Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 476 Schedule
"Fan, we're going to have something delicious tonight, do you want to join us?"

When they were about to finish work in the evening, Jason and Gyllenhaal came up to them, along with the black actor Cheadle.

As soon as Fatty Fan saw the posture of these people, he knew what they were going to do. He shrugged speechlessly and said, "The delicious food you mentioned, could it be dumplings?"

"Haha, you're right, it's dumplings~
Guo told me that there was a delicious dumpling restaurant not far from us, and he even drew a map for us..."

As Jason spoke, he showed off a piece of paper in his hand. Fat Fan took it and took a look. He knew the dumpling restaurant. It was called "Xian Lao Man" and they served Northeastern dumplings, which tasted really good.

Ever since these three guys first ate dumplings during the Chinese New Year, they have been conquered by this food.

I have to do this every now and then, and I don't know who I learned it from, eating dumplings and garlic at the same time~
In fact, many foreign actors and actresses are experiencing dumplings for the first time.

But not everyone likes it.

Jason, Gyllenhaal and Cheadle loved it, but LaBeouf didn't like it.

All I can say is that taste is a matter of personal preference.

"Forget it, you guys go ahead. As for dumplings, I only like those stuffed with Spanish mackerel..."

Fan Xiaopang is from Qingdao and has a special liking for Spanish mackerel dumplings.

"Squid stuffing, what is that?"

"Forget it, I can't explain it to you, just go ahead~"

After sending a few people away, Fat Fan looked at Zhang Chen, who was on the phone.

Zhang Chen was indeed on the phone, and it was with Diane.

"Diane, from your voice, it sounds like something good is happening~"

"Zhang, you guessed it right. I called you just to tell you the good news..."

"Oh, what happened?"

"It's Juno, produced by our company. The second week's results are out. It's in 55 theaters and the box office has reached 300 million US dollars. Haha, we succeeded, succeeded..."

Diane sounded happy on the phone.

But Zhang Chen didn't know what this meant. He still lacked understanding of the European and American markets, and even less understanding of previews.

But he was not in a hurry, Diane would definitely tell him.

Sure enough, before he even opened his mouth to ask, Diane couldn't wait to say, "Next week I plan to continue to expand the scale, at least 1500 theaters, so the box office will be at least over 2000 million US dollars a week. Do you know what this means?"

In North America, most non-mainstream movies are screened in advance.

In the first week, we usually find 6-7 theaters to test the waters. If the box office and word of mouth are good, we will expand the scale in the second week.

If the second week continues to perform well, it can be promoted and released like a commercial film.

"Juno" follows this model and the results are very good.

“You know what those movie critics said?”

Without waiting for Zhang Chen to answer, she continued, "I'll read you two paragraphs...

The movie "Juno" is like a fresh and playful wind, blowing through the jungle of youth-themed screens, outlining the growth journey of a girl after an unexpected pregnancy from a unique perspective, breaking the conventional narrative and stereotypes, and playing a different movement about love, responsibility and self-discovery..."

“Listen to this passage again:

Although it was a low-budget film, it is very well done. Whether in terms of plot or editing, you can see that the director has his own methods and philosophy. The techniques and routines are innovative and make people feel comfortable and warm. This is the dignity of a low-budget film. "

Diane seemed to be completely immersed in her own world: "You know, I have never looked down on film critics as a group of people who are too picky. But this time, haha, I have to admit that they have very discerning vision..."

"Then I wish you success~"

"No, no, no, Boss. I wish us success. Don't forget, you were the one who came up with the idea for Juno..."

It was indeed an idea provided by Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen had asked Diane to register many scripts with the Screenwriters Guild before, including "Juno", "Get Out", "The Hangover", and "The Purge".

It’s definitely not exactly the same as the original, but the general settings are similar, just to fill the void.

Then Diane fell in love with Juno at first sight.

The idea was provided by Zhang Chen, but he did not write the script.

After all, there are so many slangs in "Juno" that only a native American could write it well.

