Chapter 160

March 20, 2007.

The night before, Chen Nuo didn't stay at the accommodation provided by Sheshan Villa, but secretly booked a nice hotel suite himself and spent the night with Xia Yehe.

Boss Chen could finally afford a little luxury now.

However, it could only be a little.

*Crazy Stone* had been pulled from theaters.

The final box office result stopped at 76.8 million.

This result not only solidified Ning Hao's position as the top commercial director of the new generation but also brought Chen Nuo's studio over 20 million in after-tax profit.

At the same time, every character in this film became a huge hit.

Especially Fan Fan Binbing, who was already very popular.

Chen Nuo had fulfilled the promise of "the sky is the limit" he made when he poached Fan Fan Binbing.

Consequently, it was only March 2007, and Fan Fan Binbing had already signed over 10 endorsements.

Just the Quimei weight loss endorsement alone paid over 1 million a year, and there was no shortage of international big brands like Panasonic Audio-Visual, with various fashion invitations lined up from the beginning of the year to the end.

Things like LV, Prada, Dior, Chanel... even the schedules for the Milan and Paris Spring/Summer Fashion Weeks in September and October were already arranged.

The future queen of money-making, the "I am my own tycoon" persona, was already beginning to emerge.

This also brought generous commission income to Chen Nuo's studio.

When she was at Huayi, Fan Fan Binbing earned 15 million a year.

After switching jobs, this year had just begun, and March wasn't even over yet, but Fan Fan Binbing had already earned nearly that much.

Plus Chen Nuo's own endorsement fees and previous acting fees...

Unknowingly, the studio's account had already reached over 60 million.

Of course, this didn't include his father's house purchase money.

But once the budget for *The Message* was calculated, without considering acting fees, it would require at least 50 million to meet all the requirements Chen Nuo had proposed at the production meeting.

He discussed it with Qi Yuntian and, gritting his teeth, decided to go all in.

He set a budget of 70 million for *The Message*, while claiming 90 million to the outside world.

Why claim that? Chen Nuo didn't know either; it was just an industry rule.

And this time, it was definitely a high-stakes gamble.

If Chen Nuo lost, it could be said that two years of hard work would be wiped out in an instant.

Of this 70 million, only 10 million was set aside for the actors' and directors' salaries.

The other 60 million was all put into the quality of the film.

For this film, the Huayi of the previous life claimed to have invested a total of 80 million.

But Huayi was also just claiming it, and they weren't as stingy as Chen Nuo when it came to salaries.

In terms of investment other than salaries, Huayi couldn't have exceeded 50 million.

And Chen Nuo's philosophy as a producer was that actors could be unknown, but when it came to war and military maneuvers, don't just scrape together a few pennies and try to trick the audience into believing our extras are one-against-a-thousand.

That's too shameless.

While generous in other aspects, Chen Nuo was truly too stingy when it came to salaries.

He gave the two directors a total of 800,000.

That was fine, though.

After all, the director's fees for Feng Xiaogang and Jiang Wen at this time were only 800,000 to 1 million. Ning Hao and Gao Qunshu should be satisfied.

He was also quite generous with the two female leads.

Fan Fan Binbing and Liu Yifei both had salaries of 2 million.

Although Liu Yifei kept her 2 million all to herself, Fan Fan Binbing had to give 40% of her 2 million to Chen Nuo's studio.

Fan Fan Binbing knew about this, but she didn't say a word.

Because she knew Liu Yifei would soon be signed to the studio as well.

This 2-million-yuan salary was equivalent to including Liu Yifei's signing fee with the studio.

Counting that, didn't she, Fan, cost Boss Chen several million in contract termination fees back then?

Chen Nuo gave Huang Bo a salary of 200,000.

Even if he had only given 100,000, Brother Bo wouldn't have dared to show any attitude at this time.

But Chen Nuo felt that since they were the old crew from *Crazy Stone*, he shouldn't be too ruthless.

That already took 5 million, and logically there was still 5 million available, which wasn't a small amount.

But then Chen Nuo's stinginess really came out.

First, he signed a stage actor who had graduated from the Central Academy of Drama.

This person had just played small roles in one or two films and a supporting role in a military TV series.

