While she was talking, Lin Zhixiu's mobile phone rang, answered the phone, and after listening for a while, she covered the microphone of her mobile phone and reported to Zhang Chengyuan: "Boss, my secretary told me that a director named Kim Kuitai contacted our company and wanted to meet you. ”

"Director Kim Kyu-tae? I've heard of this guy, but I've never dealt with him, did he say anything about me? Zhang Chengyuan asked.

"This Kim Kui-tae left a message saying that he wanted to discuss the new drama with you. Oh, I remember, this Kim Kyu-tae is the director of the TV series "IRIS" that has made a lot of noise in the film and television industry these days, known as the 20 billion investment, and he has come into contact with many top actors during this time, including Lee Byung-hun , Jung Woo-sung , Son Ye-jin and others, I think he came to you this time to see if there is a chance to cooperate with you. Boss, this TV series should be very good, and it is said that the producer is Jiang Digui, the director of "Taiji Flag Flying". ”

Kang Di-gyu is one of the most famous commercial directors in South Korea, since he is the producer, then this TV series will definitely not be bad, and the investment of 20 billion won is not trivial, and the probability of making a bad drama is not high.

Of course, in Zhang Chengyuan's opinion, whether a TV series has any hope of becoming a good drama, whether he wants to take over this TV series or not, has to wait for him to learn more about it and read the script. However, when he heard that Jiang Digui was the producer and the investment was 20 billion, he was still a little moved.

So, he said: "You call and reply, tell him that I am willing to meet with him to discuss the new drama, and ask him to set a time and place to meet." ”

After saying this, he continued to chat with Park Xuanying and Lee Ji-eun. And Lim Ji-so immediately asked her assistant for Kim Tae-kyu's contact number on the phone. Then he called Kim Tae-kyu on the spot.

A few minutes passed. She hung up the phone and said to Jang Sung-won: "Boss, Director Kim Tae-kyu said that he is eating at a restaurant in Yeouido, if you have time, you can go over and meet him now, if you don't have time, then make an appointment to meet at another time." ”

Zhang Chengyuan said: "Just now." I have to go back to the crew to film tomorrow, and I will make another appointment, which will be more troublesome. You call him again and tell him I'll be there shortly. ”

Lim Ji-so responded and called Kim Kui-tae again.

Zhang Chengyuan looked at Li Zhien and said, "Zhien, I'm sorry, my brother originally wanted to eat with you, but there was something very important to deal with, so I had to leave temporarily." You can go eat with Jisoo and Seonying first, and I'll go to you as soon as possible. ”

Li Zhien said: "Brother Cheng Yuan." It doesn't matter to me, you go about your business, work matters! ”

Two minutes later, Jang Sung-won got out of the car, got into the car that Kim Yu-gi had been following just now, and headed for Yeouido, because his current location was in Tongjak District, not far from Yeouido, so it didn't take long for him to arrive at his destination and find the private room of the restaurant where director Kim Kyu-tae was.

When I entered the private room, I saw two middle-aged men in their forties sitting at the dining table, eating slowly and chatting intently, while there were four pairs of dishes and chopsticks on the table, cups and plates, maybe there were other guests before.

After seeing Zhang Chengyuan come in, the two middle-aged people immediately stood up, greeted Zhang Chengyuan, beckoned him to sit down, and asked the waiter to add a pair of dishes and chopsticks.

Zhang Chengyuan was not polite, and after saluting and thanking him, he sat down, picked up chopsticks and ate.

After a while, the two middle-aged men introduced themselves: "I'm Kim Kui-tae. ”

"I'm Liang Yunhao."

"IRIS is co-directed by the two of us."

Zhang Chengyuan put down his chopsticks, bowed slightly and said, "Hello two directors, I am actor Zhang Chengyuan." Although Zhang Chengyuan is now a top star and the owner of an entertainment company, his status is not inferior to these two directors, but since he is talking about a new drama, he can meet these two as actors, and he has to show the actor's consistent respect for the director.

Kim Kyu-tae said, "Thank you very much for coming and meeting us so quickly......"

Zhang Chengyuan said: "I am also very grateful to the two directors for giving me this opportunity......"

After a polite exchange, the two sides got to the point.

