Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 699, 169 minutes, nearly three hours of film.
Paris, Palais de Chaillot.

From this platform, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Seine River and the Eiffel Tower.

The press conference for the final stop of the Interstellar European promotional tour was held here.

Wu Chen, Liu Yifei, Matthew McConaughey, and others sat on the stage, facing media reporters from all over Europe.

“Wu, ‘Interstellar Travel Day’ has achieved unprecedented success worldwide, with the topic generating over 500 million impressions on social media.”

What are your thoughts on this astonishing data?

A French journalist was the first to ask a question.

Wu Chen picked up the microphone and smiled:

"Data is just data. What makes me happier is that so many people are willing to spend ten minutes to experience the real universe."

This shows that the audience's desire for good stories and beautiful visuals is eternal.

“Crystal,” a British journalist asked Liu Yifei, “as the female lead in the film, what do you think Interstellar most wants to convey to the audience besides its stunning visual effects?”

Liu Yifei wore a simple white Chanel suit today, exuding an intellectual and elegant temperament.

“It’s love,” she replied with a smile. “Like a line I have in the film, well, I was going to tell you, but it seems I can’t say it yet.”

But love is indeed at the core of this hard science fiction film.

A burst of good-natured laughter immediately erupted from the audience.

The reporters kept asking more and more questions, but the creative team, who were already very experienced in handling such situations, managed to deal with them with ease.

At this point, a reporter from The Hollywood Reporter stood up and asked:
"Wu, your ten-minute presentation was perfect. What kind of surprises can we expect? Or what other surprises have you prepared for us?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen chuckled.

He looked at the hundreds of expectant eyes below the stage and calmly said:

"There is indeed another surprise!"

Everyone in the audience perked up their ears.

"The movie will be 169 minutes long. You will experience a nearly three-hour interstellar journey."

The scene was initially silent, but then the entire press conference hall erupted in chaos.

"What? 169 minutes?"

"Nearly three hours? Oh, are you crazy?"

However, the fans who saw this scene through the live stream erupted in even more enthusiastic cheers!

"My God! 169 minutes! Almost three hours of IMAX 3D experience! It was so amazing!"

"Wu is too generous!"

"I knew those ten minutes weren't enough!"

This news, like a nuclear bomb, instantly ignited global public opinion through the internet.

In the film industry, the length of a movie is usually inversely proportional to its commercial potential.

The longer the film, the fewer screenings can be arranged each day, and if the attendance rate is slightly low, the film will lose money.

If a movie is extended from 90 minutes to 180 minutes, theoretically, its daily box office revenue will be halved.

Even if ticket prices rise, it's impossible for them to triple.

This is an iron rule.

In a conference room inside Wanda Cinemas in Beijing.

Xu Dong was sitting with the CEOs of major cinema chains at the moment.

In front of each person was an internal report on audience satisfaction and expectations for "Interstellar Day".

"Mr. Xu, your Director Wu really knows how to give us a tough challenge, 169 minutes long!"

Everyone else on the theater chain was stunned when they heard the news.

The overwhelming response to "Interstellar Travel Day" had already made them accept the "billion-dollar watershed" condition.

Now, Wu Chen has created another problem: "169 minutes".

"Gentlemen, this matter is easy to resolve."

Xu Dong wasn't worried at all, he said with a smile.

"I remember that during the two weeks surrounding 'Interstellar,' there was basically a vacuum in the theaters. Wouldn't it be better to free up enough screens for 'Interstellar'?"

His words were a way of giving the theaters a way out.

Everyone was silent.

They knew Xu Dong was telling the truth. The current situation wasn't about whether they would give "Interstellar" screenings or not, but rather that they seemed to have no other films to screen besides "Interstellar."

"It's settled then!" Ye Ning slammed her hand on the table, her voice firm and resolute. "Wanda will lead the way! We've signed the 1 billion yuan mark—a watershed moment! No performance-based agreements!"