The films weren't big productions, and that military TV series didn't seem to have much potential either.

It was a pure men's show called something like *Assault*.

The lead was that "Silly Root" from *A World Without Thieves*, who had no draw for viewership at all.

None of the other characters were famous.

And it wouldn't air until May.

Naturally, this actor had no leverage, and even though he thought highly of himself, he only dared to ask for 200,000; Qi Yuntian, under Chen Nuo's instruction, countered with 100,000.

Duan Yihong was so afraid the other party would change their mind that he immediately agreed.

200,000 was a matter of self-esteem; he would have done it for 100,000 or even 50,000.

Not only was he lacking work, but he also didn't see any hope of becoming famous.

Oh wait, the hope of becoming famous was in this very film.

This was a super-enhanced version of the original *Crazy Stone* crew!

It was rumored in the circle that not only Ning Hao, Fan Fan Binbing, and Huang Bo were in it, but Chen Nuo and Liu Yifei were also participating.

At this time, actors wanting to get a piece of the action could line up from Hengdian to Chedun; anyone fussing over the salary was a fool.

He felt like he was dreaming to have signed such a role with lines and substance.

100,000 was not a small salary, so Duan Yihong signed it resolutely.

Chen Nuo had never been very satisfied with the original version of Bai Xiaonian played by Alec Su.

After switching to Duan Yihong, he believed that beyond the effeminacy, this person would give the character more depth, rather than just being a sissy.

Since Duan Yihong was going to play Bai Xiaonian, the role of the minor traitor he was originally going to play at the beginning, who had a few lines before being shot in the head, became vacant again.

So Chen Nuo spent another 5,000 yuan to sign a 30-year-old ugly man named Zhang Songwen.

Chen Nuo picked an unremarkable-looking actor from the vast sea of resumes, which left everyone involved in the casting completely baffled.

After all, even if it was just a bit part?

With so many resumes from actors wanting to be in our film, couldn't we slowly pick someone better-looking?

Ning Hao asked this question in confusion.

Chen Nuo's answer was: "They're all from Beijing Film Academy; I'll help one if I can."

When these words reached Zhang Songwen's ears, this sentimental man actually cried.

If Duan Yihong still had self-esteem and dared to ask for 200,000.

Zhang Songwen was hit by a pie from the sky, getting a cameo role with screen time and lines in a film of this caliber.

He had never thought Chen Nuo and the others would even pay him.

Upon hearing that the production team had thoughtfully prepared 5,000 yuan for travel expenses, Teacher Zhang decided he would keep this kindness in his heart for the rest of his life.

Even if this character only had one minute of screen time, he would definitely give 120% of his acting ability and write a whole biography for the character.

In the middle of this, Chen Nuo received a call from Gao Yuanyuan's agent, saying that after he left, Gao Yuanyuan's performance had improved significantly compared to before, and she absolutely had to have a friendly cameo in Chen Laoshi's film this time.

She didn't want anything, and would even cover her own travel expenses.

Alright then, it was hard to refuse such kindness; let Miss Gao play a dance hall girl or something, that would be acceptable.

Afterward, Chen Nuo felt a bit addicted to casting, so he picked a little old man named Ni Dahong to play Sixth Master, as well as a thin-browed, small-eyed actor named Zhang Yi, recommended by Duan Yihong, to play a Japanese officer.

As casting progressed, the main roles of Wang Tianxiang, originally played by Wang Zhiwen, and Jin Shenghuo, played by Ying Da, had yet to be finalized.

But Mai Jia and Ning Hao were already stunned by Chen Nuo's swift and decisive style.

They had only written a small portion of the script, so how had he already cast more than half the roles?

However, Mai Jia now felt that Chen Zong hadn't lied to him.

These people being signed were indeed all nobodies.

He had seen enough nobodies.

On the afternoon of March 20th, Chen Nuo finally had to go meet the big shots.

Chen Nuo didn't know how to describe this so-called East Asian Film Festival sponsored by the Sheshan Villa.

It was clearly a knock-off event that wasn't worth a damn.

But he had accepted their one-million-yuan appearance fee, ridden in the stretch Lincoln they provided, and even enjoyed the kneeling service of a pair of truly stunning twins while sitting inside.

