This star is too fierce

Chapter 429, Disappointment and Expectation
Magic City, a certain movie theater.

April is a rather unpopular period for movies. There is the most popular Spring Festival period in the past and the top five May Day period in the back. Therefore, almost no blockbusters will choose to be released during this time period.

However, this year's situation is special. Ice disasters occurred in many places across the country during the Spring Festival, forcing many movies to choose to change their schedules.

And the one that deserves to be called a blockbuster is of course "The King of Kung Fu".

Tao Xiaorong and Yan Qi are a young couple and fans of Lu Bu. They came to catch the first scene on the first day of the movie's release.

"There are so many people." Tao Xiaorong looked at the long queue at the ticket office and her eyes widened in surprise.

"You do the math, the popular all-around star Lu Bu, the international superstar Cheng Cage, the Kung Fu Emperor Li Lianjie, Liu Yifei, one of the four little girls born in the 80s, and Li Congtong, the first sister of the Friendship Brothers, how many fans does this cast have in total?" Yan Qi was quite calm, as if he had already I guessed it would be such an explosive scene.

"Indeed." Tao Xiaorong nodded and added: "And it needs to be popular, powerful, and good-looking. It can be said to be comprehensive and cover most of the movie-watching crowd."

"Let's go over there." Yan Qi saw a queue starting to form at the ticket gate and said, "It's time to enter."

The two held hands and checked in to take their seats with excitement.

Looking around, the attendance rate is very high.

After a short wait, the movie starts.

[Jason, a Chinese boy who has lived in the United States since he was a child, is a senior Hong Kong action movie fan. An accidental encounter allowed him to obtain the legendary golden hoop, thus breaking into a mythical world...]

However, ten minutes later.

Yan Qi couldn't help it anymore, tilted his head towards his girlfriend, and lowered his voice and asked, "Do you think it looks good?"

When Tao Xiaorong heard this, she turned to look at him. She was silent for several seconds before she said, "Look back."

Time, minute by minute.

Slowly, there were more and more whispers in the theater, and they were all discussing whether the movie was good or not.

Wait until the movie has played for 10 minutes.

"What were you filming?"

"Is this interesting?"

"It doesn't feel good."

"This has something to do with Journey to the West?"

"You are selling dog meat with sheep's head!"

"I'm so tired looking at it."

……

At this time, many doubts appeared.

As the plot progresses.

There are a lot of classic elements of action movies in the film, which is like a tribute to Hong Kong action movies.

Lu Yan, played by Cheng Rong, loves to drink and is good at drunken boxing. Isn't it a tribute to his famous 1978 film "Drunken Boxing"? Who can rival Huang Feihong who used the Eight Drunken Immortals?
The silent monk played by Li Lianjie, his monk style is a tribute to his famous 1982 film "Shaolin Temple". Jue Yuan's heroic appearance at that time is still vivid in his mind.

The Golden Swallow played by Liu Yifei is a tribute to Zheng Peipei's martial arts masterpiece "The Golden Swallow", which was a very representative screen heroine image in the 60s.

The white-haired witch played by Li Zhengyi is naturally a tribute to Lin Qingxia's 1993 "The Legend of the White-haired Witch". The white-haired beauty who hates the heartless man is also disgusted by the sight of men here.

In addition, the film also constantly mentions representatives of Hong Kong action films such as Li Xiaolong, Chang Cheh, and Liu Jialiang. The posters and DVDs of their works are like Easter eggs, integrated into different scenes of the film.

As for Jason, played by Lu Bu, it seems that he is always there, but there is no impressive performance.

And when the end credits appeared and the theater lights were turned on, Yan Qi stood up and sighed softly: "It's going to be on the wall of bad movies."

Tao Xiaorong was exhausted. The excitement at the beginning had turned into speechlessness, and she murmured: "Why did the second brother want to take on such a drama? The reputation accumulated by "The Myth" and "A Chinese Ghost Story" will be ruined. Lost."

"In order to open up overseas markets." Yan Qi replied, and then commented: "This is not so much a Chinese movie that promotes martial arts culture, but it is more like a combination of nostalgia, tribute, martial arts, fun, and big names. This is an American movie created by a Hollywood director that incorporates Chinese elements, looking at Eastern culture from their perspective, but it seems to us almost ridiculous and completely uninteresting."

Tao Xiaorong followed: "It's not that there are no highlights. The fight scenes between Cheng Long and Li Lianjie are still very exciting."

Yan Qi shook his head and smiled: "That's it, isn't it?"

It was painful to watch and uncomfortable.

Not just the two of them, but most of the audience felt this way.

Come with high expectations and leave with disappointment.

