Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 131 Turning the International Chapter into the International Dirty Chapter

one day ago
Ji Lingling walked into the room excitedly, "Ziyi, it's finally settled. Congratulations, you beat out the other candidates, Spielberg finally decided on you to play Sayuri. The other two actors are Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh."

"Really?"

"Of course, the director Rob Mitchell called me personally."

"Great."

Zhang Ziyi finally made the decision.

"Memoirs of a Geisha" is a project led by the great Hollywood director Spielberg. Although Spielberg is not the director, he is the producer, and this film is prepared as an A-level production.

Auditions for the film started very early, but the cast for the lead role has not yet been finalized.

Zhang Ziyi got the audition opportunity through her boyfriend, but no one can guarantee whether she will be selected in the end.

Now that she has finally won, Zhang Ziyi feels that this movie will definitely become a watershed in her acting career.

"What about Eden Lake?" Ji Lingling asked worriedly.

Zhang Chen has been on a strong momentum these past two days. Although the media has been making a lot of noise and the movie is very controversial, the box office of "The Shallows" is actually heading towards 100 million.

It has now broken the 8000 million mark, and breaking the million mark is almost certain. Zhang Chen will inevitably become the second major director in China after Zhang Yimou to have a box office of over million.

"Reject him and issue a statement saying that we have decided to quit Eden Lake due to the huge controversy."

"Is this okay? After all, it has already been publicized before."

Ji Lingling regretted why she announced it to the media in such a hurry. At that time, she just thought that Zhang Chen was looking for another job while he was still employed, so she announced it to the media directly, which was considered to be a trick on Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen did not deny it and even admitted it.

The matter is finally settled.

But now it has become a shackle that traps them.

Zhang Ziyi: "Haven't we signed the contract yet?"

"No, it hasn't been signed. Zhang Chen has been busy with The Shallows, so the contract signing has been delayed."

"He can't say anything about us since we haven't signed the contract. We are in the right."

"Okay, do I need to communicate with them first?"

"Forget it. Communicating makes us seem like we're in the wrong."

Zhang Ziyi didn't care. Her mind was now fully focused on A-grade productions and Spielberg. She no longer took small directors like Zhang Chen seriously.

"Okay, I'll go make the announcement."

……

Back at the company, as soon as they met, Dong Jianqiang pulled Zhang Chen to the computer and said, "This is the bad news I told you."

The video shows an interview with Ji Lingling by a reporter: "In view of the current complex public opinion controversy, we have decided to temporarily suspend the "Eden Lake" project in cooperation with director Zhang Chen..."

Reporter: “Doesn’t this involve breach of contract?”

Ji Lingling shook her head: "That doesn't exist, because we never signed any contract from the beginning to the end."

"But haven't you already announced it to the media? And Xingchen Entertainment has also confirmed the news of the cooperation."

"In business cooperation, everything must comply with basic business logic. What is the most basic business logic? Contract!"

Ji Lingling acted like a business elite and talked a lot about business logic, which made Zhang Chen feel nauseous.

"Didn't Zhang Ziyi communicate with us beforehand?"

Dong Jianqiang shook his head, very angry: "No, on the contrary, I contacted Zhang Ziyi's agent as soon as the incident happened, and the other party replied to me that they were very worried that the recent public opinion war would affect Zhang Ziyi's personal image, so they decided to cancel the cooperation."

He~
Zhang Chen really wanted to curse at this time.

Zhang Ziyi has a very small personal image, so breaking the contract will affect her personal image.

Even things that have been agreed upon can be changed at the last minute.

"The Shallows" has been released for almost ten days and will be taken off the screen in another week.

After the movie is over, he will rush to North America to start filming "Eden Lake". This was planned in advance. New Line has already completed preparations and will start filming immediately once he and the heroine are in place.

Just at this critical juncture, Zhang Ziyi quit.

If he wants to change people at this time, where can he find someone?
Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything because he didn't sign the contract.

There is nothing we can do about this matter on a legal level, the most we can do is criticize them on a moral level.

But what’s the use of blaming?

Zhang Chen paced back and forth in the office with a grim face. How could he explain this to the new line?

Zhang Chen broke his promise on the first collaboration between the two parties. Although he was the one who was stood up, New Line didn't think so.

"This is my fault. I should have signed a contract with them earlier." Dong Jianqiang felt a little guilty.

"What does it have to do with you? Isn't it always like this in the industry? Even if she signed the contract, she wouldn't breach it. Isn't there a lot of such cases in the industry?"

Zhang Chen waved his hand and told Dong Jianqiang not to think too much.

"I really can't understand, is Zhang Ziyi crazy? She gave up the Hollywood project just for the bullshit public opinion?"

Zhang Chen really couldn't figure it out.

Zhang Ziyi is afraid of being criticized? How is that possible? If she is afraid of being criticized, then she is not internationally famous.

Dong Jianqiang was about to speak but stopped talking. Zhang Chen saw it and said impatiently, "What worse news is there? Tell us all at once. Can it be worse than this?"

