1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhou Yan was not in a hurry to find James Cameron. After staying up for a whole day and night, he was feeling sleepy. After returning to the hotel, he took a shower and went to bed.

When he woke up, it was already past two in the afternoon.

Because he only had one meal in the morning and didn't eat much, Zhou Yan felt very hungry after waking up. After a quick wash, he ran out to find something to eat.

After all, I stayed up all night last night and I have a night show tonight, so there was food in the restaurant in the afternoon. Although it was only bread, sandwiches and the like, at least I wouldn't go hungry.

After dinner, Zhou Yan went to look for Zhang Youan first, but found that this guy was not in the room and he didn't know where he had gone.

Unable to find Zhang Youan, he turned to look for Sebatisian.

Before reaching Sebatisian's room, Zhou Yan ran into him in the corridor.

Sebatisian had just woken up and was about to go to dinner. Zhou Yan asked about the night show and then returned to his room.

At half past four, he followed the main force to the survey ship.

The crew started preparing at five o'clock and officially started filming at eight o'clock.

Zhou Yan originally wanted to find a position that was both safe and close to James, but he couldn't find a place that satisfied him. Later, James saw him wandering around and called him to his side.

"Y, come stand next to me."

This was exactly what Zhou Yan wanted, so he nodded immediately, "Okay."

After that, Zhou Yan always followed James Cameron, closer to him than several assistant directors.

Those assistant directors all have their own things to do, so it's naturally impossible for them to always follow James Cameron.

At first Zhou Yan thought it was not a bad idea. After all, by following James Cameron all the time, he could also learn some techniques.

But gradually, he felt something was wrong, especially when James Cameron led him to the hanging basket.

The basket was hung very high, more than thirty meters above the sea.

Zhou Yan was not afraid of heights, but there were only him and James Cameron on the hanging basket, and James was holding a big loudspeaker and kept yelling at the crew members below.

"Rod! Why is there a chair in Area 1?"

"Christie, don't be so slow, you look like a sloth among the others."

"Lori, what's the situation with the anchor? Go check it out."

"Hahns, the camera position hasn't been adjusted yet? Eighteen minutes have passed."

Standing next to James really requires some psychological endurance. Even though it was James who was yelling at people, Zhou Yan actually felt a little embarrassed.

However, Zhou Yan also somewhat understood why James liked to hang himself in the air. This angle was indeed very good, and the shooting scene could be seen at a glance.

Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that the director cannot stand next to the camera, and the quality of the filming depends on the advance arrangements and the performance of the cameraman.

……

At two o'clock in the middle of the night, a set of shots had just been completed, but the shooting was not over yet, and the staff were preparing for the next set of shots.

Zhou Yan and James were still standing on the hanging basket. James was studying the storyboard, and Zhou Yan was also leaning over to look at it.

Just then, a scream came from below.

"what!"

The two were startled and looked down at the same time.

I saw a middle-aged man on the deck holding his calf with a look of pain on his face.

Sebatisian was nearby and rushed over immediately.

After a while, Sebadisian looked up and said to James, "Fedro accidentally pressed his leg, and there may be a fracture."

James didn't react much when he heard someone was injured. He just nodded and said, "Let Shelia come over and take a look. If there is indeed a fracture, send him to the hospital."

Xie Liya is the crew's accompanying doctor. Her skills are average and the crew's conditions are limited, so she can only treat general injuries. If a fracture really occurs, the patient must be sent to the hospital.

There is only one slightly larger hospital in Dartmouth, but fortunately it is not too far from here and we can get there quickly.

Sebatisian seemed to be very experienced in dealing with this kind of thing. While he called Cialia over, he had already arranged for two people to come and carry Ferrod on a stretcher.

After Ferold was sent away, order was quickly restored at the scene.

Zhou Yan glanced at the expressionless James, and wondered if he could do the same as James if he encountered this situation.

Although it is difficult to assume something that has not happened, Zhou Yan believes that if something like this happened on his set, he would at least go down to check on the injuries.

Even though he knew that going down to check on the injury would not help, at least it would make him feel better.

"Accidents are unavoidable. What we can do is to ensure that they do not affect our work. I need to be responsible to more people."

James Cameron stared at the storyboard and whispered.

At this time, the two of them were hanging high up, and the loudspeaker in James' hand was not turned on, so only Zhou Yan could hear what he said.

This seemed to explain why he didn't go down to check on the injured.

A smile appeared on Zhou Yan's lips. James Cameron was not as cold as he appeared. Perhaps he also felt that he should go and check on Ferold's situation, but reason told him that he should not waste time on this.

Now, he was dozens of meters in the air, giving Zhou Yan a vague explanation, probably to relieve his own pressure.

Zhou Yan understood James's feelings, so he didn't say anything and just watched quietly.

