China Entertainment special effects started in 1997

It was not easy to come to the United States, so naturally we couldn't rush back.

After the premiere, Jiang Heng and his group first visited Los Angeles and then went to Las Vegas.

Wu Yizu grew up in San Francisco, not far from here, and Jiang Heng and Li Meiqi also went there as guests.

Time soon arrived, the day when "The Matrix" was released across North America, March 13.

March is not a good schedule, but because it has been released all over the world, it is impossible to delay it until the summer vacation in the United States.

In terms of theaters, MGM's "The Iron Mask" was released on the same day. The film was starred by Leonardo Dicaprio and was adapted from the "D'Artagnan Trilogy" compiled by French writer Alexandre Dumas. It tells the story of Philip, a mysterious prisoner wearing an iron mask, who, with the help of Eramis, Arthas and others, took back the throne from the licentious Louis XIV.

In terms of film type, it is an action and adventure movie.

But in terms of action scenes, it is not in the same dimension as "The Matrix".

The film's ratings were average, and its original U.S. box office was only $56.96 million, ranking 36th in the annual box office rankings. This was undoubtedly a blow to Leonardo, who became famous for "Titanic".

In this time and space, some media found that the protagonists of the two action movies released on the same day were both handsome men, so they compared the two and guessed whose work would win.

Leonardo has the residual power of "Titanic" and is very popular among female fans. Some speculate that "The Man in the Iron Mask" will definitely win.

But some media pointed out that this Chinese named Wu Yizu is not only equally handsome, but also has good film quality.

"The Matrix" is still being released in many places around the world, and has achieved good box office results and reputation, and may not lose to "The Man in the Iron Mask".

As for who wins and who loses, it depends on the performance of the market.

On the 13th, the two films were released.

Jiang Heng went to New York and watched the film at a cinema near the hotel. He found that there were many more people watching The Matrix than The Man in the Iron Mask.

The specific data was reflected in the first-day box office results released the next day.

The Matrix won a box office of 10.94 million US dollars, which shocked countless media.

The Man in the Iron Mask only earned 6.13 million US dollars, which was almost half of The Matrix, which was shocking.

It was really strange that an action movie starring a popular American star was defeated by a Hong Kong film.

But judging from the media's evaluation of the two films, the box office results they achieved seemed to be justified.

The evaluation of The Matrix by major entertainment media was naturally polarized, and those who praised it were all praising it to the sky.

It was said that the action scenes of The Matrix were overwhelming The Man in the Iron Mask, and the "bullet time" special effects in the film were epoch-making performances in the entire film history.

What the media praised even more was the artistry and thought of the film, which caused a huge sensation in the United States.

After all, in March 1998, more than a quarter of households in the United States had access to the Internet.

Home computers, which were once used only for word processing, slowly began to support online broadcasting, multi-user games and social networks.

Some people who were foresighted began to feel uneasy about immersing themselves in the online world, fearing that they would become "addicted to the Internet", just as later people hated watching short videos on their mobile phones all day long.

In 1997, an IBM computer named "Deep Blue" defeated the world chess champion after six games.

Humans were defeated in the man-machine duel, which made some people fear artificial intelligence.

The emergence of "The Matrix" just responded to the fear of Europeans and Americans at that time about virtual space and artificial intelligence, which quickly resonated and discussed with audiences around the world as soon as it was released, and in the next few years, it and its two sequels took in $1.6 billion in box office.

Such a response and discussion is something that "The Man in the Iron Mask" never had.

The audience is more picky about the film's plot being too much changed from the original. There is no way. The biggest difficulty in adapting a movie is to show the essence of the original and to show novelty. If any of the two aspects are not done well, the film will have a bad reputation.

Of course, there are also a small number of media that have severely criticized "The Matrix", believing that the film is deliberately mysterious and that using human bio-electricity is pure nonsense.

Several TV media also sent reporters to the theater to interview the audience and ask them about their views on "The Matrix".

"Oh, my God! This movie is so shocking and so real. I often feel that I live in a virtual world and feel like a character in the game. I really hope that the person who plays me can give me some game coins. I have thought about it better!"

"I don't like the protagonists very much. I feel that they are too fake! If the real world is really as cruel as described in the movie, then I would rather live in this dream all the time. Why must I be awake? Although the dream is fake, it feels real...!"

"The Matrix" has a great reputation in North America, and the result is naturally a steady increase in box office.

The first three days of the weekend grossed a total of $28.71 million, which surprised many media outlets that a non-Hollywood film would make over $100 million.

Columbia Pictures was both excited and upset about this.

Because it was a split-revenue distribution, the revenue they received was really limited.

They immediately sent someone to meet Jiang Heng to discuss the distribution of "The Matrix 2", but they mainly wanted to participate in the investment of the film.

"Mr. Jiang, we are very sincere and want to cooperate with you!"

Aimee Pascal, vice president of Columbia Pictures, came to the hotel where Jiang Heng was staying and tried to persuade Jiang Heng to develop a more comprehensive cooperation with Columbia Pictures.

To be precise, she hoped that Jiang Heng could go to Hollywood and join Columbia Pictures.

Pascal, who is now in her early 40s, is one of the strongest competitors for the position of president of Columbia Pictures. In the original history, she was indeed elected as the president of the company in 1999.

But at this moment, the future is uncertain, and Pascal is under great performance pressure.

Seeing that Jiang Heng's "The Matrix" will create a super-selling series of films, she is more and more interested in bringing Jiang Heng under her.

"Ms. Pascal, I appreciate your appreciation for me, but I am Chinese and used to living in my country. I have no plans to venture into Hollywood for the time being. Besides, the sequel can also be filmed in Hong Kong!"

Pascal shook his head, "It's different, Jiang, although the male and female protagonists you chose have faces that are more in line with European and American aesthetics, they are not authentic white people after all. Your film needs to add more white and black faces to make it more international. You are talented, but Hong Kong is too small, which limits your ability.

Come here, you will become a world-class director!"