novellhall Chapter 276 Lionsgate's Goodwill
Chapter 276 Lionsgate's Goodwill
Chapter 275 Lionsgate's Goodwill
Chen Xun was naturally unaware of these things.
He just felt that tonight's performance was different from yesterday's.
The drummer and bassist were both there to support his performance.
Yesterday, the teamwork between the group was still a bit clumsy.
Chen Xun lowered his right hand, which had been suspended in mid-air.
My Funny Valentine
He played it extremely slowly, twice as slow as Miles Davis's original version, and three beats slower than Chet Baker's version.
The left hand did not play any chords.
He used only a single syllable, an octave lower, to softly respond at the end of each sentence.
The drummer stopped using his brush.
He switched to tapping the drumhead lightly with his fingertips, creating a rhythm as rhythmic as a heartbeat.
One, two, three —
Then came the triplet, and the bassist hugged Fender even closer.
Mrs. Bill's pearl necklace warmed with her breath.
She had heard Chet Baker play this piece in a jazz cellar on the Left Bank of Paris when she was twenty, wearing Dior New Look, a skirt so long it could hold the winds of spring.
Sixty-three years later, she heard the same thing again on a makeshift wooden plank on the beach in Venice.
Chazelle took off his baseball cap.
He recalled the two years he spent writing the screenplay for "La La Land".
At that time, he had just finished filming "Whiplash," and everyone was waiting for him to strike while the iron was hot and make a sequel, make a film of the same genre, and make more dark stories about genius and madness.
He wanted to make a colorful, light-as-bubble romance film.
An investor asked him: "Musical films have been dead for thirty years. What makes you think they can be revived?"
He couldn't explain it.
He simply felt that the world needed someone to remember that movies used to be places where people could sing and dance.
Jazz isn't just a museum exhibit; it was once the music young people listened to on dates, the music they played on the radio while kissing in their cars, and the music they hummed while slowly dancing in their kitchens in their old age.
When he wrote the character of Sebastian, he crammed in all the idealism that he himself dared not uphold.
He was that stubborn jazz pianist who refused to compromise for commercial reasons.
I'd rather play a wrong note than play a boring, foolish one.
A lonely soul who plays "City of Stars" on an off-key piano in an empty bar late at night.
He didn't know who would act in it when he wrote it.
Now he knows.
Emma Stone's sunglasses slipped down to the tip of her nose, and she didn't push them up.
She was just curious at first.
I saw that video on Twitter last night.
A blurry picture, an out-of-tune piano, and jarring wrong notes.
She didn't have high expectations when she clicked on it; she just wanted to know how well the beach pianist who had sparked controversy across the internet actually played.
I listened to it three times.
It's not because he plays well.
It was because his playing reminded her of something.
I remember moving from Arizona to Los Angeles when I was fifteen, renting an apartment without an elevator on the west side of Beverly Hills.
During the day, I audition for various film crews, and at night I work part-time at a pet store changing wood shavings for hamsters.
Those moments when I was rejected countless times.
The casting director didn't even bother to look at her face; he just glanced at the photo on her resume and shook his head: "Next."
I remember when I first read the script for "La La Land," seeing Mia sitting in a coffee shop writing lines for a one-woman show, I almost burst into tears.
She asked her agent, "When will casting for this project begin?"
The agent said, "It's still early; the director is still working on the script."
She thought she would have to wait a long time.
Now she was looking at the man on stage who was playing the piano out of tune.
Suddenly I understand why Christine dated him, and why Jennifer issued that statement for him.
Chen Xun is very real.
Compared to other actors in the industry, it's even a bit too real.
He didn't even mind sharing his true self with so many complete strangers present.
Chen Xun's fingers finally stopped.
He didn't know how long he played or how many songs he played; he only remembered that the drummer changed drum brushes three times.
He raised his head.
Then he froze.
The crowd has grown even larger than before.
More than three hundred people.
The boardwalk was packed with people; some stood on benches, some rode on their companions' shoulders, and some simply sat on the beach, hugging their knees, like watching an open-air movie.
Someone turned up the neon sign of the lifeguard cabin.
The last note faded away.
Chen Xun stood up.
The drummer tucked his drumsticks into his back pocket, the bassist put his Fender back in its case, and Eddie stood up from the corner, his cigarette long since extinguished, ash scattered on his shoes.