This movie is a freak. It cost $750 million and grossed $2.6 million worldwide, including over $1.4 million in North America.

To be honest, Zhang Chen himself doesn’t understand why this kind of film is so popular.

All I can say is that it may be in line with the psychology of contemporary American young people.

After a 16-year-old girl became pregnant, she chose to "bravely" give birth to the child.

In China, this is an insult to the word "brave".

Let’s see what domestic netizens have to say. This kind of thing can only happen in the United States.

But in fact, in the United States, this is also a big deal.

Don't think that the United States is very open. When Americans encounter something like this, their first reaction is definitely to abort it.

Who will actually give birth?

But the movie arranges the plot this way, and everyone just falls for it.

Audience direct comment: Juno is so cool!
In fact, it is just reaping the benefits of the bold subject matter. If others were to shoot such a story, they would definitely reject it.

No, I want to give birth to it!
Young people like to be unconventional. They don't consider the trivialities after the birth of a child. They just think that the decision to "give birth" is cool.

Juno is different from ordinary girls.

Then, word of mouth about the film began to spread on a large scale.

Watching Juno became a phenomenon.

This is the case with most things in the world. Once this happens, it has little to do with the movie itself.

As a result, "Juno" has set off a wave of movie-watching craze among young people.

When Diane was immersed in her beautiful fantasy, Zhang Chen woke her up: "Diane, have you ever thought about what will happen overseas if Juno does well at the local box office?"

Diane's laughter stopped abruptly. Yes, Cube does not have the ability to be distributed overseas.

It’s easy to deal with the North American box office, which is right under their noses, but the overseas box office is much more complicated than that.

Collaborate with the Big Six?
The Big Six are the ones that even dare to cheat Wall Street.

They use all kinds of cheating methods, and they are so professional that even Wall Street cannot find the problems.

If even Wall Street can be cheated, why can’t the Cube be cheated too?

To put it bluntly, the relationship between the Big Six and independent production companies is a bit like that between Golden Harvest and its satellite companies back then.

Then you can exploit them however you want.

However, the methods used by Golden Harvest back then were much more brutal. No matter how much the film sold overseas, they would tell you that they sold the copyright for one dollar, telling you blatantly that they were out to rip you off.

The Big Six are covered in a gorgeous coat, leaving you speechless with complaints.

"Then you mean..."

"For overseas copyrights, if the prices are similar, just sell them directly."

What you put in your pocket is yours.

Otherwise, everything is just illusion.

"Ok, I see."

Diane also figured it out. In fact, a company had already contacted her in the past two days.

She wanted to push the other person at first, but after being reminded by Zhang Chen, she felt that it was best to quit while she was ahead.

Although there will definitely be some loss if you sell it directly, at least the money will be returned quickly and you can see cash immediately.

Pretty good too!
"Oh, there's one more thing~"

After talking about "Juno", Diane remembered that she had another piece of news to tell Zhang Chen.

“Remember when you told me to watch The Walking Dead?”

"remember."

“I have contacted the comics’ author Robert Kirkman several times before, but his attitude was very tough.

But this time, the other party's attitude seems to have softened, I think there is hope~"

After hearing what Dai An said, Zhang Chen immediately stopped feeling sleepy.

The Walking Dead is a bigger gold mine than Juno.

It took twelve years to complete the filming.

I've been making money for the past twelve years.

And the ending was not because the filming could not continue, but for the sake of a spin-off series.

It's really a gold mine, the kind that produces gold continuously~
"What conditions did he offer?"

"He hasn't said it yet, but I think he must have contacted people from other companies and felt that our offer was the most suitable..."

"We must get him. We can raise the price appropriately. As long as it does not exceed 20%, we can agree to it..."

Zhang Chen just hopes that the original author Robert Kirkman won’t be too greedy.

On February 2007, 2, the Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

The film submitted for this Olympic bid is "The Banquet".

It's weird!
Obviously, both "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "Painted Skin" are better than it, but those people still chose "The Banquet" in the end.

