Chapter 290: Arrogant at First but Respectful Later, "The Sixth Sense" Confirmed to Be Released

After coming out of the studio, Yuan Heping asked Zhang Xinyan, "Are you going to audition for Chen Hong?"

Zhang Xinyan nodded and said, "Of course, if there is nothing special, I will let Chen Hong play the heroine."

In fact, when Zhou Yan said Chen Hong's name, Zhang Xinyan had already decided that as long as there were no major problems with Chen Hong's performance, he would use Chen Hong.

The core of the TV series "Tai Chi Master" lies in the male protagonist played by Wu Jing.

If Zhou Yan had proposed a candidate for the male lead today, Zhang Xinyan would probably not have agreed, but as for the female lead, Zhang Xinyan was not obsessed with any one person.

Besides, Chen Hong is not a messy actor, she has played Diao Chan seriously. Her current reputation is higher than those of the female characters they chose before.

Seeing that Yuan Heping was still not in a good mood, Zhang Xinyan said with a smile, "Chen Hong is pretty and has no problem with her acting skills. She is now very famous in the mainland because of her roles in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and Panasonic's commercials. She is even famous in Neon She has some fame, so if she plays the heroine, it will be a good thing for our TV series. "

Yuan Heping sighed, "I know, I just didn't expect that Zhou Yan would interfere in these things."

"He didn't interfere. Didn't he give suggestions? He didn't say we must use Chen Hong."

"Although he didn't say it explicitly, what he said later seemed to be telling us that if we didn't use Chen Hong, there would be no investment."

Zhang Xinyan said with a smile, "Don't think too much, maybe people don't think so. And even if they think so, so what, all we want is the result. As for the rest, there is no need to worry about it."

"Our company is short of money now, but Qizhi has money. We can't resist risks, but Qizhi can resist risks and let them contribute more money. We work behind the scenes, which can support the people in our company without taking risks. It’s too risky. If the TV series makes money, even if we make less money, it will still be profitable.”

Yuan Heping is not a young man. He knows that what Zhang Xinyan said is right.

In comparison, Zhou Yan, an investor, is already very rare. Other investors have all kinds of strange requirements.

It's just that Yuan Heping didn't regard Zhou Yan as an investment boss before, so his mentality didn't change.

It's not Yuan Heping's fault. Whether it's Huo Siqi or Zhou Yan, they are different from ordinary bosses.

When they first see Zhou Yan, they will feel that he is like a film and television star. His appearance is among the best among actors.

After chatting for a few words, you will feel that he is like a young teacher who doesn't talk much, and sometimes he feels like a scholar.

With more contact, these previous impressions will be broken. Among the people Yuan Heping and others have met before, there is no one with a similar style to Zhou Yan.

Zhang Xinyan patted Yuan Heping on the shoulder again, "Give Chen Hong an audition early, confirm her, and then send her to learn swordsmanship. We can be stricter about this matter, and Zhou Yan will definitely not say anything."

"Okay." Yuan Heping nodded, and then added, "I agreed, if Chen Hong is unwilling to learn, no matter what happens in the future, I will replace her."

Zhang Xinyan agreed, "Don't worry about this. If she doesn't cooperate, I will go to Zhou Yan personally to raise the matter."

"That's good."

…

After Zhang Xinyan and the others left, Zhou Yan called Huo Siqi and told him that he could safely invest in the TV series "The Master of Tai Chi". Even if "The Kung Fu Kid" didn't make any money, Qizhi could invest extra money.

Hearing Zhou Yan's words, Huo Siqi was surprised and said, "What do you mean, you are not optimistic about the box office of "The Kung Fu Kid"?"

"I'm afraid this movie won't do very well at the box office, so you have to be mentally prepared."

Huo Siqi on the other end of the phone nodded and didn't ask any questions. He knew that Zhou Yan didn't say this last night, and it must be because Zhang Xinyan and the others were present.

