Unboxing, Director!

Chapter 109: Targeting the European and American Markets, "Xiao Shiyilang"

"Yeah, not bad, not bad, yeah"

In the office of Dawn Films, Warner's Zhou Jianhui listened to the demos of four songs and nodded repeatedly.

"Secret Fragrance", "Little Love Song", "This Is Love", "Boundless Oceans and Vast Skies".

The quality of the four songs is self-evident. The key is that the skills required for the songs are much higher than those in Lu Jiang's previous albums.

Among Lu Jiang’s previous songs, only a few could be described as “difficult to sing”.

But now there are four of them at once.

So Warner's Zhou Jianhui and Lu Jiang were similar, and they thought of the theme of the new album at the first time.

That's the "breakthrough."

Lu Jiang has been in the industry for four years and has already firmly established himself as the king of Chinese pop music.

If you want to go further, unless you enter the European and American music scene and achieve good results, you can only fight for a position at the historical level.

If Lu Jiang wants to rank at the historical level, his new Chinese style is enough to give him confidence.

In addition, in terms of music, I try new styles, such as achieving breakthroughs in technique or style.

Of course, there are other ways, but they are not related to music. For example, if you die now, you will definitely get "extra points" in the ranking later.
By the way, after listening to these four songs, Zhou Jianhui and Lu Jiang had a detailed chat.

Although Zhou Jianhui was very satisfied with these four songs.

Although releasing an EP complies with the terms of the contract, it is still a little less.

"How about I get you a few more difficult songs, so that you can have 10 in total?"

Since the theme is mainly about skills, let’s just do more.

But Lu Jiang shook his head and said, "We are writing new songs, and there may not be only four in the end."

Maybe there will be another treasure chest next time. If it is suitable and Lu Jiang is happy, he can put it in at any time.

But that wasn't the main reason why he shook his head.

The main reason is: "I asked you to come this time because I wanted you to listen to this song."

"There's still songs? Great."

Zhou Jianhui quickly put on his headphones.

As the music started, Zhou Jianhui began to nod along with the prelude guitar rhythm.

This prelude is very fresh and British.
But soon, as the first line of lyrics came out, he was slightly stunned.

After the chorus was finished, Zhou Jianhui exclaimed in surprise, "English song?!"

Lu Jiang smiled: "Listen to it first."

Zhou Jianhui just opened his eyes wide and listened three times.

After listening, he looked at Lu Jiang.

That expression was exactly the same as the first time I heard his songs like "Twilight" in Locke Anluo.

But the treasure chest on the head is not so colorful.

Just green:
Zhou Jianhui was impressed by the host's learning ability. He wanted to see if the host could do better than his predecessors.

【Exceeding the requirements, the treasure chest can be upgraded】

Lu Jiang expressed his understanding.

After all, this is not a Chinese song.

Zhou Jianhui doesn't have that deep understanding of the European and American markets.

It’s normal that you can’t recognize the word “future” right away.

"How is it?" Lu Jiang asked.

"Very good. You yourself. When did you write it?"

"Do you think I wrote it myself?"

"is it?"

"Yes, don't worry. I've been studying English for almost a year, and my spoken English isn't that fluent yet, but I can still write simple lyrics."

Lu Jiang gave a brief explanation.

Zhou Jianhui had no doubts, after all, the lyrics were indeed simple.

What really surprised him was the arrangement.

European and American songs and Chinese songs are indeed very different in this respect.

But thinking about Lu Jiang's previous songs and the various arrangement styles, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. He could only sigh that he was indeed a genius.

"Is there any problem with the release?" Lu Jiang asked again.

"Of course, it's not like singers haven't released songs before, but they just didn't make much of a splash."

Many Chinese singers have tried to enter the European and American markets.

For example, Teresa Teng, Roman Tam, and George Lam in the 70s.

But the response was limited.

There are many reasons, including race, musical style, etc.

From a musical perspective, the styles of the two places are different after all, and the barriers are difficult to break through.

It's just forcing the same style, following behind others and taking advantage of what they have left behind.

You are not avant-garde, you are not cool, the quality of your songs is average, and you are a yellow person, so of course you will not be popular.

But it is not so easy for Asians to synchronize or lead the styles in foreign countries.

So Zhou Jianhui doesn’t care whether "You Are Beautiful" will become popular or not. He just wants to see whether Lu Jiang can do better than his predecessors.

Lu Jiang didn't think much about it.

Let’s try dividing it into regions first.

Anyway, this is the only English song I have now, and I have to use it eventually.

If a place is not popular because of non-musical elements such as ethnicity, Lu Jiang doesn’t mind using a gold box to make a big one!

With the golden finger, I feel very confident!
The album is done, and the next thing is to work on the two dramas.

First up is "Full House."

When preparations began, Fan Binbin returned on time.

