Chapter 809: The Crazy Director

"Infernal Affairs" is one of the most famous Hong Kong film series.

Its success is not just in awards and reputation.

In terms of box office, it is also one of the highest-grossing Hong Kong film series.

Luo Mo informed Qian Qingyun that the reason his ending could pass the Review Department was that it is currently only the first installment, merely "Infernal Affairs 1".

It may look like Liu Jianming got away with it, but that is only temporary.

The story has not reached its final chapter yet, so the Review Department is not making an exception for him.

Qian Qingyun: "..."

Honestly, this is just an excuse.

Your film title isn't even directly called "Infernal Affairs 1"!

Whether there is a sequel or not depends on word-of-mouth and box office.

Admittedly, looking at Luo Mo's current momentum, he has never had a film fail in both box office and reputation.

However, it is normal for sequel projects to fizzle out; no one can say for sure.

Especially for a creative team with high self-Requirement, they won't just aim to cash in and make endless, messy sequels.

Overall, the Review Department is still too partial to Luo Mo.

As long as there is a plausible excuse, it can pass the review.

Qian Qingyun even imagined: "How is this film supposed to have a sequel?"

"As it stands, 'Infernal Affairs' is a dual-protagonist film; Chen Yongren, played by Luo Mo, and Liu Jianming, played by Hua Jiaqun, are both protagonists."

"But Chen Yongren is already dead. And it was a shot to the head—he couldn't be any deader."

He was even shot again after being shot in the head...

If he were to be honest with himself, Qian Qingyun personally felt the character of Chen Yongren was more brilliant than Liu Jianming.

On Earth, many people also believe that the Chen Yongren played by Liang Chaowei was acted better than the Liu Jianming played by Liu Dehua.

And in reality, according to interviews, Liang Chaowei's wife 6+0 stated that Liang Chaowei didn't film "Infernal Affairs" for many days and finished work especially early.

A top-tier Best Actor, terrifying indeed!

In Qian Qingyun's view, since Chen Yongren has kicked the bucket, it would be a bit difficult to continue filming according to the storyline.

Without Luo Mo personally participating, the audience would be somewhat disappointed.

Unless they do something very cliché.

For example, Chen Yongren's son grows up, sporting a face exactly like his father's...

Or there's an identical older or younger brother...

Oh right, according to the subtle expressions in the film's content, Chen Yongren has a daughter; there was no son at all!

Honestly, after finishing "Infernal Affairs," Qian Qingyun was thrilled; he really wanted to ask Luo Mo how he planned to film the sequel.

But such questions are not convenient to ask.

He only indicated that he would be looking forward to it.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the box office of "Infernal Affairs," to use professional industry terminology, achieved a "reverse decline"!

Its single-day box office reached 409 million!

What is most terrifying is that this was achieved with only a tiny increase in screen share.

From this, one can see how high the audience's enthusiasm for watching the film is!

And on the New Song Chart, Xu Chujing's "Forgotten Time" dominates the top spot, which is very normal.

Even the background music, "Goodbye, Police," has strongly entered the chart, ranking second!

Major cinema chains won't care about so-called unspoken rules at this moment.

So what if it's a Hong Kong film?

Increase the screen share for me!

By the third day of the Lunar New Year, the screen share for "Infernal Affairs" had increased by 5%.

During the Spring Festival slot, an extra 5% screen share is extremely terrifying.

At the same time, the reputation of "Infernal Affairs" also fermented completely today!

"The best film of this year's Spring Festival slot! 'Infernal Affairs'!"

"I'll be sad if anyone doesn't go watch 'Infernal Affairs', OK?"

"Best Actors acting their hearts out, it's so satisfying! I predict Luo Mo will sweep all the Best Actor awards this year! Well, except for the Fan Hua Award."

"So satisfying, it's been a long time since I've seen such a satisfying Hong Kong film!"

"Just finished the Mandarin version, planning to go watch the Cantonese version again to see if there's a different feeling!"

Film Critics from all walks of life also stepped in to praise the film, and when Petal Net opened its ratings, "Infernal Affairs" was temporarily as high as 9.5 points!

Such a terrifying rating made many in the industry feel their breath hitch.

"9.5 points? Is it that outrageous?"

"This rating is almost the same as 'Dying to Survive'!"

"No way, is Luo Mo about to produce another masterpiece with both high box office and reputation?"

You have to know that in this year's Spring Festival slot, the second-highest rated film on Petal Net was only 6.6 points.

Of course, if it were on an ordinary day, 6.6 points would actually be okay; after all, Petal Net is really stingy with ratings.

But compared to this incredibly domineering 9.5 points, 6.6 points looks quite inadequate.

Luo Mo himself has terrifying Box Office Appeal, and coupled with this masterpiece-level rating and reputation, by the third day of the Lunar New Year, it truly set off a nationwide craze for watching "Infernal Affairs"!

After a whole day, the single-day box office rose by a large margin, climbing directly to 489 million!

