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

Chapter 446 "This brat is not worth discussing anything with!"

"Xiu, look at me!"

"You don't need to do that at all!"

Bell squatted there, looking at Zhao Jinmai, and spoke in English.

This is Bale's first scene with Zhao Jinmai.

Zhao Jinmai replied in Chinese: "What?"

Her expression was indifferent. The script described her as a calm and well-behaved child, but because of her parents' divorce, she was very withdrawn, though she was very curious.

"It's about showing courtesy to others!"

Bell put his hand on her shoulder and emphasized it again.

"..."

Zhao Jinmai remained expressionless, staring intently at Bell, as if doubting what her father had said.

"At this time, you need to take care of yourself first, understand?"

Zhao Jinmai blinked, still unable to understand.

"answer me!"

Seeing that his daughter remained silent, Bell's tone became more urgent.

After a long while, Zhao Jinmai lowered her head and said in a softer voice, "Grandma's knees aren't very good..."

"Xiu, you—"

"OK!"

David Leitch then spoke into the walkie-talkie.

That's how Bale and Zhao Jinmai's first scene together was filmed.

This is a significant turning point in the film; the protagonist's personality transformation begins with his daughter's kindness.

His daughter kindly helped someone, but he felt he shouldn't do that. However, in the end, the old lady his daughter helped saved their lives instead.

In that instant, the male protagonist seemed to understand something.

Chen Jin, who was standing next to her, watched the whole scene from beginning to end. In fact, they had already done several takes, but this time the shot turned out very well.

Zhao Jinmai's handling of emotions was particularly outstanding.

Not only does she fit the character's description in the script, but she also incorporates her own thoughts on acting. For example, the character Xiu, whom she plays, is calm when facing her father's interrogation, yet she is also afraid of being scolded by him, which makes her stand out from the crowd.

"Mai Mai!"

Even after filming was over, Bell, speaking broken Chinese, still squatted there and stretched out his hand.

He was squatting down while talking to Zhao Jinmai during the filming.

"Give me five?"

Bell smiled and gestured.

Snapped!
Zhao Jinmai knew what the other person meant, and the two gave each other a high five in mid-air.

"You acted very well!"

"I've rarely seen a girl your age with such great acting talent!"

"Did you know? I'm just like you, I started acting when I was little!"

Bell spoke in English, smiling gently.

Zhao Jinmai could understand some of it, and not quite all of it, but she still got the general idea and immediately said thank you in English.

She was a little shy, which amused Bell.

"Chris, this is my sister!"

Chen Jinchao spoke to Bell, who was walking out of the film set one after the other in the train carriage. Bell spread his hands and shrugged: "Of course I know, I was praising her!"

"Your Chinese girls should be more outgoing. She's too shy. I'm really worried she won't be able to relax when we're filming together!"

Bale was talking about his initial concerns about filming.

He has a lot of scenes with Zhao Jinmai.

"what about now?"

Chen Jin understood that this was a cultural difference between China and the United States. Of course, there are lively girls, but Zhao Jinmai happened to be a relatively quiet girl.

"Now..."

"As you can see, she has a great talent for acting!"

"Yeah, just like when I was a kid, hahaha!"

Bell gave a self-praise, then glanced at Zhao Jinmai standing to the side.

Zhao Jinmai had already walked to her mother's side, but her eyes were still fixed on Chen Jin and Bell.

She really wanted to know what the two of them talked about, but she was too embarrassed to face Bell.

She always felt that the other person was an international superstar, so she was a little embarrassed.

"Yes, I told you!"

"Her performance was flawless; among children her age in China, she's considered one of the better actresses!"

Chen Jin did consider using a mixed-race child star.

Finally gave up.

Makeup artists have ways to make Zhao Jinmai look stylish and have a mixed-race appearance; it's not difficult.

Zhao Jinmai's current makeup and styling have a hint of mixed-race features, especially her high-bridged and delicate facial features.

This is all thanks to the makeup artist.

How's it going on your end?

