As July arrived, the North American summer movie season remained as lively as ever.
Spider-Man 2 dominated the box office for only two weeks before being overtaken by The Adventures of Jackie Chan 2, co-directed by Alfonso Cuarón and Tsui Hark, and starring Jackie Chan, Shu Chang, Dwayne Johnson, Li Bingbing, Ng Man-tat, and Chris Tucker.
This was the second film in the series, where Jackie Chan and Old Man Yu would continue their quest to uncover the ancient legend of Shambhala and explore the secrets of the twelve talismans.
The story also introduced new mystical artifacts possessing incredible powers.
Throughout their journey, a group of antagonists pursued Jackie Chan and his team, seeking to seize the talismans and these powerful relics for themselves.
In the film's earlier trailer, audiences were shown a display of breathtaking imagination.
The most captivating moments included Jackie Chan falling from a plane into the desert along with its cargo, and the discovery of the legendary Shambhala.
During the promotional campaign, an art director from Hong Kong revealed that many of the film's stunning visual designs were created by Director Gilbert.
Because Gilbert was busy preparing for Batman:Begins, he did not attend the movie's premiere.
Nevertheless, he promoted the film on social media, stating that any action-adventure enthusiast should not miss it.
Thanks to the popularity of the first installment, The Adventures of Jackie Chan 2 already had a solid audience base, and with Jackie Chan still at the height of his fame, the film's success was almost guaranteed.
As long as the sequel maintained its quality, recovering costs and even turning a profit would not be a problem.
In fact, before The Adventures of Jackie Chan 2, Jackie Chan's own Hong Kong cop film New Police Story had already been released in North America, grossing $43.52 million.
That result came entirely from Jackie Chan's personal influence—his star power alone made it possible for a Hong Kong film to achieve such success in the U.S.
In a way, this was one of the ripple effects brought about by Gilbert—the so-called "butterfly effect."
Though many claimed that Hong Kong cinema was declining, Jackie Chan's films still maintained a viable market. Ironically, New Police Story's largest audience came from North America—the very Hollywood system that had once been one of the key factors in crushing Hong Kong's film industry.
It sounded a bit ironic, but it was the truth.
The Hong Kong media began praising Jackie Chan as the standard-bearer and leading figure of Hong Kong cinema—though in truth, he always had been.
After all, first there was Infernal Affairs being remade by Martin Scorsese, and now New Police Story was performing well in North America. Who could still say Hong Kong films were on the decline?
However, those with real insight understood that this was only a temporary illusion.
Gilbert had discussed this issue with Jackie Chan, saying, "It's because you're personally popular in North America. Once your fame fades and your influence weakens, your movies won't perform like this anymore. What looks promising now will vanish overnight."
Jackie Chan asked, "Then how can we change this situation?"
"There's no real way," Gilbert replied. "As long as you keep seeing yourselves as a small market and a small circle, nothing will ever change."
Jackie Chan said he understood—small circles couldn't survive forever, so they had to integrate into a larger one.
"But we've already been doing that," Jackie Chan continued. "Over the years, many directors, producers, and actors have gone north to develop their careers."
"Do you call that development? Your attitude's the problem," Gilbert said, exasperated. "Forget it—when the time comes, you'll find your own path."
Jackie Chan wanted to ask more, but since Gilbert didn't want to elaborate, he didn't push the issue.
During the film's promotion, Jackie Chan kept reflecting on their conversation. He felt that Gilbert must have had a solution but simply didn't want to meddle.
That made sense—after all, a Hollywood director getting involved in another region's film industry would seem inappropriate.
Unlike in his past life, this Jackie Chan had already made a solid career for himself in Hollywood and had come to understand the industry far more deeply.
He knew that Hong Kong films no longer had much competitiveness. Whether it was New Police Story or the Infernal Affairs series, they were merely minor victories within a larger, unstoppable decline.
The only way forward was to join the bigger market—mainland China.
However, even though Jackie Chan had great status and influence, not everyone in Hong Kong cinema listened to him.
It was a difficult task, but Jackie Chan decided to try. He sent a letter to the Hong Kong Film Awards Committee, suggesting they relax their selection criteria to allow more mainland films to participate.
In his letter, Jackie Chan wrote: "Don't confine the Hong Kong Film Awards to the local industry alone. We should make it the most authoritative and fair award in the Chinese-speaking film world, allowing more Chinese-language films to join this grand event."
It was an excellent suggestion, but a difficult one to achieve.
As soon as his letter was sent, it stirred major discussion among Hong Kong's media, and soon the mainland press joined in as well.
Some supported the idea, but many others opposed it, and the issue eventually faded away.
Still, it wasn't without results. The committee did loosen its rules slightly, allowing more mainland filmmakers to participate.
As Jackie Chan put it, the committee was merely trying to please everyone—offending no one. But could such avoidance really save Hong Kong's declining film industry? Impossible.
Some even argued that The Adventures of Jackie Chan 2 counted as a Chinese-language film since it revolved around the twelve zodiac symbols.
