superstar director

Chapter 296 Unexpected News

Sitting down on a sofa with few people, Zhang Manyu smiled and said, "Tell me, what can you do with me."

Ning Cheng didn't talk nonsense, and directly explained the purpose of coming, "Sister Zhang, I sent you a script two days ago. I don't know if you have read it. It is called "Dragon Inn."

Zhang Manyu thought for a while, and simply said, "I haven't seen it." Then, looking at Ning Cheng's wry smile, he said, "I've been running outside for the past few days, so I haven't read the script much, what, you are here to invite me to film Is it?"

Ning Sheng nodded and said, "Yes, I'm going to make a martial arts movie this year, and I would like to ask you to play one of the main characters. It's very interesting. Sister Zhang, why don't you listen to me about this role first?"

Zhang Manyu said casually, "Anyway, there is still some time to leave the venue, so let me listen to you."

Ning Sheng immediately cheered up and began to talk about the role of gold inlaid jade in "Dragon Inn".

"This movie is set in the middle of the fictional Ming Dynasty—the character I want you to play, Jin Xiangyu, is a coquettish and passionate proprietress who runs a black shop——"

Ning Cheng talked for about ten minutes before finishing the characteristics and story of the character Jin Xiangyu in his mind, then looked at Zhang Manyu expectantly and said, "Sister Zhang, I know this character is different from your previous ones, And the difference is very big, but isn't this just an attempt to transform? This role is not your dispensable heroine in Cheng Long's "Police Story". As long as you show your own charm, I believe, it will definitely make you Your playing path is wider!"

Zhang Manyu sipped the red wine with a smile, looked at Ning Cheng and said, "Well, it sounds good, how about it, I'll go back and read the script, and I'll give you an answer in a few days, how about it?"

Ning Cheng naturally hoped that the other party would agree immediately, so as not to cause more changes, but after all, he was not familiar with it, so pushing too hard might backfire, so he nodded and said, "Then I'll just wait for good news from Sister Zhang."

Zhang Manyu smiled and said, "By the way, according to your introduction just now, there is another character named Qiu Moyan in this play who plays a role in Jin Xiangyu. Who are you going to cast? There is also the leading actor Zhou Huai'an, do you have any questions?" Have you chosen someone you like?"

Ning Sheng said, "Qiu Moyan, I want to find Miss Lin Qingxia. Zhou Huaian is senior Liang Jiahui. I have already sent the script to both of you, but I haven't heard back yet."

Zhang Manyu laughed and said, "Your ambition is not small. You want to win an actor in a movie, and give them to the actress. Do you have enough funds?"

Ning Chen smiled and said, "There is no problem with the funds. As long as Sister Zhang is willing to sign the contract, my check will be ready at any time!"

Zhang Manyu shook his head and smiled and said, "Don't be so anxious, you always ask me to go back and read the script, and it's a martial arts movie I haven't made before, I always think about it, okay, the movie can't be saved first Let's talk, let's talk about music, you are the most talented musician in China, Xiao Sheng, please write me a song, okay? Just one song, don't worry, the cost is not a problem, okay? "

Ning Cheng rubbed his nose worryingly, not knowing what to say, he had a lot of songs in his mind, but it was really hard to choose a song suitable for Zhang Manyu.Judging from the information of Ning Cheng's previous life, Ms. Zhang Manyu's road to music is really bumpy!

Seeing that Ning Sheng was silent, Zhang Manyu asked, "Is that okay? I know you rarely write songs for others, how about this, as long as you write songs for me, I will join your movie, how about it?"

Ning Cheng was surprised and said, "Why don't you read the script again and think about it?"

Zhang Man said, "As long as you write a song for me, no matter how bad your script is, I'll join in. How about it? Can you give me a sweet word?"

Everyone said so, and Ning Sheng simply said, "It's no problem to write a song, but I can't guarantee whether your voice will be popular or not."

Zhang Manyu waved his hands and said, "Don't worry, I know my own voice. Many producers have advised me not to waste time on music, but I just like to sing. As long as you write me a song that I like, it's fine. It doesn't matter if it's red."

Ning Sheng suddenly smiled and said, "No problem, let's make an appointment tomorrow, I will prepare a few songs for you to choose, and then sign the contract by the way, do you think it will work?"

Zhang Man said, "Okay, that's it! But you kid, don't fool me with just a few songs, or I won't sign the contract."

Ning Sheng assured, "The quality of my songs is absolutely guaranteed. You can ask people who understand music to check them out. I won't make Sister Zhang doubt my character just because of one song!"

