Chapter 170 With MJ's retirement, the league will return to the center era

(Today I will post a 10,000-word chapter. I can’t get any higher, so I’ll try to make it a quality product. Please subscribe. The rest will remain the same, two chapters.)
On the 15th, because they felt that He Zhongqiu had more explosiveness and faster speed, the coaching staff gave He Zhongqiu a simple physical test.

His vertical jump increased from 88 cm to 93 cm, an increase of 5 cm.

What has been increased more is the running jump, which was 101 cm before and now is 109 cm, an increase of 8 cm.

For a center who weighs 117 kilograms and is 211 centimeters tall, this jumping ability is extremely terrifying.

After testing the jumping ability, head trainer Holmes Lester was stunned for a few seconds and shook his head, saying, "Wolverine, you are not a human being at all."

In terms of movement speed, he now has a speed of 71, agility of 82, flexibility of 81, balance of 85, and reaction speed of 90, coupled with a terrifying explosive power of 97. This makes him not only more agile than before in the three-quarter court and baseline backrun, but also a level faster, truly reaching the speed of a small forward.

Especially his first step, driven by terrifying explosive power, it was as if his feet were equipped with running blocks, it was very fast.

With this kind of explosive power, coupled with his long strides and short-distance sprinting within 30 meters, he is no weaker than a speed-type guard. In the team's training games, he can keep up with Nash's fast break speed.

Rick Carlisle and Thibodeau, along with assistant coaches Ewing and Herb Williams, and all the players, also watched the test.

Nash exclaimed: "Wolverine, even O'Neal's athletic ability is probably not as good as yours."

Wilton said, "It's a monster."

The players were talking at once, and Carlisle and several other coaches were also discussing on the side.

"The speed is faster, and I think we can add more fast break tactics. Now that we have Nash, we have the foundation for fast break tactics," said Herb Williams.

"On the defensive end, he can expand his defensive area to the three-point line," Thibodeau said.

"His post-up game is much better than before, whether it's post-up or facing the basket, and his close-range attacking ability is much better," Ewing said.

I think we can increase his shots, mainly increasing the percentage of shots near two points, so that he can increase his points while not expending more energy than before."

"Although his physical fitness is better than last season, I think we still need to control his playing time. He must invest more on the defensive end this season," Thibodeau said.

Rick Carlisle didn't say much as he carefully considered the suggestions of his assistants.

He Zhongqiu took a look at the system panel during his break. Due to the improvement in his jumping ability, his blocking ability had been upgraded to level 90. His explosive power had increased by 3 levels last time, and this time it was increased by levels.

On the 18th, the Knicks' preseason game ended, and the league's official training camp kicked off, with each team entering the final training period.

Rick Carlisle is a coach who focuses on defense. He built a strong defensive system in the Pistons and continued this after coming to the Knicks.

He and Thibodeau work very well together, and both demand a lot from the players on the defensive end.

This makes Nash very painful. It's not that he doesn't try hard to defend, but he really has no defensive talent.

Because of the existence of Nash, the defensive black hole, the only way to make up for it is with the defensive system. Carlisle and Thibodeau began to build a defensive system in the Knicks.

Mutombo's injury recovery is okay, but after this period of games and training, his physical condition is still impossible to return to before.

He can only play a little over 20 minutes per game, but during this time, his defense and rebounding are guaranteed, averaging 5 points, 7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

After consideration, Carlisle decided to let Mutombo be the first substitute for He Zhongqiu.

The defensive core of the team is He Zhongqiu, who is needed to strengthen the defense on the outside, and the main defensive point is Nash.

The coaching staff is not unaware that He Zhongqiu’s ability to assist and defend is not very good, but precisely because of this, he needs more training.

They believe that He Zhongqiu has stronger athletic ability than Garnett, including lateral speed, and his physical condition is also excellent.

Therefore, he is capable of doing what Garnett did on the defensive end. The reason why his assist and backup defense abilities are not up to Garnett's level now is simply because his defensive tactical abilities are not good enough.

