Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 598 Guest Appearance in "Let the Bullets Fly"

Everything is progressing smoothly, but that's just how things are in this world—there are always unexpected events and imperfections.

David came to see Zhang Chen. It was David Heyman, the one from Warner Bros., not David Ellison. He brought bad news.

Leonardo DiCaprio declined our invitation.

"He refused?"

Zhang Chen looked surprised, and the latter nodded: "Yes, he's only interested in winning awards now, oh right, and supermodels too."

"Inception is a good script, but he's not interested. However, he said he'd invite you to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in November..."

Zhang Chen was speechless.

With "White House Down" nearing its end, he began preparing for "Inception," and Leonardo DiCaprio was the first actor that came to mind.

Leonardo DiCaprio was the original lead actor, so he thought the role would be a piece of cake, but unexpectedly, the most obvious thing went wrong.

As for going to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show together, that sounds like just a polite formality.

The two had only met once, at the premiere, and were merely nodding acquaintances.

Of course, Zhang Chen could also take this as a hint, since one of the Four Irons had done *that* with them, right?
Zhang Chen thought the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was alright; it wasn't like Lolita Island.

"What should we do? Should we consider replacing him?"

David looked at Zhang Chen. He also wanted to cooperate with Leonardo DiCaprio, but unfortunately, he couldn't change DiCaprio's mind.

Zhang Chen did not answer; he was pondering whether Leonardo DiCaprio was indispensable for Inception.

of course not.

The reason for choosing Leonardo DiCaprio was simply to respect the original work, and also because Zhang Chen had never worked with him before and wanted to do so.

After all, collaborations between big directors and big stars can easily create classics.

For example, Cameron and Arnold.
But since Leonardo DiCaprio isn't interested, then forget it.

It's not about rushing to make a sale.
Of course, Zhang Chen could also use the Olympic campaign scenario to keep him hanging on.

For example, there's "The Hunt," which I mentioned to Zhang Yimou before, or the famous "Manchester by the Sea."

Such a script would definitely be attractive to Leonardo DiCaprio. Using these as a bargaining chip to get him to star in a commercial film should be no problem.

But it's unnecessary.
It's not like he is the only one.

"Then let's change the person."

Zhang Chen stroked his chin thoughtfully: "We could try contacting Matt Damon and see if he's interested."

……

Since the preparation for "Inception" was not going smoothly, Zhang Chen simply returned to China first, and Jiang Wen had already made several phone calls.

Although there was no urging at all, just casual chatting, even a fool could understand that this was a way of urging him to hurry up and fulfill his promise—that he had agreed to play a cameo role in "Let the Bullets Fly".

I flew directly to Guangdong, and then took a car to Gangning Film and Television City in Shuibu, Taishan. The movie "Let the Bullets Fly" was recently filmed here.

Jiang Wen wanted to pick him up, but Zhang Chen refused.

He's just here for a cameo role, which is a tiny, insignificant thing for the movie, and it's not worth delaying the production schedule for.

Jiang Wen was just being polite and readily agreed.

When Zhang Chen arrived, the crew had just finished filming a scene and were taking a break.

Even without Jiang Wen's introduction, many acquaintances had already spontaneously gathered around to say hello.

Ge You, Liu Jialin, Chen Kun, Jiang Wu, and Liao Fan and Zhou Yun~
These people are either acquaintances or have met once before.

Only Chow Yun-fat remained seated, not moving an inch. Someone as shrewd as him shouldn't make such a mistake, but Zhang Chen had publicly ridiculed him multiple times before, and he knew he wasn't well-liked, so he simply didn't bother trying to curry favor with him.
Zhang Chen didn't mind. He had already looked around the area before coming, and there were no RVs available, haha~
"Director Jiang, what kind of cameo role would you like me to play? Do I need to do some research?"

The two had agreed beforehand that it would be a cameo role, and it could only be a cameo role; he wouldn't have time to play a regular role.

"Don't rush, the role you're asked to play is super simple, less than a minute of screen time, you'll definitely handle it with ease. Did you come straight here from abroad?"

He saw in the news a couple of days ago that Zhang Chen was still abroad, and then in the blink of an eye, he was on set.

"Yes, you've called several times to urge me, so of course I have to prioritize your needs."

"Haha, there's no rush~"

Jiang Wen found this statement quite agreeable.

"Alright, it's almost noon. Let's eat first. Shouldn't I treat you to a welcome meal? After lunch, we can film your scenes this afternoon, okay?"

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say."

"Then, everyone, please keep me company!"

Everyone laughed and agreed enthusiastically.

Most of these people, including Liu Jialin, were only casual acquaintances with Zhang Chen.