James just said this and didn't say anything else, as if the words just now were not said by him.

……

The next morning, at seven o'clock, the crew finally finished work.

Zhou Yan walked over when James was packing his things.

"James, do you have time to chat?"

"Now?" James looked up at Zhou Yan.

"Ah."

James nodded, "Give me five minutes."

"it is good."

Five minutes later, James finished packing and turned to look at Zhou Yan again, "What do you want to talk about? Do you want to find a place to sit down and talk?"

"No, it won't take too long." Zhou Yan waved his hand. "I have been thinking about how to compose the soundtrack for Titanic. I have some ideas, but most of them are not finalized."

James remained silent, waiting for Zhou Yan's next words.

"But about the movie's theme song..."

"theme song?"

Zhou Yan nodded, "Yes, the theme song."

James frowned and did not directly say that he did not want to play the theme song in the movie. Instead, he talked about Zhou Yan's own movie.

"If I remember correctly, there are no theme songs for any of your own movies, right? And you also didn't write theme songs for other people's movies."

James knew a lot about Zhou Yan's works and knew that none of his works had theme songs, so when he heard that Zhou Yan wanted to make a theme song for "Titanic", he was a little surprised.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Although there is no theme song, I wrote more than one song for "Sense and Sensibility" and "The Chorus"."

“But they’re not theme songs.”

James' meaning is very clear. Although there are songs in "Sense and Sensibility" and "The Chorus", they are required by the plot and are not theme songs written outside the plot.

Seeing James' reaction, Zhou Yan probably realized that Sebastian was right, James really didn't want to put songs in the movie.

At this time, Zhou Yan had two choices. One was to follow James and simply not have a theme song and make "My Heart Will Go On" into a pure music version. The second was to stick to it and follow the original version.

Actually, Zhou Yan was thinking about this problem after he went back home yesterday morning. After much thought, he still felt that it would be better to make "My Heart Will Go On" into a song.

This song definitely contributed to the box office of the movie. If it had been made into pure music, it would definitely not have been as popular as a song.

Zhou Yan pondered and said, "James, whether you are willing to put the song in the movie or not, I will make this song. After the song is recorded, I will let you listen to it. If you think it is okay, I will put it in. If you think it is not okay, then just ignore what I said."

James looked at Zhou Yan and blinked twice. Zhou Yan had said so. What else could he say? He couldn't tell Zhou Yan that even if he did it, he wouldn't listen.

So he could only nod and say, "When you finish making the song, I'll listen to it, and I hope you can make me change my mind."

But although he said this, he didn't really think so.

He didn't think that pop songs were suitable for this movie, so he felt that no matter what kind of song Zhou Yan wrote, he would not change his mind.

Hearing the answer he wanted, Zhou Yan nodded, "No problem, I will record the song as soon as possible."

"Okay." James also nodded with a smile.

Although he didn't think he would change his mind and put a song in the movie, he also wanted to hear what kind of song Zhou Yan would write. If it was good, even if it was not made into a song, it could be put into the movie as a soundtrack.

……

After returning to the hotel, Zhou Yan did not rush to sleep, but went straight to knock on Zhang Youan's door.

Zhang Youan had just gotten up, still holding a toothbrush in his mouth. When he saw Zhou Yan, he said in a slurred voice, "Why are you here?"

"Their night show just ended, and I came back to see you for something."

In fact, Zhang Youan hadn't seen Zhou Yan for two days and three nights. The last time they met was on their first night in Dartmouth. After that, they haven't met since.

"I want to go find you, too. I'm going to New York tomorrow, so you'll have to stay here alone for the rest of the time."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Does it make any difference to me whether you are here or not?"

"I went to Cariboo, so I didn't go to the filming site. Is everything going well? Actually, you don't have to be so honest. They are busy with filming during this period. You can just go and see them when you have time. You don't have to follow them all the time."

"If that's the case, I might as well just go back home, or stay in Houston and add a few concerts. Although the plays here at Dartmouth are not particularly important, I can still learn a lot. James's filmmaking is somewhat different from other directors."

"He's a technology geek, so of course it's different. In fact, the technology of the new film is mainly the combination of real scenes, stunts, and special effects, which can only be seen in Mexico."

"I can't go to Mexico for now, but I will send two people over when the time comes."

"Whom to send?"

"Zhao Lin and Hong Ben."

"I know Zhao Lin, but who is this Hong Ben?"

"A director from my studio used to work as a stagehand at Chang'an Film Studio."

"Oh." Zhang Youan didn't ask any more questions. He knew there must be a reason why Zhou Yan arranged for this person to come.

After graduating from the Photography Department of Yenching Film Academy, Hong Ben went to Chang'an Film Studio and worked as a production assistant for several years. He was also a production assistant when Zhou Yan was filming "The Sixth Sense".

