Chapter 317: Wild Rose

During the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean II and III, Wu Yuchen had already brought in the UFO special effects team to learn on set.

Special effects technology isn’t just about post-production computer work—it’s also critically important during filming, such as sampling data, location scouting, lighting, camera movement, background projection compositing, blue/green screens, matte painting, lens speed control, motion capture, tracking points, and focus adjustment—all of which must be considered during special effects shooting; without going through these steps, much of the post-production work simply can’t begin.

These are precisely the areas where Chinese special effects lack experience; if not for Wu Yuchen’s current status, outsiders would never have such an opportunity for on-site learning.

As a result, after the entire Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed, the UFO special effects technicians truly learned a great deal, though they still needed to digest it through real-world practice after returning.

Now, the production of Kung Fu Panda gave Wu Yuchen another chance to foster Chinese animation learning.

In fact, the history of Chinese animation is not short; as early as the 1920s, Shuzhendong Chinese Typewriter pioneered Chinese animation.

In the 1940s, the Wan brothers produced Asia’s first animated feature, Princess Iron Fan, which had a major influence across Asia; the director of the Japanese anime Astro Boy, Osamu Tezuka—the father of Japanese animation and manga—abandoned medicine after watching this film and decided to pursue animation.

After the founding of New China, the Shanghai Animation Film Studio created a golden age of Chinese animation, producing many classic works.

The Magic Brush was awarded first prize at the 8th Venice International Children’s Film Festival in 1956; later, traditional animations like The Proud General and paper-cut animations like Zhu Bajie Eats Watermelon amazed international audiences.

Little Tadpole Looks for Mom, the first ink-wash animation, won six major domestic and international awards including the 17th Cannes International Film Festival; later, animation master Hayao Miyazaki was deeply stunned after watching it, praising every frame as a perfect ink-wash artwork and refusing to believe it was made in 1960s China.

The 1964 production of Havoc in Heaven was distributed in over forty countries worldwide, won countless awards, and left American animation industries in awe.

During this period, Chinese animation, while not necessarily leading the world, was certainly among the top—and far ahead of Japan.

Yet in the decades that followed, though there were excellent works like Nezha Conquers the Sea and The Snow Child, Chinese animation’s progress stalled completely for forty full years.

In those forty years, Japan’s animation industry transformed entirely, rising from a junior partner to a global leader and launching a counteroffensive against China; now, how many children still watch domestic animation? Almost all want to watch Japanese anime.

The reasons are, of course, multifaceted. But can we just avoid development because of this or that? Many domestic industries are growing rapidly, yet animation development lags far behind. Wu Yuchen felt he had this opportunity now and should lend a hand to China’s animation industry.

If DreamWorks wants to come to China for research and shoot Kung Fu Panda with Chinese elements, wouldn’t it make sense for me to send some people to exchange ideas, offer suggestions, and help each other?

Therefore, Wu Yuchen was especially enthusiastic about this matter and even offered to write the screenplay himself, just to do Carsonberg a favor for future mutual support.

“Jeffrey, where are you now in the process?” Wu Yuchen asked.

“We’re still in the concept stage—we want to incorporate popular elements like Chinese kung fu, Chinese pandas, and Chinese landscapes into this animation.”

“OK, that’s exactly what I thought. I already have an idea—what about calling it Kung Fu Panda?”

“Oh my god! You already have an idea?! Kung Fu Panda—that name is amazing! I can’t wait to see your screenplay!”

“Wu, thank you so much! I have a feeling that with your help, this Kung Fu Panda will become a worldwide hit!”

After returning, Wu Yuchen called Zhu Yongde, the CEO of Shanghai Film Group.

He was an outsider; he couldn’t possibly organize animation talent himself in a short time, so his first thought was the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, which was now a subsidiary controlled by Shanghai Film Group.

“An opportunity to learn and exchange with DreamWorks? Wu Dao, you’re serious?” Zhu Yongde was surprised upon receiving Wu Yuchen’s call, never expecting Wu Yuchen had such wide connections in Hollywood.

“That’s right, Director Zhu. This opportunity is rare. Shanghai Animation has always been the elder brother of Chinese animation—I thought of you first.”

“Thank you so much, Wu Dao! You’ve secured this opportunity for us—we won’t miss it! Rest assured, we’ll assemble talent and prepare thoroughly!”

“Ideally, they should have no problem communicating in English.”

“Of course. There are plenty of young people at Shanghai Animation who speak excellent English! We won’t let down your thoughtful efforts!”

After hanging up, Wu Yuchen sighed slightly. He wouldn’t gain anything from this—he wasn’t training talent for his own company—but now that he had the resources, he might as well help where he could.

Kung Fu Panda wasn’t urgent; DreamWorks was still in the concept stage, so he could write the screenplay slowly and let them go to China first for location scouting. Both Shanghai Animation Film Studio and Miracle Pictures could handle their accommodations properly.

In late May, The Day After Tomorrow was released; this disaster film stood as a pinnacle of disaster cinema, with the frozen Statue of Liberty scene becoming a classic later referenced by many films. Even ten years later, when special effects and visual technology far surpassed today’s standards, almost nothing matched it—not even 2012.

In contrast to the extreme freezing storms in The Day After Tomorrow, the film drove North American box office revenues even higher, earning $70 million in its opening weekend—a solid result.

This forced Troy, releasing the following week, to raise its game. Unfortunately, Brad Pitt couldn’t carry the box office; its $45.62 million opening weekend was inadequate for a $180 million budget.

