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Chapter 598: Amazing Magic, I'm Displeased with Him

The sequel to Now You See Me continues the thrilling magic show and thief style of the previous film.

In addition to the main cast of the previous film, there is now a new character, Milk Tea Zhou.

When making the sequel, Zhou Yutang had already made it clear that he would not appear in the third part.

Therefore, according to the script setting, his presence will be weakened accordingly.

He disappeared in the early stage, appeared in the middle and late stages, and faked his death in the end, leaving the audience with suspense.

In this way, part of Zhou Yutang's role was transferred to Milk Tea Zhou, and the main purpose was to highlight the characters of the other protagonists in the group.

Customized spin-off series about the main characters are also being planned.

Compared to the previous film, the world view of this sequel has been expanded to a certain extent, and the magic team behind the scenes has also been strengthened.

In addition to David Kwong's original team, David Copperfield was specially invited to be a magic consultant.

He is the most famous magician of our time, and he has provided a lot of inspiration and creativity to Guo Fan and other creators.

"Hi Zhou, nice to meet you, Haojiang is a very beautiful Chinese city."

David was very enthusiastic when he met this young tycoon who was very popular in Hollywood.

"David, thank you for your suggestions to the crew. I think the audience will be amazed by the great magic."

"Haha, now that you mention it, I'm looking forward to it too."

Of course, the main reason why David Copperfield was so warm and polite was that Zhou Yutang gave him enough money and was generous enough.

Money can make the foreigners work.

During the period of equipment maintenance, Zhou Yutang and Guo Fan reviewed the shots taken in the early stage.

Then we gathered the leaders of the special effects team together and held a meeting to discuss the highlight of the second part, the raindrop hovering magic.

This magic trick of suspended raindrops was an idea that Zhou Yutang had when he was filming the first film.

At that time, considering the content and time constraints, it was put in the second part.

"sharp."

Deng Chao said he wanted to learn filming techniques, and sneaked in to attend the meeting.

He is now passionate about his side job as a director and is also very interested in Jiangdong Entertainment's latest industrialized process for commercial film production.

The storyboards were animated long before the filming began, instead of waiting until the film was finished to create the special effects.

The top special effects artists accompanying the team have already prepared the specific simulation animation effects.

After watching the specific effects rendered by the special effects team, Deng Chao applauded. Afterwards, he pulled Zhou Yutang aside and asked secretly: "Yutang, what is the principle behind this?"

"The visual stays."

Zhou Yutang was speechless: "Brother Chao, didn't we just say that in the meeting?"

"I said it, but I didn't fully understand it."

Deng Chao scratched his head, his face full of confusion and awe.

In fact, the principle is very simple. It is to use light of a certain frequency to shine on the water droplets. If the falling frequency of each water droplet is the same, it will look like they are relatively still.

There are several necessary conditions.

There are water pipe nozzles tied high in the air to create rain, and an empty square in the dark night with plenty of light sources.

Coupled with post-production special effects editing, what is presented to the audience is a visual feast.

Zhou Yutang briefly explained the principle of this magic to him: "Brother Chao, do you understand what I mean?"

"Holy crap, that's bullshit!"

Deng Chao held it in for a long time, then raised his thumb very sincerely and uttered a few words.

The equipment has been repaired and the shooting rhythm has resumed. Today, Huo Wenxi came from Hong Kong to visit the set and brought local snacks from Haojing to the crew members.

“Wow, this Portuguese egg tart is delicious.”

Liu Shishi's eyes were glowing on the other side of the video.

"Then let me taste it for you first."

Zhou Yutang did a live eating show through the screen.

The base of the egg tart is made of crispy egg pastry, which is extremely crispy and will fall into pieces at the slightest touch.

The top layer is a soft egg yolk layer, and the egg tart filling is more than two centimeters thick.

The perfect ratio of eggs and cream is achieved, the filling is full of egg and milk flavor, with a delicate and rich taste, and it really melts in your mouth.

Liu Shishi could smell the rich aroma of milk and eggs through the screen of her mobile phone and swallowed her saliva reluctantly.

She has been busy shooting commercials, endorsing brands, and shooting a bunch of magazine covers recently, so she has to stay in shape and pay special attention to what she eats.

Seeing Zhou Yutang's expression of enjoyment without any trace of acting was so disgusting that I wanted to rush over and bite him.

