Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 727 Awards and the greatness of a film are not always synonymous!
"A loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise."

When Wu Chen casually uttered this sentence to David Lyndon over the phone, he himself did not expect that this wisdom of our ancestors would be verified in the most direct and brutal way in the following days.

At this moment, he is giving an exclusive telephone interview to Sina.

The controversy surrounding the Golden Globe nominations has escalated far too much.

Numerous media outlets wanted to get Wu Chen's first-hand response.

Ultimately, it was Sina CEO Cao Guowei who personally called Wu Chen before he agreed to the interview.

On the other end of the phone, the reporter's voice carried an undisguised mix of excitement and nervousness.

"Director Wu, what are your thoughts on the Golden Globe nominations and the global outcry against you?"

After asking the question, the reporter's breathing became a little rapid.

This is the question that countless movie fans and media outlets around the world are eager to know the answer to right now.

The Golden Globe Awards have been heavily criticized.

"I've seen the nomination results." Wu Chen's voice came through the radio waves, soft yet carrying a convincing power.

"First of all, I would like to thank movie fans all over the world for their love of Interstellar."

The Golden Globes have their own taste and choices. But for me, the audience's choice is the most important.
When hundreds of millions of viewers around the world are willing to go to the cinema and join us in traversing the dust and stars to feel the weight of love, time and commitment;

When they leave the movie theater, they'll look up at the starry sky and feel an even stronger urge to hug their families...

He paused, his voice soft yet clear.

"I think our film has already received the highest award it could possibly receive. As for the others... they are just icing on the cake."

"Yes, that's good. No, it's fine too."

What he said was very resounding.

The reporter on the other end of the phone was completely stunned.

He felt that Wu Chen's words carried an immense weight.

Wu Chen didn't mock the Golden Globes, but every word he said seemed to be telling the Golden Globes, and the whole world:
Awards certainly have their value. But what film strives for is to resonate with the souls of millions of viewers. This resonance is the highest medal of cinematic art.

Actually, Wu Chen didn't think too much when he said those words.

He simply wanted to thank the fans who resonated with him.

Sina's exclusive interview was published very quickly.

The title is concise and powerful.

[Wu Chen responds exclusively to the Golden Globe controversy: The highest award has already been given to me by the audience; it doesn't matter if I don't win the Golden Globe!]

Because this topic is being discussed globally, foreign media outlets followed up almost instantly, translating and reprinting the interview.

In an instant, the Golden Globe's "cold shoulder" and Wu Chen's insightful response acted like a shot of adrenaline to movie fans worldwide, instantly igniting pent-up emotions.

That pent-up anger and resentment, which had nowhere to go, transformed into the most primal and pure passion for watching the film.

That feeling of being understood and respected arises spontaneously.

"I knew it! I knew Wu Chen understood us! Those so-called judges didn't understand, but we true film fans do! He understands our director!"

"Interstellar is a masterpiece! It doesn't need any awards to prove it! It is a masterpiece in itself!"

"It turns out that awards and the greatness of a film are not always the same!"

"It doesn't matter if they don't nominate him. I like Wu's personality; he's very assertive. If they don't give him a nomination, we'll give him box office success!"

"Let those old men see what the audience's choice really means!"

In the North American market, Interstellar's box office performance saw a stunning reversal.

After surpassing the $400 million mark, its daily box office had already slipped to around $4 million.

But after Wu Chen's interview was released, on Wednesday, an ordinary workday, the daily box office of "Interstellar" unexpectedly rose against the trend and returned to more than five million US dollars!

Then, on Thursday, six million.

Just when everyone thought the North American box office was about to collapse, the anger and love of movie fans around the world gave it a new lease on life, and it continued to roar forward with an unreasonable momentum! It seems poised to challenge for the top five spots on the all-time North American box office chart!
The global cumulative box office has officially reached 13.2 trillion US dollars.

This number is just one step away from surpassing the 2011 box office champion, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" ($13.4 billion), and becoming the third highest-grossing film in history.

Everyone knows that surpassing them is only a matter of time.

In fact, if global data were updated synchronously, it would likely have already surpassed it.

Before "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," only "Titanic" and "Avatar" remain.
In no time, news that Interstellar was about to top the list of the highest-grossing films in global film history spread like wildfire.

Various reports followed one after another.

[A miracle! Interstellar's box office has defied expectations again, with global fans helping it climb into the top three of all-time box office rankings!]

[Next target: Titanic?]

Interstellar has reached fourth place in film history, and fans say it doesn't need a Golden Globe; awards don't always reward greatness!

【.】
The domestic market also saw a phenomenal box office rebound.

Unlike the complex factors abroad, domestic audiences have a purer goal: to support their own director and help "Interstellar" break into the top three in film history and aim for second place.

"Brothers! Charge! Let's take down Harry Potter!"

"Wow! I just checked the list, and the gap between the top few is huge! From fifth place onwards, they're all only a little over a billion US dollars!"

"Second in film history! Break it! Let the world see what Chinese power is!"

"What the hell do we care about the Golden Globes? Aren't film history more significant than those Golden Globes?"

"."

The fans' slogans were deafening.

All awards seem pale and powerless in the face of the dazzling record of "top three in global box office history," a record that is about to be reached.

As a result, Interstellar, whose daily box office had already fallen to 20 to 30 million on weekdays, surprisingly raked in 40 million on Wednesday.

The cumulative box office is just one step away from the 1.5 billion RMB mark.

"Outrageous... Absolutely outrageous..."

"Damn it, the Golden Globes really gave Interstellar a huge boost!"

"At this rate, 16 billion or 17 billion is unstoppable. This time, it's really heading towards 20 billion..."

"I wonder if it will be postponed... I guess... it will?"

Just as the industry was still discussing the matter with trepidation, China Film Group's official Weibo account released an announcement.

The wording remained consistent.

[Announcement Regarding the Extension of the Key for the Film "Interstellar"]

The film "Interstellar," which our company co-produced and distributed, has been well-received by audiences since its release on November 18, 2011, and has achieved excellent social benefits and market response.

To meet the viewing needs of the general public, it has been decided through consultation among the production company, distributors, and theater chains that the access keys for all versions of this film will be extended to 24:1 on January 17, 2012.

In North America, there is naturally no need for an extension.

As a big-budget A-list production, its screening period can be very long, as long as theaters are still willing to provide screens.

But domestically, this announcement was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The industry is eerily silent.

Those "industry insiders" who clamored for complaints and boycotts last time are now completely silent.

Their protests not only failed to achieve any effect, but also had a strong negative impact.

This is equivalent to adding another super obstacle to the already crowded Lunar New Year film season, with a scale comparable to a new film worth hundreds of millions.

It would be a lie to say that I'm not panicking.

Even the publicity teams for "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" and "The Flowers of War" felt immense pressure and could only work even harder in the final two days of promotional sprint.
(End of this chapter)