Chapter 127: Wolves Ahead, Tigers Behind

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(Special thanks to ‘Lost Soul’, ‘Pastor 1972’, ‘hzwangdd’, ‘leesen2004’, ‘Fading Maple’, and ‘Ya Ya Ge Ding Ding’ for their generous support! Thank you very much!)

In 2001, the 8/11 and 9/11 incidents occurred. These were significant events with profound impact, and many people were deeply worried about whether a real conflict would break out. However, the Americans reacted quite quickly this time; they handled the situation with remarkable speed, submitting an apology letter just ten days later.

Of course, given their usual disposition, they remained quite stubborn at first, even awarding medals and commendations to the flight crew, but in the end, didn't they still have to offer an apology?

Regarding this incident, Wu Xiang had heard a rumor that the data from that plane was supposedly printed out using several truckloads of paper, even though the aircraft itself was dismantled by the Americans. Whether this is true or not, well, it is simply best left unsaid.

However, this major event had a relatively minor impact on the film industry; in other words, the import of foreign films was not interrupted, and everything proceeded as usual.

Some might say that people in the film industry lacked backbone, but in reality, it was a helpless situation. The current film market truly relied on Hollywood blockbusters to stay afloat; without them, many cinemas simply could not survive.

Back in 1999, the situation was dire—so bleak that a film that actually turned a profit was treated like a sacred treasure. Now, in 2001, not a single domestic film in mainland China had crossed the 10-million-yuan mark, which was truly lamentable. Furthermore, these film import plans had been negotiated the previous year, with many contracts already finalized. Breaking these agreements would have been poor conduct. While the previous incident necessitated a hard break, this time, since the other party’s subsequent attitude was acceptable, it was better to simply take the opportunity to step down gracefully.

Given this, since importing blockbusters was so crucial to the film market, did it have any impact on Wu Xiang’s major production, "Emperor Wu of Han"?

Of course it did. Not long ago, another Hollywood blockbuster was released: "Pearl Harbor." This film was a massive production. That guy "Michael Bay" never felt a twinge of pain when spending money. His grasp of grand spectacles and visual effects was beyond reproach; he excelled at it. Aside from the average storytelling, he was, in fact, uniquely suited to be a director of blockbusters.

"Pearl Harbor" gave domestic audiences an early look at a large-scale film with high production standards, and the audience responded enthusiastically. The box office for "Pearl Harbor" reached as high as 100 million RMB, which spoke volumes.

The success of Hollywood blockbusters was evident to all. It wasn't just "Pearl Harbor"; the blockbusters imported this year were all quite outstanding with refined production, especially in terms of scale and visual effects. At the beginning of the year, there was "Vertical Limit," where the scenes of vast snow-capped mountains and high altitudes were incredibly captivating. Then, in May, "The Mummy Returns" was released; the foreign desert scenery, the massive scale, and the computer-generated imagery in that film were all highly commendable.

In other words, in terms of spectacle and visual effects, Hollywood blockbusters had set a standard, and this standard was set very, very high. Latecomers—specifically domestic films—would be abandoned by the market if they failed to reach that level or fell too far behind, and moviegoers would ignore them without mercy.

A vivid example was right before their eyes. When "Pearl Harbor" was released, it targeted the summer slot. That same summer slot also featured a domestic blockbuster, the Hong Kong production "The Legend of Zu." The two films were effectively going head-to-head, but what was the result?

"The Legend of Zu" was a carefully crafted blockbuster by Hong Kong’s eccentric genius Tsui Hark. Tsui Hark was particularly fond of "The Legend of the Swordsmen of the Mountains of Shu" by Huanzhu Louzhu. This time, he wanted to revisit the "Zu" film he had made years prior, filming it with even more grandeur and splendor.

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To make it look good and spectacular, the investment had to be significant. Computer-generated effects were a must, and they needed to be used extensively. Moreover, the cast had to be sufficiently powerful!

Ekin Cheng, Cecilia Cheung, Louis Koo, and Sammo Hung—these were major stars in Hong Kong. Not only that, but mainland martial arts star Wu Jing joined the cast, alongside the now internationally famous Hollywood sensation, Zhang Ziyi!

That’s right, Zhang Ziyi was hot—incredibly hot. There were no other words to describe her. Even though Wu Xiang had gained some fame domestically, compared to Zhang Ziyi, he was still just a "loser," while she remained a goddess.

