1990: Starting from Baojia Street

On the second day of the Nagoya concert, it was reported that Shizuka Kudo appeared at the concert and went on stage to lay flowers and hugs.

The next day, Zhang Youan received a call from Kudo Shizuka's agency, Ogi Productions.

Ogi's purpose for making this phone call is very simple, that is, he hopes to get the right to cover the three songs Forever Together, If Love Has God's Will and My Hair Is Wet.

Kudo Shizuka only mentioned the song Forever Together in front of reporters, but Ogi Productions thought that since they were going to cover it, they might as well get these three songs together, just enough to release a small disc.

The three pieces of music together make it easy to talk to Tomson.

Zhang Youan was quite interested when he received a call from Omu Productions.

Before this, other companies also contacted them, hoping to cover the songs written by Zhou Yan.

At first, these companies contacted Huaxing and other companies, but after asking, they found that the copyrights were still with Tomson.

These songs have never been covered by others because the singers who contacted me before were not very famous, and some were even newcomers who had just debuted.

Although the initial fee for newcomers to cover songs is higher, it will have an impact on the spread of the songs and subsequent income, so Tomson has never agreed.

Shizuka Kudo was also the first to ask for a cover by an A-list singer, so Zhang Youan was certainly interested.

Then Zhang Youan enthusiastically called Zhou Yan to tell him about it.

…

At this time, Zhou Yan and Wang Zuxian were in the hotel room, cuddling together and looking at the snowy scene outside the window.

This time, it snowed heavily in Nagoya. Overnight, the entire city turned into a blanket of white, and even caused traffic paralysis.

Originally, they were supposed to rush to Osaka tomorrow, but looking at the current situation, they might have to postpone it by one day.

According to locals, this kind of traffic paralysis occurs once or twice a year, but it does not last too long and should not affect their subsequent plans.

Zhou Yan's mentality was relatively calm, and there was nothing they could do about this situation no matter how urgent it was.

So Zhou Yan held a meeting with the band members in the morning and told them not to rush. In the afternoon, he and Wang Zuxian stayed in the room, brewing a pot of tea and enjoying the snowy scenery outside.

Snow is very ordinary snow, but Zhou Yan still enjoys this kind of time. A snowfall trapped them in Nagoya, which also made him stop a little, and the pace of life suddenly slowed down. The most important thing is, There was Wang Zuxian accompanying him.

The peaceful time was broken by a phone ringing. Zhou Yan stood up and picked up the phone.

Zhang Youan said on the other end of the phone, Ogi Production called and said that they hope to get the right to cover the three songs Forever Together, If Love Has God's Will and My Hair Is Wet.

Ogi Production?

It's the firm signed by Kudo Shizuka.

Hearing Kudo Shizuka's name, Zhou Yan turned his head and looked at Wang Zuxian, who also looked at him with questions on his face.

Well, you can talk about this without asking me.

So, you agreed to let Shizuka Kudo sing the cover?

I don't have a problem with whoever sings. For business cooperation, as long as you have money.

Zhang Youan on the other end of the phone curled his lips. Although Zhou Yan said so, Zhang Youan didn't believe it at all.

Although Zhou Yan seems to be very talkative every time, this is okay, that is okay, but in fact he is very picky, just talking about the endorsement for Shiseido this time. If Jiro Hattori hadn't been insistent, I'm afraid the endorsement would have been gone.

Then I will formally talk to them. After confirming the matter, Zhang Youan asked about the situation in Nagoya, Is it still snowing over there now?

Zhou Yan glanced out the window: Well, it's still down, and it's quite big.

Zhang Youan sighed slightly, There is nothing we can do if God is not kind to us. Don't be anxious. If it doesn't work, just cancel the show in Osaka or postpone it.

The Oriental Heritage theme concert is co-sponsored by Tomson Company and Daifeng Entertainment, and Tomson Company still plays a leading role in it, so canceling or postponing the concert is not complicated and does not involve any compensation. It is nothing more than Lose some venue fees.

In fact, even if it is not led by Tomson Company, it is normal to cancel the concert when encountering such force majeure. Both the organizer and the audience who bought the tickets can understand.

It should be fine, but the rehearsal time may be less.

