Hearing Luke's reply, Mr. Aizen smiled, "You mean you'll let him have that cameo role, right?"
"Absolutely. For a working-class movie villain set in an urban background, he's the absolute best choice."
Mr. Aizen nodded, not saying much, and then changed the subject:
"Oh, by the way, flip to the next page. It has the response from the domestic and Japanese markets.
It looks like your last trip to Japan was a huge success. The Japanese market has been completely activated, and your popularity and buzz are also sky-high!"
Luke wasn't surprised by this.
When he took the three Kendo masters as his apprentices in Japan, the Japanese media went absolutely wild over the news.
Then, when he collaborated with Akira Toriyama on a manga, a lot of young people started paying attention to him.
So, the Japanese market was basically already his home turf.
As for the domestic market, the momentum from those two events had given him a huge boost in popularity.
Yuffie had already filled Luke in on all this over the phone.
In a way, Luke's name recognition was beginning to fully cover the world's major economies and most populous nations.
Hmm... maybe with the exception of one mysterious, overly self-confident superpower.
Luke kept flipping through the box office summary. He wanted to see the specific comments from the Japanese mainstream media, as that would be key to Hero's success in the world's second-largest movie market.
"The undisputed 'Sword God,' Master Luke. When you see his fight scenes in Hero, you'll know that no amount of praise is too much." — Asahi Shimbun Review.
"If someone doesn't think Hero is great, they must have zero aesthetic sense. This is a movie of ultimate beauty, and Master Luke is what made it that!" — Mainichi Shimbun Review.
"It's said that the three Kendo grandmasters decided to personally seek instruction from Master Luke only after seeing the promotional clips of the duels in Hero. In that sense, Hero is the perfect matchmaker, and we should support this film even more!" — Yomiuri Shimbun Review.
The three major Japanese newspapers all gave the film rave reviews.
However, unlike the American mainstream media, the focus in Japan was much more heavily on Luke himself.
Next up was the China market . Luke glanced at the reports.
The coverage mostly focused on the massive media attention he was receiving, mainly promoting him as an star who had made it big in Hollywood and was hugely popular in Japan.
The goal of these reports was to tap into a sense of national pride to get readers excited.
Beyond that, the media's focus was still mostly on director Zhang Mo.
That was understandable; Luke's fame in China was still on the rise. He'd need a few more movies before he could be recognized as a national action superstar by the public at large.
"How does it feel? This is your first movie where you are truly the leading man," Mr. Aizen asked.
He wasn't wrong.
While Luke had the most screen time in Jurassic Park 3, the main selling point of that series was still the dinosaurs.
Hero was indeed the first movie to hit theaters where he was the undisputed lead.
In the original Hero script, the main protagonist was probably Nameless, played by Jet Li.
But after the script was adjusted, the real core became Broken Sword (Can Jian).
The dialogue between Nameless and the King of Qin in the great hall was essentially all about telling Broken Sword's story.
They both set the stage for Broken Sword's drama.
The King of Qin is a hero—he has the world in his heart and wants to unite all six states.
Nameless is also a hero—he deeply loves his country and charges forward without hesitation.
But Broken Sword is the most complex and profound hero in the film because he is forced to betray his own people for an ideal.
He is the most tormented person, a man who abandoned his country and his lover for the sake of the common people.
There was actually a line during filming that was cut from the official release.
Nameless asks Broken Sword: Why didn't you protect the state of Zhao?
Broken Sword replies: Are you protecting the state of Zhao for the sake of its people?
All in all, the character of Broken Sword might be a little unlikable if you view it in 2024.
After all, he's a conflicted, tormented character.
But back in 2002, this kind of tragic hero was very well-loved.
On second thought, maybe Broken Sword wouldn't be disliked even in 2024, as the idea of supporting the King of Qin to unify the land is generally accepted today.
"I feel like carrying a movie isn't so tough, and if I have a choice, I'd prefer to be the absolute lead in my movies from now on," Luke replied to Mr. Aizen with a smile.
In movies like 007, Mission: Impossible, or The Matrix, the protagonist's screen time absolutely crushes that of every other character.
But in Hero and Pirates of the Caribbean, which Luke has been in, there are still other characters with a comparable amount of screen time.
"Haha, you will be, and soon. Especially when every single movie you're in has such excellent box office returns," Mr. Aizen replied.
"It looks like the run for Hero has been extended?" Luke asked.
"Yes, because the reviews are fantastic and the occupancy rate is incredibly high. A lot of theaters are asking to extend the screening time. I'd guess we can sneak into the hot two weeks of the May summer blockbuster season."
"That's great! That'll help Pirates of the Caribbean, too."
Hero was originally expected to leave theaters by the end of April, but thanks to its phenomenal performance, it's now running until mid-May.
Since Pirates of the Caribbean will be opening around that time, the buzz surrounding Luke as the lead in both movies can give them both a lift.
Facing a monstrous competitor like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Luke had to do everything he could to get every possible boost for Pirates of the Caribbean's box office.
That's the only way a small change can lead to a big difference.
Hero had also become the only Foreign-language film to secure a slot in the hot North American movie season, giving it a chance to surpass the box office of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Hero currently brought in \$40 million in its opening week in North America. The total estimated North American box office is \$200 million, with a potential global total of \$340 million.
When Luke saw those numbers, he was stunned.
He knew the film would do well, but he never expected it to be this ridiculous.
In Luke's memory from his previous life, Hero's total North American box office was \$53.71 million. Now, it had already made more than half of that total in just one week.
The estimated North American total of \$200 million for Hero would completely shatter Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's record of \$168 million.
This means that the record for the highest-grossing foreign-language film in the North American market is about to change hands.
And globally, Hero's performance is even more exaggerated.
In his memory, Hero's domestic box office (China) was 250 million RMB, and the Japanese box office was 300 million RMB, with a global cumulative total of \$177 million.
In this life, thanks to Luke's efforts, Hero's domestic box office has hit 300 million RMB—a respectable but not insane increase.
However, the Japanese box office has skyrocketed to 14 billion JPY, which converts to 650 million RMB, making it more than double the original total!