This actor has something

Chapter 351 A little thought

The premiere was held quietly, but the after-party was a grand affair.

Actually, according to He Daqi, the celebration banquet should just be a simple affair, as there are a lot of things to do right now.

These past few days, he's been accompanying Ning Hao to various filming locations, trying to get everything ready for "After the Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Wither" as soon as possible. After all, the Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and He Daqi was exhausted last year, so he doesn't want to go through that again this year.

Unfortunately, China Film Group disagreed. As the sole distributor of Crazy Stone, China Film Group made a fortune from this film. In addition, due to the controversy surrounding The Promise, there are now many rumors circulating about China Film Group. Therefore, this celebration banquet is crucial.

China Film Group (CFG) contacted the media and arranged the venue, and even put on a small red carpet show. Judging from the way they did it, they probably spent tens of millions of yuan just to show that CFG is now very confident.

It's ironic, really. For China Film Group, The Promise is their biological son, while Crazy Stone is just an adopted son. Now, Crazy Stone has managed to snatch the position of successor based on its performance, which is quite ironic.

Tonight's celebration banquet was truly star-studded, with the number of celebrities attending almost rivaling an awards ceremony. This was due to the prestige of China Film Group and the influence of Ning Hao, the up-and-coming director.

Especially those artists who graduated from Beijing Film Academy, almost all of them who live in Beijing came here to get their faces known. After all, they have a connection with Ning Hao because they graduated from the same school, so they have a better chance of getting roles than others.

As the main character of the evening, Ning Hao was the last to appear. He was sitting in a luxurious limousine, grinning from ear to ear as he watched the red carpet, clearly in a very good mood.

Sitting next to him was Xu Jinglei, who looked radiant and elegant in a bright blue evening gown. However, she had a hint of hesitation on her face because she had been trying to chat with Ning Hao, but he hadn't paid any attention to her. Even though Xu Jinglei had tried to start a conversation several times, Ning Hao had brushed her off, his mind preoccupied with how he would subtly and politely put on a show on the red carpet.

At this moment, Ning Hao saw He Daqi and Zhou Huimin walk onto the red carpet. Ning Hao's joyful face immediately wrinkled up, and he clicked his tongue, clearly showing his disdain.

Xu Jinglei kept a close eye on Ning Hao's movements. Seeing this scene, she couldn't help but feel curious and looked out of the car window at the red carpet.

He Daqi and Zhou Huimin walked arm in arm, each wearing a bulky down jacket, and hurriedly walked onto the red carpet. Their lack of concern for their personal image stunned Xu Jinglei. Not only was she stunned, but the reporters also took a moment to come to their senses before starting to take pictures.

Right now, in the middle of the red carpet, the Yonghui Qiming Girls Group is posing for photos. They were quite surprised to see their two bosses walking over in such a hurry, like street urchins strolling through the alleys at noon.

Before the girls could react, He Daqi and Zhou Huimin came over and stood behind the five girls, smiling and making a peace sign with their hands. After the reporters took several photos, the two of them walked into the venue without looking back, leaving the five girls of the Yonghui Qiming Girls' Group standing there, unsure whether to follow them in or continue posing.

Liu Ying watched the entire process from inside the venue entrance, her lips twitching.

It's beyond our control, we really can't control it.

She had already arranged stylists for Ho Tai-kai and Vivian Chow, but after the couple came out of the villa and felt the temperature, they refused to wear formal attire to walk the red carpet.

They even came up with an excuse: "We have two kids at home. If I don't dress warmly enough and catch a cold, what if they get infected?"

So these two, dressed in down jackets like penguins, waddled across the red carpet and managed to get by.

He Daqi entered the venue still smugly pleased with himself.

"It's so cold, it must be below zero, right? Luckily I'm wearing a lot of layers. But it'll be much better once we get inside the venue, the air conditioning is really strong." He Daqi said as he let go of Zhou Huimin's hand and took off his down jacket.

Zhou Huimin was also taking off her down jacket. After she finished, she immediately hugged He Daqi's arm and said in a low voice, "It's so cold, let's leave early tonight. I saw the weather forecast said there would be heavy snow in the middle of the night. I'm afraid it will snow earlier than expected. Anyway, it's Ning Hao's show tonight, let him take care of the guests."

"Okay." He Daqi nodded.

They arrived in the middle of the event, and by now the venue was already quite full of guests.

The two walked with smiles, greeting the guests as they went. By the time they reached the front row seats, it was already more than half an hour later. In that half hour, the venue was now almost full.

He Daqi had barely sat down and hadn't even caught his breath when Cheng Long pulled out a chair and sat down next to him.

