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

Chapter 344 Igniting the Flames of War
"Eragon" is a film directed by renowned Hollywood director Stephen Vane.

The film, with a budget of approximately $1 million, is an adaptation of the first book in the epic bestselling novel series "The Legacy" by renowned author Paolini.

The novel is hailed as the "young adult version of The Lord of the Rings" and has a huge fan base worldwide.

This movie was originally scheduled for release on May 1st, Labor Day, in an attempt to stir up controversy, but...

At this moment, seeing the huge commotion Zhou Yang caused in March, the capital behind him finally couldn't sit still anymore.

……

In fact, as early as the last century, overseas capital had long coveted the booming Chinese market.

Everyone knows that whoever controls any sector, whether it's daily necessities, appliances, or the film market, can make a fortune in this huge market with over a billion people.

This is especially true in the film industry.

Starting in the 90s, these investors began to invest in China's film industry.

They first targeted the Hong Kong Island market, which is known as the "Hollywood of the East".

Back then, Hong Kong films were incredibly popular worldwide, showing a subtle trend towards forming a Chinese film industry system...

A movie can become a commercial blockbuster, but the global film industry must never have a second Hollywood!
after all!

Hollywood movies essentially embody American cultural hegemony!
Therefore, in the 1990s, overseas capital, in conjunction with the Hollywood film industry, began to systematically penetrate the Hong Kong film market.

They precisely targeted the fatal weaknesses of the Hong Kong film industry, namely its limited scale and singular creative model, and ultimately destroyed this "Hollywood of the East" through a double blow of cultural dumping and capital encroachment.

After dismantling the Hong Kong film industry, these international capital firms immediately turned their attention to the more promising mainland market.

Everyone knows that with China's accession to the WTO and its economic boom, the cinema construction boom has led to a surge in the number of screens, bringing new development opportunities to the mainland film industry!

This is the world's most promising and noteworthy vote bank!

At the beginning of the millennium, they used the same methods to penetrate the mainland film market.

They precisely targeted the weaknesses of older generation directors' works, such as lengthy narratives and a disconnect from the aesthetics of young audiences, and continued to impact the market with the visual spectacles and fast-paced storytelling of Hollywood blockbusters.

Furthermore, by using the revenue-sharing model of importing Hollywood blockbusters, they monopolized all five major Chinese film companies, attempting to make them their distributors...

In fact, everything unfolded exactly as they had predicted.

After the turn of the millennium, the Hong Kong film market gradually declined, and masterpieces became increasingly rare. Meanwhile, among the older generation of directors in the mainland market, apart from Li Zhengtao, almost none were able to produce blockbusters that could rival Hollywood. Production companies were basically immersed in the comfort zone created by Hollywood blockbusters and could not extricate themselves, making it difficult for a film industry to emerge.

Just as overseas capital was gearing up to take over the Chinese film industry after 2004, a young man named Zhou Yang suddenly appeared!
……

[Hongsheng Capital]

Chen Lei stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the headquarters of Hongsheng Capital, the cigar between his fingers flickering in the night.

He stared at the pre-sale data for "Devil Knight" on the computer screen, his eyes cold.

In fact, they started paying attention to the movie after "Dark Knight" was first conceived.

Over the past six months, he secretly contacted five major visual effects giants, including Industrial Light & Magic and Weta Digital, and signed a "technical consultant agreement" at three times the market price, with only one condition—to delay the post-production of "Dark Knight".

Those Hollywood veterans understood perfectly, and the rendering materials they delivered were either riddled with frame rate errors or had distorted lighting and shadows, forcing Zhou Yang's team to replace all outsourced teams overnight.

"Domestic special effects?" Chen Lei narrowed his eyes, staring at the movie "The Demon Knight".

Those Chinese special effects artists who are used as temporary workers by mainstream production companies can't even do a proper physical simulation of the cape in "Batman". How can they create a decent film industry?
Chen Lei felt that this movie couldn't have much potential, but he was always wary of Zhou Yang's box office appeal in the Chinese film market.

The numbers on the pre-sale tickets, in particular, made him uneasy...

The 73% overlap rate of the joint tickets means that Zhou Yang is not afraid of hedging at all, and even regards this sniping battle as a marketing carnival!

"Release the news!" He suddenly stubbed out his cigar: "Dragon Rider will be released on March 1st, going head-to-head with these two movies!"

The secretary hesitated, then said, "But Zhou Yang has monopolized all the online buzz right now, and I'm worried about the marketing costs we'll incur."

"This isn't about money!" Chen Lei interrupted coldly. "This is a battle to extinguish the last embers of the Chinese film industry. We must break his box office myth!"

"But Zhou Yang controls about half of China's cinema system..."

“He signed an agreement that if they tamper with the film scheduling, we will immediately contact the American business team to file a complaint. This would have a very bad international impact, and he can’t afford to take that responsibility!”

"I know, but he can refuse to schedule screenings!"

"No, in principle, they can only refuse to screen films during the 'domestic film protection month,' but March is not a protection month, so they have no reason to block it!"

"Hmm... I'll go contact and communicate right away..."

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

In the early hours of February 27th, the sudden announcement that "Eragon Rider" would premiere earlier than expected, on March 1st, sent shockwaves through the Chinese film industry!
Following closely behind, the first trailer for "Eragon Rider" was released on major Chinese movie websites with lightning speed.

In the video, a giant dragon flaps its wings, unleashing a storm; its burning scales reflect a cold metallic sheen in the firelight, roaring as it sweeps across the land amidst the wind and snow…

Seeing this scene, moviegoers can almost feel the shock of countless dollars burning fiercely in the flames from every frame!