In the future, as long as He Zhongqiu's defensive tactical ability is improved, his ability to assist and defend will definitely be improved.

The power forward position is very weak and the starting lineup is not fixed. The rotation will depend on the performance and status of several inside players.

Rick Carlisle and Thibodeau are still under a lot of pressure, mainly on the defensive end.

On the offensive end, He Zhongqiu + Nash + Alan Houston + Wells, this lineup has a terrifying scoring ability.

To be honest, Carlisle felt that this main lineup was a bit wasted on the offensive end and wanted to put Wells in the bench lineup as the sixth man.

He discussed this with He Zhongqiu, who also thought it was okay. The bench lineup really needed someone to score, and Wells was quite suitable to be a bench bandit.

Defensively, the four position is a problem, and then there's Nash.

The Knicks don't have a strong player at the power forward position. Harrington and Li Nailong have little offensive or defensive ability. Although McDyess has returned, his current form is not good and he can't provide much defensive energy.

It's difficult for three people to fill two positions.

So Rick Carlisle can only hope that He Zhongqiu plays longer. The longer he and Mutombo are on the court together, the better the Knicks' defense will be.

Of course, when facing a team of average strength or playing away in the Western Conference, Harrington, Li Nailong and others can play more.

The new season will start on October 10th, kicking off with training camp, and league officials and teams have also begun promotion.

On the 23rd, the Knicks held their media day for the new season, and hundreds of reporters and photographers were invited to attend.

There are nearly twenty reporters from China, many of whom are new faces, and many familiar faces from last season were not seen.

Basically, if you are married, it is impossible to go on business trips every year. If you do that, you won't be able to take care of your family, and your wife will definitely be dissatisfied.

Old acquaintances Zhou Biao and Lin Chengdu got married and stayed in the country, and sent new reporters over.

CCTV sent the young host Yu Jia, and the other one was Zhang Heli.

Zhang Heli is CCTV's special commentator and special reporter. He is familiar with the NBA and is single. He is the main focus here.

However, the two of them will be separated in the future, Zhang Heli and He Zhongqiu, Yu Jia and Dayao, each will be responsible for one, and then take care of Dazhi and Daba.

This season CCTV is still purchasing NBA satellite signals and does not have its own satellite channel, so no cameras are deployed to the front line.

However, CCTV has decided that next season it will purchase its own satellite channels and send photography teams to the front lines, and will no longer purchase satellite signals.

He Zhongqiu and a group of teammates worked together to take promotional photos for a whole morning. He was in the middle, with Alan Houston on the left, Nash on the right, and Mutombo behind him.

After lunch, there was a one-hour break and then the media question session began.

Zhang Heli and Yu Jia did not raise their hands to ask questions. They slept in He Zhongqiu's villa last night and all the questions that needed to be asked had been asked.

A New York Times reporter asked, "President Layden, the Knicks made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, so what is your goal this season?"

Layden pondered and said, "The team's first goal is to enter the playoffs, and our second goal is to enter the second round. As for whether we can make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, you know, that depends on luck."

"So has Wolverine officially replaced Alan Houston and become the new core?" the reporter asked again.

Last season, neither Leiden, other management, nor He Zhongqiu himself officially acknowledged it, but this time Leiden did not deny it again, but nodded immediately:
"Yes, we think it's time. The era of Jordan is over. The era of centers will surely return. The Knicks have welcomed a new leader, he is Wolverine. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival."

buzzing.

The reporters below made quite a bit of noise.

At this time, the microphone was handed to the second reporter who asked the question, a frontline reporter from Xinhua News Agency, who asked: "Zhongqiu, the Knicks' lineup has been strengthened this season. What weaknesses do you think this lineup still has?"

He Zhongqiu said: "It's mainly about defense. We have a new head coach, three main players have been replaced, and the defense of two positions can't keep up. The coaching staff said they want to build a new defensive system, and we have just started to run in."

Nash felt a little ashamed when he heard this.

"How long does it take to get used to each other?" the reporter asked.

He Zhongqiu thought for a moment and said, "The coach said that if everything goes well, it will last at least one or two seasons."

