Huayu is free to do as you like

Hakone is 90 kilometers away from Tokyo and is a world-renowned hot spring town and sanctuary.

Due to its beautiful natural environment and unique hot spring resources, it has attracted many tourists from all over the world. At the same time, many celebrities and wealthy people have bought local properties and used it as a good place for vacation and leisure.

In the morning, in a Japanese-style hot spring villa in the wealthy area of ​​Hakone.

On the big bed in the bedroom, Yui Aragaki slowly woke up from a deep sleep.

"Awake?

Good morning"

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the handsome face opposite her. When they looked at each other, Gu Wei greeted her gently.

"Good morning~

When did you wake up?"

"It's been a while."

"Why don't you get up and just look at me like this?"

Gu Wei looked down at her arms and thighs that were hugging her.

"I'm afraid I'll wake you up if I get up."

Yui Aragaki finally reacted and moved her arms and legs away, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Gu Sang is really a very gentle guy~"

Gu Wei smiled: "Yui-chan was too tired last night, I don't want to disturb your rest"

After he finished speaking, Yui Aragaki thought of the craziness they had together last night, and her fair and tender face was slightly red.

Her personality is like this, a little introverted and shy. She is very open when she is with Gu Wei, but she feels embarrassed every time she mentions it.

After landing in Tokyo, Gu Wei held several fan meetings with other Japanese actors of [Detective Chinatown 3] according to the arrangement of Toho Co., Ltd.

The effect was very good, and it caused a lot of discussion in the entire Japanese entertainment industry, especially on the Internet. Many young Japanese people are looking forward to the movie [Detective Chinatown 3].

After the promotional event ended, Gu Wei and Yui Aragaki, who had not seen each other for a long time, talked about their longing.

Then the two came to the root box not far from Tokyo and stayed for two days without being disturbed.

The hot spring villa here was bought by Gu Wei when he and Aragaki Yui came to Nehak for vacation last time. The address is located deep in the rich villa area, with beautiful and quiet environment. Ali Lao Ma's manor villa is not far from his house.

"The box office of [Detective Chinatown 3] has been crazy these days. It has been a long time since a foreign film has achieved such a good box office performance in the Japanese film market."

Not long after getting up, the two of them had breakfast in the restaurant on the first floor of the villa after washing up. Aragaki Yui took a bite of the toast with jam in her hand and said while looking at her mobile phone.

Thanks to the support of Toho, the leading Japanese film company, [Detective Chinatown 3] was released in 1,046 large-scale well-known cinemas across the country, represented by Toho Roppongi Cinema, the day after Gu Wei landed in Tokyo.

The box office performance has been rising since then, and it has soon become the number one box office among the films currently being released in the Japanese film market.

"The total box office is only 1 billion yen now~" Gu Wei did not care too much about the excellent performance of [Detective Chinatown 3].

The Japanese market is still too small.

Even the box office of the top ten films in film history is only around 10 billion yen.

Moreover, Japanese people love animated movies. The most popular movies in this market must be animated films.

For example, the three most popular movies this year are [Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Time], [Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet] and [The Dragon and the Freckles Princess].

Among them, the third-ranked [The Dragon and the Freckles Princess] only had a total box office of 300 million RMB.

Even if a foreign movie like [Detective Chinatown 3] is popular, the total box office will not be too high. Don’t look at the fact that it has received a box office of 1 billion yen just a few days after its release. Gu Wei feels that the final box office will hardly exceed 3 billion yen.

It is less than 150 million RMB.

"It’s already very impressive. According to the current situation, [Detective Chinatown 3] is likely to become the most popular foreign movie this year.

It’s all thanks to Gu Sang. You have a high appeal in your country!"

Yui Aragaki said in an exaggerated tone, looking at Gu Wei with admiration.

Gu Wei shook his head slightly.

"I do have some fans in Japan, but their power is far from enough to achieve the current box office.

[Detective Chinatown 3] has an almost all-Japanese cast, including Satoshi Tsumabuki, Suzuki Honami, Tadanobu Asano, Tomokazu Miura, and most importantly, Yui-chan. Your performances and the good story are the reasons why the movie can get good box office."

Gu Wei knows that he has a considerable influence in Japan, but he also knows that these alone cannot make the movie a big hit.

Just like Hollywood invites domestic stars to star in movies for the Chinese market, the star lineup of [Detective Chinatown 3] and the story that takes place in Tokyo will make local audiences feel a lot of favor.

Yui Aragaki smiled brightly after hearing what Gu Wei said, and did not refute.

