Chapter 309

"Hey, Steven, how much has 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' grossed?"

Spielberg sighed, "Unstoppable! It’s broken a billion in just four days of release."

"I remember 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' opened on a Wednesday, right?" Wu Yuchen asked.

"Yeah, it’s pretty reckless!"

Usually, films choose Friday for their premiere to maximize a strong opening, but 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' opened on a Wednesday and still earned $34.1 million on its first day, breaking a billion in four days—by the end of today, Sunday, this week’s five-day box office will be an impressive number.

"New Line’s CEO is now publicly declaring that 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' will aim for 'Titanic's' global box office."

Wu Yuchen smiled at this; since 'Titanic' shattered the record with $1.8 billion five years ago, every year someone has loudly tried to challenge it—and all have failed.

This time, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' is coming strong—not only did its opening weekend outpace 'Titanic's' initial numbers, but its critical reception has been explosive, sweeping every major critics’ association award even before release; everyone now agrees the Oscars this year are a foregone conclusion: Best Picture and Best Director will both go to 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.'

With both box office and word-of-mouth peaking at release, plus the accumulated influence of the first two films, it’s no wonder New Line’s CEO is so confident.

But no matter how strong the start, without 'Titanic's' staying power, it’s useless!

Wu Yuchen shook his head. "It’s hard. 'Titanic' can be watched by anyone, anywhere in the world, without barriers. But 'The Lord of the Rings' can’t—many people just aren’t interested in this genre."

No matter how high 'The Lord of the Rings' is praised, its universality and reach still can’t match 'Titanic.' Don’t talk about 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' being clichéd—truck drivers will just slap your box office figures in your face; they already understand the truth.

Spielberg agreed with Wu Yuchen’s view, but said, "'The Lord of the Rings' is already great enough. As for 'Titanic,' even Cameron himself has no confidence he could replicate it."

Wu Yuchen smiled and asked Spielberg, "Steven, Peter Jackson is a hot commodity now—haven’t you reached out to get him to join DreamWorks? He might say yes~"

Spielberg shook his head with a laugh. "Come on, Wu, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' has already drained DreamWorks’ budget—I can’t afford to feed another giant!"

This time, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Parts Two and Three were shot back-to-back with a budget nearing $500 million; DreamWorks’ share is nearly $300 million.

Peter Jackson is also a master of visual effects films—he’d demand a big-budget spectacle. DreamWorks’ resources are still too thin; even supporting one 'Pirates' is a strain, so they dare not touch another giant now.

But then Spielberg added, "I heard Peter Jackson has been getting close to Universal. They’re impressed by his VFX skills, and he’s interested in some of their monsters."

Wu Yuchen immediately knew what he meant—wasn’t it 'King Kong'? A love story between a giant ape and a blonde woman!

Wu Yuchen asked directly, "Is it 'King Kong'?"

"Wu, no surprise—you’re always the first to know! I just heard this myself."

Universal is Spielberg’s semi-extended family—he got the news earlier than most.

Wu Yuchen laughed. "Hahaha, among Universal’s monsters, only King Kong suits Peter Jackson perfectly—has it been settled?"

Spielberg shook his head. "Not yet. They haven’t agreed on terms. Universal offered a top-tier $20 million plus $20 million backend, but Peter wants more—negotiations are likely on hold until 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King's' final box office is clear, then they’ll resume."

Wu Yuchen paused, struck by a strange sense of déjà vu—this was exactly like his own negotiations with Warner Bros. over 'Batman.'

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment and asked, "Steven, how much box office does 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' need to hit before Universal agrees to give Peter Jackson better terms?"

Spielberg paused, then said, "Ten billion dollars globally—that’s the threshold. Once reached, Universal will compromise."

Wu Yuchen nodded; globally breaking ten billion was still a rarity—definitely gave him strong bargaining power.

Thinking of this, he thought of his own situation—he wasn’t in a hurry; he’d wait until 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' released.

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

"Steven, thanks for the invite, but I don’t want to interrupt your family time—don’t worry, my Christmas Eve won’t be lonely!"

…

This year’s Christmas season, kids would be disappointed—their beloved magic boy was absent. The annual 'Harry Potter' films, released every year for the past two, didn’t arrive this year because director Chris Columbus stepped down.

Simply put, he was tired—he’d spent two straight years shooting 'Harry Potter,' 160 days per year, plus post-production; he couldn’t imagine doing this for seven more years, so he quit.

With no choice, the producers had to find a new director, delaying 'Harry Potter 3' by a year. The film’s stylistic shift also stemmed partly from this.

Kids might be disappointed, but Wu Yuchen’s Christmas Eve was anything but dull—Jennifer Connelly, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Alba all came over tonight to keep him company, so he wouldn’t feel lonely in this distant foreign land.

What wonderful internationalist spirit!

And each of them brought multiple outfits—Christmas costumes, reindeer suits—and even presented Wu Yuchen, their Santa, with a little reindeer whip.

What a gentle, thoughtful, and beautiful group!

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

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

"We have so much fun sledding, sitting on our sleigh!"

"We hitch it to the sleigh and race ahead!"

"Across the fields we ride, laughing and singing!"

"The bells on the horses ring, lifting our spirits high!"

"Tonight sledding’s so fun, let’s sing the sleighing song!"

"Hey!"

…

January 4th, the 14th Annual "Top Ten Outstanding Youth of China" award ceremony was about to begin.

Backstage, the atmosphere wasn’t tense—the nominees were still chatting.

"Yang, I heard you got injured? Is that true?"

