New York 2006

Chapter 104 I want to win

In a music bar where scene props have been arranged, Constance Wu, the Chinese-American heroine of Luo Ji's song "We are young" MV, Constance Wu is sitting on the table, reading a newspaper and snickering.

Luo Ji walked over curiously: "What are you laughing at?"

"Hahaha, news about you."

Luo Ji took it over out of curiosity and found that it was a local Hollywood tabloid.The photo above is of Luo Ji and Christine walking on a forest path while talking and laughing.

"Logic is suspected of having a romantic relationship with Hollywood actor Kristen Stewart."

"During this period, Luo Ji has been filming his song MV with Kristen. Whenever the filming is over, the two will come together and chat, and their behavior is very familiar and intimate. Many staff members also revealed that the relationship between the two is very close. Unusual."

Luo Ji did deliberately get close to Kristen Stewart during this period, and Kristen is indeed beautiful.But Luo Ji's purpose was not to fall in love, but to see if he could harvest new movie clips from Christine.

In the end, no matter how hard Luo Ji tried, after four days of getting along, all the MV shooting was finished, and there was not even a single apocalypse scene.Everything about the "Twilight" movie only stops at that scene where the hero picks up a car with his bare hands and the hero saves the beauty.

Luo Ji said nonchalantly: "It's boring tabloids, I'm a famous man with a wife."

Constance Wu's face was full of disbelief, and she said: "Every day after filming, you go to see her and ask her to go for a walk. In the past few days, the crew has spread rumors that you are chasing Kristen, and you still said You don’t have this intention.”

Luo Ji smiled and said, "Believe it or not, she and I have a pure friendship. By the way, I have been getting along well with you during this period, so I am also pursuing you."

25-year-old Constance Wu smiled with a smile on her face, blinked and said, "If you have this intention, I don't mind, sister."

Luo Ji was not timid. He took a step forward and said with a smile, "Really?"

Constance Wu panicked instantly: "I don't want to be the second Britney. By the way, the picture of you writing a song together has gone viral on the Internet. Is it because of the release of your and Britney's "Marvin Gaye" single? .”

Luo Ji said nonchalantly: "Maybe, but it's just boring fake news. I never care."

"Are you two planning to compete? For example, appear on a talk show, TV show, or something like that."

Luo Ji said, "I don't have this plan. Britney has to concentrate on dealing with her legal case during this period. Her physical health is not very good and she needs to rest."

Constance Wu smiled evilly and said, "This song is proof that you and Britney wrote a song together? How can you not promote it?"

"You are so naive!"

Constance Wu's reaction was the reaction of the American public after the release of "Marvin Gaye".

Traditional media may take some respect into account, but online discussions are unscrupulous and create all sorts of misinformation.This has made Luo Ji, Britney, and Taylor feel a little embarrassed these days.

Therefore, both Luo Ji and Britney plan to keep a low profile on the promotion of this song and do not plan to appear in person.It was handed over to the promotion teams of Universal Music and Future Music.

In the past few days, MTV has played the MV of the song, and the MV has also been uploaded to YouTube.The publicity team also posted online to promote the event.Luo Ji himself also took out some cash and gave it to Braun to bribe the radio network.That's all that can be done.

Constance Wu said: "By the way, have you ever "written a song" with Taylor?"

Luo Ji shook his head helplessly, then raised his middle finger to Constance Wu, turned around and left to find Director Francis.

"Director, when will we start shooting?"

"Wait a moment, we need to add a high-speed camera. This will give a better picture. The slow-motion footage will be clearer by then."

Luo Ji said worriedly: "So the material shot a few days ago is going to be scrapped?"

"No, no, just need to shoot a few more close-ups. This time it's my fault, mainly because I haven't shot this kind of slow-motion shots before."

Luo Ji looked at Francis, curled his lips, took a deep breath, and finally endured it.

At first he kept saying that with $80, he could shoot the slow-motion shots he wanted. But in the past few days, Luo Ji invested another $20, which made everyone from Universal Music come to check the accounts.

"Don't exceed the budget. No one would invest 100 million dollars in a song MV at this stage."

Francis assured: "Absolutely not, we will definitely get it done today."