Why say it like that? Because of "Rush Hour 2."

This film, starring Jackie Chan, had already surpassed 200 million USD at the box office. In the history of film—the entire history of world cinema—this was the first time a Chinese-language film had achieved such box office numbers. Of course, it was a Hollywood film from New Line Cinema, but Jackie Chan was the core figure, even if Chris Tucker’s salary was high.

Regardless, this made Zhang Ziyi the number one actress in the domestic film industry. Her popularity had already surpassed that of "Little Swallow" Zhao Wei, even though Zhao Wei had "Shaolin Soccer" out that year; it still couldn't compare to a Hollywood blockbuster.

With such a lineup and such an investment—rumored to be 100 million Hong Kong dollars—"The Legend of Zu" was a blockbuster among blockbusters. Furthermore, before its release, its North American distribution rights had been bought by the American company Miramax for 100 million Hong Kong dollars.

In other words, the film had already recouped its costs before it was even released. How impressive was that? But what happened after the release?

It was ruined. Completely ruined!

When it was released in Hong Kong, "The Legend of Zu" only managed to pull in a little over 10 million in box office revenue, failing to even compare to "Shaolin Soccer." In the mainland, it was even more miserable. Because the film premiered in Hong Kong first, by the time it reached the mainland, pirated copies were already everywhere. Moreover, it was released during the summer slot, where it collided with the powerful "Pearl Harbor." You might find the plot of "Pearl Harbor" uninspired, but when "The Legend of Zu" came out, fans exclaimed that they couldn't understand it at all.

One million—barely over that—was the entire mainland box office for this major production.

You could say it was so miserable it had no friends!

This description is no exaggeration. When the people at Miramax saw the state of things, their faces turned green. They took the film, which they had spent 100 million to purchase, and shelved it, not daring to release it in North America at all.

It is said that when Miramax announced its bankruptcy, one of the charges against them was this very film. Of course, this is all hearsay, and likely lacks much integrity.

"The Legend of Zu" was a victim defeated by Hollywood blockbusters. In fact, in many ways, the film was commendable; the special effects were quite good to look at, and the plot and dialogue actually had deep meaning. However, the moviegoers of this era abandoned it—completely.

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With such a bloody example right before him, Wu Xiang’s "Emperor Wu of Han" was also facing resistance from Hollywood blockbusters.

In terms of scheduling, because of Wu Xiang’s previous successes, the mainland theater chains had given him the green light—meaning they cleared the way for him, setting other films aside. However, while they gave him that window, they still had to do business at other times.

The National Day slot belonged to "Emperor Wu of Han," but let’s not forget about Jackie Chan’s "Rush Hour 2" in the time leading up to it. Since that film was such a hit in the US, could it possibly be bad?

Therefore, from the end of August through September, the focus was primarily on "Rush Hour 2," and after the National Day slot, it would naturally be another Hollywood blockbuster: "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider"!

Yes, that film starring Angelina Jolie, based on the computer game. The film’s fame was not small, and it starred Jolie—how sexy she was! Those big lips, that... well, let’s just say that Sister Jolie was incredibly charming at the time.

Given the current situation, one could say there were wolves in front and tigers behind. Would Wu Xiang become someone who feared the wolves in front and the tigers behind?

That could never be Wu Xiang’s style. He was full of confidence in his major production, and since the theater chains were giving him such respect, he would naturally release it on schedule!

Not only was he confident in the quality of the film, but the promotional campaign had been fully deployed. Online, in traditional media, all sorts of "hired guns" were fighting hard. If he didn't deliver a satisfying result, it would be truly meaningless.

Wu Xiang was looking forward to the arrival of September 30th, while "Rush Hour 2" had already been in mainland cinemas for three weeks. Its box office results were out: less than 5 million RMB.

This number could be called quite dismal, yet it was within reason. The reason was simple: one thing—piracy!

The film had already been released in the US and then in Hong Kong before finally reaching the mainland. Having taken such a detour, the pirates had plenty of time to turn the movie into their own product. Before Jackie Chan’s film was even released, the streets were already flooded with discs of the movie. In this day and age, everyone had a VCD player—this was a patented invention of our country, very practical, and there were even more powerful ones that were region-free and could play any disc...

Alright, enough with the advertising. That was the result for that film, and it was still decent—better than the previous "The Legend of Zu," which was also severely crippled by piracy.

Under these circumstances, September 30th finally arrived.