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Chapter 276 Breaking the Ice
"Brother Wu, congratulations!"

"Congratulations! The success of 'Brotherhood of Blades' is also thanks to Brother Han's strong support!"

At this moment, Wu Yuchen was on the phone with Han Sanping. He thought about the box office performance of "Brotherhood of Blades," which took 22 days to break 3 million yuan, but it took nearly two months to reach the remaining 6000 million yuan.

Moreover, quite a few tricks were indeed used in the process. Without Han Sanping's strong support and the great cooperation of various official departments, as well as the reform of the cinema system, to put it bluntly, who knows how much of the box office revenue of "Brotherhood of Blades" would have been concealed and stolen.

"Haha, Brother Wu, don't be modest. We're just making a fuss. It's all thanks to your great director Wu that the film is so good and your reputation is so great. If it were anyone else, we wouldn't be able to do anything even if we shouted until the sky fell!"

It was clear that Han Sanping was extremely happy. Officially, the fact that "Brotherhood of Blades" broke domestic box office records and shattered the mountain of pressure was of great significance to the entire Chinese-language film market, marking a milestone in the history of Chinese cinema. Personally, these achievements during his tenure were certainly worthy of being recorded in the annals of merit.

"Brother Wu, if you weren't filming in Northeast China right now, I would have taken the initiative to arrange a celebration banquet for you!"

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this. Actually, he didn't really care about any celebration banquet, but breaking the record set by "Titanic" and regaining the title of highest-grossing film in China was indeed quite memorable. If they didn't hold one, everyone would feel like something was missing, including Han Sanping.

So he said, "Brother Han, there will definitely be a celebration banquet, but we'll have to wait until I finish what I'm doing."

Han Sanping asked with concern, "How's it going? Is filming the new movie going smoothly?"

"It's going fairly smoothly. Only the final scenes are left, and we'll wrap up filming in a few days. But I'm also in a rush to finish post-production, otherwise I'm afraid I'll miss the Oscar submission deadline."

Han Sanping nodded: "There's no rush for the celebration banquet, your new play is more important!"

In fact, Wu Yuchen was not lying. Time was indeed a bit tight, and in order to save time for post-production, he edited the film as he went.

He is currently editing footage shot a few days ago, a scene of two little boys playing chess across a wire fence. The scene looks simple, but Wu Yuchen put a lot of thought into it.

The original game featured two players playing chess, which could have been replaced with Chinese chess. However, after consideration, Wu Yuchen opted for Go. The stark contrast between the black and white Go pieces, along with the grid-like pattern on the board, creates a more visually striking effect and carries greater symbolic meaning.

Of course, the two children weren't actually playing Go; they could play Connect Four. Even children in concentration camps could learn Connect Four very quickly.

Wu Yuchen shot several clips of this scene from different angles and under different lighting conditions, and now he just needs to choose the most suitable one.

The final scene wasn't actually that easy to film. The key issue wasn't any difficulties faced by the crew or actors, but rather the weather; Wu Yuchen needed a thunderstorm.

Although he now has the means to create artificial rain, he can't control the weather or lightning. The oppressive and destructive feeling of natural thunderstorms is bound to be imperfect when artificially created. Fortunately, the transition from summer to autumn is a peak season for thunderstorms, and the crew didn't have to wait too long before a thunderstorm struck.

Lightning flashed across the sky, and as Gong Li, amidst the heavy rain, heard Chen Baoguo's desperate cry of "Xi Xi," her breathing quickened, and she gasped for breath, her body going limp as she knelt on the ground. Then, clutching her son's clothes in front of the barbed wire fence, she wailed and cried heart-wrenchingly.

Beside her, Shu Chang held Gong Li tightly, but this could not stop Gong Li from wailing in waves of grief.

There were multiple cameras on the side, one facing the front, one from the side, and one shooting from above, each at a different distance, all capturing this scene.

This time, Wu Yuchen didn't call "cut." Although Gong Li had already achieved the desired effect, he wanted to shoot more footage and then select the one he was most satisfied with to edit in.

