1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Jennifer praised the song "We Are Young" to the skies, which made Zhang Youan want to hear what the song was like.

Like Zhang Youan, many viewers who have just started listening to "Music World" are very curious about what this song is like, so much so that the fifth listener directly asked Zhou Yan if he could play it again.

However, Zhou Yan was unable to agree to such a request. The program didn't last long, and by the time the fifth listener connected, it was almost over.

After the fifth connection ended, Zhou Yan and Jennifer talked about music for a while, and then the show ended.

The director started playing "Someone Like You". Jennifer took off her headphones and said with a smile, "Y, thank you for your cooperation. Today's show was very good, better than we imagined."

"Thank you for your hard work. Today's show is inseparable from your efforts."

After a polite remark, Zhou Yan stood up and stretched his body. Today's program was relatively relaxing. Jennifer's rhythm was very good and he didn't feel any pressure throughout the whole process.

The only minor interlude was David's phone call, but this interlude made the show even better. Without that interlude, there would be no song "We Are Young".

Jennifer invited Zhou Yan to lunch on behalf of the radio station, but Zhou Yan declined.

As soon as Zhou Yan walked out of the radio station, he received a call from Zhang Youan.

On the phone, Zhang Youan told Zhou Yan that Jack Williams took a fancy to the song "We Are Young" and wanted to buy it for an advertising song.

"There were too many things going on this morning, otherwise I would have listened to the program, and now I still don't know what the situation is with this piece of music."

“It’s just a light tune, and it can really be made into a song.”

"What about Williams..."

"Talk to him. You can decide the terms."

Although "We Are Young" was not written specifically for New Balance, Zhou Yan also feels that this song is indeed very suitable for their brand.

Zhang Youan smiled and said, "Then I have to listen to this song first, so I can have a better idea of ​​it."

"I'll find time to record a version for you to listen to."

"Don't bother looking for a time. Let's do it now. We have keyboards, synthesizers, and other equipment here at the office. That should be enough for you."

After hearing what Zhang Youan said, Zhou Yan agreed. There was indeed still some time.

……

Tang Chen’s office in Los Angeles is larger than Zhou Yan imagined. After all, there are not many people in this office, so it does not require a large office area.

But when Zhou Yan arrived, he found that the office actually had six or seven rooms.

Zhang Youan told him that the office has a total area of ​​more than 500 square meters, with independent offices, conference rooms, and recording studios, and its functions are very comprehensive.

"It looks quite empty now, but we plan to continue recruiting people. When you come next time, you will find that there are more people."

"Does our business require so many people?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

Tomson does not have much business in the United States now, and most of it is focused on Zhou Yan. Most of the time, the office is dealing with business related to Zhou Yan.

In Zhou Yan's opinion, the current staff structure is completely sufficient.

Zhang Youan also laughed, "If we don't recruit people in advance, our business expansion will be hindered later."

"What business expansion will our company have next?"

"There's something I forgot to tell you. I've already rented the Golden Hall for September."

"Rented for the Central Chinese Orchestra?" Zhou Yan raised his eyebrows.

He had discussed this matter with Zhang Youan before. He said he wanted to arrange for the Central Traditional Chinese Orchestra to perform abroad, and the standard should be higher. He also mentioned the Golden Hall.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Youan not only kept it in mind, but also got things done.

"Well, I've been discussing this with Director Yu. Basically, there's no problem. We'll be able to announce their orchestra's overseas performance in a few days. By then, it won't just be the folk music orchestra, but also the piano youth orchestra and folk music band that will follow."

Zhou Yan nodded, and was very pleased. He was very willing to see the folk music band go out.

The Central Folk Orchestra's performance abroad, and at the Golden Hall, is itself of extraordinary significance, after all, the Central Folk Orchestra can represent the official position.

"This is a good thing, but since we are going abroad, we can't just do one show."

"Of course, we have plans in Europe and North America. Our goal is to do a tour. If the folk music trend picks up, we will bring Qingyinfang here to give it a go."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "I'm at ease with you doing the work, Lao Zhang."

Zhang Youan continued, "In terms of music, you are still the main person. You need to focus on soundtracks, albums, and songs. Don't underestimate your music business. If it develops well, even if the office has twice as many people, you won't be able to serve alone. There are many companies looking for you to compose music and invite you to sing songs. Just for this business, you need one or two people to specialize in it."

After hearing what Zhang Youan said, Zhou Yan realized that the reason he could usually be a hands-off boss and just write music, shoot movies, and perform was because there were many people serving him behind the scenes, and the number of people needed was more than he imagined.