"Ok."

The MV for "We are young" almost entirely copies the original MV.I say almost because the original version had scenes of black female chorus singers.

But Luo Ji's version was a duet with Aunt Sha. She was far away in the UK and could not participate in the filming, so all the scenes related to the chorus were given to Constance Wu.

Constance Wu plays the female character who caused chaos in the bar. She has many more scenes than in the original version, and Luo Ji's close-ups are also fewer than in the original version.Try to achieve a balance.

Luo Ji walked onto the bar stage, and the accompaniment team was ready.Two white people, two Chinese people, and one black person, both male and female, an absolutely diverse combination.

"Logic, thank you for letting us leave the country." The Jewish accompanist said.

"It's not a big deal. But you don't have the same treatment as those actors, and you don't have any filming expenses."

"Hahaha, just take us to a few more business performances." Tracy said with a smile.

"No problem. When the tour starts, you will definitely have no free time to rest."

The Chinese accompanist said: "Let's tire ourselves out."

"Hahaha."

To be honest, these accompanists performed with Luo Ji and earned a lot of basic salary plus bonuses during this period, so the accompanist team was very motivated.

The filming started, and the high-speed camera started running. Constance Wu was holding her mobile phone in the bar and throwing it towards a white man. The camera recorded it perfectly.

"OK. Next one."

Luo Ji lip-synced on the stage, and the accompanist beside him shook his hair, and pieces of paper floated down from it, creating a romantic atmosphere. The photographer took several shots and finally got a satisfactory shot.Just passed this one.

As the next line continued, the group of performers in the bar suddenly became chaotic.

The white man whose cell phone was thrown away just now picked up a prop wine bottle and hit Constance Wu directly on the head. Constance Wu pretended to be in pain and covered her forehead with her hands. "OK, next one."

As the filming continued, the bar went from orderly to chaotic.White people, Latinos, East Asians, black people fighting each other.Constance Wu, the instigator of this chaos, was standing alone in the crowd, smiling and looking at the camera.The photographer concentrated on recording all this.

"OK, the MV shooting is all over."

Cheers suddenly erupted in the bar, and everyone began to celebrate.Luo Ji looked at the messy bar and couldn't help but feel a little distressed. This was all production expenses, and it would be uncomfortable to stay there for another second.

Luo Ji walked outside to the dressing room.When I went in, I found Fiona chatting with her agent Braun.

Luo Ji asked in confusion: "Why are you here? Didn't I ask you to follow up on "Twilight"?"

Braun said: "We had a good negotiation and the price had been reduced to 420 million US dollars, but suddenly a competitor appeared, and MTV Movies became ambiguous again, saying that 420 million US dollars was too little."

Luo Ji asked in confusion: "Who is the competitor?"

Braun began to claim credit, "I bribed an insider at MTV Movies, and he revealed that the company we compete with is Summit Entertainment."

Luo Ji wondered: "The adaptation rights have been on the market for six months. This company has appeared sooner or later, but now it appears to compete with us. Could it be a negotiation method of MTV Films? Want to let We pay more.”

"I also considered this situation, so I inquired carefully, and found that it was indeed a coincidence. Summit Entertainment really participated in the competition."

"What do you say?"

Braun said: "This involves the original author of the novel, Stephenie Meyer. She was very dissatisfied that after MTV Films obtained the rights to adapt the novel, it has not adapted it for film and television. So she has been working with her over the years. MTV Movies is making trouble.”

Luo Ji asked: "So, Stephenie Meyer, the author of "The Twilight Saga", has a particularly strong will to adapt the novel into a film and TV show. It was she who attracted Summit Entertainment to compete for the rights to adapt it?"

"Yes, ever since MTV Movies was willing to sell off the rights to adapt the novel. She began to actively contact Hollywood film and television companies. During this time, she finally got through to Summit Entertainment, who were willing to take over the project."

"Ah."

Braun continued: "Now that the novelist is on Summit Entertainment's side, we don't have the upper hand in negotiations."

Luo Ji retorted: "The opinion of the author of the novel is not important, what is important is the attitude of MTV Movies. It seems the only option is to bid."

