Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 405 The eagle catches the chick

Before receiving the call from Cannes, Pang Ho-cheung had actually considered terminating his contract with Renewal.

Between 2009 and 2011, in just two years, he wrote five screenplays and directed two films.

However, none of his companies were willing to invest money, so in the end, he relied entirely on himself, running around and using his connections to attract investment.

"Victoria One" was financed by the Ho family in Macau, which he managed to secure through extensive efforts. "The Woman Who Cheated" was funded by Taiwanese capital.

In this process, Huanxin Company's role was simply to lend him their name and have their agent negotiate prices and drive traffic for him. That was all.

Although he didn't help much, he was very strict with rules.

He painstakingly wrote the script for "Human Comedy," and even reached an agreement with Du Weize. However, the company not only refused to invest but also refused to let him sign contracts, citing "the cast not fitting the company's strategy." As a result, the film was never made. Du Weize almost severed ties with him in the end.

"The cast doesn't align with the company's strategy!"

What kind of excuse is that?!
Honestly, at that moment, Pang Ho-cheung was so angry that he almost called his boss to get to the bottom of things!

but……

He's not valued, that's normal. He's a Hong Kong director, and many of his films are Hong Kong-style pornographic and violent Category III movies. Making big money is impossible. In a company like Huanxin, being a marginal figure is understandable.

Besides, having connections makes things much easier.

He couldn't lie and say that the Ho family and the Taiwanese investors in his film didn't give him any face at all; they just gave him ten or twenty million Hong Kong dollars to squander simply because of his name, Pang.

Similarly, the final box office results of his two films speak for themselves.

"Dream Home" grossed $38, while "The Woman Who Cheated" fared slightly better with $46.

Well, with this box office performance, he really can't blame the company for not investing. It seems the Ho family and Taiwan invested, and both lost money?

If there wasn't a director named Ning Hao in the same company, Pang Ho-cheung felt that as an employee, he could still tolerate it.

But reality is what it is.

What are Ning Hao and him like? Like Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng?
No, it's actually Xiong Ba and Wen Chou Chou!

……

"Xiangzai, I told you, the boss still values ​​you a lot. Don't be stubborn, don't be angry, okay? What do you mean, 'Wen Chou Chou'? I won't allow you to talk about yourself like that!"

A noisy voice kept chattering in his ear, but Pang Ho-cheung ignored it.

This wasn't his first time in Cannes, France, but he had never been during a film festival.

As he stepped into Nice-Côte d'Azur International Airport, he was immediately enveloped by the film festival atmosphere.

Promotional posters for the 64th Cannes Film Festival were plastered everywhere in the airport. Banners proclaiming "Welcome to Cannes Film Festival 2011" were hanging in almost every corner.

In the center of the airport terminal after arrival, a giant sculpture of the Palme d'Or trophy shines under the lights, attracting everyone's attention.

It was surrounded by movie posters that had fallen from the ceiling.

Pang Ho-cheung, dragging his luggage, unconsciously slowed his pace, his gaze lingering among the posters.

He knew that these posters were for films that were in the main competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" occupied the most prominent position as the opening film, with the romantic Parisian night scene and Owen Wilson's smile evoking endless imagination.

On the other side, Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" is set against a backdrop of stunning cosmic nebulae, with Brad Pitt's deep gaze striking the heart.

Next, Zoe Saldana gracefully turns in the promotional poster for "The Tree of Life".

Above that, Kirsten Dunst gazes melancholically in the poster for "Melancholia".

Pang Ho-cheung took a deep breath; it must be his imagination. He thought he could smell the film reels.

Yes, any filmmaker, immersed in this rich cinematic atmosphere, would feel the magic of film in every breath, and thus feel refreshed and invigorated.

Moreover, at this moment, the airport's announcements, a mix of French and English, continuously played the film festival's welcome message, reminding guests of the shuttle bus and helicopter services to Cannes.

