CHAPTER 653: CHAPTER 445: ONLINE PUBLIC OPINION

"Separation," this film, even if outsiders aren’t clear on how much the rights can sell for, even a fool would know it would definitely make a big profit.

A film that wins a Cannes award will generally attract many art film enthusiasts to view it, and the video rights can fetch a lot of money as well.

Not to mention the domestic box office. With the title of three Cannes awards plus the hype around Wu Mu, a box office of one or two billion seems feasible.

Everyone assumed, given Wu Mu and Lin Qingyue’s displayed status, Wu Mu must have invested in Lin Qingyue’s film, intending to earn another fortune.

Ever since the global celebrity 300 ranking was announced, many media outlets spontaneously started calculating Wu Mu’s income, eager to see how much he’d earn this year.

Well, the second month of this year isn’t even over yet, and the global celebrity 300 ranking was posted less than a month ago, yet many have already calculated that Wu Mu’s income is nearing three billion this year...

This earning ability is mind-boggling; everyone thought last year was the peak, but it seems this year could be even higher, heading towards twenty billion?

However, Wu Mu didn’t invest in "Separation."

This made the journalists hoping to shock their titles with another income entry for Wu Mu quite disappointed.

"Wu Mu, after winning the Cannes Best Actor, will you lean more towards acting, aiming for higher awards?"

The interview went on, and some questioned Wu Mu’s future direction.

Wu Mu thought for a moment and said: "I won’t deliberately focus on making films. It’ll probably be the same as before—if there’s a suitable variety show, I’ll do it; if there’s a song, I’ll release it, and then Sun Shun will take me to make a film."

With multiple avenues to develop, he could earn more credit points.

While he’s aiming for credit points, the journalists all jot down in unison—"Ambitious, aiming to be a multi-talented artist"

"Wu Mu, how much did you get paid for making this movie, can you disclose that?"

Said half an hour, and sure enough, it was really half an hour.

Once the time was up, Wu Mu got up and signaled everyone to disperse.

The journalists who asked a pile of questions felt a bit unsatisfied but, after exchanging glances, left hurriedly.

They need to rush to write their drafts; if they’re quick, they can make it to tomorrow’s daily paper.

The first wave of online heat is already hopeless to catch; Weibo has already blown up.

But they can still grab the first wave of attention in print media.

...

Yangcheng.

It’s only late February, and not yet the New Year. Coupled with the latest wave of cold snap, even Yangcheng’s temperature has plummeted.

Zhang Bowen has already donned a thick cotton coat, walking on his way to work while puffing air into his hands.

Clearly from Dongbei, but after staying in the south for a few years, he found himself somewhat unable to resist the cold; with such a slight drop in temperature, he feels unbearably cold.

"Old Liu, give me a copy of the Southern Daily."

Passing an intersection newsstand, he intended to purchase a newspaper as usual.

Although print media has somewhat declined in this era, for some older people or those working in government institutions, reading a newspaper daily remains a deeply rooted habit.

Zhang Bowen works at the district archives and has picked up this habit from the veteran employees in the library.

While waiting for the stand owner to grab the newspaper, Zhang Bowen glanced casually and discovered something odd.

"Hey, Old Liu, don’t you usually put the Southern Daily at the front? How come today the Southern Metropolis Daily is upfront?"

"Mr. Zhang, you remember such details? I’m puzzled too. Today, many people are buying the Southern Metropolis Daily, so for convenience, I just put it in front."

The newsstand owner looked equally confused.

"Oh, and most buyers are young people; earlier, even two high school girls came to buy it."

High school students are typically disconnected from newspapers.

Zhang Bowen curiously glanced at the Southern Metropolis Daily on the stand.

"First day opening of the Guangzhou-Foshan South Circle Intercity: one-hour living expands again."

"’Surrogate black market’ follow-up: post-investigation of Yangcheng underground clinics."

The front and subsidiary headlines are all related to city administration or news hot spots, nothing appealing to high school students, right?

He casually flipped the newspaper’s front page to reveal the section underneath.

Then, he froze.

On the secondary headline of the Southern Metropolis Daily, a very recognizable face appeared—someone he found hard to imagine.

Secondary headline reads: "From the depths to the peaks, he might be on a legendary path, star Wu Mu crowned Cannes Best Actor"

Sub-headline: "After Hou Zhenzhong, the fifth Chinese Cannes Best Actor, the entire Cannes cheers for him."

He recognized every word of the headline but felt that together they seemed somewhat incomprehensible.

How did Wu Mu end up in the Southern Metropolis?

And crowned Cannes Best Actor??

Unable to resist, Zhang Bowen stood up straight and pulled out the newspaper to read.

"On the night of the 23rd in France, star Wu Mu was crowned Best Actor at Cannes, becoming the fifth Chinese Cannes Best Actor. This outcome undoubtedly surprised many, including the writer here."

The metropolis reporter began with a simple introduction of the situation and setting the tone.

Then slowed down to explain to the paper audience unfamiliar with Wu Mu who he was.

"Because as he always was in the public’s mind, the preface of star Wu Mu, rather than being just an actor or singer, he’s more like a shining star. He went from dropping out of junior high at fourteen to becoming today’s Cannes Best Actor, experiencing multiple highs and lows, peaks and valleys..."