Hollywood, I became a legend with special effects.

Chapter 60: Congratulations to you too

On Friday, July 18, The Dark Knight opened in 4300 theaters.

When the opening day box office figure of $6640 million was released, breaking the single-day record held by Spider-Man 3 on Friday, the entire Burbank could almost hear the collective screams coming from the Warner Bros. building.

"My God, did they print an extra zero on this number?" A Warner Bros. publishing intern muttered to himself, staring at his computer screen, before his supervisor slapped him on the back of the head: "Shut up! Go order the champagne for the celebration party! The most expensive kind!"

The weekend box office totaled $1.55 million in North America and $2.5 million worldwide.

Nolan's performance cemented his legendary status, and Warner Bros.' stock price jumped 8% at the opening on Monday.

On July 21, while the box office phenomenon of "The Dark Knight" was still dominating headlines around the world, Warner Bros. held another press conference at its headquarters.

There were even more media outlets this time than last time, since everyone wanted to know what Nolan, who had just made history, would do next.

At 10 a.m., Warner Bros. Productions President Jeff Robinoff and Light Chaser Pictures North America President David walked onto the stage side by side; flashes from the cameras instantly created a silvery-white downpour.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Jeff said with a broad, triumphant smile, "today, I am honored to join our partner Light Chaser Animation Studios in announcing Christopher Nolan's next project."

He paused deliberately, building up the anticipation.

Some people in the audience were already whispering, "It's definitely a Batman sequel, right?" "They've only been showing for three days and they're already announcing a sequel?" "What else could it be? Are they going to announce they're making an art film now?"

Just then, the side door opened.

Nolan walked out in his signature dark suit, expressionless, and the man behind him caused an uproar.

Leonardo DiCaprio.

Thirty-four-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio is at the peak of his looks and acting skills. Wearing a perfectly tailored navy blue suit, he gives the camera a smile that says, "I know I'm handsome, but I don't care."

Since Titanic, he has not taken on any purely commercial blockbusters, and has been fighting for the Oscars.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Nolan said calmly, taking the microphone, "I'm excited to announce my next film—Inception. It's an original science fiction film about dreams, consciousness, and the boundaries of reality. I'm even happier that Leonardo DiCaprio agreed to join this crazy idea."

The audience erupted in cheers.

"Original science fiction? Not a sequel?!"

"Nolan + Leonardo DiCaprio? This combination is outrageous!"

"How much investment? Has Warner Bros. gone mad? They just made money and they're already burning it?"

David Fincher then stepped forward and announced key information: "Inception has a budget of $160 million, will be distributed by Warner Bros., and Light Chaser Pictures will be the lead investor. Filming is expected to begin next spring, with global casting starting this October."

He emphasized the last sentence:

"This includes two important Asian roles, which will be open to global selection."

boom!

If the previous news was a bomb, then this last sentence is a nuclear bomb for Asian media.

The Asian journalists' area reacted a beat slower, because most people needed a second to confirm they hadn't misheard.

A reporter from the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo suddenly pinched his thigh: "Damn... he just said that Nolan's films, Asian roles, global casting?"

The reporter from the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun next to him had already taken out his phone and started typing frantically, his fingers trembling.

The Chinese media section erupted in chaos. A reporter from Sina Entertainment nearly threw his recorder away, turning to yell at the cameraman, "Quick! Close-up! Nolan and Leonardo DiCaprio together! And make sure to get David's line clearly!"

The press conference continued, with Nolan briefly introducing the film's concept: "We will explore a technology that allows people to enter other people's dreams, steal or implant ideas. The story will involve multiple layers of dreams, differences in the flow of time, and the blurred lines between reality and dreams..."

The Asian journalists in the audience were already distracted, their minds racing with the same question: who would get those two Asian roles?

.......

BJ, Huamao Center, Chaoyang District.

The phone rang in the office of the president of Light Chaser Pictures China region ten minutes after the press conference began.

Yang Siwei was drinking her first cup of coffee of the day when she saw the caller ID showed a Hong Kong number. She assumed it was a routine Monday greeting from a business partner.

