Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 396 ShowBox Visitors
Peninsula Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui

Golden Harvest Film Company welcomed a special guest today. The secretary waited at the elevator door. When the elevator door opened, the secretary showed a professional smile: "Hello, Mr. Dong~"

Dong Jianqiang walked out of the elevator with a smile: "Sorry to have kept you waiting~"

"Mr. Dong, you are too polite. Our President Zou is already waiting for you in the office~"

"Thank you~"

Dong Jianqiang followed the secretary to the chairman's office of Jiahe and finally met Zou Chongheng.

That’s right, it was Zou Chongheng. Of course it couldn’t be Zou Wenhuai. He was already over 80 years old and had long since stopped caring about worldly affairs.

"Mr. Dong, nice to meet you~"

"Mr. Zou, I'm here to visit you~"

"Please sit down~"

The secretary served coffee and left, leaving Zou Zhongheng and Dong Jianqiang alone in the room. Zou Zhongheng finally spoke up: "Your company has been making a lot of noise these past two days~"

Dong Jianqiang smiled helplessly: "Our Director Zhang is a man of character, and he is willing to stick up for his friends~"

Zou Zhongheng smiled and said, "I have heard about this as well. I can only say that it is great to be Director Zhang's friend~"

After saying these polite words, Zou Zhongheng smiled and asked, "Then I wonder why President Dong is here this time..."

Dong Jianqiang smiled and said, "I just came here to make friends..."

……

The filming of "Painted Skin" is still proceeding in an orderly manner, but outside of the filming, the staff members, big and small, look at Zhang Chen differently.

The war of words over the Academy Awards has been the hottest entertainment gossip in the past two days, and it inevitably spread to Yinchuan.

Everyone is in the circle and has their own information channels. Some people have even received inquiries from friends, asking whether it is true.

of course it's true.

Although they didn't see it with their own eyes, they all knew what Zhang Chen was like. He was a humanoid fighter jet.

What Fan Xiaopang, Huang Xiaoming and others like to do most these days is to surround Zhou Xun and listen to her tell the story of Zhang Chen's debate with a group of scholars.

Mr. Zhou also enjoyed it and transformed himself into a storyteller. Every time when meal was served, a large crowd would quickly gather around the moment his smoky voice sounded.

"When those two little bastards were ridiculing Liang Jiahui, our great director Zhang suddenly appeared out of nowhere, parted the crowd, pointed at the two bastards' noses and started to curse~"

"You didn't see it. Wu Yusen is also a big star, but his Parkinson's disease relapsed after being scolded by Director Zhang. And Zeng Zhiwei didn't dare to talk back after being scolded, and just kept his head getting bigger and bigger."

"Then why didn't he dare to talk back?"

"Because his weak spot is still in the hands of our Director Zhang~"

hiss~
There was a series of inhalations all around. What's the vital point?
My male compatriots looked at each other, and we all felt the same way, feeling a chill in our crotches.

Zhang Chen couldn't bear to listen any longer, so he quickly showed up, looking speechless.

"Is it as exaggerated as you say? I grabbed his finger at that time, okay? Don't mislead us~"

Looking at Master Zhou again, he did not have the embarrassment of a fake Li Kui meeting a real Li Kui. Instead, he smiled and said, "When have I ever misled you? Aren't fingers the weak spots?"

Now it was the audience's turn to have interesting expressions. "No, Mr. Zhou, are you so unrefined? Do you call fingers vital points in your family?"

But there is no way, if you want to listen, you have to endure it.

You have to allow the author some room for exaggeration.

Exaggeration is also an artistic technique.

"Do you want to hear it? Do you want to hear more? There will be a quarrel at the airport the next day, which will be even more exciting. If you don't want to hear it, then I won't say it."

Seeing the crowd clamoring, Master Zhou directly used a method to cut off the enemy's attack.

How dare you, a bunch of guys who don't even vote for the monthly ticket, make a fuss?
Everyone immediately quieted down. It didn't matter if it was exaggerated. At least they were eyewitnesses, and even if it was exaggerated, it was based on respect for the facts.

