Chapter 1688
Joys and Sorrows
People have sorrows and sorrows and joys, and moons have yin and qing, which is difficult to complete.
Partings and reunions are common occurrences, and Zhang Yuan understands this principle very well.
So when Vin Diesel cast a smug look at him, the bald guy wanted to see astonishment, fear, and frustration...
Anyway, it has to be uncomfortable and unpleasant.
Unfortunately, Zhang Yuan didn't give him that chance.
All he saw was peace.
All that's missing is some Buddha's halo from behind.
Okay, I understand. And then?
Family Hero showed a disappointed expression.
He has a pointed head and a typical white personality; he can't keep a secret.
Paul was also a little scared, staring intently at him, his gaze shifting back and forth between him and the bald man.
They were afraid the two would start fighting on the spot and stage a full-blown brawl in the meeting room.
Should I stop them or not?
If I don't stop him, the bald guy will easily get beaten to death.
If I were to stop them... even if everyone in this room came at me, we might not be able to stop them.
Zhang Yuan quickly finished scanning the script, gently placed it on the table, and looked at the head of the meeting with a normal expression.
“Zhang, do you have any objections to this script outline?” Mike asked.
Before I give my opinion, I have a few questions I would like you to answer.
He spoke first without waiting for the other party to agree.
When was it decided that my character would die in the next installment?
Without waiting for the other person to speak, he began to answer his own question.
"I guess it was after that weekend when we were filming the six movies."
"That is, the weekend after everyone went to attend the wedding of the Indian tycoon's daughter, right?"
He pinpointed the exact time.
Well, the surprise the bald man wanted to see finally appeared on his own face.
Zhang Yuan spoke with confidence and eloquence.
It's actually quite easy to guess.
That weekend, I forced the bald guy to come and apologize to me.
Given his personality, he naturally found it difficult to tolerate such "humiliation".
Therefore, Global Times must have talked to him about this, which Zhang Yuan guessed at the time.
At that time, Guo Fan was also worried that the other party would make some underhanded moves. Zhang Yuan understood that he could not back down an inch when facing the white guy, and he had to seize any benefits that came his way.
This is a nation that is willing to amend environmental laws and risk the collapse of deep soil and water structures just to make a quick buck in order to extract shale oil. How can they talk about long-term planning?
They don't have that kind of cultural background.
Therefore, we must go head-to-head and win every single victory.
It is obvious that Universal Pictures' condition for making Zhang Yuan bow down was that they would ensure he would not appear in their future works.
I'll help you, the male lead, avoid these troubles.
Just bear with it a little longer, we'll take care of him.
Zhang Yuan guessed the result with an easy expression.
But he hadn't finished speaking.
“Since you’re going to announce the death of my character, you don’t really need to call me to Los Angeles.”
"Just call me or send me the script."
"Then why did you insist on making me come today?"
Zhang Yuan continued to ask and answer his own questions.
The cunning frog keeps touching your belly!
there is only one truth!
He pushed up his non-existent black-rimmed glasses.
"Because someone asked me to come."
“Right, Fan?” Zhang Yuan looked at his family member Xia.
Now, the terrified expression he wanted appeared on his face.
Zhang Yuan didn't even bother to be proud, because it was too easy to guess.
In the movie "Fast & Furious", Vin Diesel and Paul are definitely the main characters.
Anyone can be replaced, but these two should never be replaced unless absolutely necessary.
Especially given the lessons learned from the previous installments.
As these kinds of series progress, the production company has to coax the lead actors to stay in the lead roles.
Just like Marvel had to coax Downey to keep making movies.
In fact, the salaries of Hollywood's top male leads did not change much from the 00s to the 20s.
It has always been in the tens of millions of dollars.
The amounts range from as little as 1000 million US dollars to as much as 3 or 4000 million.
Matthew McConaughey became famous for his romantic films when he first started out.
But this person, who had artistic aspirations, felt that this wouldn't do, so he had his agent tell all the major Hollywood studios that he would no longer make romance films.
At first, no one believed it. They thought these kinds of movies were easy to make, and each movie could make several million US dollars. Everyone could make money, so why not make them?
McConaughey slapped his own face repeatedly. These kinds of scenes are easy to film, but they're also incredibly scary. But men have to save face.
He was approached by several people who offered him money, with the price rising from $800 million to $1800 million. After a struggle, he decided to refrain from acting.
$1800 million is already the price for a top-tier male lead.
Matthew McConaughey is ruthless; he's not making any money from all that and he's trying to reinvent himself.
This led to a series of great works such as "Dallas Buyers Club", "The Wolf of Wall Street", and "Interstellar".
Only then can one win an Oscar for Best Actor.
If you aspire to be a performing artist, don't expect to make money from everything.
