Chapter 469: When the Light of the Purple Micro Star Shines on America

……

When the first ray of morning sunlight, accompanied by the tips of her hair, fell upon the man's nose at high noon, the delicate tickling sensation made Zhou Yi, who was in a dream, struggle a few times before slowly opening his eyes.

Under the sunlight mottled and scattered throughout the room, the golden hair shimmered; the woman, whose elbow pressed against the pillow as she swept her hair across the man's nose, lay diagonally on the bed supporting one side of her face, gazing at him with a smile—

"Good morning, darling."

"Looks like I'm still dreaming."

Zhou Yi, with the corners of his mouth upturned, wrinkled his nose; as he raised his hand, a soft, tender sensation overflowed between his fingers: "But I like this dream. It's best if I don't wake up."

"Is that so? How many girls have you said such sickening sweet nothings to?"

On April 19, three days after the movie's release, a screenshot that could extremely well represent the feelings of many original comic fans began to spread widely across American internet websites—

"Watching the movie is fine, but contributing box office revenue to him is unnecessary." Having heard the subtext, Zhou Yi laughed and played the role of Guo Tianwang: "Anything else is acceptable."

"God, I don't know how to describe my feelings, but I think I really need to re-examine Yixiasi Sect. You know, at that time he shouldn't have even seen the original film, yet he could say such things."

"Of course."

"What type of movies do you like to watch?"

"..."

Many people still remained skeptical about this result, until April 20—

"..."

This was from a netizen in China.

Starring Chow Yun-fat, Sean William Scott, and Jamie King, the movie was shown in 2,955 theaters across the entire United States on its first day; the scale was undeniably huge.

A sentence that had once caused Zhou Yi to be heavily criticized became, after the release of "Bulletproof Monk," the very substance that further elevated his reputation—while his personal blog was flooded with many American netizens coming to apologize.

Obviously, the woman, who paid extremely close attention to the film market, knew the movies that were just released, currently showing, and nearing the end of their run like the back of her hand; the man, clearly accompanying his girlfriend to the movies, held a bucket of popcorn in his hands and, upon seeing the huge poster displayed at the cinema entrance, couldn't help but brighten up—

"He's not God; how could he know it's no good without even watching it? He himself even said he's second only to God."

After Zhou Yi's nonsense during an interview was published in newspapers, it was then mocked internally by MGM as an internal struggle between him and Chow Yun-fat where neither could stand the other.

"My agent originally planned to have me return today, but just an hour ago, she called to tell me that if possible, I should continue staying by your side to get a bit more exposure."

"So it's truly 'words become law'! I'm convinced!"

Zhou Yi shrugged indifferently and smiled: "So, what's your opinion?"

"Well, you could watch 'My Wild Internet Friend' and 'Lethal Weapon' starring Jet Li. It's a pity 'Shanghai Noon' starring Jackie Chan has already left theaters; otherwise..."

This unprecedented and bizarre spectacle also made many newspapers exclaim in wonder.

"At least before you walk out of this room, you absolutely are." Zhou Yi smiled and swore: "God can bear witness for me."

In a word: Our brother never lies!

If he says it's not good, then it really isn't good; if he says it's not good to listen to, then it really isn't good to listen to.

But when Zhou Yi's latest "words become law" incident, combined with his past nickname "Purple Micro Star" in China, was publicized by many "enthusiastic fans," people from many other countries immediately noticed those making wishes under Zhou Yi's blog account, and under whose influence they began to follow suit.

Zhou Yi, with great interest, wrapped his arms around her waist: "Then what are you? A bad girl?"

Scarlett lay indifferently on the man's chest, her fingertips skillfully drawing circles on his chest: "Thanks to you, I am now truly famous across the entire United States."

"Then, does that mean I should be the woman you love the most?" Scarlett Johansson teased the man's messy hair from sleep, letting that hand wander over her body, her expression playful.

"..."

If before she was called the King of Marketing by her haters because she was good at marketing and counter-marketing, then this time she was truly finding it difficult to adapt—mainly because she had never seen this move before!

How could she counter a move she had never seen?

"All art is connected; besides, Yixiasi Sect has at least acted in the music video 'Like a Prayer,' so his judgment must be correct."

"What happened?" This was a foreign netizen who still didn't know what had occurred.

