This celebrity is overly enthusiastic!

Chapter 114 Binbin lacks 'exotic charm'

Fruit Chan serves as the Director of Production for the Asia region at Columbia Pictures.

After producing the highly successful Chinese-language film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which had a significant global impact, the company gained more influence, especially in matters concerning the Asian region.

He was assigned by Columbia Pictures to be responsible for communication and collaboration with Chen Yuan.

The two had some interaction on the Kung Fu Panda project last year, but Kung Fu Panda was a finished product that was then directly distributed globally by Columbia Pictures, so Chen Yuan's relationship with this director was not deep.

Chen Guofu greatly admired Chen Yuan's talent. He believed that if Chen Yuan had not died young, with his amazing talent and at such a young age, he would have become a leader in the mainland film and television industry sooner or later.

He had also heard that Chen Yuan had sought project support from the president of Columbia University but had been refused.
It was truly unexpected that Chen Yuan would adopt a roundabout approach, first persuading Sony headquarters to support his filmmaking, and then collaborating with Columbia Pictures.

Moreover, this is not an ordinary drama film, nor is it a martial arts film that mainland directors are rushing to make. Instead, it is a science fiction blockbuster with an estimated production cost of no less than 7000 million US dollars!

Science fiction films have always been a Hollywood exclusive!
What kind of spell Chen Yuan has cast on Sony's people to support such an overly young person in undertaking such an extremely difficult project?
What shocked Chen Guofu the most was that the Japanese supported him, a Chinese man, to collaborate with an American film studio to make a science fiction film about a civil war tearing the United States apart and Japanese companies running rampant on American soil!
In his twenty years in the industry, Chen Guofu had never seen such a surreal reality.

No Chinese director has ever received such support from Hollywood, yet Chen Yuan was still not satisfied and bargained, even wanting to cast both the male and female leads!

Who does he think he is? He has indeed made a huge splash in China, but now he is working with Hollywood. The movie "The Edge Walker" is going to be released globally!

It can only be said that capable people are always proud, and this capable person is especially capable and especially young.

Although Columbia Pictures is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony, its unique influence in the film and media industry gives it a higher degree of independence than other Sony businesses.

Even if Chen Yuan gets the support of Sony headquarters, he still can't get Columbia Pictures to back down, and the project will be difficult to move forward.

In a teahouse in Tokyo, Chen Guofu once again earnestly advised Chen Yuan not to act impulsively.

"Xiao Chen, Fan Binbin has never acted in a movie before. It's really inappropriate for you to promote her like this!"
These are some well-known Hollywood actresses. How about Jessica Alba? And Angelina Jolie is also a great beauty, and she fits your Lucy character perfectly!

“Brother Chen, it’s not that I’m ungrateful, but the character of Lucy was designed by me based on Binbin’s imagination!”

Binbin isn't a burden; she's the soul of the entire film!

Chen Yuan pushed aside the pile of photos that Chen Guofu had placed in front of him, his expression quite helpless.

Chen Guofu took a deep breath. Damn it, he never expected Chen Yuan to be such a devoted lover. Fan Binbin's life is just too good!
He took a sip of tea, held the teacup and sipped it repeatedly, calming himself, and stared into Chen Yuan's confident eyes as he said:
"Xiao Chen, do you know why 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' was so badly criticized in mainland China and Hong Kong and Taiwan, but it was very popular in the West?"

"Because the core of the story is Western, the other party can understand it, and the scenes of flying and escaping can be directly regarded as the Chinese version of 'The Force'."

"That's right. Do you know why Zhang Ziyi is so well-regarded in the West?"

Chen Yuan was puzzled as to why Chen Guofu would ask questions that he clearly knew the answers to.

Seeing Chen Yuan's expression, Chen Guofu drank the still-warm tea in his cup and smiled:
"Besides the good portrayal of the character, Western media also thought she had an exotic charm."

"Shouldn't she, as a Chinese person, be seen as exotic by foreigners?"

"No, no, no, Xiao Chen, the exoticism you see is not the same concept as the exoticism Westerners see."

Just like you might think "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is bad, but Westerners might think it's good.

It's not that Europe and America are targeting Chinese people; Westerners have always viewed non-Western cultural elements with a sense of cultural curiosity.

Extend this mindset to people's appearance: whether you have yellow or black skin, as long as you have thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a high nose, you are not considered exotic!

"If you use Chinese actors in your movies and don't showcase exoticism, people won't find it appealing. They might as well just watch familiar Hollywood stars." Chen Yuan understood Chen Guofu's meaning. Fan Binbin, with her standard thick eyebrows, big eyes, and high nose, was a nationally recognized beauty, but Western aesthetics didn't accept that.

People don't agree; they think Fan Binbin's beauty is low-class, vulgar, not sophisticated.

This is blatant aesthetic bullying.

He laughed in exasperation: "Those super long, slanted eyes, flat nose, and buck teeth and big mouth, is that what people call 'exotic charm'?"

"Haha, that's right. It doesn't matter whether the audience thinks it's beautiful or not. As long as someone promotes it in the media and tells you that this is what 'high-class' means, this 'exotic style' will immediately become high-class."

So, Xiao Chen, stop arguing. You might be able to accept Zhang Ziyi as the female lead in Columbia, but Fan Binbin, a complete newcomer, isn't 'exotic' enough. Seriously, you can't do this."

"You're absolutely right, Brother Chen, thank you for your guidance."

"It's good that you've come to terms with it. You've had such a valuable opportunity, and whether you succeed or fail, it's all good for you."

"But I don't admit it."

Looking into Chen Yuan's sharp and determined eyes, Chen Guofu's words of comfort stuck in his throat.

"Indeed, Europeans and Americans have a strange aesthetic appreciation of Chinese elements. This so-called exoticism is a product of cultural distance, historical prejudice, and power structure."

But there are always some things that transcend the power of aesthetic definition, and I think that's where Fan Binbin's charm lies.

Upon hearing this, Chen Guofu's hand trembled and he almost dropped the teacup. Could Fan Binbin really be a fox spirit in human form?
How did they manage to turn Chen Yuan, who seems so intelligent and quick-witted, into this state of utter dementia?

Is Fan Binbin's appearance not popular in Europe and America?

Don't be ridiculous, she was a darling of the European and American fashion world after she became famous in her past life!
Even after being banned in mainland China, its influence overseas has continued.

When Chen Yuan imagined Zhang Ziyi playing Lucy, he thought, "Holy crap, I can't even look at that!"

"Brother Chen, I'm not crazy, nor have I been bewitched by a woman."

Chen Yuan stood up and said to Chen Guofu, whose expression was a mixture of astonishment and incomprehension, "I will prove to the Americans that my choice of Binbin was correct!"

"How can you prove it?" Chen Guofu blurted out instinctively.

"Film a scene of Binbin auditioning to shut those foreigners up."

Chen Guofu stared blankly at Chen Yuan, who had stood up. Confidence, even arrogance, seemed to emanate from every pore of the young man.

For some reason, he actually felt that Chen Yuan could do what he said.

When Chen Yuan persuaded Wuliangye, Changhong, and Sony to invest in him, he must have looked just as spirited and ambitious as he does now!
After a moment of confusion, Chen Guofu was also angered by Chen Yuan and stood up, sternly rebuking Chen Yuan for his irresponsible and reckless behavior:

"Chen Yuan! You need to understand, this is Hollywood, where talented people are everywhere! If they don't accept your audition, what can you do?"

“No,” Chen Yuan said with a smile, looking at the top producer who had placed high hopes on him.

"They'll recognize it!"

(End of this chapter)