This actor has something

Chapter 379 The Snow of Life
The fireplace flames suddenly popped. Hearing the sound, He Daqi turned his head and saw that the firewood in the fireplace had split in two, and the flames were burning a little more fiercely.

He wrapped himself in a thick blanket and curled up on the sofa, listening to the howling wind outside. He comfortably shifted his position, picked up his hot coffee, took a sip, and his gaze followed the floor-to-ceiling windows to the snowflakes outside.

He had only ever seen this kind of blizzard in the simulated world of Assembly Call. It was all white, and tree branches as thick as two fingers were snapped by the fierce wind and immediately swallowed up by the whiteness. The howling wind sounded like the roar of an unknown animal, one gust after another.

The door was pushed open, and the wind suddenly became violent, like a dam bursting open, all the heat rushing out through the door, and a small breeze suddenly blew into the room.

He Daqi curled up in the blanket and tilted his head slightly to watch the Longhu brothers struggle with the door, which was easy to open but difficult to close.

"You didn't drive your car in?"

After finally waiting for the Dragon and Tiger Brothers to close the door, He Daqi looked at the two men, who resembled Yetis, and asked them a question out of curiosity.

"The snow is too thick to drive in. The road is okay, but the snow in the yard must be more than a meter thick." Qin Long took off his coat, intending to hang it on the clothes rack by the door, but only realized that a thin layer of ice had formed on it when he heard a cracking sound.

Qin Hu noticed it too and couldn't help but mutter, "We haven't walked more than two hundred meters since we got out of the car, and it's already frozen over?"

Both Longhu and his brother are from the south. The coldest weather they had ever seen was last year when they were filming "Assembly" with He Daqi in Northeast China. Clearly, this blizzard in the Bald Eagle region taught them a lesson.

"Is the food still warm?" Qin Long asked back.

Qin Hu realized what was happening as soon as he heard this, and quickly put down the two large boxes he was carrying. He then tore open the foil and foam packaging and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw steam rising from the food boxes.

The aroma reached He Daqi's nose from afar. He wrapped himself in a blanket, jumped up from the sofa, and rushed to the dining table, shouting, "Eat! Eat! Eat!"

Hearing the noise, Cheng Long opened the door and took a look. Then he happily walked out, pulled two bottles of wine from the shelf, and sat down at the dining table.

"Brother, based on your experience, how long will this snow last?"

"Don't worry, it'll only be a day or two. The strong winds here in Bald Eagle pass quickly, in gusts. If we encounter a hurricane, we'll have to stock up on supplies."

He Daqi felt much more at ease after hearing this. He got up and opened the food boxes one by one, but he became more and more confused as he opened them. After he opened them all, he turned around and looked at the Longhu brothers in surprise.

"What's going on? Stir-fried green peppers with shredded pork has turned into stir-fried green peppers with sliced ​​pork? There's hardly any vegetables or eggs in the Mu Shu Pork, but a huge amount of meat. Is this still called Mu Shu Pork?"

Qin Long shrugged and explained with a smile, "This is already pretty good. According to the restaurant owner, it will be even more outrageous tomorrow. He said that because of the blizzard, the transportation of the vegetable basket project here has been disrupted, and now the prices of vegetables and eggs in the restaurant have all gone up. A plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes costs seventy dollars. I didn't dare to buy it when I heard that price."

"It's alright, it's alright, it'll be fine in a couple of days," Cheng Long said with a smile, trying to comfort He Daqi, who looked so surprised.

"The people of this bald eagle are living in pretty dire straits..." He Daqi exclaimed in amazement. As expected of the capital market, when bad weather strikes, money is made much more easily than before.

At this moment, He Daqi began to have doubts. He had only come here for a cameo role in a movie, and he was only working sporadically. Would he still be able to go back before the Lunar New Year?
……

……

Just like in Los Angeles, Zhang Weiping's office in Beijing was also hit by a blizzard, with Zhang Weiping's incessant roars echoing from inside.

"You want me to pay back the money? Pay back what money? Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"Isn't it normal to make and lose money when investing in movies? You can't afford to lose, can you?"

"You won't cooperate next time? I don't care if you cooperate or not! I don't care what you think!"

"What? A movie theater? You need to pay a venue fee? You've got the wrong number!"

One phone call after another followed. Zhang Weiping thought he was mentally strong, but he clearly overestimated himself.

The phone battery was confiscated, and the office returned to silence.

