Chapter 231: North American Hurricane, Japan-Korea Passion!

The Hollywood film industry has a relatively complete support system, not only in terms of filming and distribution, but also in statistical websites for box office forecasting.

In terms of film reviews, the main ones are Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Metacritic.

Rotten Tomatoes uses a binary scoring system: if it's good, it's "fresh"; if it's bad, it's "rotten." The scoring group consists mainly of film critics.

IMDb is a subsidiary of Amazon, where registered users can all cast votes; in short, it is the American Douban.

Metacritic is relatively professional; its scoring group consists of professional film critics from mainstream media, adopting a 100-point scale rule.

After the premiere of *The Exotic* at Cannes, the Rotten Tomatoes index thawed, and it initially received a 94% freshness rating.

In addition, regarding box office forecasting, North America mainly relies on Box Office Mojo and CinemaScore.

After the Cannes premiere, the box office forecast given by Box Office Mojo also reached 70 million USD, still not exceeding the film's cost line.

The evaluation of Box Office Mojo is a dynamic algorithm that combines all factors affecting a film's box office and updates its forecast figures at any time.

CinemaScore, on the other hand, provides a score based on on-site evaluations on the night of the premiere.

Given this, Lionsgate and Miramax increased their promotional efforts, doing their utmost to heat up the market before the North American premiere on June 20th.

Hollywood film promotion costs are extremely high; even for low-budget films like *The Blair Witch Project* and *Paranormal Activity*, Lionsgate spent tens of millions in promotion.

Not to mention a major work like *The Exotic*.

In the usual sense, for Hollywood commercial blockbusters, promotional expenses are as high as 45%-55% of the film's production cost.

Taking *The Exotic* as an example, with a cost of 75 million USD, the full-channel promotional expenses in North America alone account for about 34 million USD.

According to the agreement, this money will be advanced 70% by Miramax and Lionsgate, with the Inquiry Realm (USA) bearing the remaining 30%.

It will be settled with the two distribution companies when the final box office is split.

After Cannes, Lu Kuan returned to the country to handle some company affairs and arrange domestic promotion and distribution work before setting off for North America.

He was going to take a group of main creators to start a half-month promotional tour.

For example, an exclusive interview with the crew by the *Los Angeles Times*;

Carpet-bombing advertisements on programs favored by teenage audiences, such as the MTV channel;

As well as on-site interviews with Lu Kuan, Leonardo, and others by top media magazines like *Variety*.

The activities lasted until June 20th, when *The Exotic* held its premiere at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

This night was also the premiere ceremony for Jackie Chan's *Around the World in 80 Days*; Disney's Eisner was determined to knock Lu Kuan and Harvey off their horses!

The Chinese Theatre was founded in 1927 by Sid Grauman, known as the "King of American Theatres," and is named for its exterior and interior rich in Chinese elements.

The main entrance of the theatre has two red stone pillars with distinct Chinese characteristics, supporting the entire Chinese-style roof that stands 27.4 meters high.

There are also two stone lions at the entrance, which are very easy to recognize.

In 2013, the domestic TCL Group bought the naming rights for 10 years.

On the red carpet, Tang Mu Cruise, Leonardo, Harvey, and the stars invited by Lionsgate vied for attention.

That's how Hollywood is—supporting each other, except that Disney's direct directors and actors went to the premiere of *Around the World*.

Where there are stars, there is attention, and naturally, there is more media; this was the reason Lu Kuan sought out Tang Mu Cruise and others to operate this project in the first place.

If he had relied solely on himself, even if he had taken out 100 million USD to make this film, he might not have been able to get so many big names to support it.

Around the red carpet were fanatical fans holding support slogans, most of whom came for the two handsome guys, Leonardo and Tang Mu Cruise.

Lu Kuan stood in front of the screening hall and looked around the main venue; Hall 1 was already packed.

Except for the invited stars, reporters, and film critics from Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, the rest were fanatical movie fans.

On this night, audiences filled the seats in front of about 3,500 screens in over 1,100 cinemas across North America.

Everyone felt fatigued by the month-long advertising bombardment, and coupled with the excellent reputation coming from the Cannes Film Festival, the fans were very expectant.

As the film started, the whole hall was silent.

This time, Boss Lu didn't have the leisure to observe the audience's reaction.

The most professional group of filmmakers at Cannes had provided excellent feedback; this film would undoubtedly be loved by the audience, it was just a matter of how high the box office could soar.

Unsurprisingly, the car chase and fight scenes in the first ten minutes were eye-catching enough.

Natural and smooth special effects shots, a refreshing editing rhythm, and an Oriental beauty with an angelic face and the temperament of a fierce bandit.

