China Entertainment 1997

"Now You See Me" is scheduled to start shooting in early April, and the filming location will be in the United States.

There are also some outdoor scenes in Paris, but they are mainly to fool the audience. The protagonists do not need to go to Paris to shoot in person.

Cao Xuan left a week in advance, mainly to say hello to Warner's senior management, and at the same time go over the script and preliminary preparations with director James Wan.

In order to ensure Fanxing's control over the crew, Cao Xuan served as the supervisor and producer of "Now You See Me".

Hollywood is a producer-centered system. The crew producer is the boss, and with a producer as a guarantee, it can be said that he has great power.

But with more positions, even if Cao Xuan delegates a lot of power, he can't just push the envelope. Many things still have to be dealt with personally, especially this time at the Hollywood home court. Without Cao Xuan, others can't control the situation.

Also rushing to the United States with him was Da Mimi.

As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, she doesn't have many individual scenes, but a lot of group scenes. It can be said that she has to be present from beginning to end.

Damimi is also very busy. She took on three movies in one go. She just finished filming the movie version of "Wulin Gaiden" and now she is filming "Now You See Me" non-stop.

In fact, when she was filming this film, the time she was filming this film was somewhat coincident with that of another film, "Big Bang". The distance was so far, and "Now You See Me" was so important, it was impossible for Damimi to skip the film.

So Damimi initially wanted to push the movie "Laughing Out Loud", and the liquidated damages were already prepared.

As a result, Lao Zhao said that "Laughing in the River" can be stopped by shooting other people's scenes first, and then wait indefinitely for Damimi to reshoot when she is finished.

Just kidding, let’s not talk about Damimi’s own popularity. Her participation in Cao Xuan’s new Hollywood movie has caused a stir in the industry.

With an investment of US$85 million, it is definitely at the top level in today's Chinese film industry.

Li Bingbing's participation in "Snowflake and the Secret Fan" will only cost 20 million U.S. dollars, and the media made all sorts of embarrassing claims.

The only movie that can actually be compared together is "The Green Hornet" starring Xiao Zhou, which is said to have an investment of over 100 million US dollars.

However, "The Green Hornet" is produced by Columbia Company, Xiao Zhou is considered the second male actor, he is just an actor, and "Now You See Me" is single-handedly produced by Cao Xuan, and is undoubtedly the core of the core.

The difference between the two is not the same. On the contrary, Damimi and Xiao Zhou have similar positions, both are starring.

No one knows what the future of "The Green Hornet" will be, but Cao Xuan's name is the most effective in the domestic film market.

Not to mention Xiao Zhou, even if the rumored Xing Ye plays this role, it is impossible to challenge Cao Xuan and want to dominate Cao Xuan in the country, unless Bruce Lee is resurrected.

Putting aside whether or not she can overpower Fanxing, no matter what, Damimi's appearance in "Now You See Me" will undoubtedly greatly improve herself.

If it breaks out, a Hollywood "international actress" will definitely be of great benefit to their movie.

Cao Xuan wants to cut off all the Marvel actors, and they also want to take advantage of him.

Damimi even regretted that she had taken so many roles. If she had taken the role after "Now You See Me" was released, her salary would have doubled at least.

But she can't blame others. She originally wanted to break into the film market and was not afraid of meat and vegetables. She took on so many movies in one go. Now it's too late to regret it.

In fact, it's not thanks to Da Mimi. Several hit movies have made her the most popular little girl nowadays.

Even if his appeal in movies is not deep, he can still achieve a pretty good salary due to his high popularity and the support of stars.

The movie "Wulin Gaiden" gave her 2 million, the first salary of the crew.

In comparison, Sha Yi, who was very popular in "Run", only had 1.2 million, Guo Zhenni had 1 million, and Yan Ni had 1 million. The latter starred in Lao Mouzi's "Three Guns", and his net worth increased a lot. The remaining For several actors, the package together would not exceed 2 million.

The salary for "Laughing Rivers and Lakes" was 2.2 million, and Lao Zhao spent a lot of money to hire Da Mi Mi. It is said that the male protagonist Xiao Shen Yang's salary was only 300,000, and several apprentices such as Cheng Ye simply took their salary.

