Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 306 Johnnie To and Election

In China, Orange Sky suddenly held a press conference.

"Chengtian Entertainment has reached a cooperation with director Wu Yusen and is preparing to shoot an epic masterpiece "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff". The initial estimated investment is 6 million yuan. Now we are recruiting actors from all over the country, and we also hope that talented actors will recommend themselves..."

Wu Kebo was so confident that he was drowned out by flashes of light right after he made his announcement.

What a big production worth 600 million yuan, the reporter exclaimed.

Currently, the most expensive movie in China is Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers", which is said to have cost 2.9 million yuan. "The Promise" is said to have a higher budget of 3.5 million yuan, but it has not yet been released.

"Red Cliff" directly grossed 6 million yuan. I dare not say that there will be no one better than it, but at least it is unprecedented.

The Chinese people are so familiar with the theme of the Three Kingdoms that it is estimated to be ranked first in terms of reading volume among the four great classics, so it naturally has traffic.

Some people suddenly thought of the war scenes in "Hero". The scene of the Qin army's arrow formation is the only large-scale war scene in ancient China they have seen so far. I wonder if there will be something similar in "Red Cliff".

Wu Yusen on the stage nodded inwardly, Wu Kebo was someone who understood publicity.

The news of the nationwide audition for the role in "Red Cliff" has been released, which will immediately bring a wave of popularity, and will even surpass Zhang Chen. "Taken" has been really hot these past two days.

Wu Yusen was very proud at the moment, his triangular eyes curved into smiles, and he happily answered the reporters' questions.

"The Three Kingdoms theme is very well-known throughout Asia, and we are all familiar with the characters in it, but unfortunately, no one has filmed a similar theme so far. We don't want Mingmingzhu to be forgotten, so we try to bring it to the big screen..."

"The Battle of Red Cliffs is the most important battle in the late Three Kingdoms period, and it is of great significance. Borrowing arrows with straw boats, burning the camps, and Zhou Yu fighting Huang Gai are all stories from the Battle of Red Cliffs. Even if you haven't read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in its entirety, you are familiar with these stories..."

"For a production of 600 million, we must use the best in every aspect. We asked the best screenwriter in the industry, Lu Wei, to help write the script. The rest of the costumes and props are also the best. For the soundtrack, we only planned to contact the famous Japanese musician Kenji Kawai..."

The atmosphere at the press conference was very lively and everyone was very supportive, but suddenly a reporter asked, "Director Wu, Director Zhang Chen said he would teach you how to shoot a spy film, and the box office of Taken has now exceeded 100 million in five days. What do you think of this?"

As soon as Zhang Xiaobei asked this question, the press conference fell into silence.

The harmonious and friendly atmosphere just now is gone.

Wu Yusen had a dark face and said nothing, while Wu Kebo looked at him hatefully.

Zhang Xiaobei didn't care. If he cared about this, what kind of entertainment reporter would he be? He continued to ask, "Director Wu, how do you think Taken compares to your Mission: Impossible 2?"

Wu Kebo on the other side finally couldn't help it: "Shut up, which newspaper are you from? Today's press conference is about "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff". Please don't ask questions that are not related to this~"

Zhang Xiaobei ignored him and continued to ask questions: "Director Wu, have you watched Taken? Do you feel that there is a gap between you and Director Zhang Chen..."

"Enough, security, kick this man out..." Wu Kebo could no longer bear it.

……

At Kai Tak Airport, Boss Yang picked us up in person.

"Boss Yang, why bother you to come here in person..."

Seeing Boss Yang and Florence Huo at the airport entrance, Zhang Chen took two quick steps forward.

"It's okay. I've said before that whenever Director Zhang comes to Hong Kong, I will definitely entertain him, but Director Zhang never gave me the chance. Now, I finally got what I wanted."

Although Boss Yang looks gentle and polite, he speaks with a sense of heroism.

"Let's not stand here anymore. I've prepared a welcoming banquet for everyone..."

Behind the boss there was not only a long line of cars, but also two large sedans. It was obvious that he was very well prepared.

It was only then that Florence Hui found the opportunity to talk to Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen was not pretentious and obeyed respectfully.

During the dinner, the group was warmly received by Boss Yang.

After dinner, Florence Hui took the "Kowloon Walled City" crew to arrange the filming, while Boss Yang and Zhang Chen went to another place to drink tea.

"Director Zhang came to Hong Kong this time to promote the movie?" Boss Yang invited us to tea.

Zhang Chen picked up the small teacup, took a sip of the fragrant tea, and felt the fragrance lingering in his mouth.

