1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 107 Finishing

Half the size of a kung fu star!
Zhai Yuan looked at the lineup in front of him and suddenly reacted.

Especially Norton and Cynthia Rothrock, I feel like they can knock me out with one punch.

Not to mention Yasuaki Kurata, whose name is Fumio Funakoshi, is he an ordinary person who can fight with Chen Zhen?
There is also a seductive woman from the Jiujiu School. Zhai Yuan just found out that her name is Michiko Nishixie. It is said that she has won three bodybuilding championships and one weightlifting championship with her muscular body. Don't mess with her.

Since the 1970s, Hong Kong's local action films have become famous around the world under the leadership of legendary movie star Bruce Lee.

Then came another legend, Cheng Shilong, who made the local action movie craze even more popular around the world.

It is precisely because of the influence of this environment that more and more foreign actors are entering Hong Kong in search of breakthroughs, and most of them are experienced action actors.

The remaining five extras were mostly those who couldn't make it in America and wanted to come to Hong Kong to try their luck, but they were unfamiliar with the place, so they were all taken away by Shen Wei.

The only exception is Catwoman Michelle Pfeiffer (this translation is better).

She came to Hong Kong to relax because she was rejected for an audition by Brian De Palma, the director of "Scarface". She lost her confidence and was cheated of a large sum of money by a cultist. She had a big fight with her husband and ran away from home. Then she got a job for no apparent reason.

After briefly understanding the situation of this group of people, Zhai Yuan went straight to the point and talked about the film pay.

Audition? No need for that. My play is just pure chatting.

Although Shen Wei's English level as the translator was not very good, it was still much better than Zhai Yuan's. After some negotiation with the actors, they finally agreed on the price.

Among the group, the one with the highest salary was Norton, who played the male lead Jesus, with 80,000 Hong Kong dollars.

This price is already quite high for a local actor, but Norton does not seem satisfied. After all, he also gets about the same salary for acting in B-level movies in the United States.

But after learning that there would be no life-and-death struggle and that there would be no dangerous scenes at all, Norton finally agreed to give it a try.

Next are the two female characters with the most screen time, and Zhai Yuan chose Michelle Pfeiffer and Michiko Nishiwaki respectively.

There is no other reason, simply because she is good-looking enough and it is pleasing to the eye.

After learning that Michelle Pfeiffer's reputation had collapsed due to "Grease 2" and now she was not only unable to find a job but also had a large sum of money defrauded, Zhai Yuan immediately had the idea of taking advantage of the situation.

He knew that once this woman finished filming Scarface, her pay would definitely soar.

So after some bargaining, he only offered her 50,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Since the weakening of the U.S. dollar in 1974, the Hong Kong dollar has removed its peg to the U.S. dollar and now has a freely floating exchange rate system.

Fifty thousand Hong Kong dollars is currently equivalent to more than five thousand US dollars, which is roughly two or three weeks' salary for an average Hollywood actor.

"After the show, ask her in private if she's willing to sign a new contract."

Zhai Yuan pulled Shen Wei over and whispered in his ear, "I'll buy out her contract for the next ten films. The price is negotiable."

Not satisfied with just one film, Zhai Yuan planned to make a few more as he couldn’t miss the opportunity.

Shen Wei stared at Zhai Yuan for two seconds and uttered, "Boss, she has a husband."

Shit! What are you thinking?

Zhai Yuan glared at him and thought, even if I have a husband, so what? I also have the legacy of a prime minister!
Another female character who is also very beautiful and has many scenes, Michiko Nishiwaki, did not receive as high a pay as Catwoman.

She couldn't find a job in the Japanese entertainment industry, so she wanted to try her hand in Hong Kong as a fighter.

But now is not the time for the 'hot pink action stars' to appear in Hong Kong. The actresses just need to be good vases, so it is natural that her muscles will encounter obstacles everywhere.

"You're here too early. You should wait a few more years until a woman named Yang Ziqiong leads the trend of female fighters."

Zhai Yuanshang didn't know that it was because of this setback in Hong Kong that Michiko Nishixie returned to Japan. She gradually became famous with a photo album and two third-level films, and then she made her second foray into Hong Kong.

Fortunately, now that Zhai Yuan is willing to use her, she doesn't have to go back to selling her body. The pay is not low, the maximum price for a newcomer is 20,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Michiko Nishixie was very touched. She finally found her first job in the film industry. She immediately stood up and bowed to Zhai Yuan, and then said a lot of nonsense.

"Mr. Zhai, Michiko said she is very grateful for the opportunity to work for her and she will definitely work hard to complete this performance."

The speaker was Yasuaki Kurata, who had been in Hong Kong for many years and spoke Cantonese fluently.

"Can you help me ask her if she's willing to sign a long-term contract? We'll talk about the contract later."

This time, there was no need to whisper in someone's ear like he did with Shen Wei. Zhai Yuan asked Kurata Yasuaki directly.

Yasuaki Kurata and Michiko Nishiwaki chattered on for a while and asked Zhai Yuan a few questions on her behalf. They were all about pay and performance opportunities, which are the issues that actors care about most. They were afraid that they would be shelved after signing the contract.

"Don't worry, I can guarantee that I can open at least one movie for her every year and make her the heroine."

When these words were translated to Nishixie Michiko, she looked at Zhai Yuan with something strange in her eyes. She had been planning to return to Japan to make a third-level movie, but suddenly she got a job, and she could be the leading actress?

It was the traditional bow and aligado again, which made Zhai Yuan feel embarrassed.

In fact, the main reason why a group of Japanese actresses like Michiko Nishiwaki and Yukari Oshima are not as popular in Hong Kong as Yang Ziqiong is their identity issue.

