Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 411 A new beginning

2003 12 Month 22 Day.

Mr. Eisen's study.

Lin Yuan picked up the latest issue of Time magazine on the table and handed it to Liu Yufei: "Congratulations! You're on the cover of Time magazine for the first time."

Liu Yufei took the magazine with some joy.

She and Lin Yuan on the cover are dressed as in "Lin Yuan and His Wife".

Lin Yuan was wearing a suit, while Liu Yufei was wearing a yellow dress. They held guns to each other's heads, acting as if they were in love and hate with each other.

The title is: "Real Couple on and off the Screen".

"I'm taking this book home to keep as a collection." Liu Yufei said with a smile.

"It's just the cover of Time magazine last year. You look so naive." Lin Yuan teased with a smile.

Liu Yufei wasn't angry either: "It's Time magazine after all, and not many people in China have ever been on the cover of the American edition. I'll just keep it as a souvenir."

She looked so cute, Lin Yuan touched her head.

It's no wonder she takes it so seriously. Time magazine's influence worldwide is still at its peak, and everyone who can appear on the cover, especially the American edition, will feel proud.

Few people can be as casual as Lin Yuan in appearing on the cover of Time magazine as he would be at home. He will even be named Person of the Year again this year, so it is understandable that Liu Yufei is so happy.

You have to know that in her previous life, Liu Yufei was considered a top female star in China, but she had never appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

Because she lacked iconic cultural events and sufficient social influence, she never appeared on the cover.

In this life, because of the popularity of "Lin Yuan and His Wife", Liu Yufei and Lin Yuan appeared on the cover of Time magazine for the first time.

"The Lin Yuan Couple" has been released for a week and is currently showing in theaters. Today, the three of them are sitting in Mr. Eisen's study, summarizing the current achievements.

"Every time a movie was released in the past, it was Mr. Eisen and I who competed on the performance. Today it's your turn, so you can also feel the joy of having your own movie become a big hit," said Lin Yuan.

"Okay, you may have gotten used to it. But I am really looking forward to it," said Liu Yufei.

Although she has starred in several movies, including some super hits such as "The King of Spy Wars".

However, "Lin Yuan and His Wife" has special significance for Liu Yufei.

In this movie, she has a lot of roles. Except for the water scene where she jumps into the waterfall, which is Lin Yuan's solo performance, her roles in other parts are equally important as Lin Yuan's.

It can be said that she also contributed greatly to the success of the movie.

But she didn't have this feeling in "The King of Spy Wars".

"Welcome Miss Liu to check the box office results with me. I'm tired of seeing this guy every time." Mr. Eisen said with a smile.

"Okay, let's start." Liu Yufei replied with a smile.

"I won't keep you in suspense, Ms. Liu. The first-week box office performance of 'Lin Yuan and His Wife' in North America was $1.2 million," said Mr. Eisen.

"Really?" Liu Yufei couldn't believe it.

This result really exceeded her expectations.

You should know that "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest", which cost $2.4 million to produce and was a sequel to a successful IP, only earned $2 million at the box office with a 55% screening rate in the first week.

This result is already the well-deserved second place of the year, second only to "The King of Spy Wars".

The production cost of "The Lin Yuan Couple" is only 1.1 million US dollars, less than half of the cost of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2". How could it win 40 million US dollars at the box office with 1.2% of the filming completed?
How could Liu Yufei not be surprised by this?
This means that if it can get the same screening rate, "Lin Yuan and His Wife" may even surpass "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" and take the second place in the annual box office.

But even according to the current situation, "Lin Yuan and His Wife" may beat "The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King", which has not yet been released, and rank third in the year.

If this were to become reality, it would be outrageous.

The top three box office movies of the year will all be starring Lin Yuan!

Such a situation has never occurred in film history, and now a large number of netizens are discussing this possibility on the Internet.

Netizens also coined a new term: box office grand slam.

It means that the three movies that occupy the top three box office positions in the same natural year.

From the current perspective, if Lin Yuan can achieve this achievement, it will definitely be unprecedented and perhaps the last of its kind.

Facing Liu Yufei's disbelief, Mr. Eisen said, "Believe in yourself. In my opinion, 'The Lin Yuan Couple' may not be as good as 'King of Spy', but it's not inferior to 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' at all."

Liu Yufei nodded.

After all, "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" is a Disney film, so it can't rely entirely on Lin Yuan. Therefore, the film has a lot of visual effects to attract the audience's attention.

"Lin Yuan and His Wife" is a completely Lin Yuan-style movie, with not only humorous plots and exciting waterfall jumping scenes, but also discussions about family and love.

It even has a wider audience than "Pirates of the Caribbean 2".

After all, "Lin Yuan and His Wife" can reap the benefits of both action movies and romance movies.

There is no need to elaborate on how popular romance movies are. In the field of commercial films, they are also evergreen.

From this perspective, "Lin Yuan and His Wife" may even make a comeback and surpass "Pirates of the Caribbean 2"?
As Liu Yufei looked expectantly at him, Mr. Eisen said, "Because of the high attendance, the screening rate of 'Lin Yuan and His Wife' has not only not decreased a week after its release, but has actually slightly increased against the trend. More and more couples are choosing to go to the cinema to watch this film."