But Downey can earn $50 million in salary for Marvel films, plus a large share of box office revenue, making him nearly $100 million from a single movie.
The pay is much higher than that of top Hollywood stars.
That's what makes the male lead of this series so amazing.
The entire company is relying on one show to stay afloat, and the entire show is relying on you to keep it afloat. The capitalists are all your grandsons.
Whatever you say goes.
As a result, due to the high cost, he was killed off in Avengers: Endgame, but it wouldn't do if he were gone, so he had to be brought back for Avengers: Endgame.
The bald man has a similar dominance in this film.
Universal has to appease him and meet his demands.
If Zhang Yuan hadn't owned shares in the film, he wouldn't have gotten even that little bit of benefit.
"The guessing game ends here." Zhang Yuan nodded.
"Your meaning is very clear: you've decided to sacrifice the character of Han to drive the plot forward."
Actually, if we're going to settle accounts, it's his turn.
Because basically one person dies in each run, the same tactic has been used several times.
"Does this mean I'm not needed at all in the performance?"
“Not a single shot is needed.” Zhang Yuan looked at the microphone.
"Yes."
"Okay, then I must remind you that if my scenes or even photos appear in the next film, then..."
"Whether it's a front view, a side view, or a back view."
“They all need to pay me, otherwise it’s an infringement of my portrait rights.”
"We also cannot reuse scenes from previous films."
“Well…” Mike frowned slightly, “we’ll consider it.”
"very good."
"So, do you agree with this script outline?"
"Of course I disagree!" he said firmly.
It doesn't really matter.
I'm tired of making these kinds of films too.
They always cause a lot of trouble, yet they don't earn much in terms of pay.
For me, this role and this production have fulfilled their historical mission.
But he couldn't say that, and he couldn't compromise so easily.
He has to maintain a certain air of superiority in order to negotiate terms and gain benefits.
I own shares in the film; if you don't let me act, I won't let you film it.
By doing this, the other party will persuade me to back down, and I'll take the opportunity to extort money from them.
"OK." Mike didn't react much, he just got up.
"That concludes our discussion of your performance for today."
"You can leave now."
We will contact you again regarding further matters.
“No problem.” Zhang Yuan also stood up.
There's no point in lingering; it's better to just leave decisively.
We'll discuss filming investment later; we'll see each other again anyway.
After shaking hands with the other person, he waved to the crowd and then left.
He left in a carefree and unrestrained manner, but this attitude made the bald man, who had been looking forward to a good show, very unhappy.
Paul crossed his arms and laughed, "My Asian buddy here never suffers a loss under any circumstances."
After leaving the house, the two of them went off to explore with their private guide.
Zhang Yuan didn't expect it to be over so quickly, so he found a hotel room to rest.
Instead of arguing with you, I'd rather sleep a little longer.
After lying in bed for several hours, a phone call from Boulder woke him up.
"Hey buddy, I heard you're not going to be in the next Fast & Furious movie?" "Maybe, it depends on Universal Pictures' plans."
"What a pity," said the equally pointy-headed black man after slapping his forehead a few times.
He has already adjusted his schedule to prepare for filming.
"Then I wish you good luck," Zhang Yuan said, putting down his phone.
While I'm gone, you two big guys are in for some fun!
In his opinion, The Rock is still better than Vin Diesel, with a wider range of roles, capable of playing serious, unserious, and comedic characters.
After resting for a while, seeing that it was almost time, I went to meet those two.
During dinner that evening, the two of them carried a bunch of brochures and souvenirs, looking every bit like tourists.
"It's your treat again, I'm so sorry," Tong Dawei said politely.
"They're making a killing, they don't need our little bit of money, plus they're sure to get another lucrative contract today."
Deng asked slyly.
"Could I ask about the rates here in Hollywood?"
Chinese people are like that; they like to inquire about income.
"I did not reach any contracts today."
"And it's highly unlikely that he'll appear in the next 'Fast & Furious' movie."
Zhang Yuan said this while cutting the steak.
"what?"
"You don't want to act anymore?"
"It's half and half. I don't want to act in it. The other party is also adjusting the film's format, and the director has been changed."
"Oh...that's quite troublesome." Deng Chao regretted asking the question.
"It's okay, this is just like dating, it's normal to break up and get back together."
"Hollywood is no different from China. How many times have you two been approached by a production team, had great discussions, and then inexplicably nothing happened?"
"There are too many, several films like that every year." Deng Chao scratched his eyebrows.
Of the film crews that approached us, half were not interested, and of the remaining half, half could not start filming. Of the remaining half, we filmed a small portion, but a small portion of that was never broadcast.
Sometimes viewers are surprised to find that a popular celebrity has suddenly disappeared from the public eye for several years.
