Actor: Thank you.

The set of "Curse of the Golden Flower".

The original work is "Thunderstorm", written by Cao Yu.

Zhang Yimou made no intention of hiding the fact that the script was based on a famous drama.

The Emperor Chow is Zhou Puyuan.

Zhang Yuan’s Yuanxiang is Zhou Ping.

Jay Chou’s Yuan Jie is played by Lu Dahai.

The character relationships and story background have been slightly adjusted, and it has been transformed into a palace farce set in the Later Tang Dynasty, or the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

Just like "The Banquet", the historical background is set in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, mainly to avoid suspicion.

Because this period of time is very chaotic, various "heroes" take turns to appear on the stage.

The main storyline of Curse of the Golden Flower is actually very simple.

The emperor wants to kill the queen.

As for the purpose of killing the queen, besides the fact that she committed adultery with her favorite eldest son, Zhang Yuan felt that there was another reason.

The emperor planned to depose the crown prince and make Yuanjie, the queen's biological son, his heir.

Killing the queen at this time has another meaning.

Prevent external relatives from interfering in politics!

After all, the emperor's ascension to the throne depended on the power of the queen's family.

The golden-armored soldiers who finally rebelled were actually the troops of the Queen's forces.

The emperor is very shrewd.

He slowly poisoned the queen with Aconitum carmichaelii.

This approach has several advantages.

Besides the fact that killing someone does not easily leave traces, he also does not want to be known as a wife-killer.

The queen died and he achieved his goal.

The queen didn't want to die and rebelled, so he had an excuse to completely eliminate her influence in the court.

No matter how you look at it, it's a win-win situation.

He can win twice.

But in the end, his cleverness backfired, and the prince was stabbed to death by the third brother.

After the second prince's rebellion failed, he also committed suicide to show his determination.

All three sons are gone.

Without an heir, the imperial power will eventually fall into the hands of others.

This is what they call "being too clever and scheming, and ending up losing your own life."

In front of the camera, Teacher Gong Li, wearing a phoenix hairpin on her head and a long red dress with gold patterns, picked up the Chinese medicine on the tray presented by Li Man.

Teacher Gong Li's outfit, paired with orange-red and gold eyeshadow and lip gloss, truly lives up to the saying "only the peony is the true national beauty."

She is elegant and gorgeous, a temperament that is very rare among Chinese actresses.

Especially compared with Li Man next to her.

There's no need to talk, just sit down and the other person will be overwhelmed.

Zhang Yimou's meticulous makeup also played a big role.

The small bowls containing Chinese medicine are all custom-made glass cups.

It shines brightly under the light.

And Zhang Yimou also had very high requirements for the play, after discussing with Gong Li.

The Chinese medicine that Gong Huang drank every time during filming was real Chinese medicine.

Because the viscosity of the tinting water is very different from that of the decoction in front of the high-definition camera.

It’s okay for other directors, but Zhang Yimou can’t stand it.

And after drinking the real herbal medicine, there will be a small amount of medicine residue at the bottom of the cup, which is difficult to imitate with other beverages.

In order to imitate the effect of medicine residue at the beginning, Lao Mouzi used hand-brewed coffee, with some coffee powder that was not filtered clean at the bottom.

After drinking more than a dozen cups, Teacher Gong Li's heart was pounding and the caffeine was taking over.

Later, I specially asked someone to prepare real Chinese medicine.

Of course it is not a poison, but a tonic recipe.

Teacher Gong Li is already forty years old, and the intensity of filming is so high, it's just right for her to catch up.

And the bitter and difficult-to-swallow feeling of real Chinese medicine just fits the performance perfectly.

Teacher Gong Li is really professional. She really works hard for filming.

Tap, tap, tap... After drinking the medicine, Emperor Gong frowned, then swallowed it with reluctance, and threw the glass cup onto the tray, making a series of crisp sounds of utensils colliding.

The hatred between his eyebrows and the anger throughout his body burst out from the inside out.

Zhang Yuan watched from the side and couldn't help but hold his breath.

"There is still a gap in international chapters..."

He recalled Zhang Ziyi's performance in "The Banquet".