Seeing Zhang Chen like this, Dong Jianqiang no longer concealed it: "I got a piece of news from Chen Guofu. It seems that Zhang Ziyi has won the leading role in a project in Columbia. The project is called "Memoirs of a Geisha."

"Memoirs of a Geisha? The Spielberg one?"

Dong Jianqiang nodded.

"That's right. No wonder he dared to change his mind midway and even turned down the Hollywood project. It turns out he has chosen a bigger partner."

As far as I can remember, Zhang Ziyi starred in Memoirs of a Geisha, and won a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. It was after the Golden Globe that all kinds of domestic resources began to lean towards Zhang Ziyi, and she left all the female stars in China in a state of confusion.

From a historical perspective, Zhang Ziyi’s choice was indeed correct.

But Zhang Chen was angry.

This is because I feel that "Eden Lake" is not as good as "Memoirs of a Geisha".

Zhang Chen was a little indignant, but there was nothing he could do as he was truly no match for him.

Rob Marshall, the director of "Memoirs of a Geisha", was just a little-known director who had only directed one musical before "Memoirs of a Geisha".

But the producer is so good.

Their producer is the famous Spielberg.

Spielberg, the talented Hollywood director, is one of the behind-the-scenes bosses of DreamWorks.

Moreover, "Memoirs of a Geisha" is a Hollywood A-level production, produced by Columbia and costing 8000 million US dollars.

It is indeed not comparable to the low-budget "Eden Lake" in all aspects.

But Zhang Chen was just angry.

"Okay, don't think about it for now. At worst, you can just change the actress. If there is no suitable one in China, you can just look for one abroad. It is not necessary to use a Chinese actress..."

Dong Jianqiang knew that there was no solution to this problem and could only try his best to give guidance.

Zhang Chen tried to calm himself down, and that was all he could do.

……

On the other hand, Zhang Ziyi also learned from someone in the circle with whom she had a good relationship what Zhang Chen did at the airport today.

He started cursing, cursing Lu Tianming and Bai Ye...

This is too cruel.

Zhang Ziyi suddenly became less confident.

"Will he scold me too?"

Zhang Ziyi asked her agent with some concern, and Ji Lingling encouraged her: "Don't worry, you are different from those people. You are an international star, he wouldn't dare to do that."

Doesn’t Zhang Chen dare?
He is talking on the phone with Zhang Xiaobei now.

"I didn't receive any news about your return to Beijing, so I missed the interview..."

After a few times, the two had become very familiar with each other. Zhang Xiaobei even tipped off Zhang Chen, and the two were considered friends. Zhang Xiaobei was also the only reporter who had Zhang Chen's phone number.

"It's not too late now. I'll give you a chance for a phone interview."

"That's great."

"I've already thought of the theme for you. Did you know that Zhang Ziyi has issued a statement to withdraw from the Eden Lake project?"

"I know."

Of course he knew about this matter, it was spread all over the circle, but it didn't attract much attention.

After all, it is just an actor's behavior of protecting his reputation. Compared with the war of words between Zhang Chen and the author circle, it is completely not of the same level.

The kind that no one reads after it is published.

"Zhang Ziyi withdrew from the cooperation with us not because she was afraid of being involved in the verbal war, but because she received a better project, the Hollywood blockbuster "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Zhang Xiaobei on the other end of the phone was stunned. He didn't expect that there was another hidden story.

But then he thought of something and asked tentatively, "What do you want me to do?"

Zhang Chen is definitely not stupid. This kind of news is not a bad thing for Zhang Ziyi, but a good thing. Zhang Chen revealed this to him definitely not to help Zhang Ziyi become famous.

Zhang Chen was very satisfied with his performance: "Xiaobei, we are friends, I hope you can focus on reporting this matter.

You can check out the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha", which is about promoting Japanese prostitutes. I don't understand why Zhang Ziyi chose to play such a role. It is very hurtful to the feelings of the Chinese people.

Let me tell you another secret. The role played by Zhang Ziyi was originally chosen by Maggie Cheung, but Maggie Cheung thought it was insulting to China and refused.

"I understand."

Zhang Xiaobei's hands on the other end of the phone were shaking with excitement.

Zhang Chen is trying to discredit Zhang Ziyi.

I am his accomplice, is this okay?
Of course it's good.

Zhang Ziyi's own choice was problematic, I just made it public.

Well, this is how media professionals should behave.

Reveal the truth~
After a moment of imagination, Zhang Xiaobei felt that his image became taller.

And this has practical benefits for him personally.

While others were reporting on the war of words, I just followed the crowd, but I was unique and took a different approach to reporting on Zhang Ziyi's weak spot.

Is this big news?
It’s exciting just to think about turning an international seal into an international seal with my own hands.

Zhang Chen is indeed his lucky star.

"But you can report this later, wait until the heat of the verbal battle dies down before releasing it, when the heat will be highest~"

"I see."

"Well, I won't say any more. Let's go out for a drink and a barbecue together when we have time~"

"Ah, of course~"

After Zhang Chen finished speaking, he hung up the phone. He also intended to train Zhang Xiaobei to become his own person.

There is no way. Before Weibo came out, public figures had very little say.

(End of this chapter)