Chapter 12: Premiere Ceremony

In early December, Jiang Heng again took a flight to Jingcheng.

Also accompanying him were the male lead of Hacker Empire, Wu Yan Zu, the female lead Li Meiqi, the main antagonist Yuan De, and the supporting actor Yuan Hua.

Coming this early, naturally, was for the film's promotion.

The mainland Chinese film market at the end of the 1990s still lacked a mature promotion and distribution concept.

Not to mention promotion and distribution; even commercial films had only appeared in the past two years.

In the recent past, film was an important medium for propaganda and education.

Making money from it was still somewhat disreputable, not something one could openly proclaim with righteous confidence.

Jiang Heng didn't care about those things; before coming, he had communicated with Yu Dong, wanting to widely invite media and hold a grand premiere.

Regardless of how many film-industry stars and big names could come, the invitations were definitely to be sent out on a large scale.

Not only were invitations to be sent to mainland stars, but also to artists from Xianggang.

Jiang Heng had already spoken with Hung Jinbao, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Lau Ching-wan, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Stephen Fung, inviting them to come to Jingcheng to attend the premiere celebration.

Hung Jinbao and the others naturally gave him face, promising to try to arrange time to come.

Even the busy Lau Ching-wan expressed his willingness to go.

One reason was listening to Yuen Wah and Yuen Biao's accounts, after which they became interested in Hacker Empire; more importantly, they wanted to learn how sci-fi elements could be applied in Chinese-language cinema.

The summer release of Ma Yongzhen suffered a dismal box office; one reason was that the film's elements were indeed somewhat outdated, but more importantly, it was crushed by Hollywood blockbusters.

Because two days before Ma Yongzhen's release, Nicolas Cage's Air Prison hit the Xianggang film market.

While Yuen Biao and Takeshi Kaneshiro were still fighting desperately on the ground with the Axe Gang, foreigners had already taken to the skies.

Ma Yongzhen earned only a pitiful three million, while Air Prison, released the same period, took in nearly seventeen million at the box office.

And Air Prison could have earned even more, but it ran into the even more fierce Jurassic Park 2.

Compared to its predecessor, this film not only featured many more dinosaur types, but also placed dinosaurs rampaging through American urban areas, delivering a visual impact that Ma Yongzhen could not match.

Including Lau Ching-wan, many Xianggang film professionals gradually realized that Hong Kong cinema lagged behind Hollywood in visual effects.

To salvage the Xianggang film market, the only recourse was to attempt effects-heavy blockbusters.

Tsui Hark was preparing to film Legend of Mount Shu, while Liu Weiqiang planned to bring Wind and Cloud to the big screen.

As for the already-prepared-for-release Hacker Empire, Tsui Hark, Liu Weiqiang, and others had thoughts of reference and borrowing.

Taking into account that the release in Xianggang would be delayed by over half a month, Tsui Hark, Liu Weiqiang, and others actually decided to go to Jingcheng to attend the premiere.

Seeing the guests for the premiere ceremony increasing, Hung Jinbao, who excelled at rallying crowds and creating big scenes, suggested inviting more Xianggang stars to make the momentum even greater.

Jiang Heng felt moved upon hearing this; Xianggang film people had a strong sense of 'sticking together and heading north,' and Stephen Chow's later marginalization was largely due to his going solo in that environment where everyone else banded together to go north.

Moreover, with Hung Jinbao stepping in, it was certainly possible to invite a few weighty stars.

The more artists from Xianggang that came, the easier it became to invite mainland ones.

By then, the premiere of Hacker Empire would be organized into a grand gathering of numerous stars; the media would surely publicize it extensively, making a low box office outcome difficult.

Jiang Heng immediately expressed his willingness to provide airfare and room and board for Xianggang film professionals who would travel north to attend the premiere celebration.

Hung Jinbao chuckled, 'I'll speak for you, but those willing to go certainly aren't short on that bit of money!'

After hanging up, Hung Jinbao pondered who would be suitable to invite; Jackie Chan was definitely out of the question.

This brother currently holds the title of the most influential Chinese-language film star globally, so he naturally wouldn't lightly lend his support to others.

Chow Yun-fat and Jet Li had gone to Hollywood, while Stephen Chow was too solitary.

As for Andy Lau, we could just ask him!

Hung Jinbao made a round of calls and indeed found a Hong Kong star with sufficient clout willing to go: Nicholas Tse, nicknamed the 'Fifth Heavenly King'.

Affected by the negative public opinion that Wayward Youth corrupted youth, Nicholas Tse had been listless and slack at work over the past year; besides, his career drive wasn't strong, and he liked to play, so he ultimately agreed to bring his girlfriend Shu Meiqi along.