Agent Braun said: "Yes, but do you want to consider cooperating with Summit Entertainment? They are also considered a second-rate production company in Hollywood. They can help us share a lot of risks. They also have production experience. I read the novel Yes, the investment cost is at least 4000 million yuan, and the risk is very high."

Luo Ji knew that Braun meant well, but "The Twilight Saga" was a revelation, so he didn't want to share it with others: "No, you go to MTV Movies and raise the price to 550 million dollars."

"Logic, don't be impulsive. This is not a small amount of money. You only made so much. Let's talk to Summit Entertainment first. Maybe we can negotiate good terms."

Luo Ji knew that Braun was not optimistic about this project from the beginning, but it was also for his own good, so he said, "Okay, you can go talk to Summit Entertainment and get a feel for it."

Braun immediately took out his mobile phone and made a call. It seemed that he was well prepared and had already asked for Summit Entertainment's contact information in advance.

"Hello. I heard that your company is purchasing the rights to adapt "The Twilight Saga" recently. It just so happens that my client Logic is also purchasing this project. You should have heard about it..."

Braun chatted for 10 minutes and then handed the phone to Luo Ji: "The CEO of Summit Entertainment wants to talk to you."

Luo Ji then took the phone and answered: "Hello, this is Logic."

The other person's attitude was very good: "Logic, you have never been involved in the film field, but this industry is very complicated and cannot be played by a child like you. How about we cooperate on this project?"

"What kind of cooperation law?"

"Let's do this. You withdraw from the competition for the project. When my company gets the adaptation rights, I can give you 20% of the investment share after the project is approved."

Luo Ji thought about it: "The investment share is too small, and I want to take control of this project. Let's do this. You guys withdraw from the acquisition. You also know that I am a newcomer in Hollywood. When the time comes, I need to find a production company to cooperate. The two of us can Completely complementary, neither of you has to take risks.”

The person on the other end of the phone did not refute immediately, but gently persuaded him, so he used various means to promise to let Luo Ji appear in the movie, promised that Summit Entertainment would take care of Luo Ji in future projects, and promised to increase the investment share. They even Using seduction, Luo Ji can help Luo Ji find Hollywood starlets.

But Luo Ji was very determined and refused them all.

The other person became impatient and said harshly: "Logic, let me make it clear. We don't want a crossover singer to lead the project. The project must be controlled by Summit Entertainment."

Luo Ji said firmly: "Let me make it clear, this project must be controlled by Logic Pictures."

The other person yelled: "Who do you think you are?"

Luo Ji also yelled, "Who do you think you are? Do you want me to withdraw from the competition just by saying something? Don't think that I don't know the rules of Hollywood. It's not you who have the final say after the project is won."

The person on the other end of the phone sounded cold: "So, Logic, do you have to compete with us?"

"You can understand it this way!" Luo Ji didn't give in. There was nothing to be afraid of from a second-rate Hollywood production company.

"I really admire your ignorance. If you had read the news last year, you wouldn't have said that. In the end, apart from letting my company pay more, what can you get from the competition?"

Luo Ji said harshly: "I will get the rights to adapt the novel."

After speaking, Luo Ji hung up the phone without giving the other party a chance to speak.The opponent obviously won't give up the dominance.

"How's it going?" Braun asked.

"The talks have collapsed." Luo Ji said nonchalantly, and then returned the phone to his manager Braun: "By the way, was there any important news from Summit Entertainment last year?"

Braun shook his head, so Luo Ji took out his iPhone and searched for it, and found a piece of news from July last year.

"Summit Entertainment, an independent film studio, has received more than US$10 billion in financing backed by Merrill Lynch. Summit Entertainment will fully enter the field of production. This reporter has found that their company has three films under development at the same time. "

After his manager Braun saw the news, he breathed a sigh of relief and said with relief: "Forget it, they have strong funds, we can't compete with them, and the risks are too great. Let's just focus on our music career. It’s your core.”

Fiona also persuaded: "Forget it, it's just a novel. We can just find other projects to invest in."

Luo Ji looked at Summit Entertainment's $10 billion financing in the news. He was not afraid. Instead, he was inspired to fight. He looked at the two of them firmly: "I want to win!"

(End of this chapter)