Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 442 Press Conference

The Infernal Affairs trilogy can be considered the last glorious chapter of Hong Kong cinema.

It could also be called a final burst of energy before death.

However, even though Hong Kong cinema is a thing of the past, a dying camel is still a camel, and this camel has nurtured a large number of filmmakers, including various technicians and an enormous number of stars.

Currently, the most popular and influential star in Hong Kong is undoubtedly Jackie Chan, who won the Best Actor award at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.

Even though the Hong Kong media were initially a bit annoyed, well, what the media said yesterday was what I said yesterday, what does it have to do with me today?

So when a star finally wins an internationally renowned Best Actor award, especially one who is also the world's most famous action star, they'll grit their teeth and praise him lavishly.

This resulted in Jackie Chan's dramatic rise to the top among other stars, making him the number one in the Hong Kong film industry.

After Jackie Chan, who ranks second is a matter of debate.

In terms of salary, Chow Yun-fat, who also broke into Hollywood, would definitely have been the one to receive the most pay.

However, the situation has changed in recent years, and Wu Qihua has suddenly emerged as a dark horse.

There's a lot of debate about whether Zhou Runfa can outshine Wu Qihua.

Previously, Wu Qihua had only acted in a few films that won the three highest European awards and other awards, which increased his fame and salary, but he still couldn't compare with Chow Yun-fat.

However, the movie "Inception," in which he played an important role two years ago, grossed $9.2 million worldwide, which immediately boosted Wu Qihua's "prestige".

His salary also rose to $600 million, which is not the quoted price but the market price.

Zhou Runfa's current asking price in Hollywood is $600 million, but this $600 million is inflated; the market price is probably between $400 million and $500 million.

Zhou Runfa is a veteran star, and the media tacitly group him with Wu Qihua.

However, he is different from Zhou Runfa.

Wu Qihua's salary in Hollywood is $600 million, but his agent once said to the media that in order to support the development of Chinese-language films, Wu Qihua will appear in Chinese-language films at a friendly price for the next five years.

This "friendship price" is a 50% discount off the base price of $6 million, bringing it to approximately $20 million.

Although 2000 million is still a top salary for Chinese actors, the success of "Inception" has given him considerable global recognition. In other words, Chinese-language films starring him can sell for US dollars overseas.

Therefore, his 2000 million is extremely cost-effective.

Of all the big stars in Hong Kong, how many can be recognized internationally and earn US dollars by selling copyrights based on their "face"?

The huge success of "Infernal Affairs" also greatly increased the fame of directors Alan Mak and Felix Chong.

Therefore, when Alan Mak and Felix Chong teamed up again to make a film about economic crimes, the first person they thought of was Ng Kei-wah, who had worked with them in "Infernal Affairs 3".

Compared to others, Wu Qihua's biggest advantage is his global fame. Whether it's in South Korea, Southeast Asia, or Europe and America, his presence makes it easier to sell copyrights.

After receiving the script, Wu Qihua and his agent became very interested in the film, titled "Overheard".

The script for this movie is quite good, and the collaboration between the two directors is a gimmick. Both directors have first-class directing and screenwriting abilities, so from any perspective, there's no reason for this movie not to be successful.

Director Felix Chong may have called Wu Qihua specifically to explain that this film was not just a collaboration between him and Alan Mak, but also produced by the famous director Derek Yee.

This powerful alliance greatly increases the chances of success.

In today's Hong Kong, this lineup is already quite remarkable.

The film is scheduled to start shooting in November, and Wu Qihua happens to be available to take the role.

However, just as he was about to have his agent reply to Zhuang Wenqiang, his agent received a phone call and then excitedly told him to wait a little longer.

Why wait? Because director Cao Yang is about to start a new film!
If Director Cao Yang doesn't invite me in a few days, it won't be too late to accept Zhuang Wenqiang's invitation.

What if Director Cao Yang invites you?
Need I say more? Even a fool would know which choice to make.

As for Zhuang Wenqiang and Mai Zhaohui, I can only apologize.

This doesn't count as breach of contract or standing someone up, since I only received the invitation and haven't agreed to it yet.

The next day, Wu Qihua kept checking his phone all day, but he didn't receive the call he had been waiting for "so long" until evening.

That night, Wu Qihua couldn't sleep.

On the third day, Wu Qihua ate breakfast somewhat absentmindedly.

If you've ever acted in a film directed by Cao Yang, you'll know that the entire filmmaking process can be described in two words: silky smooth!

Generally speaking, once you get through the first few days of shooting, the subsequent shooting process is incredibly smooth and enjoyable.

