When Zhou Yan was signing autographs, Zhang Youan pulled Harry Kane aside.
"Harry, when it's almost time to sign, we're going back."
"Why don't we have dinner together at noon?"
Zhang Youan waved his hand, "Let's still have dinner. I won’t eat.”
The lunch meal was not delicious either. It was too formal and a waste of time. It was too simple and shabby. It was unnecessary.
"Isn't this too rude?"
"There is an old saying in China that the friendship between gentlemen is like water. Y came here today just for a simple visit, without any commercial overtones."
" I am very grateful that he came. I have never thought about doing commercial activities. I really like his music and our bookstore will always support him."
Zhang Youan looked in Zhou Yan's direction and smiled. He said, "I think he is quite happy. He is both a musician and a writer. He must be interested in a bookstore like yours."
"Speaking of which, I am a little embarrassed, although I know that Y He is a writer, but I have not read any of his literary works.”
"It's not your fault. After all, his works have not been published in the United States, and there are not many of them. However, you should have a chance to see his works later."
"Really? He has been there before Is his work going to be translated into English and published in the United States? "
"It's not a previous work, it's a new novel that hasn't been finished yet, but if nothing goes wrong, it will be published next year. "
When he heard that Zhou Yan’s new novel was going to be published in the United States, Harry Kane was quite excited, “Then I will be able to read his novel next year, and our bookstore will definitely promote his novel on Twitter by then. ."
As he spoke, he gestured, "I will reserve an entire shelf for his novels in the front row. This will be the case in all six bookstores."
"Thank you so much. I believe that with the promotion of your bookstore, the sales of "Shutter Island" will definitely not be bad."
"Is the new novel called "Shutter Island"?" Harry Kane asked.
"Well, it's actually a script for a movie. The script has been written a long time ago, and the movie has started to be filmed, so the novel came out very quickly."
"This is another one. What a surprise, will we be able to see the movie next year? "
"Whether you can see the movie next year depends on the speed of the novel. It is easier to wait until Y. Just get the manuscript out and we’ll find a publishing company.”
"Have you not decided on the publisher yet?"
"This matter is not urgent. It doesn't matter if we wait until the novel is finished to find it."
Harry Kane said seriously , "This matter cannot be rushed. It is better for the publishing company to confirm it as early as possible. This will not only give you room to bargain, but also give the publishing company time to plan a publicity plan. If the novel wants to sell well, it cannot be separated from it. Publicity, if the early publicity plan is not done well, it will greatly affect the results after it is released."
Zhang Youan patted his head, "Oh, I forgot, you worked in a publishing group before, right. These are relatively familiar. "
" I understand a little bit... Let me help you contact the publishing company." Harry Kane took over the matter directly.
Zhang Youan talked for a long time, just for this matter, but he still gave in, "This is too troublesome for you."
"It's not troublesome, it's a very simple matter for me."
"In this case, I won't be polite."
......
After visiting Little Bear Bookstore in the morning, Zhou Yan and the others returned to the hotel, and not long after lunch Went to the concert hall.
Today's concert was still very smooth, with seven encores and seven additional songs.
The next day, the band rushed to Washington, D.C., the capital.
Their route to the United States this time is New York-Washington, DC-Columbia-Atlanta-Houston.
This route basically flies along the coastline and border of the United States, passing through relatively wealthy cities.
The reason why the last city was set in Houston was that Zhou Yan originally planned to fly from Houston to Mexico.
But in this case, he may not be able to make it to Mexico in time. By the time the concert ends, the "Titanic" crew will most likely have left for New Scotland.
The performances in Washington, D.C., Columbia and Atlanta were all very successful, the two concerts in New York were very popular, and the Piano Youth Orchestra's US tour also attracted more people's attention.
But when people wanted to buy tickets, they found that the tickets had already been sold out.
As a result, Zhou Yan and the others received a call from the theater on their way to the last stop, Houston. The other party hoped that Zhou Yan and the others could add a few more shows.
Placing the last two performances in Houston is not only convenient for traveling to Mexico, but also because Houston has a strong artistic atmosphere. I heard that tens of thousands of concerts, plays, songs and other artistic activities are held here every year.
Houston's theater district has the second highest seating capacity in the U.S. city center after New York.
It is also one of the few cities in the United States that can have professional, resident performance groups.
