Chapter 221: Retreat and Break the Record on the First Day
On July 2006, 7, the World Cup final came to an end, and Italy won the World Cup for the fourth time.

At the same time, in addition to the stunning header, superstar Zidane also left behind his regretful and sad back as he passed by the World Cup trophy.

But regret is also part of football.

After the World Cup fever has passed, the most lively period in the mainland is this year's summer season.

This will be another carnival for movie fans.

A few months ago, Hollywood blockbusters "Superman Returns", "Mission Impossible 3" and "Cars" were confirmed to be released during the summer vacation.

Not only that, there were also rumors that "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" would be scheduled for the summer, but finally, due to various reasons, China Film announced that its release date would be postponed.

Although these Hollywood blockbusters are very popular, the most anticipated movie of this summer is undoubtedly the domestic costume blockbuster "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff".

From the project establishment, preparation, casting, shooting to the current promotion period, this film has been very popular and has been a hot topic for nearly two years.

Moreover, since June, the promotion of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" has been fully launched, making it the most popular movie at the moment.

It is not even July yet, but relevant authoritative media have already reported that the 7 summer season will be dominated by "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff".

Although it may sound a bit like a jinx, I don’t believe anyone can make a comeback and surpass "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" at this time.

Because in the face of this domestic commercial blockbuster, even several Hollywood blockbusters have avoided it.

"Superman Returns" chose to be released two weeks ahead of "Red Cliff", and "Mission Impossible 3", which was originally scheduled for July , will be postponed to August.

This was not a deliberate arrangement by China Film Corporation, but a request from the producers of the two films.

Han Shanping was of course happy that they were so sensible, otherwise he would have taken action.

As for domestic films, they will not be so stubborn as to compete head-on with "Red Cliff". Except for "Dragon Tiger Gate", there are almost no domestic films released in the summer.

The costume blockbuster "Night Banquet", which was created by Feng Kuzi with great effort, was released directly during the National Day holiday in order to avoid "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff".

Feng Kuzi rarely said anything about Huayi's decision to avoid the summer and Lunar New Year holidays.

On July 1500, "Superman Returns" was released in theaters nationwide, and the box office exceeded million yuan in the first three days, firing the first shot of the summer box office.

However, this film is 160 minutes long, which severely compressed the number of screenings, so its subsequent box office performance was not as impressive as the first three days.

Then on July 10, "Dragon Tiger Gate" was released, but the producer's risky strategy did not work.

This movie, which was full of twists and turns, didn't make any splash at all, with box office revenue of only three or four million in its first week.

The poor performance of these two films led the media to increasingly hype up "Red Cliff: Three Kingdoms".

Although such publicity has raised the film's profile to a certain level, it is also good for the box office. Countless viewers are curious about the true face of this blockbuster production and want to buy tickets to watch it in the cinema.

On July 7, Zhang Yimou and Liu Zhou appeared at the premiere ceremony with Chen Baoguo, Chen Daoming, Qin Hao, Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Tong and other main creators of the film.

Domestic singing superstar Liu Huan and Zhang Liangying, who became famous last year through the "Super Girl" on Xiangnan TV, sang the theme song and interlude of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" passionately.

After the performance, the movie officially began to show.

After the dragon logo and the film's opening flashed by, listening to the familiar "ding, ding, ding, ding", Liu Zhou seemed to be back in his childhood watching Jackie Chan's movies.

Compared with the opening titles of current film companies, Golden Harvest's opening titles may seem less technically advanced and less beautiful.

However, Golden Harvest’s opening titles are the most recognizable among the Chinese community.

Seeing Jiahe regaining vitality in his hands, Liu Zhou couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth slightly.

He has already read both parts of "Red Cliff: The Three Kingdoms", but when he watches it again now, Liu Zhou is still attracted by the plot.

"Red Cliff" is based on "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Records of the Three Kingdoms".

The original plot of the movie basically does not deviate from this story structure, but is more of a supplement to the details.

So to be honest, the first part of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" does have less commercial appeal than the second part.

The most interesting part is the scene at the beginning where Zhao Zilong goes in and out seven times. Zhao Yun, played by Huang Xiaoming, holds a gun in his right hand and a sword in his left hand and rushes through the army formation. Soldiers from all walks of life rush forward to stop him. The soldiers will die if they are touched, and the generals can only fight for a dozen rounds at most.

This scene all depends on the martial arts design. Under Cheng Xiaodong's design, the martial arts moves are intense, thrilling, exciting, and at the same time quite beautiful, giving the audience a great sensory experience.

Then there was Zhang Fei drinking and breaking the Dangyang Bridge. Although it was only a few minutes long, it had a fast pace and was very visually and auditorily appealing, and everyone enjoyed watching it.

After that, there is a lot of literary drama.

But Zhuge Liang's debate with scholars, Zhou Yu's offering of honor to generals, and the joint forces of Sun and Liu in fighting against Cao, although there are no fierce martial arts and war scenes, are still very attractive.

The first part ends with Zhou Yu commanding his army to fight a fierce battle with Cao Cao's navy.

