Chapter 294

"Even if Zhang Wuji had the greatest reason in the world, he should never have abandoned our wedding on the spot and left with Zhao Min! This insult cuts deeper than a thousand blades and ten thousand arrows piercing my heart! If I, Zhou Zhiruo, do not avenge this humiliation today, may this pearl be crushed as I swear to sever all ties with Zhang Wuji!"

On television, Zhou Zhiruo clenched her hand tightly, crushing the pearl into fragments on the spot, vowing to cut all ties with Zhang Wuji.

Since its premiere earlier this year, "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" has swept across the nation, especially with Gao Yuanyuan’s Zhou Zhiruo and Jia Jingwen’s Zhao Min, who quickly became the public’s recognized goddesses of ancient costume drama.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen was holding his "Zhou Zhiruo" in his arms: "Tsk tsk, our heroine Zhou Zhiruo is so pitiful—let Chen-ge give you a good comfort~"

Gao Yuanyuan rolled her eyes and gave Wu Yuchen a light sniff: "Hmph, lecher! Watch my Nine Yin White Bone Claw~"

Wu Yuchen immediately let out a strange laugh: "Jie jie jie! I’ve long heard of the fair Lady Zhou’s fame—today, I’ll use my unique technique, the Wu Chen Thirty-Six Dispersed Hands, learned from the Eighteen Touches, to face you off!"

Soon, the two were entangled in combat, but clearly, the Nine Yin White Bone Claw could not match Wu Yuchen’s unique technique; before long, the "Zhou Zhiruo" heroine was panting heavily, begging for mercy.

After a while, the heroine Zhou Zhiruo was defeated, collapsing against Wu Yuchen’s chest, catching her breath.

Wu Yuchen gently patted Gao Yuanyuan’s rounded buttocks: "Yuanyuan, when are you joining the cast of 'Kung Fu Hustle'?"

"Not decided yet. With this SARS outbreak, no one knows when it’ll end. I doubt the production team can give a timeline anytime soon," Gao Yuanyuan said, wiggling her tiny feet.

That’s right—Wu Yuchen had arranged for Gao Yuanyuan to join "Kung Fu Hustle." Given their prior collaboration on "Shaolin Soccer," it was only natural that Zhou Xingxing’s "Kung Fu Hustle" would continue partnering with Little White Bear. A financier father securing a leading role? Isn’t that only natural?

Moreover, the mute girl role demands purity. If purity is the criterion, Gao Yuanyuan is no less pure than Huang Shengyi—and she already has far greater name recognition than a newcomer. Zhou Xingxing could only raise his thumb in approval; how could he refuse?

But since "Kung Fu Hustle" is being filmed in Shanghai, with the Pig Cage Courtyard modeled after Longchang Apartment in Yangpu, the SARS outbreak has made filming impossible, forcing endless delays with no end in sight.

At this moment, Gao Yuanyuan asked Wu Yuchen: "Chen-ge, I heard Zhou Xingxing has a terrible temper and is hard to get along with—is that true?"

Wu Yuchen smiled: "Don’t worry—he may be hard to get along with, but he won’t dare to bully you~"

On screen, Zhou Xingxing is an extremely comedic figure, but in real life, he is widely known as difficult to work with and has few friends. Even his golden partner Wu Mengda is rumored to have fallen out with him after "Shaolin Soccer," and they’ve never collaborated since.

But Zhou Xingxing can offend people—he will never offend money. In this regard, he outperforms the vast majority.

Moreover, the roles Wu Yuchen arranges for the women around him are never forced or gimmicky; they’re always well-matched to the characters themselves.

For example, in another film, "New Police Story," Wu Yuchen also secured a role for Fan Bingbing: the female robber Zhou Su, who is Ah Zu’s girlfriend.

These past few years, Cheng Long has been losing momentum in Hollywood and is now considering a return to the Chinese-language film industry. "New Police Story" is the film he’s preparing to mark his comeback. Although this movie doesn’t have Little White Bear’s investment, when Wu Yuchen asks for a small role, Cheng Long will naturally give face—he’s always been the master of social grace.