This level of class was even higher than Cannes.

Although the service was just pouring wine and nothing else, it was truly his first time seeing twins who were so beautiful.

Upon reaching the destination, a beautiful concierge in a high-slit cheongsam, revealing long, slender legs, led him onto the neat and bright red carpet.

He went through the baptism of camera flashes with practiced ease and then walked to the interview area to sign the display board.

After taking photos for a while, he finally walked into the luxurious venue prepared for them by the Sheshan Villa.

The process was incredibly smooth, honestly more comfortable than Cannes or the Golden Horse Awards. While called a venue, it was actually a top-tier luxury model villa they had made available for free.

The first floor of the villa had been set up as a cocktail party-style gathering space; it wasn't large, but it was extremely exquisite.

Wang Jiawei was actually standing at the entrance, and seeing him approach, he grinned, seemingly in a good mood.

Chen Nuo quickly stepped forward: "Director Wang, why bother yourself with greeting guests here?"

Wang Jiawei laughed heartily and gave him a hug: "Long time no see, Nuozi. I'm half the host, after all, so of course I have to come out to welcome the VIPs. But I'm not here the whole time; I only come out when someone arrives."

Chen Nuo smiled: "Then you've been working hard."

Wang Jiawei laughed: "I definitely won't do this kind of thing again next time. When Director Kitano asked me, I really never thought it would turn out like this. I just thought it would be a few old friends chatting together."

"By the way, when are you planning to go record the dubbing? We're releasing on April 30th, big shot."

Speaking of this, Chen Nuo felt a bit embarrassed. *My Blueberry Nights* was releasing at the end of next month, and Old Wang had mentioned it many times, saying it would only take one day and it was right there in Jingcheng, yet he had stubbornly dragged it out until today.

"I'm really sorry. Sigh, once I get back from Shanghai, the first thing I'll do in Jingcheng is take care of that."

Wang Jiawei smiled: "I know you're working on your own film. How about this—if you need anything, just say the word. Do you need me to be your producer?"

Chen Nuo looked at Wang Jiawei's expression, but the damn sunglasses blocked his face.

He couldn't quite tell if the man was speaking the truth or not.

He asked hesitantly: "Director Wang, are you serious?"

Wang Jiawei chuckled: "I'm resting during this period anyway and don't want to start working. It's no problem for me to come and take a look for you when I'm free. You just need to cover the airfare. But let's agree on this first: I won't manage anything else. I'll just see how the film is being shot, whether the director is up to the task, and if the actors are performing well. I won't interfere with anything else."

Chen Nuo was overjoyed; this was exactly the person he was missing.

After all, Ning Hao and Gao Qunshu were both newcomers to the film industry, and they weren't shooting the works that had made these two successful.

Was Ning Hao actually capable of shooting *The Message*?

Would the final result actually be good?

God only knows.

Chen Nuo had always been a bit anxious, deeply afraid that his own judgment might be flawed.

After all, he had staked his entire net worth on this film; he couldn't afford a single oversight.

Now, with Wang Jiawei, this perfectionist fanatic, volunteering to oversee it for him, what else did he have to worry about?

"Director Wang, then it's a deal!"

Seeing Chen Nuo's expression, Wang Jiawei also smiled and said: "Being able to do something for you makes me feel a bit better. I've been thinking about it in Hong Kong all this time—back at Cannes, it was probably just that one vote of mine missing that kept you from winning Best Actor. I owe you an apology for that."

So that was it. Chen Nuo suddenly realized; he had been wondering why Wang Jiawei was being so kind, and it turned out he was compensating for his mistake at Cannes.

Wang Jiawei is a man of integrity!

Before even entering the venue, he had already gained such a huge harvest; Chen Nuo felt that coming this time was truly the right choice.

Wang Jiawei spoke to Chen Nuo again about the premiere being held in BJ on April 29th, and then the two of them entered the first floor of the villa together, which was the venue for the first day of this grand event.

There were only two cameramen inside, who captured the scene of the two well-dressed men walking side-by-side into the Sheshan Villa.

Other than that, not a single guest had arrived.

