Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 704 The Night of the Investiture of the Gods
Thunderous applause erupted like a tsunami, nearly lifting the dome of the temporary Olympic Sports Center venue.

This was not a perfunctory, polite applause.

This is awe, resonance, and the purest, heartfelt respect for a great work.

After three seconds of deathly silence, a frenzy that lasted for several minutes and never ceased began.

Everyone spontaneously stood up, their eyes burning with fervor as they looked towards the front row of the main creative team, towards Wu Chen, the one who had created all of this.

"Damn, that's an amazing shot!"

"Damn, to be honest, I'm still not over it. It's a masterpiece, I dare say it's absolutely a masterpiece!"

"Wu Chen might just become a legend this time. I bet the box office will be phenomenal. Look at the guests in the front row, they're doing just as well as us."

Some viewers looked over.

People like Huang Xiaoming and Zhou Xun were also whispering among themselves, just like any other audience member at that moment.

"Guo Fan, is it too late for me to switch to being a sci-fi film director?" Lu Yang's head was spinning after reading it.

"Senior, this kind of film is unique in film history; we probably shouldn't think about it too much."

Guo Fan then poured cold water on the idea.

Meanwhile, in the guest seats, Han Sanping and Ren Zhonglun exchanged a glance, both seeing the same emotion in each other's eyes—shock.

"Old Ren," Han Sanping glanced around, his voice tinged with excitement, "did you expect this kind of scene?"

"It was expected, yet it was also unexpected."

Ren Zhonglun couldn't help but sigh.

As Wu Chen's sci-fi film, he naturally expected cheers from the audience, but after watching it as a whole, he realized he had underestimated it, not only the film itself but also the audience's applause.
David Lyndon looked delighted.

To be honest, watching it on his own was far less impactful than watching it with thousands of people at the premiere, including the cheers and applause at this moment.

Beside them, a group of cinema industry bigwigs, including Ye Ning of Wanda and Xu Bingbiao of Jinyi, had completely forgotten their composure.

They clapped enthusiastically while their brains worked at lightning speed.

"Screening! We must give them monopolistic screening rights!"

"Three hours is no problem at all! This is now the selling point! It has to be excellent value for money!"

"The premiere is at midnight on the 18th. Every IMAX theater in the country must be fully booked."

On the other side, Wang Zhonglei of Huayi, looking at the scene of the boiling crowd, turned his head and asked Feng Xiaogang next to him.

"Xiao Gang, what do you think?"

He already knew the outcome from the applause, but the director's perspective would ultimately be different.

Feng Xiaogang's muscles were a little stiff, as if he was trying to force a smile but failed.

His heart was already in turmoil.

As a director, for the first time, he felt a sense of powerlessness.

That's not jealousy. Jealousy is an emotion that arises when you feel that you can catch up if you work hard.

Now, he feels a sense of awe.

Looking up at a majestic snow-capped mountain, one you know you could never climb over in your entire life.

His signature Feng-style humor, Beijing-style dialogue, and precise portrayal of the urban middle class, which he was so proud of, seem so insignificant in the face of the universe, time, love, and dimensions explored in this film.

"Um"

Feng Xiaogang's Adam's apple bobbed, and finally, he squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "Very good."

Wang Zhonglei, who is familiar with Feng Xiaogang, naturally knows the meaning of these two words.

It's already quite an achievement to get Feng Xiaogang to say "not bad," considering he would even shout at Zhang Yimou in the media:
There are no masters in Chinese cinema, so let's not pretend we don't know.
It is obvious that "very good" is the lowest Feng Xiaogang can go.

Amid applause, the lights focused.

Wu Chen stood up, and the main cast members beside him, including Liu Yifei, Matthew McConaughey, and Jessica Chastain, also stood up.

They stood side by side in a row and bowed deeply to the roaring audience below.

"Wow——!"

The applause grew even louder.

Guided by staff, Wu Chen led the main creative team down from the guest seats and prepared to go on stage.

As he passed by Spielberg, the film master extended his hand to congratulate him.

"Congratulations! What a fantastic story! I haven't seen such a great sci-fi film in years."

"Thank you!"

"Well done, really well done. I'll have to think about it carefully after it's released!"

"Haha, thanks for contributing to the box office, senior!"

Wu Chen smiled and agreed, and Nolan, James Wan, and others came forward one by one to congratulate him.

Finally, Wu Chen and the rest of the main cast took to the stage.