Though Zhou Su’s role isn’t large, it’s quite memorable—most viewers who’ve seen the film won’t forget it. And Fan Bingbing is even more beautiful than the original actress, adding significant value.

Over these past few years, Wu Yuchen has brought great honor to mainland cinema, but Hong Kong films still dominate the overall market, largely crushing most mainland productions. The reasons? On one hand, audiences have a filter of admiration for Hong Kong stars; on the other, many mainland directors simply don’t know how to make commercial films—they immediately default to artistic cinema.

In these two films, "Kung Fu Hustle" features Zhou Xingxing, and "New Police Story" features Cheng Long—both are the most marketable forces in the industry, and both films are of high quality. These are already the best resources Wu Yuchen could pick and choose for the women around him.

As for Wu Yuchen himself, he simply can’t be everywhere—he’s currently pouring much of his energy into Hollywood films, leaving little opportunity to distribute Chinese-language projects to others.

…

In a conference room, a red banner hung at the front, bearing white characters: "Commemoration and Symposium on 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'."

In the room sat several representatives from the production team, led by Wu Yuchen; most others were not strictly insiders of the industry.

The speaker this time was not Han Sanping—he could only sit as an observer, quietly listening, because the speaker was his superior’s superior…

Even more astonishing to Old Han was that an even higher-ranking leader had come—completely beyond his imagination. He’d never had the chance to meet such a person before, yet here he was, in attendance.

Though billed as a symposium on "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas," the leaders gradually expanded the topic—first to Chinese cinema, then to China’s cultural exchange abroad, speaking at length.

"I believe Director Wu Yuchen put it well in his interview: China has five thousand years of cultural history, a great civilization with countless stories and cultural treasures waiting to be mined—these are inexhaustible sources for artistic creation."

"In the future, our cultural and artistic endeavors should take 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' as a model—producing outstanding works with thought, depth, power, and influence, telling our Chinese stories well and shaping our Chinese image…"

After the meeting ended, Wu Yuchen let out a deep breath. Over the past few years, he’d mostly attended cultural circles; this formal setting was entirely different. And as a film director and Oscar-winning Best Director, he’d been repeatedly asked to speak by the leaders.

On the way back, Han Sanping smiled at Wu Yuchen: "Young Brother Wu, this time, Old Brother benefited from your light~"

During the meeting, the achievements of Chinese-language cinema over the past two years had been acknowledged—just that alone filled Han Sanping with joy.

He then added enviously: "To be singled out for private conversation by that person—you’re the only one."

Wu Yuchen smiled: "He just encouraged me to keep creating, to keep pushing forward."

Han Sanping sighed inwardly—if this man had chosen a political path, with such high-level backing and support, his future would be a smooth road.

Wu Yuchen had never considered a political career—who takes the civil service exam after being reborn?

Though he could probably skip the exam if he wanted to, he had no interest—the rules, the rigid structures, the endless constraints. He lacked the capacity and the discipline for it. He’d rather continue shining in the entertainment industry, warming others with his light!

…

Due to SARS, the internet became unusually active. Many users posted complaints on film forums:

"I heard Director Wu has returned to China—what a pity! With this SARS outbreak, we can’t even watch movies!"

"Yes! He won the Oscar for Best Director—I really want to see it right away!"

"Soon, soon—the pirated copies are on the way!"

"Hey! How can you watch pirated copies? Don’t you have any conscience? Don’t you owe Director Wu his hard work?"

"Who are you fooling? I bet you’ve watched pirated movies before!"

"Big news! Big news! Turn on the movie channel right now—'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' is coming!"

"What? Is the movie being released in theaters?!"

"Damn! I checked—it’s not in theaters! It’s airing on the movie channel! This weekend!"

"Really?!"

"Of course it’s true! The movie channel is already airing the trailer! The time is confirmed!"

