Actor: Thank you.

Zhang Yuan was not too interested in the play "Red Cliff".

Outsiders would never have thought of this.

That’s John Woo’s movie!

The rest of the cast certainly thinks so.

But just as we should not be superstitious about foreign brands, we should not be superstitious about directors who have studied abroad or won awards overseas.

Honor can only represent the past, not determine the future.

In the short decades of human life, qualitative changes will occur at different stages.

Path dependence is undesirable.

The films he has been invited to appear in recently range from "Resurrection of the Dragon" to "Mei Lanfang", then to "If You Are the One" and this "Red Cliff".

Which one has a rating over 8.0?
The only film that even scored over 7 points was If You Are the One directed by Feng Xiaogang.

And is this movie really worth 7 points?

They are all masterpieces by veteran and well-known directors.

Directors who have "waded into" Hollywood are particularly popular in China.

John Woo is one, and Ang Lee is another.

But the two old brothers ended up with similar outcomes.

John Woo went completely bankrupt because of his support for MGM with the movie "Windtalkers", which was the final nail in the coffin of this century-old company and he was abandoned by Hollywood.

So what about Ang Lee?
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" grossed over 1 million U.S. dollars in the Beacon Country, becoming the first Chinese director in history to have a box office of over million U.S. dollars in North America, and also the first foreign language film to have a box office of over million U.S. dollars.

He won the 78th Academy Award for Best Director with "Brokeback Mountain", becoming the first Asian director in history to win the award.

Later, he won the Oscar for Best Director for the second time with "Life of Pi", and the film also grossed more than 6 million US dollars, which can be said to be a great success.

How famous was Ang Lee at that time.

Many domestic and foreign media outlets would like to praise him as the pride of Chinese people and the representative of Asian Americans.

and then?
"Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" and "Gemini Killer", two consecutive movies failed.

No matter how many honors you have won or how many records you have broken, it is useless.

In the blink of an eye, he was kicked out of the core level of Hollywood.

This long-time chairman of the Formosa Golden Horse Awards continued to serve as chairman even after the 18 Golden Horse Awards became a disgrace.

So when he failed miserably in Hollywood like John Woo, he turned around and looked back to China, only to find that there was no place for him anymore.

Because by that time, a new generation of audiences and directors had already stepped onto the stage of history. They were more confident, more self-loving, and no longer blindly worshipped any Western elements.

Zhang Yuan didn't care much about this. Since Yang Shouchen and other people in the Hong Kong circle were willing to help him run the business, he took over.

The distributor of "Red Cliff" in Hong Kong is Media Asia, and Media Asia is also involved in the cooperation between the film industries on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and is considered to be an insider.

He didn't care, but Takeshi Kaneshiro was scared!

Awu is now like a frightened bird, with only four big words in his mind.

The ghost lingers!

A ghost, a ghost named Zhang Yuan, is wandering around Hong Kong circle.

Shit, are they targeting me?
Mr. Jincheng didn't know him very well before.

It was not until he lost his spot in "The Warlords" to his old acquaintance Chen Kexin that he asked around.

With a salary of more than 10 million yuan, regardless of whether the movie is good or not, the loss in terms of money alone is huge.

After asking around, others told him.

"Go burn incense!"

"You're doomed if this kid sets his sights on you!"

"If he doesn't pull you, it's fine. But once he does, he can't stop. He won't stop until he pulls you into the shape of Ge You."

Even though it sounded so bluffing, he still didn't believe it, so he asked someone else.

"I heard that since his debut till now, he has been the only one squeezing out others, and few people have the chance to squeeze him out."

"And every time you take it, it's accurate. It's very dangerous."

After asking several questions, Mr. Jincheng got some not-so-good results.

"Why don't I go to the temple..."

This person really listened to the advice and went to burn incense and worship Buddha.

But why did you catch up with me again now?
A picture appeared in Mr. Jincheng's mind.

Zhang Yuan: I will chase you. If I catch you, you will let me hehehehe...

I thought that praying to Buddha would not work.

In fact, this person is confused.

He is an islander, so he went to the Sensoji Temple on the island country to seek immortality.

How can that second-rate god from the island country control my Kyushu continent?

It means that he listened to the advice, but not completely.

There was no time to pray to the gods at this moment. He hurriedly pulled John Woo and boarded a plane to the capital.

If I lose two big characters in a row because of this kid, then next year will be over for me!

Together in the imperial capital, at this moment.

"Congratulations on the official completion of "The Forbidden Kingdom"!"

Zhang Yuan held the firecrackers in his hands and set them off together with the main creators.

Amid the drizzling of colored paper, this "integration of Chinese and Western medicine" crew finally reached the moment of wrapping up.

"Congratulations." Zhang Yuan stepped forward and greeted Director Rob.

"Zhang, I'm glad you can come." Robert was also very polite.

"Once the film is edited, I hope you can join the crew in promoting it overseas." He also extended an invitation.

Liu Xiaoli on the side watched and listened.

