I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 276 They are gods!

From the millennium to the present.

Whenever people talk about Hollywood's global expansion at the end of the 20th century, the decline of the Hong Kong and Taiwan film industry, and the brain drain, there is always one name that will be mentioned repeatedly.

And whenever he is mentioned, countless people still sigh with emotion.

Some even say that his departure truly marked the end of the golden age of Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinema…

His name is Chen Anhua!

A Chinese-American film director.

He was born in Taiwan and went to New York University to study film in the 80s. After graduating, he struggled on the fringes of Hollywood for many years before returning to Taiwan in the early 90s.

He directed many critically acclaimed and commercially successful art films such as "The Silent River," "Broken Mirror," and "The Name of My Father," and was known as one of the three major directors in Taiwan in the 90s...

In the late 90s, after the Hollywood film industry swept the globe, he launched a strong counterattack with a Chinese-language art-house kung fu film called "The Frost Sword"...

This art-house kung fu film not only continued the aesthetics of the golden age of Hong Kong and Taiwan cinema, but also became a classic of cross-cultural dialogue with its unique cultural expression and visual style. It achieved both box office and critical success, and even won the astonishing award of the Academy Awards (Oscars), the highest honor in filmmaking worldwide, becoming the first Chinese film to win this prestigious award. It swept the globe and was once regarded as the last hope for Hong Kong and Taiwan cinema...

This film broke the shackles of East-West fusion, and although it essentially departed from the Hong Kong film system, it had an absolute inspirational effect on the great success of Li Zhengtao's later films such as "Qin" and "The Man in the Jianghu"...

After 2000, with the rise of independent films, he was gradually recognized as one of the representatives of the "Asian New Wave".

Unfortunately, also after the turn of the millennium, this director left China and went to Hollywood to become a Chinese-American director, after a four-year hiatus...

Ultimately, he brought us a Hollywood superhero movie, The Incredible Hulk!
……

【XuanShi Entertainment】

In the office of "Martial Soul".

The autumn wind blew through the window and onto Che Xiao's face.

Che Xiao looked at the information about the three movies, "Dekker Ultraman," "The Incredible Hulk," and "Vampire Hunter," over and over again.

Finally, my gaze settled on the words "Director Ann Chen" for "The Incredible Hulk"...

An indescribable sense of despair overwhelmed me at that moment.

Having experienced the golden age of Hong Kong films in the 90s and witnessed the global phenomenon of "The Sword of Green Frost" in the millennium, he is very clear about the oppressive feeling that the name "Chan On-wah" brings.

That was a god high above, someone he could only look up to, and dared only look up to...

In fact, when he learned that the film "Hulk" had been licensed to [Huashang Brothers], and also heard some rumors that [Huashang Brothers] wanted to use "Hulk" and "Darkman" to squeeze the screening space of their "Wuhun 3", his mind went blank!
My confidence, expectations, and ambitions for "Wuhun 3" seemed to be shattered in an instant, leaving only fear and despair...

He silently opened the internet...

Then, unsurprisingly, we saw the official announcement from [Huashang Brothers], and witnessed the internet erupt in excitement overnight...

Fans flooded social media with comments like "The pride of the Chinese people has returned" and "Oscar-winning director returns to superhero films," and related topics surged into the top three trending topics within half an hour.

The forum homepage is filled with montages of classic scenes from "The Sword of Green Frost," and the comments section is unanimously filled with "This is the true style of Chinese directors."

The media even called this collaboration "the clarion call for a cultural counterattack against Hollywood," and the official media outlet [Film News] published an article stating that "Chen Anhua proved with 'Hulk' that Chinese directors can also handle top-level industrial productions."

The most enthusiastic were those working in the film and television industry. Countless directors posted old photos with Chen Anhua on social media, with captions like "Waiting for Master to lead us back to victory," as if they were praising this director, who had not appeared in public for four years, as a savior!
This time, unlike the battle between "Catwoman" and "Black Robe Alliance," aside from a few extreme comments that were clearly trying to stir up trouble, most of the criticism and abuse about "Wuhun 3" on the internet were fairly objective assessments. Of course, there were also many comments expressing anticipation...

In addition, some commentators have advised "Wu Hun 3" to change its release date, saying they don't want this hard-won Chinese film IP to end up with a regrettable failure in the November movie battle...

Some have described "Wuhun 3" as a "tragic gamble"...

Looking at the comments one after another, Che Xiao felt as if a huge boulder was pressing on her heart, making it hard to breathe.

He shut down his computer and walked step by step toward President Zhou's office...

"Mr. Zhou! Are you really going to premiere on November 3rd?"

"Premiere!"

"Can……"

"If you don't even have the confidence to confront your opponents, then what right do you have to climb to a higher position?"

