Chapter 306: If the Mountain Will Not Come to Me, I Shall Go to Her

Taro remained silent for a few seconds; there was indeed a film currently seeking investment.

Logically, with his father’s connections, shooting a low-budget film like *The Gun* would not be a problem.

But for this massacre film, he did not want to satisfy his creative desires in such a superficial way; he also wanted to be like some unscrupulous director, able to create whatever he pleased!

If he wanted to spend money on special effects, he would spend as much as he wanted!

If he wanted to hire a certain star or actor, he would hire them!

In all fairness, although many of the Sixth Generation directors had different ideas and approaches to film than Lu Kuan, and some, like Taro, even had personal grudges against him.

But to say that all mainland directors, including Zhang Yimou, envied his creative freedom is something no one could deny.

The man was simply too rich.

"To be honest, the two of you, the film I want to shoot is also about a massacre, which clashes somewhat with Lu Kuan’s new film."

Taro felt a bit insecure.

It was not that he lacked confidence in his own ability, but that he lacked confidence in competing and contending with Boss Lu in terms of funding and marketing.

He was simply not in the same league!

Ge Xi Xiong’s expression was startled for a moment, then he sighed: "That is a tragic piece of history, I am very sorry!"

"If it were any other subject, I would be very willing to discuss investment with Mr. Lu, but this..."

Wu Kebo sat opposite and busily signaled to Lu Chuan.

"Ge! Mr. Ge Xi! It is not what you imagine!"

Taro’s tone was a bit anxious, then he returned to normal.

In front of investors, he still had to maintain the temperament of an artist, just like his old man.

"Mr. Ge Xi’s words just now are something I appreciate; clearly you are a person who supports Sino-Japanese friendship, but please listen to me."

"My film will not be like others, like that guy Lu Kuan, who only knows how to show off special effects and camera work, using gore and sensationalism to peddle gimmicks—that is a lower-class approach!"

Ge Xi Xiong was very interested: "Then Mr. Lu..."

"If Mr. Ge Xi is interested, you are welcome to come to my studio tomorrow to chat; I have some preliminary ideas now."

"You are a person who supports Sino-Japanese friendship; perhaps you even have some historical materials you could help me contact and provide!"

"Good! Good! I am honored!"

Ge Xi Xiong smiled: "I won't hide it from Mr. Lu, I am actually a veteran film buff; I believe that characters and human nature in film should be complex and changeable."

"Like Akira Kurosawa, he was adept at showing the complexity of human nature against grand historical backgrounds and intense dramatic conflicts."

"Mr. Lu must have seen *Seven Samurai*; the seven samurai have vastly different personalities, demonstrating courage, greed, kindness, selfishness, and many other aspects of human nature."

"Some fight for a living, some for justice; when facing the test of life and death, everyone’s human nature is fully excavated and presented."

"And his *Rashomon*, through different characters' varying accounts of the same event, reveals the hypocrisy, selfishness, and egoism in human nature, giving me profound thoughts on the multifaceted nature of humanity."

Ge Xi Xiong’s eyes held reverence, and he immediately said to Lu Chuan and Wu Kebo: "To use your country’s saying, discussing such a master is a pleasure; one should drink a large cup of wine to celebrate!"

Lu Chuan flattered him: "Haha, Mr. Ge Xi is my soulmate; my idol is Mr. Akira Kurosawa! Come!"

"Director Lu, Mr. Ge Xi is well-acquainted with the presidents of major Japanese distribution companies like Toho and Shochiku, and he also has his own very insightful views on film art."

Ge Xi Xiong followed Wu Kebo’s lead and coaxed him: "Regarding Mr. Lu’s film, I actually do have some shallow insights."

"Please speak!" Taro climbed up the pole as it was offered; an investor is a father, one must lick his boots!

"Has Mr. Lu thought about how, if you were to shoot this film according to the core of Master Akira Kurosawa, the artistic height would reach a higher level?"

"Let me give an example: an average director, like Director Lu Kuan of your country, would certainly depict this historical event from the perspective of civilians, which makes the human nature portrayed too thin."

"What if you used both the perspectives of soldiers and civilians? Like *Seven Samurai* and *Rashomon*, to delve into the inner struggles of the soldiers? Or..."

Ge Xi Xiong’s eyes were gloomy, his true intentions revealed: "Or perhaps their awakening of human nature?"

A Chinese person with a conscience hearing this should have already picked up their chopsticks and stabbed them into this dog-bastard’s eyes.