Below the stage, the flashbulbs illuminated the entire venue as if it were daytime.

Wu Chen picked up the microphone, and the applause and cheers from the audience gradually subsided.

He surveyed the room with a relaxed smile on his face and began to speak:
"First of all, thank you for persisting for 169 minutes without taking a break. It's not easy. I saw some audience members couldn't hold back and were walking briskly."
Three hours is indeed a bit tough.

"Hahahaha!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience, like a landslide or a tsunami.

The tense and solemn atmosphere was instantly dispelled.

"Mainly because I'm afraid of missing any plot developments."

"Yes, it's a fantastic shot!"

Seeing this, Wu Chen smiled with exceptional sincerity.

"To be honest, I have nothing more to say. Everything I wanted to say is in the movie, as everyone has seen. If you can't get enough, watch it again after it's released on the 18th."

"I can't get enough of the sights, but I can't get tickets!"

"Yes, we can't get tickets!"

"."

The crowd below the stage shouted.

"President Ye, President Xu, what should we do? Nobody can get tickets!" Wu Chen directly threw the problem to the executives of the cinema chain.

All eyes immediately turned to that direction.

"Don't worry, everyone. Wanda will try its best to arrange more theaters so that everyone can watch the movie as soon as possible. A new batch of IMAX equipment is also on its way, and we will arrange more theaters when it arrives."

Ye Ning took the microphone first.

"Since Director Wu has said so, Jinyi Cinema will do its best to provide screening rooms for everyone. Welcome to Jinyi!"

Xu Bingbiao responded immediately, and the audience applauded again.

The microphone was handed to Liu Yifei.

At this moment, her eyes were still slightly red, but when she picked up the microphone, she had a sly smile on her face.

"Hello everyone, I am Liu Yifei, and I play Dr. Brand in the movie."

She paused, then looked at Wu Chen and said half-jokingly:
"During filming, Director Wu kept telling me that I had to portray the rationality and calmness of a scientist, and that I couldn't be too emotional."

I noticed something was off during filming, and after watching the movie today, I realized that he had assigned all the crying scenes to Matthew.

"Hahahaha!"

Upon hearing this, Matthew McConaughey on stage made an exaggerated gesture of wiping away tears, which drew laughter and applause from the audience once again.

In the audience, Zhang Ziyi, Fan Binbin, Li Binbin, Yang Mi, and others watched Liu Yifei, who was shining brightly and chatting eloquently on stage, with complex emotions in their eyes. It was envy, but even more so, longing.

Projects like "Interstellar," even if they don't feature a female lead, are definitely the holy grail that every actress dreams of.

Moreover, Dr. Brand, played by Liu Yifei, is not just a pretty face.

She is a top scientist with extraordinary wisdom and unwavering conviction, but deep within her heart surges complex emotions for her father and for the future of humanity.

This character is calm, intellectual, and resilient, yet possesses a touch of the ethereal, otherworldly artistic temperament characteristic of scientists.

"This kind of character setting."

Li Binbin silently considered to himself, "Actually, it's not like she's indispensable. If it were me, I could adjust the character to be more resolute and decisive."

"His temperament is indeed more artistic, which fits the image of a 'scientist.' But if I were to play the role, I might be able to give it greater dramatic tension."

Zhang Ziyi was particularly envious.

If she were cast in this role, she could easily return to her peak performance, instead of being forced to compete with Cecilia Cheung for screen time.

Director Wu Chen!

A reporter from China Film News managed to get the first chance to ask a question.

"After watching Interstellar, I am still very excited. Could you please explain the core of the film to us?"

In your opinion, what is the core message that this film ultimately wants to convey?

The venue, which had been somewhat noisy, suddenly quieted down.

Everyone wanted to hear how Wu Chen would interpret his work.

Wu Chen pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly in a calm and profound tone:
"I'd like to quote a very poetic and sentimental line from the movie, spoken by Dr. Brand: 'Only love can transcend time.'"

This simple answer is both full of philosophical reflection and perfectly fits the core setting of the film, without revealing any plot details.
"Holy crap, how did they even come up with that line?"

Jiang Wen simply remarked from the guest seats, immediately attracting a lot of attention.

Zhou Yun lowered her head slightly, pulled Jiang Wen aside, and gestured for him to be careful.

The reporters and film critics in the audience were writing furiously, their eyes shining.

They knew that tomorrow's front-page headlines would be...
"Director! Director!"

