Chapter 478: Let's Rush the Oscars Together

"Whether Disney will stand on our side remains to be seen; after all, helping to organize a joint public relations campaign earlier already counted as an exchange of interests."

For Zhou Yi's consistent confidence, Qian Jiang felt somewhat insecure in his heart.

It's just one song; you can't expect Disney to help you again and again, can you?

Unless this song is excellent enough that Disney cannot abandon it, or even cut ties when filming the subsequent Pirates of the Caribbean series, only then might Disney sit down and form an alliance with Zhou Yi.

Having absorbed knowledge from the Western world like a sponge during this period, Qian Jiang had heard to some extent about Disney's follow-up plans for the Pirates of the Caribbean IP theme; it wasn't the kind where they make one film and stop.

If Zhou Yi's theme song could truly be that important, then combined with Disney's future plans, Zhou Yi indeed had a promising future.

"Whether it succeeds or not, let's talk first; at worst, I'll just pack up and return home; what can Sony do to me?"

Zhou Yi, getting up with the finished He's a Pirate, shrugged carelessly and then took the lead, walking ahead: "In the domestic market, I can crush Sony's entire product line."

"It's not really about whether it's an entire product line or not..."

Qian Jiang, following Zhou Yi's footsteps closely, chatted with him; a few minutes later, the two had arrived at the fully equipped Conference Room No. 3, led by Warner staff.

The moment he knocked and pushed the door open, Zhou Yi immediately spotted a familiar face among the Disney representatives—

Hollywood superstar, the eternal Captain Jack, the domestic violence victim of Mera the Sea Queen, the victim of a Chihuahua's defecation: Johnny Depp.

Jerry the Mouse—oh no, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, still wearing that increasingly rat-like face, smiled and came forward to give Zhou Yi a hug: "Your speed in writing songs really far exceeds my imagination, Spike, especially under such a busy schedule."

"Hmm, how should I put this problem?"

Zhou Yi tilted his head noncommittally and said with a smile: "Probably because I'm a genius?"

As a client who had been extremely pleasant to work with since contacting Zhou Yi, having never received any objections, Jerry Bruckheimer was truly encountering a contractor like Zhou Yi for the first time, someone who would accept everything he requested without any modification opinions.

He liked it very much.

But at the same time, he was very curious about what exactly Zhou Yi had written with such confidence.

Because Zhang Yimou's Hero had already sold its overseas rights, he had taken the time to listen to Zhou Yi's composition, Elephant King March. This time, without lyrics, he could still feel the emotions contained within the music, which inevitably raised his expectations for Zhou Yi's submission this time.

"Director Gore Verbinski, you have already met before; this is Johnny Depp, the lead actor of Pirates of the Caribbean; and this is our female lead, Keira Knightley."

Jerry, acting as the intermediary, introduced them.

Having struggled in the American entertainment industry for so many years, this was the first time Johnny Depp had seen a figure like Zhou Yi who was "fearless of power" yet still reached high positions; he friendly stepped forward to shake hands: "Hello Spike, just call me John."

"Hello, John."

Zhou Yi joked with a smile: "You look much more handsome in person than on television."

This statement was truly not flattery.

Among the so-called Hollywood god-tier handsome male stars selected on the so-called Bilibili in the future, Johnny Depp's looks were enough to rank at the top. In Zhou Yi's personal opinion, Depp's looks at his peak were even higher than those of the so-called Earth's Grass, Li Zi.

The animated GIF of him and his ex-girlfriend exchanging smiles at an awards ceremony is a nostalgic memory that will never be repeated.

"You also look much more handsome than in the news, Spike." The British actress Keira Knightley, who was from the UK, joined the conversation: "I often listened to your songs when I was in Britain."

The most memorable thing about this British rose, who carried a touch of classical temperament, was still her physical shortcomings—she had been criticized by critics and fans since her debut. Some called her the British Rose, while others mocked her as a firewood girl.

You have to know that in this era, Western female stars whose chest size could compete with Sun Yanzi were as rare as giant pandas.

Coincidentally, Keira Knightley was one of them.

Acting in Pirates of the Caribbean relied entirely on squeezing into clothes.

After exchanging contact information and a brief exchange of pleasantries, Qian Jiang began playing He's a Pirate for the four people who had come to observe Zhou Yi's works—

From the very beginning, a fast-paced orchestral piece directly grabbed the ears of everyone present; the addition of percussion instruments created an intense, adventurous atmosphere right from the start.

