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

Chapter 395 Epilogue (Part Six)

This is an era brimming with passion...

Everyone witnessed a miracle...

Everyone is waiting for the next miracle...

Almost everyone in the Chinese film industry is a witness to this era…

……

In December 2008, the release dates of "The Arda" and "The Arda: God of Monsters" clashed, like a nuclear bomb exploding across the internet.

12 Month 2 Day!
[Quick News] The top ten trending topics were instantly dominated by terms like "Zhou Yang VS Karlov" and "Chinese Cinema vs. Hollywood"...

A flood of buzz and discussion poured into the [Kuaibo] page, with everyone discussing all sorts of topics. Even some netizens who rarely watch movies joined the fray...

The ever-increasing volume of traffic is overwhelming the entire server; the number of registered users surpassed 7000 million overnight, and it's still skyrocketing...

this day……

[Kuaibo] Major web pages and movie review forums have become a battlefield, and the technicians are shocked by the traffic data that has exceeded 100 million.

They seemed to see a crazy internet age sweeping in with overwhelming force...

this day……

The homepage of the [Movie Home] forum was flooded with posts containing tens of thousands of words of technical analysis. The article "3D Technology Breakdown: Where Exactly Are We Lagging Behind?" posted by movie fan "Iron Man" at 3 a.m. sparked a heated debate.

The comment section was instantly flooded with countless users. Some viewed this as Zhou Yang's suicidal act, while others angrily denounced the slanderers as "kneeling for too long and unable to stand up." Still others posted screenshots of the [Special Effects] special effects in IMAX footage from "The Black Robe Alliance 3" in support: "Is this level bad? Just do it!"

Various debates have arisen about whether Arda represents a new era, with different voices clashing fiercely on forums.

this day……

Meanwhile, on the countdown poster on the homepage of [Fengqi Live], registered media personnel, carrying cameras, interviewed passersby, capturing various reactions: "Zhou Yang, go for it!" "If the box office breaks records, I'll shave my head live on stream!" "If the ticket price is right, I'll choose to support it..."

During a live stream, when the host, [Movie Lao Liu], connected with a North American film critic, the critic's comment that "China's 3D technology is at least five years behind" immediately ignited the live stream. The comment section was instantly flooded with "bullshit," and the moderators banned accounts until their hands were sore.

……

this day……

Countless passionate and controversial voices echoed in various live broadcast rooms, eventually converging into the most heated discussion in the Chinese film industry throughout December!
It became an unprecedented nationwide carnival in the history of the Chinese internet...

And time, amidst this series of controversies, quietly arrived at the end of December...

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

On the morning of December 20, 2008, Liu Jiasheng, holding his one-year-old daughter, stood with his wife in the long line to buy tickets for the Xuan Shi Cinema.

The scene before him shocked him...

The cold wind rustled the pre-sale posters, but the huge crowds stretched from the ticket hall all the way to the outside of the mall.

The online pre-sale for 【XuanShi Tickets】has already sold out, and now only offline cinemas have a small number of remaining tickets and tickets for temporary additional screenings.

These tickets are now the target of frenzied pursuit by movie fans all over the city.

影城大厅里，两条长龙如同对峙的巨龙：左边是IMAX厅《阿尔达》50-120元的购票队伍，右边是3D厅《阿达达：怪兽之神》30-60元的检票通道。

In the morning light!
One by one, enthusiastic movie fans moved about, discussing...

"Two copies of 'Adada'!"

An argument suddenly broke out behind Liu Jiasheng!
The crowd suddenly erupted into chaos, frightening Liu Jiasheng, who led his wife and children dozens of meters away...

It turns out that IMAX tickets for "The Alda" are sold out, and scalpers are reselling tickets originally priced at 120 yuan for 300 yuan. Even so, countless people are still frantically buying them...

He looked up and saw the data on the electronic screen jumping wildly, displaying one alarming number after another...

Arda surpassed 1 million in pre-sales on its first day, with Adada following closely behind at 6500 million.
Despite the rapid expansion of China Cinema Circuit in the past two years, more than doubling in size, cinema managers are still astonished by these box office figures.

Faintly, Liu Jiasheng heard exclamations of amazement from those around him: "I've never seen such a spectacle in my twenty years in the industry!"

The noise startled his daughter awake, and she began to cry loudly. Liu Jiasheng frantically pulled out a pacifier, while his wife smiled and helped soothe her.

After the child quieted down, he looked up and saw an interview with Deng Baichuan from Tianyu Media playing on the LED screen: "This is not a price war, it's a moment in the history of the human film industry."

Before he could finish speaking, his words were drowned out by the loudspeaker of the streamer from the neighboring [Fengqi Live]...

Zhou Yang's livestreamers were shouting at the top of their lungs: "Family members! Watch a blockbuster made by Chinese people for only 30 yuan! Yes, it's 2D, but it's still our heartfelt gift!"

A deafening roar erupted at the cinema entrance as moviegoers waved their tickets and cheered wildly, the sound so loud it made Liu Jiasheng's ears ring...

Looking at these frenzied people, he couldn't help but sigh.

"This era..."

Then, they quietly left the crowd with their child and daughter...

……

After December 20th...

The entire Chinese film industry has entered an unprecedented frenzy!
Moviegoers flocked to IMAX theaters in Shanghai and Beijing from all over the country. Some people even queued overnight wrapped in sleeping bags. Scalped tickets were sold for thousands of yuan and were still snapped up.

A ticket price of a thousand yuan is a spectacle that countless filmmakers would never dare to dream of...

CCTV reporters captured a series of frenzied scenes on camera.

On screen... moviegoers from Harbin waved their tickets excitedly, their voices trembling: "Zhou Yang dared to stand up to Karlov, of course we have to witness history!"