"Is Gu Sang going back to China in the afternoon?"

"Yes, there is still a lot of work to do in China, and this trip to promote the movie has delayed a lot of time."

"Happy time is short after all"

In fact, when she first arrived in Japan, Gu Wei had already told her that she could stay for a few days, but Yui Aragaki still seemed very reluctant to leave.

Gu Wei smiled and touched her head.

"There will be opportunities in the future, and if Yui-chan is not busy, you can come to China. I will treat you well."

Returned to Tokyo from Nehak at noon, and Gu Wei had already boarded the flight back to China in the afternoon.

Unlike the fanfare when he came, he was very low-key when he returned and did not attract anyone's attention.

After separating from Gu Wei, Yui Aragaki returned to her residence in Tokyo.

If we talk about who has gained the most from the hit of [Detective Chinatown 3] in Japan, it must be the heroine.

Yui Aragaki has always shown a sweet and lovely screen image. Since her debut, she has played many pure and beautiful roles. She is loved by the majority of Japanese otakus and is rated as the most desired female star to be their wife.

This is the reason for her early popularity, but it has gradually become a shackle that imprisons her over the years.

Yui Aragaki has long been aware of this and has been trying to change in recent years, taking on some roles that are quite different from her image and temperament, but the response has not been very good.

This situation is very normal for actors, which is the so-called transition pain period.

[Detective Chinatown 3] was a hit in Japan, not only reaping a lot of box office, but also the actors in it were praised by the audience and film critics.

Among them, Yui Aragaki is undoubtedly the one who received the most praise.

She played Kobayashi Anna, who is gentle and upright on the surface and has always stood on the side of justice, but in fact she is the big boss behind the entire closed room murder case, a real high-IQ criminal.

Especially in the last scene where she confronted the protagonist Qin Feng, Yui Aragaki performed perfectly, showing the character of Anna Kobayashi's white and black personality to the fullest, and the look at the end of the film was the finishing touch.

This kind of queen character who is a little bit bad and a little bit crazy is exactly what the Japanese like, so both the audience and the media praised Yui Aragaki's performance in [Detective Chinatown 3].

Everyone also realized that she is not only able to play some cute and pure roles, but she can also play this kind of villain who is both good and evil very well.

The transformation that Yui Aragaki has always wanted seems to have been unexpectedly achieved because of [Detective Chinatown 3].

She has been happily getting along with Gu Wei these days, and she has not forgotten to pay attention to the comments on the movie on the Internet.

The result is that [Detective Chinatown 3] seems to have broadened her acting career, which makes Yui Aragaki happy and more grateful to Gu Wei.

"Gakki, did you rest well during the holidays these days?"

After returning home, Yui Aragaki was cleaning the house when she suddenly received a call from her agent.

"It's OK. Vacations always make people feel very happy."

"Although I don't want to disturb your vacation, I do have something important to do.

I just received two movie scripts. Both are well-known directors in the circle. They want you to play the leading role.

I took a rough look at the scripts. Both are literary dramas. If you play well, you have a great chance to win an award."

"Great, I can't wait to see the script!" The words of the agent made Yui Aragaki excited.

The opportunity that she had been seeking but couldn't get before came to her on her own initiative. For her, this is definitely a surprise.

"I have to say that the movie [Detective Chinatown 3] that is currently being screened has really blessed you a lot.

It has allowed many people to see your explosive acting skills. Everyone knows that in addition to the innocent and sweet roles in the past, you can also play more profound and complex roles.

Are you at home in Tokyo? I'll send the script to you?"

The smile on Yui Aragaki's face remained unchanged.

"I'm here, just come over."

After hanging up the phone with the agent, the joy in her heart slowly subsided, and Yui Aragaki thought of Gu Wei who left today.

She sat on the tatami and looked out the window at the blue sky with white clouds floating outside.

"It seems that I won't have time to go to China in the short term, but I will definitely thank you next time we meet!

Gu Wei-san."

"At present, the total box office of [Detective Chinatown 3] in markets outside China has exceeded 400 million yuan, and the global box office of the film has reached 6.27 billion, surpassing the 6 billion of [Wolf Warrior 2] to become the new Chinese-language film box office champion."

On the private plane, Yang Dan was reporting to Gu Wei on the current box office situation of [Detective Chinatown 3].

The release time of the film in various regions abroad is different, some are early and some are late. Some real-time box office is easy to count, such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong Island, and Taiwan. Some are difficult to count and can only wait for the local cooperative company to provide data, such as some African countries.

