Chapter 309: A Warm Christmas

"Hey, Steven, what's the box office for *The Lord of the Rings 3*?"

Spielberg sighed: "Unstoppable! It has successfully broken 100 million in four days of release~"

"I remember *The Lord of the Rings 3* chose to be released on a Wednesday, right?" Wu Yuchen asked.

"Right, it's quite willful!"

Generally speaking, films choose to premiere on a Friday to get as good a start as possible. But *The Lord of the Rings 3* chose to be released on a Wednesday, taking 34.1 million USD on the first day of the work week, and broke 100 million in 4 days. Today is Sunday, and after this first week of 5 days, the box office will definitely be a very beautiful number.

"Now the boss of New Line is loudly declaring to the outside world that the global box office of *The Lord of the Rings 3* will aim at *Titanic*."

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this. Since *Titanic* created an unprecedented myth of 1.8 billion USD five years ago, people have been loudly wanting to challenge it every year for the past few years, but all have failed.

And this time, *The Lord of the Rings 3* is also coming fiercely. Not only is the premiere box office good, far exceeding the results of *Titanic* when it was first released, but its word-of-mouth is also quite explosive. It has already swept all kinds of film critic association awards before its release. Now everyone has reached a consensus: this year's Oscars will have no suspense; Best Picture and Best Director will definitely be *The Lord of the Rings 3*.

Both box office and word-of-mouth reached a peak at the time of release, and there was the influence accumulated by the first two parts. It's no wonder the boss of New Line is so confident.

But, no matter how fierce the start is, it's useless if it doesn't have the endurance of *Titanic*!

Wu Yuchen shook his head and said: "It's very difficult. *Titanic* can be watched by anyone in any country or region in the world without barriers. But *The Lord of the Rings* can't; many people are not interested in this kind of subject matter."

No matter how high *The Lord of the Rings* is raised, its universality and communicability still can't compare to the big ship. So don't talk about it being too cheesy in front of *Titanic* and *Avatar*. The 'Truck Driver' will only throw the box office results in your face; he understood the true meaning long ago.

Spielberg also agreed with Wu Yuchen's point of view, but he said: "*The Lord of the Rings* is already good enough. As for *Titanic*, even Cameron himself doesn't have the confidence to replicate it again."

Wu Yuchen asked Spielberg with a smile: "Steven, Peter Jackson is a hot commodity now. Haven't you contacted him to join DreamWorks? Maybe he would agree~"

Spielberg shook his head with a smile: "Forget it, Wu. Now the *Pirates of the Caribbean* series has sucked DreamWorks' funds dry. I don't have the ability to feed another big guy!"

This time, *Pirates of the Caribbean* parts two and three were filmed back-to-back, with an investment of nearly 500 million USD. According to the ratio, DreamWorks had to put up nearly 300 million USD.

And Peter Jackson, he is also a good hand at filming special effects movies. If it were him, it would definitely have to be a big special effects production. DreamWorks' foundation is still too thin; it's already a bit strenuous to raise one *Pirates of the Caribbean*. Now, they don't dare to provoke another big guy.

But then Spielberg said: "I heard that Peter Jackson has been very close to Universal recently. Universal took a liking to his special effects ability, and Peter is also very interested in some of Universal's monsters."

Hearing this, Wu Yuchen immediately knew what this was talking about. Isn't it *King Kong*? The love story between a big gorilla and a blonde beauty!

Wu Yuchen asked directly: "Is it *King Kong*?"

"Wu, as expected of you. I only just found out about this news too~"

Universal is considered half a mother's home for Spielberg; he gets news earlier than the average person.

Wu Yuchen laughed: "Hahaha, among Universal's monsters, only King Kong is most suitable for Peter Jackson to display his skills. Has it been set?"

Spielberg shook his head: "Not yet. The two sides haven't reached an agreement on treatment. Universal offered a top-level condition of 20+20, but Peter Jackson wants higher. The negotiations should be on hold now. They might continue after the final box office of *The Lord of the Rings* is released."

Wu Yuchen was stunned for a moment. This situation—why does it have a strange sense of déjà vu? Isn't this exactly the same situation as his negotiations with Warner for *Batman*?

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment and asked: "Steven, what do you think the box office of *The Lord of the Rings 3* needs to reach for Universal to agree to give Peter Jackson higher treatment?"

Spielberg pondered for a moment, then said: "A global box office of 1 billion USD. This is a threshold. Once it's done, Universal will compromise."

