1990: Starting from Baojia Street

After asking about the folk music band, Zhou Yan had nothing else to say, so he said to Zhang Youan, "Okay, I'll hang up first. We'll talk later."

Zhang Youan said, "Don't worry, I just happened to hear you calling, and I have something to tell you."

"Well, you said."

"We have already negotiated with the Stings for the film 'Go Fighting'. Now our company has increased the investment to 880,000 pounds. Seeing that we are willing to increase the investment, the Stings are very happy."

What Zhang Youan meant by "Let's Go All Out" is "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Zhou Yan always felt it was strange every time he heard him say "Let's Go All Out".

"Eight hundred and eighty thousand pounds. That's a very auspicious number."

"It's a good start. I hope this investment will have a good result."

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "Why, are you worried that the money will be wasted?"

"It would be a lie to say I'm not worried, but based on my experience, this movie still has potential. If Guy Ritchie can film what the script shows, even if it's not outstanding, as long as there are no major mistakes, it can still sell for some money."

It sounds like Zhang Youan’s plan for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is to sell the film.

Zhou Yan didn't say anything about this. The movie hasn't even been filmed yet, so it's useless to say more.

Let's wait until the movie is finished. If Zhang Youan and the Stings still want to sell the movie, it won't be too late for him to intervene.

As long as there are no major accidents during the filming, this film still has to be released in theaters to reflect its greatest value.

If they really want to sell the film at that time, Zhou Yan can also buy it himself. In short, the benefits cannot be wasted.

"Guy Ritchie is a very good director and you should look forward to it."

"Hearing what you said, I quite admire him. But it's true that you two have similar experiences. I'm talking about your initial experience in the film industry. In fact, Guy Ritchie was quite happy to know that we invested in this movie. After all, compared to the Sting couple, we are much more professional."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "I don't think so. From the perspective of a director, he doesn't necessarily want investors to be professional. After all, the best investors are the ones who are stupid and have a lot of money. It's best if they just pay money and don't care about anything else."

"Uh……"

Zhang Youan couldn't refute Zhou Yan's words.

In fact, this is also Zhou Yan's experience. He is a director himself. If he cannot meet an investor like Xu Feng who truly loves movies and has unconditional trust in directors, it would be better to meet an investor who knows nothing about movies but is willing to pay money.

What I fear most is the kind of people who, after paying money, want to interfere in the filming of the movie, which greatly affects the director's creativity.

This is also the reason why Zhou Yan has always said that he will not go to Hollywood to make a movie in the short term.

In Hollywood, unless you are a big director, you cannot escape the producer-centered system. The company has to interfere in everything, and the director is completely reduced to a tool.

He also doesn't think that he can be treated like a big director in Hollywood just by making a few movies.

The two chatted briefly for a few more sentences, and then Zhou Yan hung up the phone and concentrated on writing the novel "Shutter Island".

……

In the following week, Zhou Yan's life was relatively simple. He went to the studio from home early in the morning to have breakfast, practiced with the orchestra for a while in the morning, and wrote "Shutter Island" in the afternoon and evening.

On the afternoon of July 10, Zhou Yan was concentrating on writing a novel when there was a sudden knock on the door.

Zhou Yan raised his head and responded, "Come in."

When the door was opened and Zhou Yan saw the person coming, he was surprised and said, "Oh, what a rare guest."

Chen Kaige walked into the office with a smile and looked around. "Your office has always been so simple."

Zhou Yan stood up with a smile, poured water for Chen Kaige, and pointed at the sofa and said, "Sit down."

Chen Kaige nodded, walked over and sat down, "What are you busy with recently?"

"The orchestra is about to go out for a performance and is busy rehearsing." Zhou Yan handed the teacup to Chen Kaige and then sat down opposite him. "You are also a person who would not come here for no reason. What can I do for you today?"

In fact, Zhou Yan’s studio is not far from the Yanjing Factory. If Chen Kaige wants to come over, it won’t be a problem. However, he rarely comes over for such a long time.

Apart from Xiao Can, Li Hong and other staff members who have cooperated with Zhou Yan, Han Sanping is the only one who comes to Yanjing Factory more often. Sometimes Wang Junzheng and Lu Xuechang also come.

Chen Kaige blew away the hot air but didn't drink it. "Can't I come over to your place for a visit?"

Zhou Yan shrugged and said, "Of course, you are welcome to come anytime."

