I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 451 Chen Jin is getting better too!
At 9:30 a.m., the press conference for Universal officially began.

The entire first-floor conference hall of the Waldorf was filled with journalists from all over the world, especially from North America and China, who made up two-thirds of the attendees. However, unlike the North American journalists who sat in the first row, the Chinese journalists were treated rather poorly.

They were either sitting in the corners or far back; luckily, the cameras were able to capture them.

Many people speculated that this press conference was related to Chen Jin; some even discussed whether CETC and Universal would collaborate on "Fast & Furious 6" or other films.

In any case, the display board behind the podium at the press conference has already revealed a lot of information.

"coming!"

The sudden sound of footsteps caused countless reporters to stop talking and then raise their heads in unison.

The meeting room fell silent.

Universal Pictures Executive Vice President Mitchell Berg, accompanied by several other Universal executives, as well as the Fast & Furious cast including Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, filed into the venue.

Click! Click!
The photographer immediately aimed at them and frantically pressed the shutter.

Meanwhile, the Chinese reporter spotted the familiar figure chatting and laughing with Sung Kang, the actor who played Han in "Fast & Furious".

Chen Jin!

As expected, many people's predictions before the press conference were correct.

Chen Jin is likely to be involved in the Fast & Furious 6 project.

Judging from the expressions on his face when he was talking to Cheng Kang, the two of them seemed to have a very good relationship.

"Okay, now let's launch the new project for Fast & Furious 6, and also discuss some of Universal's film plans for the second half of this year!"

A foreign emcee stood there and began the agenda for today's press conference.

First, of course, is to take your seats.

However, before taking his seat, Universal Pictures Executive Vice President Mitchell Berger apparently made his usual polite remarks to warm up the atmosphere.

It mainly covers Global's performance this year, project reviews, and so on.

Overseas press conferences have always been characterized by boasting, and many domestic press conferences have copied this model.

"Universal's global box office reached $15.7 billion in the first half of the year, with 'Ted' grossing $5.94 million worldwide. It is currently ranked sixth in the North American box office this year, and is also among the top ten in the global box office!"

"Universal box office revenue this year has increased by 15% compared to last year..."

"..."

Mitchell Berg was just listing all sorts of data, basically just boasting.

But in fact, many of you here know that Global's performance this year is not good, you could say... very bad.

It's worse than in previous years.

It's been a year and no phenomenal hit product has emerged.

The Teddy Bear franchise is an exception; with an investment of 5000 million, it raised nearly 6 million globally, making it an absolute steal. However, several other well-known IPs have not sold as well as expected.

"The best performing market is China. Global earned 1.9 million this year, a 274% increase over last year!"

When this data came out, many reporters didn't react much, but the reporters from Huaxia were somewhat stunned.

A 274% increase?!
It tripled?!
Does that mean Universal had over 5000 million US dollars in China before?!
That does sound incredibly intimidating.

But in fact, Universal didn't release many films in China last year, so the number released this year is definitely an increase. Moreover, the Chinese market has been growing at a rate of 100% annually.

In other words, even if you do nothing, you can actually increase your chances by 100%+ just by lying down!

This is determined by the positioning of the Chinese market.

However, according to other foreigners, Global China Market is indeed doing very well.

No wonder there was a yellow-skinned face at the press conference.

It seems that we really need to pay more attention to China.

Swish swish!
Many media outlets and journalists wrote about it, and many people have heard more or less that the box office in China has indeed surged this year, with some blockbusters even approaching 5 million US dollars.

Moreover, it grossed over 7000 million US dollars in North America and is still showing in theaters; that's the movie "John Wick"!
Therefore, the fact that "Hitman" was able to achieve such high box office returns in North America is partly due to its popularity in China.

Mitchell Berg's words sparked quite a bit of discussion at the scene.

This year, Universal's films did not perform well at the North American box office, while in China, only "The Bourne Identity" grossed nearly 3 million RMB, and the box office of other films was not ideal.

However, next year will be different.

Besides "Fast & Furious 6", preliminary contracts have been reached for several other blockbusters, including "Jurassic World", "Man of Tai Chi", and "Oblivion".

