Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 313 Racing Premiere, how can this be allowed?
"Assembly" is in an awkward position. Although it was released eight days after "The Warlords" and "Crazy Racer", it was stuck in the middle.

There is a wolf in front and a tiger behind.

The premiere at Huayi Brothers was a grand affair, on par with "The Warlords".

The next morning, news reports were filled with large-scale war scenes, boosting morale.
The premiere of "Assembly" was a grand success, featuring magnificent war scenes and high morale!

Following "The Warlords," "Assembly" fires the second shot in the Lunar New Year film season!

【.】

Various headlines and reports were constantly being published.

Meanwhile, "The Warlords" was enjoying a successful run at the box office after its premiere, with critics praising the joint performance of Andy Lau, Jet Li, and Takeshi Kaneshiro. The Lunar New Year film season was fiercely competitive.

In comparison, "Crazy Racer," the second installment in Ning Hao's "Crazy" series, is not to be outdone, with its premiere just around the corner.

Ning Hao has been extremely busy these past few days, handling film distribution, promotion, premieres, and various other matters to the point that he's practically losing all his hair.

Both China Film Group and Ning Hao are actively inviting directors and actors from the industry to support the event. After all, with the precedents set by the first two premieres, as one of the three most anticipated films in the Lunar New Year season, they cannot afford to lose in terms of prestige.

Seeing this, Wu Chen also planned to find some people to go and support him, and called out to Jiang Wen along the way.

"Director Jiang, Premiere of 'Crazy Racer'"

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Wen was sitting with his legs crossed, wearing an old leather shoe, his brows furrowed: "Tsk tsk, are you three really planning to fight to the death? I've already made two trips here this month."

You went to "Assembly" too?

"Well, Feng Xiaogang invited me. To be honest, this movie is barely acceptable, but Feng Xiaogang's approach to war films is a bit petty and his understanding of them isn't thorough enough; it even has a slightly eerie feel to it."

He had never experienced the fumes of the compound, so he didn't know what soldiers were like back then.

Jiang Wen clearly didn't like some of the plot points.

"How to say?"

"To put it simply, tasks like 'covering the rear' are not something that cowards would do. The elite detachment has already written stacks of letters of request for battle. There's no need to wait for the higher-ups to call on them; they'd fight tooth and nail to do it."

Otherwise, where do you think all those petitions for battle in military history came from?

Wu Chen agreed with Jiang Wen's words. He had truly grown up listening to history in the compound. He just didn't know what Jiang Wen was thinking now, his mind filled with all sorts of metaphors.

"Hmm, but judging from this momentum, the box office won't be low. I estimate that the 200 million yuan box office team will need to add one more person."

"what?"

Jiang Wen clearly didn't believe it; how could a movie like this possibly make 200 million?

Just then, the door creaked open, and Zhou Yun came out of the room. She saw Jiang Wen with a furrowed brow and his phone on the table.
"What happened? Did you have an argument with Director Wu?"

Jiang Wen shook his head: "What could we possibly have to argue about? He just invited us to the premiere. I just don't understand why Wu Chen said Feng Xiaogang's 'Assembly' would do so well at the box office."

"Oh, go ahead then, there's nothing else to do." Zhou Yun couldn't help but chuckle. "Wu Chen's judgment is quite accurate."

Jiang Wen was very unhappy. He hadn't even made it into the 100 million yuan box office club yet, but now, according to Wu Chen, Feng Xiaogang was about to enter the 200 million yuan box office club.
He admitted to Zhang Yimou and Wu Chen, but what right does Feng Xiaogang have?
The atmosphere of the Lunar New Year film season in December is getting hotter and hotter. The box office performance of "Assembly" is indeed stronger than that of "The Warlords". It grossed nearly 15 million yuan on its first day and won a "complete acclaim".

Feng Xiaogang, in an interview, was beaming with pride: "Assembly has no big stars, I myself am the box office guarantee."

Although Li Lianjie's box office appeal in "The Warlords" is undeniable, he alone took home a salary of 100 million yuan, and the film's production cost was as high as 300 million yuan. It's hard to say whether China Film Group and Media Asia can make a profit.

Compare his film "Assembly," which was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, and also made money.
The box office reached 70 million in just four days. With the decline of the other side, the box office space of "The Warlords" was severely compressed, and the growth rate slowed down after the box office exceeded 100 million.

