Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 277 Jiang Wen is "Awesome"
The red carpet at the Great Hall of the People was truly a star-studded affair.

Wu Yuchen originally only wanted to hold a preview screening to meet the Oscar submission requirements for foreign language films. However, now that he has reached his current position, some things can no longer be kept low-key.

A large number of people wanted to join in the fun, and many artists and professionals in the industry considered it an honor to attend the premiere of Wu Yuchen's new movie.

This time, it wasn't just people from the entertainment industry who attended; high-ranking figures from cultural, propaganda, and diplomatic circles also came to watch the film. Wu Yuchen's war-themed film, submitted for the Oscars, had already garnered attention from many influential figures when it was first conceived. Now that the film is finished, naturally some people have made special arrangements to watch it.

After the film ended, a buzz of discussion arose in the Great Hall of the People:

"I never expected that a film about the War of Resistance Against Japan could be made like this!"

"The whole movie didn't have any fighting or killing like those anti-Japanese war films and TV dramas, but I almost cried by the end! Damn those traitors and their dogs!"

"Both sad and ironic..."

"As expected of Director Wu, the angle he chose is novel, and the concept is excellent. It's truly on par with those anti-Nazi films made by Jewish people abroad!"

"Don't you even know who directed it? Don't just say it has a novel angle; the overall quality of the film is also very high. It might have been ruined if it had been in the hands of another director!"

Compared to those behind them, the bigwigs in the front row were much calmer, but they also had much more to consider than just the film itself. For example, those in diplomacy were immediately concerned with the film's impact and how Japan would react; those in publicity needed to consider what stance to take in promoting the film…

Despite the numerous films and television dramas on the theme of the War of Resistance Against Japan in the past, very few have truly gained international recognition. This time, however, it's different. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is aiming for the Oscars, and its filming techniques and artistry clearly reflect an international perspective. Therefore, it's understandable that they would consider it.

However, after getting up, everyone unanimously congratulated Wu Yuchen, and one of the senior leaders praised him, saying:
"Well done! The War of Resistance Against Japan is a period of history that China can never forget, a wound that our nation must always remember. Director Wu truly put his heart into making such a thought-provoking anti-war film!"

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "You flatter me, leader. I am also a Chinese citizen, and there are some things I should do."

Wu Yuchen then added, "However, the movie might cause some trouble. I estimate that many right-wing forces in Japan will jump out to protest."

The leader in the diplomatic corps simply waved his hand and said:

"What's so troublesome about this? The crimes committed by Japan during its invasion of China are undeniable facts. Speaking out for this film, speaking out for China's resistance against Japan, is no trouble at all!"

Another person chimed in, "The more they protest, the more it proves that Director Wu made a great film!"

"Yes!"

Han Sanping watched as a group of bigwigs and veteran comrades chatted and laughed with Wu Yuchen, and couldn't help but feel envious. He knew that if "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" won a major Oscar and achieved widespread international recognition, Wu Yuchen's status would rise to another level. Because the significance of this film was truly different from the films Wu Yuchen had previously made!

A few days later, the plane landed in Los Angeles, and Wu Yuchen arrived in Hollywood again. Unlike before, this time Wu Yuchen was accompanied by Jiang Qinqin, as well as the three brothers Zhang Guorong, Jiang Wen, and Wu Jing, and Zhao Wenzhuo. The group was naturally there to promote "Brotherhood of Blades".

At the airport, agent Carl had arranged a luxury van to wait for Wu Yuchen and his entourage. Jiang Qinqin appeared quite excited. After all, America had long been touted as a beacon of light by many in China, and Hollywood was the world's film center. As the leading actress in a film, she felt a sense of superiority.

Wu Yuchen smiled and said to the group, "Young Master Rong, I don't need to say anything to you. Wu Jing and Zhao Wenzhuo, if you need anything, just contact Karl, or find someone from Sony's publicity team."

Leslie Cheung smiled when he heard this. He had studied in England for five years when he was young and even bought a house in Canada. So when he came to America, he had no problem with the language and customs.

"Hey, Director Wu, why don't you care about me at all?" Jiang Wen said.

Wu Yuchen waved his hand with a smile: "Alright, alright, you can go visit your relatives and friends by yourself, I can't control you!"

Don't let Jiang Wen's films fool you; he's got a wide circle of friends, and he's been to America more than once or twice.

