388 The No. 1 Gold King in the Chinese Entertainment Circle
The next day, Cao Xuan was received by the President of South Korea at the Blue House.
This man just took office this year and is very well-known in the country, mainly because he has a good brother Wen Mengnan who avenges his friends. The friendship between the two is also a rare good story among South Korean leaders.
Cao Xuan was able to be interviewed by him, on the one hand, Cao Xuan himself has great influence, and this cooperation with Samsung can also be considered as an indirect help to Korean companies.
More importantly, this person is a pro-China faction, and meeting Cao Xuan is also a signal release.
Before Cao Xuan accepted the formal invitation, he also sent a note to the country.
He doesn't care whether it is an honor for artists to meet foreign heads of state, but on relevant issues, they must be consistent with their superiors, and they must be clear about the situation.
This is no joke. Today Cao Xuan met with a foreign head of state, and if they went to some sensitive place the next day or said some sensitive words, he would have to follow suit.
Therefore, Cao Xuan did not want to have too much contact with these foreign heads of state unless necessary.
But Cao Xuan's influence is here, and sometimes similar situations cannot be avoided, so we can only handle them with caution.
Relevant itineraries and activities must be reported. If someone gets a few sentences from the Internet, it will be fine. If someone misunderstands you from above, you will not be able to explain clearly.
This is not cowardice, Cao Xuan prefers to call it correct thinking and devoted to the red!
It was not until he received an accurate answer from the country that Cao Xuan was invited to the Blue House.
Cao Xuan also met a lot of foreign heads of state or leaders. It was nothing more than business exchanges, and then they took photos together and greeted each other in private.
Pay attention to the meal, meet the other person's family, praise your partner for being virtuous and beautiful, and praise the child for being smart and cute, and then the other person will issue a relevant certificate, award or souvenir to Cao Xuan, and the process is almost the same.
Sometimes the local media will interview Cao Xuan afterwards about his thoughts on being interviewed.
Anyway, Cao Xuan just said it with praise, and not indiscriminately, so as not to be offended. The main thing was to praise the other party for being kind and easy-going, and feeling like a spring breeze.
Regarding these, Cao Xuan has specially hired people for training, and even has a team responsible for collecting relevant information. Whether it is in terms of manners, politeness, speech, or emotional expression, you will not be able to find any faults.
To put it bluntly, no matter how hard he is thrown into the diplomatic front, he can still be fooled for a few days...
A sky-high endorsement price of 55 million!
The President personally received him!
Cao Xuan's two big news scandals shocked South Korea. His domineering rhetorical questions to reporters at the Samsung signing conference also caused a lot of trouble.
There was even a scolding war on the Korean Internet. Some people supported Cao Xuan and felt that the reporter was provocative and should fight back. Some people thought that he was too arrogant and should apologize to the reporter. Both sides held their own opinions and got into a quarrel.
Cao Xuan didn't care much about this. He was already quite controversial in South Korea. In the past two years, as he became internationally famous, his reputation has improved, but there are still many people who don't want to see him.
This can be proven by the fact that he is so famous and has not been certified by the Korean media as having Korean ancestry.
If Cao Xuan had a better reputation in Korea, the genealogy of Lao Cao's family would have been tampered with long ago.
Well, from this point of view, it is good for Cao Xuan to have a poor reputation in Korea. At least his bloodline is preserved...
After leaving the Blue House, Cao Xuan didn't stay long. He packed up and took a flight back to China.
On the one hand, the country was going crazy and anxious to let him go back. On the other hand, he always felt that something was wrong with the Samsung Princess. He was afraid of being tricked, so he quickly picked up his pants and ran away.
On the way back, he had been wondering what the three-star princess meant.
In terms of feelings, the two of them are actually not very deep.
Cao Xuan was motivated by sex and stimulation at first, and he believed that the eldest princess was probably the same.
However, considering that he has good physical strength and fighting ability, which makes the eldest princess know his taste. In addition, his career has been rising in the past two years. He is indeed very dazzling and very attractive to women. It is inevitable that the eldest princess is really attracted to him.
This is what Cao Xuan is most afraid of. He really has no intention of being with this person. He has not even thought about being a lover. At most, he is a regular "friend".
Cao Xuan originally thought that the eldest princess thought so too, but this time the eldest princess clearly revealed a change in her attitude whether she was talking about separation or children.
This had to make Cao Xuan wary.
