Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 309 A Warm Christmas

"Hey Steven, how much did The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King make at the box office?"

Spielberg exclaimed, "Unstoppable! It's already grossed over 100 million in just four days!"

“I remember that ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ was scheduled to be released on a Wednesday, right?” Wu Yuchen asked.

"Yes, that's pretty willful!"

Generally, movies choose to premiere on Fridays to get off to a good start. However, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" chose to release on a Wednesday, and it grossed $34.1 million on its opening day, and it broke $100 million in just four days. By the end of its first five days this Sunday, the box office will definitely be a very impressive number.

"The boss of New Line Cinema is now making a high-profile announcement that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will rival Titanic in global box office revenue."

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this. Ever since Titanic created an unprecedented myth of $18 billion five years ago, there have been people who have made a big show of trying to surpass it every year, but all of them have failed.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is coming in strong, not only with a strong opening weekend box office, far surpassing the performance of Titanic when it was first released, but also with phenomenal critical acclaim. It swept through various film critic association awards before its release, and now everyone agrees that this year's Oscars are a foregone conclusion: Best Picture and Best Director will undoubtedly go to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Both box office and critical acclaim reached their peak upon release, and with the influence built up from the previous two films, it's no wonder that New Line Cinema's boss was so confident.

But no matter how strong the beginning is, it's useless without the endurance of "Titanic"!

Wu Yuchen shook his head and said, "It's difficult. Titanic can be watched by anyone in any country or region in the world without any obstacles. But Lord of the Rings can't. Many people are not interested in this kind of subject matter."

No matter how highly "The Lord of the Rings" is praised, its universality and reach still can't compare to a large ship. So don't tell "Titanic" and "Avatar" that they're too cliché; truck drivers will just show you the box office results—they've already figured out the real story.

Spielberg agreed with Wu Yuchen's point of view, but he said, "The Lord of the Rings was good enough. As for Titanic, even Cameron himself is not confident that he can replicate it again."

Wu Yuchen smiled and asked Spielberg, "Steven, Peter Jackson is in high demand right now. Haven't you contacted him to join DreamWorks? Maybe he'll agree!"

Spielberg laughed and shook his head: "Come on, Wu, the Pirate King series has already drained DreamWorks' funds. I simply don't have the capacity to feed another big guy!"

The second and third installments of "Pirates of the Caribbean" were filmed back-to-back, with an investment of nearly $5 million. DreamWorks was to contribute nearly $3 million proportionally.

Peter Jackson, a master of special effects films, would certainly call it a big-budget special effects production. DreamWorks' resources are still too limited; they're struggling to support even one "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, and they simply don't dare to provoke another big player.

However, Spielberg then added, "I've heard that Peter Jackson has been getting very close to Universal recently. Universal is interested in his special effects abilities, and Peter is also very interested in some of Universal's monsters."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen immediately knew what they were talking about—wasn't it "King Kong"? The love story between a gorilla and a blonde beauty!
Wu Yuchen asked directly, "Is it 'King Kong'?"

"Wu, you're amazing! I just heard this news myself!"

Universal is practically Spielberg's family, so he got the news much earlier than most people.

Wu Yuchen laughed and said, "Hahaha, of all the monsters from Universal, King Kong is the most suitable for Peter Jackson to wield. Has it been decided yet?"

Spielberg shook his head: "No, the two sides haven't reached an agreement on the terms. Universal offered a top-tier deal of 20+20, but Peter Jackson wants even more. The negotiations are likely to be on hold until the final box office results for 'The Lord of the Rings' are released, at which point they will probably resume."

Wu Yuchen was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. Why did this situation have such a strange sense of déjà vu? Wasn't this exactly the same as his negotiation with Warner Bros. regarding "Batman"?

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment and then asked, "Steven, what box office performance do you think 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' would require for Universal to agree to give Peter Jackson a higher salary?"

Spielberg paused for a moment, then said, "A billion dollars in global box office revenue is a threshold. Once that's achieved, Universal will compromise."

Wu Yuchen nodded in agreement. Currently, a global market value exceeding one billion US dollars is extremely rare, and such companies certainly have significant bargaining power.

Thinking about this, he considered his own situation and decided not to rush things, deciding to wait until "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" was released.

