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

Chapter 977 I'll Just Take Control of the Music Scene Myself

Gao Yuanyuan, in Venice, was all smiles, her knitted scarf wrapped around her neck resting on the Grand Canal bank, perfectly complementing the Italian scenery.

She wasn't lying; she really was in Europe.

Last year, the art-house drama film "Shanghai Dreams," starring her, was nominated for the Palme d'Or in the main competition at the 58th Cannes International Film Festival and won the Jury Prize.

Although she was just a minor character in the film, and even she admitted that she was forced into the role, the media flocked to her after learning that she had been nominated for Cannes, all predicting that she would win the Best Actress award. It has to be said that the strategy of exporting and then re-importing is indeed quite effective.

Fortunately, she was quite self-aware and kept saying that it was completely impossible for her, which prevented her from being hyped up by the media, but it also increased her exposure and popularity.

So, in late September of this year, Jackie Chan's new film "Rob-B-Hood" was invited to have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and she was also pulled in by the crew to help out. Although she played her old role of a "pretty face" in "Rob-B-Hood," at least she was a pretty one, wasn't she?

After the global premiere, instead of continuing her tireless promotional tour with the workaholic Jackie Chan, she chose to stay in Italy and enjoy her last vacation of the year after finishing her promotional duties.

Working for more than half a year and then resting for a few months is the most comfortable state for her at this stage.

Since co-productions never cast mainland male leads, she, as a popular actress, has no shortage of roles. You don't even need to worry about the quality of the scripts; she's thriving.

She hadn't originally planned to make that call, as she was currently enjoying her relationship with Zhou Yi and didn't want anything to change. However, Cheng Long's agent called her, wanting her to help schedule a time with Zhou Yi to discuss the music licensing for "Rush Hour 3".

"Chenglong's agent? How is that possible? Why didn't he contact me himself? Why did his agent ask you to act as an intermediary?"

Isn't it much better for Cheng Long himself to step forward than for Gao Yuanyuan to do so?

"Well, Chenglong himself can't even get out of bed right now."

Gao Yuanyuan's words silenced Zhou Yi completely.

In March of this year, while filming "Rob-B-Hood," Cheng Long was injured when a stuntman kicked him in the chest while wearing the wrong shoes. To continue filming, he opted for conservative treatment.

Then, as fate would have it, Jackie Chan injured the same spot again yesterday while filming the third installment of the series, "Rush Hour 3," which brought him back to Hollywood.

A chest wound that hadn't fully healed suddenly exploded—

He can't breathe heavily now, and he absolutely can't cough or sneeze. But when he's feeling unwell, he feels the urge to cough, which makes the wound hurt more and more, creating a vicious cycle.

Despite receiving emergency treatment, Chenglong's condition has not improved. His entire upper body is now bandaged, and he wakes up several times a night in pain. He also has difficulty moving around, and this morning he couldn't even get out of bed as usual, which terrified everyone else.

In this state, let alone negotiating music licensing with Zhou Yi, it's questionable whether the film can even be completed. It might even become his last work.

However, he is known for being extremely time-conscious when it comes to work. In order not to delay the film's release next year, Cheng Long's new agent was busy dealing with various changes that followed Cheng Long's serious injury, while also calling Gao Yuanyuan to ask her to help arrange a time to meet with Zhou Yi to discuss the cooperation.

The main thing is to schedule a time in advance.

Given the current popularity of the I Ching, if we don't make an appointment in advance, who knows if we'll even be able to sit down and discuss cooperation?

The main problem is that there's no one else available for the time being.

Of all the acquaintances Zhou Yi and Cheng Long have, only Gao Yuanyuan is currently in Europe, so her time zone doesn't overlap with Zhou Yi's.

Of course, whether there was an intention to curry favor with Gao Yuanyuan involved is a matter of opinion.

After all, to be honest, as Chenglong's new manager, even if he's very busy, he shouldn't be unable to find the time to schedule a time slot.

Humanity is so sophisticated.

Previously, Chen Ziqiang, a veteran of the Chinese film industry who had ties with Zhou Yi alongside Cheng Long, was even referred to as his godfather by Maggie Cheung. However, the newly appointed Su Zhihong has no connection with Zhou Yi whatsoever.

Using Gao Yuanyuan as an intermediary may well be an attempt to curry favor and smooth things over.

"Chen Ziqiang and Chenglong broke up?"

.............................................

Two major events occurred in the domestic entertainment industry at the end of 2006—

First, Jay Chou, the number one figure in the Chinese music scene after the I Ching, has officially broken ties with his parent company, Holiday KTV. It has been confirmed that he will soon register a new company to go it alone. Taiwanese media have even dug up the name and address of his new company.

The Apple Daily even released a private dinner recording in which executives of Holiday KTV mocked Jay Chou for trying to emulate him: "He's like a toad trying to eat swan meat. He wants to learn the I Ching and break free from the company's restrictions without even considering whether he has the ability. If he can sell albums in Europe and America, I'll treat him like the I Ching."