Of course, this is just a rumor, and it is unclear whether it is true or not.

But the cost of "Laughing in the River" is indeed not high, only about 10 to 20 million. Putting aside the salary of Damimi and several Hong Kong and Taiwan actors, plus the production funds, the salary left for Zhao Jiaban must be very limited.

Looking at it this way, Cao Xuan, a boss who gives a lot of resources and still pays full salary, is definitely a model of conscience...

The film that paid the most was "The God of Wealth Inn" with a salary of 2.5 million. Yinghuang was rich. I heard that Chef Xie gave Xiao 6 million.

However, this movie mostly uses Yinghuang actors, and although the pay is high, it can make a lot of money back.

Yinghuang approached Damimi mainly because of her popularity in the mainland. She also approached Tong Dawei to promote the "Temptation of Going Home" stunt.

In the past two years, mainland films have been on the rise, and films with pure Hong Kong casts have become less and less popular. If Hong Kong films used to recruit mainland actors, they were co-produced and reviewed, but now they really rely on the popularity of mainland artists.

For the three movies, Damimi and the single-film remuneration received 6.7 million yuan. Even if the company has to share it, the rest is still considerable.

Not to mention "Now You See Me", with a salary of US$300,000, or just over RMB 2 million.

And this is just for movies. Although the current salary in the movie market is also rising year by year, it is generally stable, but the TV series market is not as crazy as usual.

As long as the artist is famous, the salary will not be less than 50,000 per episode. The more popular the more popular.

Especially for a TV series like Damimi, which has guaranteed ratings, if you don’t choose anything and just watch it for money, someone may agree to it if you pay 400,000 for an episode.

That is to say, Damimi is full of ambitions. She not only wants to catch up with Liu Tianxian, but also wants to enter the film industry, improve her celebrity status, and obtain more commercial endorsements and fashion resources. Otherwise, most people will not be able to bear this temptation.

This is what Cao Xuan admires most about Damimi, her long-term vision.

Nowadays, filming TV series is about making money. If she is not taboo about meat and vegetables, she may be able to earn tens of millions, but it is just a novelty, and it will be hard to tell in a year or two.

But if you can seize this opportunity and continue to climb up, you will not only be popular for a longer period of time, but also earn more, and even become the capital to share the fruits one day in the future.

Damimi has always said that her idol is Hu Jing, hugging Empress Donggong’s thigh tightly.

But in fact, Damimi's real idol is Cao Xuan, and he is not a fan or movie fan, but a career fan.

She also wants to become an entertainment giant like Boss Cao, who can turn her hands into clouds and turn her hands into rain.

I don’t know how many nights, Da Mimi hated herself for being born ten years late, otherwise she would have been the vice president of Fanxing by clinging to Cao Xuan life and death.

Bah, what kind of vice president? She wants to be the president of Fanxing Group.

Da Mimi criticized Hu Jing in her heart more than once for being too conservative and only supervising one stall. If she were the Empress of the East Palace, she would have gathered the power of Fanxing and resumed the affairs of Fang Yihua of the Shaw Brothers.

No, she is more powerful than Fang Yihua...

Of course, she was muttering in her heart that she wouldn't dare to hook up with Cao Xuan now.

Whether she succeeds or not, she will not be able to defeat Hu Jing. More importantly, she will suffer crazy revenge from the Empress of the East Palace, and even the Empress of the West Palace will punish her.

She didn't dare to do it before, but now as a confidant of Dong Palace, she knew that Hu Jing was pregnant, so she didn't dare to do it even more.

What she didn't know was that even if he had met Cao Xuan ten years earlier, even if the two were together, Cao Xuan would not have let her interfere with the management of Fanxing.

Just kidding, even if he has never watched "Wu Zetian", he still knows the fate of Qingzi who "seized the title and deposed the emperor".

When two ambitious people get together, they can cooperate and even become confidants, but it is best not to become husband and wife, let alone do business together...

………

After getting off the plane, Damimi followed Cao Xuan by car to the office rented by the crew.

