Actor: Thank you.

With the investment approved, he finally reached a deal with the team for a 15% stake.

After signing the contract, he posed for a photo with Ross Brown.

Zhang Yuan finally found a small foothold in the European and American markets.

Now we'll see how much energy this fulcrum can leverage.

After he finished, he prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he treated the team's executives and two official drivers to a meal.

Local specialties include roasted lamb chops, meatball soup, and a type of baked bread called horajiti.

Zhang Yuan felt like he was eating Xinjiang cuisine.

Lamb and naan, and the stew always has tomatoes and peppers in it.

Whenever Zhang Yuan thought about how XJ ate watermelon soaked in broth, he felt that people's tastes were not the same.

He also managed to extract a lot of racing and reaction-related attributes from the two drivers, Button and Barrichello, by treating them to a meal.

Both of them are world champion level, basically representing the pinnacle of human driving ability.

While he was finishing up here, he received a phone call from China, which made him somewhat unhappy.

Pang Hong, the producer of "Painted Skin" and deputy director of Ningbo Film Studio, called him again to invite him to participate in the sequel.

Sake makes people's faces red, and wealth and silk touch people's hearts.

The film grossed over 300 million at the box office, and after becoming a huge hit, it earned another 100 million from selling the copyright.

After deducting costs and revenue sharing, the profit was close to 2 million.

Ningbo Film Studio is making a killing!

It's worth noting that the entire Shanghai Film Group comprises seven or eight companies, produces dozens of films a year, and only generates a profit of slightly over 2 million yuan at the end of the year.

The Ningbo Film Studio was shaken.

Therefore, we have been trying to finalize the cast and get them to sign film contracts.

But Zhang Yuan always gave the same explanation.

Give me 10% of the box office revenue first, then we'll talk about the rest.

They've been going back and forth like this for a long time, pulling and tugging at each other many times.

Zhang Yuanming's brand doesn't make money from the previous film, so why should I make a sequel?

Pang Hong's side was saying, "I've given you the money, but what if you don't want to perform?"
In any case, they each have their own reasons, and they are wary of each other.

The call came again with the same words, and Zhang Yuan's reply was simply, "Settle my bill first, pay all the money first."

I just spent all my money and I'm broke right now!
Although each conversation between the two ended unhappily, the tension between them grew increasingly intense.

This time, after more than an hour of struggling, Pang Hong, whether genuinely or feigning, suddenly became agitated and shouted.

"If you have this kind of attitude as an actor..."

"I think it will be difficult for us to continue cooperating!"

"If you don't want to film, I can find someone else to film it!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone with a "click".

Even without Butcher Zhang, I can still eat pigs with their hair on... That's what they meant.

And judging from the other party's attitude, Zhang Yuan understood that he probably wouldn't be able to get his money easily.

"If all else fails, we'll have to go through legal proceedings."

"Let's see if I dare to destroy your Ningbo Film Studio."

He then sat cross-legged on the hotel bed and meditated for a while.

After learning this skill from Lu Jingshan, he found it quite useful.

Especially when dealing with a lot of complicated matters and your mind is "overheated", you can quickly empty your mind and make your thinking "pure".

Half an hour later, he opened his eyes and thought about it again.

"The other party probably hasn't decided yet."

"This is also a test."

He calmed down and thought about it for a while.

Pang Hong is someone who particularly likes to create hype, and he might even use his disagreement with acting in the second movie to generate some buzz.

Sure enough, the next day, as soon as he landed in Paris after leaving Bahrain, he received a call from Cheng Hao.

Where have you been lately?

"I haven't seen you home at all."

“I’m doing business and investments abroad, which is quite troublesome. I’ll tell you the details when I get back.”

"Oh... don't get involved with any foreign women." The older sister said in a questioning tone.

How could you think of me like that!

Zhang Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Has the case between me and Gal Gadot been solved?
No way.

"I'm making movies in Hollywood in a very proper and respectable way, and I'm doing it to promote our country's prestige."

"By the way, you know that the entertainment industry likes to use relationships for publicity, and it's the same in Hollywood."

"If you ever see an article online saying that I have a relationship with a foreign woman, it's definitely fake. It must be a Hollywood company doing this for box office reasons."

Zhang Yuan took precautions in advance.

"I hope so," Cheng Hao said, pretending to believe her.

"Speaking of the internet, I just saw a message."

"You refused to star in the sequel to 'Painted Skin'?"

Hehe, Zhang Yuan stroked his chin with interest and recounted what happened yesterday.

"What if the other person really gets angry?" The older sister asked, still as worried as usual.

"The film 'Painted Skin,' a male-centric movie, is the work that established your status in the film industry."

He remains the male lead in the highest-grossing film of the 08 Lunar New Year.

"If there's a sequel, I'll have to act in it again."

“But we can’t let this performance go to waste.” Zhang Yuan understood what she meant, but disagreed with her statement.

"After the incident with 'Soldiers Sortie,' I will never again be threatened by any company for nothing, especially regarding profit sharing and salary."

