Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 200: Anti-Di Alliance United Front
The atmosphere in the VIP ward of Jishuitan Hospital was deadly and depressing.

Apart from Zhang Ziyi, who looked miserable on the bed, only Zhang Yimou, Lu Kuan and her brother Zhang Zinan were present.

The attending orthopedic specialist Zhu Yun looked in surprise at Lu Kuan, who had just walked in with a grim face.

He knew that this was a famous young director in the mainland, but why did he have such an attitude when treating patients?

Not only did he not even mention the flower basket or fruit basket, he also didn't even respond when he saw a patient greeting him.

Zhu Yun and Zhang Yimou reported the final examination results: "Director Zhang, the patient has been diagnosed with a hip fracture. Since he was sent to the hospital the day before yesterday, his condition is currently optimistic."

Zhang Yimou asked with concern: "Surgery is probably the only option, right?"

"Of course, the conditions for conservative treatment are basically non-existent, so surgery is the only option. We even have to consider whether to use plate fixation or direct artificial joint replacement."

Zhang Ziyi on the bed couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears.

She wasn't frightened by the broken bones, but by Lu Kuan's expression...

That’s right, she concealed the real release date when joining the cast of “Alien Land”.

"House of Flying Daggers" will start filming in October. The crew's first stop will be Ukraine to shoot, and the actual shooting will start at the end of October.

Zhang Ziyi had already passed the casting for "Alien Land" in September.

On one side is Zhang Yimou, who was very kind to her, and on the other side are the hot young directors and Hollywood blockbusters.

Zhang Ziyi had no choice but to move around and gain some time.

Her plan was to shoot for a month and a half on the set of "Foreign Land" and then join the crew for coordination after the actual shooting of "House of Flying Daggers" started.

However, after filming several scenes for "Alien Land" and seeing so many authoritative Hollywood film media coming to interview and visit the set every day, her mind changed again.

Judging from the situation, of course "Foreign Land" has a higher priority!

There are so many reporters invited by the crew every day for hype and marketing, as well as those who come spontaneously. Where can you find such a good thing as being able to be interviewed with Leonardo every day?

Perhaps because she knew Zhang Yimou would never agree to her request, or perhaps because she was ashamed to make such an unreasonable request to the great director, she went directly to Zhang Weiping and offered to reduce her pay.

In "House of Flying Daggers", Andy Lau received the highest salary of US$700 million, Zhang Ziyi received US$300 million, and Takeshi Kaneshiro and Anita Mui received US$100 million and US$200 million respectively because they had the least roles.

She and Zhang Weiping admitted that they were willing to reduce the price to $150 million, and only asked him to coordinate with Zhang Yimou and give her another two months.

According to the current progress, we will definitely be able to finish filming "Alien Land".

As mentioned earlier, Hollywood has a long preparation time and a short shooting time because the cost of food and clothing is several times higher than in China.

Domestic films usually have a long shooting period. "Hero" took nearly 6 months to shoot, and "Reborn" took nearly a year to shoot.

Director Zhang Yimou may not be able to wait for the cost savings of more than 1000 million RMB, but businessman Zhang Weiping certainly can!

Isn't it just moving her role to the back? It's a plan, just listen to me!

Zhang Ziyi's logic is sound. Zhang Weiping is just a money-grubber. It is simply insane for him to add entertaining sex scenes to such a serious film theme just to increase the box office of "The Flowers of War".

Including the conflict between him and Zhang Yimou in the later period, it was ultimately a matter of interests.

Zhang Ziyi knows how to calculate. She can make up for the loss of film remuneration through advertising fees when "Alien Land" is released, or even earn more.

After all, at that time, she was the heroine of a Hollywood blockbuster, and her status and treatment in all aspects would be greatly improved.

However, Zhang Weiping took the money and did not do the job well, so he kept delaying it for several days and did not dare to tell Zhang Yimou.

Seeing that she joined the crew as usual, Zhang Yimou presumably had discussed it with Lu Kuan, so he started filming as normal.

Zhang Ziyi urged Zhang Weiping while perfunctorily responding to North America's urging, and had no choice but to bite the bullet and cooperate with Zhang Yimou.

Just yesterday, at a circus in Shidu, a suburb of Beijing, Zhang Ziyi accidentally fell off her horse due to days of running around and mental and physical exhaustion.

He was sent to Jishuitan Hospital, which currently has the best reputation for orthopedics in Peking, for examination and treatment, where it was confirmed that he had a hip fracture.