All the elements hit the sweet spot of the viewing group, making their blood boil.

Not just at the venue, but also for the premiere audiences in front of 3,500 screens across North America.

"I didn't expect the Chinese to be able to make such a special effects film!"

"What's this girl's name? Can anyone tell me?"

It wasn't until the imaginative monsters from the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* appeared that the audience compared them with the picture books in their hands, watching and exclaiming how satisfying it was.

Westerners thought monsters were all disgusting things like Godzilla; they didn't expect that the Chinese thousands of years ago could create such romantic exotic beast images.

In addition to teenagers who love action scenes and special effects shots, viewing groups of other levels and ages also found their own spiritual appeal in *The Exotic*.

About nature, about the environment, and about how humans are digging their own graves step by step.

When Tony Leung and Dr. Ximai perished together in Chinatown, which was filmed in Shanghai, and when Liu Liu Yifei and Leonardo resolutely walked into the exotic realm.

Everyone was still left wanting more, and the classic shots from those 140 minutes kept flashing in their minds!

The lights in the screening hall came on, and the screams and shouts at the venue were endless!

Seeing that the most critical North American audience, who watch the most films, had been conquered by *The Exotic*, Lu Kuan, Harvey, and the others finally felt truly relieved.

*The Exotic* was a success!

After the film ended in some North American cinemas, the audience, who were full of praise, walked out of the screening hall, and there were questionnaires provided by CinemaScore's research agency.

The vast majority of the audience chose A+ while still wanting more.

CinemaScore is the premier film market research company in North America; they cooperate with the Big Six and the alliance, attracting audiences to score on-site through small benefits like discount coupons provided by cinemas.

Such objective scoring results will provide the most authentic first-hand information for bosses of all Hollywood film companies.

They will adjust their promotional focus, target groups, etc., based on the CinemaScore evaluation results from the first few days.

It wasn't until 11:30 PM that Lu Kuan smoked a cigarette and opened the official email notification from CinemaScore.

A+, predicted box office...

Lu Kuan excitedly slapped the table and immediately notified his allies; everyone was excited!

CinemaScore, founded in 1978, is very authoritative; they had their own set of statistical criteria before the arrival of big data.

In the statistical samples of previous years, fewer than 50 films received an A+ at the premiere; CinemaScore also issues a data model called the "staying power index."

Among these 50 films, the average final box office is generally 2.5 to 3 times the opening weekend box office.

That is to say, if *The Exotic* can achieve a box office of about 35 million to 40 million within a week starting from June 20th, there is basically no suspense about it exceeding 100 million in the end.

The next day, on the American Douban, IMDb, the film ratings for the recent period were released.

*The Chronicles of Riddick* 7.5;

*The Exotic* 8.9;

The most surprising thing was *Around the World*, also created by Chinese creator Jackie Chan, which was rated 6.3 by the audience after the premiere and received bad reviews.

Boss Lu looked at words like "extremely stupid," "get back to Hong Kong," and "money-grabbing kung fu beggar" and broke into a cold sweat; these audiences really turned their backs on people.

Audiences and book friends are the same; they are innocent and ruthless.

If you feed them shit, they dare to smear it on your face!

If you want to fool them, you must be prepared to be sprayed wildly.

On the afternoon of the 21st, Harvey called; the box office data for yesterday's midnight screenings was also out.

"9 million?"

"Are you sure?"

Lu Kuan was truly overjoyed this time; he expected the data to explode, but he didn't expect the total box office of the premiere plus midnight screenings to reach 9 million!

According to this trend, there is absolutely no problem with the opening weekend box office exceeding 45 million.

If calculated according to CinemaScore's "staying power index," the final box office will be at least 135 million.

"Harvey, speed up the promotion process; I want to win the weekly box office champion for this year's summer season."

The current weekly box office champion in June 2004 is *Harry Potter* with about 46 million.

This weekly box office championship is not only a real number and money, but also a form of advertising.

Everyone has a herd mentality and a desire to compare, especially among teenagers.

If everyone has seen a hot, great film and you haven't, you will lose your social initiative.

Harvey looked at the schedule: "Fly to Chicago tomorrow, Philadelphia the day after, and an MTV interview in the afternoon; it's already the tightest schedule."

June 23rd, Philadelphia MTV studio.

Lu Kuan, Liu Liu Yifei, Leonardo, and others sat on the sofa for an interview.

"Crystal, I heard you are only 17 this year?"

"Yes, but still a few months away."

"Oh, too young. Looking at your profile, you were born in China, but you have also lived in the USA. Why did you eventually choose to return to the country for development?"

