Chapter 208: Afraid Now

In fact, Cao Yang had also considered that if Columbia chose the North American Christmas slot, the current domestic market situation certainly could not accommodate two films with box office receipts exceeding 100 million simultaneously.

Regarding pushing back the domestic release date to next year's summer slot or another period, he did not have much of an objection.

He was not fixated on a global simultaneous release.

However, the media was clearly more eager to see a spectacle than the director of *Kung Fu*, and more willing to see a fight break out; watching the chaos or deliberately manufacturing it was the media's original intent.

This point was even more pronounced among the Xiangjiang media.

Cao Yang had just replied to Columbia and Han Zong, basically agreeing to push back the domestic release of *District 9*.

Before the news could even be released, some media in Xiangjiang broke the story, and the topic was extremely eye-catching.

As North America announced that *District 9* would be released in the Christmas slot on the 24th, reporters in Xiangjiang interviewed Xiangjiang actors from the *Kung Fu* crew, asking for their thoughts on the potential conflict between *District 9* and *Kung Fu* in the domestic market.

"Zhou Zhou Xingxing is the pride of our Xiangjiang; when he was just an actor, he was invincible in the same slot, and now that he is both directing and acting, there is even less need to fear anyone."

"There is nothing to be afraid of regarding a scheduling clash; *Kung Fu* is very impressive, there is no need to fear a director from the mainland."

"I know Cao Dao Yang; he is a very formidable art-house director, but in the realm of commercial films, especially in the Chinese-speaking region, Zhou Zhou Xingxing's appeal is invincible."

"In Xiangjiang, only one situation ever occurs: when encountering a Zhou Zhou Xingxing film, the one that withdraws is always the opponent."

"That is indeed a bit troublesome; Cao Dao Yang, like Director Wang Wang Jiawei, has very high achievements in the artistic field, and his films have had quite good box office results in Xiangjiang, but Zhou Zhou Xingxing's films have never feared anyone."

Although there were relatively clear-headed Xiangjiang actors, most of them certainly knew of Cao Yang—they knew he was an art-house director and that he had won many international awards—but as for how much they specifically understood him, that was not the case.

Cao Yang rarely used Xiangjiang actors, so the Xiangjiang media was not very willing to report on him; coupled with those actors' blind trust in Zhou Zhou Xingxing and their prejudice against mainland actors and directors, it was normal that they did not have a deep understanding of Cao Yang.

Most only knew he was a very famous art-house director who had won many awards.

But in the minds of Xiangjiang people, what are award-winning art-house films like?

Mainland and Xiangjiang alike, they are almost all about ignorance, backwardness, superstition, social outcasts, and small-time characters...

How could the box office of such art-house films compare to Zhou Zhou Xingxing's?

Inherent impressions and concepts are deadly!

Once these reports came out, many people and companies began to panic.

Who is Cao Yang?

Perhaps if one told some Xiangjiang filmmakers how awesome Cao Yang was in Europe and how many top awards he had won, they might not have felt much.

But mentioning Hollywood and the Oscars was a different story.

Cao Yang is a red-hot Hollywood director who has won an Oscar for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, and has produced an Oscar-winning actor!

Are these shocking enough?

If not, then use something they can intuitively feel.

I won't even mention how many awards *Milk* won; let's just talk about the box office.

146 million USD in North America, 203 million domestically, totaling 284 million USD globally!

That is intuitive enough, right?

And there is *The Nine-Tailed Fox*, which just finished its run; this is a pure Chinese period film, with 213 million domestically, nearly 60 million in North America, and 130 million USD globally.

Intuitive enough, right?

If that is not enough, let's mention one that is even more intuitive.

Although *District 9* is a co-production, the investment is 70 million—note, that is in USD.

The lead is Oscar-winning actor Depp, the female lead is reportedly Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron, and even the supporting cast includes Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf, and Samuel L. Jackson, who won a Berlin acting award.

With such a director and such a film, if there is competition in the same slot as *Kung Fu*, do you still think a mainland director is nothing to be afraid of?

Those Xiangjiang actors who had made comments to the media were all dumbfounded upon hearing their agents list Cao Yang's "achievements"; had the mainland actually produced such an awesome director?

Isn't Cao Yang an art-house director?

How could an art-house director get so much box office?

Then they thought of the Oscar for Best Picture, and they all wished they could take back what they had said; this is a Hollywood director far more powerful than Li An or Wu Wu Yusen!

