China Entertainment 1997.

Fanxing Building, Cao Xuan Office
Cao Xuan came out of the elevator and just entered the office when the secretary Hu Ya in business attire knocked on the door and came in.

"Boss, Director Zhang has been waiting in the reception room for half an hour."

"Well, let him... Forget it, I'll go over."

Cao Xuan stepped out of the office, walked around a corner along the corridor, and came to the reception room on the top floor. The cigarette is pinched.

"CEO Cao."

"I'm sorry, Director Zhang, there was a bit of a traffic jam in the morning, so I kept you waiting."

"It's okay, I understand, it's really not easy to leave the capital in the morning."

Although he is a well-known director, Lao Mouzi didn't intend to hold Cao Xuan in front of him. Although his words and deeds were not respectful, they were still very polite.

After all, Cao Xuan is not just an ordinary film and television company boss.

Social status, asset class, industry energy, international reputation, and network level are even better than him, and even far surpassed in many aspects.

Moreover, when Lao Mouzi escaped, Cao Xuan was kind to him, and Lao Mouzi was very grateful to Cao Xuan for his help in private.

So other company bosses are licking Lao Mouzi, while Cao Xuan's side is more mutual respect, and Lao Mouzi's attitude is even lower.

"Mr. Cao, let me introduce you. This is Ni Ni, the heroine of "The Thirteen Hairpins of Jinling". She has just signed with my lover's company."

The girl who had been obediently standing in the corner just now summoned up the courage to say hello: "Hello, Mr. Cao."

Cao Xuan sized up the girl. To be honest, the girl's appearance didn't particularly suit his aesthetics, but she wasn't bad either. More importantly, she had an excellent figure and temperament.

With a good director and costume styling, it is easy to become an actress killer, and she is always gorgeous.

Lao Mouzi went through a lot of hardships and made trouble with "Jinling Thirteen Hairpins" to snatch her from Xinxiang.

For this reason, the ownership of Little Yellow Duck and Gong Yao may change, which shows how much Lao Mouzi attaches importance to this girl.

It was rumored that Lao Mouzi wanted to make her the third "Mou Girl" to go international after Gong Li and International Zhang.

As for Little Yellow Duck, the former prostitute, although she is also somewhat popular, her own conditions are not enough. In everyone's opinion, she is far less promising than Ni Ni, a big beauty.

If it wasn't for the Eye of God, Cao Xuan would probably feel the same way.

After all, who would have thought that Little Yellow Duck, who is not outstanding in acting skills and external conditions at this time, would become the third actress with three gold Grand Slams.

Although it is said that the little yellow duck is close to the SIPG circle, in the later period, Ni Ni got very close to the Beijing circle and the Shanghai circle, and even had contact with the Hong Kong circle. In terms of coffee status and achievements, he is far inferior to the little yellow duck.

Fortune, destiny!
A high start does not mean leading everywhere. There are too few examples of successive masterpieces like the International Chapter, and then lasting for a long time.

A stunning debut, gradually returning to mediocrity, is the ending of most people's high-level artists...

Cao Xuan was somewhat interested in this girl Mou, and at the same time chatted a few words for Lao Mouzi's sake.

"Learned to dance?"

Ni Ni said obediently: "I have practiced the national standard for several years."

Lao Mouzi wanted to flatter him, and said a few words: "This kid studied broadcasting in college, won a provincial championship in dancing, and is also a national second-level swimmer. He is very talented."

"It can be seen that the scent is good."

Lao Mouzi's taste has always been stable, and he prefers girls who have practiced dancing.

He thinks such girls have a good temperament, and at the same time, they don't like mature actors, and they are more inclined to students or amateurs.

Gong Li was a student at school back then, International Zhang was also a student at school, and she was a dancer, Dong Bailian was also a dancer, and the little yellow duck practiced gymnastics. Ni Ni doesn't need to introduce it. Liu Dianping, who was sprayed with dog blood, is also a dancer. .

Although Lao Mouzi has also broken his own rules, such as Da Tiantian in "The Great Wall" and Sun Niangniang in "Shadow".

But analyzing the few prostitutes he single-handedly brought out, we can still see his psychological thoughts.

