"A World Without Thieves" will be released in a few days, so publicity and release are naturally indispensable.

He was quite busy and had no time to follow the crew on the subsequent roadshows in various places.

But I still have to attend the main press conference in the imperial capital.

After all, Director Feng came to see me when I was in the hospital.

Although this person has his own little schemes, people are judged by their actions rather than their hearts.

Because if you talk about the heart, there are no good people in the entertainment industry.

A large conference room was rented for the press conference.

But even for a movie launch of the level of "A World Without Thieves", the venue rented was not as luxurious as the ones that Big Beard usually uses for promotions.

What level is "A World Without Thieves"?
In terms of box office, this film ranked third in the year.

The two films ahead of him are "House of Flying Daggers" and "Kung Fu", which had much higher investments.

When talking about actors, let’s leave out Zhang Yuan.

Liu Dehua, Ge You, Fan Wei, Wang Baoqiang, Zhang Hanyu, Feng Yuanzheng.

Li Bingbing, Liu Ruoying, Xu Fan.

Among the actors in this film, there were six film kings and three film queens.

This does not even include the actor who died young and was a potential best-seller, Mr. Fu Biao.

With this cast, few films in later generations can match it.

Even so, he is not as pompous and ostentatious as the bearded man, which shows his character.

"Big brother!"

As soon as we went backstage to take a break and opened the door, Wang Baoqiang trotted up.

"You haven't grown at all." Zhang Yuan hooked his shoulder and walked towards the sofa together.

The room was now full of familiar faces, and everyone was at ease.

"Zhang Yuan, how was your trip to the island country?" Brother Hua walked up to him with a smile and asked.

He also learned about the White Dragon King from Peter Lam.

What is unclear is the future, good or bad.

Brother Hua has reason to believe that this hard-working and talented young man should have a better future.

"Very good, thank you Brother Hua for taking care of me."

"Okay, that's good..." Brother Hua started chatting with him.

Teacher Fanwei, Zhang Hanyu, Liu Ruoying, Xu Fan and others are all here.

Only Professor Fu Biao didn't come.

"Biaozi has just had surgery and is still recuperating." After a while, Director Feng also joined the chat.

"When the Film Association issued the announcement before, he also spoke up for you."

"He also said that there would be a chance to work together in the future. Although we were in the same crew this time, we didn't have a scene opposite each other, which was a bit regrettable."

"But I told him it was nothing."

"Next time I make a movie, I'll arrange one for you. It's not a problem." Director Feng said with a grin.

"Um... yes, there are plenty of opportunities." After hearing what he said, Zhang Yuan looked embarrassed for a moment, but quickly hid it.

Alas, no chance.

Teacher Fu Biao has just finished the operation and the results seem good. He has even started planning his work for next year.

But it would relapse within a few months, and then... nothing would happen.

This is fate.

But he couldn't say much.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Yuan turned his head away when he saw Baoqiang was lingering around him anxiously.

"Are you nervous again?"

"Don't kowtow to the reporter again later."

After Zhang Yuan finished speaking, everyone remembered the scene where he knelt down to Brother Hua on the first day of filming, and they all smiled.

Baoqiang scratched his head embarrassedly.

"Brother, I am a little nervous."

"But there's something else." He came closer.

"There are several film crews contacting me now, wanting me to film." Baoqiang said in a low voice.

"Oh." Zhang Yuan put his right hand on his shoulder with a smile on his face.

"Does your sister Cheng Hao know that these crews have contacted you?"

"I don't know, I haven't told him yet..."

Crunch!

Zhang Yuan suddenly exerted force with the hand on his shoulder and pressed hard on several major acupoints on his shoulder.

"Ah!" Baoqiang screamed in pain immediately, but before the sound could come out of his throat, Zhang Yuan's other hand grabbed his neck again.

After two or three seconds, he slowly let go.

Baoqiang's eyes were filled with fear. He didn't understand why Zhang Yuan suddenly attacked him.

“You are now under contract with my company.”

"How dare you contact the crew privately behind the company's back, especially your sister Cheng Hao."

"That, in my eyes, is tantamount to treason."

