Actor: Thank you.

"Zhang, my friend!"

"Haha, it's great to see you again."

A few days later, Zhang Yuan's flight landed in Los Angeles.

After leaving the airport, he went straight to Beverly Hills to visit Harvey's villa.

This old Jewish man was as cunning as ever, appearing very enthusiastic on the surface, but his eyes were always darting around.

Upon seeing this, Brother Long, who was brought along by Zhang Yuan and was also going abroad for the first time on a work mission, became wary.

Having practiced martial arts for many years, I am quite sensitive to people with shifty eyes and a sneaky look.

Because such people possess an evil aura.

"Relax." Zhang Yuan gave him a look.

“Mr. Harvey often shouts on purpose, but you don’t need to worry about it.”

“Zhang, what are you saying?” Harvey asked when he saw him muttering in Chinese.

“I told my bodyguard, ‘You are my best friend outside of China.’”

“Haha, that’s right!” Harvey immediately put his arm around his shoulder.

"What brings you here today?"

The fat man took a bottle of brandy from the liquor cabinet and poured him some.

"It's been a long time since we last met, so I've come to visit you."

"This is just a small gift."

Zhang Yuan had his assistant hand over a box of cigars.

"NICE, Havana cigars and brandy are the perfect match."

The two of them then started smoking and drinking again.

"I'm here to participate in the filming of the remaining scenes for 'Fast & Furious 4'."

"Oh, that movie?" Harvey looked adorable, but he still had doubts in his heart.

This kid thinks so highly of this movie?

This puzzled him.

Because he himself wasn't that optimistic.

What surprised him even more was that he hadn't expected this kid to actually be able to mobilize $2000 million in resources.

This is comparable to that of top-tier film and television investors in China.

The amount of money Zhang Yuan paid was already equivalent to the annual production standard of a company the size of Huayi.

Harvey knows China very well, and may even be the person in all of Hollywood who knows it best.

That's why he felt he couldn't figure out this young man.

I just felt that he was incredibly audacious, a madman who was even more speculative than the top speculators.

After boasting about American style for a while, Harvey started talking about the current situation in Hollywood.

The Twilight series burst onto the scene, and this film, which did not originate from the eight major film studios, grossed $4 million at the box office.

The value of the two lead actors, Christine and Robert Pattinson, immediately increased six or seven times.

Iron Man, a film that was not initially well-received and was considered a gamble by Marvel Studios, still grossed $6 million at the box office.

It completely turned the life around for Robert Downey Jr., a child star who grew up with his father and was a drug addict who smoked marijuana.

His net worth increased tenfold.

His salary for Iron Man 1 was only $50, but now he's made a comeback and is asking for at least $500 million.

Hollywood is such a realistic place; if a movie becomes a hit, your net worth will skyrocket.

Therefore, Harvey is more cautious about Zhang Yuan than before.

What if the new Fast & Furious movie becomes a hit?

Won't this kid also take off?

"Actually, besides filming, there's something else I need to do before I start working," Zhang Yuan said, getting down to business.

"I want to connect with a large company."

"Which one?" Harvey wasn't surprised.

This kid always has something to do when he comes back, basically making me his middleman, and I don't lose out at all.

“Paramount,” Zhang Yuan announced, naming one of the top eight companies.

He's already contacted New Line and Universal, and now he's going to approach Paramount?

Harvey patiently asked, "Any works you'd like to see or are interested in?"

"Yes."

"invest?"

"No."

"Huh?" Harvey was confused again.

“This is a small matter, just a small deal, not as big as last time,” Zhang Yuan replied gently. “I just want to buy an adaptation right from Paramount.”

The following day, through Harvey's introduction, he met with the head of production at Paramount.

So fast!

Before Harvey was exposed and his career was completely ruined, he was an absolute big shot in Hollywood.

Having Zhang Weiping, who is like a master strategist, means you can do whatever you want wherever you go.

If this guy hadn't sparked the nationwide "METOO" movement, he might have been protected by the interest groups behind him.

When he got into trouble, it wasn't those female celebrities who gave him the final blow, but rather another Hollywood mogul, Woody Allen.

