1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Although everyone's praise was mostly polite, one could tell that the Oscar for Best Original Score did give them a big shock.

There are many Hong Kong stars who want to go global, but only a handful of them can actually do so. In recent years, only Jackie Chan from Hong Kong has performed well in the United States.

In addition to the Oscar for Best Original Score, people are also paying more attention to the global box office of the Colombian version of "The Sixth Sense".

"I heard that the global box office of the remake of "The Sixth Sense" has exceeded 400 million US dollars?" asked Zhang Guorong.

Zhou Yan nodded, "Yes, it exceeded 400 million US dollars a few days ago."

Carina Lau couldn't help but sigh, "This is too amazing. Is The Sixth Sense the highest-grossing movie in North America this year?"

"For now, yes."

"How much is the North American box office?" Zhang Xueyou asked.

"About 270 million US dollars." Zhou Yan replied.

"Is there any movie in North America this year whose box office can exceed this figure?" Li Bihua asked curiously.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Yes, the sci-fi movie Independence Day just released had a box office of over 50 million US dollars in its first weekend. According to the current trend, it is still very likely to surpass The Sixth Sense."

"Independence Day" was released in North America on July 3rd and performed very well in its first weekend, just exceeding 50 million US dollars. It was also the highest-grossing movie in its first weekend this year.

Before this, the movie with the highest box office in the first weekend this year was "Twister", which is now ranked second in the North American annual box office list. The previous first weekend box office of "Twister" was 41 million US dollars, and its final box office in North America was 241 million US dollars.

The Sixth Sense had a good opening weekend box office performance, but it was far inferior to the other two films, with only $25.5 million, almost half of Independence Day.

Some institutions have estimated that the final North American box office for "Independence Day" will be around 300 million US dollars, so Zhou Yan said that it will most likely surpass "The Sixth Sense" and become the number one on this year's North American box office list.

Of course, "Independence Day", a boring blockbuster with a budget of 70 or 80 million US dollars, is a bit of a bully compared to "The Sixth Sense", which had a budget of only 20 million US dollars.

Hearing that "Independence Day" is likely to surpass the box office of "The Sixth Sense", Li Bihua comforted her, "It doesn't matter, second place is also very impressive."

Anita Mui laughed, "Ah Hua, you are really trying to comfort Zhou Yan. He is one of the investors in this movie and has made a lot of money a long time ago. He doesn't need our comfort at all."

Zhou Yan said modestly, "I only invested a little bit, I can't make much."

Zhang Guorong joked, "You are not so modest because you are worried that we will ask you to play mahjong with us, right? Don't worry, we won't win your money."

Speaking of playing mahjong, Anita Mui started to invite people again, "We still have a while before dinner, let's play a few more rounds. If you don't join us, you can only watch from the side, or sit with Maggie and the others for a while."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "I'd better sit down for a while. I don't really understand Mahjong."

Joey Wong secretly rolled her eyes beside him. It was obvious that Zhou Yan was quite good at playing mahjong.

However, Zhou Yan doesn't play mahjong very often. When Wang Zuxian went to Zhou's house before, Zhou Yan basically would not sit at the table when others played mahjong.

Hearing that Zhou Yan didn't want to play mahjong, Zhang Manyu smiled and pulled Zhou Yan's arm, leading him to the sofa. Zhou Yan subconsciously wanted to dodge, but failed.

Soon they split into two groups. Zhou Yan, Wang Zuxian, Zhang Manyu and Li Bihua sat on the sofa and chatted. Carina Lau, Lin Qingxia, Anita Mui and Zhang Guorong sat and played mahjong, while Zhang Xueyou and Wang Fei watched from the side.

Zhang Manyu and Li Bihua sat on either side of Zhou Yan, while Wang Zuxian's girlfriend could only sit opposite Zhou Yan.

Seeing the two girls standing so close to Zhou Yan, Joey Wong's eyes were filled with resentment. She was obviously the girlfriend. For a moment, she wanted to stand up and announce her relationship with Zhou Yan to assert her sovereignty.

Sometimes Joey Wong also thought about opening up to her friends, but because of her past experiences, she felt it was better to keep a low profile. Perhaps only in this way could they go further.

Zhang Manyu didn't have any special feelings towards Zhou Yan, she just regarded Zhou Yan as a good friend.

The two have known each other for a long time, have been rumored to be in a relationship, and have also filmed scenes together. Zhang Manyu has always had a good impression of Zhou Yan, but her appreciation of Zhou Yan is still at the stage of friendship.

She pulled Zhou Yan's arm and got closer to him, but it was just her personality. She was the same with her other good friends.

Li Bihua is a little different. The two men she admires are both in this room today, one is Zhang Guorong and the other is Zhou Yan.

She simply admired Zhang Guorong, but had something more in mind for Zhou Yan. However, the two did not have much interaction, and Li Bihua had never expressed it.