Zhang Manyu smiled and said, "You're smart, haha—"

For Zhang Manyu, there is no need to question her acting skills now, and the title of Queen of the Golden Tripod Award is no different from the Oscar for Best Actress in Asia.

But just like what Ning Sheng said, she can't just make one kind of tiresome literary film for the rest of her life, and everyone knows that if she wants to make money, she must make a commercial blockbuster, and for a commercial blockbuster, the title of actress is just a way to attract fans. It's just a selling point, if you can't make the film a big hit, even if you win another Golden Tripod Award, it's useless.

Therefore, transformation is actually Zhang Manyu's top priority at this meeting.

Even if Ning Cheng was not asked to write a song, Zhang Manyu had already decided in her heart that she wanted to participate in the show. She just wanted to go back and talk to her manager and read the script, but when she thought of asking Ning Cheng for a song When it was time, he naturally confessed his hole cards.

The two chatted for a while before the auction officially started. Zhang Manyu waved to Ning Cheng and went to find her friends, while Ning Cheng sat next to the big brother Zhou Jian.

Charity dinner, of course, is for charity, and each star present contributes some of his own things, such as jewelry, clothing, and other items used in filming, and then those rich bosses spend more money to take pictures of the things , and then the proceeds from these auctions will go to charity, donating to people in need.

Usually at this time, the auctioned items are all female celebrities' items, so Ning Cheng honestly returned the soy sauce, and then went back satisfied.

While Ning Sheng was busy working on his own movie, Lan Yingzhu, the other party of the bet, was still picking out the script at a leisurely pace.

No way, this is the difference between an investor and a director.Investors need to choose the most promising one from countless scripts, and then choose the director and actors.

But Ning Sheng, an investor, director, and screenwriter, is like a dictator with all the power, but he can make decisions in the shortest time.

Lan Yingzhu personally sat in the general manager's office that originally belonged to Jiang Quan, and then the whole company screened the scripts together. However, after three days of selection, none of them satisfied Lan Yingzhu.

Jiang Quan was impatient, and carefully suggested, "Honey, the scripts received by small and medium-sized companies like ours are leftovers from those big companies, and the really talented people voted for those big companies. How about we go directly to Jinbei Film and Television to cooperate?"

Lan Yingzhu raised her eyelids and said calmly, "I have to be called by my position in the company."

Jiang Quan immediately nodded and said, "It's the chairman, I understand!"

Lan Yingzhu left the script in her hand on the table in boredom, and sighed, "Forget it, let the people in the company not be too busy. After three days of searching, they couldn't find a good script. No wonder it has been developed for seven or eight years. , it’s still such a small company.”

As she said that, Lan Yingzhu picked up her mobile phone from the table, found a number, and dialed it.

"Is it Director Wang? I'm Lan Yingzhu from the Lan Group. You're welcome. How about we meet at noon and have a chat? Okay, then we'll see you at noon!"

Lan Yingzhu got up from her chair and said to Jiang Quan who was standing by and waiting, "Okay, I'm going to meet with a director to discuss the film. You should be responsible for the normal operation of the company for the time being."

Jiang Quan nodded happily, and immediately helped Lan Yingzhu put on her coat. The weather in Kyoto in April is still a bit cold, especially after it rained a few days ago, so she wore less clothes and it was chilly.

"Chairman, why did we set the genre of the movie as martial arts? That martial arts TV series made by Ning Sheng is very popular, we—"

"Not sure about martial arts, but what genre? Comedies? Horror movies? Or war movies? Do you know what kind of movies Ning Sheng is good at?"

"He only made one comedy film, and then a few martial arts TV series, except for these two types——"

"Apart from these two genres, are other genres of films that Ning Cheng is not good at?" Lan Yingzhu put on her coat, looked at Jiang Quan with her long and narrow Danfeng eyes and said, "You have fought against Ning Cheng many times, what do you think Ning Cheng has? Is one category definitely not good at?"

Jiang Quan opened his mouth and shook his head. Every time he felt that Ning Sheng was not good at it, but in the end he still lost completely. If the type that can easily defeat him is not good at it, then what type is he good at?

Lan Yingzhu shook her head and looked at Jiang Quandao, "If you don't have a brain, read more books. I don't know which type is better than Ning Cheng. I would rather choose the type of martial arts. From the martial arts TV series that Ning Cheng filmed, we can see that he Some ideas and methods of making martial arts movies, not to mention, the genre of martial arts is neither big nor small, and there are fewer ways to win by surprise, so in the end, the movie box office is compared with the box office appeal of the production team and actors. And the means of the director, and we can use money and relationships to do these things."

