Chapter 419
The biggest problem is that we couldn't beat Chapter 419.
The biggest problem is that we couldn't beat Chapter 419.
When Fox found Chuck Riddell, the UFC light heavyweight champion nicknamed "The Iceman," he was sweating it out at the training facility "The Pit."
"Hi John, it's nice to meet you. When is Chuck finished?"
Ralph, head of the news department, immediately showed his eagerness after shaking hands with head coach John Hackleman.
John glanced at his watch: "He has a 10-minute break after this round of dodging drills."
"Only 10 minutes?"
"Only 10 minutes."
“Okay.” Ralph shrugged. “It took us three hours to drive to Arroyo Grande, but you’re in charge. He’s the Iceman, after all.”
"Hmm, he's an ice man!"
Head coach John looked extremely proud.
Ralph fully cooperated, throwing a powerful punch: "Yep, the pride of Southern California, the UFC's most bankable superstar, the great Iceman!"
"No wonder you got the position." John finally gave him a smile. "Last time, your Fox reporter was as stupid as a pig!"
Ralph knew what the other person was complaining about; the last time Fox News featured Iceman was on May 26, a rather unpleasant day.
Last year, The Iceman was still in the twilight of his prime, demonstrating the absolute dominance of the light heavyweight champion with two knockouts.
However, on May 26th of this year, the Iceman, who was widely favored before the fight, was knocked down by Jackson's heavy punch after only 1 minute and 53 seconds, and then finished by TKO with ground and pound.
After losing his championship belt, the entire MMA world was in an uproar. Fox News used the headline "The Throne Collapses" to mock and humiliate The Iceman.
Well, actually, the reporter who wrote that article was one of Ralph's subordinates; the second news department always specialized in the arts and entertainment field.
But Ralph wasn't guilty at all and distanced himself completely.
"Yes, I've heard about that report. That guy is not only stupid, but also has character issues. How could he treat our Southern California heroes and pride like that?"
"Is that really what you think?"
“Of course, I swear in my mother’s name!”
"Alright, the Iceman is down, you can begin."
John stepped forward with the towel, while Ralph, lagging behind, curled his lip slightly, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
At the same time, John smiled sneer and gave Iceman a look: "The Fox News reporter is here, buddy, good luck."
With a bright smile on his face, Ralph stepped forward and shook hands firmly with Chuck the Iceman.
"Wow, superstar, you're in amazing shape!"
"Thank you, you can call me Chuck."
"Okay, Chuck, thank you. Since we're short on time, shall we begin now?"
"OK. What do you want to know?"
The cameraman who had been following Ralph zoomed in, and in the shot, the Iceman vigorously rubbed his buzz cut with a towel, grinned, and exuded a fierce aura.
"We noticed that a few days ago at the movie theater, you and your friend bumped into SR who was there for an event?"
Yes, we just happened to run into each other.
"And then you had a little conflict?"
"It's not really a conflict—at least I don't think it is."
"But you trash-talked him."
"Yes."
"Then his bodyguards unceremoniously escorted you away."
"Yes."
"So you still don't think that counts as a conflict?"
"Of course not. My friends and I had arranged to see Ocean's Thirteen. The exciting movie made us quite excited. When we were leaving, we happened to see SR himself. We shouted something to each other, and then everyone went home."
What kind of conflict was this? It was just an interesting coincidence. Lots of people egged him on, and it wasn't just me and my friends that day.
Iceman rarely speaks so much, but he basically explained the previous rhythm clearly.
But Ralph couldn't be satisfied with that answer; he was after big news, and this wouldn't do, this wasn't right.
"But others don't have your kind of influence."
Ralph quickly found a way, very obviously stirring things up.
"Ordinary people can easily join in the commotion without worrying about any negative consequences, but as a UFC icon, your words clearly have a... well, a..."
Anyway, you know what I mean.
SR's fans have been so ecstatic these past few days that they haven't paid attention to this, but they'll eventually find out, and then you'll realize that offending SR is no fun at all.
"Will it be terrible?"
"It will be quite bad, especially since you are suspected of racism."
Ralph pressed on with an assertive tone, "You called Asian cowards, didn't you? You should know the consequences of saying that."
“That was really wrong. I should apologize on behalf of Sangquie. He’s a big mouth, even if he’s not a bad person at heart.”
Iceman looked directly into the camera: "Perhaps, today? I'm sorry, SR, I apologize on behalf of my friend's insulting remarks. I hope you won't hold a grudge against a boor."