After teasing Yijie for a while, Taozi called people to film. Zhou Yutang returned to the chair behind the monitor and quietly watched the Little Chef of Hong Kong show off.

Xie Tingfeng became famous before the millennium.

At that time, everyone unanimously agreed that he was the new generation superstar of the Hong Kong circle.

Unfortunately, to this day, his box office performance is clearly not convincing enough, and is not even as deeply rooted in people's hearts as his emotional entanglement with Sister Bai Zhi and the princess.

"Clear the area, be quiet, and prepare for the test shoot!"

After all departments are ready, the actors walk into their positions, the script supervisor hits the clapboard, and then the shooting begins.

This scene is a confrontation between the villain Xie Tingfeng and Deng Chao. Without the help of his family, Chao Ge is no match for the villain No. 2 boss alone and is played around by him.

Then the protagonists took action and, through a magic show, easily eliminated Xie Tingfeng, thereby introducing Loki, the big boss behind the scenes of the film.

It was the first time for Zhou Yutang to see Xie Tingfeng act live.

The talent is not top notch.

But the overall sensitivity of the lens language is good.

As soon as Guo Fan conveyed his requirements, he knew what effect should be achieved.

The angle, movement and emotions are all well captured.

There is just a small problem.

When acting, he would deliberately look for the camera, or make some subconscious movements to look cool, without even realizing it.

Many actors who started out as idols have this problem.

The same is true for Da Mimi. She was very smart when she played the young Guo Xiang, but as time went on, she became more and more aware of how to show her beauty in front of the camera.

Of course, Xie Tingfeng himself is very suitable for the role of this slightly neurotic villain rich second generation, so it is understandable for him to act cool.

The early and middle stages of the film are all the stage for Xie Tingfeng to perform. He puts enough pressure on the protagonists, sets up the plan step by step, and guides the protagonists to steal a chip that can connect to any computer in the world.

——Don’t ask why there is such a setting.

Magic with a touch of surrealism can exist, and in this world, everything is possible.

Entering the information age, a certain big shot with an Angsa background wants to control the world's public opinion through the latest technological chips.

Xie Tingfeng is a puppet pushed to the front by Loki, the big boss of Angsa who is hidden behind the scenes.

This character who is suspected to be a traitor of the Q organization will reveal some information about the Q organization after being killed by the protagonist's magic counterattack.

For example, the foreshadowing buried in the entire movie universe and the detective rankings.

"What detective ranking?"

The members of the crew are all old acquaintances. In addition to sleeping with Nazha frequently, Zhou Yutang also often gets together with Hu Ge and Deng Chao to chat after filming.

When talking about the background of the movie and the setting of the Q organization, Hu Ge was a little confused. When he reacted, he was surprised and amazed:

"Boss Zhou, are you setting up a new pit?"

"It's not like we're starting a new project. This is a series of movies that we had in mind when we were working on The Thieves. If the box office of The Thieves is within our expectations, the project will definitely move forward."

"Detective Ranking, could it be a suspenseful detective movie?" Deng Chao's mind worked quickly.

"Almost. A suspenseful detective film with some comedy elements. The specific story setting will depend on the audience's reaction to The Thieves, and some modifications may be required..."

In front of his friends, Zhou Yutang had nothing to hide. "Detective Chinatown" was already in the company's project plan.

"Brilliant."

Old Hu, who is quite cultured, was stunned by what he heard and expressed his feelings at the moment in a simple and unpretentious manner.

"So, the detective rankings are from Detective Chinatown. They're trying to create a movie universe similar to Marvel!"

Deng Chao realized something, became excited, and his eyes lit up.

"You could say that."

Zhou Yutang couldn't help laughing when he saw his overflowing thirst for knowledge.

Brother Chao, who has just tasted the sweetness of success as a director, is now full of ideas about how to operate commercial films.

In the past few days since he joined the team, Deng Chao has been talking to him about this.

"Atang, you are really amazing."

The beautiful queen Huo Wenxi who came to visit the set listened quietly for a while and couldn't help but sigh.

Starting with "Thieves" and then "Now You See Me", the first two films in this series have grossed over 25 billion at the box office and swept across Asia.

Even South Korea followed suit and made a spin-off movie, which did pretty well at the box office.

Now "Now You See Me 2" is being filmed, and we have plans for the next phase of movies.

