1990: Starting from Baojia Street

After the two finished chatting, it was almost time for lunch. Zhou Yan thought Cameron would take the opportunity to suggest having lunch together, but what he didn't expect was that Cameron directly started the "send-you-away mode".

"There are quite a few crew members here today. If you have any questions, you can ask them. I'll let Sebadisian take you to familiarize yourself with it."

After saying that, without waiting for Zhou Yan to speak, he called Sebatisian.

After a while, Sebatisian came here and took Zhou Yan away.

Compared to Cameron, Sebadisian obviously understood the ways of the world much more. As soon as he took Zhou Yan out of Cameron's office, he asked Zhou Yan with a smile, "Mr. Y, it's almost time for lunch. Do you think we should go eat first, or go meet other people now?"

"Let's go eat first." Zhou Yan said.

Everyone is busy eating right now, so going now would be annoying.

Sebatisian took Zhou Yan to the lunch shop downstairs from their company and had a simple meal. Then the two ordered a cup of coffee and sat down to chat.

"How many people from the crew are in the company today?" Zhou Yan asked.

"Not many, mostly from the director team. The director team for this movie is quite large, close to 20 people."

Zhou Yan nodded, not finding it surprising. For such a big scene, the director team would need more than a dozen people, otherwise they would be too busy to handle it.

When Zhou Yan was filming "The Chorus" before, there were five or six people in the director team.

"I just heard Mr. Cameron say in the office that you guys are going to the scene soon, right?"

"Well, yes, it will be over in two days, and we will basically all be there this time. The current plan is to start filming in more than a month, but there is still a lot of preparation work to be done on site, and everyone is quite anxious."

Sebatisian held his coffee and looked at the people coming and going outside the restaurant, with a little worry in his eyes.

Zhou Yan did see the pressure in Sebatisian's eyes. But when he was chatting with Cameron in the office before, he didn't feel any urgency in Cameron.

Stress should be real, but everyone's ability to withstand stress is different.

Cameron's ability to withstand pressure is also an important reason for his success, especially when shooting a big production like "Titanic", the director needs to withstand tremendous pressure.

Zhou Yan did not ask where Sebatisian's pressure came from, but only asked about the work he was responsible for in the crew.

Although the movie has not been filmed yet, each member of their director team has a very clear division of labor. For example, Sebatisian is mainly responsible for connecting with the visual effects team, and the scenes assigned to him are mainly related to special effects.

Upon learning that Sebatisian was mainly responsible for connecting with the visual effects team, Zhou Yan also became interested and began to ask questions related to special effects.

The reason why Sebatisian was able to connect with the visual effects team was naturally because he was more familiar with this area, so he could basically answer all the questions Zhou Yan asked.

Hearing the questions Zhou Yan asked, Sebadisian roughly guessed his thoughts, and asked with a smile, "Mr. Y, do you need to use special effects in the movie you want to shoot later?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "I don't have any idea for my next movie yet, but as a director, I shouldn't reject new technologies. Movie special effects have developed very quickly in recent years, achieving many incredible effects. It's not a bad thing to know more about these technologies."

This surprised Sebatisian a little. He had also seen Zhou Yan's movies, and originally thought that Zhou Yan was a conservative director.

Even though movie special effects technology has developed rapidly in recent years, there are still some directors who refuse to use special effects. They believe that movie images should be as realistic as possible, and that using a large number of special effects will go against the art of film.

"If you are really interested in these, you should go to the scene earlier. There are many things in the preparation process of this movie that I have never seen before." Sebatisian said with a smile.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "I'll be there later."

……

The two sat in the restaurant for quite a while before going back upstairs, where Sebatisian took Zhou Yan to meet some other members of the crew.

Everyone seemed very polite, but it was all superficial. After a few simple conversations, Zhou Yan could feel that they didn't want to waste their time on him.

Zhou Yan was also very tactful. He briefly got to know them and then left without disturbing them again.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Zhou Yan left 20th Century Fox and Sebatisian saw him to the door.

"Looking forward to our next meeting."

Zhou Yan also nodded, "I'm looking forward to it too, but the next time we meet will probably be in Mexico."

"Then we'll wait for you in Mexico."

……

Martin Scorsese had just arrived at his home in Los Angeles when he received a call from Chris.

"Mr. Scorsese, is it convenient for me to come to you now?"

Hearing Chris's voice, Martin Scorsese sighed slightly, "Chris, you really don't give me a breath. I just got to my residence and I didn't even change my shoes."

Martin Scorsese couldn't remember how many times Chris had called him. He received a call from Chris when he was in New York two days ago.

He was not familiar with Chris before and had only met him once, but since Chris represented Warner, of course he had to give him face.

During their first phone call, Chris told him that Warner had a good script and wanted him to take a look.

