Chapter 191

Just as Cao Yang was busy supervising special effects production and post-production, the first martial arts blockbuster *Hero* by Old Mouzi, who had been "shelved" for nearly two years, was finally about to premiere in the United States.

Miramax was going to hold a grand premiere ceremony at 7:30 PM local time on the 17th in the United States.

This film was to be released on the 27th. Holding a premiere ten days in advance to build momentum—it seems Harvey Weinstein didn't have any confidence in the film.

When Harvey learned that Cao Yang was in the United States, he immediately called Cao Yang and personally invited him to attend the film's premiere.

Perhaps fearing Cao Yang wouldn't come, he repeatedly emphasized that this was a critical moment for Chinese-language films to open the door to Hollywood, and as a face of Chinese-language films, you should come to attend...

Alright, it seems this guy has studied domestic culture quite deeply, knowing how to use "the greater good" to pressure people.

Cao Yang really wanted to ask, do you study domestic culture just to better fool domestic filmmakers?

Harvey also said that he would personally come to pick up Cao Yang when the time came; everyone was a very good partner, and he hoped they could cooperate even better in the future.

After saying all the nice things, it meant one thing: he hoped Cao Yang could attend the premiere of *Hero*.

He wanted to use Cao Yang's influence and popularity to increase the attention on *Hero*.

Cao Yang also had his own plans. The higher the North American box office for *Hero*, the higher the copyright fees for his *Nine-Tailed Fox*, which was also a Chinese-language costume blockbuster, would be.

His fame and influence in the US were not something Old Mouzi could compare to.

It wasn't that Cao Yang didn't want to cooperate with the Big Seven to distribute this film in North America.

The key was that even he couldn't accurately gauge the market prospects of Chinese-language films in North America.

He remembered correctly that the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in North America was *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, and the second was Old Mouzi's *Hero*.

Then, the films that followed completely flopped.

Old Mouzi's *House of Flying Daggers* didn't dare sell the copyright to Harvey's Miramax and was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.

Sony Pictures Classics would release *House of Flying Daggers* in December of this year. Seeing *Hero*'s big success, they thought they had picked up a big bargain, so they spent a lot of energy on promotion.

As for the result, the box office barely exceeded 10 million USD.

Sony Pictures Classics should have lost quite a bit.

Therefore, it was most important for *Nine-Tailed Fox* to take advantage of the tailwind of *Hero* to sell more copyright fees.

Before the box office for *Hero* came out, Harvey Weinstein's guts should have turned green with regret; 20 million USD in copyright fees is not a small number.

Besides *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* being a big hit in North America, which other Chinese-language film could break 30 million in North American box office?

Don't talk about 30 million; those that could break 10 million were very few.

*Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* was a special case; it received so many Oscar nominations, and it was only because of the added heat of the Oscars that it could be a big hit.

What did *Hero* have?

Relying solely on Li Li Lianjie to carry the box office in North America?

Don't joke around. Li Li Lianjie was only okay in the disc market; in terms of film box office, he didn't have a single blockbuster.

What's more, having flopped two films in a row, Hollywood no longer trusted Li Li Lianjie, and it was already very difficult for him to get Hollywood films himself.

This was also the reason he joined *Unleashed* for free in order to make a comeback.

Harvey Weinstein had also exhausted his efforts, tried all kinds of methods, and even invited *Kill Bill* director Quentin Tarantino.

Moreover, he even brazenly placed Quentin Tarantino in the C-position of *Hero*—on the big poster, Quentin Tarantino was listed as the executive producer of *Hero*.

It could be said that Harvey Weinstein had become a bit unscrupulous for the sake of the box office. On this point, he was actually a bit like Zhang Weiping; perhaps if the two resolved their grievances, they would have common topics?

It was only because of Cao Yang's current status and influence that Harvey Weinstein didn't dare to easily manipulate him; otherwise, he really would have dared to put Cao Yang in the position of producer for *Hero*.

Perhaps on the big poster, Cao Yang's portrait would be at the very top, written as producer, and below it would be Quentin Tarantino's portrait, written as executive producer...

Don't even say it, if he did that, the box office for *Hero* would definitely be higher.

Fearing Cao Yang would decline, Harvey Weinstein really drove personally, picked up Cao Yang, and arrived at the film premiere site.

The premiere of *Hero* was at the famous Arclight Theater in Hollywood, USA. From a long distance away, Cao Yang saw a very large poster posted on the outer wall of the theater.

The film's introduction was described as a "visual blockbuster of war art and violence," and it was rated PG-13.

"Harvey, does this film have very violent scenes or passionate scenes? How come it was rated PG-13?"

Harvey Weinstein was so angry he slapped the steering wheel hard.

"Shit! Those people are just shit! How could this film possibly have this rating? Someone must have tripped us up. They're a bunch of assholes; America is being held back by this group of people..."

Alright, it seems he was really quite angry.

!

Why was he angry? It was still because of the box office.

This rating meant that those under 13 had to be accompanied by their parents to watch, which would lose a lot of the youth box office.

At the premiere ceremony venue, Cao Yang saw Li Li Lianjie, Donnie Yen, and Zhang Ziyi standing at the red carpet entrance, greeting guests with smiles.

Even the nominal executive producer Quentin Tarantino was at the scene; it seemed he really gave Harvey face.

No way around it, Quentin Tarantino was a director groomed by Harvey Weinstein.

Whether it was his breakout film *Pulp Fiction*, *Dangerous Liaisons*, or *Kill Bill*, they were all controlled by Harvey's Miramax.

As a director strongly supported by Harvey Weinstein, Quentin Tarantino couldn't not give Harvey face.

Harvey drove the car directly to the red carpet entrance. Several people seemed to recognize Harvey's car. Li Li Lianjie even smiled and walked over quickly, as if afraid someone would compete with him, and opened Harvey's car door.

However, when he opened the car door and saw Cao Yang getting out, he was stunned for a moment, then quickly resumed his smile and shouted, "Hello, Director Cao, welcome..."

Welcome?

The way you look, you really look like a waiter at the hotel entrance.

Of course, there was no intention to belittle waiters; everyone is equal in their profession.

It's just that with Li Li Lianjie's status, doing this kind of thing really wasn't appropriate.

Zhang Ziyi saw Cao Yang, and her eyes suddenly lit up, and she walked over with a face full of smiles.

If you have to say it, Zhang Ziyi is still awesome; she didn't feel awkward at all and wanted to hug Cao Yang. Her hand was already stretched out, and she had already set the posture.

Cao Yang took a small step back unobtrusively, took the opportunity to shake Zhang Ziyi's hand, and said, "Ziyi, long time no see."

Then he shook hands with Li Li Lianjie next to him, taking the opportunity to shake off the overly familiar Zhang Ziyi.

(End of Chapter)