"How was your fun?"

Lu Jiang asked as he looked at Fan Binbin, whose mental state was completely different.

Fan Binbin, on the other hand, hung on Lu Jiang like a sloth, shaking his head: "Not very good."

Lu Jiang knew it a long time ago.

A film by one of Xie Jin's students.

It looks very grand, after all, it is a movie.

But he had never even heard of that movie, so it wouldn't make any splash even if it was released.

But Fan Binbin was still very satisfied.

After all, I successfully did a favor this time.

Later, when she goes out, she can justifiably pull Xie Jin out.

Although Director Xie Jin is old, he still has a strong network of contacts in the circle.

At a time when commercial films had not yet fully opened up, he was one of the top figures in the domestic film industry.

just,

After next year, the situation will be different.

But it's not a big problem.

As for the queen, she is also the number one sister of Poxiao.

As long as she doesn't act up in the future, will she still worry about not having film resources?

After hanging out for a while, Fan Binbin continued to talk about what he had gained in the past few days.

Now she is already a famous actress in Asia.

Although her fame is far less than that of Zhang Ziyi, it is also slightly less than that of Xiaoyanzi.

But no matter what, she is now a top female star in the domestic entertainment industry.

Plus, this girl's looks are really unique.

Plus the successful personal marketing last time.

The brands she is currently endorsing are really what other actresses would salivate over.

At a glance, they are all high-end brands. Counting the endorsement fees for "Shancai", she has become a multi-millionaire.

And luxury goods have also begun to contact her.

Now Fan Binbin has two in his hands, one is jewelry and the other is a bag.

Lu Jiang wasn't familiar with the brand, but Fan Binbin liked it. He said he'd wanted to buy it for a long time, and now it was free. Clearly, it was a well-known brand. Currently, European luxury goods haven't really taken off in mainland China.

It is quite rare for mainland female stars to endorse luxury goods.

So this is no longer a question of money, but a question of status.

“Not bad, but I still say the same thing”

"I know, you have to pay taxes, right?"

"It's good to know."

Fan Binbin then talked about the film and television invitation.

In addition to various endorsements, the most important thing is film and television invitations.

Lu Jiang gave Fan Binbin great freedom in this regard.

Fan Binbin likes acting and also likes the feeling of hard work.

Poxiao doesn’t have many projects at the moment, so it’s better to let her go it alone.

No matter what happens, Lu Jiang will always be there to support her.

This is also why Fan Binbin feels very confident outside.

At the moment, only some movie resources and dramas are not available, and she can choose the rest of the dramas.

Don't even bother with unspoken rules.

In her own words: "Now it's me who has to take advantage of them, not them taking advantage of me!"

After saying that, Fan Binbin chuckled for a long time. This feeling of turning over was long-lasting and he would never get tired of it no matter how much he enjoyed it.

However, she also knew that the popularity brought by "Shancai" was only temporary.

This is also the norm in the entertainment industry.

Just like a commercial performance quotation.

A popular work can increase your quotation by a lot.

But it won’t stay there forever.

What artists do throughout their lives is actually to think about how to use their works and topics to push their value higher, wave after wave, how to keep it stable, and how to slow down the decline.

For this reason, Fan Binbin is very concerned about new film and television invitations.

Even though Lu Jiang has "Full House", she still wants to have an extra insurance.

For her, this is insurance, and it also prevents her from being too dependent on Lu Jiang, so that Lu Jiang looks down on her.

After all, the song Lu Jiang wrote for her said, "The love you want is more than just dependence."

Of course, she would definitely let Lu Jiang take a look at what drama she would take on, because Lu Jiang's vision was better than hers.

Soon, Lu Jiang saw the pile of projects, there were more than ten of them, and these were the ones left.

"It's really popular. In the past, you could be happy for a long time with a drama."

"Isn't that all thanks to our Lulu?"

Fan Binbin hugged Lu Jiang, looked up, and blinked his eyes.

Can this be tolerated?
Lu Jiang immediately stood up!

More than half an hour later, the two continued to look at the project.

After just looking at the project name, Lu Jiang's eyes lit up and he found a good one.

"The Legend of the Condor Heroes", a work by Zhouyi Film and Television.

The current lead role is tentatively confirmed to be Nicky Wu.

The remaining roles are "undetermined".

The other party invited Fan Binbin to play the female lead Shen Bijun, the same one played by Athena Chu in the original version.

Now "A Chinese Odyssey" is very popular in mainland China, and Athena Chu has become the goddess of countless people.

But Zhu Yin in the original drama is very dark, which is indeed a bit different from the "most beautiful woman in the world". Lu Jiang even feels that she is not as pretty as Feng Siniang.

Now Fan Binbin is the female lead, and it’s true that no one is more suitable than her. Not even Chen Hong is suitable, as she looks a bit old.