Of course I'd love to have a meal together.

The dinner table is the best place to build relationships.

The group found a hotel nearby, instructed the owner not to let any unauthorized people in to disturb them, and then went into a private room to eat and drink to their hearts' content.

Everyone here is easygoing and doesn't stand on ceremony. There's no distinction between seats of honor or guests; we just drink, chat, and speak freely.
Zhang Chen quite liked the atmosphere; everyone was very approachable.

As he spoke, Jiang Wen began to reminisce about the past—the years when he filmed "In the Heat of the Sun".

Jiang Wen is considered part of the Beijing entertainment circle, and "Sunshine" is also a product of that circle. Feng Xiaogang and Wang Shuo both made cameo appearances in the film.

During this period, the Beijing literary and artistic circles were all making a living in the arts and culture scene. Feng Xiaogang and Wang Shuo even collaborated on a company called Good Dream, but it failed due to poor management.

In fact, Jiang Wen's starting point was much higher than that of Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Yimou; he was a child of a high-ranking official.

But he wasn't as down-to-earth as Feng Xiaogang.

Feng Xiaogang struggled through hardships until he met Wang Shuo and the Wang brothers, at which point his career gradually began to improve.

Despite starting to make movies earlier than anyone else, Jiang Wen has always treated it as a hobby.

He doesn't see himself as a filmmaker; he sees himself as an artist.

He doesn't have a fixed crew. When he's about to make a movie, he just calls out to his friends to help out, and once filming is finished, they all disperse.

Because he is an artist, he drags his feet when making movies and doesn't consider costs at all.

"In the Heat of the Sun" used a total of 25 feet of film.

The Wang brothers had long understood him, which is why they preferred to sign Feng Xiaogang rather than Jiang Wen.

No one can endure years of honing their skills.

The audience might seem sentimental, but the investors just want to jump off a building.

The filming of "Let the Bullets Fly" was particularly slow, and Jiang Wen often changed the lyrics on set.

Chow Yun-fat once complained that the lines he had painstakingly memorized the day before were all changed the next day.

Previously filmed scenes often required large sections to be scrapped and reshot, all because Jiang Wen suddenly had an inspiration.

"If you don't have a net worth of hundreds of millions, I really wouldn't dare invest in you."

Zhang Chen didn't hold back at all when he teased him.

Jiang Wen laughed heartily: "It's all for art!"

"Don't be too artistic. 'The Sun Also Rises' lost so much money; you need to seriously think about how to make 'Let the Bullets Fly'."

Jiang Wen looked somewhat embarrassed, while the others pretended not to have heard.

Only Zhang Chen would dare to say such a thing.

Historically, it was the failure of "The Sun Also Rises" that made Jiang Wen temporarily restrain himself.

To put it bluntly, he's not some otherworldly being. Even though he lost other people's money, he lost face as a person.

Even Yu Dong, who had always thought highly of him, was tricked and ran away.

Yu Dong was an investor in "The Sun Also Rises," and before its release, he was very optimistic and expected the box office to be at least 100 million yuan.

After its release, it only grossed 2000 million, a huge loss.

Yu Dong has run away; we dare not associate with such a jinx again.

But some are stubborn.

Mr. Yang was also an investor in "The Sun Also Rises," and even after losing money, he was still willing to continue investing in "Let the Bullets Fly."

No wonder Jiang Wen gave the other party a red envelope at the celebration banquet.

When Zhang Chen talked about "The Sun Also Rises," Jiang Wen clearly had a different opinion: "The failure of 'The Sun Also Rises' was partly due to its overly profound nature, which made it incomprehensible to the audience, but the poor distribution also played a significant role."

"How to say?"

"The Sun Is an art film. Art films shouldn't be promoted as aggressively as commercial films. They should have small-scale screenings first, and then expand the release scale after word-of-mouth spreads among the audience..."

Jiang Wen seems to know quite a bit.

Zhang Chen shook his head: "I don't understand art films, but I at least know that art films should control costs."

Jiang Wen was speechless. He knew his own problem, but he just couldn't control himself when filming.

In fact, Zhang Chen had publicly criticized those art directors before, asking why they didn't use their own money to pursue art.
Strictly speaking, Jiang Wen was also among those Zhang Chen insulted.

"I heard that the cost of 'Let the Bullets Fly' exceeded 100 million?"

Jiang Wen nodded reluctantly.

"Then it can't be an art film. Even if it is, it has to be marketed like a blockbuster, otherwise you'll lose money again this time."

Jiang Wen was taken aback and looked at Zhang Chen: "You're making such a confident statement, how about we entrust the distribution of 'Let the Bullets Fly' to you?"

"Hasn't a distributor been found yet?"

