Chapter 187: Night Banquet

2004 was the year Chinese movie fans felt most proud.

Zhou Xingchi, Lao Mou Zi, and Feng Dapao stood as three pillars in the global film industry.

Each of them released a masterpiece that overshadowed Mainland China's same-year releases of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Spider-Man.

The New Year's film slot was equally brilliant.

The term "New Year's film" originated and became popular in Gang Sheng.

Starting in the 1980s, every year at year's end, some stars from Gang Sheng's entertainment circle would spontaneously gather together.

They would make several lively, festive films without pay, offering them to audiences.

These films were mostly named after auspicious phrases like "Congratulations on Your Wealth," "A Happy Family," or "Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity, Joy."

Their content generally satisfied two criteria:

First, comedy; second, featuring well-known stars.

Mainland China's New Year's film slot was similar to Gang Sheng's New Year's films.

In 1998, director Feng Dapao released Mainland China's first New Year's film, A World Without Thieves.

This marked the beginning of Mainland China's New Year's film market.

The box office success of A World Without Thieves sparked a New Year's film war in the following years.

The number of New Year's films produced each year increased annually, and more renowned directors joined the ranks of those directing them.

The tradition of New Year's films has been carried forward into later generations, packed with appeal.

This year's New Year's films were equally fierce, featuring Liu Dehua, Nai Cha, and Ge Daye in the lead roles, with Feng Dapao's Mainland film A World Without Thieves.

Notably, Cheng Chen's younger brother Wang Baoqiang was also part of the main cast.

In Hong Kong, Stephen Chow's major work Kung Fu had undergone an intensive, all-around promotional campaign over a month in advance.

Feng's comedy was set to directly challenge Zhou's absurd humor.

A World Without Thieves and Kung Fu were set to clash on the same screen.

Feng Dapao was determined to settle the score with Zhou Xingchi.

At this critical moment, Cheng Chen suddenly received a call from Feng Dapao.

"Hey, Boss Cheng, interested in coming to watch the screening of A World Without Thieves?"

Feng Dapao said casually.

Cheng Chen instinctively wanted to refuse, but then remembered how long he'd practiced singing for his concert.

It might be better to step out and get some fresh air, especially since he was curious to see A World Without Thieves.

Although he'd already watched it several times in his past life and knew the plot well,

he'd only seen it online—he'd never experienced watching a movie in a theater.

That day, Cheng Chen quietly arrived at the venue and immediately spotted Feng Dapao on stage, beaming with joy.

After two years of subtle exchanges with Zhou Xingchi, Feng Dapao was finally ready to swing his sword with this film, gathering stars from across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong.

Gene Great Era

Cheng Chen also saw Wang Baoqiang standing on stage, looking somewhat nervous.

Since their last parting, for some reason, he had lost contact.

Gao Yuanyuan said Wang Baoqiang hadn't contacted her either, and Cheng Chen had never received a call from him.

After that, any news about him came only from TV or entertainment media—presumably Wang Baoqiang had received news of him the same way.

Cheng Chen found the seat Feng Dapao had given him and, amid the crowd's chaos, located his place.

After Feng Dapao finished his interview on stage, the screening began.

"Big Brother, how did you get here!? I—I, we haven't seen each other in so long!"

Cheng Chen, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, waiting for the movie to start, suddenly heard an exclamation from the seat to his left.

"Bao Qiang, you're sitting here?"

Cheng Chen was equally surprised.

"Yeah, Big Brother, I'm in this movie—I even met Liu Dehua, he's so nice.

And Director Feng, he treated me well too. After I finished Blind Well, Director Feng noticed me.

He invited me to join this film—the cast is full of big stars, hehe…"

Upon seeing Cheng Chen, Wang Baoqiang became extremely excited and kept talking nonstop.

Of course, after living in the big city for so long, his rustic air had diminished considerably, even his accent had changed slightly.

Hmm, Ji Sheng Mandarin.

"Big Brother, I never contacted you—don't you hate me?"

You—you're way more famous than me, so I thought I'd wait until I'd made it big before showing up again.

If I said now that I know you, everyone would think I'm riding your coattails, so I didn't dare…

Big Brother, why aren't you saying anything? Are you mad?"

Seeing Cheng Chen remain silent, Wang Baoqiang's voice grew quieter and quieter, until he only looked at him anxiously.

"I'm not mad, hehe. Bao Qiang, you're a star now, even a movie star—you're already very famous.