When Martin Scorsese heard about the script, his first reaction was to reject it.

Ever since he finished filming "Casino Jackpot", he wanted to take a break because he felt he had reached a bottleneck and there was nothing he wanted to shoot.

When a creator runs out of inspiration, it is best to learn to stop.

Moreover, he also wanted to take advantage of the rest time to plan his own documentary.

However, because Chris praised the script so highly on the phone, he did not directly refuse, but just said he would take a look at it when he had time.

In the next few days, Chris called him almost every day to talk about this matter.

He had originally planned to have a good rest after returning to Los Angeles today, but he didn't expect Chris to call again. This Chris was really difficult to deal with.

After thinking for a while, Martin Scholes nodded and said, "Come over here."

He figured it out and decided to read the script as soon as possible, otherwise Chris would definitely call him every day.

Hearing his reply, Chris smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Ah."

After hanging up the phone, Martin Scorsese changed his shoes first, then went to lie down on the sofa. It is not close from New York to Los Angeles, and the journey took a lot of his energy.

More than twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang. He knew it must be Chris, so he got up and opened the door.

The door opened, and Chris stood at the door holding a briefcase. He smiled at Martin Scorsese who opened the door, "Mr. Scorsese, we meet again."

Scorsese forced a smile and said, "Come in."

When we entered the house, Scorsese turned around and asked, "Would you like some coffee?"

"You're welcome. Please take a look at the script first."

Scorsese nodded. Although he asked Chris if he wanted coffee, he didn't even move towards the coffee machine.

He also wanted to finish reading the script as soon as possible and get rid of Chris.

If Chris wasn't from Warner, he would have been angry a long time ago.

Taking the script, Scholes pushed his glasses and said, "Chris, you never told me where this script came from."

"Mr. Scholes, I will tell you the answer to this question after you finish reading the script."

Chris's behavior of keeping the secret made Scholes slightly dissatisfied, but he did not show it. Instead, he read the script seriously.

As soon as he finished reading the first paragraph, he frowned and asked, "This script was not written by an American, right?"

Chris nodded, "The screenwriter is Chinese."

The names of the characters in the script were all Chinese names, so Scholes immediately noticed something was wrong.

After hearing Chris's answer, Scholes didn't say anything else and focused his attention on the script again.

This time, Scholes didn't stop, but continued watching in one breath.

Although this script is translated from the Chinese version, some parts may read a bit strangely, but it does not affect the overall structure of the story.

Scholes's feelings about the script were different from Chris and the others. As a "veteran", although he had not seen the ending yet, he knew that this story would be extraordinary after seeing the rhythm arrangement at the beginning of the script.

So, he was looking forward to the ending to see what kind of surprise the author would give him.

The result did not disappoint him. All the foreshadowing and suspense were resolved with a near-perfect reversal in the end.

The ending surprised and delighted him. He knew there would be a special ending, but he still didn't expect it to be so good.

When Scholes finished reading the last page of the script, he looked at Chris with a gleam in his face and said, "Now you have to tell me who the screenwriter is."

Seeing Scholes's expression, Chris smiled. He knew that it was almost done. "Of course, I said I would tell you. This script was written by Y-Chou."

"Y-chou? The director of The Chorus?"

Chris nodded, "Yes, that's him."

Sure enough, in the minds of directors like Scholes, the Berlin Film Festival still has weight. When it comes to Y, the first thing he thinks of is "The Chorus".

Hearing that it was the director of The Chorus, Scholes took a deep breath and then said, "This script is very good, but I have a question, why didn't Y shoot it himself? Is it that he himself doesn't want to shoot it, or are you guys..."

Chris waved his hands repeatedly, "This is Y's own idea, and he recommended you to direct this movie. We also think that this script is very suitable for you."

Scholes breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Chris say this. He was also afraid of any unnecessary trouble.

In fact, he thought that it would be no problem if Y shot the movie himself. He had not only seen "The Chorus", but also "The Sixth Sense". He knew that Y had the ability to make a good movie.

Of course, the styles of their photos are definitely different.

Scholes put the script on his legs and rubbed his hands back and forth on the cover. He really liked the script.

Although he has not made any movies in the past two years, he has read a lot of scripts. However, before today, he had never seen a script that moved him.

The script of "Shutter Island" captured his heart from the very beginning.

And as Chris said, the style of this script really suits him.

However, he did not express his opinion immediately. Instead, he paused for a moment and said, "How much budget will you invest in this film?"

Like Zhou Yan, Scholes was very concerned about the budget issue because he knew that this movie could not be made without enough money.

"At least 50 million US dollars." Chris blurted out.

Hearing that the budget was at least 50 million US dollars, Scholes smiled and nodded, "Chris, I am very interested in this script, but there are still a few questions I need to confirm."