The release of this recording has caused a huge uproar, sparking outrage among Jay Chou's fans. Holiday KTV, undeterred, has already begun preparing a high-profile legal team to take Jay Chou to court.

Secondly, there was the Chen Ziqiang and Chenglong split, which caused little stir outside the industry but was a major upheaval within it.

Chan Chi-chung, a long-time partner of Cheng Lung for 30 years and the first secretary-general of the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild, has confirmed that he is preparing to leave Cheng Lung Company. He is currently undergoing various handover procedures and is expected to officially step down from all positions in six months.

At the same time, Chen Ziqiang also left behind a rather poignant statement: "He no longer consults me on anything, but instead gets so close to Yang Shoucheng. Rather than waiting for him to drive me away, I'd rather leave now."

This couple, hailed as the best partners in the Hong Kong film industry for the past thirty years, is a rare example of how many couples can't last thirty years. Ultimately, their relationship fell apart due to disagreements over career planning after the turn of the century.

This directly led to a situation where artists under Chenglong Entertainment, led by Wu Yanzu, were in a state of uncertainty and wait-and-see. Many entertainment companies even wanted to take the opportunity to poach people. Wu Yanzu alone received no less than five offers to switch agencies.

Chen Ziqiang had been trying to stop Jackie Chan from returning to Hollywood to film "Rush Hour 3" because he believed from his professional perspective that Hollywood's interest in Jackie Chan's action signature was waning.

Of course, this decline in interest was not only due to the failure of Jackie Chan's several Hollywood films, but also because the American media amplified his thoughtless remarks.

Because of his limited English proficiency, Jackie Chan made statements in an interview with American media that were similar to "I came to the United States to film Rush Hour for the money; from a cinematic perspective, I would prefer to film in Asia."

Although Jackie Chan intended to express that he has absolute autonomy in making films in Asia but not in Hollywood, his words left too much room for interpretation, which was seized upon by the American media and turned into a major news story.

After attacking Zhou Yi's "American money made, Chinese money spent" theory, they are now attacking Cheng Long.

Since both of them are from China, there's no need to drastically change the wording; just replace the names with a single click.

From this perspective, Gao Yuanyuan still felt quite sorry for Chenglong.

During the filming of "Rob-B-Hood", she could often hear Jackie Chan talking on the phone with his agent about "Rush Hour 3" during breaks in filming, and he would also express his dissatisfaction with the black actor named Tucker.

It seems that Jackie Chan values ​​this third installment very much, but the black actor made exorbitant demands, asking for a higher salary than Jackie Chan, the key figure in the production.

Fortunately, an agreement was finally reached. Cheng Long guaranteed a higher return than the black man by offering a combination of salary, box office revenue sharing, and distribution rights in China, which allowed the project to be successfully launched.

Incidentally, Cheng Long, true to his nature, planted Chinese actress Zhang Jing in his office to ruthlessly exploit the Americans.

If Yao Ming hadn't refused to play a villain due to his current status as a national idol, Cheng Long would have even wanted to bring him in as well.

Since the initial role for Yao Ming required the height and build of a basketball player, Chenglong, after rejecting the director's suggestion to cast a well-known American player, once again faced criticism and cast Chinese men's basketball player Sun Mingming in the film.

I don't care how many tall and strong players the NBA has. I'll prioritize finding Chinese players. If Yao Ming doesn't come, then it'll be Sun Mingming, even if Sun Mingming didn't make it in the NBA and was about to be kicked out.

Don't ask, the answer is that he's taller than Yao Ming, so he's a better fit!

From Gao Yuanyuan's perspective, Chenglong's behavior of going to great lengths to bring in his own people even in extreme circumstances is admirable, but she really doesn't think he'll succeed.

Westerners really do sabotage creative work behind the scenes.

Even with Zhou Yi's talent, despite creating the globally hit single "Because Of You" specifically for Xiao Yaxuan, the English EP's sales didn't match the song's popularity due to some Western songwriters' perfunctory work. The inconsistent quality of the entire EP dragged down the success of the hit single.

Gao Yuanyuan felt that Zhou Yi must be very angry about this, as could be seen from his previous public interviews where he criticized Xiao Yaxuan. Even though Xiao Yaxuan's parent company is a multinational giant like EMI, this situation could not be avoided.

"Speaking of which, Sun Yanzi's EP, which was entirely written by Zhou Yi, should have been released by now, right?"

Gao Yuanyuan tightened her trench coat, rubbed her hands together, breathed on them to warm them, patted the invisible dust off her beret, and put it back on. She thought of Zhou Yi's EP, which was full of disappointment and a desire to teach people a lesson after his previous attack.

Warner was the sole participant in the entire process of creating the production based on the I Ching.

The assistant and translator, who had been waiting for the boss to come down, promptly handed him a hot coffee. Upon hearing this, they nodded and said, "Yes, it's been on the market for several days now, but Venice is too far away, so it probably won't be available here."

If it's Zhou Yi's own album, then needless to say, even in a small city like Venice, his album will definitely be on the shelves.

