Actor: Thank you.

Chapter 1423 Legend

Half an hour later, inside MR. CHOW, the most famous upscale Chinese restaurant in the Los Angeles area.

Director Toro sat across from him, as various delicacies were served one after another.

"Zhang, do you know the owner here?" the Mexican director asked curiously.

"I don't recognize it." Zhang Yuan glanced at the poached chicken in front of him; judging by its appearance alone, it looked quite authentic.

There are many "Americanized Chinese restaurants" in North America, but this place is clearly taking the proper route.

This illustrates a point: deliberately catering to Western tastes will only lead to the low-to-mid-range market.

Only by adhering to our own unique culture can we achieve high-end status.

The same applies to restaurants, and the same applies to people.

Chenlong, who calls himself a "sliding ancestor-changing device," claims to have local blood or relatives wherever he goes.

Actually, this is a very practical way of bringing traditional Chinese performing arts to life; it's down-to-earth and effective.

But he was able to uphold Chinese culture throughout his time in Hollywood, which is why he is the most famous Chinese movie star.

Li Lianjie's vision in this regard was far inferior.

This restaurant is the same; it serves relatively authentic Chinese food, not much different from what we eat in China, about 8% similar, with only slight adjustments to the sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and spiciness.

“I know this restaurant; on such a good day, you have to make a reservation to eat there.” Director Toro became even more curious: “But I saw you talking to the manager, and then he let us in.”

“A little secret, everyone has their own relationships and background.” Zhang Yuan made a very American gesture, tapping his nose with his index finger.

The Mexican nodded thoughtfully, realizing that this young Chinese man was no ordinary person.

It's not just about having money.

It's not that complicated, Zhang Yuan was just being deliberately mysterious.

The restaurant is called MR. CHOW, which is actually a transliteration of English and means "Mr. Zhou".

Foreigners can't distinguish between the pronunciations of "秋" and "周", and they can't straighten their tongues.

The owner of this restaurant is Zhou Yinghua.

His biological father was Zhou Xinfang!

He was Zhou Xinfang, the founder of the Qi School of Peking Opera, who was on par with the Four Great Dan (female impersonators).

Half of his descendants went overseas and did quite well thanks to their ancestors' wealth.

They have essentially and completely integrated into the Western world.

Their departure from China cannot be entirely blamed on "vanity" or "foreign worship".

It's related to a special era, so I can't say much about it.

However, they have indeed transferred a lot of assets out; otherwise, how could the family be doing business, collecting, and frequently involved in the entertainment and fashion industries today?

The advantage is that the other side did not completely disregard China. On the anniversary of Mr. Zhou Xinfang's birth, his family often returned to China to participate in commemorative activities, and even spent money to organize many commemorative exhibitions for Mr. Zhou.

The eldest son runs the restaurant, while the second son is responsible for the family business in the country, so neither of them interferes with the other.

So when Zhang Yuan came, he mentioned Mr. Yuan Kuocheng's name, and after they called the boss to inquire, they let them in.

The old man's influence still works.

As they ate and chatted, the Mexican guy seemed to want to devour the roast duck!
Foreigners love this because roast duck is a typical mixture of sugar and oil, plus it's coated with carbohydrates.

And it does look somewhat like a Mexican meat roll.

Toro was so happy with the food that his mouth and mustache were covered in sweet sauce.

"Chinese food is amazing, I should have come sooner," the foreigner said while eating, licking his fingers.

“We can have meals together often.” Zhang Yuan only ate one roll before stopping.

"Or if you have the chance, you can come to China for a visit. I'll take you to the best restaurant to eat Peking duck, which is twice as good as this."

"Ah, this isn't the limit?" The spinning top's eyes widened.

There's a term in Shanghai called "yangpan" (洋盘), which means foreigners really don't know anything about good food and have never tasted anything nice.

Zhang Yuan didn't even bother to eat much, because he could tell at a bite that the duck was wrong; it was roasted in an electric oven and didn't have the aroma of fruitwood.

Furthermore, the time spent drying the duck carcasses was slightly too short; they should have been dried for an extra half a day or a day.

Zhang Yuan went on and on about the technical details, leaving the foreigners completely bewildered.

"Our Chinese ancestors said, 'One should not be too particular about the fineness of the food, nor about the delicacy of the preparation.'"

"Eating and cooking are very similar to making movies."

"Only when the creators are meticulous and attentive enough in their production will the audience find it delicious."

"Not only must it be meticulous, but it must also be made according to certain rules and regulations, and then the chef's own understanding must be added to make a good dish."

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Yuan: ...

He looked at the bewildered Mexican and thought to himself, "A wild boar can't eat fine food."