It's difficult to discuss this issue in detail. Because of the defensive capabilities of the players themselves, the No. 1 and No. 4 positions must rely on the system to make up for it. Talking too much will hurt teammates.

He is the core force responsible for assisting and backing up on defense, and the coaching staff hopes that he can reach Garnett's level of forming his own system on the defensive end within a few seasons.

This task is heavy, but as his athletic ability continues to improve, he is still confident.

Greenfeldon has given him a training plan for the regular season, and he will improve step by step. His proficiency in the system will ensure that his training will be transformed into strength.

The first is physical training, which needs to continue.

The second is low-post offensive technique.

The third is to shoot off the bank.

Fourth is defensive technique.

In addition, the improvement of offensive and defensive tactics depends on training games and competitions, and the speed of improvement is also very fast. After this season, it is estimated that we will be able to reach a first-class technical and tactical level.

At this time, the ESPN reporter asked: "Wolverine, in the new season that is about to begin, as the boss of the team, where do you hope to take the Knicks?"

"high?"

He Zhongqiu muttered for a while, then said: "Besides the finals and the championship, do we have any other heights?"

"It took Ewing 16 years to bring us to that level. Wolverine, do you think you can do it?" a local New York reporter shouted.

Patrick Ewing was present as an assistant coach. When he heard this, he couldn't help but sigh and lowered his head.

"Sir, please pay attention to the order of questioning. It is not your turn yet."

The host, Miss Orvis, the Knicks' public relations manager, immediately reminded loudly.

"Feel sorry."

The local reporter quickly explained: "I'm not picking on Wolverine, really, he's actually very good.

But Patrick was better as a rookie, and we were disappointed for 16 years."

He Zhongqiu nodded in understanding. He thought for a moment and said, "I can't promise you anything. Fortunately, Michael Jordan is no longer in the East. My luck should be better than Patrick's."

"Haha."

Everyone in the hall started laughing, and the atmosphere suddenly became a lot more relaxed; even Ewing started laughing.

The next questioner was from a TNT reporter. He asked, "Wolverine, Blade 3 has been filmed and is now in post-editing. Your trailer is very popular. So how much do you think Blade 3 will do in North America?"

He Zhongqiu turned around in surprise and asked, "Ms. Ovis, why did you invite an entertainment reporter to participate in our media day?"

"Haha."

The hall burst into laughter again.

The TNT guy smiled and explained, "No, Wolverine, I'm the NBA reporter for TNT, really."

"So you're off topic. I'll give you a chance and ask again," said He Zhongqiu.

"OK."

The reporter nodded in gratitude and asked, "Wolverine, I heard that when you were playing in Japan during the preseason, you dated four Japanese female stars every night. I want to know, can your body handle it?"

"You're off topic again. I'm sure you're just an entertainment reporter disguised as a sports reporter." He Zhongqiu shouted.

"Haha."

The hall was filled with laughter.

He Zhongqiu said seriously: "Let me make it clear that those rumors are all fabricated by the Japanese media. I really just had tea with them and talked about acting. After all, we are in the same industry."

After completing the work on the media day, he left with a group of Chinese reporters and went to find a place to eat and drink with them.

At this time, it was also media day at the Pacers headquarters.

Although the Pacers chose to rebuild and put all their players on the market, they did not actually sell all of them.

For example, Jermaine O'Neal stayed with the Pacers because the bargaining chips were not negotiated several times and Larry Bird was reluctant to let him go.

Dazhi was also among them. In the preseason, he averaged 25 minutes of playing time per game, with good statistics of 11 points and 3.9 rebounds.

Larry Bird, who was originally a small forward, did not reject his soft style of play, but asked him to improve his rebounding efforts, otherwise his playing time could not be guaranteed.

No. 25, NBA League Headquarters.

The headquarters has received promotional photos from various teams, all of which are the signature stars of each team. David Stern has to decide how much promotional resources to give to these stars.

When he saw He Zhongqiu's name, he frowned.

