1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Hearing what Xu Guanwen said, Shen Yan laughed and said, "If it is released too early, wouldn't it be like a civil war? All the songs were written by Director Zhou, it's like the left hand fighting the right hand."

Xu Guanwen pushed up his glasses and laughed, "Haha, that's better."

Shen Yan thought about it and felt that what Xu Guanwen said made sense.

If Mariah Carey's new song really competes with Akina Nakamori's new song for the top spot in Japan, it will be very beneficial to Zhou Yan, because as a result, the discussion about Zhou Yan as the producer will increase infinitely.

"That……"

"Okay, just focus on filming. Today's workload is quite heavy."

Zhou Yan interrupted Shen Yan who wanted to continue gossiping and started to lead him into work mode.

As for the two songs competing for the top spot in Japan, Zhou Yan is not worried. After all, they are both singles and their impact on each other's market is relatively small.

On the one hand, although Mariah Carey is the most popular foreign female singer in Japan, the Japanese are still relatively protective of their own music. With the presence of "Snow Flower", it is difficult for "Someone Like You" to dominate the charts.

On the other hand, the market for "Someone Like You" is global, mainly in Europe and the United States, and its distribution in Japan will not affect the overall situation.

"Snow Flower" itself only has Japanese and Chinese versions, so it is impossible for it to affect the global release of "Someone Like You".

As Zhou Yan expected, "Someone Like You" soon entered the Japanese market. Although the song has swept the charts of many countries, it suffered a "Waterloo" in Japan and could only be ranked behind "Snow Flower" which had been released for some time.

Because "Snow Flower" is so popular in Japan, it is a complete phenomenon. In recent years, Japan has not been able to find a song that can have such popularity. Even the previously popular "The First Dream" and "Little Hands Holding Big Hands" cannot compare with "Snow Flower" in terms of popularity.

The popularity of this song has also led to the resurgence of Akina Nakamori's other songs.

In other words, Mariah Carey is very popular in Japan. If another female singer, even Whitney Houston, were to sing, the situation would be even worse, and she might not even be able to keep the second place.

Other European and American female singers are not even worthy of Mariah Carey's popularity in Japan.

In addition, Mariah Carey will hold a concert in Tokyo in November this year, so Japanese fans are paying more attention to her songs during this period.

Because of the popularity of "Snow Flower", Akina Nakamori's career has been on the rise recently, and invitations to programs that have not been seen for a long time are also coming in one after another.

However, Akina Nakamori is not very interested in participating in the show now. Now that her career is booming again, she has taken the initiative to cool down.

Tang Chen didn't say anything about Akina Nakamori's "lie down" attitude. When she was invited to participate in a program, he just gave her the program information and let her choose by herself.

As for which company she chooses, or whether to choose it or not, Tang Chen Company never interferes and gives her full freedom.

This also made Akina Nakamori feel that signing with Tang Chen was a very wise choice. If she changed to another company, she would probably be eager to let her go out to do business by now.

After all, it would be a shame not to strike while the iron is hot to consolidate the business with such a good opportunity. This is all hard-earned money. Which company would be willing to miss such a money-making opportunity?
Because of this, although Akina Nakamori wanted to take a rest, in order not to let down the resources that Tomson had invested in her, she still chose to take part in a few shows. At least, she wanted to prevent Tomson from losing money on her.

But now, she refuses to accept any programs except music programs.

……

After Zhou Yan had been filming in Hong Kong for a few days, the shooting progress was going well, but he soon ran into trouble.

Originally, Zhou Yan came to film without making a big announcement. He didn't even tell Anita Mui and others who had visited the set before.

But they stayed here for a few days, and because of media reports, many people knew about this incident.

Kelly Chen was the first person to visit the set after they arrived in Hong Kong.

Afterwards, Tsui Hark, Zhang Manyu, Zhang Xueyou, Du Zichi and others came to visit the set, even Stephen Chow came.

Of course, Zhou Yan could understand these people coming to visit the set. After all, they were all friends and had collaborated to some extent.

What Zhou Yan didn’t expect the most was that Xiang Huaqiang also came to visit the set.