After all, at all times and in all countries, countless men have been tricked because of their children. If one person is not good, they will lose everything.
Cao Xuan even regretted a little. After checking last night, he should have squeezed some more chili sauce or mustard oil into it to avoid future troubles.
At the same time, this incident also reminded Cao Xuan that he had just celebrated his 28th birthday and was about to turn 30.
Zeng Li is one year younger than him and celebrated his 27th birthday in September this year. Hu Jing is three years younger than him, having the same birthday and has just turned 25.
Not to mention Hu Jing, since Zeng Li was his age, it was actually time to put having a baby on the agenda.
Having a child like this in the second house of the East and West will make the status more stable and have a positive effect on each other's feelings. The women outside don't have to rely on children to get in the position. The parents of both parties have also explained it.
To put it more realistically, Cao Xuan can use children to bind the East and West Palaces, and similarly, the East and West Palaces can also use children to bind Cao Xuan.
After all, following Cao Xuan like this without any name or status, and becoming the mother of Cao Xuan's child are two completely different concepts.
From the perspective of the parents of the East and West Houses, if the three of them cannot be separated, if they have a child, they can protect their daughter's interests to the greatest extent. In a sense, it is indeed an explanation.
Cao Xuan calculated the time and found that after a year or two, Teacher Zeng could take a leave of absence for a few years after completing Level 02. His age was just right, and he would be a bit too old if he was later.
By then, Hu Jing's career will be relatively more stable. If she wants to have a baby, she can have a baby together. If she doesn't want to, she can postpone it for two years.
Cao Xuan planned to go back to the East and West Palaces to discuss the matter. If they did not object, he would start preparations.
To ensure comprehensive high-quality care from pregnancy preparation to postpartum, other confidentiality work, media public opinion, privacy protection, and even children's household registration, there is no harm in making more preparations in advance.
As the new world pop king, once it is revealed that Cao Xuan gave birth to a child out of wedlock, it will be big news that will shock the world.
Even Cao Xuan didn't dare to say that he could block all the holes, so he had to be more cautious. Even if he didn't hide it, he should try his best to minimize the impact.
On the way back home, Cao Xuan kept thinking about this matter and didn't stop thinking about it until he got off the plane and took a car to the set of "Xiu Chun Dao".
Logically speaking, one should go home first when returning to China, but some traces on Cao Xuan's body have not been completely eliminated. For safety reasons, it is best to go to the "Xiu Chun Knife" crew first to make a time difference.
It doesn't matter if it doesn't go away after that. There is a time difference to cover up. Cao Xuan told the Empress of the East Palace that it was the West Palace who scratched her, and then told the Empress of the West Palace that the East Palace scratched her.
Anyway, it's not like this has never happened before. No matter how strong the two palaces are, they won't go to the extent of asking each other about such things.
This is Mr. Cao's unique skill, the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth.
Ho... bah!
…
The crew of "Xiu Chun Knife" mainly filmed at the Huairou Film and Television Base in the suburbs of Beijing, with some outdoor scenes on the grassland.
Fanxing Film and Television City is still under construction, and there are no Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings in the preliminary projects. If "Xiu Chun Dao 2" is filmed in the future, and Fanxing Film and Television City progresses smoothly, it will be possible to film on its own site.
"Director Xu, I'm really sorry. I broke my promise. Please forgive me."
As soon as Cao Xuan arrived on the set, he first apologized to director Xu Laoguai and the other main creators, because the crew wasted a lot of time, and he probably felt unhappy.
"It's okay. Cao Sheng went to the United States this time to bring glory to the country. Everyone understands."
Mr. Xu, who has slightly gray hair and thin cheeks, is easy to talk to and can easily talk about Cao Xuan in just one sentence.
There is no other way, if other leading actors are replaced, even if they are the old friends from Xiangjiang, Old Monster Xu will definitely be angry, but who makes Cao Xuan the boss of the crew?
Moreover, he is a powerful and powerful financial backer in Mainland China.
Apart from other things, Samsung’s endorsement fee of US$55 million caused a sensation not only in South Korea, but also in the country.
In the domestic entertainment industry, the only person who can compete with Cao Xuan in making money is Cheng Long.
Starting from "Rush Hour 2", "Tuxedo", "Captain Noon 2", "Around the World in 80 Days" and "Rush Hour 3", the film remuneration + dividends/rights have all exceeded US$20 million.