It's possible that they didn't retire from the industry; they're just unlucky because none of the shows they filmed are airing.
Guang Shuchang has five or six dramas that haven't been broadcast yet, which is normal.
Tong Dawei offered to pay the bill himself.
Zhang Yuan didn't offer a tip either, but when this person saw the suggestion to tip 20% of the bill at the end, his brows furrowed as if they were about to knot together.
"You can also choose not to accept his suggestion."
"At most, I'll get a few bad comments behind my back," Zhang Yuan joked.
"Then forget it." Tong Dawei had no choice but to obediently pay the money.
This person has quite a childlike heart; he bought his daughter a princess wig and himself a Darth Vader helmet to play with his child at home.
However, after he put on the helmet, Zhang Yuan was prone to auditory hallucinations.
I heard sounds like "Ah, oh, YES" in my ears.
The image of the gay porn guy named Van Darkholme, wearing a leather hood, appeared before me.
Why is Tong Dark?
No, no, I can't imagine it, it's too similar.
He thought Tong Dawei had taken some time off to work in North America...
The events on the Fast and Furious set did not affect his mood.
After another day of fun, I returned to New York to continue working.
That afternoon, with New Year's Eve just around the corner, he thought he should call Xixi to ask if she had time to come and watch the New Year's Eve celebrations at Times Square together.
Before I could even make a move, the other side attacked first.
"I was just about to call you," he said, answering the phone with a smile.
"I've encountered a lot of things in the past few days and was just looking for someone to talk to."
"Hmm..." She hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a somewhat serious tone, "I also have something I want to tell you."
"Why don't you listen to me first?"
“Okay,” Zhang Yuan replied casually.
"Hmm." She seemed about to speak, but then fell silent for a moment.
"What, you're not free tomorrow? You have something to do?"
"It's okay."
"That's not it. I want to talk to you about something else."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuan shuddered.
That sounds familiar. Didn't you say the same thing when we had a fight last time?
However, unlike last time when she cried and made a fuss, this time she was very calm.
"Speak," Zhang Yuan said suspiciously.
"You're investigating me, aren't you?"
"what?"
“Answer my question,” she urged.
"No."
"You're investigating the people around me, aren't you?"
"I want to hear your answer from your own mouth." She repeated the question carefully.
"This..." Zhang Yuan understood.
How did she know?
When asked, you can only admit it.
"Yes, I had someone investigate your assistant and agent."
"Why do you want to do this?" she asked steadily, her tone unchanged.
"I'm afraid there are bad people around you who might influence you."
"Will it affect me, or will it affect you?" she countered.
Faced with this question, Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment.
"I've been overthinking things lately because of the IPO process."
“I can’t trust anyone and I’m worried that someone will sabotage my job.”
"You know, I have many enemies."
“I’m more afraid they’ll hurt you and plant people around you.”
"But they didn't do that, did they?"
"At this stage, yes."
“But you did it anyway!” Her tone became slightly agitated at this moment.
"If someone hadn't told me, I would still be completely in the dark."
How could you do this?
"I've been completely open with you, yet you sent people to secretly investigate my surroundings."
“I know you have the ability and the will to do such a thing, but I don’t want to believe it.”
"But you've admitted it now."
Zhang Yuan thought to himself, "Am I being too honest? Should I pretend to be stupid?"
But he knew this girl wasn't stupid; she thought there was a problem, and it couldn't be dismissed with just a few words.
"How could you hold my hand and hug me while secretly having bodyguards monitor me?"
"I can't accept it." Her tone became even harsher.
But she didn't cry or make a fuss like last time.
"I am an independent person with my own privacy and freedom."
"I can be completely honest with you about everything; I'm willing to share it with you."
"But you can't take away my right to privacy."
"You violated my personal freedom."
She sternly denounced Zhang Yuan's actions.
He paused briefly before uttering a sentence.
"You're terrifying!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuan opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
Cheng Hao seemed to have said something similar at the time.
So, is it my problem or theirs?
"I need some time to calm down and think carefully about how to face you," she said, her voice somewhat weak.
"Okay, then I'll find an opportunity to talk in person after I return to China."
"I... I'll give you more time."
"Okay...bye." She replied and said goodbye normally before hanging up.
Zhang Yuan tossed his phone aside, somewhat dejected.
Although she didn't cry or make a fuss, it doesn't mean she wasn't angry.
It can only be said that she has grown up after the last time and knows that losing her temper is useless.
Zhang Yuan estimated that her level of anger was at least the same as last time.
We need to give her some time and space to process this.
Find a better time to apologize.
and so……
He was still fixated on that question.
They all say I'm scary, that they're afraid of me.
Was I really wrong?
If I'm wrong, how should I continue?
He fell into deep thought in the darkness… (End of Chapter)