Before Zhou Yan could speak, Zhang Youan continued, "In addition to music, we are also expanding our business in the film industry. Do you remember Sting, whom I met in the UK before?"

"Yes, of course I remember."

"We are currently cooperating with the couple and are preparing to invest in a movie. Although the investment is not much, it is also an opportunity."

"What movie is it, who is in it, and who is the director?" Zhou Yan asked curiously.

"You definitely don't know the director. He's a new British director who has never made a feature film before. The name of the movie is a British idiom, which means to go all out."

"Give it all your life?" Zhou Yan was confused. He had never heard of this movie.

"Lock, stock and smoking barrels." Zhang Youan said the original name.

When Zhou Yan heard the name, he was a little surprised. Isn't this "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"?

He never expected that this movie would be picked up by Zhang Youan.

Guy Ritchie is undoubtedly a talented director, and his debut feature film "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" is also his masterpiece, and it can even be said to be his pinnacle.

This movie may not be the best movie made by Guy Ritchie, but it is definitely the one that best reflects his style. Later, the domestic movie "Crazy Stone" also borrowed a lot from this movie.

Seeing Zhou Yan's expression change, Zhang Youan asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Zhou Yan shook his head. "I just didn't expect that you would invest in a newcomer's movie."

Zhang Youan laughed, "What's so strange about this? When President Xu invested in you to shoot "The Young Piano Man Who Wants to Fly", you were also a new director. But now, you are already a world-renowned director. Although Guy Ritchie has no experience in shooting feature films, I have seen his short films, and they are very special. This is very similar to you back then."

Just as Zhou Yan said, the reason why Xu Feng was able to invest in Zhou Yan to shoot "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly" was initially because of his music composition ability and the previous short film "Ants".

Although "Ants" is very short, it made Xu Feng see Zhou Yan's potential in making movies. Otherwise, even if the script of "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly" was good, she would never let Zhou Yan be the director.

Maybe I'll keep the script and invite other experienced directors to shoot it.

"How much did the company invest this time?" Zhou Yan asked.

"Not much, just two hundred thousand pounds. The Stings hope that we can invest a little more, but I think it's better to be conservative. First of all, Guy Ritchie is a newcomer after all, and his films have not been proven by the market. Secondly, his film is rather special and may not suit the taste of the general public." Zhou Yan knew that Zhang Youan's concerns were correct. A film like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is very special today, and no one knows whether it will be loved by the audience.

Although they all liked the script, no one wanted to make a loss.

The Stings must have had some concerns in their minds, otherwise they would not have asked Tomson to invest. They could have handled it themselves. After all, the cost of this movie was not high, and this amount of money was nothing to them.

They can feel much more relaxed if they ask Tomson to help them share the risk.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment and said, "Please show me the script when you have time."

"I have it in my office. I can show it to you right now."

"Well, let's record the demo of 'We Are Young' first."

Zhang Youan patted his forehead and said, "Yes, let's get down to business first. Come on, I'll take you there. The facilities in our office are still good..."

……

The facilities in the office are indeed okay, but they are only good enough for recording demos. If you want to do something more advanced, it won’t work. First of all, the recording equipment and environment are very average.

Fortunately, there were no requirements for the sample, and the equipment in the office was basically enough for Zhou Yan.

He was also very efficient. He could record a demo of more than four minutes in less than an hour.

When Zhou Yan was recording, Zhang Youan was listening beside him. The more he listened, the happier he became.

Zhang Youan knew that with this song, he could completely control New Balance. Even if New Balance didn't want it, there would still be plenty of record companies that would want it.

Zhou Yan never disappoints, whether it’s music or movies.

After the music recording was finished, Zhou Yan asked Zhang Youan, "Do you want to give the tape to Williams?"

Zhang Youan smiled and waved his hand, "No hurry, wait for him to come find me, it's getting late now, let's eat first."

The two of them didn't do anything at noon. They just followed the local customs and ate some sandwiches and salad.

After dinner, Zhang Youan showed Zhou Yan the script of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Before Zhou Yan opened the script, Zhang Youan reminded him, "This script may be a bit messy."

Zhou Yan smiled, said nothing, and opened the script directly.

Just as Zhang Youan said, the script of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is indeed a bit "messy". Not only is the narrative structure "messy", but the relationships between the characters are also very messy. Most people can't even understand such a script the first time they get it.

But for Zhou Yan, there was no problem at all.

