Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 445: Horror Cruise

The next day, Zhang Chen met Jason in the hotel.

The two hugged: "Zhang, this time you finally arranged a serious role for me~"

Jason smiled happily.

He is indeed Zhang Chen's favorite actor, but the frustrating thing is that he always has a bad death. He even complained about it at the premiere of "A Quiet Place".

"Eden Lake" was killed by the naughty kids early on~
He was the villain in Taken, and was killed by the protagonist~
"A Quiet Place" was killed by monsters three quarters of the time ~
The only one who survived to the end was "I Saw the Devil", but his ending was not good either. His wife and her family were killed by the murderer, and he became a widower.
"It seems that you have a lot of opinions about me~"

The two of them laughed heartily. Having worked together so many times, they had already become friends.

"Okay, let's get down to business. Man, you must memorize the script as soon as possible. Our schedule is very tight this time, and the shooting speed will be very fast. We may even have to work overtime, so I hope you don't slack off..."

"I understand, don't worry."

Jason flexed his muscles to show that he was fine.

"I've read the script, it's very exciting. Thank you for giving me such a good opportunity. I'll buy you a drink someday~"

Jason said with a smile, he was truly grateful.

The script of "Moon" is so ingenious, and it is a one-man show, with the entire film being almost completed by him alone.

Moreover, he played two roles, which was a breakthrough for him.

Jason himself feels that the movie "Moon" may have helped him more than "Pacific Rim".

Thinking about my acting career, Zhang Chen, a Chinese, played a crucial role.

When he first participated in "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "The Italian Job", he had just entered the film industry and had no choice but to play whatever role he was asked to play.

Later, he became a little famous after starring in "Transporter" and felt that he would develop in the field of action films.

Who knew that his subsequent performances in "Eden Lake" and "I Saw the Devil" would directly define him as a horror film actor.

Especially "I Saw the Devil", which achieved good box office, but after that, it received similar roles.

Just when he thought he had been typecast, Zhang Chen asked him to star in two science fiction films, one low-budget science fiction that relied purely on the story, and the other a big-budget science fiction that took the mainstream special effects route.

I believe that after these two movies are released next year, my acting range will be much wider.

Other European actors go to North America after making it big in Europe and start all over again.

He is the only one who is different. He went from Europe to Asia, and then became famous in Hollywood.

Zhang Chen is truly his benefactor!
After saying goodbye to Jason, Zhang Chen went to the studio again.

Zhang Chen said the construction period would be very tight and it really was very tight.

The purpose of filming "Moon" is to prove to others that it is possible to make science fiction films, so it must be released as soon as possible.

Zhang Chen chose this film because it was easy to shoot. There were only two scenes in total, the lunar module and the mining vehicle.

More than 95% of the scenes only need to be shot in the studio, and all the outdoor scenes take no more than two days in total.

The studio is located in the China Film Digital Shooting Base in Huairou. It used to be the most complete studio shooting base in the country, but now it is a bit inferior. The two studios built in Hengdian for "Pacific Rim" are ten blocks away from here. After the Qingdao Film Metropolis is built in the future, this place will be even worse.

But dealing with "Moon" is no problem at all.

When Zhang Chen arrived at the studio, a large group of people were busy working in the studio.

Wu Shixian directed the workers to install models and arrange the scenes.

It will be officially launched in two days, and everyone is doing the final checks these two days.

"Director Zhang~" Wu Shixian had just directed the workers to set up the green screen when he turned around and saw Zhang Chen.

The latter nodded: "How is it, is there any problem?"

“No problem, although there are many things to do, everything is going well.

The space capsule, mining car and spaceship were just delivered today. I just checked them and they can be used normally~"

These models were rushed out overnight by a physical effects company that he had set up for Pacific Rim.

"I'm glad everything went well. You stay here and keep an eye on it. I have other things to do. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me~"

"You are busy~"

After leaving the filming base, Zhang Chen looked at his watch and felt that it was about time, so he drove directly to a cafe near Sanyuan Bridge.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw the girl in sunglasses in the corner waving at him.

It's Li Lianhua~
"This way~"

Zhang Chen walked over and sat down: "I thought I came early enough, but I didn't expect you to be earlier~"

Li Lianhua took off her sunglasses: "Of course, we can't let the big director wait for us, what will happen then~"

Li Xue next to her also smiled.

