On the second day of the Nagoya concert, it was reported that Shizuka Kudo appeared at the concert and went on stage to lay flowers and hugs.
The next day, Zhang Youan received a call from Kudo Shizuka’s agency, Ogi Productions.
Ogi's purpose for making this call is very simple, that is, he hopes to get the right to cover the three songs "Forever Together", "If Love Has God's Will" and "My Hair Is Wet".
Kudo Shizuka only mentioned the song "Forever Together" in front of reporters, but Ogi Productions thought that since they were going to cover it, they might as well get these three songs together, just in time to produce a song. A thin plate.
Three pieces of music together make it easier to talk to Tomson.
Zhang Youan was quite interested when he received a call from Omu Productions.
Before this, other companies also contacted them, hoping to cover the songs written by Zhou Yan.
At first, these companies contacted Huaxing and other companies, but after asking, they found that the copyrights were still with Tomson.
However, these songs have never been covered by others because the singers who contacted me before were not very famous, and some were even newcomers who had just debuted.
Although the initial fee for newcomers to cover songs is higher, it will have an impact on the spread of the songs and subsequent income, so Tomson has never agreed.
Shizuka Kudo was also the first to ask for a cover by an A-list singer, so Zhang Youan was certainly interested.
Then Zhang Youan enthusiastically called Zhou Yan to tell him about it.
......
At this time, Zhou Yan and Wang Zuxian were in the hotel room, cuddling together and looking at the snowy scene outside the window.
It snowed heavily in Nagoya this time. Overnight, the whole city turned into a blanket of white, and even caused traffic paralysis.
Originally, they were supposed to rush to Osaka tomorrow, but looking at the current situation, they might have to postpone it by one day.
According to locals, this kind of traffic paralysis occurs once or twice a year, but it does not last too long and should not affect their subsequent plans.
Zhou Yan's mentality is quite peaceful. No matter how urgent they are, there is nothing they can do about this situation.
So Zhou Yan held a meeting with the band members in the morning and told them not to rush. In the afternoon, he and Wang Zuxian stayed in the room, brewing a pot of tea and enjoying the snowy scenery outside.
Snow is very ordinary snow, but Zhou Yan still enjoys this time. A snowfall trapped them in Nagoya, which also stopped his steps for a while, and the pace of life suddenly slowed down. , the most important thing is that Wang Zuxian is accompanying him.
The peaceful time was broken by a phone ringing. Zhou Yan stood up and picked up the phone.
Zhang Youan said on the other end of the phone, "Ogi Production called and said that they hope to get the three songs "Forever Together", "If Love Has God's Will" and "My Hair Is Wet". Cover rights."
"Ogi Production?"
"It's the office signed by Kudo Shizuka."
Hearing Kudo Shizuka's name, Zhou Yan turned around and looked. Wang Zuxian, Wang Zuxian also looked at him, with questions on his face.
"Well, you guys can talk about this without asking me."
"So, you agree to let Shizuka Kudo sing the cover?"
"I don't have a problem with whoever sings it. It's a business cooperation. As long as you have money."
Zhang Youan on the other end of the phone curled his lips. Although Zhou Yan said this, Zhang Youan didn't believe it at all.
Although Zhou Yan seems to be easy to talk to every time, this is okay, that is okay, but in fact he is very picky. Let’s talk about the endorsement for Shiseido this time. If Jiro Hattori hadn’t been insistent, I’m afraid this endorsement It’s gone.
"Then I will formally talk to them." After confirming the matter, Zhang Youan asked about the situation in Nagoya, "Is it still snowing over there now?"
Zhou Yan glanced out the window : "Well, it's still coming down, and it's quite big."
Zhang Youan sighed slightly, "There is nothing we can do if God is not kind to us. Don't be anxious. If it doesn't work, just cancel this one in Osaka. , or postpone it.”
The "Oriental Legacy" theme concert is co-sponsored by Tomson Company and Daifeng Entertainment, and Tomson Company still dominates it, so the concert must be canceled or postponed. , it is not complicated and does not involve any compensation. It is nothing more than a loss of venue fees.
In fact, even if it is not led by Tomson Corporation, it is normal to cancel the concert in the event of such force majeure. Both the organizer and the audience who bought the tickets can understand.
"It should be no problem, but the rehearsal time may be less."