Two days later, Wu Yuchen had returned to Beijing. After filming wrapped, there was a wrap party, and then he rushed back to work on post-production. He had almost finished editing the film; the most important part of post-production now was the soundtrack.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen was receiving two top-notch composers who had been invited: Zhao Jiping and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Zhao Jiping is one of the top film score composers in China, having created over a thousand musical works. These include outstanding film and television scores such as "Yellow Earth," "Red Sorghum," "Farewell My Concubine," "A Chinese Odyssey," "Raise the Red Lantern," "The Story of Qiu Ju," "White Deer Plain," and "Water Margin," as well as various other types of musical works such as symphonies, concertos, chamber music, operas, national orchestral music, dance dramas, and art songs. The breadth of themes, the quantity, and the high quality of his works are truly admirable.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, on the other hand, is a world-renowned master who has created many classic works. He completed the 45 pieces of music for "The Last Emperor" in just one week, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score—a genius among geniuses.

Actually, this song, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," exposes the crimes committed by Japan during World War II, and many Japanese musicians probably wouldn't take on this job.

However, Ryuichi Sakamoto was a leading figure of the Japanese left wing and a member of the Japanese Communist Party. His anti-war ideology permeated his life, and he acknowledged and reflected on Japan's aggression against China. Upon his death, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly expressed its condolences. Wu Yuchen also highly values ​​his experience in creating anti-war music.

To be honest, if it weren't for Wu Yuchen, other directors probably wouldn't have the audacity to invite both of these master-level figures to work on a film at the same time.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen politely said to the two, "I'm very sorry, I've been busy with filming this time and haven't been able to entertain you well. The time I've given you for creative work may not have been very sufficient. I hope you can understand!"

"Director Wu, you're too kind. Your film is a voice for our entire Chinese nation! I'd be willing to do anything, even pay you to be there!" Zhao Jiping said, giving Wu Yuchen a thumbs up.

Ryuichi Sakamoto also said, "Director Wu, please don't say that. This film, 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,' really touched me. It was an honor to participate in the creation of such a work! I also hope that the anti-war message of this film can be seen by more people!"

Then Ryuichi Sakamoto sighed, "Even though it's not the distant past of 60 years, war has never been far from humanity. As long as war continues, innocent children and lives will continue to suffer tragedies every moment in this world!"

Wu Yuchen nodded and said, "Yes, and judging from the current situation, there may be a new round of war."

"A new round of war?" Zhao Jiping asked, somewhat puzzled. Sakamoto Ryuichi, however, was more sensitive to this: "Director Wu, are you referring to the United States?"

Wu Yuchen nodded, then said, "I just received a call yesterday. 33 top American scholars of international relations published a joint letter in The New York Times entitled 'War with Iraq Is Not in the National Interest.' The louder the opposition, the more it indicates that the Black House is brewing a major move..."

Wu Yuchen then sighed and said to the two of them, "In the face of war, we are all insignificant and powerless. We can only do our best to spread the anti-war voice as far as possible through art."

Both of them nodded silently in agreement.

With the collaborative efforts of two music masters, the work on the score for "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" progressed rapidly, with the score completed in just ten days and achieving top-notch results.

After the film was completed and released, Wu Yuchen finally breathed a sigh of relief. The film was sent to Big Scissors for review, and the leaders of Big Scissors personally received him.

To be honest, the executives at Big Scissors were somewhat prepared for Wu Yuchen's new film. They had heard it was an anti-Japanese war film, so even if it included some bloody, violent, or even more explicit scenes, they planned to turn a blind eye. Moreover, it was directed by the renowned director Wu Yuchen himself, so as long as the ideological direction wasn't too problematic, they wouldn't make things difficult for him.

After all, it's an anti-Japanese war film, and big-name directors usually want to explore some depth, like humanity, etc. Just think about how much controversy "Devils on the Doorstep" caused...

But to my utter surprise, after watching the movie, I couldn't find a single flaw. The entire film, from beginning to end, didn't have a single bloody scene; it was truly up to the standard of a children's movie!
This prompted the leaders of Big Scissors to exclaim repeatedly, "Look at his skill! What does it mean to be the number one director in Chinese-language cinema? No matter how many restrictions are imposed, he can still produce such excellent works! All other directors should learn from Director Wu and stop causing trouble here all the time! Especially Jiang Wen!"

