Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 364: The New Boss of the Huala Gang

“Will you continue to make Dark Invasion?”

"Of course, although the sequels will certainly become less and less interesting, as long as it can still make money, I will continue, but I will definitely not direct it myself..."

Zhang Chen had no intention of hiding his thoughts, and he did not have any artistic sentiments.

"See, this is typical producer thinking..."

Apparently the group had discussed similar topics before he came.

"Oh, what do you say?"

"We talked about the sequel a few times, and generally agreed that it would be hard for a sequel to surpass the first one, and that there was little point in its existence..."

"But after the success of the first film, this IP already has commercial value. The sequel can have a fixed audience without much promotion. From the company's perspective, this is a very cost-effective thing. Moreover, the sequel may not be inferior to the previous one, but it may need innovation..."

A horror film director is also a director, and he thinks in a director’s way.

This is actually very easy to understand. It’s like an actor who, after playing too many roles of a certain type, doesn’t want to take on that type of role anymore.

Director Chen is very reluctant to play the role of an emperor, and Anthony Hopkins now refuses to accept the role of a perverted murderer. It's the same principle.

Directors are considered to be at the top of the film and television industry. They all have certain aspirations, so it is normal for them to refuse to add to the story.

Otherwise, there wouldn't have been only two films of "Hostel" and two films of "The Darkness". Only "Saw" continued to be filmed because it kept innovating in torture instruments, which kept the audience feeling fresh. And the one who made the decision was not the director, but Lionsgate.

"Zhang, are you the producer of your own movies?"

“Yes, not only the producer, but also the company is mine.”

"Oh, I see. Then you are so lucky..."

It was James Wan who said, "It's great to be able to make my own decisions. You don't know how difficult it was for me to get the opportunity to direct Saw for the first time. If it weren't for Warner's insistence, the director's post might have been someone else."

Leigh Whannell is the screenwriter of "Saw". At that time, this script was chosen by Lionsgate, who wanted to film it. Leigh Whannell's only requirement was that the director must be James Wan, otherwise he would rather not shoot it.

That's why they envy Zhang Chen for being able to make his own decisions.

"You can also set up your own studio. I have one in Hollywood that specializes in producing horror films. We may have a chance to cooperate with each other then."

Speaking of this, Zhang Chen suddenly remembered what Pete said to him today.

"A Quiet Place" has been completed, and New Line wants to reboot "I Saw the Devil".

Everyone at New Line is optimistic about this script, even more so than "A Quiet Place".

If there had not been a sudden outbreak of targeted actions against Xingchen Entertainment in the country at that time, Zhang Chen would have needed to collaborate with Hollywood on a film to build momentum, and the film that would have been shot now would be "I Saw the Devil" instead of "A Quiet Place".

Now New Line wants to reboot "I Saw the Devil", but Zhang Chen definitely doesn't have time to direct it as he will be busy with "Painted Skin" in the first half of next year.

Since I can't direct it myself, I have to find another director. Isn't there a ready-made candidate in front of me?

"Listen, guys, I have a project with New Line and I need a director. Are you interested?"

After chatting with these guys for half a day, we became more familiar with each other and no one was too pretentious.

As for talking about deep things with people you just met, that doesn't exist.

Famous directors are not bad in ability. If they are interested, then it will be normal business cooperation.

"Oh, can you tell me what kind of story it is~"

"A story about a psychopathic murderer being beaten up, or, in other words, every evildoer will be punished by his own evildoer..."

Zhang Chen briefly recounted the plot of "I Saw the Devil". The project has already started and there is no possibility of plagiarism.

Rob Zombie: "I think it's very interesting..."

Alexander: "Indeed, there are many stories about perverted murderers, but it seems that there has never been a case where a perverted murderer has been defeated..."

Bousman: "This film must be very exciting to shoot~"

Bousman was eager to try, but was immediately beaten back to his original form by a sentence from James Wan: "Come on, Darren, you have no chance, we still have to work on Saw 2."

Bousman shrugged speechlessly. Rob Zombie also said, "I'm afraid I can't do it either. I have a movie that will start shooting soon. Alexander, you can consider it..."

Alexander Aja once directed "The Hills Have Eyes" and is very interested in this type of subject matter.

"I Saw the Devil" is a standard American horror film that can be very bloody, which is exactly the type that Alexander likes.

"I am indeed very interested."

"Well, I'll recommend you to the new line tomorrow. I believe they will agree."

Zhang Chen didn't say anything definite, but he felt that the problem shouldn't be serious.

Alexander is a famous director, so New Line should be willing.

"Oh, I have another story..."

Zhang Chen talked about the story of "Door Lock". Yes, it was the one starring Bai Baihe. It was a remake of a Korean movie, but the Korean version was also a remake of a Spanish movie called "While You Were Sleeping".