This famous Hollywood director, the son of a top figure in the film industry, is the journalist who covered the Harvey case.

Woody Allen was a core member of the old Jewish group, and his son's intervention shows that the interest group severed ties and abandoned Harvey at a crucial moment.

Therefore, some people may seem glamorous, but only when the tide recedes do they realize that they are nothing more than a drowning dog that can be thrown away at any time.

But Xavi still has energy.

"This Mr. Zhang Yuan is currently the most famous young film star in China's film and television industry."

"The movie he starred in is called... Anyway, it grossed 300 million at the box office."

Harvey didn't understand the meaning of the word "painted skin," and even after it was explained, he still didn't quite understand.

"His previous collaboration with Chen Long on 'Rush Hour 3' also achieved good results."

"At the same time, he is also the youngest and most outstanding film and television investor in China."

"We have a partnership with Universal Pictures."

Harvey pitched him like a salesman.

Anyway, the old Jewish man's principle is that he won't get up early for nothing.

Zhang Yuan told him that this project wasn't large, so he would receive 15% of the transaction amount as a referral fee.

This guy immediately became interested and is now acting like a TV shopping guide.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Zhang.” Director Tommy shook hands with him.

"So, what brings you to our company today?"

White people remain as direct as ever.

Zhang Yuan didn't hide anything.

"About 20 years ago, your company had a light comedy that achieved good results."

"I recently discovered this show and I think it's a lot of fun."

"Therefore, we are interested in purchasing the remake rights for this film in Asia."

Paramount is the oldest of the eight Hollywood studios.

It was earlier than Global Times.

Moreover, this old man doesn't move, while other film and television companies have all moved to other places.

He's still lying on the original Hollywood site.

Despite their age, they are still very strong.

They are involved in the distribution and production of all Marvel movies.

The Transformers franchise, launched in collaboration with Hasbro in the past two years, has been a huge success.

Actually, Paramount had been quiet for five or six years before releasing "Transformers".

There were almost no blockbuster films released.

In 05, they made a bold move and acquired DreamWorks.

The founder of DreamWorks is Steven Spielberg.

After this guy arrived, he started working on projects as a producer. He oversaw Transformers, with DreamWorks handling the post-production special effects.

Therefore, a top-notch director or producer can turn a film and television company from loss to profit, or even defy fate.

Just like Huayi Brothers has Feng Xiaogang, and Zhang Weiping has Zhang Yimou.

Spielberg and Harvey were old acquaintances; as soon as he greeted them, they rushed to receive him.

"Old movies?" The production manager raised one eyebrow.

Which one are you referring to?

This white gentleman thought to himself, "Our Paramount is the old Hollywood Stars and Stripes."

You stinking Chinese, coming to beg for food in America... well, that's not entirely impossible.

However, for many famous works, they would never sell the rights to remake them.

"First of all, I'd like to say something."

"Even if you have Harvey's introduction, we will not give up 'The Godfather,' 'Indiana Jones,' or 'Mission: Impossible.'"

Zhang Yuan: …

Did I say I wanted these?
Putting everything else aside, can I even afford these things?

Even if I could afford it, would I dare to take it?

"The Godfather," I'll go back and remake "The Godfather of Northeast China," and have Zhao Benshan star in it.
"You won't even call me a big conman..."

I'll make a "Three Kingdoms Chronicles" episode titled "The Raid on Treasures at the End of the Eastern Han Dynasty," featuring Cao Cao digging up a grave.
Going home is like watching Mission: Impossible... I'd film a domestic agent causing chaos overseas, and the script wouldn't even pass censorship.

I have absolutely no interest in your overly Hollywood-esque stuff.

“These are not the things that interest me.”

"It's a movie called 'Airplanes, Cars, and Trains'."

"What?" The white guy scratched his head. "Our company has a film like that?"

Zhang Yuan scratched his head, "Are you sure you can do it?"
Should we find someone else to do it?

The man called his assistant, who went to the archives to check everything, and didn't return for quite some time.

"In 1987, our company Paramount Home Video released a low-budget film."

This film is a low-budget light comedy, and it did fairly well at the box office back then, making a profit.

