China Entertainment started in 2004

Chapter 554 Aren’t you staying here tonight?
At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Wang Shu received a call from Gong Li.

"I'm back home. Do you have time in the evening? Let's have dinner together?" Gong Li asked with a smile.

Wang Shu was not surprised that Gong Li would call him, and smiled and said, "Okay."

In the evening, the two met at the agreed hotel.

Gong Li was already sitting in the hotel room. When she saw Wang Shu coming in, she stood up and said with a smile, "I haven't seen you for a while. You seem to have lost some weight."

This was a polite remark, and Wang Shu knew it, so he smiled and said, "Sister Gong Li hasn't changed much, she's still as beautiful as ever."

Gong Li rolled her eyes at him when she heard that.

The two ordered some dishes and chatted while eating.

"I heard that Paramount invited you to take over the science fiction film project left by Steven?" Gong Li asked curiously.

"Yes." Wang Shu answered truthfully, "People from Paramount did approach me, but it's still under discussion. It's not certain whether I will be the one directing this project in the end."

"Paramount approached you proactively, so why do you need to discuss it?" Gong Li was puzzled.

Logically speaking, since Paramount took the initiative to invite Wang Shu, he would have just agreed and they would have hit it off instantly, and there would have been no need for further discussion.

unless
She looked at Wang Shu, who smiled and said, "I made a request to Paramount, saying that if I direct the film, the script must be written according to my ideas."

Gong Li is now working in Hollywood, and when she heard this, she immediately understood.

All major Hollywood film companies have dedicated market analysis departments.

The scripts it produces must first and foremost conform to market factors.

Therefore, directors are strictly prohibited from shooting according to their personal ideas, but must strictly follow the script.

In this way, the director can avoid making a movie that is suitable for the market look weird.

If the power to make changes is given to the director, the producer will take a huge risk.

In Hollywood, where the producer is the center, no one is willing to do that.

Therefore, there are often only a few directors who can shoot according to their own ideas rather than the script.

Let’s not talk about others, let’s just talk about Zack Snyder.

He is also a well-known Hollywood director. When filming DC's "Justice League", he not only needed to shoot the film according to the script, but also did not have the right to edit the film in theaters.

Gong Li looked at Wang Shu and said hesitantly, "This request."

“Paramount won’t agree easily, right?”

Wang Shu shrugged and replied, "Anyway, this is my condition. If Paramount agrees, there will be no follow-up. If not, forget it."

Hearing this, Gong Li exhaled and chuckled, "You are the one who has the confidence to say that. If it were anyone else, they would have agreed to Paramount a long time ago."

Although this was a compliment, Wang Shu still wanted to say that anyone else would have responded to Paramount in the same way.

For example, Nolan.

He shrugged and said nothing.

Gong Li's eyes fell on Wang Shu from time to time. She now knew clearly that if she wanted to get a chance in Hollywood, she had to start with Wang Shu.

Otherwise, it would be really difficult for Chinese movie stars to survive in Hollywood!

She has been in Hollywood for several years and has a clear understanding of this.

This is the entertainment industry of the Western world, and it is difficult for Eastern artists to have the resources to survive.

If you want to get a chance, Wang Shu is the biggest hope.

For example, this Sino-US co-production, and Paramount's science fiction film project.

In the former, there will definitely be room for Chinese actors to perform.

As for the latter, as long as Paramount agrees to create the script according to Wang Shu's ideas, Chinese characters can also be added into it.

Gong Li took the opportunity to change the topic to co-productions, and asked with a smile: "What about co-productions? Are they going to start casting?"

Wang Shu knew that the other party must have returned to China suddenly for this matter, but Gong Li was destined to be disappointed on this trip because there was no role suitable for her in the co-production film.

Although there is a negative distance relationship between the two, private matters are private and public matters are public matters.

Wang Shu would not create a role for his second brother just because of him.

If there is a role suitable for her, it would be harmless if Gong Li played it.

But there is no suitable role, and if Wang Shu forces the other party to play the role, even he cannot guarantee that the quality of the film will not be affected.

"Yes, the casting will start the day after tomorrow." Wang Shu responded.

This is public information and cannot be concealed even if one wants to.

Gong Li stood up and walked to Wang Shu's side, put her hand on his shoulder, leaned close to his ear and asked with a warm breath: "So."

“Is there a role for me?”

