1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Chapter 309: Two hundred and seventy million US dollars, super dark horse

On May 26, just before Zhou Yan was about to return to China, he caught up with the Neon release of "Spring in the Cowherd Class".

The film was released at Neon, with no ceremony or press conference.

However, Zhou Yanren was in Neon, so the agency would not let go of such a good opportunity. They invited Zhou Yan to watch a movie in the cinema on the 26th.

Zhou Yan originally thought that he would simply go to a movie, and at most he would invite some media reporters to the scene.

But what he didn't expect was that the agent not only invited many media reporters to the scene, but also booked several halls of the entire cinema for that day, and all the movie tickets in these halls were given away for free to movie fans.

So when Zhou Yan arrived at the scene, the entire cinema hall was packed with people. Many people couldn't even squeeze into the hall and had to wait outside the door.

Movie fans knew in advance that Zhou Yan would come, so many of them brought Zhou Yan's albums or photos, waiting for Zhou Yan to help them.

When Zhou Yan arrived at the entrance of the cinema, he saw a group of movie fans waving to him with various support items in their hands.

Although Zhou Yan is very popular in Neon, the level of support from his music fans and movie fans is average. The most eye-catching thing in the audience is a small DIY flag held by a young man with three album covers hand-painted on it. , as well as promotional images for "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly" and "The Sixth Sense".

Others were either holding album photos, waiting to be signed, or holding a small banner that said, "We support you," in both neon and Chinese.

Overall, it's relatively simple.

Zhou Yan was a little confused when he saw so many people standing at the entrance of the cinema. He turned his head and asked Sang Tian next to him, "What's going on? Why don't we just watch a movie?"

Sangtian was also confused because Yingfeng Company didn't tell them that so many fans would attend today's event. He always thought it was just to watch a movie and at most be interviewed by some media on the spot.

Now it's better, it's turned directly into a fan meeting.

Seeing the crowded scene, Kuangtian felt a little bit resentful to Kagefeng. It didn't mean that they couldn't hold activities, but they needed to be informed in advance. They had nothing prepared now, so they couldn't help but feel a little passive.

"Teacher Zhou, look..."

This matter is still up to Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan controlled the muscles on his face to keep smiling. Although the agency was not authentic, it had nothing to do with these movie fans and music fans.

"Slow down, let the staff maintain order, and then quickly confirm with Yingfeng the approximate number of people who will be at the scene today."

"I'll go over to find someone from Shadow Wind. Then Teacher Zhou, you're here..."

"Just ask the staff to come to me and maintain order. I don't need an interpreter to sign for them."

"OK then."

Then Sangtian went to find the staff of the movie to maintain order, and Zhou Yan also took the "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly" video tape and pen from a fan in front of him, and signed his name on it.

Seeing Zhou Yanzhen signing the autograph, the others also became excited and crowded towards Zhou Yan.

However, the staff were already in place now and began to maintain order, asking fans to line up and come one by one to get Zhou Yan's autograph.

Zhou Yan was not in a hurry. He took the things handed over by fans in an orderly manner, signed them for them, and chatted briefly with Chinese people or neon people who could speak Chinese when he met them.

There were about a dozen people signed, and one person behind him handed a copy of the "Yu Linglin" album to Zhou Yan, and excitedly shouted in Chinese, "I love you."

This person's pronunciation is quite clear, but at first glance he sounds like a neon person.

Zhou Yan signed an autograph for him and said with a smile, "Auntie washes the railway."

When the people behind saw that this trick worked well, they all came up to talk to Zhou Yanxiu in Chinese. Everyone could say "I love you", and some people had a richer vocabulary and could say "Hello" and "Have you eaten?" .

As long as they speak Chinese, Zhou Yan will respond more or less with one or two sentences.

After signing for a while, I finally signed in front of the young man holding a hand-painted support flag.

The young man handed the small flag directly to Zhou Yan, "Teacher Zhou, could you please sign this for me?"

The young man said it in Chinese, but he must be a neon man.

Zhou Yan was quite surprised to hear him speak such a long string of Chinese words, "Your Chinese is pretty good."

The young man bared his teeth and smiled, "I learned Chinese for you."

Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your support. What is your name?"

"My name is Kawabata Shun, the river of mountains and rivers, the dignity of Shun, and the ten days of Xunri."

Zhou Yan wrote in the open space of the small support flag: To Kawabata Shun.

Then he wrote: Sincerely thank you for your support - Zhou Yan.

While Zhou Yan was writing, Shun Kawabata kept staring, his eyes widening.

The people next to him also cast envious looks. This was the first time Zhou Yan had signed so many words for someone. He would have known that they would also have a small support flag coming over.

