Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 144: Beijing Film Academy’s Golden Flowers Compete on the Same Stage
华谊兄弟
In Mr. Xiao Wang’s office, a group of people were discussing the guest invitation list for the premiere of “A World Without Thieves”.

"I heard that Zhang Yimou is in the capital recently. Should we invite him?"

"Forget it. He is not of the same kind as us. If he comes, there might be a conflict."

Hearing Wang Zhonglei's suggestion, Feng Xiaogang shook his head.

The person that Wang Shuo and Ye Jing's group hate the most is Zhang Yimou. They will definitely make sarcastic remarks when they meet him.

Not guilty.

In fact, he has no ill feelings towards Zhang Yimou, and even admires him. "I Dedicate My Youth to You", published last year, is Feng Xiaogang's memoir. In it, he commented on many directors in a teasing way, but not Zhang Yimou. Maybe he respects him.

"Who did you invite?"

"Chen Daoming, Ge You, Chen Kaige and his wife, Wang Shuo, Jiang Wen and his wife, Xu Cairen, Gao Jun, Han Sanping, Chen Guofu, Zhang Chen, Dong Jianqiang, and some other stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan, all of them are friends of King Liu..."

Feng Xiaogang was stunned when he suddenly heard Zhang Chen's name.

This name has become very famous recently. He is the second director in China to have a box office of over 100 million yuan, and he is also one of the protagonists of that war of words.

To be honest, Feng Xiaogang felt a little jealous.

Although he is one of the top three directors, the highest-grossing movie he has made so far is "Cell Phone", which only grossed 5600 million.

This young man, Zhang Chen, not only surpassed him in box office with his first movie, but his second one even broke 100 million yuan, leaving everyone else far behind except Zhang Yimou.

But he did not hate Zhang Chen. Privately, he thought that Zhang Chen, him, and Zhang Yimou were actually the same kind of people. They did not have any strong backgrounds, and they had relied on themselves to get to where they were today.

Yes, that’s right, the connotation is poet Chen…

……

The next day, Zhang Chen asked Xu Qing to audition again.

The audition result was average. To be honest, Xu Qing's acting skills were okay.

In fact, the acting skills of actors in this age group are all pretty good, and the Four Dans and Two Bings are not bad either, of course, with the exception of Xu Cairen.

Zhang Chen was a little conflicted. Whether it was Jiang Wenli or Xu Qing, they could easily play the role of A Yu, so he could choose either one.

Xu Qing fell in love with him over time, and psychologically Zhang Chen must be biased towards her.

But Jiang Wenli's performance yesterday was amazing.

In terms of acting skills alone, Jiang Wenli is definitely better.

A little tangled ~
There was a knock on the office door from outside. After Zhang Chen answered, Dong Jianqiang pushed the door open.

"Ms. Xu~"

After greeting Xu Qing, Dong Jianqiang said, "I've sent you an invitation to the premiere of A World Without Thieves on the 6th. Do you want to go?"

"Go, of course, why not."

During the war of words, Feng Xiaogang helped, and this favor must be repaid.

Isn’t that what it’s like in the entertainment industry? You support me and I support you.

No flower stays beautiful forever, and no person stays popular forever.

Public figures walk under the spotlight every day, and no one can guarantee that they will not make mistakes. They never know when they will be criticized, so they need circles.

The circle can help you when you are at your lowest point. Isn’t the war of words about Zhang Chen the best example? The final result will be completely different if there is someone speaking for you or not.

Zhang Chen doesn't need to integrate into the circle as actively as Feng Xiaogang.

But he doesn't reject it either.

"How did the audition go?"

Dong Jianqiang just asked casually, and Zhang Chen didn't expect Dong Jianqiang to help him solve the problem. He just said it casually and explained why he was entangled. Unexpectedly, Dong Jianqiang's words reminded him.

"Why don't you let them compete against each other?"

Ok?
"Jiang Wenli and Xu Qing were classmates and the two most famous young talents of their class. Many years later, both of them have achieved success.

In this case, the two of them are in the same frame again, which is a good gimmick in itself..."

What a word to wake up a dreamer.

Why didn't I think of that?

Zhang Chen couldn't help but look at Dong Jianqiang with admiration. The latter waved his hands, indicating that these were no big deal at all.

We who are in the publishing business are best at making a fuss about these things.

He was completely considering how to hype the film when it was released.

Zhang Chen thought it was feasible, but it required the consent of both parties.

Of course Xu Qing had no problem with that, so Zhang Chen called Jiang Wenli.

"You want me to play the villain?" Jiang Wenli on the other side was a little surprised.

"Yes, actually I mainly want you and Xu Qing to compete on the same stage. You are classmates, and you are also the two most famous golden flowers of the 88th grade. It is very eye-catching.

It’s just that I have to ask you to play the villain. The villain police chief needs to have strong explosive power, and you are the best person for this..."

Zhang Chen tried his best to persuade her, but Jiang Wenli would definitely feel a psychological gap.

It would be strange not to.

She was originally auditioning for the leading female role, but was suddenly replaced by the villain, even though she is a famous actress.

Zhang Chen continued to apologize. The role of police chief that he had originally booked was for Chen Shu.

Among actresses, Chen Shu has a stronger aura and is also a good actress, but her shortcoming is that she is not famous enough.