A moviegoer sitting in the front row stood up excitedly, "I didn't quite understand that five-dimensional space part, could you explain it to me?"

This question reflects the sentiments of almost all the ordinary audience members present.

Moreover, not only ordinary viewers were looking at Wu Chen with anticipation, but even industry insiders like Chen Kaige wanted to see how Wu Chen would explain this concept that was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Because the concept of five dimensions is something that, apart from Wu Chen and a few others, everyone else might need to go home and do some research to understand it.

Wu Chen smiled upon hearing this.

Instead of using profound physics theories, he used a very simple analogy.

"Imagine that we are beings living in three-dimensional space. Now, suppose there is a two-dimensional world where the people are pieces of paper."

So, when my finger, this three-dimensional object, passes through their two-dimensional world, what will they see?

He extended a finger and slowly touched his palm with the tip of his finger.

"They will first see a dot. Then, this dot will slowly turn into a circle that gets bigger and bigger. Finally, when my finger has completely passed through it, the circle will shrink back to a dot and then disappear."

"To them, this is incredible. But to us, it's just a very simple action."

"The same applies to us three-dimensional beings as to five-dimensional space."

They are places where the dimension of 'time' can be spread out like space.

There, they can freely select any point in a person's life, just like we would flip through a book on a bookshelf.

This metaphor is simple, straightforward, and vivid.

"Oh!"

The audience instantly realized what was happening and burst into applause of admiration.

Of course, there are still some viewers who only have a vague understanding.

Time hadn't flown by; it was almost 10 p.m.

This was because the movie was so long that the premiere started an hour earlier than usual.

But at this moment, the atmosphere inside the venue was even more intense than at the beginning, and the audience's enthusiasm had not diminished at all.

At the end of the interview, the media naturally didn't miss the opportunity to talk about the directors in the guest seats.

A reporter from CCTV-6 handed the microphone to Zhang Yi and Chen Kaige first, clearly wanting the two to set an example.

"Director Chen, what is your opinion of Wu Chen's film?"

Chen Kai straightened his collar, his face bearing a scholarly seriousness, and slowly said:

"A film's duty is to tell a good story."

But to be able to explore the fate of humanity, the end of time, and the essence of emotions within a single story—that takes ambition and vision.

Director Wu used the grandest universe to encompass the smallest 'cause and effect.' He explained this 'cause and effect' completely and thoroughly. It's truly remarkable.

It has to be said, it has to be Chen Kaige; he left the audience completely stunned.

"I feel like Director Chen is talking about his film 'The Promise'."

"puff!"

"Keep your voice down, or Director Chen will send you a lawyer's letter if he hears you!"

The audience is very funny.

Compared to Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou's evaluation was much more direct and emotional.

"I've spent my whole life making films, and what I've always strived for is to perfectly combine people and scenery, emotions and color. Today, Wu Chen has achieved that."

His voice was not loud, but it was extremely clear.

"When Cooper watched his daughter, twenty-three years later, crying on the screen, at that moment, all the special effects, all the IMAX, disappeared. All that remained was a father's tears. That's what movies are all about."

After Zhang Yimou finished speaking, the film critic wrote amidst enthusiastic applause from the audience:

"Two leading figures of China's fifth generation of directors have given Interstellar the highest praise."

Following closely behind was James Cameron.

The reporter handed the microphone to James Cameron, who did not refuse.

"Director Cameron, as a pioneer of 3D films, how would you rate the visual effects of Interstellar?"

All eyes were on this person who created the highest-grossing film in global film history.

"The visual effects in Interstellar are stunning, and I don't think there's anything that needs to be improved."

He paused, as if trying to form his words.

Film critics were scribbling excitedly, eagerly awaiting the translator to translate Cameron's words into Chinese.

“The most incredible thing in the film,” Cameron continued, “is his portrayal of 'Gargantua'.”

That's almost beyond the realm of special effects; it's a visual miracle based on physics and art.

It proves that science and art can achieve a perfect unity. And 3D technology makes all of this even more real and incredible.

As a visual effects fanatic, every word Cameron utters is inseparable from visual effects.

Of course, there's also 3D, which he highly recommends.

The moment Cameron finished speaking, the entire arena erupted!
If the applause before was enthusiasm, then this is madness!
Not only were media reporters and film critics extremely excited, but Universal Pictures, China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and audiences were also thrilled.

Amidst a sea of ​​thunderous applause and flashing lights;

The media has already focused their attention on Nolan and Spielberg.
(End of this chapter)