The world premiere of “3200 Miles” was broadcast live globally. To accommodate the large number of media reporters, the entire first floor of the Hollywood Chinese Theater was arranged for media seating, with regular seating only on the second floor.

As early as last month, this immensely costly film had already won several awards at the London Film Festival, including Best Visual Effects and Best Action Film. After the festival, countless moviegoers who had seen the film gave it extremely high praise online, and many professional film critics were commissioned by magazines and newspapers to write reviews for it.

Audience score: 9.7 points!

Professional score: 8.6 points!

An 8.6 score for Rong Xu’s previous films wasn’t actually very high. 

“3200 Miles” had excellent audience reception, but professional film critics had quite a few reservations, and many critics did not hesitate to criticize the film.

However, Rong Xu rarely received such low professional ratings, but for director Clemens, this was the highest preview score in his more than ten-year directing career!

It is well-known that Clemens Holt is a director with extremely high commercial value. 

“Extremely high commercial value” means that every one of Clemens’s films is a box office hit, making a lot of money. Every film by this director is full of visual impact, a typical Hollywood commercial film, and corresponding to his high box office, there are usually super low reviews from film critics.

In Clemens’s early films, critics wished they could scold him into the ground and make him never direct again, but audiences loved them. 

For example, his first film received an audience score of 9.1 points, but the professional score was surprisingly only 3.9 points! Afterwards, this director slowly improved, and his reviews among critics also became slightly higher, but a preview score exceeding 8 points was absolutely the first time, and it directly reached 8.6 points.

The Sun: “Clemens Holt finally understands the connotation of art, no longer solely using explosions, car chases, and special effects to create purely visual effects films. The progress in humanistic spirit gives ‘3200 Miles’ depth and investigative meaning. Although the exploration is not deep enough, for Clemens, it is already too surprising.”

The Times: “Racial discrimination, adolescent growth. Thank God, in Clemens Holt’s eyes, there is finally something other than stunts.”

The Hollywood Reporter: “A rare surprise, a clash between Hollywood’s commercial model and a young Chinese actor. This is no longer a simple popcorn movie. When Roy is left alone staring at the starry sky, it is as if Nietzsche said, ‘When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.’ What Roy sees is himself, who has endured hardships but cannot turn back, and what looks back at him is this pathological and ugly world.”

Upon learning of the final score, Clemens himself was astonished. 

Then, the next second, he directly told the producer: “This is a gimmick. Use those critics to promote ‘3200 Miles.’ Anyway, they’ve been scolding me for so many years; now it’s time for them to compensate me, so let them promote me!” In Clemens’s eyes, he didn’t care what those critics said about him; his films always had high box office, always made big money, and audience reviews were also quite high.

Let the critics scold as they please; he made money, and the audience liked him. So, this time, the critics’ score was a promotional point for Clemens, and the promotional effect was quite good.

At the premiere, the world’s attention was fully focused. This night belonged to “3200 Miles.” The director was Clemens Holt, the male lead was Rong Xu, and the female lead was Jennifer Strong.

Reporters’ questions were all concentrated on these three, especially on Rong Xu.

Twenty years old! He was only twenty years old. This age, even within the long river of global entertainment culture, was far too young.

Indeed, due to film needs, many younger stars have starred in numerous classic films, but every reporter present knew: this Chinese actor’s success was certainly not merely due to film needs; he also had two starring films that grossed over ten billion yuan!

In all the audience reviews, the names Rong Xu and Roy appeared the most frequently; Jennifer was completely incomparable to this male lead. Facing the reporters’ frenzied questions, Rong Xu remained calm and composed, answering with a smile.

“I felt extremely honored to collaborate with Clemens and Jennifer. Initially, when I auditioned, I was still hesitant about whether I could portray a sixteen-year-old boy at my age.”

As these words fell, Rong Xu smiled wryly, and the entire hall burst into laughter. Indeed, Rong Xu was almost twenty-one this year, while Roy was only sixteen in the script. 

But media reporters who had seen the preview knew that throughout the film, this Chinese actor looked like a genuine young boy, with a touch more childishness and awkwardness than he did at the premiere. This was due to his acting, indicating that for this actor, portraying a young person was effortless.

“Roy, in essence, is not a good person; he is just an ordinary person. Human nature is the most complex thing. This film was an attempt for Clemens and an exploration for me. It was my first time working with Clemens, and I suffered a lot in the action scenes. Clemens is a very strict director, extremely meticulous with every detail…”

Rong Xu’s voice was not loud or resonant, but it was elegant and serene, slowly flowing through the vast theater. He spoke with a smile, and all the reporters, critics, and audience members below the stage listened patiently, not feeling impatient at all; instead, their mood slowly calmed down.