In 1992, 29-year-old Jiang Wen was invited by the U.S. State Department to visit the United States as a "World Outstanding Young Person." At the time, the State Department had an invitation program for outstanding young people worldwide. He then traveled to more than a dozen states, visited George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic, and met with many prominent Hollywood directors, such as Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, and Oliver Stone.

Even after Jiang Wen returned to China, he maintained contact with Martin Scorsese, from whom he obtained a lot of film-related information and advice on directing.

So don't be surprised that Jiang Wen was later able to drink and chat with Quentin Tarantino, bragging about everything and spreading his "bragging" even overseas.

Not to mention he's now married to a French woman, so Wu Yuchen doesn't need to worry about him at all when he's abroad.

On the contrary, Wu Jing and Zhao Wenzhuo couldn't even speak English fluently, so Wu Yuchen naturally had to ask his agent, Karl, to take good care of them. To be honest, bringing them along on this trip was mainly for publicity, since among the main cast, only these two had real skills!
Isn't what foreigners want to see right now Chinese kung fu?
At this moment, Jiang Wen put his arm around Wu Jing and said, "Let me tell you, America is developed, but don't be a coward. Nowadays, Americans are full of prejudices against China. When I first came back to America ten years ago, guess what the most frequent question they asked me was?"

"What?" Zhao Wenzhuo, who was standing next to him, was also curious.

"Are you a pure Chinese? Are Chinese people as tall as you? Would Chinese people joke like that?"
Most Chinese people in America are short, mostly from Guangdong, Fujian, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The Chinese films Americans see mostly depict our impoverished and backward lives. Therefore, in their minds, our country lacks joy, Chinese people are all thin and small, and no one in China has my sense of humor or height.

And those "banana people" in America, most of them have lost their backbone. They grovel before the Americans, acting cautiously and timidly, always trying to curry favor and gain something; yet, in front of our own people, they act superior, pointing fingers and swaggering. Such people have no self-respect in their mentality or character, tarnishing the image of the Chinese people. How can foreigners respect them?

“Brother Wen is right. Actually, it’s not just overseas; there are quite a few people like that in Hong Kong as well. If everyone were like you, then the image of Chinese people abroad wouldn’t be like this!” Leslie Cheung remarked with emotion.

Wu Yuchen agreed with Jiang Wen's words. From this perspective, the likes of Yao Ming, who just joined the NBA this year, Liu Xiang, who will become famous in a couple of years, Cheng Long, who has already become a world-class superstar, and even Li Lianjie, who changed his nationality, are all beneficial to the promotion of the image of Chinese people in the world.

Their existence sends a signal to the world that there are indeed tall, strong, and capable people among the Chinese, which changes many people's preconceived notions about China. Of course, Wu Yuchen himself is now one of these representatives. When Hollywood stars are interviewed, such as Nicole Kidman, Sylvester Stallone, and Russell Crowe, and when they all express a desire to collaborate with Wu Yuchen, and as he achieves increasing success in Hollywood, he subtly enhances the influence and image of the Chinese people.

Although Wu Jing wasn't tall, he still stood very straight. He patted his chest and said to Jiang Wen, "Don't worry, Brother Wen, I definitely won't back down! What are we martial artists afraid of? If we can't communicate, we can just use this!"

Wu Yuchen looked at Wu Jing gesturing with his fists and laughed, "No, no, you came with me, how could I let you suffer a loss? But don't wander around the slums, if you run into someone with a gun, even eight-armed Vajra won't be of any use!"

Once in America, Wu Yuchen wasn't afraid of anything else, but he was worried that these guys might wander around and stumble upon some American-style iaido (traditional Japanese acrobatic fighting), which would be a real problem. After all, times had changed; a gun is fast from seven paces away, and within seven paces, "American-style iaido" is both accurate and fast.

The group chatted and laughed all the way in the car. Not long after they arrived at the hotel and settled in, Sony's publicity team came to visit.

"Wu, we've finally waited for you!" The publicity manager said with a delighted expression.

Wu Yuchen shook hands with him and said with a smile, "Haha, I'm not the main character in the movie~"

"Oh no, Director Wu, you are the biggest selling point of this movie! Without your participation in the promotional activities, I guarantee the box office would be at least half gone!"

