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

Chapter 406 "Hollywood, I'm about to begin my conquest!"

drop!
Cheng Long opened the hotel room door and walked in, looking somewhat tired.

Approaching 60, his physical strength is declining day by day. These past few days, he has been focusing on the post-production of "Chinese Zodiac". In about six months, this work, which he directed, wrote, and starred in, will meet the audience.

Jackie Chan still has high expectations for this film, which he has poured his heart and soul into creating.

Since the flop of "1911", there has been a lot of doubt about his box office appeal. So this time, "CZ12" is an investment by him, Emperor Entertainment, and Huayi Brothers.

At this point, Hua Yi still believed in him, and to be honest, Cheng Long was quite grateful.

It's better to offer help in times of need than to add flowers to brocade. This isn't the first time the two have collaborated; Jackie Chan has known the two since "The Forbidden Kingdom."

"Little Big Soldier" was a true co-production between the two parties, but unfortunately, this one... did not perform well at the box office.

With the addition of "Shaolin" and "The Karate Kid", Jackie Chan has suffered five consecutive box office flops in the past two years. Although it is not enough to say that he has completely failed, when looking at the box office of 7-8 million or even 15 billion+ in mainland China, his tens of millions or a little over 1 million is indeed a bit hard to look at.

It's impossible that Jackie Chan didn't have any ideas.

His highest box office gross in mainland China is 2.12 million yuan for "Shaolin"!
The Karate Kid and The 1911 Revolution didn't even reach 50 million.

Does the market really not need Jackie Chan anymore?

Jackie Chan really didn't believe in this nonsense. Sure enough, Chen Jin called him, wanting to cooperate with him.
This is currently the hottest rising star in mainland China, and he's already making a run for Hollywood. His starring role in "Jinling" should be able to gross around 1 million at the North American box office.

Although he only had a short 10-minute appearance, and the role was unlikely to make any waves in North America, it was still a signal.

Finally, someone from China has made it into Hollywood.

Whether they succeed or not, at least their current level of fame is undeniable!
Pususu!
Cheng Long sat there rubbing his face, forcing himself to stay awake, and walked to his desk. His brothers were still drinking; he had come back under a pretext.

Because Chen Jin had already sent the script for the movie he wanted to film to his email.

"Starring Bale!"

Jackie Chan was still looking forward to this film, even after Han Sanpin called him and said that Chen Jin was collaborating with him.

At first, Cheng Long didn't really take it to heart, just considering it out of respect for Han Sanpin.

It wasn't until Chen Jin told him on the phone that Bale would be starring and he would only have a cameo role, but that his role would be very important and demanding, that Jackie Chan began to take the project seriously.

"To actually convince Bale, it seems the two got along very well during the filming of 'The Battle of Jinling'!"

Cheng Long muttered to himself, already opening the script for "A Trip to Hong Kong".

He took out his reading glasses from the table, put them on, and leaned close to the computer to start reading seriously.

"Zombies?"

When Jackie Chan saw this word, he was a little stunned.

Will this movie pass censorship in mainland China?
Forget it, this isn't something he should be thinking about. In fact, even without the mainland market, Bale and he alone have market appeal overseas.

Cheng Long wasn't trying to glorify himself.

He has more fans abroad than in China, and most of them respect him.

As Akira Kurosawa once said, his wisdom is not limited to the film industry; it applies to the entire industry.

You can conquer the whole world, but you can never conquer your own homeland!

Because they know you too well.

Everyone has flaws. As a public figure, he will inevitably have his flaws magnified. Even the slightest imperfection will be attacked and criticized by the public, and haters will follow.

These things are not reported abroad.

Unless you commit a major crime that causes global upheaval, you'll be known worldwide in the eyes of people overseas.

Zhang Yimou is the same.

In fact, the same is true for the Chinese public. They idolize stars from Japan, South Korea, and even Hollywood, and have far fewer haters than Chinese stars. Even when it comes to private gossip, Chinese celebrities are definitely more likely to have their scandals exposed.

But if it's Hollywood stars, they'll think it's normal and still think they're handsome and their movies are good.

The root cause is the lack of timely information dissemination.

There's also the saying "foreign monks chant better sutras," which applies not only domestically but all over the world. People from different countries tend to view celebrities from other countries through a filter.