Liu Liu Yifei thought for a moment and smiled: "It's the same as people who have drifted outside for a long time wanting to go home; there's no difference."

Host Charlie turned to ask Leonardo: "Leo, I heard your director is a tyrant on set? Like a pervert like Hitchcock?"

Hitchcock is famous for his manic fascist filmmaking style.

Once, in order to get an actress into character, he held a real hunting rifle and fired at the empty space next to her to help the actress give a panicked expression.

"Haha, maybe not as strict as Hitchcock; he is a director who is very good at communication and is also proficient in performance theory himself."

"I think if he weren't a director, maybe he could come and be my acting teacher."

Charlie nodded: "I heard that the car chase scene in the first 15 minutes was filmed very dangerously, and there were even casualties on set?"

This is the usual method of Hollywood film promotion: blowing smoke.

As long as the male and female actors are of similar status, they must fall in love because of the play, starting to hype up the romance from the film promotion, and the two must break up after the film is off-screen;

Filming car chase scenes must be done by the actors themselves, absolutely no stunt doubles;

Filming horror movies, there must be supernatural events on set, scaring everyone to death.

Leonardo is also an old hand: "There were no casualties. In fact, we all went on ourselves. Crystal's skills are very agile, but there were still some accidents during the final escape from the fire."

Charlie asked in surprise: "What?"

Liu Liu Yifei took over the conversation: "The car door wouldn't open, and seeing the fire tongue about to lick my hair, the director finally shouted 'cut' in an emergency, and everyone rushed up to save me!"

The little girl stroked her chest as if she had survived a disaster, looking fearful, and it seemed her acting skills had made great progress.

The female host on the side asked about the romance rumors again: "Crystal, you and Leo spent several months on set, did you fall for him? He is a Hollywood heartthrob, you know?"

Liu Liu Yifei said lightly: "I have a lot of kung fu scenes, and I'm exhausted every day, so it's hard to have leisure time to think about other things. Besides..."

"Leo seems to be much more interested in Director Lu Kuan than in me. They often go to the room to drink after filming. As for whether it's just drinking, I don't know."

There was a burst of laughter at the scene.

The crew rushed thousands of miles at a speed of two cities a day, and the promotional itinerary skipped many traditional box office cities until the box office figures for the first week were released.

This time, not only did Harvey call in ecstasy, but Lionsgate's boss, Gusta, even flew from Los Angeles to the roadshow city in person.

"Lu! We are the weekly box office champion, 47.32 million! Surpassing *Harry Potter* and *Shrek*."

*Harry Potter* was released in early June, and this is already the third week; the box office growth has slowed down, and the current total box office is 172 million;

*The Chronicles of Riddick 2*, which was in a fierce battle with *The Exotic* during the same period, was a big flop in the previous life; in this life, it encountered a science fiction work with a similar theme, *The Exotic*, and it flopped even harder.

There were also animated films like *Garfield* that were just released, all of which were cut down by the strong momentum of *The Exotic*.

As for Jackie Chan's *Around the World*...

The opening weekend box office was 13 million, and the most critical thing was that the ratings of Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Metacritic were all red.

With this kind of word-of-mouth continuing, the final box office will not exceed 30 million, and a huge loss is a foregone conclusion.

Jackie Chan received a top Hollywood salary of 20 million USD in this Disney blockbuster.

But in the later life, because *Around the World* flopped, his Hollywood road fell into a desperate situation, and he could only return to the country for development.

The strong contrast between *The Exotic* and *Around the World*, the struggle between Chinese creators is secondary, but the rift between Harvey and Eisner is getting heavier and heavier.

Especially since Boss Lu also handed over the distribution of *Fahrenheit 9/11* to him, making the Jewish man even more hateful of Eisner, who had stopped him from distributing it in the first place.

Harvey mobilized his own direct media and began to create momentum in various channels, wildly publicizing the fact that Disney had let *The Exotic* go because of his wrong decision!

"The perfection of *The Exotic* even exceeded our imagination; at the same time, Eisner's stupidity also exceeded our imagination!"

"If Disney lets such a tyrant and a brainless dictator continue to sit in that position, I think old Mr. Disney would even jump out of his grave and take out his cane to beat him!"

At the same time, other large and small film companies in Hollywood finally saw the strength of this film director from China!

This is a genius director who uses Chinese learning as the substance and Western learning as the application; his proficiency in Hollywood rules and underground undercurrents even exceeds that of Hollywood practitioners!

There is even a rumor from nowhere that Lu Kuan himself is a believer in an Eastern mysterious religion, proficient in voodoo and predictive divination...

