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

Chapter 318 Ultimate Loneliness

From 2003 to the present...

From "Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2" to "Wuhun 3"...

From a humble, unknown actor to the top movie star at [Xuan Shi Entertainment]...

……

These past two years.

Chen Jianfeng has consistently followed in the footsteps of [Xuan Shi Entertainment], acting as an indispensable cog in the machine, and has participated in numerous film productions.

Fortunately, each of his works achieved remarkable box office results.

As the leading actor of [Xuanshi Entertainment], and the first to follow Zhou Yang all the way to where he is now, Zhou Yang has never treated him unfairly. In two years, he not only made a fortune, bought a house and a car, but also led him to a peak path that no one had expected.

He is lucky.

But at the same time, it is also unfortunate.

Despite his consistent dedication to each role and his efforts to showcase his acting skills through diverse characters, he yearns for recognition and praise from the audience.

However, Zhou Yang's aura is too dazzling, and his influence far exceeds that of the films themselves, causing the focus of discussion for each of his works to be on Zhou Yang.

In this climate of public opinion, his performance became the overlooked part...

Nobody really cares about his acting skills.

……

In the past two years, despite repeated attempts by China's five major film companies to poach him with high salaries, Chen Jianfeng has never wavered in his decision to switch jobs.

After witnessing one film after another achieve box office miracles, he fell into a deeper sense of confusion. Behind those astonishing box office revenues, he always felt like a replaceable cog in the machine.

The idea that [Xuan Shi Entertainment]'s movies could function without anyone else left him in a state of confusion for a long time...

He had seen media reviews of him more than once. However, no matter how fair the reviews were, there was always a part that called him "a lucky guy favored by Zhou Yangguang's luck." Not only the media, but even his colleagues talked about it in private, saying, "If only I had met the down-on-his-luck CEO back then."

These sounds were like needles, pricking his heart with a faint pain.

Along with these comments, an indescribable sense of crisis arose in his heart, making him cherish every hard-won opportunity. When there were movies, he worked his heart out, and in his spare time, he went to various acting classes, challenging himself with all kinds of roles, striving to hone his acting skills, hoping that one day he could become famous overnight...

Yes, instant fame!
It sounds ironic, especially for someone now worth tens of millions; it seems more like affectation...

But in fact, he had been waiting all along.

Waiting for a victory that truly belongs to 'Chen Jianfeng', waiting to prove that although he is a person favored by luck, he is also a powerful person who deserves this luck!

then……

He waited for "Moon Wars 2", he waited for this movie!
……

When people think of science fiction movies, certain iconic elements always come to mind...

With investments often exceeding hundreds of millions, massive sound stages, stunning visual effects, and production cycles lasting one to two years, these films are highly sought after.

These elements seem to have become standard features in science fiction films worldwide.

However, the movie "Moon Wars 2" was a domestic film that was only shot in 15 days.

Rumors circulate that this film has only one actor and a very low total investment, less than 100 million RMB...

Such "science fiction movies" should logically be synonymous with shoddy production and should be ignored by everyone.

however……

This is a movie produced by [XuanShi Entertainment]!

……

The Feihe Cinema screening room in the Xuanshi Mall was packed with people.

Despite the expansion of the premiere theater to a capacity of nearly 1000 people, it was still packed with people.

The premiere of this film, with a budget of only 100 million RMB, was no less spectacular than the premiere of "Star Wars" three hours earlier, and even attracted more film critics and media who came spontaneously...

Whether it was Wandou Film Network or Movie Fans' Home, both owned by Zhou Yang's competitors, or media outlets affiliated with Zhou Yang, they all flocked to the scene.
Film critic Liu Jiasheng was lucky; thanks to being a protégé of [Xuan Shi Entertainment], he managed to get a seat at the cinema and sit down...

He glanced ahead instinctively and noticed a group of foreigners sitting not far away.

Those were representatives from film companies in Europe and America.

The global success of "Saw" has shown these European and American film companies the amazing potential of low-budget films.

Upon learning that the film "Moon Wars" was only worth 1 million RMB, another low-budget production of a few hundred thousand US dollars, and that Zhou Yang was still the screenwriter, the group's first reaction was not to underestimate it. Instead, they immediately contacted [Xuanshi Entertainment]. Shockingly, even before the film's official premiere, these film distributors had already eagerly started making offers...

The screening room was noisy. Several European and American film distributors looked around, and then simultaneously took out their phones and dialed their overseas companies, reporting the film's status to their head office representatives in low voices.

until……

When the lights go out. When the screen lights come back on.

The entire screening room fell silent.

Everyone was watching the screen.

Unlike any previous film, this movie has no jarring advertisements at the beginning, nor does it feel rough at all.