If they don't listen, they can only read media reports, which are even more exaggerated.
Mr. Zhou continued to tell the story, while Zhang Chen called Cheng Er and Wu Shixian aside again: "You performed well during the few days I was away last time. I watched all the shots, and they were very solid.

I have to leave again this time. The mode is the same as last time. You two can discuss it. After finishing the shots here, we will go to Huairou to shoot the last scene~"

The two showed reluctance on their faces, but were excited in their hearts.

They thought they would never have the chance to direct again after Zhang Chen came back, but they didn't expect the opportunity to come so soon.

"Alright, stop putting on this show for me. You're just waiting for me to leave."

Even though they were exposed by Zhang Chen in front of them, the two were not embarrassed, but instead smiled slyly.

The next day, Zhang Chen appeared again on a flight to Los Angeles and agreed with everyone in the Huala Gang to watch "Hold Your Breath" in advance. As the initiator, of course he had to be there.

Otherwise, who are you doing this favor for?
At Cube Company, Zhang Chen and Fei De Alvarez, the director of "Don't Breath", were waiting at the door. The first to arrive was Alexander Aja.

"Hey man, I heard you've been doing great lately."

Zhang Chen and Alexander hugged each other. This was really not a polite remark. Alexander Aja was responsible for the filming of "I Saw the Devil". The feedback given by New Line showed that they were very satisfied with Alexander.

Alexander smiled and patted Zhang Chen on the shoulder: "Not bad, the filming of "I Saw the Devil" went very smoothly and is halfway done. I guess we'll be able to see it in the cinema in the second half of the year~"

"Congratulations, man. The people at the new line are very satisfied with you and often praise you in front of me~"

"Haha, after the movie is released, if the box office is good, will you give me a bonus~"

There is no such thing as red envelopes in Hollywood. This is generally a common practice among Hong Kong crews, and the mainland has also learned this from Hong Kong.

Alexander had obviously heard of the idea of ​​red envelopes. Zhang Chen laughed and said, "No problem. If the box office is good, I will suggest giving you a red envelope~"

As they were talking, other people arrived one after another, including Ray, Darren, Rob, Toby, and James Wan.

Zhang Chen greeted and hugged everyone warmly.

"Zhang, where is the screening room? I can't wait to see your new work~"

James Wan is a guy who knows how to support others.

Zhang Chen smiled and waved his hands. This is not my work, it belongs to this person~
He then introduced Fede Alvarez to everyone: "Alvarez is the director of this play. I am at best just a screenwriter~"

Alvarez was almost dying of excitement.

Everyone present was a senior to him, and Alvarez had read all of their works.

Alvarez was still immersed in joy after shaking hands with several people one by one. Zhang Chen pushed him and said, "Hurry up and lead the way. Can't you see that everyone wants to see it?"

Alvarez Kang finally reacted and led the way.

He never thought that these well-known directors would come to watch his movies together.

In the small screening room, the lights went out and the Cube Films logo appeared.

Then, the story of "Hold Your Breath" officially begins.

A blind old soldier was walking his dog when he was targeted by three thieves. One of them said, "I heard that this blind man is a retired soldier from the Gulf War. As you know, soldiers get a lot of retirement money~"

Then, on a dark and windy night, the group fed the dog meat mixed with sleeping pills, and then one of them broke the bathroom glass and sneaked into the veteran's house.

After the man sneaked in, he ran to the front hall and opened the door.

Then, in order to avoid alarming the blind old soldier, the three men took off their shoes and walked barefoot on the floor.

Find the veteran's bedroom, light some incense, make sure the veteran is unconscious, then start searching the room.

Soon everyone found the locked basement.

Unable to pry the door open, a reckless person thought of using a gun to break the door lock. Anyway, there were no other neighbors nearby.

Then they found that the veteran who was supposed to be unconscious suddenly appeared behind everyone.

