Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 546 Two Artists from the Magic City (4K)

After hearing what Chen Ran said, Gordon, the president of ATP, could only maintain an awkward but polite smile, and then instinctively clapped his hands a few times.

He felt as if there were needles on the chair, pricking him and it hurt.

"This guy doesn't give me any face at all." Mr. Gordon thought helplessly, "No matter what, I am the president of ATP and your boss."

As far as I can remember, Chinese people rarely joke like this, especially with their superiors.

During his time in China, Gordon had a very comfortable life.

Wherever he went, he was a VIP and enjoyed very superior treatment.

Everyone here respects me very much, even the powerful mayor.

Everyone supports him very much, which makes Gordon feel that holding the ATP year-end finals in the Magic City of China is a very smart and wise thing to do.

Chen Ran, this kid is making fun of himself again.

How many times has this happened?

"He said that in the future the maximum salary in the NBA will be twice the bonus of ATP giant players, or even more? That would be 2 to million US dollars. How is this possible? The era of Michael Jordan is over." Gordon muttered to himself.

Top salary is not the same as highest salary.

The maximum salary is just a broad concept. After all, the contract signed by Yao Ming is considered a maximum salary, but players like O'Neal receive the league's highest salary of more than 2000 million US dollars.

So Chen Ran only emphasized the maximum salary.

"Chen Ran is still as humorous as ever." The host of Shanghai was also left helpless by Chen Ran's words.

You have really embarrassed our international friends and foreign guests.

Then, Chen Ran raised the microphone and continued: "Finally, I hope that tennis can be better, and I hope to see more Chinese players step onto the stage of the tour and Grand Slam events."

……

After the 2005 ATP Finals came to an end in Shanghai, the topics surrounding it have not subsided for a long time.

Chen Ran took away a check for $260 million, which became a legend and attracted numerous discussions among netizens.

His post-match remarks and his blatant ridicule of the ATP chairman also drew mixed reactions.

Some black fans on the Internet cannot criticize Chen Ran based on his technical level and honors, so they can only find fault with him based on his speeches.

"You've received so much prize money and you're still not satisfied? You even teased the ATP chairman. Do you think this is reasonable?"

"You have ruined the humble image of Chinese athletes!"

"Yes, saying this in front of so many international friends is a disgrace to our international image!"

In short, if you say good things about foreigners, you are said to be fawning on foreigners; if you make fun of foreigners, you are said to be bringing shame to the country.

Anyway, both the positive and negative sides have been monopolized by these netizens.

But no matter how turbulent the Internet was at the moment, Chen Ran, the instigator, acted as if nothing had happened. After completing the award ceremony, he went straight back to the hotel, took a shower, and fell asleep.

I didn't reply to the messages that kept coming in.

The 2005 season is officially over.

A nearly perfect year.

At the same time, his business layout began to show results this year and his wealth accumulated rapidly.

Although Chen Ran has achieved financial freedom, he knows that his pursuit of honor will not stop there.

……

Early the next morning, when a ray of bright sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Chen Ran opened his eyes with some difficulty.

Strange to say.

Looking at the sunny sky, Chen Ran felt inexplicably funny.

During the ATP year-end finals, it was cloudy and rainy in Shanghai.

This resulted in mediocre form for most players and lower-than-expected ticket sales for the game.

But on the second day after the ATP Finals ended, the sky in Shanghai became clear, which was really a strange thing.

Chen Ran picked up his personal cell phone and saw a dense network of text messages. He replied one by one to thank the other party for their blessings.

He basically doesn't need to train in the next few days, but he will attend some business events, and then go to Zhejiang University to show up and take a class, which is also a formality.

Shanghai TV invited Chen Ran, not only for an interview, but also for a dinner.

Of course, Chen Ran had informed them in advance that apart from tea and juice, carbonated drinks and alcohol were not allowed.

During the business activities, he met two stars who were born in Shanghai, Hu Ge and Xue Ziqian.

These two became very famous in later generations and are very representative male stars in China, one is a singer and the other is an actor.

It’s just that in the entertainment industry today, one of them is a second-tier star, and the other is a newcomer who just debuted through a talent show.

However, in the future, these two will be the few mainland artists who can counterattack the Taiwanese market.

