Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 215 Zhang Chen wants to make a blockbuster
Surf Bar, Los Angeles
There are countless bars like this in Los Angeles.

In the corner of the bar, a figure sat there quietly, occasionally taking a sip of the beer in his hand, but his eyes kept glancing at the door from time to time, as if he was waiting for someone.

Just at this moment, the doorbell suddenly rang, and then a figure appeared at the door.

A smile suddenly appeared on Jason's face.

Zhang Chen was looking around when he saw Jason waving at him in the corner, and he walked over with a smile.

"Hi Jason, long time no see."

"Yeah, I didn't expect you to be in Los Angeles. I came here after receiving your call."

"Sir, what would you like to drink?"

Zhang Chen had just sat down for a while when the waiter came over to ask.

While Zhang Chen was still hesitating, Jason next to him said, "I suggest you try the white beer here, it's pretty good~"

"OK, let's have a glass of white beer~"

The waiter left, and a few moments later a glass of wheat drink with a strong hop aroma was served.

The two raised their glasses, clinked them together, and then continued.

"By the way, Zhang, congratulations on The Shallows making 1900 million in the first weekend. You succeeded."

“Thank you. I hope Eden Lake can have such an opportunity as well.”

"Yes, I am looking forward to it too. I don't want to live in obscurity like this anymore."

"Jason, why are you so unhappy lately?"

Hearing this, the bald guy shook his head bitterly: "Not very good. After Eden Lake, no one asked me to act. My agent is looking for opportunities for me these days, but this is Hollywood. There are too many young people like me looking for opportunities..."

Zhang Chen knew that what he said was true. Hollywood is a holy place in the minds of filmmakers all over the world and it naturally has a siphon effect.

Filmmakers from any country in the world, no matter what their status, have the same dream: to make it into Hollywood.

Especially from America's allies, such as Britain, Australia, and Canada, almost all the outstanding actors from these countries have come to Hollywood.

They are already successful in their own country, but they have to start from scratch when they come to Hollywood, and they still enjoy doing it.

"Don't worry, Jason. Didn't I come to film with you?"

"Zhang, you have a new play coming up? Which one is it? I Saw the Devil or Law Abiding Citizen?"

Jason was very excited to hear the news. The two films he just mentioned were the ones Zhang Chen had told him about, and he had even read the scripts.

Jason's heart leaped with joy. He picked up the wine glass in his hand and then put it down again. He seemed to want to drink some wine to cover it up, but he felt that this was too deliberate.

"No, no, no, Jason, you're wrong. It's neither "I Saw the Devil" nor "Law Abiding Citizen". It's a new movie I directed called "Taken"..."

"Taken? A disaster movie?"

"No, it's an action movie. Simply put, it's a story about a retired secret agent going on a killing spree."

Jason looked thoughtful. After hearing the word "agent", he asked uncertainly, "Like in The Bourne Supremacy?"

"That's about right. Are you interested? I've reserved a villain role for you, a human trafficker who has a lot of interactions with the protagonist in the early stages of the film..."

Zhang Chen was talking about Mark, the Albanian leader.

Jason was a little disappointed, and Zhang Chen asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I thought he would be the male lead..."

Zhang Chen told him that he would be the male lead in the next work, and he had been looking forward to it.

"Oh, the next one is fine, but not this one. But it's okay, if you're not interested, I can find someone else."

"No, no, no, Zhang, I'm just kidding. I'll take any role that comes my way. Right now I'm in desperate need of any opportunity to show off my face in North America.

"Jason, you are right to think so. It is not easy for foreigners to survive in North America. You should cherish every opportunity. This is true for you and me."

"Yes, Zhang, you are absolutely right. Thank you for taking care of me. I thank you for your eight generations of ancestors..."

"Ok?"

The air seemed to freeze in an instant, and Jason realized that he seemed to have said something he shouldn't have said.

Puzzled, "Zhang, am I wrong? I learned this sentence from someone..."

Zhang Chen then looked at Jason with pity and patted his shoulder: "The guy who taught you this sentence must be playing a trick on you. This is not a good thing to say."

"OK, sorry, it seems I was really fooled. When I get back, I will let him see the demeanor of our Ansa men."

"Haha, I'm looking forward to it. Then we've got a deal. The filming will start in about half a month. You have to make time for it."

"Of course, no problem. What I have the most now is time. But Zhang, you have to promise me that you will let me be the male lead in the next play..."

"No problem." Zhang Chen and Jason high-fived.

……

After securing the roles of gun director and Jason, Zhang Chen returned to China. He received a call from Xu Jinglei, and the premiere of "Letter from a Stranger" would be held in two days.

He must go back to show his support. When "The Shallows" was being filmed, Xu came to show his support. This is a favor, and he has to repay it.

Rong Xinda, in Zeng Jia's office

There was a knock on the door. After getting an affirmative answer, Yang Xiaomi pushed the door open and walked in.

"Sister Zeng, are you looking for me?"

Zeng Jia behind the desk looked like a senior executive, and she was indeed a senior executive. As the artist director of Rong Xinda, she was already an unattainable position for Yang Xiaomi.

"Did Zhang Chen say when the filming of Painted Skin will start?"

Yang Xiaomi shook her head: "He didn't say that. He just said that there were some problems with the review of the Painted Skin project and it needed to be put on hold."