Among them, "Around the World in Eighty Days" made Cheng Long join the US$20 million salary club, making him one of the first-tier Hollywood stars.
As for "Rush Hour 3", Cheng Long revealed that together with the box office + dividends and copyright operations in some regions, the total revenue exceeded 40 million US dollars, and there will be a steady stream of small income in the future.
Cao Xuan's own album dividends are even worse than those of Cheng Long.
As mentioned before, since Cao Xuan serves as singer + creator + producer, he himself can get 30~35% of the share, and occasionally more.
In addition, he has the copyright of the song, so he can also get a large part of the income from the copyright.
The new album "Relea Color" has sold nearly 10 million dollars worldwide. Cao Xuan's income from dividends and copyright operations alone is expected to reach more than 30 million US dollars, and the subsequent sales volume will be even higher.
When it comes to making money professionally, Cao Xuan is now by no means inferior to Cheng Long, not to mention that he is more popular than Cheng Long in terms of commercial endorsements.
Young + handsome + talented + super popular + countless fans + huge exposure, Cao Xuan is favored by major international brands.
In comparison, there are relatively few international endorsements suitable for Brother Cheng Long.
Therefore, whether he admits it or not, Cao Xuan has now surpassed Cheng Long and has become the veritable number one moneymaker in the Chinese entertainment industry.
Old Monster Xu doesn't know how much Cao Xuan is worth, but his apparent income of tens of millions of dollars is enough for him to support this big water pipe.
As mentioned before, with the downturn in Hong Kong films in the past two years, Hong Kong film and television practitioners have been moving northward one after another. This year, the authorities even officially introduced new policies related to co-productions.
As long as they are not stupid, anyone can see the future trend of Chinese-language films in the Mainland.
In this case, Old Monster Xu did not say anything about currying favor with Cao Xuan, a big financial backer and mainland boss, but at least he did not want to offend him. Cao Xuan took the initiative to give him a step, and he quickly accepted it.
Otherwise, if there is a real conflict, even though it has been more than a month since the production started, it will definitely not be Cao Xuan, the boss, who gets out.
After appeasing Old Monster Xu, Cao Xuan also met several of the main creators of "Xiu Chun Dao".
Hu Jun and Wu Jing were dressed in exquisite black flying fish suits, with wide skirts, but not clumsy, but rather dignified. They wore winged crowns on their heads and swords on their waists. One had a strong back and a strong waist, and the other was capable and nimble. They really looked a bit like Beizhen.
The smell of Fusi Royal Eagle Dog.
The original time and space "Xiu Chun Dao" is highly praised, largely because of its exquisite service.
Cao Xuan naturally wanted to retain this advantage when reshooting. He specially invited several industry giants to take charge of the film, and also found relevant experts to serve as consultants, striving to coexist with historical details and beauty.
I had seen it before going to the United States. Cao Xuan had actually seen the finished costumes and had even worn them himself, but this was the first time for Hu Jun and Wu Jing to look like them.
Not only was he handsome, but he could also feel the sense of masculine power. Cao Xuan looked at it a few times and felt very satisfied.
On the contrary, Duan Long on the side had nothing to say. He was dressed like an ancient rogue knight, with a bit of evil and unruly vibe.
Zhao Wenzhuo is the most interesting. He is obviously a eunuch villain, but he looks so righteous, and those who don't know think he is a decent male protagonist.
But when he looked at people sideways and frowned slightly, the sinister feeling of a villain came out instantly, creating a strange contrast.
As for the other people, there was no show today, and Cao Xuan didn't see any appearances.
It has been more than a month and a half since filming started, and they have basically filmed most of their solo scenes with each other, and more of their scenes with Cao Xuan.
Looking at the dense schedule on the script, Cao Xuan had a headache. There were still just over two months until filming was scheduled to wrap up before the Spring Festival, and some rehearsal time for the Spring Festival Gala had to be allocated.
In other words, the shooting time left for Cao Xuan was only about 50 days. There were a lot of literary dramas and fighting scenes, and the pressure was quite high if he still wanted to shoot well.
However, no matter how stressful it is, it doesn't take more than a day or two. Having just returned to China, Cao Xuan was not in a hurry to start shooting right away. He went to try on costumes and memorize the script.
In the evening, I called a few of the main creators and found a restaurant nearby to have a party together. It was a way of making amends and relieving everyone's depression, and it was also a chance to catch up with old friends Wu Jing and Duan Long.
