Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 142 It's all Cameron's fault!
"Back to the top? No, I've always been at the top of Hollywood!"

Stallone snorted and said pretentiously to the reporters who came to interview him.

The old man has always presented a tough stance to the outside world and has never shown weakness. This time, with his dominance of the Thanksgiving season and a low-budget film of 30 million that grossed over 100 million in 10 days, he is naturally full of confidence and is showing off his power to the outside world.

However, reporters have long been used to his attitude. Now that he has topped the box office for two consecutive weeks and his works are a great success, he is very popular and reporters are willing to report on anything he says.

With the success of "Frequency," although Sylvester Stallone stole most of the limelight, Hugh Jackman, Gretchen, and the behind-the-scenes director Wu Yuchen were also mentioned by the media.

Moreover, compared to the actors on stage, Hollywood professionals are actually paying more attention to Wu Yuchen, the director and screenwriter.

Wu Yuchen's information is now being discussed by GTV and various production companies.

"Everyone knows what Sylvester Stallone is like, it's been 20 years. As for producer Jeff, I understand he doesn't have that much say in this project. Therefore, the core of the project's creation is actually this newcomer director who just entered Hollywood, Wu Yuchen!"
Written and directed by himself, and managing to handle an old guy like Sylvester Stallone on set, perfectly blending elements of science fiction, family drama, suspense, action, and special effects—this new director has some talent!

"Yes, I've seen his previous film, 'Run Lola Run,' which was a film that won with its creativity. But this film, 'Frequency,' is different. It's a very typical Hollywood commercial production, and he uses the formula very skillfully. He doesn't seem like a Hollywood newcomer at all."

In fact, compared to directors who win through creativity, the top eight cinemas prefer directors who can skillfully utilize mainstream commercial formulas to achieve success. Because creativity fades after one or two attempts, and then one might become just another ordinary person. But those who know how to use commercial formulas can easily have three or five films out of one, and they won't cause any major problems.

But for a director like Wu Yuchen, who possesses both creativity and talent, and skillfully utilizes commercial techniques, that's truly remarkable. Spielberg is a prime example of this type; he has the potential to achieve extraordinary success in Hollywood!
"Contact him to see if he has any other projects, and cooperate with him if conditions permit."

Those who can establish themselves in Hollywood are not fools; many companies have made this decision.

Of all these, the one that regrets it the most is the Fox Searchlight.

"I've said it before, Wu is very talented, we should give him a chance!" Frank complained to his colleagues.

It's worth noting that Fox Searchlight was one of the first two Hollywood companies to contact Wu Yuchen, and they even reached a cooperation agreement with him, buying the copyright and adaptation rights to "The Night the Comet Came".

Back in last year, Frank wanted to buy the rights to Wu Yuchen's script after reading it, but unfortunately, the deal fell through. Then, with the release of Wu Yuchen's "Run Lola Run," he missed out on two consecutive good Hollywood projects. And now…

His colleague next to him shrugged: "Okay, Frank, this kind of thing happens all the time in Hollywood. Don't let regret bother you; we should look forward."

Frank slapped his thigh and said it so lightly, "This isn't happening to you. This is a successful project that turned 30 million into 100 million in 10 days!"

Frank then cursed inwardly, blaming Cameron, that truck driver, for draining 20th Century Fox's cash flow with his Titanic project, forcing them to live frugally for the past two years. Otherwise, would they have been able to watch good projects slip through their fingers and lose to Sony and Columbia?
Frank composed himself and decided to contact Wu Yuchen as soon as possible to try and secure another opportunity to work with him.

The happiest of all was naturally Sony Columbia, which reaped a rich reward.

"Stanton, you've made one absolutely the right decision this time!"

Stanton, the executive who championed the "Frequency" project, laughed heartily upon hearing this, clearly delighted.

The total budget for "Frequency" was only $50 million, but it has already grossed over $100 million in North America in just 10 days. With such good word-of-mouth, and if it continues to be shown, the total box office in North America may be another $30 or $40 million.

And this is just the North American box office. Stallone is a world-renowned superstar. If a movie has good reviews, audiences will definitely be happy to watch his new film, and the overseas box office will definitely be good.

Add to that the revenue from videotapes, discs, and various related merchandise, and this one project alone could generate a net profit of 1.5-2 million. Naturally, this delighted Sony Columbia!
"We can start promoting overseas now. By the way, we can continue to work with Director Wu, and raise his salary to 500 million for the next film."

Stanton smiled upon hearing this and then said, "I heard from downstairs that he's preparing a new project on his own and wants to produce it independently."

The others weren't too surprised: "Independent production? Is it for project autonomy?"

"These directors are always like this; after achieving a certain level of success, they want to break through limitations and act willfully."

"After all, she comes from the Berlin Film Festival and is so young, she always wants to pursue some artistic things."

In the view of these high-level executives, a Hollywood newcomer director like Wu Yuchen, although he has succeeded once and is very talented, if he were to break free from the company's control and risk assessment and let his artistic talents guide his filmmaking, it would likely end up being another niche arthouse film.

