Chapter 163: Waterloo

How much does Chen Kaige value "Wu Ji"?

Many years later, on the variety show "Actors, Take Your Positions", guest Li Chengru said that, influenced by critics, he had never seen "Wu Ji".

He also emphasized that good works will be watched repeatedly. For example, he has seen Chen Kaige's "Farewell My Concubine" many times, likes it a lot, and considers the work great.

Chen Kaige retorted on the spot, "Teacher Li Chengru is rather conservative, coming from a Peking‑opera family, a closed world, thus relatively conservative. He doesn't care much about the world's progress! He lives immersed in past eras, a veteran artist feeling the sunset of bygone times."

His words were quite sharp!

And before the film's release, a few words terrified the newly debuted Liu Yan.

The next day, at the film's press conference, he publicly accused Liu Yan of disrespecting others, frightening Liu Yan into having nightmares for a month, fearing that offending the great director would get them fired by the company.

Not only could the host not ask recklessly, but even longtime friend, the screenwriter Lu Wei of "Farewell My Concubine" and "To Live", after watching "Wu Ji", was seething, thinking the film's theme was frivolous, the plot chaotic and disordered, a big failure.

After Lu Wei shared these views with Chen Kaige, Chen Kaige had no further contact with him.

Chen Kaige's stance was that one must not say his "Wu Ji" is bad.

If you think the film is bad, that's your problem; you didn't understand it.

However, he has always claimed to be a master, and with so many guests and stars present, he didn't want to lose his composure.

Of course, mainly because Jiang Heng's status and fame were not inferior to his, and with Chen Hong, Han Sanping and others interjecting to smooth things over, he finally said angrily, "Then I wish Director Jiang an early award?"

Han Sanping comforted Chen Kaige with a few words, went after Jiang Heng, and caught up with him in the lobby.

Han Sanping heard that, his complexion grew even worse, feeling that Jiang Heng's words would be very sharp.

The two changed to a tea house, booked a private room, and after tea Han Sanping sighed, "Why has this matter escalated to this point today?"

"Does Director Han think I'm deliberately ruining the event?"

Jiang Heng finished speaking, got up and left his seat.

"No, no, definitely not!"

Han Sanping instantly felt uncertain, wanting to hear an objective perspective.

Jiang Heng laughed heartily, "In the past, that's true, but this time going to Haolaiwu, I want to make a splash at the Oscars!"

Chen Kaige, however, insisted on judging good or bad, saying it's like refusing to take the step down and forcing a jump!

Moreover, after today's public release, a few old colleagues from China Film, unafraid of offending anyone, quietly told him they felt the film was poorly made.

He sighed, "Let's go find a place to talk!"

"Do you really want to listen?" Jiang Heng asked with a smile.

Hearing that, Chen Kaige truly wanted to say, "Can a mere Oscar commercial award be compared with Cannes' Golden Palm?"

But later he added that no one could understand "Wu Ji" within ten years; it's simply a paradox.

"I also wish Director Chen a blockbuster box office and explosive word‑of‑mouth!"

At the premiere banquet, seeing Jiang Heng speak so bluntly, Chen Kaige burned with anger, sneering, "Director Jiang comes from Xianggang's commercial directing background, always values box office, never considers artistry when making films, doesn't care about awards; it's normal if people don't understand."

The other guests, seeing this, also made excuses to leave.

But as one of the heads of China Film and a producer of "Wu Ji", he was eager to know the film's box office.

Especially the main creators, who certainly didn't want to offend Chen Kaige, let alone Jiang Heng.

Han Sanping naturally saw that Jiang Heng had already given a lot of face; when Chen Kaige asked the first time, Jiang Heng was evasive but had already expressed his stance.

"Probably won't exceed 150 million!"

"Hiss!"

Han Sanping, hearing that, inhaled a cold gasp, wanting an instant heart‑saving pill.

A 150 million Neidi box office translates to about 50 million in net revenue.

The film's investment was under 300 million, publicly claimed as 350 million; if the Neidi box office is only a little over 50 million, it would be a huge loss.

Previously, collaborating with Jiang Heng on films earned so much; now it loses that much at once.

"Could the box office really be that low?" Han Sanping persisted.

Jiang Heng sighed, "It should be only a little short, not much."

In the previous life, the first domestic blockbuster watched by Neidi audiences was "Hero", the second was "Wu Ji".

Just for that, plus the dazzling, gorgeous special‑effects shots, it secured a 175 million Neidi box office.

In this life, with several of Jiang Heng's special‑effects blockbusters as a base, "Wu Ji's" impact on audiences will inevitably diminish greatly.

If word‑of‑mouth collapses again, the box office will likely be even worse.

Han Sanping truly couldn't believe it, saying, "There will be a miracle, right?"

Jiang Heng smiled, calmly saying, "Maybe."

He immediately called the driver to take him to the hotel.

Early the next morning, he boarded a plane to London to continue filming.

Jiang Heng waved his sleeve, taking no clouds with him.

But what happened at the "Wu Ji" premiere banquet had already spread through the entertainment circle.

Some guests at the premiere, previously afraid of offending Chen Kaige, dared not speak recklessly.

Now that Jiang Heng was leading the charge, they cared less; telling friends, the film's word‑of‑mouth in the entertainment circle collapsed first.

Chen Kaige naturally heard about it, his anger soaring but helpless, only hoping the audience would understand and support him.

He didn't expect that after the film's release, word‑of‑mouth would avalanche, with a flood of negative reviews on Douban Movies.

Various forums' comments on the film were also mostly negative.

Worse still, the box office: 22 million on day one, dropping to 18 million on day two, 15 million on day three, and only 10 million on day four.

Looking at this trend, reaching a hundred‑million box office seems difficult.

At that moment, the dialogue between Chen Kaige and Jiang Heng at the banquet was posted online in full, instantly causing a huge uproar.

Some said that although Director Jiang hasn't won major awards, his vision is truly outstanding, and what's even rarer is that he doesn't blurt nonsense to lure audiences into the theater.

Some say, we're all famous directors—who's afraid of whom!

Even if your awards are glorious, do you have my several billion dollars of global box office draw?

Some also say that Director Jiang's trip to Haolaiwu this time is to film a movie capable of winning a big award; it's definitely not going to be lacking.

"When it comes to blockbusters, it's gotta be Director Jiang!"

"Don't even mention Director Chen; Director Zhang is somewhat lacking!"

"The film 'Hero' really isn't great; I'm looking forward to Director Jiang's new film!"

"Director Jiang, stop making sci-fi; go for mythology instead—I love mythology!"

"Mecha is fine too; let's film Pacific Rim 2!"

However, the much-discussed Jiang Heng on the We need to output lines: English internet is currently filming the most complex 'zero-gravity fight' scene in the movie at a renovated aircraft hangar in north London.

The crew specially built a hotel corridor capable of 360-degree all-around rotation to complete the relevant shots.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays Arthur, spent several weeks training and personally performed all the actions required by the script.

After that, they went to the University of London for location shooting, then the crew rushed to Paris to film the relatively shocking street-side explosion scene and the classic shot of the folding city.

(End of chapter)