"Qi Zai, I've been thinking about it, and I feel that the plot we discussed on the phone yesterday wasn't quite exciting enough. I'm thinking of bringing over a few martial arts choreographers from the Jackie Chan Stunt Team from Hong Kong when we start filming. How about I design the fight scene in the palace myself?"

He Daqi opened his mouth, looked at the smiling Cheng Long, and after a long while, he said helplessly, "Brother, if you add any more scenes, you'll become the main character. Our movie is mainly about the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so your role as the emperor doesn't really need to be too outstanding."

"I'm doing this to make the final product look better. I wouldn't add any scenes if others asked me to. By the way, I've also come up with several ideas for arranging the furniture in the palace. I'll demonstrate them for you during filming, and they'll definitely surprise you."

Ever since the day He Daqi delivered the script to Cheng Long while they were drinking, and told Cheng Long that he could improvise as he pleased, Cheng Long has been like a man possessed. What was originally an ordinary palace assassination scene has been revised several times by him. In particular, this guy calls He Daqi every day to harass him, which annoys He Daqi to no end.

If it weren't for the publicity stunt, He Daqi would have considered replacing Cheng Long; he's just too annoying.

He couldn't understand why Jackie Chan had suddenly developed such a passion for acting.
"Forget it, brother, do as you please. If you really want to move around, then you can film a few more scenes. Whether Ning Hao is needed or not is up to him. I'm not the director. But speaking of which, brother, it's almost Chinese New Year. Why are you still in Beijing? I thought you came here specifically to ask me for the script and have a drink. I didn't expect you to stay until now. Are you going to be on the Spring Festival Gala again this year?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Long smiled wryly and waved his hand: "Don't mention it. I came here to pick up the script on the way. The main reason I came to Beijing this time was to see a doctor about my back. It's an old problem that hurts a lot in winter, and it's especially bad this year. Hong Kong is too humid, and I can't stand it. There's a doctor here in Beijing who's very good at massage, so I came here specifically to have him give me a massage. I'll go back in a couple of days before the Spring Festival."

He Daqi was slightly taken aback, then immediately replied with concern, "Oh dear! Our movie will start filming after the Lantern Festival. Will you be able to get ready then? Don't forget you've added so many scenes for yourself. Don't let me drag you into a cameo role and cause your old ailment to worsen."

"Convenient, absolutely convenient. I know my body. It's an old ailment, but a little exercise will fix it. No martial arts actor is ever healthy. Don't worry, I definitely won't delay the schedule."

Actually, Jackie Chan had a little ulterior motive in adding scenes for himself. He and Ho Tai-kei had agreed to make cameo appearances for each other without paying each other, and the key point was that the cameo appearances would be around the same length.

Jackie Chan added scenes for himself mainly for the second purpose: cameo appearances.

His goal is that even if he stays, he should stay on the set of "After the Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Wither" for at least half a month. Then when He Daqi goes to Hollywood for a cameo, he won't be able to leave early, right? He should stay on the set for at least half a month.
What He Daqi didn't know was that the movie Jackie Chan asked him to make a cameo appearance in was called Rush Hour 3. Jackie Chan already had a good idea of ​​how much box office revenue the third installment of this series would generate. At best, the box office would be similar to the first two films. Even with a share of the box office revenue, in the Hollywood model, the amount that Jackie Chan received wouldn't be much higher than he had expected.

Chris Tucker, another Black actor in the film, received a salary of $20 million plus 20% of the box office revenue, while Jackie Chan received $15 million plus 15% of the box office revenue.

It seems that Chris Tucker, the Black lead actor, is paid more than Jackie Chan, right?
Actually, you read that right, he is indeed taller than Jackie Chan. Even so, it was Jackie Chan who was pushing for the project to be approved. Moreover, Chris Tucker was only able to take the role because Jackie Chan gave up part of his salary to persuade him to do so. Otherwise, he would have given up the project and gone on to do something else.

However, Jackie Chan wasn't completely stupid. He had negotiated with the production company that the Asian rights to the film would go to him. Whether it was box office revenue or DVD sales, Jackie Chan might even earn more than Chris Tucker if he was lucky.

The problem lies here: before filming even began, Jackie Chan himself knew for certain that the film wouldn't be released in mainland China, which limited his earning potential.

Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Japan.

After his agency analyzed the situation for him, his first reaction upon seeing the first three place names was to ask Ho Tai-kai to make a cameo appearance. Ho Tai-kai's box office appeal in Hong Kong and South Korea was undeniable, not to mention Macau, which was basically Ho Tai-kai's box office territory.

