Chapter 109: Even Speculation Must Have Its Limits!

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(With heartfelt thanks to brothers Xiao Wulou and Long Shao for their generous support once again!)
"...Recently, some media outlets have claimed that the emerging director Wu Xiang and the famous actress Zhang Ziyi are a couple. We have reached out to Zhang Ziyi's agent, who stated that Zhang Ziyi and Wu Xiang are just friends. She reserves the right to take legal action against the baseless rumors spread by many media sources..."

Zhang Ziyi’s camp had already made a move. Naturally, despite such a major event, no calls had been made to Wu Xiang by her side. Instead, Qin Hailu returned to the capital to find Wu Xiang and had a few words with him—mostly cursing those media scoundrels.

At this stage, Wu Xiang had to come forward and say something. He was a man, after all; he couldn’t just pretend it never happened.

However, opinions differed on how to address the matter.

“This is a great opportunity! Seriously, Xiangzi, are you really dating Zhang Ziyi? That’s fantastic! You two are a perfect match! One from the Film Academy and the other from the Central Academy of Drama—talk about a talented couple, two souls flying as one, the ideal pairing of brilliance and beauty, made for each other...”

The one saying these words was none other than Yu Dong. At this moment, he was racking his brain for idioms related to romance and talent, regretting that he hadn’t read more books earlier. “You only regret the lack of books when you need them,” he thought.

“Alright, enough! What are you trying to do? What do you mean?” Wu Xiang had initially planned to hold a press conference to clarify things—not for anyone else, but for his own sake. Yet Yu Dong had come early and wore an expression as if he were celebrating a joyous family event.

“Xiangzi! You still ask me what I mean? Wasn’t this your doing? Aren’t you dating Zhang Ziyi?” Seeing Wu Xiang’s expression, which seemed a bit off, Yu Dong quickly changed his tune: “Even if you’re not dating, it’s fine! But I have to say, you’re really something. To promote our new film, you even used Zhang Ziyi, stirring up such a big buzz!”

“...” Wu Xiang’s face twisted in frustration. “How the hell do you know this damn mess is something I deliberately created?”

Wu Xiang’s furious rant left Yu Dong dumbfounded.

After a long moment, Yu Dong wiped the sweat from his face—though some of that moisture was of uncertain origin. “N-no, that’s not it?”

“Of course not! Even if I were a master of manipulation or hype, I wouldn’t use this for publicity! It’s too damaging! I mean...” Wu Xiang was about to say “my girlfriend,” but then he remembered he still had to keep things secret with Haiqing, “she’s just a female classmate. I’m a man—if I use this to promote the film, do I even have any integrity?”

“...” Yu Dong wiped more sweat away, sensing that Wu Xiang might actually be defending Zhang Ziyi. Could it be they really were a couple, and he was just humoring Yu Dong?

Forget it, no need to overthink. Let things be as they are; the important thing is to clear this up.

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“I don’t mean anything else. It’s just that the cinema chains on that side are tough to deal with. This year, there are many films. Maybe because our sales were so good last year, a lot of competitors have appeared. The number of theaters hasn’t increased much, but the films have multiplied two or three times. So getting a wide release right away is quite difficult...”

It turned out the New Year’s season this year was fiercely competitive, perhaps linked to the huge success of Wu Xiang’s film last year, which faced almost no competition. But this year, about a dozen films were set to release during the New Year period.

Originally, director Feng Xiaogang already had a film this year called "A Sigh," but it wasn’t released during the New Year. There were several reasons: one was that the film wasn’t festive—it could be inferred from the title alone that it didn’t fit the holiday mood. Another reason was likely related to the original author and screenwriter, Wang Shuo.

Wang Shuo was a formidable figure. Though he described himself as a “literary rogue,” his talent was undeniable—though his character was somewhat questionable. His genius had added a certain rogue flair to Chinese literature and brought many excellent works to the film and television industry.

