Chapter 587: Ho Ho Ho, the Patterns and Moves of the Huo Family Fist Are Flexible

The two Wangs wanted to refute, but for a moment they had no words.

After all, if you really count it, Zhou Yi was giving them face; if they followed international standards, it would truly be a huge loss.

Take Li Lianjie starring in "Hero"; his Hollywood rate was 10 million US dollars, and even after the discount, the friendly price was still nearly 8.5 million US dollars.

"Damn it, these people are really making money."

Working themselves to death only to find the company's profits might not even match what Fan Bingbin earned from a single guest song, the two Wangs were somewhat broken.

Is this ringtone really that profitable?

Zhou Yi, you really deserve to die!

How can every good thing happen to you!

The Taihe executives were also extremely regretful at this moment.

In late September 2003, the ringtone business, which should have been piloted in only a few cities, expanded extremely rapidly thanks to Zhou Yi's few songs and the high popularity of the SEA group. The two songs "Superstar" and "That Couple at the Alley Entrance" were nothing short of viral—

Especially the former.

Saying that "Superstar" was everywhere there were speakers was no exaggeration; the mobile goddess palace, the SEA group, also became famous in one battle, becoming the number one female group limited to the mobile field.

Such a huge piece of fat meat; if Song Ke had completely secured it back then, Taihe Music would have taken off long ago.

Pity there are no ifs in everything.

"By the way, will Zhou Xingchi's 'Kung Fu' invite Zhou Yi to make a cameo? Our 'A World Without Thieves' project is very likely to clash with him next year; if he also invites Zhou Yi, it will be difficult. I heard Zhou Xingchi has spread the word that Zhou Yi is going to visit Sun Yanzi?"

The two Wangs, who had given up on music, turned their attention to films.

Once Zhou Yi is included in the accounts, the total cost of "A World Without Thieves" would skyrocket by over ten million; if they invited Zhou Yi over to act there, he wouldn't be worth a damn.

"You can rest assured about this; Zhou Xingchi is so stingy, he definitely won't be willing to pay Zhou Yi a salary for a cameo; I know the score."

Once Zhou Xingchi was mentioned, the Taihe executives immediately woke up, directly declaring it impossible: "The 2 million Hong Kong dollars to hire Sun Yanzi to act was already almost killing him; hire Zhou Yi?"

Unlike the profit-sharing model available to Cheng Long and Li Lianjie, after entering the 21st century, Zhou Xingchi, unable to break out of the Asian market, chose a more conservative model for films—guaranteed returns regardless of drought or flood.

A typical example is the film "Kung Fu".

Columbia invested 20 million US dollars, equivalent to about 150 million Hong Kong dollars, given to Zhou Xingchi's Star Overseas Company to film "Kung Fu". Zhou Xingchi himself starred for 15 million Hong Kong dollars, plus director fees and various miscellaneous items.

No matter how much loss, Zhou Xingchi could definitely take this portion of money, whether cleverly named or openly legitimate.

But if it made a profit, the bulk would only be earned by Columbia alone; Zhou Xingchi would only be fit to drink the soup, not even qualified to smell the scent of meat.

Under these circumstances, hiring Zhou Yi would be tantamount to compressing the total funds—special effects cost a lot of money, and he had no qualification to ask Columbia for additional funding. It was just 20 million US dollars, nothing more.

Therefore, with Zhou Xingchi already suppressing the salaries of others in this film, hiring a Zhou Yi who earns in US dollars was nothing short of a fairy tale.

If it weren't for Sun Yanzi's own high popularity in Asia, especially in East Asia and Southeast Asia, he wouldn't even have been willing to pay her 2 million Hong Kong dollars. In fact, he initially even wanted to give only 500,000 or 1 million; it was Chen Ze Shan who hard-negotiated it to 2 million.

"..."

This is very contradictory.

"On one hand, his film has a huge investment, a full 20 million US dollars. On the other hand, he gives every actor except himself the lowest possible salary; do you know my 2 million salary can already be considered the third highest in the crew?

"Above me are only the action director Hung Kam-bo with 4 million Hong Kong dollars and Zhou Xingchi himself with 15 million Hong Kong dollars.

"In your words, this is very abstract. It's not even his own money, yet he is so stingy with other actors."