Chen Kaige smiled and put down his teacup. "I won't beat around the bush. I'm preparing for my next movie and would like to invite you to compose the music for me."

"The next movie? Is it still invested by Sister Feng?"

Chen Kaige shook his head somewhat unnaturally, "Not sure yet."

Looking at his expression, Zhou Yan knew that his cooperation with Xu Feng was not particularly smooth.

During this period of time, if Zhou Yanji is correct, Chen Kaige should be filming "The Emperor and the Assassin".

This is a movie with polarized reviews. Those who like it think it is very high-level, while those who don't like it think it is rubbish. There are very few people in the middle.

However, Zhou Yan is one of the few in the middle. "The Emperor and the Assassin" is the film that truly started Chen Kaige's artistic career of "playing tricks". He particularly wanted to express his artistic aesthetics in this film.

In fact, he was successful, at least partially. The film did a good job in some aspects and had a certain degree of experimentality.

But overall, it is definitely not a pleasing movie. First of all, Chen Kaige is definitely out of touch with the public's aesthetic needs, and secondly, he also ignores the consideration of the story structure.

If you take out some clips from this movie and watch them separately, the audience will find that the movie is actually very good. At least in terms of visual expression, Chen Kaige has made some breakthroughs.

But when these fragments are put together to form a story, it always feels a bit fragmented. Even if you regard it as fictional history, it is sometimes unbearable.

In Zhou Yan's opinion, "The Emperor and the Assassin" is not a bad movie, but it is definitely not a masterpiece as some people say. However, film aesthetics should always be inclusive.

"What is the theme of the new movie?" Zhou Yan asked.

"It's related to Jing Ke's assassination of Qin."

Zhou Yan nodded. It seemed that he remembered correctly. This was Chen Kaige’s new movie.

"Is the script written?" Zhou Yan asked again.

Chen Kaige shook his head, "Not yet, Wang Peigong is writing it."

Zhou Yan laughed, "The script is still being written, and you asked me to compose the music for you. Isn't this a bit too early?" Chen Kaige pouted and said, "It has to be early. Every time I asked you before, I couldn't catch up with your schedule. I'm just taking up a spot in advance."

"The problem is that your position is unclear. The script hasn't been written yet, so there's naturally no confirmed time for filming to start."

"Of course. I have written two versions of the script, but I am not satisfied with it yet. I am communicating with Wang Peigong and will try to finalize the script by the end of this year. In fact, I asked Wang Peigong to write this script a long time ago, after the filming of Farewell My Concubine was completed, but it has not been completed until today."

"You mean you originally wanted to shoot this one, but because the script wasn't ready, you shot Feng Yue first?"

"That's about it, but I didn't expect that the script hasn't been completed yet. If it's not completed, I will have to do it myself."

Hearing Chen Kaige say that he would do it himself, Zhou Yan curled his lips and thought to himself that it would be better to let Teacher Wang Peigong write it himself, and you just focus on making the movie well.

Neither Chen Kaige nor Zhang Yimou actually have the ability to write their own scripts.

If there is a good script and the two of them are willing to shoot it honestly, there will be absolutely no problem with the work.

However, it is very difficult to get Chen Kaige to make movies honestly.

"Farewell My Concubine" made Chen Kaige famous and he became an internationally renowned director. However, fame is a double-edged sword. Since "Farewell My Concubine", Chen Kaige has become much more arrogant and always thinking about making a breakthrough.

Once a director is obsessed with breakthroughs, it is easy for problems to arise.

Although "Feng Yue" was not successful, it was actually not that bad. It's just that people always like to compare "Feng Yue" with "Farewell My Concubine". Chen Kaige himself is also obsessed with it and compares his own movies with "Farewell My Concubine".

Now he is about to shoot "The Emperor and the Assassin", and his condition is actually not right.

Of course, Zhou Yan would not say these words to Chen Kaige, because he knew Chen Kaige too well. This guy is a donkey who obeys the will of others. Apart from words praising him, it is difficult for him to listen to anything else.

After thinking for a while, Zhou Yan said, "If you can confirm the time for your movie now, I can agree to it immediately, but given the current situation, it's hard to say. How about this? In any case, our studio has accepted the soundtrack for this movie."

Chen Kaige raised his eyebrows and asked, "Take it on behalf of the studio? Does that mean if you don't have time, let Li Tao take over?"

Zhou Yan waved his hand and said, "If I don't have time, I will ask my senior brother Zhao Jiping to take over. Li Tao is not suitable for the theme of your new movie, so my senior brother is more suitable."

