Nobody knows movies better than me

Chapter 134 Angry Curse

September arrived slowly, and Zhang Jun didn't even have time to catch his breath.

Just as things were getting sorted out at the new company and the special effects studio was still hiring, the "Run, Dad!" project officially started.

The film had a total investment of 30 million, jointly invested by Guanzhi Pictures, Chenxing Pictures, and Jackie Chan's Emperor Motion Pictures.

This Emperor Jackie Chan Film Company is a joint venture between Jackie Chan and Emperor Entertainment Group, and it is affiliated with Emperor Entertainment Group. To put it bluntly, it is Jackie Chan's own label, but Emperor Entertainment Group helps manage it.

Because he had his own film company investing in the project, Jackie Chan only received a symbolic salary.

Zhang Jun has been frequently traveling to Hong Kong Island lately, firstly to recruit talent for the special effects studio, and secondly to prepare for the film "Run, Dad!"

"Reign of Assassins" was released in Hong Kong last year. Although the box office was not particularly explosive, it still grossed over ten million, and made many people in Hong Kong remember the name Cheung Chun.

"Bad Genius" was released recently, and its box office in Hong Kong has exceeded ten million, and it is still rising.

Therefore, now that Zhang Jun has come to Hong Kong Island, many more people recognize him.

People recognize him in tea restaurants and take a second look; reporters bump into him at events and ask him a few questions; people in the industry will proactively hand him their business cards when they see him.

But we haven't had any direct dealings with the real big shots yet.

Until that day, Cheng Long called.

When Cheng Long made the call, Zhang Jun was in the conference room of Chenxing Pictures, looking through documents.

A pile of photos and resumes lay in front of him, all materials from child actors sent from various places. The project needed to select several young girls who could run and act, and this was no easy task; he had to oversee it personally.

The phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and answered it.

"Brother Cheng Long."

Cheng Long's voice on the other end of the phone sounded hesitant: "Junzi, are you busy?"

Zhang Jun leaned back in his chair: "It's alright, what do you say?"

Cheng Long paused for two seconds: "There's something I don't know how to tell you."

Zhang Jun chuckled: "Please speak frankly."

Jackie Chan paused for a moment, then said, "The boss is with me. He wants to talk to you about the 'Run, Dad!' project."

Zhang Jun didn't speak.

Cheng Long continued, "What he meant was that he wanted to get involved and take control of the project."

Zhang Jun remained silent.

Jackie Chan explained, "Albert's idea was to use this project to test the waters. He promised not to interfere with your creative process; you would still be the director. He wanted to explore other aspects—"

"Brother Cheng Long,"

Zhang Jun interrupted him: "Did he ask you to make that call?"

Cheng Long smiled wryly: "He's sitting right across from me."

Zhang Jun said, "Give him the phone."

Cheng Long paused for a moment: "Jun Zai—"

"Give it to him."

Cheng Long didn't say anything more and handed the phone to the person on the other end.

The boss answered the phone with a smile on his face.

He built this empire; who in the Hong Kong entertainment industry wouldn't give him face? How powerful can a young director from the mainland really be?

He picked up the phone and said in a friendly tone, "Hello, Junzai, this is Albert."

An angry voice came from the other end of the phone, speaking in broken Cantonese.

"Listen up, Seven Head, the reason I invited Jackie Chan to act is because I really think he's suitable for the role, and I also want to work with him once."

But this is not the reason for you to use me.

If I hear or find out again that you're doing anything underhanded behind my back, Emperor Entertainment will immediately agree to this project. Do you understand?

The boss's smile froze on his face.

He understood; he understood every single word.

The other person's tone was fierce, and every word felt like a slap in his face.

The boss's hand holding the phone trembled slightly.

He hadn't been insulted like this in many years; to be precise, he'd never been insulted like this before. In Hong Kong, who wouldn't call him Mr. Yeung? Everyone treated him with utmost respect.

How dare a young man from the mainland speak to him in such a tone?

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but the words stuck in his throat and he couldn't speak.

The caller had already hung up.

The boss put down the phone, his face burning with embarrassment.

Cheng Long looked at him but didn't say anything.

After a long silence, the boss finally spoke: "Jackie, did you hear that?"

Cheng Long nodded.

The boss took a deep breath, handed the phone back to Cheng Long, stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to him.

Cheng Long watched his retreating figure and shook his head helplessly; he knew it would turn out this way.

Zhang Jun was a prodigy, and naturally possessed an air of arrogance. Coupled with his smooth-sailing journey, it would be strange if he weren't angry when someone dared to threaten him like this.

Cheng Long discovered that Zhang Jun was usually easy to talk to, always smiling, and could chat with anyone. But when it came to his projects, he wouldn't budge an inch.

When "Reign of Assassins" was in pre-production, an investor wanted to change the script, but he directly rejected it. When casting for "Bad Genius," someone tried to insert someone into the cast, but he humiliated them.

Now it's the boss's turn.

Cheng Long leaned back on the sofa without saying a word.

After a while, the boss turned back, his expression now calm.

He sat back on the sofa and looked at Jackie: "Jackie, who exactly is this Zhang Jun?"

Jackie Chan thought for a moment and said, "I graduated from the Department of Astronomy at Tsinghua University. I didn't study directing before making movies."

The boss frowned: "Then how did he—"

"talent."

Jackie Chan said, "It's all about talent. You've seen the movies he's made, right?"

The boss nodded.

Jackie Chan said, "So what do you think?"

The boss paused for a moment, then said, "It's really good."

Jackie Chan said, "Not only was it good, but he was also a student when he filmed 'Little Miss Sunshine.' And when he filmed 'About Time,'..."

By then, he was already a director with millions in revenue.

"Reign of Assassins" grossed over ten million at the Hong Kong box office. "Bad Genius" is still showing and has already surpassed ten million.

He looked at the boss: "AIbert, do you know what this means?"

The boss didn't say anything.

Cheng Long said, "It means he doesn't have to ask anyone for anything. There are people lining up to invest money in him, and people waiting to get on the set of his movies."

He has no shortage of money, resources, or connections.

He paused for a moment: "So he doesn't need to be controlled by anyone."

The boss remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he nodded and stood up: "Okay, I understand."

Jackie Chan looked at him: "Do you still want to continue?"

The boss thought for a moment, then gave a wry smile: "What do you think?"

Cheng Long didn't say anything.

The boss walked to the door, then suddenly stopped, turned back to look at him, and said, "Jackie, next time you see him, please tell him that I was being presumptuous just now."

Cheng Long was stunned for a moment.

The boss waved his hand and went out the door.

After Zhang Jun hung up the phone, he threw his phone on the table. Several people in the conference room stared at him, not daring to make a sound.

Guo Fan asked in a low voice, "Director Zhang, are you alright?"

Zhang Jun shook his head: "It's nothing."

He continued flipping through the documents in his hand, turning two pages before looking up: "Where were we?"

The group looked at each other, and no one responded for a moment.

Zhang Jun frowned: "Let's continue talking about casting."

Zhang Jun looked down at the documents, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened.

Only Ye Xiaoyi, who was sitting next to him, noticed that he was flipping through the documents a little faster than before, and his movements were also a bit more exaggerated, clearly indicating that he was still angry.

After the meeting, Ye Xiaoyi found He Xuan and said, "The boss just called Zhang Jun and made some unreasonable demands, which made Zhang Jun very angry."

He Xuan immediately understood: "I understand. I will communicate with them and make sure our great director is not wronged."