Huayu: Starting from Fahrenheit

Chapter 424 Cameo
"Andy Lau vs. Wu Tianwang" became the theme of this Lunar New Year film season.

Discussions about this topic have been very heated, both online and offline.

Online, the companies behind the two production teams worked hard to promote the films, and news about the two superstars swept across the internet.

Offline, the approach involved bombarding cinemas with posters.

Whenever you walk into a movie theater, you'll inevitably see posters for "Ip Man 2" and "Shaolin" on either side of the entrance.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the entire internet, both films were released in theaters one after another.

The first film to be released, "Shaolin", achieved an astonishing box office figure on its opening day.

2000 million RMB in a single day.

However, while the box office numbers exploded, the film's reputation was less than satisfactory.

Many people who watched the film only gave it a one-star rating.

The reason is that the plot is too clichéd, you can guess the ending from the beginning, the character development is too one-dimensional, and it seems to be tragic for the sake of tragedy.

Then there's the movie called "Shaolin," but the actual plot of the film has little to do with the Shaolin Temple.

In the words of film critics, this is a film packed with superstars.

However, there are both advantages and disadvantages. In order to film this movie, Benny Chan painstakingly built a Shaolin Temple set.

The scenes and other aspects have received high praise.

According to Wu Zhuo, this movie is not entirely a bad film.

Wu Zhuo thought the action design was excellent; Wu Jing and the other young monks' movements were fluid and natural, without any unnecessary flourishes.

Andy Lau's acting was also impressive. He portrayed Hou Jie's character from indifference and suspicion to despair and repentance, especially in the scene where he lost his beloved daughter, which made the audience feel very connected to the character.

On a spiritual level, goodness is so good that it wins people's hearts, and evilness is so evil that it makes people grit their teeth.

Well, as netizens have put it, this movie has a kind of endearingly clumsy charm. The plot is a bit cliché, but there are surprises, touching moments, and tears in the eyes.

But they are, after all, rivals.

Furthermore, this film was actually an advertisement for the Shaolin Temple, forcibly giving them a halo of saving the country and the people, which Wu Zhuo disliked very much.

Due to negative word-of-mouth, the box office of "Shaolin" declined slightly in the following two days, but still remained above 1500 million.

Until "Ip Man 2" was released.

As a sequel to the critically acclaimed "Ip Man," it also features Wu Zhuo, a star with even greater appeal and popularity than Donnie Yen.

"Ip Man 2" opened with a box office of 1900 million yuan, which was no less than that of "Shaolin".

Then there's the matter of reputation.

Ip Man 2 may not have received the same critical acclaim as the first film.

But compared to the many bad movies this year, this film can be considered a work of sincerity.

That same evening, the movie's rating was released on Douban.

The film received an average score of 8.4 from thousands of viewers, a stark contrast to the 6.5 ratings previously given.

Film critics have given "Ip Man 2" much better reviews than "Shaolin".

Seeing that the word-of-mouth had overshadowed Emperor Entertainment's "Shaolin", Raymond Wong was overjoyed and immediately gave each of the main actors a large red envelope.

They also arranged for the actors to appear on several promotional programs in a row.

Wu Zhuo also went along for a few days, and it wasn't until after the 29th that the movie's promotion was launched.

By the 29th, the two films had not only differed in terms of critical reception, but also in box office revenue.

"Ip Man 2" raked in 1.6 million yuan at the box office in its opening week. "Shaolin" had a longer run but only made 5 million yuan, 1.1 million yuan less than "Ip Man 2".

According to predictions from professional data statistics agencies, the final box office of "Ip Man 2" may be around 3.5 million yuan, while "Shaolin" may only reach around 2.3 million yuan.

Needless to say, the box office success of "Ip Man 2" has once again elevated Wu Zhuo's status in the Chinese film industry.

To date, he has starred in a total of 5 films.

They are: Connected, Painted Skin, Ip Man, Fleet of Time, and Ip Man 2.

Apart from "Connected," which was Wu Zhuogang's film at the time, it didn't do well at the box office, only around 6 million.

If "Ip Man 2" also grosses over 300 million yuan, Wu Zhuo will set a record, becoming the only actor in Chinese cinema to have four consecutive films gross over 200 million yuan.

Well, 200 million is the first, 300 million is even more obvious.

To date, there have been only about 20 films in China that have grossed over 300 million yuan at the box office.

It's also because this gimmick is too big.

Throughout the Spring Festival, the internet was filled with news about Wu Zhuo.

Some say he is the leading figure of China's new generation.

Some people say he is now on par with veteran superstars.

