China Entertainment started in 2004

Chapter 586 Deception
From the faint smell of alcohol emanating from Zhou Xun, he had long guessed that the other party had already had dinner, but he had always kept it in mind without saying anything.

After hearing what Zhou Xun said, and considering it was getting late, he said, "It's getting late now, how about buying something to eat in the car?"

"Okay." Zhou Xun had already eaten dinner and was happy to see this.

Afterwards, Wang Shu drove to a place, bought some food and drinks, and drove away.

Zhou Xun sat in the passenger seat and suggested, "Shu, this place is very close to my home, how about we go to my house?"

"Is your boyfriend not at home?" Wang Shu asked puzzledly.

"We don't live together." Zhou Xun responded.

"Okay then." Wang Shu replied.

After a while, Wang Shu followed Zhou Xun to her home.

It is now 2009. Zhou Xun lives in a high-end apartment in the city and is not yet a neighbor of Chen Kun, living on the same floor as him.

As soon as we entered the apartment, Zhou Xun greeted us, "Sit wherever you want."

Wang Shu took a quick look and said, "It's pretty good."

Zhou Xun's apartment is naturally not as spacious as Wang Shu's villa, but this is in the city, and it is also not comparable to Wang Shu's villa in the suburbs.

If it was his villa on the Third Ring Road, we could still compare them.

Zhou Xun had a faint smile on his face and said, "Haha, I live here just for work."

What this means is that artists gather in urban areas mainly to facilitate their work.

Wang Shu was of course aware of this, so he put his things on the coffee table in front of the sofa and sat down.

Zhou Xun turned around and went straight to the wine cabinet to take out a bottle of wine, then brought over two wine glasses and asked with a smile, "Would you like to drink together?"

Wang Shu shook his head. "I still have to drive back. You can drink it yourself."

Zhou Xun also knew that he didn't like drinking much, so he didn't force him. He opened the bottle and poured a glass.

There are some barbecues and rice noodles on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Wang Shu opened the two boxes, pushed one in front of Zhou Xun, and started eating the other.

Zhou Xun was not hungry, so he just took two symbolic bites and sipped his wine.

In the entertainment industry, many people, both male and female artists, love to drink, and Zhou Xun is no exception.

The fact that she has a wine cabinet at home also illustrates this point.

After a while, Wang Shu finished a bowl of watery rice noodles and ate a few skewers of barbecue.

Of course, rice is not just the bland kind. But considering that it is a late dinner and spicy, irritating or greasy food is not suitable, I specially bought this type of rice noodles.

Under normal circumstances, you shouldn't eat barbecue.

But when it comes to barbecue, people are double-standard and don't consider the health issue.

"Are you still eating? I'm not hungry. If you're not full, why not eat my portion too?" Zhou Xun pointed to the bowl of rice noodles that she had touched with her chopsticks.

She didn't want Wang Shu to eat the leftovers, but she was worried that Wang Shu was not full.

"I don't want to eat anymore." Wang Shu shook his head.

Zhou Xun did not try to persuade him any further. She put herself in Wang Shu's shoes. Since she had the need to manage her body, she subconsciously assumed that Wang Shu also had this need.

Therefore, relentlessly persuading Wang Shu to eat more was not an act of concern, but rather a sign of harm.

Zhou Xun took a sip of wine, glanced at Wang Shu secretly, and asked, "I heard that you are preparing a new film?"

Wang Shu had guessed this a long time ago, and then he smiled and teased, "Who told you that?"

Zhou Xun was so angry when he saw Wang Shu's deliberately teasing attitude that he glared at him with his eyes puffed up.

He snorted, "Don't worry about who told me this. I just want to ask you, is this true?"

Wang Shu did not reply when he heard this, but reached out to hold Zhou Xun's hand.

Zhou Xun was feeling a little upset at the moment and would definitely not let him hold his hand, so he immediately pulled his hand away.

No matter how Wang Shu tried, he kept pulling his hand away and refused to let Wang Shu hold it.

Wang Shu didn't really want to hold it while licking it. He didn't think so at all.

It's just that he did this because he needed to behave like this at this moment.

The two of them struggled like this for a while, and Wang Shu pretended to give up helplessly, then asked: "Did Chen Kun tell you that?"

"Don't worry about it." Zhou Xun pouted and looked like she was about to cry.

She feels aggrieved.

I thought they had a good relationship and Wang Shu cared about her.

If there is a film project, she will always be considered first.

But Wang Shu never mentioned it to her.

Zhou Xun only felt that the good relationship she thought was was just her wishful thinking.

In the end, like a clown.

This feeling of grievance, combined with Wang Shu's desire to hold her hand, made her nose sore.

Wang Shu pretended to sigh and reached out to hold Zhou Xun's hand again.

This time, Zhou Xun did not dodge, but let Wang Shu hold her hand.

Wang Shu pulled Zhou Xun into his arms and hugged him. Zhou Xun did not resist, but leaned in Wang Shu's arms, waiting for Wang Shu's explanation without saying a word.

"When Pacific Rim was still being filmed, at a dinner with Mr. Han and the people in the system, they suggested that we take advantage of the success and produce more scripts and movies."