"Not really, not really~"

Just at this moment, the waiter came over with a menu: "Sir, what would you like to order?"

Judging from the other person's expression, he obviously recognized me, but he adhered to professional ethics and did not ask to take a photo or make anything public.

"Cappuccino bar~"

Zhang Chen ordered a drink at random, then took out the script from his bag and handed it to the person opposite him.

"Here is the script, take a look first, and then we can talk~"

Li Lianhua's eyes were filled with unconcealed excitement. She said "hmm", took the script and began to read it.

She didn't flip the pages very fast, and it was obvious that she was reading very seriously.

It was normal at first, but gradually his brows began to frown.

Seeing this, Li Xue, who was standing next to her, picked up the book she had read and started reading it too. Gradually, her brows furrowed.

After a while, Li Lianhua finished reading, but did not say anything. Instead, she started reading again from the beginning.

After finishing reading it for the second time, he looked at Zhang Chen.

The two sisters hesitated to speak, and Zhang Chen spoke first: "Did you not understand?"

Li Lianhua admitted frankly: "The middle part is okay, but I don't quite understand the characters~"

Li Xue also nodded beside her.

Zhang Chen smiled and said, "It's normal that you can't understand it. The plot of "Ghost Ship" is indeed a bit confusing."

That’s right, what Zhang Chen gave them was “The Cruise”.

At the celebration banquet, the Li Lianhua sisters openly took sides, so he had to express his opinion.

Even if you are doing it for others to see, you must show something.

The film project that was finally decided to be given to them was "The Cruise".

He wrote the script for "The Cruise" a long time ago, but it was never filmed because the movie would be a loss-making movie in its original time and space.

The cost was $1200 million, but the box office was only $135 million.

But the structure of this movie is very strange, with reincarnation in time and space, and it was hyped up as a god on TikTok in later generations.

According to Zhang Chen's experience, this kind of experimental film may fail at the box office because the audience may not understand it the first time.

This situation is actually very similar to "A Chinese Odyssey", where the audience didn't understand it the first time, resulting in poor word of mouth.

If the word of mouth is not good, the box office will not be good!

However, such films with different styles are likely to do well in the video market, especially "The Ship", which may have many interpretations, and once the interpretation is accepted by people, it will become a big hit in an instant.

So Zhang Chen considered making "Ghost Ship", but he had to be careful with the distribution and could not use the usual methods.

He had thought it all out. He planned to release the film on a small scale in the beginning and arrange for people to provide guided interpretations. Once these interpretations aroused the curiosity of the moviegoers, he would expand the scale of the release.

If that doesn't work, then just pull the film from theaters and only release it on DVD and videotape.

At least this way you won't lose too much.

Of course, Zhang Chen doesn’t think that he will lose money. The fact that this movie can be regarded as a classic in later generations shows that it is excellent.

As long as he can make people discover his excellence, the box office of the movie should be good.

Zhang Chen began to explain the script to the two: "The story of "The Grim Reaper" will confuse anyone who reads it for the first time.

The biggest question is, where does the story begin?

Does it start from getting on the ship, or from killing another heroine at home at the end?

Which heroine is the real heroine?
Is the heroine who rushed to the beach at the end the same heroine at the beginning of the film?

Is the heroine who gets off the boat and returns home to kill the heroine at home the same heroine at the beginning?
Even after watching it once, the audience with a slow brain didn't know whether the heroine died in the middle of the movie.
Never mind, that's part of the charm of this movie.

It is a brain-burning suspense film, and the real answer needs to be discovered by the audience themselves.

The more you think about it, the more confused you get and you can't make sense of it at all, which leads to many people willing to go to the cinema to watch the movie a second or third time.

The narrative method of horror cruise is quite interesting. It is very creative to nest small loops within a vicious circle, and the theme is also very novel.

"

After saying so much, Zhang Chen still didn't make it clear what the relationship between the female protagonists was, but in fact, Zhang Chen himself couldn't explain it clearly.

In other words, it would be meaningless if it were made clear.

There is definitely no standard answer for this kind of movie.

"The narrative method of "The Grim Reaper" is quite interesting. It seems that no other movie has done this before, with a small loop nested within a vicious loop."

There are little stars in Li Lianhua's eyes.

