Chapter 204: The Kiss Scene That Keeps NG-ing! Xu Can Named Times Person of the Year

"Um, well, I mentioned it to him, but unfortunately Director Xu feels you're too young—he'd rather pick actors over thirty…"

"Alright, I got it. Thanks, Zheng-ge."

"Nah, it's nothing. Hope we get to work together someday."

The capital, a luxury villa district mansion.

The woman hung up the phone and let out a sigh.

She stared at the news on her computer, lost in thought.

"Global Times comprehensive report: Recently, Huaxia youth Xu Can has been selected as the Person of the Year by Times Weekly. He has become the first Chinese person to be named Person of the Year in the 21st century…"

……

The Dark Knight Rises opened to a $180 million opening weekend, surpassing the previous record set by Spider-Man 1,

but falling just slightly short of Spider-Man 2.

Based on Xu Can's estimate, this film should be roughly on par with the original version from his previous life, staying within $1.1 billion.

Unable to surpass Spider-Man 1, it would lose out to Spider-Man 2 in the race for the annual box office champion,

but its total box office could squeeze into the top ten of global all-time box office.

Currently, both Spider-Man films and both Dark Knight films have dominated the all-time box office chart,

and adding in the box office of Iron Man,

Xu Can alone occupies half of the top ten slots on the global all-time box office chart!

"A terrifying fact has been discovered—if The Dark Knight Rises crosses $1 billion worldwide,"

"five films Xu Can has been involved in producing will rank among the global top ten at the box office!"

"For Hollywood, this is no less than Genghis Khan's cavalry sweeping across Europe a thousand years ago!"

"At least on the commercial film front, this young Huaxia filmmaker has already secured an undeniable position globally!"

"If you ask which male actor in Hollywood today has the strongest box office draw, Xu Can is arguably the most compelling contender!"

"Currently, among the films Xu Can has invested in or been involved in producing, there's still a romance film about to be released, and a sci-fi film about to begin shooting!"

"He hasn't stopped in his tracks—instead, he's quickening his pace, conquering Hollywood!"

"This is our cover subject for this issue—Spider-Man, Xu Can!"

Thanks to Xu Can's tremendous achievements in the film industry over the past two years, he has landed on the cover of Times magazine and been named the 2008 Person of the Year!

He alone has contributed more than half of Hollywood's box office, truly the most influential film creator of these two years.

26 The entire Western society's evaluation of Xu Can has gradually changed,

from initially questioning him as a yellow-skinned Spider-Man, to now treating him as Hollywood's banner.

Previously, due to deliberate media spin in the West, people around the world more or less harbored misconceptions about the Divine Land.

Now, thanks to Xu Can's films, people are willing to try to understand him, and the nation behind him.

After Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight Rises, which he co-wrote and produced, is—as expected—gradually closing in on $1 billion.

The two biggest hits of the global summer slate are both connected to Xu Can.

So much so that Hancock, Tropic Thunder, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and Get Smart were all overlooked by the market, reduced to pitiful background props.

Only WALL-E and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, thanks to the nature of animated films, managed to dodge the showdown with the superhero blockbusters and reap some box office and attention.

It wasn't until The Dark Knight Rises finished its run that Paramount, Fox, and other major studios dared to release their popcorn films.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon found itself in such an awkward situation—it had originally planned to harvest a wave of box office during the summer slate,

but after much deliberation, Summit Entertainment decided to slot the film for October,

and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Get Smart, and Journey to the Center of the Earth all did the same, scrambling for the off-peak release slot that Xu Can had no interest in.

Even so, The Mummy 3 met a sorry fate, pulling in just $103 million before being pulled from theaters, leaving Universal with a small loss.

Get Smart earned $130 million, Journey to the Center of the Earth $170 million and barely broke even,

and the major Hollywood studios didn't make much money in 2008—Xu Can had basically scooped up all the box office.

A Disney executive kept complaining in media interviews:

"Outsider filmmakers have seriously hindered Hollywood's development!"

He was immediately torn apart by North American netizens,

"Once you've had good meat, who'd want to go back to eating garbage? Take a look at whether you've actually tried to make good films—what right do you have to blame others?"

"I support Xu Can. Whoever makes good films, I support them!"

"Let the work speak for itself!"

From a box office standpoint, Xu Can's films were chosen by fans voluntarily with their dollars, one ticket at a time;

from a quality standpoint, Xu Can's films have consistently maintained high scores above 8.5 on IMDb!

He hasn't had a single misstep yet!

Naturally, he's garnered a batch of devoted followers.

After being savaged by netizens, Disney CEO Bob could only fall back on the Oscars:

"This Huaxia guy is good at commercial films. Acting-wise, he's only won Best Supporting Actor—"

"Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture—he hasn't won any of those—"

"Calling him Hollywood's banner is a bit much. So many Best Actors and Best Directors haven't said anything…"

It was James Cameron who stepped forward, posting his views on the recently popular Twitter.

"I think Times' pick is fine. Xu Can is currently the most dazzling star in Hollywood."

"I'm a big fan of Xu's films myself. Avatar has already borrowed some of the filming techniques from Xu Can's movies."

"I really hope to get the chance to work with Xu Can—his acting will be a tremendous help to my work."

"So some people should stop being sour—it just makes you look petty."

As a Hollywood veteran, the legendary director who single-handedly created *Titanic*, his public announcement of collaborating with Xu Can has left many film fans full of anticipation.

With these two powerhouses joining forces, what kind of work could they possibly produce?

Xu Can himself paid no attention to any of this — he was busy with the shoots of two production crews.