Before Chen Nuo could even ask, Wang Jiawei teased with a smile: "You aren't surprised, are you, Nuozi? I'm the greeter, and you can't be the master of the house either. Now, the two of us are waiters together."

Chen Nuo was in a great mood at the moment and didn't bother to fuss over the status of being a waiter.

After all, hadn't he done something similar at Cannes?

The first batch of guests to arrive were Zhang Yimou and Jiang Wen.

Director Zhang didn't know that this junior fellow student of his from the Beijing Film Academy had been spouting off nonsense just a few days ago, wanting to criticize him.

After greeting Wang Jiawei, Director Zhang smiled until his face was full of wrinkles: "Chen Nuo!"

Chen Nuo bowed to welcome him; this was the undisputed number one director in the country today, and a great senior from their Film Academy. Not to mention him, even the principal would have to bow if he came.

"Director Zhang, hello."

Zhang Yimou shook Chen Nuo's hand vigorously: "I've watched all your films; even Yang Guo was performed with great skill. I've been busy with the Olympics for the past year or so, but after I'm done, we must collaborate once."

*A Simple Noodle Story* was impossible, but *Under the Hawthorn Tree* could be considered. Chen Nuo thought this to himself, but his face remained incredibly sincere: "Anytime, anywhere. Director Zhang, just give the word and I'll be there; it would be a junior's honor."

Then came Jiang Wen.

To be fair, this was probably the Chinese actor Chen Nuo admired most in both his past and present lives.

Jiang Wen walked up without shaking hands; although it was the first time the two had met, he walked up and gave him a hug, then patted Chen Nuo on the back.

He said in his thick, Beijing-accented voice: "Tonight, we brothers have to drink a few more cups. That mute character of yours—you acted the hell out of it. Just now when I was coming over with Director Zhang, I was still saying in the car that among all the young people these past few years, you're the only one who's really made it."

Chen Nuo was truly humbled: "I wouldn't dare, I still need to keep learning from you, Brother Wen."

Jiang Wen said seriously: "That depends on what you're learning. Learning acting is fine, but learning to gamble, drink, and chase women—that's unnecessary."

Everyone laughed after he finished.

Beijing men—even when self-deprecating, they speak the truth.

As the first batch of guests to enter, the group walked into the venue together and let the photographers take pictures.

Afterward, directors Zhang Yimou and Wang Jiawei chatted about some things regarding next year's opening ceremony, while Chen Nuo accompanied Jiang Wen to talk.

Jiang Wen started by talking about his new film: "I actually wanted to find you when I was preparing to shoot last year. But I couldn't get in touch with you, and later I found out you had gone to experience life. Hey, where exactly did you go?"

Chen Nuo chatted about his time in Langfang back then.

Jiang Wen seemed quite interested: "Do you think that kind of experience was helpful for your character development later on?"

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and said: "Looking back now, I think those few months mainly gave me confidence. Without that experience, I might not have been able to believe I could play such a complex character well."

He thought Jiang Wen might find this hard to understand, but to his surprise, the man nodded in strong agreement and said: "You're right, confidence. I used to be the type of person who had no confidence at all when acting. When I was filming *Red Sorghum*, I felt like not a single part of me was like Yu Zhan'ao. Later, Gong Li took me out to drink heavily all night, and the next day on set, I still hadn't sobered up, but that's when I finally found the feeling."

Jiang Wen asked again: "I heard you're tinkering with some new film recently?"

Chen Nuo really didn't expect that Wang Jiawei knowing about his little project was one thing, but that Jiang Wen had actually heard about it too.

Chen Nuo had this feeling because he hadn't yet shifted away from his future-life mindset.

Back then, a film making 1 billion at the box office was like child's play, so he always felt that the tens of millions from *Crazy Stone* wasn't much.

But he didn't know that in the eyes of the entire film circle, this film, which had been invested with only a few million but reaped over 70 million, could only be described as a miracle.

He and Qi Yuntian were busy with casting, and no one reminded them that on the day *Crazy Stone* was pulled from theaters, several major portals had unanimously used words like "shocking," "biggest winner," and "unimaginable box office miracle" to describe this low-budget New Year film.