Shanghai, inside a hotel.

Sun Yanzi, who had stopped work today, was curled up in bed alone, chatting on the phone with Zhou Yi, her address for her idol Zhou Xingchi having changed from the old "Brother Star" to his full name: "As a result, Hung Kam-bo and Zhou Xingchi had a huge fight again today, and the entire crew stopped work.

"Now everyone is spreading that Hung Kam-bo will likely leave the crew, and Zhou Xingchi is looking for another martial arts director. And also, let me tell you, Liang Xiaolong—the actor who plays Fire Cloud Evil God—is also very dissatisfied with Zhou Xingchi..."

Wrapped in a quilt, Sun Yanzi's small mouth wouldn't stop chattering, as if she wanted to share everything that had happened recently with Zhou Yi.

Previously running wild under the protection of Warner's wings, this was her first time entering a film crew that best embodied the reality of the entertainment industry, and it was the crew of her childhood idol Zhou Xingchi; yet she was hit straight on the head with a stick, stripping away the illusion.

"My relationship with Mr. Liang Xiaolong is very good; he takes care of me quite a bit and even teaches me some kung fu routines to play; I often joke that I am Chen Zhen's apprentice this time, but this time I am a bit stuck between a rock and a hard place."

Hearing Sun Yanzi say this, Zhou Yi laughed: "You just don't get involved with either; anyway, Liang Xiaolong isn't Hung Kam-bo; even if he is unhappy, he doesn't have the backbone to completely break with Zhou Xingchi; he will still hold his nose and finish filming."

"That's what you say, but I am worried that in a couple of days during the media open day, they still haven't resolved the conflict; that's the day you come to visit."

Sun Yanzi was worried.

Because Zhou Yi would be in Shanghai to reshoot scenes for the MV "New Earth" and other A-side MVs, and would drop by to visit on the side, Zhou Xingchi, unwilling to miss this heat, directly set the visit day as the media open day, also to clarify the situation for the "Kung Fu" crew, which had been plagued by waves since filming began.

If they were still fighting on that day, it would be a joke.

"What are you afraid of? You have no heart or lungs; you might as well worry about whether you will say the wrong thing that day."

Sun Yanzi: "..."

I'll kill you!

Sun Yanzi, whose attention was immediately diverted by Zhou Yi, was teased into screaming wildly on the other end of the phone within five or six sentences, swearing that when he came to visit, she would make him look good.

It had been a long time since he heard that familiar scream; after hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi stretched his arms—

To be honest, he really missed it a bit.

On September 25, the entire cast of "Guizang", having finished their scenes in the Imperial Capital, arrived in Shanghai in batches to shoot the remaining Shanghai scenes for several MVs; Wen Yongshan also finished her "New Earth" scenes two days later and boarded the plane back to Hong Kong—

Only that when Zhou Yi was sending Wen Yongshan to the airport, he unexpectedly ran into a batch of reporters squatting over there.

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi, may I ask if you are here to act as a peacemaker and persuade Hung Kam-bo?"

"Zhou Yi, may I ask who that woman you put on the plane is?"

"Zhou Yi..."

On the 27th, the angry Hung Kam-bo completely quit, using the excuse of being bitten by mosquitoes and getting sick, and directly took a plane back to Hong Kong; his schedule happened to clash with Zhou Yi sending Wen Yongshan off.

"What? I don't even know what happened; I am here to send my MV heroine back to Hong Kong."

Zhou Yi, pretending to be confused while knowing the truth, was too lazy to deal with this bunch of troublemakers: "Asking me won't help with your questions; you might as well go ask Mr. Zhou Xingchi yourself on the 29th."

It can be said that because of Hung Kam-bo leaving the crew and Yuan Heping joining, the "Kung Fu" crew directly sparked a wave of discussion focus—

One was a Chinese kung fu superstar and the big brother of the Hong Kong circle; the other was the recognized king of Chinese comedy;

Their collaboration should have been a union of the strong, but now such a scandal had erupted; the heat was so great it even surpassed the so-called rumor of Zhou Yi sending Wen Yongshan to the plane...

After all, Zhou Yi's scandals were common, but a falling-out and mutual explosion between top-tier figures at the summit of the Chinese entertainment industry was rare.

The last one was Zhou Yi clashing with Zhou—

Hmm?