They should be able to secure at least 15 billion RMB.

This was the target that Universal Pictures set for the Chinese market, and it was even issued to the regional head of Universal Pictures in China.

"Okay, here's a look at some projects from this year and last year!"

"Next, I'm going to talk about the film that we invested in most globally this year—"

Mitchell Berg pointed to the backdrop behind him: "Fast & Furious 6, initial investment estimated at $2 million!"

Keep in mind that Spielberg's "Jurassic World" only received a budget of $1.5 million!
This is mainly because it's the first film, and Universal Pictures still tends to be conservative.

Although they had the Jurassic Park IP, the name had changed, and Universal was unsure of what to do; in addition, the performance was not very good, so reducing investment was inevitable.

Otherwise, they wouldn't need to collaborate with Relativity, because Kavanaugh is rich!
Wall Street, behind him, provides a constant stream of funding.

But this money isn't free; besides the share swap, there are other benefits as well.

"Now, allow me to introduce the cast of 'Fast & Furious 6'!"

From the start of the press conference until now, Chen Jin and Vin Diesel have all been standing to the side, while only Vice President Mitchell Berg is standing on the stage, talking eloquently.

Now, it's time for a ceremony to introduce the main actors and then have them enter in turn.

"First of all, welcome to the absolute protagonist of our Fast & Furious series, Van Gundy—"

"Diesel!"

Berg leaned close to the microphone and shouted loudly with intonation, clapping his hands as he did so.

“Ohhhhhhh~~~”

A cheer immediately erupted from the audience.

Wearing sunglasses and dressed in all black, Vin Diesel immediately went on stage and waved to all the reporters present.

This is indeed the main character among the current protagonists of the Fast & Furious series, the leader of the Family Men, played by Dominic Torreto!
"Paul Walker!"

Berg laughed loudly again, pointing at the smiling co-star of Fast & Furious.

This actor's popularity in the Fast & Furious franchise is no less than Vin Diesel's. In fact, he was the male lead in the very beginning of the Fast & Furious series, and he was the absolute protagonist in the second film. Vin Diesel only officially returned in the fourth film.

In terms of popularity in North America, Paul was actually much more popular than Diesel before.

To some extent, the two are actually the two representatives of "Fast & Furious". It's not a matter of who has more or less screen time. It's just that because Vin Diesel is so dignified in the movie, many people have a preconceived notion that he is the male lead.

But both of them are indeed representative figures of "Fast & Furious", and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them dual protagonists.

Afterwards, Berg brought back several other main actors from the Fast & Furious franchise, including Chris Pratt, Jordana, and several other members of the Fast & Furious family. These included Sung Kang, who played Han, and Dwayne Johnson, who joined the cast in the previous film and immediately became a main character.

Until...Michelle Rodriguez came to power.

The atmosphere in the entire venue immediately became extremely lively.

Even Chinese media reporters were quite excited.

After all, she was the female lead in the previous Fast & Furious films, the woman Vin Diesel played. She had a minor role in Fast & Furious 4 and Fast & Furious 5, but it seems like she's going to become the main character in this one?!

What about Dominic's new love interest from the previous movie?
For a time, reporters also became extremely gossipy; of course, gossiping is in their nature.

The main plot revolves around two female leads and one male lead, which makes the storyline quite anticipated; everyone loves a love triangle, and the atmosphere immediately changes when these two female leads appear.

Everyone imagined the scene of the two female characters vying for Dominic; it must have been quite a spectacle.

It has to be admitted that Universal is good at marketing. The appearance of the two leading ladies immediately caused many reporters to start snapping photos.

This is the marketing buzzword, the news material.

Viewers will have expectations after watching, and news media also like this kind of attention-grabbing tactic, so it can be described as a win-win-win situation.

There's absolutely no need for Global Times to bribe them to publish articles.

The media present were all eager to write about this.

However, while the Chinese reporters were taking notes, their eyes were actually constantly focused on Chen Jin's direction.

All the main actors from "Fast & Furious 6" were invited, except for Chen Jin.

