The opening of China Entertainment Group gave Jay Chou a head-on confrontation

Chapter 904 Don't idolize any celebrities (Thanks to the patron who has been lying on the beach for three and a half years for his support)
What are you talking about?
Do you understand the I Ching?

At first, Zhou Yun felt that her husband Jiang Wen had overestimated Zhou Yi's thick skin, and even prepared several plans for this purpose—well, specific excuses for Zhou Yi.

But now, she feels that the I Ching is still underestimated.

After their eyes met unconsciously, they both saw the confusion that women should have in each other's eyes.

These two men are simply outrageous!

One dares to speak out, and the other dares to speak out even more.

Several prepared lines were swallowed back down his throat, and Jiang Wen really wanted a cigarette. But considering he was the only one smoking in the room, he suppressed the urge and reached for two cakes, putting them in his mouth: "Tell me more?"

He was disappointed when he didn't see the expression he most wanted to see on Zhou Yi.

“I’d beat Mozart in writing Chinese lyrics, guaranteed to win.” Zhou Yi wasn’t ashamed at all, and even joked with himself.

Cheng Hao and Zhou Yun, both women with smiles in their eyes, completely withdrew from the battle, obediently sitting beside their respective men, quietly making tea, and awaiting the outcome of their confrontation.

In the end, it was clear that the I Ching won.

"The only thing Mozart was better at than me was that he was born more than two hundred years earlier and avoided my sharp edge."

Jiang Wen finally lost her temper: "You're fucking shameless."

"You're just as good."

Zhou Yi sipped his tea slowly, occasionally clicking his tongue and saying, "Could a normal person say something like that?"

Just kidding, buddy, I came here with the answers and just copied them directly. Do you think I'm afraid of someone as lowly as Jiang Wen?
"Alright, then I'll leave this to you."

Ultimately, Jiang Wen had started this whole thing himself, so he quickly chose to move on from the topic: "I'll come find you after filming is over."

"Have you found all the actors?"

"Pretty much. Thanks to you, Yinghuang increased its investment after they learned that you would be involved in the entire soundtrack, which greatly expanded my casting options."

When talking about this, Jiang Wen's tone was somewhat intriguing: "You know what, that Boss Yang is an honest man. He made it clear to me that he didn't expect to get his money back, and that I could just come to him if I needed more money."

"Art, is it?" Zhou Yi scoffed.

As Jiang Wen's biggest financial backer since the new century, Yinghuang has actually been investing in him all along. Boss Yang's keen sense of opportunity and ability to act speak for themselves.

Jiang Wen himself obviously knew what was going on, and suddenly became somewhat disinterested, and stopped bragging: "Do you still have the contact information of that Central Academy of Drama student in your old MV? Give me one, and I'll have my wife contact him later."

"?"

"What kind of eyes do you have? You're not going to play Li Dongfang, so now that I have money, I'll definitely prioritize finding someone with decent acting skills. Fang Zuming's acting is too bad, he can't compare to his father at all, and he's not like you, so I'm too lazy to train him."

Although Jiang Wen himself is a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, he doesn't really have many impressions of the young actors who are making it big in acting at the academy these days, and he had to put in a lot of effort to find actors.

Originally, they were planning to do Cheng Long a favor and let Fang Zuming play Li Dongfang, but when they were watching TV, they saw Deng Chao—young, talented, good-looking, and his junior from the Central Academy of Drama.

The main reason was that this person had a good relationship with Zhou Yi, which made him remember him immediately.

Zhou Yi clicked his tongue in amazement: "You've got money and clout now. You even want to get Deng Chao, a popular young actor, to be your supporting actor."

"Not only that, I even dare to touch Liang Jiahui now."

Jiang Wen waved his hand dismissively: "Liang Jiahui is quite interested in the university teacher Xiao Liang in the script."

Compared to Deng Chao, Liang Jiahui is indeed a top-tier actor who requires a substantial financial investment to hire.

"Should I also raise the friend price?"

How dare you?

"Why should I be embarrassed? Is this the first day we've met?"

"Get out, get out, get out, get out, get out!"

The clinking of teacups splashed a few drops of tea, which shimmered with light amidst the man's laughter.

The new cast of "The Sun Also Rises" no longer includes Wong Chau-sing and Fong Tsu-ming, but instead features Leung Ka-fai and Tang Chiu – in a way, this can be seen as preserving elements of the Hong Kong entertainment circle and giving them face.

Otherwise, considering that Liang Jiahui is indeed interested in the role of Xiao Liang, the university teacher, there are quite a few suitable candidates in mainland China.

When are you going to Los Angeles?

"In two days."

The 48th Grammy Awards ceremony will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on the evening of February 8, 2006. As a singer who set a record for nominations at this year's Grammys, how many trophies Zhou Yi will ultimately win has been the focus of attention for fans and even ordinary listeners.

"Here's a joke: I have more media figures who respect my opinions abroad than in China." Zhou Yi laughed as he talked about his recent Grammy trip.

No wonder people can't stand it.

"Well, that's the gist of it. I won't say anything more. I wish you all the best."

During the Lunar New Year, Jiang Wen sincerely wished everyone well.

