Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

Zhuang Huai'an felt that his entry into Hollywood at this point was truly ingenious!

It should be said that the gears of fate began to turn from the moment she chose Liu Lei's housekeeping company.

Without Liu Lei, there would be no Yang Chen; without Yang Chen, even if he wanted to enter Hollywood, he would still have to rely on other film and television production companies.

How could things be like this now, bearing the MGM name, using MGM's mature production team, and soon having to rely on their publicity channels?

Wu Baige was kneeling in front filming "Windtalkers" and was short of funds and personnel, while Zhuang Huai'an was standing behind filming "Parasite" and was short of channels and resources.

Well, all I can say is that MGM was destined for this misfortune.

In addition to the crew, Yang Chen also recruited a producer, who was the classmate who had previously told him inside information about MGM's top management.

This man is named Andrew von Diehl. You can tell from the name that he is of German descent, and his ancestors may have been nobles.

Zhuang Huai'an called him Lao Feng. Unlike Yang Chen's obvious elite temperament, Lao Feng was unkempt, with long hair and a big beard, wearing a jacket, jeans and Martin boots, exuding an artistic temperament.

With the addition of Lao Feng as a fresh addition, Zhuang Huai'an sent Yang Chen to the "Saw" film crew, while Zhang Lu returned to continue working as his assistant.

The two production teams worked simultaneously and filmed in an orderly manner.

During this time, Aunt Liu brought Liu Yifei to visit the set. After staying in Los Angeles for two days, they returned to China. The little girl kept her promise to Zhuang Huai'an in mind and was eager to go back to school.

Zhuang Huai'an let her go as she pleased, as the control over the Beijing area was still in place.

Perhaps due to the improved script, James Wan finished filming "Saw" in just 15 days, three days less than originally planned.

He is currently working on post-production in the editing studio that Yang Chen rented.

Zhuang Huai'an also became serious. Besides needing to catch up with the Cannes Film Festival, the Oscars ceremony was also just around the corner.

The film "Cold Mountain," in which two actresses from the "Parasite" cast starred, was also nominated for this year's Oscars.

Fortunately, the set design for this film is simple, and there are not many scene transitions.

December 17th,

Han Sanping led the main cast and crew of "Hero" to Los Angeles, and Zhuang Huai'an specially asked Yang Chen to pick them up.

Unexpectedly, this group of people didn't even go to the hotel, but went straight to their film crew.

"Good lad!"

Han Sanping, beaming, patted Zhuang Huai'an on the shoulder, "Quietly, you've pulled off a big move!"

As the saying goes, when a child is quiet, he must be up to no good.

After Zhuang Huai'an won the Berlin Film Festival, he didn't return to China. Han Sanping sensed something was wrong and called to ask, only to find out that the guy had already started working in Hollywood!

Han Sanping looked at Zhuang Huai'an with satisfaction. He knew this kid would make it to Hollywood, but he didn't expect this day to come so soon, and that he would be ahead of him again.

"A certain senior brother,"

Zhuang Huai'an ignored Lao Han and instead greeted the others, "President Zhang, Brother Jie, Miss Zhang, Mr. Liang."

Jet Li and Tony Leung responded with a smile.

Zhang Ziyi keenly sensed Zhuang Huai'an's aloofness, but before she could speak, Zhang Dapao said sourly, "Director Zhuang is young and promising, very capable."

Zhuang Huai'an ignored him and looked at the tired-looking strategist.

"Huai'an, this time, you've once again gone ahead of us old folks." Zhang Yimou smiled gently.

"What you're saying, senior brother, is true. It's because your generation went out first; otherwise, how would there be successors?"

There was nowhere for the crew to sit, so Zhuang Huai'an simply led everyone to sit on the sofa where they were filming.

"I didn't prepare anything in advance, so I can only serve you bottled water. I apologize for not being a good host."

Han Sanping took the bottled water and laughed, "Filming is the priority, we're just unwelcome guests."

Zhang Yimou glanced around and asked, "Huai'an, would you mind telling me about your film?"

"What's wrong with saying this?"

Zhuang Huai'an, looking excited, handed him the script and said with a smile, "Senior brother, I've come up with something really fun this time. I guarantee you won't be able to sleep after reading it."

"Is it fun?"

"Can't sleep?"

Upon hearing this, everyone became interested, but since Zhuang Huai'an, the host, had not spoken, they did not dare to ask any further questions.

Zhuang Huai'an didn't intend to show them the script; he simply took out the Seven Stars and distributed them to everyone.

"Huai'an, when the news of your Hollywood film premiere reached China, the media went crazy."

Han Sanping squinted and exhaled a puff of smoke, glancing at Zhang Dapao intentionally or unintentionally, before saying, "This news even overshadowed the Oscar nomination for 'Hero' at one point."

"It's just a small-scale operation."

Zhuang Huai'an feigned humility, saying, "If the investment in my film were in Hollywood, it wouldn't even reach the threshold of a B-movie production. It's purely about spending money to gain experience."

"Hey, you can't say that. You need a beginning to have a follow-up," Old Han waved his hand. "Having drive is a good thing."

"Indeed," Li Lianjie replied with a smile, "Youth is an asset. By the time we reach our age, it's a bit too late."

"Brother Jay, you're in your prime. You're the only Chinese actor to hold the title of King of Videos in North America."

To be honest, among everyone present, Zhuang Huai'an only had a slight liking for Han Sanping and Zhang Yimou, as these two were the ones who were truly dedicated to developing Chinese-language films.

For the others, just maintain a superficial relationship.

The group exchanged compliments and pleasantries until Zhang Yimou closed the script.

"You kid..." Zhang Yimou's eyes were complicated. "Once this movie is made, among contemporary directors, no one can surpass you in filming realistic human nature."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. Given Zhang Yimou's status and insight, Zhuang Huai'an wasn't just about to fly into the sky, but about to break out into outer space.

"Exciting, right?" Zhuang Huai'an laughed heartily; Zhang Yimou's approval was very important to him.

It's not that he needs this praise.

Rather, Zhang Yimou basically represents the appreciation level of the world's top directors. With his evaluation, it can be said that even if "Parasite" were released ahead of schedule, it would not have any problems adapting to the local conditions.

"It's more than just exciting, it's downright perverse," Zhang Yimou said with a wry smile.

"If this film were a Chinese-language film, it would have a better chance of winning an Oscar than 'Hero'!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was even more shocked, and Zhang Ziyi was itching to snatch the script and read it.

Zhuang Huai'an shook his head. "But you know that's impossible. There's no environment for this kind of film to survive in China."

"Yes," Zhang Yimou sighed again.

"What do you mean by that?" Han Sanping asked anxiously, "Huai'an, are you making some kind of anti-humanitarian film?"

"No, there aren't any gory scenes," Zhuang Huai'an said, before he could finish.

Zhang Yimou said, "But it's even more violent than seeing blood."

Seeing the two exchanging cryptic messages, Han Sanping ignored them and picked up the script to start reading.

After a long while, Lao Han closed the script and let out a long sigh.

...

On March 21, two days before the Oscars, filming for "Parasite" wrapped up.

After a simple buffet-style wrap party, Zhuang Huai'an returned to his hotel and went straight to sleep. The numerous night scenes in "Parasite" had completely disrupted his sleep schedule.

He slept soundly until the afternoon of the next day, feeling refreshed and full of energy. Zhuang Huai'an nodded in satisfaction.

"It's just...sigh...it's so uncomfortable, Ma Fei..."