The scene unfolds slowly, and in the silent atmosphere, there is a faint sense of suffocating oppression.

Then, the title of "Moon Wars 2" appeared on the big screen.

Then, it gradually faded away, and a line of text appeared...

In the future, as Earth's energy crisis intensifies, a company called "Lunar Energy" establishes a base on the moon to power Earth by mining helium-3 (a clean energy source).

Astronaut Zhang Yu is the sole employee at the lunar base, responsible for maintaining the mining equipment. His only companion is an intelligent robot named [DS].

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

Star Wars was disappointing...

At least for Parsons from the UK, after watching Star Wars in advance, he had a vague feeling that the movie might not be as big a hit as expected...

The special effects are close to a 9 out of 10, but the plot is somewhat hollow and lacks originality, resembling a space opera...

In 1999, this series was truly amazing, captivating and stunning countless viewers.

However, by 2005, the same approach had become somewhat outdated and obsolete.

The box office performance in Europe and America seems somewhat lukewarm. In recent years, Hollywood seems to have been obsessed with special effects blockbusters, while neglecting the script...

At this moment, he sat silently in his chair, quietly watching the movie "War of the Moon II" begin...

There's no trailer for the movie "Moon Wars 2," only a poster showing the Earth exploding. Judging from the title, it seems to be like some of Zhou Yang's previous films, featuring a bunch of random monsters and a plot where everyone fights them...

But when the movie started, Parsons was slightly stunned.

Unlike Zhou Yang's previous cheap commercial films that relied on exaggerated gimmicks, this movie presents a surprisingly serious tone.

The opening shot slowly zooms in, revealing a silent lunar base where only the hum of machinery can be heard. The protagonist, played by Chen Jianfeng, is a miner working alone at a control panel. His nuanced performance and the oppressive atmosphere make this film feel more like an art film focusing on inner emotions, a stark contrast to the visual spectacle of an exploding Earth on the poster…

When Parsons saw the lunar base in the movie, he vaguely felt a strange sense of claustrophobia.

The lunar base in the movie is itself a huge, lonely cage, with pure white corridors, monotonous mechanical sounds, and endlessly repetitive daily tasks. Even the Earth outside the window is just a distant blue dot of light.

Every inch of the base serves as a reminder to the protagonist, or perhaps to the audience, that the protagonist is the only human in the entire lunar base.

The robotic arms and "smiley face" symbols on the electronic screens in the movie did not alleviate the sense of loneliness; instead, they deepened the eerie and absurd feeling of the inhuman environment.

This serious and orthodox science fiction narrative stunned Parsons. He then gradually sat up straight and stared intently at the screen.

The film employs symmetrical composition and wide-angle establishing shots...

The photographer's shooting technique, with its unique lens language, makes the protagonist's figure appear tiny within the massive mechanical structure, creating a sense of silence as if suddenly swallowed up by technology.

This is truly a sci-fi movie!

Just then, a thought suddenly popped into Parsons' mind.

Then, he looked at the protagonist played by Chen Jianfeng...

Although the film presents some aspects of daily life through its lens, its cinematic language constantly reminds everyone of the loneliness of the moon.

On the far side of the moon, even the silence is doubled; there is no wind, no rain, only the endless hum of mining trucks.

In the scene, Zhang Yu, played by Chen Jianfeng, stops suddenly while shaving in front of the mirror, looking somewhat dazed. He realizes that he has forgotten when he last heard a human voice.

Parsons stared at the only actor in the frame...

The protagonist's contract is about to expire, and he will be able to return to Earth to reunite with his family in two weeks. However, his long period of loneliness has caused him to begin to hallucinate, and his emotions are gradually becoming unstable...

In such solo films, the camera always focuses on the protagonist.

Under such a highly concentrated cinematic language, the demands on actors' acting skills are extremely stringent, requiring acting prowess at the level of an award-winning actor. If the slightest unnaturalness or incongruity is revealed in the performance, then the atmosphere and artistic conception created through the meticulously designed cinematic language will instantly crumble.

However, Parsons was somewhat amazed by the Chinese man's acting skills!
He seemed to have accurately captured the character's mental state under extreme loneliness...

From the numbness of mechanically repeating daily routines, to the occasional flashes of dazedness and vulnerability, and then to the overwhelming longing to return home, every emotional shift is delicate and layered...

Without needing exaggerated body language, he vividly portrayed a soul abandoned on the moon through subtle changes in his eyes and twitches of his facial muscles, instantly drawing the audience into the entire film...

……

In this confined, oppressive, and lonely environment, "going home" has almost become the most precious thing.

And this film, through the lens of family affection, further emphasizes this beautiful feeling...

(End of this chapter)