The box office for performances in Houston is usually not bad, after all, the music fan base here is large. The theater hopes to increase the number of performances, which is naturally due to the enthusiasm of local music fans.
Zhou Yan regretfully declined the theater's request.
Adding a few performances seems to be a very simple matter, but according to the current situation of the Piano Youth Orchestra, it is not easy.
The U.S. tour has a total of ten performances in five cities, but it only lasts for sixteen days. On average, it takes a little more than three days to visit one city, and one performance every six days.
This intensity is already very high for them. If they want to add a few more performances, the band members will have to rest for a few days.
As a result, the time drags on for a long time. If one thing is not done well, they will not be able to finish it until the end of the month.
But Zhou Yan has to go to Canada and has no time to spend here.
Zhou Yan also thought about leaving the orchestra to perform here and going to Canada by himself, but the theater may not agree. After all, Zhou Yan is the guarantee of the box office. If he is not here, the audience's enthusiasm for buying tickets will definitely decrease. .
In the future, we can try to let them perform on their own in the United States, but the time has not come yet.
After everyone arrived in Houston, they took a short rest in the hotel and then went to the theater for rehearsal.
Not long after they arrived at the theater, several people approached Zhou Yan.
There were three people in total, one was Kanter, the director of the theater, one was Felipe, an official of the theater district, and the other was named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who didn’t say what he did.
Felipe and Kanter came to see Zhou Yan. In addition to saying hello, they were also trying to get him to stay in Houston and play a few more games.
"Y, you are very popular in Houston. I can guarantee that even if there are ten more games, all the tickets will be sold out within two days." Felipe said with a smile.
“I think it can be sold out in one day.” Kanter is more confident than Felipe.
His confidence certainly did not arise out of thin air. The phone calls at their theater have been busy these days, and most people are asking if they can add a few more shows.
Many people even complained that there were too few seats in their theaters.
The Houston Theater actually has a lot of seats. It can seat more than 2,500 people in total, which is larger than most concert halls. But the audience just felt it was too small, and they compared it with Radio City, believing that if the Houston Theater had the same number of seats as Radio City Music Hall, there would be more than 7,000 more tickets for the two concerts.
Although more than 7,000 more tickets are still a drop in the bucket, and many people still can't buy them, the audience doesn't think so. They think that as long as more than 7,000 more tickets are available, they can buy them. .
Zhou Yan could only express his regret again, "I would also like to perform a few more shows in Houston, but my schedule really doesn't allow it."
After being rejected again, Felipe knew he would stay. Zhou Yan could no longer live there, so he could only sigh with regret, "It would be great if you could stay in Houston for a while. The 21st is the opening day of our theater district, and there will be many tourists here."
Hearing that they have an open day here, Zhou Yan was quite curious, "How often do you have an open day and what activities are there usually?"
"Our Open Day is an annual traditional project. It is mainly used by major theater groups and theaters to promote the new season's performances. We will also invite art groups from various countries to come."
Zhou Yan nodded, "Although I can't participate, the rest of the band can stay."
Felipe's eyes lit up, "That's okay. Your Chinese Embassy in Houston has also been invited, and there is also a Do you want to set up another special exhibition area for you?"
Zhou Yan asked: "Can it be arranged next to the original exhibition area in China?"
Felipe shook his head and said, " I’m afraid this won’t work. The exhibition area next to it has been determined and can only be arranged elsewhere.”
Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, "That's okay. Please arrange one for the orchestra. If you need any cooperation, you can talk to our group leader or the team leader."
"No. Problem. "
Although Zhou Yan was not retained, Felipe was quite satisfied with the Piano Boys Orchestra.
The annual Open Day is a very important day in the theater district. Felipe has been busy with this since July.
Whether the Open Day is done well or not will affect the flow of people in the theater area in the new quarter and is directly linked to his political achievements.
I believe that the participation of the Piano Youth Orchestra can attract the attention of more audiences.
The people chatted for a while, and Jabbar, who had been silent for a while, suddenly said, "Y, have you prepared a new movie recently?"
Zhou Yan was preparing for a new movie. There are a lot of reports in China, but there are very few reports in the United States. It is normal for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar not to know.
“I have indeed been preparing for a new movie recently, and it will start shooting soon.”