Once the surgery is done, it will take at least three months and at most six months, no matter whether "House of Flying Daggers" and Zhang Yimou can afford to wait or not.

He really can't wait, and he won't wait!

Zhu Yun gave some medical instructions to the patient's family member Zhang Zinan and left. Only then did Zhang Ziyi apologize to Lu Kuan in a tearful voice.

"Director Lu, I'm so sorry, I really didn't know this would happen, wuwuwu..."

Zhang Zinan wiped his sister's tears with a grim face. He felt very distressed seeing her crying and sobbing.

Zhang Yimou didn't want to get involved in Lu Kuan's affairs, so he patted him on the shoulder and walked out.

You have to give people space to make their words clear, right?

"Ziyi, I used to think you were a very professional actor and shouldn't make such a low-level mistake."

Zhang Ziyi became even more panicked when she heard this. She even hoped that she could play the victim so that Lu Kuan would allow her to recover for two months!
Even if I only get a symbolic salary, even if I go to the United States to perform at my own expense, even if my body has not fully recovered by then.

She really doesn't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
"Director Lu, could you please give me more..."

Lu Kuan has completely given up on her. People without credibility are not worth wasting time on.

"Okay Ziyi, I called you twice, and you didn't tell me the truth. You don't have to tell me the truth now."

"Recover from your injuries. With your qualifications, even if this collaboration doesn't work out, you still have the opportunity to enter Hollywood in the future."

After saying that, he turned around and left. Ah Fei at the door looked at the boss who pushed the door open in surprise, and quickly followed him.

Zhang Ziyi cried so hard in the room that her tonsils almost flew out!
"Brother, please help me stop the guide and plead for me... Woooo..."

Zhang Zinan sighed, stuffed the tissue into his sister's hand, and ran after her.

"Guide! Guide!"

Lu Kuan stopped and turned around, his face indifferent, waiting for him to speak.

It's nothing more than words of prayer and regret, so it's better not to listen to them.

This time, Boss Lu really got it wrong!
"Director Lu, from what I heard from you just now, you want Ziyi to withdraw from the filming, right?"

"Then you must pay triple your salary as compensation, which is $150 million, not a penny less."

Zhang Ziyi's salary for "Foreign Land" was suppressed by Lu Kuan. Not to mention $50, he probably would have agreed to let her act for free.

This is an opportunity that many people dream of and a top-notch resource.

Now not only Lu Kuan was dumbfounded, but even Ah Fei looked at him as if he were a hero.

Damn, this guy is really fucking brave. This is the first time I’ve seen anyone dare to blackmail the boss so brazenly.

Lu Kuan ignored his explanation and just glanced at him as if he was an idiot, then turned and walked away.

Zhang Zinan was very anxious and reached out to grab his shoulder.

Unexpectedly, the young man who looked like a driver next to him grabbed him with an extremely swift move and slammed his face to the ground.

"You... let me go! I want to call someone! I want to call the police! I'm Zhang Ziyi's brother!"

Boss Lu rebuked helplessly, "Zhang Zinan, if you still have any brains, go back and look at the contract. I'll just treat what you just said as bullshit."

"If you continue to talk nonsense to me, I will have my lawyer ask her to pay me three times her salary. We can discuss in court who is to blame for the filming being delayed!"

When Zhang Zinan mentioned money, he seemed to be on stimulants, and he didn't care that he was still being controlled by his bodyguards, and he yelled again.

"Lu Kuan! Are you even human? Ziyi got injured so badly while filming your scene, and you just abandon him like that?!"

More and more people gathered around to watch, and Zhang Zinan, relying on the power of his friends, quickly seized the high ground of public opinion and established an image of a weak person.

"Someone, come here! Look at this Lu Kuan's face. He's a fucking genius director, but he's a conscienceless beast! A beast who exploits actors!"

Boss Lu said nothing, smiled sinisterly, and told Ah Fei to leave.

There's no point in wasting time talking to this kind of person. Just tell Zhang Ziyi to tie up her dog.

Fools have good luck, but idiots don’t.

As the sky grew darker, Beijing became increasingly colder in late October. Boss Lu slept on a recliner wrapped in a blanket.

Zhang Ziyi's injury was a black swan event, which not only seriously affected the filming progress and post-production quality of the film, but more importantly, it affected his counterattack against Harvey and others.

He planned to wait until these Jews defected, and then he would take advantage of the situation to reap the benefits and easily pocket the $1200 million advance payment.

But things are different now.

If Harvey and Disney tear up the pre-sale agreement under the pretext of the film's poor quality, and with Tom Cruise's endorsement, the film's reputation will plummet.