……

Hundreds of people came to the cinema today. In addition to the movie fans who got tickets, there were also some people who didn't have tickets, but still came to join in the fun. I didn't expect that the fun would be so fruitful.

There were hundreds of people in the audience, and everyone got Zhou Yan's signature. Without exception, even the media reporters and Zhou Yan signed their signatures one by one.

After watching the movie, Zhou Yan was very cooperative and accepted interviews with media reporters at the scene. Basically, he answered all normal questions patiently.

Even if I encountered some questions that I didn't want to answer, I gently expressed my inconvenience to answer them. In short, the atmosphere at the scene was peaceful, and both the fans and the media reporters were satisfied.

After the event was completely over, the person in charge of Shadow Wind came over to thank Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan was also very considerate. He chatted with the other party for a long time and said that he must strengthen cooperation in the future.

The other party didn't expect Zhou Yan to be so cooperative, and he was smiling from beginning to end.

But on the way back to the hotel, Zhou Yan told Sang Tian, ​​"Call Zhang Youan soon and tell him not to cooperate with Yingfeng in the future."

"what?"

Zhou Yan said this suddenly, which confused Sangtian. He had just seen Zhou Yan chatting well with the person in charge, and thought he would really strengthen cooperation.

At that time, he was thinking that Zhou Yan was really a big dealer and didn't stick to trivial matters, and he didn't even go to Kaiyingfeng Company. Unexpectedly, Zhou Yan turned around and turned against him.

"There is no need to cooperate with this kind of company. Sooner or later there will be problems."

Sangtian nodded, he also felt that Zhou Yan was right.

However, Teacher Zhou's mood is too stable. If it were him, even if he didn't have an attack in front of fans and reporters, he would still blame the other party afterwards and vent his anger.

……

After "Spring of the Cowherd Class" was released in Neon, Zhou Yan left for Yanjing within a few days, while Qingyinfang continued to stay in Neon to participate in activities.

During this period, Qingyinfang played the two songs "Snow Flower" and "The Beginning" live, and the response was very good.

Of course, the most important thing is that the episode of "Music House" in which Qingyinfang participated in the recording was broadcast.

After the show was broadcast, many viewers were very interested in "Snow Flower" created by Zhou Yan on the spot.

Zhou Yan will not release a single or album for the time being, so if you want to listen to "Snow Flower", you can only go to Qingyinfang's performance.

Those programs naturally knew this, so they all extended their olive branches to Qingyinfang and invited them to perform "Snow Flower" and "The Beginning" on the program.

In addition to the two songs "Snow Flower" and "The Beginning", the audience is also very interested in the Qingyinfang band itself.

The audience had never seen this kind of national orchestra composed entirely of women before. So many outstanding female performers gathered together, wearing beautiful traditional clothes, playing traditional Chinese instruments, and re-interpreted Zhou Yan's music. Whether it is visual or auditory, it is the ultimate enjoyment.

It only took half a month for Qingyinfang to become quite famous in neon.

……

Qingyinfang has developed rapidly in Neon, and most domestic media have reported on it very actively.

However, the reports about Qingyinfang are not all positive, there are also some criticisms.

For example, in early May, an entertainment magazine "Celebrity Affair" wrote a big title on the cover: All-female band seduces with neon colors?
"Celebrity Affairs" is not a serious magazine at first glance. It usually reports entertainment gossip news with no bottom line. It follows the path of those gossip magazines in Hong Kong.

For example, the other titles on the cover of the same issue of "Celebrity Affair" are "Is there an affair between Jiang Min and Liu Xiaoqing?" "Photos of Hong Kong's third-level movie kings and queens" and "The investigation of Liu Xiaoqing's pornographic yellow belt".

Originally, this matter was nothing. After all, people were used to writing messy things in such a low-class magazine, and it would not have any impact on Qingyinfang or Zhou Yan.

However, some formal media also joined in the fun and insisted on reporting Qingyinfang Band from the perspective of "seductive sex".

The fire was burning and it was burning on Zhou Yan. Because Zhou Yan formed the band, some people questioned whether Zhou Yan had ulterior motives in forming such an all-female band.

In fact, Zhou Yan doesn't pay much attention to these news. There are always two sides to everything. As long as a matter becomes popular, in addition to praise, there will definitely be criticism. As long as these criticisms are not mainstream, it will have no impact.

In all these years, Zhou Yan has never seen a celebrity who didn't have some dirty information. It would be too tiring if he took everyone to heart.

But this time there is something different, because among the many comments, one article was actually written by Zhou Yan’s colleague Liang Maochun. Liang Maochun is a professor in the Department of Music at Yangyin University. He is in his fifties and has been working at the school for a long time. He is very popular among students in his department and is considered a well-known teacher in the school.