When little Liu held the newspaper with gossip and told Boss Lu about this strange story, the latter had a face of crying and laughing.

Is this the good work of Quentin, the big mouth, or Harvey, the white pig?

In addition to the foreign box office figures and the frenzy of public opinion, Boss Lu also arranged for domestic media to reprint and divert traffic, preparing for the domestic premiere that was delayed.

For a science fiction blockbuster like *The Exotic* that is released globally, the markets in major box office areas are all tiered.

For example, the domestic premiere is scheduled after North America, Japan, and South Korea.

Because the more developed the film market is, the more the stunning box office figures and the flying good reviews can be transmitted back to the country, the more it can drive the enthusiasm for watching movies in secondary developed markets.

This is equivalent to a free advertising fee.

I spent 30 million USD in North America to get on so many newspapers and programs; just reprint them all to the country for me, and use them again!

At the same time, it is also to stagger the time, which is convenient for the main creative team to run global roadshows.

*China Film Report* reprinted and cited media such as the *Los Angeles Times* and *The Hollywood Reporter* and also released a commentary:

"This is the first time in the 21st century that a Chinese director has stirred up a hurricane in the North American market. The North American Atlantic hurricane season generally arrives in April, but the destructive power of *The Exotic* in just two weeks is already staggering."

*Yangcheng Evening News*: "We are happy to see more and more Western viewers paying attention to the ancient East through the excellent works of our own directors. The sleeping lion mentioned by Napoleon is about to wake up, and the shock caused to the world starts with this *The Exotic*!"

Apart from traditional media, in the mainstream film and television commentary positions of Blog Network and Douban Network, Lu Kuan's black fans and Liu Liu Yifei's true love fans are also collectively carnival.

It is said that there are four Dan and two Bing and one Fei; now, besides Zhang Zhang Ziyi, the only one who can enter Hollywood is our Liu Yifei. The fans are all proud of it.

Liu Liu Yifei's personal fan website has also developed to as many as 8, such as Liu Yifei Immortal Residence, Happy Yijia, etc.

Fans maintain high-frequency interaction and promotional offensives on the Internet, very naturally popularizing the science fiction background, cast, behind-the-scenes tidbits, casting process, etc., of *The Exotic* across the network.

And the scale of Boss Lu's movie fan group is also gradually expanding, including many passerby fans, although they disdain his reputation for private life.

But they really regard him as a national hero of Chinese cinema, showing off his power overseas!

Emperor Li Li Shoucheng and China Film Han Han Shanping are naturally overjoyed, but the bosses of all competing film companies in the mainland are almost worried to tears.

What to do?

If imported Hollywood films are hungry wolves, then this Lu Kuan is a Tibetan mastiff?

This is an imported film in the sheepskin of a co-production!

Domestic movie fans, science fiction fans, Liu Liu Yifei fan groups, and Leonardo fans ask every day, leaving messages on the official website and official blog of the Inquiry Realm to ask about the domestic release date.

After Lu Kuan and Han Han Shanping communicated, they set the national premiere date on July 20th.

You set the date, I escape the date.

*Throw Down* directed by Johnnie To and starring Louis Koo, Jordan Chan, and Cherrie Ying changed the date to September;

Before this, *The Twins Effect 2*, produced by Emperor itself and starring Twins, Donnie Yen, and Jaycee Chan, had already urgently withdrawn from the schedule;

And Zhang Zhang Yimou's *House of Flying Daggers* changed the date the earliest.

Zhang Zhang Weiping attended the premiere of *The Exotic* at Cannes and decided to withdraw from the summer schedule the next day.

Especially after seeing the explosion of the North American opening weekend box office, he was extremely glad for his choice.

If *House of Flying Daggers* collided with *The Exotic* while the peripheral market was exploding, it would definitely die!

At the end of June 2004, the *The Exotic* party arrived at Tokyo International Airport in Japan.

Just out of the airport, the crew was surrounded by fans who came to pick them up.

High-held support signs, fans crying, colorful paper and sequins all over the floor...

The most popular one is naturally Leonardo, followed by...

Followed by Lu Kuan?

"Little Liu, it seems my popularity in Japan is higher than yours, haha!"

"Fifty steps laughing at a hundred steps!"

In fact, Liu Liu Yifei is not a stranger to Japanese audiences; *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* and *Chinese Paladin* were both purchased and broadcast by the Japanese Neco pay channel.

The *Drummer* at that time was quite popular in East Asian countries influenced by Confucian culture, and the service girl Yu Yan she played also once amazed these Japanese audiences.

The party arrived at the premiere cinema, and after the 140-minute film ended, they were greeted by tidal applause.

