell at the time."

"How much has your mother lost so far?"

"It's almost $6000."

"OMG... Uh, but it's okay, Chen said he'd compensate me, didn't he?"

"Yes, but... well, it's all my fault, I messed it up," Susan said sadly.

Suddenly, her hand felt warm. She turned around and saw that Chloe had suddenly reached out and grasped her hand.

Through the 3D glasses, the 19-year-old cheerleader's smile looked a little strange, but her voice was gentle: "Don't worry, it will grow."

Why did this woman's attitude change?

Before Susan could think it through, the lights in the entire theater suddenly went out, and the movie started.

"Wow, so cute!" Aurora whispered beside her.

Susan nodded.

The logo animation she just created was different from any of the film companies she had ever seen before, and the name was also very unfamiliar.

A tiny little person was walking down the road when he suddenly tripped and fell, with three round "exclamation mark" bubbles appearing above his head. Just as he was rubbing his bottom and trying to get up, the film strip under his feet sprang up like a spring, launching him into the air.

The little figure somersaulted in mid-air, and as he landed, the film strip quietly wrapped around him, transforming into a tiny cape. He dusted himself off, revealing a smug yet mischievous expression—the film strip that followed him danced and spun, automatically forming a line of round, adorable letters in the air:

REBORN PICTURE.

In 3D, the little figure in this 5-second animation appears so lifelike that it seems you could reach out and touch it.

"This is Chen's company."

Susan turned her head to the other side in surprise, only to see Chloe raise the corner of her mouth.

On the movie screen, the image flashed, and with a slight mechanical sound, the Warner Bros. logo appeared.

Then it was the name of another Chinese film company.

Then, the movie began.

In 3D, a somewhat stunning scene unfolds before your eyes.

A white-edged wave roared and crashed against several jagged rocks, white foam churning, and the salty sea breeze seemed to burst out of the screen, rushing straight to her face.

The camera suddenly zooms in.

A dark-haired man lay face down on the beach, his wet suit clinging to his muscular back, seawater dripping from his dark hair.

The camera zoomed in even closer.

But it seems the director deliberately didn't let the audience see his face clearly; the camera shot from the side, only showing a small part of his face. Wet sand clung to his angular cheeks, water droplets on his brow bone reflected a faint light, and his eyebrows, wet from the seawater, trembled slightly.

The 3D effect makes every grain of sand three-dimensional and distinct, the spray of the waves seems to splash out of the screen, and it feels as if it is right in front of you, making you want to reach out and touch it.

Finally, he struggled to raise his head, revealing a pair of unfocused black eyes.

Then, the illusory figures of two children playing appeared on the screen.

He seemed to be watching them, his eyes filled with a sadness that Susan couldn't quite describe.

I really don't know how to describe it, because this is definitely not the Edward she knows.

Even when Edward broke up with Bella in Twilight 2 and committed suicide in the sunlight, it wasn't as heartbreaking and pathetic as this.

Susan was already quite surprised at that moment.

But she never expected that such a beginning would be just the most insignificant appetizer in these 120-plus minutes.

Susan doesn't even know how she got through the rest of the movie viewing experience.

She felt as if she were lingering in a series of fantastic and magnificent scenes, reluctant to leave.

Except for the occasional gasp from the audience in the movie theater that brings her back to her senses.

Besides that, she became like the girl in the movie, following her handsome and charismatic teacher, traversing layers of mist in the dream world, challenging the boundaries between reality and illusion.

She followed him, infiltrating the subconscious of others to steal deeply buried secrets.

Together they evaded pursuers in the pouring rain of city streets, and also tumbled and fought in the gravity-defying corridors of a hotel.

Together they not only built an intricate labyrinth of dreams within dreams, but also fought against the collapse of time and their inner selves, protecting each other's beliefs.

3D glasses don't seem so uncomfortable during these wonderful and magical adventures.

The torrential rain in the city streets immersed her in a dark atmosphere, with countless raindrops splashing as if trying to soak her clothes.

In the snow-capped mountains, he held her hand as bullets from his pursuers pierced the air, making their hearts clench.

The zero-gravity combat in the hotel corridor was dizzying. The walls and floors spun and flipped, his tumbling and grappling with his enemies, the punches seemingly within reach, and shards of broken glass scattered in slow motion, each fragment gleaming with a sharp light.

There was also the slow-motion explosion scene on the street, when he and she were sitting in a café on a Parisian street, and everything around them suddenly froze, as if time had been paused.

Then, as if the air had been ignited, a silent shockwave slowly spread from an invisible source.

The explosion wasn't instantaneous, but unfolded elegantly and terrifyingly in extreme slow motion—coffee cups soared into the air, steam condensing. Newspapers fluttered like scattered butterflies. Windows in the alleyways shattered one by one, shards of glass dancing in the air like snowflakes. Colorful fruits were frozen in the sky.

Chairs overturned, tables shattered, and fragments swam in the air like schools of fish—everything unfolded slowly in an almost dreamlike way.

There was no sound, yet every frame seemed to convey a breathtaking power—this was not reality, but a miracle from the depths of a dream.

However, what Susan felt was the most breathtaking and speechless scene was the construction of the maze.

When the city designed by the girl folded and rose before everyone's eyes, skyscrapers curved like pieces of paper, streets spiraled, and the brick and stone textures of the buildings were so delicate that every crack could be seen...

Not only her, but many people in the entire theater gasped in surprise at that moment.

At the end of the film, as the dreamlike snow mountain fortress begins to crumble, snowflakes and rubble erupt from the screen, and the howling of the cold wind assaults the theater's surround sound.

Susan's sense of time was not only confused, but she even forgot that this was not a real experience, but a 3D movie she had sneaked out to watch late at night.

Going out is easy, but going back is hard. When she gets home, she'll probably have to rack her brains just to get into the house.

So when Susan got out of her car at 3 a.m. and saw that the lights in her living room on the first floor were on, she was actually relieved.

Otherwise, if she didn't bring her phone and wanted to wake her mother up, she would probably have to do what Aurora did: smash the window with a stone.

She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and resolutely rang the doorbell.

The door opened quickly.

Susan looked at Karen Wilson standing in the doorway.

Meeting those eyes that seemed to want to kill her, she was still a little scared, but she mustered her courage and said first, "Mom, I've finished watching the movie. I think you have to buy more on Monday!"

(End of this chapter)