Stanton smiled and said, "I still think highly of Wu. I will have someone contact him and give him enough say to see if he is willing to cooperate with us on this project."

The others nodded in agreement, after all, they had made so much money for them this time, so they were quite forgiving.

……

December in Beijing is already quite cold, and pedestrians hurry by on the street, making the newsstand business much quieter than before.

Even the coldest weather couldn't stop some regulars from reading newspapers and buying magazines. Liu Bin braked suddenly while riding his bicycle and said, "Boss, give me a copy of 'Film Weekly'."

Upon seeing that it was a regular customer, the newsstand owner immediately smiled and said, "This issue is definitely worth buying, it's big news!"

Liu Bin was curious but didn't ask. He took the latest issue of "Film Weekly" from the boss and looked at the cover. Half of it was a photo of Wu Yuchen, a well-known director in China, which he recognized. The other half was of Sylvester Stallone, an international superstar he had known for ten years.

These domestic media outlets had only just received the news, but they didn't even have photos or posters of "Frequency," so the magazine cover still featured Sylvester Stallone in "First Blood," looking fiercely armed with a machine gun.

Then the title reads:

"Director Wu Yuchen leads Sylvester Stallone in conquering cities and fortresses!"

—Frequency surpasses $100 million at the box office in 10 days, conquering the entire US!

Over 100 million in North America in just 10 days?!
Liu Bin quickly rubbed his eyes, making sure he hadn't seen the name correctly; it was Wu Yuchen, not Wu Yusen. There couldn't be a mistake. Even if the name was wrong, how could the photo be printed incorrectly?
However, Liu Bin still found it hard to believe, after all, the impression that Hollywood and American blockbusters were invincible had gradually taken root in the minds of Chinese movie fans.

In this era of worshipping foreign things and fawning over foreigners, the United States, the world's largest country and a global beacon, is synonymous with invincibility and a place that the whole world yearns for.

A few months ago, when Wu Baige's "Face/Off" grossed over $100 million at the North American box office and achieved great success, she was directly hailed by the media as the number one Chinese director!

Chen Kaige is at most referred to as the number one director in China by the domestic media, which is obviously limited to China, while Wu Baige is the number one director among Chinese people!
It is evident how glorious it was for the Chinese people to conquer America.

And now, Wu Yuchen, one of our own directors, has actually grossed over $100 million at the North American box office!
Liu Bin hurriedly asked the boss again to confirm, "Is this for real?!"

The shopkeeper immediately pulled out two more newspapers: "No mistake, look at this 'China Film News,' it's the headline too!"

Liu Bin immediately snatched the newspaper, and sure enough, the headline read: "Renowned director Wu Yuchen tops the box office for the second consecutive week; 'Frequency' surpasses 100 million in ten days, dominating the United States!"

After confirming this fact, Liu Bin was overjoyed and excited: "Boss, do you still have any newspapers reporting this? Give me a copy of each one!"

Conquering all of America and dominating the United States—this is their own director from the mainland! Just thinking about it filled him with pride, and a sense of accomplishment welled up within him. He kept repeating words like "amazing" and "awesome" in his mind.

Liu Bin grabbed the newspapers and magazines he had bought and pedaled his bicycle hard toward his workplace, eager to share the exciting news with his colleagues as soon as possible!

On the set of "My Fair Princess," Jiang Qinqin had just crawled out of bed to wash her face and brush her teeth when she heard a voice calling her from afar.

"Sister Qinqin, Sister Qinqin! Something terrible has happened!" Jiang Qinqin turned around and saw Fan Bingbing, who was playing her maid Jin Suo, running excitedly in front of her, wrapped in a cotton-padded coat.

Jiang Qinqin immediately asked, "What happened?"

"Great, great news! It's Director Wu! Director Wu's film has grossed over $100 million at the American box office!"

Fan Bingbing, panting, unfolded a newspaper. Jiang Qinqin immediately leaned over and was overjoyed when she saw the headline. She took out her phone to call Wu Yuchen.

Unfortunately, she only realized after dialing that she hadn't activated international long-distance service, so she could only wait for Wu Yuchen to call her back. Even so, she kept flipping through the newspaper in her hand, a happy smile on her face.

Meanwhile, Fan Bingbing's eyes sparkled as she kept praising:

"Sister Qinqin, Director Wu is truly amazing! He's even conquered America! Only a beauty like you, Sister Qinqin, is worthy of him!"

Jiang Qinqin reached out and gently wiped Fan Bingbing's face: "Your little mouth is as sweet as honey, you're so good with words~"

"Sister Qinqin, I'm telling the truth!" Fan Bingbing hugged Jiang Qinqin's arm. At this time, Fan Bingbing, who hadn't fully grown up yet, looked very cute, and really did look like a little maid.

Not only them, but the news had already spread throughout China via newspapers and periodicals.

"Tsk tsk tsk! This Wu Yuchen has really brought us honor. Even Stallone has to listen to his orders!"

"I said Director Wu was amazing when he surpassed Jurassic Park 2 in China, that he wiped out the foreign devils. Now Director Wu is still awesome in the US!"

"Bro, who do you think is better, Director Wu or Sylvester Stallone?"

