Actor: Thank you.

Mike, the Universal Pictures manager in charge of the new "Fast & Furious" project, put down his phone.

I wanted to throw it, but in the end, I reluctantly put it down gently.

He then got up and left the office to report to his supervisor.

"Arrogant Chinese!"

When the vice president heard his report, Zhang Yuan said he was too busy to attend the meeting and then grumbled.

“So what should we do now?” asked the tall and strong Mike.

At this time, Universal Pictures was still headed by the old white man and had not yet been replaced by the female CEO.

One advantage of the old white male system is that they are pragmatic.

It's not that I'm belittling women, it's just that women are more emotional.

Men tend to be more rational.

So the vice president frowned for a moment, then relaxed.

"whatever."

"This Chinese artist is also our investor."

"Then we should treat them as if they were investors."

"Have your secretary schedule a time with him."

"This indicates that we will have a welcoming ceremony and a dinner party."

"We'll also hold a public celebration party for 'Fast & Furious 4' and use it as a press conference to announce the launch of 'Fast & Furious 5'."

"Go and make arrangements."

Mike opened his mouth when he heard his boss's instructions.

This treatment is on par with that of a superstar.

This is usually something Universal Pictures does when they want to produce a big-budget production and hire top stars.

It's about winning people over.

People like Tom Cruise and Will Smith receive very good treatment when they attend meetings at major Hollywood studios.

At least on the surface, they will give you face.

However, Zhang Yuan's status as an actor does not seem to warrant this treatment.

It's hot enough!

Plus, I have enough money!

The reason they acted this way before and their attitude towards Zhang Yuan changed was because the island nation wouldn't allow it, and they felt they were losing out.

In addition, they wanted to renege on their debt.

Not only were the subsequent investment agreements voided, but they also wanted to deduct some of the money earned from "Fast & Furious 4".

Think about how the Anssa people started out and how they got to their current global standing, and you'll understand their way of doing things.

There's no psychological pressure about turning against someone.

Similarly, there's no psychological pressure when I turn my face back.

This is not right now!
After Zhang Yuan met with the top actor in Japan, not only did his film get released there, but his popularity in Japan also experienced a qualitative leap.

In addition, there's his popularity in his hometown of China...

Global will have to revise its plans.

Their attitudes changed accordingly.

Moreover, the original plan was to continue making this film, specifically to use his work.

They just want to use this to suppress others and consolidate their interests.

Now that we see that others control the markets in both China and Japan, we certainly can't do those things anymore.

Let's talk this out. We'll take a loss and stick to the contract...

If we can follow the contract and everyone makes money together, they already feel like they've lost out.

But that's the reality: the weak have no dignity in front of the strong.

They never care about your feelings.

Being able to follow the contract is already the result of Zhang Yuan's best efforts.

Mike carried out the tasks assigned by his superiors, thinking to himself that it was rare to find an Asian who could give the company such a headache.

The last time I encountered such a difficult Asian was decades ago.

As everyone knows, Disney has the reputation of having the "world's strongest legal department".

This has led to the creation of all sorts of jokes.

For example, what should you do if you're stranded on a desert island?

If you draw a Mickey Mouse on the beach, Disney's lawyers will fly over to deliver a cease and desist letter to you in less than three days.

You can just take their plane back.

Such jokes are endless.

Unfortunately, it's not a joke.

Ever since Google's global reality map came out, Disney has had dedicated staff watching the reality map every day to investigate whether anyone around the world is using their characters without permission.

Forget about commercial use, you can't even draw Snow White on your own lawn.

This is the world's most powerful legal department.

But if we narrow it down to the Asian region, who has the strongest Ministry of Justice?
Penguins are far inferior; they can only remain undefeated in southern China.

If you really run into a company with a Beijing background, you're bound to get into trouble.

Claiming to be the strongest in the Eastern Hemisphere, Nintendo is nicknamed "Nintendo Hell".

One of Universal Pictures' most famous films back then was "King Kong".

Several versions were later made, including one directed by Peter Jackson and another from the MonsterVerse.

Nintendo's breakthrough game wasn't the famous Mario, but Donkey Kong.

Back then, Mario wasn't called Mario yet.

The one they saved wasn't Princess Bitch, but Princess Peach.

The enemy is not Kuba.