Hearing that Zhou Yan was preparing for a new movie, Jabbar was very interested, “What is it like? Is the movie still related to music? ”
Zhou Yan shrugged, "In fact, although the new movie has a lot of soundtracks and interludes, the theme is not directly related to the music."
Hearing this, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was very sorry, "That's a shame, I I really like your "Spring of the Cowherd Class". It is a good movie that can cleanse the hearts of the audience. The music in it also gave me a lot of inspiration. I have watched this movie many times, and I can enjoy it every time. Discover new shining points.”
“Thank you for your support”
“Actually, I have thought about changing "The Spring of the Cowherd Class" into a musical, but the idea is not mature enough. "
Zhou Yan looked at Jabbar suspiciously, guessing the other party's identity.
At this time, Kanter introduced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's work, "Jabbar is a musical director. Recently, "The Sound of Music" was performed here, and he was the resident director."
Zhou Yan nodded. , turned out to be a musical director, no wonder he said that he wanted to change "Springtime of the Cowherd" into a musical.
But Jabbar is only a resident director, which makes Zhou Yan less interested. Generally, resident directors are tool people, more like on-site managers, and their creative ability is difficult to guarantee.
“Adapting it into a play is a good idea, but it’s quite difficult. The songs I wrote in the movie probably aren’t enough to support a complete musical.”
The movie follows Musicals are different. Movies have many ways to unfold the story line, but musicals mainly rely on music. If the music is slightly less, it will make people feel very pale.
There is a lot of music in "Springtime of the Cowherd", but it is not enough to support a complete musical.
"That's the hard part." Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nodded.
As soon as he saw "Springtime of the Cowherd", Kareem Abdul-Jabbar felt that this movie was very suitable to be adapted into a musical. However, when he actually started to make it, he found that the difficulty was not ordinary.
He needs to consider making the musical more vivid and relevant without destroying the original content of the movie. First of all, he needs more music, and secondly, he needs to put more thought into the scenery.
He was also very happy to learn that Zhou Yan came to Houston this time. He specifically asked Kanter to bring him over to meet Zhou Yan to see if Zhou Yan had any ideas.
In fact, what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar thought was that it would be best if Zhou Yan wanted to adapt the movie into a musical. That would make things easier and let Zhou Yan write the script and songs by himself.
It was naturally easy for Zhou Yan to do this, because he had watched the musical "Spring of the Cowherd Class".
This musical was arranged many years after the movie was released. It was adapted by the director himself, and he spent a lot of time and thought on it. The music was also redone and a lot was added.
It’s just that Zhou Yan has no intention to do this now, so he doesn’t really want to talk to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about musicals at the moment.
He said with a smile, "Maybe in a few years, when I have time, I can consider writing a musical."
Hearing what Zhou Yan said, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became a little anxious, "It would be a pity not to make such a good movie into a musical."
"But I really don't have time now."
"Actually..."
What else did Kareem want to say, but Carter interrupted him, "Jabbar, I know it is a pity that such a good work cannot be adapted into a musical for the time being. , but there are always some regrets in life, right? Y will start rehearsing soon, so we better not disturb him."
"I'm sorry," Jabbar sighed slightly, and then continued. Blessing Zhou Yan with a smile, "I wish your concert will be a success."
"Thank you."
After Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the others left, Zhou Yan found Fang Xiu and told her about the theater district's open day.
“You stay here for a few days and attend their open day, which can be regarded as promoting the band. By then our embassy will also have an exhibition area in the art center, and it should also promote Chinese culture. If they have anything If you need help, please give me some snacks.”
Fang Xiu was very happy to hear that Zhou Yan asked them to stay a few more days.
Although they arrived in the United States early, they had not had a good time in New York before. After all, the performance had not started yet and everyone was nervous.
It was different once the show was over, and they were able to walk around Houston in a relaxed state of mind.
"Don't worry, senior brother, we won't embarrass you."
"Go back and find the team leader Zhang Lin to print some promotional brochures, otherwise there will be nothing during the exhibition."
"What should we print?"
"Just print some of the glorious deeds of our band."
"I understand, it's just bragging." Fang Xiu said with a smile.
Zhou Yan gave Fang Xiu a roll of his eyes, "What's bragging? That's showing yourself realistically... Of course, it's not impossible to brag appropriately."
"Understood. We must ensure that we brag appropriately." (End of Chapter)