The concert in Osaka is the evening of the day after tomorrow. In theory, as long as they can get to Osaka in the afternoon of the day after tomorrow.
It’s just that they went by in a hurry, and the rehearsal time was compressed. The members’ condition was definitely not as good as the previous two games.
"Well, I have already made an agreement with Shiseido to take pictures for them after the Osaka concert is over. If the Osaka concert is cancelled, you can come directly to Tokyo then. , I shot the commercial first.”
“No problem, I’ll write out the script in the next two days and show it to them first.”
"One more thing, "Farewell My Concubine" will be released on Neon next month. Fuji TV is preparing to make a special episode, including interviews with Chen Kaige and Leslie Cheung when they participated in the Tokyo Film Festival. Fuji TV made a request, I hope I can invite you to shoot a three-minute interview and add it to this special series. Do you want to go?"
Zhou Yan didn't hesitate at all and nodded directly, "No problem, when I go to Tokyo. , and filmed this interview."
He has a good personal relationship with Chen Kaige, and "Farewell My Concubine" is a movie by Tomson, from the same company. If you don't look at the monk's face and see the Buddha's face, Zhou Yan will definitely give it to Xu. Feng Mianzi.
Xu Feng still attaches great importance to the neon market, especially after "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly" achieved good results in neon, she hopes that "Farewell My Concubine" will also achieve good results in neon.
At the Tokyo Film Festival in September, the main creative staff such as Chen Kaige and Leslie Cheung also came to the scene just to promote it.
It is normal for Fuji TV to make such a request. After all, Zhou Yan is currently very popular in Neon and can increase the attention of the special episode.
"Okay, I'll coordinate the time with Fuji TV."
......
After hanging up the phone from Zhang Youan, Zhou Yan returned to sit down next to Wang Zuxian, Wang Zuxian looked at him with a smile, "Shizuka Kudo wants to cover your song?"
"Did you hear that?"
Wang Zuxian shook his head, "I guessed it."
Although he didn't hear what was said on the phone, Wang Zuxian guessed from Zhou Yan's words that someone wanted to cover Zhou Yan's song, and the look Zhou Yan gave her also made her I guessed that the person who wanted to cover the song might be Kudo Shizuka.
Zhou Yan also lamented that women’s sixth sense is really good.
“You don’t mind, do you?”
“Why should I mind? She wants to cover your song, it’s because she has a vision.” Wang Zuxian rested his head on Zhou Yan’s shoulder, “If there is I mind one day because of what you did, not because of other people.”
...
The snow in Nagoya stopped that night, and they had another day of rest. The day before the concert, Zhou Yan and the orchestra rushed to Osaka.
When the Osaka concert ended, Zhou Yan went to Tokyo with Joey Wang.
After arriving in Tokyo, the two separated.
Wang Zuxian returned to the hotel where he was staying, while Zhou Yan went to Fuji TV to film an interview for "Farewell My Concubine".
The entire interview is relatively simple. After all, it is a special episode of "Farewell My Concubine". The questions are all centered around the filming of the film. As one of the soundtrack directors, Zhou Yan can basically talk about the soundtrack.
The interview took a few minutes and was filmed in less than an hour.
After filming the interview show, Zhou Yan rushed to the studio arranged by Daifeng Entertainment.
When we arrived at the studio, the entire production team had been formed and was waiting for Zhou Yan's dispatch.
Wang Zuxian also arrived at the TV station one step ahead. When Zhou Yan arrived, she was putting on makeup.
Zhou Yan stared at the side for a while, and then asked Ryosuke Hanyu, the person in charge of the Shiseido Sales Department this time, "Mr. Hanyu, is the large screen I asked you to customize already done?"
Ryosuke Hanyu nodded. , "It has been installed according to your requirements."
After taking over the job, Zhou Yan asked Shiseido to customize a full-color LED screen.
This screen is two meters high and not too big. Zhou Yan asked them to install the screen next to the door of the Ginza Shiseido Hall.
Of course, this is just for shooting. Zhou Yan doesn’t care where the screen will be placed.
Hearing that the screen had been installed, Zhou Yan nodded, "I'll finish shooting the advertisements in the studio this morning, and then put them on the big screen after production. The time may be relatively close, so you have to work harder today."
" No problem, we will fully cooperate with you." Ryosuke Hanyu nodded.
