Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 177 Trip to South Korea

August 7, early morning.

The sky over Beijing was a clear blue, and the air was filled with the warmth of summer.

On the way to the airport, Wu Chen sat in the car, looking out at the city streets that were not yet fully awake, when his phone rang.

This is Han Sanping.

"I had a brief chat with Michael last night."

On the other end of the phone, Han Sanping sighed, "Lionsgate definitely sees this project as a lucrative opportunity and is willing to share a portion, but getting a large slice from them is unlikely."

"It's ok!"

Wu Chen chuckled lightly, not surprised at all. This was only natural; being able to share even a part was already quite generous.

Han Sanping hesitated for a moment, then changed the subject: "I heard from Zhang Qiang that 'Black Peony' is going to be accelerated?"

"Hmm." Wu Chen said casually, "I feel like the year and a half of training period is almost over, so we need to leave more time to refine the filming."

Filming is tentatively scheduled to begin in November or December, depending on Universal's North American distribution plans for Get Out.

Han Sanping responded, and the call ended quickly.

Wu Chen's schedule today includes flying to Seoul, South Korea, and then to Japan the following day.

Now You See Me opened in South Korea yesterday, Friday, and the first-day box office results came out this morning. 23 people watched the movie on the first day. At a cost of about $6 per person, the first-day box office was close to $140 million.

Given that the opening day box office is typically about a quarter or a fifth of the first three days' box office, this means that the opening week box office in South Korea will exceed $500 million.

Lionsgate made perfect arrangements for this major Asian box office destination, and even specially invited the publicity team from CJ Entertainment to handle the reception and arrangements.

Outside the COEX International Convention Center in downtown Seoul.

Senior executives from CJ Entertainment personally attended the ceremony to welcome the guests, and the impressive lineup even drew murmurs from the local media.

Because CJ also specially arranged for several of its most popular artists to "supplement" the event, including popular Korean artists Park Jin-hee and Kim Ha-neul.
Among the high-ranking officials who came to greet him, a middle-aged man in a black suit and wearing a badge smiled and quickly stepped forward, directly reaching out to shake hands tightly with Wu Chen, his hands folded over each other, his attitude extremely humble.

"Director Wu Chen, I've long admired your name. Welcome to South Korea! Seoul is especially sunny today because of your presence!"

The translator next to him was still mechanically translating, and Wu Chen was momentarily overwhelmed by his enthusiasm.

The CJ executive smiled obsequiously and whispered, "I wonder if Director Wu has any projects he's considering collaborating with in the Asian market? Our company is very interested in investing in and distributing them."

Wu Chen was taken aback. Good heavens, what a brilliant idea! His eyes narrowed slightly, and he smiled, saying:
"There should be an opportunity."

"this is my name card."

Wu Chen took it and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Director Wu Chen, hello! I'm Park Jin-hee. I really love your work!"

"It is a great honor to meet you in person."

Park Jin-hee and Kim Ha-neul then greeted Wu Chen one after another, their smiles revealing a hint of awkwardness.

In this country with its distinct social hierarchy, directors have always held a very high status.

Directors of Wu Chen's caliber undoubtedly hold the highest status in the South Korean entertainment industry. In fact, given Wu Chen's current achievements, he could practically dominate the entire South Korean director community in 2006.

Scarlett Johansson and her friends waved in response to the cheers of the fans on both sides.

As South Korea's economy is largely based on the entertainment industry, its fans are more enthusiastic and extraordinarily passionate than people can imagine.

Wu Chen has also received a lot of attention from fans. After all, a young, handsome director with international achievements is particularly easy to attract. At meet-and-greets and media events, reporters flocked to the event, including major South Korean media outlets. However, when asked about Wu Chen, they almost always started with "Asia," referring to him as "Asia's pride."
Wu Chen smiled, understanding their subtle thoughts and bitterness.

But after the premiere, the audience erupted in cheers. At that moment, a particularly competitive audience member couldn't resist asking a question during the Q&A session:

"Director Wu Chen, is the success of your film in North America largely due to the availability of actors from Hollywood?"

If it were an all-Asian cast, do you think it would still have such high box office returns?

The atmosphere became tense, and the media were happy to see it happen.

They dared not ask too many questions, fearing they would humiliate themselves and be attacked by the South Korean public. But if ordinary people asked, it was none of their business; they would simply record and report it.

Upon hearing this, the Four Horsemen frowned slightly, as if they were about to speak.

But Wu Chen raised his hand, indicating that he didn't need to.

He slowly stood up, leaned forward slightly, and scanned the entire room with his gaze.

"I believe in the actors' efforts, and I also believe in the power of the film itself."

The success of *Now You See Me* is because we respect the audience and the story, not because we pile on stars.

He paused slightly, his voice becoming sharp and piercing:
"If a film's success depends solely on its actors, then please tell me—"

South Korea has many excellent actors, so why hasn't it produced a single film by a South Korean director that has grossed over $50 million at the North American box office?

Wu Chen didn't even mention "Hero," but everyone in the audience knew that the Chinese film "Hero" had also grossed over $5000 million in North America.

The audience was silent.

Wu Chen smiled at the end, "So we not only need to push the actors, but also strive to push the directors."

Wu Chen wasn't sure if the audience remembered the rest of what he said, but he was certain they remembered the last sentence, and the media would give it even more coverage: a strong push to spur the director on.
The applause from the fans erupted like a tidal wave.

Some people were whistling, and others were shouting "Wu Chen's" name.
Offstage, Park Jin-hee and Kim Ha-neul couldn't help but smile with relief.

They understood that Wu Chen's last half-sentence, urging the director to work harder, was undoubtedly a clever way to divert attention from the actors and shift the focus to the domestic directors.

For women from the South Korean entertainment industry, this level of respectability is extremely rare.

Both of them bowed slightly during the curtain call, casting grateful glances at Wu Chen.

In the following hours, the South Korean media was in an uproar.

Major news portals quickly made headlines about Wu Chen's sharp remarks at the premiere, which became a hot topic.

The media dared not openly criticize Wu Chen, so they turned their criticism towards the domestic directors.

[Korean directors collectively called out by Wu Chen: When will they break 50 million in North America?]

[Asia's Pride? Wu Chen's Words Stung a South Korean Director!]

[Actors are innocent, directors should reflect on their actions—Wu Chen's remarks in Seoul spark heated discussion!]

[No Korean films or directors have broken the $50 million box office mark in North America. When will they catch up with Chinese directors?]

The topic is also generating a lot of discussion online, with South Korean viewers flooding forums and comment sections with messages:
"It's like being slapped awake."

"I can't even be bothered to criticize our trash directors."

"."

The atmosphere was both complex and intense.
(End of this chapter)