Huayu: Starting with mentoring female stars

Chapter 45 Attending the Premiere of "The Forbidden Kingdom"

To be honest, big production teams are known for their lavish spending.

Even for just a premiere, the production cost tens of millions of yuan in collaboration with Jiangsu Satellite TV and Huayi Brothers.

Normal premieres are usually held in movie theaters, just like Chen Zhou's previous one.

However, for the premiere of "The Forbidden Kingdom", the largest spherical tent in Asia was transported from Dubai, and a temporary cinema was set up inside.

Measuring 50 meters long and 30 meters wide, it is a top-tier, man-made cinema.

According to the schedule, the red carpet ceremony will begin at 6 o'clock.

Many people came to the scene, including Hollywood production teams, actors from the industry, and singers such as Sun Nan and Zhang Liangying.

The scene was quite grand.

So much so that Chen Zhou was thinking that this premiere alone was enough for him to make several more "The Nameless" films.

This is a gap.

But he doesn't feel that this gap is anything; on the contrary, it gives him a more ambitious idea.

Now that he sees others doing it this way, he can do it himself in the future and climb up step by step.

Before the red carpet event began, Liu Yifei first introduced Chen Zhou to her mother for a few minutes.

Then, Chen Zhou was brought before Cheng Long and the others.

"Brother Chenglong, Director Minkoff, let me formally introduce you."

"The person next to me is Chen Zhou, the director of 'The Unknown'."

"The graduation short film you saw when we were on set was shot by him."

Liu Yifei smiled, her face filled with pride, as if to say: Look, this is my treasure.

"Hello, Brother Chenglong. Hello, Director Minkoff." Chen Zhou greeted politely.

Chen Zhou doesn't have much of a bias towards foreign directors.

However, Chen Zhou liked Cheng Long quite a bit.

Although Cheng Long is often criticized by many people because of some things she does in private.

But when it comes to the achievements of Chinese actors, Cheng Long is absolutely in a league of her own.

After all, being able to say you're from China on a stage like the Oscars is a privilege.

Moreover, Chen Zhou really loved "Jackie Chan Adventures" when he was a child, especially the dog charm that could grant eternal life.

"Director Chen, you are so talented at such a young age."

"Back when we were on set, I told Yifei that her future was limitless."

Cheng Long praised it.

"Brother, you're joking. I'm just an ordinary little director," Chen Zhou said modestly.

Minkoff looked at Chen Zhou with admiration in his eyes and said, "Director Chen, I really like your camera work."

"I am also confident that your camera work is at the world's top level."

"Welcome to the premiere of 'The Forbidden Kingdom'. I hope you enjoy my work."

Chen Zhou smiled and replied, "Thank you, I also really like your 'The Lion King'."

Afterwards, Liu Yifei introduced Chen Zhou to some other actors, such as Li Bingbing and others.

On an occasion like this, Liu Yifei certainly wouldn't let Chen Zhou's trip go to waste.

She wanted to arrange things to help Chen Zhou build up his network of connections as much as possible.

Because she knew very well that although her junior brother was doing very well now, he was still just starting out in the entertainment industry.

It's far, far behind the middle and upper reaches of the spectrum.

As her senior, she would help in any way she could.

Shortly after, the red carpet event officially began.

Cheng Long, Li Lianjie, Li Bingbing and others walked the red carpet first.

They waved enthusiastically to reporters and fans on both sides, all very official gestures.

Chen Zhou glanced around and saw that there were cameras densely packed on both sides, with at least a hundred reporters filming there.

This scale of publicity is definitely among the top in the country.

At this moment, Michael Angarano, the male lead of "The Forbidden Kingdom," walked up to Liu Yifei.

Dressed in a suit, and following Western gentlemanly etiquette, he extended his hand to Liu Yifei and began to speak:

"Ms. Liu, take my arm, let's walk down the red carpet together."

"As the male and female leads, we have to appear a bit intimate."

"I believe those reporters would also like to see such a scene."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei smiled politely and shook her head.

Then she reached out and hooked her arm around Chen Zhou's, replying, "I'm sorry, I've already promised Mr. Chen Zhou that I would walk down the red carpet with him tonight."

Michael Angarano looked incredulous: "Are you serious? This is the premiere of 'The Forbidden Kingdom.' As the male and female leads, how can we walk the red carpet separately? We should be together."

"I'm sorry, I've already made up my mind. Besides, this is just a promotional event, and I'll cooperate as much as I can." Liu Yifei declined again.

Michael Angrano shrugged helplessly.

There was nothing he could do; he couldn't force Liu Yifei to walk the red carpet with him.

With a slight sense of embarrassment, he walked alone onto the red carpet.

This scene certainly struck both reporters and fans as odd.

Walking together on the red carpet is a great opportunity for publicity.

But for some reason, the male lead walked the red carpet by himself.

While everyone was filled with doubt, they suddenly saw Chen Zhou and Liu Yifei walking up from behind.

This sudden scene has sparked much discussion.

"What's going on? Why are Liu Yifei and Chen Zhou acting so intimately over there?"

"And Liu Yifei even took the initiative to hook her arm around his!"

"What are they planning to do? Are they using the premiere of 'The Forbidden Kingdom' to announce their private relationship?"

"It seems the rumors were indeed true."

"Whether it's true or not, it's headline news anyway, let's take pictures quickly!"

"The two of them walking together are a sight to behold; any photo taken of them would look like a professional shot."

All the reporters frantically pressed their shutters, steadily capturing the moment Chen Zhou and Liu Yifei walked down the red carpet.

At this moment, Chen Zhou had a smile on his face.

Although he had never experienced such a scene before, he was not intimidated at all, treating it as if he were just strolling through a market.

After walking the red carpet, Liu Yifei said to Chen Zhou, "I'm afraid it won't be long before we're both in the news again."

"Let's go for it. It's not like it's the first time. Let's just consider it free publicity for us from those reporters," Chen Zhou said with a smile.

"You don't have anything else to do after the premiere tonight, right?" Liu Yifei asked.

"No, what's wrong?" Chen Zhou replied.

"It's been a while since we last met, so of course I wanted to have a meal with you," Liu Yifei said.

"There should be a special banquet for the premiere, right? We can't let so many guests leave on empty stomachs," Chen Zhou said.

"That's why I told you in advance. Just grab something quick and easy, and then we can go eat something privately later."

"Otherwise, you'll have to go back to the film set tomorrow, and then you won't have time."

Liu Yifei revealed her little secret.

"You really want to have dinner with me alone?" Chen Zhou joked.

"Who...who wants to have dinner alone with you? Don't flatter yourself, okay?"

"I just saw you were working so hard and wanted to treat you."

Liu Yifei muttered to herself.

"In what capacity should we reward her?" Chen Zhou stared at Liu Yifei.

The sudden attack caught Liu Yifei off guard, and her face flushed red with embarrassment: "I'm not talking to you anymore, let's get in the game quickly."