Moreover, he likes to cooperate with actors he values ​​more, such as Gong Li, who did not mention it in the early years, but later found his ex-girlfriend in "The Golden Flower" and "Return" regardless of the gimmicks.

In terms of actresses alone, Gong Li is definitely the white moonlight in Lao Mouzi's heart.

The international chapter has also collaborated several times, and Xiao Huangya also played his "Sturdy as a Rock" later, and Yu Hewei and Zhang Ze are almost becoming queen actors.

Not to mention Liu Dianping, many people suspect that Lao Mouzi has played a trick...

In the original time and space, Lao Mouzi didn't have a lot of stars to back him, and because of his lack of preparation, he was tricked enough by Boss Zhang, and Ni Ni didn't join him, so he went his separate ways.

But the latter two still collaborated once, but it was not directed by Lao Mouzi, but "Underage 28" directed by his daughter, and Lao Mouzi was the producer.

Therefore, Lao Mouzi still took care of Ni Ni.Not to mention being an artist in his own right now.

Today I specially brought her to see Cao Xuan, to some extent, it was to use my own face to pave the way for her.

Boss Cao also knew it well, and was willing to sell Lao Mouzi's face, anyway, there are many star dramas.

"Director Xu is planning to shoot a martial arts film for his next film. I remember that there are a few female roles that have not yet been decided. Let her try the film later."

Lao Mouzi didn't expect Cao Xuan to be so straightforward, so he felt that he had face, so he hurriedly asked Ni Ni to thank him.

"Thank you, Mr. Cao."

"Thank you, Mr. Cao."

Ni Ni hurriedly bowed to thank him, Cao Xuan waved his hand, seeing that there was still some smoke in the room, he smiled at Lao Mouzi.

"Come to my office to chat. Last time, a friend gave me some top-quality Huangshan Maofeng. Director Zhang has a taste to see if it is authentic."

"Then I'm in for a treat."

The two laughed and chatted for a while, Cao Xuan looked at Ni Ni who seemed to be hesitating whether to follow or not, and reminded him.

"Go back by yourself first, Director Zhang and I have to talk for a while, don't wait here."

Lao Mouzi nodded: "Just ask Lao Liu to send you back to the company, and then wait for my call."

"Um, uh, okay."

Ni Ni watched the two leave the reception room in a daze. She never expected that today's matter would go so smoothly. She was both happy and a little disappointed.

Happiness naturally registered in front of Cao Xuan, and also got the chance to audition for Mr. Xu's new movie.

It was said to be a test play, but since Cao Xuan spoke, it was a certainty.

As for loss, it is more complicated.

Ni Ni is not a novice, of course he knows why Lao Mouzi brought him to see Cao Xuan.

In private, the agent helped her train several times, and even repeatedly told Cao Xuan some habits and taboos, so as to prevent her from acting indiscriminately and causing Cao Xuan's dislike.

This kind of training is actually not the first time for Ni Ni. When filming "Jinling Thirteen Hairpins", she also participated in some dinners with Zhang Weiping and even Lao Mouzi, and met some bigwigs or investors in the industry.

He knows everything about dinner in the entertainment industry.

Although she is the heroine and is also the future trump card favored by Er Zhang, if she doesn't want to, no one will force her to sell her virginity, but her innocence can be kept, and it is hard to avoid being ridiculed for some nasty jokes at the dinner table.

Considering Boss Cao's criticism, Ni Ni had already made preparations before coming.

However, compared to those potbellied, bald and greasy bosses, Ni Ni didn't dislike Cao Xuan, and even had some expectation, and didn't mind what happened.

You know, Boss Cao is the dream god of countless women all over the world, and the lover/lover with the highest voting rate among Asian women.

This voting range includes China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and even some countries in South Asia and West Asia.

Although there are still some competitors in South Asia and West Asia, East Asia, the base camp, is almost far ahead, crushing all the stars, rich, and elites in China, Japan, and South Korea.

On the contrary, it was her husband who voted for the candidate. Due to the reputation of Cao Daguan, many women did not regard him as the No. 1 choice, but even so, Cao Xuan's name did not leave the top three.

After all, with Cao Xuan's level of good looks, fame, and assets, the defect of being a flowery heart is not intolerable.

