Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 156 Teacher Chen, Please Enlighten Me
Chen Nuo stayed with Fan Binbing for two days and two nights, spending most of the time in his apartment without going out.

Although paparazzi these days are not as rampant as in the past, we still have to be on guard against them.

On the third day, Fan Binbing left before she could meet Mai Jia.

For this workaholic woman, the guilt she feels when she doesn't work for a day increases exponentially.

If you don't make tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars every day, you will toss and turn and won't be able to sleep well.

The night before leaving, Fan Binbing repeatedly confirmed whether she should accompany Chen Nuo to meet Mai Jia, serve tea and water, and flatter Mai Jia. When they were in Huayi before, the Wang brothers usually arranged it this way.

Chen Nuo's response to this was just one word: "Get lost."

As a result, Fan Binbing seemed to have really turned into a m. She was not angry at his fierce roar, but became even more tender and affectionate that night, letting him do whatever he wanted.

Chen Nuo didn't hold back, and gestured back and forth for a while, making it almost impossible for her to move the next day. When she left, she rolled her eyes at Chen Nuo several times.

Chen Nuo asked Fan Binbing to leave, not only to let her go to earn money, but also for another reason: Wen Yongshan was coming to Beijing to prepare for the exam.

Although Janice Man and Xia Yehe knew very well what his relationship with Fan Binbing was, the two girls seemed determined to fight the vixen. They were never in a good mood every time they met, which gave Chen Nuo a headache.

On the first day that Janice Man arrived in Beijing, Chen Nuo met Mai Jia in a cafe in Beijing.

The man with the pen name Mai Jia was in his early forties at this time, with short hair and wearing a pair of glasses. Because he had worked in a formal military intelligence unit, he still had a military temperament that made him look intimidating even when he was sitting there.

Although his two literary works "The Decryption" and "The Counterfeiter" made him stand out in the literary and film and television circles, he remains very humble.

Even when talking to a young man like Chen Nuo, he called him Teacher Chen all the time and spoke very frankly and directly.

"Teacher Chen, Huayi called me the day before you contacted me. It was their general manager, Mr. Wang Zonglei. To be honest, if you called five minutes later, I might have agreed to their offer."

Mai Jia was smiling as he spoke, so Chen Nuo followed suit and said, "Teacher Mai, we called you on the eighth day of the first lunar month, but in fact, we saw your novel right after it was published. Why didn't we contact you at that time? It was because we didn't have confidence at that time."

"It was not until our production of Crazy Stone achieved some success that we felt confident enough to contact you, Mr. Mai Jia."

Mai Jia smiled and said, "Teacher Chen, you are too modest. As far as I know, Crazy Stone is more than just a small achievement. I have also watched this movie. I think it was done very well from casting to filming. The script is also very well written. I like the actor who plays Hei Pi in the movie very much. I think he acted very well."

Teacher Mai Jia, you have a good eye. You picked out the future best actor at a glance. Chen Nuo said, "To be honest, he is one of the actors we expected to be on the list of actors for "The Whistleblower".

Qi Yuntian also said: "That's right, Mr. Mai Jia, we have already made an appointment with him."

Mai Jia seemed very interested and asked, "So what role are you going to let him play?"

Qi Yuntian shut up. Chen Nuo said without hesitation: "Wu Zhiguo."

Mai Jia exclaimed, "Ah!" and asked in surprise, "He plays Wu? Wouldn't his image be inappropriate?"

Chen Nuo said seriously: "Well, Mr. Mai Jia, although I haven't made many films about movies, I still have some immature experiences. I would like to take this opportunity to share them with you. I wonder if you are willing to listen."

Mai Jia sat up straight and said seriously, "Teacher Chen, please go ahead."

In fact, the only reason preventing him from selling the film and television adaptation rights of "The Sound of Wind" to Huayi is Chen Nuo.

That's why he asked both parties to meet and have a chat today.

He hadn't lied before. If Qi Yuntian's call had come a few minutes later, he would have agreed to Huayi.

After all, around 2007, Huayi was a unique company among domestic film and television companies.

Starting from "Party A and Party B" and "Big Shot", to "A World Without Thieves", "Cell Phone" and "Baby Project" in recent years, it has accumulated a very good reputation in the market and sold a lot of box office.

That's the qualifications.

And during that long phone call, Wang Zonglei also briefly talked to him about Huayi’s ideas on the casting of "The Sound of Wind".

Wang Zonglei promised that not only Zhou Xun and Li Bingbing from Huayi, but every other actor who will participate in the performance will be a big name with good looks and acting skills.

How could Mai Jia not be tempted by this?
As for Huang Bo, whom Chen Nuo is talking about now, although Mai Jia said that he admires him very much, he is a little hesitant about letting him play a role in "The Sound of Wind".