The man wore a speechless expression; after his girlfriend enthusiastically explained everything, he took her to buy tickets for "Bulletproof Monk"—his rebellious psychology had kicked in.

But the result was, 104 minutes later...

It completely fulfilled Zhou Yi's words: MGM would lose money like an idiot.

"Warner Bros. might as well call that director named Hao Ning to remake 'Like a Prayer' and release it in theaters; I would definitely support it..."

He walked out of the cinema with a dazed expression, while a girlfriend who kept complaining followed beside him...

Thanks to the huge promotional spending MGM poured into this movie in the early stages, and Zhou Yi, who rode this wind to make his name even more prominent, a few scattered wishing accounts appeared under his personal blog at some point—

Madonna, who was currently working hard to promote her own songs, was equally stunned—wait, buddy, what kind of strategy is this?

Since her debut, Madonna, who claimed to have seen every kind of storm, faced the marketing of a junior for the first time and felt somewhat at a loss.

"I'm sorry, Yixiasi Sect, I misunderstood you!"

On April 16, 2003, the comic-adapted movie "Bulletproof Monk," invested in by MGM with a production cost of 52 million US dollars, officially premiered.

"Fuck! Doesn't he know any rules?! Using us for marketing! Doesn't he know that doing this will offend us?!" The executive in charge of the "Bulletproof Monk" project slammed the table in anger.

This has almost elevated Zhou Yi to the status of an omnipotent God; everywhere people go to make wishes at his place, and Zhou Yi's past statement "I am second only to God" is being recognized by more and more people who don't know the truth.

At first, it was merely Americans themselves.

If MGM, from top to bottom, cannot see that Warner Bros. is behind this wave of heat, they might as well all jump off a building.

"You are the first."

To be honest, when this survey result came out, it scared quite a few people.

Has Yixiasi Sect's personal influence become this strong?

I am truly foolish, truly foolish...

That was during the red carpet segment of this year's Grammy Awards; the words spoken by Zhou Yi, wearing an Armani suit, when facing reporters: 【His new movie? He is box office poison; MGM will lose money like an idiot.】

"Maybe."

What kind of mess is this, even controlling the future?

Holding Scarlett Johansson's hand, Zhou Yi smiled, waved, and pushed past the paparazzi blocking the way.

The woman, whose right index finger was pressed against the man's nose tip to stop him from moving forward, teased: "Perhaps I still understand you too little, bad boy?"

"But now I think I was wrong. Spike was able, under immense pressure, to publicly state that MGM would lose blood on Bulletproof Monk, and he would also bluntly point out that Madonna's new song was astonishingly bad — this is undoubtedly a miracle."

She could only passively take the hits, unable to think of even the slightest way to respond.

If that's the case, then isn't the next person to be popular…

"Reversing heaven and earth — Zhou Yi is from Peking University! Zhou Yi, I wish to get into Peking University."

"Really?"

Warner, you bastard!

"Spike's gold content rises again! He really does have something."

It can be said that MGM's upper management still placed considerable importance on this Bulletproof Monk.

"Comedy, action."

At noon on the 21st, the newly issued Los Angeles Weekly gave this unique, unprecedented phenomenon a distinctive literary headline: "When the Ziweistar from China Shines."

"Sometimes I really wonder how you manage to be so thick-skinned."

Don't ask — the answer is that Zhou Yi is just this kind of person. Not to mention only in China, even that British Kelly Brook became popular next year just because she had a fling with Zhou Yi and filmed an MV with him — popular enough to become the Premier League goddess.

"Are you a saint, Spike? How can you guess so accurately?"

The original comic's foundation is right here; as long as the director, screenwriter, and actors acted like decent human beings, it wouldn't have been filmed into the pile of crap Zhou Yi described.

The girl who heard this instead got excited and began popularizing (recommending) her idol: "Do you know his nickname in China? When he says something won't work, then it really won't work. In Hong Kong they call him the Ziweistar. In Chinese culture, this is supposedly a position specifically in charge of whether other people's futures are popular or not…"

"Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi, let me wish to get into Tsinghua this year!"

By comparison, when Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon opened across the U. S. back then, it was screened at a total of 2,027 theaters;

Jackie Chan's Rush Hour 2, when it opened across the U. S., was screened at a total of 3,001 theaters.