But that wasn't true. At its core, the movie still followed the standard Hollywood formula. You could swap in Greek mythology or Mayan legends and the structure would work just the same.
The film opened to strong numbers, earning $73.612 million in North America its first weekend, successfully dethroning Spider-Man 2 from the top spot.
Overseas markets brought in another $123.575 million, and combined with North America, it became the week's global box office champion.
Interestingly, when the film opened in Hong Kong, some local newspapers criticized the casting, claiming that too many roles had gone to mainland actors.
When asked about this issue during a promotional interview, Jackie Chan shut it down with a single response:
"The casting decisions were made by Director Gilbert. Everyone he chose was the right fit," Jackie Chan said.
The reporter was left speechless. After all, could he really question the judgment of a top Hollywood director?
Still, some media outlets did exactly that. During the release of the first The Adventures of Jackie Chan, a Hong Kong paper had heavily criticized the casting of Jade's character.
They claimed Hong Kong had plenty of suitable local actors and blamed Jackie Chan for not nurturing new local talent—saying he kept using the same familiar faces.
Jackie Chan could only sigh after reading it. He had no say in casting; it wasn't his decision to make.
Fortunately, Gilbert never saw that article. Otherwise, he would have told that paper, "You're saying this too early. In ten years, you'll see what really means using the same faces over and over again."
Despite the media noise, the film still grossed HK$8.758 million in its opening weekend in Hong Kong, taking the number one spot at the box office that week.
Hong Kong moviegoers praised this action–fantasy blockbuster enthusiastically, expressing great satisfaction with Jackie Chan's performance and a strong fondness for Shu Chang's portrayal of Jade.
Continuing northward, Gilbert's The False had already grossed 112 million RMB in the mainland market, making it one of the few domestic films of the year to surpass the 100 million mark.
When The Adventures of Jackie Chan 2 arrived in mainland China, it earned 33.5 million RMB in its opening weekend—a rather impressive figure.
The previous installment, The Adventures of Jackie Chan, had taken in 93.25 million RMB at the mainland box office, which was already an excellent result. Now, the sequel easily breaking the 100 million barrier was no longer in doubt, once again solidifying the status of Shu Chang and Li Bingbing.
Most importantly, the film performed exceptionally well in the global market—a truly internationally renowned production.
At that time, director Guo Fan, who was filming his own new movie, also gathered his team to watch the film together, since he had once studied within that very crew.
By the time the movie reached its end, Guo Fan was pleasantly surprised to find his own name in the end credits, feeling deeply moved.
It was no small feat—aside from the actors, he was one of the few Chinese behind-the-scenes staff members whose name appeared in the closing credits of a Hollywood film.
Previously, even though The Lord of the Rings had involved a large number of Chinese workers, those names had not been listed at all.
Guo Fan could understand, of course. After all, it would have seemed somewhat out of place if a purely Western fantasy film had filled its production credits with a long list of Chinese names.
The Matrix had Yuen Woo-ping's action choreography team, and most of The Adventures of Jackie Chan's crew had come from Hong Kong. Whenever the end credits rolled, there was always a strong sense of pride in seeing those Chinese names.
How to describe it? It felt like being part of an outstanding film, knowing that one's own contribution was there—it was a wonderful feeling.
After returning, everyone excitedly discussed this Hollywood film with a Chinese heart, asking Guo Fan about his experience working and learning on that set.
Guo Fan said, "It was a very special experience. You all know what happened back then, but I still gained a lot. Spending a few months learning at the center of the global film industry benefited me tremendously."
Actor Huang Bo asked, "Director Guo, will you make a sci-fi film in the future?"
Ordinarily, people faced with such a question would give vague answers like "we'll see" or "maybe if there's an opportunity."
But Guo Fan replied with firm conviction, "Of course. Ever since I watched Real Steel in middle school, I've dreamed of making a science fiction movie."
No one laughed at Guo Fan for being overambitious or daydreaming.
After working together for several months, everyone knew the kind of person he was—someone who didn't boast or make empty claims.
So, while they all expressed their faith in him, they didn't really believe he would achieve great success. Some even thought that once Guo Fan hit a few roadblocks, he would realize how difficult this path truly was.
Huang Bo, however, reacted differently. Smiling, he said, "All right then, if you ever get the chance, remember to save me a role."
Guo Fan laughed, "No problem, no problem…"
If one were to select the single person who had most influenced Chinese cinema since the 1990s, without question, it would be Gilbert—even the so-called "National Master" Zhang couldn't compare.
After all, the fake student scandal last year had caused such a storm that it nearly brought down the entire so-called "circle."
And the commercialization and developmental progress of Chinese cinema were equally inseparable from Gilbert's influence. Without Gilbert's inspiration, perhaps Guo Fan would have spent another decade or more struggling in obscurity.
But now, Guo Fan could confidently embark on an unexplored path.
As for what kind of changes the future of Chinese-language cinema would bring—no one could say for sure.