Hearing this, Wu Yuchen also nodded. Now, breaking 1 billion USD globally is a rare existence; it indeed has a lot of bargaining power.

Thinking of this, he thought of his own situation and wasn't in a hurry. He would talk about it after *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* was released.

"Wu, are you coming to my house for Christmas next week?" Spielberg invited Wu Yuchen.

"Steven, thank you for your invitation, but I don't want to disturb your reunion with your family~ Don't worry, my Christmas Eve won't be lonely!"

This year's Christmas slot, the children will be a bit disappointed because the magic boy they were thinking about is absent. The *Harry Potter* film, which had one part every year for the past two years, didn't arrive as scheduled because director Chris Columbus resigned from the director's position.

Simply put, he was a bit tired of filming. Filming *Harry Potter* for two consecutive years, 160 days a year, plus post-production, most of the year was spent on this. He couldn't imagine living like this for 7 consecutive years, so he just resigned.

The producers had no choice but to look for a new director, which also delayed *Harry Potter* for a year. The style of *Harry Potter 3* began to change, and there was a part of this reason too.

The children might be disappointed, but Wu Yuchen's Christmas Eve was very exciting. Jennifer Connelly, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Alba all came over to send Wu Yuchen warmth tonight, not wanting him to be lonely and cold in a distant foreign land.

What a good internationalist spirit!

And each of them had prepared several sets of outfits, such as Christmas outfits, reindeer outfits, and even specially presented a small reindeer whip to Wu Yuchen, the Santa Claus.

What a gentle, considerate, and beautiful group of people!

Thus, on this Christmas Eve, Wu Yuchen and his little Christmas reindeer sang together:

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!

Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.

We put it on the sleigh and fly toward the front.

Racing through the fields, we laugh and sing!

The horse's bells ring, making the spirit so cheerful!

Skating tonight is so happy, singing the skating song!

Hey!"

January 4th, the 14th 'China's Top Ten Outstanding Youth' award ceremony is about to be held.

The atmosphere backstage wasn't that tense. The few people waiting to go on stage to receive the award were all chatting.

"Brother Yang, I heard you were injured? Is it true or false?"

"It was indeed a bit dangerous when landing. The impact was too great, and the microphone scratched me, bleeding all over my face..."

The person speaking right now was none other than aerospace hero Yang Liwei. In October of this year, he piloted the 'Shenzhou V' spacecraft, excellently completing China's first manned space flight mission, realizing the Chinese people's dream of flying to the sky, and was therefore awarded the glorious title of 'Aerospace Hero'.

The matter of Shenzhou V ascending to the sky was quite a big deal; it could be said that the whole country was paying attention, and many people were watching the live television broadcast. However, the live television broadcast everyone saw was actually edited. At that time, Yang Liwei's face was full of blood when he first came out of the cabin. This scene definitely couldn't be broadcast, so after cleaning him up, they re-filmed the scene of him coming out of the cabin and connected it.

"Brother Yang, you are truly amazing! We are fake rockets; you are the one who truly sat on a rocket and flew to the sky!" A little giant gave a thumbs up and praised. It was none other than Yao Ming.

Yao Ming landed in the NBA last year and joined the Houston Rockets. It took him only a short year to conquer the vast American fans and achieved considerable international influence, so he was named an outstanding youth.

And on the side, a man with a dignified temperament was chatting with Wu Yuchen: "Wu Dao, it's not easy to come back. I wonder if I can invite you to do an exclusive interview here?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and refused: "Teacher Shui, let's forget about the exclusive interview. I really don't have enough time for this trip. But Teacher Shui, you have always been interviewing others. Today you won an award yourself. Isn't it logical to let your program do an exclusive interview for you?"

The man was none other than CCTV's popular host Shui Junyi. He shook his head with a smile: "Me? Let's forget it. Compared to everyone else, I don't have much to say."

Then Wu Yuchen patted Yao Ming again: "Xiao Ming, when you lead the team to Los Angeles to play against the Lakers, I'll go to the scene to cheer for you!"

Yao Ming scratched his head and revealed his signature awkward smile: "Thank you, Brother Chen. I will definitely cheer when the time comes!"

This time, Wu Yuchen and Yao Ming actually came back together because there were no direct flights from Houston to China. Yao Ming also came back from Los Angeles this time, and it just so happened that he ran into Wu Yuchen, and they chatted familiarly all the way.

Just then, a staff member came over to remind: "Teachers, it's almost time for you to go on stage, please prepare!"

