Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 341 Wu Yuchen's Well-Intentioned Efforts
Since Wu Yuchen promised to help Fan Bingbing get a role in Hollywood, he naturally wouldn't make an empty promise.

The very next day, he was already on the phone making calls: "Hey Neil, I heard you've already decided on the director?"

“Oh yes, Wu, thank you for your recommendation. Lin does have unique insights into racing movies, and I admire his creative philosophy. I think we will have a pleasant collaboration.” Neil’s implication was that the deal was done.

"Haha, I've seen a documentary he made about Asian boys racing American cars with Toyota and Honda. The theme of 'winning or losing doesn't matter, it symbolizes a kind of pride' really resonates with the spirit of 'Fast and Furious,' so when you contacted me, I immediately thought of him!"

Wu Yuchen and Neal Moritz chatted happily.

Neal Moritz is the creator and producer of the Fast & Furious franchise, and he wields the most power in the series.

The Fast and the Furious was originally just a mid-budget racing movie, costing only a little over 30 million dollars, but it unexpectedly grossed over 200 million dollars worldwide, so a sequel was made.

Despite the absence of Vin Diesel as Dom, "Fast & Furious 2" still achieved a box office success of over $2 million, so Universal and Neal Moritz are now preparing to film "Fast & Furious 3".

Due to the success of the first two films, both Vin Diesel and Paul Walker demanded high salaries from the producers, and the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

Therefore, with these two important characters from the first two films missing from the third installment, Neal Moritz simply decided to start a completely new story, change the protagonist, and expand the Fast & Furious story to Asia, as he wanted to further globalize the series.

Japan is currently Asia's largest film market, so the story of the third installment was naturally set in Tokyo. Since both the location and the story were chosen to be in Asia, Neal Moritz hoped to find a suitable Asian director to helm "Fast & Furious 3".

When it comes to Asian directors in Hollywood today, Wu Yuchen is undoubtedly the most prominent. Moreover, many Asian filmmakers are banding together around him, forming a powerful force in Hollywood.

Therefore, Neal Moritz contacted Wu Yuchen immediately, not to invite him to be a director, which was impossible, but to ask Wu Yuchen to provide some advice and recommend some suitable candidates for reference.

Wu Yuchen recommended Asian director Justin Lin to Neal Moritz.

To be fair, the success of the Fast & Furious series in its previous installments owes much to the contributions of Chinese filmmakers. Directors Justin Lin directed films 3-6 and 9, while James Wan, the director of Saw, took over for the seventh film. The family and team themes in the series' most compelling films were all designed with Justin Lin's involvement.

“Neil, since the story of ‘Fast & Furious’ is set in Asia, I think it’s necessary for me to recommend some more Asian actors to you. This will be more beneficial for the promotion of ‘Fast & Furious’ in Asia…”

After Wu Yuchen hung up the phone, he smiled. He had just gotten a supporting female role from the other party—or rather, a supporting female role specifically tailored for Fan Bingbing. It wasn't originally in the script, but now that Wu Yuchen had spoken up, it was a minor issue; the screenwriter could just add it. As for her role, she would be Han's girlfriend.

This was Wu Yuchen's specific request. It's worth noting that Han was originally a more prominent character than the main character in *Fast & Furious 3*. He's also quite popular in the *Fast & Furious* series, appearing in subsequent films 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9.

The identity that Wu Yuchen arranged for Fan Bingbing might allow her to enter the racing family later on through the role of Han, and have opportunities to appear in this globally renowned commercial blockbuster series. This is definitely more valuable for her than acting in any art film!
Wu Yuchen put a lot of thought into arranging this role for Fan Bingbing; he didn't just randomly pick a trashy character to fool her.

And to put it bluntly, Justin Lin is now Wu Yu-chen's underling. He got the opportunity to direct "Fast & Furious 3" thanks to Wu Yu-chen's recommendation. Whether out of gratitude or because of Wu Yu-chen's position as the leading figure among Asian Americans in Hollywood, Justin Lin will undoubtedly listen to Wu Yu-chen in the future.

As the Fast and Furious series continues to grow, Justin Lin's influence as director will increase. If Wu Yuchen were to ask him to give Fan Bingbing more screen time, it would be a piece of cake.

