I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 227 What's this troublemaker doing here!
5 month 6 day.

It rained lightly in Los Angeles in the afternoon.

The Twilight crew suspended outdoor filming, and all staff members stayed in the hotel they had rented in advance.

There is a sound of rain outside the window.

Instead of resting like the others, Catherine quietly read the script for "Twilight".

The more I read it, the more something felt off. After reading the script several times, it all clicked...

The movie still has about half of its plot remaining, but Zhou Yang's scenes have already been filmed. Looking at the fragmented video footage, she vaguely felt that this exorcist from the East shouldn't have died like that; he should have had more screen time...

She had a feeling that this role would bring more box office revenue to the film.

She went to the next room and talked to the producer and screenwriter, Mia.

Mia, however, strongly opposed it.

She felt that the ending of this Eastern exorcist was the "ultimate romantic sublimation" of the entire film, and one of the most wonderful and tear-jerking scenes in the whole movie.

They've already filmed it perfectly. Adding more plot or suddenly resurrecting this mysterious Eastern exorcist would affect the film's overall "artistic quality"...

After listening to her, Catherine felt that it made sense and ultimately chose to compromise and stop thinking about it.

Around 5:30 p.m., the light rain finally stopped.

After discussing the filming plans for the remainder of "Twilight" with Mia and reaching a brief consensus on the subsequent filming, Catherine left the room.

I had originally planned to have dinner and get some rest beforehand, but then I suddenly remembered that Zhou Yang had taken time out of his busy schedule to film a movie while working with their crew.

The film was shot in a month, pieced together from spare time, and there seemed to be only seven or eight actors plus a trainee cinematographer from the crew.

What exactly did they film?
While resting, Catherine couldn't contain her curiosity and went to the post-production editing room of the Twilight crew.

The door to the editing room was locked.

Catherine was about to knock on the door, but after hearing a conversation coming from inside the office, her hand remained suspended in mid-air.

"Extend this blood splatter shot for two seconds. Yes, the close-up of the saw stuck in the bone." Zhou Yang's voice came through the crack in the door, carrying a kind of chilling calmness. "Sound effects team, mix the screams and the sound of metal scraping together, make people's knees go weak just from hearing it."

Just as Zhou Yang finished speaking, a tooth-grinding sound effect suddenly rang out, causing Catherine's heart to tremble and her to subconsciously take a half step back.

Then the editing room fell into a brief silence.

"My God! This... are you sure this is a prop...?"

She heard editor Tom's gasp. His voice seemed to be trembling, as if he had seen something terrifying. He stopped abruptly, as if someone had suddenly grabbed his throat.

The air outside the editing room was slightly damp.

After a brief silence, Zhou Yang's somewhat broken, yet increasingly chilling English voice rang out again: "It's a prop, and a prop from the film crew, just in a different form..."

Not long after he finished speaking, a series of dry, eerie sound effects, like those from a tape recorder, suddenly rang out again, mixed with indistinct conversations.

Catherine stood outside the editing room, listening to the eerie sound effects and conversations coming from inside. For some reason, she felt both scared and her heart was racing, yet she was also extremely curious about what this movie was all about.

She hesitated for a moment, then finally knocked on the door.

The door opened.

Zhou Yang stood in the doorway, his signature smile on his face: "Director Catherine, you've come at the perfect time."

The editing room was dimly lit, with only a few computers on.

Catherine looked at editor Tom, whose face was pale and who seemed to be struggling to suppress his nausea as he went through the footage over and over again.

She followed Tom's gaze and saw a bloody image frozen on the computer screen.

A man was locked in a dimly lit basement, his feet bound with heavy iron chains...

“This is…” Catherine frowned.

"This is the movie I made..." Zhou Yang stepped aside: "Want to take a look?"

Catherine walked into the editing room.

At this moment, the lingering echo of that chilling sound effect still seemed to remain in the air.

She noticed two extras from Twilight sitting in the corner. All Catherine knew was that they were recent film school graduates who had little presence in the Twilight crew, doing odd jobs. She didn't even know their names...

At this moment, the two actors stared blankly at the movie, as if they had experienced something terrible.

"When did you shoot this?" Catherine asked, looking at the footage with disbelief.

"Over the past month, I've been shooting during breaks in filming 'Twilight,'" Zhou Yang said casually. "I'd shoot for a few hours each day, for a total of eighteen days."

Catherine's eyes widened: "Just these people and equipment?"

“That’s enough.” Zhou Yang smiled. “Low cost can actually stimulate creativity.”

Under Catherine's gaze, Zhou Yang walked to the computer and clicked on a sample video. In the video, the locked-up man woke up and found an old-fashioned tape recorder next to him.

The tape recorder automatically played: "Hello, Adam. I want to play a game."

As the eerie sounds begin to echo, the camera slowly pans, revealing various chilling devices in the basement…

A rusty saw, sharp blades, a tray full of syringes...

Catherine felt a chill run down her spine and couldn't help but shiver slightly.