While Huo Wenxi was shocked, he also admired Zhou Yutang's plan even more and was indescribably envious.

Yinghuang Group’s blockbuster plan did not go smoothly.

Several films were invested and several of them failed.

If it weren't for Zhou Yutang's "SPL 2" to save some face, Huo Wenxi, as the flagship figure of Yinghuang Films in the mainland, would hardly be able to hold his head up when he returned to the group headquarters to report on his work.

This time, when Huo Wenxi heard that Zhou Yutang was filming in Macau, he immediately dropped what he was doing and rushed to the crew.

In name, he came to visit Xie Tingfeng, but in fact he didn't say much to the young chef of Hong Kong and kept getting close to Zhou Yutang.

How could Zhou Yutang not know her real purpose? She just wanted to buy a ticket for Yinghuang to board the big ship Jiangdong.

They usually have a good relationship, Zhou Yutang gave this sister a reassurance: "In the next three years, it is expected that there will be at least two more co-productions. I hope Sister Mani can help a lot then."

"Atang, as long as it's your project, funding is not a problem. Yinghuang will follow through to the end."

Huo Wenxi's face instantly lit up with joy, and he talked to Zhou Yutang about the Lunar New Year movie season.

This year, Jiang Wen's "One Step Away" is considered the big boss in the Lunar New Year box office.

This film is mainly controlled by Jiang Wen's own Buyi Lehu Film Culture Company in Beijing. Other investors including Columbia Pictures, Yinghuang, China Film Group, Wanda, Xingfu Lanhai, Shanghai Film Group, iQiyi, Dongyang and others have raised a total of 3 million yuan in funding.

Jiang Wen has announced that he will sell all the films during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Producer Ma Ke also made no secret of the fact that this film was intended to test the depth of the Chinese market. The momentum was so great that other film and television companies in the industry were shocked and some films that were scheduled to be released at the same time began to withdraw their schedules.

Huo Wenxi revealed some inside information: "Wanda is now negotiating with Marco about a guaranteed buyout of the box office for a release of 10 billion yuan."

"Big dog owner."

Zhou Yutang muttered.

Wanda is the only company in China that has the financial resources to spend 10 billion to make a movie.

But this is good news for Jiang Wen.

I don’t know if the news leaked from somewhere, but LeTV Pictures seems to have gotten the message.

"Crazy Detective", produced by LeTV Pictures, suddenly held a press conference and announced that "Crazy Detective" would be moved to January 1, avoiding a head-on collision with "One Step Away".

Zhang Zhao is also a shrewd man. Although he keeps saying that he wants to hold preview screenings to spread word of mouth in order to avoid internal friction, he is actually shocked by Wanda's actions.

The box office guarantee of 10 billion yuan was something that had never happened in the circle before.

As the current leader of domestic cinema chains, Wanda has made a huge bet on this, which means it is very optimistic about the box office performance of "One Step Away", and will inevitably squeeze out the screening volume of other films of the same period.

If "The Raging Detective" doesn't want to become a bird caught in a gun, it can only run away in disgrace with its tail between its legs.

The young chef of Hong Kong seems to be in a very good mood recently. After work, he booked a theater and invited the entire crew to watch "One Life, One World" with him and Tang Wei.

This film originally belonged to Da Meiyuan, but later she took her parents on an overseas trip and willfully rejected the film, so it fell into the hands of the literary goddess Tang Wei.

The film grossed over 5 million yuan in just days after its release, becoming the highest-grossing film for Hong Kong's Chef Boy in which he serves as the sole male lead.

The goddess of art films and Boss Xie are a perfect match, and just standing there is enough to be pleasing to the eye.

"Brother, I think that turning around and hugging is so true to life."

Nazha, who is a bit in love, is very happy: "They say that true love will become a habit"

After the movie was over, they walked out of the cinema and got into the car. She was still holding Zhou Yutang's arm and chattering about the plot of the movie.

She is only twenty-two years old this year.

What do normal girls of this age usually do?
Maybe he had just finished his campus life and entered society and was beaten up.

Nazha's experience was different from that of other girls who had just graduated from college. She met Zhou Yutang early on and was controlled by Zhou Shufang since she entered the company. She had never encountered any troubles.

All entertainment companies, big and small, in the circle had already mentioned this and they all knew that this was Zhou Yutang's man.