He has box office, and he can make stars; this is not just one plus one, no wonder they say Cao Yang is a red-hot Hollywood director.

What to do now?

The Xiangjiang media has already reported it, and the words cannot be taken back.

Apologize in private?

That would require private channels.

After the agents finished lecturing their artists, they hurriedly contacted Wu Wu Qihua to convey their apologies first; the agents all knew that Wu Wu Qihua's current status was built up by Cao Yang.

Then, the agents hurriedly arranged for familiar reporters and taught their artists word-for-word what to say and how to explain.

There was no help for it; many early Xiangjiang artists dropped out of school early, some through training classes, some were spotted on the street, and some entered the industry by accident; to say their education and insight were high would be pure self-deception.

"Cao Dao Yang is a world-renowned director. His films have both depth and box office appeal; he is a rare director who combines commerce and art perfectly. I think clashing with Cao Dao is a very bad thing."

"A scheduling clash is too scary; Cao Dao Yang is very impressive. He is a big Hollywood director, very scary. Don't listen to the nonsense from some tabloids; I respect Cao Dao Yang very much."

"I know Cao Dao Yang; he is a very formidable director with high box office appeal globally, and he is invincible domestically. Please, do not clash with Cao Dao."

"In Xiangjiang, only one situation ever occurs: when encountering a Zhou Zhou Xingxing film, the one that withdraws is always the opponent. But in the mainland, with a Hollywood director like Cao Yang, a scheduling clash is a very bad situation; please, do not do it."

"That is indeed a bit troublesome; Cao Dao Yang, like Director Wang Wang Jiawei, has very high achievements in the artistic field, and his films have all done very well in Xiangjiang. A scheduling clash is the worst situation."

Well, some things that were said could still be partially taken back.

The Asia branch of Columbia Pictures was very panicked after hearing the initial remarks and was preparing to use their connections to make those people change their tune, but they didn't expect that before they could even act, the talent agencies would be the first to lose their composure.

There was no choice; the agencies had many signed actors, and these companies knew something of Cao Yang's influence and power, and they had also received calls from Han Zong and Boss Wang of Huayi; Cao Yang was someone they could not afford to offend.

Due to ideological issues, Xiangjiang is actually a bit like the Americans; they still respect "authoritative" figures who have ability. Columbia was panicked, but Huayi was even more panicked than Columbia.

Cao Yang's last two films both exceeded 200 million in domestic box office; this is a more impressive achievement than Zhang Zhang Yimou's, and he is the number one person in domestic box office.

If Cao Yang were to seek revenge and place the *District 9* slot between *A World Without Thieves* and *Kung Fu*, given Cao Yang's domestic box office appeal, you can imagine how uncomfortable Huayi would be.

Moreover, *District 9* publicly claimed an investment of 70 million USD, and under the banner of a co-production, it was essentially a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster; as long as such a film was above standard, it would absolutely dominate domestically.

In fact, after the few ignorant actors in Xiangjiang spoke out, everyone knew that Cao Yang had already been set up.

No matter how they tried to remedy it, they could not change this fact.

Because of their statements, if *District 9* were to delay its domestic release, it would leave the impression that Cao Yang was afraid of Zhou Zhou Xingxing, which was why he delayed it.

Columbia had a headache because both *Kung Fu* and *District 9* had investments from Columbia.

Han Zong, however, had the biggest headache.

This was truly an unprovoked disaster.

*A World Without Thieves*, *Kung Fu*, and *District 9*—all three films involved China Film Group; is it fun to fight against oneself?

!

Cao Yang had already agreed to push back the domestic slot, but a few arrogant people had made a mess of things.

The matter had been ruined by these bastards.

Even if Cao Yang wanted to delay the slot now, in terms of reason and sentiment, Han Zong could not agree.

Han Zong had a scale in his heart; he could distinguish what was light and what was heavy.

There was no need to weigh the pros and cons; Zhou Zhou Xingxing was very formidable, and his previous film *Shaolin Soccer* broke the Xiangjiang box office record, raking in 60 million in Xiangjiang.

But so what? He still couldn't compare to Cao Yang.

Furthermore, he was now on the same side as Cao Yang, while others were outsiders.

Since the two films clashed, forcing a release was not good for either, so one should be withdrawn and the slot changed.

As for which one to withdraw, it was obvious.

What about Columbia's opinion?

At first, they wanted to play dumb and try to muddle through.