Before, Zhou Yan and he had no contact at all, at least no direct contact.

When Xiang Huaqiang arrived, the crew was filming a scene where the hero's sister was in a car accident and was admitted to the hospital.

This scene was not filmed in a real hospital. The crew found a room and set up a ward themselves, because this scene only used a ward and did not require other shots of the hospital.

If you find a hospital to shoot, it will be very troublesome. It is better to set up the scene yourself, which is economical and saves time.

Zhou Yan was explaining the play to Li Xiaoran when he heard a commotion outside. He immediately realized that someone might have come to visit the set.

Sighing slightly, he said to Li Xiaoran, "Take a rest first."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiang Huaqiang came in with two people.

Zhou Yan was very surprised when he saw Xiang Huaqiang. Before he could react, Xiang Huaqiang walked up to him with a smile and said, "Director Zhou, hello, hello."

He then greeted Sam Hui and Joey Wong who were at the scene, "Mr. Hui, Joey."

Zhou Yan looked at Xiang Huaqiang and nodded, "Hello, Mr. Xiang. I wonder what brings you here today?"

"I heard that Zu Xian was filming here, so I came here to visit her. After all, we have worked together several times before. And I have heard of your name, Director Zhou, for a long time, and have always wanted to find an opportunity to meet you. It just so happens that I came here this time."

Although Xiang Huaqiang said that he came here because of Joey Wong, after arriving, most of his attention was focused on Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes, unable to figure out Xiang Huaqiang's intention.

Zhou Yan had heard a lot of rumors about the Xiang brothers, both good and bad. Of course, most of them were bad.

Zhou Yan had no way to confirm whether these rumors were true or not. Originally, Zhou Yan didn't care about these rumors. After all, there would be basically no intersection between them.

But today, Xiang Huaqiang took the initiative to visit, so he had to be careful. Xiang Huaqiang in front of him was of medium height, looked energetic, and had a smile on his face, not as fierce as in the movies.

"Thank you for being so polite, Mr. Xiang. The crew is simple and there is no tea or water to entertain you. Please forgive me."

"It's okay, it's okay, I just came to take a look and will be gone soon. How many days will Director Zhou's filming last in Hong Kong?"

"It will probably be over in a week or two." Zhou Yan replied.

"In such a hurry?"

"Many scenes have been filmed in other places, and we will go to Taiwan to shoot later. We have also filmed a lot of scenes in Hong Kong."

"I wonder if you can give me some time to treat you to a meal before I leave Hong Kong?" Xiang Huaqiang made a direct invitation.

Zhou Yan frowned and said, "I'm really sorry, the filming schedule of this drama is quite tight, I'm afraid I don't have time to keep the appointment. Director Xu and his team came over earlier and said they wanted to have dinner together, but I can only regretfully turn it down. I appreciate Mr. Xiang's kindness, and we can talk about dinner later when there is a chance."

After being rejected by Zhou Yan, Xiang Huaqiang did not fight for it again. He just said with regret, "That's a pity. Director Zhou, you have come to Hong Kong several times before. I have always wanted to find a chance to meet you, but I have never found a good opportunity. Speaking of which, I am also a fan of yours, Director Zhou. I have watched all the movies you have made before, especially "The Sixth Sense", which left a deep impression on me."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Thank you for your support, Mr. Xiang. You are a senior in the industry. If there is a chance, I would also like to learn more from you."

Xiang Huaqiang waved his hands quickly and said, "Director Zhou, you are joking. Although I started filming earlier, it is only because I am older. In terms of film attainments, you are far superior to me. If there is a chance, I would like to work with you on a film. Although our Star Entertainment started late, it has developed quite well. I promise that we will not hold you back."

Although Xiang Huaqiang took the initiative to bring up the idea of ​​cooperation, Zhou Yan did not respond. He just smiled and said, "We all see Mr. Xiang's contribution to the development of Hong Kong's film industry. We still have a lot to learn from him."

Before Xiang Huaqiang could say anything, Shen Yan came over and said, "Director Zhou, all the teams are ready. This scene..."

Shen Yan had been following Zhou Yan for some time, so he naturally realized that Zhou Yan didn't want to waste time with Xiang Huaqiang, so he ran out to urge Zhou Yan at the right time.