"Yeah, landing was risky—the impact was too strong, the microphone cut my face—I was bleeding all over…"

The man speaking was astronaut hero Yang Liwei, who in October this year piloted Shenzhou 5, successfully completing China’s first manned spaceflight and fulfilling the Chinese dream of spaceflight, earning him the title "Hero Astronaut."

The Shenzhou 5 launch was a national sensation—everyone watched the live broadcast. But what viewers saw was edited; Yang’s face was covered in blood when he first exited the capsule, so they couldn’t air that—instead, they cleaned him up and re-shot the exit scene.

"Yang, you’re amazing! We’re just fake rockets—you actually rode a real rocket into space!" A giant of a man gave a thumbs-up—it was Yao Ming.

Yao Ming joined the NBA last year, signing with the Houston Rockets, and within just over a year, won over millions of American fans, gaining significant international influence—and was named Outstanding Youth.

Beside them, a composed man chatted with Wu Yuchen: "Director Wu, it’s hard to come back—could I invite you for an exclusive interview?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and declined: "Water, an interview’s not necessary—I don’t have time. But Water, you’ve interviewed so many others—today you’re getting an award, why not let your show do an interview on you?"

The man was none other than CCTV’s popular host Shui Junyi, who shook his head with a smile: "Me? No thanks—I’ve got nothing to say compared to you all."

Wu Yuchen then patted Yao Ming on the shoulder: "Xiaoming, when you take your team to LA to play the Lakers, I’ll come cheer for you in person!"

Yao Ming scratched his head, flashing his signature awkward grin: "Thanks, Chen Ge, I’ll definitely give it my all!"

Wu Yuchen and Yao Ming actually returned together—Houston had no direct flights to China, so Yao Ming came from LA and happened to meet Wu Yuchen along the way; they’d grown quite close during the trip.

At that moment, staff came over: "Ladies and gentlemen, you’re up soon—please get ready!"

Everyone fell silent, straightened their clothes; at the front stood Yang Liwei in military uniform, right behind him Wu Yuchen, then Yao Ming, Shui Junyi…

The award ceremony itself was unremarkable—each nominee stepped forward, shook hands with officials, received honors and applause; the tone was formal, not as emotional as 'Moving China.'

Speaking of 'Moving China,' Wu Yuchen was also nominated—the show’s team called him, but he replied he couldn’t return by February 20th.

He couldn’t—he had to go back to Hollywood for post-production on 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' after the New Year, and didn’t want to keep flying back and forth; he feared it would delay the film’s release.

In his past life, this year’s 'Moving China' honoree was Cheng Long. Why was Cheng Long moving? Because he boosted the global image of Chinese people. Wu Yuchen’s international influence last year surpassed Cheng Long’s—so if they were choosing, he’d be the obvious pick.

But now Wu Yuchen said he couldn’t come, leaving the show’s team in doubt.

Wu Yuchen didn’t care much—truthfully, compared to the official 'Top Ten Outstanding Youth,' 'Moving China' felt more like a TV show, sometimes picking controversial figures.

He was already accomplished; flashing his face on 'Moving China' held little meaning now.

…

Feng Xiaogang had been in good spirits lately.

After Wu Yuchen gave him advice, he faithfully revised his script, and when submitting it to the censors, specifically mentioned he’d consulted Director Wu and followed his suggestions; days later, 'No Thieves' was approved.

He then began preparing the production—specifically for the train scenes, they had to contact authorities to secure an old-style carriage for modification and filming.

For cast, Li Xiaoran was the first confirmed for the female lead—no one could replace her. Ge You was his longtime collaborator, a must-have; Li Shu was written specifically for him.

The hardest part was the male lead. According to the Wang brothers’ suggestion, the ideal choice was Liu Dehua—charismatic, perfect image and acting skills. They’d sincerely invited him, but Liu had been filming 'House of Flying Daggers' with Zhang Yimou until just days ago, when 'House of Flying Daggers' wrapped, he finally began talks with 'No Thieves.'

The talks went well, progress was fast—in just two days, Liu Dehua had basically agreed to take the role; now only contract details remained.

With the male lead settled, 'No Thieves' was essentially cleared—Feng Xiaogang was naturally happy, feeling he’d have a great New Year!

Then his phone rang—he saw it was Wang Zhonglei and answered immediately: "Hello, Boss Wang, what’s up?"

"Director Feng, bad news—Liu Dehua’s backing out!"

Feng Xiaogang frowned, his voice rising: "What? Weren’t things going well?"

"Ah! He says he wants to audition for Director Wu’s new film—our side… sigh!"

"What? Director Wu’s new film?" Feng Xiaogang exclaimed.

"Oh, you didn’t know? Wu Yuchen just announced he’s casting his new film—the male lead is a man in his forties, and Liu Dehua is going for that role!"

Feng Xiaogang opened his mouth, stunned—his nearly secured male lead had been lured away by a single audition notice from Wu Yuchen?

After hanging up, Feng Xiaogang sighed deeply, a crushing sense of defeat rising within him. For years he’d felt he’d achieved success after success, ranking among China’s top directors—but now, compared to Wu Yuchen…

A cold wind blew, making Feng Xiaogang shiver—he snapped back to his senses and slapped himself.

Feng Xiaogang, snap out of it!

That’s Chen Ye! Oscar-winning director, handling $500 million projects—what do you think you can compare to him?

Feng Xiaogang immediately adjusted his mindset, muttering to himself that he was unlucky, while secretly thinking: You, Liu Dehua, might play hard to get with me—but with Chen Ye, you’re nothing. Better fail your audition soon!