Nobody knows movies better than me

Chapter 144 First Meeting with Master Shi

After returning from the Golden Horse Awards, Zhang Jun received comfort from Cheng Long.

"Ang Lee is indeed very good, but your film is also great, and you'll win an award sooner or later."

Zhang Jun didn't show any disappointment on his face: "Then it will probably be a while. It's probably not easy for our film to participate in next year's Golden Horse Awards."

Jackie Chan immediately understood that a film presented as a tribute to the Olympics wouldn't even receive a nomination from the Golden Horse Awards.

Although filmmakers have always said that art has nothing to do with political stance, it is unfortunate that any award composed of people will have a stance, making it impossible to be absolutely fair and impartial, and it will be affected by many factors.

He patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder: "It's okay, there's still the Hong Kong Film Awards. The Best Director award at the Hong Kong Film Awards is also good."

Zhang Jun also laughed and said, "I think the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor is also good."

Jackie Chan has been seeking a transformation, and films like "New Police Story" and "The Myth" are new things he's trying out.

Looking back at the early part of Jackie Chan's film career, it can be seen that most of his roles were minor or not particularly virtuous.

But nowadays, Cheng Long is starting to shout more slogans about patriotism, environmental protection, and national sentiment, and is beginning to transform into a more sophisticated figure.

This is also why he accepted Zhang Jun's invitation to star in the movie "Run, Dad!". Because this film...

This aligns with his transformation needs, and his role is different from before.

With Jackie Chan's cooperation and support, the filming of this movie went very smoothly. Just before New Year's Day, the film was already showing in Beijing.

Filming has wrapped.

On the night of the wrap party, Zhang Jun and Cheng Long revealed: "The film's schedule is tight. I plan to release it in May, before the Olympics."

Jackie Chan thought the schedule was good: "Okay, I will set aside time to cooperate with the promotion."

Before leaving, he added, "Albert would like to invite you to visit Hong Kong Island so he can personally apologize."

Zhang Jun neither agreed nor refused, simply saying, "Let's talk about it when we go to Hong Kong Island!"

After filming wrapped on "Run, Dad!", Zhang Jun didn't immediately begin post-production; instead, he went to work on "Chinese Paladin 3".

The film crew visited Yang Mi on set to see her filming.

Yang Mi was delighted to learn that Zhang Jun was coming and put her arm around his shoulder to introduce him to everyone.

"This is Cai Yinong, the owner of Tangren. This is Zhang Jun."

Cai Yinong shook hands with Zhang Jun: "Director Zhang, I've heard so much about you. I've seen all your movies, and every single one of them is really great."

Zhang Jun smiled and said, "You're too kind, Mr. Cai. Tangren has also produced many classic films and television dramas."

Cai Yinong wanted to discuss the possibility of Tangren investing with Zhang Jun, but she held back her words. Zhang Jun wasn't short of investment, and Tangren didn't have any resources that Zhang Jun would be interested in.

So it turned into: "Director Zhang, if you have any new projects, please take a look at our Tangren artists. Many of our artists are quite good."

Zhang Jun said in a very formulaic way, "No problem, we can have the artists come to audition. Whether they get the role or not, I will only look at their audition performance."

It's no secret that Zhang Jun enjoys auditions.

Nowadays, casting for a film or television production is basically a process where the director, screenwriter, and investors discuss the project together. The investor says, "I want to cast so-and-so," and then so-and-so is cast.

The remaining candidates are the ones the director prefers. They announce that they will audition, but in reality, the casting has already been decided.

But Zhang Jun was completely different; all the people with connections, from investors to industry bigwigs and seniors, were brought over for auditions.

Most of the people who failed the audition due to connections were eliminated by Zhang Jun.

This caused considerable resentment among industry veterans and investors, who accused Zhang Jun of being autocratic and domineering. But in reality, this is the healthy state of a production.

Moreover, despite the complaints, it is an undeniable fact that Zhang Jun's movies are profitable, and no amount of talk can be as convincing as solid profits.

Eventually, some people even took Zhang Jun's persistence in auditioning as the secret to his success.

As a result, many relatively young and adventurous directors began to learn from Zhang Jun's approach. Regardless of the results, this is at least one of the changes brought about by Zhang Jun.

Cai Yinong was naturally aware of this, and she smiled broadly: "No problem, no problem, don't worry, our Tangren actors, regardless of anything else, are absolutely top-notch in their professional skills."

After chatting with Cai Yinong, Yang Mi then introduced Zhang Jun to actors Huo Jianhua, Tang Yan, and others.

Then there's Hugo, who was in a car accident, but seems to be doing well now.

Hu Ge has always wanted to develop his career in film, but Tangren Media has limited resources and can't provide him with good opportunities. So, if he wants film roles, he has to fight for them himself.

Therefore, Zhang Jun is a very good candidate. Being able to act in Zhang Jun's movies would make one's film career much smoother.

Seemingly aware of Hu Ge's thoughts, Zhang Jun said, "Your face has a major flaw; it's not really suitable for the big screen."

Hu Ge was taken aback, and he quickly asked, "Then what method is there to change it?"

"You need to toughen yourself up, I'm not talking about appearance, but inner qualities."