The publicity manager was outspoken, and Sony firmly believed so as well. Originally, "Brotherhood of Blades" was scheduled for a September release, but due to Wu Yuchen's filming of a new movie causing delays, Sony postponed the North American release of "Brotherhood of Blades" by a month to October, just to wait for Wu Yuchen to come and participate in the publicity.

This film, *Brotherhood of Blades*, wasn't nominated for an Oscar, so it didn't enjoy the same promotional benefits as *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*. Furthermore, the main actors in *Brotherhood of Blades* were largely unknown in North America, making Wu Yu-chen the film's biggest draw.

Of course, the craze for Chinese kung fu has only just begun in the last two years, and North American audiences are also very much looking forward to this subject matter. Therefore, it would be even better if some of the lead actors could perform Chinese kung fu. That's why Wu Yuchen led the cast of "Brotherhood of Blades" on a trip to Hollywood.

Despite the long journey and the physical exhaustion of being on a plane for over ten hours, Jiang Qinqin lay down on the bed after taking a shower. Whether it was because she was not used to the bed or something else, she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep, becoming more and more energetic.

Outside, Wu Yuchen was still on the phone. He had a lot on his plate. Besides "Brotherhood of Blades," his new film "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" was aiming for the Oscars, and he also had another Oscar-nominated film, "The Hours."

"Hey, my dear Director Wu, I thought you'd forgotten about me~" A sweet girl on the other end of the phone gave a coquettish hum.

“Oh, Nicole, how could that be? You know I’m very busy with work, I just got back to America today.”

"Hmm, do you need me to help you relax?"

"Hehe, Nicole, I'll probably be busy promoting my new movie for the next two weeks~" Wu Yuchen chuckled. With Jiang Qinqin by his side this time, he naturally couldn't afford to mess things up. If he wanted to have some fun, he'd have to wait until after he sent her back to China.

"Your new movie promotion? Isn't 'The Hours' your new movie?" Nicole Kidman said with dissatisfaction.

"Of course~ But Nicole, haven't I already made plans with Fox? I'll be joining The Hours' Oscar campaign next month."

"I'm afraid that Director Wu will forget about the old one once you find a new love~"

Wu Yuchen smiled and assured him, "Don't worry, I will treat all my films equally. I will also keep my promise to you."

After hearing Wu Yuchen's words, Nicole Kidman chatted with him for a few more minutes before hanging up the phone.

Nicole didn't care whether Wu Yuchen had any new women around him; her relationship with Wu Yuchen was purely transactional. Although Wu Yuchen was taller, stronger, and younger than her ex-husband Tom Cruise, and was also better in bed, which pleased her, she was very clear about their relationship. As long as he could help her win an Oscar for Best Actress, she didn't care about anything else.

After Wu Yuchen took a shower, he went to the bedside and found that Jiang Qinqin was still awake: "What's wrong with you?"

Jiang Qinqin turned over and said to Wu Yuchen, "Maybe I'm not used to it, I just can't fall asleep."

Wu Yuchen glanced at her and asked with a smile, "Could it be that Jiang Wen guessed right and you're getting nervous?"

"no!"

Seeing Jiang Qinqin's stubbornness, Wu Yuchen reached out and pulled her into his arms: "Alright, alright, what's there to hide from me? It's normal to be a little shy after just crossing thousands of miles to a foreign country."

After Jiang Qinqin nestled into Wu Yuchen's arms, she immediately felt a sense of security envelop her, and her whole body and mind relaxed. Then she said, "I'm always worried about what if I make a mistake? Wouldn't that be embarrassing for me internationally?"

"What could possibly go wrong?"

"I don't know either. Did I say something wrong in English? Or did I make a mistake during a performance on a TV show?"

Wu Yuchen understood Jiang Qinqin's feelings. It was still influenced by the current domestic environment, which subconsciously led her to place the United States on too high a pedestal and lack self-confidence.

If you're confident enough, you won't have so many thoughts. Language barriers and such are not problems at all. For example, ten years ago, when foreign businessmen, and even those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, came to the mainland, they didn't think about whether it would be embarrassing if they didn't speak Mandarin well. Most people from economically developed regions come to less developed regions with a sense of superiority.

Wu Yuchen patted Jiang Qinqin on the shoulder: "Don't think about these messy things. With me here, nothing will happen. If you say something wrong, I'll have the production team cut it out. It's the same here as in China. Your husband can handle all of this. Relax!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qinqin smiled, then kissed Wu Yuchen on the cheek before falling asleep.

(End of this chapter)