In retrospect, Zhou Yan never said that "The Kung Fu Kid" would make money in the first place, and at that time Zhou Yan also said that he would invest less. It was because he wanted to win over Zhang Xinyan and Yuan Heping that he invested more money.

If the movie loses money, Huo Siqi will definitely be a little disappointed, but it won't be a heartache. After all, this little money is nothing to Qizhi.

He quickly adjusted his attitude and said, "It seems that you are very optimistic about their new TV series."

"Well, I'm very optimistic about it. I think this is also a good opportunity for Qizhi. We should take advantage of this opportunity to enter the TV drama market."

"If you say that, I understand."

…

After talking to Huo Siqi on the phone, Zhou Yan went to Yanjing Film Studio to find the senior.

Senior Lu was the first to cooperate with Zhou Yan, but the development in the past two years was not smooth.

Wang Xiaoshuai was introduced to Zhou Yan by Senior Lu, but now that Wang Xiaoshuai's movie has been filmed early and won an award, he is now considered to be a rising star.

Huo Jianqi only cooperated with Zhou Yan last year, and this year he received investment to shoot "The Winner", and the filming of the movie is about to be completed.

However, "Grown Up", which was filmed by Mr. Lu, has never passed the review due to various problems and has not been released until now.

As soon as he entered the director's office, everyone greeted him one after another.

"Director Zhou is here."

"I haven't seen you for a while."

Zhou Yan now has very deep connections in Yanjing Factory, and he is even better at speaking than second-generation factory workers like Tian Zhuangzhuang and Chen Kaige.

On the one hand, Zhou Yan is different now. Several movies have made him one of the top directors. On the other hand, he has a close relationship with Han Sanping, and the people in the factory have to give Han Sanping some face.

Zhou Yan greeted and responded one by one, and then walked to Lu Xuechang's workstation.

"Director Zhou, you are here."

Zhou Yan looked up and down at Lu Xuechang, and then smiled, "You are in good condition and have not been defeated by difficulties."

Lu Xuechang smiled and shook his head, "Well, it's not a big deal. I can still bear it."

Zhou Yan nodded, pulled a bench and sat down next to him, "I'll tell you a good news. There is basically no problem this time. After confirmation, the movie "Growing Up" will be released at the beginning of next year."

"Really?" Lu Xuechang sat up straight, his eyes behind the glasses shining.

Seeing Lu Xuechang's reaction, Zhou Yan laughed secretly. This guy is not as indifferent as he said just now.

In fact, Zhou Yan can understand it. After all, this is Lu Xuechang's first movie directed independently, which has great significance to him.

It has been so long since the preparation of this movie, and there is no hope of its release. Anyone would be mentally upset.

Especially when all the friends around are doing well, it is easier to lose balance.

"No problem, Tomson will do some publicity for this movie in a while, and you need to cooperate. You should prepare in advance."

"No problem."

"How is your health recently?" Zhou Yan asked.

"It's OK. I usually pay attention to it. Basically, there is no problem."

"Well, health is the first priority. Only when the body is good can you think about other things. What are your plans after the release of this movie?"

"Actually, I have plans. I have another script, but now "Growing Up" has not been released yet, so it's a bit early to think too much."

Zhou Yan nodded, "Then wait until "Growing Up" is released, and then talk about it."

Senior Lu sighed slightly, "Actually, I'm not in a hurry now, because I know that the next movie may face this situation again."

"Growing Up" was revised several times in order to be released.

In fact, if Zhou Yan hadn't helped, the release might have been delayed for a longer time. On the one hand, Zhou Yan provided ideas during the revision, and on the other hand, he also helped to operate it.

In fact, many film festivals have invited Senior Lu to participate in the exhibition with "Growing Up", but Senior Lu has never agreed.

One learns from one's mistakes. Tian Zhuangzhuang's example is right in front of him, and Senior Lu does not want to take risks.

Moreover, Senior Lu still wants the movie to be released. If he participates in the film festival on his own initiative, he will most likely lose the opportunity to be released.