The crowd began to slowly disperse.
Some people were still taking pictures, while others kept turning back every three steps.
Chen Xun also saw someone raise the half-finished beer to the moon in a toast.
Mrs. Bill was helped to her feet by her husband. As she passed Chen Xun, she took a pearl from her necklace and put it in his palm.
"My husband hasn't cried in fifty years."
He cried twice tonight.
Chen Xun held the warm bead, unsure of what to say.
Old Bill coughed, adjusted his hearing aid, and said seriously, "Next time, don't play 'Blue in Green,' play 'Waltz for Debby.' My wife dances beautifully."
Old Mrs. Bill patted her husband, just like she did fifty years ago.
The two elderly people slowly walked towards the exit of the parking lot. Their shadows were stretched long by the streetlights and overlapped, as if they had never been separated.
Chen Xun looked down at the beads in his palm.
When I looked up again, the two people under the streetlight were gone.
After the performance that night, Chen Xun did not give any interviews.
He put the pearl in the violin case, drove home, took a shower, and went to sleep.
The next morning at seven o'clock, he appeared at Eddie's studio as usual.
"Let me look at your hands."
Eddie sat in front of the out-of-tune piano.
Chen Xun extended his ten fingers.
Eddie squeezed his knuckles like an old veterinarian examining a racehorse's leg.
"Early signs of tenosynovitis."
Eddie loosened his grip: "Practice for four hours a day, no more. The rest of the time will be spent studying music theory."
Chen Xun nodded.
Over the next two weeks, his life suddenly became extremely regular.
From 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Practicing the piano. Fingering, scales, arpeggios, chord progressions.
Eddie sat on the sofa smoking, occasionally getting up to adjust the angle of his wrist, and sometimes saying nothing.
Music theory from 1 pm to 4 pm.
Eddie isn't an academic; he teaches practical skills.
Harmonic progressions, improvisational frameworks, and structural deconstruction of jazz standard pieces.
Why did Miles Davis pause for two beats here? Because he knew the audience needed to breathe.
Why is Bill Evans' left hand so light?
He believes that leaving blank spaces is more powerful than filling them in.
4 PM to 6 PM: Role-playing exercises.
He read the script of "La La Land" repeatedly, filling the blank spaces with notes.
His basic piano skills became exceptionally proficient.
Through this monotonous school life, he came to understand another side of Sebastian.
Meanwhile, Chen Xun's performance at the beach went viral online.
#Chen Xun's Beach Piano Full HD Version#
The corresponding keywords have surged to the top of the trending list.
One of the longer videos was ranked at the very top.
The video is 27 minutes long.
It fully documented the entire outdoor performance that night.
Chen Xun opened it and took a look.
The video was shot quite professionally.
Tripod fixed position, DSLR-level image quality.
The sound pickup is so clear that you can hear the rustling of the sea breeze passing through the microphone.
The most liked comment has 12.7 likes.
"I am the Berkeley graduate who said Chen Xun was exploiting nostalgia last night. I have listened to the video several times. I take back everything I said before."
"His technique certainly has flaws, but skills can be trained, while emotion cannot!"
The Berkeley graduate's Twitter account originally had only a little over 300 followers.
After posting that long article, the price rose to 17,000 within two hours.
"Is this a case of 'it smells so good' or just riding the wave of popularity?"
"Is this the level of a Berkeley graduate? It took them three listens to tell the difference between good and bad?"
"Hilarious! You used to call people an insult to jazz, and now you're saying that emotions can't be trained. So you've got all the talking now."
There were also some understanding comments: "As someone who also studies music, I understand why he apologized. The first time you listen, you might be distracted by wrong notes and think it's a technical problem. But the second or third time—you quickly get immersed in the emotion."
"I graduated from Juilliard and have taught piano for twenty years. Chen Xun's technique is roughly equivalent to that of an amateur who has practiced for three to four years, but his phrasing and spatial perception are something that many professional performers cannot achieve even after a lifetime of practice."
"Are you serious, Julia?"
"Believe it or not, here's another thing: the single-note response in his left hand when he plays 'My Funny Valentine' is the signature treatment of the version Miles Davis recorded in 1958."
