Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 308 After filming wrapped

"I hereby announce that the Pirate King series is now complete!"

As soon as Wu Yuchen shouted these words, hundreds of people in the entire crew cheered.

"It's finally over! Fuck!"

"Oh my god! I thought I wouldn't be able to go back this year!"

"Oh God, I'm going to be lying in bed for a month when I get back this time!"

Some people even became so agitated that they started swearing and cursing to vent their emotions.

Wu Yuchen was not dissatisfied at all, letting these people vent their frustrations, even if they cursed him.

After all, they had been filming for eight consecutive months, constantly changing locations, and hardly had any rest. The intensity was extremely high, and many of them are now physically and mentally exhausted, and they desperately need a break and a chance to vent.

The fact that filming can be finished in early December so that they can go home for Christmas is the best Wu Yuchen could do.

That night, the entire crew had a wild party.

"Mouse, has the director left?" Chris asked.

Ning Hao nodded, raised his glass and clinked it against the other man's: "He said if he didn't leave, he was worried that we wouldn't be able to relax!"

Chris breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and then immediately said:
"He kept us in this inhuman place for eight months straight, exploiting us relentlessly. If he were here, I'd kick his ass!"

Seeing Ning Hao's disdainful look, Chris glared at him and asked, "What, don't you believe me?"

Ning Hao replied dismissively, "Yes, I believe you!"

He now truly understood why Wu Yuchen wasn't on set. Eight months of filming had indeed established a strong authority within the crew. Authority preceded trust, naturally inspiring awe in many who saw Wu Yuchen. His absence allowed these people to vent their frustrations freely.

After the two drank a glass of wine, Chris asked again:
"Rat, will you stay in Hollywood? You're a pretty good guy, and I hope we can work together again in the future~"

Upon hearing this, Ning Hao swirled his wine glass and smiled: "No, I plan to return to China as a director after I've completed my studies!"

"Oh, that's a real shame," Chris sighed upon hearing this.

However, he then raised his glass and clinked it with Ning Hao's: "Then I wish our little rat will become a great director in China in the future!"

Ning Hao laughed heartily and bumped into him.

To be honest, he didn't know if he could become a good director, after all, he had only made one film with a budget of less than 10 yuan before.

However, this trip has changed many of his beliefs. In the past, whether at Beijing Normal University or after joining Beijing Film Academy, Ning Hao's education and ideas about film were basically based on the pursuit of art, which is the highest pursuit of filmmakers.

But what about Hollywood? Of course, Hollywood also pursues art, but ultimately, what Hollywood values ​​most is the market, commercial films, and money!

During his trip to America, Ning Hao learned a lot. Even in the mature American market, most directors who dabble in art films never get ahead.

So what about China? Whether it's the fifth or sixth generation of directors, they all follow the path of art-house directors. The Chinese market is still so weak; can it support such a large number of art-house directors? Absolutely not.

Nowadays, Chinese art films rely on international film festivals to survive. For example, his film "Incense" won several awards at film festivals and earned a lot of prize money, but once it returned to China, no cinema was willing to screen it!
This raised a question for Ning Hao: was his film intended for Chinese audiences or foreign audiences?
If his films are not watched domestically and only win a few international awards, what's the point? For him, movies are not just something for self-entertainment; they only have value if people watch them!

Moreover, even Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige from the Fifth Generation of Chinese cinema are now transitioning to big-budget commercial films and compromising with the market, aren't they?

And Director Wu, didn't he also build his business and become a big star by making a few high-grossing, commercially successful films?

He experienced this even more clearly in Hollywood. Wu Yuchen was able to have absolute authority on such a large film crew as "The Pirate King," even subduing Johnny Depp. Was it because of his ability to direct art-house films? Definitely not! It was because of the box office success of his past films!
Then why does little Ning Hao insist on being such a stubborn fool and going against the tide?

Therefore, Ning Hao had already planned for the future. After returning, he needed to first survive, adapt to the market, and establish himself in the industry before he could fully utilize his talents. Once he had a certain level of influence, it wouldn't be too late to consider making art films.

……

In Los Angeles, the sun was high in the sky, and sunlight streamed into the room through a gap in the curtains, falling on the two alluring beauties lying on the bed.

Wu Yuchen also woke up in this beam of light, and felt Anne Hathaway and Jessica Alba, who were still fast asleep beside him.

Not only did the crew members need to vent, but the director himself was no exception, otherwise he would develop mental problems from holding it in. However, he chose to go back to Los Angeles to do so.

He does feel much better now, both physically and mentally, which is beneficial for his future work!
That's right, Wu Yuchen didn't plan to return to China immediately, but chose to stay in Hollywood for a while longer.

At the end of last month, the list of China's Top Ten Outstanding Young People was announced, and Wu Yuchen was among them, making him quite young. However, there were younger ones this time; Yao Ming, born in September 1980, is 23 years old and is the youngest.

Shortly after, the awards ceremony was scheduled for January 4th. Therefore, Wu Yuchen is not in a rush and plans to use the remaining three weeks to complete all the editing work on "Pirate King 2".

That way, even if he leaves, the post-production of *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* won't stop, and some necessary work can still be done without much delay. He then looked at the two beautiful women beside him who had spent the previous night playing with him and couldn't help but smile. The two films he had promised them, *The Princess Diaries* and *Step Up*, had both been delivered.

"The Princess Diaries" is a co-production between Miracle Pictures and Disney, while "Step Up" is a collaboration with Fox. Both films, being teen movies, will be released next summer.

Director Wu, who has built friendly and close working relationships with so many beautiful women, relies on his excellent reputation! He wouldn't do something like Harvey's, who made empty promises and then forced his way in, leading to a bunch of women suing him in the end.

