1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhou Yan was impressed by Li Xuejian's ability to memorize lines, and Li Xuejian was also impressed by Zhou Yan's excellent memory.

At least he memorized the lines for a while, which was a forced memory, and he even glanced at the script in the middle. But Zhou Yan, from beginning to end, didn't even glance at the script, but he was able to speak the lines in it word for word.

Even if the script was written by Zhou Yan, this feels incredible.

After the audition ended, Zhou Yan clapped gently and said, Teacher Li, your performance is very good.

Director Zhou is too praiseworthy.

In this case, Zhou Yan didn't waste any more time and told Li Xuejian about the movie.

Teacher Li, our movie is expected to start shooting in April next year, but before that, I hope you can go to Yangyin for a period of music training. This training may start in the near future.

without--

Li Xuejian was about to say that there was no problem, but he suddenly thought of Zhang Yimou's invitation. Shake, Shake, Shake to Grandma Bridge will be launched in a while. If he agrees to Zhou Yan's training, the time will be the same as that There is conflict on the side.

If he had to take care of both ends, he was worried that something would go wrong. Don't worry about not taking care of both ends, and the gains would outweigh the losses. So, he had to choose between the two movies.

Seeing his hesitation, Zhou Yan asked, What's wrong? Is there a time problem?

Li Xuejian shook his head, No problem, I can do it.

Although he hasn't seen Zhang Yimou's script yet, Li Xuejian has already decided to choose Spring of the Cowherd Class.

This script really suited his liking, and he was still playing the leading role. He could only be given a supporting role in Shake, Shake.

Seeing that Li Xuejian agreed, Zhou Yan was also very happy, but he still wanted to say something first, Teacher Li, there is one more thing. The character Zhou Xuewen is set to be bald. Then maybe...

Li Xuejian waved his hand, This is not a big deal. When the time comes, just shave off one hair. Isn't it very simple?

For the role, Li Xuejian has done a lot of crazy things, and shaving his head is really nothing.

Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, Okay, that's settled. In terms of specific treatment, Mr. Li, what do you think?

Li Xuejian thought for a while and said, How about 20,000 yuan?

Zhou Yan and Wang Xiaoshuai looked at each other, good guys, this teacher Li Xuejian doesn't know much about the market conditions.

Although mainland actors' salaries are low, with the entry of private capital and the increase in per capita wages in the past two years, actors' salaries have also increased a lot.

And Li Xuejian's 20,000 yuan was indeed made after careful consideration. When he played Jyl a few years ago, his salary was 8,000 yuan. Naturally, it has increased in recent years, so he raised 20,000 yuan. This is his true story. The psychological price can even drop a little bit.

He doesn't understand the market because he hasn't acted in many movies in recent years, and none of them are leading roles. They are basically movies within the system, so the salary is naturally not high.

Zhou Yan would definitely not give Li Xuejian only 20,000, but he was not in a hurry to raise the price. He just nodded and said, I will tell the producer what you think. The producer has a unified price for film remuneration. You won’t give it too high, but you won’t give it too low either. You are playing the protagonist, so you definitely can’t give it lower than the supporting role.”

Although Zhou Yan didn't say it directly, the meaning was obvious. He would definitely increase Li Xuejian's salary in the future.

After that, they didn't talk about the salary. Li Xuejian asked about other roles, Have the other actors been decided yet?

He is also very concerned about who will act opposite him.

Zhou Yan shook his head, No, let's decide on the protagonist first before we start choosing other roles. Next, I plan to decide on the role of the principal, but there is no suitable candidate for the time being.

When he heard that Zhou Yan was going to choose the role of principal, Li Xuejian became interested and said, I can recommend a candidate.

Really, Teacher Li, who do you want to recommend?

Wang Xueqi, I don't know if you recognize Director Zhou.

Hearing Li Xuejian mention Wang Xueqi, Zhou Yan's eyes lit up, yes, how could he forget Wang Xueqi.

Compared with Li Xuejian, Wang Xueqi is not that famous and does not have many masterpieces, but Wang Xueqi's level is definitely not bad.