Zhang Jun said, "You're from Shanghai, right? Shanghai men are very refined. I always feel that they're stingy and a bit effeminate."

I'm not insulting you; I'm just stating a fact. In the current creative environment of Chinese-language films, people with these qualities are actually not very suitable for the big screen.

If you want to develop your career on the big screen, you must make yourself look unlike a Shanghai man.

Here are two directions for you to consider: those young actors from Hong Kong, or Huang Bo and Xu Zheng. For movies, I suggest either becoming a comedian or starring in more art-house films, especially crime films.

And it's best to play a villain to cultivate your cinematic sense.

Zhang Jun laughed and said, "When everyone can spot you on the big screen at a glance, you'll have become a real movie actor."

Zhang Jun's suggestion made Hu Ge think for a long time; this was the first time someone had said something like that to him.

Later, he told Cai Yinong about his plans, and Cai Yinong did not object.

"Since Director Zhang is willing to tell you so much, it means he still thinks highly of you. The company can't help you much in this regard, so you'll have to rely on yourself."

Hugo indicated that he understood: "I will do my best to try—"

When Yang Mi heard Zhang Jun's suggestion to Hu Ge, she asked Zhang Jun, "Wouldn't it be beneath me to act in TV dramas after finishing my movies?"

Zhang Jun, however, said, "On the contrary, I suggest you pay more attention to the television drama field. The film industry is very competitive, especially for female actors."

The same is true for stars.

Believe it or not, even Zhang Ziyi, an international star, will be acting in TV dramas in the future.

Yang Mi clearly didn't believe it: "No way, she's a movie star, she has plenty of scripts, how could she possibly act in a TV series?"

'

"Just you wait and see."

Zhang Jun pinched Yang Mi's cheek: "Anyway, you'll be right to listen to me. I won't hurt you."

"All right!"

Although she didn't know what Zhang Jun was up to, Yang Mi decided to obediently listen to him.

The last actor I saw was Liu Shishi, who played Long Kui in this drama.

Yang Mi happily introduced, "This is my good sister Liu Shishi. Shishi, this is Director Zhang Jun, whom you and I often talk about."

Liu Shishi looked at Zhang Jun with curious eyes: "Hello, Director Zhang."

Zhang Jun held Liu Shishi's hand tightly, saying, "Since she's Yang Mi's friend, she's my friend too. Just call me Zhang Jun."

Sensing the aggression in Zhang Jun's eyes, Liu Shishi quickly pulled her hand away forcefully and changed the subject.

"Director Zhang, are you here to see Yang Mi today?"

This is a reminder to Zhang Jun that his relationship with Yang Mi is a given, and he should be mindful of the impact.

However, Zhang Jun said he didn't understand. He moved closer to Liu Shishi, so close that Liu Shishi could hear Zhang Jun's breathing.

"What's wrong? Miss Liu seems a little afraid of me?"

Yang Mi seemed oblivious to the awkward atmosphere. She put her arm around Zhang Jun's and laughed, "Master Shi, Zhang Jun has a very good temper, don't be so nervous!"

Seemingly unable to bear Zhang Jun's gaze, Liu Shishi used the excuse of putting on makeup to quickly run away.

Yang Mi turned to Zhang Jun and scolded him: "It's all your fault, you scared him away."

Zhang Jun said innocently, "I was just looking at her with the eyes of a man appreciating a beautiful woman. Who knew she was so timid—"

Yang Mi rolled her eyes at Zhang Jun: "I'm just introducing you to my good friend out of kindness, so don't get any inappropriate thoughts."

"What are you talking about? I'm a respectable person, okay?"

"What a load of rubbish! Nobody believes you!"

After his visit to the set, Zhang Jun returned to Beijing and participated in the preparations for the opening ceremony. Several suggestions he had made previously had been adopted, including showcasing not only Chinese civilization but also the hope for a better future.

Now, the organizing committee asked him to talk about this part in detail.

Zhang Jun said, "I used to hear people online say that Chinese people only reminisce about the past, while Westerners always focus on the future."

I think this is a fallacy. The purpose of our opening ceremony is to tell the world that we not only have a long-standing civilization, but also an imagination for the future.

Zhang Jun showed the PPT prepared by his assistant and explained the details: "I think we can focus on several aspects, such as the concept of green environmental protection, which foreigners really like."

Although Zhang Jun didn't care much about international perception, everyone did these days, so he had no choice but to follow the crowd.

Each suggestion was followed by a sentence like "Foreigners really like it," to make the leaders think the plan was good.

After the meeting, Zhang Yi said to Zhang Jun, "The leaders are very satisfied, and the program list is being finalized one after another. You can help me with a reference when it comes time."

Zhang Jun nodded: "This is the responsibility of every Chinese person, and I will do my best."

Zhang Yi was very satisfied. He patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder and said, "The number of places is limited. The seats for the opening ceremony are all confirmed. I can only approve three tickets for you at most."

You can let your family go see it in person.

That's a good deal; then Zhang Yuncheng and Yao Xia can bring their adopted sister Zhang Linwan along to see it.

Zhang Jun quickly expressed his sincere gratitude: "Thank you, Director Zhang."

"You're welcome, do your best!" Zhang Yi said with a smile.

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