"You haven't signed contracts with those crews yet, right?" Zhang Yuan narrowed his eyes and stared at him closely.

Baoqiang quickly shook his head vigorously.

"Considering that this is your first offense and you probably have no ill intentions, you are just used to working alone."

Baoqiang quickly nodded to indicate that Zhang Yuan was right.

"So this won't happen again." He said this and returned to his usual expression.

Wang Baoqiang just felt blurry before his eyes, as if the big brother who wanted to eat people just now was just his hallucination.

There is no order without rules. This kind of loophole cannot be opened.

Moreover, he is the first employee of his own agency. If he is so casual and skips the company to deal with problems, how can he set an example for those who come after him?

If he does this, where will Cheng Hao, the manager, keep his face?
Companies are different from individuals. They must follow fixed procedures to do things and cannot overstep their authority at will.

In other words, out of Bao Qiang's good character, if it were someone else, he would be able to make the other person "die on the spot."

"Well, what do you want from me?"

"No, no, it's okay..." Baoqiang was so scared that he didn't dare to speak.

"Don't be such a coward. If you have something to say, just say it. I'm busy." Zhang Yuan pulled him over and stroked his buzz cut randomly.

"I, I, I originally wanted you to help me see which play I should take." Baoqiang spoke cautiously.

It seems that my guess was correct, he didn't skip the company on purpose.

It's just that I've gotten used to working alone over the years.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of making me an advisor.

How could one go about clearing out the court and discussing offensive strategies with the emperor?

"Okay, then tell me which crews are looking for you." Zhang Yuan calmly pulled him to sit down and spoke slowly.

Wang Baoqiang was very surprised.

no……

Didn’t big brother just teach me a lesson?

Now you are willing to help me analyze the crew's affairs?
It's so hard to guess what he's thinking!

Baoqiang explained everything to his crew in detail and did not dare to hide anything.

From the pay to the size of the crew and the content of the script, everything was explained to him in detail.

"There are two film crews and three TV crews, right?" Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment.

I sighed in my heart.

Baoqiang is really born with a good life!

The first movie he starred in won the Golden Horse Award, and now with the added bonus of director Feng's blockbuster, it is natural that scripts continue to flow in.

Zhang Yuan listened calmly and did not give an answer, but asked in return.

"Which crew do you want to take a fancy to?"

"The movie called "Midnight Chase" and the TV series called "Bull Demon Comes to Earth." Baoqiang replied with his usual silly smile.

Zhang Yuan: …

You don't even need to watch these two films. Just by listening to the titles you can tell that they are low-budget, bad movies.

"Why did you choose these two?" Zhang Yuan asked with a squint.

“I like the scripts of both plays.”

"pardon."

“I really like this kind of subject matter.”

"to be frank!"

“They give a lot…”

Zhang Yuan guessed it right, it must be because of the pay.

This guy is anxious to make money.

This kind of small crew has no money to begin with, and in order to attract attention, they pool most of their money and exchange it all for the lead actors' pay.

This will create a vicious cycle, with lower production costs and worse films.

It is also very likely that because no TV station will buy it, the crew will eventually run away, and there is a high probability that the so-called high salary will not be received, or will not be received in full.

Baoqiang is still young, so it is normal for him to be dazzled by the "glamorous world" when he first sees it.

"You said that we can't take these two films."

"what……"

"Listen to me first."

"First, let's talk about movies."

"You have only starred in two films so far, and one of them won you the Golden Horse Award for Best Newcomer."

"And this is the work of Feng Dao, one of the top domestic directors." "So your image in the film industry is actually that of a grassroots genius and a newcomer with great acting skills."

"Once you start acting in bad movies, you'll destroy the image you've worked so hard to build."

"So, from now on, apart from the ones I let you act in, you must not take any movies that are not directed by top directors."

Wang Baoqiang scratched his head, thinking that there were only a few great directors of Director Feng's level in the country. If he waited for their films, wouldn't it take years to get one made?

“And then there was the TV series.”

"You don't need to watch anything else. Just take this movie called "The Secret Calculation"."

