Entertainment: Great Director-Chapter 112 Donation!

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"Are these the Rat and Rabbit Heads?"

This was Wu Mingxuan’s first time seeing the two bronze heads in their true form. Although he had seen a few before his time travel, like Stanley Ho’s Horse Head, which was on display at the Grand Lisboa Casino for interested gamblers to see, Wu Mingxuan had never seen the real thing. The only ones he had seen were replicas.

"Christie’s certified them, but they’re 25 million euros. Who would buy them if they weren’t authentic?"

Wu Mingxuan examined them carefully and saw nothing amiss. As long as the provenance proved their authenticity, it would be fine. Now that he had the items, he could call the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee to discuss a donation ceremony for the opening ceremony.

was the Year of the Rat (Zi-Zi), marking the beginning of the twelve zodiac animals. They happened to have bronze heads of the Rat at the time, and donating them at the opening ceremony of the Olympics was a perfect match. It was like a stroke of luck, a sign of great success.

Jackie Chan naturally shared this sentiment; otherwise, he and Wu Mingxuan wouldn’t have split the ownership and resorted to extensive connections to spend a fortune to bring back a national treasure.

Strictly speaking, the bronze heads of the twelve zodiac animals on the water clock are just twelve water taps, not really that valuable. No matter how much they’re hyped, it’s ultimately just an attempt to profit from the pockets of us Chinese.

Upon receiving the call, IOC President Liu Qi immediately arrived with a team of experts from the Palace Museum. After a brief exchange of pleasantries with Wu Mingxuan and Jackie Chan, they began verifying the authenticity of the two bronze heads. If they were genuine, it would be a welcome addition, a welcome win for all. If they were fake, it would also help avert any awkwardness.

"They are genuine. The materials and craftsmanship are flawless. These two heads must be the ones that were lost."

While verifying their authenticity, the group was stunned by the price tag. Two heads cost €25 million, nearly 200 million RMB—a truly outrageous sum.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Cheng, for your support for our Olympic Organizing Committee. We should start arranging the donation ceremony later. Can’t we just donate both at the opening ceremony? Wouldn’t it be perfect for you and Director Wu to each donate one?"

Jackie Chan also thought this was a good idea, so he looked at Wu Mingxuan to hear his opinion. Wu Mingxuan immediately shook his head in refusal, saying, "Donating is one thing, but the film is also very important. This is a patriotic film with a main theme. It also tells everyone in the world that the bronze heads of the twelve zodiac animals are national treasures of the Chinese people. They were stolen and should be returned to us.

Although we paid a huge price for them this time, we don’t want something like this to happen again. So, making two donations, at the Olympic Opening Ceremony and the Spring Festival Gala, is very appropriate. The film itself will be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so that more people can go to the theater to see this patriotic film."

Wu Mingxuan was very clear about what Liu Qi and other officials were thinking, so he emphasized again: "Not counting the two bronze statues, the production and promotion of the movie itself cost a full 500 million yuan. I hope President Liu can understand the difficulties we filmmakers face."

Liu Qi could only nod helplessly when he heard this. If he had known this before, he could have made some arrangements. Now there are only three months left before the opening ceremony, and donations are definitely more meaningful than buying them with his own money, not to mention there is also a supporting movie. Wu Mingxuan has really taken every detail into consideration, which is really not easy.

Every minute and every second of the Olympic Opening Ceremony was meticulously planned, and the donation ceremony couldn’t wait until filming was complete, so prior communication at this point in time was highly beneficial.

Wu Mingxuan’s donation also had its benefits. The recently announced Olympic theme song, "Beijing Welcomes You," immediately offered him several spots. With Wu Mingxuan leading the vocals, several artists under Wu Mingxuan’s management would occupy key positions, receiving more camera time than their peers. This was a truly remarkable opportunity.

Naturally, Wu Mingxuan wouldn’t refuse such an offer, even joining the 78-person cast. After recording the theme song, he and the crew officially headed to Hong Kong and Taiwan for pre-production.

Filming for "The Chinese Zodiac" primarily took place outside mainland China, with a significant portion of footage shot overseas, including locations such as Paris, Beijing, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, and Latvia. Pre-production preparation and set design alone took over six months, and with over three months of post-production, it was a true Hollywood blockbuster.

The plot is simple: Jackie Chan’s character, Jack, searches for the last six missing animal heads from the "Old Summer Palace" zodiac in order to claim a substantial prize offered by international antiquities dealer Lawrence.

During their treasure hunt, they encountered a series of thrilling situations, each one resolved by Jack. After retrieving the beast head, Jack was moved by the patriotism of Professor Guan and his daughter. Always a money-shy man, Jack gave up his money at the last minute and instead helped Coco save the national treasure, ultimately returning the recovered beast head to China.

Because the original film was filmed in 2011, by which time the Rat and Rabbit heads had already been discovered and purchased for a large sum, the four heads were set.

Wu Mingxuan’s version features six bronze heads, but the rat and rabbit heads are based on the original timeline. During the excitement leading up to the Olympics, France’s largest auction house, Jardim, suddenly pulled out the two bronze heads, intending to sell them at a high price.

This undoubtedly offended the Chinese people, so Jackie Chan and his team decided to switch the originals, replacing them with counterfeit ones, embarrass Jardim and create a huge joke.

These were the first two to succeed, setting the stage for the subsequent reversal. Although these art film thieves were motivated by money, they fundamentally shared a deep sense of national identity and a deep sympathy for their nation, which made the final reversal more plausible and less abrupt.

After wrapping filming for "Beijing Welcomes You" on May 9th, Wu Mingxuan and the crew headed to Hong Kong for the first phase of filming, avoiding the 5.12 earthquake. However, immediately after the quake, he donated 30 million yuan to charity, both in his own name and on behalf of Perfect World.

With director Wu Mingxuan leading the way, and such a generous donation, it was natural for others to follow suit and donate a significant amount. However, the one who surprised Wu Mingxuan the most was Kelly Chen, who actually donated 5 million yuan. No wonder many people describe her as the "female Louis Koo"; she truly has a kind heart.