Back to 17, My Brother is the Cult Leader

Chapter 101 is scheduled for release.

The filming period lasted six weeks.

The first two weeks were the most difficult.

Yan Danchen will portray Terry's state in different cycles: fear when she is killed for the first time, numbness when she is killed for the fifth time, anger when she is killed for the tenth time, and calmness when she is killed for the twentieth time.

The emotions in each scene are different, but it is also necessary to maintain the continuity of the character.

Fang Yuan watched her act from behind the monitor. Sometimes he would call a stop, go over and say a few words to her, and then go back and start over.

Fang Yuan himself was a little nervous, but with the help of James Wan, he quickly got into character and switched between being a director and an actor.

Ellie manages all production matters on set.

Her style is to be well-prepared beforehand, not to interfere with the creative process during filming, and only to intervene when there are problems with the schedule or budget.

Hao Wei stayed by Ellie's side almost every step of the way, rarely having the opportunity to learn.

The filming went almost entirely according to plan. Every day after work, Ellie would discuss the arrangements for the next day with the team leaders. Fang Yuan only needed to be on set the next day and didn't need to worry about anything else.

Zeng Li's scenes are concentrated in the second and fourth weeks.

Under the "time loop" setting, Xiao Cui suspected her ex-boyfriend, classmates with whom she had conflicts, and even a serial killer.

However, the murderer was the most inconspicuous roommate.

This "blind spot" design makes the plot unpredictable and full of plot twists.

Fang Yuan rehearsed the positions with the two actors on set, adjusting the choreography several times until he was satisfied.

In late July, a heat wave hit Los Angeles.

The temperature at the outdoor location exceeded 40 degrees Celsius at noon, so Fang Yuan adjusted the shooting time to 6:00 to 11:00 in the morning, with a break in the afternoon, and some indoor scenes were added after 7:00 in the evening.

The progress was not affected.

Filming wrapped on August 15th.

The post-production work was brought back to China by Fang Yuan, and it is planned to be completed in the company's editing room in about a month.

The rest is up to Ellie, such as choosing a distribution company and setting a release date.

Fang Yuan requested that the global release be guaranteed by December 12th.

Before returning to China, I called Chen Xia and asked her to come to Los Angeles at the end of August so that Ellie could hand over some publishing-related matters to her.

Privately, he made sure that Ellie would keep Chen Xia in Los Angeles for a month.

Ellie didn't know why Fang Yuan did this, but after working together for so long, she had unconditionally trusted his decisions and didn't ask any further questions.

Fang Yuan spent three weeks in the editing room, working with the editor to cut the film from two and a half hours of footage down to one hundred minutes.

There are very few special effects; the main focus is on the masked killer's subjective shots and the transitions after each of Terry's deaths.

Fang Yuan handled the transition very simply: a flash of white, and Terry woke up from her bed with a start, repeating the same action, but with subtle differences in her performance.

In September, a major event occurred in New York that had a profound impact on the entire United States and the world.

Ellie and Chen Xia were stunned as they watched the footage on television.

Ellie wondered, is this a coincidence? Otherwise, why would Fang Yuan let Chen Xia stay in Los Angeles?

Unbeknownst to her, Chen Xia was experiencing an even greater upheaval.

In July, following Fang Yuan's instructions, she liquidated some of the stocks in her account, and in just a few months, she made a profit of tens of millions.

There are currently less than 100 million in holdings in the account, and the account balance is 150 million.

If you still hold all those stocks now, they will suffer heavy losses because of this incident!

The film was completed in early October.

Ellie arranged distribution channels in North America and China.

In North America, Lionsgate will handle the distribution, continuing the collaboration from "Saw." Lionsgate has extensive experience in distributing low-budget, high-concept thrillers.

Back in China, Fang Yuan contacted General Manager Han of China Film Group. Because of what happened last time, General Manager Han felt that he had acted somewhat improperly and had been looking for an opportunity to repair his relationship with Fang Yuan.

Moreover, Fang Yuan is now a well-known figure, the only top Hollywood screenwriter in China, and a recipient of the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

Most importantly, the screenwriter, director, lead actors, and supporting actress of this film are all from mainland China, which makes it exceptionally significant.

Moreover, it was in line with national policy and was eventually imported as a co-production, securing a slot on December 12th before the Lunar New Year film season. This slot was three weeks before New Year's Day and even further from the Spring Festival film season, but there were no other Hollywood blockbusters available during this period, making it a good opportunity to give it a try.

Moreover, Fang Yuan knew that on December 11, 2001, China officially joined the World Trade Organization.

This is headline news reported by almost every media outlet in the world.

From this day forward, China's market opening will enter a new phase, with import quotas for films increasing year by year and policies on Sino-foreign co-productions gradually being relaxed.

For the film industry, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. Hollywood blockbusters will find it easier to enter the Chinese market, but Chinese filmmakers can also collaborate with overseas filmmakers in a more flexible way.

Fang Yuan chose December 12th as the simultaneous release date of "Happy Death Day" in North America and China, and he had his reasons.

"The day after joining WTO was of great symbolic significance."

From this day forward, we will no longer make Chinese films that are "going global"; we are inherently part of the international film industry.

He used the word in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Yan Danchen and Zeng Li's names appeared on a North American movie poster for the first time.

The poster design is very simple—Yan Danchen and Zeng Li's faces take up most of the space, Fang Yuan's name is placed in the screenwriter and director section, and Zeng Li's name is first in the supporting cast section.

North American audiences don't know them, but that doesn't matter. Thrillers rely on concept and word-of-mouth, not stars.

The focus of overseas promotion is on director Fang Yuan, screenwriter, bestselling author, awards, etc.

In particular, when he compiled a list of best-selling books, it caused a sensation both at home and abroad.

People in China are unaware that Fang Yuan has published so many English books, with astonishing sales.

Many overseas readers were intrigued when they discovered that the author was so young and that a movie had been made, sparking a huge wave of moviegoing.

The domestic promotion focuses on the two actresses: Yan Danchen is one of the top female stars in China, and Zeng Li also has many fans.

On December 14th, the box office figures for the first weekend were released.

"Happy Death Day" grossed $46 million in its first three days in North America and topped the weekend box office.

Second on the list is Warner Bros.' "Ocean's Eleven," which sold 38 million copies.

The third is Vanilla Sky, which cost 22 million.

The news reached China on Monday morning, Beijing time.

Fang Yuan was in his office when Xiao Mei saw the Hollywood Reporter's push notification and handed him her phone.

Fang Yuan glanced at the numbers on the screen and was very excited.

Cheers and screams erupted from the office next door.

After instructing Xiaomei to reserve a table for the celebration banquet that evening, he picked up the landline on the table and dialed Ellie's number.

The phone rang twice, and Ellie answered it.

"I saw it," Fang Yuan said.

"The opening weekend numbers far exceeded Lionsgate's expectations. They're already printing more copies, and the number of screenings will be increased next week."