I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 233 Chen Jin vs Bell!

April 2011, 4, Lishui Shiqiu Film and Television Base.

Chen Jin had just finished filming a shooting scene.

There are no fierce gunfights, it's all just for show, it's a literary drama; and it's not directed by Zhang Yimou, but by Joss Williams, a British guy.

But this guy is very famous.

He is a famous war special effects master in Hollywood, and has created many world-renowned works such as "Band of Brothers", "Saving Private Ryan", "007", "Tomb Raider", and "Harry Potter".

The war and explosion scenes in the film were all completed by his team, and this time is no exception.

"Brother Jin, phone call!"

Wang Yuanyuan, dressed like a refugee, handed the phone to Chen Jin, who had just walked out of the set and looked even more miserable.

His face was covered in mud and looked miserable, and his makeup was very old. He looked to be about 30 years old, but his eyes were very sharp.

The energy and spirit are still there.

In the entire Shiqiu base, because there are so many foreigners from all over the world, many people use translation software to communicate; everyone wears headphones, so there is basically no sound in the base, and everyone talks like they are on the phone, using headsets and walkie-talkies.

Everyone is responsible for their own shooting area, and Zhang Yimou is of course in his main base - the church.

The battlefield scenes outside were shot jointly by several directors and assistant directors.

Today is the third day of the resumption of work on "The Flowers of War". The day before yesterday, Chen Jin, under the leadership of Zhang Yimou, met Zhang Weiping's wife Zhang Jing.

Chen Jin asked Guo Xun's wife Sun Ran to check the initial investment, which amounted to more than 6400 million yuan, including Bale's salary. Of course, there was still a balance that had not been paid, which would only be received after the filming was completed.

Producer Huang Xinming has detailed records of every transaction.

Lao Huang is an old team member of Zhang Yimou and his absolute confidant. From "Qiu Ju Goes to Court" in 92 to the present, he is in charge of every film production, including overall planning, crew expenses, notice arrangements, etc.

Therefore, there were not many discrepancies in his accounts. There was definitely some embezzlement, but if it was not too outrageous, Zhang Yimou would just turn a blind eye to it. However, there was no way this time. The crew's expenses were reduced, and every penny had to be calculated carefully.

It was he who revealed in the future that the actual production cost of "The Flowers of War" was 127619600.73 yuan, which was less than 1.3 million yuan, accurate to the decimal point. Zhang Weiping had no way to deal with him and could not sue Zhang Yimou at all.

And now, the cost must be 1 million. Although Chen Jin has no such requirement, Zhang Yimou does not want Chen Jin to spend more money, so he must be frugal.

……

"Brother Jin, the copyrights of all Director Zhang's movies have been taken back!"

The current call was from Yan Lukuan, the legal officer of Chen Jin's company.

After discussing the transfer of the "Jinling" project with Zhang Jing, Film Science was the one who contacted her on the follow-up.

He is the main person in charge, and Yan Lukuan's family all studied law, so he knows much more inside information than Chen Jin and Zhang Yimou. Unless Zhang Weiping pays the fine of more than 9 million yuan, he will definitely be sentenced.

But Zhang Weiping obviously couldn't come up with so much money, mainly because Zhang Jing was unwilling to pay, so he just paid the money in New Picture's account and the money given by Chen Jin and others.

A total of more than 5 million.

This is funds that the Audit Bureau can check, and she can't transfer it at all.

There are also some real estate properties that need to be auctioned.

"Zhang Jing has indeed completely denied all responsibility. Zhang Weiping said she was aware of the money, but Zhang Jing said she didn't know whether the tax had been paid!"

"New Picture's tax is normal, so Zhang Jing really doesn't have any big problems!"

Yan Lukuan was talking and Chen Jin nodded.

That's just as he guessed.

When disaster strikes, we all fly away.

Considering such a large sum of money is involved, Zhang Jing must have had her own thoughts. After all, she has a son and it is impossible for her to use all the money to pay the fine.

The most important thing is that she can't afford it, and there is still a gap of more than 4 million yuan, which she definitely can't get out.

So I just lay down.

She has now handed over all the funds in the account, plus the copyrights of the company's films, and sold everything that can be sold.

Zhang Weiping will probably have to rebel for several years.

"There are several copyrights in Zhang Jing's hands, right? And his son?"

"Well, the tax bureau can't collect this, just as you guessed!"

The copyrights of Zhang Yimou's films are not all owned by New Picture. Zhang Weiping transferred several of them to Zhang Jing and his son, but now they are all under the name of Chen Jin. This was a project he had discussed with Zhang Jing before.

The 5000 million package includes the copyrights of ten works including "Hero" and "Curse of the Golden Flower", but the payment must be made in 24 installments.

In Chen Jin's words, there is not that much money left in the Film Science account.

After that, all subsequent revenues from the ten films, Internet multimedia copyrights, etc. will belong to Film Science.

