HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 423 [423] Following Qi Yuan, another Chinese artist graces the cover of Time magazine's Asian edition.
In the following days, Hero sold its North American and several other European and American distribution rights for $30 million.

This news became the most talked-about news in China.

The buyer was Warner Bros., one of the eight major Hollywood film studios.

New Pictures, Anle Films, and investors are practically begging to kowtow to Qi Yuan.

A massive project with an investment of 30 million US dollars broke even as soon as it started operating. Who else can do that?

All the money earned from subsequent screenings of the film in China, East Asia, and other overseas regions was profit.

This project has already made a fortune.

This was a huge project with an investment of 30 million US dollars! That's just over 240 million RMB. They broke even so easily, exceeding everyone's expectations.

Zhang Yingmou went to great lengths to invite Ken Takakura from Japan, wasn't it precisely to secure the overseas market, fearing that relying solely on the domestic market wouldn't be enough to recoup costs?

Qi Yuan's demonstrated commercial value surpassed that of Ken Takakura.

Qi Yuan was just an actor in this film. He didn't invest in it, and he didn't care how much money it made or how much it grossed. He didn't get a share of the profits.

In addition, Qi Yuan thought that the price of thirty million US dollars was quite good, as he had only sold it for half that price in his previous life.

Films with strong Chinese elements don't have a large market share overseas.

Warner Bros. won't lose money even if they pay this price. In the previous film, it grossed over $53 million in North America. With box office revenue from other European and American countries plus DVD revenue, even if the film's performance is the same as in the previous film, Warner Bros. can still make a profit.

Warner's distribution channels are very strong; they have a subsidiary that specializes in selling discs.

Many films invested in by Warner Bros. lost money at the box office, so Warner Bros. would have this subsidiary release DVDs, VCDs, and other discs to recoup the losses.

The better ones can turn a profit, while the less successful ones can recover some funds and try to minimize their losses.

Moreover, with Qi Yuan's support, the box office should be much stronger than in his previous life. It's hard to say exactly how much stronger, since he has never had a film released in North America.

……

The filming location of "Hero".

Qi Yuan witnessed Zhang Yingmou filming the scenes showcasing the Qin army.

Zhang Yimou, a photographer by training, is unparalleled in composition and imagery; his work is world-class.

The Qin army's cavalry and infantry galloped in from afar, a sight as beautiful as the golden spears and iron horses in ancient paintings.

Even without post-production color grading, it's still stunning; any frame could be used as a screensaver or wallpaper.

The Qin army's infantry formation surrounded Wuming, played by Qi Yuan, and Feixue, played by Zhang Manyu, with cavalrymen pulling black banners galloping past on the outer perimeter, creating a scene full of Eastern aesthetics.

Qi Yuan even felt that these 'extras' were more imposing than the Qin army in history, because these extras were all real soldiers.

In such a grand setting, Qi Yuan's performance naturally couldn't be lackluster.

Qi Yuan raised his sword, cupped his hands, and delivered his lines in a powerful voice: "I am Wuming, the head of the Mengxian Pavilion. I have come here to capture the Zhao assassin and humbly request a one-on-one battle."

After exchanging lines with the Qin general, the Qin army formation retreated slightly, and the most important scene in Gansu Province for "Hero" was about to begin.

This scene took several hours to film, and some of the actions required the use of wires, which was very troublesome.

However, both Qi Yuan and Zhang Manyu performed exceptionally well.

Once the traits such as "50/50", "Thousand-Faced Actor", and "Sword Saint" are activated, Qi Yuan is Wuming's real name.

Even if there really was a nameless person in history, he would be stunned if he saw Qi Yuan.

Director Zhang Yingmou and action director Cheng Xiaodong couldn't help but secretly applaud. The two of them perfectly presented the fight scenes they designed, with crisp movements and high entertainment value.

In his final move, with the help of wires, Qi Yuan drew his sword and stabbed Zhang Manyu, then cleanly and neatly sheathed the sword back on his back, all in one smooth and stylish motion.

Zhang Manyu had no lines and simply collapsed.

There was originally a line, "What a fast sword."

Qi Yuan felt it was unnecessary; having that line would only lower his class.

Similarly, there's the line from the Qin King's palace, "I have realized that the highest realm is not to kill," which really lowers one's prestige by saying it out loud.

Zhang Yingmou was very accommodating to Qi Yuan with this minor suggestion that wouldn't affect the script or plot, and adopted it immediately.

After filming the scene, Zhang Yingmou praised him with a surprised expression: "You are not only a genius musician, but also a born actor. It was absolutely the right decision to cast you as the character Wuming."

Qi Yuan smiled and replied, "Director Zhang, you flatter me. I was just doing my job."

Speaking of this, Zhang Yingmou has to give Qi Yuan a thumbs up.

Qi Yuan is a very high-profile celebrity, but he doesn't act like one and takes every day's filming work very seriously.

Zhang Yingmou will also try his best to arrange for Qi Yuan's scenes to be filmed first, so that Qi Yuan can finish filming as soon as possible.

……

8 month 15 day.

While Qi Yuan was filming "Heroes," Zhou Jielun, who had been holding back for a long time, released his fourth Chinese album, "Ye Huimei," named after his mother. He is a well-known filial son in Taiwan.

The album was originally scheduled to be released on July 31, but due to the big battle between Chi Yuan and Zhou Ruifa, Alfa had to postpone the release of Jay Chou's new album.

A good meal is not afraid of being late.

The first song on this album is called "Judgment Day," a dark-themed song that replaced "In the Name of the Father."

At the beginning of the album, Jay Chou used this song to tell everyone that he had not lost his creative spark.

The replacement of "Dongfeng Po" with "Qing Tong Deng" allowed Zhou Jielun to break into the middle-aged and elderly market and begin to gain favor among this demographic.

This marks the beginning of his departure from Wang Lihong and Tao Ze, and his accelerated approach towards Qi Yuan.

These two new songs, along with classic hits like "Sunny Day," "Class 3-2," and "Love Cliff," combined with Jay Chou's long-accumulated popularity, made the album an instant hit upon release, becoming the most powerful Chinese album in the entire Chinese music scene this year.

Furthermore, Chou Chieh-lun benefited from the fact that Chi Yuan could no longer get publicity in Taiwan, resulting in a decrease in exposure and popularity.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chou Chieh Lun began to conquer new territories, and her popularity in Taiwan is trending towards catching up with Chi Yuan's.

Taiwanese artist Chou Chieh-lun delivered a perfect album, making the Taiwanese media happier than during the Lunar New Year.

For various reasons, they usually try to avoid mentioning Qi Yuan's name.

This time, Qi Yuan's name has been unrestricted; they're going to use Qi Yuan to boost Zhou Jielun's status.

[2001 was a pivotal year in the history of the Chinese music scene, as Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou was rapidly rising to fame!]

[Jay Chou's "Ye Huimei" tops the Hong Kong and Taiwan album sales charts; she's replicating the success of "Qi Yuan"!]

Breaking news! Jay Chou may become the second Chinese singer, after Qi Yuan, to grace the cover of Time magazine's Asian edition!

[Alpha reveals that Jay Chou is diligently practicing English; could today's Qi Yuan be the future Jay Chou?]

(End of this chapter)