After staying at Lu Chen and Filia Chen's home for five days, Tian Tian left the capital and returned to Hangzhou.
When she came to Beijing, she came out with the idea of avoiding trouble to relax, but when she returned, she cherished the dream of starting a business and was enthusiastically determined to do something in her career.
With Lu Chen's suggestion and Filia Chen's support, Tian Tian decided to open a media company in Hangzhou, mainly engaged in the production of variety shows and entertainment programs. The first project of the new company was "The Voice of China".
Lu Chen and Filia Chen each invested part of their capital and became shareholders of this media company.
On May 7, the day before the opening ceremony of "Full House", Lu Chen, at the invitation of Chen Jianhao, went to visit the great director Zhang Wentian who was recuperating in Beijing.
Zhang Wentian is one of the representatives of the third generation of directors in China. He directed two major dramas, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin" in the 1990s, both of which set TV drama ratings records at the time.
This great director has also shot many period blockbusters and is good at historical and military-themed films. He has won many awards and is a highly respected senior figure in the industry, enjoying a high reputation.
Last year, Zhang Wentian was preparing to shoot a historical blockbuster. At that time, Lu Chen met the great director through Chen Jianhao's introduction. He won the director's recognition with his song "A Man Should Be Strong" and also had a small supporting role.
However, times have changed, and now Lu Chen is no longer the young artist he was when he first debuted, while Zhang Wentian has yet to make any progress in his debut film, until recently it was revealed that he had conflicts with management, resulting in the abort of the new film.
Zhang Wentian also fell ill and stayed in the hospital for several days. This incident caused a stir in the circle.
After being discharged from the hospital, the great director refused all media interviews and rested in his old home.
Chen Jianhao called Lu Chen and invited him to visit the old man.
Of course Lu Chen did not refuse.
Zhang Wentian's old house is located in the old city. It is an independent courtyard house. Such a residence has become out-of-print in the capital. The price is at least over 100 million, and it is still very affordable.
When Chen Jianhao and Lu Chen came over, it was Qin Qing who opened the door for them.
Lu Chen hadn't seen the school beauty of Jingyin for a while. Last year, he often went to Jingyin to take classes. From time to time, he could see Qin Qing and chat for a few words. But since he started filming the TV series, Jingyin's
Basically, I don’t do much with my life, and now I can’t find time to recharge.
So Lu Chen felt a little embarrassed when he saw Qin Qing, because his studies were abandoned halfway.
Qin Qingluo greeted the two of them generously, and then led them in to see the old man.
The renovated courtyard exudes a simple and elegant atmosphere. There are several green bamboos planted in the corners, and rattan chairs are placed on the grape trellises in the patio. Zhang Wentian is lying on the rattan chair and sipping tea, and there is a guqin next to him.
A fat middle-aged man was making tea. The old man looked pretty good, with a rosy face and a comfortable expression. He seemed to be carefree and contented with the world.
Seeing Lu Chen and Chen Jianhao, Zhang Wentian did not get up. He nodded and said, "Sit down."
Of course, the two of them came to visit by appointment. Now the old man is basically retiring. Not to mention refusing interviews with the media, even foreign visitors are rare. Chen Jianhao is considered to have a lot of face.
Only now did Lu Chen find out that Chen Jianhao was somewhat related to Zhang Wentian, and he had worked on the latter's crew before, so he was able to sit on the bench in front of this great director.
"Director Zhang, how is your health lately?"
Lu Chen greeted him while placing the gifts he brought on the tea table.
Although Zhang Wentian's role in the new film was rejected, Lu Chen couldn't come to visit empty-handed. What he brought was an authentic Korean wild ginseng worth more than 100,000.
Zhang Wentian knows the goods. After taking a glance, he said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "Xiao Lu, you are slapping me in the face. What I promised you was not done, and you still sent me such a valuable thing."
Lu Chen couldn't laugh or cry: "Director Zhang, please don't joke with this junior. This junior can't bear it. I'm just here to see you today. I really have no other intention."
Zhang Wentian laughed and said: "You probably don't like that small role now. The TV series he starred in are all popular in South Korea. He has earned a lot of face for domestic dramas. Take a seat!"
He accepted this gift to save face.
Everyone in the industry knows that Zhang Wentian rarely accepts gifts from others, especially celebrities.
If the new movie had not been aborted, he would definitely not have wanted Lu Chen's things, but now it doesn't matter.
Because it’s just a matter of finding an opportunity to repay Lu Chen a favor. With Zhang Wentian’s status in the circle, it’s really easy to do something for Lu Chen, and there’s no problem of not being able to repay the favor.
This is the moral integrity of the older generation of filmmakers.
Lu Chen sat down and said modestly: "Director Zhang, I'm just lucky."
He didn't expect that Zhang Wentian was quite concerned about him.
"Luck is also a part of strength"
Zhang Wentian sighed and said: "I don't have such good luck. Today's film market is terrible!"
This time Zhang Wentian had a conflict with his investors over the issue of his new film. The main reason was the "market". The investors required that his work must cater to the market. Not only did they modify the script and plot without authorization, they also interfered with the replacement of the main actors, which is tantamount to
It deprives the former of a large part of his power as a director.
