1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Han Sanping was able to make this request to Zhou Yan, so he was naturally confident.

As he himself said, he knew that Zhou Yan was an extremely efficient person and could complete a movie in a shorter time than the average director.

The reason why the production of "The Chorus" was delayed for so long was because they built a new school for the movie, and the actual filming time was not long.

When the movie was being filmed, Han Sanping also paid attention to the whole process. He was very surprised at the time. He did not expect Zhou Yan to be so stable on the set. The entire filming process was well organized. He did not look like a young director at all.

Han Sanping is a director himself, and he knows how easy it is to shoot a movie. In the process, the director will encounter various problems.

Sometimes, a director’s artistic aesthetics and directing skills are not the most important. The key to success lies in management ability.

Zhou Yan's management ability also amazed Han Sanping.

Management ability is divided into two aspects. One aspect is upward management, that is, dealing with investors and producers. Zhou Yan does not have to worry about this, because Xu Feng's support for Zhou Yan can be said to be blind, and Yanjing Factory will not interfere with Zhou Yan's creation in any way.

The other aspect is management downwards. Although Zhou Yan has not made many films, he has completed the formation of the basic class. The entire team is basically his people. In this way, there will be no problem in management downwards.

After reading the script just now, Han Sanping knew that although this movie was shot in Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong, the set design and props were not difficult and would not take a lot of time.

With Zhou Yan's ability, he can complete the task quickly as long as he is willing.

After confirming that Zhou Yan would help, Han Sanping felt relieved and picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip.

"The tea is cold. I'll give you another cup." Zhou Yan said.

Han Sanping smiled and waved his hands. "It's not cold. It's just right to drink some cold tea today. Don't bother yourself. Now tell me, what stage is the preparation for the film at? Although you said that you just wrote the script, I know you. If you've written the script, it means that many other things are in your mind."

Zhou Yan nodded, "It's nothing. The script still needs to be revised. The soundtrack is almost ready, and one song has already been confirmed to be sung. It's not difficult to form a team. I asked you to second Li Hong and Xiao Can, and naturally I want them to join the director team. I originally thought that two assistant directors would be enough, but now we have to catch up with the progress, so we must add more people."

Han Sanping waved his hand and said cheerfully, "Jia, if you like someone, just tell me directly."

Zhou Yan shook his head and said, "No, I'll ask Huo Jianqi if he has time. If he does, let him come over and help for a while."

"It's good that you have your own ideas. Anyway, if I can help, just ask. My attitude is the same as Mr. Xu's. You make the movie, and we just take care of the logistics."

"Of course, I won't be polite."

"What about the actors? What do you think?" Han Sanping asked another question that he was more concerned about.

Although there is definitely no problem with Zhou Yan’s film market, actors are also key. If big-name actors can be invited to participate, it will definitely help promote the film.

Moreover, this movie was shot in both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, so there is a wider range to choose from.

"Well, the male and female protagonists have been decided."

"Have you decided on the male and female lead? Who are they? Have you decided on the candidates in your mind, or have you already contacted them?"

"Already contacted."

Han Sanping was surprised, "So fast!?"

He began to suspect that Zhou Yan had lied to him when he said the script was written on the spur of the moment. How did he decide on the male and female protagonists in such a short time?
Write the script, decide on the cast, then contact them, and maybe have the actors audition.

Zhou Yan has been holding concerts these days. How does he have time to do these things?

Seeing the surprise on his face, Zhou Yan smiled and said, "The female lead is Wang Zuxian. I thought she was suitable. She happened to be in Taiwan at that time, so I arranged an audition for her. The result was good. She has no problem with her schedule now, so she was confirmed."

"Joey Wong." Han Sanping showed a surprised expression on his face.

Since the release of "The Sixth Sense", Joey Wong has not released any works to the public for a long time, which also made the outside world feel very strange.

Because the movie "The Sixth Sense" was very successful, Wang Zuxian's fame in Asia has reached a new level, and there is even hope that she will reach Europe and the United States.

Her endorsement fees and film remuneration also increased rapidly, making her the best actress in both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong.

Most people would definitely work harder to stabilize their careers at this time.

But at this time, she decided to quit and stopped taking on film roles.

Some even speculated that she was preparing to retire from the film industry.