Acting in films is great; you can do TV dramas later too…"

As he spoke, Cheng Chen remembered that after appearing in A World Without Thieves, Wang Baoqiang went on to star in Shibing Tujiji and the same year's My Brother Is Shunliu.

Both were rare masterpieces among domestic productions!

The old saying goes: minor fame comes from promotion, major fame comes from fate.

In Cheng Chen's view, Wang Baoqiang was exactly that kind of person—his rise was unstoppable!

Of course, Bao Qiang hadn't turned down bad films either.

I couldn't help but get goosebumps just thinking about Cheng Chen being cast as Nezha—who the hell thought that was a good idea?

"Big brother, what's wrong?"

Noticing Cheng Chen suddenly shudder, Wang Baoqiang asked with concern.

"Nothing. Just got goosebumps."

Cheng Chen said with a blank expression.

"Oh."

The movie began. The plot of A World Without Thieves wasn't too complicated:

Master thief Wang Bo (played by Liu Dehua) and master thief Wang Li (played by Nai Nai) were a thief duo and lovers.

They set a trap at Liu's house, making Liu fall for Wang Li, then used the opportunity to send the nanny away and flirt with Wang Li.

Wang Bo recorded all of it with a camera.

In today's terms, it was just a simple con.

Under Wang Bo's blackmail, Liu had no choice but to trade his luxury BMW for family safety.

Later, Wang Li discovered she was pregnant and wanted to accumulate some virtue for her child.

She no longer wanted to live a life of theft that weighed on her conscience, but Wang Bo refused.

They nearly went their separate ways. In the end, Wang Li, with no other choice for her child's sake, still partnered with Wang Bo.

On the train, they met a migrant worker named Sha Gen (played by Wang Baoqiang).

Here, I should mention: it's said that when Feng Dapao saw Wang Baoqiang playing Yuan Fengming in Blind Shaft,

He immediately decided: this kid's dumb enough—Sha Gen can only be him!

In the film, Sha Gen had only one simple thought: use the money he earned from hard labor to return home, build a house, and marry a wife.

The foolish, innocent Sha Gen won Wang Li's affection, and she took him as her younger brother.

She hoped to safeguard his 60,000 yuan during his journey home and see him safely back.

Along the way, a gang of bandits pulled off an absurdly funny robbery; the fat, dim-witted bandit was played by Fan Wei.

Sha Gen was too naive to believe thieves existed who would steal his money.

He was robbed several times by another gang led by Li Shu (played by Ge Daye).

Fortunately, a mysterious expert—Officer Han (played by Zhang Hanyu)—helped by swapping out Sha Gen's money.

This kept the money from falling into the thieves' hands.

Wang Bo and Wang Li fought a fierce battle of wits against the other gang and ultimately won.

In the end, Wang Bo was killed when an opponent's expert hooked his neck with a hook.

In the end, the money returned to Sha Gen's hands…

Like Blind Shaft, the ending was nearly identical: the foolish Yuan Fengming and the foolish Sha Gen both survived a series of heart-stopping events.

The film consistently conveyed the message that good will ultimately triumph over evil, that goodness can change evil, and that good people will eventually be rewarded.

Many called it a commercial film with profound depth, carrying Feng's signature humor.

Perhaps everyone carries some voice deep within, hiding it so deeply it never shows.

When one day, a person or event opens that door inside the heart, clarity suddenly dawns.

One realizes: this is what the heart truly seeks—no matter how deeply buried, that inner voice can still be found…

The movie ended. Though he disliked Feng Dapao, Cheng Chen still clapped enthusiastically.

The actors' performances were on point, the story was compelling, and even the ending left room for imagination.

The theater erupted in applause; many smiled and nodded toward Feng Dapao.

Wang Baoqiang was also invited onstage to speak.

After the screening, Feng Dapao approached Cheng Chen on his own.

"Director Cheng, how did you like the movie? How does it compare to Kung Fu?"

Feng Dapao said with a grin, Wang Baoqiang standing beside him with a dopey smile.

Hearing Feng Dapao's words, Cheng Chen understood: this was a probe for intelligence.

"Heh, Director Feng is truly Director Feng—this movie was brilliantly made.

You and Director Zhou each have your own unique style; everyone says different strokes for different folks—I like both films."

Cheng Chen smiled.

"You, you're not honest at all! Such a little rascal, hahaha."