"Is the old and American Kung Fu world so superficial? A Chinese American boy's erotic journey."

"The martial arts scenes between Cheng Long and Li Lianjie are very good, and the ending song sung by Zhang Liangying is also very good. It's a pity that the movie is not good."

"The presence of Lu Bu's character is too low. He is just a tool to promote the plot."

"It can only be said that it is hovering on the passing line. Liu Yifei is capable and has made progress; Li Congcheng is stable and his performance is on point; Chenglong and Li Lianjie are pleasantly surprised and contributed the best scenes; the rest are like not watching."

"The fighting is still Yuan Heping's way. This is watchable, but the story is very ridiculous. It is more like a mashup of classics such as Journey to the West and Lord of the Rings."

"Actually, it's not that bad. It's just that fans' expectations for the film are too high. I think the action and costume design are quite good, but the plot is a bit too deceptive. Without a good script, everything else is useless."

……

The Internet is noisy, filled with negative reviews and disappointed voices.

Douban opened with a score of 6.5, and there is a lot of room for decline.

The only good thing is that the box office data is good.

Although the plot was criticized for being weak, it still attracted a large number of audiences to the cinema with its luxurious cast.

The first-day box office in the Mainland was 1600 million. The number of screenings and attendance of the midnight premiere exceeded last year's Lunar New Year box office champion "Assembly".

At the same time, the first-day box office in Hong Kong and Taiwan Province was also a success, with 303 million Hong Kong dollars and 1300 million Taiwan dollars collected, several times more than No. 2.

The first-day box office in North America exceeded 800 million US dollars. Although this result is not the highest in the United States, it is still considered outstanding. Looking back, the last time it caused such a "money-attracting" trend was last year's "Transformation" King Kong 1". "Oh, it's a big hit but not a big hit." After seeing the ratings and box office, Lu Bu didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

"Most of the films co-produced by China and the United States have the same ending. Either they suffer a double blow in terms of reputation and box office, or they are not well-received. It is difficult to make a classic." Yu Feihong was very calm, as if he had expected this outcome.

"The reviews overseas seem to be pretty good." Gao Yuanyuan interjected, "Especially Sissi, she has received unanimous praise."

"Liu Yifei perfectly displays the two elements 'beauty + action' that Chinese actresses usually occupy in Hollywood blockbusters", "The most beautiful oriental figure combined with mature performance", "Liu Yifei conquered the American audience"... such news headlines Or news comments frequently appear in American entertainment news reports.

Not only verbal praise, but also more practical actions, that is, William Morris signed Liu Yifei on favorable terms.

It can be seen that Liu Yifei's performance allowed Hollywood to once again discover an international Chinese actress.

"Sissi has become the biggest winner in "The King of Kung Fu". She has made a lot of money." Lu Bu said with a smile.

"Originally, I wanted you to rely on this movie to enter Hollywood, but it turned out to be Sissi." Yu Feihong sighed.

"If this road doesn't work, then find another one. If the other road doesn't work, just create a new one. I believe Abramovich will definitely become an international superstar." Gao Yuanyuan said very seriously.

"Whether entering Hollywood or becoming an international superstar, it is not a must-do. Just let it happen." Lu Buyun said calmly.

If these two things were easy, there wouldn't be only one Cheng Long and one Li Lianjie for so many years.

Sometimes being too persistent can backfire.

He is 28 years old and still has a long way to go.

Yu Feihong saw that Lu Bu was not very interested, so he ended the topic and said: "This year's Academy Awards, "The Film" stole the show. I really feel sorry for my brother. In addition, this time, I have been nominated for 9 Academy Awards. He is a leading actor, but he only won the Best Actor Award once in 1991 with the movie "Days of Wild", while Tony Leung, who also rose to prominence through "Days of Wild", has become a professional award-winner since then."

Zhang Guorong's acting skills exploded again in "Detective". Although he received praise from the public, he failed to conquer the judges.

Lu Bu didn't stop working until three in the morning last night. He started working again at seven this morning. He didn't read the live broadcast or the newspaper. He said, "Is it Liang Chaowei again?"

Gao Yuanyuan waved her hand and said: "No, wasn't "Lust, Caution" boycotted? Tony Leung Chaowei was not even shortlisted. The best actor this year is Brother Jie."

Lu Bu said "Oh" and said, "His performance in "The Letter of Commencement" was indeed good."

The Academy Awards are just like any film awards. After the finale, some are happy and some are sad. The winners in the spotlight and the upsets, large and small, are always the topic of discussion, and this year is no exception.

"Report" became the biggest winner with an absolute advantage of eight awards, while "The Disciple", "Aunt's Postmodern Life" and "Stalking" followed with two awards, and "Detective" and "The Fuse" , "Wild Dog" and others won an award.