Just like Jackie Chan, he has won over movie fans all over the world, but in mainland China and Hong Kong, there are many people who criticize him.

"Great story!"

Having directed so many films and also worked as a screenwriter, Jackie Chan can certainly tell the quality of a script.

He finally saw the role Chen Jin had told him about, the scavenger he was to play.

The character's appearance was unremarkable, and there was very little description of him in the script. It could be said that his role was not significant at all, and it was really no different from a cameo.

The description even left Jackie Chan speechless.

Isn't he just a homeless beggar?
What kind of scavenger is he? He's not even as good as someone who picks up trash.

But as he watched, he realized that this homeless man was actually part of the setup, and that he was also an important member of the main character's team.

It propelled the plot forward.

Just as Chen Jin said, this person... is very important!

From the initial panic of the disaster to the selfish escape at the beginning, and then to the manifestation of his kind heart, this character is an important thread in the direction of the film.

Most importantly, he represents a type of person.

A portrayal of the lowest strata of society.

People in society who have no capital, no job, and no home.

"Great notebook!"

Jackie Chan hadn't even seen the ending yet, but he already exclaimed in surprise.

The heroic sacrifice of boxer Shang Hua and the extreme reversal of the old lady in the train carriage gave Cheng Long a chill down his spine.

In this book, zombies are the obvious thing; the most realistic narrative is actually about—human nature.

If he thought the story was good just now, he now thinks it's not just the story, the character portrayals are even better.

Therefore, the meanings of his two sentences are different.

Ah Xiu exclaimed, "Uncle!"

The scavenger held the collapsed subway exit firmly, his body blocking countless zombies from the outside: "Go, hurry up!"

"Come on!"

In the end, the scavenger sacrificed himself to block a bullet so that the protagonist and his daughter Ah Xiu could escape.

Like those great people who were lifted up during the earthquake, he also did a great thing.

He used his body and will to stop the zombies.

"..."

At that moment, for some reason, Jackie Chan's eyes inexplicably... became a little moist. Perhaps it was because he knew he was about to play this role, and for a fleeting moment, he felt a sense of resonance.

Or perhaps it was the scavenger's final, shining moment that proved he was still a kind person.

This script, through the premise of zombies, fully presents the actions of humans when faced with disaster, including those at the very bottom of society.

Their existence echoes that of the other supporting characters, together depicting the true nature of various groups of people in society and their various reactions to zombies; his sacrifice is also a reflection of humanity, allowing a down-and-out, helpless, and selfish person to burst forth with the most beautiful brilliance of his inner humanity.

[Brother Long, if you were to play this role, you could have a fight scene and a flashback, showing that he was a security guard or an athlete who experienced various injustices in life, which would make the character's arc more complete!]
This was likely a "narration" that Chen Jin added on the spot, and Cheng Long clearly understood it.

This is the character; we can design more storylines for him to make the character more outstanding.

"This boy!"

Cheng Long smiled slightly, but Chen Jin actually had her own thoughts on the matter.

If Jackie Chan were to actually play the role, he could become the third lead and enrich his story.

Bale, Chen Jin, and Cheng Long each brought out a different charm in their respective roles.

They could release a spin-off featurette later to promote the movie; of course, a baseball player couple would also be possible, depending on the screen time and role allocation. Chen Jin might even want to make a two-part film.

The original plot of "Train to Busan" was too tight, which made it difficult to make a sequel, resulting in a huge mess.

If we extend the storyline and divide a zombie siege film into two parts, "Despair" and "Rebirth," that would be a viable solution.

Because the first half of the movie is indeed very desperate and exciting, and the ending is one highlight after another.

It's perfectly acceptable to stop abruptly when all hope is lost.

In this way, the second half will generate a lot of anticipation and become even more outstanding.

"Chen Jin, this manuscript is very well written, I'll take it!"

After reading the script, Jackie Chan was still a little shaken and hadn't quite recovered. After calming down, he sent a message to Chen Jin.

He already knew about Chen Jin.

The two men had a war of words, one about "Major Events in Life" and the other about "The Xinhai Revolution"!
At the time, he just thought this young man was amazing, probably because of his outstanding acting skills and excellent filmmaking; but after asking around, he was really shocked to find out that this young man was incredible, he actually started his own company.

