Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 126 Differential Treatment
"4200 million in two weeks."

Upon hearing the figure of 4200 million, Joey Wong couldn't sit still. Her previous highest-grossing film was "God of Gamblers," which earned 3600 million and set a new box office record in Hong Kong that year.

Filming "My Brothers and Sisters" was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, something I did after not filming for a long time. I never expected it to gross 4200 million at the box office!
At the same time, Wang Zuxian immediately estimated in her mind that, based on the experience in Hong Kong, the box office in the first two weeks usually accounts for 60%-70% of the total box office. Even if we calculate it at 70%, the total box office of "My Brothers and Sisters" could reach 6000 million.

This figure completely exceeded Wang Zuxian's expectations, far exceeding the 3600 million she earned for "God of Gamblers"!

"How can it be so high?"

Wang Zuxian asked in surprise. To be honest, she hadn't even seen the movie herself after it was made, and she wondered, "Is it really that good?"

"Haha, Sister Fairy, you are the Queen of Asian Pop, Wang Zuxian! You have a lot of fans, so you should have some confidence in yourself~" Wu Yuchen said with a smile.

Although she knew the other person was just saying nice things, Wang Zuxian was still secretly pleased.

Wu Yuchen then added, "Sister Xiaoxian, I talked to Director Han on the phone earlier, and we'll make up for your lost earnings when it's time to split the profits!"

When Wang Zuxian came to star in "My Brothers and Sisters", she only received 50 yuan, which was a reduction in her salary.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zuxian laughed and said into the phone, "No need, it was already arranged beforehand~"

"Of course! Otherwise, we won't be able to ask you to cooperate again in the future."

Wu Yuchen was speaking from the heart. Han Sanping shared the same sentiment; after all, seeing Wang Zuxian's box office appeal, he naturally wanted to collaborate with her again in the future. Compared to such high box office returns, what was a mere one or two million in salary?
Wang Zuxian's goodwill towards Wu Yuchen and mainland film studios like Beijing Film Studio has greatly increased. It's rare for studios that have already paid actors to reimburse them afterwards. Let alone reimbursement, she was owed money for several films she made, and she still hasn't received it. Can you really reason with Hong Kong and Taiwanese triads?
When filming "Green Snake," her salary was reduced to a very low level, and she didn't even want to continue filming. It was Tsui Hark who persuaded her to come back.

Wang Zuxian felt a little embarrassed when she realized she hadn't even bothered with the publicity.
"Should I go do some promotion now?"

"If you'd like to come, that would be wonderful! We'd love to welcome you with open arms!"

In high spirits, Wang Zuxian thought of something else and couldn't help but smile as she said:
"Director Wu, you said back then that if the box office exceeded 50 million, I would be your leading lady for free in your next film. You haven't forgotten, have you?"

"Little Fairy, you're so happy even though you're working for free?"

“I’m willing to work for free, you’re not going to go back on your word, are you?” Wang Zuxian said playfully.

"How could that be? No one can refuse Wang Zuxian for free! But I'm filming a movie right now, I'll tailor-make a movie for you when I have time."

"Then we'll eagerly await your good news, Director Wu!"

Wu Yuchen smiled after hanging up the phone.

He then looked at the newspaper in his hand:
"My Brothers and Sisters" surpasses 4000 million views in two weeks, Joey Wong's tearjerker ignites the summer!

"Renowned director Wu Yuchen and actress Wang Zuxian collaborate on a heartwarming family epic that has moved China!"

"My Brothers and Sisters" celebrates Hong Kong's return to China, sparking a movie-going frenzy!

……

With a box office of 4200 million yuan in two weeks, the film has naturally attracted the attention of the entire industry in today's weak film market, and has been spontaneously reported and praised by many media outlets.

To be honest, Wu Yuchen himself was slightly surprised when he heard about the box office of "My Brothers and Sisters". He thought it was possible to break 30 million in two weeks, but reaching 42 million was still a bit beyond his expectations.

It can only be said that the "Wang Zuxian's Search for Relatives" publicity campaign had a significant effect, attracting a group of passersby to the cinema.

As for the total box office of "My Brothers and Sisters"...

In Hollywood and Hong Kong, where the commercial film market is relatively mature, the pattern of the first two weeks accounting for more than 60-70% of the total box office revenue does indeed hold true.

However, China's film market is not very mature right now. The box office revenue for the past two weeks has been almost entirely generated in second-tier provincial capitals, and these copies still need to be distributed further down the value chain.

Many non-provincial capital cities in the south actually have decent economies. Although the film will be affected by piracy once the copies are distributed, "My Brothers and Sisters" has already gained momentum and will naturally attract many people to the cinema.

Moreover, in today's film market, the more popular a film is at the box office, the longer it stays in theaters, at least for more than six months.