The peak period for actresses is very short, and it is difficult to get any good opportunities after the age of 30. It is no wonder that the outside world would have such speculation since Joey Wong did not film for two years at this time.

"It has to be you. I heard that in the past two years, many people have asked Joey Wong to act in movies, but she rejected them all. With your help, she has come out again." Han Sanping said with a smile.

"She likes this script better." Zhou Yan explained casually.

Han Sanping nodded without thinking too much, "Indeed, if I were her, I would definitely not miss such a script, let alone a director like you."

Directors like Zhou Yan are what actors dream of working with, because his films combine both artistic and commercial aspects.

If you play the role of Zhou Yan in a movie, you will have the hope of showing up at film festivals and getting good box office results, which basically satisfies all the needs of an actor.

"What about the male lead? Is he from mainland China? I see he's from Pengcheng, but an actor from Hong Kong would be fine too."

“It’s from the mainland.”

"Who from the mainland?" Han Sanping thought about it, but couldn't think of any suitable candidate.

The protagonist's age is set to be in his twenties, which is considered a young man.

Zhou Yan pointed at himself, "Me."

Even Han Sanping was a beat slow to react.

"you?"

Later, Han Sanping remembered that among Zhou Yan's many identities, he was also an actor. He had even won the Best Newcomer award before, and that award was for his collaboration with Joey Wong in "Green Snake".

This is the second time Zhou Yan and Joey Wong have worked together.

Han Sanping didn't react just now because he didn't expect Zhou Yan to take part in the action himself. Based on his understanding of Zhou Yan, Zhou Yan usually wouldn't take the initiative to do the work in front of the scenes.

If Zhou Yan wants to act, there will be a lot of scripts waiting for him.

However, Han Sanping was also very excited that Zhou Yan could personally take part in the film. With Zhou Yan and Joey Wong as the male and female protagonists, to put it bluntly, even if the movie was a bad one, the box office would not be bad.

These two faces alone are enough to attract a large number of audiences into the cinema.

Joey Wong is secondary, the key is Zhou Yan.

In recent years, Zhou Yan's supporters have always hoped that Zhou Yan could participate in the filming of more movies, show his face more often, and also called on him to appear more in their own movies.

Even if he doesn't play a role, he can still appear in the easter egg at the end of the film, like in "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly".

Everybody just wants to see more of him, and his female supporters are crazy.

After Zhou Yan's debut, he has only played two relatively important roles, and these two roles are very popular. One is the elegant young man Chen Feipu, and the other is the elegant scumbag Xu Xian.

Whether the character is successfully portrayed is not important, the key is that she looks good. "You have given me a big surprise." Han Sanping said with a smile.

"Hey, Third Brother, you're joking. I haven't acted for a long time. I'm a little worried that I've slowed down the progress."

"Don't be so modest. People outside say you are an acting genius, don't they? You started late in life, and you acted so well in your first role."

Zhou Yan smiled and shook his head. What Han Sanping said was indeed true. Some people from outside had commented on him, saying that he was a talented actor, better than many professional actors.

However, Zhou Yan himself did not quite agree with this evaluation.

He played Chen Feipu and Xu Xian quite well, but these two roles did not require Zhou Yan to put in too much effort, and the directors he worked with were all masters, so sometimes he didn't need to do anything and just had to listen to the director's instructions.

Speaking of genius, he put a lot of thought into the two scenes with Chen Feipu, and even asked Gong Li to help him act and practice with him.

All I can say is that he was lucky. He met a master at the beginning and learned what acting was all about.

In the movie "Time Traveler", the male lead doesn't need any amazing acting skills, otherwise Zhou Yan himself wouldn't be in the show.

"We have only decided on the male and female protagonists. We have a candidate for the male protagonist's sister, but it has not been decided yet. I am also considering other roles."

Han Sanping nodded. "In your movie, besides the male and female protagonists, I think the most important character should be the male protagonist's father. I will definitely spend some time on it."

Indeed, Han Sanping is right, the protagonist’s father is very important in this movie.

"Well, the main characters are the male lead's family, his roommates and colleagues, and the female lead's best friend. The others have relatively few roles."

"As for the specific casting, I can't give you any advice." Han Sanping patted his thigh and stood up. "Come on, let's go eat. Sorry to have kept you for so long."

"it is good."