Zhou Yan can see that Senior Lu is regretful. After all, after several changes, the movie is very different from what Senior Lu originally wanted to shoot.

Zhou Yan can't say anything about this. Strict review is a double-edged sword. Although it will limit the creation of directors, it will indeed prevent some problems.

Some movies, if they are released without review, will have big problems.

"Wang Feng will also be with you in the promotion of this movie. Yanjing TV will have an exclusive interview at that time." Zhou Yan said.

Senior Lu nodded, "I will cooperate when the time comes. The music of this movie is all thanks to Wang Feng."

"It's just mutual achievement. I'm happy to see him dubbing it."

Zhou Yan looked around the office again and asked, "Have you seen Lao Huo recently?"

"No, his new movie seems to be very complicated to shoot. I saw him and Ning Jing from your company last month."

Ning Jing signed with Zhou's earlier. This time Huo Jianqi is filming "Winner", and she is the heroine of the movie.

Zhou Yan nodded, "Okay, that's it. I'll go find Director Han."

"Yeah."

After leaving the director's office, Zhou Yan went to the director's office and chatted with Han Sanping for a while.

When it was time for lunch, Zhou Yan didn't go back and stayed in the factory to eat lunch.

The aunt in the cafeteria was very happy to see Zhou Yan.

"Xiao Zhou, you haven't come to eat for a long time. There happens to be braised pork today. Sister will give you more lean meat."

After that, she gave Zhou Yan an extra spoonful, most of which was lean meat.

It's not that lean meat is more popular, but she knows that Zhou Yan prefers lean meat. In fact, Zhou Yan still prefers to eat fat and lean meat, but he usually works out, so he eats less fat.

Han Sanping next to him said with a smile, "Sister Liu, you are too partial, I don't even have this treatment."

"Haha, Xiao Zhou is young and growing."

"He is still growing, more than a circle bigger than me." Han Sanping laughed.

"That's all because of feeding. When Xiao Zhou first came, he was very thin."

Zhou Yan said with a smile, "Thank you Sister Liu for feeding him."

When Zhou Yan first came, he was indeed thin, and he was good-looking and could talk. The aunt in the cafeteria liked him very much. Although he was not famous at that time, she would give him more good food when serving him.

Now that Zhou Yan is famous, it goes without saying that he has privileges every time he comes.

After they finished their meal, Han Sanping was on his way to find a seat with his lunch box. He joked, "You are a non-staff employee, but you are more popular than me, the factory director."

"It is precisely because I am a non-staff employee that I have the privilege to break the rules."

"What you said makes sense." Han Sanping smiled and extended the topic to movies, "It's like making movies. People say that things are easy to do within the system, but in fact, if you want to carry out reforms, you still need those outside the system. Someone will do it.”

At this time, the two of them found a seat and sat down. Zhou Yan wiped his chopsticks and replied, "There are advantages within the system, and there are also flexibility outside the system. Learning from each other's strengths and complementing each other's weaknesses, win-win cooperation may be the answer to some of the current problems." ”

"Now the waves in the industry are gradually rising, and the road ahead is foggy. We need wave-breakers like you, Third Brother, to point the way."

Han Sanping laughed, shook his head and said, "We brothers, let's stop saying these polite words. I can only do service at the back. The ones who really break the waves are people like you who can see through the fog. "Spring in the Cowherd Class" "has been a huge success in the Mainland, which is a good start. I am now thinking about making one or two more movies next year, which will be released at about the same time to support the schedule near the end of the year. I have been thinking about it for a long time. , this matter still depends on you. Now in China, when it comes to box office appeal, you are the first, no one dares to be the second.”

Zhou Yan knew that Han Sanping was mentioning a new movie again, but he really didn't have any ideas for a new movie right now, so he didn't bother with it.

He lowered his head and took a bite of the braised pork, then gave a thumbs up, "The quality of the braised pork in our factory has not dropped at all over the years."

