Nobody knows movies better than me

Chapter 66 Two Paths

Only after they were completely back in Beijing did Zhang Jun and Ye Xiaoyi finally breathe a sigh of relief. Their adventure was so dramatic it could have been made into a movie.

Ye Xiaoyi complained, "Senior, I will never agree to do such an outrageous thing again next time."

"What are you saying? Didn't I share some of your money? You have to contribute your own value," Zhang Jun said matter-of-factly.

Ye Xiaoyi complained, "How was I supposed to know this would be so dangerous? What exactly did Pierre make us do that night?"

"Anyway, it's some things that can't be made public. You'll find out if you ask around when you go to study in the US."

Zhang Jun patted Ye Xiaoyi's head and said, "Anyway, I showed you the barbaric and uncivilized side of Westerners, shattering your illusions."

If you can't resist temptation after you go out and go astray, then there's nothing I can do.

"Since you already know, why did you still encourage me to study abroad?" Ye Xiaoyi rolled her eyes at Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun shrugged: "Because although barbarism and progress are contradictory, they do exist in one place. We must look at the issue dialectically, criticize barbarism, and learn from progress."

Objectively speaking, there is indeed a significant gap between us and them in the film industry, so going there to learn is the right choice for you.

I just hope you don't end up with a pair of bad habits instead of learning anything about movies.

"You've picked up a whole bunch of bad habits!" Ye Xiaoyi said, indicating she didn't want to talk to Zhang Jun anymore.

The money went smoothly, and Zhang Jun immediately handed over the money he had swindled to Bruce Chen to manage. Bruce Chen wasn't doing this for free; he could take a commission from each investment transaction.

If you want someone to work for you, you have to offer them enough benefits. Even ancient emperors had to pay their officials' salaries!

Zhang Jun currently plans to use part of this money to invest in Bitcoin, a tactic that has been used in many business investment rebirth novels, and it gets old-fashioned after seeing it so often.

But when it came to his own rebirth, Zhang Jun discovered that investing in Bitcoin was indeed a perfect choice that guaranteed to make a profit.

As long as he's not playing with billions or tens of billions of dollars, making a fortune from this small amount of money in Bitcoin isn't a problem, and it won't cause any turmoil.

In addition, Zhang Jun also remembered that an economic crisis was coming soon, so he could try to earn some start-up capital by eating leftovers.

Then, I can make some investments in China, such as in ByteDance or miHoYo, which would also be considered as realizing asset appreciation.

However, these are all Zhang Jun's side jobs, aimed at giving him more say and a better life.

As a film industry professional, his main job is still making movies.

After returning to China, Zhang Jun first went back to Tsinghua University for an exchange, since winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes is an honor in itself.

The director of the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University and representatives from the school's Youth League Committee came and had a friendly exchange with Zhang Jun, encouraging him to continue to make a name for himself.

Finally, the trophy was placed in the Film Association's cabinet of honor, becoming a symbol of Tsinghua University students' international achievements.

A group photo of Zhang Jun with some school leaders is also hung on the wall of the school's small auditorium. Perhaps a long time from now, he will be able to have his own photo, placed together with those scientists.

To be honest, I'd feel a little embarrassed if that were the case.

After that, Zhang Jun met with Boss Wang again at the Rich and Noble World Hotel to continue discussing investment matters.

Zhang Jun cut to the chase: "Boss Wang, I've already spoken with Zhang Ziyi. You know who Zhang Ziyi is, right?"

Boss Wang's eyes lit up: "Zhang Ziyi is going to act in this movie?"

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have come over to talk to you about this investment," Zhang Jun said.

In fact, Zhang Ziyi is still considering it, and Michelle Yeoh has not yet responded. However, this does not stop Zhang Jun from using Zhang Ziyi's name to attract investment.

Sure enough, when Boss Wang heard that Zhang Ziyi was also willing to participate in the film, his confidence immediately increased.

"Brother Zhang, I knew you were a talented person, and sure enough, you've given me many surprises."

Boss Wang said generously, "The investment is settled then. When do you think we can start filming this movie?"

Zhang Jun replied, "I have another film waiting to be released. Once I finish that film, we can start production on 'Reign of Assassins'."

After using Zhang Ziyi's international fame to fool Boss Wang, Zhang Jun then used Boss Wang's investment to fool Zhang Ziyi again.

"Ms. Zhang, now that a boss is willing to invest, your salary is guaranteed. Would you like to consider taking the role?"

Zhang Ziyi is currently in the country after returning from Cannes and hasn't gone to Hollywood yet.

Upon hearing this, she laughed and said, "Director Zhang, my fee is very high."

That's true. Zhang Ziyi currently earns over 1000 million yuan per film, placing her among the top-tier actresses in Chinese cinema.

But to be honest, there aren't many Chinese-language films that can afford this salary. It's the kind of situation where they can ask for a price, but not many production teams can actually pay it.

Zhang Jun certainly wouldn't offer such a high salary, as this would drastically reduce his production budget.

So he frankly said, "We can't afford such high salaries, but we can do it another way."

"In what way?" Zhang Ziyi asked curiously.

"We can give you half of your salary, and the other half will be considered an investment, with revenue split according to box office figures," Zhang Jun said.

That's a good idea, but there's one problem.

"How can you guarantee that this movie will definitely be profitable? What if we lose all our money?" Zhang Ziyi asked.

Zhang Jun could not make any guarantees: "The film industry is inherently a high-risk industry, and I cannot guarantee that my film will definitely be a big hit."

But I can guarantee one thing: I will put my heart into making this video and ensure its quality. Now it's up to you.

Zhang Ziyi hesitated for a moment on the other end of the phone before saying, "I'll think about it some more!"

"Sure, but you have to give me an answer. If you don't agree, I'll have to find other actors."

"no problem!"

The best choice would actually be Michelle Yeoh, but Zhang Jun had never even met her and didn't know anyone who knew her.

He could only send an invitation to Michelle Yeoh's agent, but he didn't know if the agent would even receive it.

Therefore, Zhang Jun needs to assume that Michelle Yeoh will definitely not participate in the film, and Zhang Ziyi, whom he knows, is the best choice.

He would then need to make every effort to win over Zhang Ziyi while maintaining contact with Michelle Yeoh.

If one party refuses, he has other options.

As June approached, the release date of "About Time" drew closer, and Zhang Jun gradually shifted his focus to promoting the film.

The last time, the unique promotional methods for "Little Miss Sunshine" were quite effective, especially the university screenings, which were a very effective strategy.

The advantage of university screenings compared to theatrical screenings is that piracy is easier to prevent and control.

This time, "About Time" is still scheduled to have limited screenings at universities in mid-July. In addition, offline posters and promotional materials are also being distributed.

"About Time" can be described as a rather bourgeois film, and the urban white-collar workers who live a bourgeois lifestyle have strong spending power and willingness.

Therefore, after the film started its promotional period, it collaborated with some well-known upscale brands in Shanghai, Beijing, for joint promotions.

For example, coffee shops and gyms are very popular in Shanghai, and Shanghai's promotional efforts revolve around coffee shops and gyms.

There's even a dark restaurant featured in the film that doesn't exist in reality. The film collaborated with several restaurants in Shanghai, Beijing, to transform them into dark restaurants, then invited customers to experience them and had the media report on them.