The Japanese are still quite secondary and enthusiastic; everyone stood up and applauded for more than 20 minutes, forcing Boss Lu to return to the stage to express his gratitude with Liu Liu Yifei and others again and again.

Entering the interview session, today's host has a great background, one of Boss Lu's wolf friends, Takeshi Kitano!

Takeshi Kitano was originally a host, and he met Lu Kuan in Venice in 2002 and regarded him as a close friend.

"Lu! I am very jealous of you; you have actually improved again, compared to two years ago!"

Everyone at the scene laughed, very fond of this former crosstalk actor's eclectic hosting style.

"Tell me, why did you dive into the embrace of commercial science fiction films?"

The microphone was given to Lu Kuan, and the latter did not shy away at all: "Of course, it's to make money!"

Many fans who developed from Boss Lu's *Drummer* looked at each other, not knowing why the artist they admired was so vulgar.

"Artists all have their own artistic pursuits, but without money, they can only look for investors."

"I make commercial films, using good-looking films to exchange for considerable box office, to satisfy my own creative freedom."

"This way I don't have to care what the investors think; I can shoot whatever I want!"

The Japanese are a nation with a strong "sense of shame," caring about face and ashamed to talk about money.

Even if a samurai can't afford to eat, he has to pretend to be full and pick his teeth.

The audience came into contact with such a frank and sincere point of view for the first time and applauded one after another.

"This is the wisdom of the Eastern power; we still have a lot to learn!"

"A gentleman understands righteousness, a villain understands profit; we only saw Lu-san's vulgarity, but did not discover his pursuit of creative freedom and dreams behind it. Ashamed!"

Entering the audience Q&A session, it is very strange that the questions were all aimed at Lu Kuan.

It can only be said that the Japanese's brain circuits are a bit special; they may appreciate men like Boss Lu who have both face and brains!

"Director, I have seen your group photo with Director Takeshi Kitano and Director Lu Lu Kebei in Venice."

"Both of them fell in love with their leading actresses and turned them into their wives. Will you do the same?"

Takeshi Kitano roared angrily: "Baka! How can you be so rude to me?"

Everyone laughed.

As expected of one of the top three comedy actors in Japan, this ability to mobilize the atmosphere of the scene is very strong.

Takeshi Kitano's rumored marital change in Venice two years ago was a joke, and what was even more hilarious was that his wife resolutely refused to divorce him, firmly holding the financial power in her own hands.

It made him have to cry and apply for money when he took his mistress to dinner!

Let's not talk about Lu Lu Kebei; he changes a wife for every film he shoots.

Liu Liu Yifei's pretty face flushed red when she heard the translator's narrative, looking forward to how Lu Kuan would respond.

Boss Lu smiled: "I just saw a fan's support sign that said, 'The Fierce Tiger of the Set'."

"May I ask what this nickname means?"

The female fan giggled: "Because we saw in Leonardo's interview with American media that you would demand actors like a tyrant."

"And there are tidbits of you scolding people on set; this is the audience's teasing of you."

Boss Lu smiled: "So that's it."

"Then I might not do that; work is work, life is life."

"I am a very pure man; if I fall in love with a woman, I will take care of her meticulously."

"But as a director, it is impossible not to get angry during filming. If my girlfriend is the leading actress, I can't scold her!"

A burst of laughter erupted at the scene. To give up beauties for the pleasure of scolding people, the secondary degree of this director is comparable to our Japanese!

Liu Liu Yifei: Disgusting! Full of lies!

Another young man with acne on his face asked: "May I ask which directors of our Japan Director Lu Kuan likes the most?"

This is also a routine question in roadshows, especially in East Asian countries, including China, where they like to hear their idols talk about their perceptions of their own country's figures and things.

Takeshi Kitano acted as a foil again: "Hey! Can't you see I'm here? Is there any need to ask this question?"

Boss Lu understood the hint: "The first one, Director Takeshi Kitano!"

The whole audience burst into laughter and applause.

"Back to the topic, the one I like the most is naturally Director Akira Kurosawa. His plot, dialogue, characters, and camera movement are all master-level. What I like most are *Seven Samurai* and *Rashomon*."

"Then there is Director Kenji Mizoguchi. The biggest label of his films is the excavation of women, showing humanistic care for bottom-level Japanese women, which shocked me very much."

"In his films, what I like most are *Ugetsu* and *The Life of Oharu*, which he made with his old partner Kinuyo Tanaka."

The acne-faced young man was very excited. In the past, when Hollywood directors and actors came to Japan for roadshows, it was already very good to be able to say the name of Akira Kurosawa!

Lu-san can even say Mizoguchi, and he is familiar with the characteristics of their works and representative works!

