Huayu: King of Kung Fu

Chapter 137 A Double Bloom Between China and the US

In the morning, Yang Xiaoye returned to her dormitory carrying a large stack of newspapers, while her classmates were still taking their beauty sleep.

Yang Xiaoye picked out the entertainment sections of the newspapers, spread them out on the table, and read them while munching on a steamed bun.

Peng Hui, who was in the bunk above her, smelled the aroma of the steamed buns and poked her head out from under the mosquito net, saying, "Give me one!"

Yang Xiaoye didn't even look up; she picked up a steamed bun and held it above her head.

Peng Hui took the steamed bun and started eating it, asking, "Why did you buy so many newspapers?"

"Lin Hu's new film 'Fast & Furious' is showing in the United States. I'll check the news."

Peng Hui and Yang Xiaoye are best friends, and Peng Hui has also developed feelings for Lin Hu because of Yang Xiaoye.

She said, "This seems to be his first Hollywood movie, right? How was the reaction?"

"Fantastic! A great start!"

Yang Xiaoye picked out a newspaper with a headline that read: "Lin Hu Makes His Hollywood Debut, Appearing at the 'Fast & Furious' Premiere with Actress Michelle!"

The newspaper also published a photo of Lin Hu and Michelle walking on the red carpet, waving to fans.

Lin Hu was dressed very formally, while Michelle wore a black dress with her cleavage showing, looking very sexy.

Peng Hui exclaimed, "So handsome! And this woman has a great figure too!"

Peng Hui was very interested. She climbed down from the top bunk and sat on Yang Xiaoye's bed. The two girls ate steamed buns together and read the newspaper.

"Look here, it says that 'The Fast and the Furious' opened in North America last Friday and grossed $4000 million in its opening weekend, beating out 'Dolittle 2' and ranking first."

What is "Dolittle 2"?

"I don't know, but it must be pretty impressive that they're making a sequel. The newspapers say this movie opened in over 3000 theaters, 400 more than 'Fast & Furious,' but its opening weekend box office was only 2500 million, far worse than 'Fast & Furious'!"

"Wow, Lin Hu is amazing! He's the pride of the Chinese people!"

Major newspapers reported on the North American release of "Fast & Furious" in great detail, and also quoted many mainstream media reviews.

Far exceeding expectations, it's more than just mindless car chases and popcorn entertainment; the character relationships harbor a tragic undertone, and the depth of the characters surpasses that of other low-budget action films of the same genre. —Chicago Sun-Times

Even viewers with no automotive knowledge will be captivated by the characters and the high-speed chase scenes. —Los Angeles Times

No doubt about its box office success, this film is definitely the dark horse of this summer's box office! —The Hollywood Reporter

The entire modified car movie seems to have a life of its own, blending fire, speed, and the passion of street kids into a powerful audiovisual experience. — Denver Post

The newspaper excerpts were all positive reviews, while all negative reviews were ignored.

For example, The New York Times criticized it harshly: "This film is like a modified car cobbled together from secondhand parts, flashy on the outside but completely lacking in originality at its core."

The Washington Post harshly criticized the story, saying that the characters' backstories were fragmented, female characters were merely visual embellishments, and the characters' motivations were unclear.

Some media outlets mention both the advantages and disadvantages, but domestic media outlets, when excerpting content, only write the advantages and delete the disadvantages.

Domestic media outlets even highlighted Hollywood's praise of Lin Hu, giving him extensive publicity.

"The fight scenes were refreshing, and that's undoubtedly thanks to Lin Hu!"

"Lin Hu is undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the entire film, and the core of the whole movie!"

"Hollywood has opened its doors to Lin Hu!"

The two girls, trapped in their own information cocoons and fans of Lin Hu, were overjoyed.

As she watched, Peng Hui said, "He's not going to Hollywood to make movies and never coming back, is he?"

Yang Xiaoye said, "How could that be? They're still filming 'Brotherhood of Blades' right now!"

To facilitate promotion, "Fast & Furious" was released in mainland China a week later than in North America.

After completing his promotional activities in North America, Lin Hu immediately returned to China to continue his promotional activities.

The Chinese mainland market is very small now. When a Hollywood blockbuster is released, the revenue share is only 10%, which is probably only a few hundred thousand US dollars.

With such a small amount of money, those Hollywood bigwigs wouldn't bother to come and promote it like they would in later years.

However, "Fast & Furious" is a bit different. Mainland China is Lin Hu's home turf. The other actors don't have much of a market value, so they are happy to come to China with Lin Hu to make their presence felt!

So, after finishing the Los Angeles premiere, the director took the four lead actors to China for a Chinese premiere.

This is the first time a Hollywood film has come to China for promotion, which has political significance. The organizer, China Film Group, attached great importance to it and gave the reception a very grand reception.

As the host, Lin Hu, upon arriving in Beijing, led the cast and crew of "Vegetarian Chicken" to climb the Great Wall, visit the Forbidden City, and enjoy Peking duck.

Domestic media followed the entire process, and the main cast and crew were very cooperative.

Upon reaching the Great Wall, he exclaimed in amazement, "China is so beautiful!"

While visiting the Forbidden City, I exclaimed wildly, "Magnificent architecture!"

When we went to eat Peking duck, they raved about it: "It's so delicious!"

It's incredibly emotionally engaging, and it's sure to bring joy to audiences across the country.

On the day of the premiere of "Fast & Furious", more than 20,000 audience members came to the scene, and the entire square was packed with people.

On the red carpet at the premiere, Michelle linked arms with Lin Hu, waved to the crowd, and occasionally blew kisses, eliciting cheers from the audience.

After walking the red carpet, Michelle exclaimed excitedly, "Brother Ty, the fans were so enthusiastic! I feel like a superstar!"

Paul and Li Meiqi were also shocked, never expecting to receive such a grand welcome.

Lin Hu laughed and said, "No doubt about it, at this moment, you are all superstars!"

Michelle said, "Well, I know people come to see you."

Li Meiqi said, "Thai Brother is a superstar in China, and I believe he will be in the United States in the near future!"

"You have such a silver tongue!"

Yang Xiaoye and Peng Hui squeezed through the crowd for several hours, and finally saw Lin Hu leading a Latina beauty across the red carpet. The whole process took only a few minutes.

"Ugh, it's so crowded, and I even get groped, all for just a glance!" Peng Hui felt it wasn't worth it.

Yang Xiaoye asked, "Who's taking advantage of you?"

"A pervert saw my butt was perky and rubbed against me from behind several times."

"Then why aren't you shouting?"

"Let him try to get close, he can't have it anyway, let him be frustrated to death!"

Yang Xiaoye was speechless for a moment before finally saying, "You really are... open-minded!"

The premiere tickets were too expensive; they couldn't get them, and they couldn't afford them.

However, after the official release of Vegetarian Chicken, the two rushed to the cinema to admire Lin Hu's dashing car chase.

At that time, Chinese people had not seen many racing movies, nor did they understand racing culture.

But because it starred Lin Hu, the movie theater was packed.

When the audience saw Lin Hu driving the race car, speeding along amidst the roar of the engine, far ahead and leaving all his opponents behind, they were thrilled!