Chapter 353: Men Should Be Bold

Liu Tianxian wasn't in Beijing; she and Duan Yihong, Zhang Songwen, Zhu Yilong, and the rest of the main cast and crew were on a promotional tour, attending the premiere.

At the Guangzhou premiere's post-screening fan meet-up, the background displayed a massive poster for Now You See Me, with exaggerated titles: "Four Years to Forge a Sword," "Hollywood Special Effects Team."

Audiences today haven't yet become immune to these outrageous titles; later audiences, seeing such headlines, would instinctively think of trash films.

But today's audiences still respond to this kind of hype.

However, besides phrases like "epic," the earlier film The Dwelling of the Rich Spring turned those three words into a pejorative.

When people say "epic," they add "trash film" after it!

On stage, the creative team stood side by side; suddenly, hundreds of audience members erupted in cheers, lights flashed rapidly, and reporters out front kept snapping their cameras with "click-click-click."

Each member of the creative team introduced themselves and greeted the audience.

When Liu Tianxian introduced herself, the audience's "Aaaah!" screams were the loudest—she was the biggest star.

She stood gracefully, tucking her long hair behind her ears, her face appearing rounder, wearing a white short-sleeved top and jeans that accentuated the fullness of her thighs.

She's not even filming or promoting, and she's already gaining weight.

"After watching the film, if you have any feelings or questions about it, let's have a discussion—only about the movie, please. The creative team has been working extremely hard and has limited time," the host set the tone.

That meant no questions about anything outside the film, no gossip—only topics related to the movie.

He then pointed to a female audience member: "Let's start with this lady—tell us your most honest reaction after watching the film."

Staff handed the microphone to the woman.

"Ah! You want me to talk about the movie? My mind's still foggy—I don't even remember what the plot was about. I just watched the magic and the visuals the whole time; this movie was so thrilling."

The woman's face was slightly flushed, probably still under the film's lingering effect.

Now You See Me really was like that—dazzling, flashy, nonstop climax; watching it once really left you unable to recall what the movie was even about.

Other audience members felt the same—they'd forgotten the plot too, feeling only a constant high, as if floating in the clouds, not grounded at all.

A super-entertaining thrill ride has this effect; many probably don't even remember what the Marvel movies were about.

It was all "boom-boom-boom" explosions and dazzling visuals.

The creative team on stage smiled, confirming their film had succeeded.

The woman continued: "I just want to ask Duan Yihong—this role seems very different from your previous ones; in this film, you looked incredibly handsome and cool. How did you get into this character?"

"When I first got the script, I thought this character didn't match my image—I'm not handsome, I'm an older man; how could I possibly suit such a role?"

Duan Yihong paused, then added: "But the Principal told me I was handsome, said I had a unique male charm—I believed him and took the role. And as it turned out, the Principal had excellent taste."

The last sentence carried a hint of humor.

This drew continuous laughter from the audience, especially Liu Tianxian, who laughed so hard she showed her teeth, not bothering to hide it.

She knew Fang Hong really might have said that.

"Alright, next—this gentleman." The host pointed to a man.

"I'd like to ask Liu Tianxian—why didn't the director come?" The man struck straight at the heart of the matter.

They weren't supposed to ask gossip, but asking about the director under the guise of movie-related questions was fine—the director was the Principal; if Liu Tianxian said he was at home or doing something, people would assume they were dating.

This was an indirect way of asking gossip.

"If I see him next time, I'll ask him for you," Liu Tianxian replied, as if answering nothing at all.

"Oooooo!"

The audience erupted in suggestive teasing.

Anyone closely following Liu Tianxian had heard rumors that she and the Principal were dating, even though they'd never publicly confirmed it.

But the rumors had been circulating for a long time, and they'd never denied them either.

Still, Liu Tianxian was too full of gossip—she never denied anything, leaving everything ambiguous, letting everyone guess.

Liu Tianxian smiled shyly, then regained her composure and redirected the topic: "We also have two directors here—Director Lu and Director Chen—both outstanding filmmakers."

Lu Yang and Chen Sicheng waved to the audience, but the audience showed no interest in them.

Those who came to the premiere were all fans.

"Liu Yifei, I love you!" the man suddenly shouted.

The audience immediately erupted in noisy teasing.

Liu Tianxian didn't mind; she gave the man a thumbs-up with a carefree laugh: "Very bold—men should be bold."

"Hahaha." Laughter filled the room. "That lady, you've already stood up—you can ask now." The host pointed to another.

"Xixi, as your female fan, I truly think you acted brilliantly—so natural. I'd like to ask: what's your acting secret?" the female fan asked.

