Actor: Thank you.

"Um, assistant!"

The atmosphere in the room seemed to have eased a little, but the aftermath of the fight between Zhang Yuan and Sun Honglei was still there, making the rest of the people present very uncomfortable.

In order to resolve this awkward feeling, Dongyang Qingyu's boss Zhang Jing called her assistant and asked her to change the tea for several people.

Some pastries from the Jiangnan area were also served.

Soft, sticky and sweet.

After eating it, I felt a lot more calm.

Maybe that's the charm of carbohydrates.

There are both good and bad sides to stability.

The atmosphere calmed down, and Sun Honglei, who had been shaken by Zhang Yuan just now, also calmed down completely.

As soon as he calmed down, he began to think.

After considering the cause and effect, Brother Honglei had a rough idea in his mind.

"I was smoking and drinking a lot the past few days."

“Such a warm attitude.”

"We're having a blast reminiscing about the past."

"The Red Pagoda Mountain brings back memories."

"Actually, this is all preparation for negotiating a price with me now!"

His understanding is still somewhat one-sided.

But it can't be considered wrong.

The reminiscing is real, the feelings are real, and of course the routine is real, too!
Since we are old acquaintances, I must make use of this relationship.

Now is the time to give a sweet reward after a slap in the face.

After eating the pastries, Zhang Yuan's expression and state returned to the familiar and enthusiastic state he had at the drinking party a few days ago.

"Brother Honglei, we are all family."

"It's better for the wise to not speak in secret."

"The budget for our film is actually not very sufficient."

The cost of TV dramas has started to swell these days, and 2000 million is really nothing.

The total cost of "Yongzheng Dynasty" in 97 was 2700 million yuan, and it was known as an epic masterpiece.

By 06 and 07, the cost of a TV series of similar size, "The Ming Dynasty 1566", had reached 4000 million.

A few years later, when it came to the important historical node of "The Legend of Zhen Huan", the cost doubled again to 8000 million!
In the future, the cost of large-scale TV series will even surpass that of blockbuster movies.

The most serious inflation is actually in employee salaries.

So when Zhang Yuan said that the budget of 2000 million was not enough, he was not just saying it to lower his salary.

Fortunately, the shooting period of this film was not too long.

Just two months.

The cycle is short, which actually saves a lot.

Otherwise, either they have to suppress the actors' pay like Big Beard did, or they have to increase the budget.

Zhang Yuan calmed himself down.

Sun Honglei said it himself just now.

Ask for a high price and pay low.

Then I can't be polite.

"I think I'll give you 10 per episode."

"Twice as much as Yao Cheng, how about that?"

Yao Cheng was there and didn't think the price was inappropriate.

Sun Honglei has been in the industry for many years and has played the leading role many times.

In addition, male actors' pay is generally higher than that of female actors, which is the norm in the industry.

But Brother Honglei would definitely not be happy if 30 overwhelmed 10.

He realized that he had seen through Zhang Yuan's tricks, so he smiled and waved his hands.

“This price doesn’t suit my market.”

Zhang Yuan actually knew it clearly in his heart.

The movie "Halfway Couple" made Sun Honglei a top male lead in the TV drama industry. His salary for that movie was 8 yuan per episode.

After this movie becomes a hit, he will definitely have to raise his prices.

10 is indeed too little.

However, after "Halfway Couple", he also filmed a TV series called "The Great Craftsman" by Mingjiao.

This film is also a hit drama and has very high ratings on local TV stations.

Fortunately, this movie hasn’t been aired yet!
Zhang Yuan was anxious to sign the contract with him just to catch up with this time point.

If this movie "The Great Craftsman" is broadcast and becomes popular, his salary will increase.

He knows it, but Sun Honglei doesn't, and this is the information gap.

Brother Honglei had no way of knowing what he was planning.

Zhang Yuan looked calm on the outside, but he was actually anxious.

Because this matter cannot be delayed.

Delaying will be disadvantageous to yourself.

This is also one of the reasons why he scares the other party.

After hearing the pay of 10 per episode, Sun Honglei leaned back and wiped his face with his hands.

He even blinked his eyes a few times.

This is his signature move.

Zhang Yuan knew that when he did this action, it meant that he was thinking and at the same time he was unsure!

This is his subconscious behavior and also a loophole.

Everyone has these little moves.

"10 per episode, I can't accept this price."

Sun Honglei paused for a moment and then spoke coldly.

“Same schedule, same time.”

"I'll take other plays and commercials."

“You can earn three times the salary.”

"If you only give me this price, I won't act anymore."

bargain.

You said 10 yuan.

I said 1 yuan.

If you say 1 dollar, I won’t sell it to you.

So what should be the next sentence?
Zhang Yuan had everything planned out and was not in a hurry at all.

But unfortunately, there were honest people present.

Director Jiang Wei is a middle-aged man with a literary bent.