It is really respectable. The acne-faced young man made up his mind to encourage all his friends to watch *The Exotic*!

Suddenly, a middle-aged man at the scene didn't take the microphone and asked directly: "Doesn't Lu-san like Yasujiro Ozu?"

The relaxed and pleasant atmosphere at the scene was stifled. The knowledgeable filmmakers looked at Lu Kuan in unison.

This question is malicious.

Ozu can be said to be a master second only to Kurosawa in Japan, but he was a member of the Japanese invaders of China, fighting down the Yangtze River, and he was also a damn poison gas user.

A beast.

Takeshi Kitano looked at the man vigilantly and gave the security guard at the door a look.

The Japanese have a strong culture of rushing the stage and demonstrating, and everyone is used to it.

Liu Liu Yifei and Leonardo saw Lu Kuan's face visibly turn bad, looking like he wanted to rush up and fight with the middle-aged man in glasses.

He pondered for a few seconds before picking up the microphone: "Just as a director, this is an artist; apart from that, I don't appreciate him very much."

In fact, in film history, there are many great directors with indelible crimes and stains.

The crimes here are not the chaotic private life of Boss Lu; that is too pediatric.

For example, the Japanese Ozu, it is difficult to redeem his crimes even if he is cut into pieces;

For example, Griffith, the founder of film civilization, was a firm racist who claimed that people of color were uncivilized monsters and should be exterminated;

For example, Woody Allen, suspected of incest, I won't say with whom;

For example, Polanski mentioned earlier, he is a child criminal who has been clearly sentenced for raping a minor.

Takeshi Kitano took over the conversation agilely and made a few more jokes, and the fan meeting ended.

The crew didn't stay and went straight to the airport, rushing to the next stop, South Korea.

On the plane, Liu Liu Yifei asked about the situation just now, and Lu Kuan explained it to her.

Liu Liu Xiaoli said in horror: "This person is intentional, right? If Little Lu said he liked him, I guess there would be propaganda about you selling your country for glory immediately."

Liu Liu Xiaoli didn't guess wrong, but it hadn't reached the most serious point yet.

If Lu Kuan was really labeled as worshiping war criminals, I guess he would be rotten in the country, even worse than Little Yanzi who took pictures at the beginning.

The 75 million USD *The Exotic* would also be banned!

Boss Lu smiled: "The compulsory course for public figures is to know how to avoid pits in interviews; Little Liu should also pay attention in the future."

He had a sentence that was not easy to say for the time being, especially if he really shot a massacre film, the public opinion traps against her would be visibly more.

After all, if the film's effect is extraordinary, it is most convenient to trip up the youngest Liu Liu Yifei if you want to make the film stink.

It was already night when they arrived at Incheon Airport in Hancheng, and the crew rested for a night to prepare for the next day's activities.

When eating breakfast, the box office of *The Exotic* at the premiere in Japan last night was released, totaling 152 million yen, with over 110,000 viewers!

It's a really exciting number!

Boss Lu announced the first-day box office at breakfast, causing a burst of cheers, making the exhausted crew members even more energetic to deal with today's itinerary.

The promotional and roadshow work in South Korea is fully responsible by the agent distributor CJ Entertainment.

It is said that death, taxes, and Samsung are the three old things that Koreans cannot live without.

This CJ Entertainment also has a great background; the family that runs CJ and the Samsung family are brothers.

That is, Lee Byung-chul of Samsung and Lee Maeng-hee of CJ are brothers; when their next generation succeeded to the throne, it became two cousins in power respectively.

In the Korean film industry, CJ Entertainment is undoubtedly the boss; the later *Parasite*, *Memories of Murder*, and *Snowpiercer* are all films produced by them.

CJ also has a deep relationship with Hollywood; this road was opened up by Lee Mi-kyung, the initiator of CJ Entertainment, in 1995.

When Spielberg was preparing to build DreamWorks, he recruited partners globally, and celebrities and big shots flocked to him.

Lee Byung-chul of Samsung also became one of the candidates because he loved movies; he brought a 500 million USD check to Spielberg, and finally increased it to 900 million in the negotiations!

However, it was finally rejected by Spielberg.

Because Lee Byung-chul ate with Spielberg for an hour and talked about semiconductors for 40 minutes, the latter felt that he didn't understand movies at all.

As a result, Lee Byung-chul's niece, Lee Mi-kyung, came from behind and grasped this opportunity.

At this time, Lee Mi-kyung is still in power at CJ Entertainment.

Until about 2014, it was rumored that Park Geun-hye summoned Lee Mi-kyung's uncle.