Every ground staff member, dressed in a uniform bearing the Golden Palm logo, busily guided newly arrived passengers.

These little details constantly remind the guests who come here.

This is Cannes.
It is Rome for countless filmmakers around the world.

……

……

"Xiangzi, are you even hearing what I'm saying?"

"I heard you, I heard you, please shut up!"

"Shut up, shut up. All you ever do is tell me to shut up. If I don't give you a proper talking-to, you'll give the boss a sour look, and I'm afraid the boss will fire me."

"If you don't shut up, do you believe I'll fire you?"

"Okay, I'll shut up. I just wanted to tell you that when you meet the boss later, don't say anything irrelevant. Since the boss called you over, it means he still cares about you. Don't be sad anymore."

The person who was talking to Pang Ho-cheung the whole time was named Zhang Xin, and he was the agent assigned to him by Huanxin Company.

Tall and thin, a European returnee from Guangdong, fluent in English, French, Chinese, and Portuguese. He lives in Shenzhen, making him easy to get along with, and is very capable. He's a good talker, except he's a chatterbox, sometimes making you want to slap him.

"Damn it, I'm heartbroken for you!" Pang Ho-cheung said irritably. "Hurry up and find where the person who's supposed to pick us up is, okay? Didn't you say a car was coming to pick us up?"

"It's over there, holding up such a big sign. You're too short to see it, but I saw it a long time ago!"

I'll fuck your mother!

Sitting in the car driven by the French driver who came to pick him up, feeling the black leather seats of the Citroën DS5 and the faint wood fragrance inside, Pang Ho-cheung felt valued, and his mood improved even more.

"Look, although the boss invested 70 million in 'No Man's Land,' invited Tony Leung to play the male lead, and even made a cameo appearance in his movie."

"At the Cannes premiere a couple of days ago, they even pulled strings to get Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, and Woody Allen to attend, and Cannes president Gilles Jacob and artistic director Thierry Frémaux were also there, making No Man's Land quite a spectacle, and Ning Hao was really living the high life..."

"But, Xiangzai, you still have a Citroën to ride in, right? The boss still cares about you."

leave!
Pang Ho-cheung's mood, which had just started to improve, instantly plummeted again. "Shut up! No one will think you're mute if you don't speak! You son of a bitch!"

He had no interest in dealing with his crazy agent anymore and turned his head to look at the scenery outside the car window.

At this moment, the Citroën had just driven out of the airport parking lot and arrived at the exit avenue of Nice-Côte d'Azur International Airport, where there were still huge billboards advertising the film festival.

These are some image advertisements.

The first person I met was Cannes Film Festival President Gilles Jacob, the second was Woody Allen, and the third was Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
the fourth……

It is a half-length portrait of a Chinese man.

He was wearing a white shirt, a bow tie, and a black suit. On the 5-meter-high giant screen, he smiled gently and politely at the vehicles coming and going on the highway.

It seems that... Pang Ho-cheung is lecherous, but he is not interested in men, yet he still has a kind of dazzling and mesmerizing feeling.

The text on this advertisement is slightly different from the previous ones, which were in French and English, but this one is in French and Chinese.

There was a bit of traffic, so Pang Ho-cheung was able to see every single word clearly.

The largest line reads: "Bienvenue au Festival de Cannes 2011. Welcome to the 2011 Cannes Film Festival."

A slightly smaller line reads: "Chen Nuo, Best Actor of 2009. A tribute to the art of cinema."

The background features the golden facade of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, adorned with the Palme d'Or logo.

"Wow, boss, this ad is so cool! It's so impressive, it really makes you look good! Xiangzai, don't you think it's great?" The noisy voice rang out again.

This time, Pang Ho-cheung didn't curse or pay attention to Zhang Xin; instead, he started to think things through again.

Why did the company suddenly and urgently notify him to come to Cannes?
Is it really as the mentally unstable agent said, that they're going to give him a second chance?
No way?
If the goal is to have him make a film, the Cannes Film Festival is closing in three days, why bother bringing him to France?