"That's it?" Ralph raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't that enough?"
"I don't know, but I feel you haven't explained the problem clearly."
"Ah!"
The Ice Man let out a sneer.
"He's a movie actor, and I'm a boxer; we have absolutely no connection. What problems could there be between us?"
Ralph replied instantly: "The biggest problem is that you and your friends look down on the kung fu he shows in the movies."
"So what?" Iceman shrugged. "Will he come to the ring and teach me a lesson?"
Ralph's eyes lit up, and he was about to press for more information, but the Iceman seemed to have lost all patience, his face full of impatience, and he turned and walked towards the training field.
When he turned around completely, leaving only his back view, he raised his right arm and waved it in mid-air.
"I still have training to do, that's enough for today. If he wants to come to the ring and teach me a lesson, he's welcome. If he's planning to sue my friends, I'll oblige."
This concludes our brief 10-minute interview.
It appears restrained, but it actually carries a deeper meaning.
……
On Thursday, June 7th, Fox Evening News officially reported on the incident with the headline "UFC Dominant Champion Iceman Expresses Dissatisfaction with Fang Xinghe".
On Friday, June 8th, Superbad will be released, officially joining this chaotic battle.
"A hilarious R-rated teen comedy is coming!"
Film critic Turan: Shrek 3 has lost the spirit and emotional core of its predecessors, becoming an empty, messy collection of jokes. But the question is, if I just want to see jokes, why don't I watch Superbad? At least it has pretty bangs!
"George Clooney: I appreciate Hurricane's new exploration in the action genre. It's beneficial for all of us. It's great, but we have different levels of brilliance, one focused on power and the other on intelligence. That's what makes it diverse. Finally, thank you to the great UFC ruler, Mr. Iceman, for appreciating us. He really has a good eye."
Film critic Peter: As a sequel, Ocean's Thirteen is clearly better than Pirates of the Caribbean and Green Goose, especially Depp. How long is he going to keep relying on his old accent?
"Johnny Depp: What challenge? Who's challenging? Get this straight, they're the challengers, and Captain Jack Sparrow is fearless!" "There really is no challenge. Hurricane's first full week of broadcast, the championship is rock solid!"
"Comparing SR and YD, I really find it unbelievable. They're both human beings, how can there be such a huge difference? I really wish they could cut half of the Pirate Ship's box office and add it to Hurricane's figures... They deserve it."
"Fang Sheng's myth of violence continues."
"Thanks to SR, the market has climbed to its highest level in recent years!"
……
The chaotic battle in the film and entertainment sections is dazzling.
Many people lamented that this was probably the most chaotic summer movie season of the 21st century.
Spider-Man is down to his last tail, Shrek maintains its mid-to-late stage of promotion, Pirate Ship's popularity has declined but it is unwilling to fade into obscurity, and Ocean's criticizes pirates and R-rated comedies. They are busy trying to survive in the cracks.
Hurricane continues its strong performance, overshadowing the novelty of Superbad with its trending topics.
The trending topic about the saint continued to gain momentum, and finally exploded this weekend.
A workday is still a workday, and most of the middle class in society don't have time to join in the fun, so they can only catch the peak of the hype during the most recent holiday.
Teenagers were diverted by Superbad, but working adults filled the void left by Hurricane.
Over the weekend, Hurricane's box office revenue returned to the 2000 million yuan blockbuster mark.
Friday: 2508 million; Saturday: 2792 million; Sunday: 2088 million.
With this, after 10 days of release, Hurricane's total North American box office has reached $2.68 million, a huge success.
In this day and age, if something becomes a hit in North America, other places don't need to do much marketing; they will naturally follow suit.
Sony didn't spend much money at all, yet the headlines in the film and television sections of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and Portugal were full of exaggerated praise, even pushing Fang Xinghe to the throne of "God of Action".
Although Brother Fang didn't go anywhere, all his efforts in Amei were not in vain.
However, a considerable number of experts coldly pointed out: "SR's off-screen popularity has been completely exhausted. The emotions it brought us have been fully reflected in the box office, and even greatly overdrawn the potential of movie fans. The glorious road of Hurricane is probably coming to an end."
Professional media outlets have raised their box office predictions for "Taken" for the third time—to between $6.8 million and $7 million worldwide.
As a result, this 7 million figure caused a lot of people great distress.
"Can't there be any more?"
"Please don't let this end! *crying*"
"Damn it, was it really that close?"