But Taro, who had received a good education from his father since childhood, fell into deep thought.

Akira Kurosawa...

The awakening of human nature...

The multifaceted and complex nature of characters...

Even without the existence of Ge Xi Xiong, the later *City of Life and Death* was heavily criticized for similar plot points and character portrayals, inevitably leading people to speculate about the censorship behind the scenes.

In this life, Taro, due to the butterfly effect of Boss Lu, was facing a predicament in his professional and artistic career.

The existence of Wu Kebo and Ge Xi Xiong made him want to grasp them firmly, like seeing a straw to save his life!

Especially since this was a wealthy gold-master and film buff whose ideas and thoughts were perfectly in sync with his own!

He put down his wine glass, his face full of sincerity: "Mr. Ge Xi, if possible, I would like to sincerely invite you to my studio tomorrow."

"I guarantee this will be a masterpiece that deeply depicts the dilemmas of human nature from an unprecedented perspective!"

Ge Xi Xiong nodded: "Good! I couldn't ask for more; I like artists like Mr. Lu who are humble—virtuous and talented!"

After the banquet, all three returned home with full loads.

Wu Kebo of Cheng Tian was frustrated by the unshakeable dominance of Wenjie in the mainland entertainment industry.

Now that a highly targeted capital force had finally entered the field, it remained to be seen whether it could break the balance and leave some room for development for the many strong players under the one superpower.

Taro believed his unappreciated talent could finally be put to use; Ge Xi Xiong would bring investment in the name of Cheng Tian or other mainland companies to avoid controversy.

He also promised never to interfere with his creation.

There was no need to interfere; letting Taro shoot it himself might be even more "baga" than Ge Xi Xiong.

Ge Xi Xiong successfully found an "uninformed" director as an agent, and with the platform of Cheng Tian, it was more convenient for him and the association behind him to carry out some beneficial expansion and probing.

Lu Chuan was an extendable side-branch for him.

He had heard that Huayi and Wenjie also had friction, and coupled with Lu Tianmin’s special position and industry influence, he figured they could all leverage each other to put some pressure on Lu Kuan.

Furthermore, he was also dissatisfied with the gradual dying down of the dispute between Chen Kaige and Lu Kuan.

It was time to give Director Chen’s nerves another hard flick to make him completely manic.

——

At noon on January 2nd, in Taiping Alley, Xicheng District, Director Kaige had a private residence here.

Nearly a thousand square meters in size, the grounds were spacious, with front and back courtyards and two basements; Chen Kaige was sitting under the ginkgo tree in the courtyard drinking tea, full of the elegant taste of a man of letters.

In the public opinion confrontation with Lu Kuan on the internet, Boss Lu naturally gained the most, crazily absorbing a wave of lucky people who had not yet seen *The Promise*.

But in terms of data, the box office decline of *The Promise* had also been curbed; this included sympathy votes from the audience and curiosity votes, so Director Chen could not be considered to have lost.

From the perspective of hype, among *The Thousand Miles*, *Tangshan*, and *The Promise*, the heat of the latter two had been explosive recently, which objectively made Zhang Weiping, who loved hype the most, extremely anxious.

He was now waiting for the good news from his uncles and elders; as long as he could get the submission qualification, he had already formulated a foolproof plan to gild his reputation.

The American production company for *The Promise* had already contacted Anthony Minghella, who had won the Oscar for Best Director for *The English Patient*, to personally craft the film’s prologue.

At that time, *The Promise* would be renamed *The Master of the Flower Armor* and compete for the honor of Best Foreign Language Film with a brand-new edited version similar to the opening of *The Lord of the Rings*:

Accompanied by a voice-over, an ancient map would slowly unfold, with the Snow Country, the Barbarian-controlled area, and the Kingdom in full view...

It was just the same old trick of showing off skills to please Western audiences, making it seem like Lu Kuan was the only one in all of China who knew how to do it.

In the courtyard where the winter sun was shining, Director Kaige felt extremely comfortable just thinking about it.

"Kaige!"

Chen Hong ran out of the main room in a panic; because she hadn't fastened her clothes properly after her nap, the view of her chest was exposed, but the poet clearly had no leisure time for flirting now.

He inferred from his wife’s expression and actions that it was not good news, but he could only listen patiently until she finished.

"There is news on the internet that *The Promise* has been returned! Returned by Miramax!"

Shock!

A crisp sound, shards all over the floor.

The innocent pottery pot came from the earth and returned to the earth.

Being a cup for the poet Chen was always more unfortunate than being a cup for Boss Lu.

