"Traveling to the United States to study—Guo Fan has already delivered results!"
"Chinese filmmakers break into Hollywood, proving the strength of Chinese-language cinema to the world."
"Guo Fan has proven with Source Code why he is called China's Gilbert."
Just as Source Code's North American box office surpassed fifty million dollars, the name Guo Fan instantly appeared across all entertainment media in mainland China, and even on the pages of mainstream political news outlets.
The main reason was that this achievement was impressive enough, so even gossip columns ran headlines like this:
"Shocking! He actually pulled this off in Hollywood!"
The tone and headlines had to be exaggerated, otherwise they wouldn't be eye-catching. Of course, this wasn't without drawbacks—it immediately pushed Guo Fan to the forefront of public scrutiny.
After all, flowers and applause are always accompanied by hostility, jealousy, and resentment.
Back then, among that group of trainees, only five ultimately made it out; the rest were backed by all kinds of connections, circles, and forces behind the scenes.
Although there had been a round of crackdowns from above, like a centipede that dies but does not collapse, various small circles still existed. They continued to control all kinds of resources in the Chinese-language entertainment industry, still wielding power and influence.
And among these people, there were certainly those who didn't like Guo Fan. The fact that he refused to go along with things back then meant he wasn't "one of them."
Coupled with the fact that he later went to Hollywood to study and now stirred up such a huge wave, he had undoubtedly touched a lot of people's interests.
Guo Fan himself understood this. He comforted himself by saying that only mediocrity escapes jealousy, treating it as a bit of bitter humor.
Source Code continued to post strong results. By the final weekend before the 2010 summer season, the film's North American box office had reached 107.2 million dollars.
In a previous life, its North American box office had not been this high. Gilbert's contribution here was undeniable. His name itself was a brand in the film industry—once it appeared in the main credits, it seemed to automatically earn the support of movie fans.
Of course, Gilbert had also made certain adjustments to the original version of the film, which was another key reason for its great success.
And one must not forget that this was an original science-fiction film, which carried an inherent disadvantage. Achieving such results was nothing short of defying the odds.
The film also performed well overseas, earning 151.43 million dollars, bringing the global box office total to 258.63 million dollars.
The film recouped its costs through box office revenue alone, and subsequent merchandising and rights would continue to generate profits, creating sustained value for Melon Studio and Disney.
As for Guo Fan, who achieved over one hundred million dollars at the North American box office and more than 250 million dollars worldwide with his first Hollywood film—on a budget of only forty million dollars—he naturally became a highly sought-after rising star in Hollywood.
Since the film's release, he had received countless accolades, along with numerous poaching attempts.
Many second-tier production companies wanted to collaborate with him, and giants like Universal Pictures and MGM United Artists also asked whether he was interested in working together.
Universal felt it most keenly, because Green Zone—distributed by Universal—featured Matt Damon, yet still couldn't compete with Source Code.
After this battle, Guo Fan became famous overnight.
One of Guo Fan's greatest strengths was his steady mindset. He showed no arrogance and did not lose himself amid all the praise.
Guo Fan said to his close friends Liu Ji and Gong Geyer: "My ability to achieve these results owes a great deal to Director Gilbert, and to the professional members of the crew.
I simply did my job well—that's all."
He continued: "We've spent a long enough time in Hollywood. I can't guarantee I'll achieve this level of success again, nor can I guarantee that I'll still hold onto the same original aspiration as before."
Guo Fan had told Gilbert long ago that his original aspiration was to make a science-fiction film that truly belonged to Chinese-language cinema. At present, that goal still seemed somewhat distant.
But Guo Fan believed the timing was now right, so he proposed that it was time to return home.
When he went to bid farewell to Gilbert, Gilbert showed no surprise at all.
"I knew it—sooner or later, you would go back."
Gilbert said with a smile, "Every filmmaker has their own road to walk. You are no exception. Keep walking your own path."
The moment was tinged with sadness, and Guo Fan's eyes turned slightly red.
"I will never forget your guidance. In my heart, you will always be my teacher on the path of cinematic enlightenment. I will not disappoint your expectations and will work hard to make good films."
"That sentence alone is enough."
Gilbert gestured to Ivanka, who went to fetch something.
He then continued to advise Guo Fan: "After working in the film industry for so many years, I've accumulated a bit of experience. Today, there are a few words I want to say to you."
"Please go on…"
"It's not that complicated. You just need to remember one thing: never treat the audience as fools. Respect the audience, respect the objective laws of film production—that is respecting yourself.
Remember this, and you will stand undefeated. No difficulty will be able to knock you down."
Gilbert's words were spoken sincerely. However, how many filmmakers in the industry are truly able to achieve this—that is something that remains questionable.
Guo Fan said that he would remember it. His creative style had been influenced by Gilbert, so this aspect was not something to worry too much about.
Ivanka soon brought over several notebooks, all of which clearly showed signs of age.
Gilbert handed these notebooks to Guo Fan and said to him: "These are notes I took when I first entered the industry. They're not very applicable anymore, but they represent some of my early personal insights.
I'm giving them to you as a reference and a keepsake. Just remember—don't forget the conversation we had today."
Guo Fan accepted the notebooks with deep emotion, treating them as priceless treasures. He decided to take them back, preserve them carefully, and study them thoroughly, so as not to disappoint Gilbert's expectations.
Finally, after a long period of study, Guo Fan once again boarded a plane back to his home country.
Only this time, he did not know what kind of storm his return would stir up—even Gilbert, the initiator of it all, was looking forward to it.
After Guo Fan left, Gilbert's work returned to normal, because the most important task ahead was the summer season.
Inception was about to face the pressure of Tron: Legacy. With two blockbusters competing in the same release window, other films were so intimidated that they almost dared not approach this slot.
Tron: Legacy had performed quite well in previous test screenings. Although theater representatives rated the film less highly than Inception, its screening allocation was still no lower than that of Inception.
The collision of two super blockbusters was clearly enough to stir up a bloody storm.
Skydance was full of confidence. David Ellison and distributor Sony Columbia Pictures put up 120 million dollars in marketing funds, determined to trample Inception underfoot.
Disney, on the other hand, was equally unwilling to fall behind, spending 100 million dollars on marketing as well.
What reassured Disney somewhat was that the director of Inception was Gilbert, the lead actor was Leonardo DiCaprio, and the film also featured Kate Winslet, Robert Downey Jr., and a host of major supporting actors.
In terms of box office appeal, Inception's lineup was clearly stronger than that of Tron: Legacy.
However, David Ellison clearly did not see it that way. Gilbert could not intimidate him in the slightest—he had already prepared himself mentally to fight Gilbert to the bitter end.
...
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