Such terrifying box office figures made the filmmakers in Hong Kong so excited that they couldn't sleep!

The film industry in Hong Kong has always been very competitive.

But as the general environment worsened and the market became increasingly sluggish, everyone knew clearly that no matter how much they competed, it was useless.

It has been a long time since a Newcomer emerged in Hong Kong, and they could only rely on the influence of middle-aged or even Old Age actors to support the box office.

This shows from the side that the general environment is truly very poor.

The great success of Infernal Affairs is undoubtedly a shot in the arm.

Everyone saw the hope for the revival of Hong Kong films!

Who would have thought that a Hong Kong film directed by Luo Mo would actually become a work that saves the market?

Even Vice President Cheng Wen of Penguin Video specifically called to inform Luo Mo of a piece of data.

"After Infernal Affairs became a hit, the viewership of those old Hong Kong films on our Penguin Video has been rising crazily!"

"Especially those classic Hong Kong films, as well as the police and gangster-themed Hong Kong films."

It is very clear that this movie has also stimulated everyone's nostalgia.

Hong Kong films were too glorious in the past, and generations of people grew up watching them.

Therefore, after Infernal Affairs achieved great success, it instantly gained a bonus from sentiment!

These days, people on the internet often complain, saying things like: "Another movie selling sentiment."

Luo Mo has no particular feelings about this.

In his view, it is not a bad thing for a movie to sell sentiment.

Only selling sentiment, having nothing but sentiment, that is what deserves to be scolded.

If sentiment is just a part of its success, or even just a small part, then it is merely an element in the movie; what is there to criticize?

And these old Hong Kong films suddenly becoming popular along with it has caused the popularity and heat of these middle-aged and Old Age actors in Hong Kong to soar as well!

This means their commercial value will also rise in a short period of time.

This means they can take on more work and have more commercial income in the future.

All of a sudden, countless people felt Gratitude toward Luo Mo.

From the initial slight questioning, it turned into admiration, and even... a bit of awe!

This talented young man is truly terrifying!

Judging from the current momentum, Infernal Affairs is likely to break the box office record here in Hong Kong as well!

Many people are wondering, Luo Mo must be having a very happy time recently, right?

In reality, Luo Mo has indeed been in a good mood lately.

This year during the Lunar New Year, he really has been very earnestly visiting relatives and friends.

The poor health of his master, Tong Qinglin, sounded an alarm for him.

He has been truly too busy these past few years.

Even during the Spring Festival, because of the movie release, he had to be busy monitoring promotion, busy monitoring subsequent word-of-mouth maintenance, commercial maximization, and so on.

After finishing these, he could prepare for new projects again.

Now, most of the employees at Luo Mo Studio can handle things on their own.

Overly busy work caused him to miss out on a lot in life.

While paying New Year calls this year, he began to realize that many elders have truly grown old.

Many of the younger generation have changed a lot.

But he would only rest during the Spring Festival.

Once work fully resumes, he will have to continue being busy filming Farewell My Concubine.

Time waits for no one.

Human health also waits for no one.

Although his master currently does not have any major problems with his physical condition, the doctors at Peking Union Medical College Hospital have said that they advise the family to be mentally prepared.

As time passed, by the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the cumulative box office of Infernal Affairs had broken the 3 billion mark.

All of a sudden, everyone has concluded that this movie will definitely break 5 billion.

Luo Mo has once again created a box office Myth!

But in reality, what many people are more concerned about now is Luo Mo's performance in the movie.

In Dying to Survive, he acted as a supporting male lead and contributed a very Ox performance.

The Wandering Earth was his first time serving as a movie's male lead, but the characteristics of that character were set there, so his performance in terms of acting could only be described as decent, without much room for display.

But Infernal Affairs is different.

The character Chen Yongren in this movie was truly brought to life by him!

The character was thoroughly shaped.

Many people are optimistic that Luo Mo can win Best Actor.

Even the judges of the Fan Hua Award, who are on bad terms with him, are feeling very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

The word-of-mouth for this movie is too good.

Luo Mo's acting is also impeccable; his eye acting is too Ox.

Even the various supporting roles in it have left a deep impression on people, and they are fully qualified to win the Best Supporting Actor award.

But Luo Mo will absolutely not submit Infernal Affairs to participate in any of the competitions for the 【Fan Hua Award】.

If people don't come to participate, even if you want to soften your stance and give them an award, hey! You really can't shove it into their hands!

After falling out with Luo Mo, the Fan Hua Award also knew this was a scandal that damaged the authority of the award.

But... hasn't authority been used to exchange for money these past few years anyway!?

If it's damaged, then it's damaged; do you really think we care that much about it?

The pity this time is that... we didn't get the damn money, and we still damaged the authority!

Clearly, the authority lost this time could have made us pots of gold if we had exchanged it for money!

It's just that, if one were to say someone could destroy the deep-rooted Fan Hua Award by their own strength, they would have truly thought it was a fool's dream or arrogant ignorance before.

But now, each and every one of them really feels a sense of crisis.