Unless, of course, there is an urgent need for one of his skills.

But despite his legendary status as a Hong Kong film genius, Pang Ho-cheung only relied on one skill.

He wasn't the director, but the screenwriter.

His forte is writing scripts with a strong, unconventional style, often found only in Hong Kong and banned in mainland China.

From the heroine in "Dream Home" who goes on a killing spree to buy a house, to the absurd struggles of the lower class in the gangster world in "Human Comedy," from the bizarre combination of a hitman and an advertising director in "You Shoot, I Shoot," to the ambiguous and entangled relationship between the man and woman amidst the swirling smoke in "Love in a Puff,"

He excels at using seemingly bizarre settings to examine human nature under a magnifying glass, and allows the audience to confront the cruel truth of social classes amidst a tense pace and constantly twisting plots.

Does this have anything to do with why he came to Cannes?

……

……

"...'Squid Game,' that was the name I initially came up with, because the inspiration came from this Korean game. However, the game content will definitely need to be changed to a Chinese game. As for how to change it, how to write it, and what kind of battles the 456 contestants will have, that will depend on the three of you working together."

This is the hall of a villa, situated on a quiet hillside in Cannes. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer views of the azure waters of the Mediterranean, and the setting sun casts a warm golden glow on the wooden floors. Chen Nuo sits on a beige leather sofa, leaning forward, facing Peng Haoxiang and the other two men.

The three men exchanged glances. A middle-aged man with a buzz cut and a somewhat handsome appearance hesitated and said, "Mr. Chen, the concept you're talking about sounds similar to the Japanese film 'Battle Royale.' I don't think a show like that would be easy to get approved in mainland China, would it?"

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Teacher You, the TV series we are going to film this time is not planned to be broadcast in mainland China."

Pang Ho-cheung said, "Boss, you mean... this TV series is going to air in Hong Kong?" "Not really. You'll be filming in Hong Kong, but in the end, I'd like to collaborate with Netflix."

"what?"

Pang Ho-cheung straightened up abruptly. Not only him, but the other two also widened their eyes in surprise.

“Netflix?” The last man, a slightly overweight middle-aged man with a short beard, repeated, “Mr. Chen, are you talking about Netflix, the American company that rents videotapes?”

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "Yes, that's it, but it's no longer planning to just rent videotapes. I don't know if you're aware of its recent moves and their streaming strategy..."

Next, Chen Nuo patiently explained.

There was no other way, because apart from Xiao Peng, the other two of the three people opposite him were not his servants, and he had to explain the whole story clearly.

He even enlisted the help of Chen Kexin and Wang Jiawei to invite these two people to Cannes.

The man with the buzz cut is named Yau Nai-hoi, a screenwriter who has long collaborated with Johnnie To's Milkyway Image. He is known as Hong Kong's most "eccentric" screenwriter and has won the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Screenplay multiple times for works such as "The Longest Nite," "Eye in the Sky," and "PTU."

Wai Ka-fai, a legendary figure in Hong Kong film and television screenwriting, is another pillar of Milkyway Image. He not only wrote the screenplays for classic films such as *Peace Hotel* and *The Birth of a Gangster*, but also laid the foundation for the golden age of Hong Kong dramas with TVB series like *The Greed of Man* and *Looking Back in Anger*. His friendship with Wong Kar-wai is exceptional.

In addition, add Peng Pang.

What do you say?
With such a "dream team" of Hong Kong screenwriters, under his guidance, surely writing a "Squid Game" with a Hong Kong version of violent aesthetics shouldn't be a problem.

"...When I heard that they were planning to spend 100 million US dollars on content, I thought, maybe this is an opportunity. Even if we don't spend 100 million, I think we could get 50 million US dollars for production costs, which should be enough for us to make a decent TV series. What do you guys think?"

Pang Ho-cheung and his two companions exchanged glances. All three were Hong Kongers, and they could clearly see what was in each other's eyes.

