novelraw Chapter 54, "Lost in Thailand," was released.
Chapter 54, "Lost in Thailand," was released.
February 10, 2007, afternoon.
Director Chen Kexin, along with stars Andy Lau, Wu Yanzu, and He Meitian, attended a press conference in Beijing to promote the film "Protégé." After the conference, Andy Lau gave an exclusive interview to Sina reporters.
After seeing the reporters off, the film's creators chatted casually as they prepared to head to their next destination.
"I don't know if 'Night at the Museum' will suit the tastes of mainland moviegoers," Chen Kexin suddenly said.
"Protégé" is scheduled for release on the 12th, while the imported revenue-sharing blockbuster "Night at the Museum" is scheduled for release on Valentine's Day, the 14th. The two films are direct competitors.
Andy Lau said, "Will Shen Qing's self-directed and self-acted film 'Lost in Thailand' be like 'Ip Man,' a huge hit as soon as it's released?"
He Meitian interjected, "A friend told me that a theater manager she knows commented after watching 'Lost in Thailand' that it was very funny, and that it was just as good as 'Crazy Stone.' Director Shen Qing's performance was a breakthrough, with a touch of Stephen Chow's style, but it had its own unique system."
Chen Kexin said, "If it's really similar to 'Crazy Stone,' then 'Night at the Museum' is a bigger threat."
"Director Shen Qing is very popular now and has a strong box office appeal. If 'Crazy Stone' had been directed and starred by Shen Qing, it wouldn't have grossed 2500 million." Since "Crazy Stone" was invested in by Andy Lau, he has more authority to speak on this matter.
Chen Kexin said, "Even if we get twice the box office of 'Crazy Stone,' it will only be 50 million, and three times that will only be 75 million. 'Night at the Museum' has grossed over 450 million US dollars worldwide. It's a super Hollywood blockbuster and may be even more popular than 'Casino Royale.'"
"Casino Royale" has been in theaters for some time now and is still showing. It is estimated that the final box office may exceed 007 million.
Liu Dehua said, "Director Shen Qing is... hard to understand. I heard people say that his directing and acting styles are similar to those of director Zhang Yimou. They both graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, so it makes sense. Later, he said that he was a fan of Jackie Chan and that he could do all the boxing styles that Jackie Chan can do. And wow, he really can do them all! When I watched 'Taken,' I could really see traces of Jackie Chan's acting."
As he spoke, Andy Lau looked at Ho Mei-tin and continued, "Now Mei-tin is saying that some people say he has the spirit of Stephen Chow. Is he Sun Wukong? Can he do seventy-two transformations? Or is he wearing Jim Carrey's mask, able to transform into whatever he wants?"
Wu Yanzu said, "I don't know if he looks like Zhang Yimou, but he does look like Jackie Chan, especially in 'Taken'. In 'Ip Man', it's not so obvious."
……
On February 12, the film "Protégé" was officially released nationwide. It grossed 7 million yuan on its opening day and 8 million yuan on its second day. On the third day, it was impacted by the nationwide release of the imported blockbuster "Night at the Museum", and its daily box office dropped to 5 million yuan.
"Night at the Museum" grossed 8.5 million yuan on its opening day nationwide, and media predict that its final box office will be around 90 million yuan, with a chance to reach 100 million yuan.
On February 16, the movie "Lost in Thailand" was officially released nationwide.
On the day of its public release.
Hong Kong director Wang Jing quietly bought a ticket in Guangzhou.
Wang Jing's father, Wang Tianlin, started making films in the 1950s. Wang Jing himself grew up on film sets and has been in the industry for over thirty years. He has seen too many ups and downs in the entertainment industry and too many geniuses and prodigies, but he has never seen anyone like Shen Qing before.
Now there are rumors that Shen Qing's comedy film has Stephen Chow's influence?!
Wang Jing simply couldn't believe it.
Since his falling out with Chow Sing-chi, no one in the world has been more eager to find the next Chow Sing-chi than him, and no one understands better than him just how difficult it is to imitate Chow Sing-chi.
Shen Qing looks too much like Jackie Chan, how could he possibly also look like Stephen Chow?
Comedy is the most difficult to perform, and in Wang Jing's mind, Stephen Chow is the pinnacle of Chinese comedy. Now some people say that Shen Qing's performance in the new movie is very similar to his, and Wang Jing insists on verifying it himself.
As the crowd entered the screening hall, it was bustling with noise and every seat was taken.
The lights dimmed, and the movie began.
……
"We're allowed to bring these things on trains, why aren't we allowed on airplanes?!"
"I'm sorry, but you really can't bring this on the plane. If you insist on bringing it, you can check it in with your kitchen knife, or you can drink it now."
Then Wang Baoqiang really did gulp down the whole bottle of milk in one go.
The audience in the theater were stunned.
Wang Jingdu couldn't help but swallow.
……
After the movie ended, Wang Jing came out of the theater, found a seat in the ticket hall, bought a bottle of Coke, and pondered the movie he had just watched while drinking it.
A very good comedy movie.
Although it's still a bit behind his masterpieces with Stephen Chow, it's already quite remarkable. It seems that director Shen Qing has truly mastered comedy.
The reaction was so strong that almost the entire audience in the hall burst into laughter several times.
Mainland audiences may be able to empathize more with topics like the Spring Festival travel rush.
The film's overall quality isn't top-tier, but the director's skill is absolutely top-notch.
If given the same script to film, Wang Jing felt he could never achieve the same effect.
What surprised Wang even more than the director's technique was that Shen Qing's performance did indeed have some of Stephen Chow's charm.
It's clear that Shen Qing didn't intentionally try to imitate Zhou Xingchi, but the final result was more like Zhou Xingchi than all the substitutes Wang Jing had found.
Wang Jing couldn't help but feel extremely sorry.
If he had discovered Shen Qing earlier and then nurtured her into the second Zhou Xingchi, or even a comedy superstar with greater box office appeal than Zhou Xingchi, how wonderful that would have been!
But without his discovery, Shen Qing would now be a top superstar, with "Taken" even breaking into Hollywood and becoming a hit throughout Europe and America!
It seems that Shen Qing's current development is even better than Wang Jing had imagined after he discovered her.
"This is really weird! My dad started making movies 50 years ago, and I've been in the industry for over 30 years. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Li Lianjie, Stephen Chow, Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau—we've seen all kinds of people rise and fall. Every star, no matter how popular, has a story to tell, and we can all understand it. But this Shen Qing..."
Wang Jingzhen had never seen anything like this before!
……
2 month 17 day.
Chen Kexin obtained the mainland box office data for "Protégé" from the previous day at his home in Hong Kong—250 million yuan.
When "Night at the Museum" was released, "Protégé's" daily box office dropped to 500 million, but rebounded slightly to 550 million the next day. At that time, he thought the film was stable and had withstood the impact of imported blockbusters.
Who could have imagined that the situation would take such a dramatic turn for the worse in just one day?!
From 550 million to 250 million, it's more than halved!
It certainly wasn't "Night at the Museum" that caused the price drop. Yesterday, "Lost in Thailand" was released nationwide. He wasn't unprepared, but the price reduction still caught him off guard.
I wonder how Night at the Museum is doing, and whether it will fare as badly as Protégé?
……
Beijing.
Shen Qing, Yang Mi, Yuan Shanshan, Wang Baoqiang and others continued to visit cinemas to promote the film. Then, while interacting with the audience, Shen Qing received the box office data for the film's opening day on her mobile phone.
After the interaction ended, the group gathered together, and Shen Qing took out his phone and read the first day's box office figures to everyone with a smile.
"1060 million, which is better than I expected."