1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 106

"You hit my hair."

Deng Leling lay lazily in the quilt, her face flushed, her voice soft, and she patted Zhai Yuan's arm gently.

Zhai Yuan moved a little, leaned on the edge of the bed, and lit a cigarette after dinner.

"The pay has been reduced by another 20,000 yuan. Remember to take note of it in your notebook."

Gently exhaling a cloud of smoke, he began to remind Deng Leling.

Deng Leling chuckled and said, "The first time was too short, so it doesn't count. I can only deduct 10,000."

Zhai Yuan was angry.

It's already this late, and you're still arguing about the truth for those three to five minutes. Is that interesting?

Who doesn’t have a bad time?
"Wear something different next time. I've known you for so long, I thought you only had denim shirts at home."

Zhai Yuan held a cigarette in one hand and reached into the quilt with the other hand, stroking Deng Leling's fair back.

Deng Leling hummed lazily, squinted her eyes like a kitten, rubbed against Zhai Yuan, and rested her face on his chest.

"What do you want me to wear?"

"Like black garter stockings."

"Okay, let's try next time."

"And high heels, the kind with black tops and red soles."

"Ah."

"You can also try the cheongsam."

Deng Leling looked up at him and asked with a smile, "Why don't I borrow two costumes from the Cantonese Opera Troupe?"

Zhai Yuan thought that you still know more, and said, "Okay! Is it Zhaojun going to the frontier or Daiyu burying flowers?"

Deng Leling bit his chest and said, "That's meaningless. It's just like a mother teaching her son~"

Zhai Yuan felt like he was reacting again: "Let's not talk about that. I remember there is a Cantonese opera called One Pillar Supporting the Sky, and it has already started."

If the cow doesn't want to drink water, force its head down.

Deng Leling was still very resistant and struggled and refused to give in.

The two sides were in a stalemate for two minutes, and finally Zhai Yuan was defeated.

Deng Leling really pinched her!
"Okay, okay, let's talk about serious matters."

Zhai Yuan rubbed the blue and red marks on his waist and felt that he should not go against the woman's wishes.

"That new play of yours may have to be postponed."

He quickly recounted the difficulties he encountered in finding actors today.

When Deng Leling heard about the strange regulations of the Freedom Association, she was also confused.

As expected, anyone who is not in the film industry has never heard of such a thing as the Freedom Club, let alone understand this ban.

Most of the artists with bad records in later generations rely on the spontaneous boycott of the public. If they occasionally say something wrong, they will give you the opportunity to apologize and correct it. This is quite tolerant.

Look at them. As early as the 1970s and 1980s, they began to require artistes to swear an oath of allegiance. They didn’t even have to say anything wrong. If you didn’t say anything, you would be banned.

In the end, they still accused us of being too harsh and picky. How could we live like this?
tui!

There was no other meaning. Zhai Yuan had a strand of Deng Leling's hair in his mouth, so he spat.

"Now what?"

Deng Leling asked with some concern.

"I want you and Director Peng to select a few newcomers from the Cantonese opera troupe or the drama troupe. As long as their acting skills are good enough, I can offer a higher salary."

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

As for the high pay, it is actually equivalent to buying out the acting careers of these actors at once. After all, once they finish filming Zhai Yuan's movie, they will all be banned.

There is not even a chance to join a group to perform in Taiwan.

"So in order not to scare them, don't mention the Freedom Federation. Trick them into coming first and finish filming the movie first."

Zhai Yuan thought to himself that if this group of people were really banned because of filming the movie, the worst that could happen was that he would sign them all and pay them himself, since he was short of artists anyway.

"Okay." Deng Leling hummed, and leaned on Zhai Yuan's chest and said, "There are indeed a few people in our Cantonese opera troupe who want to transition into the film industry. This is a good opportunity to ask them."

"Are there any big-name actors?" Zhai Yuan asked with a smile.

Deng Leling thought for a moment and said, "Have you heard of Qian Cuixiu, Zhao Xiachang, and Miao Lan? They are also famous in the group."

She mentioned a few names, but Zhai Yuan had no impression of them.

"There is also a male actor who is a Cantonese opera teacher and substitute teacher in a middle school. His name is Luo Jiaying."

"Ok?"

Zhai Yuan's eyes moved and he asked, "Is he the one with the bald head and bald eyebrows and a bit of a sissy look?"

"Do you really know him?"

Deng Leling looked up in surprise, then smiled and said, "Mr. Luo does not have much hair, but he shaved his eyebrows for acting. You do sound a bit effeminate when you put it that way."

