Chapter 37

Only Jackie Chan had carved out a difficult path in Hollywood; Jet Li and Chow Yun-fat hadn't managed to make a name for themselves.

Even if Xu Can was strong, he would at most have the "Spider-Man" series. Could he film more movies?

When he couldn't make it in Hollywood and returned home, he still wouldn't have a place to stand!

……

After the pressure from above was lifted and theaters adjusted their own screenings, almost all cinemas moved "Spider-Man" to the top tier!

Screenings were maxed out!

The film's box office immediately saw a surge! The opening weekend box office broke the 100 million mark!

The second week was heading toward 200 million!

This superhero wave, which was prevalent worldwide, had begun its dominance in the mainland!

The first batch of moviegoers went out and promoted it crazily, leading more and more people to flock to the theaters to watch Spider-Man!

Chinese actor Xu Can thus gradually entered the vision of Chinese audiences!

Even the "Sixth Princess," CCTV-6 Movie Channel, reported the relevant news in its latest film update:

"Recently, 'Spider-Man,' starring Chinese newcomer Xu Can, is playing hot. The opening box office last weekend broke the mainland film history record, exceeding 100 million!"

"According to professional institutions, 'Spider-Man' is expected to break 250 million this week! Combined with the upcoming Spring Festival period, the film's final mainland box office is expected to break 400 million, breaking the record held by 'Titanic' for many years!"

"Although 'Curse of the Golden Flower,' 'Getting Home,' 'Casino Royale,' and many other films were released at the same time, they couldn't stop the hot momentum of 'Spider-Man'!"

"Reporters interviewed theaters across the country recently; the ticket windows of major theaters across the country seemed to be the scene of the Spring Festival travel rush. The originally spacious theaters were packed, and fans queuing for tickets were bustling..."

"Because the film is so popular that tickets are hard to find, there are even cases of scalpers raising prices, giving criminals an opportunity."

"All of this, besides the excellent quality of the film itself, which is a rare sci-fi action blockbuster in recent years;"

"The film's male lead, Xu Can, also brought huge popularity to the film."

"According to relevant sources, Xu Can was once a student in the acting department of the Beijing Film Academy, later dropping out to go to Hollywood in North America to make a living..."

"As a Chinese actor, achieving such results in Hollywood has made him a hot new star worldwide!"

"US media reports that Xu Can is currently preparing for a new film, hoping to see more works from this Chinese newcomer..."

Xu Can had become a little famous.

One movie wasn't enough to put him on par with heavyweights like Chow Yun-fat, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li.

At least in the hearts of Chinese movie fans, Xu Can had successfully debuted on the stage of film history, and his fame was not much weaker than that of Hu Ge, Liu Liu Yifei, Huang Xiaoming, and others.

It was just that these domestic entertainment stars had more exposure, while Xu Can lacked it.

After "Spider-Man" was pulled from theaters, his popularity would gradually decline... until he brought out another phenomenal work.

……

"Cousin, you're completely famous!"

Far away in New York, Xu Can suddenly received a message from his cousin Xu Xu Yuling on Facebook.

In this day and age, the overseas internet hadn't been blocked, so they didn't need a VPN, and the cousins chatted every now and then.

"Eh, famous or not doesn't matter. Is the movie good?"

"Super good!!!" Xu Xu Yuling sent more than a dozen exclamation marks.

"Our classmates have all watched it, and some have even watched it two or three times!"

It was clear the young girl was quite excited.

"That's good. You focus on your studies. If you do well in the college entrance exam, I'll bring you to North America to watch 'Spider-Man 2'."

"Cousin! You're so nice! Hehe, my classmates didn't believe you were my cousin, but I won the bet with them, and I get free breakfast for a month."

"You little brat, you've even learned to gamble."

"Oh right, cousin, are you and Emma Stone really dating? Is she my cousin-in-law?"

Facing this question, Xu Can didn't know how to answer.

Should they be considered as such now?

Stone had gone back to film "Twilight" after wrapping up, and they hadn't sat down to talk about this properly yet.

If they really confirmed the relationship, dating such a girlfriend wouldn't be bad.

"Consider it so. I'll introduce you two later."

"Yay! I have another celebrity cousin-in-law!" The young girl was incredibly excited.

"Go to sleep quickly; don't stay up late."

"Got it, I'm logging off, cousin. Bye-bye."

It was early morning in China, while North America had just welcomed a new day, and the morning sun in New York was just right.

The New York scenes for "John Wick" were about to finish filming, and next, he would fly to Berlin to film some parts.

It was expected that the film would wrap up and enter post-production before the end of February.

Xu Can still needed to stay in New York for about 3 days.

Since most of the cast were white male actors and Stone had already left, Xu Can felt quite bored in his spare time.

He couldn't help but think of the green-tea-like girl Emma Roberts,

and from time to time, the youthful and beautiful image of Taylor Swift would appear in his mind.

"Wait, why am I thinking about them? Am I really a scumbag?"

The celebrity circle was chaotic, and he hadn't attended those "imparts," so he could already be considered a breath of fresh air.

It was normal to develop a good impression when seeing beautiful things and people.

Living a second life, Xu Can's thoughts had also undergone some changes.

He believed more in enjoying the present and having a clear conscience.

He was serious about Stone.

Facing Taylor, whom he had liked since his previous life, he also had a deep longing in his heart.

Since adding each other on Facebook and in their phone contacts, Xu Can and Taylor chatted often.

They would even talk on the phone in private, sometimes for an hour at a time.

Taylor often shared the frustrations of creating her new album, and Xu Can would occasionally give her pointers based on the songs he had heard in his previous life.

Over time, Taylor's attitude toward him grew warmer.

If there were a progress bar for affection, Xu Can had probably scored big in just the last month.

Just as he was letting his imagination run wild, his phone suddenly rang.

"Taylor?"

"Huh? Who are you calling Taylor? It's Happy."

"Oh, oh, what's up?"

It turned out to be that fatty, Happy Hogan.

"It's like this, there are two important things."

"First, the NBC variety show is inviting you to appear. They've invited you several times; this time, we really can't turn them down."

Indeed, Happy had mentioned this many times.

After "Spider-Man" exploded, countless offers came his way, and Xu Can had turned down everything he could.

As a TV station under Columbia, NBC really hoped that the hot new-generation male star Xu Can would appear.

Spider-Man's popularity was expanding unprecedentedly; they couldn't waste this wave of heat.

As a semi-"Sony-affiliated" star, it wasn't good to keep declining.

"Fine, what show?"

"SNL, you should know it. Oh right, there's also..."

"I'll participate." Xu Can agreed decisively. "What's the other thing?"

"Hmm?" Happy was a bit surprised but didn't dwell on the details, continuing:

"Warner Bros. wants you to film a movie, a live-action comic adaptation. They've hired director Christopher Nolan..."

Hearing this name, Xu Can guessed the series in a second.

"Batman!"

The Dark Knight Trilogy! ===== CHAPTER 71 =====