Chapter 179: ip man Smashes curse of the golden flower
Zhang Weiping’s move was indeed cunning; Gong Li had turned off her phone again.
Unable to reach Gong Li, reporters called Zhang Yimou directly.
Zhang Yimou had just had a big argument with Zhang Weiping over Gong Li.
Both held their ground.
Zhang Yimou believed Zhang Weiping shouldn’t dig up his old relationship with Gong Li for public consumption just for hype.
Zhang Weiping, however, spoke confidently on the phone: “Yi Mou, you’ve carried this bad name for so many years, and I, your brother, couldn’t stand it any longer.”
“You don’t need to care about a woman like that.”
Although Zhang Weiping spoke openly, Zhang Yimou knew exactly what he was up to.
On the phone, Zhang Yimou was silent for a long while, then suddenly remembered what Li Chen had told him at the father's love 2 Premiere.
That sentence was like a seed, silently taking root and sprouting in Zhang Yimou’s heart.
And Zhang Weiping’s repeated presumptuous actions were the fertilizer.
Facing calls from reporters, Zhang Yimou did not evade, tacitly acknowledging the reason for their breakup back then.
However, he only responded to the media with a phrase: ‘It’s not convenient for me to talk about this matter.’
Gong Li was furious, her face turning green, knowing exactly who was leaking the information.
She had thought curse of the golden flower would be her dream project, but it turned out to be the Waterloo of her reputation.
Zhang Weiping’s move taught Yang Siwei a lot as well.
By leaking information about Gong Li, he also implicated Chow Yun-fat.
A few days prior, when Gong Li attended an event, she was asked by the media about Zhang Weiping’s criticism of Chow Yun-fat and her opinion on it.
Gong Li openly and unreservedly supported Chow Yun-fat on the spot.
“Fa Ge and I are not only very good friends but also partners. I understand Fa Ge’s personality very well.”
“He is a man of strong character; he doesn’t act like a diva.”
“It’s very common for actors and directors to communicate and make requests during filming.”
“Moreover, everyone in the crew really likes Fa Ge.”
“He is truly a very, very good, and extremely excellent actor.”
A brand event completely deviated from its theme.
It became a question-and-answer session about curse of the golden flower for reporters, leaving the brand owner depressed.
Towards the end of the event, Gong Li, who had previously claimed not to know the ins and outs and found it inconvenient to express her stance publicly, directly clarified her position.
“Everyone has their way of handling things. If I were Fa Ge,”
“If I had time, I might cast pearls before swine, but if I didn’t have time, I wouldn’t bother with him at all.”
“That’s my attitude, clear enough, isn’t it?”
It was obvious who the ‘swine’ in ‘casting pearls before swine’ referred to.
However, as elated as Gong Li was that day, she was equally embarrassed today.
Netizens were stunned; the gossip just kept getting more explosive.
“She’s quite the player, treating Zhang Yimou like a fool.”
“She’s truly a good actress. Last night she could battle it out with Boss Huang for three hundred rounds, and today she can sit on Zhang Yimou’s lap, completely engrossed in their affection.”
“If Zhang Weiping didn’t leak this, I’d be a ghost! You subtly mocked me, Old Zhang, as a ‘cow’ in front, and I, Old Zhang, will expose your promiscuity right after.”
“Xiao Li Zi truly had foresight, never paying her any mind. As fellow internationally renowned movie stars, Xiao Li Zi chose Maggie Cheung, perfect!”
Indeed, with fame comes trouble; everything seems to involve Li Chen.
It must be said that while Zhang Weiping’s move smeared Gong Li and disgusted Chow Yun-fat,
it did inject a much-needed boost into the struggling curse of the golden flower.
The day before ip man’s release, curse of the golden flower’s box office finally surpassed Hero, breaking 250 million.
However, in North America, it only earned less than three million US dollars, which was shockingly low.
On the twelfth, ip man was released simultaneously across Asia, with North America and Europe following after the eighteenth.
However, on the eleventh, the few limited screenings of ip man in fifteen theaters in the United States received a much better response than curse of the golden flower.
Many Chinese living in America and running martial arts schools contributed to the box office.
Variety and Hollywood Report used these headlines to describe it:
“Li Xiaolong’s Master ip man Ignites Martial Arts Craze, Chinese Martial Arts Schools See Booming Business.”
“Wing Chun: ip man — Thirty Years Later, Li Xiaolong’s Master Returns to Challenge.”
The North American distributor was Warner.
Tim called Li Chen to tell him that Warner was confident they could make Sony Classics’ distributed curse of the golden flower cry!
The next day, ip man’s first-day box office results were released.
9.55 million!
Sina Entertainment News:
“ip man’s First-Day Box Office Soars, curse of the golden flower Halved Again, Daily Box Office Drops Below Two Million.”
Beijing Daily News:
“Following rave reviews from most critics and media during its US preview screenings,”
“The biographical kung fu film ip man, co-produced by Rongchen Film and Television, China Film Group Corporation, and Emperor Motion Pictures, premiered across Asia yesterday.”
“The film’s strong sense of national sentiment and intense, realistic fight scenes received unanimous praise from audiences.”
“Newcomer Zhang Jin’s fight scenes in mainland China are clean, crisp, and visually appealing, similar in style to Jet Li yet with his own unique flair.”
“Rongchen Film and Television’s reputation for producing quality films has once again been proven.”
Southern Morning Post News:
“When curse of the golden flower was first released, it was expected by various media outlets and cinemas to break the box office record of painted skin.”
“However, after experiencing two incidents: ‘vulgar negative reviews’ and ‘a three-way war of words’,”
“Its reputation rapidly declined, with both Douban in China and IMDb in the US scoring below six points.”
“The box office barely crossed 260 million after a month of release, already showing a lack of staying power.”
“curse of the golden flower surpassing painted skin has become an impossible mission.”
“Industry insiders predict curse of the golden flower’s final box office will struggle to exceed 270 million, placing it third among domestic films.”
“Only behind painted skin and those years!”
“And the overseas market box office, which the producers had pinned their hopes on, is also dismal except for Island Nation, with the total overseas box office currently not exceeding 12 million US dollars.”
“The producers can only hope for an Oscar to recoup their costs.”
The media’s pessimistic predictions were just the prelude.
Soon, the Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film were announced.
the banquet, representing Hong Kong, and curse of the golden flower, representing mainland China, both returned empty-handed.
Netizens and industry insiders alike were laughing.
“Xiao Li Zi truly has a keen eye, having predicted the tragic fate of the banquet and curse of the golden flower early on.”
“Blockbusters aiming for the Oscar began with Hero and ended with curse of the golden flower. Not only should Zhang Yimou wake up, but the officials should also learn their lesson. Listening to Xiao Li Zi’s harsh but true words is not wrong.”
“Director Li truly is my idol. Every time he speaks these past few years, it’s been shocking, but every result has proven that my idol never speaks without purpose.”
At the same time, Li Chen also set off for Hong Kong, preparing to attend the pieta media conference.
Accompanying him was Deng Chao, the other male lead of pieta, whom the media had been speculating about.
And curse of the golden flower finally settled, at 265 million!
The fierce battle of the New Year Film Season came to an end.
Zhang Yimou ultimately failed to pull Li Chen down from the box office champion’s throne.
Meanwhile, another ‘Mou Girl’ finally found a sliver of opportunity, ready to showcase her astonishing romance.