She couldn't help laughing again.

Zhai Yuan didn't expect that Da Vinci had not yet entered the film industry at that time. He was considered a golden supporting actor and could indeed be signed.

It seems that he was scolded later because of the troublemaker incident, but since even someone of Sister Wang's status liked him, Zhai Yuan still trusted Luo Jiaying.

"When you and Director Peng go for the interview, you can pay special attention to Mr. Luo who teaches the class."

Zhai Yuan added: "I've seen his plays, he's good."

"You watch all the men's shows, so when are you going to come and see my show?"

After talking about business, Deng Leling looked at Zhai Yuan with seductive eyes again, and put one of her thighs on his waist and hips, rubbing it gently.

Moisturize each other.

Eighteen years old, full of energy and vigor.

Write the word "female" on a piece of paper, take out the Q from a deck of cards, or keep pressing 2 on your calculator.

You are at an age where you can DIY as much as you want.

How can I bear this?
"Watch it now!"

Zhai Yuan immediately decided to reduce Deng Leling’s pay by tens of thousands of yuan!
……

Pang Ka Yin and Tang Lok Ling can find actors from Cantonese opera and drama teams.

The new prospective film director Zhai Yuan is not good enough.

What he is going to shoot is "This Man From Earth". The values of this movie are the same as those of Western Jesus. Finding Asian actors to play the role is equivalent to destroying half of one's own skills.

Moreover, the film is dressed in a sci-fi coat, which was demonstrated by "Blade Runner" produced by Shaw Brothers last year, which invited Hollywood superstar Harrison Ford. Zhai Yuan thinks it is better not to go against the market.

Since we have to rely on foreigners to gain fame, we still have to hire a few white actors. It is a bit difficult to make money by standing in this day and age, so let's take it step by step.

Anyway, he had no intention of making money from the movie "This Man From Earth".

If you really believe the nonsense that a movie with a budget of only 10,000 US dollars grossed 350 million US dollars, you will lose your pants.

There aren't so many movies that make a fortune with a small investment. They're all hype. Even if there are, it's because the right time, right place and right people came together. If you think you can make money by remaking them, you might as well buy the Mark Six lottery and relax.

"Since it won't be released, there's no need to hire expensive white actors. Just look for actors from nearby."

Zhai Yuan had no plans to contact the Screen Actors Guild of America. His current wealth was not enough for him to make any effort.

Fortunately, the Freedom Association will not dare to bully foreign actors.

Fortunately, there are foreign actors in Hong Kong.

Hit it off immediately!
So he called his helper Shen Wei and asked him to help invite ten foreign actors. If he couldn't get enough foreigners, he could get two Japanese to make up the number.

“Keep writing the script.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhai Yuan scratched his hair, bit the pen and started thinking about the plot again.

This was the most difficult script he had ever written, with a high density of lines and almost no character actions throughout the script.

I can't help but think of the time when I was on the set, the director would kick out the screenwriter if he dared to write long lines. Don't you know what level our actors are at? He can't even recognize all the words in this long string of words, and you still want him to recite it? You are so generous, change it quickly!

He worked on it from morning till night, and even had to wait for Zhai Yao to bring his meal into the study before he took two bites. He finally understood the first half of the story.

"It will take at least two or three days to finish writing."

Zhai Yuan stood up and pounded his waist. This was more tiring than bargaining with Deng Leling.

In theory, if Zhai Yuan didn't plan to release the film, there was no need to go into too much detail. But he was still holding on to his promise, wanting the Freedom Association to see that even without you, they could still make a movie that made money and had a good reputation.

As for the quality of "This Man From Earth" itself, it is boring at first glance, and you may think it is awesome when you get started, but upon closer inspection, it becomes an average movie. The key questions and answers are all evasive rhetorical questions.

But ordinary audiences usually don't reach the third step. They just do it for fun. After the shock, they go to school or work. Who has the time to delve into the logic?

"So as long as the plot is straightened out, the reputation will not be bad."

After stretching his body, Zhai Yuan planned to take a shower and then come back to continue working.

According to his experience, he is more efficient when creating at night than during the day. He is not afraid of staying up late at a young age, unlike Lao Deng who is over 30 years old, who will lose half his life if he stays up all night.

I haven't worked so hard for a long time. It seems that you still need someone to go against you to be happy. Zhai Yuan stood in front of the window, lit a cigarette, looked at the night view outside, and felt emotional.