And Wang Xueqi is indeed very suitable for the role of the principal. He is the kind of person who looks like a human being in a suit and leather shoes, but has a ruthless heart. For such a role, Wang Xueqi can perform well.

However, Wang Xueqi should be playing decent roles now. Can he agree to play the villain?

Zhou Yan tentatively said, Teacher Li, the role of the principal is a villain. If I remember correctly, Teacher Wang should often play soldiers.

Director Zhou, do you think he is unwilling to play the villain?

Zhou Yan nodded, I am worried about that.

Li Xuejian smiled and said, No, I know Brother Xueqi very well, he won't care about this.

Zhou Yan felt quite weird when he heard Li Xuejian call Wang Xueqi brother. Although he knew that Wang Xueqi was older than Li Xuejian, he always felt that Wang Xueqi was younger.

On the one hand, Wang Xueqi did maintain his condition very well. Later, when Wang Xueqi played Zhu Di in his seventies, he was still full of momentum and did not look old at all.

On the other hand, Li Xue has never been in good health and became a little rickety in her sixties.

Before Zhou Yan could speak, Li Xuejian said good things to Wang Xueqi, Brother Xueqi can play several musical instruments. From this point of view, he is very suitable for the role of principal.

Really? Zhou Yan was quite surprised. He didn't know that Wang Xueqi was so versatile.

Yes, we used to listen to him play the flute a lot when we were in the Air Force. He almost applied for the Conservatory of Music back then.

Li Xuejian and Wang Xueqi were both in the air force and had a very good relationship, so when they saw a good role, they immediately thought of their good brothers.

Zhou Yan nodded, Okay, I'll contact Teacher Wang and invite him to audition.

It's okay, I'll help you get in touch.

Zhou Yan didn't know the relationship between Li Xuejian and Wang Xueqi, so he was surprised to see Li Xuejian so interested.

Li Xuejian looks like he talks very little, and he doesn't look like the kind of enthusiastic person who likes to show off. If he is so interested, he must really hope that Wang Xueqi can get this role.

Zhou Yan is also very happy. He is very optimistic about Wang Xueqi. If there is no problem in the audition, he will have solved two important roles at once.

Then there's Teacher Lao Li.

…

Zhou Yan and Wang Xiaoshuai sat in the Experimental Theater for more than an hour, discussing some script issues with Li Xuejian, and then got up and left.

After leaving the theater building, Wang Xiaoshuai sighed, Mr. Li's price is too low.

Zhou Yan nodded, It's indeed a bit low. I have to mention it later. If he only gets 20,000 yuan, then there will be no way to determine the salary of other actors.

The budget set for the filming of Spring in the Cowherd Class was actually higher than that of The Sixth Sense, with a total of 20 million yuan.

When filming The Sixth Sense, the combined salary of all the actors was 3.1 million, which accounted for less than 20% of the total production cost, which is already relatively low.

But this time for the filming of Spring in the Cowherd Class, Zhou Yan's fixed salary ratio for the actors was even less, only 15%, which is 3 million yuan.

Although the ratio of 15% is small, three million yuan is not a lot at all.

The last time we filmed The Sixth Sense, most of the remuneration went to Joey Wong and Tony Leung Ka-fai, so that's why so much money was spent.

But this time, if we don’t hire actors from Xiangjiang, we will save a lot of money, and maybe even three million won’t be spent.

The cost of filming this time may be higher. The school in the movie will most likely be built based on the description in the script.

In addition, the cost of recording will also be higher.

In fact, there is overflow from the 20 million. Even if it is cut in half, with only 10 million, Zhou Yan can still make the movie.

Li Xuejian waited until Zhou Yan and the others left, then called the air administration.

After the call was connected, Li Xuejian said, Uncle Huang, please help me find Wang Xueqi.

…

The next day, Zhou Yan met Wang Xueqi in the studio.

He originally thought that Li Xuejian had agreed with Wang Xueqi that he would personally go to the Air Administration and meet Wang Xueqi, but he did not expect that Wang Xueqi came over on his own initiative.