Jiang Heng received the definite news, thanked Hung Jinbao over the phone, and then informed Yu Dong, who was in charge of preparing the ceremony.

"This, so many people?"

Yu Dong, as the former head of the distribution department at the Beijing Film Factory, was very familiar with the stature and influence of Xianggang directors and stars.

He had originally thought only the cast and crew of Hacker Empire would come, at most a few close friends from the industry.

He hadn't expected that even someone like Nicholas Tse, the 'Hot Fried Chicken,' Hung Jinbao, the 'Big Brother,' and a major director like Tsui Hark could be invited.

Pacing back and forth inside the room, he suppressed his excitement and said, 'With these people coming, the nation's major entertainment media will surely come to interview, and domestic stars will be even easier to invite!'

Jiang Heng also felt some surprise and delight: 'Yeah, a gathering of numerous stars—hasn't the Chinese-language entertainment world seen such a grand event in a long time?'

"What do you mean 'a long time'? It's never happened before! With so many Xianggang and mainland artists, it truly is fitting to call it a Chinese-language entertainment gathering!"

Yu Dong excitedly for a while, then immediately ordered staff to continue contacting mainland major entertainment media to inform them of the participation situation of Xianggang artists.

Afterward, he also sought ways to contact numerous domestic stars, inviting as many as possible to attend the premiere.

The first reaction of the mainland stars who received the call was bewildered: 'What is a premiere?'

After all, this thing didn't exist in the mainland, nor had it been heard of in Xianggang!

Over there, midnight preview screenings were still in vogue!

Not having heard of it doesn't matter; the literal meaning is understandable, especially since the distributor's staff could explain it.

After clarifying what it was, naturally many mainland stars agreed to come, the most enthusiastic being Jiang Wen.

At the beginning of the year, Jiang Wen appeared in The Soong Sisters, and later won Best Supporting Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards for that film.

He had prior contact with Xianggang, knew how Hong Kong cinema worked, and was extremely curious about this Jiang Heng who seemed to appear out of nowhere and that damned sci-fi effects blockbuster.

After clarifying the venue and time of the ceremony, he hurried over early.

On December 12, Jiang Wen drove to the CPPCC Hall in Jingcheng.

Upon getting out of the car, he saw various media outlets lugging 'long guns and short cannons' and continuously taking photos; despite having seen many big scenes, he was startled by the sight before him.

In our mainland film and television circle, when has such a situation ever occurred?

"Jiang Wen, Teacher Jiang Wen!"

Someone shouted, and suddenly a swarm of reporters rushed forward, cameras almost in their faces, asking Jiang Wen what he thought of Xianggang director Jiang Heng and what he thought of that so-called The Matrix.

Jiang Wen thought, I haven't even seen the person or the movie yet, damn it, and you ask me what I think?

Before Jiang Wen could say a few words, someone shouted "Hung Jin Bao is here!", and the reporters swarmed and almost all ran over.

Jiang Wen glanced at the reporter beside him wearing a baseball cap and a small moustache, "Aren't you leaving?"

"Here comes trouble!" that person sighed.

Jiang Wen recognized the voice, took a closer look, hey, isn't that Ge You!

"How did you get here!!"

"Shh, keep it down, didn't you see I'm in makeup?"

"No, you're being so open about it!"

Ge You chuckled, "I'm just in disguise to scout the enemy; who asked him to challenge us? It's kept us brothers up for days without proper sleep!"

"No, why are you trying to blow up the premiere?"

"I'm not blowing up the premiere, you're like a kid blowing up a latrine? Just go to the scene and have a look; if you get in, also take a look, see what selling points their film has!"

"Deal!"

The crowd was thick and chaotic; Jiang Wen didn't say more and strode into the hall.

Looking around, there were still plenty of people—from the mainland, from Xianggang, many big names in the film world.

After exchanging greetings with acquaintances, Jiang Wen approached Jiang Heng.

"Hello, I'm Jiang Wen!"

"Director Jiang, hello—I've long heard your great name, it's like thunder in my ears!"

Jiang Wen smiled, "I believe it won't be long before I can return the compliment to you!"

"Ah, haha, senior, you overpraise me!"

"This ceremony is well done; when my film releases, I'll do something similar—you gotta help me plan it!"

Jiang Heng smiled, "No problem, I've got it covered!"

After chatting a bit, Jiang Wen found a seat.

Soon, everyone in the hall had taken their seats.

The ceremony host appeared—it was the host from CCTV-6 Movie Channel.

As the first domestic blockbuster premiere ceremony, the gathering attracted many directors, stars, and media reporters from Xianggang and the mainland; the movie channel naturally went to cover it and ended up hosting.

