Chapter 235: Rival

The premiere ended, followed by the usual thank‑you dinner for guests, which normally doesn't include reporters.

Jiang Heng didn't break protocol; he only told his assistant to keep Guo Fan's phone number and said he'd get back to him later.

Guo Fan had no objection, since a group of envious reporters had already surrounded him, some not in a hurry to return to the office to write, shouting that they wanted to buy him drinks.

Zhuo Wei, standing aside, didn't join the revelry; as a professional entertainment reporter, he was more eager to snap photos of Jiang Heng's rumored girlfriend.

In recent years, the entertainment world has churned out every possible rumor about Jiang Heng's love interests—Tang Yan, Liu Yifei, Jing Tian, and Yang Mi are the most popular.

But he also heard of two eye‑catching ones: one is the over‑forty Monica Beruqie, more than a decade older than Jiang Heng, allegedly having a secret liaison with him while filming The Matrix 2.

The other, of course, is the currently hot Hollywood star Megan Fox, who also starred in Pacific Rim 2 and attended today's worldwide premiere.

Zhuo Wei is convinced they'll meet secretly.

Tonight is the perfect opportunity.

So they hurried to the parking lot and drove to the hotel where Pacific Rim 2's crew was holding a banquet.

In the hotel banquet hall, Jiang Heng, Han Sanping, Zhang Yimou, Yu Dong, Zhou Lixian, Feng Xiaogang, Jiang Wen, Jia Zhangke, Hong Jinbao, Zhou Xingxing, Yuan De, Yuan Hua and others sat at one table.

When they talked about the just‑watched Pacific Rim 2, the praise was unanimous.

Hong Jinbao mentioned the monster blockbuster King Kong, which had just opened in Xianggang but not yet in Neidi, saying, "It's indeed spectacular, but compared with Director Jiang's blockbusters, it's hardly worth mentioning!"

Jiang Heng chuckled lightly and offered no comment.

He thought King Kong was actually decent, having earned $218 million in Beimei and $556 million worldwide.

In the Neidi market, it also grossed over a hundred million yuan.

In Jiang Heng's view, the modest performance stemmed from three reasons: first, poor promotion; second, the Neidi theatrical release lagged Xianggang and Beimei by more than half a month, allowing pirated DVDs to appear early; third, Chinese audiences never quite felt immersed in such films.

Nevertheless, at the Pacific Rim 2 premiere banquet, they could not praise the rival's film.

Because it is Pacific 2's biggest competitor in the global market.

King Kong opened eight days before Pacific Rim 2, so box‑office results would still affect each other.

There's also the strong‑rated The Chronicles of Narnia, a fantasy‑sci‑fi film that grossed over $700 million worldwide.

But it premiered half a month before Pacific 2, so its impact was less significant.

In Neidi, there is a myth‑romance blockbuster that competes head‑to‑head with Pacific Rim 2, the film that opened a day earlier, Love‑Insane Great Sage.

The film was written and directed by the 're‑hash' master Liu Zhenwei, co‑produced by Ying Huang, Hua Yi and Western Film Group.

The distributor calls Love‑Insane Great Sage a sister piece to A Chinese Odyssey, telling a deeply moving love story that provides a perfect conclusion to A Chinese Odyssey.

As for releasing a day earlier, one reason was a 'sting' marketing tactic; the other was media hype, believing the current Chinese‑language market in Neidi could accommodate two blockbusters simultaneously.

Ying Huang, Hua Yi and others thought the two films were of different genres and finally set the strategy to release Pacific 2 a day later.

Yet, uncertain about Pacific 2's quality, they remained uneasy and ordered someone to buy premiere tickets at a high price to attend and observe.

Two people sent by Hua Yi to watch the film each reported the plot and their viewing impressions of Pacific 2.

"It's pretty hot‑blooded, the fight scenes are ultra‑cool, especially the Storm Crimson Red in the film—those toys will definitely sell like crazy."

"The story isn't complex, just a lot of fighting, but it's still clear enough to see who's fighting whom…!"

Wang Zhonglei frowned as he listened; he had expected to hear negative feedback on Pacific 2, but both of these guys were praising it, which only boosted others' morale and dimmed his own prestige!

"So there are no flaws?"

The two sent men glanced at each other, and one immediately said, "It lacks a romance. The male lead Huang Xiaoming and female lead Liu Yifei played Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu in The Return of the Condor Heroes; many viewers came hoping to see them continue their on‑screen romance, but throughout the film they're merely comrades, with no love!"

The other hurried, "Yes, audiences will be disappointed; we can get the media to write pieces about this!"

Wang Zhonglei nodded; that's right—knowing the enemy ensures invincibility.

He still wondered what Jiang Heng thought—how could a film have no romance?

Fine, that's just his way; he never treats love as a selling point.

The problem is, when audiences see Huang Xiaoming and Liu Yifei co‑starring, denying them any interaction will surely disappoint them.

He thought for a moment and asked, "What about Megan?"

"Same thing—no romance. The foreign actor playing the second male lead is quite handsome, but there's none either. I really don't know what Jiang Heng is thinking; maybe the first and second female leads are his people, and he doesn't want to film their love scenes!"

"Very possible, he's just too blessed with beauty!"

Wang Zhonglei felt a bit displeased hearing them.

Although he found Jiang Heng somewhat off‑putting, he thought they were of the same kind and tier.

"You two interns, you dare criticize the big boss?"

"Alright, get out now!"

Wang Zhonglei waved his hand and ushered the two out.

He walked a few steps, made a brief call, and reported his staff's assessment of Pacific Rim 2.

"No problem, we're targeting Christmas; which teen doesn't yearn for love, especially with a sequel to A Chinese Odyssey? We can't lose to a monster movie."

Wang Zhonglei was taken aback, thinking, "You're a bit overconfident, aren't you?"

However, Hua Yi's investment share isn't large, so they won't overestimate the box office.

He only said, "Fine, I'll stick to our planned promotion!"

He then mentioned the hotel banquet hall.

Huang Xiaoming, Tom Hiddleston, Liu Yifei, Megan, Jing Tian, Tang Yan, Gao Yuanyuan and other cast and crew sat together; the first two looked at the table of beauties, being both gentlemanly and cautious.

Especially Huang Xiaoming, who couldn't tell which one was Jiang Heng's official girlfriend, yet felt each seemed somewhat similar.

There are countless beauties in the entertainment world; he'd never offend a big boss over a woman, so he merely watched the girls silently 'battle' behind the scenes.

Megan's Chinese was limited, so she couldn't catch any hidden meanings in the other girls' words, but she excitedly said Pacific Rim 2 would hold separate premieres in Tokyo, Seoul and Hollywood, and she would accompany Jiang Heng to all of them.

(End of chapter)