With his great reputation, Ni Ni felt that if he could communicate with Boss Cao, he would be at the pinnacle of his life and make a lot of money.

In the same way, if you have the chance, you can kiss Fangze with a super white and rich beauty who has the face of Fan Xiaopang + the assets of Xiao Ma + the fame of Scarlett Johansson. I am afraid that 99.9999% of men will not reject.

Ni Ni, who had imagined countless times before, thought about all the scenes, but never thought that Cao Xuan was not interested in her at all, so he dismissed her with just a few words.

So much so that when Ni Ni left, he had deep self-doubt and regret.

.........

Cao Xuan and the others didn't expect Ni Ni to be as flamboyant as they thought.

Lao Mouzi just brought her here to clean his face, he didn't think about pimping, even if he wanted to, he didn't dare to take her to Fanxing Building, next door is Hu Jing's office, wouldn't this offend the empress of Donggong to the death?

Cao Xuan didn't think too much about it, he was almost overwhelmed by the wolves and tigers in the Second Palace, how could he have the energy to eat wild food.

The two left Ni Ni behind, went to the office to make tea, and chatted while drinking.

When Lao Mouzi came this time, he didn't just take Ni Ni to show his face, it was just passing by, and the main thing was to talk about the new movie.

Last time he took "The Hunt" from Cao Xuan. After thinking about it for a while, he finally made up his mind. Now he is revising the script and plans to finish "Thirteen Hairpins of Jinling" by the end of the year, and start preparations for filming in spring and summer next year.

At present, the first version of the Chinese script of "The Hunt" has come out.

"Can this pass the trial?"

Cao Xuan didn't approve of the adaptation, thinking that it was too risky, and he didn't want the film to be linked to politics.

"If it is shot like this, it will be a bit like "Furong Town". There is no difference. Political conflicts are stronger than moral contradictions, and the taste of the story will change."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Just put it in the 90s or early [-]s, in remote mountain villages and towns. The focus is still on the human and social level."

Cao Xuan knew that many of these older generation filmmakers had suffered in the past, and many times they wanted to play their best at that time.

After all, they are not the parties involved, and Cao Xuan doesn't want to comment on their actions, but he doesn't care about other movies, but the movie "Hunting" really doesn't need to do anything extra.

Lao Mouzi still wanted to argue with reason, but he was persuaded one by one by Cao Xuan.

In the end, I couldn't help bowing my head and admitting that if it was placed in a peaceful era and some other factors were aside, the plot of the movie would be even more frightening and chilling to the bone.

After discussing a wave of scripts, the two had their own winners and losers. It was considered that they had temporarily unified their opinions, so Lao Mouzi asked.

"Before you said that you would think about it before answering. Can you give me a letter now?"

The hero in the movie is set to be a teacher, because he is liked by precocious girls, so the image should be more mature and handsome, and then the acting skills should be considered.

Lao Mouzi finally drew up a few candidates, Chen Daoming, Wang Zhiwen and Cao Xuan.

Considering that Cao Xuan had been exposed to movie scripts very early and had discussed many times that he had a deep understanding of the characters, he was more inclined towards Cao Xuan.

Chen Daoming and Wang Zhiwen have no problems with their image and acting skills. They are somewhat older, so they can't be called uncles and girls, but grandparents.

Cao Xuan was actually very tempted. His previous "Save Mr. Me" was said to be literary, but in fact it still has a lot of commercial elements, so it can be regarded as a drama.

But "The Hunt" is an out-and-out literary film. For Cao Xuan, who has never made a literary film, it was quite a challenge.

And the reason why he didn't agree was not because he was timid and hesitant, but because he still had another literary movie script in his hand——

"Day Fireworks"

This movie was recommended by Zeng Li to Cao Xuan. The director and screenwriter Diao Yinan graduated from Chinese opera. Last semester, he went to the Chinese opera to participate in an event, and then told the story of the movie with his friends.

Zeng Li was at the scene at the time and found it very interesting after listening to it. When he learned that he was seeking investment, he told Cao Xuan.

Of course Cao Xuan knew about this movie, he won a Berlin Best Actor Award and a Golden Bear Award. At that time, he was obsessed with collecting, and wanted to cut a joke and hit the top three European awards.

