Chapter 314: Prediction

During the Spring Festival, Wu Yuchen lived in peace, but a major case shocked the industry.

At 2 a.m. on February 3, actor Wu Ruofu and his friends left a bar in Jingcheng when several unfamiliar men suddenly appeared. They claimed to be police, handcuffed Wu Ruofu, and in the blink of an eye, dragged him into a car and drove off. By the time his friend realized and called the police, they were already gone.

Because the victim was a celebrity and the impact was severe, the police responded swiftly, immediately forming a special task force and solving the case in just 22 hours, rescuing the man.

“Look how terrifying this is! It’s not the thief you fear—it’s the one who’s been watching you! Chenchen, you must be more careful from now on; if you need a bodyguard, hire one. Last time we went to Meilijian, we all know how unsafe many places there are—don’t take it lightly!”

Wu Yuchen smiled at his mother’s concern: “Mom, don’t worry—I’ve already thought about this.”

Wu Yuchen’s mother said this because it had just been revealed that the kidnappers of Wu Ruofu had been stalking him for over half a year—they had already attempted to abduct him back in July last year, but failed because their car couldn’t block his vehicle.

After that failure, they reflected deeply, learned from their mistakes, prepared thoroughly, and succeeded six months later. At the time, their target wasn’t just Wu Ruofu—they also targeted Huang Ama Zhang Tielin.

Because Zhang Tielin had been embroiled in the “Two Wives Sue Zhang Tielin” case, the kidnappers viewed him as despicable, and since the lawsuit exposed much of his personal information, they turned their attention to him too.

But Huang Ama was lucky—on that night, the gang never saw him come out…

Overall, this kidnapping case sent shockwaves through the entertainment circle, and many stars with means were now considering hiring bodyguards.

Wu Yuchen smiled at his mother: “Mom, I’m not worried about being kidnapped—I’m eating my tangyuan, celebrating Yuanxiao, and flying to Hollywood tomorrow. How about you and Dad? Should I hire two bodyguards for you?”

“Us? Don’t joke!” Zhou Shulan laughed, shaking her head.

“Mom, you don’t get it! If they kidnap me, who do they demand money from? But if they kidnap you two, I’ll definitely pay to get you back!”

Zhou Shulan’s eyes widened—her son’s logic sounded strangely reasonable. Then her voice rose three octaves: “So according to you, your dad and I are your weak point!”

Wu Yuchen waved his hand dismissively: “Weak point? That sounds awful. You’re my heart’s treasure!”

“Get lost, get lost! Save that mushy talk for Xiaoran!” Zhou Shulan looked disgusted.

Wu Yuchen fell silent, but his mother wasn’t done:

“I’m telling you, don’t think silence means we don’t know about you two. Xiaoran’s mom has hinted to me twice already—you grew up together, you can’t…”

Wu Yuchen swallowed the last tangyuan in his bowl and mumbled: “Mom, I’m done eating—I’m going to pack!”

“Ah, this kid…”

Zhou Shulan wanted to continue, but Wu Jianping raised his hand to stop her: “Enough. He’s grown up, built a career—let him handle this himself.”

“I’m still his mother, no matter how successful he is! And isn’t establishing a career supposed to lead to marriage? I’m counting on you to help me raise his kids! When we get old, can you even carry them anymore?” Zhou Shulan shot back at her husband.

Wu Jianping glanced at his wife: “I’m not in a rush. Isn’t life good enough now? Aren’t you tired?”

“Late fatigue or early fatigue—it’s all fatigue. Besides, I enjoy it!”

Wu Yuchen heard his mother’s words from inside the room—he knew she was speaking just for him. But he was still under 27—why have a child now? That would tie up so much energy. Let’s wait until after 30.

…

Two days later, Los Angeles, Sony Columbia.

This time, when Wu Yuchen returned to Hollywood, he didn’t go straight to Pirates of the Caribbean—he came to Spider-Man 2, where he was still listed as producer.

After the first Spider-Man film wrapped, director Sam Raimi had fully proven his ability, and Wu Yuchen trusted him completely, so he assigned Kevin Feige to represent him and Marvel as producer, handing full creative control to Sam Raimi.

Spider-Man 2 had already been filmed last year and was scheduled for release on May 7 this year. But problems emerged—some scenes of the main villain, Doctor Octopus, looked poor after editing, so by the end of last year, the crew decided to reshoot part of the footage.

The issue was that Doctor Octopus’s lair, built over eight weeks, had already been torn down. Rebuilding the set took another month, leaving Sony in a panic. Wu Yuchen was called in to discuss this.

“Wu, Sam, give us a firm answer: Can the movie be released on May 7? If not, we still have time to contact theaters and delay the release, adjust our promotion strategy!”

Wu Yuchen glanced at Sam Raimi, calm as ever: “Relax. Most of Spider-Man 2’s post-production is already done. Only the reshoots remain—within a month, everything will be finished.”

“Good, Wu. We trust your professionalism. Please, no more surprises.”

After Sony Columbia’s team left, Wu Yuchen told Sam Raimi: “Sam, if we can’t finish this in a month, we’ll both be blamed.”

“Wu, thank you! I’ll finish on time!”

Wu Yuchen rubbed his temples. He’d come here planning to dive straight into Pirates of the Caribbean 2’s post-production, but now he was tied up with Spider-Man 2—even after handing it to Sam Raimi, he’d need to stay on set for two or three days.