Logically speaking, the character of Zhang Yuan is not worthy of publicity.

Not only is he the hero, he's also the villain.

But the shadow of a famous tree.

Now that he has the support of "Rush Hour 3" overseas and has been given the title of "Little Bruce Lee", he is also a familiar face in North America.

Hollywood crews are very realistic. They don’t care who you are, they only care whether you have value.

It is obvious that Zhang Yuan is very valuable now, so the director has to call him.

"Aunt Liu, I haven't seen you for a while. You look better than ever."

"Hehe, thank you."

Liu Xiaoli chatted with him for a while and asked about the Hong Kong circle.

Boss Chen is not very well-informed about the news in the entertainment industry. In addition, the mother and daughter of the Liu family are both on the crew, so the information channels are relatively closed.

So by the time they knew that Zhang Yuan had some "little problems", things were almost over.

"Isn't it boring without me to play with you on the crew?" He turned to look at Xiao Longnu.

"I'm fine. I can work with peace of mind without you around." This guy was shaking.

"By the way, did you know about the recent eyepatch incident?" Liu Qianqian suddenly asked in a low voice.

"Why, do you want to see the photos?"

“The country won’t allow it.”

"Go to hell!" Xixi cursed with her nose wrinkled.

But she did secretly look at a few of them behind her mother's back.

After reading it, her confidence increased a lot.

After all, Cecilia Cheung and Gillian Chung don’t have much flesh on their breasts.

If all the popular actresses are like this, then I am also okay...

Seeing that the Hong Kong stars’ bodies were as tall as hers made her feel comfortable.

"I want to ask you, don't you know Cheng Guanxi?"

"You didn't get involved in his..." Xiao Longnu asked with narrowed eyes.

"No, I know him well, but not that well."

Zhang Yuan thought that today seemed to be the day when Edison Chen would hold a press conference and officially announce his retirement from the entertainment industry.

He himself didn't actually want to retire, and later tried to make a comeback several times.

But the bigwigs of the entire Hong Kong circle joined forces, pressing his head and demanding that he step down.

Because he doesn't back down, there's no way this matter will come to an end.

He did not break any law in this matter.

Those who are breaking the law are those who spread it.

But he was the culprit after all.

If he doesn't pay enough, the Hong Kong community will not be able to give an explanation to the world.

"Why, are you worried that I have photos with Gillian, or are you worried that I will be exposed and my future will be ruined?"

Liu Qianqian turned her head away and didn't answer.

Actually, I am worried...

"Zhang Yuan, I heard that you started a company in cooperation with the Hong Kong circle?" Liu Xiaoli asked proactively.

"Yes, if there is an opportunity and a suitable role in the future, we can discuss it together."

"Okay." This is what Aunt Liu wanted to ask, or was she considering her daughter's future path. The one who is close to the water gets the moon first, and it is always good to have more paths.

Aunt Liu didn't expect that after just one or two months away from the crew, everything would change.

In the blink of an eye, I heard that Zhang Yuan had a falling out with the Hong Kong circle.

In the blink of an eye, he was working with the Hong Kong circle again.

This situation is really like Louis XVI wearing a hat, which is confusing.

I don't know what he did specifically, but I just know that he was very happy.

Anyway, according to his personality, he won't let his own people down.

drop by drop...

At this moment, Zhang Yuan was chatting with a few people when his cell phone rang.

Yang Shouchen called him again.

"Boss Yang, it seems like you like me very much."

"You've been contacting me every day recently." Zhang Yuan picked up the phone jokingly.

When Liu Xiaoli heard the attitude with which he spoke to Yang Shouchen, she knew that the so-called cooperation was real cooperation.

Equal cooperation, not just nominal cooperation.

"Haha, you're famous, of course I have to contact you."

There was a hint of fatigue in Old Yang's tone.

Originally, Edison Chen was asked to publicly apologize and quit the entertainment circle today, which finally put an end to the eye mask incident. He was quite happy about it.

I plan to meet up with some old friends to have some HAPPY in the evening.

But he immediately became unhappy again.

"Hey... Zhang Yuan, that movie Red Cliff I told you about before... has a little problem."

This is where he is embarrassed.

I always say these words, but I get slapped in the face every time.

The key is that as soon as the cooperation started, I accomplished two things.

This can't be done and that can't be done.

It's very embarrassing, damaging his reputation as a big shot in the Hong Kong circle, and it's also likely to make people doubt his own abilities.

So he had to explain it in detail to Zhang Yuan.

In general, Takeshi Kaneshiro took John Woo and went directly to the major investor of "Red Cliff", which is Orange Sky.

This movie is produced by China Film Group and invested by Orange Sky.

Orange Sky is negotiating an acquisition with Golden Harvest and preparing for a backdoor listing.

Investing in this film can be seen as stepping up cooperation and at the same time boosting performance for the company's subsequent listing.

Boss Wu spoke very nicely to others.

To build a film and television empire, the first Chinese film and television stock, and to add countless screens across the country in the next few years...