After the battle, Cao Cao suddenly felt that he lacked the strength to fight on water, and he trained his navy day and night.

Zhou Yu wanted to get rid of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, two veteran naval commanders from Jingzhou, in order to further weaken the combat effectiveness of Cao's navy.

This is just the right ending for a plot, so as not to make the audience curse, and at the same time it leaves a clue to attract everyone to watch the next part.

After the screening, the audience gave a warm round of applause.

After that, the audience began to leave and the creators also had to accept interviews from the media.

The person who receives the most media attention is undoubtedly Liu Zhou. There are so many topics to talk about him.

Apart from Liu Zhou, the person surrounded by the most media reporters was Zhang Ziyi, who did not have many roles in the film.

Zhang Ziyi is now truly an international celebrity and is very popular!
Last year, "Memoirs of a Geisha" made it to Hollywood and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, a unique achievement for a domestic actress.

This year, she became the leading actress in Feng Kuazi's blockbuster "The Banquet". Even Zhou Gongzi, who is also one of the four major actresses, played a supporting role for her. She was in the limelight. She also participated in the Oscars and served as a judge at the Cannes Film Festival. She has made a lot of international reputation.

Not long ago, it was announced that she would become the leading actress in poet Chen’s new film “Mei Yanfang”.

Although Chen Shishi failed in "The Promise", his "Mei Yan Fang" is comparable to "Farewell My Concubine", so it still attracts much attention from both inside and outside the circle.

The most important thing is that she also hooked up with many big names in the European and American media, including the famous socialite Wendi Deng.

Now Zhang Ziyi accepts interviews. When she opens her mouth, she collaborates with international big directors, and when she closes her mouth, she meets with Hollywood big producers. Her nickname "International Zhang" is becoming more and more famous.

However, after the interview, this international star came to Liu Zhou with eager eyes.

"Liu Zhou, I heard that you are preparing a new movie in Hollywood?"

"You're well-informed. Why, do you want to come and play a role as well?"

"Think about it. Has the heroine been decided?"

"I have a big appetite, but the leading actress has already been decided."

"What about the important supporting roles?"

Liu Zhou looked at Zhang Ziyi's expectant eyes and said with a smile:

"There is no important supporting actress, haha!"

"Go to hell!"

Looking at Zhang Ziyi who was a little frustrated, Liu Zhou smiled and said:

"Aren't you dating a boyfriend who is a shareholder of Warner? Didn't he arrange any resources for you?"

"Don't mention it. Hollywood is too exclusive. Even if he can arrange it, it won't be an important role. It's better not to act in that case."

"Instead of wasting time in Hollywood, why don't you just return to China to develop your career?"

"Let me take another look."

Seeing this, Liu Zhou stopped trying to persuade him, as it was obvious that he had not given up on Hollywood.

"Liu Zhou, can't you change the script and assign me a role?"

"Do you think my face is bigger?"

In fact, if we want to arrange it, we can set one of the members of Team J to be of Chinese descent and give him more roles.

If it was Zeng Li or Zhang Tong, Liu Zhou would certainly have no problem.

But you, Zhang Ziyi, don’t have such a deep friendship with Liu Zhou.

The reason why Liu Zhou can now communicate with her so easily and even joke with her is because of their friendship when they were classmates.

Besides, you are not my relative nor an artist of my company. Why should Liu Zhou change the script because of you?

"Ok."

Zhang Ziyi also felt that her behavior just now was a bit presumptuous.

The next day, major media and film critics also gave their reviews of "Red Cliff", but most of them were positive.

"The grand fighting scenes and delicate literary scenes, Zhang Yimou's performance is beyond standard!"

"Liu Zhou's acting is amazing, successfully portraying the classic beautiful Zhou Lang!"

《The most handsome head of an Internet company! 》

"Qin Hao performed very well, showing Zhuge Liang's elegance and wisdom."

"Chen Baoguo's Cao Cao is domineering and full of heroic spirit!"

……

To be honest, the plot of the first part of "Red Cliff" is generally a bit bland, but this is also the only point that people outside complain about.

For those who have experienced the baptism of "House of Flying Daggers" and "The Promise", at least the first part of "Red Cliff" is still above the standard.

That is to say, "The Banquet" has not been released yet, otherwise it would have further highlighted the excellence of "Red Cliff".

Therefore, the media and film critics have become more tolerant of "Red Cliff".

Before this, many people were worried that Zhang Yimou would mess up again.

Now it seems that the first part of "Red Cliff" does not have many large-scale fighting scenes, but it is quite exciting, and the literary scenes are also quite touching. Zhang Yimou has undoubtedly delivered an excellent answer.

After two days of fermentation, everyone's curiosity and expectations about "Red Cliff" have increased.

On the 21st, long queues formed in major cinemas across the country.

Cinemas also cut screenings of other films without hesitation, reserving the most screenings and the best time for "Red Cliff".

"Red Cliff" did not disappoint the expectations of theaters and everyone. On the first day of its release, it grossed 24 million yuan at the box office, breaking the record again.

As soon as this result came out, everyone knew that a box office bomb was coming!

(End of this chapter)