Zhang Weiping sat in his boss's chair, panting heavily. He gulped down a cup of warm tea in a few mouthfuls, not even wasting a single tea leaf. He chewed it, letting the bitterness linger in his mouth, before finally swallowing it.

He looked up at Zhang Yimou, who had been silent all along, and suddenly felt that this was not quite appropriate.

Zhang Yimou used to be taciturn, but he would at least respond a few times if something happened. Recently, however, he's become like a silent gourd. If you don't talk to him, he might not speak to you for hours.

The more this happened, the more panicked Zhang Weiping became.

Sometimes, passive-aggressive behavior is more effective than loud arguments.

Zhang Weiping pursed his lips, then couldn't help but tentatively ask, "I've thought it through. This time, let's make a low-budget production. As long as you have your reputation, we can still make a profit. This time, I..."

Zhang Yimou interrupted him, forcing a smile: "Take a break. I need to focus on preparing for the Olympics. I probably won't be making any movies this year or next. Let's take it easy. Some things will fade away with time."

Not making any movies this year or next? Zhang Weiping frowned. Who knows what will happen in two years...

"Ah Mou, I believe in you. If you're serious about filming, you can make it very fast. Don't you think the Olympics is a great subject? You're the director, so we can use this topic to quickly make a movie. In a few months, when you're done with your work next year, we can release it while the hype is still going strong. What do you think?"

"Not very good." Zhang Yimou's forced smile slowly faded, and looking at Zhang Weiping in front of him, he suddenly found it quite funny.

Is it possible to profit from anything by riding the coattails of trending topics? Is it because they profited from doing this before that they've become so forgetful of past mistakes? Haven't He Daqi taught them a lesson enough?

"Preparing for the program will be very busy, and I need to constantly communicate with the other members of the organizing committee, so I really don't have time, and besides!" Zhang Yimou paused for a moment, looking earnestly at Zhang Weiping as he advised:

"Stop using your three tricks. People are smarter these days. Once or twice is fine, but not three times. Even if you want to use one trick to succeed, you'll have to wait a few years. People are tired of your tricks for gaining traffic. If you continue to use them now, it will only do harm and no good."

The words were spoken subtly, but their power to break through defenses was extremely strong. Did Zhang Weiping not know that his act was no longer effective? He knew it all too well, but he had been playing the ostrich. He had been praising himself so highly and arrogantly, but now Zhang Yimou had given him a sharp stab.

"You don't want to cooperate with me anymore, do you?" Zhang Weiping's face at that moment perfectly illustrated what it meant to be furious and embarrassed.

Zhang Yimou remained silent for a moment, fearing that Zhang Weiping might lose his mind and do something outrageous, so he replied with the idea of ​​calming him down: "How could that be? I've just been too busy these past two years."

"Then you should start preparing now. We'll quickly shoot a film in two months, and then you can go about your business."

"...Impossible." Zhang Yimou refused without hesitation. His previous thought was still a bit incomplete. Zhang Weiping in front of him seemed to be losing his composure. Zhang Yimou sighed inwardly. He was too lazy to argue with Zhang Weiping anymore. He got up and wanted to leave, intending to find a place to hide for a while and talk to Zhang Weiping again after he calmed down.

Seeing Zhang Yimou get up, Zhang Weiping immediately became furious. It was the same thing again. Zhang Yimou had been avoiding him and giving him excuses all this time, never giving him a straight answer.

"Zhang Yimou! Don't forget, your own hands aren't clean either! You'd better think this through, because if we break up, neither of us will be happy!"

Zhang Yimou, who was about to leave after a casual greeting, paused when he heard Zhang Weiping's roar. He suppressed his anger and looked at Zhang Weiping, who glared back at him. The two were at loggerheads, neither willing to give in.

"Your mind is in turmoil, calm down first." In the end, Zhang Yimou seemed to relent, and after saying that, he opened the door and walked out.

I can't afford to fall out with Zhang Weiping now. My current position is very sensitive, and if I do, things could get very complicated.

It was precisely because of this mindset that after the box office failure of "Curse of the Golden Flower," Zhang Weiping didn't pay him a single penny of director's fee, and Zhang Yimou didn't complain to him either.

Reaching the stairwell, Zhang Yimou took out a cigarette, lit it, and his expression was somewhat uncertain.

From now until next year's Olympics, even if it's less than two years, it's still a long time. There's no way to avoid it, so you should prepare a way out. Otherwise, you'll be in real trouble when you can't avoid it.

The problem is there's no way to hide! And finding a way out is difficult either. Zhang Weiping is right, his own hands aren't clean either...

