Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 8: Give Taylor Swift a Little Eastern Shock

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Before the game of the NBA team Philadelphia 76ers started, a little blonde girl was singing the national anthem loudly in the center of the court.

The young voice singing the passionate lyrics makes people feel inexplicably moved.

"What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?"

What makes us so proud and cheer at the last light?

"Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight?"

Whose flag remains high despite the night's bombardment?

Most Chinese people are not familiar with the song "The Star-Spangled Banner", but the spirit of bravely advancing under fire is surprisingly common to them.

After completing the singing task brilliantly, Taylor Swift came down from the stage and her eyes were immediately attracted by an advertisement on the big screen in the center of the venue.

This is an insert advertisement.

Viewers watching the live broadcast of the game can see this advertisement on TV, and it is also broadcast simultaneously at the game site.

The advertisement is promoting a less popular Chinese-language movie that is currently in theaters. The name seems to be "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"?
Taylor is usually not interested in advertisements, but this one is too novel.

This damn mysterious oriental element is exactly what Taylor likes.

Beside a valley covered with red leaves, a handsome oriental boy stood tall and proud.

"Qiang!"

With a clear sound of metal and stone, the sword was unsheathed and a sword dance began.

Stab, pick, cut, chop, sweep, and block...

The sword moves, accompanied by nimble steps, were displayed one by one in the hands of the young man in white, as graceful as flowing clouds and water.

The cold light flashed on the sword's edge, which made people feel afraid, but the young man's graceful sword dance made people want to get close to him.

The beauty amidst deadly danger is the most irresistible.

The camera cuts to a close-up of the boy's face. His handsome face with sharp eyebrows, bright eyes and heroic spirit must be the dream man of thousands of girls. But why does he look so confused, and what is he struggling with?
His sword dance became faster and faster, and his moves became more and more fierce, as if he had the momentum to swallow the world.

I have a sword that can kill all the injustices in the world!
But at this most critical moment, the young man suddenly stopped and threw the sword in his hand forward.

The sword, like a turquoise jade, traced a graceful trajectory in the air before plunging into the pool, leaving no trace...

The young man in white stood with his hands behind his back, his facial expression invisible, only his back visible, looking so lonely and desolate.

At this time, two lines of words appeared on the screen.

"My sword can cut through everything in the world, but it cannot cut through the obsession in my heart."

“Only by letting go can you gain.”

Immediately afterwards, the screen displayed the movie title "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and the release information.

The young man in white in the advertisement is Lin Yuan.

This sword dance promotional advertisement was planned and choreographed by Lin Yuan and filmed by director Ang Lee.

When Lin Yuan received the task of increasing the box office of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", he initially didn't know where to start.

As a newcomer in the film industry with few resources, he couldn't help even if he wanted to.

But when he thought of the movie "Hero", inspiration came immediately.

"Hero" was released in North America two years later and eventually achieved a box office revenue of more than 5400 million US dollars.

This is the highest box office performance of Chinese-language films in North America, second only to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

The success of "Hero" proves that Director Zhang's visual aesthetics has a huge impact on the North American market before people get tired of it.

So Lin Yuan planned this promotional video based on this style.

The scenery in the promotional video is stunningly beautiful, with the red of maple leaves and the deep green of the valley establishing two visually very strong main tones.

Lin Yuan, dressed in white, blends in with his sword dance, creating a harmonious beauty of unity between man and nature.

The biggest highlight of this film is still Lin Yuan's sword dance.

After all, it is a gift from the system, equivalent to the result of a genius's hard training for more than 30 years.

Therefore, if we only talk about swordsmanship, Lin Yuan's master-level swordsmanship is the best in the world and no one can match him.

This sword dance is graceful and agile, with a sense of freedom and ease that traverses the universe with unbridled ease. Yet, it is not merely a showpiece; the sharp sword light constantly demonstrates that this is true sword fighting.