Zhang Wentian is not the kind of person who clings to the past. He also recognizes the importance of the market. It is reasonable for investors to invest huge amounts and demand returns, but this behavior of treating him as a puppet is unacceptable to him.
If the two sides cannot reach a compromise, they will have to break up.
Zhang Wentian was hit hard. He had high hopes for this movie and had done a lot of work. However, due to issues with his concept, all his hard work was wasted. Naturally, he felt particularly uncomfortable.
Nowadays, the domestic film market is getting bigger and bigger, and the box office size is about the same as that of the United States. The huge profits have caused the mentality of practitioners to become increasingly impetuous. Everyone wants to make big money and quick money, ignoring the essence of movies.
What happened to Zhang Wentian was accidental and inevitable. According to some people, he "could not keep up with the times."
After recuperating at home for a few days, Zhang Wentian finally thought about it and his thoughts on movies became less intense.
He is very old now and has neither money nor fame. It is almost time for him to retire. Drinking tea and chatting with his friends at home is the right way to enjoy his old age.
As soon as Lu Chen sat down, the fat man next to him poured him a cup of hot tea.
Lu Chen quickly said: "Thank you."
The other person looked familiar to him. He seemed to have seen him somewhere before. He was definitely not an unknown person.
Zhang Wentian noticed Lu Chen's eyes and said with a smile: "This is my student Wan Xiaoquan. You should have heard of him. He was just released from prison recently."
Wan Xiaoquan!
Lu Chen suddenly realized, no wonder he looked familiar, it turned out to be this person!
Wan Xiaoquan is also a director, considered a fifth-generation director in China. He graduated from the Directing Department of Beijing Film and Television Academy. He has filmed many film and television dramas such as "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", "The Legend of White Snake", "Xue Rengui" and so on.
The industry enjoys a certain reputation.
But what he is most famous for is his bad temper.
Scolding actors, producers, screenwriters, and investors. Wan Xiaoquan is always a hot topic when making a movie. He often confronts the media, and his relationship with the media is very bad.
The evaluation of him in the circle is: he is talented and has good temper!
At the end of 2014, Wan Xiaoquan had a fierce conflict with someone on the set. He slapped the other person so hard that he suffered a concussion and deafness in his left ear. As a result, not only did he pay for it, but he was also sentenced to prison for intentional injury and was sentenced to one and a half years.
This is undoubtedly a big blow to Wan Xiaoquan. His wife divorced him, the Directors Association expelled him, and his future was completely ruined!
Last time Wang Bin was caught taking drugs, someone on the blog joked that the "Prison Storm" blockbuster has added a general to the lineup. One of them mentioned that director Wan Xiaoquan was still squatting in jail!
However, compared to those celebrities who were caught taking drugs, whoring, or drunk driving, people in the industry have a much better evaluation of Wan Xiaoquan, because his bad temper is directed at the situation rather than the person. The one who was slapped by him
The guy who was slapped really deserved to be slapped, but he didn't expect it would have such serious consequences.
Lu Chen has watched "The Legend of White Snake" filmed by Wan Xiaoquan. This director has great ability and ideas in making this kind of monster film. He has very good use of lenses and colors. He is a really talented person.
Lu Chen had also seen the news about him being imprisoned, but he never expected that the protagonist in the story was sitting next to him.
He immediately reached out to Wan Xiaoquan and said: "Hello, Director Wan, nice to meet you!"
Wan Xiaoquan shook hands with Lu Chen and said with a wry smile: "Don't call me Director Wan. I'm just a released prisoner now, and I probably won't be able to make movies in the future!"
There was a hint of bitterness in his expression, but his eyes were calm.
Obviously, this ups and downs experience taught him a lot of life lessons and taught him a lot.
Lu Chen shook his head and said: "Director Wan, with your talent, you don't have to worry about not having any films to shoot."
He took out his business card from the bag he carried with him and handed it over with both hands: "My name is Lu Chen. I have opened my own studio. I am currently filming a TV series. I hope I can have the opportunity to cooperate with you."
Wan Xiaoquan took the business card and said a little embarrassedly: "I don't have a business card, so I'll leave you a phone number."
Lu Chen smiled and said, "Of course!"
He is currently filming a TV series, but his further goal is to make movies. The status of movies cannot be compared to that of TV series. The market size is even greater and the influence is higher.
So instead of just talking politely to Wan Xiaoquan, Lu Chen might actually have a chance to cooperate with the latter in the future.
He wrote down Wan Xiaoquan’s contact information.
Zhang Wentian watched from the side, with a smile on his old face.
Lu Chen, this young man, is really good. There are few new-generation stars in the industry who are as outstanding as him.
Neither arrogant nor impetuous, neither humble nor arrogant, sophisticated and talented, combining all kinds of advantages.
Looking at Lu Chen, Director Zhang Da felt that he was really old. ——
I had something to do at home today, so I came back very late, so I only have one update, please forgive me. (To be continued.)