People are the sum of social relations. Harvey, Tom Cruise and others are all top stars in the Hollywood industry, and Disney is one of the Big Six.

These people have rich public opinion resources in their hands, just like the mouthpieces of TV stations and blog networks that Lu Kuan has deployed in the mainland.

If before he could rely on his own connections to raise money or find global distributors on his own.

For example, look for Lionsgate in the North American market, Takeshi Kitano in Japan, and Luc Besson in Europe.

But now that the only Chinese actress who can gain Hollywood recognition is absent, can this strategy still work?

Or, if Harvey and others really start slamming and slamming "Alien Land," will its reputation be salvaged when it's finally released? This scenario is like using strong medicine on a weak patient: it might cure the illness, but the overpowering effect could also kill the patient.

Similarly, he could indeed counterattack Harvey and get the $1200 million in pre-sale funds, but he would run the risk of the film being killed by the "tiger and wolf medicine".

Even if it is not fatal, even some adverse effects that are difficult to eliminate will have an adverse impact on the movie box office.

It's really a dilemma.

He paced back and forth in the yard a little anxiously, and "The East is Red" sounded on the radio of the old man who was strolling at the door.

The East is Red, the Sun is Rising...

Boss Lu smoked a cigarette and thought of the opening of the first volume of "Dragon Slaying".

Who are our enemies? Who are our friends? This question is the primary question of revolution.

From the perspective of the world's black-and-white preconceived notion, Harvey, Tom Cruise, and Disney are all enemies.

But is this really the case?

He taught us to unite all forces that can be united, and this tripartite camp is not an unbreakable relationship.

Just Harvey is enough for Boss Lu to make a big fuss about him.

In other words, he is a target who can be persuaded to defect by offering benefits, and all he needs to do is throw out bait or intimidate the soldiers into making rebellion.

"A Fei, book your tickets now, take the earliest flight back to Los Angeles."

"What about tomorrow's celebration party for 'Thief'?"

"Just say that something urgent happened on the crew and I have to go back first."

Zhang Zinan is a big mouth. He has asked Sun Wenwen to handle this matter and make sure he is silenced.

Otherwise, if Harvey and others get wind of this in North America, they will probably "revolt" immediately.

Later, Zhang Ziyi learned from Zhang Yimou that her brother had spoken nonsense in front of Lu Kuan, even confusing right and wrong, which made her so angry that she cursed him for ruining her big plan.

It’s not difficult to block the news temporarily.

On October 2003, 10, Lu Kuan and Harvey met at the American Wenjie office.

"Lu, your venue is too shabby. Next time we have a conversation, I suggest we choose a strip club!"

Harvey burst into laughter before Lu Kuan finished speaking, remembering a little episode he had played on Lu Kuan the night the contract was signed.

The Fifty Shades of Grey club in Queens, New York, brought in a dancer from Thailand. Harvey asked her to pose and dance passionately in front of Boss Lu, and suddenly took out something from her short skirt...

Boss Lu was so frightened that he kicked it so far away that it almost collapsed with fright.

It’s a pity that Lu Kuan is not in the mood to chat and laugh with him now.

"Harvey, your affair has been exposed."

"what?"

"I said, your conspiracy with Disney and Tom Cruise has been exposed."

Lu Kuan calmly pulled out Kent from Genmo Country and threw it at him: "I'm here to save you."

Harvey rolled his eyes and said jokingly, "Are you going to start playing tricks again?"

"It's a pity that I don't believe it and I don't understand what you are talking about."

Boss Lu laughed and said, "Isn't the fact that I saw in Venice what you were thinking about the price of Hero enough to make you respect the mysterious religions of the East?"

"Don't try to sell these pathetic tricks to a sane Jew. It'll only make me despise you, Lou."

"You're a genius, but you shouldn't treat me like an idiot."

Xavi is still quite confident because this is his home court and he has used similar methods to harm others repeatedly without fail.

There are many "smart people" who are as conceited and smart as the Chinese director in front of us.

There is another more favorable evidence: This Chinese director was so stupid as to take over the doomed "Fahrenheit 950/911" for $ million?
This joke should be enough to bring him happiness for the whole year.

Boss Lu's face was stern. "To be honest, I really don't like your desecration of my beloved religion. It's like me making a fire and roasting suckling pig on your Sabbath."

"Lu! Stop being so rude. What the hell is wrong with you today? Why don't you go and work on your movie?"