I'm the kind of person who orders roast duck by the piece, why are we exchanging witty remarks?

The other party was much more straightforward.

“Zhang, I know that since Universal invited you, you must be very capable.”

"I'd like to know, are you actually interested in the movie 'At the Mountains of Madness'?"

"I put in a lot of effort and prepared for several years."

"I promise to do my best to film and complete a masterpiece."

Zhang Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly, not denying the other party's statement.

Anyone who can direct "Pan's Labyrinth" can naturally handle making this kind of eerie work.

It should be said that he is one of the most suitable directors in Hollywood to make Cthulhu-themed works.

Because the core of Cthulhu is the unknown.

There is also the coldness and cruelty brought about by the unknown.

And the best part is the indescribable horror.

Once anything can be described and identified, there will be a way to deal with it, and the sense of terror will decrease dramatically.

Furthermore, they created the "SAN Drop" system, and the more truths they know, the closer they get to madness.

In some ways, it shares similarities with another Western master of horror, Edgar Allan Poe.

It makes you feel that your environment and everything around you are unsafe, frightening and hopeless.

It is very difficult to express the three characteristics of being indescribable, ineffable, and unobservable using cinematic techniques; most people simply cannot do it.

Of course, in real life, some extreme gender organizations have indeed achieved these three things.

Confucius was indeed a wise man, but women and petty men are difficult to deal with.

But this kind of thing sounds mysterious and bizarre; it's ultimately just a minor, unorthodox approach.

Zhang Yuan didn't look down on it, but he thought it was unfeasible from the perspective of investment returns.

But I can't say that, for fear of discouraging Toro, a Cthulhu enthusiast.

"My unwillingness to spend money is not because of you or the work."

"I just don't trust those people at Global Times."

"Can they really let you fully express your ideas without any interference?"

"Like I said, let the chefs demonstrate their understanding of food, rather than pairing food according to the ideas of the restaurant manager and investors."

The Mexican man fell silent after hearing this.

I also understood the meaning behind what that Chinese man had just said.

Why do you Chinese always speak in such roundabout ways...?

"But you've been working with Universal."

“That doesn’t mean I completely trust the other party.” Zhang Yuan demonstrated a flexible business bottom line: “Large companies are like giant ships, which can only sail according to a predetermined course.”

"Even if there are icebergs on the flight path, we will crash into them directly."

"Because nobody wants to take responsibility for the change of course."

"But if no one invests, all my hard work over the years will be for nothing."

“Universal is very likely to cancel the project.” Toro had already sensed the other party’s attitude, which was why he was so anxious.

If Zhang Yuan doesn't pay, this project is probably doomed; it's already been dragging on for several years.

There are countless Hollywood projects that have been dragged out and ultimately failed.

“Originally, other companies had approached me to act in movies, but I turned them all down for this film, ‘At the Mountains of Madness’.”

"If the project is canceled, I will suffer a great loss."

“SHIT!” he cursed.

He then channeled his grief and anger into his appetite and began eating again.

Zhang Yuan asked the waiter to order more sweet and sour pork and mixed fried rice, urging them to keep eating. "Toro, in my understanding, people are always the most important thing."

"It doesn't matter if the project goes bankrupt, you're still here, aren't you?"

"Even if you don't make it this time, you're still young and will have many more opportunities."

"It's better to accumulate capital and reputation; one day you'll be able to fulfill your dreams," he said, offering the other person some motivational advice.

“I don’t support the ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ project, but I really like your previous work.”

"So I want to support you personally, understand?"

"Then why don't you just support the 'At the Mountains of Madness' project?" The other person looked up, seemingly unmoved by reason.

Let me tell you, my best buddy, that the girl you're chasing is a slut, a notorious slut.

But once you get carried away, you'll want to buy even a bus ticket home and won't listen to any advice.

That's how people are; they're afraid of those in power, and then they stop reasoning.

Zhang Yuan then stopped being polite and firmly stated that he would not invest in "At the Mountains of Madness".

"But we can still be friends."

"As a friend, I am very interested in your ideas and creativity."

“You can talk to me… By the way, you just said that other films came your way, but you turned them down. What were they?”

He wondered if there was anything worth buying.

"A movie about mechs fighting monsters." The other person replied helplessly, "I quite like it."

I hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to decline.

Zhang Yuan: ...

You search high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly!
I was staring at my brother's "Pacific Rim," and I never imagined it was right in front of me!
After a moment's thought, Zhang Yuan finally understood.

That means Universal originally wanted to cancel the "At the Mountains of Madness" project.

After that, when Toro had nothing to do, he would take on Pacific Rim, a film he had previously turned down.

Then I definitely can't invest in "At the Mountains of Madness"!