Its content is: An advertiser, portrayed as a petty bourgeois.

I met a curtain merchant at the airport; he had the appearance of a worker or peasant.

The advertiser disliked the person, considering their behavior vulgar.

However, after boarding the plane, they found that the two were sitting next to each other, which made the advertiser very uncomfortable.

Because of the blizzard, the planes were grounded, and when they checked into the hotel, they had no choice but to stay together because there weren't enough rooms.

A thief even visited at night, causing a series of hilarious and exasperating situations.

The next day we were supposed to take the train, but it broke down shortly afterward.

The two met again on a long-distance bus.

After several encounters, the advertiser discovers that this uncouth stranger is actually kind-hearted, and his perception of him gradually changes.

After taking the bus, the two rented a car together and continued their journey, during which a series of comedic events occurred, including a car accident and an explosion.

Although the two eventually went their separate ways, they became friends.

This is a typical road movie.

Doesn't the content look very familiar?

Because of "Lost in Thailand," the characters, plot, and conflict design of this movie were almost identically copied.

The "囧" series theoretically has four parts.

There are actually only three parts.

Because "Lost in Thailand" was not directed by Xu Zheng.

The trilogy that started with "Lost in Thailand" is his work.

Even if packaged as a four-part series, the story of "Lost in Thailand" is actually the strongest of the four.

Because the script was already prepared.

Xu Zheng's scriptwriting ability is actually average, far inferior to Ning Hao's.

Big Head is a true all-rounder, combining screenwriting, directing, and acting.

Xu Zheng's weakness is his "editing" skills.

The last three films also show obvious signs of imitation of "Lost in Thailand".

The most effective of these was "Lost in Thailand," which bore the heaviest traces of imitation.

This only shows that the script for "Airplanes, Cars, and Trains" is excellent, and it only needs simple localization to achieve good results.

There is another reason why Zhang Yuan can be so certain.

Robert Downey Jr., whose value skyrocketed recently because of "Iron Man," also starred in the remake of the movie shortly afterward!
The movie he starred in is called "Due Date".

The story was slightly altered so that a middle-class man had to fly to see his wife before her due date because she was about to give birth.

On the way, I met a drug addict who wanted to become an actor.

The two were kicked off the plane because of drug addicts, and they rented a car together to drive from Atlanta to Los Angeles, basically crossing the entire North American continent.

The story involves numerous rollovers, crashes, and explosions along the way, with similar content.

The only difference is that the train scenes from the original story have been removed.

Because of the infrastructure built by white people... let's just say, they helped the old lady build the railroad back then.

The railway we use now is still a product of the Empress Dowager's time.

Therefore, removing the train scene is more reasonable and more in line with the current situation in North America.

In the end, the drug addict succeeded in his audition and actually became an actor, even creating a crossover with the very popular American sitcom "Two and a Half Men".

This drug addict character is the male lead in "The Hangover," and the guy actually smokes real tobacco.

His character is neurotic, childish, selfish, and wants to be famous.

Does this sound familiar?

Yes, Xu Zheng applied this persona to the later film "Lost in Hong Kong," where he became Bao Beier's character.

This is what they call plagiarism; it just depends on how well you plagiarize.

The original character was already disliked by both people and dogs, and Bao Beier's portrayal made her even more unlikeable.

Honestly, if Wang Baoqiang had played this role, he could definitely have salvaged his reputation with his personal charm.

One film was made domestically, and the other was made internationally; the two films were released almost simultaneously.

The domestic version, without a doubt, didn't buy the rights.

However, since the film was only shown in mainland China and surrounding areas, Paramount might not have known about it.

Even if you find out, the cost of cross-border litigation is enormous, and even if you win, it's not worth it; it might not even cover the lawyer's fees.

Moreover, they might not even be able to win.

But Zhang Yuan was different; he wanted to buy it!
After acquiring the rights, he was the only one allowed to film this movie in the country.

Anyone who dares to take pictures without his permission can be sued.

I dare to take this lawsuit to China Film Group and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television!

It's much easier to litigate in your own country than in a foreign country.

First, let's take the original work of the "囧" series and hold it in our hands from the very beginning.