An unknown plumber, who was nameless at the time, was tasked with rescuing the alluring songstress Bao Ling from an evil gorilla.

A gorilla kidnaps a beautiful woman.

This content is clearly taken from the movie "King Kong".

Then Universal went head-to-head with the fledgling Nintendo.

Moreover, Universal is very cunning; they sent lawyer's letters to all of Nintendo's partners and publishers, demanding that these overseas publishers pay compensation.

The payment from Nintendo was sent directly to Universal's account.

We're just bullying your small island nation company, so what?
Nintendo also hired top lawyers in North America and initially offered a settlement of $500 million, but the arrogant CEO of Universal refused.

They demand all profits while also expecting others to lose money.

This is an attempt to destroy your small, run-down company.

Finally, the lawyer named Howard found a loophole and demanded that Universal provide proof of the copyright for "King Kong".

Because Universal bought the image rights to "King Kong" from Merian Cooper, and the film was also directed by Merian Cooper.

However, the copyright of the original novel still belongs to Merian Cooper and his family; Universal only has the film adaptation rights.

Seeing this situation, Universal realized that even though Merian Cooper had passed away, what if his family came forward and demanded money from me...?

Thus, Universal and Nintendo reached a historic reconciliation and started making pizzas together.

There are still Mario-themed areas in Universal Studios Japan, and the two sides have been cooperating harmoniously for decades.

This incident was quite famous in the 7s and 80s, and was considered by the island nation as evidence that "Japan can say no".

Because of a small island company—Nintendo was really a small company back then—it actually defeated Universal Pictures.

Zhang Yuan knew about this matter, but this matter did not prove that "Japan could say no."

But this proved the weakness of the bourgeoisie.

Their motives are impure; their goals are evil, and they relentlessly pursue profit.

Once the means are thwarted, the once ferocious capitalist monster will immediately become docile.

He'll kill you if he's in the right, and he'll find a way to kill you even if he's not in the right.

They only become charming and handsome when they are in the wrong and can't bring themselves to kill you.

Zhang Yuan also gleaned some insights from the examples of Universal and Nintendo.

In Chinese parlance, it's called "no fight, no friendship".

Photosynthesis is useless.

They might not take advantage of you.

Show them what you're capable of, let them know you're not someone to mess with, and they'll be more likely to cooperate.

That's human nature; it can be summed up in one word... despicable. His current deliberate attitude reflects that.

You have to show some intensity to make the other party take you seriously.

When Zhang Yuan received the new notification from Universal Music while on his way to a gig, he smiled from the bottom of his heart.

"That's pretty much it."

Just adjust your attitude.

He also breathed a sigh of relief.

When I opened my clenched fist, my palms were slightly damp.

I was actually a little nervous.

If this matter is not handled well, it could lead to more than just a falling out with Universal.

Not only will my plans in Hollywood be hindered, but the money I invest will also be borrowed.

If I can't get it back, how will I repay them?

This could trigger a chain reaction and cause big trouble.

Now that they've agreed, that's all.

They continued to rush to finish filming "The Message," which even caused Stallone's schedule to be slightly delayed for a few days.

Fortunately, they were polite and didn't say much.

After a long day, I finally got to the hotel to rest and lay down when a phone call came in like a death knell.

Upon checking the caller ID, I saw it was Lao Han calling.

I had no choice but to pull myself together.

"Mr. Han, you're showing concern for me again."

"Why do you sound like you're saying something nice?" Old Han asked hesitantly.

"You didn't get cocky after your trip to Japan, did you?"

"No way, I've been getting bombarded with publicity by Huayi lately, it's exhausting."

"Oh..." Old Han could hear a hint of complaint in his words.

Recently, Huayi has been working on its IPO, but he pretended not to hear about it and ignored it.

Going public has its advantages, and China Film Group also contributed to the effort.

When Huayi has money, she will naturally be more supportive of his work... That's what Lao Han thinks.

As for Zhang Yuan, that kid...

Old Han scratched his head.

Troublesome!

He's different now!

The fact that the Japanese leader met with him so soon after taking office makes it all the more significant.

It's like he's wearing a yellow jacket; he can go anywhere with impunity.

So Lao Han was a bit sensitive; when Zhang Yuan's tone changed, he was afraid that Lao Han was going to cause trouble.

