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

Chapter 279 Premiere
11 month.

A cold wind is rising in Yanjing, and withered leaves are flying everywhere.

The sky was often overcast, and there was already a hint of the chill of late autumn.

Wearing a mask and accompanied by his assistant, Chen Hua'an wandered aimlessly through the streets of Yanjing.

This director, hailed as one of the representatives of the "Asian New Wave," has been remarkably low-key since bringing "The Incredible Hulk" back to China.

Unlike before, he did not accept invitations from the five major film companies in China to attend parties, nor did he hold grand press conferences or give frequent media interviews as he used to...

"Director Chen, the internet is flooded with news about Zhou Yang right now. This young man is showing his true colors, a thorn in the side of both China's five major film companies and Hollywood's three major studios. This time, Columbia Pictures' 'Hulk' is specifically designed to target him. If you just raise your voice, the online public opinion will immediately turn in your favor. After all, you are the first Chinese director to be certified by the Oscars, and the entire industry is waiting for your 'cultural counterattack'..."

Sunlight shone on the bustling street. When the assistant saw Chen Hua'an stop and look somewhat dazedly at the distant cinema, she subconsciously said something.

Chen Hua'an remained silent at this moment.

For the past few months, he'd heard people on Hollywood sets constantly mentioning that "rule-breaking Chinese madman"...

He admired Zhou Yang's unbridled growth and sharp spirit, like seeing himself ten years ago at New York University, eating bread and making short films.

Last month, he watched all of Zhou Yang's films and felt somewhat inspired. He also briefly considered talking to this young man, just to talk about movies and his views on the future.

But now he has sided with the capital camp, and the interests involved behind him are so complex that they are far beyond his control. What's more frustrating is that he has always lacked the courage to take a drastic step.

Faced with Zhou Yang, who was tearing apart the chain of interests behind him, he absolutely could not do anything out of line; otherwise, Warner, which was already furious, would not tolerate him...

Hollywood is, after all, the world's film mecca, and he couldn't possibly give up the status he had worked so hard to achieve there just for his own desires.

In the end, he simply looked at the poster for "Wuhun 3" at the entrance of the cinema one last time, then turned around and silently walked back the way he came.

"I will cooperate with the company's publicity..."

"That's great, Director Chen!"

"..."

……

November 2, Yanjing International Hotel.

The news that Chen Anhua had given his first official interview to Chinese media in four years was like a bombshell that exploded across the internet.

Before the interview clips were even broadcast, the hashtag #ChenAnhuaReturns# quickly rose to the top of the trending topics list, garnering over a million views in just half an hour.

[Kuaibo] The homepage was flooded with a montage of classic scenes from "The Sword of Green Frost," and the comments section was filled with comments like "This is the ceiling of Chinese directors" and "The value of Oscar certification."

Chen Anhua's hair was already gray in the media, but he appeared very humble and calm during the interviews, always focusing on the topic of Chinese cinema and the Hollywood industry...

Following the interview, the state-run media outlet *Film News* also published a feature article overnight titled "From *The Frost Sword* to *Hulk*: Ann Chen's Cross-Cultural Conquest," stating that he "redefined Chinese-language films using Hollywood industry standards"...

Besides the praise for Chen Anhua, some people inevitably used Chen Anhua to put down Zhou Yang. A well-known film critic reposted an interview article and wrote a scathing article praising Zhou Yang: "Every frame of Chen Anhua's interview teaches Zhou Yang a lesson!"

This caused a huge uproar...

"Director Chen's 'The Frost Sword' is an Oscar-certified masterpiece of Chinese cinema. Some internet celebrity directors who rise to fame through hype only know how to make cheap, low-budget special effects films to rake in money; they have no understanding of cinematic art whatsoever!"

"Heh, why weren't you barking when Zhou Yang's 'Martial Soul' was crushing 'Ultraman' in pre-sales? Chen Anhua's sycophantic behavior in Hollywood is truly pathetic!"

"One relies on industrial assembly lines, the other relies on audiences voting with their feet. It's obvious who's serious about making movies!"

"..."

This naturally sparked a lot of criticism and comparisons online.

It caused a huge uproar overnight...

Amidst this uproar, fifth-generation director Liang Xiaogang, in an interview, directly criticized: "He's back! It's time for some clowns who made their fortunes through marketing to show their true colors!"

Li Mingrui, chairman of the Golden Horse Award, convened the judging committee overnight, hinting that "next year's awards will be tilted towards true masters."

Some media outlets that had worked with Zhou Yang also quietly liked the related posts, causing public opinion to continue to ferment.

The capital market reacted more directly. After the Hong Kong stock market opened, the share price of [Huashang Brothers] soared by 8%, reversing the previous downward trend.

When asked by reporters for his opinion on Zhou Yang, Chen Anhua adjusted his glasses and smiled, saying, "It's a good thing that young people have drive."

This seemingly mild comment was analyzed frame by frame by the media. Wang Kai, a columnist for Wandou Film Network, even commented sharply: "The Oscar director's elegant crushing victory and Zhou Yang's desperate efforts are nothing more than child's play in Director Chen's eyes."

