Actor: Thank you.

The next day, the crew of "The Warlords" held a grand makeup press conference.

Normally, the crew would not hold a press conference before deciding on the makeup.

But this is a top-notch blockbuster with an investment of hundreds of millions, so it is natural to have adequate publicity.

Li Lianjie is still handling the finishing work for the "Forbidden Kingdom" crew, and is reshooting the role of Monkey King with monkey hair all over his body.

So the protagonists of this press conference are Liu Dehua, Chen Kexin, and Zhang Yuan who just signed the contract.

"long time no see!"

As soon as he arrived backstage, Brother Hua happily walked up to him and gave him a hug.

"We can work together again." Zhang Yuan also patted the other person on the back enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we filmed together."

"I really miss the time I spent on the set of 'A World Without Thieves'." Brother Hua said with some emotion.

He lamented that things and people have changed.

At that time, Zhang Yuan was just a small actor.

Getting very low pay and doing very hard work.

There aren't many scenes, and they aren't particularly outstanding.

But he always manages to complete these contents to a level that exceeds everyone's expectations.

I was quite optimistic about him at that time.

Thinking about taking him with me when I have the chance.

But I never expected that in just a few years, the other party's identity and strength had undergone earth-shaking changes.

The pay has increased dozens of times!
Brother Hua heard about the salary requested by Zhang Yuan.

From hundreds of thousands to tens of millions, this change is scary to tell others about!

But he thought about it and realized that his salary increased dozens or even hundreds of times after several of his dramas became popular.

This is how the acting business is. Once you become famous, the money comes like cash!
But in the blink of an eye, the other party caught up with him.

In the movie "The Warlords", the difference in their pay was less than 3%.

Brother Hua thought to himself, judging by the current situation, it is not certain who will lead whom in the future.

"Brother Hua, you go first."

When lining up to go on stage, Zhang Yuan took the initiative to let Brother Hua move to the front.

"it is good."

Liu Dehua felt very happy.

He knows what is happening in Hong Kong circle recently.

Don’t be afraid of not knowing the goods, be afraid of comparing goods!

Compared with Edison Chen, Zhang Yuan is much stronger.

He's been very successful recently, but he still abides by the rules and respects me as his senior.

I also thought about the few films I invested in over the years that made money, and one of them was "Crazy Stone", which I collaborated with him.

Just like now, they didn’t forget me when filming “Crazy Race”.

We are still partners!
While thinking about this, I walked onto the stage of the press conference.

The "click" sound of the flash light immediately resounded throughout the venue.

The process was the same as any other press conference, it was nothing more than warming up the atmosphere and announcing the film's approval and imminent start of filming.

The actors and director briefly introduced the film, saying some vague topics that would make it easier for the media to write articles and arouse the interest of the audience.

When it came to the question-and-answer session, the reporter was the first to put the microphone next to Zhang Yuan's mouth.

"Excuse me, Mr. Zhang Yuan, you have worked with Mr. Edison Chen in Initial D."

"What do you think of his eyepatch incident this time?"

"I didn't see it." Zhang Yuan replied immediately.

The Hong Kong media is still the same, asking questions that are difficult to answer.

When Brother Hua heard what he said, he almost laughed out loud, but he quickly controlled himself.

After all, this matter is serious.

And he was very experienced in helping Zhang Yuan to block the conversation.

“I’ve been asked this question too many times lately.”

"Today we will only answer questions related to the film and individuals."

Brother Hua means well.

But he didn't know that the culprit was right next to him.

But what Zhang Yuan said was true.

He certainly didn't look at the photos online.

It’s not that I can’t bear it, but the heroines in most of the photos have average figures and nothing good to look at.

Seeing that this question was blocked by Brother Hua, another reporter immediately followed up and also opened fire.

"Excuse me, there was a media report that you were rejected by the crew because of your sky-high salary. Is this true?"

"Yes, I heard that your salary for the film is as high as several million. Is that true?"

Look down on me!
Zhang Yuan was quite unconvinced.

From now on, unless there are special circumstances, I will not accept any offer below 10 million!
Now it's Chen Kexin's turn to come forward.

He knew that the issue of the sky-high pay was caused by the previous conflict between Jiang Zhiqiang and Zhang Yuan.

The situation is different now!

This person is not an enemy, but one of ours.

Then he opened his eyes wide and spoke.

"What's the sky-high pay?"

"Tell me, how much is considered a sky-high price?"