Her sister Li Xue was more reasonable: "But if you do this, aren't you afraid that the audience won't understand it? If they can't even understand it, how can the box office of the movie be good~"

“So when the movie is released, we need to arrange for people to pretend to be the audience and interpret the movie…

You didn't understand, but I did.
There's no need to give too many spoilers, just propose one or two possibilities so the audience can suddenly realize it.

The price of this is that either the movie has a bad reputation, or the audience watches it twice or three times.

"what?"

The two sisters were stunned.

Can this still be done?

"Please think about it~"

Zhang Chen gave the choice to the other party, but his attitude was also very clear.

I provided the script, don't say I didn't give anything in return, but if you don't like it, that's not my problem.

The two of them had conflicted looks on their faces, but Zhang Chen ignored them and just drank his coffee.

Li Xue glanced at her sister and said, "Sorry, excuse me for a moment. I need to go to the bathroom~"

Li Lianhua immediately understood and said, "I'll go too."

Zhang Chen nodded, made way, and signaled the two to do as they please.

The Li sisters obviously went to discuss it.

Return after a while.

"Has it been discussed?"

"Hmm~"

The two sisters looked at each other, and it was the younger sister Li Xue who said, "We accept it. We have to thank Director Zhang for tailoring this drama with a female lead for our sister, and it is such a rare subject matter..."

It seems that the two of them are not blind.

It is now generally recognized that the dramas that most favor actresses are those with female protagonists.

As for dramas with female protagonists, so far, only Xingchen Entertainment has done the best in China.

But "The Cruise" is a drama with a strong female lead.

So far, all the dramas featuring female protagonists produced by Xingchen Entertainment have become popular without exception.

"Okay, since there's no problem, then you guys go back and make preparations early. I have another movie on hand right now, and I'll make this "Ghost Ship" after I finish this one~"

Li Lianhua was surprised: "Director Zhang is directing it himself?"

Zhang Chen rolled his eyes: "What are you thinking about? Of course it can't be me, it's Wu Shixian, my current assistant director. I plan to let him direct your play..."

Hearing this, disappointment was visible in Li Lianhua's eyes.

Sister Li Xue hurried to smooth things over: "It's okay, even if it's not directed by Director Zhang, as long as it's a project that Director Zhang has handled, the quality will be fine."

Zhang Chen also felt that what he said just now was too arrogant, so he made small talk: "Now that you have left Huayi and started your own studio, how do you feel?"

Speaking of this, both sisters showed a look of relief on their faces.

Zhang Chen reacted immediately and smiled: "I understand, I understand~"

Huayi’s reputation in the circle is really bad.

Many companies don't like them, not for any other reason, but because they don't know how to hide it at all.

Almost every female star of Huayi has had scandals with Wang Zhonglei, and every time after the scandal, their resources become particularly good.

Within the company, the two Wangs also played the role of emperors. In order to make the stars compete with each other, they introduced the "one brother and one sister" system.

Li Xiaowan once publicly criticized it: It's like a brothel in the old society~
Haha, isn’t it just a brothel?

One brother and one sister?
Isn’t this the top courtesan of the old times?
In addition, there is the famous public relations department, of which Huo Siyan is the representative.

The role of the public relations department is well known to everyone~
It focuses on social attributes and can be used for personal use or as a gift.

The Wang brothers also have their own way of treating their female stars.

On weekdays, eating and drinking together, and telling dirty jokes under the influence of alcohol, this is temptation.

It’s okay to tell dirty jokes, then take it a step further, touch and hug, can you turn against me?
If the person doesn't get angry, it means he is sensible and knows the importance of the matter. Then you can have further in-depth communication and easily resolve the situation.

Turn your face?

Haha, it’s okay.

I drank too much, please forgive me.

Then you will find that all kinds of resources have been sharply reduced. It is not obvious that you are being banned, but you are simply not being given resources.

Until you kneel down and ask for tooth decay.

In fact, other companies are similar, just to different degrees.

Otherwise, Wu Zhanlang would not have said that good girls should never enter the entertainment industry, as they will be polluted.

Yang Xiaomi, who had been caught in the rain, thought about holding an umbrella for others. If I win the bet, the company will not allow female artists to participate in drinking parties anymore.

We are all experienced people, and we are also people who understand~
(End of this chapter)