He noticed that the media has been full of Wolverine's scandals recently. After playing two preseason games in Japan, rumors were flying everywhere, such as one-on-four and underage. It was terrible.

He thought this was not a good thing, but fortunately the media did not take any photos and it was just hype.

Moreover, Wolverine has not had any scandals in the United States. At most, he dated Anne Hathaway for a period of time, but that's nothing. Wolverine doesn't date women at all, so he would be more worried.

After some consideration, he finally decided to list Wolverine as the star to be promoted this season.

The reasons for this decision are, first, Wolverine's own popularity and influence, second, his strength, third, the metropolis of New York, and fourth, Wolverine's backing of the huge Chinese market.

In addition, we still need to praise the four great shooting guards: Kobe, Vince Carter, McGrady, and Iverson.

Finally, he is optimistic about the No. 1 pick LeBron James.

This is a rookie with historical physical talent. He is looking forward to the growth of this No. 1 pick and has listed him as a key promotional target.

As for other stars, such as Tim Duncan who won the championship for the second time, forget it. His smile is scary and his popularity is not as good as the retired Rodman, let alone Wolverine.

After he made the decision, the alliance's publicity machine started moving.

As the new season approaches, news about the NBA is increasing rapidly. Major media outlets and some active and retired NBA stars have made various predictions and assessments about the new season.

ESPN divides the league's 29 teams into four levels: championship-level teams, playoff teams, playoff-edge teams, and tanking teams.

The only teams that have reached the championship level are the defending champion Spurs and the F4 giants Lakers, all of which are Western Conference teams.

It's not surprising that the Knicks were selected into the second tier of the playoffs.

TNT evaluated some strengthened teams, such as the Knicks who got Nash, and the Timberwolves who formed a Big Three lineup.

As TNT's top NBA commentator, Barkley said in an interview: "Although the Knicks have strengthened the No. 1 position, Nash's defense will be a weakness that the Knicks must worry about. At the same time, the loss of Kurt Thomas at the No. 4 position will weaken the low-post defensive energy.

Weak defense at the 1st and 4th positions will cause the Knicks' defensive system to not function properly, and the Knicks will still be one of the worst defensive teams in the league, just like last season.

Because of the weak defense, the team will not be able to get through the strong defensive teams like the Nets and Pistons in the playoffs, repeating the situation of losing the playoffs last season. "

In addition, Barkley also made an assessment of the entire Eastern Conference team, saying: "The Eastern Conference is still weaker than the Western Conference as a whole, and the main strong teams, the Nets and the Pistons, have not made strong reinforcements.

This will result in them not being able to compete sufficiently against the Western Conference powerhouses, whether it be the Spurs, the Big Four Lakers, or the Kings and Mavericks, once they reach the finals.

Magic Johnson also accepted media interviews, and he mainly talked about the Lakers and the Timberwolves.

"The Lakers have an extremely strong lineup, and I am full of expectations for this season. As long as we can solve our internal problems, we will usher in the best results."

"I'm optimistic about the Timberwolves. They have added the madman Sprewell and the alien Cassell, forming one of the most powerful guard organizations in the league. With Garnett, it's a Big Three lineup."

The new season will begin on October 10th.

That afternoon, because his proficiency in the Five Elements Boxing was almost reaching three thousand, He Zhongqiu practiced the Five Elements Boxing for more than two hours.

At almost five o'clock, as the last proficiency was obtained, the Five Elements Fist was upgraded. "Xingyiquan's Five Elements Fist was upgraded to level 3."

"Xingyiquan has been upgraded to level 3."

"Explosive power +1, Qi and blood +2, tendons and bones +2, flexibility +2, speed +3, agility +2."

Several system prompts flashed before his eyes, and he opened the panel to look at his quality information.

93. Quality: Average
Strength 96, Physical Fitness 92, Agility 84, Speed ​​74, Flexibility 83, Balance 85, Reaction 90, Will 96, Vision 90, Spatial Sense 95, Explosive Power 98, Muscles 118, Qi and Blood 118
"118's bones, muscles and blood, hehe, hehe!"