"Hollywood movie stars make tens of millions of dollars for each movie. Is that considered an outrageous amount?"

"As a director, I think actors get paid based on their ability."

"Zhang Yuan has this ability, so he should get that much money."

"I advise some fellow actors not to be jealous and to do their own jobs well first."

Director Chen is an old hand after all. He first muddied the waters and pointed the finger at colleagues who were envious, jealous and said weird things.

"I also think that Zhang Yuan has always received reasonable pay." Brother Hua also echoed.

Then, the report came out the next day.

"Popular actor Zhang Yuan joins the crew of "The Warlords" and says the sky-high salary is reasonable."

Zhang Yuan: …

Your trick of changing things upside down and confusing right and wrong is really hard for me to handle!

Brother Hua said that I was getting a reasonable salary, but in your mouths it became that the sky-high salary was reasonable.

Who taught you Hong Kong media reading comprehension?
"Isn't this just looking for trouble and getting me scolded?" Zhang Yuan, who had just returned to the capital and landed at the airport, stuffed the newspaper he had just bought into the trash can.

"Boss, not necessarily."

Zeng Jia, who had just bought coffee and was planning to help Zhang Yuan with some public relations, took out her laptop to surf the Internet and replied.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Yuan leaned over.

He flipped through the web pages.

Of course there were insults, but not too many.

There are several reasons.

First of all, we have to mention Chen Kexin. His words worked.

Public opinion on the Internet, especially Zhang Yuan’s fans, blamed the incident on jealousy among peers.

In fact, it is true. If his old rival Nie Yuan saw Zhang Yuan's current remuneration, he would probably be so angry that he would vomit blood.

Not only are there great scholars in Hong Kong who can debate for me, there are also great scholars on the Internet.

Furthermore, many people think that there is nothing wrong with a pay of several million.

Because "Rush Hour 3" has been released in the country!
The box office exceeded 7000 million in the first week.

It shouldn't be difficult for the box office to exceed 100 million in the end.

It's summer vacation now, and many people go to the movies.

But in today's mainland market, getting a box office of over 100 million is still a very impressive thing.

The Eiffel Tower showdown between Zhang Yuan and Uncle Long was extremely exciting for many of Chen Long's fans and action movie fans.

"It's such a joy to fight!"

"Really handsome!"

It was enjoyable for many people.

It was even rated as the best action scene of the year by some media.

Seeing someone say this, Zhang Yuan thought that his efforts at that time were not wasted.

It’s still quite fulfilling.

If you take good pictures, naturally people will praise you.

The more critical point is to "transform exports into domestic sales". How to do it?

When Uncle Long took him to an overseas show, he praised him as "Little Bruce Lee".

Foreign media also quoted Chen Long's words and made some reports.

Then these reports were screenshoted by someone who climbed over the firewall and shipped back to the country.

The content was also translated into "Foreign media said Zhang Yuan is the next Bruce Lee."

The translation process, like the information copying process, inevitably suffers from packet loss...

This is a big deal!
As a popular saying back then went, “Pictures speak louder than words”!
It’s been reported in foreign newspapers, how could it be false?
We are the next Bruce Lee, so what’s wrong with getting a little more pay?
Who is dissatisfied?
The Chinese people have a problem, which is caused by being excluded from the mainstream Western world for a long time.

That is, it is particularly necessary to gain recognition from foreigners, especially those from developed countries!
We don't even need people from developed countries, any cat or dog will do, as long as they have a high nose and blue eyes.

When a foreigner says "China is good", the people can be happy for three days.

The later reconciliation between China and the United States was actually a similar situation.

Just like people and countries, if they particularly need external recognition, it means that they are not confident enough in their bones.

It has only been a few years since we started reform and opening up, expanded our markets, and joined the WTO.

When he heard that foreigners recognized him, it was like an imperial decree!

No matter what others say.

I don’t care, I don’t care, as long as the foreigners approve of it, it’s good!

"It's a good thing, but..." Zhang Yuan felt a little melancholy after reading it.

It seems that it will take many more years before we can reach the stage where we just like what we like and don't care whether you foreigners like it or not.

However, "going abroad to gain experience" was his original purpose, so there was nothing to complain about.

But what he didn't expect was that not only the audience believed it.

"Hello, Zhang Yuan?"

"Come back when you have time and we can talk about the play."

Pang Hong, deputy director of Ning Film Studio, called him personally.