The poet’s thick eyebrows rose and fell, his face ferocious as if he wanted to eat Chen Hong: "Who spread this news!?"

This move was indeed a bit like pulling the firewood from under the cauldron; it was meant to drive him, Director Chen, to a dead end!

As mentioned earlier, at the Cannes Film Festival in the middle of this year and the Shanghai Film Festival later on, Chen Kaige had discussed *The Promise* with Harvey of Miramax.

At that time, the Jewish film distributor asked for Boss Lu’s opinion, and the latter pushed it aside, saying he didn't know and wouldn't get involved in this muddy water.

In fact, as early as November, Harvey, who had both artistic and commercial vision, already felt something was wrong and returned it immediately; it was just that the news had been suppressed by Chen Kaige’s side.

For Harvey, he did not want to offend Moonstone, the American film company behind *The Promise*, for no reason, so he kept his mouth shut and let them go find another buyer.

In later generations, it was an independent production company under Warner Bros. that purchased the American distribution rights.

If not for Lu Kuan and *Tangshan Earthquake*, the disclosure of this return news might have hurt Chen Kaige’s face, but it would not have made him so furious.

But in this life, right now, he was doing everything in his power to get the submission quota and operate for an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film to save his precarious box office!

Who was this, killing someone and still wanting to destroy their heart!?

In later generations, this news was released by Zhang Weiping in February; in this life, it was clearly the work of the Japanese Ge Xi Xiong.

Of course, in Director Kaige’s view, there was no second person to think of as the source of this leak—it had to be you, Lu Kuan!

*The Foreign Land* had your cooperation with Harvey, and the two had also talked intimately at the Shanghai Film Festival; everyone had seen that their relationship was not shallow!

To be able to know the first-hand news so clearly and throw it out at such a critical moment could both hit the reputation and box office of *The Promise* and prevent *The Promise* from being submitted to the Oscars.

Under Director Kaige’s subjective judgment, Lu Kuan was the only perpetrator who had both the ability and the motive, and he had already sentenced him in his mind.

Of course, whether it was *Steamed Bun* or the return news, it was difficult to deepen the attack on Boss Lu from a moral level to a legal level, and Chen Kaige knew this well.

He was just repeatedly using his identity as a victim and the connections left by his father to achieve his personal goals.

No one was a fool; Ge Xi Xiong just gave him two knives.

As long as Chen Kaige wasn't a fool who would stab himself with the knife, he would definitely stab it into his competitor.

"Chen Hong, get dressed, we are going to visit Uncle Zhang!"

"Also, draft a statement! I must continue to denounce this industry parasite!"

Chen Hong asked skeptically: "Kai Ge, shouldn't we find Director Tong and clarify things first?"

"Using such methods to undermine a fellow mainland director in the international market—can Director Tong still ignore this?"

Chen Kaige’s eyes flashed with rare ferocity: "No, we must go to Director Tong, but not now."

"This time, I must teach him a lesson. He likes to use filming the Great Earthquake and the Great Massacre for hype, right? Let’s see how you film when you can’t pass the censorship!"

On December 13th, the *Tangshan* crew held a roadshow in Jinling, announcing film-related matters while taking advantage of the timing of the National Memorial Day, which quickly sparked heated discussion and debate throughout society.

At this time, it was only two days until the premiere of *The Promise*.

In Chen Kaige’s heart, this was undoubtedly a shameless hype tactic identical to that of Zhang Weiping, and he felt deep contempt.

Because of the three moves and two styles of Ge Xixiong, Director Kaige, whose self-esteem had been strongly provoked, began to socialize frantically.

For two consecutive days, the "scandal" of *The Promise* being returned by North American distributors fermented rapidly, and the response from all walks of life was enthusiastic.

Media reporters and fans dug deep into the overseas market response and performance of *The Promise*, only to discover that it wasn't just our mainland audience who were cursing!

They had been blinded for a long time by the marketing of the husband-and-wife team, Chen Kaige and Chen Hong.

The box office in South Korea and Japan was less than 1.5 million USD each, which was like heaven and earth compared to the hit *Aftershock*;

The reviews in France were overwhelmingly negative, and in the photos sent back, the face of Laurent, the boss of the French distributor mk2 for *The Promise*, was as dark as a pot;

Then there was the matter of the North American distributor returning the film; it turned out this had happened long before the release, yet you two were still acting like nothing happened and promoting it everywhere!