Wu Yuchen estimated that 60 million was definitely achievable, and 70 million was also possible, but going any higher would be difficult. This result was already quite good; at least he could make it into the top five by the end of the year, and the top three was also very promising.

As for winning the year-end championship, that's hard to say. This year's top-grossing film in mainland China is still a foreign language film, "Jurassic Park 2," with 7200 million yuan.

Following closely behind in second place was Xie Jin's "The Opium War." This film reportedly had a budget exceeding 100 million yuan, and its high box office was attributed to numerous group tours organized by various organizations. Later, some speculated that Hengdian World Studios was the biggest beneficiary, as the production team spent a significant amount on set construction, naturally benefiting Hengdian. While Xie Jin's storytelling ability was undeniably strong, many of his filming techniques and concepts were indeed outdated. Thus, a generation of renowned directors came to an end!

Of course, the newspapers didn't just praise Wu Yuchen; there were also quite a few who criticized him.

The gist is that as a Berlin Best Director, he shouldn't have made a film like "My Brothers and Sisters" that was sentimental for the sake of sentimentality, deliberately weakening the plot and focusing only on emotional rendering. This approach is undoubtedly beneath him and a disgrace to the Berlin Best Director award!
Wu Yuchen had long anticipated this situation. Just think about how Zhang Yimou's "Hero" broke domestic box office records after its release, only to be met with a nationwide condemnation led by a group of intellectuals. Tsk tsk tsk!

The storyline is fabricated, the plot is dragging, it's flashy but impractical, it's spiritually empty, and it's all sycophantic...

If you ask whether "Hero" has any flaws, then it certainly does, but it's not as serious as people said at the time.
These days, people only like art films. You have to pursue high art to get their praise. If you make something commercial, they'll call you vulgar, lowbrow, and despicable for bowing to commerce.

To be honest, Wu Yuchen admitted that his film "My Brothers and Sisters" was a carefully planned emotionally manipulative commercial film aimed at box office success. He would accept it if these people maintained the same standards.

However, he then came across several other reports.

"Wu Baige's 'Face/Off' surpasses 100 million at the box office, conquering America! She truly deserves the title of China's No. 1 director!"

"Face/Off" is indeed well-made, but you bunch of bastards haven't even seen it. It also had high box office, so why don't you say Wu Baige bowed to commercialism now?
To put it bluntly, they are just a bunch of hypocritical dogs who control public opinion. They deserve to be criticized for making commercial films with high box office in China, but they applaud and cheer for making films with high box office in the US!

We live in such a strange era, with all sorts of intellectuals and poets who, while content with their domestic livelihoods, yearn for the moon abroad. In their eyes, anything with a touch of foreign flair is automatically considered superior. To fawn over foreign things is seen as "sophisticated," as politically correct; if you don't, you can't survive.

That's the trend, and it'll likely continue for at least another decade. This is one of the reasons why Wu Yuchen went to such lengths to go to Hollywood—to silence these scoundrels with his success in conquering the "foreign masters." Wu Yuchen shook his head, deciding not to dwell on these unpleasant matters. To be honest, whether it was Wu Yuchen, Wang Zuxian, or Wu Baige who had conquered America, they were at most just making a splash in the entertainment section.

The real big event during this period was the return of Hong Kong Island to China!

Although Wu Yuchen was filming in the countryside with his crew at the time, he still saw the entire process of the comeback through a broken TV. It was a historic moment!

It must be said that the popularity of "My Brothers and Sisters" is also related to the handover of Hong Kong. At the time of Hong Kong's return to China, the story of a Hong Kong star, Joey Wong, returning to the mainland to find her relatives, with a touching and happy ending, naturally aligns with the theme of Hong Kong's return!
……

Despite the major events happening outside, Wu Yuchen's main focus right now is on filming "If Love Has a Destiny".

On campus, Wu Yuchen was explaining the play to Liu Ye:
"You need to lower your stance. When you met her in the countryside, there were no constraints, and you could interact as equals. That was the fearlessness of the ignorant."

But now that you're back in school, you know the gap between you and her in every way. Therefore, you must lower your stance in front of her, imagine you can't have her, can't look at her as an equal—that's the right approach!

……

"Click! No, Liu Ye, now your eyes should be filled with torment and bitterness, because not only is there a huge gap between your family background and hers, but she is also engaged to your best friend by her family. This has caused you a lot of torment, and you don't know if you still have the courage to continue with her."

The eyes, the expression, the physical state—the torment, the bitterness, the confusion—do you understand?

……

"Click! Liu Ye, don't move your eyes, your pupils. Now you're blind, you're a blind man!"

When reciting lines and making expressions, keep your pupils fixed straight ahead, don't move!

"Click! Still not working. This isn't right. Did you watch 'Scent of a Woman' that I told you to see before? Think about how Al Pacino acted!"

"Click! Do it again!"

