Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 487 Cheng Long appears in "Tang Detective 1900"

"Hello, Mr. Chen!"

"Hello there!"

Chen Xiu stood up and greeted Cheng Long, reaching out her hand while sizing up the kung fu superstar.

Although Jackie Chan can still fight in movies, in reality he has a face full of wrinkles and wears reading glasses. However, his handshake strength is still decent, not trembling.

Cheng Long was also squinting, looking at Chen Xiu with a smile on his lips.

An elderly person's gaze will always first fall on that healthy, shiny black hair, and then look down at those bright, piercing eyes and the gently pursed lips.

This is a confident but unassuming young man...

Both men had made their own assessments of each other. Chen Xiu invited Cheng Long to sit down on the sofa, while Wei Feng made tea nearby.

Chen Xiu wasn't in a hurry to talk business; instead, she chatted with Cheng Long first.

"Brother Cheng Long looks so young!"

"No, I just celebrated my birthday a few days ago. I'm 65 now, not young anymore."

Cheng Long smiled and waved his hand, but in his heart he fully agreed with Chen Xiu's statement.

At his stage, money and women no longer held any appeal for him.

It is the endless longing for the past that is the greatest regret in my heart.

Chen Xiu took the tea from Wei Feng and continued, "65 is still alright. Clint Eastwood is almost 90, but he's still active on screen."

"If I could be like the old cowboy, that would be great!"

Cheng Long looked on with longing.

"Old Cowboy" is Clint Eastwood's nickname, derived from the Westerns that made him famous.

Chen Xiu took a sip of tea, but it didn't quite suit her taste, so she put it down.

"Brother Cheng Long, I heard you like tea, so I specially prepared a tea cake. Would you like to try it?"

"thanks, thanks."

Cheng Long thanked her twice, first to Chen Xiu, and then to Wei Feng, who handed him the teacup.

After taking a small sip, Cheng Long couldn't help but praise, "This tea is indeed very good. Mr. Chen, you've gone to great lengths."

"really."

Chen Xiu readily admitted, pointing to the newly opened tea cake on the table, and said, "I don't usually like drinking tea, but I specially opened one because I heard you were coming today. Please don't mind if I don't drink much later."

Cheng Long was taken aback, thinking to himself that Chen Xiu was not playing by the rules.

Actually, when he sat down, he had already noticed the box of tea cakes on the coffee table and wondered to himself that it was indeed newly opened.

Strangely, Cheng Long did not feel offended at all by Chen Xiu's frankness; on the contrary, he felt quite comfortable.

"Haha! Mr. Chen specially prepared this fine tea to entertain me, please don't mind."

"That's good."

Chen Xiu nodded slightly and did not insist on drinking the tea.

After the polite greetings were over, and having already given Cheng Long enough face, Chen Xiu stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point.

"Brother Jackie Chan, are you available this year?"

I'm coming.

Jackie Chan calmly put down his teacup and pondered, "The movies I've made in recent years haven't been very successful. I plan to take a break this year and haven't scheduled any work for myself."

"Oh."

Chen Xiu responded briefly, picked up the teacup, touched her lips with it, but didn't drink.

Upon seeing this, Wei Feng immediately understood: "Brother Cheng Long, does this 'rest' you're referring to mean that you've already decided not to take on any work?"

"That's definitely not the case!"

Cheng Long laughed and denied it, then took the initiative to say, "If there's a good opportunity, I'd be willing to end my vacation right away."

"What do you think of the 'Detective Chinatown 1900' project?" Wei Feng continued.

In "Detective Chinatown 1900", there is a Chinese tycoon named Bai Xuanling. Originally, Chen Sicheng wanted to invite Zhou Runfa to play the role.

However, the other party directly demanded a salary of 8000 million.

After Wei Feng reported this quote to Chen Xiu, Chen Xiu crossed Zhou Runfa off the list of candidates without hesitation.

Afterwards, Chen Xiu recalled that she had a brief meeting with Cheng Long last year and they had talked about the possibility of future cooperation.

Cheng Long's fame and status are incomparable to Chow Yun-fat's.

Since the latter can be included in the reference list, the former is naturally not a problem either. What needs to be confirmed is Jackie Chan's schedule and salary, which is why we met today.

When Cheng Long heard that it was this project, his eyelids first opened slightly, then quickly narrowed again.

"Mr. Wei, doesn't 'Detective Chinatown' have a fixed main character? Are you inviting me because you want to?"

"We're missing a third male lead this time!"

Chen Xiu took over the conversation, and the brief moment of embarrassment on Wei Feng's face turned into relaxation.

Cheng Long neither confirmed nor denied it.

"The third male lead?"

"Yes! A Chinatown boss who has worked hard and struggled to rise step by step. This character has a strong sense of national pride and patriotism, and is also a kind elder and a loving father."

Chen Xiu briefly mentioned the characteristics of the character.

Cheng Long's face trembled slightly, and tears seemed to well up in his originally cloudy eyes. His heart was touched and softened.

The character Bai Xuanling's experiences resonated with him deeply, and he felt that they were incredibly similar to his own experiences, instantly bringing back many memories.

Thinking of this, Cheng Long looked at Chen Xiu with more approval in his eyes.

"Mr. Chen, is this role you're talking about specifically prepared for me?"

"All I can say is that he's a good match for you." "Indeed, indeed."