He felt that this was just what he said, and that this Mr. Chen, who had been praised to the sky by countless people in the circle and the media in recent times, seemed to be unworthy of his reputation.

However, when Chen Nuo said he wanted to share his experience, Mai Jia suddenly perked up.

He wanted to hear what insights this young Berlin Film Festival winner, who had worked in mainland China, Hong Kong and Hollywood, and won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Golden Horse Awards, had, and how they were different from Huayi.

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Teacher Mai probably thought that I was just flattering you by saying that Huang Bo was good when you just mentioned him."

Mai Jia's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said, "No, no, I don't dare, Teacher Chen, you've said too much. I really don't have such an idea."

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Whatever happens. Let me imagine for a moment. Did Mr. Wang Zonglei promise you that he would find all the handsome men and beautiful women, as well as big stars, to film The Whistleblower?"

Mai Jia was a little shocked, and his previous contempt for me was gone in an instant. He hesitated and asked, "Teacher Chen, how did you know?"

Of course, I learned this from the movies in my previous life. Chen Nuo said calmly, "What is Huayi's level? What is Wang Zonglei's level? I know it very well. What else can they do besides piling up stars and big names? Haha, Mr. Mai Jia, if you believe his lies, then you will really be fooled by them."

These words sounded a bit arrogant, but Mai Jia had to admit that in the mainland entertainment circle, this person seemed to be qualified to say so.

"Teacher Chen, please teach me."

After being called teacher twice, Chen Nuo seemed to really regard himself as a teacher. He took a sip of coffee calmly, and then the first sentence he said with a faint smile raised the tone to the sky.

“This is the misunderstanding that Chinese films are currently entering.”

Mai Jia was sweating coldly.

At this moment, he realized very clearly who this young man was.

He is the Berlin Film Festival winner who made countless people cry; he is the Best Supporting Actor who charmed the Golden Horse Awards judges with his sexiness; he is the leading actor in Wang Jiawei's movies; he is a mainland actor who collaborated with one of the six major Hollywood actors before he was 20 years old; he is a popular idol whose TV series are popular in both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong; he is a young actor from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong who is truly qualified to be said to have overseas influence; he is a sophomore at the Beijing Film Academy who did not win the Best Actor Award in Cannes and the whole world is feeling sorry for him.

He said that Chinese films had fallen into a misunderstanding. Mai Jia felt that even if Han Sanping, president of China Film Group, heard this, he would probably have to perk up and listen to the other party's opinions.

Mai Jia lowered his eyebrows and said graciously, "Teacher Chen, please go ahead."

"Speaking of which, who started this trend? To be frank, it was Director Zhang Yimou! Even though he is my senior at the film academy, if he stood in front of me right now, I would still criticize him."

Hearing this, Qi Yuntian couldn't help but drank a sip of coffee without making a sound. Chen Nuo was immersed in it.

Although we don't know who he was immersed in, it is very likely that it was Qin Shi Huang, otherwise he wouldn't have the arrogance to criticize the imperial teacher.

"Since 'Hero', the entire domestic film industry has been in a mess until now. No one has looked in the mirror. They all think that if they learn from Director Zhang, get hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, and gather some stars, they can make the people pay out of their pockets. They think they can play poker? How naive and ridiculous!"

I have to say that Chen Nuo's performance appeal is quite impressive now.

If Mai Jia read what he said in the newspaper, he would probably just laugh, thinking that this person must have eaten a few big cloves of garlic and started to act pretentiously, not even knowing his own name.

But at this moment, sitting in a private room in the coffee shop, enjoying the close-up performance of Actor Chen directed at him alone, he really didn't feel that there was anything wrong.

Except shame.

I feel like the people the other person is talking about include myself.

I put my hands on my knees, afraid of missing a word.

"If this method is really effective, and anyone can make money, then why can't The Banquet, which is full of superstars, beat a small stone like us? Who are they? They have Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, Zhou Xun, and Feng Xiaogang."

"Who do we have on the other hand?"

Chen Nuo said with a guilty conscience: "Haha, Huang Bo, Xu Zheng, Ning Hao, and Fan Binbing, compared to them, they are nothing. You can say they are nothing."

"But how can our insignificant movie compete with their big productions with so many superstars? To be frank, many people in the industry even think we won. It's not because the quality of the stone is high, but because if all the stars are there, it's hard to make a good movie."

"Teacher Mai Jia, think about it carefully, why does a movie have a male protagonist and a female protagonist, a male supporting role and a female supporting role? Why can't everyone be the protagonist?"

"That's because there must be red flowers and green leaves, strong and weak, and the main and the secondary must be distinguished, so that a story can be told clearly. If all the actors are big stars, they will act one after another and it will be unclear who is the male lead and who is the female lead."

"If the audience doesn't know who they should identify with, how can this movie be appealing? How can the audience know what the story is about?"