Probably Li Xuejian and Wang Xueqi praised Spring of the Cowherd Class very well, so Wang Xueqi was also very interested in this script.

Wang Xueqi is nearly fifty years old, but he is in very good spirits and has a good figure. He looks about forty years old.

The audition process went very smoothly, and Wang Xueqi was indeed very suitable for the role of the principal.

It was probably Li Xuejian who told Wang Xueqi about the role of principal in advance, so when Wang Xueqi came, he deliberately wore a very upright Chinese tunic suit and a pair of silver-rimmed glasses, which fit the image of a principal.

He also knew the role very well and must have prepared in advance.

At that moment, Zhou Yan decided to let Wang Xueqi play the principal.

After the two important roles were confirmed, Zhou Yan called Xu Feng and reported the matter.

Xu Feng was also very happy to learn that both actors had been decided, This is a good thing. Things will be easier to handle next. Lin Ai, don't you have someone chosen? Then the remaining roles will be easier to choose. ”

As for their remuneration, my idea is that Li Xuejian will set a salary of 150,000, and Wang Xueqi will set a salary of 50,000.

Xu Feng smiled heartily and said, It doesn't matter, you can decide this matter yourself. I'll give you 20 million, and you can spend it as you like. Although I have the name of producer, in fact, you are still the producer yourself.

That's not possible. Sister Feng, you have to come over and take control of the overall situation.

Don't worry, I'll be there in a while. If you need anything from me then, just tell me. If you think you don't have enough money, tell me in advance so that I can be prepared.

Twenty million is definitely enough. I can still leave enough for you from the publicity fee.

The movie hasn't started filming yet, don't make a conclusion too early, otherwise you will be like Kai Ge again. Xu Feng mentioned Chen Kaige again.

What's wrong with Mr. Kai? Did you encounter problems during the filming of Feng Yue? Zhou Yan asked curiously.

Xu Feng sighed and said, Isn't it raining all the time before? The filming of the movie took a long time, and the crew encountered some minor problems in the middle. The movie will definitely not be finished next month. But actors can't be here all the time. The crew is busy, Guorong and Gong Li have their own things to do. Next month, Gong Li will join another group. When their group ends, it will probably be April or May next year. By then, Feng Yue will The filming has to be restarted.”

Zhou Yan nodded. Xu Feng was right. The crew was spending a lot of money by stopping and moving like this. This was also what the producers were most afraid of.

Not to mention anything else, it costs a lot of money for such a crew to eat every day, transport equipment, maintain the scenery, and rent the venue.

Which group does Sister Li go to?

Zhang Yimou's new movie seems to be called Shake and Shake. The budget for Feng Yue has basically been spent. If this continues, the final production cost may double.

Xu Feng's budget for Feng Yue is more than two million US dollars. If doubled, it would have to exceed four million US dollars, which is even higher than Farewell My Concubine.

Looking at it this way, Xu Feng will lose a lot of money on the movie Feng Yue.

However, for the current Tomson Film Company, losing this money is not a big deal. The three movies produced by the company in the past two years have helped the company make a lot of money.

Zhou Yan was not worried that the budget of 20 million was not enough, but the incident of Feng Yue also reminded him that he still had to decide on the filming location as soon as possible.

If they want to build a school, they have to do it as soon as possible, otherwise if winter comes, the weather will probably affect the construction schedule. Although it won't cost much more, it might affect the start-up, which will cause trouble then.

After talking to Xu Feng on the phone, Zhou Yan called Wang Xiaoshuai and Xiao Can.

Xiao Can is the executive director Zhou Yan hired from Yanjing Studio. He has served as an assistant director in several films before and has very rich experience.

The main reason was that Zhou Yan had been in contact with Xiao Can many times and felt that this person was quite down-to-earth, so he asked Han Sanping for him.

Zhou Yan held a brief meeting with Wang Xiaoshuai and Xiao Can.

