Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 189 My Legs Are Long, Closed-Door Seminar

This late summer, like every year, was unbearably hot.

The cicadas' song was loud and clear, from dawn to dusk, like a sound that was being repeatedly boiled in the air, clinging to the treetops and falling into people's hearts.

But some things have quietly changed.

The first to notice were naturally Liu Tianchi and Zhang Jiqing.

"Teacher Zhang, have you noticed that Yifei's condition has been exceptionally good these past few days?" Liu Tianchi asked curiously. "Her emotions are very high, her training is very smooth, and her emotional intensity is visibly increasing."

"Hmm!" Zhang Jiqing nodded slowly, his gaze falling on the girl in the center of the stage, her forehead beaded with sweat. He smiled gently. "Isn't this a good thing?"

The two exchanged a glance, seemingly checking the answer, with an inexplicable understanding between them.

These days, Wu Chen hasn't been going to the training room too often, and he still only shows up when the training is over.

Summer clothes are mostly short-sleeved shirts, so when the two of them walk down the street, their arms are always touching.

Without the barrier of clothing, the intimate feeling of skin-to-skin contact is exceptionally strong. In the past, they might have kept their feelings to themselves, but now there was no such restraint.

Liu Yifei gently hugged Wu Chen's arm and looked up: "Why is your arm always cold?"

"Then why don't you ask why your arms are always warm? Is it the legendary cold in winter and hot in summer?" Wu Chen asked with a smile.

"How would I know?"

As Liu Yifei watched the two walk together, their shadows overlapping, she couldn't help but lower her head and smile gently.

During their meal, Wu Chen noticed that Liu Yifei had a "very bad" habit: her legs were stretched out too much.

Because Liu Yifei's feet would occasionally bump into his shoes or ankles.

"Can you please move your long legs a little? Even if you have long legs, you can't take up all the space below me!" Wu Chen chuckled and complained.

"My legs are long, so this is more comfortable, and besides, I'm right here in front of you."

"Please accept this quickly."

Seeing that Liu Yifei refused to retract her foot, Wu Chen had no choice but to step in himself and gently nudged her foot out a little.

Liu Yifei squinted, her little face puffed out slightly, and she was competing with Wu Chen, pressing her shoe tip against his.

The two ate their meal while subtly engaging in small actions under the table, until they managed to maintain a certain balance.

When her shoes touched Wu Chen's, Liu Yifei inexplicably found her heart beating a little faster.

An indescribable feeling spread through my heart, defying words.
September arrived quietly.

Competition in the film and television industry is gradually intensifying.

In the middle of the month is Feng Xiaogang's "The Banquet," and at the end of the month is Jackie Chan's "Rob-B-Hood."

Feng Xiaogang's "The Banquet" is making its final appearance at the Venice Film Festival, hoping to leverage the international platform to build word-of-mouth. At the same time, it has started preview screenings and media promotion in China in an attempt to create a narrative of "achieving both art and commerce," but neither end is going very smoothly.

At the end of the month, Jackie Chan's "Rob-B-Hood" also entered an intensive promotional period, launching simultaneously in Hong Kong and the mainland market, following a typical family-friendly action comedy route.

The popularity at both ends seems to have been quietly diverted.

Because at that very moment, an authoritative statistical report from the North American film market was sent back to China—

Now You See Me has officially surpassed $4.85 million at the global box office, ranking 47th on the all-time global box office chart, surpassing classic blockbusters such as Jaws, Star Wars: Episode VI, and Bruce Almighty.

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Major domestic portal websites and newspapers finally revised the draft they had prepared long ago and widely reposted it.

Meanwhile, formal meeting invitations from the Film Bureau were quietly delivered to the desks of executives at major film and television companies and representatives from academia.

The theme can be summarized in eight words: international cooperation and cultural export.

A closed-door seminar, jointly hosted by the Film Bureau and the Ministry of Culture, was held in a small building on the east side of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

"Principal Zhang, why is the bureau having another meeting? What can they possibly come up with on this kind of topic?" Wu Chen complained as he walked.

Zhang Huijun glanced around and said, "You can just say that to me, don't go around spreading it around."

Ultimately, it's you guys who give the bureau confidence.