She herself doesn't have a strong career ambition, and all she wants is to stay close to her good brother.

If Zhou Yutang hadn't been paying attention and asked Zhou Shufang to manage Nazha's social media, she would have probably taken a lot of restricted intimate photos with Zhou Yutang.
The movie "One Life, One World" had good box office and reputation. In just seven days, the box office exceeded 1.5 million.

Considering the rather quiet September, this is considered an outstanding performance.

In addition, Guangguang's "The Four: The Finale" grossed over 100 million yuan in the first three days, and Chen Jiashang handed in the last satisfactory answer sheet to Guangguang.

Chen Jiashang's director contract with Guang Guang Films has expired and he has decided not to renew it.

As for "Temporary Cohabitation" starring Yang Ying and Zha Zha Hui, the total box office has reached 6500 million.

Next up is the French imported film "A Bug's Life", as well as the Hollywood imported blockbusters "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows" and "The Expendables 3", which are bound to compete with each other.

Needless to say, this is also the work of La Peikang.

Such is the influence of the head of China Film Group that even Marvel's blockbuster "Guardians of the Galaxy" was postponed to after the National Day holiday.

This leaves enough box office space for the project "Lost in Thailand" in which Zhou Yutang participated.

The filming of "The Thieves" is still going on, and they will borrow Zhou Yutang's private jet next.

There is a scene where the protagonists kill the boss Loki on the plane.

During the filming, Zhou Yutang received a call from Milk Tea Zhou.

Jay Chou's scenes were basically filmed in the previous month, with only a few shots left to be re-shot.

He is not in the crew at the moment, but has gone to Singapore to prepare for his latest solo concert.

Zhou Yutang allowed him to enjoy privileges, and even Deng Chao, who had shortened his roadshow promotion period, was envious.

After all, a celebrity like Milk Tea Zhou agreed to come and play a supporting role, and he also received friendship pay.
He even agreed to produce a Chinese-themed global theme song for the film, including an MV, purely for love.
"Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils, directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Zhou Yutang, has finished filming. Zhang Yimou's team arrived in Beijing a few days ago in a low-key manner, looking relaxed."

"Directed by Wu Yusen and starring Zhang Ziyi, Jing Chengwu, Huang Xiaoming, Song Hye Kyo and others, The Crossing (Part 12) is scheduled to be released on December 2. The Eastern Titanic has officially set sail and will face off against The Taking of Tiger Mountain!"

"The world premiere of 'Lost in Thailand' was held at the Princess of Wales Theatre in downtown Toronto, and the response was enthusiastic and the reviews were rave reviews."

Although the film industry was quiet in September, several big directors were active.

First, Wanda’s guaranteed purchase of Jiang Wen’s new film for 1 billion shocked the entertainment industry, and LeTV Pictures fled without a fight.

Then there is the news that Ning Hao’s new film “Lost in Thailand” is a big hit in Toronto.

According to reporters' statistics, as a screening film at this year's Toronto Film Festival, "Lost in Thailand" was unexpectedly popular.

During the movie viewing, there were 98 bursts of moderate laughter or above, including nearly 20 bursts of laughter and applause.

When the film ended, it was already past 11pm, but only a few viewers left the theater throughout the whole process.

It's really not a purchased press release.

Since a large proportion of the audience were local Chinese, there was no obstacle in watching the movie.

And Toronto International Film Festival artistic director Cameron Bailey is also pushing this road comedy.

Some foreign friends watched the movie with only subtitles. Although some of them didn't understand the meaning of words like "brain-dead" in the movie, they also praised this movie with Chinese-style absurd realism.

Ning Hao was also having a directors forum event there, and Huang Bo, Ma Su and other leading actors were still promoting the film, but Zhao Liying ended her trip to Toronto first.

Xiao Zhao, the cute girl with a round face, is also a busy person now.

After digesting the traffic brought by "The Best of Us", she has now officially secured her position as a top-tier young actress.

Moreover, the cast of "The Journey of Flower", which was her last collaboration with Zhu Yilong, has finally been finalized. After the preparatory work is completed, the filming is expected to start in late September. Xiao Zhao has to rush back to China to take the final makeup photos.

"confirmed?"

"Well, Zeng Jia and I have discussed this. Diaosi Man is very popular right now. You also said that we can expect good box office results for this movie."

Zhou Yutang had just finished a meeting in the evening when he received a call from Yang Mi.