We have five more important tasks next. The first is the crew office. Now we all work in the studio, but this is not a long-term solution, so we need to find an office location as soon as possible. I have already solved this problem. I told Factory Director Han that he will help us solve it.

Second, the composition of the team. I have drawn up a list. This production team needs about forty people. Twenty-six of them have been confirmed. Some are already on their way. You are responsible for selecting the remaining dozen. .”

Third, casting. Now we have two completely finalized roles. One is the protagonist Zhou Xuewen, and the other is the principal. The others still need to be found.

Fourth, regarding the filming location, my idea is to organize a temporary filming team to be managed by a member of the director team.

The fifth task has a lot to do with the fourth one. You two have a very heavy task now, and you definitely can't be distracted from managing the shooting team, so the director team has to recruit two more people. Do you have any recommendations?

Xiao Can thought for a while and said, Director Zhou, can I recommend someone?

Zhou Yan nodded, Of course, if you can recommend a suitable candidate, it would be the best. This would make cooperation easier. Who would you recommend?

Huo Jianqi, the art designer of our factory, said Xiao Can.

Wang Xiaoshuai asked doubtfully, Art designer? Has he ever held the position of deputy director or assistant director before?

Xiao Can shook his head, That's not true. He graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Yanjing Film Academy. He has been with our factory for eleven or twelve years and has always been in art design.

Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes when he heard Huo Jianqi's name.

Huo Jianqi is not an unknown person. Zhou Yan particularly likes one of his movies That Mountain, That Man, That Dog.

You don't necessarily have to have worked as an assistant director or director's assistant, as long as you have the talent in this area.

Xiao Can patted his chest and said, I can guarantee this. Although Huo Jianqi has never been a director, his understanding of movies is better than ordinary directors. To be honest, he is better than me. It's just...

Just what?

Xiao Can pursed his lips and said, It's just that he used to be the art designer in Big Sabbath and has a pretty good relationship with Xia Gang.

Zhou Yan immediately understood that Xiao Can was worried about having a quarrel with Xia Gang and did not want to use his acquaintance with Xia Gang.

In fact, his relationship with Xia Gang is not that bad, but they have rarely had contact with each other since the Big Sabbath incident.

But the rumors couldn't be stopped. Maybe people in the factory had already described him and Xia Gang as enemies.

After all, everyone in the factory knew that it would be difficult to offend Zhou Yan, just look at what happened to Teng Wenji.

When he came to the factory before, Teng Wenji was so majestic that even Director Chen wanted to give him three points.

Now, Teng Wenji has become a marginalized figure in the factory and is not even allowed to make movies.

People who don't know the inside story may think that Zhou Yan is a man who must retaliate for his actions.

Zhou Yan smiled and waved his hand, Isn't that just right? My relationship with Director Xia is also very good. As long as Huo Jianqi is willing to come, I am willing to accept him.

Xiao Can said happily, Okay, I'll tell Huo Jianqi when I get back. He will definitely be willing.

Of course Huo Jianqi is willing. In this field, no matter whether it is record keeping, lighting, art, or photography, as long as he is a little motivated, he hopes to become a director.

Xiao Can knew that Huo Jianqi wanted to make movies by himself every day, so he recommended him.

Okay, Huo Jianqi is an alternative. Do you have any other recommendations?

At this time, Xiao Can and Wang Xiaoshuai remained silent. Zhou Yan nodded, Okay, that's it for now, and I'll...

Before he finished speaking, Wang Xiaoshuai suddenly spoke, Director Zhou, I have another candidate.

Who? Zhou Yan asked.

My classmate Lou Ye.

Lou Ye? Zhou Yan looked surprised, He can be the assistant director?

Lou Ye and Wang Xiaoshuai are classmates, but they actually developed earlier than Wang Xiaoshuai. In the past few years, Lou Ye has been an independent director and has made two feature films.

People who have made films independently rarely work as assistants for others. After all, Wang Xiaoshuai's situation is special. He acted as assistant director for Zhou Yan as a way of repaying a favor.

But why did Lou Ye come here? Just because he has a good relationship with Wang Xiaoshuai?

