Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 645 New Schedule, Intending to Dominate the Entire Holiday
At Los Angeles International Airport, when Wu Chen, wearing sunglasses and casual clothes, walked out of the VIP channel, a car sent by Universal Pictures was already waiting by the roadside.

Without pausing for a moment, he got into the car, which then merged into California's congested traffic and headed straight for Industrial Light & Magic.

Despite Wu Chen's extremely low-key trip, his arrival still caused a huge stir in Hollywood, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

After all, Interstellar is now a Godzilla of immeasurable scale, hanging over the entire second half of Hollywood's release schedule.

Nobody knows which month it will ultimately land in;

What if this is another film similar to Avatar?
This time, unlike Avatar, there won't be a slow market reaction time.

If a film is too close to another film, even in North America, with only a few days between them, it will inevitably cause irreparable box office losses.

Shortly after Wu Chen's car entered Industrial Light & Magic's parking lot, major Hollywood industry media outlets had already pushed out the news at top speed.

[Variety: Wu Chen arrives in Los Angeles, may personally decide the final fate of Interstellar!]

[The Hollywood Reporter: Universal Pictures' ultimate gamble! Interstellar's release date remains a mystery, and the entire industry awaits Wu Chen's answer!]

[Deadline: Exclusive! Wu Chen has joined Industrial Light & Magic and met with Universal executives; Interstellar's delay may be a done deal!]

In the special effects screening room of Industrial Light & Magic's Los Angeles office, Universal Pictures Chairman David Lyndon, Blumhouse Films CEO Jason Blum, and the film's visual director, Joe Letterman of Industrial Light & Magic, were already waiting for him.

Without much small talk, Wu Chen was immediately taken to the screening room to watch the latest post-production results upon arrival.

On the giant IMAX screen, when the breathtaking image of the "Gargantua" black hole, where light is distorted to the extreme by gravity, appeared, everyone in the room instinctively held their breath.

Although the time was delayed, it must be said that the final result is visibly approaching perfection.

As the lights came on, Joe Letterman spoke first, explaining:

"Wu, as we mentioned in the email, in order to perfectly present the gravitational lensing effect of 'Gargantuya,' we collaborated with Professor Kip Thorne's team to write a brand-new rendering program."

This ensured the scientific accuracy of the images, but the amount of data and rendering time did indeed exceed our initial estimates.

We can shorten the timeline without sacrificing quality, but the earliest we can deliver the final cut will be late October or early November.

"Quality is always the top priority."

Wu Chen's words confirmed Joe Letterman's explanation and relieved him.

David Lyndon, standing to the side, watched the remaining images on the screen, his emotions fluctuating somewhat, but more than anything, he felt an overwhelming surge of excitement.

As the film's investor and distributor, he personally oversaw every stage of post-production.

Although the film has not yet been finalized, he is already extremely familiar with its content.

Against that grand cosmic backdrop, the surging and sincere father-daughter relationship is a universal emotion that can move audiences worldwide.

With its unparalleled visual effects, he's already itching to release the film immediately.

But for now, it lies quietly in the rendering server, and he can only suppress his excitement.

The group then returned to Universal Pictures headquarters and held a meeting that would determine the fate of the film.

The president of global distribution at Universal Pictures has already begun planning a new release date for Interstellar.

Inevitably, the first thing he mentioned was the Christmas season, which is the most competitive time of year.

"According to the information we have received so far, Warner Bros.' Sherlock Holmes 2 and Paramount's Mission: Impossible 4 are both set to release during the Christmas season this year."

Spielberg's two films, *The Adventures of Tintin* and *War Horse*, are also scheduled for release in December.

As Wu Chen listened to the report, he drew on a piece of paper and then muttered something to David Lyndon beside him.

"I think the Christmas season can serve as a second wave of box office success for our film..."

“Wu, you mean... further ahead?” David Lyndon understood Wu Chen’s idea almost immediately.

After all, similar contingency plans had been made in Universal's internal scheduling. "Yes." Wu Chen nodded.

Meanwhile, the publicity manager had already begun introducing the Thanksgiving slot in November:

"The competition in November is relatively less intense. Currently scheduled releases are mainly Disney's family-friendly comedy 'The Muppets Movie' and Summit Entertainment's teen fan film 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 4'."

"This timing is good; we can do a second round of promotion before Christmas."

After listening, Wu Chen spoke without hesitation. His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly attracted everyone's attention.

His ambition was laid bare at that moment.

A film of Interstellar's scale is destined to be shown globally for several months.

Thanksgiving is the second most important holiday for family reunions in the West, after Christmas.

At its core, besides the hard science fiction, the film is an extremely touching story of family affection.

The Christmas season that follows will be the second strong period of box office momentum after the film's positive word-of-mouth spreads.

As for the two films originally scheduled for Thanksgiving, "The Muppets" is a pure family comedy aimed at children, while "Twilight Saga: Afterlife" is firmly targeting a teenage fan base.

None of them could have any substantial impact on Interstellar.

Interstellar will undoubtedly be the "top choice for adult audiences" during this period.

In China, however, it's right next to the Lunar New Year film season, taking advantage of both the off-season and the peak Lunar New Year period.
The group spent the entire afternoon intensely discussing the new release date and marketing strategy.

From the specific release time of the trailer to the focus of various promotional materials, and the distribution nodes of resource packages in different global markets, everything has been meticulously planned.

When the Los Angeles meeting ended, it was still the early morning back home.

However, China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group have already received an encrypted email from Universal Pictures in their inboxes.

Early the next morning, Han Sanping's secretary knocked on his office door with a printed document.

"Chairman Han, Universal Pictures sent an email related to Director Wu's 'Interstellar'..."

"Oh?"

Han Sanping's eyes lit up, and he immediately took it.

He quickly read through the email, a knowing smile spreading across his face, and then gave the order:
"Immediately issue a notice to all heads of the publicity and distribution department this afternoon to hold a meeting and prepare our publicity and distribution contingency plan based on Universal's latest plan!"

"Ok."

Los Angeles time, 9:00 AM the next day.

Universal Pictures has officially released an announcement on its website regarding the rescheduling of "Interstellar".

The announcement was written flawlessly and exuded confidence:

"In order to present the most ultimate and perfect audio-visual feast to audiences around the world, we and director Wu Chen have decided to give the post-production team of Interstellar more time to polish this epoch-making work."

The film's global release date has been moved to November 18, 2011. We believe the wait will be worthwhile. This Thanksgiving, let's journey through the stars together.

As soon as the announcement was released, the media followed suit, and various reports emerged one after another.

[The dust has settled! Interstellar is officially scheduled for release on November 18th, coinciding with Thanksgiving!]

[Wu Chen's Ambition! Interstellar Unafraid of Competition, Aiming to Dominate the Entire Thanksgiving-Christmas Holiday!]

[Industry earthquake! New release date announced for "Interstellar," several films may face emergency withdrawal]

(End of this chapter)