"774 speed, this is comparable to the speed of those first-class small forwards with speed, right? Then my ability to run fast breaks and assist in defense will be even stronger."

"With a strength of 96 and an explosive power of 98, I can knock the Great Shark over now, right? Unfortunately, he is one year older and his degeneration is even faster. I will never meet the Great Shark in his prime in this lifetime."

After taking a look and sighing, he turned off the panel.

The improvement in these qualities did not happen all at once, but was accumulated slowly. The muscles, bones, qi and blood are not obvious yet, but the improvement in speed was noticed before.

In addition, after the last upgrade of his physical fitness, he has accumulated more than a thousand proficiency points. He will definitely be able to upgrade to another level during the season. By the time the playoffs come, his physical fitness will not be as much of a problem for him as last time.

This is an improvement in quality. Another month has passed since the Asian Championships. With uninterrupted training, some techniques have been improved.

85的低位面筐到了88级，75的低位背打到了78级，90的低位步伐到了91级，92的篮下单打到了93级，篮下破包夹能力82级，92的打板投篮到了93级。

The improvement of offensive technology has raised the close-range attack ability from 85 to 86, getting closer and closer to the first-class level.

But it is becoming increasingly difficult to improve, because his finishing methods in the close shooting area are very limited, and he can only use rebounds. His hook shots and floaters are too poor and he rarely practices them.

He did have time when he was making the training plan before, but when it came to actually executing it, he still didn't have time. After all, he is not a machine, and in addition to basketball, his life also takes up part of his time.

92 points in attacking under the basket and 86 points in close shooting attack, this shows that his comprehensive offensive ability in the restricted area has no obvious shortcomings and has reached or is close to first-class level.

"If you want to improve your 92-level basket offense to 95 or above, you probably need to improve your ability to break through double-teams at the basket, which means you need to be super dominant at the basket like O'Neal."

The reason for this consideration is that his one-on-one play and footwork under the basket have improved, but his offensive strength under the basket has not increased, so he thinks it is due to his lack of ability to break double-teams.

In terms of defensive skills, the assist and backup defense of 63 has reached level 65. This is without any special training, but has improved as the quality has improved.

He did not have much time and energy to practice defensive techniques during the offseason, so he could only do it during the season.

2003年10月28号，NBA联盟2003/04赛季，正式拉开了帷幕。

However, the Knicks did not have a game that day, and the league only arranged three opening games: the Mavericks vs. the Lakers, the Heat vs. the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Suns vs. the Spurs.

On this day, New Line Cinema, the producer of Blade 3, also very cleverly released a wave of trailers and posters.

One of the posters is a solo promotional poster for He Zhongqiu, with his upper body naked, revealing half of his muscular body, his hands like hooks, and his eyes like knives. Even though it is just a poster, it is full of powerful oppression.

The photographer took a good picture and the poster was very shocking. It was well received as soon as it was released to the market. Many fans lined up on the streets to buy it, and the number of clicks on the Internet reached five million in just one day.

"Not bad, the effect of showing off your body for the first time is not bad."

He Zhongqiu looked at the reactions online and felt somewhat complacent and pleased with himself.

That night, the Lakers faced the Mavericks at home.

This was also the most watched game among the three opening games, and he watched it.

The F4 Lakers are called the Four-Star Lakers by the media. The media generally believes that the Lakers will regain the championship this season. Because they are in Los Angeles, they are also the most watched team in the league, even the Knicks cannot compare to them.

In the end, the Lakers lived up to expectations and won the new season at home.

But only F3 participated in this game, including O'Neal, Karl Malone, Gary Payton, but Kobe was missing because he went to Eagle County to appear in court.

加里佩顿是湖人今晚的得分王，打了36分钟，20投10中，轰下21分7篮板9助攻2抢断1盖帽，扛着湖人赢得了开门红。

O'Neal and Malone scored 16 and 15 points respectively, and their performances were average and lacked any star quality.

After the game, I was so tired that I regretted wearing gloves.