Seeing Zeng Jia's face didn't look good, Yang Xiaomi was also a little nervous. "What about his new movie? Did he say he would give you a role or something? Didn't your best friend fight for you?"

This time Yang Xiaomi didn't say anything, but shook her head. She felt that Zeng Jia must want to ask something else, and bringing this up was just an excuse.

Sure enough, Zeng Jia continued, "There's a handsome supporting role in Zhang Chen's new drama Taken. Sister Xiaowan wants Lin Shen to play the role. Can you ask your bestie to mediate? The company won't treat you unfairly..."

When she heard this, Yang Xiaomi suddenly felt a little aggrieved.

For other artists, it is the management companies that help them find roles, but in her case, not only is the company unable to help, the artist also has to use her own connections to help the company's prince get roles. What is this?

He never treated me badly, and now I don’t see him paying much attention to me.

But Yang Xiaomi couldn't refuse directly, so she could only say tactfully: "Sister Zeng, I can mention it to her, but I don't know if it will work. My best friend has gone to Chongqing with the crew to film "Crazy Stone" and is not in Beijing. Besides, Zhang Chen is quite disgusted by this. I have already mentioned it to her once because of my problem."

Zeng Jia knew this was a rejection, but she didn't get angry. She nodded and said, "Okay, I get it. Go and do your thing."

After Yang Xiaomi left, Zeng Jia recalled the scene when Li Xiaowan came to find him.

"Wang Jinghua has won the male and female lead roles in Zhang Chen's new film, so it's not too much to give us a supporting role, right? I won't force it, just the handsome guy role at the airport will do, a small supporting role, not a big part, just right for Lin Shen to show off his face."

Zeng Jia got a headache just thinking about it. From Li Xiaowan's tone, it seemed that Zhang Chen was just like their relative. He gave 100 yuan to the eldest sister, so shouldn't he also give something to the second sister to make everything fair?

Damn it, the key point is, is Zhang Chen your relative?
But there is no way, she is just an employee, and if her boss makes a wish, she has to be responsible for fulfilling it.

But how to achieve it? She started to worry again.
Zhang Chen is well-known for being difficult to deal with. He is the kind of person who dares to offend anyone and gives no face to anyone.

Even if she came in person, it was hard to say whether the other party would give face to her or Rong Xinda.

If one of them is not handled properly, Yang Xiaomi’s role might also be ruined.

Zeng Jia wondered if there were any other breakthroughs, and then he thought of Dong Jianqiang.

Zhang Chen is a stone in the toilet, but Dong Jianqiang is not. Thinking of this, he started to ask people for Dong Jianqiang's phone number.

……

Xingchen Entertainment, Dong Jianqiang's office

The office door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and then Zhang Chen's figure appeared at the door.

"You're back~"

Zhang Chen nodded: "Well, Xu Jinglei's new movie is going to have its premiere, and I have to be there, so I came back early. Does the company have anything to do these two days?"

"Hey, there's still a lot to do. If you hadn't come back I would have called you."

Zhang Chen took the paper cup and was about to get some water, but Dong Jianqiang said, "I have some tea here~"

Zhang Chen waved his hand: "I'll just drink this. This is quick. What's the matter? Tell me~"

Hearing this, Dong Jianqiang picked up his little notebook on the desk and read it excitedly.

"First, the budget for Taken is out. It's going to cost $1.1 million. Man, you've finally figured it out. You're going to make a blockbuster."

Dong Jianqiang was a little excited.

He read the first draft of the script for Taken and didn't think much of it.

Then the second edition, and the third edition, became more and more popular.

The final budget actually reached 1.1 million.

Big investment, big scene, although there are no big stars, it is still a blockbuster.

He was a little disappointed when "Painted Skin" failed to pass the review, but he didn't expect that Zhang Chen would turn around and make "Taken", which would also be a blockbuster.

This is so exciting.

There is no company in the industry that doesn't want to make a blockbuster.

Blockbuster movies represent the strength of a company.

The fact that you can attract investment to make blockbuster films shows that the industry recognizes you.

If your blockbuster can still make a profit, it is a testament to your own strength.

"so tall?"

"Yes, mainly because the film had to be shot in the United States, and you added several explosion scenes."

Zhang Chen replaced all the not-so-good gunfights and action scenes in the original "Taken" with the style of "John Wick", which is bound to have a much lower budget.

In addition, Director Chen and Zhang Jin both appeared in this film. Although they were only guest appearances, they are very important to the agent universe.

Director Chen’s part is simple, it just involves talking on the phone.

Zhang Jin is so amazing that Zhang Chen specially added a scene for him.

Brian's search for his daughter in France attracted the attention of the police. Brian was defined as a dangerous element and GIGN was sent to arrest him.

The police pursuit was bound to slow down his pace of rescuing his daughter, so he called his friend Lao Li for help.

Lao Li sent out his apprentice Ali.

Ali only had one scene, taking a few mercenaries to stop GIGN, preventing them from continuing to track Brian.

Although it's only one scene, it's very exciting.

Zhang Chen plans to directly bring in the most classic prison van blocking scene in "The Hitman's Bodyguard", which will be absolutely awesome.

I can’t say anything else, but he has plenty of exciting scenes like this in his mind, which can definitely stimulate the audience’s adrenaline.

Since we are going to teach Wu Yusen how to make spy films, of course we have to come up with some real stuff.

In this way, the budget will naturally go up.

(End of this chapter)