Perhaps it was because the soldiers were too sensitive to the sound of gunfire that even though they were unconscious, they were still awakened by the sound of gunfire.

Then the theft turned into robbery.

The reckless guy took advantage of the other party's blindness and showed off his weapon to the veteran soldier, but he didn't expect to be ambushed and killed by the other party.

Because he was the only one talking to the old soldier during the whole conversation, the old soldier mistakenly believed that only a thief had entered the house.

The veteran then locked the front door and boarded up the bathroom window through which they came in, but he accidentally smelled the stench of shoes.

After feeling the shoes, he realized that there were not one thief but three. Then, a killing started in the closed house...

Zhang Chen had seen the finished film before. Alvarez did a good job and had a very good grasp of the rhythm.

In this kind of movie, what you really care about is the setting. If you look closely, there are bound to be many logical bugs, but it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s good to watch.

At the end of the film, the blind old soldier drags the unconscious female thief back to his old house. The film officially ends when the door closes.

It's left blank, but everyone knows that the fate of the female thief will definitely be very miserable, just like the rich girl they found.

The moment the lights came on, applause broke out.

Everyone in the Huala Gang looked at Zhang Chen and Alvarez with a smile.

"A very qualified low-budget thriller, I think it's very good~"

"The pace is fast, there is no boring place~"

"It's my cup of tea. If it's released, I'm willing to go to the theater to support it~"

"Young man, if this is really your first work, I have to say, you must be an amazing guy~"

"Yes, I seem to see a rising star director~"

Everyone praised Alvarez so much that he didn't know what to say.

"Hold Your Breath" is certainly a qualified work, but it is not enough to amaze them. After all, it's all about human nature.

James Wan: "Zhang, I said before, if I don't like a movie, I definitely won't say good things about it, but in fact, I like it very much. If any reporter from the media interviews me, I will tell them that this is the best thriller I have seen this year~" No wonder he was able to make a name for himself later on, he was better at selling favors than others.

"Us too~" everyone echoed.

"Thank you so much~" This is exactly the effect Zhang Chen wanted.

Alexander Aja said excitedly: "Zhang, I think this format is really great. After I finish "I Saw the Devil", I also want everyone to watch it in advance. I believe it is a movie that can conquer everyone..."

It seems that everyone's evaluation of "Hold Your Breath" stimulated him. The director also has a desire to win. He believes that "I Saw the Devil" is better than "Hold Your Breath" in terms of script, actors, investment and other aspects, so he will definitely get more praise.

"Of course, no problem. I'm looking forward to that day, and I think everyone is looking forward to it too~"

"Yes, Alexander, I can't wait~"

If we can handle the Halabang, we will handle the publicity.

As mentioned before, films like "Don't Breathe" have a fixed audience and basically do not require much promotion.

After sending everyone away, Zhang Chen brought Alvarez to Diane's office.

"Everyone is gone?"

"Yes, are the media arranged?"

"Of course, it has been arranged long ago."

Starting tomorrow, the media will ask these people about their viewing experience, and then publish their praise in newspapers and horror fan forums.

By then, the posters in the cinemas will also specially state "Strongly recommended by the director of Saw"...

"Then I will go back tomorrow~"

"No, you'd better wait two more days~"

Hearing Dai An's words, Zhang Chen looked at her in confusion, and saw that she was smiling: "Why, there is another surprise?"

Diane smiled and nodded, not really planning to wait until tomorrow to tell him: "Didn't you ask me to help you sell the script to Korea? I sent the script of New World to ShowBox. They are very interested and are planning to come for an interview~"

ShowBox is one of the four largest entertainment companies in South Korea, the other three being CJ, New and Lotte.

But that was in the future. Now CJ is the only dominant company and New has not yet been established.

ShowBox has only been established for a few years. As a new company, it has a lot of ideas and drive. The film "Taegukgi: The Legend of the Taegukgi", which broke the dominance of "Titanic" two years ago, was produced by Showbox.