Perhaps they think that the story prototype of "The Banquet" is "Hamlet", which is easier to resonate with Western audiences.

But it turned out to be all in vain.

"The Banquet" was a complete failure.

Zhang Chen thought that the New Year would just pass like this, but he didn't expect that as the New Year was about to end, he became famous again.

The reason is that at the Lantern Festival Gala on the 15th day of the first lunar month, Zhao Benshan revealed to the outside world that the script of this year's popular TV series "We're Not Short of Money" came from Zhang Chen.

It immediately ignited the audience's enthusiasm.

The author of "Not Short of Money" is actually Zhang Chen?

This sketch is so popular~
The golden sentences contributed by "Not Short of Money" are so magical.

After the Spring Festival Gala, anyone can say something.

Human life is so short, sometimes it is just like sleeping, a day goes by when you close your eyes and open them again, haha~ Once you close your eyes and don’t open them again, this life is over, haha~

People should not take money too seriously. Money is something outside of one's body. Do you know what the most painful thing in life is? People die without spending their money!
Do you know what the most painful thing in life is? It is that you are still alive but your money is gone!
Who are you calling a girl? I am a real man.

This can be!
This really doesn’t happen!
The waves of Honghu Lake are pressing against each other, and the waves of the Yangtze River are pushing each other forward. Each wave is stronger than the last, and they knocked my father onto the beach.

If you can really lead me to the right path, I will thank you for eight generations. I will never forget you in my life, and I will never let you go even if I become a ghost.

Every year, Lao Zhao's sketches can contribute many golden sentences.

Isn’t Zhang Chen a director? How come he can also write skits?
And it’s written so well.

Although the Lantern Festival Gala is a party, what people like to watch more is actually its revealing segment.

Every year, the Lantern Festival Gala will reveal some secrets of the Spring Festival Gala, such as Shi Shengjie's three-minute forgetfulness...

Without the Lantern Festival Gala, Shi Shengjie will have to bear this blame for the rest of his life.

Thanks to the Lantern Festival Gala, Shi Shengjie was only scolded for half a month and then became a hero of the Spring Festival Gala.

Zhao Benshan took the initiative to reveal that the author was Zhang Chen because he actually wanted to repay a favor.

After all, Zhang Chen provided such a good script and didn't ask for a penny, so Old Zhao owed him a big favor.

He said it out loud to help Zhang Chen gain some fame. Then, above Zhang Chen's entry, there was one more talent: writing skits.

Now Zhang Chen is the top director in the country. He can also write songs and sketches.

Absolutely talented.

The kind that flows outwards
After Zhang Chen found out, he called Lao Zhao and said, "Uncle Zhao, you have caused me so much trouble. Now there are reporters blocking the entrance of the studio every day~"

"Haha, it seems that I, Old Zhao, meant well but ended up doing something bad. How about I explain it to you again?"

"Well, forget it. I'm afraid the more you explain, the less clear it will be."

"Hahaha~, okay, I'll go to Hengdian to visit you in a couple of days. Wensong also wants to thank you in person~"

"You're welcome, you can come anytime."

The biggest benefit of this time's "Not Short of Money" is that it made Wen Song famous.

Wensong is very famous now.

And it became popular overnight~
Old Zhao sighed. Originally, he wanted to promote Xiao Fengtian, but Xiao Fengtian and Zhang Chen did not get along. This script was written by Zhang Chen, and he specifically asked Wen Song to play the role.

Old Zhao is not blind, how could he not know what is going on?

Wensong and Xiao Fengtian are somewhat similar in their acting styles and are in competition with each other.

Now that Wensong has become famous, it will be extremely difficult for Xiao Fengtian to become famous again, unless he has other characteristics.

Thinking of the scene where Xiao Fengtian flirted with Zhang Li on the set, Lao Zhao couldn't help but sigh. It was all his own fault.
Today was the day for visiting the set, and Zhang Chen arranged a car to pick people up at the airport early.

Not only Lao Zhao came, but also Lu Yang and Chen Xiaowei.