Under normal circumstances, Hollywood film crews have their own companies, and many matters can be discussed directly at the company. Fanxing has not opened an office in Hollywood for the time being, and he does not want to rely on others to go to Warner, so he can only temporarily rent an office in the name of the film crew.

However, this also reminded Cao Xuan that Fanxing should set up an office or branch in Hollywood to handle related matters.

"When you received the letter, I was still wandering, and I kept the promise I made that year in my heart..."

On the way, Cao Xuan closed his eyes and fell asleep, humming softly, and Damimi listened curiously.

"Boss, is this your new song?"

Cao Xuan did not answer, but asked: "What do you think of this song?"

"It's very nice, the melody is fresh and beautiful, and the song is endlessly memorable."

Damimi was very happy, Cao Xuan smiled and started humming another song.

"An excellent person like me should have lived a brilliant life. How come after more than thirty years, he is still drifting in the sea of ​​people... A mediocre person like me... A person like me who refuses to be ordinary..."

After humming for a while, Cao Xuan looked at Damimi: "This is my new song, what do you think?"

"It's very good. It's nice and deep. It's not only memorable, but also thought-provoking. It touches the soul."

Damimi boasted loudly, but she was complaining crazily in her heart.

A world-class superstar with a net worth of hundreds of billions, yet he has the nerve to say with a shameless face that he is mediocre, yet he is so unwilling to be ordinary, and is in a sea of ​​ups and downs.

If you sink, we will have nothing left to sink...

In fact, not only did Damimi complain, Cao Xuan also realized that the lyrics of the song "People Like Me" were wrong. It contained more confusion and depression, which was inconsistent with his current situation and mood.

If it is forced to be put into a new album, it can only be dismissed as an early work, which has been perfected and created now.

Of course, in fact, it doesn’t necessarily have to be about Cao Xuan himself.

This is not the first time he has done reading comprehension. Many of his songs have multiple interpretations.

"Someone Like Me" can be said to be a song composed by Cao Xuan out of sympathy with the confused people born in the 1980s and 1990s.

Or Cao Xuan chatted with a person who was about to leave campus, understood his state of mind, and combined with his own circumstances back then, he had an idea and achieved success overnight.

Changing more than thirty years to more than twenty years, the story is not about Cao Xuan today, but the young people Cao Xuan was then and now...

Writing stories is considered Cao Xuan's strong point. I can't say how perfect it is, but at least it can be justified.

Although it is a temporary office, a lot of the preliminary work of the crew is completed here. There are more than 40 permanent staff here, which is comparable to an ordinary company.

As soon as Cao Xuan arrived, Wen Ziren also hurried over. After everyone introduced him, Damimi went to try on makeup, while Cao Xuan and Wen Ziren reviewed the script.

The movie "Now You See Me" has not changed much compared to the original version, except that it makes Cao Xuan's presence stronger.

It's not that Cao Xuan wants to be in the limelight, but because he himself is responsible for the box office. He just wants to keep a low profile, and neither the director nor the screenwriter would agree.

The original movie was about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse summoned by a police undercover. Now it has been changed to a police undercover asking a magician played by Cao Xuan for help. Then the magician comes forward and invites three other like-minded knights to join and form a group of magic thieves.

The rest of the plot is similar to the original version. First there is a magic trick that shocks everyone, and then it is reversed and analyzed afterwards. There are various battles of wits and courage during this period, and then it is reversed again.

Again, the selling point of "Now You See Me" is the twist.

In addition, Cao Xuan also arranged some preparations for the sequel. Although the original time and space movie also made arrangements for the sequel.

It's a pity that the second part was actually released in a hurry. The stunts and magic are not bad. However, the plot logic is full of loopholes. Cao Xuan will definitely not make such mistakes. After the first script came out, he has been perfecting the script of the second part.

Of course, whether or not a sequel will be made depends on the performance of the first part of "Now You See Me", but I won't be polite if I should bury my buttons.

The next day, Cao Xuan went to Warner Bros. to pay homage to the dock in the morning, and met with several magician consultants for the film in the afternoon.

In fact, one is the most famous - David Copperfield.

