Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 560 Overpayment, Liu Yifei's Remuneration

As the weekend's tensions subsided, Monday morning, the homepages of major North American film industry media outlets were almost entirely dominated by the same number.

Inception's North American opening weekend box office results are in.
7320 million US dollars.

This number, like a bombshell, instantly detonated throughout Hollywood.

Prior to this, more optimistic box office analysts had predicted a gross of just over $6000 million.

After all, this is an original high-concept science fiction film, not a sequel or IP adaptation. Its inherent nature dictates that it needs to rely more on word-of-mouth to achieve long-term success.

However, reality delivered an astonishing result that far exceeded expectations, a truly remarkable "opening success."

The atmosphere inside Warner Bros. Studios' offices was like a holiday.

Jeff Robinoff then had his assistant send the box office report, which included a detailed market analysis, to Wu Chen, who was in Canada, via email.

Meanwhile, an analysis article from Variety was quickly reprinted by major media outlets, with a headline that hit the nail on the head:

[“Nolan + Wu Chen”: A “box office insurance” that has been over-realized by the market].

The article states: "Without a doubt, the $7320 million opening weekend result is a testament to Christopher Nolan's powerful personal appeal."

However, we must note that what truly amplifies the potential of this film is Wu Chen's involvement.

According to our sampling survey in the Asian market, at least 20%-30% of the audience chose to buy tickets as soon as possible because of the label 'Wu Chen screenwriter'.

The value of this 'box office insurance' has now been fully proven by the market.

The article's arguments were also corroborated by data from the Chinese mainland market.

In just three days, with the combined support of Wu Chen and Liu Yifei, Inception's opening weekend box office in China broke through the 1.2 million RMB mark.

This figure breaks Warner Bros. Pictures' opening weekend record for a non-sequel film in mainland China.
However, Warner's executives had mixed feelings when they saw this good news from China.

Because this joy belongs to another company to a greater extent.

In Beijing, in the China Film Group building, in Han Sanping's office.

He looked at the domestic box office data that his secretary had just handed him, and the clear "1.2 million" figure made him lean back in his wide chair and burst into hearty laughter.

"Hahaha"

Laughter echoed in the empty office, as if someone had stumbled upon a great bargain on the street.

The box office growth of "Inception" is astonishingly rapid.

After its first week, the global box office figures were released: $1.98 million.

This astonishing achievement has once again demonstrated Nolan's terrifying global influence.

Some bold forecasting agencies have already set their sights on the film's final box office target of one billion dollars.

Of course, Wu Chen's charm as a screenwriter and his box office appeal were also repeatedly mentioned.

While movie fans around the world are enthusiastically discussing the mind-bending plot of "Inception," they are also turning their attention to the even more mysterious sci-fi blockbuster that is currently in production.

"Wu, you really need to step up your game with 'Interstellar.' Don't let your brilliantly constructed dreams in 'Inception' ruin your own film."

"I hope Interstellar will bring a completely new experience. The dream you and Nolan created was just too perfect!"

Amid this global craze, a little-known North American tabloid somehow got hold of the information and published an analytical report about Liu Yifei's salary.

According to insiders, Crystal Liu's salary for "Inception" did not reach the level of Hollywood A-list actresses.

However, her salary for Wu Chen's "Interstellar" has seen a significant leap, with an initial estimate of around $500 million.

Given their current popularity, based on these two works, the starting price for another project would be at least eight to ten million US dollars.
We are especially looking forward to her performance in *Interstellar*.

This report didn't cause much of a stir in Hollywood, where there are quite a few actresses earning tens of millions in film fees.

Scarlett Johansson, Keira Knightley, and others immediately sent congratulatory text messages to Liu Yifei. However, when this news traveled across the ocean and returned to China, it caused a major upheaval within the industry.

"How many?"

"Interstellar was already worth five million dollars? Now the starting price is eight million dollars? Are you kidding me!"

"Wow, are Wu Chen and Nolan really that good at carrying their teams?!"

"That's not scientific! How can this be scientific?"

When converted to RMB, the staggering amount left all industry professionals in China feeling dizzy.

This gap is too big.

At this moment, Yang Mi was staring at the news on her phone, completely bewildered, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Back when she and Liu Yifei co-starred in "The Return of the Condor Heroes," Liu Yifei only received 8000 yuan per episode. Although she played Guo Xiang, a supporting role, the difference wasn't that dramatic.

She subconsciously asked Zeng Jia beside her, "Jiajia, am I seeing things? Is this real?"

"I don't know, but these kinds of rumors are often pretty accurate. Liu Yifei herself certainly won't respond."

Zeng Jia was also a little stunned, and she couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Damn, if she managed artists like that, how much money would she make?
Thinking of this, she stared intently at Yang Mi.

Although Yang Mi is far less successful than Liu Yifei, she is hardworking and earns money.

I need to plan carefully and harvest as much value as possible from this little leek.

She then offered her suggestion:

"By the way, you've read the script for 'Palace,' which Yu Zheng strongly invited you to star in. It's similar in theme to 'Scarlet Heart.' Although it definitely won't air as quickly as 'Scarlet Heart,' its popularity shouldn't be too bad."

"Okay, let's act it out." Yang Mi breathed a sigh of relief.

If the quality is lacking, then make up for it with quantity.

Meanwhile, far away in Shanxi Province, at the Wang Family Compound in Lingshi, the filming location for the TV series "My Favorite" was being set.

When Zhang Ziyi, who was touching up her makeup, heard the news, she was stunned for a while.

There was a time when her film salary reached as high as $150 million, which, apart from Gong Li, was considered the ceiling for domestic actresses.

But now
Not far away, Jiang Wenli was still whispering with her husband, Gu Changwei.

"Is Iphie's salary real?"

"Who would know about this? Am I supposed to call Wu Chen and ask him?" Gu Changwei shook his head, but he was also inexplicably shocked.

As Zhang Ziyi listened to all this, her resentment towards Deng Wendi deepened even further.

If the other party hadn't been so heartless back then, perhaps she could have turned things around with "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan".

Nowadays, even Gu Changwei's movie is considered a rare and high-quality resource for her.

Back then, she acted in Zhang Yimou's films and took on projects produced by Spielberg.
At this moment, Wu Chen had no time to pay attention to the disturbances outside.

The filming schedule for Interstellar is packed.

The crew needed to return to China in August to film the crucial cornfield scene, which would take three or four weeks to film.

It just so happens to coincide with the time when the plant is at its tallest, with full, dark green leaves in August, and when the leaves begin to turn yellow and slightly wither in September.

The pressure of filming is still immense.

The film crew's long steel convoy has once again completed its transfer.

This time, their location is Canada.
(End of this chapter)