According to the latest reports, after being miserably returned, *The Promise* had changed hands several times, and it was tentatively scheduled for a small-scale release in a few North American cities after the New Year, with absolutely no chance of seeing the light of day.

Grassroots film critics had previously been suppressed by mainstream media for disparaging *The Promise*, but this time they naturally spoke out without hesitation to clarify their bearish views!

[Gu Xiaobai]: Chen Kaige himself frequently accepted interviews, spouting wild remarks like "No one in China will understand this film within ten years."

This poet who says people shouldn't be so shameless—do you still have any face left?

Just stubbornly pretending to be ignorant, feeding the audience shit just to make money?

[Zhou Liming]: On the surface, *The Promise* trapped Chen Kaige’s own reputation, but in reality, it brought the entire Chinese costume action film genre into an awkward position in the overseas market.

It even implicated the two golden signboards, Zhang Yimou and Feng Xiaogang; both of their films next year, *Curse of the Golden Flower* and *The Banquet*, would be subjected to deep scrutiny by overseas distributors!

Perhaps the only person in the mainland who wouldn't be hated by association is Director Lu Kuan.

And he, in your eyes, Director Chen Kaige, is actually a sinner who attacks his peers. I really don't know where you get the confidence to slander others.

On the blog network, a short message from Zhuo Wei completely triggered an online carnival, pushing the reputation of *The Promise* to rock bottom.

[Zhuo Wei]: Received a tip-off that several mainland pirate production companies decided to give up while ripping the soundtrack of *The Promise*. They were worried that the pirated discs wouldn't sell and they wouldn't even be able to recover the burning costs. Truly an industry oddity.

"Hahahaha!"

"Feeling sorry for the pirate companies for a few seconds!"

"For the first time, I feel the hardships of every industry. Director Kaige, it's great to have you in the mainland film industry!"

"Don't bash Director Chen; he is the number one person in the mainland film industry fighting against pirates!"

Online gossipers had various opinions, and like a vicious cycle, it further stimulated the collapse of *The Promise*'s reputation, which almost dropped to freezing point.

Correspondingly, the growth trend of *Aftershock* became obvious, and its screenings surged.

Not only did the audience recognize that the film quality matched the high ticket prices, but under the promotion and mobilization of the Tangshan government, many enterprises and institutions in earthquake-prone areas began to book entire screenings.

This was, of course, also a benefit brought by the film being a key project of the Ministry of Culture, and in some regions, they could even get ticket subsidies within the "People's Cinema Chain."

Everything made *The Promise* and Chen Kaige, who had fallen into the abyss, kill with bloodshot eyes.

Regardless, the poet’s family background, resume, industry connections over these years, his father’s old friendships, and even the support of his ex-wife Hong Huang were all there.

Chaoyang District, Xinyuan South Road, Huayi Headquarters Building.

After the Zhou Army incident, Huayi enjoyed the investment brought by him from Yahoo China, tom.com, and Sina, as well as cooperation with Warner and Hengdian World Studios.

Subsequently, in the struggle between him and Boss Lu, they shook off the former's entanglement, so as not to collide with Wenjie with their currently weak stature.

Especially in the latest casting for *Chinese Paladin 3*, one of the supporting roles, Long Kui, was coordinated to Tong Liya of Wenjie, and the two sides were considered to be at peace on the surface.

At least, that is what the Wang brothers, who didn't know they had long been regarded as food on the plate, thought.

Business competition is business competition; that doesn't get in the way.

On the afternoon of the 3rd, the brothers Dajun and Xiaolei were communicating about the upcoming share allotment, preparing to organize discussions and subscriptions before the Lunar New Year, and then issue an announcement.

For Huayi, which had a plan to go public within two to three years, this was an important step forward.

"Knock knock!"

The office door was knocked, and it was Lu Tianmin and his son visiting.

"Old Master, your health has been good lately, right?"

Wang Dajun smiled and shook hands with Lu Tianmin. Lu Chuan was relatively low-key in front of his father, standing aside with his hands respectfully clasped.

"Dajun, Xiaolei, the holidays are coming soon, so I came to see you."

Wang Xiaolei knew how to handle things and took the tea leaves from Lu Tianmin’s hand: "Teacher Lu, what are you saying? You are an elder; we should be the ones visiting you."

Although he said this, Wang Xiaolei’s sharp mind had already started turning.

There were still more than three weeks until the Lunar New Year; what kind of New Year visit was this?

Moreover, the man had always been aloof; this was clearly for the sake of his son, Lu Chuan.

Yes, and no.