After the collaboration, Zhou Yan felt that Hong Ben was a good person, so he asked him to be involved in any subsequent work. Later, he stayed in the studio and now has a relationship with the Yanjing Film Studio.

When it comes to directing talent, Hong Ben is definitely not as talented as Wang Xiaoshuai and Huo Jianqi, let alone having any experience in directing. So far, he has only served as an assistant director once.

But this guy was smart, learned quickly, and knew some English, so Zhou Yan decided to bring him to the filming set of "Titanic" so that he could learn from him secretly.

"I have already arranged the matter between Zhao Lin and Hong Ben. I came to see you because I have something else to tell you."

"what's up?"

"I have prepared a song and want to record it and listen to it."

Zhang Youan spat the foam in his mouth into the trash can and asked in surprise, "Now?"

"It would be best if we can get it done now. If we can't, there's no need to be too anxious."

"What is going on? Is this song related to Titanic?"

"Yeah." Zhou Yan nodded. "I want to make it the theme song of the movie, but James Cameron doesn't want to put the song in the movie. I told him that I will make the song whether he wants it or not. When the song is finished, I will give it to him to listen to. If he wants it, we will put it in the movie. If not, we will keep it for ourselves."

Hearing Zhou Yan's words, Zhang Youan clapped his hands, "Then we have to get it done as soon as possible. Have you finished the lyrics and music? I'll find someone to record it for you now. I don't know if there's a place to record in Dartmouth... Even if there isn't, it doesn't matter. There is one in Cariboo, and it's not particularly difficult to go there."

"The lyrics and music can be worked out anytime, but do you know who to find to sing it?"

Zhang Youan looked at Zhou Yan in confusion, "It shouldn't be a special request for a demo, right? Do you want a male or female voice?"

Zhou Yan shook his head, "I have a specific candidate."

"A specific person? Who is it?"

"Have you ever heard of the singer Celine Dion?"

"You mean her? Of course I've heard of her. She sang the theme song for the Olympics that just ended... Oh, no, she didn't sing the theme song. It's just that the song she sang, "The Power of Dreams," was more popular than the theme song."

This year's Olympics was held in Atlanta, but when Zhou Yan and his team went to Atlanta, the Olympics had already ended.

Celine Dion is not as popular as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, but she is definitely a top singer in North America, and she is very famous in Canada and the French-speaking region.

"Is it easy to find her?"

Zhang Youan pondered, "It will take some effort to find her. It depends on our luck. She is Canadian. If she is in Canada now, there may be a chance to record the song before you leave the United States. But if she is not in Canada, I am afraid it will not work."

"Well, go ask first."

"No problem, I'll ask in a minute."

……

René Angeli was about to have lunch when he received a call from his good friend Jeff Nordsa.

"Hey, Jeff, I hope you're just calling to ask if I had lunch, not to tell me you're going to give us more work."

Jeff Nordesa is from Sony Records. Now that Celine Dion is signed to Sony, the work is coordinated by Jeff Nordesa and René Angeli.

René Angelier and Celine Dion are on vacation in their hometown of Quebec these days, so he said this.

"Reni, I don't want to disturb your vacation with Celine, but I have to make this call. Y-chou's agent called and wants to talk to you."

"Y-chou?"

"Yes, that's the Y-chou you were thinking of. His agent called me and told me that there's a song he wants to discuss with Celine, and they're in Dartmouth right now, so if you want to meet, it won't be difficult." At this point, Jeff Nordsa smiled, "Dartmouth has nice scenery, you can go see the sea, right?"

René Angeli rolled his eyes. They were in Quebec. Did they need to go to Dartmouth to see the sea?
However, Jeff Nordsa's words aroused his interest.

Although Y-chou is not a member of the North American music circle, his fame in the American music circle has been growing over the past year.

Last year, Celine Dion won the first place on the Billboard Hot 90 singles chart with "The Power of Love", which was the best result Celine Dion achieved since she entered the English-speaking region in .

In the same year, Mariah Carey's "Young and Beautiful" topped the charts for more than ten weeks, and "Sense and Sensibility" won the Best Original Score Award at this year's Academy Awards, which once again caused a storm for this song.

With such dazzling achievements, it would be hard for René Angeli not to know about it.

"Is this a song written by Y himself?"

"His agent didn't tell me the specifics. But..." Jeff Nordsa said mysteriously, "Do you know why Y is in Dartmouth now?"

"why?"

“Titanic is being filmed at Dartmouth right now.”

Jeff Nordsa didn't say anything about the extra stuff, but it was enough to give René Angeli endless imagination.

"Should we contact Y now?"

"No, I've given your contact information to his agent. His agent will contact you in about an hour. You can discuss whether to meet and how to meet. When you have a result, remember to tell me."

"No problem." (End of chapter)