He thought the many resumes the studio received were out of respect for him.

Bullshit, everyone was looking at the money!

Just like Duan Yihong—if *Crazy Stone* hadn't been truly crazy, his self-esteem wouldn't have been so easily discounted.

Therefore, it was only natural that Jiang Wen had heard news of his new film; if he hadn't heard it, he would have to be deaf.

Chen Nuo immediately explained the situation of *The Message*, and Jiang Wen laughed and winked at him: "When I shot *Devils on the Doorstep*, I hired Teruyuki Kagawa. Since you're shooting devils this time too, do you want to hire Takeshi Kitano?"

Well, this is what they call great minds thinking alike.

Upon hearing this, Chen Nuo immediately laughed and shared his plans.

Jiang Wen couldn't help but find it funny: "So you had plans all along. But this old man Takeshi Kitano isn't that easy to handle. I've dealt with him, and I know his temper. If you ask me, we have to do this and that..."

Chen Nuo laughed heartily: "Brother Wen, can you really pull this off?"

Jiang Wen said: "Hey, you don't understand the Japanese. As long as you put him on a pedestal, he definitely won't be rude. Don't worry, just watch me when the time comes; I'll help you handle that old man. Damn it, I have to get him to play a devil to vent some steam."

Chen Nuo personally confirmed this time that Jiang Wen indeed had anti-Japanese sentiments; no wonder he shot so many anti-Japanese films in his past life.

Come to think of it, this was exactly the kind of thing he should learn.

Moreover, Jiang Wen was helping him out the moment they met; if it were someone else, Chen Nuo might have had to be on guard and wouldn't have dared to truly hand the matter over to the other party.

But Jiang Wen was different.

Chen Nuo knew that this man truly had such a straightforward personality.

After *Let the Bullets Fly* succeeded in his past life, Emperor Group, as the investor, made a lot of money and said they wanted to give him a bonus.

Jiang Wen not only refused to take it, but instead said, "You have a good eye; you invested in me, so I should be the one giving you a bonus." So he actually gave Emperor's Boss Yang an 8-million-yuan bonus, saying it was to thank him for the investment.

And Boss Yang actually accepted it.

8 million, for heaven's sake—it couldn't be that Jiang Wen shoved the envelope into Boss Yang's pocket, right? It must have been 100% asking for a bank account and wiring the money, right?

Boss Yang actually gave his own bank account to Jiang Wen and let the other party wire the money.

He really cared about his face.

That's why Chen Nuo had no good feelings toward Emperor Group and never thought about collaborating with them.

However, when he returned to the country last year, at the Hong Kong airport, he had cut off the path for that "true Chen Laoshi" to make a cameo in *The Dark Knight* during a phone call with Nolan.

I'm afraid Emperor Group doesn't have a good impression of him either and might have already kept a small grudge against him.

Thinking about it this way, Chen Nuo felt a bit proud.

Two years since his rebirth, he hadn't encountered any villains, but he had offended two companies.

One was Huayi Brothers in the mainland, and the other was Emperor Group in Hong Kong.

That's actually pretty exciting.

After chatting with Jiang Wen for a good while, the second batch of guests arrived. Chen Nuo and Wang Jiawei went to greet them: Li Cangdong and Jeon Do-yeon from South Korea.

Come to think of it, Chen Nuo felt this could be considered "meeting with a smile and letting go of old grudges."

No translator was needed; except for Li Cangdong, whose English was slightly weaker and could only listen, and whose accent was quite heavy, the other three could communicate fluently in English.

After talking at the entrance for a while, Chen Nuo didn't know if it was his imagination, but he always felt Jeon Do-yeon was targeting him, with every sentence carrying a sting and a hint of resentment.

Could it be that Emma Stone snatching her Cannes Best Actress award made her take it out on him?

If that were the case, wouldn't Jeon Do-yeon be too petty?

But Chen Nuo didn't have a chance to ask again, as batch after batch of guests arrived.

Chen Kaige, Zhang Ziyi.

Bong Joon-ho, Choi Min-sik.

Finally.

It was Tomokazu Miura, who still showed the charm of his younger years, and the cheerful Takeshi Kitano.

(End of chapter)