Only then did everyone stop talking, each tidied their clothes again. Standing in the front row was none other than Yang Liwei in military uniform, followed closely by Wu Yuchen, then Yao Ming, Shui Junyi...

The entire award process had nothing much to say; it was just appearing one by one, shaking hands with leaders, accepting recognition and applause. The process was more serious, not as sentimental as 'Touching China'.

Speaking of 'Touching China', Wu Yuchen was also shortlisted this time. The program team even called him, but Wu Yuchen directly said he couldn't come back on February 20th.

There was no way. After the New Year, he had to go back to Hollywood to be busy with the post-production of *Pirates of the Caribbean 2*. He really didn't want to toss and turn back and forth, otherwise, he was really afraid of delaying the film's release.

In his past life, the 'Touching China' figure selected for this session was Jackie Chan. As for how Jackie Chan touched China, he promoted the influence of Chinese people and China internationally. And the influence Wu Yuchen achieved internationally last year was even better than Jackie Chan's. Therefore, if they wanted to choose him, he would definitely be superior to Jackie Chan.

It's just that now Wu Yuchen said he couldn't come, which made the program team hesitate again.

Wu Yuchen didn't take it too much to heart. To be honest, compared to official formal activities like 'China's Top Ten Outstanding Youth', 'Touching China' was more like a show organized by the program team. Sometimes the selected figures were also controversial.

He was already considered successful now, and the significance of running to 'Touching China' to brush his face wasn't that great anymore.

Feng Xiaogang had been in a good mood recently.

Ever since Wu Yuchen gave him advice before, he honestly revised the script according to Wu Yuchen's suggestions. When he sent it to the 'Big Scissors', he specifically mentioned that he had consulted Wu Dao and revised it according to Wu Dao's opinions. A few days later, *A World Without Thieves* indeed passed the review.

Then he also began various preparations for the crew. In order to film the scenes specifically for the train, they also had to contact relevant departments to get an old-fashioned carriage for them to modify for filming.

As for the actors, the female lead Li Xiaoran was the first to be set; no one could move this. Ge You was his old partner, so he must be there; Uncle Li was tailor-made for him.

The most difficult one was the male lead. According to the discussion between him and the Wang brothers, the best target was Liu Dehua, who had appeal, and his image and acting skills were all suitable. They also sincerely invited him, but Liu Dehua had been filming with the old master in the *House of Flying Daggers* crew for a while. It wasn't until *House of Flying Daggers* wrapped up a few days ago that Liu Dehua started to contact and negotiate with the *A World Without Thieves* side.

The two sides talked quite well, and the progress was very fast. In just two days, Liu Dehua basically decided to play this role. Now it was just a matter of negotiating the details of treatment and the contract.

After settling the male lead, *A World Without Thieves* was basically fine. Therefore, Feng Xiaogang was naturally happy, feeling that he could have a good New Year!

However, just at this moment, his mobile phone rang. As soon as he saw it was Wang Zhonglei's, he hurriedly answered: "Hello, President Wang, what's the matter?"

"Director Feng, it's not good, there's a problem with Liu Dehua's side!"

Feng Xiaogang frowned, and his voice couldn't help but get louder: "What's going on? Weren't we talking well before?"

"Hi! He said he wanted to try Wu Dao's new film, and our side... sigh!"

"What? Wu Dao's new film?" Feng Xiaogang was surprised.

"Oh, you don't know yet? Wu Yuchen just announced to the outside world that he is casting for a new film. The male lead needs to be a middle-aged man around 40. Liu Dehua is aiming for this role!"

Hearing this, Feng Xiaogang opened his mouth. The male lead he was about to set was hooked away by an audition opportunity from Wu Yuchen?

After hanging up the phone, Feng Xiaogang sighed deeply, and a sense of frustration arose spontaneously. Originally, he felt that he had achieved consecutive successes in the past few years and could be considered a figure in the Chinese director circle. But now, compared to Wu Yuchen...

A cold wind blew, and Feng Xiaogang couldn't help but shiver. His head immediately cleared up, and he slapped himself.

Feng Xiaogang, Feng Xiaogang, wake the fuck up!

That's Master Chen! Oscar Best Director, managing a project with a 500 million USD budget. What the fuck do you have to compare with him?

Feng Xiaogang immediately adjusted his mentality and could only secretly say to himself that he was unlucky. At the same time, he was also secretly thinking in his heart: You, Liu Dehua, can still put on airs with me, but over at Master Chen's side, you're nothing. Fail the audition early and get out! ===== CHAPTER 310 =====