"Then Teacher Zhao can be sure that we have time?"

"uncertain."

"..."

Seeing Chen Kaige's speechless expression, Zhou Yan smiled and said, "If Senior Brother Zhao doesn't have time, I'll ask Senior Brother Wang to help you."

Chen Kaige asked blankly, "Who is your Senior Brother Wang?"

"Wang Liping, our senior from the 65th grade of the Composition Department, he composed the 87th Dream of the Red Chamber. Are you satisfied with this?"

Chen Kaige was surprised and asked, "Teacher Wang is also in your studio?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Is there anything strange? Wang Liping is my senior brother, and my teacher Shi Wanchun has taught him before."

Shi Wanchun graduated from the Composition Department in 61 and then stayed on to teach at the school, while Wang Liping entered the Composition Department in 60.

The two of them overlapped for one year during their student years. Later, Shi Wanchun stayed in school and taught Wang Liping for a year, so their relationship was certainly not simple.

Zhou Yan signed a lot of people as his staff, including Wang Liping, Zhao Jiping and Xu Jingqing. Of course, the contracts they signed with the studio were different from those of Li Tao and Zhao Lin, and they were considered "foreign aid."

If the studio receives a job and it is suitable for them, they will contact them to do it.

In addition to being responsible for contact work, the studio will also provide some necessary conditions, such as venues and tools for music production. Wang Liping and his team only need to focus on their creation.

There is actually not much conflict of interest in this model, and both parties are very relaxed.

Chen Kaige was shocked and said, "Your circle... is so naive."

What he actually wanted to say was that the circle was really small. Many of the famous people in this industry were related to the Central Conservatory of Music, such as this senior brother or that senior sister.

The main thing is that these alumni from the same school seem to be very united. As long as they graduated from the same school, they help each other. This is very different from their film school.

There are so many directors coming out of the Yanjing Film Academy, and some of them stick together, but it is definitely not as obvious as that of the Central Conservatory of Music. Not to mention, there are still many conflicts among their classmates.

Take him and Zhang Yimou for example. Logically speaking, they are from the same school and should have a good relationship, but this is not the case.

Zhou Yan also roughly understood what Chen Kaige meant. He smiled and said, "The barriers to entry in our profession should be stronger."

With the development of the times, the professional barriers between directors and actors are getting weaker and weaker. Now more and more non-professionals are entering this industry, and they are performing quite well.

The barriers between majors in Chen Kaige's school are also very weak. Actors can be directors, photographers can be directors, screenwriters can be directors, as long as they are from their school, they have the potential to become a director.

However, few people in Zhou Yan's major can cross over into other majors. If they have not studied music since childhood, it would be difficult to enter this industry later.

In addition to professional barriers, there are also industry levels.

Not to mention other majors, just in the composition major, CAFA is the best in the country, and those who graduated from CAFA with a degree in composition are generally the most successful.

Chen Kaige also agreed with Zhou Yan's statement. It is true that more and more people who did not graduate from directing majors have become directors, and their achievements are very good. Not to mention the distant past, just take Jiang Wen, the director who just became famous because of "Sunny Days", as an example. She graduated from the acting major of the Central Academy of Drama.

Chen Kaige didn't dwell on this question too much. He nodded and said, "Since you can guarantee this, I will leave the film score to you with peace of mind."

"Brothers should be clear about accounts. I can compose the soundtrack for your movie, but the money cannot be small."

Chen Kaige immediately sat up and said, "Didn't you say before that as long as you have time, you can charge me nothing for my movie?"

When the Oscars were announced, Zhou Yan did tell Chen Kaige that if he had time, he wouldn't charge a penny, and Chen Kaige remembered what he said.

Zhou Yan said with a smile, "I can refuse it, but do you have the nerve to refuse it?"

"It's not that I'm embarrassed... I have to pay you, but you have to be gentle. You've been taking on a lot of big jobs in Hollywood now, and the pay there is sky-high. I'm afraid you're setting your sights too high."

Zhou Yan waved his hand and said, "Well, not really. I'll just charge you a symbolic fee of one or two million for your movie."

Chen Kaige was shocked. "Wow, one or two million, how can you open your mouth?"

"Why are you so excited? I'm talking about RMB, not USD."

"Luckily you said RMB. If it was USD, I would have given you the entire budget for this movie."

Zhou Yan laughed: "I'm just kidding. Let's talk about the remuneration after you start filming." (End of this chapter)