The most famous magician in the world, some of the most famous magic tricks include traveling through the Great Wall, making the Statue of Liberty disappear, flying in the air, etc.

In fact, most of the magic in "Now You See Me" can be done using special effects or editing, and does not require the actual use of magic.

Finding these magicians is more of an endorsement and a better way to enrich the "details" of the magic to make the movie look more real.

Magic seems to be a very awesome thing, but as long as the truth is exposed, many things cannot be looked at directly, and it can be regarded as ruining people's jobs.

Because of this, revealing magic is most looked down upon by those in the industry.

Strictly speaking, the magic tricks or plot of "Now You See Me" can be considered a reveal in a sense, but they do not involve many key points.

The most important thing is that the main plot of "Now You See Me", in addition to doing justice for heaven, also despises the secrets of magic. The old villain is a person who makes a living by revealing the secrets of magic, and was finally sanctioned.

And "Now You See Me" is essentially promotional magic, with many magicians willing to help.

In addition to David Copperfield, domestic Liu Qian, Li Ning, and Fu Tenglong are also on the film's consultant list.

After all, it is a magic-themed movie, so having so many big-name consultants is a good publicity stunt.

However, if some professional magicians or magic enthusiasts go to watch the movie because of the reputation of these consultants, they may be a little disappointed. After all, the magic in the movie is not real magic.

Of course, "Now You See Me" is mainly aimed at a large number of ordinary viewers. As long as they enjoy watching it, it doesn't matter whether it is real magic or not.

In addition to these consultants, the crew also specially invited two professional magicians and card tricks artists to provide guidance for the filming needs.

After all, Cao Xuan and Captain America's Chris Evans have a lot of card scenes. If you want to make them look handsome and dashing, you need a professional approach.

Especially Cao Xuan, who started practicing card magic and fancy cutting before the Spring Festival.

After half a year of study, Cao Xuan is now able to skillfully perform more than a dozen card magic tricks, and his tricks are also good, at least he can fool laymen.

Card magic is actually not important. After all, there are many ways to solve the problem in movies, but if the card playing is not fancy, then you can only hire a substitute. There are ways, but it is best if Cao Xuan can support certain basic shots.

…

After Cao Xuan arrived, the crew officially started setting up and preparing for filming. He also met several leading actors before starting filming.

Juan Fu, who plays the role of the hypnotist, has a relatively reserved personality and has a rather British gentlemanly demeanor.

Cao Xuan didn't know why the original version cast a big man to play the role of the hypnotist. He might have thought of the contrast effect, but the gentle and graceful Curly Fu looked more like a master of hypnotizing the mind.

Chris Evans, who plays the role of Unlocking King, has the same English name as Cao Xuan. Cao Xuan looked at his buttocks specifically and found that he was indeed very perky.

Chris Evans was speechless when he screamed, so Cao Xuan simply imitated Juan Fu and called him his nickname-Mr. Tao.

It is said that this man likes to grow a beard when he is not filming, like a kiwi. When he comes to work, he is forced to shave clean and turns into a peach, so he is called Mr. Peach, or Chris Peach.

Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk) is not as calm as he looks, but he loves to joke around. Cao Xuan always gets confused when he sees him, and almost calls him Dr. Banner several times.

Gal Gadot will be famous in later generations, but in fact, she does not particularly fit Cao Xuan’s aesthetics. It’s not that Cao Xuan doesn’t think she is beautiful, but that she is not a top beauty in Hollywood.

In his opinion, Gal Gadot is very fond of actresses who like their appearance and camera.

Wonder Woman is very sassy and has countless fans, and "Red Notice" is also very good to watch, but in other movies, sometimes it is eye-catching, and sometimes it feels mediocre.

In fact, all female stars have a similar situation. Some movies and TV shows are amazing, and some movies and TV shows even look average or even a bit ugly.

If an actress takes good looks as her advantage, her career may have a low point in terms of good looks, but most of her works must remain above the standard.

However, Gal Gadot relies too much on appearance and camera, and her appearance fluctuates, which to some extent proves that she has insufficient conditions.