It is worth mentioning that a mainland actress has won the Best Actress title for the fourth time in a row, and this time it was won by the powerful mainland actress Siqin Gaowa.

Yu Feihong put a smile on his lips and said: "But this Academy Award has sent a signal that is beneficial to you. You have the opportunity to use "Three Kingdoms: Chasing the Deer" to compete for the Best Actor in the next Academy Award."

Lu Bu was puzzled, "Why?"

Gao Yuanyuan also looked at Yu Feihong with curiosity.

Yu Feihong said slowly: "Don't you think that the status of costumed martial arts war movies in the Academy Awards is actually the same as the status of fantasy movies in the Oscars?" In the 80-year history of the Oscars, there is only one The only fantasy film to win Best Picture is "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". However, in the past 3 years of the Academy Awards history, no period martial arts war film has ever topped the list. "

Lu Bu recalled it and said, "It seems like this."

Yu Feihong continued: "This is not only reflected in movies, but also in movie actors. A group of martial arts stars such as Big Brother and Brother Jie have always been ignored by the Academy Awards. It is not that their acting is not good, but It’s because I don’t have the appetite for the Academy Awards.”

Gao Yuanyuan nodded in agreement and said: "Brother has been nominated for Best Actor 10 times but has not won; Brother Jie has been nominated twice and won once."

Yu Feihong continued: "This phenomenon has finally been broken at this year's Academy Awards. "The Legend" retains the original martial arts elements and grand scenes while incorporating a unique atmosphere of humanistic care, creating a new chapter for Hong Kong martial arts." Movies and war movies both provide a new way of thinking, thus ascending to the throne of best picture. Since "Huo Yuanjia", Jack once again contributed his versatile acting skills and won his first actor trophy. This is quite a change. In my opinion, this is not only a special moment in the history of the Academy Awards, but may also become a turning point in the history of the Academy Awards."

Gao Yuanyuan's eyes lit up and he said: "Our movie is even better than "The Call to Action" in terms of 'original martial arts', 'grand scenes', and 'unique atmosphere of humanistic care', and yours My acting skills have also grown to the level of a movie star, and I really have a good chance at the next Academy Awards."

Lu Bu chuckled and said, "With the support from both of you, I think I can prepare an acceptance speech."

Yu Feihong rolled his eyes at him and said, "I'm serious."

Gao Yuanyuan smiled and said, "If you don't believe it, we can make a bet."

Lu Bu suddenly became interested and said, "What kind of gambling method?"

Gao Yuanyuan thought for a moment and said: "If you win the Best Actor Award with "Three Kingdoms: Chasing the Deer", you will be our assistant for three days. On the contrary, we will be your assistant for three days."

Lu Bu raised his eyebrows and said, "This bet is not good."

Gao Yuanyuan blurted out: "Then tell me something."

Lu Bu pretended to think, and after a moment he said: "Otherwise, if I lose, I will unconditionally agree to one of your requests. If you lose, you will unconditionally agree to one of my requests."

Gao Yuanyuan immediately said: "Okay!"

"Yuan..." Yu Feihong spoke slowly, without stopping her, and said helplessly: "You have fallen into his trap."

"Ah?" Hearing this, Gao Yuanyuan looked at Lu Bu and saw a smirk on his face, and said confidently: "Sister Yu, don't worry, this is a game we can win surely!"

Lu Bu touched his chin, frowned and said, "Am I digging a hole for myself?"

Gao Yuanyuan snorted through her nostrils and said, "It's too late to regret now!"

Yu Feihong shook his head and smiled. He didn't know how he got in. He then said, "It's time to go to the set."

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"The King of Kung Fu" triumphed amid the criticism.

The box office in the first weekend in the Mainland was 9000 million, the second best result in the history of Chinese movies. The previous highest box office record in the Mainland in the first weekend was 4 million set by "A Chinese Ghost Story: 1 Days", and Hong Kong and Taiwan directly swept more than half of this week's box office The box office performance was very impressive, and it can be said to have triggered a movie-going craze.

In its first week in South Korea, it attracted more than 10 viewers into the cinema, becoming the new champion of South Korea's weekend box office list.

It is also firmly at the top of the box office list in Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand.

It took in more than 3000 million U.S. dollars at the box office in its first week in North America, and has been far ahead of the box office charts since its release.

The predictions are similar. The global box office will be around US$1.5 million, equivalent to about RMB 10.4 billion.

The filming cost of this movie is US$7000 million. Although the box office will most likely not reach the profit target, with additional income from copyrights, DVDs, peripherals, etc., it will still be able to make some money in the end.

(End of this chapter)