People who haven't worked on Cao Yang's films will find it hard to understand how most of the shots in a movie could be shot in one take and then saved.

It's like utter nonsense.

But that's the way it is.

After acting in a film directed by Cao Yang, it's like Wu Qihua suddenly switching from a car to a tractor when he acts in a film directed by another director.

Just as Wu Qihua reached out with his chopsticks to pick up a bread roll to eat, his phone suddenly rang, startling him so much that he quickly put down the bread roll and looked at his phone.

Then he laughed.

"Director, it's been so long! How are you?"

"Haha, I'm fine too."

"Availability? Yes, yes, of course."

"No problem, of course no problem."

"Okay, okay, I'm sure I'll be available in October and November. Just give me the word, and I can make room for you for the whole year next year."

"Haha, okay, director, I'll be heading to Beijing the day after tomorrow."

"goodbye!"

After hanging up the phone, Wu Qihua waved his hand vigorously, then muttered to himself, "The director finally remembered me, haha..."

He then called his agent, excitedly telling him that Director Cao had called, that Director Cao remembered him, and that Director Cao had invited him...

Overjoyed, the agent asked Wu Qihua, "What type of movie is Director Cao going to make? What role will you be playing? Who will you be working with?"

Wu Qihua was taken aback for a moment, then said matter-of-factly, "How would I know? I didn't ask, why would I ask? We'll find out when the time comes."

The agent thought about it and agreed. Why bother with so many restrictions? It's enough to know that this is Director Cao's movie.

Both of them subconsciously overlooked the fact that an agent and an actor didn't even ask about these most basic things regarding the upcoming film, let alone discuss the salary...

Is this normal?

Yes, that's normal.

A while later, Wu Qihua received another call from his agent.

He just told his agent to call and turn down director Felix Chong. Since he wasn't going to act in his film, he should quickly reply and let the director find a suitable actor.

"Director Zhuang Wenqiang asked, 'What is Director Cao going to film?'... Never mind, he wanted to know how much of your schedule Director Cao needed?"

Wu Qihua knew immediately that director Zhuang Wenqiang had not given up.

After calming down and thinking it over, he learned that Director Cao had said to set aside October and November, which meant that Director Cao's new film, including script reading, preparation, and filming, would only need a maximum of two months.

This suggests that this is likely an art film. A commercial film wouldn't even have two months to prepare.

"Director Cao asked me to set aside my schedule for October and November. However, as you know, when filming Director Cao's movie, in addition to setting aside those two months, I also need to set aside a month to recover my mental state."

Wu Qihua said.

This is based on his own experience.

When filming Director Cao's movies, he can get the main actors into character through directing, and it's a true immersion in the role, a deep understanding of the film, as if they have experienced the life of the character they are playing.

Therefore, after filming, it takes at least a month to adjust one's mental state; in simpler terms, it requires relaxation and recuperation.

"Okay, okay, I understand."

The agent hung up the phone and then called Zhuang Wenqiang, saying, "Director Zhuang, Director Cao has asked for two months of Ahua's schedule. However, based on experience, Ahua will need another month to adjust his mental state, so it will probably take about three months in total."

Do I need another month to adjust my mental state?
Wu Qihua's image immediately came to life in Zhuang Wenqiang's mind.

Look, look, what makes a good actor?
That's what makes a good actor!

No wonder a director as big as Cao Yang likes to work with Wu Qihua; this is the reason.

Professional!
After finishing one movie, I need to take a month to adjust my mind and body before filming the next one, so as not to let the previous movie affect my performance in the next one.

That's what a professional actor is like.

Look at the actors in Hong Kong back then. They would film one movie in the morning, shoot their scheduled scenes, and then rush to film another movie, and maybe even a third movie in the afternoon...

How can an actor like that act well?
Hong Kong's directors and actors are all too focused on quick profits; there's a reason for their current decline...

Immediately, Zhuang Wenqiang decided that Wu Qihua must be signed to star in "Overheard".

It's just waiting...

Well, the original plan for this movie was to start filming from the end of November to mid-December, so it doesn't seem like it was waiting for Wu Qihua.

That's fine.

As for why Felix Chong insisted on inviting Ng Kei-wah, Felix Chong can only say that you don't understand movies.

Wu Qihua's dedication is one aspect.

His role in Cao Yang's film was another important reason.

As a director, he could certainly have imagined that with a two-month timeframe, the film he was shooting would definitely be an art film.

As is well known, director Cao Yang's art films are aimed at the three major European cinemas, and he has never failed to achieve that.