Harvey was a little flustered, but the careful plan prevented him from expecting any changes.

In other words, what if you can see it?
He used his connections in the Chinese film industry to investigate Guo Lukuan's background.

It is indeed as he said, his qualifications and background are so mediocre that he had to spend huge amounts of money to buy "Fahrenheit 911/" to engage in political speculation.

The film and television company under his control was a small workshop that had not even produced a movie with a budget of over 300 million US dollars.

The only thing that deserves his attention is "Paranormal Activity", which has become famous in the past two months and may bring considerable profits to his company in the United States.

But so what?
Compared with the huge sum of 2500 million US dollars and the loss of tax refunds from countries such as Britain and Germany after the pre-sale agreement was torn up, he did not believe that Lu Kuan had enough funds and connections to deal with this chain attack.

Lu Kuan didn't want to waste time with him. Every second of delay would make the situation more difficult to control and more dangerous.

"Sign the contract, and once it's officially notarized and effective, you, Disney's Buena Vista, and Tom Cruise will tear up the pre-sale agreement and declare Alien Land a failure in the industry."

"Then they force the completion guarantee company to compensate all parties involved in the financing, and finally transfer the project to you at a low price. That's all, right?"

Harvey's expression changed from a playful one to a grim smile. Even though his evil ambitions were obvious, he remained calm.

"Smart people don't usually live long, Lu, your mistake is that you are too smart."

"In Hollywood, facing greedy wolves like Miramax and Tom Cruise, maybe your best option is to stick your ass up and get fucked."

"Yes, you are right, but do you have any solution now?"

Lu Kuan looked at his fat face with some disgust.

"A Fei, bring me my laptop."

Ah Fei handed Boss Lu the "lobbying materials" and sorted the documents into categories for him to review.

"This is a memorandum of understanding signed between me and Luc Besson's Europa Films regarding the film's distribution in Europe."

"This is CJ from South Korea, this is Toho Corporation from Japan, and this is..."

"Also, most importantly, this is the loan agreement I signed with Morgan Stanley, using the shares of my company as collateral. It just hasn't taken effect yet."

Boss Lu looked at Harvey's wonderful expression and said lightly.

"Because I don't think this money will be used, and it depends on whether you, Harvey, are smart enough."

Harvey showed no sign of being angry, but his sinister face stared at Lu Kuan like a poisonous snake.

"It's been less than a week since we signed the contract, and you've definitely made all the preparations."

"Lu, I take back what I just said. Not only are you a smart person, you are also the smartest Chinese person I have ever met."

Jews seem to be born realists. Perhaps they know that quarreling and arguing now will not help, so they are looking for an opportunity for reconciliation.

"You can choose to strike back, but what's the point of asking me out in advance instead of Tom Cruise and Disney?"

Zhang Ziyi's affairs cannot be concealed for long, and replacing her is a 100% option. Lu Kuan has no choice but to tell Harvey everything now.

This is not a sign of weakness, but a way of putting the most realistic chips of both sides on the table to prevent the other side from making strategic misjudgments and losing their own opportunities.

What's more, he has many ways to deceive and trick this Jewish white pig.

"Zhang Ziyi, the Chinese heroine of 'Alien Land', was injured and unable to fulfill her contract. This is a big blow to the crew!"

"what?"

Harvey exclaimed in surprise, then sighed inwardly, "Just one step! Just one step!"
If he had known the news in advance and forced Lu Kuan to surrender on the grounds of damaging the film's reputation, even if he had to leave Disney and Tom Cruise behind, he could still get a big bite of the fat in "Alien Land"!
Now all of Lu Kuan's back-up plans are flawless. If he insists on going his own way, the result will only be a lose-lose situation.

He, Disney and Tom Cruise will not gain any benefits, and Lu Kuan will also lose the current good reputation of "Alien Land".

"What do you need from me? What can I get?"

"Cooperate with me to embezzle Disney's 1200 million pre-sale agreement advance payment. After the deal is completed, we will split the profits -. I will help you with the accounting of the distribution points and return the profits."

"Also, you and Tom Cruise need to work together to clear the name of 'Alien Land' and eliminate any possible smear campaign by Bowen!"

Harvey was torn between his conscience and his desires.

He was indeed envious of the six million dollars. After all, it was something that came at no cost, not to mention that he could continue to distribute "Alien" in North America.

Even though he had previously promised an issuance fee point far below the market price in order to deceive Boss Lu.

But is it worth it to offend Disney for these things?

　House of Flying Daggers filming schedule changed

　　
　
(End of this chapter)