Who says Beijing Film Academy has no great directors? (2002)

Chapter 90: Frequent Good News (Seeking First Subscription)

After the broadcast of "Chinese Paladin", its reputation continued to rise, and Chen Xiao, who played Li Xiaoyao, became an instant hit. The head of the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy specially contacted Chen Yan.

"Let this kid apply to the Beijing Film Academy, he'll definitely pass!"

Chen Yan didn't give a definitive answer, only saying that he could go and say hello.

If I remember correctly, Chen Xiao applied to the Central Academy of Drama. If I were to intervene and bring him to the Beijing Film Academy instead, I would have to be responsible for him.

That's too much trouble.

Therefore, Chen Yan simply conveyed the Beijing Film Academy's recognition of Chen Chi's acting skills and subtly expressed the department's opinion.

Chen Xiao seemed to have a somewhat stubborn personality; he politely thanked Chen Yan but that was the end of it.

Halfway through filming "So Young", the person Chen Yan had been waiting for finally arrived.

After receiving Zhang Jincheng's call, Chen Yan immediately arranged a meeting in the afternoon, giving the crew a short break.

Zhang Jincheng arranged for a relatively private, members-only restaurant.

Chen Yan followed the waiter into the private room and found that two people were already chatting inside.

One Chinese, one foreigner.

The Chinese man was the first to stand up. "Director Chen, I am Zhang Zhizhong, the Asia-Pacific Film Director of Disney, responsible for the overall coordination of Disney's business in China."

"Please allow me to introduce you to Andy Bett, President of Disney International and Head of Asia."

Chen Yan shook hands with each of them, focusing his attention on Andy Bate.

"Please sit down."

After everyone was seated, Andy Bate spoke first: "Mr. Chen, your film 'Alice in Wonderland'..."

"They're very popular in North America, so Disney wants to buy the license for your character and related merchandise."

"Buy it out?" Chen Yan asked.

Disney has always made high-priced buyouts, so Chen Yan had expected this, but he wasn't there today to make a fortune.

Andy Bate, with an air of self-righteousness and even a touch of Disney-esque arrogance, said, "Of course, you can name your price."

Chen Yan chuckled and shook his head.

"Sorry, I don't plan to sell it all at once. If I had that intention, I would have already sought cooperation during peak box office season, wouldn't I?"

Andy Bate frowned; this was somewhat different from what he had expected.

Based on previous collaborations, he should have quoted an exorbitant price, then negotiated a price range between the two parties before finally securing the deal. That would have been the correct approach.

Andy Bate made a bold guess: "Do you want to collaborate with Disney on this?"

"Why not?" Chen Yan said, picking up the teacup in front of him and taking a sip, his eyes filled with confident and arrogant ambition.

This made Andy Bate somewhat uncomfortable. He shifted his posture, stopped talking, and instead gestured to Zhang Zhizhong beside him to speak.

Zhang Zhizhong said tactfully, "Director Chen, you should know that this is almost impossible. Disney has never had such a precedent before."

He then changed the subject, suggesting, "You can name a good price."

Chen Yan glanced at Zhang Zhizhong casually, then turned back to Andy Bett and said, "Hong Kong Disneyland should be opening soon?"

Andy Bate looked at Chen Yan with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Yes, Mr. Chen."

"I can grant Disney an exclusive license for Alice in Wonderland, but only on the condition that it is a collaborative development. If Mr. Andy Bate cannot make a decision, he can go back and discuss it."

"After all, I still prefer to cooperate with Disney, an established company," Chen Yan hinted, adding that more than one person had approached him about developing Alice.

After all, Alice in Wonderland had a really good box office performance and a bright future. The character designs were also excellent, making it very suitable for developing derivative products.

Seeing that the two were speechless, Chen Yan simply stood up and said, "Mr. Zhang, you can stay in Beijing for a few more days. If there is any progress, please contact me at any time. I look forward to your final decision."

There's no point in this back-and-forth verbal tug-of-war. I've already made my intentions clear, and they're not appreciative. So I'll just go to Warner for development.

But Disney has Disneyland, right? They're experts at selling IP-related merchandise.

Seeing that Chen Yan was about to leave, Zhang Zhizhong felt a little uneasy. He also stood up, but his gaze was still fixed on Andy Bate.

Seeing that Andy Bate didn't react much, Zhang Zhizhong could only smile and see Chen Yan out the door.

Upon returning, Andy Bett frowned. "Are all you Chinese this cunning?"

Zhang Zhizhong was somewhat speechless, but still spoke from Disney's perspective: "Chen Yan actually has a lot of influence in China. If Disney parks are to be built in mainland China in the future, cooperating with Chen Yan would be a good choice."

"More importantly, he is a very creative film master."

Andy Bett silently processed these thoughts. "I need to report this to my superiors; this is a tricky matter."

"Damn it, if we hadn't been a few steps slower, we wouldn't be here talking to this difficult person right now."

In fact, Disney also selected "Alice in Wonderland" in 2004 to develop a movie, and it was in the same dark fantasy style, but it was still only in the stage of sporadic ideas.

Before anyone knew it, a Chinese director had made a film called "Alice in Wonderland," and it became a hit.

Zhang Zhizhong lowered his head and remained silent.

"Damn it!" Andy Bate muttered under his breath.

After a few seconds of silence in the private room, Andy Bate spoke again: "Zhang, make the arrangements. I'm planning to go back to China soon."

Zhang Zhizhong nodded in agreement: "Okay."

After Chen Yan left, he stopped thinking about it. Disney was the first choice, but if it didn't work out, he could find someone else to develop it, and maybe he would get better terms.

So he's not in a hurry right now; what's in a hurry is Disney.

He returned to the film crew and continued filming.

When the last scene was filmed after dark, Chen Yan yelled "Cut!" and his eyes were immediately covered.

Guess who I am~

Chen Yan curled one corner of her lips, "I bet you're Liu Hanhan!"

The soft little hand in front of me moved away immediately.

Chen Yan opened his eyes and saw that the person in front of him was indeed Liu Yifei.

Liu Yifei snorted, "I'm not stupid, I'm very shrewd!"

"Why are you back?" Chen Yan subconsciously looked at her feet.

Liu Yifei noticed his gaze and moved her feet very nimbly. "It's all fine now, look."

"Hey, who is this?" Zhu Yawen came over in a nonchalant manner.

Luo Jin, Wang Luodan, and Dong Xuan followed.

Several classmates from Beijing Film Academy were gathered together, plus Shu Chang.

"You're the one causing trouble!" Liu Yifei went up to hit Zhu Yawen, but he nimbly turned around and dodged her.

Chen Yan stepped forward and put his arm around Liu Yifei very intimately, saying with a smile, "Alright, alright, stop fooling around, I'll treat you to a late-night snack."

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