……

When the news broke that "Eragon" would be included in the March release schedule, the Chinese film forum was instantly flooded with discussions about the "battle of the gods".

A netizen created a poster combining the roaring frost dragon from the trailer of "Eragon" with the image of a knight clad in flames from "Dark Knight." The poster, featuring the clash of dark red and dark blue light and shadow, was captioned "Eastern Industry VS Hollywood Hegemony," and went viral online.

The hashtag #MarchGodslayingBattle# spread like wildfire, garnering over ten million views within 24 hours. The comment section turned into a battlefield: some mocked, "Does domestic special effects even dare to challenge a giant dragon?", while fans retorted, "Zhou Yang can handle any dissent!" Some film critics even predicted, "This is no longer a battle for box office revenue, but a battle for the dignity of the Chinese film industry!"

The pre-sale hall was in chaos due to the three films vying for attention, with theater managers frantically refreshing the pre-sale data for each film. In the end, additional screenings were urgently added...

The film screenings and pre-sale tickets for March 2nd became a frenzied battleground for everyone!

Pre-sale tickets are selling like hotcakes!
It's practically a cinematic extravaganza that everyone's been eagerly anticipating!

Chinese moviegoers lined up outside the Xuan Shi Cinema, their excitement tinged with a touch of melancholy.

They realized that this "battle of the three gods," which was about the dignity of domestic special effects, was destined to be recorded in film history!
……

Late at night.

【Spectacular special effects】.

Zhang Yunyi stared at the trailer for "Dragon Knight".

He silently closed his eyes.

"Stephen Vane brought the entire Lord of the Rings team here..." He gulped down a mouthful of ice-cold coffee, a bitter taste rising in his throat.

For the past few months, he and his team have been working day and night on particle rendering for "Demonic Knight," but the physics simulation plugins that were deliberately delayed by the overseas outsourcing company made them spend three times as much time.

They did not give up and continued to contact renowned overseas special effects companies at high prices.

They knew very well that the fluid processing technology monopolized by Industrial Light & Magic and the bio-muscle simulation system unique to Weta Digital were gaps that could not be bridged by sheer hard work.

The international teams they paid exorbitant prices to work with were even worse than the outsourced teams. At least domestic outsourcing teams could provide something decent. Ironically, when they begged and pleaded to find "international teams," those teams either quoted outrageously high prices or deliberately included flaws in the test samples they submitted, as if someone had given them prior notice—making them completely unusable.

Ultimately, they had no choice but to, with the coordination of relevant departments, gather the top teams in China and work tirelessly to perfect the fire particle effects for "Dark Knight." They even resorted to rudimentary methods, such as pouring gasoline on scrap steel and filming the burning trajectory, then painstakingly compositing the images frame by frame...

However, what they did was almost satisfactory, but the rendering technology of Industrial Light & Magic in Hollywood was so precise that even the physical attenuation of the dragon's breath frost was as accurate as a textbook example...

He grabbed the phone and dialed Zhou Yang, his throat tightening: "Mr. Zhou, we..."

"The special effects are lacking, aren't they?" Zhou Yang's voice carried a hint of laughter. "Old Zhang, are you scared?"

"This is the first time we've truly faced off against a Hollywood blockbuster. I'm uncertain. I don't know why, but I've always had this feeling that we could succeed countless times, but if we fail even once, the entire industry will be plunged into darkness, and all our efforts will be in vain... Maybe we should change gears! Avoiding certain release dates isn't shameful..."

"Don't be afraid! I'm here for you!"

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Yang's voice was calm, yet gentle.

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

From February 27th to the early morning of March 1st, the Chinese film market was engulfed in fierce competition!
David Kreich, director of "Fast & Furious," and star Vin Diesel made a surprise appearance in Shanghai for a grand premiere on the Bund. The red carpet was filled with luxury cars, eliciting screams from fans. Zhou Yang, one of the screenwriters and producers, also made an appearance, praising "Fast & Furious" and showcasing his own film, "The Devil Knight," claiming it was a battle between the two directors...

Stephen Vane, director of "Eragon," appeared at the Beijing Huaying International Cinema with a giant dragon model, and the dragon's roar in the IMAX theater drew gasps from the audience.

In interviews, both Hollywood production teams tacitly mentioned "looking forward to healthy competition with Chinese filmmakers," but their words hinted at underlying tensions...

Zhou Yang's team worked around the clock, appearing in top interviews on shows like "Film Weekly" and "Entertainment Frontline," and even receiving a rare special report on CCTV's "Cultural Viewpoint." The camera panned across the burning steel in the "Special Effects" lab and the programmers' bloodshot eyes, with the host solemnly emphasizing, "This is a crucial step in the industrialization of Chinese cinema."

The online buzz surrounding #BattleOfTheThreeGods# continues to dominate the charts, with pre-sale box office revenue exceeding 1.2 million yuan.

4:00 AM on March 1st.

The premieres of the three films were brightly lit and packed with countless media outlets and reporters.

The premiere of "Dark Knight" at Feihe Cinema has been a regular occurrence.

The Fast and Furious movies were released at a different time, at the Changkong Cinema, not far from the Feihe Cinema, which was one of the earliest cinema chains to join the Cinema Alliance...

Meanwhile, "Eragon Rider" premiered at [Huaying International], awaiting this exciting moment...

Long queues formed at security checkpoints at major cinemas. Ticket inspectors, gazing at the equally excited audience members amidst the different posters, muttered to themselves, "This isn't watching a movie; it's witnessing history..."

(End of this chapter)