Zhang Yuan thought, I haven't looked for you yet, but you come to find me.

The director of the film is the new chairman of the Academy Awards, Chen Jiashang, and now the Hong Kong circle has lifted the "blockade" on him.

He originally wanted to wait for Director Chen to find him.

Unexpectedly, the producer couldn't sit still first.

Zhang Yuan guessed that it might be related to the news and online comments.

Public opinion is a double-edged sword.

Will allow Zhang Yuan to reap the benefits.

It will also disappoint Zhang Yuan's colleagues.

The blades are all facing outwards...

After leaving the airport, we went straight to Ning Film Studio’s office in the imperial capital.

"Oh, finally here."

Pang Hong came to the door to greet him personally.

"The fight scene between you and Chen Long was so exciting. I went to the theater to watch it and was overwhelmed."

As soon as he heard what he said, Zhang Yuan knew that he was right.

"Come on, come on, please sit down."

After he was led to his office, he was served tea by his secretary.

"Well...you left a deep impression on our crew during your last audition."

"We are particularly pleased with you."

Bullshit... Zhang Yuan smiled but said in his heart.

Still satisfied.

When Li Shaohong said that you had to use Kun Kun, why didn't you come out to clarify or refute it?

"In my opinion, the role of Wang Sheng, in terms of image and martial arts foundation, is a perfect match for you."

Pang Hong talked freely.

"After I showed your audition video to the screenwriter, the teacher said that you gave him a real character template for the character he wrote."

Then he kept fooling me...why shouldn't I believe him?
You wouldn't be like those scumbags who say the same thing to every woman.

I always make up something new!

"Since we are both satisfied."

"I think we should just chat..." He rubbed his fingers together.

"Let's talk about money?"

Zeng Jia took a step forward.

Zhang Yuan had previously explained that when it came to negotiating money matters with the crew, he would draw the outline and she would handle it.

But this time, she found that Zhang Yuan raised his hand and stopped her aside.

"Okay, but I don't know what your budget is?"

“As for the budget, it’s really tight.”

"We want to spend all the money on the production of the film."

“So, even though we have a lot of investors, we are still a little tight.”

Having said that, he stood up, opened the door, leaned out and shouted.

Not long after, two more people came in.

"This is the costume director of the crew."

"This is the crew's artistic director."

"I'll ask them to explain to you the effect we want to present in this play."

Oh.

Zhang Yuan understood.

This is a group trick to trick me!
But it's really worth the money.

Because of the Hong Kong investment, the famous Wu Baoling was found to be the costume director.

This old sister is as famous as Ye Jintian, the brother in "A Better Tomorrow" and "Red Cliff".

The art director was another Hong Kong tycoon, Li Liguo.

They are all capable.

What they said was quite professional, covering every detail, from the simplest to the most complex.

But Pang Hong's purpose of asking them to come and explain to Zhang Yuan was actually very clear.

Our requirements are high, so the budget is tight.

Look, can you give me a discount?
Since entering the room, this person has used the strategies of welcoming with a smile, flattering with all his might, and crying poor.

"I understand. You guys really want to make this film well!"

"Yes, that's right!" Pang Hong replied excitedly when he saw that he was on the right track and his plan had succeeded.

At this moment, his expression changed to one of utmost sincerity.

"I know you're paid very high now. It's said that you're paid nearly 10 million yuan."

"Hahaha……"

This person was laughing as he spoke, but when he saw Zeng Jia nodding silently beside him, the smile froze on his face.

What the hell!

it is true?
"What I want to say is..." He was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses.

“We are sincere and determined to make a good film.”

"I see you're also willing to participate in good works."

"Hey!" Pang Hong slammed the table and said, "I'll make the decision directly. From the limited budget, I'll allocate 200 million as your salary."

"I will pay for the shortfall in funding from the crew out of my own pocket!"

Zhang Yuan understood that this was a sudden and confusing trick.

And he only used one trick since he entered the door.

Take advantage of the situation!

"Since the crew's funds are so tight, I think we should just give up." Zhang Yuan also gave him a sincere look.

"I'm afraid I know that 200 million is not a lot, but it's all the assets we can offer."

“We are really sincere.”

"Would you like to think about it again?"

"You misunderstood." Zhang Yuan shook his head.

"What I mean is, if you don't have money, forget about the film pay."

Zhang Yuan came closer and spoke steadily.

"I don't need to be paid!" (End of this chapter)