1990: Starting from Baojia Street

During the entire meeting, Zhou Yan was talking most of the time while the others were listening.

Because the others knew very little information, they didn't know what the script was like, nor did they know what Zhou Yan was thinking, so naturally there was no way they could discuss it with Zhou Yan.

The main purpose of today's meeting is to form the entire filming team. There is no need for too much discussion. All they have to do is execute.

About an hour later, Zhou Yan asked with a smile, "Does anyone have any questions? If not, we'll adjourn the meeting."

Zhou Yan was always straightforward in meetings. He would adjourn the meeting once he had said what needed to be said, without any dragging of words. Everyone present understood this.

Xiao Can raised his hand and said, "Director Zhou, can I ask about the budget of this movie?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "In fact, I haven't discussed the budget with Mr. Xu yet. But I can give you a rough range. The final cost should be between 20 million and 30 million."

After hearing this budget range, everyone looked at each other with surprised expressions.

They were surprised in two aspects. On the one hand, Zhou Yan didn't even discuss the budget with the investors, but came to hold a mobilization meeting for them. Is this something an ordinary director would do?
On the other hand, a budget of 20 to 30 million can be considered a big production.

According to the current situation in China, any production with a budget of over 10 million yuan can be considered a big production.

Moreover, this budget is not low even if it is placed in Hong Kong.

After all, it is not easy for Chinese-language films with such high budgets to recover costs.

This is also Zhou Yan's film with the highest budget. Previously, Zhou Yan's film investment cost has never exceeded 20 million.

Of course, their surprise only lasted for a moment, because these situations were also very reasonable for Zhou Yan.

Given the relationship between Zhou Yan and Xu Feng, there is no need to worry about Xu Feng not investing in him. Basically, as long as Zhou Yan mentions a number and it is not too exaggerated, Xu Feng will approve it without hesitation.

Even if Xu Feng was unwilling to invest, Zhou Yan could still pay for the filming himself. They knew Zhou Yan's ability to some extent.

As for whether the cost can be recovered, it doesn't seem to be a problem. None of the movies shot by Zhou Yan had low box office.

Seeing everyone's surprised expressions, Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Don't worry about the budget for now. Someone will control the costs. Any other questions?"

Everyone looked at each other and then shook their heads.

"Okay, let's break up the meeting."

……

After the meeting, Zhou Yan went to the recording studio and continued recording "Snow Flower" with Akina Nakamori.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Akina Nakamori had just finished recording once, and Zhou Yan was telling her about the problems with the previous recording. Suddenly, Akina Nakamori looked towards the door, her eyes lit up, "Shizuka!"

Akina Nakamori was speaking in Neon language, but Zhou Yan could tell that it was Shizuka she was calling. He turned around and saw Shizuka Kudo standing at the door with a smile on her face.

Shizuka Kudo was dressed very casually today, in grey shorts, a white shirt, and a straw hat with a bow on her head, looking very refreshing.

Zhou Yan knew she was coming today, so he was not surprised.

Seeing Kudo Shizuka, Akina Nakamori was very happy and went up to her and hugged her.

"Shizuka, you're finally here."

"I wanted to come earlier, but I just couldn't get away."

Shizuka Kudo was coming to hold a concert and had originally planned to come with Akina Nakamori, but because she had other things to do in Neon, she couldn't go, so Akina Nakamori had to come alone.

"It's okay, I'm glad you're here."

"Did the recording go well?"

"The Japanese version went pretty smoothly, but there are some problems with the Chinese version." Akina Nakamori pursed her lips, "My Chinese level is far behind yours."

Kudo Shizuka comforted her, "It's okay, take your time."

After that, she looked at Zhou Yan again and said in Chinese, "Can you be a little patient with Mingcai?"

Zhou Yan shrugged, "I'm already very patient."

"Then you should be more patient." Kudo Shizuka said with a pout.

Iida Naoko couldn't help but be amazed. She didn't expect that Kudo Shizuka would talk to Zhou Yan like this. It seemed that they had a very good relationship.

Although Zhou Yan usually looks very approachable, Jingtian Chengzi has never seen anyone in the studio speak to Zhou Yan so casually. Everyone respects Zhou Yan very much.