He himself graduated from Yangyin University. After graduation, he has been engaged in teaching and researching the history of modern Chinese music for a long time, and he has made considerable academic achievements.

However, Liang Maochun has never done research related to Zhou Yan before, and this is also the first time he has written an article related to Zhou Yan.

[To promote ethnic music, it is not necessary to “find another way”. 】

This is the title of an article published by Liang Maochun in "Music Review". It seems to be relatively euphemistic. It does not mention either Qingyinfang or Zhou Yan.

However, the main text of the article is very targeted, pointing directly at Zhou Yan.

"If you want to promote ethnic music, you can do it in an upright and upright way. There is no need to go through evil ways."

"As far as I know, due to the establishment of the women's band, many female students have been thinking about how to put on more beautiful costumes instead of focusing more on improving their skills. Such an approach that puts the cart before the horse has a negative impact on the nation. Isn’t music a kind of harm?”

……

When Zhou Yan saw this article, he couldn't believe it.

He and Liang Maochun were in different departments and were very different in age. They rarely communicated with each other. Sometimes they would say hello with a smile when they bumped into each other.

And his impression of Liang Maochun also came from other people's mouths.

This is an amiable and experienced teacher who is not only accomplished academically but also very successful in teaching.

If Yangyin were to make a list of popular teachers, Liang Maochun would definitely be on it. I heard that Liang Maochun was in school and the class was always overcrowded.

Zhou Yan still respected Liang Maochun, so when he saw this article, his first reaction was that he had made a mistake.

But the article was indeed written by Liang Maochun.

Zhou Yan does not think that Liang Maochun wrote this article out of inner justice or persistence to try to "rectify chaos", because Liang Maochun usually does not do this.

This time Liang Maochun suddenly spoke up, which made Zhou Yan feel very strange.

Zhou Yan scratched his head and couldn't imagine any conflict between himself and Liang Maochun.

After this happened, Zhou Yan was called by the principal Liu Lin before he could make any reaction.

……

When Zhou Yan arrived at the principal's office, Liu Lin was frowning at a document. When he saw Zhou Yan coming, he said in a deep voice, "Sit down."

After about a minute, Liu Lin put down the documents in his hands and walked to sit in front of Zhou Yan.

"Have you seen the article Liang Maochun posted?"

Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, "Well, the orchestra students showed it to me yesterday afternoon."

Liu Lin glanced at Zhou Yan and then lit a cigarette, "What do you think of this?"

"Hey, there are indeed some media outlets that have made bad comments about Qin Qingyinfang, and there are many more direct and vicious ones than Professor Liang. Speaking of which, Professor Liang is being polite."

Liu Lin puffed out the smoke and said, "You have a good attitude. Liang Maochun is a teacher in our school. Now that this article has been published, the outside world is staring at us. Some people have said that we are fighting internally. Do you think this is an internal struggle?" Fight?"

Zhou Yan didn't know what Liu Lin's attitude was, so he thought carefully and said, "Internal struggle is a bit too big a word. Although I don't know Professor Liang's specific thoughts, what can he and I argue about before? We are in different situations." The department usually doesn’t have any competitive relationship.”

Liang Maochun and Liu Lin were basically at the same time. Liu Lin entered school a year earlier than Liang Maochun, but they graduated at about the same time.

Who knows what their personal relationship is like?
Therefore, Zhou Yan couldn't say anything more before he was sure of Liu Lin's attitude.

Liu Lin knew that Zhou Yan had scruples, but he didn't point it out, "I've already asked Liang Maochun, and he said he had a misunderstanding about your establishment of Qingyinfang, so he wrote the article impulsively. But the article It has been sent out and cannot be taken back.”

Misunderstanding, impulse, hearing these two words, Zhou Yan felt funny.

Liang Maochun is already in his fifties, but he is not a young man in his twenties. Is he so impulsive? Moreover, writing and publishing articles cannot be done on impulse.

Zhou Yan tentatively said, "Then now..."

"Now that things have happened, we can only prevent further fermentation. What I mean is that both of you should not talk about this matter again in the future. After a while, the heat will fade away."

Zhou Yan immediately understood why Liu Lin called him here in a hurry. It turned out that he was worried about his revenge on Liang Maochun.

Indeed, if Zhou Yan loses his temper and goes to war with Liang Maochun, no matter what method he uses, it will make the situation more serious.

Therefore, Liu Lin wanted to deal with it coldly.

But in this way, Zhou Yan suffered a loss. He was slapped, but for the sake of the overall situation, he could not fight back.

In fact, Zhou Yan didn't think much about Liang Maochun at first. He just wanted to know why Liang Maochun wrote that article. But now after listening to Liu Lin's words, he was a little unconvinced.