Jiang Quan still subconsciously nodded in agreement. Lan Yingzhu was too lazy to look at him, and went directly to meet Director Wang. She wanted to use the best director, the best production team, and the most appealing A movie star comes to make a top-grossing movie!

The next day, Ning Sheng and Zhang Manyu met in a coffee shop, and Ning Sheng put out five works for Zhang Manyu to choose.

"It's Not That Simple", "Walking to the End of the World", "Love Song of the West Sea", "Smug Smile", "Who Does a Lover Give His Soul to", these five songs share both elegance and vulgarity, some are rough, some are crooning, and Relaxed and freehand, there are not many types, but the quality is very good, and there are two very good works.

Zhang Manyu chose back and forth, and finally said to Ning Sheng embarrassedly, "Music genius, can I ask for three song styles?"

Ning Sheng said indifferently, "It doesn't matter if you want it all, as long as you pay the bill, it's 100 million yuan per song, and the copyright will belong to you."

Zhang Manyu immediately said, "No problem, I want all five songs, and the 500 million will be out of the salary you gave me."

Ning Cheng nodded with a smile, and then pushed the contract that he had prepared a long time ago, "Okay, then let Sister Zhang sign the contract."

Zhang Manyu's agent looked at it first, then nodded and signed for Zhang Manyu. In this way, the three main characters of "Dragon Inn" finally took the first place.

In the film and television industry around the world, the prices of female stars have always been lower than those of male stars of the same level. For female stars who have not proven themselves in commercial films, even if you are a queen, the price is limited.

Therefore, Zhang Manyu and Lin Qingxia's salary is around 5000 million. Originally, Ning Chen provided a transformational role that is beneficial to their development. The price can be lowered if there is more talk, but Ning Cheng did not do this. One is that he doesn't care about the millions or 1000 million, and the other is because he is confident that he can make it all back at the movie box office.

Speaking of it, the salaries of stars are still relatively cheap compared to Hollywood stars in the same period, but as the Chinese film market continues to grow and the box office continues to soar, it is certain that the salaries of movie stars will increase!
After Ning Cheng signed Zhang Manyu, he had just returned when he saw the news about the film invested by Lan Yingzhu.

"Miss Lan Yingzhu of the Lan Group invested in the new martial arts film "Tianlong Babu: Tianshan Child Elder". This movie is adapted from a novel published by Ning Sheng Studio. It will be directed by Wang Jing, a domestic commercial film director. The production cost is as high as [-] million. Among them, the actor has been confirmed to be played by "brother" Zhang Guorong—"

Ning Cheng watched the reports on TV, and asked Lin Ling a little puzzled, "When did the film copyright of "Dragon Ba Bu" be sold?"

Lin Ling said, "It was sold at the beginning of last year. Didn't you say that the TV series copyrights of "Tian Long Ba Bu" and "Legend of the Condor Heroes" are kept, and the movie rights can be sold at will?"

Ning Cheng rubbed his nose and said with a smile, "Of course it can be sold. I just think the advantages are funny. By the way, have the movie copyrights of our novels been sold?"

Lin Ling said, "The film copyrights of The Condor Shooting Trilogy have been sold, and the film copyrights of "Dragon and Babu" have also been sold. There are still many companies that want to buy TV series copyrights, but you have asked them to, so they all refused. There are also some The game company bought the game copyright, and these film and game copyrights have generated nearly [-] million yuan in revenue for our studio, which is almost the same as the royalties of novels."

Ning Sheng nodded and said, "Okay, apart from "The Eight Parts of Heaven" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" that we haven't filmed yet, if anyone wants to buy TV adaptation rights for "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" and "The Legend of Condor Heroes", Sell ​​it to them, just to see if they can make better works."

Lin Ling nodded and asked with some puzzlement, "Xiao Sheng, these novels are becoming more and more influential in Asia. Why don't we retain the right to adapt the film? Now that the film market is so hot, a novel can Wouldn't it be better to turn it into several movies and make it into a series?"

Ning Cheng shook his head and said, "These novels are very good for TV series, but it is difficult to adapt them into movies. This is not Gu Long's novel. The stories and characters in our novels are very closely related, and there are too many important characters in it. It is even more difficult to adapt it into a movie than to make an original movie!"

(End of this chapter)