His TV dramas, like "Desire" and "Stories from the Editorial Department," were classics of their time. As for films, Feng Xiaogang’s first New Year blockbuster, "The Dream Factory," was adapted from Wang Shuo’s novel "You Are Not a Vulgar Person." "Be There or Be Square" also bore Wang Shuo’s imprint, as they co-wrote it.

But if you looked at the film credits, Wang Shuo’s name was nowhere to be found. "A Sigh" was somewhat better, at least his name appeared.

Under such circumstances, who could tolerate this?

Therefore, after "A Sigh," Feng Xiaogang and Wang Shuo did not collaborate for ten years. It was perfectly normal that Feng’s new New Year film did not come out this year.

But where Feng was absent, a bigger name arrived!

Director Zhang Yimou brought his new film "Happy Times" to the 2000 New Year’s lineup, officially scheduled for release on the very last day of the year.

You have to give Zhang’s film a spot, right?

And he wasn’t alone. Liang Tian, who had done quite well in television, was also involved. His hit TV series "I Love My Family" was incredibly popular. Along with Xie Yuan, they teamed up to produce a film called "Defense and Counterattack."

The film’s subject naturally involved the disappointing national football team, so it had to be a comedy. If made as a tragedy, it wouldn’t resonate with the audience—tragedy was expected, after all. Otherwise, it would have to be science fiction. What else could it be?

The film also featured a big name: Zeng Zhiwei. Although not tall, he loved football and was well known in comedy circles.

But that wasn’t all. Some television figures wanted to cross over. A film called "Beautiful Home" might not ring a bell, but with its full title, "The Happy Life of Talkative Zhang Damin," it would sound familiar.

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Liang Guanhua, though not yet cast as Detective Di Renjie, was already well known.

These days, the TV industry was doing better than the film industry. This chubby fellow even dared to cross over. Where could one argue against that!

These three films already had significant clout, but it didn’t end there. Song Dan was returning to film, partnering this time with Fu Biao in "Family Exam," directed by Liu Xiaoguang.

Wu Xiang had heard of Liu Xiaoguang, a well-known director of small-scale films in the country. He didn’t make blockbusters, but one after another, his small films grew in reputation. He even changed his name later to A Gan and produced "Havoc in Heaven," the much-criticized but financially successful version of the classic.

These films were no small players, and their connections were good—they all secured the prime release date: the last day of 2000.

Don’t care if they’re foolish or not; they insisted on clustering several films on this date. That day was great, as the next day was New Year’s Day, which greatly benefited box office returns.

As for other films, they were mostly average, neither outstanding nor insignificant.

Yu Dong’s point was simple: the screening schedule this year wouldn’t be like last year. The cinema chains saw that "Get on the Bus, Let’s Go" wasn’t a big production, had no major stars or renowned directors, and Guan Hu’s fame couldn’t compare to the competitors. That’s why it was scheduled on December 22.

But now, you, producer Wu Xiang, have just stirred up a big news story. If we let this simmer and grow, it will definitely overshadow Zhang Yimou’s “Happy Girl” hype. Then we’ll arrange more screenings, lots more!

Wu Xiang understood, very clearly. From a commercial perspective, Yu Dong and the cinema chains were absolutely right. In the entertainment industry, this was the natural order of things. Many people built their fame this way. Wu Xiang had seen it all. Even by the year 2000, it was still somewhat decent; later on, it became all kinds of shameless and vulgar. Too much, too much. They said if you didn’t hype yourself like this, you were a nobody!

But just because they had no bottom line, did he have to stoop to that level too?

"...According to this report, the renowned young director Wu Xiang held a press conference a few days ago. At the meeting, he emphasized that he has a friendship with the famous actress Zhang Ziyi and also with actor Qin Hailu. The three met during their school days and share a purely normal friendship. Certain unscrupulous media have distorted facts and fabricated stories. This has negatively impacted their daily work and lives. Wu Xiang stated that he will not hesitate to take legal action against any continued slander..."