It's exciting!
Just an hour ago, Pang Ho-cheung was incredibly disappointed; now, he's just as excited!

When he heard that he was asked to write and direct a TV series, he thought it would be something like The Return of the Condor Heroes or a TVB series. As a film director, he was being asked to direct a TV series. Even if it wasn't exactly humiliating, it certainly wouldn't be comfortable for him.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a TV series with a budget of 5000 million US dollars! It sounded rather strange, but it was quite interesting.

Oh, damn it!
What does US$5000 million mean for the Hong Kong market?
An atomic bomb was dropped on this tiny piece of land, just over 1000 square kilometers!

Prior to this, Hong Kong's biggest production was "The Storm Riders II" in 2009, invested by Media Asia Films. It was said to have cost HK$1.2 million, or about US$1500 million, and brought together an all-star cast including Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, and Nicholas Tse.

But now, they have nearly tripled this record for the highest investment in Hong Kong, which is almost equivalent to pouring five years' worth of investment from the Hong Kong film market into a single TV series!
Damn it, the key point is that he's the one directing!?

Pang Ho-cheung, fearing he was dreaming, took a deep breath and asked, "Boss, 50 million US dollars? Really, 50 million? Does Netflix have that much money to spare?"

Chen Nuo said, "You don't need to worry about that. If it doesn't exist, I have it."

Pang Ho-cheung felt like he had just run into a wall, and his mind went blank.

Before he could recover, Chen Nuo continued, "I know, perhaps Mr. You and Mr. Wei still have some doubts about the topic and content I just mentioned..."

"No, no, Mr. Chen."

"Me too, Mr. Chan. We'll do whatever you say."

You Naihai and Wei Jiahui felt like they had also bumped into a wall along with Peng Haoxiang. They were still dizzy and spoke in a hurry. They didn't even wait for Chen Nuo to finish speaking before they hurriedly said something.

Since everyone is being so polite, Chen will not stand on ceremony either. He nodded and said, "In that case, I'll have to trouble the three of you these next few days. I hope you can finish writing the scripts for the first two episodes before the Cannes Film Festival closes."

……

……

Chen Nuo was in such a hurry not because Lorraine Eisner was urging him, but because he was afraid he wouldn't have time to follow up on the matter.

Why not take advantage of his free time these few days and call the screenwriters together for a brainstorming session, so that he can determine the basic script style and direction based on his memories of the original Squid Game?

This is not just about helping Luo Rui.

Chen Nuo also discussed it with Qi Yuntian, Li Jing, and Alison. They all agreed that if this matter were to be accomplished, it would be of great benefit to Huanxin Company.

The question is, will it actually succeed?
Although Qi Yuntian, Li Jing, and Allison all expressed their belief in Chen Nuo, Peng Haoxiang, You Naihai, and Wei Jiahui also expressed their trust in Chen Sheng.

But Chen Nuo wasn't really confident!

After all, if a Korean game is adapted into a Chinese game, and Korean production is changed to Hong Kong production, and the 2021 release date is moved up to 2011, it's really hard to say whether it can still create that unimaginable ratings miracle.

After all, Netflix's streaming strategy was just beginning at that time, and its user base was not as large as it would be 10 years later.

However, there was an advantage: at that time, there was no Iron Curtain between East and West, nor were there any other problems.

Similarly, the era of traffic has just arrived, and if it is successful in this context, the effect will be even greater than it would be 10 years later.

Because the streaming media market was still a blue ocean in 2011, the brand effect of creating a phenomenal hit will make Huanxin a leader in the global streaming media content industry!
With such an imaginative title on his head, a successful TV series IP in hand, and successful experience spanning commercial films, award-contending films, and TV series production,

What price-to-earnings ratio can the IPO path of Huanxin Future reach?
The enormous profits involved are what made him willing to take the gamble, even if it meant paying out of his own pocket.