Criticizing the route of films produced by CJ Entertainment as being too left-leaning, Lee Mi-kyung left CJ Entertainment and immigrated to the USA, only hanging an honorary title.

It wasn't until the outbreak of the vigorous "Park Geun-hye confidant intervention incident" within South Korea that CJ Entertainment welcomed this leader back.

Starting from 1998, the Korean entertainment industry has been drastically reformed under the policy of President Kim Dae-jung.

CJ Entertainment has been advancing rapidly; this time, it spent a lot of money to purchase the distribution rights of *The Exotic*, and it is also sparing no effort to promote it nationwide.

All the receptionists at today's premiere are trainee girls sent by SM, with an average height of 168 or more.

At 6 PM Beijing time, at the Hancheng Theatre in South Korea, the premiere and interview activities of *The Exotic* began.

Hancheng Theatre is the film activity venue with the highest status in the Korean capital; holding a premiere here is about the same level as *Hero* held in the Great Hall of the People.

Before the activity started, the 1,200 tickets open to the audience for the premiere were snapped up, allowing scalpers to make a fortune.

Lu Kuan led Liu Liu Yifei, Leonardo, and others to walk on the red carpet; fans thoughtfully made Chinese and English support signs.

Looking at the posture of those crying, today I have seen what the most developed and exaggerated fan culture in the early 21st century is like.

The crew moved forward with difficulty, having to stop every few steps to take pictures, sign autographs, and take group photos, and it took more than ten minutes to walk the red carpet before entering the screening hall of Hancheng Theatre.

"Wow! Leonardo is so handsome!"

Im Yoon-ah glanced disdainfully at her infatuated best friend, Seo-hyun; today both of them were service personnel recruited to guest star.

"I still like Lu Kuan Oppa; his films are shot so well."

The little stars in Seo-hyun's eyes were even more intense: "Mm-hmm, Lu Kuan Oppa is also good; I want both!"

Im Yoon-ah smiled and slapped her roommate: "Go to hell! Don't fight with me!"

Watching Lu Kuan and others sit down from far to near, Seo-hyun teased: "Yoon-ah, look at the leading actress beside him; she seems very close to him!"

"Humph, what's so great about it? It's just relying on being from the same country as Oppa!"

She turned to her roommate and whispered: "Seo-hyun, this is the second year of training; we must also work hard!"

Seo-hyun didn't have her strong desire to win and had already started to tidy up her appearance to go and deliver hot towels.

The first row of the auditorium was full of main creators, waiting for the guests to enter, and then the premiere ceremony began.

"Little Liu, did you remember the things I asked you to memorize yesterday?"

"Mm, I remembered; my favorite Korean female star is Jun Ji-hyun, my favorite film director is Park Chan-wook, most..."

Boss Lu nodded: "You did your homework well; you must say it very naturally later; these Koreans have very strong self-esteem."

Lee Mi-kyung of CJ Entertainment walked over with several entertainment industry figures in suits and leather shoes.

"Director Lu, let me introduce you."

"This is Mr. Lee Soo-man of SM Entertainment."

"This is Mr. Choi Ji-soo of Storms Company."

"This is Director Lee Jae-ryong of KBS TV station."

Boss Lu shook hands and greeted the big shots of the Korean domestic entertainment industry one by one.

Just like the father and daughter of Jang Na-ra who wanted to enter other Asian markets like China in 2004, the Korean entertainment industry in this period also had a trend of overflow.

In March of this year, the newly promoted Korean little king Rain had already held a concert in Beijing, and the momentum was booming.

Coupled with the fact that the agreement for the Hunan channel to introduce *Dae Jang Geum* today has taken effect, the country has begun to face the impact of the Korean wave in an all-round way.

Behind several entertainment industry big shots were a group of male and female actors, but Lee Mi-kyung would naturally not introduce them on such an occasion.

Boss Lu pulled little Liu behind him.

"This is Liu Liu Yifei, the leading actress of *The Exotic*; say hello to the chairmen."

Lee Soo-man and others cast curious eyes, and after sizing up Liu Liu Yifei's height and appearance, they thought she was indeed a good seedling for training.

It's just that little Liu in this life will not go to Sony Music again, and singing and dancing have nothing to do with her.

In her heart, everything is inferior, only the film queen is high.

Several people greeted and sat down, only Choi Ji-soo of Storms was still lingering and refused to leave, turning to introduce the company's artists behind him.

"Director Lu, this is the excellent actor of the Republic of Korea, Song Seung-heon; I don't know if you have seen his *Autumn in My Heart*."

Liu Liu Yifei's eyes lit up!

I memorized this question last night, *Autumn in My Heart*, Song Hye-kyo plays Eun-suh.