"Dajun, Xiaolei, I came to touch base with you about something."

Lu Tianmin glanced at the somewhat restless Lu Chuan and stated his purpose: "Kaige found you yesterday, right?"

Wang Dajun’s heart sank: "Yes, he came and sat for a while."

"What did you say?"

"This matter... isn't it worth making such a big fuss? I think it was a misunderstanding." Wang Xiaolei laughed it off. Lu Tianmin said sternly: "No! It is definitely not a misunderstanding. This Lu Kuan has always acted in a domineering manner and leaves no room for his industry peers."

"That he could do such a thing this time, I don't think it's a misunderstanding."

He frowned, with the posture of a pioneer worried about the country and the people: "Yesterday Kaige found me, haggard and tearful, and I was deeply moved."

"I remembered last year, my son Lu Chuan’s *Kekexili* was also framed by someone who instigated others, saying it was suspected of plagiarism, which caused him to miss out on the Golden Horse Award!"

The Lu Chuan beside him had a gloomy face, clearly his thoughts were drawn to that not-so-pleasant memory.

"Dajun, Xiaolei, Kaige found me, hoping that we, the conscientious people in the art world, will speak out together and resolutely fight against such black sheep and industry parasites!"

"What do you think?"

The two Wangs looked at each other; was Chen Kaige going to make a big scene this time?

Not only issuing a manifesto himself, but also summoning the eighteen lords to crusade against Lu?

If it were two years ago, or even a year ago, Huayi, as one of the strong players, would have been very willing to participate in the "Crusade against Lu Army," and even act as the flag-bearer and bridgehead.

But since the infighting with Wenjie in 2002 until now, except for letting Liu Yifei be smeared for a few days, they really hadn't gained any benefits at all.

The repeated tragic lessons had already scared them out of their wits, and the superficial harmony currently maintained with Wenjie also had the effect of self-deception. Wang Dajun refused without hesitation.

"Uncle Lu, this matter is actually trivial and won't have any results."

"Chen Kaige says Lu Kuan instigated people to make videos and post them, but this video doesn't even violate the law."

"Not to mention that it hasn't been investigated whether it was him, even if he did get someone to do it, so what?"

"Besides, about the Miramax return, it's true that Lu Kuan has a good relationship with Harvey, but did he fabricate rumors? No!"

Wang Dajun looked at Lu Tianmin’s gradually darkening face and flatteringly filled his tea: "Uncle Lu, Huayi will not participate in such meaningless industry struggles. Please forgive us."

Lu Chuan looked at Dajun and Xiaolei in shock. Was this really the pair of brothers who used to gnash their teeth whenever Lu Kuan was mentioned?

Why the hell are you all starting to make excuses for the washing machine? The reasons are seamless, even more effective than Lu Kuan’s own clarification statement!

Taro remembered Zhou Army’s tragic ending and thought to himself that these two were also scared out of their wits; they were really useless.

Lu Tianmin tapped his knuckles on the coffee table and said in a deep voice: "Dajun, Xiaolei, that’s not how you put it."

"There are no outsiders in the room today, and I had a heart-to-heart relationship with your father back then, so I will speak bluntly."

"Uncle Lu, please speak." Wang Dajun replied with a smile; in any case, he had made up his mind today not to participate in these bullshit matters.

Once bitten, twice shy; how many times had Huayi been bitten? They couldn't always remember the eating and forget the beating, right?

"What you are worried about is that you won't be able to kill the tiger and will be bitten back instead, right?"

Lu Tianmin’s eyes flashed with cold light: "Don't worry! This time you don't need to lead the charge; Kaige’s uncles and elders will make the decision for him and properly rectify the industry atmosphere!"

"Besides, you should also think about it."

"Wenjie is already an existence that leaves all other entertainment companies in the dust. If you develop step-by-step, do you have any hope of overtaking them alongside companies like Cheng Tian and Xiaoma Benteng?"

"The second round of bidding for the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies ended a while ago, and next are the leadership talks to select consultants, associate directors, and chief directors."

"What if! What if this kid becomes the Olympic chief director and gains world fame? You will find it even harder to catch up, right? Isn't that the logic?"

"Now, let his ugly state of being self-willed and arrogant be fully revealed, and tear off his mask of being driven by greed and harming industry peers with base means."

"I think those leaders should also consider whether such a person who treats unity as nothing is suitable for serving in the Olympic team, right?"

Wang Dajun’s face was gloomy, standing in front of the table with his arms crossed, his eyes flickering, clearly caught in hesitation.