Xue Ziqian even held a concert at Taiwan's Taipei Arena, which was packed to the brim. There are not many male singers from mainland China who can do that.

As one of the world's leading metropolises, Shanghai is very supportive of these two local artists.

It’s not easy to make it in the entertainment industry.

However, in today's Chinese entertainment industry, even in an economically developed city like Shanghai, the voice is not that big and is basically controlled by Hong Kong and Taiwan. They are just the wealthier money-makers, while other second- and third-tier cities are the not-so-wealthy money-makers.

"Hello, both of you." After seeing the two men, Chen Ran shook hands with Hu Ge and Xue Ziqian respectively.

In fact, he is very friendly and proactive towards those mainland stars, especially those who will become very popular in the future.

If it were a Hong Kong or Taiwan star, Chen Ran would generally not take the initiative to say hello, but the other party would take the initiative to approach him to talk.

Because he knew very well that due to their different growing environments, the two sides did not have much in common, and there was not much point in deliberately finding topics to talk about, especially those sensitive topics.

What impressed Chen Ran deeply was that Xue Ziqian in his previous life would have a good friend in the future who was also an outstanding musician, Zhao Yingjun.

However, he died young due to illness. After taking care of his parents and accompanying his brother on his final journey, Xue Ziqian also published his brother's suicide note.

In the suicide note, a sentence from his brother also made countless Chinese netizens cry.

In the suicide note he left before his death, he mentioned one of his biggest regrets in life: that the motherland had not yet been unified.

This is also the place that impressed Chen Ran the most.

This statement should make many two-faced artists on that island who just want to make money very unhappy.

So, the three of them sat together and chatted aimlessly. Although Chen Ran was only 19 years old, due to his mental age, he was actually more mature than the other two, and his conversation and behavior were clearly centered around him.

During this period, Hu Ge was only 24 years old, and Xue Ziqian was only 23 years old.

Hu Ge became famous thanks to "The Legend of Sword and Fairy", while Xue Ziqian attracted a large number of fans through this year's "My Style My Show".

At this moment, "Serious Snow" has not been released yet, but he became a little famous with the song "Yellow Maple Leaves" he sang during the talent show.

At this time, Hu Ge suddenly asked: "Chen Ran, how is your preparation for the tennis movie going? I heard before..."

"Well, what did you hear?" Chen Ran raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile.

"Um... I heard that you just tore up the script." Hu Ge paused and chuckled.

After all, under normal circumstances, the screenwriter has a lot of power in the crew. At least no leading actor dares to tear up the screenwriter's script. That would be really not giving him any face at all, which is almost like tearing off his relationship.

Do you still want to stay in this circle in the future?
Of course, Chen Ran doesn't need to worry.

"Tear it up! This screenwriter is too lazy. He didn't even use his brain. The plot was directly plagiarized from Michael Jordan's Space Jam. How can I tolerate this?" Chen Ran gritted his teeth and said, "This is totally unprofessional!"

Although more than half a year has passed, he still gets very angry when he mentions this matter.

"You know, Ding Junhui gave me a pool cue yesterday. You can imagine what would happen if that screenwriter stood in front of me." He added, spreading his hands.

"Haha~" Hu Ge and Xue Ziqian both laughed, "You are really humorous."

In fact, compared to Hu Ge, Xue Ziqian is still a little restrained. After all, he is still a newcomer and the smallest star, but the TV station in Shanghai is willing to take him.

“But China’s TV dramas, movies, and songs plagiarize... um, borrow a lot from Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea. This is a fact.” Hu Ge nodded and said.

There is nothing to deny this, and with the Internet so developed nowadays, it is not difficult to query this information.

"Yeah, I know. But I can't accept such a similar script. Although I didn't ask the tennis movie to be comparable to "Space Jam", it must not be plagiarized." Chen Ran shrugged and said in a firm tone.

"By the way, have you decided on the leading actor for this movie?" Hu Ge asked again.

"Not yet!" Chen Ran shook his head.

Why did Hu Ge ask this question?
Chen Ran suddenly remembered an event from his previous life.

Hu Ge also likes to play tennis. In his previous life, a movie "The Biography of Li Na" was made based on Li Na's career. Hu Ge played Li Na's husband Jiang Shan in the movie.