……

When Zhou Yan and his friends arrived at the cafeteria, Akina Nakamori and Seiko Iida were still eating. When they saw Zhou Yan, they greeted him with a smile.

Han Sanping didn't notice Nakamori Akina at first, but after hearing her Japanese, he curiously asked Zhou Yan, "From Neon? She looks familiar."

"Third brother, do you also know about Japanese stars?" Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"I know a few of them."

"She is Akina Nakamori, and she's here to record a new song."

"Oh." Han Sanping nodded.

Although Han Sanping didn't pay much attention to Zhou Yan's music career, he had heard a lot about Zhou Yan's situation even if he didn't pay attention to it. He could see news about Zhou Yan in the newspapers every day.

Naturally, he had heard of Zhou Yan's fame in Neon.

"I heard about the scandal between you and that Kudo before. Are we going to hear about the scandal between you and this guy again in the future?"

After eating, Han Sanping made a joke.

"As for rumors, there are all kinds of them. There is basically no female celebrity I have worked with who doesn't have rumors."

"That's because you're popular. Why doesn't anyone write about my gossip? Of course, there's another main reason, which is that you don't have a partner. It would be different if you had one."

Zhou Yan disagreed, "If you have a partner, then what is spread is not gossip, but a scandal."

Han Sanping squinted his eyes and said, "Do you want me to introduce someone to you?"

"Thank you Bu Min."

"You're so eager to refuse without even asking who I'm introducing you to?"

"I don't have that thought right now."

Han Sanping curled his lips: "Okay."

……

After dinner, Zhou Yan worked in his office for a while, and then took Liu Hang and others to a meeting.

When Zhou Yan arrived at the conference room, everyone else had already arrived. Zhou Yan sat down with a smile: "It's been a while since we last met. How have you been lately?"

Hong Xin laughed and said, "Director Zhou, without you, the backbone, we feel like we have lost our souls. We have nothing to do every day but miss you."

She and Zhou Yan are old comrades-in-arms, so they speak relatively casually.

Liu Qingze smiled and said, "Don't listen to her nonsense. During this period when you were away, our studio has been running well under the leadership of General Manager Liu and General Manager Ren."

The Mr. Ren he mentioned was Ren Xu, the head of the film studio. Liu Qing said this naturally to give face to Liu Hang and Ren Xu.

Zhou Yan nodded. "I don't have much time today, so I won't talk about the past. Everyone knows what the meeting is about, right?"

Li Hong said excitedly, "All I know is that they are going to talk about the new movie."

"Yes, it's about the new movie. Since the script has just been written, there's not much to talk about today, so let's not discuss it. I'll just assign tasks directly."

"Li Hong, Xiao Can, you two are assistant directors. Your work content is the same as when we were filming The Chorus. We will discuss the details at the next meeting."

"Okay." Xiao Can nodded.

They have worked with Zhou Yan before and know his style, so they are quite familiar with it.

Not to mention Li Hong, who knows Zhou Yan's work style too well, having followed Zhou Yan since his first feature film. He is also very familiar with the people on Zhou Yan's team.

After talking about the work content of Li Hong and Xiao Can, Zhou Yan looked at Hong Xin and the others, "You three will be responsible for makeup, props and stage management respectively. If there is a shortage of manpower, please tell Mr. Ren. I will send you the project plan tomorrow night."

"No problem. The studio is still well-staffed now." Jiang Mengfei said with a smile.

Zhou Yan nodded, and then said to Xiao Can, "Director Xiao, you should organize a team first to be responsible for the filming. The filming of the new movie will be carried out in the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong. Although there are not many filming locations, it will take a lot of thought. You should organize the team first, and after I give you the plan, the filming work can start directly."

"I understand, Director Zhou." Xiao Can nodded and wrote it down in his notebook.

"And Director Li." Zhou Yan looked at Li Hong again.

When Li Hong heard Zhou Yan calling him "Director Li", he sat up straight unconsciously.

"Go contact Teacher Dong Wenmiao's studio and book their schedule in advance. If they have no problem with their schedule, let them design the costumes for the new movie."

"Understood. I'll call Teacher Dong later."

"Okay, now I'll give you a brief introduction to the new movie so you can have a general idea..."

After that, Zhou Yan briefly explained the new movie. Since time was short, he only mentioned some key points. (End of this chapter)