"Wu, would you like to come to my house for Christmas next week?" Spielberg invited Wu Yuchen.

"Steven, thank you for the invitation, but I don't want to disturb your family reunion~ Don't worry, I won't be lonely on Christmas Eve!"

……

Children may be a little disappointed this Christmas, as their beloved magical boys are absent. The annual Harry Potter film of the past two years has not materialized as expected, because director Chris Columbus resigned.

Simply put, he was getting tired of filming. He had been filming Harry Potter for two years in a row, shooting for 160 days each year. With post-production, he spent most of his time on it. He couldn't imagine that he would live like this for seven years in a row, so he simply quit.

The producers had no choice but to find a new director, which delayed Harry Potter by a year. This was also partly the reason why the style of Harry Potter 3 began to change.

The children might be disappointed, but Wu Yuchen's Christmas Eve was quite special. Jennifer Connelly, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Alba all came over tonight to bring him warmth, not wanting him to feel lonely and cold in a faraway foreign land.

What a wonderful spirit of internationalism!

Moreover, each of them prepared several outfits, such as Christmas costumes and reindeer costumes, and even presented Wu Yuchen, who played Santa Claus, with a small reindeer whip.

What a gentle, considerate, and beautiful group of people!

So, on this Christmas Eve, Wu Yuchen and his several Christmas reindeer sang together:

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!"

We had so much fun skiing, sitting on the sleds.

We attached it to the sled and sped off.
We raced across the fields, laughing and singing!
The sound of horse bells brings joy to the soul!
Skiing was so much fun tonight, let's sing a skiing song!

Hey!"……

The 1th "Top Ten Outstanding Youths of China" award ceremony will be held on January 4th.

The atmosphere backstage wasn't too tense; the people waiting to receive their awards were chatting.

"Brother Yang, I heard you got injured? Is it true?"

"The landing was indeed a bit dangerous; the impact was too great. The microphone cut me directly, and my face was covered in blood..."

The person speaking in front of us is none other than space hero Yang Liwei. In October of this year, he piloted the Shenzhou V spacecraft and successfully completed China's first manned spaceflight mission, realizing the Chinese people's dream of flying into space. For this, he was awarded the glorious title of "Space Hero".

The Shenzhou V spacecraft's successful launch caused a huge stir, attracting nationwide attention, with many watching the live broadcast on television. However, the live broadcast was actually edited. Yang Liwei's face was covered in blood when he emerged from the spacecraft, and that scene couldn't be aired. He was cleaned up, and the scene of him exiting the spacecraft was reshot and then stitched together.

"Brother Yang, you're amazing! Ours were fake rockets, but yours is the real rocket that took us to the sky!" A little giant praised, giving a thumbs up; it was none other than Yao Ming.

Yao Ming entered the NBA last year and joined the Houston Rockets. In just over a year, he won over a large number of American fans and gained considerable international influence, thus being named an outstanding young person.

Meanwhile, in the background, a man with a dignified demeanor is chatting with Wu Yuchen: "Director Wu, it's not easy for you to come back. I wonder if you could invite me here for an exclusive interview?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and declined, saying, "Teacher Shui, let's skip the interview. I really don't have enough time since I came back. But Teacher Shui, you've always interviewed others. Now that you've won an award, isn't it only right that your program do an exclusive interview with you?"

The man was none other than Shui Junyi, a popular CCTV host. He smiled and shook his head: "Me? I'd better not. Compared to you all, I have nothing to say."

Wu Yuchen then patted Yao Ming on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Ming, when you lead your team to Los Angeles to play against the Lakers, I'll be there to cheer you on!"

Yao Ming scratched his head and gave his signature awkward smile: "Thanks, Brother Chen, I'll definitely do my best!"

Wu Yuchen and Yao Ming actually returned together this time, because there are no direct flights from Houston to China now. Yao Ming also came back from Los Angeles and happened to run into Wu Yuchen. They chatted and became familiar with each other along the way.

Just then, a staff member came over to remind everyone: "Teachers, it's almost your turn to go on stage, please get ready!"

The group then stopped talking, straightened their clothes, and stood at the front, Yang Liwei in his military uniform, followed closely by Wu Yuchen, then Yao Ming, Shui Junyi...