Pirates!

The adventures of pirates!

The thrill of life hanging by a thread!

The four, extremely familiar with Pirates of the Caribbean, almost immediately visualized in their minds scenes of Captain Jack from the movie embarking on various adventures in the sea accompanied by this theme song.

This absolutely, absolutely is a song of freedom that is extremely infectious and extremely majestic.

It interprets freedom flawlessly.

The piece not only used various percussion instruments to render the atmosphere but was also supplemented by strings and woodwind and brass instruments, featuring rich orchestration colors—

The most direct impression presented was that this He's a Pirate was sometimes mysterious and quiet, sometimes turbulent, giving them a strong sense of plot immersion.

Hearing the end, Johnny Depp even widened his eyes and instinctively looked up at the Chinese person who looked completely like nothing was wrong, busy... filing his nails?

He didn't understand much about instrument arrangements in the music circle, but by drawing parallels, he was also very clear about how many brain cells such a massive orchestral and percussion arrangement required to consume—more importantly, this theme song not only perfectly fulfilled the thematic requirements of Pirates of the Caribbean but went further to achieve catchiness.

Yes, catchiness.

Forgive him for not having read much, lacking culture, dropping out of school at 15 to venture into society; he only knew how to use such vocabulary to describe it.

But the most intuitive point was that while listening to this theme song, his legs would unconsciously shake along with the progress and rhythm of the song, and by the end, the sound effect of "deng deng deng" had already started looping automatically in his mind.

It was too catchy.

If such a song were used as a theme song for external promotion, it would absolutely achieve excellent results.

Johnny Depp, already a Hollywood superstar and a multiple-time nominee for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, clearly understood how much driving force this pure music, named He's a Pirate by Zhou Yi, could generate for the film.

The more discerning producer Jerry was not as surprised as Depp; he just sat in his seat, silent for quite a while, before turning his head to look at Zhou Yi, who was sitting beside him looking utterly bored: "Spike, I wonder if you have time to run a promotional tour with us?

"It's not far, right in New York, at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts; I believe this will be a rare exposure opportunity for your new album."

Disney, which has already scheduled the film's premiere at a Disney park at the end of June in US time and a nationwide release in early July, has now launched preliminary promotional activities for Pirates of the Caribbean; as one of the most renowned art schools in North America, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts is the first stop for the promotion.

Hearing this, Zhou Yi raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise: "Me??"

"That's right."

At this point, Jerry did not hide his ambition: "Spike, this is a win-win activity; coincidentally, you also need heat to push for higher goals right now, don't you? I believe this song of yours can absolutely become a classic; I swear to God with my career that this is the absolute truth."

Pirates of the Caribbean also needs promotion to let more people know about this film and this IP.

This is a rigid demand for Disney, and also a rigid demand for him as a producer.

Coincidentally, Zhou Yi is currently such a topical figure who brings his own heat.

Because it involved a real racial discrimination incident in the music industry, even big shots like Sony's former president Tang Mi Mottola were dragged into it; Sony itself was busy to the point of being overwhelmed, and even Celine Dion, a world-class diva once promoted by Tang Mi, was swept up in the discrimination scandal.

This whirlpool was too big.

So big that Jerry saw the benefits that existed after the risk.

Undeniably, after hearing this song, he did indeed choose to side with Zhou Yi — at the very least, the Disney faction behind him was willing to choose to side with him.

Honestly, he had actually prepared himself to nitpick, but now he was completely at a loss for words.

For a musician whose talent was already overflowing, whose work simply couldn't find any fault with, he was only willing to befriend.

This was far, far better than those Hollywood scoring masters with their mountain of nasty habits.

A contractor whose work was good and who didn't whine on top of it — who wouldn't like that?

"Spike, your talent doesn't stop at the Grammys — there's also the Oscars. Trust me, you can take home the little gold man for Best Original Score just like Eminem did."

His hunter's heart stirred, Jerry extended an invitation to Zhou Yi, and at the same time revealed the ambition buried deep in his heart: "Let's go for the Oscars together."

As for all that Tang Mi Mottola, Celine Dion blah blah blah?

Who cares.

Disney doesn't even care about Sony itself.

Who's the current top dog among the international giants — don't you have any idea?

(End of chapter)