With the future development of mobile Internet, Chen Jin will definitely make money; and he will also earn a lot of overseas audio and video revenue from "Hero", "House of Flying Daggers", etc.

Zhang Jing had consulted other film and television companies, but the price offered by Huayi was not as high as Chen Jin's.

At this time, of course, all the film and television companies were raising their prices. Chen Jin was the most sincere, but the payment had to be made in installments. Zhang Jing was not afraid that Chen Jin and Zhang Yimou would cheat because she had the leverage.

The most important point stipulated in the contract is that Zhang Yimou's privacy must not be disclosed. Zhang Jing certainly understands what this means.

Two-way protection.

It is obvious that she only wants money now, and it is said that she is preparing to take her son abroad.

Of course it's her business.

Yan Lukuan and financial officer Sun Ran have been dealing with this matter these days. They have to sort out all the payments clearly, because some of them are for tax collection, and if you call New Picture, it is equivalent to collecting subsequent fines; and some of them are for Zhang Jing and his son.

This money cannot be collected as tax, and it can be considered as pension insurance for her and her mother.

To be honest, Zhang Weiping is quite good to his wife and son. He knew how to transfer the valuable copyrights of several Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower" to them. I just don't know if Zhang Jing took the initiative to ask for it.

"Thank you for your hard work, Brother Yan!"

"Tell my sister-in-law too, I'll treat you when I come back!"

Chen Jin smiled, the matter had finally come to an end.

It will probably take some time to determine what will happen next with Zhang Weiping. The investment in "Jinling" was coordinated by Film Science.

The one who suffered the most, of course, was Zhang Yimou. He had to wait until Zhang Weiping was released from prison before he could get his share of the more than 1000 million yuan in film remuneration.

At that time, I guess the only solution is to sue.

But judging from Zhang Yimou's expression, it seems that he doesn't want this money... anymore.

More than 1000 million, just say no.

Zhang Yimou is really awesome!
For the past ten years, I have been working for Zhang Weiping for nothing.

Both "The Hawthorn Tree" and "Jinling" were filmed for free, simply out of love.

Chen Jin does not have the same great moral integrity as him, but she still has to give what she deserves to Zhang Yimou. Zhang Yimou may not want it, but Chen Jin cannot refuse to give it.

In the original timeline, Zhang Yimou didn't get the money and sued Zhang Weiping several times. Then Zhang Weiping became a deadbeat, but Zhang Yimou still didn't give him a penny.

……

"See, I was right. We still have to rely on Brother Jin for this matter!"

After Chen Jin finished the call, he walked towards Huang Haibai and his group, who were squatting there eating boxed lunches.

Chen Jin also took a box and smiled, "What else, watching the crew shut down?"

"So, I have to say, Brother Jin is really generous!"

"Is Director Zhang's eyes filled with tears of gratitude towards you?"

A few guys came up covered in dust and dirt. They actually had quite a lot of scenes, but in the end only a tiny bit was left, making them almost like passers-by.

"get out!"

"This is called a favor of recognition. After all, I became famous thanks to Director Zhang!"

Chen Jin was boasting and opening his lunch box.

Wang Jingchun and a few others were indeed laughing, and they couldn't bear to expose Chen Jin's true face.

"Anyway, just hang out with Brother Jin!"

"Hold on tight to Brother Jin's thighs!"

"Director Zhang, I guess we can still work together in the future, right?"

"Tsk, it's different when you have money, I want to be rich too!"

In their opinion, this opportunity is obviously not available to everyone; Zhang Yimou must be very grateful to Chen Jin this time. Not only them, but the media also think so.

Are you kidding? The filming of Nanjing was almost suspended indefinitely, and Hollywood superstar Bale was ready to pack up and go back home. It was Chen Jin who managed to revive the crew. How could Zhang Yimou not remember this contribution?!

"Brother Jin, let's go to the church after dinner. Director Zhang wants to see you!"

The assistant director came over and shouted, and now Huang Haibai and the others had no doubts. Ascended.

Chen Jin has become Zhang Yimou's partner overnight. Which of these actors would not be envious?

Fortunately, I was able to form a comradeship with Chen Jin that lasted less than half a month. The original training period was half a month, but after the expenses were reduced, we joined the crew and started filming in 10 days.

"Okay, I'll be there after I finish eating!"

Chen Jin was picking at the food, and Huang Haibai smiled and put a piece of meat on Chen Jin's lunch box.

Seeing this, the others also followed suit and picked up food for Chen Jin.

"That's enough, I can't eat anymore!"

"Don't try that on me! If anyone tries to please me again, I won't give him a role anymore!"

"Hahaha!"

Everyone was laughing, and they actually quite liked Chen Jin's personality.

Which actor wouldn't want to get to know this humble investor? !

"Then Brother Jin, I will be responsible for bringing you lunch boxes from now on!"

"I'll take the costume!"

"I'll give you a back massage..."

"..."

A few guys surrounded Chen Jin like funny guys. After they finally finished their meal, they kicked each of them.

"gone!"