Because there was no precedent, nobody knew how to proceed.

After thinking it over, Jiang Heng decided to first show the audience a striking effects clip from The Matrix, then have the main creators come on stage for media interviews, then show another clip, and finally give closing remarks.

After the host finished the opening remarks, the hall lights dimmed and a beam of light shone onto the screen.

We saw Wu Yan Zu as Neo and Li Meiqi as Trinity, dressed coolly, appearing in a vast white space.

Then a series of train-like objects rolled in, putting Neo and Trinity in a "formation"; the audience realized they were actually gun-filled racks.

"Is this the effects-shot footage?"

"The scene looks pretty good!"

"Eh, it's just so-so."

People began whispering, then they saw Wu Yan Zu's Neo burst into the building with a big bundle of guns, starting all kinds of gunfights.

The clip being played was carefully edited by Jiang Heng, with no Smith interrogating Morpheus scene.

After all, it's just to let everyone see The Matrix's effects; we don't need to worry about story completeness.

Audiences watched the bullets flying wildly on the big screen and felt it was somewhat similar to John Woo's action films.

"To be able to shoot at this level, that Director Jiang must have something!"

"Already quite impressive!"

"If it's just an upgraded John Woo, there's not much to see!"

As they were discussing, the playback reached Neo dodging bullets; seeing the bullets hang in midair, tracing several translucent trajectories, the on‑site audience were all astonished.

Even Hung Jin Bao and Yuan Biao, who had already seen it, still felt shocked.

For commercial films, what matters is visual impact.

Like Cheng Long's action movies, they rely not only on flashy moves but also on daring jumps and falls to stimulate the audience's visual nerves.

After over a decade, once audiences grew tired of them, Cheng Long's action films gradually lost box‑office power.

When effects‑heavy blockbusters and 3D films first appeared, audiences were stunned.

But by around 2020, the Chinese public's enthusiasm for effects blockbusters and 3D films had largely waned.

Ultimately, it's because they've seen too much and suffered visual fatigue.

But in 1997, when effects production was still rather crude, the "bullet time" effect shot came out and directly stunned everyone present in the film industry.

Seated in the front row, Zheng Yijian murmured, "When it comes to Fengyun, will we be able to shoot it this cool?"

Shao Meiqing said, "Let the director ask Director Jiang—after all, we're all Xianggang folks, no box‑office rivalry, we help each other!"

Director Liu Weiqiang not far off looked a bit puzzled, "Has Hollywood's effects production already reached this level?"

He has no trouble with scriptwriting or directing; it's just that effects are still a learning stage for him.

On the contrary, Xu Ke is obsessed with technology; his first reaction to seeing this shot was, "How can I make a shot like this?"

Perhaps because of this mindset, his *The Legend of the Swordsmen of Shu Mountain* effects became the pinnacle of Chinese effects cinema, while the plot ended up rather fragmented.

Jiang Wen, seeing the bullet‑time effect, instantly let out a curse.

He then muttered, "Damn, how are we supposed to fight this?"

Although he hadn't seen the finished *Party A and Party B*, based on his knowledge of Feng Xiaogang and Ge You and having heard the plot outline, he could still guess the final effect.

If it weren't for *The Matrix*, grabbing some box office in the New Year's slot wouldn't be a big problem.

But the special effects of The Matrix right before our eyes are not inferior to, and even surpass, those of earlier Haolaiwu films; I've heard the plot is also great, and with it releasing in the same window, how could Party A and Party B possibly win?

The first test screening segment shows Neo piloting a helicopter, using a machine gun to shatter the building's glass, and rescuing Morpheus, ending there.

The people in the lobby all felt a sense of wanting more, whereas the media reporters were overflowing with excitement.

In their view, The Matrix is likely to become the first successful special-effects blockbuster in Chinese-language film history, a sci-fi masterpiece.

For such a film, there is too much to report on.

"Director Jiang, hello. May I ask what kind of story this film tells?"

"Well, it's about a future world where artificial intelligence develops to a certain point, eventually ruling humanity, imprisoning humans in a virtual world, and humanity constantly resisting."

"Holy shit!"

Someone remarked, "What a huge imagination!"

"How did they come up with this?!"

"And artificial intelligence—out of all these people here, how many actually know what AI is?"

"Director Jiang, where did you find the male and female leads? Are they all newcomers? Why did you choose unknown newcomers?"

"Director Jiang, aren't you afraid the newcomer actors can't carry the load?"

"Director Jiang, what do you think the domestic box office will be for this film?"

"As the first domestic sci-fi film and special-effects blockbuster, will The Matrix be released worldwide?"

(End of chapter)