Because of this, Cao Xuan has been swaying between the two films "Hunting" and "Fireworks in the Day".

Selfishly speaking, Cao Xuan prefers "Hunting", but "Fireworks in the Day" seems to be easier to win awards. From a practical point of view, it is a more suitable choice.

Before meeting Lao Mouzi, Cao Xuan had a special chat with Diao Yinan, who finally helped him make up his mind.

Diao Yinan thinks that Cao Xuan is too handsome and does not fit the role of the hero of "Fireworks in the Day".

Because the male protagonist of "Fireworks in the Day" is a middle-aged criminal policeman, and even made mistakes and was fired later.

He was dressed in tatters, had an unshaven beard, greasy hair, stooped shoulders, and rough speech.

Diao Yinan has no doubts about Cao Xuan's acting skills, but his image is indeed a problem. Even if Cao Xuan deliberately plays ugly, he is more upright than ordinary people.

If the actor's image conflicts with the role positioning, then how can the movie become inconsistent, which is a big taboo.

Maybe Cao Xuan can play the hero he wants, but Diao Yinan prefers a less handsome hero.

On the contrary, the male lead in "The Hunt" is a middle-aged primary school teacher, refined and elegant, with a good temperament, which is more in line with Cao Xuan's image. He doesn't need to deliberately change himself too much, and he can convince the audience.

Listen to people's persuasion, eat enough, Cao Xuan is a person who can listen to opinions.

Every actor has his own field of expertise and play style. The conditions are here. There is no need to pursue the so-called breakthrough and blindly challenge the role that is not suitable for you. The one that is suitable for you will always be the best.

So after chatting with Diao Yinan, he gave up the movie "Fireworks in the Day" and only invested in it, not even interfering in casting.

At the same time, he also gave Lao Mouzi a letter: "Send me the shooting time when the time comes, and I will ask my assistant to arrange the schedule."

"okay."

Lao Mouzi slapped his hands happily, if Cao Xuan joined, the film would be regarded as a third.

Even considering the names of the two of them, although it is a literary film, Lao Mouzi is confident that it will sell for more than 2 million.

Although Fan Xing will not deliberately pursue the box office, as the first film he joined, Lao Mouzi still hopes to make some money and make the situation better.

Seeing that it was noon, the two of them were talking about sex, so they asked someone to go to the cafeteria to order food, and chatted while eating in the office.

"The other actors are fine, but that little girl really has to think about it."

Lao Mouzi talked about casting. The most important role in the movie "Hunting" is the male lead played by Cao Xuan. Other townspeople/villagers can choose a few representatives to use capable actors, and it is not difficult to find.

The most troublesome thing is this little girl, she is the star of the whole movie, she needs to find someone with aura, otherwise she might not be able to hold on.

"If it doesn't work, let's go to the audition, 6~12 years old, choose the actor first, and then adjust the role according to the actor."

"It's best to be under 10 years old, and 12 years old is a bit too much. The younger the age, the stronger the contrast and shock."

"Then add a priority of 6 to 10 years old. I think adding two years old will have a wider range. Some children may grow slower. They may look younger, but they are actually older, so they can communicate better when filming."

Lao Mouzi also nodded and then proposed another idea: "You said, if it is changed to a boy, the effect will be even better."

"Uh……"

Cao Xuan couldn't keep up with his unrestrained thoughts, rubbed his eyes, and explained with a headache.

"First, this kind of subject matter may not be supported by the review in China. Second, domestic audiences may not be very sensitive to it, and the plot logic does not conform to it."

It is a sad thing that the protection of young boys in China is not ideal, and it was not until the next few years that they gradually realized and paid attention to this issue.

According to the timeline of the movie, if the plot is changed to a boy, I am afraid that some of the plot logic in the movie will not be established. The country has not yet been sensitive to it, because a little boy isolates the teacher.

After careful calculation, Lao Mouzi found that it was indeed not in line with the domestic situation, so he gave up resentfully.

Cao Xuan also heaved a sigh of relief, but felt a little tired at the same time.

When these directors make literary films, they always want to rely on politics or sensitive subjects.

It would be fine if it came from the heart, such as "Into the Smoke", which rarely puts the perspective on farmers, and the technique is very advanced, to the point, it is very subtle, calm and thought-provoking.

