Actor: Thank you.

After Youku went public, when Zhang Yuan went to Huanqiu for a meeting this time, the foreigners' attitude was much better.

Even Vin Diesel looked kind and gentle.

Foreigners are easy to "tame"; all it takes is money.

The discussions mainly revolved around casting, plot design, and scheduling of each main actor.

When asked about his schedule, Zhang Yuan raised his hand to indicate that he was very busy and needed to make good use of his time.

I definitely have to make sure the release schedule for "Qian Xuesen" is tight.

When a supporting actor makes a scheduling conflict, the director has to politely agree.

Old Fan thought to himself, "Even I, the main character, don't have this many problems," but there was nothing he could do about it.

After discussing most of the things that happened on set, the actors "went off work."

As Gadot left, she made a gesture as if she were making a phone call next to her ear.

Zhang Yuan thought he didn't have the "available time" and decided to postpone it to another day.

He stayed behind to discuss off-screen matters with the Universal Pictures team.

The production manager from Universal Pictures discussed with him whether this time they could make it a co-production between China and the United States, just like the previous one.

Zhang Yuan shook his head. "If your filming in Brazil doesn't meet the standards for co-production, then forget about it."

The foreigners frowned upon hearing this, because if it wasn't a co-production standard, the revenue share for the Chinese region would be pitifully small.

However, Zhang Yuan knew that Huaxia's revenue share for imported films would increase significantly next year.

Even if I miss this one, I can catch it later.

He talked about it, saying it was just a rumor he'd heard.

"Oh." The foreigner nodded vigorously.

“I see, I believe you, Zhang.” Mike said with certainty.

"Really?" Zhang Yuan was surprised, as he hadn't been so obedient before.

“You are a descendant of the Chinese royal family from a thousand years ago, so of course you would have special information channels.” The foreigner said with a very convincing expression.

Zhang Yuan: …

I just bragged on TV, and you white guys actually believed me.

It's not entirely unfounded; we are all descendants of Yan and Huang.

Then came the foreigner's "mischievous" moment, pulling him aside to start "chatting about everyday things."

First, someone brought over a bottle of aged brandy and poured him a glass.

Zhang Yuan didn't drink, indicating that he doesn't drink alcohol during work hours.

What if you try to sweet-talk me?

A smiling face is never a good thing; nothing good is sure to come of it.

Sure enough, as they talked, they began to discuss some of the projects that followed Global.

The implication is that you made a lot of money from the investment in "Fast & Furious 4".

It seems that Universal Pictures is still doing well.

Why don't you invest in a few more? You have so much money you can't spend it all.

Just like when it was first listed, a bunch of domestic luxury car dealers and luxury home managers called me.

Once people know you have some money, they'll try every trick in the book to get you to spend it.

The recommended projects are all "broken projects".

It's either a low-budget comedy or a horror film.

Zhang Yuan recalls that Universal Pictures has also produced several major films in recent years, including "Johnny English Reborn," "Cowboys & Aliens," "Battleship," "Les Misérables," and "Snow White and the Huntsman."

As a result, I didn't mention a single one to him.

Even if you mention him, I won't invest. Among the big-budget films, only the "Mr. Bean" series is a sure thing; the rest are good if they don't lose money.

They wouldn't share a good project that they consider "profitable" with a foreigner like you.

They pulled out films like "Bridesmaids," "High-Rise Heist," and "Spy Hunter," which are projects that are rarely heard of in China.

The most famous of them is Silent Hill, which was adapted from a game IP.

It's a pity it's Silent Hill 2.

This film is barely watchable.

That's how foreigners are; when they meet people from other countries, they always have the mentality that they're naive and rich and easy to take advantage of.

The same applies when selling various technologies, from high-speed rail, automobiles, to airplanes.

Relatively speaking, Germany and France are already the two most reliable countries in the white world.

They're only willing to let you pay a high price to transfer some technologies that are one or two generations behind.

Now, Universal is treating him much the same way.

I discussed it with him with the intention of swindling money from foreigners.

Zhang Yuan picked up a pile of documents and flipped through them casually, becoming more and more worried the more he looked.

Why is your company like this, Universal?

No wonder that despite being a long-established brand, it doesn't necessarily make much profit from its products each year.

These large companies are losing money on a daily basis, relying entirely on the stock market to make money.

No wonder they were later acquired by Amazon and Oracle one after another.

Universal is doing relatively well; it has a solid foundation, built Universal theme parks based on a bunch of classic IPs, and has been receiving royalties for a long time.

Zhang Yuan frowned as he looked at it, but sometimes you can find something even in the most dregs.

His gaze eventually fell on a film proposal called "Teddy Bear".

It's that infamous, outrageously funny movie, "Ted".

Among this pile of broken things, this one looks the most dilapidated.

But ironically, this parody film is the only one that can guarantee a profit solely through box office revenue.

The male lead is Mark Wahlberg, who later replaced the original male lead in the Transformers universe.

And then there's Ryan Reynolds, who's about to be ridiculed for his role in "Green Lantern" and hasn't yet landed a comeback role as Deadpool.