Chen Jin took the napkin that someone handed to him and wiped his mouth.

Some of the guys saluted, some saw them off respectfully, it was a very interesting scene anyway.

After taking a few steps, Chen Jin saw the most conspicuous building in the entire base - the Catholic Church.

Half of the scenes in "The Flowers of War" were shot here. The Shiqiu Town Government spent more than 1000 million yuan to build it, which was a local investment attraction.

The government also wants to borrow Zhang Yimou's influence to win more opportunities for this town. The film and television base has only been built to one-fiftieth of its original size, and Shiqiu has become very famous even before the filming started.

The main filming location of "The Hawthorn Tree" has now become a famous tourist attraction, and the local villagers have made a lot of money from this movie.

And the hawthorn tree has become a check-in spot in the scenic area.

Of course, Jinling also wants to build it well.

"Director Zhang!"

When Chen Jin walked into the Catholic church, he saw Zhang Yimou and a foreigner in a godfather robe eating lunch boxes and chatting with each other.

Nini sat opposite them and was responsible for translation.

The Twelve Beauties and many students were sitting on the long table behind them, talking and laughing while eating.

"Hey, you're here?"

Zhang Yimou's spirit has recovered a lot. Strangely enough, this old man seemed like a different person as soon as he arrived at the crew.

Those who don’t know would never imagine what he went through in the past few days.

"Bell, you know him, right?"

Zhang Yimou pointed at Christian Bale next to him and introduced Chen Jin to him. Ni Ni hurriedly translated.

However, Chen Jin went straight towards Bell who raised his head.

"Hi, Christian!"

"Nice to meet you!"

Chen Jin greeted him with a smile, and Bell also stood up and smiled. It was obvious that he had known Chen Jin's name for a long time. He stretched out his arms and gave Chen Jin a big hug warmly.

"Chen, I know. Director Yimou told me about you. You were the best newcomer in Venice last year!"

"Haha, thank you, you deserve the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor!"

Chen Jin patted Bell on the back: "I have watched The Mechanic many times!"

This was the first time Chen Jin and Bell met. They had met several times before because they were both filming a movie, but they had never had a formal conversation.

This guy didn't have any superstar airs in the crew. He got along well with all the actors in the crew, and even gave surprises to the young actors in the crew and celebrated their birthdays. He was really down-to-earth. Moreover, for this role, he even read many books related to the Nanjing Massacre.

Very well prepared.

"It's like this, the day after tomorrow you come to film the scene with Bell Church, and I'll tell you something!"

Zhang Yimou called him here for this matter.

This is also the only scene between Instructor Li, played by Chen Jin, and Bell. The conflict is quite intense, and Ni Ni is also involved.

"Ok!"

After Chen Jin finished speaking, he chatted with Bell in English about their scenes together. Sure enough, this guy was also looking forward to it.

"You know, I've been filming with girls all the time lately!"

Bale was acting so exaggeratedly that Ni Ni beside him started laughing: "Is it because I acted badly?"

"No, no, no, I don't give my opinion on the performance!"

“But as for Chen, Director Yimou told me several times that his performance is quite amazing!”

Actually, this is a very tactful way of putting it.

After all, including Ni Ni, all the actors are newcomers, and their acting skills are definitely not comparable to Bale's.

It must have been quite torturous for him to film it.

Anyway, if Chen Jin were to take the photo, he would definitely be very depressed.

In addition, Zhang Yimou has high requirements, and the repeated NGs have a significant impact on the actors' performance state.

The key point is that except for Bale and Nini who can communicate in English, some other actors are not good at foreign languages, which makes communication more difficult.

So I couldn’t audition and could only practice again and again.

"Then I'd like to take a look..."

Ni Ni has never seen Chen Jin act, and the scenes between the two of them are actually more than those between Chen Jin and Bell.

In the original novel, Instructor Li and Yu Mo, played by Ni Ni, actually had an ambiguous relationship.

However, this love story was not explicitly stated in the script because Zhang Yimou thought it was a bit too trifling.

The original work is actually quite nonsense.

Zhang Yimou and screenwriter Liu Heng really changed a lot of places. If they were to shoot according to the original novel by Yan Geling, Zhang Yimou would probably be criticized by the Chinese people and doubt his life.

But even so, it was still badly criticized when it was released.

Lao Zhang really has to take a lot of blame.

"Perform well the day after tomorrow!"

"Bell has been a little emotional these days, but I promised him that you are different from the others!"

Zhang Yimou suddenly stood next to Chen Jin's ear, patted his shoulder and spoke.

Chen Jin was under too much pressure from this game.

"Director Zhang, I think you haven't seen me filming since The Hawthorn Tree?"

“I may not be able to perform Jinling!”

Chen Jin must lower Zhang Yimou's expectations, in case the film fails.

"Lao Tian told me!"

Zhang Yimou smiled like a chrysanthemum: "He said you have already stepped half a foot into the Venice Film Festival Best Actor Award!"

Chen Jin: “…”