“They are no match for him. Chen Anhua is a god, and ‘Decker Ultraman’ is also a god…” Che Xiao looked at the calm Zhou Yang, but his eyes could not hide his panic. He sat opposite Zhou Yang and desperately told him about Chen Anhua, ‘Decker Ultraman’, and even ‘Martial Soul 3’…

"Wu Hun 3" is his masterpiece!

It's his lifeblood!
This movie is so important to him!
He hoped that, based on the experience gained from his previous two films, "Wu Hun 3" would shine brightly in the Chinese film industry!

However, there are far too many stories in this world about being born at the wrong time. Even some of Hollywood's "masterpieces" today have experienced the vicissitudes of being "born at the wrong time." He doesn't want to become one of those regrettable characters born at the wrong time...

As Zhou Yang listened, he silently glanced at the movie information on the table. After a brief silence, he narrowed his eyes: "Bright Sword!" "What if..."

"From now on, don't think about box office, don't think about competitors, don't think about word-of-mouth, just wait for the release!"

"..."

"I'll personally carve out a bloody path for you!"

Under the sun.

Zhou Yang pushed up his glasses and looked out the window.

Che Xiao was slightly taken aback, then lowered her head and nodded after a long while.

He seemed somewhat infected by Zhou Yang's boldness, and his timidity lessened considerably...

................................................

10 month 30 day.

【Huashang Brothers】

Liu Jinghua emerged from the board meeting with a somewhat complicated expression.

Since Huasheng Brothers went public, the board of directors, led by Chairman Zhang Zhonglei and Chairman Zhang Zhongqiang, seems to have gradually distanced themselves from her.

She keenly realized that the two brothers had begun to reclaim some of the rights that she had been allocated, including artist management, film copyrights, and various projects related to communication with theaters.

In fact, this trend became increasingly apparent starting with "Catwoman" in September.

After the company went public, there seemed to be some internal divisions. The board of directors basically rejected all of her suggestions!
However, even though it was clearly aimed at her, she was forced to do some of the evil things.

This included the idea of ​​pitting "Catwoman" against "The Black Robe Alliance," as well as coordinating the screening schedules of Ann Chan's "Hulk" and "Dakulteman"...

Back in the office, her assistant looked at her with a complicated expression.

"Sis, were they all rejected?"

She nodded, looking at the proposals on the table...

These proposals include a copyright co-development plan between [Huashang Brothers] and [Xuanshi Entertainment], as well as a film screening plan for November...

Each plan was the result of her careful consideration, however...

At this very moment, the company's board of directors is only focused on various data and the stock price of [Huashang Brothers], frantically releasing news about various movies...

The news of Ann Chen's return to China with "The Incredible Hulk" sent shockwaves through the industry. After hearing that Huasheng Brothers would be releasing "The Incredible Hulk" and "Ultraman" in November, the company's Hong Kong-listed shares, which had been declining for nearly a month, surged for the first time. During this surge, many shareholders were temporarily able to recover their losses...

Original shareholders are subject to a lock-up period after the listing, usually 6 months. During this period, unless there are special circumstances, they cannot cash out.

[Huashang Brothers] went public in March, and by around September, exactly six months had passed. They had hoped to leverage the influence of "Catwoman" to make their stock soar and allow shareholders to cash out their profits. Unfortunately, "Catwoman" flopped, causing the stock to plummet. Shareholders were unwilling to sell their shares at such a loss...

So in October, they set their sights on "Dakultman" and "Hulk." The analysis team's data showed that these two movies would definitely not lose money at the box office, and were even more likely to refresh the stock price during their release, creating a new history for Chinese films!
So everyone's eyes were on this movie...

"I feel that, in pursuit of the stock price, they have strayed from their original intentions... their vision has become short-sighted..."

The assistant lowered his head, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.

Liu Jinghua shook his head. Although he was also filled with mixed emotions, he ultimately didn't say anything more.

Just then, the phone rang.

"Is 'Wuhun 3' about to start pre-sales? Have they confirmed the release date as November 3rd?"

After hearing the voice on the phone, Liu Jinghua turned on his computer and saw a set of data transmitted from the front.

After seeing the data, Liu Jinghua sighed. After thinking for a long time, she finally shook her head with a wry smile: "As agreed, 'Dekker Ultraman' is also scheduled for release on November 3rd... If Zhou Yang isn't avoiding it, why should we?"

"correct……"

"Let's do the official licensing as the board of directors said. Talk to the distributor of 'Dekker Ultraman' and make them choose between 'Martial Soul' and 'Dekker Ultraman'..."

"But this is clearly not what you wanted, why do you have to..."

"At this critical moment for the company, falling out with the board of directors at this time will not benefit anyone..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)