However, the Spanish version was very slow and the film was not successful. The Korean remake deliberately sped up the pace and added a perverted supporting role to enrich the film. "I have filed this script with the union. If anyone is interested, we can cooperate."

Zhang Chen is not planning to film the story of "Door Lock" by himself, at least not now. If someone is really interested, then there's nothing wrong with working together.

Anyway, all he wants is to make money and build good relationships. When "A Quiet Place" and "Don't Breathe" are released, he still expects these people to support him.

Zhang Chen gave out two gifts at once, which was quite a generous gift.

The members of the Huala Gang welcomed Zhang Chen's joining.

This is not a gang, it started out as a group of like-minded people and later evolved into a small group that helped each other.

The soul figure at the beginning was Leigh Whannell. Later, with the successive successes of "Saw" and "Fast & Furious", James Wan's status gradually improved, and he gradually replaced Leigh Whannell and became the core of the small group.

Although Zhang Chen is a new member, he is the boss of the company and has resources, so he was welcomed by everyone as soon as he joined.

After everyone chatted for a few hours, the party broke up.

The Hualabang gatherings are real gatherings, purely for exchanging experiences, without any messy stuff.

Zhang Chen was a little disappointed. This was not Hollywood at all.

……

The next day, "Hold Your Breath" started filming as scheduled.

Diane is very efficient. The preliminary preparations had been completed long ago, and she could start shooting as soon as she entered the studio.

Zhang Chen watched the film for a day, and if there was no problem with Federico Alvarez's directing, he would be ready to return home.

In the evening, I made an appointment with Blake Lively to watch a movie together - "Memoirs of a Geisha".

He had never seen this movie in his previous life, he only knew that it was very famous and was criticized a lot.

A story about Japanese geishas played by three Chinese women.

Beep, beep, beep! Zhang Chen knocked on Lively's door. After a few seconds, the door opened and a beautiful figure appeared at the door.

"Oh, you look so beautiful tonight~"

Blake Lively, who had dressed up specially, was indeed beautiful, exuding youthful charm all over her body. Just by taking a few glances at her, Zhang Chen felt his hormones stirring.

There were not many people in the cinema. Memoirs of a Geisha was released in the United States in December and was almost out of theaters at this time.

Frankly speaking, not very good.

I don’t know what Spielberg was thinking, but the film was 145 minutes long, more than 2 hours, and it made people feel sleepy.

It is said that film critics are optimistic about the film, but it is not Zhang Chen's cup of tea.

Not Blake Lively's cup of tea either.

She came from acting in youth feature films and was not interested in this somewhat dull Japanese culture.

In the evening, he had to have some conversation with Blake Lively and left some wealth, probably several hundred million.

Zhang Chen has returned to China, and the filming of "Hold Your Breath" is progressing in an orderly manner. Diane sends him the shooting progress every day. It is expected to be completed in another half a month, and foreigners do not need to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

It's strange to say, but now the Western New Year is popular in China. A lot of young people have no interest in the Lunar New Year, but are flocking to Christmas and celebrating the New Year's Eve at any time.

Twenty years later, the situation was reversed.

Chinese people have long lost interest in the Lunar New Year, but foreigners are celebrating it one by one.

The only thing that remains unchanged is the Korean sticks, they grab everything!
……

In China, Jing Tian is practicing every movement in the script at home according to the requirements of her acting teacher.

Long before Zhang Chen went abroad, she had received the script of "Crocodile Storm".

The script is wonderful, not inferior to "The Shallows". The most amazing thing is the identities of the characters in the play.

Zhang Chen actually allowed them to continue using the names of the characters in "Taken", which means that this drama can be seen as a spin-off of "Taken".

This is amazing.

"Taken" set a domestic movie box office record of 2.59 million, nearly 2.5 million more than "Hero"'s million.

Although this film has been taken off the screen in China, it has just been released in many foreign countries and is currently very popular.

Jing Tian could fully imagine that when "Crocodile Storm" was released, it would reap the benefits of "Taken" and the box office would definitely not be bad.

In the script, Zhang Chen changed the role of the father to the mother, that is, Xu Qing, the mother in "Taken".

Simply put, "Taken" is the story of a father saving his daughter, and "Mr. Brown" is the story of a daughter saving herself and her mother.

Jing Tian seemed to see himself being the center of attention in the future, but Zhang Chen's requirements were very strict. Jing Tian's acting skills must meet his requirements, otherwise it can only be a monster movie, and at most it can promote the sister film of "The Shallows", and it is not allowed to be connected with "Taken".

Since he wants to create a universe, Zhang Chen must ensure the quality of each film and cannot lower the level of the universe.

(End of this chapter)