Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 65: First Meeting with Director Zhang Mou
Yanjing International Airport.

Lin Yuan and Mr. Eisen were walking forward side by side.

The 13-hour flight from New York didn’t feel that long after a good night’s sleep in the first-class cabin.

The studio booked the plane tickets, and the first-class tickets cost 2 US dollars each. Compared with the financial difficulties when Lin Yuan last went to Hong Kong Island, things are really different now.

"Lin Yuan, do you really value this movie so much? Are you determined to win it?" asked Mr. Eisen.

"Mr. Eisen, perhaps from your perspective, to become a world-class action star, you only need to conquer the European and American markets."

"Yes, isn't it?"

"Maybe now, but not in the future."

"The future? Tell me."

At this time, Mr. Eisen seemed to be very good at accepting advice, but everyone who knew him knew that this old man was stubborn and obstinate in his bones.

If someone else said this to Mr. Eisen, he would just politely ask him to get lost and then completely block this person in his heart.

Mr. Eisen will seriously consider the different opinions expressed by Ke Linyuan.

Because in the past few days, Lin Yuan has proved many times with practical actions that he is right.

"China is the world's most populous country, and its economy will rise rapidly in the next few decades. Its box office volume will inevitably surpass North America and become the world's largest market. If we want to focus on the future, we must capture the domestic market," Lin Yuan explained.

This is what he sees in the future, it's a sure thing.

Just saying this at this point in time in 2001 is somewhat unbelievable.

After all, the box office of any Hollywood blockbuster now exceeds the total box office of all domestic movies by many times.

(This gap has been introduced in the previous "Rush Hour 2")
"Okay, I trust your judgment, so that's why you want to come back and get this movie?"

"Yes. In addition to this movie, I will come back in the next few years to invest in and shoot several martial arts TV series."

"What? Lin Yuan, do you want to mess up the TV series?"

Mr. Eisen did not stop Lin Yuan. He knew there must be a reason, so he just advised him.

"I don't necessarily have to act in it myself. But investing in some martial arts TV series is also very valuable."

Lin Yuan’s mind flashed through several martial arts TV series including the 03 version of “The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils” and “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber”.

Gao Yuanyuan, Jia Jingwen, Liu Tao, Jiang Xin...the faces of these people emerged in his mind.

These dramas will become childhood classics for young people in China born in the 80s, 90s and even 00s.

In the future, Liu Yufei will still be liked by many people many years later. It has to be said that this is closely related to her early TV series.

Lin Yuan doesn't want to miss those classic TV series that are popular enough in China and have captured the cognition of young people.

Even if he doesn't shoot the film himself, it's a sure win for the boss to invest in the filming.

"Just think it through, and I will do my best to support you," Mr. Eisen replied.

"We'll be fine. Let's go, my pick-up person is right here."

Lin Yuan and Zhang Ziyu in the distance waved and walked forward with Mr. Eisen.

Lin Yuan and Zhang Ziyu haven't seen each other for more than half a year since they parted in Hong Kong.

The two hugged each other gently, then helped Mr. Eisen introduce each other and drove to their destination.

The car soon arrived at a private club on the outskirts of Yanjing. "Come with me, Director Zhang Mou is waiting for you." Zhang Ziyu led the two of them to a small courtyard with elegant decoration and ancient charm.

The three of them stepped into the courtyard and the first thing they saw was director Zhang Mou standing up to greet them.

At this time, Director Zhang Mou was 51 years old, at the peak of his career as a director.

Over the years, he has won a series of awards including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival. However, most of his previous films were based on the pursuit of artistic expression.

Inspired by Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon last year, he is ready to step into the commercial film industry and enter the international market.

The movie he is preparing to shoot, "Hero", is the purpose of Lin Yuan's trip.

In Lin Yuan's memory, "Hero" will earn 2.5 million yuan at the domestic box office, 5500 million US dollars in North America, and a total of 1.77 million US dollars worldwide.

Calculated based on the exchange rate of 8.3 at the time, the total box office is approximately 15 billion yuan.

This has to be said to be a huge success considering the total box office of mainland movies at that time was 8 million yuan.

This not only stimulated other follow-up works such as "The Banquet" and "The Promise", but also made director Zhang Mou want to replicate his own success, and he made a series of works such as "House of Flying Daggers" and "Curse of the Golden Flower".

But these later works, let alone surpassing, could not even come close to the performance of "Hero".

This also shows that the "Hero" mode is destined to be unreplicable and short-lived.

Lin Yuan wanted to star in "Hero", but he was not completely satisfied with the film.

In his opinion, there are still many flaws. What's the point if we just follow the footsteps of history?
Therefore, Lin Yuan has two main goals today:
The first was to facilitate cooperation with director Zhang Mou and get the leading role in this film.

The second was to convince director Zhang Mou to shoot the film according to Lin Yuan’s modification suggestions.

There are huge obstacles to both of these goals, but Lin Yuan is not worried at all, because he holds the trump card against Director Zhang Mou, and Director Zhang Mou will definitely not be able to escape from Lin Yuan's palm.

"This is Mr. Eisen, a famous Hollywood investor and Lin Yuan's agent." Zhang Ziyu first introduced Mr. Eisen to Director Zhang Mou.

Before coming, Lin Yuan had already given Zhang Ziyu Mr. Eisen's information.

Zhang Ziyu had also introduced Mr. Eisen to director Zhang Mou in advance. It can be said that when Mr. Eisen's information appeared in front of director Zhang Mou, he immediately couldn't take his eyes off him.

If director Zhang Mou wants to enter the international film market, his first goal is to find a partner with sufficient resources to be responsible for the distribution of overseas films.

He has recently been working hard to crack down on Harvey Weinstein, a famous Hollywood producer.

The films produced and distributed by Harvey Weinstein have been nominated for more than 300 Oscars and have won more than 70 Oscars.

His shadow can be seen behind many foreign films that are very familiar to Chinese people, such as "Beautiful Sicily", "Cinema Paradiso", and "Pulp Fiction".

In Lin Yuan's future, he will also be responsible for the distribution of domestic films "Shaolin Soccer", "Infernal Affairs", and "Hero" in North America.

It is also worth mentioning that Harvey Weinstein is one of the masterminds behind Anne Hathaway's declining reputation in North America.

It wasn't until 2017 when the New York Times exposed Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault scandal, leading to his downfall, that Anne's reputation gradually reversed.

Such a hot ace producer in Hollywood is enough for director Zhang Mou to find ways to get in touch with him and take the opportunity to open the door to the North American film market.

But compare Harvey Weinstein's qualifications and achievements with those of Mr. Eisen.

That's probably equivalent to the difference between Zhen Zhidan and Chen Long among action actors.

Facing a Hollywood tycoon far more influential than Harvey Weinstein, Director Zhang Mou grasped Mr. Eisen's hand and said enthusiastically, "Finally, I'm glad to meet you!"

(End of this chapter)