"Wow! So happy! Finally, I can watch it!"

"They’re airing it on TV instead of theaters? Are they giving up box office? Is Director Wu serious?"

"It’s true! I just saw it in the newspaper too—Wu Yuchen said this film was made for the Chinese people, and he didn’t want everyone to wait forever, so he decided to air it on the movie channel so everyone could see it sooner. As for box office, it’ll be released in theaters after SARS ends—it’ll perform even better then. Those interested can still go to the cinema later."

"Wow! Director Wu is so thoughtful!"

"Director Wu is a man of great virtue!"

"I love Director Wu!"

"Wu Yuchen lives forever!"

"I’m going to kowtow to Director Wu—when the movie hits theaters, I’ll definitely buy a ticket to make up for it!"

"Pfft, is that all it takes to win you over? He’s an Oscar director—does he even care about this box office? It’s only right!"

"Right my ass! Fuck off!"

"Right my ass! Fuck off!"

…

The news that "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" would air on the movie channel sparked widespread public enthusiasm. Wu Yuchen’s Oscar win was still at its peak, and everyone was eager to see what this film was like.

Now, Wu Yuchen was willing to let the entire nation watch it for free on TV—naturally, he received universal praise. The common people still have a moral scale: he brought honor to China internationally, and now he’s giving us the film for free—doesn’t that deserve praise?

On Saturday, the movie channel was on high alert. Its leadership gave a special reminder: "Stay alert! Director Wu entrusting us with 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' is a vote of confidence—don’t let any mistake happen!"

"Director, rest assured—we’ll give it 200% attention. Besides, we’ve never had any mishaps before—this time won’t be any different."

The leader nodded. The movie channel had plenty of experience broadcasting films, but this was different—so many people were waiting. Better safe than sorry—he couldn’t help repeating his warnings. He had a hunch: this broadcast of "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" would set a new viewership record for the channel!

Saturday evening, "Good Movie Night" moved its start time up by an hour—to 8 p.m. The film didn’t begin immediately. As usual, the show opened with a thirty-minute introduction to the film’s background, accolades, and context.

Honestly, many viewers already knew this information, but hearing again about its many awards still held their attention. Moreover, the guests invited this time included Huang Xiao and Shu Chang, who shared behind-the-scenes stories, adding great interest.

Half an hour later, the introduction ended—and the audience before their TVs finally waited for the long-awaited "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas."

An hour and a half later, …

"Wahhh! How could this happen?! I always thought Xixi would be saved—I just can’t accept this ending! I cried myself to death!"

"I thought Xixi entering the camp was just to let him experience the truth, to reveal the cruelty and despair of the camp from his perspective—but I never imagined he’d die!"

"Xixi was so cute, so pure—why did he get such an ending?! It shouldn’t be like this!"

"While you’re mourning Xixi, have you thought of Xiao Chun? Or the others sent to the gas chambers with them? Did they deserve to die?"

"It’s all Japan’s fault!"

"I cried with my mom, hugging her tightly!"

"My dad, my grandpa, and I cursed Japan to hell! Those damn Japanese! Huang Xiao is so cruel!"

"No matter who you were before, once you put on this striped pajama, you become the same. This film isn’t just about war—it’s a metaphor for human nature. No wonder he’s Director Wu!"

"It’s completely different from past anti-Japanese films. Even though the first 80 minutes are quiet and calm, they still draw you in. The final minutes’ heaviness, contrasted against the earlier simplicity and purity, is devastatingly powerful. Director Wu’s Oscar for Best Director is fully deserved!"

Shortly after the film ended, the internet erupted with discussion—some cried, some cursed, some praised, others wrote film analyses—all night long, the buzz was deafening.

The next day, many newspapers and media outlets published their reviews of "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas"—and the article in "The People’s Daily" drew the most attention:

"The Contemplation of a National Treasure Director Wu Yuchen: The Weight of Life, the Pain of the Nation!"