What if they manage to save a person in a vegetative state...? We absolutely cannot allow this project to have any risk of "recovery".

He talked with the other party with great interest and roughly understood the origin of the matter.

Years ago, around 07, there was a Hollywood screenwriter named Travis Beecham.

He was deeply frustrated because his debut script was rejected by the production company before filming began.

This kind of thing is very common in Hollywood.

He then went to Santa Monica Beach, a well-known local beach in Hollywood, to relax.

One day he happened to arrive early, and fog had rolled in over the sea.

The fog was thick, obscuring what was on the distant sea.

Only a few buoys and the twinkling lights from the flashing lights of the ships could be vaguely seen.

There were also the cries of seabirds and the heavy whistles of ships.

Watching and listening, this person's mind went blank, and soon, chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) struck.

He imagined the flashing lights as searchlights, the ship's horn as the roar of a giant beast, and envisioned a scene on the sea, behind the fog, where a giant mech was fighting a giant beast.

Many men, especially teenage boys, have this kind of fantasy.

But the screenwriter didn't just think about it; he went home and turned his ideas into a script.

The initial 25-page script included a scenario where two people piloted the mechs, with one dying and the other surviving and operating the mech alone.

And the Santa Monica beach where he relaxed was right on the Pacific Ocean.

So the script has been called Pacific Rim since its first draft.

This hardcore mecha enthusiast, who has followed Transformers all the way to Gundam and Evangelion, created a monster universe based on his own preferences.

After several years and numerous revisions, a major film and television company finally bought his script.

That is Legendary Pictures.

Legendary is also a rather "unique" film company, producing a lot of big-budget movies with unique genres and styles.

For example, 300, Watchmen, and 10,000 BC.

It's all good, but it's different from the style of mainstream Hollywood blockbusters, carrying a touch of sentimentality and artistic flair.

But these few productions show that the company is willing to spend money and spend it wisely.

Legendary Pictures approached Toro on the recommendation of the screenwriter.

The screenwriter said he was indispensable.

The reason can be summed up in two words: obsession.

The reason he became so depressed that he went to the beach to clear his head was because his debut film was rejected.

The directorial debut that was rejected was originally intended to be directed by Toro.

So the screenwriter was not satisfied and insisted on continuing the previous collaboration. We must work together again.

Many important decisions are made without regard to reason; they are decided on a whim.

This also illustrates the importance of interpersonal relationships; you have to be good to others for them to always think of you.

Zhang Yuan remained silent for a moment after listening.

Legendary Pictures is a rather special company, with a complex background and deep ties to the Chinese film and television industry.

This company is famous, but it's not one of the Hollywood Big Eight; it was founded in 00.

It is also the first film company in Hollywood history to be entirely funded by Wall Street investment banks.

Until 05, Warner bought out most of the shares held by Wall Street investors, temporarily making Legendary a subsidiary of Warner.

Then things got really interesting, and we arrived at the China section.

This company has become embroiled in one of the biggest battles in China's film and television industry: the Alibaba-Wanda dispute!

SoftBank invested first, and then Wanda made its move.

They all wanted to use this company to develop overseas markets in Asia.

And that's not all.

Ultimately, after several rounds of negotiations, Wanda, at its peak, invested $35 billion to acquire Legendary.

Just like 3 or 40 years ago, when island companies like Sony wanted to acquire the eight major Hollywood studios.

But when Wanda failed, Legendary spent less than 30 billion to redeem all of its shares and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the famous asset management company Apollo Asset Management.

In just over 20 years, this company has changed hands several times.

To outsiders, Wanda lost hundreds of millions of US dollars in the process.

In reality, this back-and-forth transaction involved over 20 billion to 30 billion US dollars that were legally transferred overseas under the guise of investment and acquisition of companies.

The situation behind it is quite complicated.

After thinking about this for a while, Zhang Yuan realized something was wrong.

We shouldn't focus solely on the movie "Pacific Rim".

To stand taller and see further.

We should turn our attention to Legendary Pictures behind it!
This company is so complex, with a multitude of powerful forces behind it, but it might not be a bad opportunity.

In addition, he remembered something else.

Legendary must have been eyeing the Chinese market at that time, and later even established a joint venture called Oriental Legend.

Since it's a joint venture, we need to find a partner in the country.

Its partner is Jianye Group, a major player in Henan province.

This company and its boss are known as the "King of Henan".

They are currently investing in film and television city projects.

But Legendary is a production company, and it won't work if they only cooperate with construction companies in mainland China.

So another film and television company was also involved.

Guess which one it is.

Zhang Yuan understood what was on his mind.

Emperors may take turns ruling, so why not my family too!
Since I've happened to be involved, don't blame me for getting involved.

……