Chapter 158: Word of Mouth Explosion and Real Guns and Live Ammunition

In the dimly lit hall, a high platform was constructed using iron scaffolding, with a transparent water tank beneath it.

Jing Tian, wearing a tight-fitting suit and bound by iron chains, stood on the high platform, interacting confidently with the extras below, before the mechanism under her feet opened and she fell into the water tank below.

"Cut, this take is good."

Wei Jin watched the footage on the monitor, let out a long sigh of relief, and immediately signaled that there were no issues, after which staff members pulled Jing Tian up.

"Tian Tian, wipe yourself off quickly, be careful not to catch a cold."

Seeing the young girl panting slightly, Wei Jin felt a pang of heartache and hurriedly had the staff hand her a towel.

This scene was the opening sequence of the film, the entrance of The Four Horsemen; it had to be eye-catching to let the audience see the brilliance of the main cast at a glance, but filming it was by no means easy.

First of all, this sequence was filmed in segments; because it involved underwater shots and required aesthetic consideration, the lines and facial expressions at the moment of falling into the water had to be captured clearly, and Wei Jin had to film it repeatedly to achieve the desired effect.

The result was a full half-day of tossing and turning, and Jing Tian's stamina was nearly exhausted; at the beginning, she could swim up on her own, but by the end, she had to rely on staff to help pull her up.

Most importantly, due to the repeated entries into the water, Jing Tian's beautiful hair was wetted and blown dry, dried and wetted again; under such repetition, Wei Jin was naturally worried about her catching a cold.

"Thank you, Director, I'm fine."

Jing Tian was truly a very hardworking and diligent artist; regardless of how many voices criticized her acting skills in her past life, no one ever smeared her character or professionalism.

"Then tidy up, change your clothes, and we'll prepare for the next scene." — Outside of filming, Wei Jin accepted two interviews, for no other reason than to promote his previous film.

On September 7, the suspenseful, brain-burning film *The Invisible Guest* was officially released, and a thriller titled *Gunshot*, produced by New Line, was released during the same period.

It is worth mentioning that Monica Bellucci, known as "one of the most beautiful women in the world," also starred in this film.

However, Wei Jin did not regard this film as a competitor; he had no impression of this film from his past life, so he figured the box office wouldn't be very high.

This time, with the release of *The Invisible Guest*, Wei Jin's method of riding the coattails of popularity also yielded excellent results.

One must know that *Bourne Ultimatum* had already been officially released at the beginning of last month, with a global box office totaling 442 million USD; its word-of-mouth and box office were both better than the previous two installments, and it was even jokingly called by the media as the film that saved the series.

Matt had completely exploded in popularity, his salary directly entering the 20 million USD bracket, becoming one of the most bankable male stars in North America.

Benefiting from Wei Jin's reputation over these years, the distribution system established with Summit Entertainment, and the fresh, hot appeal of the lead actor Matt, *The Invisible Guest* opened on 3,500 screens on its first day.

At the same time, Wei Jin's previous remarks about the film being a "brain-burning film" and having "no bathroom breaks throughout" were mentioned again, and many suspense enthusiasts walked into the cinema full of anticipation.

The resulting effect was also extremely explosive; the film's opening day box office reached 11.8 million, and the opening weekend box office reached as high as 37.2 million USD, nearly breaking even directly.

One must know that Hollywood's box office revenue sharing is a bit different from that in the country; most of the time, producers choose a tiered revenue-sharing model.

Usually, in the first week of a film's release, the producer can collect 80% of the box office, 60% in the second week, 40% in the third, and 20% in the fourth; of course, the specific ratio still needs to be negotiated with the cinema chains.

The reason why Hollywood production companies are fond of this revenue-sharing model is to recover costs as quickly as possible and reduce risks, and this model is extremely friendly to fan-based films.

One must know that the highest-grossing films in Hollywood are mature series and superhero films, both of which can be counted as fan-based films.

*The Invisible Guest* not only performed strongly at the box office but also had excellent word-of-mouth; many fans online spontaneously gave positive reviews: "Eastern Wei is truly amazing, I really held my pee the whole time, not a single drop leaked."

"The term 'brain-burning' is just too fitting; there were many parts I didn't understand after watching it once. Is there a plot breakdown?"

"Watch it again; I've already brushed it twice, and I still have a few questions. I'm going to buy a ticket first."

"The actors are just great; that final shot where the mask is taken off gave me goosebumps."

The evaluations from media and film critics were also mostly positive:

"The film's plot is tight and engaging, the storyline is full of twists and turns, making it impossible to guess the ending. The director cleverly uses visual language to display complex psychological activities and interpersonal relationships, making the film full of suspense and tension."

"The film has a tight plot and distinct characters, coupled with outstanding performances from the actors, allowing the audience to feel the complexity and contradictions of human nature while guessing the truth of the case."

These positive reviews attracted a large number of fans into the cinemas. Riding this east wind, the subsequent box office for *The Invisible Guest* continued to rise, with the second-week box office reaching as high as 51.7 million; just ten days after its release, the box office reached 88.9 million USD, and the global box office was as high as 145 million.

So much so that when Wei Jin was filming on set, the smile on his face could not be hidden at all, and the fatigue brought by filming was swept away; he was in high spirits when being intimate with Jing Tian at night, making the young girl cry out that she couldn't take it — "President Yang, investment is investment; it's normal to have losses and gains. Alright, the timing is about right, so let's start the preparations."

Wei Jin hung up the phone in his hand, feeling a bit emotional; the call was from President Yang of Emperor Group, who had brought up the sequel to *Ip Man* again.

On one hand, it was for fear that delays would lead to complications; after all, Wei Jin had already taken control of Golden Harvest and could completely play his own game.