The funniest thing is that when He Daqi was away in Japan at the end of October last year, he was still in Japan. When He Daqi came back from the Japan roadshow and was preparing for the first time for the "After the Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Kill" project, he called Cheng Long to ask for a cameo appearance. Cheng Long almost jumped six meters high and agreed so readily.

What a perfect choice! He has box office appeal in all four regions. Jackie Chan has already made up his mind that even if he has to argue with the director during filming, he will make sure to give Ho Tai-kei as many scenes as possible.

The box office performance in the West and the US is so-so, the key now is to boost the box office in Asia, because that money is Jackie Chan's own, so he can't afford to be careless.

It would be strange if He Daqi could understand the intricacies of this situation. He's not a god, so when he discovered that Cheng Long was finding ways to add scenes for himself in the "After the Flowers Bloom, the Hundred Flowers Kill" crew, He Daqi was also full of questions.

After Jackie Chan finished his cheerful argument with Ho Tai-kei and returned to his seat, Vivian Chow noticed that Ho Tai-kei was frowning and asked with some confusion, "What's wrong, Tai-kei? Don't you want to give Jackie Chan more screen time?"

"It's nothing, I just can't figure it out... I've never heard any rumors about Jackie Chan being a domineering actor before. I have heard rumors about Zhao Wenzhuo stealing the spotlight from you guys, but I didn't expect that this time they've switched roles. Zhao Wenzhuo didn't say anything, but Jackie Chan started adding scenes for himself."

"Let him act more if he wants. Ning Hao will decide whether or not to use his scenes," Zhou Huimin said nonchalantly.

Thinking about it, that made sense, so He Daqi stopped worrying about it and said with a smile, "That's true."

……

Loud applause erupted in the hall.

A large ice sculpture with wings on both sides was carried onto the stage by the staff.

In the center of the ice sculpture is a prominent black Arabic numeral: 192000000, which is the total box office revenue of Crazy Stone so far.

Ning Hao stood on the stage with a beaming smile, surrounded by the equally beaming cast and crew of Crazy Stone.

"Next, please welcome Mr. Han Shanping, Chairman of China Film Group; Ms. Liu Ying, President of Yonghui Qiming; and Ms. Wang Jinghua, General Manager of Asia-Pacific Film & Television..."

Each person held a small golden hammer and stood in a row in front of the ice sculpture. Fortunately, the number of people was long enough and the ice sculpture was long enough that everyone could squeeze in at the front and swing a few hammers each.

He Daqi didn't go up to join in the fun. He'd rather give this opportunity to others to show their faces. It was freezing cold, and if a piece of ice got into his clothes, it wouldn't feel good.

However, he clapped enthusiastically from the audience. Regardless of how much the company made, he received a share of the box office revenue from this movie, so he made a fortune. It would be unreasonable for him not to be happy.

As the ice sculpture was smashed to pieces by this group of people, the applause in the venue gradually subsided, and the group of people on the stage came down one by one and returned to their seats.

Han Shanping sat next to He Daqi, with He Daqi on his left and Ning Hao on his right. Today, he mainly wanted to chat with these two. For a moment, he suddenly felt that as long as these two rascals on his left and right worked a little harder, China Film Group's data this year wouldn't be too bad. It's just a pity that these two only release one movie a year, otherwise the data might be even better.

Wait, it seems He Daqi took on two domestic films this year...

Thinking of this, Han Shanping turned to look at He Daqi, who was happily urging others to drink with a wine glass. He raised an eyebrow and waited until He Daqi sat down after chuckling and downing half a glass of red wine before asking, "Daqi, I heard you got a panoramic view of the Qin Palace at Hengdian World Studios? Haven't you chosen a filming location yet?"

"We couldn't find a good location for a few palace scenes. Huairou and Beijing Film Academy weren't really suitable. Actually, I didn't care. It was mainly Ning Hao who thought it wouldn't work."

Han Shanping then turned to look at Ning Hao.

Ning Hao shrugged: "The Qin Palace in Hengdian was also eliminated. It was used for filming The Promise, and they deliberately dyed the palace red. I mainly wanted a palace with a darker or more oppressive tone. The film's timeline is the late Ming Dynasty, and I wanted to contrast the bright colors of the characters' costumes with the darkness of the palace so that the audience could better feel the superficial prosperity of the late dynasty."

"I see... Have you been to Xiaotangshan? Feng Xiaogang remodeled it when he filmed The Banquet. I went to see it before, and it meets your requirements quite well."

He Daqi and Ning Hao were both slightly taken aback. They hadn't thought about that small film studio before, but now, listening to Han Shanping's words, it seemed that Feng Kuzi had done a lot of construction there.
(End of this chapter)