Some even say he will replace Jet Li and Jackie Chan as the new king of kung fu.

There are actually many different opinions about the title of "King of Kung Fu".

Because the Ip Man series is a kung fu film, Wu Zhuo is now considered the true successor to Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Even Jackie Chan said in an interview that he had high hopes for Wu Zhuo.

The outside world's turmoil had no effect on Wu Zhuo at all.

He had already gone back to Taiwan for the Lunar New Year.

Actually, Wu Zhuo's previous idea was to move directly to the mainland, and he also brought his grandmother there.

But things were fine at the beginning when I was visiting people's homes, visiting relatives every day.

However, after staying there a while, she started to miss Taiwan.

Then, having no other choice, Wu Zhuo had to send her back, and for the next two years, she chose to spend the Lunar New Year in Taiwan.

Wu Zhuo has made up his mind to spend another five Lunar New Years in Taiwan.

Then, whether the old lady wanted it or not, he would take her to the mainland.

There's no way around it; in a few years, he'll definitely have to come forward and make a statement.

If a celebrity of his caliber were to make a statement, he would almost certainly be targeted.

He would be very worried if the old lady continued to stay here.

This year's Spring Festival was no different from last year's: visiting relatives and seeing friends.

Having coffee and tea with old friends I haven't seen in a long time.

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. Wu Zhuo's holiday was coming to an end, so he booked a flight for the next day to return to work in mainland China.

However, before Wu Zhuo had even left, an acquaintance arrived at his door.

It is Liao Fei-hong, the director of "KO One".

He approached Wu Zhuo not for any other reason than hoping that Wu Zhuo would make a cameo appearance for them in "KO One Re-act 2".

It's worth mentioning the situation of the four members of Fahrenheit here.

Last August, Fahrenheit officially disbanded, and all the members went their separate ways.

Needless to say, Wu Zhuo established his own company and became a major capitalist.

Then there's Wu Zun, who had long been flirting with Emperor Entertainment Group. After his contract with Tianxi was terminated, he immediately joined Emperor Entertainment Group.

These past two years have been incredibly successful; he's been acting in both TV dramas and movies.

To be fair, it did quite well at the box office.

Then there's Calvin Chen. After leaving Tianxi, Calvin Chen also developed his career in mainland China, but he didn't sign with a company.

However, his career is also on a good trajectory. After Wu Zhuo's company's "You Are the Apple of My Eye" became a box office hit, he became a hot commodity and is now the first choice for leading roles in youth films by major companies.

This guy hasn't studied singing or acting in detail for the past two years.

So, to a certain extent, he can probably only work in teen movies.

In fact, Wu Zhuo had advised him to focus on improving his acting skills.

But to be honest, how many people can truly settle down and reflect on their achievements after they've achieved success?

Therefore, Wu Zhuo felt that he was most likely ruined.

Fortunately, he's still a member of the "Tian Tian Brothers" team, so he has a long-term source of income.

In addition, he has a good business sense and has invested in many projects over the years, making him a successful business owner.

Then, the last person is Jiro Wang. Compared to Wu Zhuo and the others, Jiro Wang did not choose to leave Comic, but instead renewed his contract with Comic for another three years.

To be honest, Wu Zhuo didn't understand why he did that at all.

When asked, he said, "Now that you've all left, I'm the boss."

That is indeed a reason.

But look how bad Comic is now.

Wu Zhuo tried to persuade him once, but he didn't listen, so Wu Zhuo stopped trying.

Everyone has their own ideas and their own path, and others really can't interfere too much.

Because he stayed with Comic Productions, they immediately produced several dramas for Jiro Wang, and the ratings were quite good.

Then, Comic recently set its sights on the "KO One" series and plans to film a second season.

It's not that they don't want to film The Ultimate Family, it's just that the main characters are all gone, so what's the point of them filming anything?

"A guest appearance for a few days?"

Wu Zhuo did not immediately refuse Liao Feihong's invitation to make a cameo appearance.

Although Liao Feihong has not achieved much in the directing industry, he has a good relationship with the members of Fahrenheit.

Back in the days of KO One and KO Family, he took good care of Fahrenheit.

Because of Liao Feihong's favor, Wu Zhuo was willing to make a cameo appearance for him.

Of course, it wouldn't work if he were to star in the lead role.

Putting aside whether Wu Zhuo is willing to come back to film idol dramas, even if he were, Comic Productions couldn't afford to hire him given his current sky-high salary.

After the box office success of "Ip Man 2", Wu Zhuo's film salary has reached an astonishing level of 7000 million plus a share of the box office revenue.

