Chapter 139: Chapter 139 The First Meeting
Curry's head shook like a rattle, which made Lin Mingyang and Eckles, who were sitting in front of him, "look embarrassed", the two of them looked at each other, and then Eckles pretended to come out to round up the situation.
"Felix, I think Mr. Curry has his own difficulties, isn't the revenue share you proposed a bit high?"
Curry had already drawn circles in his stomach and cursed Ecks hundreds of times, but knowing that the other party was speaking backhandedly, he had to nod his head forcefully along with the other party's meaning, and then looked at Lin Ming Yang with a pleading face.
Early on, he knew that there was no free lunch in the world, but Curry still looked forward to the pie in the sky, agreed to star in The Baby Project, Lin Mingyang's fee was as little as $4 million, but he came with the condition that the film's 20% share of the proceeds, which made it very difficult for Curry.
Since Eckles had already played the red face, Lin Ming Yang had to play the white face. There was no change in the look on his face, but his attitude was incredibly resolute:
"In Hollywood, I'm worth this price!"
Curry's heart was intertwined with many complex emotions at this time, he both wanted Lin Ming Yang to star in the movie, but also didn't want to pay a high price, his heart was in an extremely contradictory situation. Human nature is always greedy, and when you get it, you don't want to let go.
"Felix, let's not make things difficult for Mr. Curry, if we can't work together we can still make friends, maybe next time we'll have a good opportunity to work together!" Ecks interjected at the right time, Lin Ming Yang nodded, the two of them got up and were ready to leave.
Of course Curry was not willing to watch the fat meat in his mouth fly away like this, he hurriedly stopped the next two people, gritting his teeth after making up his mind, "You took away 20% of the revenue dividends, so what can my company get?"
Ecks made a wink towards Lin Ming Yang, probably meaning that he was almost ready, 20% was already the limit that the other party could accept, any more and there was no way to talk about it.
Lin Ming Yang nodded knowingly, and then lightly said: "This script is written according to the Hong Kong movie formula, the details definitely need to be modified, so as to meet the appetite of Hollywood movie fans. I can provide some references in terms of revising the script."
Lin Mingyang's screenwriting level was recognized in Hollywood, his scripts were definitely not the best, but on the level of grasping the audience's psychology, Lin Mingyang did the best. This had even become a strange phenomenon in Hollywood, after a script created by Lin Ming Yang was made into a movie, the audience and professional critics gave diametrically opposed reviews.
In terms of screenwriting Lin Mingyang's sincerity is still in place, but Curry still feel some meat pain, he looked at Lin Mingyang with bated breath, holding back half a day before three words popped out of his mouth, "And then what?"
"Isn't there still a few supporting roles left in the movie? For example, my girlfriend in the movie...if you guys can give a suitable fee, I don't mind inviting a few friends to make a friendly cameo."
"Kate does have a free slot lately, I wonder if she'd be interested in the role!" Ecks stroked his chin, seemingly muttering to himself, but in fact he was singing in unison with Lin Ming Yang.
"Kate Beckinsale?" Curry's eyes lit up, that beautiful vampire warrior woman was probably able to call up a large number of male movie fans just by playing a supporting role. When Ecks made this offer, he admitted that his heart was moved.
"Even though it's a friendly appearance, how can the paycheck be three million dollars?" Ecks opened his mouth so big that Curry's eyes almost glared out.
Ecks knocked his legs, a leisurely expression, the look was clear, there was no way to negotiate this price. Curry finally clenched his teeth and froze. In his heart, he knows very well that the three million dollars spent on Kate Beckinsale is not wrong at all, with the incomparable pulling performance in "Legend of the Dark", Kate Beckinsale can bring to this movie is very substantial.
In this way, the money in Curry's hand is definitely not enough, but the movie all of a sudden brings together Lin Mingyang and Kate Beckinsale, two popular movie stars, plus kung fu superstar Jackie Chan. With such a luxurious cast in hand, Curry was fully confident that he could convince the company to invest additional money.
----
The final shooting budget for The Baby Project was raised to $25 million, and it was confirmed to be directed by Hollywood director Brian Levent. Jackie Chan, who had traveled from Hong Kong to the United States on a dusty journey, was the first to make an appointment not with the film's director, but with Lin Ming Yang, who had him and Su Zhihong chatting for most of the night. Although he had already heard about the agreement reached between Lin Mingyang and the production company before getting on the plane, his inner curiosity did not diminish.