Meanwhile, the celebration banquet for "Brotherhood of Blades" has already been held.

On the stage, a long table was covered with a red cloth, on which was placed a number ice sculpture: 360000000.

In fact, the news and publicity surrounding the record-breaking success of "Brotherhood of Blades" boosted the box office, with another wave of people going to the cinema to contribute to the box office. The total box office of "Brotherhood of Blades" has now exceeded 3.7 million yuan, but the figure for today's ice-breaking ceremony is still 360000000 million yuan.

Behind the ice sculpture, standing in the very center, were Wu Yuchen and Han Sanping, with Zhang Guorong, Jiang Qinqin, and other lead actors standing on either side.

Led by Wu Yuchen and Han Sanping, everyone took small hammers and smashed the ice sculpture in front of them. Cameras in the audience were clicking away, recording the scene, and everyone's face was full of smiles.

"This ice-breaking ceremony for a movie is probably the first of its kind in China, right? I'm here today to experience it for myself!" Han Sanping chuckled as he took his seat.

Wu Yuchen said with a smile, "I've been focusing all my attention on the new movie lately, all thanks to President Cai's excellent arrangements!"

Cai Yinong also explained with a smile: "I think 'Brotherhood of Blades' is also the first commercial blockbuster in China. In addition, this time it is of extraordinary significance, so this celebration banquet must have some sense of ceremony! Today, President Han and Director Wu broke the 3.6 ​​million mark together. I believe that in the future, under your leadership, Director Wu's films and the box office of Chinese films will not stop at this number!"

These words struck a chord with Han Sanping, who picked up a glass of wine and said:

"The figure of 3.6 million for 'Titanic' a few years ago was unimaginable for Chinese films, and it has become a major headache for me."

No matter how well "Titanic" is made, it's still not a Chinese film. Must Chinese films forever be overshadowed by a foreign film?

Today, I personally smashed this 3.6 million, which not only relieved a lingering worry of mine, but also knocked down a huge mountain hanging over the heads of Chinese-language films!
All of this is inseparable from the leadership of Director Wu, and also from the outstanding talents like all of you here today!

I believe that with all of you here, the future of Chinese-language films will only get better and better!

Everyone at the table cheered and raised their glasses in celebration. Today was, after all, a joyous occasion, and the atmosphere at the dinner table was quite lively. As they chatted, the topic turned to Wu Yuchen's new movie.

Han Sanping teased Jiang Wen, "Jiang Wen, the people from Big Scissors asked me to pass on a message to you: the movie 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas' premieres in a couple of days, you have to go and see it!"

Jiang Wen wasn't annoyed at all, and chuckled, "President Han, why would they need to say that? I absolutely have to go and watch Director Wu's movie properly to learn from it!"

Wu Yuchen laughed and shook his head: "Come on, even if you learned it, you wouldn't be Jiang Wen anymore!"

Everyone at the table burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" received almost a green light all the way, was nominated and confirmed as an Oscar contender, and had its preview screenings scheduled for the Great Hall of the People.

As they were talking, someone mentioned "Hero" again, and Han Sanping leaned closer to Wu Yuchen and whispered, "Hero is also having a preview screening in Hong Kong on October 25th. Brother Wu, are you planning to go?"

Because of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," "Hero" could only compete for an Oscar through Hong Kong, so the film's preview screenings were also held in Hong Kong.

Han Sanping's question was ostensibly about whether Wu Yuchen would attend the premiere, but it also had a hidden meaning: to test Wu Yuchen's attitude towards him, given their previous verbal sparring. To be honest, from Han Sanping's perspective, he naturally didn't want Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou to fall out.

Wu Yuchen naturally understood Han Sanping's intentions and said with a smile, "Brother Han, don't worry, Senior Brother Zhang and I are fine. It's just a publicity stunt. However, I can't go to the movie premiere. After the preview screening of 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,' I have to rush to Hollywood. They're really pushing me!"

(End of this chapter)