Kim Kyu-tae said: "Mr. Sung Won, we are about to start filming the TV series "IRIS", I think you have heard some rumors. ”

Jang Sung-won said: "Yes, I heard some, it is said that this spy war action TV series invested 20 billion won, I don't know if this is really the case?" "When South Korea's economy is in a recession, he can still spend a huge amount of 20 billion yuan to shoot a TV series with only about 20 episodes, to be honest, Zhang Chengyuan is really skeptical about this.

Liang Yunhao said: "20 billion is not propaganda, but real, I know that you think that with the current economic situation of South Korea, it is very difficult to get an investment of 20 billion won, but you can rest assured, there is no problem with the funds, it is almost completely in place, thanks to the help of director Kang Digui." He said this to dispel Zhang Chengyuan's concerns about salary, because during this time, due to lack of funds, many actors in film and television crews could not get the remuneration they deserved.

Zhang Chengyuan nodded, and asked again: "Two directors, you came to me this time to let me star in this TV series, right?" ”

"Yes."

"I don't know what the character is?"

"With Mr. Cheng Yuan's popularity and status, he is naturally the role of the male number one."

Zhang Chengyuan said: "I heard that the two directors have contacted Mr. Lee Byung-hun, Mr. Jung Woo-sung and other top film actors before, isn't there anything to gain?" ”

Jin Kyutai said: "Well, we did contact them, but we didn't talk about it, they haven't filmed a TV series for a long time, and they have some concerns about starring in a TV series." So we wanted to see if Mr. Cheng Yuan could cooperate with us. We feel you're a great fit for the role as well. ”

If there is no choice of Jang Sung-won, they may continue to work hard to convince Lee Byung-hun and others, but with Jang Sung-won, an actor whose acting skills and popularity are not inferior to Lee Byung-hun and whose salary is lower, they naturally have to think about it seriously. In their opinion, of course. If Lee Byung-hun can agree to act. That's the most appropriate. Because Li Bingxian is more famous, and his appeal in Japan is much stronger than Zhang Chengyuan.

However, Zhang Chengyuan is not much inferior to Li Bingxian, especially in China, the influence is extremely huge, and the TV series "Wind Painter" he filmed has been sold to a TV station in Chinese mainland for a high price of 12 million yuan before it has been broadcast. This influence is enough to offset Byung-hun Lee's appeal in Japan. Moreover, although Zhang Chengyuan is not as popular as Lee Byung-hun in Japan, he also has a certain fan base, and many of his popular TV series "Haojie Chunxiang", "Coffee Prince No. 1 Store" and so on are also very popular in Japan. Therefore, with him, not only will he be able to sell "IRIS" to Chinese TV at a high price in the future, but he may also be able to sell it to Japanese TV at a high price.

In addition, from the perspective of performance, Jang Sung-won can be said to be the most famous and capable action star in South Korea at present, and he joins him. The action scenes of this TV series are bound to be able to take it to the next level.

After comprehensive consideration, although they still have preconceived notions that Lee Byung-hun is the most suitable candidate. But I also think that if Zhang Chengyuan can star in this TV series, it is definitely very suitable.

As for whether Lee Byung-hun and Jang Sung-won can join this TV series at the same time, they have never considered it, because with the status of Lee Byung-hun and Jang Sung-won, it is impossible for them to be the second male in Korean TV dramas, even if they are co-protagonists, it is difficult.

Zhang Chengyuan pondered for a moment and asked, "If I agreed to cooperate with you this time, but Mr. Lee Byung-hun suddenly plans to cooperate with you, then what will you choose?" He knows that in the minds of industry insiders and the public, he is not yet on par with a superstar like Lee Byung-hun who has been famous for many years, so he has this concern. He didn't want to be ridiculed for this kind of thing, otherwise he would lose face.

Kim Tae-kyu and Liang Yunhao glanced at each other, and then said: "You can rest assured of this, we have been in the entertainment industry for many years, and we have always been honest people, if we agree to cooperate with you, we will definitely cooperate with you to the end, as long as you don't regret it, we will never regret it!" ”

Their words were quite sonorous and powerful, but Zhang Chengyuan didn't believe it very much, there are so many people of all kinds in this world, how could he believe it rashly based on the other party's one-sided words? And even if they are speaking with great sincerity and from the bottom of their hearts, there is no guarantee that they will not regret it in the future.

