Caught in Affairs with Superstar

Chapter 1187 - 655: International Grand Prize_5

Zhou Yun showed a surprised expression.

No matter who it was, if someone opened with, "The first thought I had after I got out of bed this morning was that I absolutely had to meet you," they’d probably find it a little creepy, right?

Stuart Patrice didn’t seem to realize that what he said could easily strike people as strange.

But he did seem to finally realize that his attitude was a bit too enthusiastic, and he reined it in a little before continuing, "You’ve never acted in an English-language series before, have you?"

Zhou Yun shook her head.

She said, "Right now I’m still mainly doing Chinese-language film and TV."

Stuart Patrice said, "Your English is very good. You could absolutely come to Hollywood to develop your career."

Zhou Yun smiled, waved her hand, and said, "It’s not that I’m refusing to develop in Hollywood, but I’m doing just fine shooting in my own country."

"Hollywood is the center of film and television production for the whole world. You should be spending more of your time here." Like everyone in Hollywood’s film and TV companies, Stuart Patrice was filled with absolute confidence and pride in this industry and this place. In fact, Zhou Yun could tell that he wasn’t trying to show off, nor was he implying that other places weren’t as good as Hollywood; it was just that, having been steeped in this environment for so long, he had developed a kind of generalized sense of pride.

Zhou Yun said, "Mr. Patrice, I admit that in terms of overall industry infrastructure, you’re more mature over here. But we in China also have very good producers, directors, and screenwriters, and we already have very mature crews. Besides, I’m a Chinese actress. Only directors and writers from my own country can create the roles that suit me best."

Stuart Patrice shook his head and said, "If Behind the Scenes and Life had been produced by American production companies, you might have become internationally famous a long time ago."

Zhou Yun said, "But these two films have already brought me a lot, haven’t they? At the very least, Mr. Patrice, aren’t you here to see me precisely because you watched these two films?"

"I’m talking about audiences all over the world," Stuart Patrice said. "Your Chinese film and TV industry doesn’t have distribution channels as wide as ours. No matter how good your work is, without leveraging our distribution network, it still can’t be seen globally. The best cinema people in the world all want an Oscar; the best television people in the world all want an Emmy."

Zhou Yun was honestly left speechless by Stuart Patrice’s confidence and pride.

She realized that no matter how she tried to talk to him, she couldn’t convince him.

In the end, Zhou Yun could only say, "Mr. Patrice, thank you very much for appreciating me. If you have a good project or a good role you’d like me to play, you’re very welcome to contact me. But I’m a Chinese actress, and there are still many good film and TV projects waiting for me back home. I don’t have any plans to shift my focus to Hollywood."

When he heard Zhou Yun say this, Stuart Patrice actually sighed and showed an expression of hating iron for not becoming steel.

Zhou Yun was dumbfounded.

What was with this guy?

This was the first time the two of them had met, wasn’t it? Why was he looking at her like she’d just thrown away some tremendous opportunity?

The truth was, Stuart Patrice was a businessman. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe for a lot of people, the main reason they enter this industry in the first place is that they love it. But when, in your day-to-day job, you’re constantly dealing with different people and different matters—many of them trivial, even worldview-shattering—the love you have for this industry may not be enough to keep your original intentions intact.

Stuart Patrice was in charge of series production at Paimon. Almost every year he had to meet with the very best producers, directors, and actors from around the world: to discuss projects, talk about potential collaborations, coordinate schedules, confirm pay, and even nail down details like what kind of services they’d be provided during shoots.

You can work for your ideals, but you can’t afford to think of work too idealistically.

What he felt for Zhou Yun in that instant was a burst of passion—of course, not the romantic kind, but a passion that came from his professional ideals.

In Zhou Yun, he saw a unique quality that, in his view, could take her all the way to the top of the pyramid.

It was just that Zhou Yun’s assessment of her own circumstances and career path clearly exceeded his expectations.

In his subconscious, there wasn’t a single actor in the world who would willingly turn down an invitation from Hollywood—especially an invitation from Paimon, one of the very top production companies.

Why was Zhou Yun being so stubborn? She seemed full of confidence in her own country’s film and TV industry. Sure, Life and Behind the Scenes were both proper Chinese-language films, but how many such projects did she think she’d encounter in her lifetime? Patrice admitted that every country has excellent, talented film and TV people. But how many countries, like the United States, possessed the ability to launch those people onto the global stage?

Why wasn’t Zhou Yun willing to shift her center of work to Hollywood?

Stuart Patrice simply couldn’t figure it out.

Of course, he couldn’t figure it out because if he did, the immense confidence he had in his own company and in this industry would start to crack.

Having met Stuart Patrice, Zhou Yun felt even more strongly that Song Chi was doing the right thing.

She didn’t take Patrice’s visit as any kind of offense; on the contrary, she understood that it was a sign of his appreciation.

But she didn’t particularly want that kind of condescending appreciation—"I think you have potential, you’re wasting your talent staying in your own country, come over to us; we have the world’s best talent here, the world’s top production teams and distribution networks."

Zhou Yun herself was a "proud" person; how could she accept someone else’s "proud" invitation.

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Does this count as a chonky Chapter?