Among all the players, he had the second most playing time, only one minute less than Fisher. He was here to cling to the thighs, not to be the thighs.

After watching the game, He Zhongqiu felt that the F3 Lakers were just so-so.

O'Neal is still fat, and it can be seen that his physical condition continues to decline. His strength is definitely not as good as last season.

As for the Mailman Karl Malone, he only played for 29 minutes due to a knee injury. He is no longer the iron mailman he used to be.

The Knicks' opening game is on the 29th, at home against the Magic.

The game was broadcast live across the United States by TNT commentators Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, not live but from a studio.

This season, the Knicks' regional television broadcaster is still ABC, and the live commentators are Bingo Boris and Harry Coster.

In addition, CCTV also broadcast the opening game live.

It just so happens that Mosaic's opening game is on the 30th, so they will not affect each other.

CCTV still purchases satellite signals, so it does not need to send its own photographers or rent satellite channels.

The live broadcast studio is located in the CCTV headquarters in Yanjing. The commentators are Sun Zhenping and Yang Jian, and Xu Jicheng is the special guest.

In addition to CCTV, some local TV stations have also joined the NBA broadcast this time, and they also purchased satellite signals.

For example, Yanjing TV, Shaanxi TV, Yuedong TV and so on.

At 7:30, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Magic: Drew Gooden, Juwan Howard, Britton Johnson, McGrady, Tyronn Lue
Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Harrington, Bonzi Wells, Alan Houston, Nash
Although Rick Carlisle wanted to put Bonzi Wells on the bench, there was no suitable player at the starting small forward position.

Shandon Anderson is old, Witherspoon is not strong enough, and rookie Josh Howard has to play in the bench first to see his quality, so Wells has to play as a starter for the time being.

At this time, in a studio far away at TNT headquarters in Los Angeles, the live broadcast began.

After Charles Barkley received the list from the frontline reporter, he immediately read it out and said:

"In the playoffs last season, under the leadership of McGrady, the Magic were just one step away from a black eight. If the Pistons hadn't won three games in a row and crushed their morale, they might have been black eight.

During the offseason, the Magic added Juwan Howard, who still has some potential, and also brought in Tyronn Lue, which has strengthened their strength. "

"She's still pretty? Haha!"

Kenny Smith laughed and said: "But the lineup is still bad, Hill still hasn't returned, and compared with the Knicks, it's still not enough.

Of course, the Knicks' reinforcements are not that great. They have Nash, but they are missing low-post defender Kurt Thomas. Their defensive energy is not as good as last season. I'm afraid the Knicks' average points allowed per game this season will be at the bottom of the league."

Barkley smiled and said: "The victory or defeat of this game is not important, I don't care about that."

Kenny Smith cooperated and said, "Well, which one do you care about?"

Barkley said: "I only care about the performance of McGrady, the scoring champion, and Wolverine, who has become the new leader of the Knicks."

Kenny Smith suddenly said excitedly: "What I am most looking forward to now is actually the release of Blade 3."

"Oh!"

Barkley exclaimed, "From these clips, we can tell that spending $3 million to hire Wolverine for Blade 600 is a really profitable decision."

"Mr. Shay, I think the box office of Blade 3 may reach $2 million. We must complete the post-production as soon as possible, speed up the release of Blade 3, and increase marketing efforts."

At this time, in Los Angeles, at New Line Cinema, Blade 3's director Goyer excitedly said to the company's president Shay.

After the company was acquired by Time Warner Group in 93, Shay still owned a major stake in New Line, so he still had the independent operating rights of New Line and was still the boss of all New Line affairs.

Originally, Blade 3 was scheduled to be released in 04, but after the trailer was released, the scenes featuring Wolverine received a particularly good response online, which was somewhat beyond his expectations.

"Post-production has been going on for more than a month. Special effects production is very time-consuming and will take at least another three months. During this time, we will carry out publicity."

"Well, the marketing cost of 1 million dollars is certain. The trailer of Wolverine can save us a lot of marketing costs. Blade 2 and Blade have also accumulated a large number of fans. Our box office will be good."