"Me too?" Wu Chen pointed to himself.

"As you've seen in recent years, domestic films are doing increasingly well internationally. Your film, a Sino-US co-production, has even broken into the top 50. What do you think the bureau's expectations are?"
You'll definitely be speaking later, so if you're not confident, just keep a low profile.

"Yes, if you're confident, try not to be too high-profile. You can be high-profile when doing things, but there's no need to be when speaking in front of the bureau."

Wang Zhongjun from Huayi also strode over with a beaming smile, and quickened his pace upon seeing Wu Chen and Zhang Huijun.

"Director Zhang, Director Wu."

Zhang Huijun nodded with a smile, then parted ways with Wu Chen, his seat no longer with Wu Chen and the others.

"Chairman Wang, you look good." Wu Chen smiled, recalling the rumors in the industry, and knew why Wang Zhongjun was happy.

Today's topic is quite similar to Huayi's.

"Not at all, Director Wu, the premiere of 'The Banquet' is the day after tomorrow. I would be honored to have you here." Wang Zhongjun said cheerfully.

"Easy to say!"

Wu Chen nodded in agreement and glanced around the room; there were quite a few people there today.

Almost everyone with a name or influence from private film companies like Poly Huayi, Forbidden City, Bona, and New Pictures—those involved in production and distribution—came.

Not to mention state-owned factories.

Besides Zhang Yimou and Feng Xiaogang, who were busy with their work, even Chen Kaige was there. He sat calmly in his seat, looking aloof, and only became more lively when someone greeted him.

At this moment, Han Sanping was having a lively conversation with Wu Kebo from Orange Sky Entertainment, and Wu Chen only noticed him after a while.

"Director Wu, hello, this is Wu Kebo from Orange Sky Entertainment!" After Wu Chen and Han Sanping finished greeting each other, Wu Kebo extended his hand.

"Hello!"

As a newly emerging rising star in the film and television industry this year, Wu Chen naturally knew about it.

Last year, he brought Wang Jinghua and a group of artists under his wing, and this year he has also established a relationship with Japan's Ivey Group;
The latter acquired a 25% stake in Orange Sky for 4 million RMB, setting a record for international financing in the mainland entertainment industry.

This year's hottest film and television company is none other than Orange Sky Entertainment. "You need to prepare well today, as you'll definitely have to speak at the meeting later."

"How can I compare to industry veterans? In terms of experience and seniority, I'm far behind. Mr. Han, please elaborate."

"You," Han Sanping said, both amused and exasperated.

Several leaders from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Ministry of Culture entered the room one after another, and the atmosphere inside the meeting room became solemn.

With the door closed, the meeting finally began in earnest.

Tong Gang nodded the heads and began with a smile:
"The reason I've invited everyone here today is to have a practical discussion about the current state of Chinese films in the international market and where they can find a breakthrough."

We don't talk about concepts; we only talk about practical implementation paths.

In this way, China Film Group will set an example, and this year can be considered a breakthrough year for China Film Group's internationalization.

Tong Gang, who still holds the position of chairman of China Film Group, naturally appointed China Film Group as his first "general". Moreover, Han Sanping has indeed delivered a respectable performance.

Han Sanping cleared his throat, glanced around, and spoke in a steady tone with a hint of pride:
"In 2005-2006, China exported only 34 films, mainly co-productions or films shown during festivals, with very few actually achieving considerable box office success."

The most outstanding example is the international co-production blockbuster "Now You See Me," directed by Wu Chen, which broke numerous domestic records after its release.

Han Sanping was speaking with extraordinary enthusiasm, and Wu Chen felt as if he was being stared at by everyone in the room again and again.

Zhang Weiping pursed his lips, a hint of inexplicable displeasure in his expression.

If it weren't for Wu Chen, he and Zhang Yi would have been the main characters when this topic came up in the past. Back then, the "Hero" production team held countless meetings to discuss it.

"Waiting for 'Curse of the Golden Flower' to come out," Zhang Weiping murmured to himself.

"Director Wu, I heard that your film is doing very well at the North American box office?"

As Han Sanping finished speaking, the deputy director from the Cultural Bureau turned around with a smile.