After making sure that there was no problem with the screen, Zhou Yan walked to photographer Sakamoto Okawa with a copy of the storyboard.
"Mr. Sakamoto, let's talk about the subsequent shooting."
The photographer took the storyboard, took one look at it, and was stunned.
Before Zhou Yan came, Sakamoto Okawa got the advertising script, but in Zhou Yan's advertising script, it only roughly stated the time of each shot, and there was no specific information, including scenes and camera movements.
Sakamoto Okawa thought that when it came time to shoot, Zhou Yan would be free to express himself. After all, many directors like this.
Furthermore, Zhou Yan is a film director, so he may not have paid special attention to the filming of this advertisement.
But he didn’t expect that Zhou Yan would draw several pages of storyboards for a twenty-second commercial.
Originally, Sakamoto Okawa couldn't even understand what Zhou Yan wanted to shoot after only reading the commercial script, but now after getting the storyboard, everything became clear at once.
The shoot for this ad was divided into two parts.
Part of it was shot in a studio. Only Wang Zuxian was shot in the studio, and the lens was very simple. It was a fixed mid-shot shot of half-length without any camera movement.
This shot is twenty seconds long. The first ten seconds are a freeze frame, and the frame remains motionless. At the eleventh second, Wang Zuxian’s hair is blown up with a blower, and it keeps blowing for ten seconds. That’s it. Simple.
Sakamoto Ohkawa didn’t understand how to use this shot before, but now after reading the storyboard, he realized that it turned out that this twenty-second shot was to be put on the customized large screen.
The real advertisement was shot outside the Ginza Shiseido Hall.
When shooting on location, the big screen will play the scene shot by Wang Zuxian, and Zhou Yan will transform into a street performer, standing on the big screen and playing "The Street Where the Wind Lives" on the flute.
In the first ten seconds, the picture on the big screen remained motionless. At the eleventh second, when the song reached section B, a gust of wind blew from a distance, blowing Zhou Yan's hair and at the same time, the screen Wang Zuxian's hair will also be blown up at the same time.
With this shot, it’s like the real wind blowing into the billboard.
After reading the storyboard, Sakamoto Ohkawa couldn't help but sigh. He is indeed a film director, and the commercials he shoots are so unique. Sakamoto Ohkawa also participated in the last edition of the advertisement. Later, when he heard that Zhou Yan requested that Zhou Yan himself, Wang Zuxian and "The Street Where the Wind Lives" be perfectly integrated, he was also very doubtful whether this request was suitable. Reasonable.
Can a twenty-second advertisement really achieve the effect Zhou Yan wants?
But now the facts have proved that what Zhou Yan said can indeed be achieved.
After communicating with Sakamoto Okawa about the shots, Joey Wong’s makeup has also been completed.
Zhou Yan did not waste time and directly led the production team to start shooting.
The shooting in the studio was very simple. Joey Wong didn’t even need to move. Zhou Yan only had to find a good angle to take a good shot of Joey Wong.
A total of three shots of 20 seconds were taken, and it was completed in more than an hour.
After the filming is completed, it is used for post-editing.
The post-production work is also very simple. Just add Shiseido’s product information to the screen and treat the video as a poster, so that the audience will feel that it is a Shiseido advertising poster at a glance. .
When the video production was completed, Zhou Yan took the video to the big screen to play it.
After confirming that there was no problem with the video, Zhou Yan took the production team to the entrance of the Shiseido Hall the next morning for location shooting.
The rest of the shots were shot in one morning
The entire commercial was completed in only one and a half days.
……
On February 5th, Zhou Yan’s last concert in Neon ended, and they rushed back to China without stopping.
Today is the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, and New Year’s Eve is four days away. They all have to rush back to celebrate the New Year.
When Zhou Yan returned to Jinling, it was already the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.
After arriving home, Zhou Yan offered incense to his mother and then sat down on the sofa.
The journey was tiring and he was very tired.
Sitting on the sofa, he looked around the living room. Although he rarely came back to this home, home was home, and returning here made him feel at ease.
He planned to rest at home for a while and then go to his grandparents' house in the evening.
But just ten minutes after he sat down and the sofa was getting warm, the pager rang.
Took out the pager and looked at it. It was Chen Kaige looking for him.
Zhou Yan scratched his head, picked up the phone in the living room and called Chen Kaige back.