As a result, no one mentioned the company anymore after it went public. All the money had been raised, so what was the point of developing the company?

However, because the movie "Red Cliff" did not perform well at the box office and was far from expectations, Orange Sky's stock price was mediocre after its listing.

It was far less fierce than the later rise of Huayi and others.

Boss Wu received Director Wu.

He had made his mark in the island country and had a good impression of Takeshi Kaneshiro, who was also from the island country.

In addition, the bosses of that generation were superstitious about Hong Kong and Taiwan artists, so they expressed their support.

John Woo turned around and found China Film Corporation.

Lao Han had high expectations for John Woo and expressed his support for him.

Han Sanpin still has great faith in great directors, whether it is Chen Kaige or John Woo, his style is to just wave his hand and let him do it with confidence, and he will do whatever you say.

But if the result is not good, you have to take responsibility for it.

Only now did Takeshi Kaneshiro feel relieved that it was finally done.

As a result, the three leading actors of this film, namely Liang Chaowei, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Chang Chen, are all actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

China Film Group and Orange Sky spent hundreds of millions of dollars to promote a bunch of Hong Kong and Taiwan artists, but still ended up losing money at the box office.

What Yang Shouchen meant was that this matter was decided by the investors and I did my best.

Zhang Yuan rubbed his eyebrows.

Just like "Mei Lanfang", I don't have to perform it.

For me, this play was originally dispensable.

But this is a bit worrying.

"It's okay, Mr. Yang. This kind of thing happens all the time. Competition between actors is inevitable."

After thinking about it for a while, he felt that this was an opportunity.

"Oh, it's very mature for you to think this way. You are worthy of being the best young man in the mainland." Old Yang was very happy to hear him say that.

"But I missed two opportunities in a row, which is a pity." Zhang Yuan continued.

"Indeed..." Yang Shouchen replied after coughing twice.

"Well, there will always be opportunities."

"How about this time you owe me something?"

"When the next opportunity comes, I hope to have your full support."

"Sure!" Yang Shouchen agreed immediately: "My word is as good as gold."

Yang Shouchen was willing to "owe him once". Owing debts to each other is like treating each other to a meal. It can only be done if the relationship is good.

"Next time there is a chance, I will definitely support you with all my strength."

"Okay, let's contact each other later..."

Zhang Yuan put down his phone with a relaxed look.

He doesn't care about "Mei Lanfang" and "Red Cliff".

Firstly, the quality and reputation of the film are average, and secondly, even if I went, I would only be a supporting role.

But there was one film that he was very interested in.

It just so happens that the Hong Kong circle owes me a favor, which may come in handy at a critical moment.

"What's the matter?" Seeing that he had a bad look on his face, Liu Qianqian asked in a low voice.

Zhang Yuan was also treated as an outsider by them, so he told them roughly what had happened in the past few days.

Just then Chen Long and Li Lianjie also came over and listened together.

"Oh, so that's the case..." Liu Xiaoli sighed in her heart.

He has so many opportunities now!
At the same time, there are many obstacles.

"For many things, we worked hard but in the end it was just a matter of a word from the people above." Li Lianjie said with a crooked mouth.

Even though he was so popular back then, he was often suppressed by his superiors.

Later, when he went to Hong Kong and Hollywood, he was also attacked by local forces.

So he felt that he could understand Zhang Yuan's feelings.

Zhang Yuan shrugged helplessly.

When I first started out, I thought my biggest enemies were my peers.

Press down colleagues and think that the biggest enemy is the Hong Kong circle.

After flattening the Hong Kong circle, they thought Hollywood was the real threat.

But now, I am becoming more and more clear!

The biggest trouble in China's film and television industry is not outside, but in the imperial capital!

It’s within this second ring!

If they are a little bit bad, the whole film and television industry will be bad!
If they all become rotten, the audience will rise up in rebellion and let us practitioners die without a burial place!

It turns out that the move made by the Hong Kong community and I together was absolutely correct!
Otherwise you will be isolated and helpless.

The Hong Kong circle is nice to me now because we have competed with each other and I won.

It seems that in order to clear the obstacles in the imperial circle, one day we will have to challenge them one by one.

Peace and fairness are indeed won through fighting, not begging.

"Don't worry. As long as you have real skills, there will be plenty of opportunities." Chen Long comforted him, fearing that he would be discouraged.

"It doesn't matter. I already have two dramas to shoot, and my schedule is tight."

Chen Long, who was about to ask if he wanted him to help find another opportunity, shut up after hearing what he said.

Others wanted to help but couldn't, and he also wanted to help, but he didn't need help...

But soon, Zhang Yuan needed his help.

"Uncle Long, Brother Jie, I just happen to want to discuss something with you."

"I have contacted CCTV and plan to organize a martial arts talent show in early 08."

"It promotes Chinese culture and fits in with the theme of 08, the year of the Olympics."

"So I would like to invite you two seniors in the action film industry to participate."

Zhang Yuan’s plan is.

Either don’t do it, or if you do it, do it on a big scale! (End of this chapter)