He can direct and write, and has strong working ability.

But in terms of communication, it is a little bit lacking.

This time, when Brother Honglei showed signs of "going on strike", he immediately became anxious.

"Oh, come on, the pay and other things are easy to discuss."

When he said that, Sun Honglei raised the corner of his mouth, but then quickly suppressed it.

Boss Zhang Jing frowned and gave Jiang Wei a cold look.

Zhang Yuan is a good person, why are you making such a fuss?

With this sentence from you, the originally balanced scale tilted towards the other party.

Sun Honglei became much more confident.

Because the director obviously wanted him to play the role.

Moreover, Jiang Wei said a lot of good things when he sent him the script.

In order to attract him, they told him that the role was suitable for him and no one else could do it.

I really want him to play the role.

Sun Honglei is an old hand, so he didn't take what he said on the phone seriously.

Every crew that approached him said so.

It's just a trick of speech. Everyone uses the same trick to talk to all potential targets.

But seeing the director's reaction just now, he understood.

This guy is not lying, he really wants to find him to act and what he says is true.

That's good.

The financial sponsor is of course the one who has the final say.

But there is more than one sponsor!
Zhang Yuan knows how to take advantage of the estrangement and suspicion among the other party's allies to cause trouble, and Brother Honglei naturally understands this as well.

The director values ​​him, so even if Zhang Yuan is the financial sponsor, he will have ample room for bargaining.

If a person is forced to be replaced due to pay, the two parties will have conflicts before filming even starts.

Based on his understanding of Zhang Yuan, he was not the type of person who would throw tantrums. He was quite reasonable and capable of getting things done.

People who know how to get things done will definitely put getting things done first.

Sun Honglei had a good plan in mind.

Zhang Yuan saw his confidence and glanced at Director Jiang Wei.

I thought that some people are suitable for talking about things, and some are suitable for doing things, and there is really no difference.

But Brother Honglei seems to underestimate me.

Isn't it just about grasping the director's words and attitude?
I will just tell you a plan to wipe out your entire family and shatter all your certainties.
"Brother Honglei, if our play affects your ability to make big money."

"Then as a friend and brother, I shouldn't stand in your way of making money."

Zhang Yuan’s meaning was very clear.

Difficult?

Then don't do it!
What bargaining is there? At this stage, just overturn the table!
Most people would be frightened when they get here.

The financial sponsor has turned against me and wants to kick me out, so I have to smooth things over no matter what.

Sun Honglei was the one who should be criticized, but he didn't say a word or move.

It's like "I'm watching your performance". This kind of game also happens when buying vegetables at the market.

"If you don't sell it, I'll leave?"

"Just leave."

"Then I'm really leaving."

"Come back, come back..."

He felt that as long as the director supported him, he would not be afraid of this trick.

It was just like when Zhang Yuan negotiated with Hua Yi before, he grasped the white director's preferences and won 80% of the chance.

But Sun Honglei forgot one thing after all.

"Director Jiang." Zhang Yuan turned around and looked at the director.

"How about this."

"In fact, I have always liked this novel, otherwise I would not have bought the copyright."

"Especially the script you expanded and revised. Based on my experience as a crew over the years, it is definitely a masterpiece."

"Since Brother Honglei has other ways to make money."

"Then why not just change someone else."

"How about I take over?"

"Oh, I know. Yu Zecheng's current image is different from mine."

"Then could you please make some more revisions, iterate the script, and attach the character to me."

"I haven't done a TV series in a while."

"We haven't filmed it since The Return of the Condor Heroes."

"Many media interviews asked me if I would stop filming TV series."

“The fan base also keeps asking when we will return.”

"I think this drama would be good as my comeback to TV series."

"Then consider it my comeback work after returning from Hollywood. What do you think?"

"But first of all, I have limited time."

"You may have to wait a few months, and I will sort it out for you, okay?"

After Zhang Yuan finished speaking, director Jiang Wei was overjoyed.

That expression seemed to say.

"It's a deal, double happiness!"

In fact, at the beginning, when Dongyang Qingyu knew that Zhang Yuan had bought the copyright of the novel, he really thought that he was going to play the role.

They are welcome.

After all, the male lead is a big name, so the film will be popular and the performance will not be bad.

Now that he has come back after a trip to Hollywood, he has upgraded from a big name in the TV drama circle to a king bomb.

The opening trump card is definitely better than yours, Sun Honglei!
What Brother Honglei forgot is that Zhang Yuan is also an actor and more famous than him.

In this drama, he has been focusing on the identity of his financial sponsor and has forgotten his main job.

The intention is to portray Yu Zecheng as an anti-traditional underground hero without thick eyebrows and big eyes.

But if Zhang Yuan is willing to come, it's okay to have thick eyebrows and big eyes.

Once the TV station hears that he is the actor, they will definitely raise the price a lot.