"Why? This drama has the least scenes and the lowest pay!" Bao Qiang was puzzled.

"You have to see the essence through the phenomenon." Zhang Yuan patted the back of his head.

“When accepting a role, you can’t just look at the script, you also have to look at the cast, the production team, the production company, and the investors!”

"The original work of this film is by Mai Jia, did you know that?"

Wang Baoqiang shook his head.

Zhang Yuan got so angry just watching this that he wanted to give him a taste of Shaolin boxing.

Just look at the money, right?
"Mai Jia is a novelist, and the copyrights of most of his novels have been sold, which means that his works have great market value."

"And this original work is also a winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize."

"The probability of a failure for a work like this is relatively small."

"Secondly, look at the main actors, Chen Shu, Gao Ming, and Liu Yunlong. They are all senior masters and have an audience base."

"If you go and act, you can also take advantage of the popularity of these people."

"Look at the production company."

"Sichuan TV, Sichuan Cable TV Company, Bayi Film Studio..."

"With these companies here, do you still have to worry about the film not being sold or broadcast?"

“Not only can it be broadcast, but there is a high probability that it will be broadcast on satellite TV during its first broadcast!”

Zhang Yuan said to him earnestly: "When you act, you can't just look at the pay, you also have to look at what this role and this play can bring you after the film is broadcast."

"If the film can't be broadcast, then it's a waste of time and popularity."

"If several dramas in a row can't be broadcast, you might not even know about this person!"

In the later Internet era, many companies specializing in background checks on celebrities have emerged.

Why does this kind of company appear?
Isn’t it to guard against big bombs like “Shuangzi” and “Wu Qian”!
After working hard for half a year and investing tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, the film was banned because of an actor. Anyone who encounters this would curse!
There are a few movies and some investors who will grit their teeth and stomp their feet and resolutely remake the movie like "Monster Hunt".

On the contrary, an actor is a star as long as one role is remembered by the audience.

Teacher Liu, Teacher Lu Shuming, Teacher Bao Guoan... Although they have played many other roles, it is enough for the audience to only remember the most famous one.

And if there are a few roles that can be remembered by the audience, they are big stars, the kind that can live a life of ease and comfort.

A typical example is Liu Xixi. From Wang Yuyan to Zhao Linger, and then to Xiaolongnu, these three are enough.

Before she was 18, she had accomplished what most actors would find difficult to accomplish in their entire lives.

Zhang Yuan made the decision for Baoqiang without waiting for him to figure it out.

"After the press conference is over, take the script to your sister Cheng Hao and ask her to help you negotiate the schedule and pay with the crew."

"Then study the role carefully and read the original novel three times first!"

"I know..." Baoqiang ran to the corner feeling aggrieved and faced the wall, struggling.

In fact, when Zhang Yuan and Baoqiang were talking just now, the people next to them were listening.

"His ideological level is indeed much higher than that of his peers." After listening to his analysis of Baoqiang, Feng Xiaogang also felt that it made sense.

Li Bingbing, with her arms folded across her chest, looked at him with interest.

"No wonder Zhang Weijian became like that..."

She has worked with Zhang Weijian several times, including "The Smart Little Boy" and "Young Zhang Sanfeng", and knows that this guy is very difficult to deal with.

But now he has run into a terrible situation in front of Zhang Yuan.

"Interesting, Xiao Wang seems to be very interested in him. I have to try harder to avoid being dragged to that slutty fox."

And Liu Ruoying came to Baoqiang.

"Brother, what's wrong with you?"

"My eldest brother beat me." Baoqiang touched his shoulder, it still hurts.

"That's not right for him. How could he hit you?" Milk Tea Sister smiled and comforted him.

"Is that so?" Baoqiang felt that he had found his organization, and Milk Tea Sister was the best.

"If you do things like this in our beautiful island, you usually won't be beaten but will be shot directly." Milk tea smiled and patted his cheek.

Wang Baoqiang: …

Liu Ruoying was not talking nonsense at all. In Taiwan, especially the companies of Wu Dun and Yang Dengkui, they started out as gangsters.

How dare you take the job behind my back and hide it from the company?

Then we're going to do some physics collisions.

