Chapter 323 Two big smoking guns


Jennifer praised the song "We Are Young" so much that it made Zhang Youan feel itchy. He also wanted to hear what this song was like.

There are many viewers who have just started listening to "Music World" who are like Zhang Youan. They really want to know what this piece of music is like, so much so that the fifth connected listener directly asked Zhou Yan if he could Play it again.

However, Zhou Yan couldn't agree to such a request. The program didn't last long, and by the fifth listener's connection, it was almost over.

After the fifth connection ended, Zhou Yan and Jennifer chatted about music for a while, and the program ended.

The director here started playing "People Like You". Jennifer took off her headphones and said with a smile, "Y, thank you for your cooperation. Today's program was very effective, even better than we imagined."

"You have worked hard. The effect of today's program is inseparable from your efforts."

After saying polite words, Zhou Yan stood up and stretched his body. Today's program is relatively relaxed. Jennifer's rhythm is very good. , he felt no pressure during the whole process.

The only episode was David's phone call, but this episode actually made the program better. Without that episode, there would be no song "We Are Young".

Jennifer invited Zhou Yan to have lunch on behalf of the radio station, but Zhou Yan declined.

When Zhou Yan walked out of the radio station, he received a call from Zhang Youan.

On the phone, Zhang Youan told Zhou Yan that Jack Williams had taken a liking to the song "We Are Young" and wanted to buy it as a commercial song.

“There were too many things in the morning, otherwise I would have listened to the program, and now I still don’t know what this song is about.”

“It’s a light song, and it’s really It can be made into a song."

"As for Williams..."

"Let's talk to him, you can decide the conditions."

Although "We Are Young" was not written specifically for New Balance, Zhou Yan also felt that this song was indeed suitable for their brand.

Zhang Youan smiled and said, "Then I have to listen to this piece of music first so that I can have a good idea of ​​it."

"When I find time, I will record a version for you to listen to."< br>
"Don't look for time, do it now. The office has keyboards, synthesizers and more, which should be enough for you."

Hearing what Zhang Youan said, Zhou Yan agreed Yes, there is indeed still some time.

...

Thomson's office in Los Angeles is larger than Zhou Yan imagined. After all, there are only a few people in this office and does not require a large office area.

But when Zhou Yan arrived, he found that the office actually had six or seven rooms.

Zhang Youan told him that the office has a total area of ​​more than 500 square meters, with independent offices, conference rooms, and recording and broadcasting rooms, and its functions are very comprehensive.

“It looks quite empty now, but we are going to continue to recruit people. When you come next time, you will find that there are more people.”

"Do we need so many people for our business?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

Thomson does not have much business in the United States now, and it is mainly focused on Zhou Yan. Most of the time, the office is handling business related to Zhou Yan.

In Zhou Yan's opinion, the current staff structure is completely sufficient.

Zhang Youan also laughed, "If we don't recruit people well in advance, business expansion will be hindered later."

"What business expansion will our company have next?"


"There is something I forgot to tell you. I have rented the Golden Hall for September."

"For the Central Chinese Orchestra?" Zhou Yan raised his eyebrows.

He had talked about this with Zhang Youan before. He said that he wanted to arrange performances abroad for the Central Chinese Orchestra, preferably with higher standards. He also mentioned the Golden Hall.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Youan not only kept it in mind, but also got things done.

"Well, I have already discussed this matter with Captain Yu. Basically, there is no problem. In a few days, they will announce the overseas performance of their orchestra. By then, it will not only be a folk orchestra, but also There is a piano youth orchestra and a folk band who will also join us.”

Zhou Yan nodded and was very pleased. He was very willing to see the folk band be able to go out.

The fact that the Central Chinese Orchestra performed abroad, and also went to the Golden Hall, is of extraordinary significance. After all, the Central Chinese Orchestra can represent the official government.

"This is well done, but since we are going abroad, we can't just do one thing."

"Of course, there are arrangements in Europe and North America. Our goal is to be a Touring performance. If the wind of folk music can pick up, I will bring Qingyinfang around again."

Zhou Yan said with a smile, "Lao Zhang, I can rest assured."

Zhang Youan continued, "In terms of music, you are still the main one, focusing on soundtracks, albums, and songs. You can underestimate your music territory. If it develops well, the office will have twice as many people, and everyone will be able to serve you." I can’t wait for you. There are many companies looking for you to provide music and songs. This business alone requires one or two people to do it.”

After hearing what Zhang Youan said, Zhou Yan realized, He can usually be a hands-off shopkeeper, just writing music, filming, and performing, because there are many people behind him serving, and more people are needed than he imagined.