The concert in Osaka is in the evening the day after tomorrow. In theory, as long as they can get to Osaka in the afternoon the day after tomorrow.

It's just that they passed by in a hurry, and the rehearsal time was compressed. The members' condition was definitely not as good as the previous two games.

Well, I have already made an agreement with Shiseido to shoot them after the Osaka concert is over. If the Osaka concert is cancelled, you can come directly to Tokyo and shoot the commercial first. ”

No problem, I'll write out the script in the next two days and show it to them first.

One more thing, Farewell My Concubine will be released on Neon next month. Fuji TV is preparing to make a special episode, including interviews with Chen Kaige and Leslie Cheung when they participated in the Tokyo Film Festival. Fuji TV made a request, I hope I can invite you to shoot a three-minute interview and add it to this special series. Do you want to go?

Zhou Yan did not hesitate at all and nodded directly in agreement, No problem, I will film this interview when I go to Tokyo.

He has a good personal relationship with Chen Kaige, and Farewell My Concubine is a movie by Tomson, from the same company. If you don't look at the monk but the Buddha, Zhou Yan will definitely give Xu Feng face.

Xu Feng still attaches great importance to the neon market, especially after The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly achieved good results in neon, she hopes that Farewell My Concubine will also achieve good results in neon.

At the Tokyo Film Festival in September, the main creative staff such as Chen Kaige and Leslie Cheung also came to the scene just to promote it.

It is normal for Fuji TV to make such a request. After all, Zhou Yan is currently very popular in Neon and can increase the attention of the special episode.

Okay, I'll coordinate the time with Fuji TV.

…

After hanging up the phone from Zhang Youan, Zhou Yan returned to sit down next to Wang Zuxian. Wang Zuxian looked at him with a smile, Shizuka Kudo wants to cover your song?

heard it?

Wang Zuxian shook his head, I guessed it.

Although she didn't hear what was said on the phone, Wang Zuxian guessed from Zhou Yan's words that someone wanted to cover Zhou Yan's song, and the look Zhou Yan looked at her also made her guess that the person who wanted to cover the song might be Kudo Shizuka.

Zhou Yan also lamented that women's sixth sense is really good.

You do not mind right?

Why should I mind? She wants to cover your song. It's because she has a vision. Wang Zuxian rested his head on Zhou Yan's shoulder. If one day I mind, it will be because of what you did, not because of other people.

…

The snow in Nagoya stopped that night, and they had another day of rest. The day before the concert, Zhou Yan and the orchestra rushed to Osaka.

After the Osaka concert ended, Zhou Yan went to Tokyo with Joey Wang.

After arriving in Tokyo, the two separated.

Wang Zuxian returned to the hotel where he was staying, while Zhou Yan went to Fuji TV to film an interview for Farewell My Concubine.

The entire interview is relatively simple. After all, it is a special episode of Farewell My Concubine. The questions are all centered around the filming of the film. As one of the soundtrack directors, Zhou Yan can basically talk about the soundtrack.

The interview lasted a few minutes and was filmed in less than an hour.

After filming the talk show, Zhou Yan rushed to the studio arranged by Daifeng Entertainment.

When they arrived at the studio, the entire production team had been set up, waiting for Zhou Yan's dispatch.

Wang Zuxian also arrived at the TV station one step ahead. When Zhou Yan arrived, she was putting on makeup.

Zhou Yan stared at the side for a while, and then asked Ryosuke Hanyu, the person in charge of the Shiseido Sales Department this time, Mr. Hanyu, is the large screen I asked you to customize already done?

Ryosuke Hanyu nodded, It has been installed as per your request.

After taking this job, Zhou Yan asked Shiseido to customize a full-color LED screen.

The screen was two meters high and not too big. Zhou Yan asked them to install the screen next to the door of the Shiseido Hall in Ginza.

Of course, this is just for shooting. Zhou Yan doesn't care where the next screen will be placed.

Hearing that the screen had been installed, Zhou Yan nodded, Let's finish shooting the commercials in the studio this morning, and then put them on the big screen after production. The time may be relatively close, so you have to work harder today.

No problem, we will fully cooperate with you. Ryosuke Hanyu nodded.

After making sure that there was no problem with the screen, Zhou Yan walked to photographer Sakamoto Okawa with a storyboard.