"Mr. Ye, this..."

“We’ve made a lot of money from Director Wu’s films over the years. Everyone has seen the effect of this ‘Interstellar Travel Day’.” Ye Ning looked around. “I personally can accept the 1 billion yuan mark as a watershed. Of course, I’m only speaking for Wanda.”

With Wanda's endorsement, others who were already close to securing the deal also chimed in.

That evening, Xu Dongcai called Wu Chen.

"Boss, it's done."

To be honest, the fact that things went so smoothly exceeded his expectations.

Keep in mind that this is a nearly three-hour film, and the number of screenings each day is limited.

If it were a 90-minute movie, he estimated that these theater executives would have rushed to sign the contract that very day.

"Thanks for your hard work"

"Hehe, it's no trouble at all. Boss, when does the subscription start?" Xu Dong rubbed his hands together and chuckled.

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen smiled.

"Don't worry, you'll get your share. I'll organize it after the Interstellar premiere."

"."

The next day, a news story ignited the entire domestic film industry.

[The dust has settled! Starry Night Pictures has reached a historic agreement with major cinema chains, with the revenue-sharing ratio for "Interstellar" set at one billion!]

[45% for films grossing under 1 billion, 41% for films grossing over 1 billion! Wu Chen secures the highest level of control in history for Chinese production companies!]

When Zhang Weiping saw the news, he was in his office, staring at his computer screen, racking his brains for promotional copy for "The Flowers of War".

When he saw the number "billion", he was completely stunned.

He worked incredibly hard, playing both the villain and the good cop, to finally reach the watershed of 500 million.

As it turned out, Wu Chen was nowhere to be found, but he actually got a billion just by talking.

The most infuriating thing is that this "tiered revenue sharing" rule was proposed by Wu Chen, and in the end, everyone was promoting it as Wu Chen securing the highest level of bargaining power for Chinese production companies in history.
I, from beginning to end, became someone else's palanquin bearer.

"Oh shit!"

He slammed his fist on the table, his face contorted with jealousy, and then typed out "Me and Bale's Bed Scene" on the keyboard.
As he wrote, Zhang Weiping himself became excited.

"My writing skills aren't bad either."

Meanwhile, the Wang brothers, Zhongjun and Zhonglei, were also discussing this matter at Huayi.

"A billion!"

Wang Zhongjun leaned back in his chair, puffing on a cigar, slowly exhaling a smoke ring, and muttering to himself.

I wish this belonged to Huayi.

"By the way, what did Xiao Gang say after reading it?"

"Xiao Gang said it's hard to say. It should work out."

"Hehe, then it can work out."

The fierce competition in the mainland film and television industry has basically come to a halt, because the films currently being released are not performing well at the box office, and Interstellar is about to be released.
But the market frenzy continues.

Although in 2011, there was no mature pre-sale system that could be statistically analyzed in real time.

However, major theater chains in North America have already begun frantically increasing the number of first-week copies of "Interstellar".

The AMC theater scheduling manager even wrote in an internal email:

"Give all the available IMAX and giant screen theaters to 'Interstellar.' I repeat, all of them!"

In mainland China, although there is still a week until the release date of November 18, a "ticket-grabbing war" has already quietly begun on social media platforms such as Weibo, Tieba, and Douban.

"Location: Beijing! Wanda CBD store, I need IMAX tickets for the midnight showing on the 18th. Anyone selling? Price negotiable!"

"I need two tickets for the Peace Cinema in Shanghai! I'm taking my girlfriend there, please help me out!"

"I'm an IT guy, and I've already written a script to snag tickets. Anyone want to team up with me?!"

"It seems like Gewara.com has some good resources, everyone should check it out!"

"."

A frenzy surrounding "Interstellar" is brewing, and its creators are currently preparing to travel to the Asian region for promotional activities.
Finally, the first global premiere will be held in Beijing.
(End of this chapter)