Wu Yuchen is currently filming one of the most famous and touching scenes in the movie. It is when Liu Ye returns from the battlefield and, in order to dispel the waiting of Jiang Qinqin, he rehearses countless times in a coffee shop, pretending that everything is fine and that he is already married. However, he is eventually discovered by the female lead because of the mischief of the naughty child.

This was probably the most tear-jerking and emotionally moving scene of the entire show.

Actually, Liu Ye had already gotten into character after acting for so long, but Wu Yuchen was particularly meticulous and demanding in this scene, filming that single shot dozens of times. Liu Ye naturally didn't dare to say anything and could only strive for perfection herself.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but compare it with his previous experience as a director on "Frequency," and realized that being a director in China was much more enjoyable!

If he had dared to yell at Sylvester Stallone like that back then and made him film dozens of takes, the old man would have quit long ago, and the final outcome would likely have been that he, as the director, was sidelined.

……

"Click! Liu Ye, your micro-expression has a gradual change!"

After she reveals your blindness, your feigned smile freezes, vanishes, and turns into panic. However, you can't let your panic overwhelm you; you must feign extreme panic to mask your inner turmoil, because you don't want to lose your composure in front of her, and you don't want her to worry about you anymore.

……

"No, your positioning is wrong. Watch closely. First, you turned around and tripped over this chair leg, changing your direction. Then you crashed into another coffee table and chair and fell to the ground!"

"Thud! You didn't fall badly enough, get up and try again!"

"Crack! Do you know what ' pathetic' means? It means looking like a dog in a pathetic state!"

On the sidelines, Chen Minghao, whose filming had already wrapped up, took advantage of a break to quickly hand Liu Ye a bottle of water, but Liu Ye shook her head and pushed it away.

Chen Minghao originally wanted to say a few words of comfort to Liu Ye, but seeing that he was panting and engrossed in his own thoughts, he didn't dare to disturb him.

Chen Minghao felt that Wu Yuchen had never been so meticulous in scrutinizing Liu Ye's performance, frame by frame, during his previous filming. He thought it was incredibly demanding. He felt that he himself would probably break down; just watching from the sidelines was immensely stressful.

Chen Minghao didn't know if the movie would be a success, but he was certain that Liu Ye's acting skills would improve dramatically after this filming. He was sure it would amaze her classmates when she returned to class.

Wu Yuchen also had to admit that he put the most effort into Liu Ye's role in this shoot. Jiang Qinqin was well-prepared and had more acting experience than Liu Ye, but Liu Ye, who was only a freshman in college and was directly playing the male lead, obviously needed Wu Yuchen to push him a little harder.

Fortunately, Liu Ye is a promising talent with great potential, and in the end, he was able to present the scene he wanted, which made all the effort Wu Yuchen put in worthwhile.

Meanwhile, Wu Yanzu, seeing how strict Wu Yuchen was with Liu Ye, couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. He knew that Liu Ye's scenes were almost finished, and it would soon be his turn.

After working hard every day for this period of time, his Mandarin level has improved a lot. At least he has memorized his lines perfectly. He goes over his lines with someone every day, and he has had his teacher correct the tone of each sentence.

But he knew he had absolutely no acting skills. If even Liu Ye, a film academy student, was treated this badly, what would await him then?
……

However, Wu Yanzu's worries did not come to pass. Wu Yuchen's attitude towards him was completely different from his attitude towards Liu Ye. He rarely showed any anger towards him and often comforted him. Although he had to do many takes on the first day of filming, he never gave him a harsh look, which greatly reduced the pressure on Wu Yanzu.

Wu Yuchen's differential treatment of Liu Ye and Wu Yanzu was naturally based on his own reasons. Liu Ye had, after all, undergone a year of training at the Central Academy of Drama and withstood the pressure of being expelled; he was capable of handling pressure, so adopting a stricter approach would better unleash his potential.

Wu Yanzu, on the other hand, was a newcomer to acting, so the main focus was on guiding him. Moreover, his character didn't have as much inner turmoil as Liu Ye; he needed to show his relaxed and cheerful side, so constantly scolding him wouldn't be effective.

To be honest, his role was much easier than Liu Ye's; he just needed to play himself—it's basically a modern campus heartthrob falling in love with a girl. That's why Wu Yuchen dared to cast Wu Yanzu, a newcomer, in the role.

Jiang Qinqin, on the other hand, received a lot of scolding from Wu Yuchen this time. She had previously played the role of a mother with Liu Ye, but now she was playing the role of a daughter with Wu Yanzu, and was required to show a more lively and cute side.

Although Jiang Qinqin had made preparations beforehand, she still hadn't quite transitioned from the roles of mother to daughter in a short time, since one's emotions cannot be completely controlled.

However, the shooting time was sufficient. Wu Yanzu needed a few days to adjust after appearing on camera, which gave Jiang Qinqin time to adjust as the filming progressed.

Filming for "If Love Has a Destiny" wrapped up in just over two months!
(End of this chapter)