The meeting was scheduled for two days later, during which time Jackie Chan stayed in Los Angeles, where he heard more rumors about Lin Ming Yang. In addition to his growing curiosity, Jackie Chan even had a vague premonition that Lin Ming Yang, whom he had never met before, was the key to the success or failure of the film.
Jackie Chan took the initiative to meet, even in Hollywood walking around used to seeing all kinds of stars, Lin Mingyang heart is still a little excited. After all, there is a Chinese soul lurking in the body, compared to these unattainable big stars in Hollywood in the past life, Jackie Chan left an impression on Lin Ming Yang to be more intimate, so Lin Ming Yang is also full of expectations for this meeting.
Jackie Chan took an early flight to New York according to the scheduled time. The plane took 6 hours to fly from Los Angeles on the west coast, across the entire United States, and arrived in the metropolis of New York on the east coast.
New York City, known as the largest metropolis in the United States, was nearing dusk. The lights were on, like the blooming magnolias in the twilight sky. A string of street lights, such as a string of brilliant pearl. The outlines of tall buildings, outlined by strings of bright lights, in the deepening night, hidden walls of the entity, as if painted with a light brush of the jade pavilion.
The familiar scene in front of him evoked Jackie Chan's memories, which made him recall an unpleasant past when he first arrived in New York more than 20 years ago. At that time, Jackie had just appeared in "Killer Trench", a movie specially made by Golden Harvest in the 1980s to promote Jackie to the international market.
During the filming of "The Killer Trench", Americans fantasized about Jackie Chan as a new generation of kung fu superstar after Bruce Lee, and Los Angeles, where the movie was filmed, even designated September 2 of every year as "Jackie Chan Day", but the American audience wanted to see Bruce Lee's courageous, tough, fist-to-flesh style, whereas Jackie Chan's style was witty and mischievous, with his actions like a juggling act, which didn't seem to fit the American audience. General, it seems not to the appetite of the American audience.
During that time, the host of the famous New York television program "Today Show" watched Jackie Chan starring in "Killer Trench" and was very interested in inviting Jackie Chan to appear on the program, saying that he wanted to introduce this oriental kung fu star to the Americans. Jackie Chan was so excited to receive the invitation that his friends and peers around him advised him not to miss this rare opportunity.
When Jackie Chan first arrived in New York, he didn't care about the scenery, he hurried from the airport to the TV station. Not long after, the host of the "Today Show" program came over to rehearse the evening program with him. Sweat beads on the corners of Jackie Chan's forehead. The host's English was so fast and furious that Jackie couldn't hear much of what he was saying even though he strained his ears. The host, noticing the impatience, gestured and asked Jackie to do a few punches and kicks in lieu of dialog.
Jackie Chan understood, his cheeks slowly red hot, the fire in his heart straight up. He was a famous Hong Kong star, not a trickster. He was on TV to promote his movie. Using actions instead of words, such a licentious request, not to mention in Hong Kong, even in all of Asia, no one would dare to mention it to him. Jackie Chan didn't say a word, he endured and admitted it, who let himself not make a hit in America!
He followed the instructions of the TV station's people and came to the venue, intently inspecting it. But did not wait for him to finish looking at the venue, thinking about the choreography of the action, the host of the program came to his side, look proudly spit out a few words: "Your program is canceled!" After saying that, he turned around and left.
The American's arrogant rudeness made Jackie Chan feel humiliated, and this incident was like a brand that stayed deep in his heart. Now recalling this incident, Jackie Chan's fists hidden under his sleeves were still clenched tightly. In the end, it was only after the bodyguard standing beside him whispered a reminder in his ear that Jackie broke free from his memories.
"Brother Dragon, someone is coming this way!"
Jackie Chan raised his eyes and saw that a guy with sunglasses just like him was walking across the street. The person who came was very tall, his body was not thin and not fat, a casual suit that looked very ordinary was worn on his body but it was very flavorful, the shirt worn inside was not very formal with a bow tie, even the collar was open with an extra button, there was no collar and beam type of jewelry on his neck, but he could vaguely see the strong muscles inside.