Han Sanping smiled and said, "If you like to eat, eat more. If nothing else, it's okay for you to eat meat in the factory. As long as I am in the factory for a day and I have a bite of meat, I will give you priority."

"Third brother, I remember what you said."

"It's best to remember. I'm just worried that you won't come to eat. When you come to the cafeteria to eat, Sister Liu is happier than usual. This place is not half a home for you."

"Indeed, it's no different from my own home."

The two chatted meaningfully for a while, and then started chatting some gossip.

Halfway through the meal, a figure approached the two of them.

"Hey, what a coincidence, Director Han and Director Zhou are both here."

Zhou Yan looked up and was quite surprised to see the person speaking. It turned out to be Xu Fan.

He had almost no interaction with Xu Fan. They met twice during the Spring Festival Gala rehearsal.

Xu Fan and Huang Hong collaborated on a sketch this year called "Live Broadcast Tonight", which is quite close to Zhou Yan's show, only two or three shows apart.

Among actresses, Xu Fan looks very ordinary, and she looks more mature. Although she is only in her twenties and has not married yet, she has the feeling of a housewife.

She stood next to the table with a smile on her face and looked very enthusiastic.

Han Sanping smiled and said, "Xu Fan, why do you have time to come to the factory today?"

"I came here with Director Feng."

"Oh, Director Feng is here too. How was the filming of "Enemies and Sons"?" Han Sanping asked.

"Everything went well."

Han Sanping explained to Zhou Yan with a smile, "Sunward Film and Television invested in the adaptation of Wang Shuo's film "I Am Your Dad". Wang Shuo and Feng Xiaogang are the directors, and Xu Fan is the heroine. This film is also a co-production between Sunward Film and Television and us."

Zhou Yan nodded, "Oh, that's good. Is Teacher Wang here too today?"

Among these people, Zhou Yan was somewhat interested in Wang Shuo.

In the Chinese literary world, Wang Shuo is definitely not among Zhou Yan's favorite writers, but I have to say that Wang Shuo is definitely a special one.

According to Wang Shuo's character, "special" should also be what he pursues.

Moreover, Wang Shuo played a role in improving the income of Chinese writers.

"Director Wang is not here today, so it's just me and Director Feng." Xu Fan said.

"Oh." Zhou Yan didn't say anything else.

However, Xu Fan continued, "Director Zhou, congratulations. "Springtime of the Cowherd Class" has such a high box office and was shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival. I watched the movie and was very moved. Teacher Zhou's spirit of preaching and practicing is really impressive." I admire it. When I watched the movie, I was thinking that only a director like Director Zhou who is a teacher can make such a movie."

Zhou Yan was surprised to hear Xu Fan complimenting him.

Xu Fan and Feng Xiaogang are a couple, and they are almost bound together now. However, the relationship between Zhou Yan and Feng Xiaogang is not very good. If others don't know, Xu Fan should know it.

Then why did Xu Fan come over to flatter him now?

Just when Zhou Yan couldn't figure out the motive of Xu Fan's behavior, he suddenly heard Feng Xiaogang's voice.

"Xu Fan, you...hey, Director Han and Director Zhou are both here."

Feng Xiao seemed to be looking for Xu Fan when he suddenly saw Han Sanping and Zhou Yan with very surprised expressions.

Although Feng Xiaogang's acting skills were good, Zhou Yan could still tell that this chance encounter was very deliberate. There was no obstruction in the cafeteria, and the situation here could be seen from a long distance. It was impossible for Feng Xiaogang to come so close to see Zhou Yan and the others.

"Director Feng, have you eaten?" Han Sanping said with a smile.

"I just finished eating and was about to leave. When I went to the toilet, Xu Fan disappeared."

Xu Fan smiled and said, "I saw Factory Manager Han and Director Zhou here, come over and say hello."

Feng Xiaogang said to Zhou Yan alone, "That's a coincidence. It's rare to see Director Zhou here. Recently, I see news about Director Zhou on TV every day. Your movie "Spring of the Cowherd Class" was so great." alright."