What if Wu Qihua wins the Best Actor award at one of the three major European film festivals because of Director Cao's film?
Since "Overheard" was released after Wu Qihua won the Best Actor award, wouldn't it have made a fortune?

Even if he doesn't win the Best Actor award, as long as Director Cao's film wins awards in Europe, "Overheard" will still benefit.

Putting everything else aside, when we go to Europe to sell the film, those Europeans will see it and think, "Oh, isn't this another movie starring the same actor who just won one of the three major European awards?"

While it's still fresh in our minds, we can definitely make more money.

On September 25, Warner Bros. held a press conference.

Their president, Jeff Robinoff, happily announced that during Director Cao Yang's trip back to Beijing in August to attend the Olympics, he took a backup copy with him because he was focused on his work and wanted to study how to improve post-production.

That's right, it's a backup of "Joker".

Warner Bros. staff rushed to Beijing to help director Cao Yang carefully check the footage, and were delighted to find that only a few shots were missing.

Director Cao Yang will spend about two months filling in these shots and redoing the post-production.

After overcoming numerous hardships, this cursed prophetic film, the film that saw Heath Ledger taken away by God, the film that almost sent Jim Carrey to meet God, and the film that ultimately gave humanity a glimmer of hope because of God's love for mankind, will be released on Thanksgiving!

This is to express gratitude for God's grace...

The movie "Joker," which everyone thought was ruined by an accident, has been miraculously "reborn."

For a time, newspapers, television, talk shows, online forums, portals, social networking sites... were almost all talking about "Joker".

This movie has generated just too much buzz.

It's important to understand that this isn't just random reporting; it's all based on facts.

Heath Ledger, the Joker, is dead, right?
Jim Carrey, the Joker, almost died, right?

The Warner Bros. movie studio is on fire, right?

In the eyes of the public, Joker has had a lot of troubles.

This is the kind of movie that Warner Bros. describes as a prophetic movie and also calls a curse movie. Who wouldn't be curious about what this movie is about?
It's easy to imagine that when it's released on Thanksgiving Day, November 27th, it will definitely create a huge wave of moviegoers.

Whether the movie-going frenzy will continue depends on the content of "Joker".

In short, all the movies scheduled for release around Thanksgiving are starting to worry. With the momentum of "Joker," who isn't afraid?

Cao Yang didn't allocate much time for rehearsing "Like Father, Like Son" this time, totaling less than two weeks.

Of course, we're all acquaintances, so a token gesture will suffice.

This script discussion mainly focused on the four main characters in the final scenes: the male lead Wu Qihua, the male lead's wife Li Xiaoran, and the other couple played by Huang Bo and Chen Hong.

In addition to giving acting lessons to the actors, Cao Yang also specifically asked assistant director Li Mingyi to spend two hours every day training the two young actors on the basics of acting and blocking.

This means setting up a camera on set, along with lights and props, to train the young actors on how to move around and not to look at the camera all the time.

This way, they'll know these basic things, saving us time from having to teach them on the spot.

Of the four people who received instruction from Cao Yang, Chen Hong was undoubtedly the most eager, curious, and interested.

However, after nearly two weeks of contact, Cao Yang always acted very serious and even deliberately avoided her. In front of so many people, Chen Hong couldn't show anything.

That's nothing.

What puzzled Chen Hong the most was that Cao Yang's talk was just so-so, completely different from the high-class and sophisticated image she had imagined.

In two weeks, she had a pretty good understanding of the film's content, its core message, and her own role.

Compared to other directors, such as Lao Chen, Chen Hong admits that Cao Yang made her "completely clear" about the film, letting her know what she was going to be filming and what role she was going to play...

Unlike Lao Chen, who would talk endlessly about life, profound meanings, and human nature during filming... But what exactly is the movie trying to tell us?
Perhaps even until filming wrapped, the actors were still confused and didn't understand.

However, even though Cao Yang explained the movie clearly and made her understand what she was supposed to be playing, Chen Hong was still confused. Would knowing these things help her control over the role and make her performance more outstanding?

However, these alone are not enough to portray that state of "perfection between actor and actor".

This also contradicts the fact that Cao Yang is good at training actors.

Is it because two weeks is too short?

Chen Hong was somewhat unconvinced and wanted to know how Cao Yang had trained her to become one with the actor.

On October 1st, "Like Father, Like Son" held a brief press conference to announce the official start of filming for the new movie.

The press conference was actually a bit chaotic.

The reporters were interested in Cao Yang's new movie, but even more interested in "Joker," as it was firsthand information. Cao Yang hadn't given an interview since Warner Bros. announced that he had a backup.

(End of this chapter)