Shen Yan has done this many times, so he is quite familiar with it.

When Xu Ke and Zhang Manyu came before, Shen Yan would also come forward to urge them, but he usually waited until Zhou Yan chatted with them for a while before urging them. Today, he saw that Zhou Yan didn't want to chat, so he urged him so quickly.

Zhou Yan could only apologize, "Boss Xiang, I'm really sorry, the crew's filming schedule can't be stopped, how about I find someone else to accompany you?"

Xiang Huaqiang glanced at Shen Yan, then smiled and said, "Director Zhou, you are too serious. Since you are busy, I will take my leave first. We can meet again when we have time. It is indeed abrupt for me to come here today. If I have delayed your filming, I will be really sorry."

"Thank you for the T-shirt, Mr. Xiang. I won't keep you here." Zhou Yan nodded and said to Jiang Mengfei, "Mengfei, please help me see Mr. Xiang off."

"You're welcome." Xiang Huaqiang smiled and waved to Wang Zuxian and Xu Guanwen, "Mr. Xu, Zuxian, I'm leaving first. We'll have tea together sometime."

"Okay, Mr. Xiang, take care."

After Xiang Huaqiang left, Zhou Yan didn't say anything and started filming again with Shen Yan and the others. Chen Derong was still lying on the hospital bed in a daze, but when he heard the filming start, he immediately sat up.

During this period, Chen Derong has been getting more and more into the role, and her performance has been getting better and better. Every time it is her turn to film, the shooting goes smoothly.

It was the same today, Chen Derong performed very well and the shooting was completed quickly.

After the scene was finished, when Zhou Yan was taking a break, Joey Wong walked up to him and said, "Boss Xiang came over just now. I guess he wanted to win you over and get you to help their company shoot a movie."

In fact, Star Entertainment Company had handed a script to Zhang Youan before, wanting to invite Zhou Yan to help them film a movie. Of course, Zhou Yan refused. He never accepted the script handed over to him.

Zhou Yan didn't take these things to heart. After all, there were many companies that asked him to film, and Star Entertainment was just one of them.

"Were you familiar with each other before?" Zhou Yan asked.

Joey Wong shook her head, "Not really, we've only worked together a few times. Annie is pretty familiar with his wife, and we've even had dinner together privately. Their company is doing very well now, and they just acquired Star Entertainment this year, and it's even listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. I guess he won't be acting in movies anymore."

Zhou Yan nodded. After the company went public, Xiang Huaqiang, as the CEO, had to maintain his image. It was indeed inappropriate for him to show up in public to film movies.

However, for Xiang Huaqiang, filming is just a hobby, and his main job is to make money by producing behind the scenes.

"What is he like in normal times?" Zhou Yan asked again.

"I don't know much about him, but he is usually very polite to everyone, very courteous and civilized."

Zhou Yan was quite surprised to hear what Joey Wong said. He didn't expect that Joey Wong's impression of Heung Wah Qiang was actually polite and civilized.

But this is exactly the same as what Xiang Huaqiang showed just now.

Zhou Yan didn't ask any more questions. It was very difficult to understand a person from other people's words.

Not to mention that Joey Wong is not familiar with Xiang Huaqiang. Even if she is very familiar with him, the Xiang Huaqiang she refers to may not be the real Xiang Huaqiang.

People are complex and multifaceted, and they behave differently in front of different people.

The key point is that Zhou Yan is not very interested in Xiang Huaqiang.

After a short break, the filming resumed.

Because people kept coming to visit the set, it had some impact on the filming of the crew, and the shooting progress was a little delayed than Zhou Yan had planned. Now he had to speed up to catch up with the plan.

After arriving in Hong Kong, although the shooting schedule was not as tight as that at the end of the field, Zhou Yan was much busier.

Since conditions in Hong Kong were good, he wanted to take advantage of this time to compose the soundtrack for the movie.

If the soundtrack can be produced before the filming of the movie is finished, it can save a lot of time in post-production.

So during this period, after the crew finished work, he would still be busy until late at night. (End of this chapter)