Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 676 Rominio's Advice

Romeno left, but he left a few people behind.

The filming set was still filled with a tense atmosphere, with props scattered all over the floor and the camera still at the angle when it was interrupted.

The actors all looked shaken, their hands still trembling slightly, as if the dark muzzle of the gun was still flashing before their eyes.

Jing Tian, ​​in particular, was sobbing softly; the conflict had greatly frightened her.

Looking at the scene before him, Zhang Chen sighed helplessly and said to the assistant director, "Inform everyone that filming is suspended for today. Go back to the hotel and rest. We will reschedule the filming for tomorrow."

The assistant director nodded and quickly went to notify the various departments. The staff on site, dragging their tired bodies, began to pack up their things, and everyone's face was filled with exhaustion and lingering fear.

Jing Tian was escorted to the side by Zhang Jin. Trembling, she took out her phone and dialed home.

"Hey, Mom..."

As soon as she opened her mouth, her voice was choked with sobs, and tears streamed down her face.

A mother's anxious voice came from the other end of the phone: "Sweetie, what's wrong? What happened?"

Jing Tian choked up as she recounted what had just happened. Her mother's voice trembled with fear on the other end of the phone as she kept urging her to return to China immediately and not to stay in that dangerous place, Rio.

As Jing Tian listened to her mother's instructions, she nodded, tears streaming down her face like beads from a broken string.

Just as Zhang Chen returned to his hotel room, his phone rang. It was Zhong Lifang calling.

"Director Zhang, I heard something happened on set? What happened? Is everyone safe?" Zhong Lifang's voice was filled with anxiety on the other end of the phone.

Zhang Chen rubbed his temples and briefly recounted what had happened that day: "Don't worry, everyone is safe. Today was just pure luck. Romeno from the Justice League happens to be a fan of mine, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Zhong Lifang breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you're safe, it's good that you're safe. So what's next? Rio is too dangerous, should we consider filming somewhere else?"

Zhang Chen was silent for a moment: "Changing the location now would be too much of a loss. Romeno has already promised to protect the safety of the crew. I want to observe the situation for a few days first."

Zhong Lifang said helplessly, "Then you must be careful and contact me anytime if anything happens."

Not long after Zhang Chen hung up the phone, there was a knock on the door. When he opened it, he saw Jing Tian's agent, Lu Zheng, standing at the door with a livid face.

"Director Zhang, no matter what you say, I must take Jing Tian with me and leave this production!" Lu Zheng said excitedly as soon as he entered the room, his tone very firm.

He slacked off today and didn't go to the scene, and then this happened.

I just saw Jing Tian crying and talking to her family on the phone in the hotel lobby. I felt anxious and angry. I can't let my artist stay in such a dangerous place.

Zhang Chen knew that Lu Zheng's reaction was normal. If he were Lu Zheng, he would definitely react the same way. But as an investor, he absolutely did not want Jing Tian to leave the production team now.

He quickly asked Lu Zheng to sit down and poured her a glass of water: "Calm down first, we can discuss this slowly."

Jing Tian was originally cast as the female lead, but her importance decreased after Angelina Jolie's role was expanded. However, she still signed a contract to play the female lead.

Zhang Chen was certain that if Jing Tian dared to leave the group, Paramount would definitely not let her off easily.

Jing Tian's Hollywood journey has basically come to an end.

Zhang Chen considered his words carefully: "I know what happened today has been a huge shock to all of us, but we shouldn't act impulsively. If Jing Tian withdraws now, the production team will not only have to find a new female lead, but all the scenes filmed before will also be wasted, resulting in a huge loss."

This statement actually has a subtext: the production team has suffered such a huge loss, they will definitely sue you for breach of contract, which is not good for either party.

Lu Zheng clearly understood, but still frowned: "But Rio is too dangerous. I can't risk Jing Tian's safety."

Zhang Chen continued, "From my personal perspective, I agree with your approach. But from the perspective of a producer and director, I don't want you to reconsider."

It's a rare opportunity for Jing Tian to be able to participate in such a project.

Leaving is essentially equivalent to saying goodbye to Hollywood.

I know what happened today is hard to accept, but at least for now, it's still under control.

I suggest we hold off on making a decision and wait and see how things develop.

Zhang Chen could only persuade him to this extent.

Actually, there was a compromise solution compared to Jing Tian leaving the production: changing the filming location and moving the Rio scenes to other places.

Even so, the losses were still considerable.

The film crew has already built some sets and rented equipment in Rio, which all cost money.

Moreover, finding similar scenes elsewhere takes time, and time is money.