"Therefore, the projected North American box office total is $6.12 million, and the global total is projected to be $17.1 billion," said Mr. Eisen. "When I first saw this result, I was hesitant to believe it, but after confirming it several times, I finally believed it."

"Isn't this better than "Pirates of the Caribbean 2"? " Lin Yuan couldn't help but speak.

"Pirates of the Caribbean 2" grossed $5.76 million in North America and $16.7 billion worldwide.

If this box office forecast is realized, then "Lin Yuan and His Wife" will really surpass "Pirates of the Caribbean 2".

"Lin Yuan and His Wife" is a film produced exclusively by Lin Yuan himself, so the producer can keep all the profits, and the production cost is lower than "Pirates of the Caribbean 2".

It seems that the profit of "Lin Yuan and His Wife" will be very considerable, with a net profit of up to 7 million US dollars!
I really made a lot of money.

"Do you know that there are two new products that are selling particularly well recently?" Mr. Eisen suddenly asked.

Lin Yuan was very surprised why Mr. Eisen suddenly changed the subject.

But he still asked, "I don't know, what product?"

"Water running fins and high diving suits. These two products are selling like hotcakes, and everyone is rushing to buy them," said Mr. Eisen.

After hearing his explanation, Lin Yuan immediately understood.

He asked, "Does everyone want to try out the scenes in the movie?"

"Yes, the two videos of you running on water and jumping over Niagara Falls created a huge sensation on the Internet and became the best promotional videos for the movie. They also drove up sales of the two products."

"I feel this is not a good thing. I have a bad feeling." Lin Yuan said.

"Unfortunately, what you said came true! As far as I know, no one has actually succeeded in running on water so far. This has also led to many voices questioning you on the Internet. They think it is impossible to run on water with just flippers." Mr. Eisen said.

"Isn't there a behind-the-scenes clip at the end of the movie? It shows everyone the filming location of this scene." Lin Yuan said.

This time, because he couldn't spare the time, Lin Yuan didn't go to the cinema to watch the premiere of "Lin Yuan and His Wife", so he didn't feel the audience's doubts at the first time.

"Lin Yuan, the action scenes you filmed before, like jumping out of airplanes, climbing buildings, riding sharks, etc., are things that people haven't been able to experience. If you don't try, you won't fail, and naturally, no one will question you.

But this time, the hot sales of flippers have encouraged everyone to give it a try. "When they fail countless times and always seem unable to achieve something, there will inevitably be a small number of people who doubt you. That's human nature," Mr. Eisen replied.

"Haha, seeing is not believing. It seems that there has been a lot of quarrels on the Internet about this matter, and they are also constantly creating hype for "Lin Yuan and his wife"? " Lin Yuan immediately realized this.

"Yes, that's a major reason why 'The Lin Yuan Couple' is showing such strong box office success," Mr. Eisen said. "But you can't ignore the online skepticism either. The high diving suit has also brought you the same controversy."

"What? Is this possible?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Well, several professional high divers, in order to attract attention, wore high diving suits and jumped into the water from the same height as you, and ended up being seriously injured. So a voice emerged saying that even those wearing professional diving suits could get seriously injured, so your casual jump might be fake," said Mr. Eisen.

"Is the Rockefeller Foundation behind this?" Lin Yuan immediately became alert. If so, then his opponent was making another move, using the online skepticism to fan the flames and seize the opportunity to attack him.

"Maybe there is, maybe not. But the first priority now is that you need to resolve the public's doubts. Otherwise it will damage your reputation," said Mr. Eisen.

"The best way to resolve doubts is to face them directly and speak with facts. Since the public attention is so high, should I hold a press conference?" Lin Yuan asked.

Mr. Eisen shook his head, took out an invitation letter and handed it to Lin Yuan and Liu Yufei.

"What is this?" Lin Yuan asked puzzledly.

"An invitation to 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'?" Liu Yufei said.

"Yes, Jay Leno wants to invite you to his Tonight Show to answer some of the public's questions in person," Mr. Eisen replied.

"Then accept it. I have never participated in such a program." Lin Yuan said.

The Tonight Show is a late-night talk and variety show founded by NBC in 1954.

Each episode consists of three parts: monologue, interview with guests and band performance, and lasts about 50 minutes. It is a well-known flagship program in the United States.

The show is hosted by a humorous host, the current host is Jay Leno, so it is called: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno".

"Okay, it's a deal. I'll reply to the Tonight Show crew right away, and you two should get ready," said Mr. Eisen.

Lin Yuan rarely participates in variety shows, so this time can be considered an ice-breaking journey. Coupled with the previous controversies, the next episode of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" is bound to be an episode with explosive ratings.

"Will this round of doubts affect the reputation of the movie?" Lin Yuan asked.

Mr. Eisen shook his head. "Not really. The vast majority of people still believe in you. The IMDB rating is as high as 8.7."

This is a great result, and it is another movie worthy of being included in the IMDB top 10.