After receiving a call from Zhou Yan, Chen Kaige seemed very happy, "Zhou Yan, congratulations, this concert in Neon was a success. I have seen reports in China."
"We are all happy, "Farewell My Concubine" will be released on Neon in a few days. I wish you a great success in the movie."
"Haha, I don't ask for more, as long as the Neon box office can reach one-tenth of "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly". I also want to thank you. I heard that you even specially helped to shoot an interview."
"What you should do is that you are contacting me now just to congratulate me?"
"Of course I will go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, and I have a favor to ask you for help."< br>
As soon as Chen Kaige said that he wanted to ask for help, Zhou Yan thought of the new movie that Xu Feng had told him before. He was also confused. Didn’t Xu Feng say that he hadn’t seen the script last time? It’s only been a month. Come, is it settled?
Mainly now that the New Year is approaching, usually things will be put aside after the previous year, and the progress will not be accelerated at this time.
"What do you mean, there's a new movie?" Zhou Yan asked.
Chen Kaige smiled and said, "You are so clever. I do have a script. I have just finalized it. The actors have not been finalized yet, so I came to you first."
"What? Book?"
"I wonder if you have read Ye Zhaoyan's new novel "Flower Shadow""
"Not yet, I have been busy recently and haven't paid attention to it."
"It doesn't matter. I'll tell you about this story. This story happened in a small town in the south of the Yangtze River..."
Afterwards, Chen Kaige spent some time and told Zhou Yan about the story of "Flower Shadow".
Zhou Yan has read this novel, but he found that the story Chen Kaige told him was not consistent with the novel he had read, and it was also different from the plot of the movie "Feng Yue" .
But overall, the style is still the same.
After Chen Kaige finished speaking, he asked Zhou Yan, "How about it? Are you interested in being the soundtrack director for my new movie? I didn't even call Leslie Cheung, so I called you first."
"When will your movie be shot?" Zhou Yan asked again.
"If it's faster, we can shoot in May or June, if it's slower, we can start shooting in July or August. What do you say?"
Zhou Yan said thoughtfully, "That's probably going to be more difficult. I learned some time ago I just took on Stephen Chow's new movie, which they will start shooting in June and July. Also, I still have a lot of work to do in the first half of the year for my own movie "The Sixth Sense." I'm worried that I won't be able to get busy after taking on your job. Come on."
Chen Kaige on the other end of the phone was obviously stunned. He called Zhou Yan excitedly, but he was actually confident.
After all, he has a good relationship with Zhou Yan. The most important thing is that "Farewell My Concubine" is now famous. There are many people who want to cooperate with him, and Zhou Yan has no reason to refuse.
But the reason Zhou Yan said is also valid. Taking on several jobs at the same time may indeed be overwhelming.
After pondering for a while, Chen Kaige sighed, "I find that you are more difficult to invite than me now."
Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Master Kai, if you are not in a hurry, you can wait for me. Finish working on Zhou Xingchi’s new movie, and then go work on you. You are now an international director, and if I have the opportunity to work with you, I don’t want to give up.”
Zhou Yan’s move is to give up. Jin, Chen Kaige was speechless.
And Zhou Yan knows that Chen Kaige is a docile donkey, so he can do anything as long as he praises him a few words.
Facts have proved that his trick was very effective. When Zhou Yan said this, Chen Kaige said with a smile, "Look at what you said, I am praised to the sky. Of course, the director deserves credit for the success of a movie. But we can’t do without other people behind the scenes. Since you already have a job, let’s forget it this time. Let’s work together next time. Anyway, there will be plenty of opportunities later.”
“You are too hasty with this book. If you had told me two months earlier, I would have turned down Zhou Xingchi.”
“Making a movie is all about feeling. Once this feeling comes, you can’t stop it. , I can’t wait. If it hadn’t been for the recent Chinese New Year, I would have started the plan now and started filming in April or May.”
“You can ask my senior brother, he should be free by then. "
Chen Kaige knew that Zhou Yan was talking about Zhao Jiping, so he hummed and said, "Since you don't have time, I can only go to Teacher Zhao. I hope he can have time. Okay, I won't go with you. You said, I’ll call Teacher Zhao right now. I’m really worried now. If I’m a little late, Teacher Zhao won’t have time.”