The crew spends countless hours every day on food and supplies, and any changes mean a huge expenditure of money.

The actors' salaries, the staff's wages, the equipment rental fees, and the venue usage fees all amount to a considerable sum every day.

Any changes mean a lot of money expenditure, not to mention that the delay of Mission: Impossible 4 will also affect the later Inception.

Lu Zheng fell silent. He knew Zhang Chen was telling the truth, but he still couldn't let go of Jing Tian's safety.

At this moment, Tom Cruise also arrived at Zhang Chen's room. He originally came to discuss countermeasures with Zhang Chen, but he happened to run into Lu Zheng, who was about to leave the group with Jing Tian, ​​so he hurried over to help persuade him.

“Mr. Lu, I understand your concerns. What happened today was indeed very dangerous.”

Tom Cruise sat down and said sincerely, "But I assure you, there will be absolutely no problem with the safety of the crew going forward. Romeno has already sent people to protect us."

Lu Zheng shook his head: "Brother Tom, thank you for your kindness, but who can guarantee 100% safety? I want Jing Tian to become famous, but that must be done on the premise of her safety."

"If you can't even guarantee your safety, what's the point of becoming famous?"

Tom Cruise wanted to say something more, but seeing Lu Zheng's determined look, he knew his persuasion wouldn't be very effective.

Tom Cruise looked at Zhang Chen and gave him a look, meaning, "You should also try to persuade him."

Zhang Chen knew that persuasion was useless; only Jing Tian's own decision mattered most now.

He said to Lu Zheng, "Mr. Lu, how about this, I'll go talk to Jing Tian and hear her own thoughts. After all, this is her own career, and she has the right to make a choice."

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, I'd also like to hear her thoughts."

Zhang Chen arrived at Jing Tian's room and gently knocked on the door. Jing Tian's voice came from inside: "Please come in."

When I opened the door, I saw Jing Tian still on the phone with her family, a hesitant expression on her face.

On the other end of the phone, her family kept urging her to quit the film crew and return to China as soon as possible.

Jing Tian listened, nodding occasionally, her eyes filled with struggle.

Zhang Chen didn't say anything, just stood quietly to the side, waiting for her to end the call.

Jing Tian saw Zhang Chen and hung up the phone.

Zhang Chen walked up to her and sincerely apologized: "Jing Tian, ​​I'm sorry, I bear a lot of responsibility for this. I was the one who pushed for adding the Rio storyline, and I didn't expect something like this to happen, which has frightened you."

Looking at Zhang Chen's guilty expression, Jing Tian shook her head: "Director Zhang, it's not your fault. Nobody wants this to happen. Besides, you were standing in front of me at the time."

Putting everything else aside, just the fact that Zhang Chen shielded her from behind while someone pointed a gun at her meant that Jing Tian couldn't possibly vent her resentment on Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen sighed: "I know you're scared right now, and President Lu also wants to take you out of the production crew. I respect your decision. If you want to leave, I will arrange the follow-up matters as soon as possible, but..."

Zhang Chen was interrupted by Jing Tian before he could finish speaking.

Jing Tian raised her head, her eyes resolute, and said, "Director Zhang, I won't quit. I want to continue filming." Zhang Chen was somewhat surprised: "But your family must also want you to go home soon, right?"

Jing Tian nodded: "Yes, they want me to go back quickly, and even want me to leave the entertainment industry, but I don't want to."

I've made up my mind. This movie is very important to me, and I can't back down just because of a little danger. Besides, didn't Romino guarantee that the ADA people wouldn't cause us any more trouble?

She paused, then continued, "And I don't want my withdrawal to cause huge losses to the crew. Everyone has put in a lot of effort for this movie."

Looking at Jing Tian's determined eyes, Zhang Chen was filled with admiration: "Okay, since you've made up your mind, let's work together to make this movie a success."

The crew resumed filming the next day.

The people Rominio sent were very responsible, scattered throughout the filming location, vigilantly observing the surroundings.

The actors gradually recovered from their initial shock and threw themselves wholeheartedly into filming.

The props and costume teams also became more conscientious and responsible, ensuring that every detail was perfect.

To everyone's surprise, the filming went exceptionally smoothly over the next few days, without any further unexpected incidents.

Seeing that the filming was going smoothly, Zhang Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

Romeno came to visit several times during the filming process.

Each time he came, he would just walk around the filming location, then chat with Zhang Chen, without doing anything excessive.

He never interfered with the filming process or gave orders to the actors; he simply followed the film's progress as an ordinary fan.

The crew members, seeing Rominio's amiable demeanor, simply couldn't reconcile him with the image of a mob boss.