Zhang Chen has the impression that Showbox doesn't seem to be very fond of realistic themes. Their main focus in the past two years has been special effects films, such as "The Host" and "Kiss of the Dragon".

But never mind. Since Diane said the other party is interested, let's talk about it. There's nothing to lose anyway.

Zhang Chen met Showbox two days later, and the person who came was Kim Tae-wook.

Kim Tae-wook is the producer of "Taegukgi: Rise of the Taegukgi", and it seems that Showbox attaches great importance to this cooperation.

Everyone sat down in a cafe.

"Director Zhang Chen, I've seen your works, including The Shallows, The Dark Side, The Accidental Detective, Eden Lake, and Taken. What surprised me most was that these films were all made by one person, and it was said that you wrote the scripts yourself..."

Kim Tae-wook started by offering compliments, his expression a little exaggerated.

Showbox had a translator, but no one used it and everyone communicated directly in English.

After listening to this, Zhang Chen also smiled and replied: "I have also seen Kim's "Taegukgi: Flying Tiger, Dragon Ball Z". It is a rare masterpiece. It was able to break the box office record of "Titanic" in South Korea. Kim's contribution is huge..."

The sedan chair is carried by everyone, and since it is the first time for everyone to meet, there must be a wave of commercial flattery between each other first.

Kim Tae-woo really benefited from it, and what Zhang Chen mentioned was exactly what he was most proud of.

There are awesome movies every year, but the only one that broke the record and washed away the shame is "Taegukgi".

After going through the necessary process of mutual praise, Kim Tae-woo finally talked about the substantive things.

"Our company is very interested in the script of 'New World' sent by Ms. Diane. I personally feel that Director Zhang's 'New World' seems to be tailor-made for us in the Republic of Korea..."

Kim Tae-woo was indeed curious.

The script style of "New World" is absolutely impossible to be released in mainland China, and it does not conform to the North American tone. Instead, it has a very Korean style.

In the past two years, Korean realistic themes have become increasingly fond of cruel endings. Kim Tae-wook himself knows this. The "Mean Streets" and "Tazza" to be released this year are similar themes.

"It's not really tailor-made. I like Infernal Affairs more, but I think it's a little too idealistic. The undercover agent will never betray, and the police are sincere to the undercover agent. To be honest, I think it's a little fake...

Later I watched "Infernal Affairs 2". Although Ni Yongxiao was a big drug dealer, he was loyal to his family.

I tried to expand on this idea and think about what would happen if the gangs were loyal and righteous, but the police would do whatever they could to the undercover agents. Then the story of "New World" was born."

Zhang Chen talked nonsense in a serious manner.

These are all what I learned from reading reports in my previous life. The screenwriter of "New World" himself admitted that "New World" was inspired by "Infernal Affairs", but he himself prefers darker stories, and then he portrayed the police as villains.

"I personally like this story very much. I wonder if Director Zhang is willing to give it up?"

Kim Tae-woo doesn't care about any negotiation skills and just gets straight to the point.

Zhang Chen did not answer immediately, but changed the question: "If your company is going to shoot "New World", who will the director look for, and what will the cast be like? Have you considered it?"

Jin Taiyu's eyes lit up: "Director Zhang, do you have any recommended candidates? Why not tell me~"

Zhang Chen nodded and said, "I do have a few recommended candidates, and when I wrote the script I conceived it based on their images.

I recommend Lee Jung-jae to play Li Zicheng, I recommend Hwang Jung-min to play Ding Qing, Chief Jiang is the focal point of the play, it would be best if we find a veteran actor, I recommend Choi Min-sik, as for the director, I recommend Director Yoo Ha, of course, these are just suggestions~"

The people recommended by Zhang Chen are basically the original crew of "New World", except the director.

"New World" is a 2013 work directed by Park Hoon-jung.

But Park Hun-jung has not made a name for himself yet, and Zhang Chen is not sure about the other party's level, so he simply changes to Liu He.