Bale and Chen Jin sat in the rest area outside the film set, chatting and drinking coffee.

These past two days, Chen Jin has started filming his action scenes. Actually, there isn't much difficulty, because he's not the Dragon in "The Killer," so he doesn't need such amazing skills; he just needs to have realistic fighting.

Sun Nuo and Chen Jin discussed that although the action scenes this time were exaggerated, they were still mainly focused on tension and high-explosiveness.

It's one punch to a zombie, not a full-on punch to the flesh.

Smashing someone to death with one punch looks even more satisfying.

As for Jackie Chan, he certainly has action scenes, and Bale also has them, but combined they probably don't even amount to half of Chen Jin's.

The action scenes were directed by Chad Stahelski, while David was responsible for the dramatic scenes; the two had a clear division of labor.

A short while later, after Bell left, Zhao Jinmai, somewhat embarrassed, came to Chen Jin's side at his invitation.

"Brother Chen Jin, did Uncle Bell say anything just now?"

She was curious about Bell's assessment.

"Sit down!"

Chen Jin pointed to the seat in front of her and smiled, saying, "If Chris knew you called him 'uncle' and me 'brother,' he'd probably have a lot to say!"

"..."

Zhao Jinmai remained silent, unaware that Chen Jin was joking.

Haha, just kidding!

"He's praising you because he thinks you don't talk much. Actually, you can talk to him more; he's not a bad person!"

"Don't always think that just because the other person is a big Hollywood star, you're afraid of offending him. It's okay, whatever happens, I'll cover for you!"

Chen Jin stepped forward and touched Zhao Jinmai's hair.

Zhao Jinmai pursed her lips. Actually, she also wanted to talk to Bell. Firstly, it was necessary for filming, and secondly, getting to know him would definitely be beneficial for her. Her mother also supported it.

But her English wasn't very good, and she wasn't very outgoing, plus she was young, so she was a little hesitant.

"If you want to play this role well, you definitely have to communicate with him a lot. He plays your father, and there are some emotionally intense scenes to film in a few days. If you two don't get along well, it will be very difficult to film!"

"Got it?"

Chen Jin used reverse psychology, knowing that Zhao Jinmai cared a lot about the role and the performance.

"Ok!"

"I'll have a good talk with him in a bit!"

"come on!"

Chen Jin smiled at her, glanced at the time, and realized that his filming was about to start, so he quickly headed towards his filming location.

His only concern at this location was Zhao Jinmai; however, after some reassurance, she should be fine.

The filming of "A Trip to Hong Kong" proceeded smoothly.

In stark contrast to Chen Jin, the CEO of another company was recently in a state of utter chaos.

Huayi!

The Wang brothers have been keeping as low-key as possible lately.

The current internet has made them so despised that everyone hates them.

As a result, Huayi Brothers' original ambition to reach a total box office of 50 billion yuan this year has been shelved; and several films that had been scheduled for release have had to be withdrawn with tears in their eyes.

Especially the movie "Detective Dee 2: Rise of the Sea Dragon" that will be released during the National Day holiday in a few days!
It should be noted that Huayi Brothers originally planned that this sequel to the "Detective Dee" series was key to achieving a total box office of 50 billion yuan.

Especially with the success of "Painted Skin 2", according to their original best plan, "Painted Skin 2" was expected to gross 18 billion or even 20 billion yuan, becoming the highest-grossing film in Chinese film history.

So, taking advantage of this wave of popularity, releasing "Detective Dee 2" might just be a second big hit.

The second explosion broke box office records again. The two kings are still dreaming that "Detective Dee 2" will rake in 25 billion!
This is truly a double celebration!

In July, "Painted Skin 2" became the highest-grossing film in history. Now, another film from their own company has broken that record. This is simply the most satisfying script ever for Huayi Brothers.

It's important to know that "Detective Dee 2" surpasses "Painted Skin 2" in terms of popularity, reputation, director, and lead actors. Everyone, not just the two kings, is confident of this.