………
The others were more or less concerned about their image. Wu Jing was the most casual. He just put on a military coat and came out. He was also the most playful with Cao Xuan among them.
Others were somewhat reserved in front of Cao Xuan, even Duan Long, but he was the only one who came up and asked questions in a carefree manner.
"What do you want to eat?"
"It's cold, is there any hot pot or something like that?"
"I remember there was a Sheep and Scorpion Bar at the corner of the street. I ate it before when I was filming "The Unruly Princess" and it tasted pretty good."
Gao Yuanyuan, who had just joined the group not long ago, dragged Liu Yan over to have a meal and proactively recommended restaurants.
Cao Xuan asked around and found that no one had taboos, so the group went straight over. As soon as they entered the door, Wu Jing called out.
"Boss, here are 10 pounds of sheep and scorpions. What other specialties are there? Please get more."
"Okay...fuck you, Cao Xuan."
Being next to the Huairou Film and Television Base, the boss also saw celebrities. Ordinary artists would not make a fuss, but when he saw Cao Xuan, who had just become famous overseas, he couldn't help but exclaim.
Cao Xuan was also used to it: "Boss, help me find a private room to make it quieter."
"No problem, no problem."
The boss agreed repeatedly and invited everyone into the private room. He was busy serving the dishes himself and waited for the dishes to be served before he asked a slightly embarrassed question.
"Um...can I take a photo with you? I'm your fan."
"No problem, do you have a camera?"
"Yes, yes, yes."
It is opened next to a film and television base. If the store is not fully stocked, a star will come one day, so the store always has cameras.
Today proved the boss's foresight. He Le Diandian brought the camera, and the proprietress and the cook from the back kitchen also came to join in the fun. Cao Xuan was satisfied with them all.
The boss is also very discerning. After taking a group photo, he took the initiative to say: "I'm really sorry to bother you. Let's eat slowly. If you need anything, say hello and I'll come over right away."
After seeing the boss off, Cao Xuan returned to his seat. As soon as he picked up a piece of lamb spine with his chopsticks, he saw everyone staring at him eagerly and couldn't help but touch their faces.
"What's wrong? There's something on my face?"
"It's not that I have something, it's that I'm envious."
Gao Yuanyuan explained in a slightly sour tone: "Although I'm not a big star, I can still be considered a beauty. Wherever I went before, some people called me Zhou Zhiruo.
Liu Yan is a beautiful host, and Brother Zhuo, Brother Jing, and Brother Long are also well-known celebrities.
Not to mention Brother Jun, "Tian Long Ba Bu" is called a fire. When we went out to eat before, we were all surrounded by Qiao Feng, Qiao Feng shouted around, but when you came today, people thought we were transparent people."
"You can't blame me for this. Who makes me so charming?"
Cao Xuan's bad words caused everyone to boo, but it also diluted a lot of the sense of distance and made the atmosphere more lively.
But deep down, everyone still admired Cao Xuan's popularity to some extent.
As Gao Yuanyuan said just now, the few people present are not unknown people.
Duan Long is the least famous overall, but he also played the lead role of Zhu Di in the hit TV series "Love Through Time".
Liu Yan is the host of two popular variety shows. Because of her sexy line, she is particularly popular online and her reputation is no less than that of ordinary second-tier stars.
In the past two years, Wu Jing has gradually moved to Hong Kong to develop his career, but he has not completely stopped filming TV series. He still has a few small out-of-the-circle works.
Gao Yuanyuan's "Heaven and Dragon Sword" this year has made her one of the popular stars. In "Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" which was aired not long ago, although she did not have many roles as the heroine, she also gained a lot of attention.
Zhao Wenzhuo's "Wind and Cloud" series made him popular all over the country. At the beginning of this winter, the newly aired "Supreme Beauty" made Jia Jingwen as popular as the four little actresses. As the male protagonist, he is also very popular.
As for Hu Jun, let alone Hu Jun. After the broadcast of "Dragon Movie", the ratings soared and the word-of-mouth ratings became very popular.
Its influence is no less than that of "The Legend of Heaven and the Dragon Slayer" in the first half of the list and "My Fair Princess 3" which dominated the summer season. It can almost be said to be tied for the most popular TV series in 2003.
As the male lead of "Dragon", Hu Jun's current popularity can be imagined. Before Cao Xuan came back, he was responsible for half of the exposure of the "Xiu Chun Dao" crew.