"From Hero to The Promise to The Banquet, Mr. Mai Jia, think about it, isn't it always like this? After watching a movie, when ordinary people walk out of the theater, they never understand what they just watched."

"This is because the superstar's charm is too strong, and it overshadows the main storyline."

Mai Jia felt refreshed after listening to the long speech, and felt that his understanding of movies had reached a new level.

When Mai Jia heard Chen Nuo's last words, he felt as if all his frustrations had been released and he had suddenly gained enlightenment.

If you were to say who in the world is most unwilling to have people ignore the exciting plot in "The Sound of Wind" and focus on the stars, it would probably be no one else except him.

He held up the coffee cup with both hands and said solemnly: "Teacher Chen, listening to your words is worth ten years of study. I am grateful for your teaching."

After saying that, he drank the coffee in the cup.

Chen Nuo also took a sip of coffee and said, "Why should Huang Bo play Wu Zhiguo? Teacher Mai Jia, I have read your works many times. I think the role of Wu Zhiguo must be played by someone who is difficult to distinguish between good and evil."

"Think about the relationship between him and Li Ningyu. Including his identity as an underground party member, and the reversal that needs to happen. If you find a male actor with a good image, what surprises will there be in this film, and what effect will the suspense you set up have?"

Mai Jia nodded repeatedly, truly convinced: "Teacher Chen, then may I ask, have you chosen the two main female roles? And what about you, are you going to act in person?"

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "For the role of Li Ningyu, I chose Fan Binbing."

Mai Jia had no objection. Fan Binbing was indeed a good choice. She was good-looking and had that kind of feeling that was hard to tell right from wrong, good from bad.

If you don’t see the last moment, it’s really hard to know what kind of character this vixen is.

It has to be said that Qi Yuntian's plans were really successful. Playing a middle-aged woman who has washed away all the makeup in "Crazy Stone" really helped Fan Binbing regain a lot of impression points among the general public.

"What about Gu Xiaomeng?"

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Teacher Mai, we are still considering other candidates. What I can tell you now is that I will play the role of Takeda."

Mai Jia left with an expression of satisfaction as he had advanced directly from the Qi training stage to the Nascent Soul stage.

Chen Nuo and Qi Yuntian looked at the time and decided to stay in the cafe for lunch and go directly to the advertising shooting location in the afternoon.

After ordering, Qi Yuntian suddenly laughed and said, "Brother Nuo. The feeling you gave me just now was just like when you were in the Warner office. You were the backbone, turning the tide, the storm was surging, and you covered the sky with one hand. You are so domineering, Brother Nuo."

Chen Nuo chuckled, "You ABC, you are quite good at using idioms now. At that time at Warner, you were not even in the meeting room, so you know nothing."

Qi Yuntian said, "I later asked them for the audition tape and watched it. Hey, are you serious? Don't you want a superstar this time?"

Chen Nuo glanced at him. "I do want it, but where's the money? Who doesn't want to put a few Zhang Ziyi, Ge Youli Lian and Cheng Long in the film? I want it too! But, do we have that much money? Do we really have to compete with Huayi in terms of financial strength? I'm not saying that celebrities are shit, but will Mr. Mai Jia agree to sell the novel to us?"

Qi Yuntian chuckled and said, “Brother Nuo, you look handsome when you say you are worthless.

"So what are you thinking? Teacher Mai's side is probably settled, can you give me a hint?"

"I didn't say anything nonsense just now. I just got inspiration. Huang Bo plays Wu Zhiguo, and I will play a Japanese lady... Besides that, after signing the contract, let the news out and see if there are any available people. We'll talk about it then."

Chen Nuo was actually also thinking about it.

When Huayi Brothers invested in this movie, they used all their own actors.

It is definitely not useful now.

Among them, Chen Nuo felt that the most regrettable person was not Zhou Xun, but Zhang Hanyu.

But now there is Huang Bo as a substitute, and from another perspective, it does have a different flavor.

What about the other characters?
While eating, he asked Qi Yuntian, hoping that he could give him some inspiration. But he got an answer that was beyond his expectation.

"What do you think of Liu Yifei? Fan Binbing and Liu Yifei will play Li Ningyu and Gu Xiaomeng."

Chen Nuo's first reaction was: How is this possible? Is this a joke?
Before he could object, Qi Yuntian said, "There was a female spy in the beginning, so let your girlfriend Miss Wen make a cameo appearance. If it were you, Liu Yifei, Fan Binbing, and Wen Yongshan, I can guarantee that I wouldn't need to promote this movie, really. I just need to get the news out. Even if I spent tens of millions on publicity, it wouldn't have the same effect."

Qi Yuntian smiled and said happily, "It's exciting just to think about it. The media headlines in those days must be very interesting. I really want to see how they will be written."

(End of this chapter)