He should be able to come.

Zhou Yan nodded, If he wants to come, of course.

I'll go back and contact him today and send you a letter tomorrow morning.

Yeah, okay.

Zhou Yan certainly hopes that Lou Ye can come. This guy is different from Wang Xiaoshuai and others. His film elements are rich and the narrative rhythm is also very special. If he comes, he can provide Zhou Yan with some new ideas.

…

Four days later, Zhou Yan met Huo Jianqi and Lou Ye in the office assigned to him by Yanjing Factory.

Huo Jianqi serves as assistant director, while Lou Ye serves as executive director.

At this point, all members of their directing team are here.

Looking at the team in front of him, Zhou Yan couldn't help but sigh that their lineup of directors was so luxurious.

Xiao Can's only weakness is that the other three can handle it alone.

However, Zhou Yan values ​​Xiao Can the most, because he knows that after this time, Wang Xiaoshuai and the other three will probably never be his deputy again, but Xiao Can, unlike Xiao Can, can still be used in the next movie.

The key is that whether it is Wang Xiaoshuai, Huo Jianqi, or Lou Ye, they all have a gentle temperament, speak slowly, and are very elegant.

In terms of human relations and sophistication, Xiao Can performed better than any of them.

There are many things that only Xiao Can can do, while Wang Xiaoshuai and the other three cannot.

Just like when he was filming The Sixth Sense, although Li Hong was just an assistant to the director, his role in the filming process was very obvious, and his coordination skills were outstanding.

Xiao Can can fill Li Hong's role. Although he lacks Li Hong's drive, he has more experience.

Zhou Yan left the casting to Huo Jianqi, and the location search to Lou Ye.

After a morning meeting with several deputies, when it was time to eat, Zhou Yan looked at his watch and said, You go to eat, I'll leave first.

Xiao Can said in surprise, Director Zhou, don't you go to the cafeteria to eat?

I'm going to the studio to eat. There's something else going on there.

When they heard that Zhou Yan had something to do, they went to the canteen to eat together without asking any questions.

Zhou Yan drove to the studio by himself.

The studio is very close to Yanjing Studio, and it doesn’t take too long to walk there.

The reason why he wants to come back is because Shizuka Kudo came to the studio to record an album today.

When Zhou Yan arrived at the studio, Shizuka Kudo had already completed the morning recording work and was resting in the lounge.

Seeing Zhou Yan, Kudo Shizuka, who was sitting on the sofa in a daze, suddenly stood up and said, Zhou Yan, you are finally back.

Kudo Shizuka has made rapid progress in Chinese recently, and this sentence is quite clear.

Zhou Yan nodded, How was the recording in the morning?

Kudo Shizuka shook her head and said, It's not good, you're not here.

Zhou Yan couldn't help but roll his eyes, Kudo Shizuka really regarded himself as the producer of her new album. In fact, Shizuka Kudo herself is the producer of this album.

As soon as they arrived at the studio today, Shizuka Kudo asked why Zhou Yan was not there and insisted on asking Liu Hang to call Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan ignored her because he had something to do in the morning.

Miss Kudo...

Call me Jingxiang, Miss Kudo is too ignorant. She also said this sentence in Chinese.

Zhou Yan made a concession, Miss Shizuka, our studio's business does not include me assisting you in recording your album.

But we are friends, aren't we? Shouldn't friends help each other?

Zhou Yan pouted, So, what problems did you encounter during the recording?

Kudo Shizuka tilted her head and said, I can't tell. You can go to the recording studio to listen to it this afternoon.

Zhou Yan sighed slightly, Let's eat first.

Then will you be at the scene this afternoon? Kudo Shizuka asked.

Let's see it in the afternoon.

Zhou Yan said the next sentence and went to the studio cafeteria first, and Kudo Shizuka also followed him.

Her manager, Nangong Songzi, couldn't help but sigh when he saw her like this. Nangong Songzi felt that Kudo Shizuka's initiative would be in vain, and Zhou Yan didn't accept this at all.