You can tell that there's a bit of excitement in Da Mimi's tone.

This is Mixing Company’s first film and television investment.

She used her own film salary plus some cash to get a 15% investment share of "The Pancake Man", and also bet on the clause of "getting rewards starting from the box office of 3 million."

It's only been a few days and the game has been set up.

Dong Xiaopeng is indeed very capable.

Apart from Sohu, which invested 50 million yuan to get a % share, Wanda and Xinli also joined the game and soon announced:
"The film "Jian Bing Man", created by the original team of the online drama "Diao Si Nan Shi", directed and acted by Dong Xiaopeng, with Yang Mi, Liu Yan, and Jean-Claude Van Damme joining the cast, and dozens of first-line superstars guest starring, will start shooting this month!"

The cost is not high, but the publicity is quite big.

With the strong audience base accumulated by "Diaosi Nanzi", it is even more popular than some new films of big directors.

Dong Xiaopeng has gone to Hong Kong alone, preparing to invite Zhou Xingxing to join "The Pancake Man".

The film has not even started shooting yet, but the attention on this movie has instantly reached a peak.

“He actually came to see me.”

Zhou Xingxing occasionally talks to Zhou Yutang about the preparation progress of the "Mermaid" project. When talking about this, he still feels a little regretful:
"Dapeng is a man with a lot of ideas, but unfortunately the investor has already been decided."

Zhou Yutang laughed when he heard this.

As expected of Stephen Chow, he is still so real.

Of course, he doesn't want to lose face by making a cameo appearance in such an online drama compilation movie, but that doesn't stop him from wanting to make a fortune from it.

For him, movies are both art and business.

Now that the investors are in place, he can't say he's disappointed.

After all, that "Pancake Man" only has a little potential.

But "The Mermaid" in his hand is the real bomb, and most of Zhou Xingxing's energy is invested in this project.

"Boss Zhou, the casting for the play has almost been finalized. Have you received the list?"

"Ah."

Zhou Yutang took a look at the latest audition casting list for "The Mermaid".

In addition to Girls' Generation's Yoona playing the mermaid, Deng Chao is the male lead and the second female lead is former star girl Zhang Yuqi.

In addition, Luo Zhixiang from Go Fighting Men played the supporting role of Octopus Monster.

It also includes several minor roles played by artists from Stephen Chow's own Star Overseas.

Zhou Xingxing definitely has the final say on his own projects.

Zhou Yutang only recommended Lin Yoona and did not interfere with the rest.

But as it stands right now, there are basically no problems except that it's a bit of a pity that Stephen Chow himself doesn't play the role.

After a pause, Zhou Xingxing continued, "There is one more thing I want to discuss with you. Someone in the Beijing circle found me and wants to recommend Wu Yifan to join the group. I want to hear your thoughts."

"Is there no suitable role for him in the script?"

Zhou Yutang frowned, "Director Zhou, the movie has received enough attention now, there's no need to over-hype it."

Wu Yifan, who has returned to China with the halo of the Tea Egg Boy Band, can be said to be the top star in the circle.

Zhou Xingxing was probably attracted by Wu Yifan's popularity and was a little tempted.

However, the project "The Mermaid" has a two-week collaboration and also has Girls' Generation's Yoona, who topped the Asian charts, so it has no shortage of traffic and popularity.

The script has already been finalized. If we bring him into the crew at this time, will we have to add another character, the electric eel?

Makes no sense.

"What you said makes sense."

Zhou Xingxing said thoughtfully: "Forget it then."

Then, they talked about Zhou Yutang's schedule. Zhou Xingxing hung up the phone, and the female assistant beside him handed him a cup of coffee with an admiring look:

"Director Zhou, you really guessed it right. He really refused."

"Haha, that talented girl had some feelings for him, and there was a scandal recently, so it's normal for him to be unhappy with that boy."

Zhou Xingxing sat comfortably in the large boss chair, took the coffee and took a sip, a smile blooming on his face.

What a popular young actor.

In his eyes, none of them are as good as Zhou Yutang.

The film role has been decided, and deliberately mentioning this matter at this time is just to do Zhou Yutang a favor.

After all, he has offended Huayi. If he wants to do projects in the domestic entertainment industry in the future, it is necessary to maintain a good relationship with Zhou Yutang.

(End of this chapter)