Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

The thematic elevation at the end of "The Wallfacer 2" serves as a lesson for all viewers.

Of course, like other films in the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] series, this movie also has a post-credits scene.

In the first Easter egg, Luo Ji and Shi Qiang are lying in hibernation pods, wearing dream-entry devices on their heads, their personal consciousness already in a virtual dream space.

It was still that huge bronze tree, and in the conference room shaped like a fruit on the tree, this time not only Luo Ji and Shi Qiang were there, but also Huang Ji, Ding Yi, Xia Feng, Hu Bayi, Qin Feng, Zhao Hailun and many others.

However, the content of their conversation was not revealed in the post-credits scene. But just by looking at their expressions and the reason for their gathering, it's enough to conclude that the story of the third phase of the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe], [The Dark Forest], is probably coming to an end.

As for the second Easter egg in Wallfacer 2, it takes a different approach. It's still a meeting, but this time it takes place in the real world, and the content of the meeting is about the virtual world.

Because of the Trisolaran crisis, Earth formed a united government, and countries around the world worked together to defend against the Trisolaran spaceships in the future.

However, under the high-pressure control environment, people have accumulated a lot of negative emotions. Therefore, the coalition government decided to rely on Dr. Ma Zhao's dream entry technology to create a virtual world game so that people can relax in the dream game world while practicing.

After its release in China, "The Wallfacer 2" sparked a movie-going frenzy, igniting the summer movie season.

Of course, viewers had different opinions about the content of the movie.

Some viewers felt that the ending was too forced and diminished the charm of Luo Ji's character. However, many viewers felt that the logic was correct. If a "Three-Body Crisis" were to actually happen in reality, our government would probably do the same thing and not place its hopes on any one person.

This controversy surrounding the film's plot quickly spread online, further boosting the popularity of "Wallfacer 2".

Even a week after its release, its daily box office revenue was still as high as 3 million.

Of course, this is also thanks to the fact that "The Wallfacer 2" grossed more than 500 million yuan on its opening day, which is the reason why the film can still have high box office revenue a week after its release.

Another point is that when "Wallfacer 2" was released, other films also chose to avoid it, either by releasing it earlier or later.

It wasn't until two weeks after the release of "The Wallfacer 2," when the daily box office dropped to 1 million, that other blockbuster movies were released one after another.

Well, by this time, the price of "The Wallfacer 2" had already dropped significantly, but that was a matter between director Zhang Yimou and Xinghe Pictures. Wang Hao wasn't paying attention to it; he was still preparing for his new movie.

With the third phase of the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, The Dark Forest, coming to an end, the final installment of the series, The Three-Body Problem 2, naturally had to be directed by him personally.

Now, he stays in the photography studio of [Oriental Galaxy Film City].

As a large-scale commercial blockbuster, "The Three-Body Problem 2" features many grand scenes, including numerous space scenes, which naturally require a significant amount of special effects.

When it comes to special effects and equipment, the soundstage at Galaxy Cinema is undoubtedly the top choice.

For example, in Studio 2 of [Galaxy Cinema], the interior of a lunar base was completed in just three days with the help of 3D printing technology.

And those various pieces of equipment on the moon—the props from the filming of "The Martian"—are still around; with a few modifications, they can be used in the new movie.

As for the actors, they are almost always on standby, and very few people take leave midway through filming. Their schedules are all taken into account for the movie "The Three-Body Problem 2".

After all, they also knew that as the final installment of the "Dark Forest" series, with the success of "The Three-Body Problem 1" preceding it, this work might once again break the box office record for domestic live-action films.

The reason for adding "real person" before the title is that even Wang Hao is not confident that he can break the 15 billion yuan box office record of "Ne Zha 2".

Five or six years earlier, it might have been possible, but now the global environment is not good, and Xinghe Group is adopting a contraction strategy overseas. Even Wang Hao's films can only be described as mediocre at the box office in overseas markets.

Just as Wang Hao was busy producing his new film at Galaxy Cinema, good news came from Galaxy Group's AI Research Institute.

The graphics generation and processing AI "Star God," developed by their company over three years, has a basically complete overall framework.

According to the research team, if they can speed up the material feeding process, the software can be officially launched and put into commercial use by next summer.