At this pace, it is possible that more than half of the top ten movies in the future will be Lin Yuan's movies.

"This is the general performance of "The Lin Yuan Couple". I have included other media reviews, overseas box office revenue distribution, DVD sales revenue and other information in this summary document. You can go back and take a look at it later." Mr. Eisen said.

Lin Yuan and Liu Yufei nodded to show that they understood.

"Now that it's the end of the year, we can also summarize the profits of the film companies this year. From the current perspective, it should reach 23 billion US dollars," said Mr. Eisen.

"So much?" Liu Yufei learned for the first time that Lin Yuan's film company was so profitable.

Of this huge profit, "King of Spy" accounted for $10 billion, "Lin Yuan and His Wife" accounted for $7 million, and "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" accounted for less than $3 million because it was a collaboration with Disney.

The three films together made nearly $20 billion in profits, plus the $3 million in profits from other directorial works and co-produced films, totaling $23 billion.

A profit of $23 billion a year was an unimaginable amount of money in 2003.

If this happened in China at that time, it would be enough to directly create several people in the top ten of the Forbes list.

Moreover, they are real rich people who hold cash directly, rather than fake rich people whose evaluation criteria are net worth, which is actually difficult to cash out.

"What a pity! Such high profits may have already reached the peak of the company. It will go downhill next year," said Mr. Eisen in a veiled manner.

"What are you talking about? We will only get better every year! The real peak is still far away." Lin Yuan said.

"Next year will be better? What guarantees do you have? Think about how many movies you made last year and how many you made this year? I haven't even seen a single one of next year's new movies.

How can we believe that next year will be better?" Mr. Eisen said.

Hearing this, Lin Yuan laughed.

This is a roundabout way of urging myself to start the new film project as soon as possible.

But what Mr. Eisen just said is true. I have indeed spent less energy on filming this year.

In 2002, he filmed two movies, "King of Spy" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 2".

In 2003, he only filmed the movie "Lin Yuan and His Wife".

All three films were released in 2003, marking a peak in the company's profits.

Currently, there is no movie starring Lin Yuan that can be released in 2004.

It is no wonder that Mr. Eisen was so anxious to urge Lin Yuan to start a new film project.

"Take a look at this film investment plan first. Do you want to accept it?" Mr. Eisen handed over a document.

Lin Yuan took it and watched it with Liu Yufei.

"An invitation to Director Zhang Mou's new movie? He wants me to invest and star in it?" Lin Yuan asked after reading a few pages.

"Yes. I looked at the terms of the contract. They are similar to those of Hero. They give you full autonomy," said Mr. Eisen.

"Haha, he felt pain after being beaten, so he turned back to seek a sense of security." Lin Yuan replied.

In the previous "Hero", Lin Yuan was not only the investor and starring actor, but also made major revisions to the script.

Under Lin Yuan's leadership, "Hero" lived up to expectations and won several awards including the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.

But director Zhang Mou always wanted to prove that even he could succeed.

So when his new movie "House of Flying Daggers" was launched, he only symbolically invited Lin Yuan to participate, but did not want Lin Yuan to interfere too much in the script and other aspects.

This does not mean that he is an ungrateful bad person. As a creator of cultural products, Director Zhang Mou certainly hopes that his ideas can be recognized by the audience and he can make money without any effort.

He was unwilling to always stand in Lin Yuan's shadow and wanted to prove that he could do well on his own. Lin Yuan could understand director Zhang Mou's mentality.

Although Lin Yuan did not take the role in this film, director Zhang Mou still started working on it with full confidence, along with Zhang Ziyu and two well-known Hong Kong actors.

"House of Flying Daggers" was released some time ago, with a box office of 1000 million US dollars in North America and more than 8000 million US dollars in the world.

It cannot be said that this result is bad.

However, compared with "Hero"'s North American box office of 5500 million US dollars and global box office of 3.4 million US dollars, it is a huge setback.

With the box office performance shrinking significantly, there is certainly no hope of winning any major awards.

This hurt director Zhang Mou a lot. He began to doubt whether he would be able to make it in the international film market if he left Lin Yuan.

So, when he was busy planning a new movie, the first thing he thought of was to invite Lin Yuan to star in it.

And they have offered the same creative rights as for "Hero", hoping that Lin Yuan can join.

"Are you going to take this movie?" asked Mr. Eisen.

Lin Yuan looked at the title of the movie: "Curse of the Golden Flower".

He immediately felt a headache. He was not omnipotent and could not save the movie.

Let Director Zhang Mou have fun on his own, he doesn't want to be dragged into this.

Lin Yuan replied, "No, this movie is not suitable for me. Let Director Zhang Mou do it himself."

Mr. Eisen nodded. "I understand. But if you reject this film, you should come up with your own film proposal, right?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "I've been prepared for a long time, take a look."

After saying that, he took out two film plans.

One copy was given to Mr. Eisen and the other to Liu Yufei.

"A movie set in ancient times? The Tang Dynasty?"

After opening the plan, Mr. Eisen was immediately shocked by Lin Yuan's idea.

　Thanks to my old friend [MR.xinsen] for the tip
　　
　
(End of this chapter)