He nodded and said excitedly, “Wolverine will probably shoot a second movie during the off-season, that’s for sure.

So, we should release it before then, otherwise the focus on him will be on his second movie and we will miss the best release opportunity.”

"I thought so too." Gao Ye said excitedly.

Shay was actually still a little worried because the media believed that the investment in the special effects production of Blade 3 was not enough, but the production cost was limited and he couldn't change it.

He is now even more looking forward to Wolverine's performance in Blade 3, because many shots of Wolverine are real and do not require special effects.

Madison Square Garden, the starting lineup is coming out.

The opening game not only attracted many Hollywood stars, but also a grand entrance ceremony was arranged.

Bang bang bang.

Amid the powerful music and the host's passionate voice, the players ran out one by one, and fireworks were shooting on both sides of the player channel.

"Now, please welcome the king of mid-range shots, Alan Houston!"

When it was the home team's turn, the host's voice became more and more passionate.

The first one to appear was the former leader and former core player Alan Houston. He ran out with a lost heart.

The second is Wells, the third is Nash, the fourth is Harrington, and the last one is the new core and leader of the Knicks, He Zhongqiu.

"Welcome the new leader of the Knicks, the captain on the court, the NBA's invincible dunker, the Hollywood action star, the Wolverine from China. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"

The host's passionate voice sounded.

"Oh ho!"

Madison Square Garden was suddenly boiling.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! I feel a little embarrassed. My movie hasn't even been released yet, so how come I've become a Hollywood action star?

"Hollywood action star? Haha!"

In Arcadia County, Los Angeles, inside Li Lianjie's castle-style mansion, he couldn't help but laugh when he heard the host's shout.

Li Zhi, who was breastfeeding her baby, said: "This Wolverine has really become a big hit in the U.S. this year. He made $6 million for his first supporting role in a movie. That's a very high starting point!
But it’s too early to call him a Hollywood action star, isn’t it? The movie hasn’t even been released yet, what if it flopped at the box office?”

Li Lianjie laughed and said, "We are all in the same industry, don't you understand? It's just media hype, don't take it seriously.

However, the quality of Blade 3 has been exposed by some media, who believe that it is not very good, the plot is not interesting, the special effects are not up to standard, and cannot keep up with the quality of the first two films.

"Hey, Ajie, do you think he has real kung fu? He tore the wardrobe apart with his bare hands, and it doesn't look like he was faking it." Lizhi asked.

Li Lianjie thought for a moment and said, "I asked Wu Jing when he came that day, and you heard it, so it shouldn't be fake.

He is different from me and Wu Jing. We practice martial arts routines, pure external martial arts, while he should have some folk inheritance.

I just don't know which school his Eagle Claw Kungfu came from. Shaolin has the powerful Eagle Claw Kungfu, Wudang also has the powerful Eagle Claw Kungfu, and Yue's Eagle Claw Kungfu, I heard they are all internal martial arts that cultivate both internal and external skills."

At this point, he shook his head and said, "Kung Fu is Kung Fu, and movies are movies. There are many people who know Kung Fu, but how many of them have become Kung Fu superstars?

He is too tall. Basketball is the best sport for him. Acting in movies is not suitable for him. "

Li Zhi's focus was obviously not on Kung Fu. He said with emotion, "Alas, when we were in Hong Kong, we were always bullied by them because we were from the mainland. Now look at this Wolverine. He is developing so smoothly in the United States."

Li Lianjie shook his head and said, "Have you forgotten about his fight? If he hadn't had Kung Fu skills, he would have been beaten to death or seriously injured that day during the Osaiko violence incident.

So don’t be fooled by his current success in the United States. In fact, he, like us, has fought hard for his future.”

"Ajie, how much do you think Blade 3 will be at the box office? Just counting the North American box office." Li Zhi asked.

Li Lianjie said: "Blade 1's global box office was 1.3 million, Blade 2.3 million, and Blade 3. It's hard to say.

The total number of clicks on He Zhongqiu's trailers has reached 200 million, far exceeding the main character's scenes. He is the biggest attraction of the film, overshadowing the main character.