Lu Yang brought a copy with him specially. He came today to let Zhang Chen see the finished film.

The post-production of "The Man from Nowhere" has been completed and he is very satisfied with it, but he doesn't know whether Zhang Chen is satisfied or not.

A group of people came to the set by car.

When I saw the model of 'Storm Red' that was dozens of meters high, I was still shocked.

Man, there is no one who doesn't like this.

Even though Old Zhao is already old, he is still excited to touch and look around.

"Brother Lu~"

Guo Fan came up with a smile on his face. He debuted with Lu Yang and was very close to Lu Yang.

Lu Yang also patted his shoulder: "I heard from Director Zhang that this big business is only supported by you, it's amazing..."

Hearing this, Guo Fan scratched his head in confusion: "No way, Director Zhang was praising me~"

While the two were whispering, Zhang Chen was also shaking hands with Lao Zhao.

After shaking hands, Master Zhao pulled Wen Song from behind to the front and said, "As your disciple, I must come and thank you in person~"

Although Wensong is usually very loud, he is a little shy at this time.

"I just want to say thank you to Director Zhang in person. Thank you for giving me this opportunity~"

Zhang Chen patted his shoulder and said, "You're welcome. It's just your luck. But as an artist, you must not get carried away. Especially now, because of the Spring Festival Gala, you suddenly became famous. It's easy to have problems with your mentality..."

Wen Song smiled and nodded when he heard this: "I understand. My master also reminded me of this, and I also paid attention to it~"

"Everyone take a half-hour break~"

When everyone came to visit, Zhang Chen took half an hour to accompany them and took them to visit the studio.

When they saw the cockpit built on a large hydraulic device, everyone was still stunned.

Even those who have made movies have never seen such a scene.

Science fiction movies really are...

Full of oppression!

Half an hour later, Zhang Chen asked Lu Yang to take the lead in filming while his party went to a cinema.

Book a hall.

Since you are all here, let’s take a look together.

Lu Yang's version of "The Man from Lone Ranger" is more like "Save Me from Evil" than "The Man from Lone Ranger".

The character creation in the original "The Man from Nowhere" was a complete failure.

One is that the pretentiousness is too strong, and the other is that the character is too positive.

The reason why people say that he is so good is that the male protagonist in the movie is like a policeman who never does anything bad.

Come on, you are an agent, a person walking in the dark, so what is the great and glorious thing to do?
If the protagonist is too pretentious, he will be like a walking corpse, not caring about anything except the little girl.

The knives cut his body just like they cut other people's bodies. He didn't feel any pain and had no emotions.

Zhang Chen felt that this way of expression was very low-level, and Abu should not be set up like this.

Zhang Chen made some changes to it and combined it with "Deliver Me from Evil".

I like the villain Jang Shin played by Lee Jung-jae in "Save Me from Evil".

There is a wicked spirit, and it doesn't stick to rules.

He felt that this was what an agent should be like, using any means necessary to achieve their goals.

Lu Yang understood Zhang Chen's understanding well.

This version of "The Man from Nowhere" has a fast pace.

The story mainly takes place in Thailand, and the villain is an organ trafficking group.

This can also be regarded as an echo of "Taken". This is the reason why he hated the trafficking gangs so much in "Taken".

The plot is simple and crude, it is about finding clues step by step and making progress.

The action director is still Rui An, and the gun director is still Taran Butler.

The style is basically the same as "Taken", the only thing missing may be the three and a half minute long shot.

The moves designed by Ruian are still sharp, exchanging injuries for injuries, injuries for lives, which makes the audience's adrenaline soar.

Cold weapons, hot weapons, explosions, car chases~
All the necessary elements are present.

At the same time, Lu Yang handled the emotional line between Abu and the little girl very delicately.

In order to save the little girl, he could kill everyone, just because the little girl called him "big brother"...

When the lights came back on, Zhao Benshan only felt sweat on his back.

The thrill and intensity of The Man from Nowhere was far beyond his expectations.