"If they don't want to film, then don't film."

"Trying to use this to intimidate me? No way!"

Hearing the tone of his voice, Cheng Hao felt that he seemed to have changed a bit.

Compared to its softness a few years ago, it has become much tougher now.

"Besides, the other party might be genuinely angry if they release this information."

"But based on my understanding of Pang Hong, and the fact that he released the information so quickly, it's highly likely that he's testing the waters."

"What are you testing?"

"While testing me, they were also testing the audience's attitude."

In the future, when AI robots will flourish, many universities and companies will organize programming competitions.

There's a competition in China where participants learn programming to train their own AI, then use that AI to play poker, and the winner is chosen.

One participant discovered upon arrival that his computer was damaged and all backups were lost.

We had no choice but to improvise a program on the spot.

Ultimately, the hastily assembled AI emerged victorious.

Because he only had one instruction.

All in!

Every round is all-in, no matter what cards you get.

Other AIs will make judgments based on the cards in hand and the opponent's attitude.

As a result, they would fold in every round.

AI has also started playing the coward game.

What he and Pang Hong are facing now is a battle of cowards.

In other words, when two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins; whoever yields first will benefit the other.

If neither side is willing to back down, then both sides will suffer losses.

Generally speaking, it's not uncommon in the film and television industry for the lead actors of the previous film to refuse to appear in the sequel.

Zhou Jie refused to act in "Young Justice Bao 2", and Li Baotian refused to act in "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo 2".

Both teachers refused because the script was not good enough.

When this situation occurred, the two production teams reacted in two different ways, each using a different standard approach.

The production team of "Young Justice Bao 2" has chosen to replace the lead actor.

The result was very poor. Lu Yizhen only relies on his looks; in terms of skill, he is far inferior to Zhou Jie.

After being rejected by Li Baotian, Zhang Guoli felt that without Teacher Li, the play "Liu Luoguo" would not be possible.

So they teamed up with Wang Gang, gave it a makeover, and filmed "The Eloquent Ji Xiaolan," which became a hit with several installments.

The solutions are simply to replace the lead actor, or to bring back the original cast and start a new project.

If Pang Hong wanted to start another project, he would definitely keep quiet and prepare a new one first.

If he really has to change the lead actor, he will definitely choose a replacement, and he won't release the news so quickly before the replacement appears.

So this is most likely just a way of fooling oneself.

I'll scare you and force you to compromise.

Another advantage is that it allows us to see the audience's attitude towards changing the lead actor.

Everyone says it won't work, so I'm not changing it.

If people don't react so strongly, I might actually go along with it!

Do you feel a little better now?

After listening to his analysis, Cheng Hao, though still somewhat worried, agreed with his assessment.

"That guy is a sly one. He promised to pay, why isn't he giving me the money?"

“My dividends are over 3000 million yuan, which he keeps in the bank. Every day he earns tens of thousands of yuan in interest, so of course he wants to delay.” “Delaying my money will have consequences.”

"Let him stall. He'll only realize his mistake when I'm worth more."

"Don't get too cocky, what if they really do switch you out?" Cheng Hao thought his confident demeanor was quite manly, and playfully scolded him.

"Believe it or not, in just a few days, there will be people online who might replace me."

"That's how Big Beard and Li Shaohong did it before with their 'Dream of the Red Chamber'."

I also chatted with my good sister about the company dinner during the Chinese New Year, and asked her to go to the new house to help with the preparations and tidying up.

After hanging up the phone, he first went to treat Yang Ziqiong to a meal, and then visited her to express his gratitude.

Since someone helped introduce us, we can't forget about them once things are settled.

You still need to understand the principles, especially since you bought shares in the team but don't participate in its day-to-day management.

With Todt, the future president of the FIA, protecting them, these shares will be much safer.

He treated us to a very expensive French meal and opened a bottle of fine wine worth several thousand euros.

At least there's less likely to be fake alcohol here.

The store requires reservations to be made six months in advance.

But with Yang Ziqiong's connections and Todd's extensive network, they could get in directly.

Zhang Yuan was a little envious; he couldn't use his connections to gain favor, nor did he have that kind of influence.

I hope I can achieve this level of success overseas someday.

After talking with the two, he didn't return to China, but flew directly to Los Angeles.

Because he had already arranged with producer Neil to confront him at Universal headquarters.

Upon arriving at the destination, he calmly made a phone call to the other party.

The following afternoon, we met at the Global office building.

"Hello, Mr. Neil." Zhang Yuan arrived an hour earlier than the agreed time, first meeting with the head of Universal's production department, and then going to the conference room to meet with the producer.

After shaking hands with him, the other person stepped aside.

A bald figure in a suit appeared behind him.

"Oh, hello, long time no see, Vin!" Zhang Yuan stepped forward with great enthusiasm and hugged Vin Diesel.

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were best buddies.

We're here for a get-together today.

I never expected them to come here to challenge me!
"You... hello." Old Fan was also a little surprised.