Before Zhou Yan could speak, Zhang Youan continued, "In addition to music, the film business is also expanding. Do you still remember Sting whom you met in the UK before?"

"Yes, of course I remember."

"We are currently cooperating with the couple and are preparing to invest in a movie. Although the investment is not much, it is still an opportunity."

"What movie, who acted in it, and who directed it?" Zhou Yan asked curiously.

“You definitely don’t know the director. He is a new director in the UK. He has never even made a feature film before. The name of the movie is a British proverb, which means to go all out and fight.”

"Go all out and fight?" Zhou Yan was confused and had never heard of this movie.

“Lock, stock and smoking barrels.” Zhang Youan said the original name.

Hearing this name, Zhou Yan looked a little surprised. Isn't this "Two Smoking Barrels".

He never expected that this movie would be picked up by Zhang Youan.

Guy Ritchie is undoubtedly a talented director, and his debut feature film "Two Smoking Barrels" is also his masterpiece, and can even be said to be his pinnacle.

This movie may not be the best movie made by Guy Ritchie, but it is definitely the movie that best embodies his style. The later "Crazy Stone" filmed in China also paid more attention to this movie. There are references.

Seeing the change in Zhou Yan's expression, Zhang Youan asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Zhou Yan shook his head, "I just didn't expect that you would invest in a newcomer's movie. ”

Zhang Youan laughed, "Isn't this strange? When Mr. Xu invested in you to shoot "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly," you were also a new director. But now, you are already a well-known director with a world-renowned reputation. Although this Guy Ritchie has no experience in making feature films, but I saw his short films, and they were very special. This is very similar to what you did back then."

As Zhou Yan said, the reason why Xu Feng was able to do that was. The reason why I invested in Zhou Yan in "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly" was because of his scoring ability and the previous short film "Antfly".

Although "Antfly" is short, Xu Feng saw Zhou Yan's potential in making movies. Otherwise, no matter how good the script of "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly" was, she would not have let Zhou Yan be the director. .

Maybe the script will be kept and other experienced directors will be invited to film.

"How much did the company invest this time?" Zhou Yan asked.

"Not much, two hundred thousand pounds. The Stings hope that we can invest a little more, but I think it is better to be conservative. First of all, Guy Ritchie is a newcomer after all, and his movies have not been confirmed by the market. Secondly, he This movie is quite special and may not be in line with the public's taste." Zhou Yan knew that Zhang Youan's concerns were right. Movies like "Two Smoking Barrels" are very special now and no one can know. Whether it can be loved by the audience.

Although they all like the script, no one wants to do a loss-making business.

The Stings must have been murmuring in their hearts, otherwise, they would not have asked Tomson to invest, they could have done it themselves. After all, the cost of this movie is not high in the first place, and this amount of money is not enough for them. It was nothing to them as a couple.

They can feel much more relaxed by asking Tomson to help them share risks.

Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, "Show me the script when you have time later."

"I have it in my office, and I can show it to you now."

"Yes. "Let's record the demo of "We Are Young" first."

Zhang Youan patted his forehead, "Yes, let's get down to business first. Let's go. I'll take you there. Our office facilities are now available." It’s still possible..."

...

The facilities in the office are indeed good, but they can only record a demo. If you want to do something more advanced, it won't work. First of all, the recording equipment and recording environment are very average.

Fortunately, there are no requirements for the sample, and the equipment in the office is basically enough for Zhou Yan.

He is also very efficient. It took him less than an hour to record a demo that was over four minutes long.

When Zhou Yan was recording, Zhang Youan was listening beside him. The more he listened, the happier he became.

Zhang Youan knows that with this song, he can completely control New Balance. Even if New Balance doesn't want it, there will still be a lot of record companies that want it.

Sure enough, Zhou Yan never disappoints, whether it's music or movies.

After the music recording, Zhou Yan asked Zhang Youan, "Do you want to give the tape to Williams?"

Zhang Youan smiled and waved his hand, "Don't worry, wait for him to come to me again, now It’s getting late, let’s eat first.”

The two of them didn’t have any trouble at noon, so they just followed the local customs and ate some sandwiches and salads.

After dinner, Zhang Youan showed the script of "Two Smoking Barrels" to Zhou Yan.

Before Zhou Yan opened the script, Zhang Youan reminded him, "This script may be a bit messy."

Zhou Yan smiled and opened the script without saying anything.

As Zhang Youan said, the script of "Two Smoking Barrels" is indeed a bit "messy". Not only is the narrative structure "messy", but the relationship between the characters is also very messy. Most people will get a script like this. I couldn’t even understand it the first time.

But for Zhou Yan, there was no problem at all.