Despite facing the world’s scrutiny for the first time, he remained poised, commanding the entire venue. 

Rong Xu’s performance at the premiere greatly surprised Clemens and Jennifer. This film was primarily centered on Rong Xu, with Jennifer as a supporting character. Moreover, to gain box office success in Huaxia, Clemens had spared no effort in promoting Rong Xu, making him a focal point. 

However, even Clemens didn’t expect Rong Xu to withstand such immense pressure and perform so well.

Finally, the premiere ended, and all the crew members sat in the audience, waiting for the film to begin. It wasn’t until the short film before the main feature began that Clemens said calmly, “We’ll collaborate again, Rong Xu.”

Suddenly hearing this, Rong Xu was slightly startled, then smiled: “We’ll collaborate again.” 

Indeed, the moment “3200 Miles” officially premiered worldwide, their collaboration was complete. Even if there would be some promotions and roadshows later, the film had already been presented to every audience member, and the outcome was largely set.

Before the premiere, Rong Xu had already seen the film. Now, he watched the movie screen with a composed expression, but involuntarily thought: Collaborate with Clemens Holt again? What expression would the other party have if he knew that he might be collaborating with Mr. Holt Sr. next year?

Rong Xu smiled without speaking. For the “3200 Miles” crew, they had all seen the film and no longer felt the initial shock. But for many reporters and audience members present, they initially intended to carefully look for news points, but gradually, they became completely immersed in the film’s atmosphere.

Intense and thrilling gunfights and car chases, handsome men and beautiful women, vast and magnificent plains and night skies! Clemens Holt’s forte, visual impact, was brought directly to every audience member within the first five minutes of the film. It was exhilarating, sending shivers down their spines, accompanied by a soundtrack performed by a renowned symphony orchestra, making the audience’s blood boil!

The story of “3200 Miles” is quite simple: a kidnapper holds a hostage and flees across the country. It’s a very typical road movie. In the end, the villain is brought to justice and receives legal punishment.

As soon as the movie ended, countless audience members excitedly posted their thoughts on the film on their social media accounts.

[Awesome! Clemens-style awesome! Rong Xu looks great! Jennifer actually only had a little bit of action until the very end, that’s incredible!]

[This movie is so interesting, oh my gosh, Rong Xu looks as beautiful as an elf when he looks up at the stars!]

In Huaxia, when many moviegoers emerged from the cinemas, their reactions were much stronger than those of foreign audiences.

[Amazing! So amazing! I’m coming for a second rewatch tomorrow!]

[Rong Rong is so beautiful, ahhh! Even though Rong Rong played a bad guy this time, I don’t know why I feel especially sorry for him. He seems so lonely. He was discriminated against and oppressed by his companions before, and he didn’t even want to participate in the robbery himself, but in the end, only he was left, and Jennifer was actually a policewoman! My heart aches for Rong Rong QAQ!]

[Rong Rong collaborating with Clemens Holt was absolutely the right choice ahhh! He filmed Rong Rong so beautifully! Rong Rong’s action scenes are just too cool, those long legs, that cold gaze! Awww awww, I’m dying, I’m dying, I’m dying!]

On its first day of release, “3200 Miles” grossed 860 million globally! This was over 300 million higher than “Zhuang Hua Luo”! Of course, “Zhuang Hua Luo” only premiered in Huaxia at the time and was not simultaneously released worldwide, but everyone knew that the box office for “3200 Miles” would definitely not be lower than “Zhuang Hua Luo.”

“Zhuang Hua Luo” was a Wuxia film. Even though Chinese culture has now permeated the West, Westerners still cannot fully understand Chinese Wuxia culture. 

But “3200 Miles” is different. Fans from any country can appreciate this film; there are no barriers, and it’s already a big commercial film. If the box office isn’t high, it would completely tarnish director Clemens’s reputation. What’s more, the lead actor of this film, Rong Xu, has two films that have grossed over ten billion!

[I wonder how much Rong Rong’s box office will be this time, it’s Clemens after all. How much will Rong Rong and Clemens’s collaboration gross?]

[I don’t know either, but I’m going for a third rewatch tomorrow! Rong Rong is too beautiful! Please, let the movie DVD be released soon, I want the DVD, I want the DVD, I want the DVD! Ahhh, I want to get the DVD quickly so I can take screenshots!]

“3200 Miles” continued its theatrical run, and the cast and crew began their final wave of promotions. This time, Clemens only selected five cities: New York (USA), London (UK), Paris (France), Tokyo (Japan), and Beijing (Huaxia).