Have you ever seen the Kowloon Peninsula at four o'clock in the morning?

……

Early morning of the fourth day.

Zhai Yuan walked out of the study with messy hair, dark circles under his eyes, and unsteady steps.

After three days and two nights and half a pound of tea, I finally finished the script.

"Mom, make something to eat." Zhai Yuan called out to Zhao Meizhen who was busy in the kitchen.

Zhao Meizhen quickly came out with hot porridge and rice cakes. Seeing his appearance, her eyes were full of heartache.

"Work doesn't have to be so risky. It's enough to have enough money to spend."

Zhai Yuan nodded and thought to himself, I think so too, but the other party is not behaving well.

"It will be fine once this period of time is done."

He yawned, ate his breakfast slurredly, waved his hand without saying anything more, and went straight to the bedroom.

Fall down and go to sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already past four in the afternoon.

The energy bar recovered to 97%, and after washing up, it was instantly restored to full health.

“Young people are really tough!”

Zhai Yuan looked at himself in the mirror. His face was still pale, but all the fatigue in his body was gone. He even wanted to bargain with the meat bomb.

Forget it, I can’t be misled by alcohol and sex, I have to do my business.

I first called Pang Ka Yin and asked her how the actor selection was going.

"We're still short of a male lead, and we're currently auditioning."

"Is Jiaying brother not okay?"

"Isn't he a little too old to be the leading actor? And he's bald, and doesn't look good..."

Peng Jiayan's voice became lower and lower. It was obvious that there was someone next to her, covering the receiver while speaking.

"Sister, the male lead in the script is just a middle-aged pervert. If you find Zhang Guorong to play the role, the female audience will envy the female lead instead!"

"Who is Zhang Guorong?"

Zhai Yuan groaned and said, "Well, it seems you are not angry yet."

"Anyway, you can let him try it first, and then change it if he thinks it's not suitable."

In fact, the first time Luo Jiaying appeared on the screen, he played the kidnapped wealthy businessman Wang Yifei in "Criminal Investigation Team", an unscrupulous real estate developer who was a metaphor for Li Jiacheng. It was not until he played Vulture in "God of Gamblers 2" that he began to gradually form his own comedy style. After the millennium, he played the villain Jia Jingzhong in "The King's Guards". Overall, his acting range is still very wide.

Zhai Yuan imagined Luo Jiaying transforming into a pervert, and it didn't seem to be out of place.

But Pang Ka Yin still thought it was inappropriate. She said again, "I'll give you another choice. Liang Xiaolong, who plays Chen Zhen, what do you think?"

Damn it?

Zhai Yuan instantly became interested, this is a big star!

"What a big star."

Pang Ka Yin's discontent could be heard through the receiver. She said, "After he finished filming Chen Zhen, he went to the mainland and said he was Chinese. Now he has also been banned by the Freedom Federation. I got in touch with him through a friend, so I wanted to ask your opinion first."

"Must stay!"

Zhai Yuan had the impression that after Liang Xiaolong was banned after filming Chen Zhen, his career never recovered and he only played supporting roles in some rubbish films afterwards.

It was not until after the millennium that he reappeared in front of the public through the role of Fire Cloud Evil God in the movie "Kung Fu".

Zhai Yuan felt it was a pity that such a skilled and talented actor was buried for twenty years by a ban.

"Have you asked about Liang Xiaolong's salary?"

"Five thousand. No one dares to hire him now, so his salary has dropped a lot. If he can't get any more roles, he has already planned to do business in the mainland."

Considering Liang Xiaolong's current status, this price is indeed quite cheap.

"Please give it a try, but I still think Luo Jiaying can be the male lead. You can let Liang Xiaolong try to be the perverted voyeur who gets killed. He has always been a martial arts master in the eyes of the audience. This time he dies at the hands of an unknown junior, which will be very shocking."

What he actually wanted was the sense of contrast of "The Iron-Blooded Youth Group of the Tiandihui Welcomes the Chief Leader".

Peng Jiayan thought for a moment and hummed, "Okay, then I'll let them both audition and call you back, that's it for now."

hang up the phone.

Zhai Yuan felt a little strange.

Who would have believed that Chen Zhen could be hired for only 5,000 yuan last year?

It's a pity that he is not handsome enough, otherwise, after finishing the current work, we can make a Wong Fei Hung series with him as the leading actor.

When thinking about the appearance, Zhai Yuan suddenly thought of someone.

He then dialed Peng Jiayan's number again.