Both of these male leads later became top-tier Hollywood stars.

But none of that matters.

At the heart of this film is Seth McFarlane, who is also the director, producer, and voice actor for Teddy Bear.

He wanted to make this movie, approached a bunch of production companies, and finally Universal Pictures agreed to invest $6500 million.

But after taking the offer, Huanqiu thought it over and over and decided it wasn't worth it.

The total budget was cut down to $4000 million.

But still feeling the risk was too great, he put Zhang Yuan in the category of "tricking" him into spending money.

Hollywood studios often do this: budgets are constantly being revised, and internal strife is rampant.

If 20th Century Fox treated Cameron that way, it's not surprising that other major companies treat him the same way.

The key figure in this "Ted" film is actually the director and producer Seth MacFarlane.

Those familiar with North American animation will know a well-known spoof animation called "Family Guy".

It was produced and voiced by Seth McFarlane.

This guy is notoriously talented but has absolutely no moral compass.

Family Guy satirizes North American society from top to bottom and inside to outside.

At first glance, you might find it flamboyant, or even disgusting.

But once you truly understand North American society, you'll find that he's a realist.

Big companies like Universal Studios look down on animations like "Family Guy".

If Seth hadn't played small roles in many Universal films and offered advice, serving as a "recruiter" for several years, they wouldn't have approved the budget this time.

It's the same here in America; if you don't act like a grandson first, how can you act like a grandpa?

Many people would love to kneel but can't even get the chance.

Even so, he was only able to get into this industry because his brother had a distant relative who was a producer.

According to the theory of bloodline, this man is actually a native American, because he is not only of mixed English, Scottish, and Irish descent, but his ancestors were also Puritans who came to North America on the Mayflower.

Despite this background, having grown up in a traditional Catholic family, he became a staunch atheist during junior high school.

I reckon this person must have seen something indescribable that made him abandon his faith, which caused his personality to change drastically.

Zhang Yuan pondered it over and over again.

Given the explicit content of the film "Ted", it's unlikely to be released in mainland China.

It will be shown in Hong Kong and Taiwan at most.

However, excluding the Chinese market, there should be money to be made.

Instead of singled out this project, he asked Brother Long to help him pack up all the project proposals.

"I'll go back and look into it slowly, and then I'll give you an answer."

"I have other things to attend to, so I'll be going now." He stood up, buttoned his suit jacket, and then downed his brandy in one gulp.

Money talks, and the foreigner even politely escorted him to the entrance of the office building.

First, head to Los Angeles International Airport.

"Hey!"

She sat quietly in the underground parking garage, waiting until the car door was opened. Little Dragon Girl was dressed casually in a black down jacket, white jeans, and bright orange sneakers.

Hmm... that familiar smell, and the clothes are still so "tasteful".

"Was the journey smooth?"

"It's alright, it's just that the flight time is long and I'm a little tired." She yawned as she spoke.

"But it's still nice to see you...nose." She leaned in and sniffed. "Drinking in broad daylight?"

"It was a social obligation, I had no choice." Zhang Yuan reached out to her assistant, who had come with her, and asked for a piece of chewing gum.

"How about we go back to the hotel first and you rest for a while?"

“No, I want to enjoy my sunny holiday.” She raised her arms.

"Okay, I promised to take you to a fun place, let's go now."

The vehicle drove steadily for almost an hour before arriving near a quiet mansion in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

"The scenery here is beautiful," Sisi said, looking out the car window.

Are we going to stay here?

"No," Zhang Yuan shook his head. "I brought you here to film a movie."

Sisi turned her head stiffly.

"I just finished filming, and we agreed to come on vacation. You're making me start working again?"

"Are you bullying me?" She wrinkled her nose, looking like she was about to bite someone.

"You'll know when it arrives."

A few minutes later, the vehicle stopped in front of a large house.

Hey, James.

Zhang Yuan led Xiaolongnu to a short Asian man.

That's the great director James Wan.

It's not that big yet.

This mansion was the filming location for the horror movie "Insidious".

This is also James Wan's first film since he invested in Blumhouse Films last year.

After failing to collaborate with two major manufacturers, he returned to his original aspirations and focused on producing small, high-quality products.

The screenwriter and supporting actor was his college friend Leigh Whannell, who was also the screenwriter of "Saw" and the second male lead in the first film.

"Have you seen 'Saw'? It's called 'SAW' in English. He directed it," Zhang Yuan introduced.

"No." Sisi shook her head sincerely.

Zhang Yuan was helpless; the other man still didn't care about anyone's life or death and wouldn't even pretend.

"Don't you like watching horror movies?"

"He's a master of horror films. A brand new horror movie is being filmed here, which is very interesting."

"I'll take you to the film set."

"When I said 'start work,' I meant having you play a female ghost or something for fun. You don't like dressing up as one, do you?"

"You still remember?" She shook his arm a little shyly.

She not only caused a lot of trouble on the set of "The Return of the Condor Heroes", but also often dressed up as Sadako after taking a shower with her hair down, and even tried to scare him.