Everywhere the crew went, they were overwhelmed by frenzied fans. Just half a month ago, when Rong Xu visited these cities outside of Huaxia, he had many fans, but not as many as Jennifer. But now, when he returned, the overwhelming “Rong” LED light boards in the audience, completely eclipsed Jennifer’s name, becoming the most eye-catching presence in the entire venue.

Jennifer chuckled backstage: “Rong, the power of a movie is truly terrifying.”

Rong Xu smiled faintly: “Jennifer, after all, this is the promotional event for ‘3200 Miles.'”

Rong Xu’s implication was that this was the home ground for the movie “3200 Miles,” which was why he had so many fans present. Because most of the audience members present had already seen the film and became his fans because of it, this was only natural. However, listening to Rong Xu’s words, Jennifer shook her head and said no more.

Although most of the audience were fans of “3200 Miles,” it was understandable that they would fall in love with the male lead. However, this was Rong Xu’s first major international co-production. To achieve such success in his global debut, was it still “only natural”?

The enthusiasm of the fans reached its peak when Rong Xu returned to Beijing. At the Beijing promotional event for “3200 Miles,” Clemens and Jennifer both widened their eyes, looking at Rong Xu with expressions of shock. 

They had come to Huaxia for promotions before, but they had never seen Chinese fans act so wildly. While “wild” it was not undisciplined; once the promotional event officially began, fans quietly sat in the audience holding their support light boards, very polite.

However, just the flower baskets and support items lined up outside the venue, reaching the street entrance, were enough to shock the two foreign friends.

During a break, Clemens secretly ran outside the venue and began counting the support items sent by Rong Xu’s fans. The fan support items weren’t just simple flower baskets; there were also various merchandise related to the “3200 Miles” film, such as a model of the car the male and female leads escaped in, which fans had made and displayed outside the venue! He had seen fan support before, but never anything like this! Clemens Holt experienced a strong mental shock in Huaxia today.

When this promotional event ended, the “3200 Miles” crew officially disbanded. Rong Xu remained in Huaxia, while Clemens and Jennifer returned to the States. At this moment, the film had been released for twelve days and had grossed 8.7 billion yuan at the box office! Although the daily box office for “3200 Miles” had begun to slowly decline in the past three days, breaking the ten billion mark was definitely not an issue.

After finishing the film’s promotions, Rong Xu finally had time to check on his album’s status. “Rong Yan” had been released for over twenty days, and its sales had already surpassed a million, now accumulating 1.16 million copies! This sales figure was tens of thousands less than Rong Xu’s previous single CD, “Lost Wings,” but now, while “Lost Wings” had daily sales of mostly four digits, “Rong Yan”‘s daily sales were still steadily increasing! Soon, “Rong Yan”‘s sales would definitely surpass “Lost Wings.”

In the most recent month, it was both “Rong Yan” and “3200 Miles.” With so many works, Rong Xu’s fans were naturally both happy and helpless. Happy that they could see their Rong Rong in so many places, and could crazily gush over him; helpless because…

[My wallet is so flat QAQ I’ve watched ‘3200 Miles’ ten times recently, and also bought three copies of ‘Rong Yan.’ But Rong Rong is so beautiful, every time I finish watching the movie, I can’t help but want to watch it again. What should I do, Mom, I can’t control my hands ahhh!]

[Me too (:з」∠) Every time I go shopping, as soon as I see the ‘Rong Yan’ album, I can’t walk away. Then when I come back to my senses, I’ve already bought another album!]

[When you talk about ‘Rong Yan,’ I remember the fifteen thousand albums Orange Goddess bought. She’s simply too rich!]

[Oh right, now that you mention it, I just remembered, it’s been several days since we’ve seen Orange Goddess. I thought she would post the fifteen thousand copies like before, why no news this time?]

When someone mentioned it, all of Rong Xu’s fans suddenly remembered—

[It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the rich and beautiful goddess?]

Thinking this, everyone quickly went to check the Lotus Paste Orange Filling Weibo. Upon opening it, before they even had time to search for the rumored fifteen thousand album repo pictures, they saw Lotus Paste Orange Filling’s first Weibo post and all simultaneously froze, then…

[Ahhh ahhh ahhh I’m sick, I’m sick, I’m sick!!! Why did I click on this Weibo, my 24K titanium alloy dog eyes! Cold icy rain randomly hitting the dog, I’m not eating this dog food! I’m not eating it! I’m not eating it!]

On the Lotus Paste Orange Filling Weibo homepage, a pinned post had appeared at some unknown time.

[Lotus Paste Orange Filling: Love Lotus Paste love Lotus Paste love Lotus Paste! Lotus Paste, did you see baby confess to you~ Smooch smooch smooch smooch =3=]

…Why hasn’t there been any news from Lotus Paste Orange Filling recently? Because she stopped showing off her wealth and started showing off her relationship instead!!!