Let alone Global Times, even Lao Han has rarely encountered such a difficult person in all his decades of experience.

Fortunately, they are under supervision for the time being.

"I won't talk to you about anything else. The movie 'The Founding of a Republic' has been doing quite well recently."

"Congratulations, this is all thanks to your boss."

"Don't give me that crap," Old Han said with a chuckle.

But you could tell from his tone that he was clearly pleased.

Old Han is finally in a respectable position.

After all, most of the patriotic films in the past did not perform well commercially; they were just political missions that lost money but gained publicity.

But when Han Sanpin stepped in, not only was the task completed, but the people also loved watching, and he also profited.

It also broke the record for the highest-grossing opening week for a domestic film, exceeding 1.5 million yuan.

Moreover, the box office didn't drop much in the second week and still managed to break 100 million.

With an absolute advantage in screen allocation, which cinema chain would dare to disrespect you? They would immediately label you as someone who opposes patriotic films.

The key is that Han Han's star power overshadowed all the other actors in this film.

How much would these 100-plus celebrities have to pay just for their roles, based on market prices?
Some media outlets have roughly calculated and estimated that, based on market prices, the stars of "The Founding of a Republic"...

With Chen Long, Andy Lau, Li Lianjie, and so many others, it would cost at least 4 million to acquire them all.

Of course, this is an exaggeration, but it still wouldn't be possible to acquire it without a hundred or two hundred million.

In reality, the total cost of the actors' salaries for "The Founding of a Republic" did not exceed 10 million yuan, but only a few million yuan.

Zhang Yuan received his payment of 32,000 yuan...

Old Han was a decent person; he helped pay the taxes.

It's basically the same as the money you get for appearing on the Spring Festival Gala.

After all, Zhao Benshan only gets around 10 yuan for a single appearance on the Spring Festival Gala, and he's the headliner.

Old Han said that this is a service fee and subsidy, not a film remuneration.

At the time, it was promised that if the box office exceeded 1.8 million, the production team would receive additional compensation.

We'll fix it for him now.

"We've discussed it and decided to give you 5 yuan as your film fee." Old Han said this with incredible generosity, but it was a very stingy amount.

"Thank you," Zhang Yuan replied.

"Hey, what kind of attitude is that?"

"Can't I even express my gratitude?"

"Thanks, but your attitude isn't right." Old Han thought to himself, "You're not cursing me in your heart, are you?"
"I never expected to have good news for you."

"What good thing?"

In fact, it was "The Founding of a Republic" that was a success, and a huge success at that.

Old Han's "star-studded" formula has been proven successful, so he plans to follow suit and do it again.

The Party was founded in 1921, and 11 years later it will be its 90th anniversary.

So he plans to follow the formula of "The Founding of a Republic" and make another star-studded film depicting the founding of the Communist Party.

This kind of script is easy to write; just follow history and select important historical scenes and plot points.

That is, the movie "The Founding of a Republic".

They're currently doing preliminary planning, and that's when they approached Zhang Yuan.

"Can this be a good thing?" Zhang Yuan asked rhetorically.

"Go ahead and say it," he replied with a pained expression.

"This time they want me to play a traitor, a rogue, and a counter-revolutionary."

"Still royalists, exiles?"

"Let me make this clear first, I will absolutely not play Japanese soldiers or members of the Manchu imperial family."

Playing a villain is one thing, but I won't play Japanese soldiers or Tartars in this kind of drama.

Playing Chiang Ching-kuo, one could say the character is complex.

They are somewhat ambiguous, but approachable and communicable.

Because at least the Chiang family insisted on one China.

"You're even negotiating with me now," Old Han retorted irritably.

"This is a tribute film, and it's a social responsibility."

"It's an honor to be able to participate. You should have a sense of mission and not try to bargain."

They're happy enough that they even showed up, but you're being picky!

"Okay, go ahead and tell me, I'll do as you say."

then what should we do.

He could be considered to have "sacrificed himself for his country".

"Don't be discouraged, it's a good thing."

"Besides, I never said I wanted you to play a villain."

"The reason I'm contacting you this time is to give you a positive role."

"How good is it?" Zhang Yuan was very suspicious that the other party was trying to fool him.

"It can be as perfect as you want," Old Han replied confidently.

"This time, we're planning to cast you as the first Premier, Zhou Enlai..." (End of Chapter)