Therefore, some netizens joked that when Li Na learned that Hu Ge was playing Jiang Shan, did she want to personally play Li Na?

However, this movie had not been released until the time when Chen Ran was reborn.

"Could it be that Hu Ge wants to act in this tennis movie?" Chen Ran's heart moved.

Although Hu Ge's current status is far less than in his previous life, Chen Ran does not think this is a problem at all.

He chooses actors without considering their status.

Especially from an emotional point of view, Chen Ran was not willing to invite those Hong Kong and Taiwan artists.

What’s more, in two years, Mr. Chen will detonate the Hong Kong entertainment industry and cut off the fortunes of Hong Kong entertainment in one fell swoop. The era of changing dynasties is about to come.

Thanks to the huge success of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy", Hu Ge's popularity is still quite high.

It's not impossible to give him a starring role in a tennis movie.

"In fact, I have talked with the agency and investors, and I prefer to find some actors from mainland China. The investors neither rejected nor agreed. What they are worried about is whether a purely mainland cast will have box office appeal." Chen Ranming took a sip of tea and said truthfully.

Hu Ge thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, now mainland audiences are not very interested in movies starring mainland actors. In fact, their acting skills are not bad, but they have the final say. I personally still want to try my hand at movies, but I also know that it will be difficult for me to carry the box office."

Chen Ran suddenly asked, "What dramas are you going to shoot next year? Are you busy?"

Hu Ge felt that Chen Ran was talking behind his words, and after a pause, he replied, "I am busy, but I can arrange time. There is a new version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes that invited me to play Guo Jing, and Huang Rong is Lin Yichen from Taiwan."

"Actually, I'm not really willing to do that... After all, there have been so many versions of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, it's hard to come up with something new."

Chen Ran curled his lips and said, "Jin Yong's dramas have been filmed to death. There is nothing new to come up with. In short, I am not interested."

Xue Ziqian, who was more low-key, also spoke up: "Yes. Besides, I think Brother Hu's image is more suitable for Li Xiaoyao. Guo Jing is so dull, which actually doesn't fit Brother Hu's image."

"I think so too!" Hu Ge nodded in agreement, "But you also know that this drama has a lot of investment, and it is a very good resource. Although I don't really want to act in it, I am willing to refuse it."

Indeed, although Hu Ge is quite popular now, he is still a newcomer after all.

With such good resources, only others can choose him, and he cannot choose others.

If you miss this opportunity, you may regret it later.

There are only so many good resources in the entertainment industry. How many people are eyeing them? Too many people, too little meat!

However, Chen Ran also heard the hidden meaning. If Hu Ge could star in this tennis movie, he might decline the filming of the new version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

After all, he was not very interested in the role of Guo Jing, and there were too many versions of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" before, and the audience would be aesthetically fatigued if it was remade.

"Why don't you leave a starring role for Hu Ge?" Chen Ran thought to himself. Anyway, he has the final say.

After all, he is a person who, when he gets ruthless, will even tear up the screenwriter's manuscript and then directly replace the screenwriter.

what!
Chen Ran suddenly remembered.

I remember that in his previous life, the car accident that almost disfigured Hu Ge happened during the filming of The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Yes, it was during the filming of The Legend of the Condor Heroes!

Chen Ran recalled it carefully and was very sure in his heart.

Because of this accidental car accident, the filming of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was postponed.

If Hu Ge had starred in his own tennis movie, he would have declined the filming of The Legend of the Condor Heroes and perhaps he would not have encountered the car accident.

Then be a good person and do the other person a favor.

"You should be able to play tennis, right?" Chen Ran asked.

"Yes, I learned it in college, at an amateur level!" Hu Ge replied.

Amateur level, that's enough.

Drama schools like those are for rich people, so the level of tennis coaches there should be higher than those in ordinary universities.

"I will discuss it with the company after I go back. After all, in my opinion, if you want to become one of the main actors, your tennis skills must be good enough, right?" Chen Ran smiled faintly, and the meaning of his words was self-evident.

Hugo nodded and gave an OK gesture, saying, "I understand!"

We are all smart people and understand what this means.

……

(End of this chapter)