Doctor Octopus’s scenes used practical effects—the metal tentacles and gear seen in the film were physically built, mainly a rubber spine and four rubber mechanical arms, whose claws were called “Death Blossoms,” requiring four puppeteers to operate simultaneously.

Practical effects were chosen both for realism and because fully CGI versions cost significantly more.

At the Spider-Man 2 set, Wu Yuchen monitored filming while reviewing completed scenes. One clip made him smile.

Earlier, Tobey Maguire had negotiated with the crew using his back injury as leverage, and Wu Yuchen and the crew weren’t happy, so he and Sam Raimi added a scene mocking him.

In the film, Peter Parker, having lost his powers, joyfully shouts as they briefly return: “I’m back! I’m back!”

But instantly, his powers fail again—he falls from a height, landing painfully: “My back! My back!”

The dialogue cleverly used “back” to mean both “return” and “spine”—anyone in the know would laugh.

After reviewing all completed footage, Wu Yuchen found no other issues and sighed in relief. After three days at Spider-Man 2, he returned to DreamWorks to resume work on Pirates of the Caribbean 2.

In fact, his insistence to Sony Columbia that Spider-Man 2 release in May had a personal motive: Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was already set for early July. If Spider-Man 2 delayed, it might directly compete with his own film—he certainly didn’t want that.

During Wu Yuchen’s Spring Festival break, Pirates of the Caribbean 2’s post-production never stopped—voiceovers and subtitles were already done. The score was again handled by Hans Zimmer, who’d composed several pieces for Wu Yuchen to choose from.

The biggest challenge was visual effects. Even without Wu Yuchen, they could be done—but no one knew if the director would be satisfied, and VFX usually require adjustments based on the director’s vision, so some unfinished effects had been delayed.

Over the next month, Wu Yuchen devoted most of his energy to Pirates of the Caribbean 2’s post-production, occasionally checking Spider-Man 2’s progress. The Doctor Octopus reshoots were completed in ten days; the following three weeks were spent on VFX integration, finishing everything within the month.

This year’s Oscars ceremony was held on February 29, a month earlier than usual.

Two years ago, in 2002, the Academy decided to break its tradition of holding the ceremony in March and move it to late February. But since the 2003 schedule was already locked, implementation was delayed until 2004.

Originally, in the 1960s, the Oscars were held in April; the annual March tradition began only in 1989.

The reasons for the two early shifts were to boost TV ratings, shorten the lobbying period between studios, and prevent other award shows from stealing the Oscars’ spotlight.

Though the Oscars claim to pursue art, the Academy has always treated it as a business—ratings and commercial revenue are paramount.

This year, Wu Yuchen didn’t attend the Oscars live. He sat on his sofa, left arm around Anne Hathaway, hand inside her blouse feeling her warmth, right arm resting on Jessica Alba, stroking her smooth thigh. Wasn’t this far more enjoyable than being there?

“Darling, how many awards do you think The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will win?” Anne Hathaway asked.

This year’s Oscars were the least suspenseful ever—everyone already knew the outcome. Unless the Academy pulled a shocking upset and denied The Lord of the Rings any awards, the result was certain.

So the media shifted their hype: instead of who would win, they asked how many of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’s 11 nominations it would actually claim.

Wu Yuchen smiled and asked the two women: “What do you think?”

Anne Hathaway thought a moment: “I’d say eight.”

“I’ll guess nine~” Jessica Alba grinned sweetly.

Wu Yuchen chuckled and shook his head. The two women pouted at him:

“You haven’t said yours yet~”

“Darling, don’t you agree?”

Wu Yuchen gave a knowing smile: “If I had to guess, the Academy will give it all eleven.”

“Eleven?! That’s impossible!”

“All of them? Even Ben-Hur and Titanic didn’t do that!”

Both women gasped.

The current Oscar record for most wins is eleven, jointly held by Ben-Hur and Titanic. But Ben-Hur won eleven out of fifteen nominations; Titanic won eleven out of fourteen—neither swept every nomination.

Now Wu Yuchen claimed The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King would win all eleven of its nominations—something no film had ever done. The two women found it hard to believe.

“Don’t you trust my professional judgment? Then let’s wait and see. If I’m right, tonight you two will be good little puppies, obeying every order.” Wu Yuchen gently stroked their hair.

Jessica Alba pouted: “When have I ever disobeyed you?”

“I’m not a puppy—I’m a kitten~” Anne Hathaway licked her lips.

As they joked, the ceremony began.

As Wu Yuchen predicted, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King radiated unstoppable dominance, sweeping nine awards in a row: Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay—

Anne Hathaway and Jessica Alba stared, mouths open. Even though the ceremony wasn’t over, everyone knew the remaining two awards—Best Director and Best Picture—would go to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

In other words, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was about to achieve a perfect sweep of all eleven nominations.

The two women stared at Wu Yuchen, then threw their arms around him, clinging and demanding: “Darling, how did you know?”

Wu Yuchen laughed: “No one understands the Oscars better than I do!”

The words echoed in their ears—they believed him completely. After all, he’d predicted this before the ceremony even began.

Wu Yuchen rose with a smile, heading to gather his gear. He had no interest in the rest of the ceremony—nothing was more fun than walking the dog in the garden.