"After that, Mr. Han talked to me several times, and then we came up with the current script."

"But what Director Han wants is to make the cast bigger and stronger." "To put it simply, he wants to invite one of Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li to play the leading female role, and one of Liu Dehua, Chow Yun-fat, Zhen Zidan and others to play the leading male role."

"Put together an all-star cast of big-name actors."

"You also know that China Film Group just released a movie called Founding of a Republic, and all the actors in it performed for free."

"President Han openly said that if the box office of Founding of a Republic is good, the actors will be paid according to the market price."

"This matter has now come to nothing."

"So, for this play I'm working on, President Han not only wants to make it a luxurious all-star cast, but also wants to repay some favors and make up for the boast he made back then."

"Therefore, if you follow Mr. Han's way, you won't even get to play a supporting role, let alone the leading role."

Wang Shu said this, paused for a moment, reached out and held Zhou Xun's hand.

Zhou Xun was listening to a story, and this story just confirmed what she had thought before that there was a hidden story.

So, he just put his hand on Wang Shu's hand to prevent him from doing anything worse, but he did not push Wang Shu's hand away.

To be honest, if Zhou Xun hadn't been wearing underwear, Wang Shu wouldn't have been able to feel the curve.

He just continued, "I didn't agree, and then I argued with Mr. Han."

"After much discussion, it finally became a low-budget production funded solely by me to help the Yikeshu company team practice their skills."

"Since it's a low-budget production, we can't use big-name actors."

"If we use you, wouldn't that mean we are back to what Director Han proposed before?"

"President Han will definitely ask me, since we have chosen you, why not Gong Li or Zhang Ziyi?"

"How do I answer that?"

"So, we found Sun Li for the heroine, and Liu Yan and others for the supporting roles."

"They just happened to have starred in "Time Traveler" before, and working together again will be helpful for the promotion of the movie."

"As for the male lead, didn't you recommend Chen Kun to me? I called him over."

"The remaining supporting male roles were given to Deng Chao and others."

Zhou Xun felt a little jealous when he heard that Wang Shu had contacted Sun Li on the grounds that another collaboration would be beneficial to publicity and promotion.

Because she has also worked with Wang Shu.

Just as he was about to make a joke, he heard Wang Shu calling him "Deng Chao" again, and immediately swallowed the joke back.

Everyone in and out of the circle knows that Sun Li and Deng Chao are in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.

Wang Shu put both of them in the same play, which could be promoted as a gimmick of Wang Shu, Sun Li and Liu Yan working together again on a science fiction film, and also as a gimmick of Sun Li and Deng Chao working together as a couple.

Made on a low budget, this is indeed a very ingenious arrangement.

Even before the filming started, it already had all sorts of gimmicks that made it attractive to watch.

However, even though it makes sense, I still can't help but feel bad: "You've already said it, according to Director Han's way, I don't even have the qualifications to play a supporting role."

"Doesn't this just prove that I'm not a big shot?!"

Wang Shu heard this, pinched Zhou Xun's nose, and said in a speechless manner: "Isn't it a big brand?"

"Your salary of 500 million yuan is already the highest salary for actresses in mainland China."

"Although Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi are taller than you, they went to Hollywood."

"Except for those two, you have the highest pay in the mainland."

"Li Binbin, Fan Binbin, Zhao Yanzi and the others are far inferior to you."

"Not to mention Sun Li, she only got 100 million yuan in salary."

"If we follow Mr. Han's way, the female lead will most likely be played by Zhang Ziyi, and the second and third female roles will be given to Ning Jing, Xu Qin and others."

Zhou Xun understood as soon as he heard it. The names Wang Shu mentioned had all participated in "Founding of a Republic".

But she didn't act.

Therefore, even if she is a big star, she is no longer important when the film is starred by Zhang Ziyi.

Similarly, if Wang Shu asked her to play the leading role, it would be equivalent to looking for a big-name actress.

Since they are already looking for big-name actors, why not ask Zhang Ziyi to take the lead as Han Sanping mentioned?
Is it because you don't give Han Sanping face, or what?
Wang Shu was caught in the middle and ended up turning the project into a low-budget production without any big-name actors.

Although Sun Li, Chen Kun, Deng Chao and others are also very famous, they are not considered big names.

Just talk about the pay for movies. The pay for big-name stars from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong and Macau is as high as tens of millions.

Among Sun Li, Chen Kun, Deng Chao and others, the highest pay is only 100 million yuan.

After hearing Wang Shu teasing her about her high pay, Zhou Xun couldn't help but roll her eyes. She did not deny it, because her pay was indeed the highest among mainland actresses except Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi.

Then he asked with concern: "If this happens, won't both sides suffer?"

"Why bother? Just do as Mr. Han said and expand the cast to make a blockbuster movie with a strong cast?"

Wang Shu sighed and said, "But I've already said it."

"I was so anxious at the time that I said I was an Oscar-winning director and had always been doubted and had yet to prove my ability."

"I want to prove my ability with a low-budget movie this time."

"No one can stop me."

"Director Han was silent."

"No."

(End of this chapter)