Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 275 I'll Direct?

Wu Chen was unaware of Paramount's discussion.

When the box office of "Black Peony" dropped to just over five million on Thursday, many predicted that its turning point was approaching.

But by Friday, when the weekend and word-of-mouth returned to work together, the data seemed to have been pulled out of the sand, and it climbed back to more than 7.3 million!
With a cumulative box office exceeding 56 million, it has dispelled the pessimism surrounding the idea that "art films lack staying power."

Many industry insiders have even begun to recalculate privately, suggesting that if they can hold out for another week or so against resource theft, it seems that "Black Peony" breaking 100 million views is no longer a pipe dream.

China Film Group and Enlight Media are actively combating piracy.

"Hold on for another week, and keep a close eye on offline security measures," Han Sanping loudly instructed in the China Film Group's conference room.

"Chairman Wang said that the local publicity team has increased its on-the-ground promotion staff to sixty people, and they will recruit another twenty part-time staff."

Li Xiaoping also specifically gave instructions at the meeting of Guangxian.

Enlight Media may not make money, but the first film they invested in not only won awards and received good reviews, but also grossed over 100 million yuan at the box office. It's something to be proud of.

Moreover, for Guangming, this reputation sounds much better than earning a few million.

Meanwhile, far to the south in Lujiang, on the set of "Crazy Racer," Huang Bo, wearing a tank top, squatted by a ditch, munching on chilled watermelon, listening to everyone discussing data, his face filled with existential skepticism.

"This is outrageous, absolutely outrageous! Is it really going to break 100 million?"

"Director, do you think our movie can break 100 million?" He turned to Ning Hao and asked with a smile.

Before he could finish speaking, Ning Hao kicked him.

"Damn it! Trying to put pressure on me, huh!" Ning Hao cursed irritably, but his eyes held an undisguised smile.

"Hahaha!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

"Hurry up, finish filming these next few days and then we'll wrap up and leave. I've been out here for months, I'm practically roasted from the sun!"

After Ning Hao finished shouting, he turned around and went into the camera station area to arrange the camera positions.

Just then, a major piece of news broke in the industry: Zhang Yimou officially accepted the invitation from the Venice Film Festival's board of directors to serve as the president of the jury for this year's main competition.

The industry was instantly invigorated.

Because the previous film, "Black Peony," which won a major award at an international film festival, is still sweeping the box office and receiving critical acclaim in the industry.

With Zhang Yimou now in charge of the judging panel, it undoubtedly adds fuel to the fire.

"The spring of art films is really coming."

"It's time for domestic art films to catch up with the times."

This was a sentence typed by an editor of a film magazine on a forum, which was soon screenshotted by netizens and spread to various online forums and QQ spaces.

Jiang Wen was the first to announce, "Post-production on 'The Sun Also Rises' is complete. See you in Venice!"

Previously, it was reported that the film "Lust, Caution," which was delayed due to post-production issues, will be released simultaneously in China and the United States on September 28, and is expected to compete in the Venice Film Festival.

This has sparked a surge in interest in Chinese-language films competing in Venice, with many eager to squeeze them into the main competition section.

Meanwhile, the box office performance of "Black Peony" remained stable as the weekend progressed.

Saturday, 950 million;
Sunday, 903 million!
The cumulative box office reached an astonishing 7600 million.

It's less than 24 million away from breaking 100 million.

Industry insiders finally couldn't sit still any longer.

Many cinema managers who had initially given up hope on art films called back to schedule screenings: "Keep the screenings of 'Black Peony' next week, and don't cut them before 'Transformers' arrives!"

Meanwhile, trending posts on forums, BBS, Tieba, and portal websites have created a significant boost: "Have you seen it? If not, go check it out! Damn, an art film broke 100 million! That sounds impressive!"

"I'll take my girlfriend to see it once, my ex has seen it, my current girlfriend has seen it, and I'll see the next one too!"

"Hey buddy upstairs, don't run away! You have to be exposed by name!"

"."

These jokes and popular comments spread rapidly across Tianya, Douban, Mop, and other online forums. While browsing the movie reviews, netizens also made fun of the film, which encouraged many people to watch it.

Several mainstream media outlets also published articles with different headlines, but all of them pointed to the same fact: "Black Peony" is creating a new era of brilliance for art films.

How high can "Black Peony" fly? Box office surpasses 7600 million; can an art film really be a blockbuster?

[Art-house film to surpass 100 million yuan at the box office! Is it a critical acclaim explosion or a shift in audience tastes?]

What's behind the unexpected success of "Black Peony"?

【.】

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Jinling, Lu Xun stood in front of the monitor, listening to the discussion below, his face ashen.

"Have you heard? 'Black Peony' has already grossed over 70 million at the box office."

"It's estimated to break 100 million!"

"."

Even the lead actors he chose, Gao Yuanyuan and Liu Ye, couldn't escape this trend, with Gao Yuanyuan even looking longingly at the idea.

Lu Xun's face darkened.

"What are you discussing? Get ready to start filming."

He suddenly shouted, and the scene immediately fell silent.

The staff members all lowered their heads and walked away, the stagehands hurriedly picked up the microphone to start directing the scene, leaving only Lu Xun muttering to himself:

"Breaking 100 million? Dream on."

"Where have all these piracy organizations gone? They were usually quick to release content in previous years, weren't they? How come it's been ten days and there's still not a single video available?"

Lu Xun said, feeling aggrieved.

As the weekdays begin, the box office for "Black Peony" has been halved again, with only three to four million yuan remaining on Monday. However, the good news is that pirated copies have not yet surfaced, and it seems that only cam copies are circulating.

"What a blunder! If I had known what Transformers was going to say, I would have delayed it for a few more days."

Han Sanping was now kicking himself. "Transformers" was going to be released on Thursday, and this special effects blockbuster would undoubtedly deal a fatal blow to "Black Peony".

Breaking 100 million is just around the corner, but competitors are also coming in.

"A little over 20 million isn't out of the question," Wu Chen smiled. The box office would definitely be impacted, but there was still time, and it wasn't impossible to break through with time. Besides, there were still more than two days left.

"In the future, let these blockbusters compete against each other as much as possible," Han Sanping pondered, feeling that he had been too lenient with Hollywood this time.

Just after hanging up with Han Sanping, Jason Blum arrived with Paramount's reply, which surprised him:
"Are you sure? They want me to direct?"

"Confirmed!" Jason gave a wry smile.

"Paramount is willing to make a trade, but they want a higher chance of success. They hope you can direct 'Black Swan,' since you wrote the script, and with 'Black Peony' already on the list, they believe your chances of success are the highest."
They will provide you with a director's fee and profit sharing according to the standard Oscar director's agreement. Because *Black Swan* is a mid-to-low budget project, it will be $800-1000 million plus profit sharing!

"."

"I'll go to Hollywood later to meet and talk."

(End of this chapter)