Entertainment 1998

Chapter 495 Chapter 494, the actor's ranking
"Why do you say that?"

Seeing that it was Zhang Ziyi, Jiang Feng stopped with a smile on his face.

"I auditioned for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon before, and I had already won the role of Jade Fox, but it was snatched away by your first love, Yan Danchen; now, I auditioned for the movie Hero, and I had already won the role of Ruyue, but now it's gone again..."

Although he was wearing sunglasses, Jiang Feng could still feel the grief and accusation in Zhang Ziyi's words.

"Well... I sympathize with you, but what does this have to do with me? I am neither the director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon nor the producer of Hero."

"But Yan Danchen and Fan Jiuyi were both recommended by you."

"so what?"

Jiang Feng smiled, walked around Zhang Ziyi and walked into the Shichahai Sports School.

People are realistic.

Except for your biological parents, no one will help you sincerely. Even if someone helps you, it is based on the basis of benefit, either for fame, profit, or both.

Just like now, Zhang Yimou had clearly decided to win Fan Jiuyi, but when he heard the script of the movie "Departures", he was moved.

Zhang Yimou, who won the Best Actor Award at the Tokyo Film Festival, actually wanted to make a breakthrough in his acting, but there was no suitable role for him.

Now that he finally has one, Zhang Yimou naturally doesn't want to let it go. What's more, this movie will be filmed in the hometown of his idol Akira Kurosawa!

And we are all smart people. I invite you to act, so you have to help me, for example, let Fan Jiuyi show her acting skills in the movie "Hero".

Now, Zhang Yimou finally made a decision!
Just as he was thinking about it, Jiang Feng arrived at the Taekwondo Hall in the training building of Shichahai Sports School. As it was almost time for lunch, everyone was sitting down to rest.

Like Jet Li, Manyu Cheung, Zhen Zidan, Chang Xiaoyang, Zhang Yakun, Ma Wenhua and so on. Among these people, Jiang Feng is most concerned about Chang Xiaoyang, because in addition to playing the role of the "General" in the movie, Chang Xiaoyang is also the first deputy director of the "Hero" crew, and is specifically responsible for the literary performances of himself, Jet Li and Manyu Cheung.

Well, he is also responsible for the arrangements for filming, scheduling of the crew, etc.

"Hi..., Brother Feng, you're here."

Jiang Feng was a little surprised that the first person to greet him was the Kung Fu Emperor Jet Li.

"Brother Jie, I'm here.

However, I don’t deserve your calling me Brother Feng.”

"How can I not be brave enough to take on this responsibility?"

Jet Li stood up, walked over and shook Jiang Feng's hand.

"Brother Feng, you also know that in Hollywood, strength is king. Not many people can make a movie with a box office of 6 million US dollars with a production cost of US dollars.

Just from this point of view, I should call you Brother Feng."

"Well, that's fine, Brother Jie, I'll accept your call of 'Brother Feng'."

As soon as these words were spoken, the two of them burst into laughter.

I don’t know if it was because the laughter was too loud, but Zhang Yimou, who was busy in the office, heard the laughter outside and walked out.

"Oh, Jiang Feng is here, is the work done?"

"It's done. Now we can prepare for our movie."

At 6 o'clock this morning, Jiang Feng asked Zhang Yimou for leave, saying that he would arrive a little later because he had some personal matters to take care of.

Zhang Yimou asked, what's the personal matter?
Jiang Feng told him that next year, the newly established Jiang Feng Film Studio will shoot three movies, "Nobody", "Departures" and "The Departed", and the scripts for these three movies have been prepared. Dawei, Liu Jie, Mark and others need to go to Guichuan in China, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Chicago in the United States to scout locations. Hearing this reason, Zhang Yimou agreed without thinking, and also said that if he couldn't come today, he could come tomorrow, and we could coordinate specifically about the martial arts coach.

Now that he is back, Jiang Feng naturally wants to find Zhang Yimou to cancel his leave.

"Um... Jiang Feng, come to my office for a moment. Um, everyone else can take a shower and go eat. We still have training at 2 o'clock in the afternoon."

……

Zhang Yimou's temporary office at Shichahai Sports School is not too large, about 14 square meters, and the facilities are simple, with a desk, a coffee table, a sofa, and a whiteboard hanging on the wall.

On the whiteboard, a black marker was used to write the relationship diagram of the characters in the movie script "Hero", Qin Shi Huang → Assassin Wuming → Assassin Canjian, Feixue...

"Jiang Feng, sit down and have some tea!"

Walking into the office, Jiang Feng was looking at the facilities in the room, and Zhang Yimou asked him to sit down on the sofa.

As soon as Jiang Feng sat down, Zhang Yimou personally poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him.

"Jiang Feng, this is the case. The reason why I called you here alone today is that I want to talk to you about something.

Although our film will not start shooting for more than two months, due to publicity needs, the film distribution company will start contacting many domestic and foreign media from now on, especially Hollywood media.

Therefore, a small problem arises: how should the names of you, Jet Li, and Maggie Cheung be arranged in the final makeup photos and in the press release to the media…”

Before Zhang Yimou finished speaking, Jiang Feng knew what he meant by calling him in.

He has to coordinate the positions of 3 people!
To put it simply, the ranking order of actors appears in promotional materials and movie subtitles. "No. 1" means the actor ranked first.

Is ranking important?

Very important for actors!
Generally speaking, the ranking represents the status and influence of an actor in the entertainment industry, and also reflects the actor's commercial value and popularity. The size of the ranking determines the actor's role and part in the play, and also determines whether the actor can get more opportunities and resources.

In addition, the ranking can also reflect an actor's professional qualities and professional attitude, as well as his recognition and development potential in the industry.

Therefore, even in Hollywood, when an actor signs a contract with a film crew, the agency will clearly stipulate their order in the cast list, position on the poster, etc.

For example, in the Chinese-language movie "The Forbidden Kingdom" produced by Hollywood a few years later, the producers took great pains in the arrangement of the two kung fu superstars Jet Li and Qin Long and the production of the poster to create a symmetrical layout.

"Jiang Feng, Jiang Feng..."

"Director, tell me."

Just now, Jiang Feng was a little distracted, but now, his thoughts were brought back by Zhang Yimou.

"Jiang Feng, what I mean is this. Jet Li has been in the industry for many years and has starred in many Hollywood movies, so I put his name at the front. Of course, he is also in the center of the movie's promotional poster!
Next is Maggie Cheung. Maggie Cheung is a senior who won the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1992. She has also won many Best Actress awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards. In my opinion, her name ranks second.

However, on the movie poster, Jet Li is in the front, while you and Maggie Cheung are listed behind him.

Well, I also know that if we only consider the movie box office, no matter whether it is Jet Li or Maggie Cheung, they cannot compare with you, Jiang Feng.

Let’s not talk about your ability as a screenwriter and director, just look at the three movies you starred in, “Moon”, “Saw” and “Paranormal Activity”, the combined box office of the movies exceeded 3 million US dollars…”

"Okay, I'm fine!"

Before the somewhat embarrassed Zhang Yimou could finish his words, Jiang Feng stood up and said, "Director, you don't need to explain so much. Regarding the ranking, I have no problem at all."

(End of this chapter)