"First, thank you for your recognition. When I took this role, the director told me to just be myself—so I cleared my mind, didn't deliberately design the character, didn't think about how to perform, and didn't add any flashy tricks—I was simply my most authentic self," Liu Tianxian explained earnestly.

"Wish you a box office smash!" the female fan shouted.

"Thank you!" Liu Tianxian nodded.

The audience burst into "clap-clap-clap" applause.

The host began his summary: "Everyone may have different feelings about this film—please share them widely on your social media, Weibo, and so on. We'll end here for now, okay?"

"Okay." The audience responded.

"Here's a small bonus—we'll take group photos with the creative team, but please maintain order, absolutely maintain order," the host cautioned; the venue remained lively.

Liu Tianxian's bodyguards protected her as she took a group photo with fans and audience members.

The premiere's fan meet-up here was over.

The promotional premiere events required a long tour—about twenty stops across major first-tier cities: Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Tianjin, Xi'an, Chongqing, Qingdao, Shenyang, Changsha, Dalian, Xiamen, Wuxi, Fuzhou, Jinan.

This tour was still very effective, and all events had to be completed before July 4th, with additional interviews and Variety shows squeezed in—tight schedule, heavy workload.

With so many lead actors, they sometimes had to split up to keep Now You See Me continuously hot.

Twenty-four hours a day, except for sleep, every moment was spent on promotional tours and publicity; Liu Tianxian, no matter how exhausting, completed every single event.

This was simply part of her job—an actor's after-sales service: once you've sold your service, you must ensure the movie's after-sales is handled well.

Neidi actors are fine in this regard, but Hong Kong actors, after finishing filming, usually only do one or two promotional events and then stop.

Because it's too tiring, too rushed, and there's no money in it.

Wang Changtian once complained on a forum that Hong Kong actors have poor after-sales service.

People really think they're so professional — only the uninformed masses online say that. In the industry, apart from Bona, most film and television companies actually don't like using Hong Kong or Taiwan actors.

It's not just arrogance — poor after-sales service is also one of the reasons.

Otherwise, given their fame, their national recognition, and their genuinely strong professional abilities, why wouldn't the bosses want to use them?

After finishing the premiere, Liu Tianxian still had to take part in a show for an interview, together with Zhang Songwen.

The host asked the two of them: "This is your first time working together, right? It seems you hadn't collaborated before."

"No, starting from 'Those Years,' we also co-starred in one film 'Big Character' in between — this is the third one." Liu Tianxian glanced at Zhang Songwen.

Zhang Songwen nodded in confirmation, then said: "Although we've worked together on a few films, there wasn't much interaction between our characters. In the first one I played a supporting role, in the second she made a cameo, and in the third there aren't that many scenes between us either."

"No interaction in the film, then what about off-screen? How is your relationship?" the host asked.

"Very good. We sometimes joke around together. If I have any acting questions, I'll also ask him how a scene should be played — she's like a teacher to me." Liu Tianxian spoke very highly of Zhang Songwen.

"Wow, Teacher Song Wen is that outstanding!" the host exclaimed, surprised that he could teach Liu Tianxian how to act.

"I'm flattered. It's really just mutual exchange. She's a very hardworking, very driven, and very studious girl. On set, every time I saw her, there would always be a stack of books beside her seat." Zhang Songwen also offered praise.

"So Liu Tianxian is usually very quiet, right? People who love reading are generally very ladylike," the host said.

"No, that's just my outward appearance. You guys mustn't 'kidnap' me with the labels of gentle and beautiful — actually, I'm usually pretty dopey and spaced out."

After Liu Tianxian finished speaking, she laughed herself, and Zhang Songwen and the host laughed along with her.

She looked very cheerful.

The promotion for 'Now You See Me' has been ongoing.

Time passed quickly. Entering July, 'The Fault in Our Stars' had been in theaters for four weeks, and regions worldwide with no box office were gradually pulling it from release.

Only the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Mexico and other regions were still screening it. The United States currently had 120 million USD, and the global total box office had also broken through 300 million USD.

Douban score was 7.9, just shy of an 8-point masterpiece; IMDb 7.7. It was Yu Xian's highest-rated film to date, and he could truly be said to have gained both fame and fortune, earning a measure of respect in the United States as well.

This film also had its remake rights bought by Japan, South Korea, India and other countries.

And since this film hadn't yet come out of release, how much the final box office would earn still had to wait until after it left theaters.

Taking over from this film was 'The Purge 3,' released on July 12th — a Friday — perfectly hitting the weekend.

It was in the same period as 'Grown Ups 2' and 'The Wolverine 2,' but 'The Purge 3' was a suspense thriller, not in the same lane as those two films.

(End of chapter)