"Well, please tell me."

“First, can I have full control over the casting?”

Chris thought for a moment and said, "As long as it's within the budget, it's fine. Although Y also recommended a candidate, he said it was just a suggestion and would not interfere with your decision."

After hearing Chris say that Zhou Yan recommended someone, Scholes asked with interest, "Who did Y recommend?"

"Kevin Costner, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis."

"Well, he is indeed a good candidate, but it still depends on the audition. What about other roles, does he have any recommendations?"

Chris shook his head, "No."

"Okay, then let me move on to the second question. Did Y compose the music himself?"

“It’s uncertain, we are still discussing it.”

"I think if possible, we should let Y himself compose the music for this movie. He wrote the story, and his understanding of the story is definitely better than others, and he just won the Oscar for Best Original Score."

"We think so too, but ultimately it depends on Y's own ideas. He is in Los Angeles and we are discussing this matter recently," said Chris.

“He’s in Los Angeles?”

"Well, there's a celebration party for The Sixth Sense, and he's coming to attend."

"That's great. Can you arrange for me to meet him?"

"I'll make an appointment, but his schedule in Los Angeles is quite tight, so he may not be able to make time."

It's not just a question of whether Zhou Yan has time or not. The more crucial thing is that they haven't yet reached an agreement with Tang Chen on the script. If they let Scholes meet Zhou Yan now, it would be a mistake.

Chris' idea was to deal with Scholes first and then hurry up to negotiate with Thompson. If Zhou Yan was still in Los Angeles, he would arrange a meeting between them.

"Okay, I'll wait for your news," Scholes said.

"Mr. Scholes, do you have any other questions?"

"Not for now. I will go to your company tomorrow. We can talk about anything tomorrow."

"No problem, I'll wait for you at the company tomorrow."

After finishing his talk, Chris did not linger any longer and stood up to leave.

After leaving Scholes' residence, Chris quickly contacted Zhang Youan to continue discussing "Shutter Island" with him.

……

Zhang Youan had an appointment with Chris and had just hung up the phone when he received a call from Mariah Carey.

Mariah Carey got straight to the point and asked, "Zhang, is Y still in Los Angeles?"

"Um, Maria, you're in Los Angeles too?"

Mariah Carey said with some resentment, "I've been in Los Angeles recently, and he came over without telling me."

Zhang Youan smiled and said, "It's not because I'm worried that you're busy and I don't want to waste your time."

"If I hadn't seen the news, I wouldn't have known he was in Los Angeles. Give me the location, I'll come find you now."

"Well, he should be back at the hotel by now, but I'm not there."

"Then give me the hotel name and room number, and I'll go find him myself."

"Uh, I'll give you his mobile phone number here. You can contact him yourself and make sure he's in the hotel first. Don't come back empty-handed."

"OK, no problem."

"Please remember this..."

After getting Zhou Yan's mobile phone number, Mariah Carey called Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan had just arrived at the hotel when he received the call from Mariah Carey.

When the call was connected, Zhou Yan was quite surprised to hear Mariah Carey's voice.

"Did you get my number from Zhang Youan?"

"Who else could it be? Are you in the hotel now? I'll come find you."

"Now?"

"Well, now. Or is it inconvenient for you? You are not the only one in the hotel?"

Hearing Mariah Carey's malicious laughter, Zhou Yan rolled his eyes, "Rose Hotel 203."

"Okay, I'll go there now."

After that, Mariah Carey hung up the phone.

After Zhou Yan hung up the phone, he ignored her and went to take out the script and storyboard of "Titanic" to study.

When he was halfway through studying the script, the doorbell rang.

He stood up and walked to the door, and through the peephole saw a woman in a thin sweatshirt, it was Mariah Carey.

Opening the door, Zhou Yan smiled and said, "You came really quickly."

"It's not very far away, and it doesn't take long to drive."

Mariah Carey walked into the room and sat down on the sofa naturally, as if she and Zhou Yan were old friends for many years.

In fact, the two had not known each other for long and had not met very often.

In Zhou Yan's opinion, the two of them are just ordinary friends. Strictly speaking, they are not even friends, but can only be considered as partners.

Seeing that Mariah Carey didn't treat herself as an outsider, Zhou Yan also sighed. This girl is really outgoing. He doesn't know if she is like this with everyone.

After Mariah Carey sat down, she took off the hood of her sweatshirt, revealing her fluffy curly hair, covering half of her face.

It seemed that compared to the last time they met, she was thinner and her chin became sharper.

Moreover, her skin is fairer now, not as tanned as it was later, and she exudes the vitality of a young woman.

When Zhou Yan thought of Sister Niu's later image, he felt a little dazed. (End of this chapter)