"It's not particularly strong. Compared to truly big-budget productions, 'Now You See Me' is far inferior. For example, 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,' which was released two weeks after 'Now You See Me,' has already grossed over a billion dollars worldwide."

As soon as Wu Chen finished speaking, a lot of discussion arose around him.

"This young man is neither arrogant nor impatient."

"It's rare, but the box office of some movies in North America is really outrageous. It won't be easy for us to catch up."

"."

Zhang Huijun nodded with satisfaction.

If it were anyone else, being singled out for praise in this situation would inevitably lead to some arrogance or overconfidence, since this achievement is unique in China.

"Old Zhang, your Beijing Film Academy really does produce talented people."

Xu Xiang, sitting to the side, couldn't help but sigh, but unexpectedly almost choked on his own by Zhang Huijun's calm and indifferent reply.

"That's the general school spirit."

"."

"Haha, over four hundred million US dollars is already very good." Tong Gang laughed heartily.

"Let's not talk about things that far ahead. A billion dollars is indeed a lot, but four hundred million dollars proves that the audience is also quite large. Let's talk about the present facts first."

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen slowly said:
“I think cultural export is not about slogans or labels, but about the resonance of emotional structures. It is not that content with strong ‘Chinese characteristics’ can naturally represent China.”

When making this film, we didn't deliberately claim it was "Made in China." In terms of script, narrative rhythm, and character structure, we actually learned from Hollywood's rhythm.
However, many Hollywood media outlets report on Chinese directors, which is actually a form of export. I think this gradual infiltration is more practical than directly trying to extract their expertise.

"That makes sense!" Everyone nodded slightly. Tong Gang, sitting in the main seat, suddenly asked, "Director Wu, are there any follow-up plans, like you said, to gradually infiltrate?"

As soon as the question was raised, many film and television company executives came to take notice.

The news that Wu Chen would not be directing the sequel to "Now You See Me 2" had already spread within the industry.

Wu Chen wouldn't even bother directing an A-list production. To be honest, everyone is curious about what kind of movie Wu Chen actually wants to direct.

Even Han Sanping, who was sitting to the side, couldn't help but lean forward slightly, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"I have some ideas, but whether they will succeed depends on a bit of luck."

Wu Chen had ideas in mind, but things hadn't come to fruition yet, so he couldn't make any boasts.

But this half-hidden sentence immediately caught the attention of many industry professionals present.

"Goodness, so you really did have a plan."

"."

"That's good. Director Wu, is there anything else you'd like to share?"

"Director Tong, I don't have much experience; the industry veterans have far more experience than me."

"Okay, then let's talk about the new picture." Tong Gang asked each person by name.

Zhang Weiping felt much better after hearing this.

"Curse of the Golden Flower has been a great success overseas. We even turned down a 200 million yuan domestic distribution offer, mainly because of the confidence we received from overseas markets."

The Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film is of great help to cultural exchange overseas, and I personally believe that we should make every effort to allocate resources to strive for it.

"This year marks Huayi's first year of internationalization, and we are also exploring collaborations with other countries. We believe that internationalization and cultural export, along with cultural icons like Jackie Chan and Jet Li, can help films achieve twice the results with half the effort."

"."

The meeting then descended into a heated discussion.

Of course, among private enterprises, Huayi Brothers and New Pictures are the most confident. One has just finalized a deal with Lionsgate, and the other has Zhang Yimou on board, making distribution much smoother for them than for ordinary directors.
"Old Ren, are you really not going to get involved?" Han Sanping narrowed his eyes, listening to Wang Zhongjun's impassioned speech, and turned his head to ask Ren Zhonglun in a low voice.

Ren Zhonglun remained calm: "Well, if Huayi is willing to pay a premium, then let them pay a premium."

"That's a pity. Lionsgate's plan seemed quite good." Han Sanping sighed, which made Ren Zhonglun sneer inwardly.

"Damn it, if it were a real pity, would you, Han Sanping, not participate?" Ren Zhonglun was speechless. He had sensed something was wrong when China Film Group quietly withdrew from the matter.

Given Han Sanping's personality, would he let a duck that's already in his mouth fly away?

Based on his understanding of Han Sanping and Lionsgate's exorbitant demands, he chose not to pursue the matter further.
(End of this chapter)