It must be said that Lu Tianmin’s rhetoric was extremely seductive.

Some literary ruffians and literary thieves were also masters who could play tricks with their pens back in the day.

Zhu Dake put a big hat on Director Xie, and Writer Lu was no less inferior back then, responsible for clamoring and keeping watch.

Behind closed doors, Writer Lu gave the Wang brothers a lesson without any concealment.

Proposing to gather the most righteous forces in the literary and art world to launch a moral trial against certain base capital, occupying the highest point of moral public opinion.

This kind of trial has nothing to do with how talented or how much capital you, Lu Kuan, have.

It was just a public opinion war launched by a group of people gathered by Chen Kaige who occupied the mainstream position of domestic literary and art criticism, under the banner of setting things right.

Just like what he mentioned when Boss Lu and Bingbing visited Xie Jin during the Shanghai International Film Festival:

In the 80s, the literary circle scolded Xie Jin; in the 90s, they started scolding Zhang Yimou; now it is your turn, Lu Kuan, to be scolded.

When Lu Tianming and his son walked out of Huayi, the sky had already turned dark; the talking they had done all afternoon left the elder Lu feeling completely drained.

But for this good-for-nothing son, what else could he do?

"Dad..."

"Don't be impatient, let them think."

The old man was full of strategic cunning: "There is a saying in the circle: this kid is too sinister, so it’s no surprise that the Wang brothers were scared out of their wits."

"Wait for this matter to brew and ferment a bit more; when it truly forms a trend and sweeps them up, who knows what will happen."

Lu Chuan beamed with joy.

Dad, it’s so good to have you.

The day he reached an agreement with Ge Xi Xiong, he disclosed to his father that he had found investment for his new film.

The elder Lu loved his son dearly and naturally wanted to clear obstacles for him; the first obstacle standing in front of them was Lu Kuan.

In all fairness, he also knew that if Lu Chuan really went head-to-head with Lu Kuan, he would be dead for sure.

With films of the same subject matter, the disparity in capital strength was like heaven and earth; even if he recognized his son's artistic talent, he didn't think he could gain any advantage.

The best plan now, while Chen Kaige was throwing a tantrum and forming cliques, was for everyone to turn their guns together and see if they could pull this entertainment tyrant off his pedestal.

For the father and son, this was always beneficial and harmless.

Even if it meant getting his script blocked from approval, delaying its approval, or causing him to miss out on the Olympics, those would all be excellent results.

As for the consequences of the verbal abuse, he didn't think too much about it; they had been scolding people like that for years and had never been punished for their words.

——

North America, Los Angeles.

As mentioned before regarding the Oscar submission and nomination rules, Best Foreign Language Film also requires meeting the theatrical release criteria, and it starts with this premiere.

The location was still the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles; this was Boss Lu’s lucky spot.

Lionsgate and Miramax had been preparing for over half a month, inviting superstars like Martin Scorsese, Leonardo, and Nicole Kidman to show their support.

In terms of promotion, they naturally downplayed the concepts of Tangshan and military disaster relief, deepening the gimmick of the earthquake instead.

After all, even setting aside the ties and emotional impact of national sentiment, this was a disaster film representing the world's most advanced visual effects technology.

The red carpet ceremony was in full swing, and Boss Lu and Harvey were chatting inside the venue.

"Buddy, you've caused me a big problem again."

The Jewish white pig looked suspicious and uncertain: "What?"

"Some people leaked the news that you returned *The Promise*, and some even said I was the one who instigated it."

Harvey said gloomily: "Lu, you didn't treat me as a real friend; why didn't you stop me in Shanghai when it came to such a rotten film?"

"Hmm... I misjudged it just like you did; the special effects for *The Promise* were done by my company, and I think they were actually quite good."

Boss Lu was naturally joking with him.

The online standoff with Chen Kaige had been going on for a while, and he didn't think it was a big deal.

Once the news of *The Promise* being returned came out, the submission for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film was practically in the bag.

*A Rider* was a niche art film, and *The Banquet* wouldn't be released until next year, so the spot belonged to *Tangshan*.

However, recent data from the public opinion monitoring center of Wenjie indicated that there seemed to be organized internet trolls laying the groundwork for various remarks, perhaps aimed at him.

It was just a matter of meeting each move with a counter-move; having reached this industry status in this life, being targeted after blocking others' paths was part of the game.

If you want to get things done, it is inevitable that you will offend others' interests, especially when using his forward-looking perspective to do things that break through industry perspectives and cognition.