Compared with Gong Li, he seems a little stingy.

"Card!"

"Jay, the next scene is yours, are you ready?"

Jay Chou rubbed his hands and walked forward.

His hairstyle was done up like an adult and he wore a black suit.

This is when I started acting with Teacher Gong Li.

It cannot be said that Jay Chou’s acting skills are not good, it can only be said that he is the low point of the team.

Even Qin Junjie is better than him.

But this guy is pretty attentive.

Because his delivery skills are so poor... If you listen to him singing, you'll know that his slurred articulation is the thing he's most criticized for.

So he pulled Zhang Yuan to practice with him.

Zhang Yuan had no choice but to teach him a few tongue twisters and let him practice them by himself.

As a result, I don't know if this person was used to singing, he couldn't distinguish between flat and retroflex tongue tones, and after finishing the tongue twister, not only was his pronunciation unclear, but his speaking speed even increased.

He was afraid that the other party would expose him and implicate himself, so he turned to his group teacher Ni Dahong for help.

Don't be fooled by his old appearance. In fact, he and the two leading actors in "Drawing Sword", He Zhengjun and Zhang Guangbei, also known as Zhao Gang and Chu Yunfei, were classmates at the Central Academy of Drama.

After he finishes his work here, he has to rush to "The Ming Dynasty 1566" to play the role of Yan Song.

Zhang Yuan has always felt that in the entire "Ming Dynasty 1566", his Yan Song and teacher Chen Baoguo's Jiajing are the top performances.

But because of his appearance, he rarely plays good guys after his debut.

Not to mention debuting, it was the same even when I was in school.

When he had just entered the Central Academy of Drama, his classmates mistook him for a janitor when they met him for the first time.

After that, every time he rehearsed skits for his homework, he either played the father or the grandfather, and he didn't need to wear any makeup.

You have an advantage in terms of seniority, but you suffer a loss in performance.

Although he is also a "second-generation actor".

Teacher Ni Dahong’s parents are the mainstays of the Harbin Repertory Theatre!

But just like Huang Bo, his looks are a disadvantage.

No matter how good his acting skills are, people won't use him once they see his face.

However, life is a matter of chance.

The key turning point in Ni Dahong's life was that he married a good wife.

His wife is Ni Wei, and Ni Wei’s cousin is Ni Ping!

The film that really made Ni Dahong enter the capital's circle was "I Love My Family" in 94. After that, he took part in "To Live" and was recognized by Zhang Yimou, which led to his participation in "Curse of the Golden Flower" today.

The opportunity to film "I Love My Family" came from Ni Ping finding her good friend Song Dandan to recommend her brother-in-law.

No matter how capable you are, it will be difficult to accomplish anything without connections.

But on the other hand, even if you have connections, if you don’t have real ability, you will only be a laughing stock.

Obviously, Teacher Dahong has real skills.

Zhang Yuan couldn't figure it out, but after several days of his training, Jay Chou's lines improved a lot.

Also, during the filming, Zhou Runfa's Mandarin was not very good.

Zhang Yimou asked Ni Dahong to read all of Chow Yun-fat's lines and record them, so that Chow Yun-fat could listen to them and correct his pronunciation before the show every day.

It can be seen how strong this person's skills are. Even Zhang Yimou uses him as a benchmark.

"Mother, I..."

"Card!"

"Jalen, relax."

Even with the help of teacher Ni Dahong, Jay Chou still stumbled with his lines, especially when he was acting opposite Gong Li.

The other party’s aura is too strong!

After making several mistakes in a row, Lao Mouzi was a little annoyed, but he didn't want to lose his temper.

Gong Huang was very kind and kept comforting Jay Chou, telling him not to be nervous.

"Well, if you NG again, you will have to drink a cup of your mother's medicine every time you make a mistake." Lao Mouzi proposed a punishment mechanism.

This is also common on the set, to add some excitement to ease the atmosphere.

After that, after Jay Chou drank three cups in a row with a grin, the scene was considered complete.

"How does it taste?" Zhang Yuan asked with a smile.