"It is said that Spike's most common nickname in China is the Ziweistar. Of course, this doesn't mean he is a star — it means that the people he favors, the people he comes into contact with, will all have booming futures. And those whom he has sentenced to death will never have the strength to turn things around again."

But precisely because of this, the bad reviews of this film have never stopped since its release on every major rating site, from every major critic, and in every magazine — the internet has been cursing it to high heaven.

"Your agent really does know how to trim his sails to the wind."

"Boss, he doesn't act." The secretary beside him reminded: "And he's not American either."

"Spike, can you say something to make the U. S. withdraw its troops?"

"Motherf***! MGM, are you f***ing retarded?! You spent $52 million and produced this pile of crap?!"

"You haven't delved deeply into Spike — it's normal not to know."

"Spike, can you say something to make America suffer another terrorist attack?"

On the evening of the 21st, when hand-in-hand Scarlett and Zhou Yi walked out of the cinema, they were immediately intercepted head-on by paparazzi from The Sun who had been staking out the place!

It's a bit too extreme.

"???"

"Scarlett Johansson! Spike! Are you two on a date?!"

Netizens from other countries like England, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy also came over to join the fun — a perfectly good blog was somehow turned into a United Nations wishing wall.

"I originally thought this should just be a kind of marketing."

Everyone at MGM was numb — a big-budget film that was clearly going to lose money, and now it had to be used as a stepping stone for someone else's marketing.

"A date? No, no, no — we're just friends."

"My assessment is that it's not as good as going back to revisit 'In the Name of the Father.'"

"Didn't you say in an interview before that your compatriot's new film would lose every penny?" Scarlett flicked him with a mischievous smile: "You know MGM was very unhappy about those remarks of yours, and today happens to be the day that film is released…"

After losing the initial boost of heat from Zhou Yi's cursing war, Bulletproof Monk, whose true quality was now fully exposed, earned a mere $3.19 million in a single day despite the luxurious schedule of being screened simultaneously at over 2,900 theaters across the U. S.

"But everything Spike has said so far has been right. Setting everything else aside, just take his evaluation of Madonna's new song — isn't it just very accurate?" When it came to her idol's deeds, the red-haired girl could recite them all by heart.

"What? No, nonono."

If at first he had only been attracted by the name of the Bulletproof Monk comic adaptation, then now it was purely to prove to his girlfriend that Zhou Yi's golden words were not a load of crap.

After three days of release, the total box office had only just exceeded $17 million — and that was still counting many of Zhou Yi's music fans who joined in for the spectacle. Otherwise, according to many industry insiders' research and assessment, without Zhou Yi's intervention, the three-day box office might have only just exceeded $8 million.

"Spike, can you bless me to get into college this year!"

The red-haired girl, clearly suffering from choice paralysis, shook her head like a rattle-drum: "Spike already said this film is a huge flop. I think we have absolutely no need to go see it."

Where had netizens of this era ever seen this kind of internet-style carnival? Once the rhythm was easily picked up, everyone transformed into joke-making bros and sis and left their wishes on Zhou Yi's blog, planning to have Zhou Yi say them out loud.

This should be an Iraqi who took it as true and, with a try-it-and-see attitude, also chose to leave a message.

On Yahoo, because MGM kept throwing out that big-budget promotional money, Bulletproof Monk's first day of release could be said to have maxed out its buzz — its discussion level could almost be considered number one among the same period.

Added to the fact that Zhou Yi and Madonna were currently in a music war, under MGM's invisible big hands, another group of people was once again tricked into the cinema to watch this film as much as possible —

"Why is it Spike again? He's not even a filmmaker, he's not even in the film circle — why are you still listening to him?" The white man, who normally listened more to Celine Dion's songs, was somewhat helpless.

He also didn't know what the hell that bastard had poured into his girlfriend's ears in that album. She used to discuss with him which singers were good and which weren't, but now — great, every singer other than Zhou Yi was no good.

"This is the film adapted from Michael Avon Oeming's comic of the same name, Bulletproof Monk. Darling, how about we watch this one?"

Houston, outside a certain cinema.

"Perhaps he really does have a sense of smell beyond ordinary people…"

"Spike is right — we're just friends. Please don't write nonsense."

Paparazzi: "…Then how do you view the fact that your personal blog has set a new Guinness World Record?"

(End of this chapter)