In the footage, another young man who flew in from Guangzhou squeezed into the crowd, holding up his IMAX ticket stub and shouting into the microphone: "My first time flying was for this IMAX movie! It was worth it!"

In the video, a young man wearing a baseball cap is excitedly taking photos with his girlfriend, seemingly recording a historic moment...

……

Amidst this nationwide celebration, a post titled "We Are Witnessing History" was quietly pinned to the top.

"In 2003, I watched 'Monkey King vs. Superman 2' on a pirated DVD. I was shocked and speechless, but I also remembered this young man named Zhou Yang!"

"From 2004 to 2005, I witnessed his rise step by step, leading Chinese films to challenge Hollywood for the first time. Although the methods were somewhat opportunistic, his courage was truly remarkable."

"In 2006, 'The Devil Knight' broke the domestic box office record, which gave me hope for Chinese films. But when 'Transformers' swept the theaters, even though Zhou Yang used a series of parody movies to besiege Hollywood blockbusters and brought a lot of laughter to the audience, I still had a little regret in my heart. I longed to see a fair and square showdown."

"Two years have passed, and today in 2008, someone dares to go head-to-head with the King of Hollywood with four films, and that person is Zhou Yang. Regardless of the outcome, this courage is enough to make all Chinese movie fans proud."

This post quickly garnered 100,000 likes, igniting the entire movie fan community like wildfire.

And amidst these waves of enthusiasm...

Two movies have been officially released!
........................

12 month 24 day.

A light snow fell in Yanjing, turning the city into a white wonderland...

The screening room for "The Arda" at Feihe Cinema was filled with exclamations and praises...

Countless moviegoers wearing 3D glasses went crazy...

Liu Jiasheng sat in the last row of the IMAX theater, his hands still trembling as the end credits of "The Arda" slowly rolled...

The dazzling, dreamlike world of Pandora and the stunning 3D visual effects on the screen still churned in his mind, as if a visual tsunami had just swept over him.

He watched the dazed expressions of the audience as they left, and heard someone murmur, "This isn't a movie, it's magic."

At that moment, it felt as if a huge boulder was pressing on his chest...

The technological barriers that Karlov built over ten years now stand like mountains before Chinese filmmakers.

As he walked out of the screening room, the afternoon sun made him squint.

In the mall atrium, a poster for "Adada: God of Monsters" flashes on an LED screen, depicting a mechanical monster pounding on the Statue of Liberty.

Liu Jiasheng touched the other movie ticket in his pocket, then turned and walked towards the next theater.

The queue at the ticket gate was mostly filled with young people. Some were excitedly gesturing to the flying scenes from "The Arda," yet they still clutched their "The Arda" ticket stubs, eagerly anticipating just how much of a shock this film would deliver...

As the lights in the screening room dimmed and the logo of "Special Effects" lit up on the screen accompanied by familiar electronic sound effects, Liu Jiasheng unconsciously sat up straight.
In 2008, the radiation from a meteorite that fell in China awakened the ancient behemoth Taotie. Simultaneously, nuclear contamination of the Pacific seabed mutated a giant, similar to the Glass, known as the Baxia. The two behemoths clashed over control of the radiation source, threatening human civilization.

这 是
What is the main plot of this movie?
When Liu Jiasheng saw the beginning, he was slightly taken aback...

Immediately afterwards...

He saw the very first shot of the movie!
The first shot is an overhead view of the ruins of New York, with the charred American flag slowly drifting down amidst the smoke of battle.

The scene shifts, and "Baxia" roars as it leaps down from the top of the Empire State Building, charging madly into the crowd. With a sweep of its thick tail, it smashes the Statue of Liberty, the symbol of American freedom, in half, and then crushes it to pieces...

When Glass, revered as the "guardian of the earth" in Hollywood movies, bursts out of the sea, the level of detail in the special effects is breathtaking!
Every scale gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and the heavy footsteps made the coastline tremble.

Its proud and roaring posture is exactly the same as that of the previously released film "Glass", even more powerful and terrifying!

At this very moment, this legendary monster from the screen is charging menacingly toward the shore, as if to recreate its classic scene of saving humanity.
however!
Just as Glass was gathering his strength to unleash his signature atomic breath, "Baxia" suddenly opened its blood-red maw and devoured all the violent energy!

A collective gasp filled the screening room.

The next second, amidst a roar that shook the entire theater, "Baxia" pounced on Glass with the ferocity of a wild beast, its claws tearing through its proud scales and its fangs biting through its supposedly invincible body...

It struggled, but kept howling in agony...

Finally, in front of a global audience, he tore this "guardian of the earth" apart and swallowed it whole!

Then, it raised its head and let out a deafening roar, a roar that seemed to tear the entire sky apart.
In front of the screen, all the viewers held their breath.

The entire screening room fell into a deathly silence, with only the roar of the giant beast on the screen echoing throughout the theater.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, looking incredulously at this mind-blowing scene!
The classic monster created by Hollywood was so easily torn apart and devoured by the Chinese behemoth...

Immediately afterwards, the giant monster on the screen suddenly charged into the deep sea!
It violently tore apart one monster after another...

Those classic characters that once appeared in Western comics and movies are now no match for its claws.

On the screen!
Every frame burns through an astonishing special effects budget, with the camera constantly switching between scenes in a frenetic editing: Glass's severed leg, Gomora's wings, and Leviathan's shattered scales.
The entire underwater battlefield has been transformed into a crimson slaughterhouse!
……

It roared at the screen!

Everyone was glued to the screen!

Look over here!

The monstrous god soars into the sky!

formal!

Debut!

(End of this chapter)