This time he said simply and directly: "Sister Jiayan, help me keep an eye out for the actor named Liang Jiahui, the one who is dating Li Hanxiang's daughter. His ban should be issued soon. When the time comes, find a way to help me sign him."

Speaking of which, it was Feng Cuifan who took the initiative to tell her the news that Li Hanxiang and Liang Jiahui were about to be banned.

Zhai Yuan had no interest in Director Li, but he really didn't want to miss out on Liang Jiahui. If he could recruit the Thousand Faces Movie King into his company, it would be like having a golden pillar to support his company.

"Think about it again, who else has been banned? Bring them all in and form an Avengers Alliance."

Zhai Yuan muttered to himself as the phone in his hand rang again.

"Boss, I have invited the actors you asked me to invite. Should I let them meet you now?"

Shen Wei's work efficiency was indeed very high. He invited ten actors to interview in just three days.

Zhai Yuan looked at the time. It was already five o'clock in the afternoon.

"It's too late. Pick a place to gather everyone together early tomorrow. I'll treat everyone to breakfast."

An afternoon meal is so expensive, and how much does breakfast cost? Foreign actors have to be careful with their budgeting!
Shen Wei immediately laughed as if he understood what you meant, and then said, "One more thing. Your production company will soon be available for registration. Have you thought of a name for the company?"

This question stumped Zhai Yuan.

The previous company was called Yuanhang, but it never got off the ground and died miserably.

Let's just not put too much meaning into it this time, the simpler the better.

Zhai Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "Let's call it Jiuyi! Jiujiu returns to the true nature, a new beginning, everything is new!"

Shen Wei on the other end of the phone was shocked when he heard this: The boss is really educated! Jiuyi Production Company, it sounds so domineering!
……

The next morning.

Zhai Yuan met Shen Wei and the ten foreign actors he had invited in a morning tea shop opposite Biliyuan.

"This is the boss of our Jiuyi Production Company, Mr. Zhai Yuan."

Shen Wei introduced Zhai Yuan to a group of blond-haired and blue-eyed foreigners in English.

Then he introduced the actors to Zhai Yuan one by one: "This is Cyndi Wang, who has just arrived in Hong Kong. He is now a coach at a gym with his daughter and occasionally works on the set."

At first glance, Zhai Yuan saw a blonde foreign girl who looked somewhat familiar. She had probably appeared in some later Hong Kong films, but he didn't have a deep impression of her.

"This is Robbie, he's an extra on the set."

"William, a minor character."

"John, the extra."

……

Shen Wei quickly introduced all ten actors.

Eight foreigners and two Japanese.

Zhai Yuan looked at the group of people in front of him, his eyes moving around, and he had already found five familiar faces.

Apart from Cynthia Rothrock, who looks only vaguely familiar, the second is Richard Norton, who played the villain in "My Lucky Stars" and "City Hunter".

But at this time, Norton was far from the evil look he later had, and his face looked kind.

He is an Australian, and his main job is a personal bodyguard and karate athlete. He got involved in movies two years ago, so he entered the American B-grade film market and played many roles. After playing too many villain roles, Norton wanted to change his career, and this year he came to Hong Kong to find a way out.

The third familiar face is Michelle Pfeiffer, the heroine of "Scarface" and Catwoman in "Batman Returns".

She came to Hong Kong with Norton because when she was interviewing for "Scarface", the director directly refused to give her the opportunity to audition because her performance in "Grease 2" last year was so bad. So she came to Hong Kong with Norton, with whom she had worked before, to relax and wait for news from the crew.

The last two familiar faces are the two Japanese people.

One of the classic lines is: Young man, the best way to knock someone down is with a pistol.

Yasuaki Kurata had just finished filming "Huo Yuanjia" directed by Yuen Woo-ping. It would be more than 20 years before he and Jet Li filmed another "Huo Yuanjia".

The other Japanese was a girl who was wearing a gymnastics suit that she hadn't had time to change out of. Her body was toned with beautiful muscles, and her face was a bit charming, which also made her look quite handsome.

Zhai Yuan forgot her name.

But everyone knows that she is not only the Queen Kikuko, the sifting queen in God of Gamblers, but also a demon witch of the Nine Chrysanthemum School of the East.

Zhai Yuan smacked his lips and thought that from Luo Jiaying to the present few people, all the people he met recently were acquaintances!
PS: A 5,000-word chapter. Norton and Catwoman's experiences are inconsistent with history. Just read it for fun. Finally, I ask for your monthly votes.
(End of this chapter)