Zhou Yan was startled by his arrogant and respectful attitude.

Perhaps Feng Xiaogang saw that Zhou Yan was now in the limelight, so he came here to ease the relationship, but he didn't want to come directly, so he let Xu Fan take the lead.

After all, Xu Fan is a woman, so the atmosphere should be eased a little.

"Director Feng is too flattering. It's just good luck. I heard that you and Mr. Wang Shuo are shooting a new movie. You two are strong together and the results will definitely be very good."

"Then I'd like to borrow Director Zhou's good words."

After that, he pulled Xu Fan again, "Director Han and Director Zhou are having dinner, so we won't disturb them. We'll visit them again when we have time."

"Okay, take care."

After the two left, Han Sanping said puzzledly, "Why do these two people feel so weird?"

Zhou Yan smiled but didn't say anything, just concentrating on the food in the bowl.

...

The next morning, Zhou Yan received a call from Bregman.

Bregman told Zhou Yan that "The Sixth Sense" has been confirmed to be released on March 29th.

In fact, Columbia Pictures originally planned to release the film in mid-March, but because the Oscar nomination list was announced, and Zhou Yan was on it, the release date was finally set on March 29.

The Oscar Awards ceremony is on March 25, and March 29 is the first Friday after the ceremony. Obviously, Columbia is betting that "Sense and Sensibility" can win the Oscar for Best Original Score.

If "Sense and Sensibility" can really win the Best Original Score Award, it will definitely be beneficial to "The Sixth Sense". Columbia will definitely use this award to promote the film.

Even if "Sense and Sensibility" does not win the Best Original Score Award in the end, it will not be a loss for Columbia. It can still use the nomination to promote it, but the strength will definitely not be as strong as winning the award.

"There will be a premiere on March 29. Do you have time to attend it then?" Bregman invited.

"I'm afraid it will be difficult. I will probably be very busy in March and April."

Bregman had expected this situation. Not to mention the premiere of "The Sixth Sense", he did not even agree to the Oscar invitation to Zhou Yan to Los Angeles to attend the awards ceremony.

It would be great if Zhou Yan could agree to attend the Oscars, and he could attend the premiere of the movie at the same time.

"That's a pity. When we talked about you during the celebration of Sense and Sensibility two days ago, you played a big role in the success of Sense and Sensibility this time."

"It's mainly because you guys shot it well and the actors acted well, so the soundtrack didn't play that big of a role."

"Generally, the soundtrack doesn't play that big of a role, but it's different this time. Many of your fans and Mariah Carey's fans went to see the movie for the music."

Bregman was speaking from the heart. The soundtrack played a big role in promoting the movie this time.

Now many people think of Sense and Sensibility when they hear "Young and Beautiful".

Of course, the effect is mutual.

Zhou Yan's music boosted the box office of the movie, and the release of the movie also boosted the sales of the album "Raining Bells".

"Raining Bells" is the best music album for Zhou Yan to start in North America. It is much better than the previous soundtrack of "Flying Piano Boy". The sales of this album in North America have exceeded one million copies.

"Haha, if it really has such a big effect, would you Columbia consider giving me a bigger share?" Zhou Yan joked.

"No problem. We will definitely increase the share ratio next time we work together." Bregman smiled. "Do you still care about this share? You have invested in "The Sixth Sense". If the box office of this movie is high, you can get a lot of money."

"It's hard to say what will happen in the future."

"If the box office of "The Sixth Sense" can also exceed 60 million US dollars, we will also hold a celebration party. You must come then."

"Forget about 60 million. If the North American box office can exceed 100 million US dollars, I will definitely go."

Bregman on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "Then I wish you can come to the celebration party."

Bregman is still quite confident in "The Sixth Sense". He believes that the North American box office of "The Sixth Sense" should be at least 50 or 60 million US dollars, and if it performs well, it can reach 80 or 90 million US dollars.

But to say 100 million US dollars, it is not easy.