Based on the current level of attention, if Blade 3 invests enough in publicity and gets good reviews after its release, I think the North American box office will be at least million US dollars, right?"

Li Zhi was surprised and asked, "Fifty million dollars, which is almost the same as the global box office of your Deadly Cradle? Is that true?"

Li Lianjie smiled and said, "If we can reach 1 million in North America, the overseas box office should also be able to reach to million US dollars. The global box office may even surpass Blade , which will definitely be considered a success."

"The first movie grossed over 100 million US dollars?" Li Zhi was stunned.

Li Lianjie smiled and said: "This is just an optimistic estimate. If it is not optimistic, it is hard to say. The box office is a very mysterious thing.

Many times, even if the actors perform well, the director shoots well, and the script is good, but the producer doesn’t edit it well, the movie will still flop.”

"He has a really high exposure. No matter which TV channel you watch, there's news about him. The Internet is full of news about him," Li Zhi said enviously.

Li Lianjie shook his head and said, "He has made it in the NBA. There are 82 regular season games in the NBA, plus hundreds of playoff games, and he plays in New York.

His exposure opportunities are higher than any other Hollywood star. Even Hollywood's top stars have to look for exposure opportunities, but he doesn't.

Sports stars like him enter Hollywood with their own popularity and attention, and their own market. This is his advantage, and no one can compare to him. "

Having said that, he also felt a little depressed.

Because based on the current attention paid to Wolverine and Blade 3, it is likely that the North American box office will reach million.

He Zhongqiu's success is just around the corner, and although his own Fatal Cradle this year was not a failure and won the box office championship in the first week, it was not as good as the previous two films and the box office declined.

This movie imitated Rush Hour and used two Chinese and American male protagonists to please the American market. Unfortunately, it was not very successful. With an investment of more than 20 million US dollars, the global box office was only more than 50 million.

But he is still pretty good. His movies performed well in the DVD and PPV markets, and his boss never lost money. There was no problem with how much profit he made. However, the two Hollywood movies made by Chenglong this year were not as good as his.

The Shanghai Noon, which cost $5000 million to invest, only grossed $8800 million worldwide. The Dragon Reborn, which cost $4100 million to invest, only grossed $3400 million worldwide, a huge loss.

But they are not the worst off. The worst off is Zhou Yunfa.

Zhou Yunfa had a huge success with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and thought he could break into Hollywood. However, he did not receive any Hollywood film offers for two years until 02, when he played the bulletproof monk in Wu Yusen's film.

This movie, like him, also borrows from Rise of the Dragon and has a dual Chinese and American male protagonists. Unfortunately, it has the same fate as his Fatal Cradle, and is even worse than his.

With an investment of 5200 million US dollars, the North American box office was only over million, and the global box office was less than million US dollars. Just like Jackie Chan's "Back to the Past", MGM suffered a huge loss. Add to that the tens of millions in publicity and promotion expenses, and the loss is huge, which may even lead to MGM's bankruptcy.

With this movie, Zhou Yunfa lost the best opportunity and successfully withdrew from Hollywood.

The box office decline of Deadly Cradle had a huge impact on him. He hasn't received any offers for big productions in the past few months, and the few he had were only small productions, with a lot less pay.

So it's not just Zhou Yunfa, he also intends to shift his focus back to the Chinese film industry and plans to leave Hollywood temporarily.

As for Ricochet, it just finished filming Around the World in Eighty Days. Disney invested $1.1 million in this big production, and it is still in post-production. If it sells well at the box office, it will soar to the sky. But if it fails again, I am afraid it will return to Hong Kong like the two of them.

He felt that Wolverine was really lucky, as the box office of their movies had just declined and they were considering returning to the Chinese-language film industry, which freed up the market for kung fu films for him.

If Wolverine seizes the opportunity, he may succeed in taking the top position.

But unfortunately, Wolverine is multitasking and only makes one movie a year, which is too slow. As long as he and Riven have time to catch their breath, they should be able to regain this market share.

(End of this chapter)