Jessica Alba and Anne Hathaway, these two beautiful women in their early twenties, deserve his careful protection and care for a long time to come!
However, the most attention-grabbing movie from Miracle Pictures recently is not these two, but "Saw"!
During this year's Halloween season, "Saw" made a stunning debut, grossing over $100 million at the North American box office with a production cost of only $1.2 million, leaving the market in awe!
In its previous life, *Saw* wasn't initially well-received upon release, but rather relied on word-of-mouth to earn $55 million in North America and over $100 million worldwide. This time, however, thanks to Miracle Pictures' dedicated marketing efforts, *Saw* achieved phenomenal box office success upon release, topping the list of Halloween horror films and successfully surpassing $100 million!

Moreover, it received excellent reviews. Its bizarre and terrifying methods of murder, along with its profound central theme, broke through the increasingly formulaic and commercialized bottleneck of horror films over the years, causing a sensation in the horror film industry. This also made James Wan an instant star in the industry!
The success of "Saw" and James Wan has also drawn attention to Wu Yuchen's ability to discover and nurture new directors, especially among Chinese filmmakers. Many who feel they are underappreciated hope to become the next James Wan through Wu Yuchen.

If someone is truly talented, Wu Yuchen wouldn't mind giving them some opportunities to develop, but it would be very difficult to produce another James Wan.

It's worth noting that the Saw series alone has grossed a staggering $10 billion at the box office. If you include DVD sales and various copyright revenues, the profits are truly staggering. And James Wan has created far more than just Saw!

……

After working in the editing room for half a day at DreamWorks, Wu Yuchen was called out by Spielberg to have dinner together.

"This newly opened restaurant makes pretty good pasta!"

"Really? Then I'll have to try it!"

The two chatted as they ate.

"Wu, has the release date for 'Pirate King 2' been set yet?"

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment and gave Spielberg a timeframe: "Let's go for July, that way we'll have more time."

Spielberg nodded: "Okay, then we'll go and discuss it with the theaters, and then start the publicity campaign!"

Wu Yuchen gave an OK sign, then took a bite of noodles in silence, swallowed it, and said, "Maybe it's because I've been away from home for too long, but I think it tastes nowhere near as good as Beijing-style fried noodles."

"It seems you really need to go home and rest for a while. Christmas?"

Wu Yuchen shook his head: "Steven, you know, we Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival, which is January 22nd next year."

Spielberg sighed helplessly. During Christmas, the Americans were on holiday, while Wu Yuchen was taking the Spring Festival break. If the two couldn't work together, it would undoubtedly delay the post-production of "Pirates of the Caribbean" for a while longer.

However, he also knew that Wu Yuchen had been away from home with the crew for so long and definitely needed to rest. He simply couldn't bring himself to ask Wu Yuchen to go home for the Spring Festival again.

Wu Yuchen knew what the other person was thinking, and smiled as he comforted him, "Don't worry, when I come back after the Spring Festival, my efficiency will double, and the production of 'Pirate King 2' will definitely be completed on schedule."

Spielberg smiled and then asked, "Wu, what are your thoughts on the release plans for the Pirate King sequels 2 and 3?"

Wu Yuchen glanced at Spielberg: "Didn't we say before? One film each this year and next year."

Spielberg hummed in agreement, then asked, "Have you been following The Matrix Revolutions?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen immediately understood that Spielberg was worried that "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" would suffer the same fate as "The Matrix Revolutions".

Like The Pirate King, The Matrix sequels II and III were also filmed back-to-back. However, Warner Bros.' release strategy for the two sequels was to release both films within a year.

First, in May of this year, "The Matrix Reloaded" was released, grossing $740 million worldwide; then just six months later, "The Matrix Revolutions" was released in November, receiving very poor reviews, and its North American box office has only reached $120 million so far, far worse than its predecessor.

Although Wu Yuchen has been busy filming "The Pirate King" and hasn't paid much attention to "The Matrix 3", he has the experience of his previous life and naturally understands the problems with the last two "Matrix" movies.

He smiled and asked Spielberg, "Steven, do you know why Warner Bros. is in such a hurry to release the third film in just six months?"

Hollywood understood this issue after the film's release, as Spielberg stated:
"Because the Wachowski brothers incorporated more and more humanistic and philosophical ideas into The Matrix 2 and 3, the films became somewhat obscure."

Wu Yuchen nodded: "That's right. Compared to the perfect first 'Matrix,' the second one, while also featuring impressive action sequences, has many lengthy and profound dialogues, saying things that seem like they're deliberately trying to scare people. This undoubtedly raises the bar for viewers compared to the first one, making it less friendly to some audiences."

Warner Bros. was worried about this: if a year passed, they feared audiences might even forget some of the plot points from *The Matrix Reloaded*. This would certainly have a negative impact on the third film. Therefore, they made the decision to release two films within six months.

However, *The Matrix Revolutions* leans more towards philosophy and theology, becoming increasingly obscure and difficult to understand, causing many viewers to abandon it.

In fact, most blockbuster movies have one thing in common: they have a low barrier to entry and are easy to understand, which makes them more universal and widely disseminated.

Whether it's the truck driver-themed "Titanic" or "Avatar," the stories and core themes are actually understandable even to children. Marvel movies are even more mindless, but you have to admit that they have high box office returns!

Then Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "Don't worry, Steven, I won't make the same mistake as The Matrix. The Pirate King is an adventure, and there won't be any parts that test the audience's brains!"

Spielberg breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and smiled, "Wu, of course I trust you completely. You're the director I've ever met who understands the market best!"

(End of this chapter)