Mr. Sakamoto, let's discuss the subsequent shooting.

The photographer took the storyboard, glanced at it, and was stunned.

Before Zhou Yan came, Sakamoto Okawa got the advertising script, but in Zhou Yan's advertising script, it only roughly stated the time of each shot, and there was no specific information, including scenes and camera movements.

Sakamoto Okawa thought that when it came time to shoot, Zhou Yan would be free to express himself. After all, many directors like this.

Moreover, Zhou Yan is a film director, so he may not have paid special attention to the filming of this advertisement.

But he didn't expect that Zhou Yan would draw several pages of storyboards for a twenty-second commercial.

Originally, Sakamoto Ohkawa couldn't even understand what Zhou Yan wanted to shoot when he only read the commercial script, but now after getting the storyboard, everything became clear at once.

The shoot for this ad was divided into two parts.

Part of it was shot in a studio. There was only Wang Zuxian in the studio, and the shot was very simple. It was just a fixed mid-shot shot of half-length without any camera movement.

This shot lasts for twenty seconds. The first ten seconds are a freeze frame, and the picture is motionless. At the eleventh second, Wang Zuxian's hair is blown up with a blower, and it keeps blowing for ten seconds. It's that simple.

Sakamoto Okawa didn't understand how to use this shot before, but now after reading the storyboard, he realized that it turned out that this twenty-second shot was to be put on the customized large screen.

The real advertisement was shot outside the Shiseido Hall in Ginza.

When shooting on location, the big screen will play the scene shot by Wang Zuxian, and Zhou Yan will transform into a street performer, standing on the big screen and playing The Street Where the Wind Lives on the flute.

In the first ten seconds, the picture on the big screen remained motionless. At the eleventh second, when the song reached the B section, a gust of wind blew from a distance. While Zhou Yan's hair was blowing, Wang Zuxian's hair on the screen also moved at the same time. Being blown up.

With this shot, it's like the real wind blowing into the billboard.

After reading the storyboard, Sakamoto Okawa couldn't help but sigh. He is indeed a film director, and the commercials he shoots are so unique.

Sakamoto Ohkawa also participated in the last edition of the advertisement. Later, when he heard that Zhou Yan requested that Zhou Yan himself, Wang Zuxian and The Street Where the Wind Lives be perfectly integrated, he was also very doubtful whether this request was suitable. Reasonable.

Can a twenty-second advertisement really achieve the effect Zhou Yan wants?

But now facts have proven that what Zhou Yan said can indeed be achieved.

After communicating with Sakamoto Okawa about the shots, Joey Wong's makeup has also been completed.

Zhou Yan didn't waste any time and directly led the production team to start shooting.

The shooting in the studio was very simple. Wang Zuxian didn't even need to move. Zhou Yan only had to find a good angle to take a good picture of Wang Zuxian.

A total of three shots of 20 seconds were taken, and it was completed in more than an hour.

After the filming is completed, it is used for post-editing.

The post-production work is also very simple. Just add Shiseido’s product information to the screen and treat the video as a poster, so that the audience will feel that it is a Shiseido advertising poster at a glance.

After the video production was completed, Zhou Yan took the video to the big screen to play it.

After confirming that there was no problem with the video, Zhou Yan took the production team to the entrance of the Shiseido Hall the next morning for location shooting.

The rest of the shots were shot in one morning

The entire advertisement took only one and a half days to complete.

…

On February 5th, Zhou Yan's last concert in Neon ended, and they rushed back to China without stopping.

Today is the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, and New Year's Eve is four days away. They all have to rush back to celebrate the New Year.

When Zhou Yan returned to Jinling, it was already the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.

After arriving home, Zhou Yan first offered incense to his mother, and then sat down on the sofa.

It was a long journey and he was very tired.

Sitting on the sofa, he looked around the living room. Although he rarely came back to this home, home was home, and returning here made him feel at ease.

He planned to rest at home for a while and then go to his grandparents' house in the evening.

But just ten minutes after he sat down and the sofa was getting warm, the pager rang.

He took out his pager and looked at it. It was Chen Kaige looking for him.

Zhou Yan scratched his head, picked up the phone in the living room and called Chen Kaige back.