The investment costs are different; one is a little over 1 million, and the other is 3 million.

Xu Ke is known for his special effects expertise, and this time he even included IMAX filming, which shows his ambition.

When "Painted Skin 2" grossed 15 billion yuan at the box office, not only the upper and lower levels of Huayi Brothers, but also many outsiders were already optimistic about this "Detective Dee 2"!
Unexpectedly, things changed much faster than they had imagined.

The collapse of "Painted Skin 2" was so fast that they had no time to deal with it. Even though it was set to break the 20 billion or 18 billion box office record, it only ended up with 15.97 billion.

Huayi doesn't even want to go for 16 billion anymore, because it's pointless.

The reputation, the company, the lead actor... all of them were subjected to online abuse.

Wang Zhonglei had no idea that he was so hated online. Although he often saw people cursing Huayi and him on Weibo, he never took it to heart. He had to show the magnanimity of a big company boss and not stoop to their level.

He mainly thought it was a very small number of extremists, but in the end, the clown turned out to be himself.

"Detective Dee 2" was abruptly pulled from its release schedule.

The two-explosive project's good intentions had to be shelved, and their current thinking has become that the film cannot lose money.

This is the follow-up impact of the Huayi incident.

Huayi's temporary decline, however, only serves to highlight the strength of its other competitor.

China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC)!

Film Science!

This film and television company, which has been established for less than three years, is aggressively encroaching on the domestic film and television market.

Moreover, it is extremely fast and swift.

3 years!
It has only been used for less than three years.

From the groundbreaking release of the first film, "Love is Not Blind," to the current "John Wick," almost every film released has caused a phenomenal sensation, with the company's total box office revenue for its invested films approaching 33 billion yuan.

What's even more terrifying is that they were all starring Chen Jin, the founder of this company.

Wang Zhonglei had witnessed Chen Jin's formidable abilities more than once.

When he first met him in "Love is Not Blind", he thought the guy's talent was only in marketing and acting. Now he realized that compared to those two, this guy's ability to run a company is at the level of a top scorer in the college entrance examination.

"Therefore, culture is still quite important!"

Wang Zhongjun spoke to his younger brother, Wang Zhonglei, who shook his head with a wry smile: "What's the point of saying all this now?"

"The industry has been reshuffled. This time, the top spot achieved by 'John Wick' has allowed CETC to surpass Huayi Brothers!"

Originally, it wasn't going to happen so quickly that CETC surpassed Huayi.

All I can say is that bad teammates die quickly.

Who told Huayi to pull off such a stunt that they ended up killing themselves?

"What's most frightening is that China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) is still on the rise. They have started filming 11 movies this year, and three more that have been scheduled for release have yet to be shown!"

As a rival, Chen Jin probably doesn't pay as much attention to CETC as Hua Yi does.

The Wong brothers are extremely knowledgeable about their projects and film crews.

"Next year, and even the year after, will be the period of explosive growth for China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC)!"

Wang Zhonglei couldn't even imagine how much box office revenue the next few films could achieve, given CETC's current distribution channels and cash flow.

The movie "Love is Not Blind 3" released on Singles' Day is the main project, but it's just a money-making scheme.

With a gap in the schedule during the National Day holiday, Huayi was initially grateful, but now it's like the cat's away and the mice will play.

Hong Kong films became the top-grossing films during the National Day holiday.

China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) will also be producing two films for the Lunar New Year holiday and the Spring Festival next year.

These three films have a base of at least 3 billion yuan, which means that at the latest by the Spring Festival next year, February 2013, China Film Group Corporation may have accomplished a feat that no other film company in China has been able to achieve.

Ten billion!

A film produced by a film company has grossed over 100 billion yuan at the box office!
Huayi's accumulated wealth over the years hasn't even reached 50 billion, let alone 100 billion.

And CETC, which has only been established for three years, is about to complete this groundbreaking achievement.

And this is only the beginning.

"They're unstoppable!"