After all, the maintenance of private jets will be incredibly expensive in the future; how can we not take a gamble?

……

Three days passed quickly.

During these three days, "No Man's Land" not only successfully achieved its previously set target of 2000 million, but also exceeded its target thanks to Gulnazar's miraculous sales ability.

Finally, on May 21, the day of the Un Certain Regard awards ceremony, their film "No Man's Land" signed agreements with more than 30 countries.

Their transaction amount reached over 2800 million, which is 143% of the 2000 million target!

Chen Nuo felt both happy and worried about this.

The good news is that this way, we now have the money to book the plane.

The worry is that he'll really be a frequent flyer then. After this round of travel, his passport won't even have enough pages for all the visas, and he might have to get two new ones.

However, that's his problem.

Others wouldn't think about such things. The sales record set by the "Un Certain Regard" segment made everyone in the "No Man's Land" crew feel completely relaxed when they attended the awards ceremony.

Gulnazar also attended that evening, and she was dressed extremely beautifully in a red dress. She attracted the attention of many photographers as she walked the red carpet, who took many beautiful photos of her.

This made the girl feel as if she were in a dream.

When do dreams begin?
It probably started when she found out how much commission she could get.

When she learned from Qi Yuntian that the company would give her a total of $56000, which is about 40 RMB in commission,

Gulnazar really found it hard to accept.

You really have to post it!
40!? What did she do?

In fact, she felt that she hadn't done anything.

She was just imitating Chen Nuo, whom she had seen that day, haggling with customers and practicing her spoken English.

If we really have to say, what does she have that makes her worth so much money?

Gulnazar racked her brains and could only conclude that her modeling experience helped her, making her more thick-skinned and less prone to stage fright in front of large groups.

At the same time, she has been talking to herself in her head since she was a child, which has also made her eloquent and quick-witted. After all, she bickers with herself every day like someone with a split personality.

If we need to add one more item.

That can only mean that, for someone as extremely emotional as her, she is relatively more sensitive to other people's emotions.

So, just like that, she earned 40 in a week?
"Sister Jing, thank you so much. I wouldn't have been able to earn so much money without you... Thank you, thank you so much." After hearing the news, she found a suitable time during her workday to call Li Jing and express her sincere gratitude.

"Actually, it all depends on yourself. Keep going, I've said it before, you're very capable, you can do it."

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Li! When I return to Beijing, I must treat you to a meal."

"Haha, okay, then I'll wait for you to come back."

However, perhaps because nothing in the world is perfect, "No Man's Land" did not win the Un Certain Regard award, but only received a Special Jury Prize.

"Thank you to my company, thank you to everyone I worked with on the film, and especially thank you to my boss and good friend Chen Nuo, who gave me tremendous encouragement from beginning to end... Finally, I want to thank my wife, I love you. Thank you, thank you! I love Cannes!"

On a stage that wasn't particularly glamorous, the entire cast and crew of "No Man's Land" went up. Ning Hao delivered a passionate acceptance speech and ended up hugging and kissing Xing Aina.

This could only happen in Cannes, on a less formal secondary stage like "Un Certain Regard," which isn't broadcast live on television.

Chen Nuo clapped and laughed, without saying anything to steal the spotlight.

Thus, this year's Cannes Film Festival came to a successful end for him.

The only problem might be Pang Ho-cheung's script.

With three top Hong Kong screenwriters at the helm, producing two episodes in three days wasn't a big problem. At least, it was enough to send Luo Rui back to Netflix headquarters and compete with the Elf Prince for resources.

The only problem was that Chen Nuo kept looking at the TV series title, which was conceived by three of Hong Kong's top screenwriters, and he felt a little strange about it.

It can no longer be called the Squid Game.

After all, apart from the "Red Light, Green Light" game, which he suggested was still unchanged, all the other games were modified to suit Chinese tastes.

However, isn't calling it "The Eagle Catches the Chickens" a bit too childish?

(End of this chapter)