They said that since *District 9* hadn't announced a slot yet, and the *Kung Fu* slot was already set with a lot of promotion money spent, it would be better for *District 9* to delay its release.

Delaying the release wouldn't have much impact on *District 9*.

Before Cao Yang could say anything, Han Zong spoke up, "No, *Kung Fu* must withdraw from the slot; this is a matter of principle, there is no room for negotiation."

Delaying the release wouldn't have much impact on *District 9*, but the impact on Cao Yang's reputation would not be small; it was impossible to let people who didn't know the truth think that Cao Yang was afraid of Zhou Zhou Xingxing.

The Asia branch of Columbia Pictures really had a headache.

*Kung Fu* was controlled by them, and the copyright belonged to them; they had spent over 10 million USD in real money, and the other parties were just investors, including Zhou Zhou Xingxing, who did not own the copyright.

Because of this, the Asia branch and the headquarters of Columbia Pictures had a disagreement.

The Asia branch felt that the promotion for *Kung Fu* had been going on for so long, how could it be easily delayed? This would definitely have an adverse effect on the film and the potential audience.

It wasn't that people would look forward to the film more after a delay, but rather they would feel that you clearly had no confidence in the film, which was why you were dodging.

How could you make the audience look forward to a film you had no confidence in yourself?

Since *District 9* hadn't announced its slot in China yet, what was wrong with delaying it a bit? Your headquarters are truly useless, unable to even handle a director.

But the headquarters felt, how could a Chinese-language film compare to Cao Yang's potential value?

*District 9* had an actual investment of 48 million USD, while *Kung Fu* had an investment of 140 million—at the exchange rate, that was only 17 million USD.

The market for *District 9* was global, while the main market for *Kung Fu* was the Chinese-speaking region.

Cao Yang was both a top director in the Chinese-speaking circle and a red-hot Hollywood director, while Zhou Zhou Xingxing was only a famous director and top actor in the Chinese-speaking circle.

Actually, there was nothing to weigh; regardless of anything else, the fact that Cao Yang was considered a big director even in Hollywood was enough.

Cao Yang was not just a simple director; he was not only good at winning awards, but also good at making stars, and most importantly, he had many popular novels in his hands that could be adapted into films.

It could be said that the entire Hollywood was waiting for the release of *District 9*, wanting to see the "quality" of this novel-adapted film.

If *District 9* became a huge hit, then Cao Yang would be more than just "red-hot" in Hollywood.

Although the Asian division of Columbia Pictures had a certain degree of autonomy, it was impossible for them to openly defy headquarters, so they could only secretly stir up some other business.

The domestic investor for "Kung Fu" was Huayi, and according to convention, Columbia Pictures was responsible for overseas copyrights, while Huayi was responsible for domestic promotion and distribution.

At this stage, Huayi always cooperated with China Film Group for distribution; since China Film Group wanted to withdraw from the Christmas slot and was unwilling to distribute it, could they negotiate with China Film Group to reclaim the distribution rights?

The Asian division of Columbia Pictures approached Huayi and asked if they were willing to distribute it alone, promising to provide the greatest possible assistance.

Huayi was stunned; stop cooperating with China Film Group? Continue to release it as originally planned? Continue to go head-to-head with Cao Yang's "District 9"?

No, brother, what kind of act are you putting on?

The Wang brothers were not stupid; their own production "A World Without Thieves" was still in this slot, and if Cao Yang retaliated by moving his release date forward to directly intercept "A World Without Thieves," what would they do then?

You Columbia folks are very impressive, but Huayi is still small and weak at this stage; we dare not offend both China Film Group and Cao Yang at the same time!

Huayi refused the private communication from the Asian division of Columbia Pictures without hesitation.

The Asian division of Columbia Pictures had no choice; it was said that Barbara Robinson, the president of the Asian division who had been pushing for this, was so angry that she smashed a cup.

Consequently, "District 9" announced that it would be released globally on the 24th, the same as in North America.

Then, a few days later, "Kung Fu" announced that due to technical reasons, it was withdrawing from the New Year's slot and rescheduling its release to May Day of next year.

And it was said that the director and lead actor, Zhou Zhou Xingxing, had a lot of resentment in private and couldn't help but complain when accepting an interview.

"I am just a director, I have no way to influence the film company's technical issues. In Xiangjiang, it is very rare for a film that has announced its release date to be postponed due to technical issues; this is too unprofessional..."

(End of chapter)