"Your elder brother has been very lenient in not doing anything behind your back. It's good enough that he made an example of you."

"It's great that I can help you analyze the plan."

Sister Milk Tea gently touched his head and said, "He is so smart. You won't suffer any loss if you follow him."

"Oh..." Seeing Liu Ruoying say this, Baoqiang gradually calmed down.

Thinking that his elder brother really supported him, the resentment in his heart disappeared by 90%.

Liu Ruoying looked back at Zhang Yuan.

"You are very good at using both kindness and force."

The press conference started after a long time.

After the actors spoke one by one, introducing their roles and their experiences on the crew, it was time for reporters to ask questions.

What no one expected was that reporters flocked to Zhang Yuan, who played a supporting role.

"Excuse me, what happened between you and Mr. Zhang Weijian on the set of "Little Fish and Flowerless"?"

"The crew's matter has already been discussed in a press conference. I personally will not answer any more questions." He calmly rejected the other party.

"So after working with Li Bingbing and Fan Bingbing respectively, which Bingbing do you think is better?"

Zhang Yuan:!!!
Who the hell hired this reporter?
Asking such a fatal question.

Why don’t you ask me who I should save first if they both fall into the water?
It’s okay if it’s just the reporters, but the key is that there are people who are instigating the trouble.

"Yes, I want to ask you this question too." Li Bingbing picked up the microphone, looked at him and spoke.

The stars in those days were very outspoken. Things like my instigation would never happen in the future.

Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes and asked, "Which one tastes better, sweet tofu pudding or salty tofu pudding?"

"Sweet."

"What does the journalist friend next door think?"

“I like salty food.”

"Then you two should have a fight first." Zhang Yuan replied with a smile.

"Anyway, just like sweet and salty tofu pudding, I personally like both and can't tell which is better."

"The same goes for the two Bingbing teachers."

"Next question!"

After listening to this, Hua Zi gave him an approving look.

"This kid reacts quickly and is very mature."

"I know that I can't answer this kind of question at the same pace as the other person."

In fact, there are generally only two solutions to this problem.

Be absolutely sincere, or simply refute the other party's question.

Baoqiang is the former, while Zhang Yuan is the latter.

"Mr. Zhang Yuan, I'd like to ask, do you think it's possible for the box office of A World Without Thieves to surpass that of Hero?"

Or someone come and kill me.

What a death trap this is.

He thought for a moment, then replied, "As far as I know, the cost of making Hero was $3000 million."

"And the cost of our film is 3000 million RMB."

"The current exchange rate of RMB to USD is eight to one."

"Hero's box office is 2.6 million."

"According to this calculation, we only need to reach 3250 million at the box office to achieve the same cost-benefit ratio as Hero."

"I think a box office of just over 3000 million should not be a problem for our crew."

Feng Xiaogang lowered his head and laughed.

In fact, he was also afraid of this problem.

The box office record of 2.6 million is really stressful.

It's ugly to say you can surpass something if you can't.

If you say you can’t do it, it will seem like you have no confidence, which may affect the box office.

This guy simply changed the concept and calculated based on the cost.

Low cost and high return are exactly Feng Xiaogang's specialties. From this perspective, he will definitely not lose.

"Okay, okay, I'll say the same thing next time." Feng Xiaogang felt that Zhang Yuan had provided him with a new idea.

Zhang Yuan had to solve many sharp problems one after another, which made him exhausted.

The people around him originally felt that the reporters' attention was all on a junior, and they felt a little embarrassed.

But now, after hearing these questions, they all began to feel fortunate that they had Zhang Yuan, a popular "live target".

Most people can't handle it as perfectly as he does.

After the Q&A session, everyone stood up and took a group photo in front of the large poster.

Brother Hua and the others noticed that Zhang Yuan consciously ran to the corner and pushed Teacher Fanyue in.

"I am much more popular now than before, and I still have my seniors in my eyes, which is good."

Later, Feng Xiaogang personally pulled him to his side and took a few more photos.

After the press conference, he hurriedly said goodbye to these friends and then rushed to the Imperial Capital Airport... (End of this chapter)