Is this the grand finale, or just some leftovers?!
Many reporters naturally guessed the latter, because if it were important, they should have invited him up to introduce it long ago, why wait until now?!

"Hey, I thought with all this fuss, Chen Jin would finally get the lead role!"

"Is he another marginal character, like Li Bingbing, forced into the Chinese market?"

"I feel like I'm not even as good as Li Bingbing. At least Li Bingbing gave me a proper introduction..."

The Chinese reporters were exchanging opinions, but Mitchell Berg then gestured for everyone present to be quiet.

"Next, we're going to introduce an important new character in Fast & Furious 6, a very, very important one!"

Berg emphasized this, and deliberately repeated a word.

"Ok?"

The Chinese reporters were no longer sleepy; they all sat up straight, ears perked up, clearly eager for what Mitchell Berg would say next.

They even developed a stronger sense of urgency towards Chen Jin, who had not yet made his appearance.

Judging from Berg's words, it seems... this really is the grand finale?!

Thinking this way, the Chinese reporters were clearly getting restless. If this report got out, it probably wouldn't make much of a splash in North America, but it would cause a collective frenzy in China.

A key character in Fast & Furious 6!
This is incredibly valuable.

It's important to know that the Fast & Furious series has always been a globally popular super IP, with countless fans in China as well.

With the addition of a Chinese actor, its influence will be unprecedented.

They couldn't even imagine how terrifying the box office would be if this movie were released in China.

After all, Chen Jin's box office appeal has already been proven by "John Wick".

If another Hollywood "Fast & Furious 6" were to appear, what would happen?!

At that moment, Berg's voice echoed throughout the entire press conference venue.

"Let's welcome the newest member to the Fast & Furious cast, a famous actor from China—"

"Jin Chan!"

Berg spoke with a smile, his voice rising infinitely.

Many reporters in the audience became curious, while the Chinese reporters were in a state of utter excitement.

So cool!

This invitation from Global Times is a huge honor for Chen Jin.

The last to appear, and with such a grand introduction?!
It's clear they value the Chinese market quite a bit!

"I'm sure I don't need to introduce it further, right?"

As Chen Jin walked onto the stage, greeted everyone, and bowed, Berg laughed and said, "Chan's directorial debut, the self-directed, self-acted, and self-written film 'Killer: Dragon,' was released in North America last month and has already grossed $7120 million!"

"This number is quite impressive for a new film!"

"This film has created a phenomenal success in China, grossing 4.2 million yuan, and it's still showing in theaters!"

"The global box office has already surpassed 5.8 million and is heading towards 6 million!"

$6 million is enough to put it in the top ten highest-grossing films worldwide this year, surpassing many Hollywood blockbusters.

It is truly phenomenal.

"At the same time, Chan is also the Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. His acting ability is beyond doubt, and his action is equally outstanding. We at Universal are very happy to have reached a cooperation agreement with him!"

"He has a very important role and fight scenes in 'Fast & Furious 6'!"

"I can guarantee it will be even more exciting than 'Killer Dragon'!"

"Oh oh oh!!"

The main cheers this time came from Chinese journalists.

Important scenes and fights!

Chen Jin is doing really well. The vice president of Universal Music actually praised him so highly. It's obvious that he's landed a very important role, otherwise they wouldn't have introduced him like that.

Li Bingbing's "Transformers 4" doesn't have all that empty praise.

Click! Click!
Whether they were Chinese reporters or North American media, everyone present was frantically snapping photos of Chen Jin.

I'm angry!

Everyone knew that this guy was about to become famous.

It's estimated that after today, the whole world will know this lucky guy who actually got a major role in Fast & Furious 6.

"It was precisely because of his outstanding performance in 'Killer Dragon' that we entrusted him with such an important role in 'Fast & Furious 6'!"

"It's a pleasure working with you, Chan!"

After stepping down from the stage, Berg shook hands firmly with Chen Jin, and then they took a close-up photo together.

After that, there was a group photo of everyone from Fast & Furious.

Everyone thought the Universal press conference was over, but unexpectedly, Berg went back on stage, smiled at all the reporters present, and said, "Next, we have something even more important to announce!"

(End of this chapter)