Sun Honglei was dumbfounded.

Others are just pretending to flip the table.

Why did my brother really flip the table?

The key point is that they even thought of the advertising slogan: "A Hollywood actor's comeback work"...

The schedule has also been arranged.

It's said to have a nose and eyes.

And looking at the attitudes of Zhang Jing and Jiang Wei, it seemed like they had forgotten about me in just a few minutes!

"However," Zhang Yuan said, "If we don't have to change the script, it will definitely be more convenient to follow the original setting."

"Don't you think so, Brother Honglei?"

"Yes, yes, it's so troublesome to change it all the time."

As soon as he took over, the matter was actually settled.

The female boss Zhang Jing knew clearly that Zhang Yuan was trying to cheat the other party, and he succeeded.

So brave!
What should I do if the other party doesn’t buy it and they fall out with me?

Are you really acting in person?

But Zhang Yuan knew that the trick would definitely work.

The reason is that Sun Honglei's confidence is actually pretended.

Because he actually wanted to act in this play.

The reason is also very simple.

He wants to transform!

In "Conquer", he is a murderous gangster who kills people without blinking an eye.

In "Military Song", he plays Gao Dashan, a violent old man with a bad temper and a rough voice.

In "Halfway Couple", he is a prisoner who has just been released from prison.

He played a gangster in the anti-Japanese war drama "Blade 1937".

This is his famous TV drama image in recent years.

The movie side.

In "Seven Swords", his Fenghuo Liancheng is a villain who is even more brutal and vicious than Liu Huaqiang.

In "Heaven's Mouth" produced by John Woo, he played a nightclub owner.

In "Iron Triangle" co-directed by Tsui Hark and Johnnie To, he played a counterfeiter of antiques.

Among these characters, only Gao Dashan in the TV series "Military Song" is a good person.

But the image of this soldier is also portrayed as extremely rough.

In short, his screen image in recent years has always been closely related to the keywords "gangster", "rogue", "killer" and "brutal".

The first transformation in his acting career was actually due to "Insidious"!
After this drama, he played many decent roles.

His subsequent second transformation and expansion of his acting range was thanks to "Go Fighting".

He suddenly developed a comedian character and took on many light comedy works afterwards.

So Zhang Yuan knew that Sun Honglei attached great importance to the role of Yu Zecheng.

Brother Honglei is also a smart man. He can see that this role is an opportunity for his transformation.

This work also has the potential to become a big hit.

He would never really let go.

Just like playing cards or mahjong, whoever feels guilty or anxious after sitting at the table will lose most of the money before the game even starts.

Wang Fei always wants to make the big bet, so he always loses.

Zhang Yuan just needs to make the other party attached to it.

"Brother Honglei, I also know that 10 is a little less."

"We have been friends for a long time. I can't cheat you."

"It would be embarrassing to tell others otherwise."

"Well, let's take a step back."

"15 per episode, can you accept that?"

Sun Honglei’s psychological price is actually more than 20.

But now he saw that Zhang Yuanxian had blocked his way.

If you don't come, I will come myself.

Then he fought back and took the initiative to speak soft words when he was in absolute advantage.

Brother Honglei sighed in his heart.

"It's true that after five years, he went from being an extra to a sponsor."

“It’s not by luck!”

"I can tell from today alone that this guy is worthy of being the boss. He is very cunning and shrewd."

"I've been eating free food for a few years, but I can't beat him."

Having said this, he had no choice but to smile and nod in agreement.

Nothing to say.

Yao Cheng, who was standing by, hadn't seen Zhang Yuan talking to anyone for a long time.

When I talked to her, it was far less complicated than it is today.

So now when she saw her boss's aura on the scene, she felt guilty and a little scared.

"It's okay, it's okay..." I kept comforting myself in my heart.

"What if he can't take me..."

After we finished discussing the matter, we made another plan for dinner in the evening.

Sun Honglei discovered that when it was time for dinner, Zhang Yuan returned to his previous state of being the good brother and good friend he had always been.

He even put himself in a very low position.

She still poured him wine and lit his cigarette, without any sign of being unreasonable.

Brother Honglei was very impressed by his attitude of being able to take on and let go.

I also understand that Zhang Yuan is a person who clearly distinguishes between public and private affairs.

As long as you don't affect his interests, he will be nice to you.

As soon as he talks about money, he becomes a tiger.

That’s right, how could such a heartless fool be successful in this industry?

After eating and drinking, the job is done.

The crew saved several million in pay, and that money can be used for set design, post-production, and publicity, which will be beneficial to the work in every way.

Zhang Yuan returned to the imperial capital with the attitude of a winner.

All that's left is to wait for the melons to ripen and then pick and harvest them.

Having accomplished a great thing, I naturally feel very good.

But then, a phone call from Fan Bingbing completely shattered his good mood... (End of this chapter)