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Yan said, "Principal, I respect Professor Liang very much, so I especially want to know why Professor Liang misunderstood me, and why he insisted on writing an article to criticize me publicly. As long as he gives me a I won’t say a word about the reasons that convince me.”

Zhou Yan's meaning is very obvious. Even if you are slapped, you have to tell me why you slapped me. It can't be unclear.

Liu Lin sighed slightly. He understood Zhou Yan's reaction. If it were another young man, it might be even more intense than Zhou Yan's reaction.

He actually wanted to know why Liang Maochun wanted to trouble Zhou Yan. After he called Liang Maochun to the office in the morning, he also asked about the reason, but Liang Maochun insisted that he just couldn't understand the practice of forming a girl band. , no other ideas at all.

Liu Lin didn't believe Liang Maochun's explanation, but there was nothing he could do against Liang Maochun.

It's good that Liu Lin is the principal, but that doesn't mean he can deal with anyone in the school casually, especially a prestigious professor like Liang Maochun.

The key point is that Liu Lin is from the composition department. If this matter is not handled properly, it is likely to arouse resistance from the music department.

People from the music department may think that he is helping his relatives rather than helping others.

Taking a deep puff of cigarette, Liu Lin put out the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray, and then said, "Zhou Yan, sometimes retreat is equal to advancement. The national composition competition will be held in a few months." , you can get an award this year, and then be promoted to associate professor, and then you can win the Fok Ying-tung Award next year. Originally, these things had to be pushed back a year or two, but now we can pave the way in advance.”

Liu Lin felt that Zhou Yan had suffered a loss this time, and wanting to make up for it could be regarded as an exchange of interests.

Although Liu Lin cannot control these things, Zhou Yan is capable. As long as Liu Lin uses his connections to operate, he can easily take them down.

Faced with such temptation, Zhou Yan shook his head, "Principal, I still want to know what Professor Liang thinks."

Seeing Zhou Yan's lack of energy, Liu Lin also became a little angry. He smoked another cigarette and lit it again, "Since you want to know so much, just ask him yourself. But you have to be mentally prepared. Some things may not necessarily I can get the answer. I know Liang Maochun well. He looks kind but has a deep mind. You are no match for him."

Hearing Liu Lin's words, Zhou Yan laughed and thanked him sincerely, "Thank you, senior brother."

Zhou Yan was not sure what Liu Lin's attitude was before, but after hearing this, he was sure that Liu Lin was still on his side, and the reason why he was allowed to swallow his anger was indeed for the sake of the overall situation.

Although Liu Lin said this with resentment, it was really for Zhou Yan's benefit.

When he heard that Zhou Yan was calling him senior brother instead of principal, Liu Lin waved his hand and said, "I don't care about this matter. You should pay attention to your own sense of propriety."

"I understand, senior brother." Zhou Yan stood up, "Then I won't disturb you."

"Go."

……

After Zhou Yan left Liu Lin's office, he did not take any action against Liang Maochun, as if he had listened to Liu Lin's words and tolerated the incident.

However, the news about Qingyinfang soon died out because there were things more worthy of attention.

For example, the box office of "Cowherder's Spring" at Neon, and the North American box office of "The Sixth Sense".

"Springtime of the Cowherd" performed very well in Neon, but the box office was not as good as the previous "The Sixth Sense". Half a month after its release, the allotment revenue was less than one billion Neon coins. In the end, let alone surpass "The Sixth Sense" "Sense", it is impossible to surpass "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly".

This is also the one with the worst performance at the Neon box office among the films directed by Zhou Yan.

But no one was disappointed, because the box office goal had been achieved, and "Spring of the Cowherd Class" was originally not very commercial.

The North American box office of "The Sixth Sense" has completely exploded.

The release of "The Sixth Sense" in North America is coming to an end, and the box office data has basically settled.

As of May 14, the latest data shows that the box office of "The Sixth Sense" in North America exceeded US$270 million.

"The Sixth Sense" also successfully topped this year's North American box office rankings with a box office of US$270 million.

Of course, this is only temporary. Starting in May, there will be many popular movies that can have an impact on "The Sixth Sense."

For example, "Tornado", which was just released a few days ago, had a box office of 41 million US dollars in its first weekend and performed very well at the beginning.

Now all parties are paying attention to whether "Tornado" can surpass "The Sixth Sense".

Although "The Sixth Sense" may not always occupy the top spot at the end, it has accomplished a feat after all.

The movie with a budget of 20 million US dollars has grossed more than 270 million US dollars at the box office in North America alone. This is undoubtedly the biggest dark horse this year.

(End of this chapter)