Zhang Chen initially thought that since Romeno was so enthusiastic about helping the film crew, he must have some demands on him, such as investing in the film or something else.

But to his surprise, Romeno only talked to him about movie-related topics.

He was particularly interested in the scenes in the movie where they robbed the police station and dragged the safe, and asked a lot of questions about the details.

"Director Zhang Chen, the scene in your movie where they rob a police station and drag a safe seems a bit illogical."

Romeno made clicking noises as he looked at the script.

In principle, scripts are highly confidential; in some movies, the actors don't even know what the whole story is like after filming is complete.

But Romeno wanted to see the script, and no one could refuse.

Are you kidding me? You really think of him as the uncle next door?
"Why is it unreasonable?"

“In reality, a robbery like this is impossible to succeed. It would be better to send two teams, one of which would create a big commotion somewhere to attract all the police.”

Once the police station is depleted of manpower, another team can raid the station and steal the safe. Trust me, this will increase the success rate.

Furthermore, during the retreat, I think we could scatter some banknotes to attract passersby to grab them, creating chaos and making it easier to escape.

Listening to Rominho's eloquent explanation, Zhang Chen smiled and explained, "Mr. Rominho, your plan does improve feasibility, but it reduces its entertainment value."

"This is a movie, not a documentary. We don't need to pursue realism. We can make some artistic embellishments. As long as it's entertaining, exciting, and can attract the audience, that's fine."

Upon hearing this, Rominio immediately covered his forehead and said, "I forgot, this is a movie, it's all about making it entertaining and giving the audience a great time."

Zhang Chen nodded: "That's right, that's the charm of movies."

As time went on, the crew never encountered any more problems.

Whether it was Rominio's warning or the people he left behind that had an effect, ADA's people didn't cause any more trouble, and everyone's hearts gradually settled down.

The actors are getting better and better, and the filming efficiency is getting higher and higher.

The scenes that were originally planned to take half a month to complete were filmed in just ten days.

Zhang Chen was very satisfied with the footage he had shot each day.

"Mr. Rominio, thank you so much for your help during this time, thank you so much!"

Zhang Chen always maintained sufficient respect for Rominho.

Rominio laughed and asked, "Is the movie finished?"

"Yes, filming is finished, all that's left is post-production."

Rominio nodded: "So making movies is this complicated!"

Zhang Chen smiled wryly: "Yes, a few seconds of footage in a movie sometimes takes us several days to film."

When will it be released?

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will be released globally this October!"

"Okay, I'll wait and see~"

After saying goodbye to Romeno, everyone packed their things and boarded the bus to the airport.

Along the way, watching the Rio street scenes gradually recede outside the window, the crew members all showed relaxed smiles.

Although we experienced some thrilling things in Rio, everyone was safe and sound, and we successfully completed the filming mission, which was the biggest gain.

Surprisingly, Romeno didn't make any demands until the crew left Rio. As he said, he was simply helping the director he admired.

Zhang Chen felt a little guilty, so he specially sent some gifts to Romeno, but Romeno simply accepted the gifts and didn't mention anything else.

Zhang Chen couldn't help but sigh, this gang leader really is a pure movie fan.

From the start of filming to its completion, Mission: Impossible 4 only took two and a half months, which is considered a very fast shooting speed.

But Zhang Chen didn't have time to rest, because as soon as the work on Mission: Impossible 4 came to an end, he had to immediately start filming Inception.

The script for "Inception" has already been polished, and the cast has been basically finalized. All that's left is for Zhang Chen to fully immerse himself in filming.

However, just as Inception was about to begin filming, a piece of news came out.

News reports say that a bank in Rio was robbed. The robbers used a diversionary tactic, splitting into two groups. One group pretended to attack the police station to attract a large number of police officers, while the other group took the opportunity to rob the bank.

Moreover, the robbers scattered banknotes as they left, creating chaos and hindering the police pursuit.

By the time the police arrived, the robbers had already vanished without a trace.

The police are taking this robbery very seriously and have set up a special task force to investigate, but so far there are no leads.

Upon seeing this news, Zhang Chen felt a sudden pang in his heart.

For some reason, Zhang Chen felt that the Justice League was behind this, because many of their methods were similar to what he had discussed with Rominio.

The robbers' feint attack was almost identical to the plan Romeno had proposed when he discussed the heist with Romeno.

Furthermore, Lominho also mentioned the robbers' tactic of scattering banknotes to create chaos as they left.

Zhang Chen shook his head, not daring to think any further. He could only tell himself that this was none of his business.

Romeno may be a bad person, but he really helped me.

(End of this chapter)