First of all, Zhou Yan has a very good memory. He can remember these seemingly complicated relationships between characters after just one viewing. Secondly, he has seen the movie and is already familiar with the plot and character relationships.

The script that Zhang Youan gave him was basically the same as the plot of the movie "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", with no major changes.

This is understandable. This kind of multi-narrative, interlocking script is difficult to make major changes in post-filming. If you change one part, many other parts will have to be changed accordingly.

Just like dominoes, if there is a missing piece in the middle, the rest cannot be connected.

Zhou Yan finished reading the script quickly. When he closed the script, Zhang Youan couldn't wait to say, "The relationships between the characters in this story are very complicated. It's easy to get dizzy when you read it for the first time..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Yan said with a smile, "I can understand it. It is indeed a good script."

Zhang Youan was stunned by Zhou Yan's words, and then he said with some frustration, "Well, it turns out that geniuses like you are different from ordinary people like us."

This script has been read by many people, but almost everyone felt a little confused after reading it for the first time. Taylor also admitted that he had to take notes in order to understand the relationships between the characters in this story.

Zhang Youan was also worried that Zhou Yan wouldn't be able to sort out the relationships between the characters and wouldn't be able to feel the charm of the script. However, Zhou Yan didn't have any worries in this regard at all.

Sure enough, his worries were unnecessary, Zhou Yan himself was a film genius.

Being able to write scripts like "The Sixth Sense" and "Shutter Island", it doesn't seem strange that he understands "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels".

Zhang Youan's frustration lasted for less than a second. He quickly calmed down and asked Zhou Yan, "Do you think this movie will be liked by the audience?"

Zhou Yan shook his head. "I am not the audience's worm, how do I know whether they will like it? I can only say that as a viewer, I am definitely willing to spend money to watch this movie in the cinema."

"Well, since you said so, we won't lose money if we invest 200,000 pounds."

Anyway, two hundred thousand pounds is not a lot of money, and for them, the risk is not big. This kind of low-budget movie is supposed to be a small risk for a big return, so the loss will not be much money.

Zhou Yan thought about it and said, "Actually, I think we can invest more."

"Invest more?" Zhang Youan looked at Zhou Yan in surprise.

The fact that Zhou Yan could say this proves that he is actually optimistic about the market for this movie.

"The cost of the movie isn't that high anyway, so it won't cost much even if we cover all the costs."

"It's definitely impossible to cover everything. Sting and his team will also have to invest, but if we increase the investment to more than 50%, there is still hope." Zhang Youan was still a little uncertain, "Do you really think we should invest more?"

Zhou Yan smiled and didn't give a direct answer. He just said, "If the company doesn't invest, I would like to invest some money."

Although Zhou Yan didn't want to snatch away Tang Chen's chance to pick up a bargain, he didn't want to waste it if Tang Chen was unwilling to shoot more.

Zhang Youan raised his eyebrows. Although Zhou Yan did not give him a positive answer, the answer was already very clear.

After a moment's silence, Zhang Youan said firmly, "Okay, I will report this situation to General Manager Xu tonight and see if we can invest more money."

In fact, Zhang Youan already knew the result before the call was made.

President Xu has too much faith in Zhou Yan. As long as she knows that Zhou Yan is optimistic about this movie, she will definitely invest unconditionally. Not to mention hundreds of thousands of pounds, even if it is hundreds of millions of pounds, President Xu can pay for it.

Zhang Youan sometimes feels that Xu Feng trusts his intuition too much. Once he likes a director, he will support him unconditionally. This was the case with Chen Kaige before, and it was also the case with Zhou Yan later.

There are pros and cons to Xu Feng's behavior. The good thing is that if the people she trusts live up to her trust, the benefits will be very high.

The bad thing is that if the person she trusts fails, the risk will be very high.

Chen Kaige is a clear proof that the movie "Feng Yue" has failed. Although the failure of "Feng Yue" did not cause any serious damage to Tang Chen, it is hard to say if it will continue like this.

The good news is that due to the failure of "Feng Yue", Chen Kaige seems to no longer want to work with Xu Feng.

Chen Kaige may think that the failure of "Feng Yue" was partly due to Tomson's failure to provide sufficient support.

But Xu Feng is really loyal. He has given everything he should have given. Xu Feng has no control over how the movie turns out.

As for Zhou Yan, he has never failed to perform well so far, and his performance is getting better and better.

It is precisely because of Zhou Yan's existence that Tomson Films has been able to develop so well in recent years. Xu Feng unconditionally believes in Zhou Yan and has been handsomely rewarded.

, (End of this chapter)