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo walked over, the latter looking at him with a teasing expression.

"I came from the set in Vancouver; Crystal doesn't seem to have any intention of coming to show her support, does she?"

"Did you and Gisele Bündchen break up?"

Boss Lu smiled at the handsome Leonardo; the lethality of this sentence was no less than the former.

Leo reached out and punched him: "Regrettably, I have a new girlfriend now; what about you?"

He looked at the young director as if he were a loser who couldn't even handle an eighteen-year-old girl.

"Lu, how long are you staying in North America? Do you have time to watch *The Departed* with me?"

Martin Scorsese interrupted the conversation between the two playboys and proposed a very academic question.

*The Departed*, adapted from *Infernal Affairs*, had just wrapped filming in September, and Martin Scorsese was busy with post-production editing and dubbing.

If nothing went wrong, this film would finally help this genius director, who was once mentioned in the same breath as Spielberg and Lucas, fulfill his dream and win an Oscar.

Lu Kuan would certainly not refuse the opportunity to discuss cinema with a director of this level: "It would be an honor; after I finish the promotion and programs for these two days, I will go to your studio."

The schedule for this trip to North America was quite tight; the top priority was selling MyTube.

After several rounds of price hikes and hype, the website's various metrics had been changing daily over the past two months due to the traffic from *Twilight*, and its valuation had risen repeatedly.

Google, News Corp, Yahoo, and other companies were no longer playing hard to get, and various offers and invitations poured in.

However, in Boss Lu's mind, as long as the price gap wasn't too large, his first choice was still Google.

He wanted Google's stock, and he wanted Android's stock.

The latter was an important lever for various Wenjie apps to be pre-installed on Android phones, and mobile internet was also an important lever for film companies in streaming channels in the future.

This was a rare resource.

Boss Lu looked at the entrance of the theater; it looked like Liu Yifei was really not coming.

His phone vibrated; it was a message from Liu Xiao:

Xiao Lu, Xixi is not feeling well, so we won't be coming over today.

Heh, four months have passed, and it seems she still hasn't let go of that anger!

At 8:30 PM, the premiere officially began.

Love is a common topic for all mankind; even if there were some cultural differences in the details, the scenes of the little girl crying for her mother in the film, Hu Jun moving the winch without fear of death, and the image of Zhou Xun walking away holding the baby were still particularly tear-jerking.

In addition, what left a deep impression on North American audiences was undoubtedly the Hollywood-level special effects.

Of course, after *The Foreign Land*, everyone acknowledged this Eastern director's accomplishments in special effects technology, at least far better than many flashy directors in the United States.

That night, about 1,400 screens across the US were showing it simultaneously, which was already a considerable number.

*Tangshan* was different from English-language films and co-productions like *The Foreign Land*.

Unless promoted regardless of cost, such foreign-language films, even if handled by the Big Six, were hard to break through in terms of the number of opening screens.

In recent years, the only Chinese-language films that could get more than 2,000 screens in North America were *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, *Hero*, *Kung Fu Hustle*, and *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*.

Except for *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*, which carried the halo of the Berlin Golden Bear, the other three were martial arts films or genre films.

The next day, the film's solid quality quickly sparked heated discussions among the media, with both praise and criticism.

*Hollywood Film*: It is very moving to see at the end of the film that the climax scene in the earthquake was actually played by the descendants of the survivors and victims of that year; this is a inheritance and continuation of life. Lu's films have been writing about human nature since *The Drummer*, and this time the human nature is called truth, goodness, and beauty.

*Variety*: The content of the film is unremarkable; compared with the other works of this Best Foreign Language Film director, it lacks some artistic ingenuity, though the emotions are more abundant. We look forward to experiencing the film's special effects and plot on a 4K screen again; it will definitely be impressive.

*Film Comment*: After interviewing Martin last night, the author learned that this Eastern director has already participated in the "pilgrimage" of the world's great directors, the only difference being that he was received by the God of Cinema. Many of the narrative techniques and lens characteristics of this film have disappeared, making it look like a story told in a gentle voice; is this the guidance of a master?

There were, of course, discordant voices, mainly questioning the director's purpose in making the film based on the military content in the film.

"This is an expensive government propaganda film. Lu paid $40 million in investment and at least half of the promotion costs just to enter the North American market? In recent years, the trend of nationalism and great-power chauvinism in a certain Eastern power has become increasingly obvious; please be vigilant!"