But Sun Yanzi...

To put it bluntly, even though she has some exposure in the United States now, it's only because of the I Ching. Who knows her in Venice, this water city?

Zhou Yi produced the song, but he wasn't the lead singer.

"Too."

As Gao Yuanyuan was reminiscing, heading back towards the hotel, she spotted a familiar poster in front of a small record store on the street—

Sun Yanzi, Zhou Yi.

The poster's top displays the EP's title: "Stefanie song".

Isn't this album sung by Sun Yanzi? Why is Zhou Yi's half-body portrait so big on the poster? Isn't he just a producer?

It's displayed so prominently, is it being promoted as a key product?

Are you trying to scam me?

"Her album can even sell in Venice?"

The three people who were discussing this looked at each other, and they all felt a little unreal.

This isn't right.

Just as Gao Yuanyuan was wondering, three young Italian men and women with curly hair walked in right in front of her—a few minutes later, the three of them came out each carrying a stack of CDs, each stack estimated to contain about five CDs.

Both are the cover of "Stefanie Song": a half-length portrait of Sun Yanzi standing in front of a forest path, with a blurred background of lush green trees behind her.

It is very similar to the cover of her second album, "The Happiness I Want".

"12.15 euros a piece?" The female translator gasped when she saw the album price on the poster.

So expensive.

She found it hard to believe, subconsciously converting the currency to RMB.

Even if Zhou Yi is responsible for both the lyrics and music, isn't this price a bit too expensive?
“Maybe it’s because this is Venice, where the quantity is small, so the unit price is high. If you buy it in the US or China, it might be cheaper.” Gao Yuanyuan subconsciously found a reason for Zhou Yi, and then she saw that within a few minutes, several more white young men went in to buy “Stefanie Song”.

"..."

"..."

"..."

wrong--

Nine out of ten are wrong.

"Boss, give me three copies of 'Stefanie Song'."

Curious, Gao Yuanyuan went in with her assistant and translator: "Is 'Stefanie Song' a bestseller? I've looked in several stores and they're all out of stock."

"Out of stock? That probably means they don't want to sell to you; you've been scammed."

The shop owner, a portly, Mediterranean-looking old man, chatted merrily with the translator: "It's really hot! This album has a surprise Easter egg hidden in Rhys Parker's work. He has a duet with a female singer named Stefanie called 'Seorita'."

"The first person to buy it discovered this, and the EP quickly became a bestseller. Right now, the most popular song on the album is 'Seorita,' but the other three are great too. This proves Spike was right; those damn racists are destroying music..."

The boss was clearly a music lover, and perhaps because Gao Yuanyuan and the others looked Chinese, he started talking.

As a powerful critique of racial discrimination against Asian singers by some Western creative groups, "Stefanie Song" was born with a silver spoon in its mouth in terms of public attention.

On its first day, it sold over 18 copies across the United States, setting a new record for the highest first-day sales by an Asian female singer in the US.

Based on this, the radio popularity of the four songs in the EP is still surging forward.

After the surprise bonus of Zhou Yi himself participating in the duet was revealed on the album's release day, sales skyrocketed starting the next day!
"Wow, it's already on sale in Italy! Is the I Ching really that powerful?" The assistant swallowed hard as he walked out of the record store, examining the CD in his hand from all angles, his eyes filled with disbelief.

They're miles apart.

Although she was clearly praising the Book of Changes, Gao Yuanyuan straightened her back with a sense of pride.

There's a saying that goes something like this: admiring strength is the most alluring aphrodisiac in the world.

The power of the I Ching is no longer limited to itself or to leading Europeans and Americans to success; it can even influence Asian singers!

The tailor-made EP is full of the romance of "love at first sight".

From the popular Romeo and Juliet tale to real-life stories of love at first sight, exchanging phone numbers, and eloping, even an EP has a complete album narrative—

Spike, the master of getting straight to the point, once again demonstrates to music producers worldwide how to write songs for Asian singers on this EP!

A cross-cultural collision of inspiration: Spike's textbook EP production!

Amazing sound quality, does the title of Asian diva truly live up to?

Public Execution? Spike Speaks Out for Asian Singer!

The controversy surrounding discrimination, which had briefly subsided due to Victoria's Secret's record-breaking performance, has reignited, starkly exposing the prevalent discriminatory practices in the Western entertainment industry.

"If you put your heart into a song but it doesn't sound good, that's a matter of ability; if you don't put your heart into a song and just do it perfunctorily, that's a matter of attitude. And Asian singers who have made it in the US, including Coco, Elva, and even Utada Hikaru, haven't actually received the proper treatment they deserve..."

On ABC, Zhou Yi, who had already left the United States on a private jet to return to China, aired his last episode recorded in the US, giving the EP's popularity its final ripples.

"I am so disappointed by the current phenomenon of Western music scene members sticking together and excluding outsiders, so I decided to step down and direct the traffic in the music scene myself. I want to tell everyone that Asian singers can sing any genre, and they are not inferior to others."

(End of this chapter)