Zhang Chengyuan said indifferently: "I am very willing to believe the words of the two directors, but you also know that things in this world are sometimes difficult to say, and they will always force us to do something we are not willing to do." For example, if the investor or the TV station insists on choosing Mr. Lee Byung-hun, then you can probably only say sorry to me. ”

Kim Kyu-tae said: "Then Mr. Sung Won means ......"

Liang Yunhao said: "Do you want us to make a written promise that we will never change roles?" However, you still haven't agreed to play this role yet, right? There was a slight anger in his tone.

Zhang Chengyuan said calmly: "Of course it's not like this!" I just want you to promise me that if one day, you are forced to change corners, please let me know in advance. ”

The two directors were puzzled, but they felt that this condition was really not difficult, so they decided to agree. Kim Kui-tae nodded, "That's no problem!" ”

Zhang Chengyuan said: "Xie Lu and Xie are two directors. So now, let's talk about the shooting side. Well, do you have the script with you? ”

Liang Yunhao said: "Yes, these days, whenever we have time, we figure out the script and study how to shoot, so we always carry it with us." opened a briefcase next to him, took out the script, handed it to Zhang Chengyuan, and continued: "But the script has not been completely written, only the outline of the whole play and the scripts of the previous episodes." ”

Jang Sung-won doesn't feel any different, because most of the TV dramas filmed in South Korea are like this, and they often only have part of the script when filming starts, and the rest are written and filmed at the same time. And now that "IRIS" is still in the preparation stage, it is normal to have only a few episodes of script.

After taking the script, Zhang Chengyuan confessed, then lowered his head and looked at it, and it didn't take long to read it, and then returned the script to Liang Yunhao.

Kim Tae-kyu said, "What do you think?" ”

Zhang Chengyuan said: "It's very good, if you shoot well, you can definitely get high ratings." Well, I'd love to take on this drama. ”

Jin Kuitai said happily: "That's good!" ”

Liang Yunhao said: "The next thing is the terms of cooperation, do we talk directly, or in a few days, talk to your brokerage company?" ”

Zhang Chengyuan said: "This kind of thing is usually decided by myself. Of course, I'll only talk about the key parts, and the details will be taken care of. ”

Kim Kyu-tae said, "Then let's talk about it." The salary is 30 million per episode, what do you think? ”

"Yes! Just 30 million. "30 million is not very high, Zhang Chengyuan will not feel hot in his hand, and this TV series has an investment of 20 billion, and there is no need for him to reduce the price to save money for the crew.

Kim Kyu-tae and Liang Yun-ho were taken aback, they thought that Jang Sung-won would bargain with them, but they agreed without wanting to. Liang Yunhao said: "Mr. Cheng Yuan is really simple, I thought you would be dissatisfied with this price and ask us higher." ”

Zhang Chengyuan said: "In the current environment, it is very unwise to strive for a high salary, and I will not do it." And I'm not short of money. ”

Jin Kyutai said: "You're right, with your popularity, you can earn the salary of a TV series as long as you take on a few more commercials, but it's a pity that many big-name stars don't think so, and will only repeatedly ask for higher salaries, so that the crews are often overstretched and can't make good film and television dramas." ”

Zhang Chengyuan said lightly: "Everyone has their own aspirations, and everyone's ideas are different, so I am inconvenient to comment." ”

Liang Yunhao said: "Mr. Cheng Yuan, do you have any other conditions?" ”

Zhang Chengyuan said: "Of course there is." First, I hope that during the filming period, I will be given one day off every other week on average, because I have a lot of advertising shoots, promotions and other announcements, of course, this is on the premise that the shooting is not stressful.

Second, I want to be able to reach a certain level of action design for this play, and if I can, I want to be one of the action directors of this play, and be responsible for my personal part of the action design.

……

After some discussion, Kim Tae-kyu and Yang Yun-ho almost all agreed, because compared to Jang Sung-won's concessions in terms of salary, the conditions he proposed were very ordinary and did not make them feel embarrassed. In the end, the two parties reached a cooperation agreement verbally, and as for the rest of the things, they will be handed over to the professionals to handle later.

After reaching an agreement, Zhang Chengyuan ate some things with the two, chatted with them some gossip, and then left. (To be continued......)