"Infernal Affairs" is too strong!

What is even more terrifying is that Luo Mo's current prestige is also too strong.

To put it bluntly, who doesn't know that participating in his film projects means having no connection to the Fan Hua Award?

But so what?

Laugh to death, you Fan Hua Award don't really think you are more important than Luo Mo, do you?

These days, whether you get an award or not really isn't necessarily based on true ability alone.

I come for your award to increase my value as an Actor, and behind the scenes, I might have to maneuver, engage in shady deals, conduct all kinds of interest exchanges, and lick you judges... isn't it tiring?

I can just participate in Luo Mo's film project and still ascend to the heavens on the spot!

When Luo Mo signs a Contract with every Actor, he clearly states that this film will not participate in the 【Fan Hua Award】.

Seriously, no one would give up the opportunity to act because of this!

This young man has truly managed to stand against one of the most famous film awards in Huaxia with his own strength!

This is something that would have felt inconceivable in the past.

The most interesting thing is that the other major film awards have become quite active in their thinking.

The various judges will develop a preference for Luo Mo's films.

"This is a great opportunity to kill off the rival that is the Fan Hua Award!"

What's more, we don't even need to specifically do anything.

Because "Infernal Affairs" is worth it!

Meiguo, California.

Director Mark, who is on vacation, finished watching the Chinese-dubbed version of "The Wandering Earth" in its entirety on a video website.

Yes, "The Wandering Earth" has landed on major video websites abroad, and all have sold at high prices for Huaxia domestic films, and none of them have specifically made dubs in other languages.

No English version, only the Mandarin version, and then they give you subtitles.

Many video websites had mentioned a Requirement when communicating with Luo Mo Studio to produce an English version.

In fact, according to unspoken rules, producing an additional English version often allows for a higher selling price.

But the attitude on Luo Mo's side was very firm—we won't do it!

At this time, after watching "The Wandering Earth", Director Mark personally still liked this film very much.

First of all, this film refreshed his impression of Huaxia film special effects.

He felt it was incredible; it turned out that Huaxia could already reach this level in terms of film special effects!

It is completely not inferior to Hollywood special effects blockbusters!

Then, returning to the Science Fiction film itself, he felt this film was a very excellent commercial Science Fiction.

Of course, due to cultural differences, Director Mark could not get many of the core themes in this "The Wandering Earth".

In this film, the people of Meiguo did not play a decisive role, and he felt a little unaccustomed to it.

However, Director Mark soon felt relieved; based on his own understanding, if it really reached that situation, it would be good enough if Meiguo didn't cause trouble, bring down other countries, and then just look out for itself!

After watching "The Wandering Earth" in its entirety, this famous Hollywood director developed a strong interest in Luo Mo.

He started looking up information on Luo Mo and planned to watch all of his films in one go today.

He is personally not interested in Animation films, so he will skip "Monkey King: Hero is Back" and "Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child".

Then, in chronological order, the first one he watched was—"Dying to Survive"!

Two hours later.......

Director Mark was depressed.

He didn't know how many times he had said the English word starting with F in his heart.

It was too uncomfortable to finish this film; it was really too uncomfortable!

But through this film, his favorability toward Luo Mo soared once again.

He even developed admiration.

"Dying to Survive" and "The Wandering Earth"—the two films are too different.

The personal style of both films is very obvious, yet they are the work of the same person!

This young man is simply a genius!

He personally felt that "Dying to Survive" is worth a remake.

If you take this kind of film to remake, you are really aiming to win awards.

Director Mark had the impulse to buy the rights, but after thinking about it later, he gave up.

Because this is too different from his personal style.

He started out making gangster films and is currently the number one director of gangster films in Hollywood.

Just at this moment, he noticed that Luo Mo had a movie currently in theaters, and it was actually a police and gangster film.

"Infernal Affairs?" He did not understand what it meant.

But Director Mark felt a strong impulse arise; he even wanted to fly directly to Huaxia to catch a glimpse of it in a theater.

Then, a problem arose.

—He did not understand Chinese!

Director Mark began searching for "Infernal Affairs" online to see if anyone had taken photos of the big screen while watching the movie.

Sure enough, one could definitely find a whole bunch of such photos online.

Many people would take a picture of the big screen when going to see a movie and then post it online.

Through these photos, Director Mark confirmed one thing—there were English subtitles!

This was normal; in recent years, many ambitious works followed this model.

Like "Dying to Survive" on Earth, it also had English subtitles.

It was just that Chinese was the main language, and the English was a small line of text below, which would be very tiring to read.

Forget it, I'll go see it!

—Anyway, I have a visa!

Besides, he missed the food in Huaxia and could travel while he was at it.

You have to know, for the number one director of gangster films in Hollywood to specifically take a plane to Huaxia just to watch "Infernal Affairs" in a theater—if this were exposed, it would definitely be big news!

Director Mark himself thought: "Is this a bit too crazy?"

However, what was even crazier was.

He didn't manage to buy a ticket on the First Day.

(End of this chapter)