"I think the image of the soldiers in the film is even more exaggerated than cyborgs; they remain fearless of death after being hit by various things, and they don't even carry weapons when going to disaster relief; this is completely unreasonable!"

"Lu is no longer the genius director who talked and laughed at the Oscars; he is now one of the official director candidates for the Eastern Olympics, representing the official will. This can be seen from the image of the soldiers in *Tangshan*; he has completely lost the liberalism of an artist, and as his fan, I am very sorry."

On the second day of the premiere, the Rotten Tomatoes score for *Aftershock* reached 85, and the MTC composite score reached 77.

It was a standard score for a Chinese-language film, quite conventional.

But for a film of this subject matter, being able to walk steadily in the North American market was already quite difficult.

Blossoming outside the wall and fragrant inside, Wenjie's marketing team quickly reposted the sensation and praise in the North American market, and the close-ups of fans crying and shedding tears on the night of the premiere achieved very good promotional results.

In contrast, there was the news of *The Promise* being returned, which was still fermenting.

Before the New Year's film season, the two huge investment blockbusters that fans thought would fight to the death had actually seen a one-sided trend in word-of-mouth and screen allocation halfway through the screening of *Tangshan*, which was truly sigh-inducing.

The shattering of the dream of a Best Foreign Language Film nomination, the disastrous defeat in all peripheral copyrights and box office in Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea, plus the collapse of word-of-mouth and screen allocation in the mainland, the huge loss of *The Promise* was a foregone conclusion.

In the New Year's film season of the later generations, there was no opponent for *The Promise* in the country, so it could at least make a fortune in the mainland film market.

In this space-time, there was someone surnamed Lu who came to block his path, and with absolute advantages in all aspects, a big defeat was already inevitable.

It’s just that the now-crazed Director Chen could no longer care about that much.

Failure always needs a reason; the reason in the previous life was a secondary creation called *Steamed Bun*.

In this life, he obviously attributed the responsibility to a more powerful existence, which could minimize the shame of this Waterloo.

Under the instigation and moves of Chengtian and Ge Xi Xiong behind the scenes, a storm of transformation was about to take shape.

US West Coast time, January 5, 2006, a mysterious Chinese man wearing sunglasses, accompanied by senior lawyer Huang Anna, stepped into Mountain View.

This was Google's global headquarters.

Due to Huang Anna's continuous contact in the early stages, this first round of negotiations with Larry Page and Schmidt went very smoothly, reaching a consensus on issues such as employee handling, stock replacement, and promotional hype.

A memorandum of understanding was signed, and they were just one step away from reaching the final agreement.

The two sides had some differences on the cash payment ratio of the total price of $2.3 billion, which needed to be resolved in the second round of negotiations.

In the evening, without accepting the dinner invitation from the two *The Foreign Land* fans at Google, Boss Lu took A Fei and boarded a plane to Vancouver.

If the mountain will not come to me, I will go to it?

These setups are finished; now we enter the plot of the male and female leads.

Additionally:

Zhang Chunru wrote books to set the record straight for history, but was harassed, slandered, and attacked by the right wing;

After the Olympics, Zhang Yimou became the number one director in the country, but because he touched the interests of the Beijing circle, he was also called a "national master" sarcastically and scolded as "stinking dung" by Wang Shuo and others.

The protagonist filming the massacre was a subplot that existed as early as 2002; in a sense, he was doing the same thing as Zhang Chunru.

It is not outrageous that he faced the same targeting.

At this stage of development, the protagonist does not seem to be invincible, right?

This little bit of pressure in these few chapters doesn't seem like much, does it?

When trouble comes, don't fear it; once it's resolved, everything improves to a higher level, and the relationship between the male and female leads advances a step.

Going through the whole way with cheats and invincibility, infinitely filming movies, starting companies, making money, reporting data, and speed-running to become the world's richest man and a film master.

With this formula, the author could really churn out twenty thousand words a day, but wouldn't that just be swindling money???

If I wrote that, would you believe it?

If I have made you feel unsatisfied, I am very sorry; I can only continue to improve.

But I believe that kind of invincible speed-run plot is what is truly filler; that is deceiving the readers.

I don't know if the readers find it interesting, but writing it is truly uninteresting.

There is no abuse of the protagonist; all obstacles have traceable roots in reality, are reasonable and measured, and ultimately serve as stepping stones for the protagonist.

There is no such thing as the female lead becoming some super big shot to oppose a reincarnator; don't worry about those kinds of plots.

All of the female lead's experiences are her journey through the world, the tempering required to eventually become a top-tier actor.

(End of chapter)