Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 399 Squeezing her out, finishing her off
As 2008 drew to a close, the weather in Beijing grew colder day by day. The first snowfall was delayed, but the air was already dry and chilly.

In the latter part of the month, a storm swept through Hollywood, which spans the ocean.

Warner Bros. Pictures officially announced that the new film "Inception," with an investment of $1.6 million and directed by Christopher Nolan (director of "The Dark Knight"), has been officially greenlit and is scheduled for release in the summer of 2010.

The global film industry was shaken.

After the huge success of "The Dark Knight" in North America, Nolan was already regarded as "Warner Bros.' new Spielberg." His new projects, in terms of both investment scale and attention, are enough to make filmmakers around the world look forward to them.

In particular, Warner Bros. has revealed that Inception may consider casting international actors from different cultural backgrounds.

In no time, talent agencies of actors in China, South Korea, and Japan sprang into action, quickly inquiring about the details of the roles.

Zhang Ziyi acted swiftly, flying directly to Los Angeles that same day to inquire about the specifics from her Warner shareholder boyfriend.

She needed to get the inside information from Warner faster and more accurately than anyone else.

Since "Memoirs of a Geisha," she has been relatively inactive. If she can land a role in "Inception," it would undoubtedly be the most important ticket for her to return to the international stage.

Meanwhile, at Huayi Lane, Li Xue was flipping through media reports while reminding Li Binbin:
"Sis, if you want to break into Hollywood, you need to hurry. Ask Mr. Wang and his people to help you find out more."

Li Binbin looked hesitant, nodded slightly, but with a hint of difficulty: "It might not be easy to find President Wang right now, given the recent situation with 'The Message'."

Because of the big-budget film "The Message" next year, she has been making the most noise these days. Originally, Zhou Xun, who played Gu Xiaomeng, was the absolute female lead, but she insisted on changing it from a single female lead to a dual female lead.

Of course, this incident also caused some unhappiness among the entire senior management of Huayi.

Zhou Xun had the strongest opinion.

“Zhou Xun.” Li Xue smiled contemptuously. She had taken the position of co-general manager of Huayi, naturally to help her own people.

"Her contract isn't long; it expires the year after next. Otherwise, why do you think I would openly push you to get the lead role in 'The Message' and also help you with Tsui Hark's 'Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame'?"

Now that Feng Xiaogang's "If You Are the One" is doing so well at the box office, and everyone is in high spirits, let's inquire about Warner Bros.' "Inception.

Li Binbin nodded in agreement with Li Xue's suggestion.

As for Li Xue wanting to help her oust Zhou Xun, she had no objection whatsoever.

Everyone at Huayi knows they're at odds. The top female star only has so many resources; whoever has the better methods gets them.

"It's a pity, Mr. Wang and his team don't have much contact with Warner Bros. Lionsgate would be better. I reckon Director Wu probably knows about this; it seems Director Nolan made a special trip to visit Director Wu on set back then."

Upon hearing this, Li Xue immediately scoffed:
"Sis, stop dreaming. It's hard to say whether Director Wu knows the truth, but even if he did, you wouldn't be in his shoes. He'd definitely prioritize his own people."
"You'd better be lucky that Liu Yifei isn't too old for the role in *Inception*, otherwise you definitely won't get it."

Just as Li Xue and Li Binbin were discussing the various roles, Wu Chen received a call from Nolan.

The script has been polished, and the film is in pre-production. Nolan's voice was unusually relaxed:
"I've arranged to meet Leonardo at the beginning of next month. He's very interested in it and shouldn't refuse."

As for the female lead, I'm leaning towards Marion Cotillard, who won the Oscar for Best Actress this year. I expect we can finalize the contract next month.

The roster will be finalized soon, and Crystal will need to come to Los Angeles to sign the agreement.

Wu Chen chuckled and agreed.

With only a few days left in January, at this pace of preparation, Inception could start filming in the first half of the year.

"By the way, Christopher, are you free next April? I'd like to invite you to the premiere of 'The Martian'."

"OK, remember to send me an invitation. I should be scouting locations in Asia at that time, no problem."

Nolan didn't hesitate; the timing and location were perfect, and he was also very curious about Wu Chen's sci-fi film. The approval of *Inception* had a significant impact.

Of course, the one who suffered the most was Christian Bale.

Hollywood reports kept coming in, and Bale had already called to complain.

"Wu, this is so upsetting. The role of Christopher was originally mine, and I heard that Leonardo's team is already in contact with Warner Bros."

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen immediately laughed: "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. It's your schedule that's not right."

This movie was originally definitely in Bale's hands.

"It's so painful."

"Not necessarily. I've heard about Paramount's 'The Fighter,' it's an award-contending film."

"But I'm only taking supporting roles!"

Bell's howling voice came through the phone, and Wu Chen chuckled. Of course, there was another laugh coming from next door, Liu Yifei's, who didn't forget to add insult to injury:

"Bell, I really wish you were the male lead."

"Oh, Crystal, you're rubbing salt into my wounds!"

"."

The film "Inception" caused quite a stir in the industry, but the real impact was on only a few top actors and companies.

For most filmmakers in China, the most pressing concern right now is the fiercely competitive Lunar New Year film season.

The movie "If You Are the One," which was released on December 18, grossed over 12 million yuan in just six days.

Huayi Brothers were in high spirits, and Wang Zhonglei and Feng Xiaogang were quite smug.

Huayi Brothers will support Director Feng to become the third director in China, after Wu Chen and Wu Yusen, to have a single film gross over 300 million yuan.

"Although the production cost of 'If You Are the One' was not particularly low, it has already started to make a profit."

These words made many production companies in the industry extremely envious.

"Damn, they've started making a profit after 100 million? Didn't the advertising fees cover half of the production cost?"

"Damn, they really know how to make money."

"."

Of course, the most painful ones are the two production companies of "Ip Man". They have no choice but to watch Huayi Brothers' "If You Are the One" dance on the corpse of "Ip Man".

Since "If You Are the One" was released, most of the screenings and box office revenue have shifted to other places.

Breaking the 100 million yuan mark at the mainland box office has become extremely difficult.

On the 29th, the box office of "If You Are the One" had reached 250 million yuan, not far from 300 million yuan.
For the film, breaking 300 million is practically a certainty. However, Feng Xiaogang is somewhat helpless because the existence of "Bad Genius" has slowed down the film's progress in reaching 300 million at the box office.

"Xiao Gang, don't even think about it. Breaking 300 million is a sure thing. The company will throw you an early celebration party. Later, check on Xing Chen's 'Bad Genius' to see how it goes, just in case the audience doesn't like it."

At this time, the industry's attention gradually shifted, and everyone was waiting for the next big battle.

The premiere of "Bad Genius" tomorrow night
(End of this chapter)