Zhang Chen was a little shocked. The film, with a budget exceeding 1 million yuan, had already started shooting, but the distribution was still nowhere in sight.
"I've found one, but aren't you getting a little carried away by what you've said?"

"I can take over the distribution, but I need to see the quality of your previous work. Also, if I take over the distribution, all your filming plans will have to be subject to my review..."

Zhang Chen was just putting on an act when he said those things.

"Let the Bullets Fly" grossed over 6 million yuan, becoming the champion of the Lunar New Year film season that year.

Zhang Chen didn't get a share of the investment, but he could still make some money from the issuance.

"alright."

Jiang Wen readily agreed. He didn't want to fail again, and he didn't want to let down those who trusted him.

If he fails again, even he himself will start to doubt his own abilities.

"By the way, now that you're handling the distribution, you should be able to help promote the movie on Weibo when it's released, right?"

Zhang Chen is now a Weibo influencer with a huge impact; a single sentence from him is worth 100,000 yuan in advertising fees.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Chen didn't give him any face at all: "Let's see the quality of the film first. If the film is good, I will promote it myself without you having to say anything. I will help promote it whether we distribute it or not. But if the quality is worrying, I'm already being polite by not criticizing it..."

Zhang Chen's words were blunt, but Jiang Wen didn't seem to care at all.

"Don't worry, 'Let the Bullets Fly' is definitely a masterpiece!"

He is quite confident in his work; isn't it just about balancing art and popular appeal?
He was a bit too self-indulgent with his previous film, "The Sun," which led to many people not understanding it and causing its reputation to collapse.

Before making "Let the Bullets Fly," he had already learned from this experience and was preparing to make a popular, affordable fast food dish that everyone would love.

Moreover, it's a high-class, affordable fast food restaurant; he not only wants to make money, but he also wants to make money while standing.

He can't completely embrace entertainment like Feng Xiaogang; he's a people's artist. But he can manage to lower the bar to a certain extent so that ordinary people can understand it.

Jiang Wen was optimistic, but the others were not so optimistic.

You should know that Zhang Chen doesn't just talk the talk; if the film isn't good, he really will criticize it.
Ang Lee is an Oscar-winning director, yet look how badly "Lust, Caution" was criticized.

However, only he has the confidence to back it up, given that "2012" set a box office record of 15 billion yuan.

You disagree? Then you make a movie that grosses over 10 billion yuan and then we'll see!
……

We had a good lunch and drinks, and then continued filming in the afternoon.

Jiang Wen prepared the role of 'fake Zhang Mazi' for Zhang Chen, which was the one that Hu Jun originally played as a cameo.

"I wasn't lying to you, was I? It's only 50 seconds of screen time, a piece of cake for you~"

"Would I be too young to play the fake Zhang Mazi?"

"Don't worry, I'll just do some light makeup for you~"

"Alright, let's get started!"

The film crew made a last-minute change to the shooting schedule. Knowing that Zhang Chen's time was precious, they prioritized filming him since he was already there.

"You're Zhang Mazi, so why don't you have any pockmarks on your face?"

"Don't ask, anyone who asks about this will die!"

"I understand, I won't ask anymore."

"What about... what about those two people?"

"Can telling the truth save my life?"

"How many county magistrates have been dismissed?"

"Will telling the truth save your life?"

Which way should I go?

"I know, but will telling the truth save my life?"

Those who can become directors are actually all pretty good actors.

The scenes between Zhang Chen and Jiang Wen, portraying the real and fake Zhang Mazi, were quite well done. Everyone gave their all, and neither could overshadow the other.
Ge You is a veteran actor, and he wasn't afraid of being overshadowed. As soon as he opened his mouth, the audience's attention naturally returned to him.

This scene lasted less than a minute, about 50 seconds.

Actually, it only took one try.

But everyone treated it as a game and filmed it twice more.

After that, there was applause all around.

Zhang Chen, a big boss and a well-known director, will receive applause for even a cameo role, regardless of how well he performs.

Zhang Chen stayed overnight.

Although he said he wanted to check the quality of the footage, Zhang Chen didn't actually look at it and ended up having another drink with Jiang Wen that night.

However, this time there weren't many other people accompanying him; it was just him and Jiang Wen.

The more people drinking together, the less fun it becomes.

When there are many people, drinking and chatting are all just rambling nonsense; no one speaks their mind.

People only open up when there are few people around, and this is when they can best strengthen their bond.

Zhang Chen left early the next morning, and Jiang Wen arranged for a car to take him to the airport.

Don't forget to come to the premiere of "Gravity" in a couple of days!

Don't worry, I won't forget~

(End of this chapter)