"Well, I promised Dou Wentao to be on the last episode of 'Stranger Things'. It just so happens that 'Kowloon Walled City' is about to start filming, so I came along. There is another reason. I want to come here and watch 'Election'..."

"Oh, Director Zhang also likes Du Dapao's movies?"

Johnnie To's nickname in Hong Kong is 'Cannon Du'. It is said that this guy has a bad temper on the set and it is common for actors to be cursed by him about their entire families.

But this guy is very popular in Hong Kong. At this stage, with the sluggish film market environment in Hong Kong, many companies are unable to start work.

Only Du Dapao can guarantee to produce a work every year, which is already amazing.

Zhang Chen nodded: "I admire director Johnnie To's interpretation of Hong Kong gang culture. I have also seen his previous film "Gunfire". This time I came here just to watch the original "Election".

Zhang Chen actually likes Johnnie To very much. This guy’s movies have a very strong personal style.

As soon as you take a look at the composition of his movie posters, you can tell that it must be Johnnie To’s.

His interpretation of gangster movies and the fatalism he advocates are very fascinating when put into the movie.

There are so many directors in Hong Kong who make movies about gangs, telling stories of the underworld from various angles, but only Johnnie To tells the story most profoundly.

Even twenty years later, the two "Election" films can still be called the best gangster movies in Hong Kong.

Different from "Young and Dangerous", "Underworld" does not glorify the gangs at all, but exposes their living conditions nakedly for everyone to see.

It turns out that those who are brave and aggressive can never get ahead in the gangs.

It turns out there is no brotherhood among gangs.

It turns out that the later years of gangsters are very miserable.

It turns out that even if you become a big gangster, you will still be bullied by the police.

Zhang Chen watched Johnnie To’s movies and really liked his composition.

"Gunfire", "Underworld", "Exile"...

This guy makes romance movies just to make a living, but even romance movies are pretty good.

Moreover, this guy also used metaphors in his movies very well. At the beginning of "Underworld", the Hongmen ritual was originally black text on a red background, and later changed to white text on a black background, symbolizing the changes of the Hongmen.

Da D and Ah Le negotiated and the cars formed a team, but later they disagreed and the team went their separate ways.

Normally speaking, he should be able to become a master.

Unfortunately, I didn’t catch up with the good time.

The Hong Kong film market is declining, while the mainland market is rising.

It just so happens that the genre he is good at is considered to be at the bottom of the list in mainland China, and a good movie was cut into pieces.

Because the movie "Big Guy" involves religion, the cuts were messed up and the audience couldn't understand it, so they scolded the director for shooting a pile of shit.

Actually, this has nothing to do with Lao Du. Lao Du is taking the blame for no reason.
"Underworld" is better, it's not so difficult to understand, but it has also undergone a lot of changes. Even the name of the mainland version has been changed to "Dragon City Years".

The Hong Kong version opens with a group of people performing a collective worship ceremony and reciting gang rules, but the mainland version does not have this at all.

When Deng Bo was discussing with Lok Ge how to hand over the baton, the Hong Kong version said: "When I was elected, even the four major detectives came to congratulate me..."

The mainland version is: "When I was elected, I danced both the lion and the dragon..."

In the scene of going to Guangzhou to get the stick, the mainland version only shows the mainland policeman played by You Yong coming out to arrest the man, while the Hong Kong version shows: You Yong asked everyone around him to leave, and then talked to the man who went to get the stick. Only then did we know that he was an undercover agent of the mainland police, who had been undercover in the Hong Kong gangs before 97, so he knew the man who went to get the stick.

In the police station, a police chief negotiated with Uncle Deng. In the Hong Kong version, Uncle Deng replied: "We and Liansheng have more than 50,000 members, plus more than 100,000 people from other societies. Try not to feed them and see what will happen..."

The old man's dialogue in the mainland version becomes: "We and Liansheng have more than 50,000 members, plus more than 100,000 people from other societies. What will they do if you don't feed them?"

Although only a few words of the dialogue were changed, the feeling is completely different. One is a bully who threatens the police, and the other is a grandson who begs for food from the police.

It was originally a masterpiece, but after many cuts, it became a mediocre work.

It’s no wonder that “Underworld 2” was not released directly in mainland China. Any director would not be able to bear to see his work being ruined like this.

"If Director Zhang is interested in Du Dapao, I can arrange a meeting for you two to sit down and have a chat..."

Seeing that Zhang Chen praised Johnnie To so much, Boss Yang couldn't help but want to bring them together.

One is the most awesome director in mainland China, and the other is the most awesome director in Hong Kong. I wonder what kind of sparks will be created when the two meet.

(End of this chapter)