Liu He is the director of "Dirty Streets", and the style of his film is consistent with that of "New World".

Jin Taiyu nodded. At first he was afraid that Zhang Chen would make random recommendations, but after listening to the list and thinking about it carefully, he found that they were all quite suitable.

Lee Jung-jae won the Blue Dragon Award for Best Actor in 99. Hwang Jung-min is not very famous now, but Kim Tae-wook happens to know him. He is an actor with very good acting skills and has no problem playing the role of Ding Qing.

As for Choi Min-sik, he is a national treasure actor in South Korea and there is no role he cannot play.

When he plays Section Chief Jiang, Section Chief Jiang comes alive.

As for the director, he also thought it was okay.

Jin Taiyu nodded: "I have no objection to the people recommended by Director Zhang, and the company should not reject them..."

Seeing that Kim Tae-woo had no objection, Zhang Chen was surprised. The other party was too easy to talk to.

Diane continued, "Since we both have the same basic understanding of the film, let's talk about the business side of things."

She glanced at Zhang Chen and said, "We don't want to do a one-off deal. With Zhang's current fame, he doesn't think highly of the money he can make from selling scripts, so we hope to get an investment..."

Hearing what Dai An said, Jin Taiyu was not surprised at all. He smiled and nodded: "Of course, but the investment proportion cannot be too large..."

This really surprised Zhang Chen and Dai An. They proposed to invest, but the other party agreed directly without even saying no.

There are only requirements on the investment ratio.

What the hell is this?

Jin Taiyu probably guessed what they were thinking, and smiled innocently: "Don't be surprised why we agreed so readily, because we also have our own demands~"

Oh, that makes sense.

Diane motioned for the other party to speak.

Kim Tae-wook cleared his throat and said, "We hope to obtain the Korean agency rights for all of Cube's works in the next five years~"

?

Dai An and Zhang Chen looked at each other with a bit of disbelief in their eyes.

"why?"

Jin Taiyu smiled slightly: "Because we are very optimistic about Director Zhang Chen, we have analyzed his works, and the style span is very large, but they are undoubtedly all good works.

Several of his previous works have performed well at the box office in South Korea, with most of them attracting more than 180 million viewers.

Before, he mostly cooperated with New Line, and New Line preferred to cooperate with CJ, so we couldn’t get involved in the Korean agency rights, but now it has become Cube. I think Cube should not have a fixed partner yet. We Showbox want to seize this opportunity. Of course, if Cube is willing to accept investment, we Showbox are also happy to become one of Cube’s shareholders..."

After Jin Taiyu finished speaking, Zhang Chen and Dai An finally understood.

It turns out that ShowBox wanted to learn from CJ.

CJ owns shares in DreamWorks, so all DreamWorks movies are distributed in Korea by CJ.

ShowBox is optimistic about Zhang Chen and also wants to obtain all distribution rights of Cube in South Korea.

Judging from their attitude, they obviously already knew about the relationship between Zhang Chen and the Cube in advance, otherwise they would not dare to make such a big bet.

The two exchanged glances, and Diane understood what Zhang Chen meant.

ShowBox is quite powerful, and Zhang Chen doesn’t really care who gets the distribution rights in Korea, but it is impossible for him to acquire shares in the company.

Diane got the boss's meaning and immediately changed her face: "Producer Jin, it's impossible to get a stake. Even for the distribution rights, I think it's not worth it to invest in just one movie."

Since the other party needed their help, Diane decided to have a good talk to see if they could maximize their benefits.

Jin Taiyu also knew that it couldn't be that simple, "What do you mean?"

Diane said directly: "I think one-for-one is a good idea. We will cooperate with ShowBox on a movie, and then we will open up the distribution rights of one movie to your company~"

Jin Taiyu shook his head: "If this is the case, I'm afraid the head office won't agree. Why not..."

Zhang Chen saw what business negotiations were like. The two of them were haggling over every tiny bit of benefit, each trying to gain the upper hand.

(End of this chapter)