"Miles only used it once live in Paris, so the person who can replicate this detail is definitely not just someone who plays casually."
This comment from a Julia graduate went viral.
Then there are the third, fourth, and fifth points.
At 10 PM that night, the Twitter trending list was as follows:
#Chen Xun Beach Piano Full Version# 3rd place #Berkeley Apologizes# 7th place #Chen Xun Is No Less Than Professional Performers# 11th place #Emma Stone Chen Xun# Suddenly appeared at number 29.
Someone posted a photo showing a red-haired woman wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat at the edge of a crowd.
"Isn't that Emma Stone?"
The comments section immediately went off-topic: "??????"
"Fuck, it's true, she wore that hat on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last year."
"Who is that man in the gray hat next to me?"
"Zoom in, zoom in, zoom in—Holy crap, Damien Chazelle, the director of 'Whiplash'!"
"Wait, Chen Xun is playing the piano on the beach, and Stone Sister and Chazelle are standing in the crowd watching. This combination—"
"What kind of lineup is this? What did I miss?"
"Didn't you guys notice that after Chazelle finished filming 'Whiplash,' he's been working on a new project, supposedly also music-themed—"
"The musical?"
"Holy crap, Chen Xun is going to star in a musical?"
"A musical + Chen Xun playing the piano + Emma Stone was also there — can I start shipping this?"
"What a load of rubbish, Chen Xun has a girlfriend."
"Didn't you say you broke up with Kristen?"
"Can you guys stop shipping every guy and girl you see? They might just be going to a show."
"What about Chazelle? Was he also going to see the show?"
The comments section erupted into massive speculation about what Chen Xun's next project would be.
Chen Xun had already turned off his phone and gone to sleep.
I had no idea that the online comments had gone off-topic.
At the same time, in a Lionsgate conference room in the West Side of Los Angeles.
The public relations director pushed the tablet to the center of the long table.
"In the past twelve hours, Chen Xun's social media presence has increased by 470%. Among them, the proportion of positive comments has risen from 28% on Tuesday night to 61% now."
She pulled up a data chart: "The turning point was at 9:17 pm last night, with the apology tweet from that Berklee College of Music user."
""
"Afterwards, a large number of professional musicians entered the scene, and public opinion shifted from poor technique to emotional genius."
"Then at 2 a.m., some netizens spotted Chazelle and Emma Stone at the scene, and now the whole internet is speculating that Chen Xun's next project is La La Land."
The marketing director frowned: "So, is it appropriate for us to release a press release now? Won't it be seen as trying to ride the wave of popularity?"
"I'm not trying to ride the wave of popularity."
The PR director shook his head: "It's just going with the flow!"
"We've lost too much in the past due to a lack of communication with Chen Xun, and our new projects have repeatedly suffered setbacks. It's time to rebuild a friendly cooperative relationship with Chen Xun!"
Although La La Land was only led by Summit Entertainment, a subsidiary of Lionsgate, it is still a great opportunity for Lionsgate.
After all, Lionsgate was able to transform from a third-rate company into a top-tier powerhouse precisely through its collaboration with Chen Xun.
The next morning, Chen Xun was woken up by a phone call from Robert.
"Guess who called me last night?"
Rob's voice was hoarse, clearly from not having slept all night: "Lionsgate!"
Chen Xun sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"It was made personally by Jon, the current CEO of Lionsgate."
"He watched your performance video on the beach and was very moved. He thinks you are one of the few actors in this era who can combine art and commerce so well."
Chen Xun: ? ? ?
Has Lionsgate changed its ways?
This is the time to show goodwill.
Lionsgate has decided to increase its investment in La La Land.
Robert paused for a moment: "Summit Entertainment originally only had a 30% share, but now Lionsgate headquarters wants to get directly involved, increasing the investment to 50%, and will not interfere with the creative process, will not require the inclusion of GG, and will not require script modifications."
Chen Xun switched the phone to his left hand and reached for the water glass on the bedside table with his right.
The water was poured last night and has already cooled down.
"What are the conditions?"
"No conditions."
Rob hadn't finished speaking: "He said this is Lionsgate's compensation for your contributions back then, and also a respect for your artistic pursuits."