It's no exaggeration to say that there are very few films in the current Chinese film industry that can afford to hire him.

This is actually a problem for big shots as well.

Wu Zhuo, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li are now actors that most companies can't afford to hire.

To hire them, you'd have to offer them a share of the box office revenue.

Jet Li has been making fewer films in the past two years, partly because his salary is high, but the box office results of his films have not met expectations.

The investment in "The Warlords" was huge, and he alone received a salary of 100 million, in addition to the salaries of Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro.

The actors' salaries alone for this film were close to 200 million, but what about the box office?

It grossed around $3.5 million worldwide.

The investors are almost losing all their money.

It was precisely because of this failed film that he received fewer big-budget production offers in the following two years...

"It won't take too long, just one day will do."

Upon hearing that Wu Zhuo seemed to agree, Liao Feihong happily replied:

"It's just a matter of a few shots."

But my flight is tomorrow afternoon?

Wu Zhuo frowned slightly.

"It's okay, we can start filming your scenes tomorrow morning, and we'll add special effects later."

"Then come pick me up tomorrow morning."

Wu Zhuo still agreed to make a cameo appearance.

He wouldn't care how the film would turn out in the end, whether it would make a profit or a loss.

This kind of favoritism is something that can never be avoided in the industry.

Just like with last year's "Shaolin", Wu Zhuo didn't have time, so he only made a cameo appearance later on.

Liao Feihong was very punctual; he sent someone to pick up Wu Zhuo early the next morning to take him to the filming location.

The filming lasted for about three hours before it ended.

As soon as filming wrapped, Wu Zhuo rushed to the airport.

"What kind of cameo role requires more than three hours of filming? I think they're just trying to ride your coattails."

On the way, Xiao An kept talking about the crickets from the KO One 2 film crew.

Originally, according to Liao Feihong, it was a play with only a few lines of dialogue.

As a result, Wu Zhuo went there and filmed for three hours straight.

These three hours are not just one scene, but completely different scenes.

"They're all old friends, let them be!"

Wu Zhuo roughly understood what Kemi wanted to do.

It's simply a matter of cutting all of Wu Zhuo's three hours of screen time into the TV series.

If all these scenes were included, it would amount to a considerable amount of screen time.

Yes, that's pretty much what Xiao An said; they just want to freeload.

Just like in the past life of Mahua FunAge, whenever Shen Teng makes a cameo appearance, it's said that Shen Teng is the lead actor.

This "KO One Re-act" will probably be the same.

……

Upon arriving in Beijing, Wu Zhuo immediately went to participate in a charity auction that very evening.

It was organized by Jet Li's One Foundation.

Wu Zhuo has interacted with Jet Li before. Back in 2008, he, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li even organized a fundraising event for a grand performance in Hong Kong.

The donations at the time were handled by Jet Li's foundation.

"Wu Zhuo, welcome! Congratulations on the film's box office success."

Wu Zhuo had just arrived at the door when he saw Jet Li.

He was there greeting the guests.

The event was quite large today, with many domestic celebrities in attendance.

"You're welcome."

Wu Zhuo went up and chatted with him for a few words before entering the venue on his own.

His seat was arranged in the first row, with Wang Zhonglei on his left and Bona Film Group President Yu Dong on his right.

"Abel, nice to meet you!"

"Mr. Wu, congratulations! The movie is a huge box office success again."

As soon as Wu Zhuo arrived, Yu Dong and Wang Zhonglei, who were sitting in their seats, took the initiative to stand up and shake hands with him.

"Hello, Mr. Yu."

"Mr. Wang, you're too kind."

Wu Zhuo politely shook hands with the two of them.

Then sit down.

Speaking of which, the two people next to me are quite prominent figures in the Chinese film and television industry.

When other people encounter them, they generally have to bow and greet them.

Wu Zhuo, however, does not need to.

These two are indeed CEOs of domestic listed companies.

But he's not doing badly now.

Legendary Pictures has been growing rapidly in the past two years, and it's just that he doesn't want to go public; otherwise, he could also become the CEO of a listed company.

After sitting down, Wu Zhuo mainly talked to Wang Zhonglei. The two companies had collaborated and had a fairly good relationship.

As for Yu Dong, he wasn't actually very familiar with him, and the two didn't have much business dealings.

However, Wu Zhuo felt, whether it was a misperception or not, that Yu Dong seemed to have some kind of plan for him.

This guy kept interrupting their conversation, constantly bringing up Wu Zhuo and praising him.

(End of this chapter)