Just when public opinion was in an uproar and all the media were expecting Zhou Yang, the "troublemaker," to launch various counterattacks against Chen Anhua and ride the wave of popularity, [Xuan Shi Entertainment] unusually kept a low profile on November 2.

Zhou Yang didn't respond to the media with his usual high-profile approach; the entire company remained unusually silent, like the calm before a storm. This unusual restraint only fueled outside curiosity: what was this unconventional young man planning...?

At 8:35 a.m. on November 3, crowds were already surging outside the Feihe Cinema in Yanjing.

Countless media outlets flocked to the premiere of "Wu Hun 3," packing the theater to capacity. However, audiences were surprised to find that, unlike the high-profile online buzz, the film's premiere was rather modest. There was no dedicated media interview area, no speeches from the creators, and no premiere ceremony. Aside from the massive crowds of spontaneously arriving media and countless fans, the film's low-key approach was almost unbelievable…

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

"Mr. Yamanaka, are you sure you want to acquire the copyright for the 'Martial Soul' series?"

"Yes, please have your company submit a proposal regarding the specific import price. I'll discuss it further after I finish watching the movie..."

"it is good!"

8 points.

As ticket checking began for the premiere of "Wuhun 3", Yamanaka Kazuo mingled in the crowd and quietly handed over his premiere ticket.

While seated, I quietly made a phone call, then watched the big screen.

Kazuo Yamanaka is a market researcher at Japan's Chunghwa Tokusatsu Films, responsible for monitoring the Asian tokusatsu film market.

In recent years, with the continued global popularity of Ultraman series by [Yuan Gu Company], IPs such as Super Sentai by [Toei Tokusatsu] have been squeezed and their market share has shrunk year by year.

The company's senior management held numerous meetings to discuss countermeasures, but they were unable to find a breakthrough.

By chance, while on a business trip in China, Kazuo Yamanaka accidentally saw a pirated DVD of "Wuhun 2".

He was drawn to the film's unique "martial spirit transformation" concept and intense action sequences, vaguely sensing that this might be a new direction to counter "Ultraman." After all, characters from the Three Kingdoms period of China are extremely popular in Japanese film, television, and gaming circles, and this series of movies just happens to fit the current situation...

After returning to China, he secretly collected all the film materials under Zhou Yang's company. The more he studied them, the more shocked he became. This young man not only made a comeback in Hollywood with "Black Robe Alliance", but also set off a cultural storm from the bottom up in China.

A few days ago, when I returned to China, I saw that the pre-sale tickets for "Wuhun 3" were far superior to those for "Dekker Ultraman," and countless Chinese brands were spontaneously supporting Zhou Yang.

Kazuo Yamanaka was somewhat shocked. Immediately afterwards, he wrote a report overnight to apply for the import of the "Martial Spirit" series, determined to use this tokusatsu film full of Eastern martial arts genes to ignite a battle against the giant of light in his hometown...

I came here specifically to watch the premiere of "Wu Hun 3" in order to evaluate the film's quality on-site and determine the final import price.

Five minutes before the movie starts...

The premiere screening room gradually filled up with people.

Kazuo Yamanaka sat in the corner of the last row of the screening room, while several Chinese film critics next to him were discussing in hushed tones the box office battle between "Wu Hun 3" and "Dek Ultraman".

He has been fascinated by Chinese culture since childhood and has studied Chinese diligently for many years. At this moment, he clearly caught the words "pre-sales surpassed" and "toy merchants defected," and couldn't help but look down at the evaluation report in his hand.

Just as Yamanaka Kazuo was looking down at the report, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a profile of a person wearing a mask in the front row.

The man was slightly hunched over, and his graying temples were particularly striking in the dim light!
Even though he was wearing a mask, he recognized him at a glance, and he was shocked!
This person was actually Chen Anhua!
They were old acquaintances; they had shared a room for months when they were working in Hollywood, so he naturally recognized them.

at this time……

The unassuming Oscar-winning director seemed to sense the gaze, turned his head slightly, and a hint of pleading flashed in his eyes.
Yamanaka Kazuo's heart skipped a beat. He quickly nodded, then lowered his head and pretended to take notes...

A few minutes later...

The lights in the screening room gradually dimmed, and then the screen lit up...

Yamanaka Kazuo subconsciously looked up at the big screen...

On the screen, the opening sequence of "Wu Hun 3" slowly emerges from the darkness!

The deep, trembling notes of a cello filled my ears, mingled with the intermittent plucking of a guzheng, like a tattered battle flag fluttering in the north wind...

Next!

As the camera gradually brightened, it swept across the broken gun stuck diagonally in the scorched earth. The rusty characters "Martial Spirit" were soaked in blood, and then slowly, stroke by stroke, they emerged in bright red...

The mournful sound of the xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument) drifted from afar, mingling with the sound of a wasteland wind simulated by an electronic synthesizer, casting the number "3" with a desolate feeling, like a tombstone...

Then...

The screen went dark again...

When it lights up again...

Everyone witnessed a scene intertwined with beauty and sorrow...

(End of this chapter)