Han Sanping also noticed that China Film Group seemed to have made a big investment, but only gained some publicity. With this box office performance, the film would still lose money even after selling the rights.

"Fortunately, there's Ning Hao's 'Racing' to fall back on."

Han Sanping breathed a sigh of relief when he thought of the low-budget film that would be released at the end of the month; otherwise, he would have become a laughing stock.

Meanwhile, inside Paramount Studio 4 in Los Angeles, the lights were blazing, and staff moved about.

The crew is currently filming a new major scene for "Black Swan"—the mirror maze.

The set for this scene occupied a full third of the studio area.

Hundreds of mirrors are neatly arranged on both sides. After careful arrangement, the mirrors are infinitely superimposed in a staggered manner, splitting, repeating, and extending the actors' figures into a visual maze. The warm and cool tones of the lighting set flicker and reflect the images, which intertwine with the black swan decorations to create an atmosphere that is both real and illusory.

Wu Chen stood beside the monitor, meticulously examining every detail of the set design and lighting, then whispered his instructions:

"Kayla, remember, the person in the mirror is another version of you. She is your shadow, your fear, and also the person you truly want to be deep down."

Every step you take here should be filled with struggle and confusion.

Keira Knightley nodded slightly, took a deep breath, composed herself, and slowly walked to the starting point of the maze, standing there in deep concentration.

"Action!"

With Wu Chen's command, filming officially began.

Kayla slowly stepped into the maze, her expression endlessly replicated and repeated in the mirror, her face filled with confusion and panic.

With each step she took, countless images in the mirror moved along with her, as if being infinitely copied. Each mirror reflected a face, moving in unison yet subtly out of place.

The camera used a long-shot tracking shot, giving neither the actors a chance to breathe nor the audience a way out.

The entire crew was stunned by what they saw.

In the vast labyrinth, mirrors cast shadows, making Keira Knightley's figure seem omnipresent. The black swan props, strategically positioned nearby, are also reflected in the mirrors. The interplay of light and shadow creates a scene that inexplicably evokes a sense of awe.
"incredible!"

"The composition and framing of this shot are absolutely perfect."

"."

Although everyone around was stunned, and the crew and photographers held their breath, Wu Chen was still not entirely satisfied. On one hand, it was Keira Knightley's performance, and on the other hand, the lighting effects did not meet his expectations.

"Cut! Let's take a break."

Wu Chen called for a halt and walked directly towards the lighting crew.

While the crew of "Black Swan" was still in the final stages of filming, "Crazy Racer" officially held its premiere on the 27th.

The premiere was a grand affair for China Film Group.

Ning Hao, along with Huang Bo, Xu Zheng, and other key members of the production team, was at the end of the red carpet welcoming guests when he let out a slight sigh of relief.

Looking at the scene, Huang Bo couldn't help but sigh, "Now I realize we're truly different now."

Ning Hao didn't speak, but simply nodded silently.

Compared to "Crazy Stone," the number of people attending the premiere of "Racing" was definitely a step up in terms of both quality and scale.

"Sisi is here."

As Xing Aina walked out of the inner hall, she saw Liu Yifei and Shu Chang slowly stepping onto the red carpet from afar.

Watching the cheers of fans on both sides of the red carpet, Huang Bo couldn't help but mutter, "This popularity, wow."

Congratulations, Director Ning and Brother Bo!

Congratulations, Sister Na!

"Come, come, I'll take you inside." Xing Aina smiled and led the two into the inner hall.

Han Sanping was sitting with his legs crossed, talking to Jiang Wen. Zhou Yun was bored and turned to look at Liu Yifei who was coming over. She couldn't help but wave.

"Effie, over here."

Three women make a drama, and the three of them were chatting happily, Zhou Yun completely forgetting about Jiang Wen.

Many people in the back row looked at the three of them with envy for a long time.

Ning Hao didn't say much on stage because "Racing" went too smoothly compared to his other films, without encountering any difficulties.

The movie begins.

Jiang Wen watched very attentively, and more than ninety minutes passed in a flash.

The film features multiple storylines, a cleverly plotted and tightly woven narrative, dark humor, and outstanding acting.
Jiang Wen sensed that this would be a good commercial film, and he became nervous. He also needed to step up his game, otherwise, with more and more high-grossing directors emerging in mainland China, there would be a shortage of his talent.
How can this be done?
(End of this chapter)