Should this Song Seung-heon be the male lead?

Song Seung-heon bowed humbly and walked up to hold Boss Lu's hand with both hands.

"Director Lu, I admire your film talent very much; if there is a chance, please give me a chance to cooperate no matter what!"

Choi Ji-soo smiled: "In May, Director Tsui Hark's *Seven Swords* in your country was approved; it is said that he is very satisfied with Seung-heon's appearance and acting skills."

"If Director Lu has a suitable role, please consider it more!"

Boss Lu looked at Song Seung-heon with "appreciation."

On his mouth: "Okay, definitely!"

In his heart: Definitely your mother's head!

He turned his head and glanced calmly; Liu Liu Yifei looked at Lu Kuan with a normal face and smiled gently.

Liu Liu Yifei thought this person was strange; he was still talking to people, why did he look back at himself?

The little girl silently licked her teeth with her tongue.

Recently, in order to control her weight, she eats green food vegetable salad every day; there won't be vegetable leaves on my teeth, right?

Little Liu, you misunderstood; he is not afraid of you eating green, he is afraid of being greened himself!

Greened across time and space...

Although he knew that it was a gimmick couple for hype at the time, Boss Lu, who had a strong possessiveness, was already thinking about how to harm this old Korean.

Song Seung-heon wanted to shake hands with Liu Liu Yifei politely again, but Lu Kuan naturally hugged her slender waist.

"Sorry, excuse us for a moment."

Song Seung-heon smiled awkwardly: "Okay, okay."

The two walked away, exchanged greetings with the guests who came in, and then returned to their seats to rest for a while.

Little Liu stared at him suspiciously: "You are very strange today?"

"Strange what? I'm very normal, okay?"

Normal men would do this, okay?

"Then why did you look at me like that just now? There's nothing wrong with my face, right?"

Boss Lu said easily: "No, I just think you are very beautiful today."

Liu Liu Yifei's doubts in her heart were even deeper, feeling like she knew this person for the first time.

Is this something that comes out of your mouth?

Tibetan Mastiff turned lapdog?

Liu Liu Yifei was still thinking about the weird details just now when she saw a reception lady in a slit cheongsam walking over.

Im Yoon-ah walked closer and closer, feeling that her heart couldn't help but want to jump out of her tight chest!

"Hello Director, here is a towel for you."

"OK, Kamsahamnida!"

Boss Lu didn't pay attention and glanced at the figure of the cheongsam beauty, his eyes discovering beauty following the big slit upwards.

Along the snow-white thighs, to the tight waistline, then to the full chest shape, and then to the tender cheeks...

Holy shit?

Is it a meeting of acquaintances today?

Isn't this "Gee Gee Gee Gee Gee"?

Yoon-ah saw his eyes lingering on her, glanced at the increasingly dissatisfied eyes of the leading actress beside him, and couldn't help but feel proud.

Then she plucked up the courage and said: "Oppa, I admire you very much; can I take a picture with you later?"

Boss Lu listened to her broken English and smiled: "Are you my fan?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"I am a second-year trainee; my name is Yoon-ah. The training is very hard, and I wanted to give up before the first year was over!"

"Until I saw Oppa's *Whiplash*, that sentence was said so well: 'There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job'!"

"So I have persisted until now! Oppa, you are my spiritual strength!"

Boss Lu was overjoyed, and the man's vanity was greatly satisfied.

Just as he was about to encourage her a few more words, a sharp pain suddenly came from his arm!

He knew who did the good deed without looking back, coughed lightly, and his eyes converged slightly: "Very good, keep working hard!"

Liu Liu Yifei also interrupted the conversation between the two in English: "The premiere is about to start; this lady, please go back."

Im Yoon-ah walked away with a drooping head, looking back reluctantly as she walked.

Aish! Damn woman!

Lu Kuan then turned back and questioned: "Why did you pinch me?"

Little Liu showed a sweet smile: "There was a camera filming you just now; I remind you, don't be too presumptuous."

"If you drool later, you will lose our Chinese face in front of Koreans!"

Damn, reversing the heaven and earth!

Seeing her angry look, Boss Lu couldn't say anything more.

"Little Liu, you have to have love; how hard it is for trainees; I just gave her a little spiritual encouragement!"

Spiritual encouragement is not impossible.

"Is that so? I'm also very hard."

"Oppa~~~ why don't you come and encourage me too?"

Liu Liu Yifei looked up at him provocatively, looking like she would go to the house to uncover the tiles if she didn't hit her for three days.

Boss Lu sighed secretly, forget it.

Wait for two years, and then whip you well.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 232 =====