However, most literary and artistic films are more about groaning without illness, using the sidelines to stuff private goods, and expressing the director's so-and-so thoughts.

High emotional intelligence: exposing social realities and caring for marginalized groups.

Low EQ: I just want to find some stimulation to satisfy my restless literary youth and intellectual psychology.

Cao Xuan has no prejudice against literary films. It is normal for there to be good and bad. Commercial films also have high-quality and bad films. However, compared to some film techniques and so-called communication of ideas, he personally prefers plot and emotional expression.

He doesn't care about other movies, but for the movie "Hunting", he doesn't want Lao Mouzi to mess around.

When necessary, he doesn't mind being a bully again.

.........

So when Lao Mouzi left, Cao Xuan sent him a screenwriter to assist in the script creation, and also to supervise him not to change it blindly.

Lao Mouzi is not good at scripts, if he lets himself go, this movie will definitely be scrapped.

Cao Xuan still remembers the plots of "Shadow" and "The Great Wall".

Spinning two iron umbrellas on the street, playing on slides and fighting monsters by diving and feeding, gave him a huge spiritual shock at that time.

He couldn't figure out how Lao Mouzi thought about it.

Not to mention "The Great Wall", this movie is a mess, with countless flaws, and it's not too outrageous to feed it.

But the overall standard of "Shadow" is not bad, but Cao Xuan really doesn't understand why Lao Mouzi insists on the "umbrella" weapon, which is completely unconvincing.

It's fine to just turn off the knife, just use it as a strange weapon, the point of the team's sneak attack on the city is really not tight.

Even if bows and arrows can't break through the defense, if you hit the head office with a stone, you can still be injured if you can't be killed. If you can't be injured by the shock, it can also prevent the parachute from turning over. In the terrain at that time, as long as one overturned, the group would be wiped out immediately.

The method that ordinary people can think of to break the situation, but it is not reflected in the movie at all, and the forced killing of the plot makes people vomit blood.

If the other plots of "Shadow" are rated 7.5-8, because of this weapon and a series of plots, Cao Xuan feels that it is not even a passing score.

To put it bluntly, one mouse dropping ruined the whole pot of soup.

So Lao Mouzi led the film, and the script really needs to be read by professionals, otherwise if he is allowed to play recklessly, there will be big jokes.

The specific shooting of "The Hunt" will have to wait until next year, so there is no rush for now, Cao Xuan is now more concerned about "Taken 3".

"Now Now You See Me" was a big hit at the box office. Warner really wanted to make a sequel, and Cao Xuan didn't refuse, but the script was a problem.

The plot quality of the original "Now Now You See Me 2" is not ideal, so Cao Xuan hopes to make the script better, and not to smash the signboard of the first part.

Considering the box office volume of the first film, Cao Xuan personally is not worried about the popularity of the second film. It is not a bad thing to delay it for a few years and polish it slowly.

The copyright is in his hands, and Warner can't do anything about it. Besides, Cao Xuan wants to make "Taken 3", and they also have an advantage.

Taking advantage of the popularity of "Now Now You See Me" and the Marvel series, Warner is particularly optimistic about the prospects of this movie. As long as the quality is reasonable, it is not a big problem to surpass the first two, and it may not even be comparable to "Now You See Me 2".

For this reason, Warner and New Line agreed in principle to further increase Cao Xuan's salary in "Taken 3".

Who made Cao Xuan popular right now, and the "Taken" series is all supported by Cao Xuan, Warner and the others are in a passive position, and there is nothing they can do if they don't agree.

In mid-September, the crew of "Taken 9" officially announced that it was about to shoot, and the Hollywood media also inquired about a big news.

Cao Xuan's remuneration for this film is 2000 million US dollars + some profit sharing!

This also means that Hollywood's 2000 million salary club has added one more person.

Even if Cao Xuan's salary is mainly for the "Taken" series, it may not be so high for another movie, but getting such a high salary is a victory.

When counting Hollywood's top names in the future, Cao Xuan will not say that he is firmly in the forefront, but he will definitely not be able to avoid him.

Especially action stars, there must be a place for Cao Xuan, and he is even one of the superstars of action movies now...