Chapter 96

The Wi-Fi in the VIP lounge was very fast, and it took only about ten minutes to download the Blu-ray version of the movie onto his computer.

Lin Han had only seen the regular theatrical version before, and he had not seen the director's cut. Therefore, he now wanted to watch it to help clear the original director's name. The movie he shot was not a bad one, and the bad reputation of the film should not be pinned on the original director.

Although Lin Han seems to be doing well now, when people introduce him, they can't help but mention that he is a deserter and a loser in the film industry, having fled from being a film director to a literary figure.

Regardless of the specific facts, the general public believes that directors are more impressive than writers, both in terms of influence and earning power.

This is actually a misconception. Top writers may have even greater public recognition than top directors. For example, the writer Jin Yong on Earth is enough to overshadow those big directors.

There isn't much comparability, as they are not in the same field. It's just that under the colorful lights of the entertainment industry, directors receive more spotlight, leading to a misunderstanding.

Lin Han just wanted to prove that he was not a deserter. Once he had accumulated enough knowledge, he would return to the film industry. There are so many sci-fi movies on Earth that need to be showcased.

The charm of many movies cannot be fully described by novels. For example, the three "Matrix" movies, if you only read the novel, you can't fully understand the surprises and sincerity. "Inception" is also better expressed through a movie.

At the same time, if such movies were released as novels first, readers would lose that sense of amazement, as they would already know the settings. If possible, Lin Han would rather invite writers to adapt the movies into novels later to expand the copyright, rather than reversing the order.

With half an hour left before boarding, Lin Han sent a WeChat message to Li Wenyuan: "Mosquito, when did you give an interview? You actually gave the director's cut an 8, and those readers are going to attack me again."

"Beyond the Solar System" is a genuine bad movie, with a Douban rating of only about 4. However, the director's cut doubled the score, and the fire of controversy seemed to be reigniting.

Li Wenyuan quickly replied with a smiling emoji: "Don't thank me too much. The version you edited is indeed more complete. Although the special effects are poor, at least the plot doesn't lag behind."

When the movie was released, to shorten the running time and increase the number of screenings per day, the production company condensed the film to 120 minutes.

Compared to 160 minutes, 120 minutes means two to three more screenings per day, which would attract more viewers nationwide.

Unfortunately, the box office did not meet expectations. After the first day, the numbers kept dropping.

"I'm about to board. I'll chat with you when I get to London. I'll bring you a bottle of London air."

Lin Han turned off his phone, eager to see what the original director's cut was all about.

The airport announcement began to call out the boarding gate and flight number. Chen Jiaxuan picked up her handbag and followed Lin Han to the boarding gate, marking the start of their journey.

After the initial turbulence, the plane finally flew smoothly. The direct flight from Yanjing to London takes about 11 hours.

The space in the business class was slightly more spacious. Chen Jiaxuan had already taken a blanket and put on an eye mask and earplugs, falling into a deep sleep.

Lin Han plugged his headphones into his iPad, opened the pre-downloaded movie, and watched it attentively.

"Beyond the Solar System" tells the story of a group of astronauts and scientists. With the support of the Earth Federation, they take on the mission of finding an Earth-like planet. However, they encounter an alien blockade, and the entire solar system seems to be enclosed by an invisible energy shield, trapping them inside.

After enduring various hardships, the Athena spacecraft breaks free from the confinement, shatters the aliens' plot, and successfully ventures beyond the solar system, encountering different cosmic civilizations.

The film does not conclude with whether they found a suitable Earth-like planet for human habitation. Instead, it ends with a vast, boundless universe as the backdrop, with a tiny spacecraft drifting alone in the cosmos.

After watching the director's cut, Lin Han couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. If this version had been released in theaters, he probably wouldn't have had to come back through time.

Compared to the theatrical version, the original director's cut had a more coherent logic, explaining why the aliens blockaded the solar system and the problems the spacecraft encountered during its journey, rather than turning into a sci-fi romance. The focus was different.

The theatrical version essentially omitted the most essential parts of the sci-fi movie, focusing instead on the interpersonal relationships and love-hate entanglements of the characters on the spacecraft, rather than the exploration of the vast universe and the anticipation of an unpredictable future.

It's like the same cast and set were used to create two different movies, similar to "East Evil West Poison" and "East Meets West," but not as successful.

Lin Han touched his slightly excited heart and said to himself, "Don't rush, we'll take it step by step. One day, we'll announce our return to the film industry and make those people look at us with new eyes."

Objectively speaking, the director's cut indeed deserved a score between 7.5 and 8, mainly because the special effects were poor. This movie, used to launder money, spent very little on special effects. The nominal investment was huge, but the money was transferred out of the production account after staying there for ten to fifteen days, and was not used for the actual production.

No wonder the production company edited the movie into a sci-fi romance. The grand scenes couldn't be sustained, and the special effects were cheap.

As the plane flew from the Asian continent to Europe, Lin Han felt a bit tired after watching the movie. He lowered his seat and took a short nap.

At this time, the interview with Li Wenyuan began to gain traction online.

"What?? 'Beyond the Solar System' actually has a director's cut? I've never heard of this before."

"Thanks for the recommendation. I'll download it and see if it's worth the score."

"Did we misunderstand Lin Han? I see that only a thousand people have watched the director's cut, and the DVD sales are almost non-existent."

"160 minutes is a real gem. Why didn't they show this excellent version in theaters and pollute our eyes with garbage?"

"I was wrong. This director's cut is indeed good. It has been buried for so long, and this is probably the best result he could achieve with the cards he had."

"After reading this interview, I searched for the director's cut of 'Beyond the Solar System.' Finally, I don't have to watch those astronauts and scientists' melodramatic love stories. This is the real sci-fi movie. If the special effects were improved, it wouldn't be much different from Hollywood movies!"

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