This commercial was shot perfectly, and I believe no other action actor could have pulled it off except Lin Yuan.

How will Director Zhang Mou feel when he sees this promotional video?
You will definitely sigh in your heart that someone’s ideas are so consistent with yours and the completion is so outstanding.

This is also another purpose of Lin Yuan, to use this commercial to show himself to director Zhang Mou and win the advantage in the future casting of "Hero".

Today is the first time that the trailer of this movie is presented to the audience. How is the effect?

The answer is: stunning!
When this advertisement, which lasted less than 30 seconds, was over, all the audience, including Taylor, were reluctant to take their eyes away and continued to stare at the screen in a daze.

After a while, the audience came to their senses and began to discuss:
"Oh my God! What did I see? Magical oriental Kung Fu!"

"I swear, this is the most beautiful movie I have ever seen in my life!"

"Isn't this ad too short? It's totally not good enough. Can't they make it longer?"

"Damn it, I didn't see it clearly just now. Can you play it again?"

If Lin Yuan was there, he would definitely say apologetically, "I'm sorry, our publicity and promotion funds are seriously insufficient, so we only purchased the broadcast time for one time."

But not long after, the commercial was played again on the big screen, and it was played twice in a row!

It turned out that after the last promotional video was broadcast, the TV station’s phone was immediately flooded with calls.

A large number of viewers called to inquire about the film and asked the TV station to broadcast it again.

If I don’t pay for advertising, will the TV station help me with promotion for free?
The answer is: If there are benefits, yes.

The TV station is not stupid. The fact that so many viewers called in shows that this commercial is not just trying to increase the ratings of the show, but is actually helping to increase the ratings of the show.

Why not a win-win situation?
So the TV station broadcast the promotional video for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon twice for free.

Taylor Swift, who was at the scene, watched it twice more intently, wishing she had a camera to record the whole scene.

"This big brother is so handsome! I declare myself his fan. If I ever get the chance to meet him, I'll definitely ask him to sign for me!"

"I want to go to the cinema to see this movie. I wonder where I can see it? Should I call the cinema and ask?"

After watching the promotional video, many people had the same idea as Taylor.

They called local cinemas to inquire whether there was a screening of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

As the first domino fell, a chain reaction began.

As word of mouth spread, theaters began to schedule the film, which was a huge success. This further improved word of mouth and the number of screenings continued to increase...

By the second week of the film's release, more than 500 theaters in North America were showing "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and the screening rate had reached 20%, and was still rising.

This far exceeded the original second week's release in 31 theaters.

……

At this time, Lin Yuan, who had just returned to his home in New York, received a call from director Ang Lee.

"You're really good! Just one promotional video has completely boosted the popularity of this movie. Do you know how many theaters have contacted me, hoping to increase their screening schedules?"

"It's all thanks to you, the director, that the film is so good. What's the point of my little help?"

"Don't be so modest. I know how bleak things were before. I see all your contributions. When the box office revenue is settled later, I'll give you a big red envelope."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan could only smile helplessly.

Lin Yuan felt unworthy of Director Ang Lee's gratitude.

Because he knows that even if he does nothing, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will still carve out a path through its own excellent qualities.

But now, by some strange coincidence, director Ang Lee took most of the credit for himself.

The key point is that Lin Yuan still can’t explain it. He can’t say that he is a reborn person, right?

Before he could think about it, golden system text suddenly appeared in front of Lin Yuan:
[The host has completed the mission. It is estimated that the North American box office of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will increase by 4000 million US dollars.]

The original North American box office of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was 1.28 million US dollars, ranking 12th on the annual box office list.

Now, due to the effect of Lin Yuan's promotional video, the expected box office has increased to 1.68 million US dollars.

This result is enough to allow "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" to break into the top ten of the annual box office list and achieve a good result of 7th place!
For the first time, Lin Yuan felt that history was being created in his own hands.

[The host receives a 2-point attribute bonus.]

(End of this chapter)