Feng Dapao shook his head laughing.

To be fair, Cheng Chen was grateful to Feng Dapao; after all, during the Mainland joint statement, he'd lent a lot of support.

Thinking this, Cheng Chen paused, then said:

"To me, Director Zhou's Kung Fu and your A World Without Thieves are both top-tier films—neither is better than the other.

If I absolutely had to choose one, I'd prefer Director Zhou's story—after all, I acted in it myself!"

Hearing this, Wang Baoqiang's dopey smile froze. He thought: Big brother, you just messed up.

How could you praise Director Zhou right in front of Director Feng?!

In his eyes, Feng Dapao was practically a titan of the industry.

Cheng Chen praising Zhou Xingchi was like directly challenging Feng Dapao—after all, the two camps were currently in direct competition.

Sure enough, Feng Dapao's smile vanished. He said:

"That's not fair—I also appeared in Kung Fu.

Does that mean I can't like A World Without Thieves just because I was in Kung Fu?"

That… was just being unreasonable.

"Director Feng, my big brother... Boss Cheng didn't mean it that way—he loves A World Without Thieves."

"He was laughing nonstop right beside me just now."

Wang Baoqiang hurriedly spoke up beside them.

Hearing this, Feng Dapao first froze, then burst into loud laughter and said:

"Sha Gen, why are you so worked up? I know you're close to your big brother—I didn't say anything, this is just chatting."

Perhaps because he himself was cunning and obsessed with calculation, Feng Dapao greatly liked this naive, earthy, seemingly clueless young man, Wang Baoqiang.

He always saw in Wang Baoqiang qualities he himself lacked.

So, in Wang Baoqiang's later development, he lent him no small amount of help.

Cheng Chen smiled and said:

"I was just joking with Director Feng—Director Feng wouldn't get mad at a lowly actor like me."

"Whether I like a movie or not doesn't matter; what counts is the audience's choice."

Hearing Cheng Chen's words, Feng Xiaogang nodded with a smile and said:

"If those old directors heard you say judging a film by the market, they'd probably drop dead."

"But the market is how it is—we make commercial films, we're here to make money, not slow, pretentious art films."

"Just a touch of artistry and entertainment is fine; no need to force it—but..."

But Feng Dapao shook his head and didn't continue.

Yet Cheng Chen vaguely sensed something, though he didn't press further—he raised his thumb and said:

"Director Feng, you're a straight shooter!"

The only other film besides Jiang Wen's Let the Bullets Fly where you can kneel and make money—he hadn't found a second one.

"Don't flatter me, kid. Let's talk seriously—next film, I want to switch styles. Want to join in?"

Another invitation.

For TV dramas, there was Zhang Dahu; for films, there was Feng Dapao.

Both were hugely famous in their respective fields.

Cheng Chen wondered if his luck was finally turning.

If Cheng Chen wasn't mistaken, Feng Dapao's invitation was almost certainly for his transformational film, Night Banquet!

It was a film blending Western and Chinese masterpieces.

Specifically, Cao Yu's Thunderstorm and Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Just hearing the names of these two plays made the content sound wildly thrilling and explosive, didn't it?

After its release, audiences had mixed reactions to Night Banquet.

Overall, Night Banquet gathered the most top-tier cast among Huayi Brothers' films at the time.

From set design, costumes, props to overall visual effects, the film surpassed previous wuxia films Hero and House of Flying Daggers—its production was outstanding.

But precisely these elements caused Feng Dapao to overlook something—he never fully developed the characters.

He chased after lofty plots and grand scenes, and ended up digging his own grave.

Still, when Night Banquet premiered, it earned nearly 30 million during the National Day holiday alone.

It had reached 130 million yuan, the studio's original box office target.

Box office in Jingcheng and Modu both exceeded 4 million yuan.

This result shattered Feng Dapao's previous film box office records.

Damn, the market is brutally honest!

This was exactly what they called "popular but not critically acclaimed"—while critics screamed about artistry, the film had already made a fortune.

Notably, Night Banquet was nominated that year for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

It won the Venice International Film Festival's Future Cinema Digital Award.

Domestic awards were also swept up in droves.

So, when Feng Dapao had paused just now talking about artistry and commercialism...

He had already decided on the theme for his next film.

He wanted to stand up and make money!

So when he invited Cheng Chen to join his next film...

Cheng Chen had thought so deeply about it...