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

Chapter 726 A Promise? (55)

Luckily, I was quick-witted enough!
But this is the second time.

Shen Yan walked out of the room with a stern face. Yang Mi quickly explained, "I finished cutting the watermelon and instinctively called out to you..."

"Hey sis, I'm live streaming!"

"...So, what do we do now?"

Shen Yan thought for a moment and suggested, "Why don't you leave Los Angeles... go to Europe or Japan, and you can take a vacation too!"

"and then?"

"Then I asked David to introduce me to a female translator... and she had to appear on camera, otherwise this matter wouldn't be over!"

Yang Mi glanced at him, then said, "...I'm 30 this year!"

Shen Yan was shocked: "30? You don't look it at all, you look like a young girl!"

"...Get out! You know what I mean!"

“Hmm,” Shen Yan nodded, “…Actors’ prime is very short…Why don’t you switch to working behind the scenes?”

Yang Mi was stunned for a moment: "Huh?"

“You’re anxious about your career, aren’t you? After thirty, marketing your youthful image is a bit too much. Right now, your popularity is at its peak. Even a terrible movie like ‘A Long Way to Go with Anthony’ can make 200 million at the box office, which beats ‘The Leftover Women’ starring Shu Qi at the same time…” Shen Yan looked at her and added, “It’s also better than Liu Yifei’s movie box office!”

Yang Mi immediately retorted, "Her team doesn't know how to choose scripts!"

That's true. Looking at the movies she's acted in, nine out of ten are obviously terrible trash even from the script stage. She thinks "Go Girl" is a great script, but expecting her to be good at picking scripts is too demanding.

As for her team…

It's better not to say anything!

"Yes, you're now a leading figure among the post-85 actresses..."

"This position will soon be given to Jing Tian!"

"What?"

"She's the female lead in 'The Great Wall'... I heard she'll be appearing in all of Legendary Pictures' future productions, and not just in minor roles!"

"...Wanda is going to Hollywood..." Shen Yan asked back, "What? You want to go to Hollywood too?"

"Can you play the lead role?"

"...Hollywood-produced films still prioritize the North American market, and the female lead will definitely speak English..." Shen Yan shook his head: "Besides, there's no point in breaking into Hollywood. These days, nobody cares about the title of international superstar..."

"then you?"

"I'm a director, and I'm making money... I didn't agree to act in a Hollywood production!"

Yang Mi asked curiously, "Didn't they invite you? The three movies you starred in, 'Life's Big Events,' 'Operation Mekong,' and 'Detective Chinatown,' have grossed over 60 billion RMB... and the total cost was less than 3 million RMB... Aren't they envious?"

"...It hasn't reached 60 billion...it's only close to 55 billion now!"

"Do you really think 'Detective Chinatown' can't gross more than 30 billion?"

Shen Yan: "...Maybe..."

"No movie offers for you?"

"Yes, there are some... but the roles aren't very significant... at most, they're the second male lead, and I'm not used to them!"

"…Too!"

Yang Mi nodded... She also felt that it was a bit of a waste for Shen Yan to play the second male lead given his star power!
The fact is, Shen Yan alone is carrying the box office, and in the mainland market alone, it's already at least 10 billion yuan...

That's over $1.3 million!
This level of appeal is something only Tom Cruise has ever achieved in Hollywood film history!
Tom Cruise rose to fame with "Crazy Boys" in 1983, and "Top Gun" became a global hit in 1986. Then came the 2005 couch-jumping incident—Tom Cruise famously jumped onto a couch on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in a moment of emotional outburst to express his love…

This period was basically a box office money-printing machine; even a terrible film like "Cocktail" managed to squeeze into the top ten at the annual box office, and there were practically no box office failures...

Shen Yan raked in $15 billion in global box office revenue last year—plus his directorial works like *The Martian* and *La La Land*…

If this were Hollywood, he would have been a superstar by now! Was he given the second male lead simply because he's a Chinese filmmaker?
Even if the second male lead is in "Spider-Man: Homecoming," he's not interested...

If you really want him to act in a movie, you have to be sincere: the male lead, $2000 million plus a share of the box office revenue, otherwise, he will never agree!

However, upon hearing Yang Mi mention Hollywood, Shen Yan asked in confusion, "Did you smack out? You received a project offer?"

Yang Mi nodded: "There are a few..."

"there's a few?"

"Cloverfield 3, Star Trek Beyond, and The Lost City of Z..."

"...Are you just invited to be a bystander?"

"They promised me the lead role in the last film... but the total budget was only $800 million, and they were only willing to pay me $80..."

“$80!” Shen Yan shook his head: “Back then, Li Lianjie’s first film in Hollywood, ‘Lethal Weapon 4,’ only paid him $50…”

"You mean... you want me to act in it?"

"What a load of rubbish! With a budget of 800 million, it's clearly an independent film. Instead of supporting North American independent films, why don't you support independent films in China!"

Yang Mi joked, "...Who would be looking for me?"

"...If you really want to act, it's very simple...just have Yang Siwei spread the word in the industry...you not only bring your own investment, but also your own attention, I don't think any director would refuse!"

……

Well, Shen Yan's technique for changing the subject was very successful...

Even he himself forgot that Yang Mi had the urge to force him into marriage…

Or force Shen Yan to make a promise!

promise…

Tsk tsk, Shen Yan doesn't believe this word at all!
Ahem...

After seeing her off at the airport, Shen Yan immediately called David Fenkel and asked him to arrange a female translator in her thirties…

The latter was very efficient. That evening, Shen Yan posted a photo of himself with the translator on Weibo, with the caption: "This is the translator sister... I don't have a mistress hiding away!"

Whether movie fans, followers, or social media believe it or not, Shen Yan himself believes it!

Moreover, Yang Mi is very efficient. That same evening, she posted a photo of herself in Japan, along with the caption: "Don't overthink it... I've never been to Los Angeles!"

The rumors were debunked on their own…

After all, Yang Mi's voice is too unique—it has a heavy nasal tone, which makes her speech sound unclear and awkward. Moreover, her voice is very distinctive!

Many people are guessing it might be Yang Mi…

Of course, whether the rumors are true or not is hard to say, but Wu Fan's fans are convinced that Shen Yan is putting on an act!
Incidentally, the hashtag #DetectiveChinatownPlagiarizedWhiteNight# trended on Weibo...

Why do this?

It's obvious that Wu Fan will replace Deng Chao in "The Mermaid 2". Moreover, Wu Fan has also been officially announced as the lead actor in "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back". Incidentally, Wu Fan has also been "confirmed" as the lead actor in Wang Jiawei's "Blossoms".

He was actually suppressed by Shen Yan?
Then… Wang Baoqiang issued a divorce statement!

Although it was rather unethical, this statement did indeed boost the later popularity of "Detective Chinatown"...

Shen Yan posted on Weibo: "I don't know how to say it... but Qin Feng will always support Uncle Tang Ren..."

Then some netizens revealed that Shen Yan introduced Baoqiang's legal team for his divorce case, and that Shen Yan also helped Chen Sicheng pay all the fees...

As of February 27th, "Detective Chinatown" had grossed 31.8 billion yuan in its 2th day of release.
"The Mermaid" grossed 24.7 billion.
The third-ranked film is "The Monkey King 2", with a cumulative box office of 670 million yuan;
As for "From Vegas to Macau III", it earned 640 million.

February 28th... The Oscars will be officially presented!

(End of this chapter)