Because she knew that there was no possibility between her and Zhou Yan.

Surrounded by three women, Zhou Yan sat upright, his body a little stiff. Of course he saw the resentment in Joey Wong's eyes, but he was helpless because it was clearly Joey Wong who ran to sit opposite her.

Li Bihua and Zhang Manyu first asked about Zhou Yan's recent situation. After a brief chat, Wang Zuxian suddenly said with a half-smile, "I heard that you went to the United States some time ago and had a scandal with Maria. Third brother, you are not an ordinary person. You have emotional disputes wherever you go."

Zhou Yan pursed his lips. They had already talked about this on the phone. Of course, Joey Wong didn't believe it. She couldn't say it at this moment, so she was obviously teasing Zhou Yan on purpose.

Zhang Manyu waved her hands and spoke up for Zhou Yan, "That rumor is obviously fake. I've seen the photos in the report. The two of them weren't as close to each other as I am to the three of them now. We've had rumors before, and it couldn't be more fake."

Li Bihua pushed her glasses and said her guess, "Could it be that Maria's company is deliberately hyping it up? Is she going to release a new album soon?"

Although this trick is still prevalent now, Li Bihua has seen quite a few of them, so it is normal for her to have such speculation.

Zhou Yan shook his head and smiled, "No, it was simply reported by the media on its own initiative, and it was also due to Maria's husband."

If it weren't for what Maria's husband said later in front of the media reporters, this matter would have been over long ago.

"Oh, you also know her husband." Joey Wong said with a smile.

"No, I'm just watching the news like you guys." Zhou Yan replied, and quickly changed the subject, "You guys don't have any work recently, so why are you able to gather so many people?"

Li Bihua responded first, "I have been relatively idle in the past few years. I basically just write some things. I don't have much work in the film and television industry."

Although Li Bihua is a writer, she has been quite busy in the film industry in recent years. Basically, one of her novels is adapted into a film or TV series every year.

"Rouge Button", "The Terracotta Warriors", "Yoshiko Kawashima", "Ghost Cadre", "Farewell My Concubine", "Green Snake" and "The Temptation of Monk", all of these films were released between 88 and 93.

The main reason is that she hasn't published any new novels in recent years. She usually writes mainly essays. She probably encountered a bottleneck in her writing. And most of her previous novels that could be adapted have basically been adapted.

Zhang Manyu said, "As for me, I have been taking a break since the filming of "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" was finished."

After a pause, Zhang Manyu continued, "I heard that Anxi recommended you to play the leading actor before, but you refused. If you agreed, we would have teamed up again."

Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, "That's a pity, I'm really too busy and don't have time."

At this time, Joey Wong rolled her eyes at Zhou Yan again. She didn't even know that Peter Chan and his team had chosen Zhou Yan to play the male lead in "Comrades: Almost a Love Story".

"It doesn't matter. We can work together again when we have a chance in the future." Zhang Manyu smiled and looked at Wang Zuxian again, "Xiaoxian, you have worked with Third Brother Er before, right?"

Joey Wong pursed her lips, "Not really. Later, when we were filming The Sixth Sense, I was an actor and he was the director." "That was our second collaboration. The soundtrack for Almost a Love Affair was also made by Sammo Hung's studio, but I haven't heard what it sounds like yet."

Generally speaking, it is difficult for actors to access the music composition stage because it is already a relatively late process.

"Li Tao and his team put a lot of effort into the soundtrack of Almost a Love Story. I don't think you will be disappointed."

"Then of course I believe in the strength of your studio. I have also met that Li Tao once. He is a very steady guy."

Steady... A hint of doubt flashed across Zhou Yan's eyes. When did Li Tao become associated with this word?
Li Tao is a famous romantic master in their department. He earned this title not because of his musical style, but because of his Aquaman attributes. During his college years, this guy spent all his time composing music and dating. Moreover, in terms of quantity, he was far ahead of others in both composing music and dating.

Zhou Yan even suspected that Zhang Manyu had recognized the wrong person and mistook Zhao Lin for Li Tao.

For the music of "Sweet Honey", Li Tao was the main composer and Zhao Lin was the deputy composer, and both of them were present at the scene.

"Are you sure you are talking about Li Tao?"

"Of course, Director Chen introduced you to me personally, and I also talked to Li Tao a few times, because he and you are classmates, so we still have common topics. I heard from Li Tao that you are very popular among female classmates in school, and you often receive love letters. They usually immerse themselves in their majors and are very envious of you."

Hearing this, Zhou Yan couldn't help but twitch his mouth. This Li Tao not only hides himself, but also frames others.

Most of what Li Tao said was correct. Zhou Yan was indeed very popular in school and received many love letters, but when did he, Li Tao, immerse himself in his major?
"Ahem, Li Tao, your professional ability is still very impressive."