"Have the research institute contact Douyin and use Douyin's data to feed it."

Wang Hao gave direct instructions over the phone. He remembered that OpenAI would also release ChatGPT, a model driven by GPT-3.5, next year.

If Xinghe Group's "Xingshen" AI can be launched simultaneously, and the gap in quality is not too large, then Xinghe Pictures and other group-owned stocks might be able to ride this wave and continue to rise.

Moreover, good news kept coming. At the end of August, after "The Wallfacer 2" finished its run with a box office of 57 billion yuan, news also came from Wanda that they were willing to transfer their 31% stake in Wanda Pictures to Galaxy Capital.

This marks the second time Wanda Culture has transferred shares to Xinghe Group in an effort to raise funds for self-rescue.

After suffering a double blow from the film and television industry downturn and the real estate downturn, Wang Sicong's life is clearly not going well, and even he has become much more low-key.

While Wanda was learning to survive by adopting a gecko-like approach, Xinghe Group, which had always had a good relationship with Wanda, benefited from the deal and acquired a number of high-quality assets that were transferred at low prices.

It's not just Wanda Pictures; Xinghe Group has also acquired some of Wanda's real estate and cultural tourism projects.

But it was precisely because of the help extended by Xinghe Group that Wanda Group was doing better than it had been during the same period in Wang Hao's previous life.

Moreover, it is said that "be greedy when others are fearful." Despite the current downturn in the film and television industry, Xinghe Group's business is thriving. Whether it is Xinghe Pictures and the Xinghe Cinematic Universe, or its subsidiaries such as Douyin, Xinghe Paradise, and DJI, they are all doing very well.

In particular, taking advantage of this opportunity, Galaxy Group made moves in all directions and actually acquired a lot of high-quality assets at low prices.

For example, Huayi Brothers. The Wang brothers have also had a tough time in recent years. With the sharp drop in Huayi Brothers' market value and the company's wrong business development direction, after several of the films they invested in flopped one after another, the two brothers, who used to buy art and turn their home into a museum, have now started selling off their assets.

Unfortunately, the market wasn't doing well, and only Xinghe Group could afford to offer such a price. September passed in a flurry of news surrounding Xinghe Group's acquisition of Wanda Pictures.

At the end of the month, the film "The Battle at Lake Changjin" reignited the once-dormant film and television industry.

Although the figure of over 200 million yuan in box office revenue on the first day seems insignificant compared to the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] series, it still managed to take the lead during the National Day holiday.

Some of the content, in particular, touched countless people.

However, according to the market research department of Xinghe Pictures, the release of "The Battle at Lake Changjin" and its achievements also mean that the "mainstream" film genre has begun to enter a saturation state, or even a downward cycle.

According to the survey, this type of "mainstream" film is touching, but the story and emotions tend to be the same. After there are many films of the same type and theme, the audience will naturally develop a rebellious mentality.

Fortunately, Galaxy Pictures has not initiated any similar film projects. Currently, among their various film series, the Galaxy Cinematic Universe is science fiction, the Shushan Cinematic Universe is fantasy, and the Fengshen Universe is animation. In addition, there are quite a few films adapted from IPs acquired in the past.

For example, Galaxy Group is currently preparing to launch a new series called "Under One Person".

This work was originally published on Galaxy Group's comic platform. Later, it was noticed by the group's copyright department, which bought it and waited for the comic to perform well before adapting it into an animation.

Now, they have even started live-action movies and TV series, preparing to create a new urban fantasy universe.

The key point is that Galaxy Entertainment and Galaxy Pictures plan to use young newcomers in the main roles for this series of works, and even the director is a newcomer cultivated by Galaxy Group.

It can only be said that Xinghe Group's strength has now made it independent of the Chinese entertainment industry and formed its own distinct entity.

The first series of "Under One Person" started filming in October. At the same time, Wang Hao, who was still busy with the filming and production of his new movie at "Oriental Galaxy Cinema", received a letter from the Golden Rooster Awards organizing committee.

His film "Game Era 1" received multiple nominations at the 34th Golden Rooster Awards, as did Guo Fan's "Sky Ladder" and "Ne Zha 2".

