Chapter 296: *Inception* Sweeps the Globe! The New *Captain America* Hits Theaters

As one of the principal creators, Xu Can did not attend the premiere of *Inception*, but he did show up for the film's roadshow.

Ellen Page, with whom he shared "a kiss of fate," was also on site.

She used to like dressing in a androgynous style, but after a long absence, Xu Can noticed this little lady had started going for a sexy-cute look.

"Long time no see."

"Mm, long time no see." The moment Ellen Page saw Xu Can, she couldn't help but recall the kiss scene from before.

Even after later getting together with a girl, she still couldn't find that same feeling.

Her mind was full of Xu Can's unique masculine charm.

Seeing her silent with her head lowered, Xu Can assumed that after more than half a year apart, this one had grown distant from him, and he didn't take the initiative to make conversation either.

He just kept chatting with Little Li Zi beside him.

In the previous Best Actor Oscar race, Little Li Zi didn't even stand a chance as a runner-up.

*Revolutionary Road* only earned Kate Winslet a Best Actress nomination; with too many heavyweights clashing, Little Li Zi was brutally overlooked.

This time, he had filmed a new movie, *Blood Diamond*, and was gearing up for the Oscars.

"Xu, next year's Oscars, you might be in for a challenge."

"Oh?"

"I admit your performance in *Drug King* was outstanding, but my *Blood Diamond* isn't bad either—might be able to compete with you."

"Sure, why don't we make a bet and see who's Best Actor."

"Deal—100 bucks, you're Best Actor." Little Li Zi struck that classic meme expression from *Inception*.

"Hm?" Xu Can was stunned; Little Li Zi wasn't playing by the rules.

"Hehe, if I lose the bet I get Best Actor, if I win I get 100 bucks—win-win."

"You really know how to bet."

Within Hollywood, Xu Can had already become someone many stars actively tried to cozy up to.

Whenever he showed up at a party, he was basically always surrounded, and any star whose name you could call out would find an excuse to come over and chat him up.

Any movie Xu Can casually made could potentially send someone's salary soaring dozens of times over.

The most typical example was little Luo Bote Downey Jr. —from 500,000 USD making a comeback to 10 million USD now,

and if *Iron Man 2* succeeded, he might even crack the 20-million club.

Actors who had worked with him saw their net worths skyrocket; he was practically the Philosopher's Stone's Midas touch!

Apart from the actresses who had scandals with him, even male stars loved to cozy up to him—it's just that Xu Can didn't interact much with male actors.

At present, his close friends were only little Luo Bote Downey Jr., Little Li Zi, next-door neighbor Tom Cruise, neighbor David Beckham, and Chris Evans, with whom he occasionally exchanged a few words.

Through Little Li Zi's connection, Xu Can had even gone to his place to play poker and gotten to know "Fat Wen" Kate Winslet.

Xu Can had also promised to find her a collaboration opportunity, but there was no suitable role for the moment.

His roadshow has already reached the second day after the *Inception* premiere—IMDb score 9.2, Rotten Tomatoes index 92%, opening-day box office 45 million!

Although it couldn't match the opening-day results of *Spider-Man* or *The Dark Knight*, it was at least a standout in the North American market!

The opening weekend box office is projected to break 80 million, even 100 million!

Thanks to Xu Can's boost, it was even far more exaggerated than the original version's box office!

The original only made 60 million USD in its opening weekend!

Following the principal creative team into the theater, the film began.

First came the long-awaited opening animation—a space shuttle instantly transforming from crayon drawing into 3D effects,

and the gorgeous effect of a galaxy spanning the sky on the IMAX giant screen never failed to draw a "Wow~" from the entire theater.

To quote some fans: "Just the opening of a Xu Can movie can already beat the crap out of plenty of sci-fi films!"

But this time, after the ship's curvature jump revealed the galaxy, the picture suddenly distorted.

Immediately after, an astronaut on par with Pixar woke up, sitting inside the space shuttle preparing for liftoff,

it turned out the galaxy just now was a dream…

That wasn't all—the astronaut suddenly became weightless!

The picture distorted once more, and it turned out to be a little boy jolting awake from a dream!

On his desk sat a model of a space shuttle, and on the wall a poster of the galaxy was pasted up.