He knew that "The Man from Nowhere" was a spin-off of "Taken", but the director was not Zhang Chen after all.

I didn't expect the film to be so exciting. I was sweating while watching it.

Wensong on the other side was not much different.

This kind of film can be said to be tailor-made for men's adrenaline.

If you don't feel excited after watching it, then the movie has failed.

"That's a great shot. When are you guys going to go on set?"

Hearing Zhang Chen ask this, Lu Yang finally felt relieved.

He was afraid that Zhang Chen would be dissatisfied.
"Manager Dong wants to release it in the summer to boost the box office~"

Chen Xiaowei handed over a table which recorded the release schedules of this year's movies.

I don’t know what happened this year, but there are so many Hollywood blockbusters. In May, there was Spider-Man, in July, there was Transformers, and in August, there was Harry Potter…

Almost all good schedules have Hollywood blockbusters released, and they are all popular series.

Zhang Chen frowned, "Change it to the May Day schedule, and go head-to-head with Spider-Man 3. You can finish your work earlier and start the rest of the story earlier."

Lu Yang didn't understand at first, and then he was stunned.

"During this time, you can start preparing for Taken 2..."

Hearing Zhang Chen's words, Lu Yang was in disbelief at first, then ecstatic: "Hurricane 2? Leave it to me to shoot?"

Zhang Chen nodded: "Yes, I'll leave it to you. You did a good job on The Man from Nowhere, and I believe you can do a good job on Hurricane 2 as well.

In addition, are you interested in setting up a personal studio, like Ning Hao's Bad Monkey, so that you can invest in part of the works you direct in the future~"

Zhang Chen is never stingy when it comes to his excellent subordinates.

After the release of "The Man from Lone Star", Lu Yang became an instant hit.

If there was only one "Kowloon Walled City" it could be said to be a coincidence, but the success of two consecutive action movies can only be the result of strength.

By then, there will definitely be a lot of companies offering olive branches.

The market is not yet saturated with action movies like "Hurricane", so you can make money by shooting any movie.

If Zhang Chen wants to keep people, he must give up some of his interests.

A collaborative studio is undoubtedly the best way.

Lu Yang was a little confused for a moment. It was obvious that he had never thought about this before.

However, all this seemed quite different to Zhao Benshan.

He is also a businessman, but his management style is completely different from Zhang Chen's.

At Benshan Media, he has the final say and everyone works for him.

The so-called master-apprentice relationship is essentially that between boss and employee.

In Xingchen Entertainment, Zhang Chen could have done the job. Both Ning Hao and Lu Yang used to be Zhang Chen's subordinates.

One is a cameraman and the other is an assistant director.

But Zhang Chen chose the "studio" approach and gave his subordinates the greatest freedom.

It can be considered as letting them be their own boss.

Why is that?
Old Zhao couldn't figure it out.

Shouldn't we all have resources in our own hands?
But now is not the time to think about that.

The release date of "The Man from Lone Star" has been confirmed, but the release date of his "Wulin Wai Zhuan: The Treasure Hunt" has not yet been confirmed.

This time, in addition to thanking Zhang Chen in person, another purpose is to set a release date for "Wulin Waijia".

Zhang Chen thought for a moment and said, "Let's set it for July, the summer vacation season has just started~"

Lao Zhao was surprised, "But there's Transformers in July."

Even if he doesn't understand anything, he knows how popular "Transformers" is.

The childhood memories of a generation.

Zhang Chen didn't think it was that scary.

"Transformers" did well at the domestic box office, but Zhang Chen felt that it was not really that good.

"It's okay~"

Looking at Zhao Benshan's expression, it was clear that he didn't understand. Zhang Chen explained, "The movie version of "Wulin Wai Zhuan" is actually different from ordinary movies.

It is more like a sequel movie, which has a fixed fan base.

The box office of this kind of movie is generally not very high, but not very low either, because the fans are fixed.

So whether it is released during the summer or Lunar New Year, it is the same.”

(End of this chapter)