The entire award ceremony was uneventful; everyone simply went out one by one, shook hands with the leaders, received awards, and applause. The process was rather serious, unlike the emotionally charged "Touching China" event.

Speaking of touching stories from China, Wu Yuchen was also selected this time. The program team even called him, but Wu Yuchen directly said that he couldn't come back on February 20th.

There's no other way. After he comes back for the New Year, he has to go to Hollywood to work on the post-production of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2". He really doesn't want to travel back and forth again, otherwise he's afraid it will delay the movie's release.

In my previous life, the person chosen for this year's "Touching China" award was Jackie Chan. As for how Jackie Chan moved China and enhanced the international influence of the Chinese people, that's a given. However, Wu Yuchen's international influence last year far surpassed that of Jackie Chan, so choosing him would definitely be superior.

However, Wu Yuchen has now said he can't come, which has put the production team in a dilemma again.

Wu Yuchen didn't take it too seriously. To be honest, compared to official events like the Top Ten Outstanding Youths of China, "Touching China" felt more like a show produced by a program team, and sometimes the selected individuals were controversial.

He's already achieved great success, so there's not much point in him showing up on "Touching China" anymore.

……

Feng Xiaogang seems to be in a good mood lately.

After Wu Yuchen gave him advice, he diligently revised the script according to Wu's suggestions. When submitting it to the censors, he specifically mentioned that he had consulted Director Wu and revised it based on Wu's opinions. Sure enough, a few days later, "A World Without Thieves" passed the censorship.
After that, he also began various preparations for the film crew. In order to film the scenes on a special train, they had to contact the relevant departments to get an old-fashioned carriage for them to modify and film.

As for the cast, Li Xiaoran was the first actress to be cast, and no one can change that. Ge You is his long-time partner, so he definitely has to be there; Uncle Li was tailor-made for him.

The most difficult task was finding the male lead. According to the Wang brothers' discussion with him, the best target was Liu Dehua, who had star power and was suitable in terms of image and acting skills. They sincerely invited him, but Liu Dehua had been filming with Zhang Yimou on the set of "House of Flying Daggers" for a while. It wasn't until a few days ago, after filming for "House of Flying Daggers" wrapped up, that Liu Dehua's team began to contact and negotiate with the producers of "A World Without Thieves".

The talks went very well and progressed quickly. In just two days, Liu Dehua was basically confirmed to play the role. Now, all that's left is to discuss the details of the salary and contract.

After securing the male lead, "A World Without Thieves" was basically on track, so Feng Xiaogang was naturally happy and felt he could have a good New Year!

Just then, his phone rang. As soon as he saw it was Wang Zhonglei, he quickly answered, "Hello, Mr. Wang, what's up?"

"Director Feng, something bad has happened! There's been a problem with Liu Dehua!"

Feng Xiaogang frowned, and his voice rose involuntarily: "What's going on? Didn't we have a good discussion before?"

"Hey! He said he wants to audition for Director Wu's new film, but here we are... sigh!"

"What? Director Wu's new film?" Feng Xiaogang exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh, you didn't know? Wu Yuchen just announced that he's casting for his new movie. The male lead needs to be a middle-aged man around 40 years old, and Liu Dehua is aiming for that role!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Xiaogang opened his mouth. He had almost secured the male lead role, but Wu Yuchen had snatched it away with just one audition opportunity.

After hanging up the phone, Feng Xiaogang sighed deeply, a sense of defeat welling up inside him. He had thought himself to be a prominent figure in the Chinese directing world, having achieved successive successes over the past few years. But now, compared to Wu Yuchen…

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Feng Xiaogang shivered involuntarily. His mind immediately cleared, and he slapped himself across the face.

Feng Xiaogang, wake up, you bastard!

That's Chen Ye! An Oscar-winning director, managing a $5 million project. What the hell do you have to compare with him?
Feng Xiaogang quickly adjusted his mindset, inwardly cursing his bad luck. At the same time, he secretly thought, "Liu Dehua can still put on airs with me, but with Master Chen, he's nothing. I'd better fail the audition sooner rather than later!"
(End of this chapter)