In other words, this is what many call a "beautiful woman" who is more heroic and capable. If the role and appearance are similar, it will be a big plus. Otherwise, there may be no benefit or even a hindrance.

Of course, aesthetics is difficult to define, and everyone has their own standards.

Cao Xuan thinks that Gal Gadot is a beautiful woman with temperament. Some people may think that she is the best in Hollywood. There is no way to argue with this, and Cao Xuan doesn’t want to argue either.

He is not in a relationship with Gal Gadot, and he doesn't care whether he is beautiful or not. The most important thing is whether the other party can bring him benefits.

Cao Xuan specifically consulted with a stylist to design a look based on Gal Gadot's strengths. It just so happened that the character was a female police detective, so there were a lot of conveniences.

Regarding the black man A Ming, Cao Xuan was actually a little surprised. Because of "The Doomsday Dictatorship", he had a preconceived idea that this person was a very violent and fierce person, but in fact he was very kind and honest in private, and he was especially easy to talk to.

After many main creators gathered together, Cao Xuan held a special meeting, during which he specially introduced Damimi.

This group of people hang out in Hollywood, and even if they have never met, they know each other's ins and outs. Only Da Mimi is from China, so she is totally different from these people.

Therefore, Cao Xuan had to mention it specially to show that this person is his, so everyone should weigh it carefully.

Damimi was not afraid of stage and introduced herself in fluent English, which made Cao Xuan very happy.

He said at the beginning that compared to Liu Tianxian, if Damimi wants to hit Hollywood, she must first pass the language barrier.

Damimi may have gotten the letter from Hu Jing. She has been crazily tutoring in English since 2007. After several years of hard work, she doesn't dare to say how good her English is, but she will definitely have no problem communicating and filming.

If it doesn't work, just use dubbing if you can. Don't think that there are no dubbing actors in Hollywood. They have been used in many movies, even some classics.

Hollywood is inherently a world of actors, with actors from all countries. It is inevitable that some people who are not fluent in the language will use dubbing.

And sometimes, in order to better shape some characters, voice actors will be used.

For example, an actor's voice is thicker, but a clearer and more magnetic voice is suitable for the role, or an actor's voice is more serious, but he plays a comedy theme. These will be handled by voice actors.

There is also a small part where the newcomer's lines are not up to par, so dubbing actors are used to make up for it.

There are young talents and popular celebrities not only in China. Hollywood has newcomers who are not suitable for their ethics every year. However, most of these people are not established and are not in the C position of Hollywood, so the country does not care much.

Let's put it this way, there is no clean entertainment industry in the world, it's just that some are bad and some are worse.

The longer Cao Xuan worked with Hollywood, the more filters he broke, but he also truly saw many of Hollywood's advanced and unique features.

He drew a circle and jotted it down, intending to select a few situations that could be transplanted into Chinese language, and then go back to the country to test them, so as to learn from the foreigners and use their skills to defeat the foreigners...

On April 2, "Now You See Me" officially started filming in Los Angeles.

At the opening ceremony, Cao Xuan invited Mr. Guan out again.

It's not easy to get cow's and pig's heads in the United States, so they simply cut off a few pounds of beef and pork, and also provided a few plates of hamburgers, French fries, egg tarts and other Western snacks for the second master to try.

The photo of Cao Xuan, with Mr. Tao, Juan Fu and others who were full of excitement and curiosity, respectfully offering incense to Mr. Guan, was taken by the American media and reported in a serious manner.

"Revealed: China Cao's Box Office Artifact, the Mysterious Oriental Sacrifice Ceremony"

Some people also dug out excerpts from previous interviews with Dwayne Johnson and others, completely confirming that Cao Xuan would engage in some weird oriental rituals and rules when filming, which may have a very significant help to his box office fortune.

There were various discussions in the American media, thinking that a great secret had been discovered, and it was said that American film crews followed suit.

If you can't find Guan Erye, you can bring Tathagata, Guanyin or Mazu from the Chinese. If that doesn't work, use the local Jesus and Jehovah.

While drawing the cross and burning incense, I don’t know whether God, the old man, eats the incense...