On the other hand, it was because his recent investments in Mainland China had gone down the drain, and he needed a good project to boost morale.

A few days ago, the 64th Venice International Film Festival officially came to an end. Jiang Wen's *Sun Also Rises*, which Emperor invested 50 million in, ended up taking two or three years to make and didn't win a single award.

Venice is the holy land of art films; if you want to sell copyrights and sell them well, you must have awards, which means the 50 million investment is very likely to be a total loss. It's no wonder President Yang felt a bit distressed; the key was that he couldn't show it in front of Jiang Wen, otherwise the effect of this "paying a thousand gold for a horse's bones" would be greatly diminished.

This result also made Jiang Wen extremely uncomfortable, and he even stated bluntly when facing an interview: "Man proposes, God disposes; if the judges don't give me an award, it's not necessarily my fault."

This hinted that Zhang Yimou, as the chairman of the Pingshutuan for this Venice Film Festival, was not helpful at all and was even targeting him.

These words also made the media very excited; so who was wrong? One must know that before Jiang Wen set out, many professors from the Beijing Film Academy and the Central Academy of Drama were very confident, claiming that Jiang Wen would surely make a name for himself in Venice.

Now the result was like this; could it be that Zhang Yimou was intentionally suppressing him? For a time, many media outlets discussed it, and there were even many gossip tabloids reporting that the two had long had conflicts, etc. Anyway, with a picture at the start, the content is all made up. Whether Jiang Wen was targeted by Zhang Yimou remains to be seen, but that Li An was favored by Zhang Yimou was beyond doubt.

Li An won the Venice Golden Lion Award this year with *Lust, Caution*, and when accepting an interview, he bluntly stated that Zhang Yimou was his benefactor.

These words were also very correct; back when Li An won the Berlin Golden Bear Award, Zhang Yimou was a member of the Pingshutuan, so he really was a benefactor.

Having won the Golden Lion this time, Li An also became the third director in the world to win the Golden Lion Award twice; the previous one was Zhang Yimou.

This also made Wei Jin a bit envious; when he gets some free time, he must win the Golden Lion. The European Big Three must be a grand slam; being short of one would not be complete. — At the end of September, *Twilight* was released in the country.

Han Sanping was very concerned about the box office results; this was something he had arranged for the National Day Slot under immense pressure.

"Are the figures out?"

"They are out, less than two million. Is it a problem with the promotional intensity?"

The secretary was a bit puzzled; wasn't the box office so high abroad? "Hmm, how is the feedback?"

Han Sanping thought of what Wei Jin had said about "acclimatization issues" and began to worry a little.

"Young people think it's not bad, just that the story is a bit cliché, but the piracy issue..."

Han Sanping was stunned upon hearing this; this film had been out for three months, so it was perfectly normal for there to be piracy.

However, regarding this problem, Han Sanping had no good solution; every time there was a WTO talk, this issue would be complained about, and he could only hope that the higher-ups would take action.

"Let's just leave it at that for now; increase the promotional intensity and strive to pull in a wave of box office during the National Day. Anyway, there are no competitors."

Even if this film lost money, Han Sanping was not afraid; the overall revenue was too high. What he was worried about was losing face and being laughed at by the industry. — "Brother Wei Jin, let's go watch a movie."

Work finished a little early today, so Jing Tian thought about going to watch a movie with Wei Jin to live the life of a young couple.

"Alright, what do you want to watch?"

Wei Jin naturally had no objection to this, though there were quite a few films being released in North America during this period.

"How about we watch *Lust, Caution*? I keep seeing news about it every day."

During this time, many domestic media outlets reported: *Lust, Caution* involved real-life intimacy, allegedly leading to a rift between Tang Wei and her boyfriend.

When interviewed, Tang Wei tacitly acknowledged the breakup, stating that the two were still good friends.

Tian Yu acted like a real man; he didn't say a word when faced with interviews, not wanting to affect his ex-girlfriend's career, a move that won him praise from many netizens.

In fact, this was indeed the case; a single *Lust, Caution* made Tang Wei famous overnight, and it was said her advertising fee soared from 50,000 to 2 million, putting her on the same level as the Four Dan Double Bing.

Jing Tian wanted to see what kind of movie could cause two people to break up, and what kind of movie could make a woman famous overnight.

"Okay, I haven't seen it either."

Wei Jin naturally went along with the suggestion; in his past life, he had only seen the censored version, and as for Liang Caowei, he also wanted to know if it was the real deal. — Coming out of the cinema, Jing Tian's face was still slightly flushed, and she looked at Wei Jin with some resentment:

"Brother Wei Jin, did you choose the corner seats on purpose? You really are..."

Considering that both of them were public figures, Wei Jin didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble, so he chose seats in the corner, never thinking it would make his little moves so convenient.

"Tian Tian, it really wasn't that; I didn't expect the movie to be so stimulating."

Wei Jin was also left between laughter and tears; he hadn't expected that watching a movie would almost lead them to cross the line, and he had to admit, watching a performance with real-life intimacy in a public place was truly damn stimulating.

"Besides, didn't you also..."

"Don't say it, don't say it, it's so embarrassing..."

She hurriedly covered Wei Jin's mouth, Jing Tian's face burning red with shyness; if this were an anime, one would surely see steam rising from the top of her head.

It was just that Jing Tian hadn't expected the scale to be so large, and she had even reacted to it herself; it was truly too shameful. The second update of the day, a total of 6,200 words presented. I humbly request all readers to reward me with subscriptions, follow-up readings, and bookmarks. Please flip to the very last page for the follow-up reading, thank you everyone! (End of chapter)