"Of course Director Wu is more capable. The director is the most powerful person in the crew! His relationship with Stallone is like that of a general and his commander. Whatever he tells Stallone to do, Stallone has to do!"

The people in China don't know about Hollywood's producer-centric system. In their eyes, Wu Yuchen, the director, is the most important person in the crew. Isn't that just like the news said, he led Stallone to conquer cities and seize territory?

Wu Yuchen's phone was constantly ringing. He had his agent, Carl, write down all the contacts from the United States. He would reply to the less important ones on their behalf, and then call back the important ones himself.

However, he also received many calls from China. He had just hung up on Hou Keming, the director of the Beijing Film Academy, and then received a call from Han Sanping:

"Director Han, thank you! It's nothing serious, I'm thinking of talking about it when I get back. Okay, let's get together again when we get back."

He had just finished his call when Carl came over: "Wu, Sony Columbia is contacting you."

Wu Yuchen's heart skipped a beat; he still needed to take the call from the Eight Greats seriously. After another round of communication, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He just temporarily declined the collaboration invitation from Sony Columbia, and not only them, but all the other companies gave the same response.

He won't be satisfied with being an independent producer unless he tries it himself. It's not just about having a say; there's also the issue of profit.

With a project like *Frequency*, he knew that without Sony Columbia, the project might not have been as successful. But after a project, Sony earned $200 million, Stallone earned a little over $20,000, while he only earned $2 million.

It's one thing if his first film in Hollywood is like this, but he can't expect to work for someone else on every movie. Take "Phone Booth" for example; even if he produced it himself, he's confident he could make over ten million.

However, whether we make a lot or a little depends on one key person: whether we can get him on board.

Now that Wu Yuchen has achieved the milestone of "Frequency of the Black Hole" surpassing 100 million views, carrying this fame has added a lot of confidence to his journey of deception... cough cough, persuasion.

People's joys and sorrows are not shared. While the "Frequency" project is receiving a series of good news and those involved are celebrating wildly, some are in a state of anxiety.

Leonardo saw his agent walk in and immediately asked, "How did it go?"

The agent shook his head helplessly: "The entire Hollywood has put us on the silent list and won't contact us."

Leonardo paced back and forth a couple of times, muttering, "Damn it!"

He now deeply regrets taking on the role in "Titanic".

Leonardo DiCaprio's career has actually been very smooth. He had his first television appearance at the age of 5, followed by a series of commercials. He started acting in television series at the age of 15 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 19.

He just turned 23 last month, but his film salary has already reached 350 million. Among male actors of his generation, he is basically ranked at the top.

But now all of this has been greatly affected by the uncertainty brought about by his participation in "Titanic".

Six months ago, everything was normal; he joined the cast of "The Man in the Iron Mask" for a $3.5 million fee. But after filming for three months and returning to Hollywood, everything changed.

Almost all the film crews he auditioned for rejected him. For example, a month ago, when he auditioned for the movie "Ride with the Devil," director Li An rejected him and chose Tobey Maguire instead.

Officially, they said his audition was unsuccessful and he wasn't suitable, but Leonardo DiCaprio actually knew it was all because Titanic was about to be released.

Titanic is currently receiving poor reviews throughout Hollywood. It's said that the entire Fox company is almost bankrupted by this project. Everyone in Hollywood thinks Fox has gone mad, like a gambler with blinded greed, constantly adding more chips.

Everyone was waiting to see "Titanic" fail, and naturally, he, the male lead, was put on the list of films that no production company would work with.

All the pressure is now on "Titanic," and Leonardo DiCaprio is also experiencing anxiety as a result.

"We shouldn't have signed this contract in the first place, and you shouldn't have tried to persuade me!" Leonardo DiCaprio complained incessantly to his agent.

"Leon, before joining the production, who could have imagined that Cameron would turn things up like this?! What was originally a 100 million yuan production has now been increased to 250 million yuan!"

The agent said he couldn't take the blame either, and that the blame should fall on Cameron's truck driver.

"What was the total investment in 'Waterworld'?" Leonardo DiCaprio suddenly asked.

The agent opened his mouth, wanting to advise Leonardo DiCaprio not to overthink it, but knowing it would be useless, he could only tell the truth:

"The filming cost was 1.75 million yuan, and with the publicity and distribution expenses, the total investment was around 2.5 million yuan."

Upon hearing this, Leonardo DiCaprio slapped his forehead. "Waterworld" was a huge money-loser in 95, but its total investment was only 2.5 million. Titanic, on the other hand, had a production cost of 2.5 million. Add in the marketing expenses, and it would need to gross 8-10 billion worldwide to break even.

96年的全球票房冠军《独立日》也就是8.17亿票房，95年的第一名《虎胆龙威3》才特么3.6亿票房，而卡梅隆票房最高的《终结者2》也才5.2亿，这特么哪来那么多票房给他回本！

Thinking about this, Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't help but curse Cameron in his heart, calling him a damn truck driver and a tyrant on set!

He was originally a solid star with the best career among his peers, and even without taking "Titanic," his future was still bright. Now, Cameron has added enormous risks to his career!

(End of this chapter)