Zhang Yuan not only didn't bare his teeth, but he was also very enthusiastic.

It's a scam!

Old Fan exchanged a glance with Neil, the big boss behind him, and only then did he feel a little more at ease.

Now, the family members are a little scared when they see Zhang Yuan.

Because he had been completely outmatched in both arm wrestling and shooting contests.

In other words, they were no match for their opponent in terms of strength and speed.

If you can get your gun taken away even when you're holding it, you'd be even worse off without it.

Not to mention him, even his bodyguards were a little intimidated by Brother Long behind Zhang Yuan.

Are all Chinese people so physically strong?

The other party couldn't help but raise this question.

After everyone had arrived, production manager Mike also arrived.

"Let's all do it."

"Let's talk about what happened on set."

“Very good.” Neil straightened his suit, then sat down steadily and crossed his legs, clearly full of confidence.

“Neil, you started this today, so you go first.”

“Okay.” The producer interlaced his fingers on the table and looked at Zhang Yuan, who was sitting across from him at the conference table.

He noticed that Zhang Yuan seemed unusually calm, without the slightest sign of panic.

Moreover, he possessed a remarkably composed demeanor, displaying the bearing of a great general.

Having just emerged victorious from a meeting of ten top racing teams a few days ago, this is child's play in comparison.

I'm not afraid of the "Eight-Nation Alliance" over there, so why would I be afraid of you?
"The first question is about Zhang casually changing the script."

"You asked the director to add more scenes for you."

"First of all, you need to understand that you are a supporting character in 'Fast & Furious 4,' not the main character."

Vin Diesel chuckled upon hearing the word "supporting role."

"We must reserve our precious time for the main characters."

"I don't know how movies are made in China, but in Hollywood, supporting actors can't just have extra scenes added to their roles."

"Moreover, as far as I know, the scene you added not only needs to be filmed separately, but it will also increase the pressure of post-production and require a lot of special effects."

"This directly increased the film's cost."

"Who will provide this budget?"

Zhang Yuan understood.

Adding extra scenes is unprofessional.

Overspending is an economic problem.

They were pretty accurate.

"Also, everyone in the crew saw that you and the supporting actress, Gale, would go back to the hotel together every day."

"Between you, whether it's a romantic relationship or just a physical one."

"It's not only bad for filming, but it also makes it easy for reporters to take pictures, causing scandals."

"Negative public opinion could affect the sales of the work."

“What you’re doing is very unprofessional, Zhang.”

Zhang Yuan nodded, showing no intention of refuting.

This is another attack on me on a moral level.

It has to be said that the producer's brain is much better than Vin Diesel's.

Organized, and every move is deadly.

"Finally, there's the conflict between you and Fan."

“I don’t care how it all happened, but the result is that Fan’s body was damaged.”

"And therefore we had to change the filming schedule."

"Fortunately, Fan is a very dedicated and professional actor who insisted on continuing filming, which prevented even greater losses."

Wow, they're quite adept at twisting the truth.

That's typical white patriarchal talk.

“I even suspect you may have violent tendencies.”

"I suggest you take a psychological test to determine if we are suitable to cooperate."

Zhang Yuan smiled and shook his head.

The other party then launched a pincer attack on him from various aspects, including professional attitude, lifestyle, production costs, and even mental health.

He thought that if he were to do it himself, he probably could only do this much.

Everything has been said.

Old Fan was overjoyed to see him looking completely helpless and silent.

If I'm overshadowed by a mere Chinese supporting character like you, how am I supposed to be the boss on set in the future?

He glanced at the people in the conference room.

Excluding bodyguards and assistants.

There are only four people who are truly qualified to sit at the conference table.

He was with Neil, Mike, the production manager at Universal, and Zhang Yuan.

Looking around, apart from Zhang Yuan, everyone else was one of my men.

With three people against one, I have the advantage!
"Zhang, is there anything you want to refute about what Neil said?"

Mike looked at him.

Neal and Van were both prepared to face each other's storm.

But they didn't even get a single drop of rain.

“No, I have no objection,” Zhang Yuan replied softly.

agreed!
Neil never expected that this Chinese man would actually admit it.
I clearly embellished and changed some facts, and he still accepts it?

Vin Diesel never expected that this quick-witted young man would be so speechless today.

Oh!
It must be on Global's territory. He felt he had no chance of winning, so he didn't even bother to put up a fight.

That's good, it means he's already convinced.

Old Fan felt much better after that.

"Since you have no objections, I will take charge from here on."

"Since this situation has occurred on the set."

"I believe that both I personally and on behalf of Universal Pictures, I must make a fair decision."

“First, we need an apology,” Mike continued.

"Hey Zhang, you should have apologized a long time ago." Vin Diesel tilted his head and looked at him casually.

"Everyone should pay the price for what they do."

"Wait a minute..." But just as Old Fan was about to declare his victory, he was interrupted by Mike.

"Fan, you've misunderstood."

"What I meant by apologizing was..."

"You should apologize to Zhang!" (End of Chapter)