She answered: "Hello, this is Yang Siwei from Light Chaser Pictures."

"Mr. Yang! It's me! Huo Wenxi from Yinhuang!" The voice on the other end of the phone was urgent, with background noise from the TV news audible. "I just saw the news! Nolan's new film! An Asian character! Our Charlene Choi and Nicholas Tse are currently taking acting classes in Los Angeles, their English is perfectly fine! Do you think you could arrange something..."

Yang Siwei almost spat out her coffee.

"Mr. Huo, the press conference has only just begun, right? You've got the news way too fast..."

"I was watching CNN live! I called you as soon as President David finished speaking!" Huo Wenxi spoke at breakneck speed, almost like a rapper. "President Yang, our collaboration on 'Bullets Fly' was very pleasant. Please give us an audition opportunity this time. The terms are negotiable!"

The phone call had barely ended when the second call came in.

This time it was Wang Jinhua, whose tone was even more direct: "As for the four micro-enterprises, I won't beat around the bush. Their artists' schedules can be adjusted next year, and Orange Sky is willing to cooperate with any promotion for Nolan's films."

By the tenth call, Yang Siwei had given up on the idea of ​​having coffee.

She pressed the conference button on the landline: "Xiao Liao, come in for a moment. Also, put my phone on silent, no, just turn it off."

When assistant Xiao Liao pushed open the door, what she saw was the strange sight of three mobile phones vibrating simultaneously in front of Yang Siwei: an Apple, a Blackberry, and an old Nokia.

"Mr. Yang, this..."

"I'll put my work phone with you." Yang Siwei rubbed her temples. "For any questions about casting for 'Inception,' the standard reply is always: Thank you for your interest. The casting process will begin in October. Relevant information will be released through the official website and partner agencies. Please wait patiently."

Xiao Liao nodded, and was about to leave when he turned back cautiously and asked, "What if it's someone like General Manager Han from China Film Group calling?"

Yang Siwei was silent for two seconds, then sighed: "Transfer it to me."

She had barely finished speaking when the landline rang.

Looking at the caller ID, it was indeed the China Film Group office.

.......

Yang Siwei finally finished dealing with the last email that she had to reply to. Her work phone was with Xiao Liao, and her personal phone had 32 missed calls and 47 unread text messages.

She flipped through the list, and most of the people were acquaintances from the entertainment industry, while a few were old classmates she hadn't contacted in years who suddenly "caught up."

The most outrageous case was a Japanese number that dialed eight times in a row.

"They're all crazy, completely crazy." She shook her head with a wry smile and sent Jiang Yu a text message: "Mr. Jiang, things are in an uproar across Asia today. It's expected that tomorrow all the entertainment headlines in China will be about the Inception casting. Should we prepare an official press release?"

A few minutes later, Jiang Yu replied: "No need. Let the news spread. We'll talk about it when casting starts in October. If you ask now, I know nothing about it and say the North American company is in charge."

Yang Siwei looked at the text message and couldn't help but smile.

This is the Mr. Jiang she knows—always calm and collected.

She replied, "Understood. Also, is there anything special I should do regarding Ms. Liu?"

This time, Jiang Yu replied quickly: "No need. She will decide for herself whether or not to audition. If she does, she'll go through the same process as everyone else."

Clean and efficient.

Yang Siwei put down her phone and walked to the window.

She recalled that a year ago, when Jiang Yu first talked to her about the vision of Light Chaser Pictures: "What we want to do is not another Huayi Brothers or Sound Entertainment, but a platform that can connect China and the United States and produce high-quality content using industrialized processes."

At the time, she felt that the goal was too big, so big that it seemed unreal.

Now, Twilight is about to be released, Black Swan is about to start filming, and Inception is taking the world by storm. Every step is on an incredible pace.

In the apartment, Jiang Yu's phone vibrated. It was a message from Liu Yifei, containing only three words:

"congratulations."

Jiang Yu replied, "Congratulations to you too."

Liu Yifei looked at the reply and didn't understand for a moment why she was being congratulated!