"It's okay." Jay Chou insisted stubbornly.

"I heard that this medicine is specially for women, and it contains motherwort." He smiled sideways.

"what?"

"Nothing, after drinking more, you can participate in Super Girl."

Jay Chou: …

"Bullshit!" He suddenly replied in a hoarse voice, obviously frightened by Zhang Yuan's words.

"However, when I drank the medicine just now, I got some inspiration." Jay Chou scratched his temples and said, "Can I create a song with Chinese medicine as the theme?"

This time it was Zhang Yuan's turn to be speechless.

You are such a genius.

This can even be used to write songs. "You also want to write Compendium of Materia Medica." Zhang Yuan replied casually.

"Oh, that's a good name!"

Zhang Yuan: …

Go ahead and write it. Your brother Liu Genghong lives on this song.

"Let's not talk about this for now." Zhang Yuan changed the subject: "This is your second time starring in a movie, right?"

"Yeah, you're there every time!" Jay Chou sat down with him in the rest area and took a bottle of water to rinse his mouth.

"So what do you think about filming?" Zhang Yuan asked in a gentle and persuasive way: "Do you want to continue, or do you want to give up?"

“Actually…” Jay hesitated and moved closer: “I want to make my own movie.”

Zhang Yuan smiled broadly; this was exactly what he was waiting for!
"You're filming it yourself. Do you have a script?"

"I originally wanted to write it myself." Jay Chou looked embarrassed, "But I don't have enough time. I have to write songs and film movies at the same time."

"And I'm not very good at..."

Then you realize that you are an outsider.

Zhang Yuan didn't interrupt him and let him continue.

"But it's all thanks to you!"

"Last time you took me to the set of Huo Yuanjia."

"Later, when I was recording a song and asked Brother Jie to shoot the MV, I met Mr. Jiang Zhiqiang."

“He recommended a screenwriter to me.”

"He is the screenwriter of Huo Yuanjia, Du Zhilang. This teacher has been helping me organize the story."

Jiang Zhiqiang is the producer of "Huo Yuanjia" and is also responsible for part of the overseas distribution.

This brother knows that Jay Chou is very popular, so of course he supports him in making movies, hoping to get a piece of the pie.

"By the way, last time you said on the set of Huo Yuanjia that if I made a movie, you would help invest in the production. Do you mean what you said?"

Look, this guy can answer the question quickly!
"Of course!" Zhang Yuan hooked his shoulder.

"Of course I support you in filming."

"Not only support, we also want to make it bigger and stronger, and create greater glory!"

Zhang Yuan was waiting for him to take the bait.

“But filming is not that easy.”

“Let’s not talk about the production process first, it will be released later.”

"Overseas, Mr. Jiang Zhiqiang can help you. If you are in Taiwan, you can also find a suitable distributor."

"But what about the mainland?"

Jay Chou was speechless, he didn't think about it that deeply.

"So don't worry about that part, I'll take care of it for you."

His method of solving the problem is also very simple.

Look for China Film!

With the successful case of "Crazy Stone", it will definitely be much easier for him to talk to China Film Corporation about things.

"Well, get the script out as soon as possible."

"Arrange the shooting schedule and determine the shooting cost."

"Then we'll discuss how much to spend and who to find to spend the money."

Jay Chou didn't expect that his buddy would really keep his word.

We are investing together, and I am not kidding at all.

In fact, he felt a little guilty, because after shooting two movies and dozens of music videos, he was itching to try his hand at directing.

What made him feel guilty was that he was afraid of making a big loss if he made a mistake.

Therefore, he had no plans to invest on his own, but instead planned to find investors and then join the company as a director to get the salary and share of the profits.

Jay Chou is no longer the young and naive guy he used to be. He now has a business acumen.

The two chatted about film production.

Zhang Yuan had the experience of "Crazy Stone", so he could naturally talk to the other party freely.

Jay Chou was also surprised when he found out that a movie with a budget of 350 million could earn nearly 6000 million at the box office under his management!
With my fame and "talent", the box office will definitely take off!
Zhang Yuan couldn't help but feel excited when he saw that the other party became more motivated after his "encouragement".