Is Zhang Yuan afraid of this?

With such strong "yang energy," I could take on anything, not just Sadako, but even succubi and the Eight-Foot Lady.

Alright, no need to pretend this time, let's get straight to it.

"Yes, this is fun!" Sisi excitedly peeked out and swayed her body.

She loves watching horror movies, especially Japanese horror.

Just like her love for roller coasters and drop towers, she enjoys the feeling of her heart pounding, which is quite different from her appearance.

But what made her happiest was that Zhang Yuan remembered her preferences and arranged a "surprise" for her.

"Go ahead, let the makeup artist do your makeup."

"You think you can just act like that? Do you think they'd agree to it? You and Director Wen are that close, aren't you?"

"To be precise, it's not that we have a good relationship; I'm practically his boss." Zhang Yuan reassured her that he had spoken to Wen Ziren beforehand.

Old Wen knew what was going on. The investor was just playing around with the girl; it wouldn't affect the film crew. So let's film it.

I never said I'd play the lead role; it would be good enough if I just caused trouble.

Zhang Yuan instructed the makeup artist to make sure the makeup was applied until the person was unrecognizable.

They're here to have fun, so the audience can't see Sisi as an extra in a low-budget horror film. Otherwise, rivals will immediately buy articles saying she can only be an extra in North America and is worthless.

It's just for fun. Once you've had the experience, it's good to keep a record so that when you watch the movie later, you can find yourself by tracking the frames.

The premise of "Insidious" is very unique and fully demonstrates James Wan's genius.

He designed a place for this horror film that resembles a dream world or a "spirit realm".

The male protagonist has a family tradition of being able to astral projection and travel to spirit realms.

There are no concepts of space or time, nor any limitations, in the spiritual realm.

Therefore, wronged spirits and ghosts also exist in the spirit world.

After the protagonist's son reached the age where his potential could be unleashed, he became lost and imprisoned in the Spirit Realm.

The male protagonist, an elderly father, regains his abilities with the help of a medium and his soul leaves his body to find his son.

That's roughly the plot.

But there's a twist: the son is eventually rescued, but the male protagonist is possessed, leading to the plot of the second part.

James Wan's brilliance lies in his "unconventional" approach; when you think he's about to scare you, he doesn't move.

Just when you're feeling quite at ease, he comes to your rescue.

He also rarely uses the American-style "jump-in" scare tactic, believing that such methods are too low-level.

His control over pacing and visuals is among the best of all commercial film directors in the world.

The difference becomes particularly noticeable when compared to his films and other American horror movies.

The film's male lead is Patrick Wilson, who later played the younger brother prince in Aquaman, a film he directed.

The female lead is Rose Byrne, who played a princess handmaid in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and later a CIA agent in X-Men: First Class.

Although these two aren't exactly high-paid, they both took on the role at rock-bottom prices because they admire James Wan.

The actor who played the male lead's son was the same little boy who later appeared in Iron Man 3.

Though small, it has all the essential parts; the actors, director, and crew members are all excellent.

And this only cost a little over 100 million. Can you believe how amazing James Wan is?

The role Zhang Yuan assigned to Qianqian was just a random white-clad female ghost from the spirit realm.

With dark circles under her eyes, black hands, and a white veil over her head, no one would recognize her.

He let her do her makeup while Zhang Yuan chatted with Wen Ziren.

"Is that girl your girlfriend?" Director Wen glanced at her.

"Yes."

"She's pretty, she looks like a high school girl."

Zhang Yuan scratched his head. "The way you're talking makes it sound like I'm committing a crime."

Chinese women tend to look younger. You're of Chinese descent too, and you're almost thirty, but you look like a college student.

"Have you seen her movie? It's the one I starred in, 'The Forbidden Kingdom'."

Wen Ziren blinked.

"Chenlong, the one with Li Lianjie."

"Oh, this movie!"

Zhang Yuan: …

I don't know if you mention me, but I do know if you mention Chenlong.

It seems I need to work on improving my global reputation.

He and James Wan were talking about women and relationships.

James Wan is a skinny guy, and I don't know if it's psychological compensation for his body shape, but he likes big, beautiful women.

I'm not really interested in Asian girls.

"She's from North America?" Director Wen was somewhat surprised after learning that Sisi was an American citizen.

"what happened?"

"You know, that's how Chinese girls in North America dress," Director Wen gestured with his hand at his brow bone.

Let alone American citizens, many international students who come to North America will actively try to conform to the appearance preferences of white people, creating a stereotypical Asian image for themselves.

Similar to the Crazy Horse Show.

But she didn't; she remained distinctly Eastern.

"Stick to your own style, and don't easily change or lose yourself because of other people's opinions." Zhang Yuan looked at the other person and said, "Just like you."

"Maybe," Wen Ziren replied, squinting as he looked into the distance.

Then his expression changed.

Just as the film crew was moving equipment and apple crates into the house, several burly white men suddenly appeared and blocked their way... (End of Chapter)