"For 'Detective Chinatown 1900,' we will be collaborating with Warner Bros., and Hollywood stars will also be participating. I really can't think of anyone in China more suitable than you."

Chen Xiu's way of supporting people is without any flattery or pandering. Instead, he uses parallelism and echoing to evoke resonance in people through real-life examples.

This approach garnered Cheng Long's full approval, who felt that Chen Xiu was absolutely right.

Young man, handsome, accomplished, eloquent...

Tsk tsk, how can the difference between people be so huge? Forget about three-tenths similarity, even if I could only get one-tenth, I wouldn't have to work so hard!

Cheng Long inwardly admired Chen Xiu's performance, and while he highly praised it, he couldn't help but make comparisons.

This comparison made me feel like I had fallen from the clouds to the abyss, with icy water constantly pouring in, instantly chilling me to the bone.

Seeing Cheng Long's gaze shift from excitement and eagerness to sorrow and grief, Chen Xiu's eyebrows twitched, knowing that enough groundwork had been laid and it was time to get down to business.

"Brother Jackie Chan, would you be willing to play this role?"

"what?"

Jackie Chan paused for a moment, then instantly realized his lapse in composure: "Sorry, that role is fine! When do you start filming? I'll arrange the time."

Hearing this incoherent speech, Chen Xiu glanced at Wei Feng and gestured for him to continue.

"Cough cough."

Wei Feng coughed twice and said to Cheng Long, "Brother, we plan to start filming in June. Your scenes will probably take about a month and a half."

"No problem! I'll clear my schedule before September."

Touched by the experience, Cheng Long was able to unleash a bit of the chivalrous spirit that was already ingrained in his bones.

Wei Feng was initially delighted, but then somewhat embarrassed: "Brother, what about your current salary?"

What's the pay?

Cheng Long looked at Wei Feng with suspicion, seemingly genuine.

Wei Feng was dumbfounded: "Shouldn't we discuss your salary for playing this role beforehand?"

Cheng Long sat up straight, his eyes widened, and his expression suddenly became serious.

"No payment required!"

"what??"

“I told Mr. Chen last time that if we can work together, we don’t need to pay him a fee.”

Seeing Wei Feng still looking confused, Cheng Long explained, "I was still hesitant about the role and the script, but you've already offered me 'Detective Chinatown' to work with, and I'm even the third male lead. So let's not talk about the salary. Just consider me a guest star."

Over the years, Jackie Chan has made many cameo appearances in movies, and he has mostly done so without receiving payment.

However, I've never heard of a third male lead being considered a cameo... except for The Wandering Earth.

Chen Xiu glanced at Wei Feng, who was looking bewildered and hesitant, and took the initiative to speak up: "Brother, we should still pay you the salary you deserve. Let's stick with the rate you get for playing the third male lead."

"No need really!"

Cheng Long raised his hand and turned his gaze from Wei Feng to Chen Xiu, his tiger-like eyes sharp.

"Mr. Chen, would it seem presumptuous of me to want to be friends with you?"

"Um... You don't need to practice weightlifting to be friends with me, you just need to get along well."

Chen Xiu's earnest explanation caused the atmosphere that Cheng Long had just built up to freeze.

He stared blankly at Chen Xiu for a long while, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

"..."

Chen Xiu watched him silently, calm and composed.

Cheng Long's laughter subsided slightly, and he pointed at Chen Xiu: "I was talking to Mr. Ma from Ali's company about you before. He said you are very good at social maneuvering and have the style of Director Wong. I was a little unsure at first, but today I really believe it!"

"Director Wang."

Chen Xiu chuckled lightly, neither confirming nor denying.

After finishing his reflection, Cheng Long continued, "Mr. Chen, let me be frank from the start. If you want me to play this role, let's not talk about the salary. Let's just consider this a friendly exchange."

“If you insist on paying me, fine. Give me 3 or 4 million, and I will still play the role. But after that, we don’t need to contact each other anymore.”

Such remarks certainly have a strong sense of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry).

Chen Xiu stared at Cheng Long for a long time, then suddenly smiled and said, "OK! Then thank you for your guest appearance this time, brother."

"Friends don't need to say thank you!"

"Okay, I'll be more careful next time."

"Mr. Chen, you really are..."

Cheng Long smacked his lips, staring at Chen Xiu with envy.

Chen Xiu often saw that look in Wang Shoufu's eyes, and occasionally in Ma Yun's eyes, so she naturally understood what it meant.

To be honest, these old guys can be quite exasperating sometimes...

After finishing their business, Cheng Long wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, he lingered and chatted with Chen Xiudong.

"Mr. Chen, I really can't keep up with the development of the film market now. In the past, it was a great achievement for a film to gross more than 100 million yuan. Now, even 1 billion yuan is considered a poor performance."

"This year is indeed different. At the beginning of the year, 'The Wandering Earth' grossed 52 billion yuan during the Spring Festival. This month, the final installment of 'The Avengers' was released, and its box office will definitely not be low. In addition, there is the still uncertain summer season and this year's National Day season... I'm afraid we won't have such good days again for the next few years."

Chen Xiu's words were profound, something Cheng Long and Wei Feng could not possibly understand.

However, Jackie Chan did provide some surprising news.

"There are actually some confirmed big films for the summer season. Huayi Brothers' 'The Eight Hundred' has already passed censorship and is scheduled for the summer season. Both Wang Dawang and Wang Xiaowang have high expectations for this film..."

"Oh, that's wonderful."

(End of this chapter)