Given Zhou Yi's current absolute political correctness in the Western music scene, winning an award is no longer a high-probability event, but a certainty; the only difference is how many awards he will win. And he's not the only one who thinks this way—

Domestically and internationally, even the most pessimistic people about the I Ching cannot be so blind as to say that the I Ching will not win a single trophy this time. The bullet that shot him in the second half of last year is now his best talisman in the Western world.

To put it in a more mystical way, it's truly destiny.

If Zhou Yi were a native-born American, and married a descendant of a political tycoon's family, he might even become a governor like Schwarzenegger.

Warner Music is unlikely to give up on promoting the I Ching now, especially on YouTube.

This video website, which took off last year thanks to the "Spike Phoenix shooting incident," has grown to the point where it poses a threat to the two video giants, Google and MSN, in less than six months.

Edgar Jr.'s Bloomman Investment Group and Warner Music Group are both well-funded, and their ample cash flow has made YouTube the forefront for promoting the I Ching, thereby creating waves of support for the I Ching online.

Under the management of Edgar Jr., Zhou Jianhui, and other Warner Music members led by Qian Jiang, the first batch of professional matrix accounts emerged on YouTube, specifically designed to promote and advocate for Warner Music artists.

This thing is really useful.

Even a newcomer like Rihanna was described as being more effective than Beyoncé.

"I'm simply a genius."

Edgar Jr.'s mansion in Los Angeles, USA.

Knowing it was Chinese New Year in China, Edgar, who didn't bother Zhou Yi too much, said with a cigar in his mouth, "I never expected that YouTube, which I acquired on a whim, would be so useful."

Zhou Jianhui, who was sitting opposite him looking at documents, smiled but offered no comment.

To be honest, he hadn't expected this video website to rise so rapidly. Or rather, its speed of rise exceeded everyone's expectations.

From this perspective, Edgar Jr. has indeed washed away his infamous reputation as a "spendthrift."

"I have no objection to the publicity funds you applied for for Stefanie. It doesn't matter if we lose money; just consider it a happy purchase of Spike." Edgar, visibly immersed in excitement and joy, didn't care at all about the money Sun Yanzi would need to spend to venture into Europe and America.

Can that little bit of money even be called money?

He's not like Warner Bros., who's having a tough time and looks gloomy all the time as if everyone owes them hundreds of millions.

"But to be honest, the cancellation of the joint venture pilot program for cinemas in China is indeed a significant blow to Warner Bros."

Edgar, who had already scouted the place and hosted the event, puffed on his cigarette, his words tinged with a hint of schadenfreude: "If the losses continue, the company will probably run into problems."

He even suspected that if Spike could offer a suitable price, the Warner Bros. board members, currently suffering from market downturns and stock price declines, would probably be knocking them unconscious overnight.

Warner Bros. is no longer the company it once was.

He didn't have much of a vision for the Chinese film market, because in his view, the market was too small, so small that it couldn't be smaller. Even if there was a promising future, it would be a long time coming. Therefore, he actively supported Zhou Yi in doing some acquisitions.

Losing money will only fuel a fiercer desire to make money, which might even motivate Zhou Yi to write songs and release albums.

Edgar, puffing on a cigar, was in a good mood: "After Spike arrives on the 5th, he'll have to do a Grammy preview interview, and his meeting with Warner Bros. is scheduled for the 15th. Once you've confirmed everything is okay, you can go and let him know."

As the holder of the record for the most Grammy nominations in history, Zhou Yi, who received 13 nominations in this year's round, naturally couldn't stay idle after arriving in Los Angeles. Even though he needed a day to adjust to the time difference, his schedule was packed with interview requests.

Countless music fans eagerly awaited the arrival of their idol.

On the morning of February 5, 2006, U.S. time, Zhou Yi, wearing sunglasses, stepped out of the cabin of his private jet and walked out to the cheers of fans outside the airport, taking photos and signing autographs with them.

"Take your time, one at a time, don't crowd, and avoid any potential stampedes—thank you for your support, ma'am."

When Zhou Yi, who was constantly signing autographs amidst the crowded streets, once again set foot on North American soil, the amount of film he had captured was enough for him to easily surpass all his rivals and successfully make a name for himself on the front pages and even the headlines of major newspapers.

On the 7th, after adjusting to the time difference, the Fox interview finally arrived, albeit late.

"What do you think about being regarded as a spiritual icon by many fans? You are the first foreign artist to almost cause airport paralysis, and I believe you have already experienced this the day before yesterday."

“I’m honored, but there’s really no need.”

Facing the Fox camera, Zhou Yi, still looking somewhat tired, sighed: "Really, it's best if everyone maintains an equal relationship. I sing, you listen..."

"Really?" The host was quite surprised.

Zhou Yi nodded: "Of course, I'm just a singer, not worth them wasting so much time waiting for me at the airport."

"But they all admire you."

The beautiful host shifted her posture: "Do you know how influential you are among the younger generation in America? I mean, they all idolize you and learn everything from you..."

"No, no, no, I don't think I'm worthy of being worshipped."

After shaking his index finger to indicate his denial, Zhou Yi adopted a somewhat earnest tone: "Actually, I want to tell my fans something—"

"Instead of wasting time chasing celebrities, I would suggest that you study hard so that you can become doctors, engineers, teachers, firefighters, etc. in the future, because these are the people that the world really needs."

"Don't idolize celebrities. In fact, many of them are trash, including myself."

(End of this chapter)