It was only after Nakamori Nakako's translation that she realized that Shizuka was speaking for her, which made her feel a little embarrassed. She pulled Shizuka aside and said, "Mr. Zhou Yan has been very patient."

"Well, he is indeed very patient, but he seems a little cold." Shizuka muttered.

This is Shizuka Kudo's personal experience. Before she and Zhou Yan were together, Zhou Yan always looked aloof when he helped her record an album.

Zhou Yan looked at his watch and asked, "Would you two like to chat for a while? I'll give you some time."

Akina Nakamori quickly waved her hands, "No, no, let's continue recording. We can't waste your time. Shizuka, I can't accompany you."

"It's okay. I have to leave soon. I have to go to the live rehearsal. The concert will start the day after tomorrow. Do you have time tomorrow? You are a guest, so you must rehearse as well."

Akina Nakamori looked at Zhou Yan and said, "I'm afraid that won't work."

Kudo Shizuka asked Zhou Yan directly, "Can you give Akina some time to rehearse tomorrow?"

Zhou Yan thought about it and said, "It's okay to do it later."

"That's good." Shizuka Kudo nodded with satisfaction.

……

Shizuka Kudo left the recording studio after staying there for a short time. She hadn't seen Zhou Yan for a long time, and of course she wanted to have a good chat with him, but Zhou Yan had to work and couldn't accompany her.

At five o'clock in the evening, after Akina Nakamori finished recording once, Zhou Yan said to her, "No need to record again, this is enough. We still have some time left, let's study the Chinese version. After I brought the tape home last night, I listened to it many times, and I listened to you singing all day today. I found that the main problem is that you are too obsessed with pronunciation, there are no other problems."

Akina Nakamori nodded. Zhou Yan had already discussed this issue last night.

But her pronunciation problem is hard to correct in a short period of time.

"Then what should I do now?"

“Forget about pronunciation.”

"Forget... pronunciation?"

Zhou Yan nodded and explained, "If you feel comfortable singing, just keep it. If you feel uncomfortable singing, don't worry about it. Just sing in a way that feels comfortable to you."

"Will that..."

Zhou Yan didn't even know what she was talking about, so he just waved his hand and said, "Let's try this first."

Akina Nakamori glanced at Seiko Ida and could only nod, "Okay."

Then she went back in and started singing the Chinese version.

This time, her pronunciation was indeed different from what she sang last night, but not only did it not get better, it got worse.

Without Zhou Yan's words, Nakamori Akina knew that her performance was not very good this time, and her expression became a little frustrated. She followed Zhou Yan's instructions and tried to sing in a familiar way when encountering unfamiliar pronunciations, but unfortunately, the effect was not good.

But Zhou Yan was not disappointed at all.

Although her singing this time was not as good as last night, Zhou Yan could hear that she had made some changes in some details, which showed that she had a strong ability to adjust.

The current effect is not good, or it’s because she tried too hard to change, so problems arose.

Just keep adjusting and you will see the results later.

"It's okay, do it again. But pay attention to the middle sentence. I don't want you to be too far away from me. Just swallow the word 'li'."

Akina Nakamori's Chinese is not very good, so Iida Naoko had to communicate with her carefully before she understood what Zhou Yan meant.

The reason why Zhou Yan asked Akina Nakamori to sing like this was because the words "you" and "li" were next to each other, and Akina Nakamori couldn't handle it at all, so he simply asked her to swallow one and try.

You know what, after swallowing the word "li", she sang much more freely, and there was basically no problem with this sentence.

As more and more details were changed, Akina Nakamori's performance became better and better. She could of course feel the improvement, so she became more and more confident.

At seven o'clock, Shizuka Kudo came back from rehearsal. Zhou Yan glanced at her and called out Akina Nakamori.

"Let's stop here today. The problems have basically been fixed. Let's go eat."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhou Yan, for your hard work." Akina Nakamori bowed very politely.

Kudo Shizuka took Nakamori Akina's arm and said, "You've been singing all day, it must be really hard. Let's go, let's go eat."

"How was your rehearsal, was it going well?"

"Of course no problem." Kudo Shizuka said, patting her chest.

"That's good."

……

When they went to the cafeteria, no one was eating, but the cafeteria was still open because they knew that Zhou Yan and his friends had not eaten, so they kept the food for them.