"What does this play say?"

Lu Jiang continued to ask.

"It was just handed to me the day before yesterday. Do you suggest I act in this?"

Not only did he suggest Fan Binbin to play the role, he also wanted to squeeze Yu Bo in as well.

After all, Yu Bo was originally the second male lead "Lian Chengbi" in the play. This role adds a lot to him and is considered his natal role.

But Yu Bo is not in Zhouyi now, so he missed this opportunity.

Lu Jiang hopes that Yu Bo can interact more with Zhouyi Film and Television.

The best thing would be to reach a strategic cooperation so that Yu Bo would be included in all of Zhou Yi’s dramas in the future.

In this way, Lu Jiang saved a lot of effort in training.

My project can use him, so I can call him anytime.

And maybe it would be better to let Zhou Yi train him.

After all, in the future TV drama industry, Zhou Yi and Tang Ren can be said to be divided into two parts.
The more Lu Jiang thought about it, the more feasible this plan seemed.

"Contact them and see if we can cooperate."

Two days later, Lu Jiang, Zhou Yi and his wife Jiang Xueruo met in the capital.

After a round of greetings, Lu Jiang brought up the first topic.

Fan Binbin plays the female lead and Yu Bo plays the second male lead.

Of course, the other party agreed to let Fan Binbin play the female lead.

Now that Fan Binbin is so popular and beautiful, she is the first choice when the other party is casting.

But Yu Bo?
Two questions.

The pay, and whether the role is suitable.

Lu Jiang directly said that he would talk about it after the audition.

Soon, Yu Bo showed up and tried it out for a while, and the other party was quite satisfied.

Even Jiang Xueruo looked at him with a different look in her eyes.
Yu Bo had no objection to Lu Jiang arranging a play for him outside the company.

He has now confirmed that he will play "Duan Tianya", and "The World's Number One" will be filmed after August.

In addition, in F4, his popularity as Ximen is relatively low, just like Deng Chao as Mei Zuo.

In addition, he had nothing to do except his studies during this period, so he was naturally happy to act in a new play.

But it is not certain whether he can act or not, after all, he is very valuable now.

In response to this, after the audition, Lu Jiang asked Yu Bo to go out first, and then directly brought up the second topic: investing.

Now Zhouyi Film and Television has moved beyond the stage of screenwriters selling dramas and collaborating on film productions, and has begun producing its own dramas.

The first drama "Wulin Wai Shi" has been completed, but has not been broadcast yet. "Love Across Time and Space" has also been filmed, but has not been broadcast either.

Overall, the future of Zhouyi is still uncertain.

As for Lu Jiang, he has money, popular actors, mainland TV stations and the entire Southeast Asian distribution network as bargaining chips.

Relatively speaking, they are very complementary.

If he could really acquire shares, it would not be impossible for Zhou Yi's actors to perform in his dramas.

Of course, it’s okay if you really can’t buy shares. We can cooperate often in the future.

There is no problem with collaboration on a single work, and we can also collaborate on "The World's Number One".

"Number One Under Heaven" is a martial arts drama. Lu Jiang has no experience in martial arts scenes, so it shouldn't be a problem for him to watch on the spot or ask others to help.

It's also possible to co-write the screenplay. The hit drama "Water Moon Cave" has not been released yet, but Lu Jiang roughly knows the outline of the plot. After all, he has seen it before. It shouldn't be a big problem to let Zhou Yi himself complete the script, right?
Zhou Yi and his wife said they would consider Lu Jiang's suggestion.

To show his sincerity, Lu Jiang said that he could lower the pay of Fan Binbin and Yu Bo, as long as they had a pleasant cooperation.

This is really "full of sincerity" for them. After all, no one knows whether "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" will be successful, let alone like Lu Jiang, who is sure that this drama will be a hit.

It was finally confirmed that Fan Binbin would play Shen Bijun and Yu Bo would play Lian Chengbi.

As for the protagonist Xiao Shiyilang, the "mistress," Zhou Yi said Lu Jiang would be more suitable for the role than Nicky Wu, as his image is closer to Ti Lung's.
After saying that, a blue treasure chest popped up above Zhou Yi's head: [Zhou Yi hopes Lu Jiang can play Xiao Shiyilang and make "Xiao Shiyilang" a hit]

In that case, it can be considered.

The current plan is to start filming "Full House" in April and is expected to be completed in June.

"The Legend of the Condor Heroes" will start filming in mid-June and can be seamlessly connected to the crew.

After starring in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", I gained experience in martial arts films, which will also be beneficial for the upcoming "The First Under Heaven".

But, whether you can act or not is not important, what is important is whether you can get in or not.

Lu Jiang then leaned back on the sofa:
"If I want to act, then we need to discuss the issue of equity investment."

(End of this chapter)