Watching critics on the newspaper use the Trojan War reference “Achilles’ heel” to describe the film’s failure, Anne Hathaway said cheerfully: “Honey, is Troy going to collapse?”

It wasn’t that Anne Hathaway was gloating—her own film, The Princess Diaries, was set to release next week. The worse Troy’s box office, the less impact it would have on The Princess Diaries, so Anne Hathaway now wished Troy would vanish.

But Wu Yuchen shook his head after reading the newspaper: “These critics are going to misjudge this time.”

“Huh? You mean Troy will still do well later?” Anne Hathaway asked immediately.

Wu Yuchen smiled at her: “Don’t worry, Anne. Troy won’t have much staying power in North America—it won’t affect you much. I mean, it might perform very well overseas.”

In Wu Yuchen’s memory, Troy earned only $130 million in North America, but its overseas box office exploded to $360 million—nearly triple North America’s total—reviving Brad Pitt’s image and securing his status as a top-tier A-list star.

But this was also the countdown to the epic film era; future epics would become massive money-losers, never again matching the glory of Gladiator.

At this moment, Anne Hathaway walked over to Wu Yuchen, hugging his arm and asking hopefully: “Honey, you’ll come to my premiere, right?”

Wu Yuchen caressed her cheek and smiled: “That depends on how well you perform tonight, little Annie.”

A week later, Wu Yuchen attended the premiere of The Princess Diaries; Tobey Maguire came too, since he and Anne Hathaway were a couple in Spider-Man. But Anne Hathaway clung tightly to Wu Yuchen the entire time, completely ignoring the Spider-Man actor.

Unlike her past life as an unknown, Anne Hathaway was now a household name in North America thanks to Spider-Man, so the promotional resources and audience draw for The Princess Diaries were far higher than in her previous life.

The Princess Diaries earned $36.42 million in its opening weekend, surpassing Troy’s $23.65 million in its second weekend to claim the box office crown!

This thrilled Anne Hathaway—The Princess Diaries had a budget of only $28 million, and this $36.42 million opening weekend meant it might easily cross $100 million.

Moreover, this film helped her shed the media-given nickname “Spider Girl”; now, some media hailed her as a new-generation “Audrey Hepburn”-style princess.

Wu Yuchen smiled at this headline—he felt a sense of accomplishment nurturing his own “Audrey Hepburn”-style princess. The contrast between this little princess and her demeanor with him brought him unique pleasure.

A week later, Wu Yuchen attended another movie premiere.

“Wu, thank you so much for coming!” Hugh Jackman greeted him, shaking his hand.

“Don’t be so formal, Hugh. I’m eager to see you, the Monster Hunter, shine!” Wu Yuchen replied with a smile.

Hugh Jackman was an old acquaintance; they’d collaborated since Wu Yuchen first entered Hollywood and had worked together on the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, so Wu Yuchen naturally came to support his starring role in Van Helsing.

“Director Wu, I’m honored you came—I’ve always admired you!” Kate Beckinsale said, shaking his hand.

Once the lead in Pearl Harbor, Kate Beckinsale had indeed looked stunning in that role. But Pearl Harbor had been crushed by Pirates of the Caribbean, leaving her with a shadow of failure—yet that didn’t dampen her enthusiasm for Wu Yuchen now.

Wu Yuchen shook her hand and felt her little finger lightly scratching his palm—he thought: Another seductive temptress after me.

But Wu Yuchen kept smiling, hinting: “I’m also delighted to spend a lovely evening with such a beautiful woman.”

Kate Beckinsale’s smile widened further as she led him inside; when seated, she sat right beside Wu Yuchen and chatted cheerfully with him, utterly unconcerned with propriety.

Wu Yuchen watched Van Helsing for a while, recognized it as nearly identical to his past life, and knew it would fail at the box office: $160 million budget, $120 million North America, $170 million overseas, plus heavy marketing costs—it would lose at least $50–60 million.

Many Chinese viewers might think the film was decent and wonder why it flopped; that’s because many Chinese audiences had never encountered vampires or werewolves before and found the big-budget monster effects novel.

But years of continuous Hollywood blockbusters had made North American audiences jaded; Van Helsing failed to break out of the old vampire-werewolf formula—it resurrected classic monsters but made them unscary. The story was weak, the background of the three villains poorly explained, so North American audiences rejected it.

As Wu Yuchen’s thoughts turned, in the darkness he felt a small hand brushing his thigh—he immediately knew who it was. This English rose wanted to play rough?

Wu Yuchen wasn’t one to sit still; against enemies, he struck back—he reached out with his own hand…

That night, on the hotel’s luxury bed, Wu Yuchen slapped the English rose’s firm buttocks and laughed: “Aren’t you even curious about the premiere box office?”

Kate gasped: “Yes, Wu—you’re so mesmerizing, I couldn’t wait!”

Wu Yuchen smiled—he knew she was deliberately flattering him.

At that moment, Kate’s phone rang. Wu Yuchen chuckled: “Ah, the premiere box office must be out!”

He reached over, grabbed her phone from the nightstand, and placed it to her ear: “Kate, don’t you want to know?”

Kate, feeling Wu Yuchen’s hands didn’t stop, spat: “Damn it! You’re such a bad man!”

Still, she picked up the call: “Hmm? Oh! Uh-huh… No problem, is it $19.52 million? Hmm… yeah… tomorrow, I’ll be on time… hmm!”

After hanging up, she purred at Wu Yuchen: “Fuck you!”

Wu Yuchen was even more energized, laughing loudly: “Then I’ll fulfill your request!”