Why is Zhou Yi here too?

"I'm asking you, why are you everywhere?"

On the 29th, Sun Yanzi, who had been smiling since waking up in the morning, met Zhou Yi first at the hotel; after a hug, she quietly pulled out a tabloid and questioned him with giggles.

"I have always been kind to others; I only counterattack in self-defense, okay?"

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow, casually stuffed the newspaper back into her handbag, and drove her to the "Kung Fu" film set.

Because it was a media open day, many reporters had already stationed themselves on the set, and cameras were everywhere; including Zhou Xingchi, many key crew members were accepting interviews.

When Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi got out of the car together, the reporters, who had been fended off by Zhou Xingchi with official statements for dozens of minutes, immediately turned their attention over—

"Zhou Yi!"

"It's Zhou Yi!"

"Is he really coming with Sun Yanzi?"

"Zhou Yi, may I ask about your new album..."

Sun Yanzi, long accustomed to dozens of microphones suddenly popping up in front of her, showed no panic like when she first debuted; facing the flashbulbs with ease, she turned with a smile to look at the man beside her who was being "surrounded and intercepted" along with her.

"The new album is already in production and is expected to be released to everyone by the end of November, thank you."

"Zhou Yi, may I ask if you will make a cameo in "Kung Fu"? Is that true?"

"False news; although I personally do enjoy Mr. Zhou Xingchi's movies, unfortunately, my schedule simply cannot accommodate it..."

Zhou Yi, who had used this wave of heat to boost his new album's visibility, was met with a warm welcome from Zhou Xingchi—

"Welcome, welcome, A-Yi; I've wanted to meet you for a long time. Your songs are very popular; I listen to them every day in Hong Kong, almost to the point of getting calluses on my ears."

On the media open day, Zhou Xingchi, who made no low-EQ remarks or moves within the circle, acted extremely enthusiastically; Zhou Yi also met a host of familiar actors like the Landlord and the Landlady. Of course, there was also that unforgettable Fire Cloud Evil God.

Perhaps Zhou Xingchi had various flaws in personal matters, but one thing was undeniable: he would not suppress a supporting role.

Zhou Xingchi's movies were a rare type in the Chinese film industry where supporting roles could also be extremely outstanding; he would not deliberately weaken the impressive points of supporting characters for the sake of his own protagonist status, but would instead find ways to deepen the impression supporting characters left on people.

Because he was confident he could hold them up.

No matter how outstanding the supporting roles were, he always believed his protagonist would be interpreted even more outstandingly than them.

"So, dear everyone—uh, what TV station's reporters are you?"

Sun Yanzi, who had become noticeably livelier after Zhou Yi's arrival, directly transformed herself into a reporter when facing the press, but unexpectedly stumbled—

"Shanghai TV, Shanghai TV." The staff member immediately showed his work badge.

"Okay, then dear viewers and friends of Shanghai TV, below, special reporter Sun Yanzi will bring you a live report on Zhou Yi's visit to the set this time."

Sun Yanzi, beaming with excitement, turned and handed the microphone directly to the man beside her, reporting seriously: "May I ask, classmate Zhou Yi, do you have anything you want to say about the female lead of the movie "Kung Fu"? You actually saw her on site."

"Well, I think the female lead of "Kung Fu" is quite beautiful; this girl named Sun Yanzi interpreted the role very well. I heard she even practiced some martial arts, claiming to be a female knight."

Glancing at her, Zhou Yi's lips unconsciously curled up with a touch of doting; his reply made Sun Yanzi's mouth stretch so wide with joy it seemed to reach the back of her head, making her look radiant—

"Hahahaha!"

In the end, Sun Yanzi was the first to crack and burst into laughter; after finishing, she even struck a Kung Fu pose, lightly throwing two punches that landed on the man's arm: "Not claiming, I am a female knight. I practiced martial arts with the great hero Chen Zhen; I can take on two of you."

"Then I am the one who learned martial arts from the great hero Ho Yuanjia; capturing one of your disciples is a piece of cake."

Zhou Yi repeatedly bumped his shoulder, knocking Sun Yanzi backward a few stumbling steps; the floating motion of her hands in the air made her laugh uncontrollably: "What is this? Is it the Ho Family Fist? So flexible?"