Zhou Yan nodded, "Okay, I wish you success."
After hanging up the phone with Chen Kaige, about eight or nine minutes later, the phone in the living room rang again. Zhou Yan sighed slightly and reached out to answer it. stand up.
He also wanted to have a good rest, but it was really disturbing.
After the call was connected, Xu Feng's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Has Kaige called you?"
"Well, I just hung up a while ago." Zhou Yan replied.
"You promised him?"
"No, sister Feng, don't you know all about my work schedule? I don't have time next summer, but there is still work on "Westward Journey"."
Hearing Zhou Yan's answer, Xu Feng suddenly laughed, "It's okay if he doesn't have time, let him find someone else."
Although Xu Feng didn't say it directly, from Xu Feng's tone , Zhou Yan could tell that Xu Feng didn't believe his reason.
Xu Feng must have known that if Zhou Yan wanted to pick him up, there was no way he would be too busy.
Zhou Yan's work efficiency is very high, and the soundtrack for the movie does not need to be completed in a short time. Zhou Yan can handle several movies at the same time.
Let alone Zhou Yan, it would be no problem for anyone else to complete the soundtracks for two movies at the same time.
If Zhou Yan doesn’t accept the offer, he must be dissatisfied with Chen Kaige’s new movie. It's just that Chen Kaige was blindly confident and never thought of this possibility.
But Xu Feng didn't expose it, otherwise it would look bad.
"He should have called my senior brother Zhao Jiping now."
"Well, I guessed it. If you don't have time, he must be looking for Teacher Zhao." At this point, Xu Feng sighed slightly, "Actually, I'm not very optimistic about this movie. There is no good person in the whole story, but Kai Ge insists on filming, so it’s up to him. Of course, I still hope my judgment is wrong.”
Zhou Yan also secretly lamented that Xu Feng knew that the future of this movie was not good, but he still chose it. She supports Chen Kaige not only because she appreciates Chen Kaige's talent, but also because of her love for movies.
"Master Kai is very confident now. Sister Feng, it will definitely be difficult for you to persuade him."
"Yes, I can't persuade him at all. I told him that there is a tiger in front of him. The more he listened to it, the more excited he became. It doesn't matter, let him do it by himself." Xu Feng sighed again, and then said, "Although it's a bit early to tell now, But you should also pay more attention to it. If there is a suitable script, pay attention to it. Otherwise, you will be in a hurry to wait until the release of "The Sixth Sense" is over. Look for the script next year, and you will be able to film it the year after that. Keep making a movie in two years, neither too fast nor too slow, the pace is pretty good."
Xu Feng was also frightened by Chen Kaige this time.
Before, they were all immersed in the success of "Farewell My Concubine". Chen Kaige had no intention to read the new script. Now that she has just seen "Flower Shadow" and is about to film it, she always feels that it is too hasty.
For the filming of "Farewell My Concubine", Xu Feng and Chen Kaige alone discussed it for no less than two hundred hours. Later, Chen Kaige, Li Bihua and Lu Wei spent a lot of time revising the script, and finally achieved it "Farewell My Concubine".
This time "Flower Shadow" is completely different. When Chen Kaige saw the novel, he was about to start filming.
Xu Feng didn’t want Zhou Yan to have the same problem. She wanted Zhou Yan to prepare the script in advance, preferably with half a year of preparation time, so that it would be ready for filming the year after next.
Moreover, Chen Kaige couldn't listen to his opinions at all now, and Xu Feng also put more thoughts on Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan nodded and said, "I will pay attention when "The Sixth Sense" is almost finished. In fact, I still want to see the market performance of "The Sixth Sense" before deciding what subject to film next."
"You're not thinking about the budget, are you?"
"The budget is also considered. If "The Sixth Sense" makes more money, I can spend my money with more peace of mind."
Xu Feng said categorically, "You don't have to think about this. Even if you lose all your money on "The Sixth Sense", I will guarantee your next movie's budget. I can guarantee you that the next movie will cost four million." You can shoot whatever you want under US dollars.”
The standard of four million US dollars was also given to Chen Kaige by Xu Feng.
This time Chen Kaige wanted to shoot "Flower Shadow". Even if Xu Feng didn't like it, he still gave him a budget of more than two million US dollars, and he also left some room. If there are some problems later, it can be increased to four million US dollars. (End of this chapter)