In the following months, things took an even more dramatic turn, with CETC releasing one excellent film after another, breaking box office records in mainland China one after another.

It was only then that he realized that Chen Jin was not just a simple actress.

Now, Cheng Long feels this even more strongly.

Because the script for "A Trip to Hong Kong" in front of him was written by him; with his talent and ability, it would be difficult for someone like him not to succeed.

The reason Chen Jin suddenly thought of Jackie Chan was actually because of the movie title "Hong Kong Trip".

He has always wanted to find some well-known Hong Kong and Taiwan artists to act in the film, otherwise how can it be called a trip to Hong Kong?
He just hadn't considered suitable actors. He thought of Andy Lau, Gu Tianle, and Chen Jin, but because of what David said about the Screen Actors Guild of North America, he couldn't find many of the actors at all.

Finally, Chen Jin came up with this candidate for a big brother.

If we're going to play, let's go big.

Directly Jackie Chan!

Despite Lao Long's apparent lack of market appeal, he has actually been quite formidable in the past two years.

It's a "last gasp" in the final stages of a business's development, resulting in an extremely popular product.

According to the original timeline, "Chinese Zodiac" grossed 8.81 million yuan at the end of this year, which was a huge hit, especially considering that its reputation was not very good.

This movie has received very poor reviews.

As for "Police Story 2013" next year, it will also gross over 5 million, which will extend his film career by a few more years.

So while he still had some oil in his body, Chen Jin was determined to take advantage of him.

In the international market, Jackie Chan is the face of the Chinese community. With one more person, it's no exaggeration to say that North America could gain millions or even 1000 million more in box office revenue, and that's in US dollars. That's the influence of Jackie Chan.

Two years later, Jackie Chan's "The Foreigner" also grossed over 3000 million in North America.

It's purely because of his face.

Chen Jin wants to open up the North American market, and relying on Bell is certainly useful, but bringing in Cheng Long would actually be even more effective.

The success of these two roles will directly help him rise in status.

Even if he didn't become an overnight sensation in North America, he certainly gained some recognition thanks to his outstanding role as Shang Hua.

Of course, the prerequisite is to make a good film called "Hong Kong Trip" and achieve high box office success in North America.

"Thank you, brother!"

Chen Jin still had to express her respect, so she called again: "Brother, when are you available? Let's coordinate, and I'll have the producer arrange it. It should be done in about 10 days!"

"However, if their screen time is increased, it's hard to say!"

Chen Jin is quick-witted and outspoken, and the two have become quite familiar with each other over the phone. Cheng Long also admires this kind of young man.

They are both well-known, but this is the first time they have interacted face-to-face like this.

"I don't have any plans for the rest of the year, except for a new film at the end of the year!"

"So either is fine..."

Cheng Long's words clearly made his stance clear.

"Okay, then I'll pay you the international standard rate, brother!"

Chen Jin also seemed very open-minded, saying that money was a small matter. Since Cheng Long was so cooperative, his role would definitely need to be fleshed out a bit more, and that could be discussed with David and the others later.

The success of "Train to Busan" doesn't mean Chen Jin will simply copy it verbatim.

Just like "John Wick," he can strive for perfection and make the film even better while staying true to the original story.

This could very well lead to the creation of one of the best zombie movies in film history.

On the surface, it looks like a zombie popcorn movie, but what lies beneath is a bloody portrayal of humanity and the extremes humanity faces in the face of an impending apocalypse.

Chen Jin is already looking forward to the start of filming for this movie.

Everything is ready, except for turning it on.

At this moment, he has gathered all the actors from the filming of "Hong Kong Trip", making it even more anticipated than "Killer: Dragon"!

"Ooh ooh ooh~~~"

Less than five minutes after Chen Jin hung up the phone, cheers erupted at Paramount's post-production base.

The movie "Killer Dragon" was finally completed in less than a year and took nine months to make.

This is Chen Jin's directorial debut, and it holds great significance for him.

"Hollywood, I'm about to begin my conquest!"

As Chen Jin watched her team members celebrating wildly, a look of ambition appeared on her face for the first time!

(End of this chapter)