Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 701 People Arriving One After Another
November 15, Beijing.

The chill of late autumn intensified overnight, and the morning mist enveloped the ancient city, making the distant buildings appear somewhat hazy.

But this chill did nothing to cool the fervor that had been ignited in the city by an upcoming grand feast.

Today is the day of the global premiere of "Interstellar".

Inside the China Film Group building, the lights in Han Sanping's office were already on early in the morning.

As the head of this massive state-owned enterprise, Han Sanping showed no sign of slackness.

However, today, instead of preparing the meeting content in advance as usual, he called his secretary.

"Is everything prepared for today's premiere? Are there any problems?"

"Chairman Han, don't worry, it's been checked three times. And Director Wu even called yesterday to have the projection equipment and security procedures checked again."

"Him?" Han Sanping chuckled upon hearing this.

"That's quite rare. I remember he only personally oversaw these matters at the very beginning. After that, he let them go."

The secretary chuckled softly, "Perhaps Director Wu feels this film is particularly important to him."

"It would be a lie to say it's not important."

Han Sanping's smile vanished. He thought of the long string of zeros after production and distribution on the budget report, and his heart sank.

This battle can only be won, not lost.

If Wu Chen loses this battle, he could fall from grace.

Because if this kind of film loses money, it could be a huge loss, which would be unacceptable no matter where you put it.
Especially given that global expectations are already at their peak.
"By the way, what's our latest number of screens again?"

Han Sanping changed the subject, trying to calm his fluctuating emotions.

The secretary immediately replied:

"Chairman Han, according to the latest statistics, as of this month, the total number of movie screens nationwide has exceeded 9200."

There are over 4500 3D screens and 52 IMAX screens, including both digital and film screens.

"9200 yuan."

Han Sanping silently recited the number in his mind.

He remembers clearly that when Avatar was released in 09, there were only 4700 movie screens nationwide.

In just two years, it doubled.

This number of screens should be enough to support a considerable box office performance.
Han Sanping lit a cigarette, and in the swirling smoke, his tightly furrowed brows seemed to relax a little.

At this point, the media had already begun a frenzy of hype surrounding the global premiere of "Interstellar".

The 3D blockbuster "Interstellar" held its premiere in Beijing today.

[A Star-Studded Guest List for the Beijing Premiere of "Interstellar" Revealed!]

Tickets are in high demand! Invitations to the premiere of "Interstellar" have become the best social currency of the year!

【.】

It has to be said that this guest invitation for "Interstellar" truly highlights what "insider status" means.

Because of the limited number of tickets, even though the premiere venue, the Olympic Sports Center, was large enough to accommodate many people, there simply weren't enough tickets for all the guests.

Various expressions of boasting and lamentation, both overt and covert, have emerged within the industry.

"It wasn't easy; we had to ask quite a few people before we finally got a guest ticket."

"Damn it, these days you can't even get into someone else's premiere without connections."

"Who can argue with that? But the red carpet at the premiere of 'Interstellar' was absolutely spectacular. I reckon the Golden Rooster Awards would be dreaming of a scene like that."

Yang Mi held the anonymous guest ticket in her hand, feeling a strange sense of irony.

This ticket was only obtained from China Film Group thanks to the agent Zeng Jia's connections at Mei Ah Entertainment.

“It’s really hard to get.” Zeng Jia sighed. “The company’s connections in the mainland film industry are still a bit weak. You can use this ticket first; at least it will get you in.”

Yang Mi hummed in agreement.

Since being removed from the "Caught in the Web" production team by Chen Hong for taking on multiple projects simultaneously, the number of film scripts she receives, especially big-budget productions, has visibly decreased. She only recently gained popularity a few months ago with "Mysterious Island."
During those months, she received numerous invitations to premieres, and some small film crews were even eager for her to attend.

Now, however, you need connections to get an "admission ticket".

However, compared to Yang Mi, actors like Liu Shisi, who mainly focus on TV dramas and haven't yet seriously entered the film industry, don't even have a way to get tickets.

Of course, the invitations for important guests were signed, and many were handwritten by Wu Chen and Liu Yifei themselves.

Wu Chen was also making final preparations for the afternoon's reception.

My phone rang; it was James Wan.

"Hey Wu, I've arrived."

"OK, see you this afternoon."

Wu Chen chuckled on the phone.

Meanwhile, the reporters waiting at Beijing Capital International Airport were already getting excited.

"Wen Ziren! You're here pretty early! There are probably quite a few people behind you!"

"Look! Over there! Isn't that Nolan and his wife?"

The reporters, like sharks smelling blood, rushed over with their cameras and microphones.

Nolan was clearly taken aback by the large number of reporters at the airport.
People arrived one after another throughout the morning.

Universal Pictures also brought a group of people with them.

David Lyndon, Spielberg, and Matt Damon emerged from the VIP entrance in a grand procession.

The reporters went completely crazy.

"Spielberg is here too, but I heard he's getting close to Universal now, so he'll probably be going back soon."

When Christian Bale appeared, something unexpected happened to all the reporters.

Zhang Yimou also appeared at the airport.

He walked quickly to Bell's side, lowered his voice, and seemed to be saying something.

Bell listened, nodding occasionally, his face expressionless.

The two quickly got into a car and disappeared from the reporters' sight.

"Holy crap, what's going on? We didn't find Zhang Yi!"

"It seems like Zhang Yi is referring to the long article from a few days ago."

"Director Zhang is really unlucky to have run into a shameless producer like Zhang Weiping. Those erotic novels he writes, tsk tsk, I fucking admire him, he dares to write anything."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Before long, entertainment reports within the industry were everywhere.

Spielberg, Nolan, and James Wan were spotted at the airport, arriving for the premiere of "Interstellar"!

Zhang Yimou was spotted at the airport picking up Angelababy.

Breaking News! James Cameron secretly arrived in Beijing this morning!

【.】

Cameron's arrival was indeed somewhat unexpected even for Wu Chen.

He wasn't notified by Universal beforehand.

Cameron only decided to come the day before.

David Lyndon sounded confident on the phone, "He said he wanted to see the visual effects of Interstellar in person."
I can already imagine his expression after watching the movie.

Wu Chen nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Those who truly stand at the top don't really submit to anyone else; it's perfectly normal for them to have a competitive mindset.

The media has indeed intentionally compared *Interstellar* and *Avatar*, especially in terms of visual effects.
(End of this chapter)