After receiving a call from Zhou Yan, Chen Kaige seemed very happy, Zhou Yan, congratulations. This concert in Neon was a success. I have seen reports in China.

We are all happy together, Farewell My Concubine will be released on Neon in a few days. I wish you a great success in the movie.

Haha, I don't ask for more, as long as the Neon box office can reach one-tenth of that of The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly. I also want to thank you. I heard that you even specially helped to shoot an interview.

What you should do is that you are contacting me now just to congratulate me?

Then of course I won't go to the Three Treasures Palace for anything. I have a favor and I want to ask you for help.

As soon as Chen Kaige said that he wanted to ask for his help, Zhou Yan thought of the new movie that Xu Feng had told him before. He was also confused. Didn't Xu Feng say that he hadn't seen the script last time? It's only been less than a month since it was finalized. Already?

Mainly now that the New Year is approaching, things will usually be postponed after the previous year, and the progress will not be accelerated at this time.

What do you mean, there is a new movie? Zhou Yan asked.

Chen Kaige smiled and said, You are so clever. I do have a script. I have just decided on it. The actors have not been finalized yet, so I came to you first.

What book?

I wonder if you have read Ye Zhaoyan's new novel Flower Shadow.

Not yet. I've been busy lately and haven't paid much attention to it.

It doesn't matter. Let me tell you a little about this story. This story takes place in a small town in the south of the Yangtze River...

Afterwards, Chen Kaige spent some time and roughly told Zhou Yan the story of Flower Shadow.

Zhou Yan had read this novel, but he found that the story Chen Kaige told him was not quite consistent with the novel he had read, and it was also different from the plot of the movie Feng Yue.

But overall, the style remains the same.

After Chen Kaige finished speaking, he asked Zhou Yan, How are you? Are you interested in being the soundtrack director for my new movie? I didn't even call Leslie Cheung, so I called you first.

When will your movie be shot? Zhou Yan asked again.

If it's quick, it can be filmed in May or June. If it's slower, it can start filming in July or August. What do you say?

Zhou Yan mused, That's probably more difficult. I just took on Zhou Xingchi's new movie some time ago, and their movie will also start shooting in June and July. And I have a lot of my own movie The Sixth Sense in the first half of the year. There is work to be done, and I’m worried that if I take over your job, I won’t be able to finish it later.”

Chen Kaige on the other end of the phone was obviously stunned for a moment. He called Zhou Yan excitedly, but he was actually confident.

After all, he has a good relationship with Zhou Yan. The most important thing is that Farewell My Concubine is now famous. There are many people who want to cooperate with him, and Zhou Yan has no reason to refuse.

But the reason Zhou Yan said is also valid. Taking on several jobs at the same time may indeed be overwhelming.

After pondering for a while, Chen Kaige sighed, I find that you are more difficult to hire than me now.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, Master Kai, if you are not in a hurry, you can wait until I finish working on Zhou Xingchi's new movie, and then I can work on you. You are an international director now. If I have the opportunity to work with you, I don't want to give up. ah.

Zhou Yan's move was to retreat in order to advance, leaving Chen Kaige speechless.

Moreover, Zhou Yan knew that Chen Kaige was a docile donkey, so he could do anything as long as he complimented him a few words.

Facts have proved that his trick was very effective. When Zhou Yan said this, Chen Kaige said with a smile, Look at what you said, I am praised to the sky. Of course, the director deserves credit for the success of a movie. But it is also inseparable from other people behind the scenes. Since you already have a job there, forget it this time and let’s work together next time. Anyway, there are many opportunities in the future.”

You were too hasty with this book. If you had told me two months earlier, I would have rejected Zhou Xingchi.

Making a movie is all about feeling. When this feeling comes, I can't stop it, and I can't wait. If it hadn't been for the recent Chinese New Year, I would have started the plan now and started filming in April or May.

You can ask my senior brother, he should be free by then.

Chen Kaige knew that Zhou Yan was talking about Zhao Jiping, so he hummed and said, Since you don't have time, I can only go to Teacher Zhao. I hope he can have time. Okay, I won't tell you anymore, I'll call you right now Call Teacher Zhao, I’m really worried now, if you’re a step later, Teacher Zhao won’t have time.”

Zhou Yan nodded, Okay, I wish you success.