Thinking of this, Zhang Yimou took a deep drag on his cigarette and, somewhat lost in thought, walked up the stairs to the entrance of the Xinhua Noodle Company.

Snow began to fall from the sky. The snowflakes were very small and were blown around by the wind.

"Hello Motorcycle!"

The phone suddenly rang. Zhang Yimou casually took it out and glanced at the caller ID, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

……

……

"1.3 million! Oh my God! He! Did you ever imagine this box office result?" Chris Tucker, the black guy, asked He Daqi in surprise.

Having known each other for a while, He Daqi had gotten used to this black guy's tendency to be easily startled; he guessed that this was how black people expressed goodwill.

To be honest, $130 million is nothing to Chris Tucker when it comes to box office revenue. This black guy is currently one of the highest-paid black people in Hollywood. His salary is $20 million plus a share of the profits. If a movie he stars in doesn't gross $130 million, he's considered to have lost money.

“Chris, it’s only 130 million. There’s no need to be so surprised. Rush Hour alone grossed over 300 million. It’s incomparable,” He Daqi responded tactfully.

Chris Tucker shook his head, looking disapproving, and said, "NO! NO! NO! He, this is different. Your movie wasn't filmed in Hollywood. There's a big difference, especially since it's a period drama."

"So? Was it the right decision to bring He in for a cameo?" Jackie Chan asked the black guy with a smile.

"That's absolutely right!"

As they were chatting, the assistant director walked over. He listened with a smile for a while to hear what the three of them were rambling on about. Taking advantage of a pause in their conversation, he said that they needed to get ready to start filming, and then turned around and left with a cheerful smile.

What friendly people! Since He Daqi arrived at this film crew, he has only met good people.

It's February now, and He Daqi's scenes in Rush Hour 3 are almost finished filming, either tomorrow or the day after.

It's quite a coincidence that, just a few days later, "When My Flowers Bloom, All Others Wither" officially ended its run in the United States. It had been showing here for a little over five weeks, so it was a slight extension.

Unfortunately, the box office dropped sharply afterward, so the extension was not extended for long.

The film's performance has been somewhat unexpected, and He Daqi has finally taken it to heart. When the film was taken off the screens the day before yesterday, he even caught up with Cheng Long and asked him for a long time about how the box office revenue was divided.

It was through this question that He Daqi learned something from Cheng Long that he hadn't paid attention to before: for film companies, sometimes the revenue from videotapes was higher than the revenue from movie box office.

In any case, Jackie Chan has benefited from this, and he now receives a considerable share of the profits every year.

The two days passed quickly.

Although Jackie Chan kept piecing together scenes for Ho Tai-kei, as a supporting character, no matter how much screen time he gets, he can't be made to have the same amount of screen time as the main character, right? Of course, this is a different story in China, because that's actually how it's done there.

We arrived on January 9th, and the director went to the police station that night. Filming officially started on January 11th and continued until late January. Then we encountered a blizzard and had to stop for three days. We had one day off every weekend, so we had a total of three days off. Now it's February 5th.

He Daqi has been here for 28 days, almost a month, and has spent 20 days filming.

It was around the same time as Jackie Chan's cameo in "When the Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Kill," but the level of effort involved was much less. Back then, when Jackie Chan made his cameo, he really went all out, designing his own stunts and finding his own co-stars.

Unlike He Daqi, who came here without a care in the world, always listening to Jackie Chan's instructions on action scenes, and having no opinions of his own.

"Qi-zai, you're quite well-known in the U.S. now. How about you come and help out for a couple of days? Of course, I mainly want you to go to South Korea and Japan to help out. If you really don't want to come to the U.S. when the movie is released, you don't have to."

"Don't worry, brother! I'll keep you in my heart! When it's released, I'll take ten days to help you cover everything!" He Daqi patted his chest and promised without hesitation.

He agreed so readily that Cheng Long didn't know how to respond, so he could only step forward, hug He Daqi, and pat him on the back.

"Remember to call me often after you return to China."

"I will, I will."

He Daqi happily agreed.

His mind was no longer on saying goodbye to Cheng Long; all he wanted to do was fly home to see his child. He hadn't realized it when he came, but now that he'd been away for almost a month, he missed him terribly.

Especially these past few days, knowing that filming is almost over, he's been counting down the days. Under these circumstances, when he called Zhou Huimin at night and heard the two kids humming that they missed him, you can imagine how anxious He Daqi was.

(End of this chapter)