Although Li Tao plotted against Zhou Yan behind his back, Zhou Yan would never expose Li Tao's true colors behind his back.

"Yes, Li Tao has strong creative ability and writes music very quickly."

Judging from Zhang Manyu's tone, it seems that she admires Li Tao a little bit. Zhou Yan is very surprised. Li Tao is indeed a master of romanticism. Even a movie queen like Zhang Manyu can be influenced by him.

But then again, the students in their department have a natural advantage when it comes to flirting.

Li Tao looks good, and if he writes a few songs, most women will be really bewitched by them.

Zhou Yan had no intention of talking more about Li Tao. What else could he talk about? He couldn't tell Zhang Manyu that Li Tao's steadiness was just an act and that he was a romantic. You should be careful not to fall into his trap.

He followed Zhang Manyu's words and talked about his studio, and then talked about some of the work the studio had taken on recently.

Joey Wong teased Zhou Yan for a few words and stopped teasing him, and they all started chatting normally.

After a while, Faye Wong, who was watching the game at the mahjong table, also came over.

Seeing Wang Fei coming over, Zhang Manyu joked, "A Fei, you can't go on stage. Are your hands itching?"

Faye Wong said very proudly, "I don't even want to play with them, even though they have such bad cards."

Zhang Manyu didn't give her any face at all, "Brother and the others said you are the bad card."

Hearing this, Faye Wong got anxious and said, "You can say that my singing is bad, but you can't say that my brand is bad. I don't admit it."

Seeing Faye Wong like this, Zhou Yan smiled. It seemed that what Zhang Guorong and the others said was right. Faye Wong’s card skills were probably not very good, because the truth was the most hurtful.

"How about we play a few rounds with you?" Zhang Manyu said with a smile.

"Okay." Faye Wong's eyes lit up.

Zhang Manyu sneered, "And you said your hands don't itch."

After being exposed, Wang Fei couldn't hold back her face and muttered, "Are you going to fight or not?"

"Let's stop playing and chat for a while. We'll have to eat soon, so we can't play for too long. Besides, Third Brother doesn't know how to play Mahjong, and Xiaoxian plays Mahjong like a wandering spirit. Playing Mahjong with her will drive me crazy."

Wang Zuxian was immediately unhappy, "Why are you involving me again?"

"I'm stating the facts."

Wang Zuxian had no way of refutation. It was true that she was easily distracted when playing mahjong.

Wang Fei was teased by Zhang Manyu for a while, and she stopped talking about playing mahjong. She looked at Zhou Yan and said with a smile, "Teacher Zhou, can you save me a ticket for your concert the day after tomorrow? I'll go there then."

Zhou Yan nodded immediately and said, "No problem. If you really want to come, I'll have someone send you tickets. How many do you want?"

Wang Fei raised her index finger, "One is enough. Don't the others have tickets? Sister Mei got a few tickets, but I didn't know about it in advance. By the time I found out, the tickets had already been distributed."

Anita Mui did ask Zhou Yan for a few tickets before, but she didn’t say who they were given to at the time. Now it seems that she should have given them to Leslie Cheung and others.

"No problem. I'll have someone send you a ticket tomorrow and arrange for it to be near Sister Mei and the others."

"Okay, then leave me your phone number, otherwise you won't know where to send it tomorrow."

Faye Wong was very proactive. She took out her mobile phone from her bag and exchanged contact information with Zhou Yan.

After changing the phone number, Wang Fei smiled and said, "You have been in Yanjing for so many years, we can be considered half fellow villagers. When you return to Yanjing in the future, let's keep in touch."

"Of course no problem, you can come to our studio if you have nothing to do."

"I will definitely go. In fact, I have been in Yanjing for the past few years and rarely come to Hong Kong..."

Wang Fei's talkativeness was beyond Zhou Yan's expectations. Since she joined in, she spoke less than everyone else combined.

Zhou Yan also learned from the conversation that Faye Wong has married Dou Wei and is now pregnant.

When Zhou Yan heard that Faye Wong was pregnant, he couldn't help but take a closer look at her belly. There were indeed some signs, but she was probably only pregnant for a few months, so it wasn't particularly obvious.

Faye Wong didn't seem to want to say much about her marriage. It was only after Li Bihua and Zhang Manyu brought it up that they talked about marriage.

In their previous life, Faye Wong and Dou Wei’s marriage did not last long. It seemed that their marriage divorced not long after Faye Wong gave birth to a child.

I don’t know if anything will change in this life.

……

The conversation between the five people initially revolved around Zhou Yan, but gradually, the topics began to become richer, most of which were topics among the women.

Once the women started chatting, they talked so much that Zhou Yan couldn't get a word in at all.

Four women put on a show, and Zhou Yan sat in the middle of them, so he could only listen to the show. (End of this chapter)