After hanging up the phone with Chen Kaige, about eight or nine minutes later, the phone in the living room rang again. Zhou Yan sighed slightly and reached out to pick it up.

He also wanted to have a good rest, but it was really not quiet.

After the call was connected, Xu Feng's voice came from the other end of the phone, Has Kai Ge called you?

Well, I just hung up for a while. Zhou Yan replied.

Did you promise him?

No, don't you know my work schedule, Sister Feng? I don't have time next summer, but I still have work on Westward Journey.

Hearing Zhou Yan's answer, Xu Feng suddenly laughed, It's okay if he doesn't have time, let him find someone else.

Although Xu Feng didn't say it directly, Zhou Yan could tell from Xu Feng's tone that Xu Feng didn't believe his reason.

Xu Feng must have known that if Zhou Yan wanted to take over, there was no way he would be too busy.

Zhou Yan's work efficiency is very high, and the soundtrack for the movie does not need to be completed in a short time. Zhou Yan can handle several movies at the same time.

Let alone Zhou Yan, it would be no problem for anyone else to complete the soundtracks for two movies at the same time.

If Zhou Yan doesn't accept it, he must be dissatisfied with Chen Kaige's new movie. It's just that Chen Kaige was blindly confident and never thought of this possibility.

But Xu Feng didn't expose it, otherwise it would look bad.

He should have called my senior brother Zhao Jiping now.

Well, I guessed it. If you don't have time, he must be looking for Teacher Zhao. At this point, Xu Feng sighed slightly, Actually, I'm not very optimistic about this movie. There is no good person in the whole story, but Kai Ge insisted on filming, so it was up to him. Of course, I still hope my judgment is wrong.

Zhou Yan also secretly lamented that Xu Feng knew that the future of this movie was not good, but still chose to support Chen Kaige. This was not only because she appreciated Chen Kaige's talent, but also because of her love for movies.

Master Kai is very confident now. Sister Feng, it will definitely be difficult for you to persuade him.

Yeah, I can't persuade him at all. I told him that there was a tiger in front of him that wanted to eat people. The more he listened, the more excited he became. He felt that he was born to fight the tiger. It doesn't matter, let him do it on his own. Xu Feng He sighed again, and then said, Although it's a bit early to tell now, you should pay more attention to it. If there is a suitable script, pay attention to it. Otherwise, wait until the release of The Sixth Sense is over before looking for the script. It will be very rushed. I will be careful to find the script next year, and I will be able to film it the year after that. In this way, I can make a movie every two years, not too fast, not too slow, and the rhythm is pretty good.

Xu Feng was also frightened by Chen Kaige this time.

Before, they were all immersed in the success of Farewell My Concubine. Chen Kaige had no intention to read the new script. Now that she has just seen Flower Shadow and is about to film it, she always feels that it is too hasty.

In order to make Farewell My Concubine, Xu Feng and Chen Kaige alone discussed it for no less than two hundred hours. Later, Chen Kaige, Li Bihua and Lu Wei spent a lot of time revising the script, and finally made Farewell My Concubine.

This time Flower Shadow is completely different. When Chen Kaige saw the novel, he was about to start filming.

Xu Feng didn't want Zhou Yan to have the same problem. She wanted Zhou Yan to prepare the script in advance, preferably with half a year's preparation time, so that it would be ready for filming the year after next.

Moreover, Chen Kaige couldn't listen to his opinions at all now, and Xu Feng also put more thoughts on Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan nodded and said, I will pay attention when The Sixth Sense is almost finished. In fact, I still want to see the market performance of The Sixth Sense before deciding what theme to shoot for the next one.

You're not thinking about the budget, are you?

The budget has also been taken into consideration. If The Sixth Sense makes more money, I will feel more comfortable spending money.

Xu Feng said categorically, You don't have to think about this. Even if you lose all your money on The Sixth Sense, I will guarantee your next movie's budget. I can guarantee you that the next movie will cost four million. If it’s under US dollars, you can take whatever you want.”

The standard of four million US dollars was also given by Xu Feng to Chen Kaige.

This time Chen Kaige wanted to shoot Flower Shadow. Even if Xu Feng didn't like it, he still gave him a budget of more than two million US dollars, and he also left some room. If there are some problems later, it can be increased to four million US dollars. (End of chapter)