"The higher-ups have already declared that the industry will definitely protect it!"

Wang Zhongjun has been studying the rise of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) for the past few days and has found that it is something that cannot be replicated.

Because their company lacks an actress, a top scorer in the college entrance examination, and a marketing expert like Chen Jin.

90% of the success of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) can be attributed to Chen Jin.

Even under such unfavorable circumstances last year, this guy managed to go to Hollywood alone to seek new opportunities, and he actually succeeded, returning home with a great victory.

That's their ability and skill.

"Brother, let's not talk about him anymore!"

Having heard too much about Wang Zhonglei, he became somewhat withdrawn and depressed. Huayi had been having a smooth ride for so many years, but suddenly such a rival appeared out of nowhere.

This really gave the two kings a headache.

"Did the old monster say anything about the postponement of 'Detective Dee 2'?"

Wang Zhongjun didn't want to talk about the Electronic Science and Technology Corporation or Chen Jin; he didn't even want to hear those two names now.

It's impossible to get rid of, it's just disgusting.

Unless he sees it himself, that's a different story.

"said!"

He said he would follow our arrangements!

"However, many people have told me that this old guy is dishonest, and that people in the Hong Kong entertainment circle are indeed unreliable!"

Wang Zhonglei was also helpless. The departure of a certain person back then had severely damaged their strength, and afterwards they began to seek cooperation with Hong Kong.

Until today.

But Hong Kong people are the most qualified to speak about the fickle nature of the locals.

Given Huayi Brothers' current predicament, it's perfectly normal for these people to waver; when the tree dies, the monkeys scatter, and when disaster strikes, everyone flies away – this is the most accurate portrayal of Hong Kong cinema in those years.

"Didn't you contact the power company?"

Xu Ke knew that Yu Dong and Wang Zhonglei from Bona Film Group were involved.

Someone tipped him off.

"no!"

"I can guarantee that. Xu Ke doesn't know anyone at the CETC, and they've never cooperated with anyone from Hong Kong!"

"The main power in the electrical engineering department is in Chen Jin's hands. He's always flying all over the world and is very busy. We don't have time to waste on him!"

As Wang Zhonglei was speaking, his cell phone on the table suddenly rang.

He works under the marketing department.

"what's up?"

Wang Zhonglei answered the phone immediately.

"Mr. Wang, something terrible has happened! Quick, check the Weibo account of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC). Xu Ke's new movie, 'The Taking of Tiger Mountain,' has announced a collaboration between the two companies!"

"What?!!"

With a whoosh, Wang Zhonglei stood up from his seat.

Wang Zhongjun, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, Zhonglei?"

"Oh shit!"

Wang Zhonglei couldn't help but curse, and said to his brother, "The scene we least wanted to see has happened!"

"That bastard Xu Ke has betrayed us and gone to the Electronics Technology Institute!"

"There's no way to make a fool of yourself!"

Wang Zhongjun, enraged, also uttered a phrase in classical Chinese, slamming his hand hard on the desk.

He could tolerate Huayi's temporary incompetence, but he absolutely could not tolerate anyone causing trouble at this critical juncture.

When one person leaves, everyone else in the company will notice.

Especially someone of Tsui Hark's caliber!
This is a major event that will shake the industry and cause panic among all of Huayi's artists and collaborating directors.

In addition, given the increasingly strong position of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), even the slightest hint of poaching talent could have the same consequences as when Wang Jinhua left the company.

Huayi cannot afford such a second wave.

"Call Xu Ke!"

Wang Zhongjun was yelling, and Wang Zhonglei took out his phone, just about to call Xu Ke, but then sighed, shook his head, and said, "What are you saying?"

"Ask him why he doesn't cooperate with Huayi Brothers—"

"never mind!"

Wang Zhongjun only realized what he had just said.

Huayi... is no longer the Huayi it used to be!
The current industry leader is CETC!

Water flows downhill, and people strive for higher positions; this is an eternal and unchanging law that has existed since ancient times!
(End of this chapter)