Even if James Wan becomes the director of "Furious 7", he is still Wu Yuchen's disciple!

So, although Director Wu didn't participate directly, he has already had a significant impact on the Fast & Furious series!

Wu Yuchen has really gone to great lengths for Bingbing this time. When the Fast and Furious series becomes a huge hit in the future, she will appreciate even more how good her brother-in-law is to her as his "sister-in-law"! This is a series that could give her global fame, make her an international star, and last for more than 10 years!
To be honest, in 10 years, a bunch of actresses in the Chinese-speaking world will probably be green with envy for Fan Bingbing! By then, it will be much harder to break into the Fast & Furious family. Wu Yuchen has essentially paved the way for Fan Bingbing's future ten years in advance!
Then, Wu Yuchen seemed to remember something and made a phone call: "Hey, Mr. Cai, how's the contract renewal status between F4 and the company?"

"The negotiations have been completed. Huang Xiaoming took the lead and voluntarily renewed his contract with the company for another 5 years. The others eventually signed as well."

吴宇辰闻言笑着点了点头。当初F4几人是在98年的时候跟公司签了一份7年的合同，培训了大半年之后99年出道的。现在已经到了2005年，今年合同就要到期了。

Although their cooperation with the company has been generally pleasant over the past few years, they are no longer young. After years of experience, they have all become celebrities with their own fan base, and naturally, they have more ideas.

Therefore, securing the renewal of these contracts with all four parties is quite challenging, especially since negotiating certain terms and profit distribution between the two sides is not something that can be easily decided on a single day.

Now, judging from Cai Yinong's words, Huang Xiaoming, the most influential member of F4, has taken the lead in signing the contract, making it much easier to negotiate with the others.

Wu Yuchen was naturally happy to have managed to secure contracts for several people, renewing them for another five years so they could continue to generate revenue for the company.

Since that was the case, he called Huang Xiaoming. As soon as the call connected, he heard Huang Xiaoming's greeting on the other end:

Hello, Teacher Wu!

Wu Yuchen asked with a smile, "Haha, Xiaoming, how's your physique going? You haven't neglected your fitness, have you?"

Huang Xiaoming quickly replied, "Teacher Wu, no way! I have so many female fans, I dare not relax my body management at all! Even during the Chinese New Year, my team made a diet plan for me, and I couldn't eat too much!"

Wu Yuchen nodded upon hearing this: "Okay, that's good. But you'd better get yourself a bit stronger recently. There's an audition opportunity in Hollywood after the New Year, and I'll recommend you for it."

Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaoming immediately beamed with joy: "Thank you, Teacher Wu! I'll definitely work out hard for a while and gain another 5 kilograms!" Wu Yuchen smiled and explained in detail:

"He's a supporting character in 'Fast & Furious 3,' a free-spirited and easygoing racer who also exudes composure and steadiness. The role is significant, and my recommendation alone might not be enough to land it, so you'll have to prepare well and work hard."

Well, Americans generally prefer guys who are a bit muscular. How much you want to train is up to you and your team to decide.

Upon hearing that it was "Fast & Furious 3", Huang Xiaoming became even more excited. This was a popular Hollywood series in recent years, with the first two films grossing over $2 million each. It was a great opportunity for him to break into Hollywood!

"Teacher Wu, I will definitely win the role and not let you down!" Huang Xiaoming promised confidently.

"Alright, everything else is fine. You can get ready."

After hanging up the phone, Wu Yuchen shook his head and smiled, then sighed.

In Wu Yuchen's eyes, the most suitable person for the role of Han is Wu Yanzu. His appearance and temperament are a perfect match. If he had played the role, he would likely have been much more popular than the original Han. Moreover, Wu Yanzu grew up in America, so he would have no problem communicating with the Hollywood crew in terms of language and lifestyle, and he would have been able to integrate quickly.

However, in terms of relationship, Huang Xiaoming is definitely closer to him. Moreover, Huang Xiaoming has made a lot of money for the company over the years. In addition to acting, he releases albums, holds concerts with F4, and does various advertisements, not only in China but throughout Asia.

To this day, F4 remains the most popular boy band in all of Asia!