To be honest, several people were still thinking before that if Cao Xuan came back, Hu Jun would outshine him and affect the unity of the crew.
The result was disastrous. We were eating outside, Cao Xuan was standing here, and no one even looked at Hu Jun.
At this time, everyone suddenly understood that Cao Xuan is not only famous now, but more importantly, he is an international superstar, which makes his light so dazzling that others can even ignore the people next to him.
Cao Xuan didn't know what everyone was thinking. In the cold winter weather, eating a few mouthfuls of sheep and scorpion would be warm and delicious.
After staying abroad for more than a month, although the food was good, it was not as authentic as the food at home.
He didn't care about the crowd. He gnawed a few bones first to satisfy his craving, and then he breathed out comfortably: "It's better at home, it's tasty enough, but the mutton is not so good. It would be even better if it comes from Mongolia or Ning Province."
"You're quite good at eating."
Wu Jing complained, but Cao Xuan was not angry: "I work so hard to make some money, just for food and drink. If I don't think about something good, why would I make so much money?"
"That makes sense."
Hu Jun gave him a thumbs up: "The restaurants here in Huairou are really bad. I just make do with them when filming. If you want to eat well, you have to go to a big restaurant in the city."
"It's not necessarily true, there are real delicacies in the food stalls."
Cao Xuan is a picky person, but he is not picky about food. As long as it is delicious, he loves five-star hotels, three-star Michelin restaurants, top private Chinese restaurants, and street food stalls.
Even sometimes, he prefers the latter, which is more smoky than those high-end restaurants.
At the same time, he still felt a bit like gold mining. He found a treasure restaurant, which made him feel more surprised. Unfortunately, it was difficult for him to go to the food stall in person now, which made it a little less fun.
"That's true. Many of the famous tea restaurants and food stalls in Xiangjiang are more popular than many big restaurants. In the capital, the reputation of Baodu Feng and Small Intestine Chen is no worse than that of Fengze Garden."
Hu Jun quite agreed. He was from the capital city, and he went to Xiangjiang frequently when he was in close contact with many people in Hong Kong. He knew the capital city and Xiangjiang quite well.
At the party today, Cao Xuan was undoubtedly the C protagonist. No matter what topic he talked about, everyone agreed and chatted with him, and several of them recommended their favorite restaurants.
However, as a film crew colleague, the topic eventually returned to the movie.
"Boss, how much box office do you think our movie can have?"
Gao Yuanyuan was more active at the party because she was a woman, and her courage today was second only to Wu Jing's.
"It's hard to say. I would like to work on "Heroes", but it depends on the schedule and other aspects."
"Don't you have a rough idea?"
"The company's expectation is that the box office will exceed 100 million."
Cao Xuan did not hide it from everyone. With an investment of 20 to 30 million, Cao Xuan personally starred in the film and recruited a large number of popular and capable actors. Even if he had no ambition, others would not believe it.
"Over 100 million!?"
Everyone's eyes were wandering. At this moment, the number of movies with a box office of over 100 million in the Mainland can be counted on one hand.
If we only count domestic films, only "Life and Death" and "Hero" have a box office of over 100 million in mainland China. Among them, "Life and Death" has a large number of institutions and units to organize viewings, so its box office value has to be discounted.
Of course, there were many movies before this, and the box office may reach 100 million, such as "Shaolin Temple" and "Romance on Lushan Mountain".
However, due to the age and incomplete data, the data cannot be statistically accurate, so they are basically not included in the list. The authoritative mainland box office statistics now record movies that are basically after 1995.
So to be more precise, from 1995 to 2003, there was actually only one Chinese-language movie with a box office revenue of over 100 million in the Mainland, "Hero".
Although several people present here are very confident in the crew of "Xiu Chun Knife", they were still surprised and hesitant when they heard that Cao Xuan's goal is to have a box office of over 100 million in the Mainland.
Cao Xuan probably knew what a few people were thinking, but he himself was still very confident.
2004 was a year of minor explosion for domestic films. In a single year, three domestic films grossed over 100 million yuan. Counting imported films, there were five films with a box office of over 80 million yuan. The overall market was several times stronger than in 2003.
"When a Man Falls in Love", a small-budget romance film, was able to gross 50 million at the box office, which gave Cao Xuan a certain degree of confidence in his box office appeal.
"Xiuchundao" is more attractive than "Better than a Man in Love" in terms of story, service and subject matter. In addition, his influence has also increased now, so he may not be able to reach the billion level.
