Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 665 Going to the United States (24)

Li Guoli has a deep attachment to "Dae Jang Geum"!
He highly admires "Dae Jang Geum"...

Undeterred by the failure of "The Weaver Girl," he continued working on "The Imperial Doctress," attempting to incorporate inspirational elements and character development similar to those in "Dae Jang Geum"...

It's useless, this script is too Mary Sue!

However, "The Imperial Doctress" is definitely a large production, and Shen Yan even saw a dedicated coffee shop.

There are even baristas who specialize in brewing coffee!

After making some inquiries, I learned that Shishi added it specifically...

After taking a sip of his coffee, Shen Yan sat down and chatted with the barista…

After a while, Shishi finished filming and came to find him.

"Is this Hanbok or Myeongbok?"

Shi Shi was surprised: "It looks a lot like a hanbok!"

"Ok!"

"...What should we do then..."

Shen Yan sighed: "You should film fewer dramas that involve history in the future!"

"...This is my last film with Tangren Media..."

"Let's change our clothes first, then we'll go get something to eat."

"Okay, then I'll go back to the car to change!"

"...I'll change it for you!"

……

It took me over an hour to change my clothes...

After getting off the bus, Shi Shi's face was still flushed, and Shen Yan felt much more at ease.

—Damn it, "Operation Mekong" was mainly filmed in Xishuangbanna and the Solo Wharf in Chiang Rai…

Shen Yan didn't need to be at the Chiang Rai Solo Wharf; he was in Xishuangbanna the whole time.

The entire crew was made up of men!
Yan Ge had been holding it in for a long time.

We found a barbecue restaurant and ordered a whole roasted lamb, some side dishes, and two mugs of draft beer…

Shi Shi's alcohol tolerance is average, but a glass of draft beer is a piece of cake for her!
Once all the dishes were served, Shen Yan asked first, "When will filming for 'The Imperial Doctress' end?"

"...to be completed by the end of May..."

"By the end of May..." Shen Yan calculated for a moment, "I should have already returned to China!"

"Huh?" Shi Shi's eyes widened. "Weren't you going to Los Angeles to direct a film?"

"Yes...but it's a romantic musical, so I'll prepare for 35 to 40 days!"

"Will that... work?"

"I only filmed 'Burning' in 16 days!"

Shi Shi nodded and said, "...Anyway, you're always fast!"

"…What did you say?"

"No... I was just making it up!"

"When have I ever lasted less than 10 minutes... Let me tell you, I'm a standard stud!"

"Yes, yes, yes..." Shishi tore off a leg of lamb and stuffed it into his mouth...

"That was an accident, it's been too long since I've done it... but I quickly resumed it!"

"It was my fault..."

Shen Yan pulled out a bank card: "I've sold all my Huace shares... I made a small profit..."

"For me?"

"Well, the 8000 million you left with me before, I invested in separate funds... I bought 1000 million worth of Huace, and when it rose to 1900 million, I sold it... And the investments in Enlight Media and Huayi Brothers, I plan to sell them in May..."

"Oh... I'm not in a hurry." Shi Shi accepted the bank card and then asked, "Do you think I should buy some art?"

What artwork?

"They introduced me to...something about modern art!"

"It's useless. If you want to invest, you might as well stock up on more Moutai liquor. This stuff is hard currency!" Shen Yan opened his phone: "Last year I bought five cases of this Five-Star Iron Cap Moutai, 90 vintage, and two cases of Premium Iron Cap Moutai..."

Shi Shi glanced at it briefly, then asked, "How much did it cost?" "300 million... I'm telling you, this kind is definitely going to appreciate in value... After all, there are only so many of these in existence, and you can keep it at home as a family heirloom!"

"My dad also quite likes alcohol..."

Shen Yan waved his hand: "I've already sent one box!"

"...When was it delivered?"

“I had my second uncle deliver it during the Chinese New Year.” Shen Yan changed the subject: “…Is Tangren Media still planning to go public?”

"I don't know..." Shi Shi shook her head: "Old Cai got married, and it seems like he's putting all his energy into his little family, and doesn't care about the company much anymore..."

"...Never mind her, your contract expires next year anyway."

"Ten years..." Shi Shi suddenly felt a little sad: "I signed with Tangren when I was 19..."

"It's time to move on to the next stage of life!" Shen Yan raised his glass: "Come on, let's clink glasses!"

"... "

After finishing her drink, Shi Shi suddenly remembered something: "Did the fact that 'Legend of Fei' was overshadowed by 'The Empress of China' affect you?"

Shen Yan waved his hand: "It doesn't really affect me... but the next few martial arts dramas might have to be made into web series."

"what?"

"If it airs on TV, we have to buy ratings... that's pointless." Shen Yan added, "Psychological Crime, Darker, and even Forensic Qin Ming have all aired on Tencent, and the results have been excellent... The platform has paid a 50% premium this time and ordered a second season!"

"...You mean 'The Empress of China' bought its ratings?"

"Who knows...maybe everyone just loves watching Fan Xiaopang!"

"Then why were her box office results so low?"

"Maybe...the movie wasn't good!"

……

Shen Yan and Shi Shi have a semi-public relationship...

It would be best if Yan Ge wasn't photographed having relationships with other people, otherwise, his reputation would likely collapse!

Fortunately, there shouldn't be any danger in that regard for the time being—after all, everyone is busy with their careers.

Nobody wants to settle down...

Oh, Shen Yan stayed in Hengdian for three days. He spent most of his days visiting his grandparents and his evenings with Shi Shi…

I didn't specifically greet the crew of "The Imperial Doctress".

On April 2nd, I flew directly to Los Angeles…

La La Land is waiting to be filmed…

Before filming, Shen Yan and music director Justin Hurwitz had already written all the songs—the two of them created more than ninety songs in total!

Justin Hurwitz was the music director for the original La La Land.

He is also Damien Chazelle's go-to musician...

By the way, Damien Chazelle was also hired as the assistant director for La La Land, mainly responsible for song and dance rehearsals and location scouting...

To be honest, a budget of thirty million US dollars for the entire film is barely enough...

You need to block the roads to film, and you also need to invite a large number of union actors…

Fortunately, these kinds of low- to mid-budget films are quite common in the American independent film scene.

They all have fixed money-saving strategies. First, what if you want to save money but still need to use celebrities?
A: Big-name celebrities will still use it, but they can't pay for it.

One way to save money in these low-budget films is through equity transfer, where the main actors perform for free and then share the profits based on box office revenue.

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone both received equity in their projects, taking a base salary of $50...

But both of them receive an 8% cut of the box office revenue!
Otherwise, if we're really talking about market value, their combined salaries would be at least $1500 million...

What's the point of filming then!
There are many other clever ways to save money. For example, according to regulations, actors with lines are paid at least $400 a day, while those without lines only pay $100 a day. Therefore, in *La La Land*, you rarely hear restaurant waiters or passersby speak…

Secondly, setting the filming location in Los Angeles also has its advantages—it saves a lot of travel expenses!
Especially the travel expenses for extras…

They usually live in Los Angeles—to pursue their dreams!

Oh, in this timeline, the story of inviting Emma Watson and then Disney poaching her to star in "Beauty and the Beast" with a hefty sum didn't happen...

Shen Yan didn't like Emma Watson, so why would he invite her?

(End of this chapter)