As for F4, they've earned the company over the years, earning them tens of thousands of dollars, with Huang Xiaoming contributing the most. Now that there's a great opportunity to break into Hollywood, Wu Yuchen should definitely consider these meritorious contributors first! Otherwise, why would he keep them working so hard for him?

In fact, this is why he hasn't focused on developing artist management over the years. The F4 group was signed with Hong Kong Island Company, and Miracle Films only signed a few people, including Fan Bingbing, Liu Qianqian, and Hu Ge, who was favored by Cai Yinong.

Once there are more actors, many productions will inevitably be affected by various personal relationships and social obligations when they are being planned and cast, making it difficult to select the most suitable people.

Moreover, in previous years, the actor management business wasn't necessarily that profitable, much less so than singers, and certainly not comparable to F4! So this business was actually quite lackluster, and Wu Yuchen didn't encourage the company to develop it; he would only recruit people who were genuinely optimistic about it.

Fan Bingbing overheard Wu Yuchen's entire conversation and, while feeling delighted, couldn't help but ask, "Brother-in-law, will I be playing a couple with Brother Xiaoming?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "Whether Xiaoming can play this role depends on his audition."

Actually, Huang Xiaoming has quite a few advantages right now. After all, he's currently a super popular star in Asia, not only in the Chinese-speaking world but also in Japan and South Korea. Given this, since the *Fast & Furious* producers are aiming for global promotion, they will definitely consider his box office appeal. Plus, with Wu Yuchen's recommendation, his chances of landing the role are quite high.

Wu Yuchen then said to Fan Bingbing, "I've already finalized your role. But you'd better work on your English properly, or you won't have any problems communicating with people on set!"

Wu Yuchen wasn't worried about Huang Xiaoming's English. After all, back when F4 was formed, they had already received language training. In recent years, Huang Xiaoming had traveled all over Asia and had not only mastered English, but also Japanese and Korean.

"Brother-in-law, I would never embarrass you!"

Then Fan Bingbing sat in Wu Yuchen's lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and whispered in a seductive voice, "Fuck me!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen burst into laughter, patted Fan Bingbing's pert buttocks, and said, "I didn't learn the others well, but I learned this one right away!"
However, he liked Fan Bingbing's flirtatious nature; if he served her well, he could provide her with more opportunities.

Director Wu has more than just "Fast & Furious 3" as an option. For example, if he wanted, he could also give Fan Bingbing a supporting role in the classic horror film series "Final Destination".

The director of "Final Destination," James Wong, is also Chinese. He is currently preparing to film the third installment, so it wouldn't be a problem for Wu Yuchen to ask him for a role like this.

Although "Final Destination" is primarily a film about teenagers, and the main characters who are constantly courting death are mostly actors under 20, Westerners tend to be more mature, so Fan Bingbing, who is only 23 at the time, could easily play an 18-year-old girl.

However, in terms of future prospects, "Final Destination" can only participate once, and the future and prospects of the characters cannot be compared with "Fast & Furious".

January has slowly passed, and the post-production of "Departures" is basically coming to an end. Most of it has been completed, and now we just need to wait for spring to arrive next month to reshoot on location.

"A World Without Thieves" finally broke 100 million yuan at the box office this month, officially making Feng Xiaogang a director with a box office of over 100 million yuan, which made Feng Xiaogang extremely happy.

The reviews for "A World Without Thieves" far exceeded those for his previous films. It's not that his previous films were bad, but rather that some people had previously said that Feng Xiaogang's films were just sketch comedies and not up to standard.

But this time, "A World Without Thieves" is different. The stars, action, comedy and plot are all well integrated. Most importantly, the box office has exceeded 100 million yuan, which also marks Feng Xiaogang's official promotion to the ranks of China's great directors!
Wu Yuchen didn't attend the celebration party for "A World Without Thieves". He only attended the premiere to show his support.

When February arrived, "Kung Fu Hustle," which had been in theaters for over a month, had also grossed over 200 million yuan. Wu Yuchen didn't attend the celebration banquet either, letting them celebrate as they pleased; he didn't want to steal the spotlight.

However, on February 4th, the last Friday before the Lunar New Year, Wu Yuchen went out and specially attended a premiere to personally promote "Crazy Stone".

(End of this chapter)