Jiang Wenli was also hesitant. Zhang Chen's reason was very reasonable. The PK between the two golden flowers was indeed very interesting.

Even I am looking forward to it. And am I afraid of PK?
Actors are all competitive. Without it, you can’t be a good actor.

As we were classmates and both were top students at Beijing Film Academy, it was inevitable that we would be compared to each other.

After a long time, even she herself wanted to win fairly once.

"Okay, Director Zhang, I agree."

"Thank you so much, Sister Wenli. Don't worry, the role of the police chief has just as much screen time as A-Yu's. Both characters have a lot of room to play."

After comforting Jiang Wenli, Zhang Chen looked at Xu Qing again.

Just now when Dong Jianqiang mentioned letting her and Jiang Wenli compete on the same stage, Xu Qing showed great interest.

It seems like there was a lot of grudges between them when they were in school.

However, Zhang Chen still specifically reminded Xu Qing that she needed to change her style slightly.

She is so gorgeous. In fact, according to Xu Qing's temperament, she is most suitable for playing a glamorous role like the one in "The Beautiful Legend of Sicily".

Although Ayu in "The Accidental Murderer" is pretty, if she wasn't pretty, the villain in the movie wouldn't want to do that to her mother as well. But she can't be too pretty, otherwise she would steal the show.

Well, when the time comes, let Xu Qing restrain her charming temperament and make her makeup more ordinary. That should be enough.

Zhang Chen thought it should be feasible. Xu Qing got the role and was going back to study the script. Before leaving, she asked, "Are you coming tonight?"

"Well, wait for me."

At least it’s not for free.

But then he thought again, Xu Qing is a very smart person. If he is satisfied with the role, he will definitely spare no effort in other aspects.

Hmm, why do I suddenly feel this way?

"By the way, I almost forgot to tell you that there will be a red carpet segment at the premiere of 'A World Without Thieves'," Dong Jianqiang reminded.

"so what?"

"So you'd better find a female companion~"

Dong Jianqiang really wants to say that if our company had artist management business, we wouldn’t have to worry so much.

He once mentioned the idea of ​​developing artist management business, but was rejected by Zhang Chen.

He couldn't understand why Zhang Chen was so averse to artist management, and Zhang Chen was too lazy to explain.

Too many women, annoying~
Isn’t Huayi in chaos because of the competition for the top female actress?

If these women cause him trouble again, it will be even more annoying~
It’s okay now, because information is not well developed and the public knows less about the entertainment industry.

A few years later, when Weibo came out, it was an era where there were no secrets in the entertainment industry, and many old messes were dug up, but he was too lazy to clean up after them.

Zhang Chen kept silent, wondering who to look for when walking on the red carpet. When he looked up, he saw Xu Qing looking at him with a smile.

Slap your thigh fiercely~
It's really dark under the lamp, isn't there a ready-made one?

Dong Jianqiang next to him: Can you pat your thigh next time you sigh?

Zhang Chen politely invited: "Would you like to walk the red carpet with me?"

"Walking the red carpet with a billionaire director? Of course I'd like to."

Xu Qing turned around very gracefully, but it was a pity that she was not wearing a skirt.

But still beautiful.

Dong Jianqiang next to you secretly rolled his eyes: If there is no affair between you two, no one would believe it.

After Xu Qing left, the two talked about the overseas copyright sales of "The Shallows".

"Columbia is willing to pay 1500 million US dollars for all overseas rights plus DVD and home video rights. I think it's a bit low. I want them to increase the price to 2000 million US dollars. They are still considering..."

Dong Jianqiang gave a general introduction to the copyright negotiations. Fearing that Zhang Chen didn't understand the ins and outs, he took the initiative to explain.

“Although our film The Shallows tied with House of Flying Daggers in domestic box office, its popularity overseas is far less than the latter.

"House of Flying Daggers" is a costume blockbuster that is unique to China. Now is the time when costume blockbusters are all the rage around the world, so its North American copyright alone can be sold for 2000 million US dollars.

But "The Shallows" is not the same. Hollywood can make this kind of monster movie on its own. Although Columbia also thinks that "The Shallows" is of good quality, it is nothing special, so its global overseas copyrights only add up to 1500 million US dollars.

Don’t be angry, this is a question of subject matter~”

Dong Jianqiang was afraid that Zhang Chen would be unable to get over it. As young people, it is inevitable that they are competitive.

Zhang Chen is not the kind of person who likes to be competitive. He understands everything that Manager Dong said.

Just when I was about to say something, the phone suddenly rang. It was Diane who was far away in the United States.

"Hi, Diane..."

"Hi, Boss, it seems you are in a good mood today~"

Zhang Chen shrugged: "It's okay, what's the matter with you calling?"

"It's New Line. They asked me to inform you that the crew has finished preparations. How do you say that Chinese saying? Oh, everything is ready, only the east wind is missing~"

Although Diane's Chinese is not bad, there is always a strange emphasis on it, especially when she is telling a two-part allegorical saying.

However, Zhang Chen still did not hesitate to praise.

"Boss, when are you going to come to America?"

Zhang Chen glanced at the old boss next to him and said, "No. 7 or 8, I have some things to deal with here..."

"Okay, that's my answer. By the way, the male lead has been chosen according to your recommendation, the British actor Jason Statham. Have you chosen the female lead?"

(End of this chapter)