Whether out of schadenfreude or genuine consolation, TNT declared on its program: "This is already a miracle in the modern action film genre. It will surpass the $6.16 million of 'Casino Royale' to become the second highest-grossing film in the genre, second only to the $7.39 million of 'The Matrix Reloaded,' far exceeding the equally groundbreaking and innovative 'Bourne' series, becoming the absolute representative of a new wave of action aesthetics..."
Japanese and South Korean state media celebrated: "Fang's movement aesthetics have conquered the world!"
People in Japan and South Korea are experiencing both wild joy and sorrow, going wild on the international version of Weibo—
"Waaaaah, Mr. Fang is so amazing! But why hasn't he come to Japan to promote his work yet?"
"Fang Xinghe is truly a source of pride for Asian faces. It's an honor to have some inexplicable connection with him!"
"Damn it! What do you mean by 'unexplained connection'? His grandmother clearly has Korean ancestry verified!"
"So, you bunch of Korean bastards should thank our Great Japanese Empire for the reward, right? After all, we sent those Korean women who ended up in China. Kneel down and say 'Kam Sanghamida' in a servile tone."
"Please let our American bodyguards reward them with another chubby little boy, Kamsanhamida."
"Baka! I've been bothered by a toad again..."
Because Chinese netizens can't access the Great Firewall, the international version of Weibo is filled with sweet moments between two people, constantly being shared and reposted.
Their emotions were more intense than those of America during the birth of a saint, and the box office of Hurricane was booming, having already crushed the Spider-Man pirate ship.
It's not surprising, as Hollywood blockbusters have never been particularly big box office hits in Japan and South Korea.
In South Korea, it is suppressed by domestic films.
In Japan, I'm constantly bombarded by anime.
Strictly speaking, Hurricane is a typical Hollywood movie, but it received the treatment of a domestic film in Japan and South Korea.
However, Hurricane's box office performance was a huge hit in South Korea, but not as good as "Les Young" in Japan.
This is not a matter of style, but rather a reflection of the fact that, thanks to the long-term instigation by the Ozan government, public sentiment in Japan has indeed changed significantly, and the honeymoon period is over.
Without the full support of the world's second-largest voter base, Hurricane no longer has the ability to impact The Matrix Reloaded.
This is something that all professional media outlets have already realized.
June 11th, another Monday.
Hurricane's box office suddenly halved, falling below 10 million for the first time, and only grossed 988 million.
Although the difference was only 12, this small gap was like the last breath of a dying person, making most people realize its downward trend.
Qiaoqiao was overjoyed: "He really overdrawn his energy!"
The drop in Luohan's stock price wasn't as severe. The limited number of screens it opened on also means that its potential is being released more slowly, allowing it to stay in the market for a while longer.
Hurricane truly "watched everything that should be seen," and there was no new source of box office revenue to be found.
"Anyone want to fire on him? It's time to unite!"
Before the words were even finished, gunfire erupted.
Yes, the Iceman, who had previously been overshadowed by a host of major news stories, has finally garnered enough public attention.
Comments section of Fox News' official Weibo account.
"Strange, how did these two people start arguing?"
"I just discovered that too."
"It's very simple. When Bingren and his friends were watching a movie, they ran into Fang Sheng organizing an event. Bingren got jealous and said some very unpleasant things."
"That's not just unpleasant to hear, that's blatant racism!"
"Who? The Ice Man? How is that possible!"
"The Iceman is desperate for attention, so he found a good opportunity to spout nonsense and try to make people forget his failure."
"This is unbelievable..."
"Stop! The one who swore was Iceman's brother, Sangkui, and he has already apologized!"
"Yes, a very sincere apology—if he wants to come to the ring and teach me a lesson, he's welcome. If he's planning to sue my friends, I'm ready."
"But that's the Iceman. We all know he's a real tough guy!"
"Isn't SR a tough guy? He's faced far more than just punches in the ring!"
"But as a legend in the UFC light heavyweight division, what's wrong with Iceman looking down on SR's fancy but ineffective moves?"
"We've never played against them before, that's the biggest problem."
The phrase "never fought" instantly thrust Iceman into the eye of the storm, and also brought the struggling "Hurricane" back into the mainstream spotlight.
With Fox making further moves, everyone is now looking forward to Fang Xinghe's response.
*************
Every time I fall ill, I want to take a long break, but I'm afraid that my already declining condition will completely disappear. This autumn, I'm determined to move to the south to recuperate, so I'll go to Yunnan.
(End of this chapter)