Of course he knew what script Jay Chou was preparing.

Of course it is the famous "Secret"!
This film can be said to be the highlight of Jay Chou's career as a film director.

Debut is the pinnacle.

Then there is no more.

It has achieved very good box office not only in mainland China, but also in the entire Asian region.

Except for one place.

Bang country!

It's not that the Koreans don't like to watch this movie, but that the Koreans have plotted against them.

When this movie was released in South Korea, it was suppressed by several large local companies and had very low screening schedules.

Naturally, the box office wasn’t much better.

After the box office failure in South Korea,

The South Korean distributor came again and bought the distribution rights in their country.

If the box office is not good, the local copyright price will definitely be very low.

After obtaining the copyright, it was re-released.

Now that the film schedule is up, the box office is here!
And it was re-screened many times.

The Korean company made a lot of money, but it no longer has anything to do with Jay Chou and the domestic company.

You will know how disgusting the Koreans are.

The water is shallow and there are many turtles. This is exactly what is happening in their place.

Zhang Yuan and Jay Chou agreed that he would contact him as soon as the script came out.

After saying this, he called his assistant to find someone to help him.

Not long after, Zhang Tianai, who had just finished participating in the rehearsal of the palace maid and was still wearing her costume and waiting for her next role, came to his side.

"Brother Yuan, what do you want to talk to me about?" he asked with his head lowered.

Zhang Yuan was holding two things in his hands.

"This one is the agency contract."

"This one is a film contract."

"Take them all and have a look."

Zhang Tianai didn't react for a moment.

She didn't expect that the other party would fulfill his promise so quickly and arrange a role for her.

"Okay." Zhang Tianai carefully took the contract, nodded and said goodbye, and returned to the gathering place of the palace maids.

Seeing her returning with two things, her colleagues gathered around her, chattering.

"Ah, you are so lucky!"

"Now I have a formal role to play."

“I’m so jealous!”

Zhang Tianai had already agreed to Zhang Yuan's recruitment request.

However, after opening the agency contract, I saw the standard "ten years" on the contract time, and my heart couldn't help but tremble.

10 years!
She is just 18 now, and will be 10 in 28 years.

If you waste ten years, you will be ruined.

But then he looked at the film contract beside him.

Someone throws out this big bait right away, it’s impossible not to bite it!

Although this film is just a small supporting role in a TV series.

But compared to the current extras roles, it is already a qualitative leap.

Seeing her peers around her so greedy that they were about to drool over the documents, she gritted her teeth and made up her mind.

"sign!"

Others who want this opportunity don’t have it yet.

Besides, most companies don’t care about young actors after signing them. No one is as honest as Zhang Yuan who gives them food right away.

The reason why Zhang Yuan gave her a 10-year contract is because she is still an unknown figure now.

Of course, if an unknown person wants to become famous, he will have to pay a greater price.

Otherwise sign for five years or even three years.

I finally gained some fame, but was poached by another company. That would be a huge loss for me.

The play that Zhang Yuan prepared for her is called "I Love the Lioness of Hedong".

It is a new play written by Yu Zheng.

The so-called screenwriter is actually a magical writer.

This is Yu Zheng's standard operation. This time he made a magical modification to Zhang Bozhi's famous work "The Lion Roars in the East".

He already had shares in his own company, so it would be easy for him to get a small role by leveraging his connections. It was just a matter of a word.

Zhang Tianai was surrounded by his colleagues, who were all talking at once, full of envy, jealousy and hatred.

Li Man, who had the most supporting roles with these palace maids, was also looking on.

After all, her role is actually also a palace maid, but she is the protagonist and the leader of this group.

During filming, most of these extras followed behind her.

"Zhang Yuan is so amazing."

Li Man listened attentively.

A little palace maid and a small extra were given a chance to rise to prominence under his arrangement.

“It seems he is more than just an actor.”

"Even an extra is taken care of like this."

"I am 'Mou Girl'."

"After this film, I will definitely get a lot of film offers, with his help."

Li Man felt that if this was the case, then she would be able to achieve her goal soon... (End of this chapter)