The skin color of his face is very close to that of a white man, but he has a head of pure black hair, although it looks a little messy, but it does not affect the harmony of his appearance at all. Whether it is the dark eyebrows, high nose, and a smile reveals neat and white teeth, knocking on it will make people have a feeling of "like in which movie I have seen".
Lin Mingyang really belongs to the kind of people who are hard to be ignored in the crowd, it is not strange to give Jackie Chan such an impression, the surrounding people who pass by as long as the eyes on his face for a moment, the brain a little faster reaction of the people, immediately recognized him.
It wasn't just someone who shouted out "Felix!", before Lin Ming Yang even walked up to Jackie Chan, he was surrounded by a group of fans who recognized him, and before he even made any official contact, Jackie Chan got a taste of his super high popularity in the United States. The crowd gathered more and more, Lin Mingyang side of the two strong black bodyguards are also a bit unable to catch, Jackie Chan let his side of the bodyguard called Ah Fook up to help, the three people together, only to Lin Mingyang from the crowd "fishing" out.
Lin Mingyang and Jackie Chan's meeting is so some woefully awkward hastily ended, in the surrounding bodyguards escorted, the two quickly out of the airport, heard the reporters only had time to raise the camera, Lin Mingyang and Jackie Chan has been sitting in the car, thickened bulletproof glass is enough to withstand the enthusiastic fans of the beat, the car quickly onto the highway, which is only to the back of the tail to get rid of.
Lin Ming Yang took off his sunglasses, wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead, sat in the back seat and let out a long breath of relief, and then smiled at Jackie Chan, who was sitting across from him, full of apologies, "It was my mistake, I've made you laugh!"
A mouthful of fluent and standard Mandarin immediately won Jackie Chan's favor. Jackie Chan's English had never been very good, especially with the slightly faster pace of speech that most Americans had, he would struggle to hear it. In order to make this movie, he had to brush up on his spoken English for a while before he came to the United States. Before he was worried about whether he would have problems communicating with Lin Mingyang, the moment Lin Mingyang opened his mouth, his biggest concern was dispelled.
"Mr. Lin's Mandarin makes me, a proper Chinese, feel a bit ashamed!" Jackie Chan laughed heartily.
Lin Mingyang wasn't modest either, and accepted this compliment from him quite openly. This action of his was just a result of the straight forward character of Americans, but in Jackie Chan's eyes it turned out to be frank and straightforward, which immediately gave him the idea of befriending Lin Ming Yang.
"Since I go to school in Boston, I feel bad for making big brother Jackie Chan come all this way." Lin Ming Yang said this without the slightest pretense on his face, "There's a very good Cantonese restaurant in New York's Chinatown, so today, I'll be the host and invite Big Brother Jackie Chan to savor it!"
For one thing, everyone hadn't eaten at this point in time, and secondly, Chinese people liked to talk about things over the dinner table, so Lin Ming Yang chose a Cantonese restaurant, but rather a cafe that he himself frequented.
Lin Mingyang's modest stance was very different from the Americans that Jackie Chan remembered, and considering that the other party still had half Chinese blood in his body, Jackie Chan was then relieved.
But next, that American work ethic in Lin Mingyang immediately manifested itself, and on the way to Chinatown, he chatted with Jackie Chan about his ideas for revising The Baby Project.
"I think your initial idea, Brother Jackie Chan, should have just intended to make this script into a Hong Kong movie, and although the script I got was changed by the screenwriters on the American side, the traces left behind by the Hong Kong movie bridges are still very heavy."
Jackie Chan nodded, "At first I didn't think that there would be a Hollywood company interested in this script, and I've read their revised script as well, and the feeling is that it's a bit unorthodox."
"For this script, I have two sets of revisions, either to directly revert to the original Hong Kong movie script, or to replace all the plots with American comedy passages while retaining the main line." Lin Ming Yang accepted the job of screenwriter, so naturally he had the power to say anything about the script's revisions, but he still wanted to consult Jackie Chan, after all, he was also the author of the original script.
Jackie Chan didn't answer immediately, I could tell that he had a hesitant expression on his face, while he was considering, Lin Ming Yang turned his gaze out of the window, enjoying the New York street scene. After about five or six minutes of this, Jackie Chan finally had a decision in his heart.
"It's better to modify it according to one of your later thoughts, after all, this is not Hong Kong!" Jackie Chan replied like this, his tone contained too much helplessness.
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