Only then can we continue to work on subsequent pieces.

When Xu Zheng was filming "Lost in Thailand," he actually capitalized on the popularity of "Lost on Journey."

The movie "Lost in Thailand" has received pretty good reviews.

The full title of "Lost in Thailand" is actually "Lost in Thailand Again".

It was also promoted as a sequel to "Lost in Thailand".

Later, the original production company sued him for this, and he lost the case.

Therefore, he needs to acquire the copyright to maintain control of the overall situation.

At least it must be based on legal grounds.

Even the production manager at Paramount didn't know about this movie, which shows it wasn't a hit.

It wasn't a particularly famous work even within the company.

So two days later, after discussion, they invited Harvey and Zhang Yuan over again.

"After discussions at the meeting, we decided to sell the adaptation, distribution, and screening rights for the Asian region for one million US dollars."

Upon hearing the price, Zhang Yuan immediately stood up and said, "Goodbye."

I'm going back to doing piracy and plagiarism.

You guys really are bandits; you're planning to rob me.

What kind of thing costs a million US dollars?

Asking for an exorbitant price, but settling for a reasonable one.

As soon as Zhang Yuan showed this attitude, the other party quickly stopped him.

It doesn't matter how much we sell, as long as we make some profit.

It's a miracle if anyone even notices a dusty, tucked-away item.

After much back and forth, they finally settled on a price of $30.

Zhang Yuan did some quick calculations and figured that, based on the current exchange rate, it would cost over 200 million Chinese yuan, which was barely acceptable.

Harvey and the production manager exchanged a glance.

You didn't mention that this kid spent 2000 million US dollars at Universal, that's pretty extravagant.

Why are you so stingy with me?
Zhang Yuan pretended not to see the two men sending telegrams with their eyeballs.

He thought to himself that Harvey, that old fox, was still the same, trying to have his cake and eat it too.

With $30, he only earns $4.5 in commission (15%), which is just enough for him to have a good time at a nightclub for one night.

So when things were settled, Harvey looked uninterested and indifferent.

They clearly thought the project was too small and not profitable.

"That's settled then. I'll have my lawyer contact you."

"Sign the contract as soon as possible."

"Okay, Mr. Zhang, it's a pleasure doing business with you."

"Then I'll take my leave." Zhang Yuan had no interest in staying any longer; he and the old white man were simply incompatible.

"Please wait a moment." But the other party stopped her at that moment.

Zhang Yuan thought to himself, "This is really a stone monkey from ten thousand years ago. He has become human. Is he planning to invite me, his client, to a casual meal?"

He just wanted a free meal, while the other party wanted to secure a long-term meal ticket.

“In the past few days, in addition to meeting to discuss copyright issues, we have also watched your performance in Rush Hour 3.”

"We think it's great."

"Thank you, everyone who has seen it says so." After arriving in Hollywood, Zhang Yuan also switched to speaker mode.

You can't be reserved in this place, or you'll be seen as cowardly.

"So we have a project here that's in the preliminary stages of preparation."

“We felt that one of the characters resonated with your image.”

"So I'd like to invite you to participate in the audition."

My goodness, there was an unexpected bonus!

Zhang Yuan rubbed his fingers together.

Why didn't you say so sooner? Why didn't you say so sooner? You should have said so sooner...

If you had told me earlier, I would have been nicer to you.

Fortunately, he only spoke out loud and didn't go so far as to slam his fist on the table.

It seems there's truth to the saying, "Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future."

If the copyright discussion had actually turned sour, this whole situation wouldn't have happened.

"What project is it?" Zhang Yuan asked with a smile.

“GIJOE,” the other person said in English.

"What?" Zhang Yuan didn't understand.

"Don't you know? It's very famous in North America."

"There are many animations and toys that are as famous as Transformers."

"A manga adaptation... Oh!"

Upon hearing that it was as famous as Transformers and even had toys, Zhang Yuan finally realized what it meant.

Few Chinese people would recognize the name "GIJOE".

But if we talk about his translated name, many people will know it.

The anime *GIJOE* has a rather unrefined Chinese title in mainland China: *Special Forces*... (End of Chapter)