An ambiguous atmosphere suddenly filled the entire private room. As long as Wang Shu wanted, he could get an injection on the spot.

But, I can’t give you this injection today!

Wang Shu calmly replied: "Do you want to hear the truth?"

Gong Li heard this and immediately had a bad guess in her heart. Her smiling face froze and she replied, "You say."

"No." Wang Shu answered directly.

Seeing Gong Li stopped talking, Wang Shu immediately said: "I'm not lying to you, there really is no role suitable for you."

Gong Li didn't develop very well in Hollywood and never had any good opportunities.

Therefore, there is plenty of time available.

However, she thought she could get the role, but she didn't expect this answer.

Wang Shu glanced at Gong Li and continued, "This play is a man's play, mainly starring men. Although there is a female lead, her age and image are not suitable for you."

"A man's drama?" Gong Li understood immediately after hearing this.

Even without Wang Shu's further explanation, it is clear that the story is mainly from a male perspective, and the female protagonist is more of a foil.

The supporting heroine is usually young, sexy and beautiful.

Therefore, she is not really suitable.

And there is another factor in men's dramas, which is that there are fewer female roles, which also means that there are no supporting roles suitable for her.

From this we can see that this play is really not meant for her.

Gong Li sighed, sat back in her previous seat, and said with a slightly dejected look: "After all, I am old, and my acting range is limited. I can't act in many plays anymore."

In fact, Gong Li's age is still in her golden age in Hollywood, and there are many artists of her age who are still active in the entertainment industry.

For example, Nicole Kidman, Monica Bellucci, Sophie Marceau, Julia Roberts, Julianne Moore and so on.

But they are all artists with Western faces.

Gong Li has an oriental face, which limits her performance on the Hollywood stage.

Therefore, even though she is still in her golden age, it is the late golden age and it is difficult for her to compete with Western artists of the same age for acting contracts.

In addition, as she gets older, her acting range is limited and she can only take on roles that involve older female leads.

Therefore, the situation we are facing is really bad.

Of course, this is Hollywood.

If she returns to China, she will be the big sister of the domestic entertainment industry.

When Wang Shu heard this, he calmly comforted her, "Don't worry, there will always be a chance." Gong Li sighed and said nothing more.

If it were a bootlicker, seeing Gong Li like this, he would definitely give her a guarantee.

However.
Wang Shu is not a bootlicker.

When he makes a movie, he always chooses suitable actors to ensure the quality of the film, instead of forcing unsuitable actors into the film.

There was really no role suitable for Gong Li in this co-production, so he never considered Gong Li from beginning to end.

As for the future
If there is a role suitable for Gong Li in a movie directed in Hollywood, or if a role can be added for Gong Li, he will not ignore it because he has given her an injection before.

After a moment of silence, Gong Li looked up and asked, "Who are you going to choose to play the role?"

Gong Li is in Hollywood, so Wang Shu has no need to hide it. He said: "For the male lead, we invited Brother Chen Long."

Wang Shu didn't mention the names of other people, only Chen Long.

Gong Li nodded when she heard this. She knew why Wang Shu chose Chen Long without Wang Shu's explanation.

Wang Shu's film is a co-production and will definitely take into account both the domestic and overseas markets.

As a co-production led by China, it is impossible to find a foreigner to play the leading male role.

Therefore, these conditions combined only leave a very narrow range of choices.

The choice for the male lead is either Chen Long or Li Lianjie.

Once the male lead was decided, casting for other roles became easy.

She suddenly asked curiously, "Why not choose Li Lianjie?"

Co-productions need to have an international appeal, and the two candidates for the leading actor before Wang Shu were either Chen Long or Jet Li.

He did consider Jet Li, but that guy founded the One Foundation last year and started to behave like a bad person, so Wang Shu had no choice but to rule him out.

If Jet Li is not chosen, the only option left is Chen Long, who is more famous globally.

As for Zhen Zidan and others, they currently have little fame and reputation on the international stage, and have no gimmicks or box office appeal.

Starring Chen Long, the film not only has global buzz, fame and box office appeal, but also avoids the situation where he would be criticized by Chinese people if he casts a foreigner as the leading actor in a co-production.

In short, putting aside other reasons, Chen Long is the most suitable candidate for the male lead.

It can even be said that it is not only suitable, but also the only choice.

In fact, if given a choice, Wang Shu would not want to choose Chen Long to play the leading male role.