Wang Hao checked the time and location of the awards ceremony, which was to be held in Xiamen, Fujian on December 30th. He estimated that the filming of "The Three-Body Problem 2" should be completed by then, so he asked his secretary to reply to the Golden Rooster Awards organizing committee, indicating that he would definitely attend.

Afterwards, Wang Hao continued to devote himself to filming and production. At the same time, with the end of November and the arrival of December, the New Year's Day period followed closely after the National Day holiday.

At this time, Xinghe Pictures also started to promote the movie "Kunlun" which will be released during the Spring Festival next year.

Not only did they release the poster, but they also released the first trailer.

The trailer features several key characters, including Huang Ji, Xia Feng, and Hu Bayi, making it clear that the story follows closely after "Game Era 2".

It was precisely because of the film "Kunlun" that, considering the success of Guo Fan's "Sky Ladder," several film companies and production teams chose to avoid competing with it.

Therefore, the number of films released during this New Year's Day holiday far exceeds that of previous years.

For example, there's "Mystery of Antiques," directed by Derek Kwok and starring Lei Jiayin, Li Xian, Ge You, and Xin Zhilei, which tells the story of finding a national treasure.

Another example is the Hong Kong film series "L Storm 5: The Final Chapter", directed by David Lam and starring Louis Koo, Julian Cheung, and Jessica Hsuan.

And the urban career film "Miracle: Stupid Kid" directed by Wen Muye and starring Yi Yangqianxi, Tian Yu, and Chen Harlin.

Basically, the release of these films during the New Year's Day period was to avoid competing with Guo Fan's "Kunlun".

Meanwhile, Guo Fan himself had already arrived in Xiamen, accompanied by Wu Jing, Zhao Liying, and Wang Zhi.

The creative team behind "Sky Ladder" arrived the day before the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony.

They finally met Wang Hao, who had rushed over with director Jiaozi and Gao Weiguang, on the afternoon of the second day.

The creative team behind "Game Era 1" didn't send many people to this year's Golden Rooster Awards. Although they received some nominations, Wang Hao, as the vice president of the Film Association, already knew the inside information and was even involved himself. So he knew that Galaxy Pictures' main focus at the Golden Rooster Awards was still "Sky Ladder" and "Ne Zha 2".

Yes, although "Ne Zha 2" is just an animated film, with the development of CG technology and special effects, as well as Wang Hao's increasing influence in the industry, this year's Golden Rooster Awards have made certain changes to many categories.

For example, when the awards ceremony officially began and the winners of Best Art Direction and Best Screenplay were announced, many people in the audience were shocked when the presenter announced "Ne Zha 2".

Because these kinds of awards are usually given to live-action films, even director Jiaozi was extremely surprised.

Even though "Ne Zha 2" did receive nominations for these two awards, everyone assumed it was because of its 15 billion yuan box office and numerous records.

Given that it's an animated film without any live actors, the fact that it received multiple nominations at the Golden Rooster Awards already shows that the award itself is keeping up with the times.

Unexpectedly, Xinghe Pictures' actions resulted in "Ne Zha 2" winning three awards, which is a great encouragement for the entire animation film industry. Many animation industry professionals who watched the awards ceremony live couldn't help but applaud.

Like "Ne Zha 2", Guo Fan's "The Ladder" also achieved considerable success.

Winning the Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography awards made "Sky Ladder" an extremely eye-catching film at the awards ceremony.

In contrast, there are gains and losses. Wang Hao's "Game Era" was a runner-up throughout and won nothing, while Gao Weiguang unfortunately missed out on the Best Actor award.

However, he has a good attitude, considering that his competitors are Yu Hewei (who played Zhou Yi in "Cliff Walkers"), Liu Ye (who played Wang Jicai in "The Island Keeper"), Zhang Yi (who played Zhang Xianchen in "Cliff Walkers"), Yi Yangqianxi (who played Wei Yihang in "A Little Red Flower"), and Guo Xiaodong (who played Jiao Yulu in "My Father Jiao Yulu").

Apart from Yi Yangqianxi, who was just there to make up the numbers, everyone else here is a senior in the acting industry, and each of them is highly skilled. Therefore, Gao Weiguang's loss is not unjustified. (End of this chapter)