But no matter what, the total box office of [Detective Chinatown 3] has officially surpassed [Wolf Warrior 2], and the box office of the film has also become a new Chinese entertainment film box office record.

"The second country in the box office is actually Thailand?

I thought it would be South Korea."

Gu Wei held a data sheet in his hand and said with some surprise after reading it.

The country with the first box office abroad is naturally Japan, where he just ran a promotion.

"It may be because of Tony Jaa.

He is very famous in Thailand, and he was also very active in promoting [Detective Chinatown 3] when it was released there."

Gu Wei nodded after listening to Yang Dan's explanation.

After returning to China, Gu Wei did not return to the [Changjin Lake] crew but returned to the Beijing company first.

This time he asked for leave, in addition to going to Japan, he had some other things to do. The crew had already made arrangements, and it would not affect the filming progress.

"How did the discussion with Lionsgate go?"

Back in the company, Gu Wei first found Yang Liwen and communicated with her about some recent matters.

"After several consultations, we have almost reached a consensus on each other, and both sides are roughly clear about everyone's bottom line.

What can be agreed upon at present is the investment ratio of the film. Lionsgate is willing to give up 30% of the share, and the total investment of the film is 120 million US dollars.

The director is still Chad Stahelski.

Because it is a co-production, some of our staff will also join the crew. In addition to being the leading actor, you will also hold a producer position."

Gu Wei nodded slowly after listening to Yang Liwen's words. He was surprised that Lions Gate could make such a big concession. He also admired the courage of Lions Gate's senior management.

The "John Wick" series has always been a B-level movie with a low investment. The first three films have made money since the first one.

In fact, as long as you make money by filming the fourth part normally, it won’t be a problem.

Judging from the box office of the first three films, although this series of movies did not lose money, they did not make much profit.

The combined box office of the first three films was just over US$500 million, which is far behind those global blockbusters.

Lionsgate chose to cooperate with Gu Wei because they wanted to go big, hoping to use his power to open up the Chinese market.

"Tang Detective 3" starring Gu Wei has received more than 800 million U.S. dollars in box office in the Chinese market, which has far exceeded the box office of "John Wick" in the global market.

So they are betting that the other party will make this movie a big hit in the Chinese market after joining "John Wick".

"What about the script? This is the most important thing. How did they respond to my request to change it to two male protagonists?"

Gu Wei asked the most critical question.

"This is what I emphasized during the negotiation process. Lionsgate has sent over the revised first version of the script to get our opinions."

Yang Liwen said and handed over the script that she had prepared long ago.

Gu Wei took it and looked through it directly.

The content of this script is very similar to the original "John Wick 4".

It's still the battle between top killer John Wick and the High Table.

The character played by Gu Wei is named Kane, a top killer like John Wick. He is hired by the new leader of the Gaucho Society, the Marquis Vincent de Gramont, to kill John Wick.

The two competed, but there was no winner.

John learned that Kane was forced to work for him because his sister was in the hands of Marquis Vincent.

So he proposed to help him rescue his sister, and the two of them dealt with the big boss, Marquis Vincent.

In the end, the two of them rescued Kane's sister through joint efforts and killed the leader of the High Table, Marquis Vincent."

The plot is actually quite old-fashioned. There are also some branch plots in which John asks his friends for help, but his friends are also hunted down. Generally speaking, it is still the routine of traditional gunfight action movies.

But the routine is not afraid of aging, it depends on how you shoot it.

“The content of this main plot is okay, but Kane’s plot can be more fleshed out and the characters should not be so flat.

You take the script to the screenwriting department and ask them to modify it according to my instructions, and then show it to me again."

This version is a slight modification of the original version of Zhenzi in time and space. The kidnapped daughter was changed into a younger sister, and the blind killer became a normal one, but he was good at using cold weapons.

Then Kane's role as one of the two male protagonists was added a lot, and he was almost on par with John Wick on camera.

From this point of view, Lionsgate Films is indeed sincere.

Watching Yang Liwen take over the script, Gu Wei suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, how much is the salary offered to me by Lionsgate?"

"Ten million dollars"

“They are quite generous~”

Although Gu Wei's salary in domestic entertainment is high, he has never proven himself in the international market, especially the North American market.

Being able to get such a high salary is not only due to the Chinese market, but also because I am an investor. After all, the wool comes from the sheep.

“Keanu Reeves, the highest-paid person in [John Wick 4], got 15 million U.S. dollars, which is more than you, boss.

However, when he filmed the first film, his salary was only US$2 million, and since the trilogy has made money, it has risen all the way.”