But looking across the country, the fact is that no one has this kind of cards.

Starring Chen Long, at least the movie has attracted some attention overseas and some people buy into it.

If the film is starred by an artist who is not well-known overseas, then the film is doomed to fail during the preparation stage.

This is because, after the film is completed, if there is no overseas market, there will be no box office success.

Moreover, if the male lead is played by a domestic artist who is not well-known overseas, it will be difficult to cast other foreign supporting roles.

By then, many famous Hollywood movie stars would not be willing to play supporting roles.

Therefore, if the male lead is played by a domestic artist who is not well-known overseas, the status of the foreign supporting actor will also drop several levels.

By then, the situation will evolve into the situation where the protagonist is not well-known overseas, and the foreign supporting characters are not well-known overseas either.

If a commercial film has this kind of cast, who else would fail if Wang Shu doesn't? !

On the contrary, if the male lead is Chen Long, his status is enough to invite some well-known Hollywood movie stars to play supporting roles.

This creates a gimmick and a highlight. Even though the movie hasn't started shooting yet, it already has the potential to be successful because of the cast.

It's not like choosing an actor who is not well-known overseas to play the leading actor, which would lower the status of the entire cast and make the possibility of success disappear completely.

No matter how powerful the publicity and promotion is, it will be useless without enough attractive gimmicks.

Regarding Gong Li's question, Wang Shu certainly couldn't answer that Jet Li was not a man now, so he smiled and said, "Chen Long is more well-known overseas. If I have to choose one of them, I will choose Chen Long."

This reason is indeed a very reasonable one, and Gong Li has no way to refute it.

She couldn't help but smile and said, "If you want to talk like that, it is indeed Chen Long."

The two continued to eat and chat for a while, and dinner was over.

After leaving the restaurant, Gong Li looked at Wang Shu and asked, "Are you going home?"

Without waiting for Wang Shu to answer, he immediately asked with a smile, "It's still early, do you want to come over to my place and sit for a while?"

Wang Shu is not a fool. How can it be as simple as just sitting there?
Injections are inevitable.

I thought that Gong Li must have some resentment in her heart from her previous answer about the role in the co-production film, and it was impossible for her to get an injection.

I didn't expect the other party to have such a big vision.

Wang Shu smiled and said, "I haven't been to your place yet, so I'd like to go over and take a look."

Gong Li smiled when she heard this, and everything was said without saying a word.

It is undeniable that Gong Li returned to China from Hollywood this time for the co-production with Wang Shu.

I traveled a long way, thinking I could easily get the role, but I ended up empty handed.

It is impossible to have no emotions inside.

However, she was not the kind of person who would make trouble for no reason. After Wang Shu's explanation, her emotions dissipated a lot.

In addition, she also understood that if she wanted to develop in Hollywood in the future, she would still have to rely on Wang Shu's help to have more opportunities, so there was no need to be so petty.

Moreover, she also understood that if she was petty, she would be the only one who would suffer.

Mingming has a good relationship and friendship with Wang Shu, and it is obvious that there will be opportunities for them to continue cooperation in the future.

If the relationship becomes strained, everything will be in vain.

Not to mention, Wang Shu is really amazing.

Gong Li missed him a little after not seeing him for such a long time.

……

Gong Li's house in Beijing is a luxurious villa, which she bought for 1992 million yuan in 300.

1992 million in 300 was not a small amount.

You should know that in 1992 the national average wage for employees was 2711 yuan per year, or 225.92 yuan per month.

While others only earn more than 200 yuan a month, Gong Li is able to spend a huge sum of 3 million yuan to buy a villa.

Today, the villa is occupied by her parents.

Therefore, Gong Li would not bring Wang Shu here, but would take Wang Shu to the high-end apartment she bought.

As soon as they entered the apartment, Gong Li took Wang Shu to look around, then walked to the wine cabinet and turned around to ask, "Would you like a drink?"

In ordinary families, wine cabinets are rarely seen in homes.

However, wealthy families usually have wine cabinets at home.

Although Gong Li is currently in Hollywood for a long time, her house in Beijing has always been taken care of by her parents. Not only does it look clean, but it also has all the necessary things inside.

Wang Shu shook his head and said, "You drink it. I still have to drive, so I won't drink."

When Gong Li heard this, she opened the bottle and poured herself some wine, then she said with a smile, "Why? Aren't you staying here tonight?"

(End of this chapter)