First of all, Zhou Yan has a very good memory. He can remember these seemingly complicated character relationships after just watching it once. Secondly, he has seen the movie, and the plot and character relationships have long been clear in his mind. .

The script Zhang Youan gave him was basically the same as the plot of the movie "Two Smoking Barrels", with no changes.

This is also understandable. This kind of multi-line narrative and interlocking scripts are difficult to make major changes in post-production. One move can affect the whole body, change one place, and many others. The place will have to change accordingly.

Just like dominoes, if there is one missing piece in the middle, there will be no way to connect them later.

Zhou Yan finished reading the script quickly. When he closed the script, Zhang Youan couldn't wait to say, "The relationship between the characters in this story is very complicated. When I read it for the first time, it was easy to get dizzy..."< br>
Before he finished speaking, Zhou Yan said with a smile, "I can understand it, it is indeed a good script."

Zhou Yan's words stunned Zhang Youan for a moment, and then he said with some frustration, "Well, as expected, geniuses like you are different from us ordinary people."

This script has been read by many people, but Almost everyone was a little confused after reading it for the first time, and Taylor also admitted that he had to take notes to understand the relationship between the characters in the story.

Zhang Youan was also worried that Zhou Yan could not understand the relationship between the characters clearly and could not feel the charm of the script. Who knew that Zhou Yan had no such trouble at all.

Sure enough, his worries were unnecessary. Zhou Yan himself was a film genius.

Having written scripts like "The Sixth Sense" and "Shutter Island", it doesn't seem strange to understand "Two Smoking Barrels".

Zhang Youan's frustration lasted for less than a second. He soon calmed down and asked Zhou Yan, "Do you think this movie will be loved by the audience?"

Zhou Yan shook his head, " I'm not a roundworm in the stomach of the audience, so how do I know if they will like it? I can only say that as an audience, I am definitely willing to spend money to go to the cinema to watch this movie."

"Well, since that's the case. You said so, then if we invest 200,000 pounds, we won’t lose anything."

200,000 pounds is not much anyway. For them, the risk is not big. This type of small-budget movie is what it is. If you are small and broad, you won't lose much money.

Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, "Actually, I think we can invest more."

"Invest more?" Zhang Youan looked at Zhou Yan in surprise.

The fact that Zhou Yan can say this proves that he is actually optimistic about the market for this movie.

“The cost of the movie is not high anyway, even if it is all-inclusive, it won’t cost much.”

“It is definitely impossible to do all-inclusive. Sting and the others also want to invest, but if they increase their investment, More than 50%, there is still hope. "Zhang Youan was still a little unsure, "Do you really think you should invest more?"

Zhou Yan smiled and did not answer directly, just said, " If the company doesn’t invest, I would like to invest some money.”

Although Zhou Yan didn't want to take advantage of Tang Chen's opportunity, he didn't want to waste it if Tang Chen wasn't willing to make more shots.

Zhang Youan raised his eyebrows. Although Zhou Yan did not give him a definite answer, the answer was already very clear.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Youan said firmly, "Okay, I will report the situation to Mr. Xu tonight and see if I can invest more money."

Actually, this phone call has not happened yet. Fight, Zhang Youan already knows the result.

Mr. Xu has too much faith in Zhou Yan. As long as she knows that Zhou Yan is optimistic about this movie, she will definitely invest it unconditionally, let alone hundreds of thousands of pounds, even if it is hundreds or tens of millions of pounds, Mr. Xu will Can pay.

Zhang Youan sometimes feels that Xu Feng trusts his intuition too much. Once he likes a director, he will support him unconditionally. This was the case with Chen Kaige before, and it was the same with Zhou Yan later.

There are good and bad things like Xu Feng. The good thing is that if the people she trusts live up to her trust, then the benefits will be very high.

The bad thing is that once the person she trusts loses control, the risk will be great.

Chen Kaige is a clear proof. The movie "Feng Yue" has fallen off the chain. Although the failure of "Feng Yue" did not hurt Tomson, it is hard to say if it continues like this.

The good news is that due to the failure of "Feng Yue", Chen Kaige no longer seems to want to cooperate with Xu Feng.

Chen Kaige may believe that part of the reason for the failure of "Feng Yue" was that Tomson did not provide enough support.

But Xu Feng is really very loyal and has already given everything that should be given. Xu Feng has no control over how the movie will turn out.

As for Zhou Yan, he has never missed a beat so far, and his development is getting better and better.

It is precisely because of Zhou Yan that Tomson Films has developed so well in recent years. Xu Feng unconditionally believed in Zhou Yan and received generous rewards.

, (End of this chapter)

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