Entertainment: From the Octagon to the big screen

Chapter 826 - Uninvited Guests

Chen Yu, who had just returned to the apartment after work, glanced at the burly uninvited guest in front of him, and suddenly a terrible feeling of powerlessness and helplessness surged in his heart.

Why did that old scoundrel Sylvester Stallone come to harass me again?
Chen Yu subconsciously glanced towards the apartment door, worried that Jason Statham would show up.

"I'm the only one here to talk to you about the project."

Stallone held up a bouquet of flowers and a box of pudding in his hands. The chocolate pudding was a small gift specially made by his wife and eldest daughter for Chen Yu.

Stallone's eldest daughter Sofia was born in August 1996. She aspires to be a director. She and her two sisters are all die-hard fans of Chen Yu's boxing.

Stallone has never been willing to admit this due to his reputation. After all, he once played Rocky, who once represented the American spirit and American beliefs.

It’s a pity that the three daughters in the family all believed that Rocky would never be able to defeat Chen Yu.

Even though Rocky is a heavyweight boxer, he is much taller and heavier than Chen Yu.

"I can understand because I will become a father this summer. If my son says that Li (Jet Li) is better than his father, I will also be secretly angry."

Chen Yu looked at Stallone and asked him what he wanted to drink, warm water? Juice? Coca-Cola or Red Bull?
Stallone frowned and asked for a man's drink: milk, preferably heated to about 50 degrees over low heat.

"I'm so sorry, I'm lactose intolerant so I don't have that stuff at home. Just make do with some warm water."

Stallone basically gave up cigarettes and alcohol after he turned 35.

I won’t touch cigarettes or alcohol unless I’m at a social event. Of course, I need to smoke and drink as appropriate when filming.

After all, this old rogue still wants to jump around on the screen and television.

Stallone hopes that the "old American tough guy" can be remembered by more young audiences instead of dying quietly in a corner.

Schwarzenegger retired from the stage early to get involved in politics; in addition, Bruce Willis' health was getting worse and worse, and he could only rely on drugs to support himself.

Jet Li can now just stand there and do two or three moves, but if he really wants to increase the intensity, Stallone is worried that his good buddy will not be able to walk out of the filming site alive.

Chen Yu didn't know what to say and could only listen quietly.

In fact, the elimination of the so-called "old generation of American tough guys" is an inevitable and irreversible dead end.

This is a two-way choice between the audience group and the social environment that cannot be broken.

Stallone and his people cannot go against the development of society and go backwards.

To be honest, China is also facing similar problems, and Wu Jing is simply unable to stop the trend of the decline of hard-core action blockbusters.

Works such as the "Wolf Warrior" series and "Operation Red Sea" have only slightly delayed the decline of this type of subject matter.

In the future, unless the relevant state departments personally plan a war-themed blockbuster, private capital will never pay attention to such themes.

This is also why Chen Yu is very reluctant to take on action movies.

He doesn't want to be labeled an action star as soon as he debuts. In terms of awareness, Chen Yu is not as high as Wu Jing and Donnie Yen. This guy refuses to die with action movies.

Stallone chattered about the past for an hour while drinking warm water.

"I plan to make another entire movie of 'The Expendables' to prove that old soldiers never die."

Stallone finished speaking loudly and was about to turn around to pick up the briefcase, but Chen Yu immediately held down his left hand.

"The Expendables III" did not achieve the ideal box office results. After deducting all costs, the producers only made a net profit of more than 13 million US dollars.

That’s why Lionsgate has been reluctant to restart the fourth film, fearing that the “The Expendables” series would be a waste of money.

And Lionsgate was somewhat reluctant to let Chen Yu join the series.

Chen Yu's development is currently going well and steadily rising. How could he be unlucky with the "The Expendables" series, whose prospects are uncertain and seem to be heading towards a dead end?

This type of traditional American tough guy film and television works has been abandoned by the times and the audience.

The Expendables series has been able to survive to this day purely because of nostalgia, but Lionsgate believes that this nostalgia is about to run out. So in order not to lose a lot of money and to protect the reputation of the leading actors, Lionsgate's decision-makers chose to hold back on The Expendables IV for five years.

Chen Yu really didn't understand how the old guy in front of him and Jason Statham persuaded the decision-makers of Lionsgate to remove the insulating tape and release the fourth film.

"The fourth film will be the last time I will star in this series in my career."

Stallone stroked the water cup and looked calm.

He decided to hand over the banner of "The Expendables" series to Jason Statham.

To be honest, the best solution would be to let Chen Yu take over, but unfortunately, Chen Yu doesn't have the responsibility.

Chen Yu just wants to stay in his comfort zone and make money. He only regards film and television series as a job rather than a passion.

"After finishing the fourth part of The Expendables, I will prepare for Rambo V."

Stallone is ready to say goodbye to these two series. In fact, he is most reluctant to part with "First Blood" and "Rocky".

Chen Yu felt a sense of desolation and desolation suddenly rising in the air.

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It immediately reminded him of the night he retired.

He hid in Dilraba Dilmurat's arms and cried heart-wrenchingly.

"Saying goodbye also requires great courage."

Chen Yu secretly pinched the handle of the sofa and whispered, he didn't know how to comfort the old tough guy in front of him.

"But don't expect me to be in The Expendables IV or Rambo V!"

Chen Yu coughed lightly with a cunning look in his eyes. Stallone immediately restrained his emotions and shook his middle fingers at him twice.

Although Chen Yu refused to star, he was willing to invest. If the box office performance was bad, he would just consider it as paying for his childhood.

Dilraba Dilmurat just lost more than two million US dollars to fulfill her dream.

The budget for Rambo V was small, and Stallone estimated that the filming cost would never exceed 50 million US dollars.

Props and visual effects must be refined to the utmost, and the rest should be saved as much as possible. Good steel should be used where it is needed most.

Stallone didn't want to let Chen Yu and his brothers down, so he invested 65% in "Rambo V", and whoever was willing to invest the remaining shares could do so.

After Stallone got married for the third time in 1997, he paid attention to financial management and tried his best to use every asset under his name properly, so the old guy has a lot of money secretly.

Stallone is somewhat like a prodigal son.

But in his heart he always felt guilty towards his two sons.

The eldest son died of complications from atherosclerosis in 2012, and the second son has never been able to get rid of the trouble of autism.

Both the eldest son and the second son were born to his first wife, which has led to the latter's refusal to forgive Stallone to this day.

Of course Chen Yu would not discuss this with Stallone, so the topic turned back to the budget for the filming of The Expendables IV.

The filming budget for "The Expendables IV" is about 60 million US dollars.

Chen Yu looked stunned and said that there was absolutely no way he could make back his investment this way.

The total investment in "The Expendables III" was nearly 90 million US dollars, but the final net profit was only over 10 million US dollars.

Chen Yu advised Stallone to cut down on the filming costs and keep it to 50 million US dollars, which would give him a chance to break even and make a small profit.

The "Expendables" series has gone downhill, and we must face the facts. Chen Yu added another cup of warm water to Stallone.

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(End of this chapter)