"In addition, they want to restart sponsoring the Rural Film Search program. This time, they are not asking for co-title sponsorship or the right to select films. It is a purely unconditional sponsorship, and the first payment of five million US dollars will arrive next week."
Chen Xun was taken aback.
This is clearly an attempt to repair their relationship.
It's time to invest!
However, this amount of money is nothing to Lionsgate.
"List?"
Robert asked tentatively, "Are you listening?"
"I'm listening." Chen Xun put down his water glass. "What did you reply?"
I said I need to communicate with you.
"But personally, I think this is a good opportunity to repair the relationship."
"Lionsgate adopted a very humble stance this time, with Jon admitting in person to the decision-making mistakes of that year, which is almost impossible among Hollywood executives."
"You know these people, they'd rather die than admit they're wrong."
"They're not admitting their mistakes; they're investing, and they're guaranteed to make a profit."
Rob remained silent for a few seconds.
"Even if it's an investment, the money given is real!"
He advised Chen Xun: "Five million US dollars in sponsorship, twenty million in additional investment, no interference in the creative process, no demand for naming rights. Chen, this is not an empty promise, it is real money that has already been deposited into the project account."
Chen Xun did not answer immediately.
He suddenly recalled the disastrous Chinese promotional tour for "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" and its final box office performance falling short of expectations.
Fans stood in the deserted atrium of the shopping mall holding banners that read "Respect Chinese actors".
"Tell them I agree to the sponsorship, but on two conditions."
Chen Xun pondered for a moment before speaking.
"The money will be deposited directly into the charity account of Xunying, but I will not accept any form of joint publicity."
"The investment for 'La La Land' was directed to Chazelle."
"This is the director's project, not my personal project. Their additional investment is because they believe in the film, not because of me."
"These two things shouldn't be discussed together!"
Robert noted: "Just these two?"
"Just these two!"
Consider the five million US dollars as an apology fee!
As for what the investment has to do with him, he's just an actor and didn't participate in the project.
Chazelle was eating breakfast when he suddenly received a call from Lionsgate, and he spat out his entire meal.
"Mr. Damien, I'm Jon from Lionsgate."
The fork stopped in mid-air.
Chazelle was no stranger to the name of Lionsgate's CEO.
Hollywood is a familiar place to everyone.
But he never expected that this person would call him directly.
He is a director with an independent film background, and his previous film, Whiplash, was acquired by Sony Classics at the Sundance Film Festival.
For him, a studio of Lionsgate's caliber was simply out of reach.
"Uh, hello."
Chazelle cleared his throat.
"I watched the recording of Chen Xun's performance on the beach."
Jon's voice carried a deliberate attempt to be approachable, like a CEO trying to prove to employees that he was also an ordinary person: "To be honest, I was shocked. What you and Chen Xun are making is not an ordinary musical, but a work that may change the industry's perception."
Chazelle didn't know what to say; he felt his heart pounding wildly.
Lionsgate has decided to increase its investment in La La Land.
Jon continued to dance on Chazelle's heart: "Summit Entertainment's original scale was too small to match the ambition of this project. We will increase our investment to 50% and add an additional $20 million to the budget."
"This money doesn't come with any creative requirements. You can have whatever you want: film, long takes, night shots at Griffith Observatory."
"The only requirement is that the male lead must be Chen Xun; this is a testament to the friendship between Lionsgate and Chen Xun!"
Chazelle put down his fork.
He had vaguely heard some rumors.
The falling out between Lionsgate and Chen Xun is an open secret within the industry.
The two sides are almost never in the same frame anymore.
Unexpectedly, their friendship was restored.
We made a fortune this time!
Chazelle hung up the phone.
He grabbed a cold fried egg from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, not even noticing the yolk bits stuck to the corners of his mouth.
Anyone who was hit by 20 million falling from the sky would probably lose their composure.
He almost mortgaged his director's chair to raise that 30 million yuan budget.
They talked themselves hoarse with the major investors just to save that long shot at Griffith Observatory.
Now, Lionsgate has raised the budget to 50 million, enough to rent ten film cameras, let alone four.
"Fuck, choosing Chen Xun was definitely the right choice!"
He yelled at the empty living room, grabbed his phone and started scrolling through his contacts, his fingers trembling: "This kid is my lucky star. I should have just blocked his studio door back then, instead of agonizing over this for half a month."
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