The atmosphere of this film is exceptionally oppressive, unlike any other horror film on the market. There are no cheap scares; instead, it seems to create a suffocating sense of fear through psychological suggestion and meticulous planning.

"This is insane!" Catherine took a deep breath.

After watching a few more clips, I felt increasingly uneasy and promptly looked away.

"Mr. Zhou Yang, I've contacted the company. I'll take you there tomorrow morning at eight o'clock..."

"Okay, thanks."

Then, she turned and hurriedly left the editing room.

Oh, God!
Why does this Chinese person seem more and more like a pervert the more I look at him?
damn it!
This entire month!

I didn't know anything at all!
..........................................

Los Angeles.

At the entrance of Paimon.

Xu Haibo got out of the car and repeatedly looked at the information about Paimon's new film "Disaster".

"Disaster" is a post-apocalyptic film produced by Paimon Pictures, with special effects handled by the same team behind the global Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster "Planet".

The film's production cost was a staggering $1.25 million. Internal documents reveal that the visual effects were stunning, featuring massive scenes including, but not limited to, a New York tsunami, a frozen city, and a super eye of a storm. The special effects team was incredibly dedicated; the "Statue of Liberty frozen" scene alone took 14 weeks to render…

A week ago, Xu Haibo and the data analysis team at Tianyu Media studied the film very carefully and finally reached the same conclusion!
This movie will not be any less successful at the Chinese box office than "The Lord of the Rings," and it will definitely be a Hollywood phenomenon disaster movie!
So Xu Haibo rushed to Los Angeles to discuss the film's distribution rights in China with Paimon's agency...

"Liu Jinghua of [Huashang Brothers] seems to be planning to reconcile with Zhou Yang, and seems to be looking to collaborate with Zhou Yang on copyright..."

Just as the group was about to enter the company, the assistant received a phone call.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Haibo was slightly taken aback by his assistant's words, then frowned: "Is the news true?"

"It's highly likely to be true; it was provided by an inside source at [Huashang Brothers]." The assistant nodded with a complicated expression.

"Contact Liu Jinghua immediately and tell him I have something urgent to discuss." Xu Haibo stood on the marble steps of Paimon Pictures, and after a brief silence, stared at his assistant.

"it is good!"

"And what about Paimon's side..."

"There's still time."

About ten minutes later, the call was connected.

"Mr. Liu, I heard you're thinking of collaborating with Zhou Yang? Don't tell me your [Huashang Brothers] is planning to lift the blacklist against Zhou Yang..."

"Mr. Xu, you're really well-informed." After a brief silence on the other end of the phone, he continued, "You've seen how popular he is in China, haven't you? Lin Guodong has raised his endorsement fee to 4500 million. The public opinion from Audi and the internet is completely out of control. What's the point of talking about lifting the ban now? We might as well change our approach..."

"Listen to Liu Jinghua!" Xu Haibo's voice was icy: "I know you want to use the guise of cooperation to boost your stock price and solidify your [Huashang Brothers] position in the capital market, but the table is only so big. Once this guy gets on the table, none of us will have anything to eat in the future!"

"President Xu, even Audi and Lin Guodong are trying to win Zhou Yang over. Do you think Zhou Yang will lack resources? We've reported and complained before, but it's all been suppressed. Moreover, the relevant departments in China are being ambiguous about Zhou Yang. They don't seem to intend to deal with this troublemaker. The signals they've sent are clear enough: they're using Zhou Yang to put pressure on our five companies! And just now, I heard that after 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Rings' broke 2 million, more and more cinemas are contacting Zhou Yang privately. Using Hollywood to hold a few cinemas hostage is one thing, but now there are more than ten. That's almost half of the cinemas in China. We can't just not make money, can we?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Haibo fell silent.

The voice on the other end of the phone continued: "Mr. Xu, the blacklist is practically dead."

"So we need to strike at the root of the problem! We can't let him grow any further. Right now, I'm right outside Paimon's door. Paimon is going to finalize the Chinese distribution rights in the next few days. I know you're also vying for this movie. Here's the deal: let's join forces and get this movie. We can offer theaters a 10% discount on the movie's pricing and screenings. We'll use this strategic retreat to get theaters to sign a formal ban agreement, completely crushing Zhou Yang! Now that no movies are showing in Zhou Yang's theaters, I don't believe those theaters don't want to make money!"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"We absolutely cannot let him sit at the table! He's already trying to snatch it from us if we don't give it to him now. If we let this wolf cub sit on the table, he'll be in big trouble..."

Xu Haibo's voice suddenly caught in his throat, as if something was choking him!

Then, he stared ahead as if he had seen a ghost.

He saw a familiar figure!

The figure wore a nauseatingly enthusiastic smile and excitedly approached him upon seeing him.

"Oh, Mr. Xu, what a coincidence? You're here to take advantage of me too?"

not good!

damn it!
What's with this troublemaker here?!
(Only one update today. I got heatstroke... My head is spinning and I've been sitting for ages, but I just can't write anymore. I'm going to get some gua sha. I'll continue with another 10,000-word update tomorrow...)
(End of this chapter)