The atmosphere was much more lively because of the presence of Shizuka Kudo. She has a more lively personality and is familiar with both sides.

"It's a pity that you have to record tomorrow, otherwise we could go for a walk around Yanjing. You haven't been around here yet, right?"

Akina Nakamori shook her head, "No."

The last time she came to Yanjing, she either stayed in the studio or attended events and had no time to go out and play.

Besides, neither she nor Iida Seiko wanted to go out.

"Akina, you're so pitiful. How about we go out for a walk later?"

Akina Nakamori looked outside and said, "It's getting late."

"It's just past seven o'clock. How about we go out for a walk for two or three hours and then go back?" After saying that, Shizuka looked at Zhou Yan again, "You can also join us, Mr. Zhou Yan, after all, you are the host."

Zhou Yan nodded, "No problem, where do you want to go?"

"Let me think about it..." Kudo Shizuka thought for a long time, and only thought of Sanlitun, "How about we go to the bar and hang out."

"it is good."

……

In the past two years, many new bars have opened in Sanlitun, but Zhou Yan is not very familiar with these bars, so he chose the Yunsheng Bar that he and Shizuka Kudo had been to before.

When they arrived at the Yunsheng Bar, the atmosphere in the bar was just starting to pick up. There was an unknown singer on the stage, singing Black Panther's "Shame".

The singing was average, but the song was popular enough so the audience responded well.

They were lucky as there was only one booth left. If they had arrived a little later, they would have had to sit in the pool.

When she came to Yunsheng Bar again, Shizuka Kudo was quite emotional, because this bar had special meaning to her and Zhou Yan.

Akina Nakamori usually likes to drink, but because she had to record a video tomorrow, she only ordered a glass of juice, while Zhou Yan and the others each ordered a bottle of beer.

Zhou Yan was looking at the singer who was singing "Shame" on the stage and suddenly thought of Xu Wei. The last time he and Kudo Shizuka came, Xu Wei was singing on the stage.

But now Xu Wei has already made a name for himself in the rock circle. If he appears here again, the audience's reaction will be very different. At least they will no longer request other people's songs for Xu Wei to sing.

Two years ago, Xu Wei’s song “Persistence” made him famous, and people inside and outside the circle knew about Xu Wei.

However, Zhou Yan is still not optimistic about Xu Wei's development in the Red Star Production Society. The model of the Red Star Production Society is completely dependent on the rock music itself.

If the wind blows strongly, they will be able to fly with the wind, but once the wind slows down, the Red Star Production Cooperative will be exposed.

Although they are called Red Star Production Company, they do not have the ability to produce Red Star. It is a complete waste for Xu Wei to sign with their company.

"Akina, in the bars here, people prefer songs like those sung by current singers," said Shizuka Kudo.

"Well, it can be seen that the audience's response is very enthusiastic. Is this kind of rock song only popular in bars, or is it the mainstream of the Chinese music scene?"

"It's considered mainstream." Kudo Shizuka was not very sure.

She actually didn't know much about the Chinese music scene, and hadn't done any research. She only knew that this type of song was very popular in China in the past two years.

Kudo Shizuka asked Zhou Yan in Chinese again, "Is this type of song considered mainstream in China?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Never."

Perhaps some people will get angry with Zhou Yan after hearing what he said, thinking that Chinese rock has created glory and at least was once mainstream.

But Zhou Yan thinks so. Rock has never become mainstream, and rock singers have always regarded themselves as "rebels" and are unwilling to become mainstream. If you say they are mainstream, they will get angry with you.

“Rock and roll should be considered a shining meteor.”

Kudo Shizuka blinked. "Are you saying that rock music will decline in China?"

Zhou Yan shook his head. "It's not that it will decline, it's that it has already declined."

"Is that so?"

Kudo Shizuka was very surprised, "Then are Wang Feng and the others..."

“They will not be affected.”

"why?"

"Because of me."

Shizuka Kudo couldn't help but roll her eyes, but she couldn't refute Zhou Yan's confidence.

Moreover, the rock music played by Wang Feng and his friends is indeed different from the rock music popular in bars.

Iida Naoko quietly translated the conversation between Zhou Yan and Kudo Shizuka to Nakamori Akina, who secretly sighed that Mr. Zhou Yan was indeed very confident. (End of this chapter)