Because they were foreign actors who did not speak the language and had no signed contracts, they could not see the script for a long time because local producers were worried that the company's ideas would be stolen by the Japanese.

Zhai Yuan was not worried about this problem at all. The company also had to make movies anyway, one a year, so they could just take the movies from Japan and adapt them slowly.

For example, "100 Yuan Love", also known as "Hot Spicy Hot Pot", is very suitable for a fitness fanatic like her!
Cyndi Wang, another female fighter who came too early.

She learned martial arts at Sichuan and Chongqing Sports College when she was a teenager. She holds black belt degrees in six Chinese and Korean martial arts schools, and has won two consecutive world championships in karate routines and weapon groups.

But she was still a newcomer in the film industry. However, Zhai Yuan knew that it was not easy for her to raise a child after divorce, so although she did not have many roles, he still gave her a salary of 20,000 yuan.

"Why did she get divorced?"

Zhai Yuan asked Shen Wei another question out of curiosity.

Shen Wei winked at Zhai Yuan: "The couple had a quarrel, and she beat her husband so hard that he had to be hospitalized."

Zhai Yuan smacked his lips and thought, why not just not sign this.

Although Yasuaki Kurata is a veteran movie star, he didn't have many roles this time and his salary was 40,000 yuan, which was considered as some extra money for him while he waited for the new movie to start filming.

The remaining few extras received HK$10,000 each.

This concludes the calculation of each person’s pay.

"This is the English version of the script. Before we hand it over to you, we need to sign a confidentiality agreement."

Zhai Yuan nodded at Shen Wei, who immediately took out a stack of contract papers.

The highlight of "This Man From Earth" lies in the last few minutes, so the consequences of script leaks are quite serious. Just in case, Zhai Yuan can only use contracts to restrain the actors.

The penalty for breach of contract was set at an extremely high price of one million US dollars.

After everything was ready, Zhai Yuan sent the script he had prepared in advance to the eight foreign guys and girls.

He also said to Kurata Yasuaki and Nishikie Michiko: "The Japanese version of the contract is not ready yet. I will give it to you tomorrow."

……

In the next few days, while the actors were memorizing their lines, Zhai Yuan began to burn film.

Using a film camera was not as complicated as Zhai Yuan thought. After all, tools are designed to be easy to use.

But there are so many small props to match, which makes it a bit cumbersome.

Things like variable-speed motors, separate prisms, gray cards, and various color filters and mirrors... often make him overwhelmed.

However, after becoming proficient, I gradually found the feeling of shooting with a digital camera.

Zhai Yuan filmed a segment of Zhao Meizhen, a segment of Zhai Yao, and then filmed an old man fishing by the river, and the cars passing by on the road...

Twenty rolls of 35mm wide film for training, each costing two thousand yuan and lasting four minutes.

He destroyed everything in three days.

"I'm so strong now!"

After developing the film in the developing room, Zhai Yuan randomly placed a few clips in the room. Watching the images improving every day, he suddenly felt that his skills had reached perfection.

All that’s left is waiting for the actors to memorize their lines.

Throughout the whole process, everyone became very interested in the story after receiving the complete version of the script.

Because this is essentially a dialogue novel.

Two days later, the ten actors gathered again at a garden villa near Ho Man Tin.

The filming location was found with the help of Pang Ka Yin. It is more Western in style than the villa where the blind girl was filmed last time. It used to be the property of a white official, who later returned to England and the villa was sold to one of her friends.

The rental period is one week and the rent is two thousand yuan.

"You're going to start filming so soon?"

Peng Jiayan led a group of people to the villa area and pulled Zhai Yuan aside to ask in surprise.

She had just found all the actors and was still in the early preparation stages, without even having time to rent equipment.

"No rush, we still need to rehearse for a while."

Zhai Yuan winked at Peng Jiayan and said, "But it should all be done by the end of this month. You need to speed up the process."

At the end of the month, that means there is just over a week left.

Pang Chia-yan showed an expression of disbelief, and consoled herself with a dry laugh: "Don't think that filming is easy. Camera scheduling, lighting and imaging are all troublesome matters, and there are many unexpected situations on the scene..."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Zhai Yuan didn't want to discuss techniques with her, so he pretended to be willing to learn, allowing her to regain some confidence.

Then he changed the subject: "How are the two songs from Professor Du going? I just finished filming the movie and wanted to make the MV at the same time."

Pang Ka Yin looked like she was saying "are you kidding me?" No matter how you look at it, filming a MV is easier than filming a movie, right? Did you get the order wrong?

She hadn't read the script and didn't know the value of Zhai Yuan's film.

Turning off the screen is the equivalent of a ninety-minute audio short story, with no impact on the plot.

However, Zhai Yuan intends to attract audiences purely through pictures and plots in the MV, which is relatively more practical.

"Professor Du said it will take some time. Please wait a little longer."

Peng Jiayan said something vaguely. In fact, she had never communicated with Du Qinlan at all. After all, she knew in her heart that Du Qinlan still had Xue Wanen by her side. How could she urge her idol to submit manuscripts?

"alright."

Zhai Yuan was not in a hurry. Anyway, there was still more than a week left before the filming of the movie was completed. It would be best if he could shoot the MV seamlessly by then. If that was not possible, he could just edit the video first.

The actors entered the villa one after another, and the truck carrying the equipment began to unload: two film cameras, two sets of lighting equipment, and a set of live sound equipment.

In addition to equipment, there are also people.

An electrician, a lighting director, a photography director and a mic boom operator.

It’s standard for an ultra-low-budget crew, without even an assistant.

Before Zhai Yuan hired people, he had already explained to the crew members the conflict between himself and the Freedom Association.

In order not to affect their future work, when the film is broadcast, except for the director and actors, their names will not appear in the movie. If anything goes wrong, all the responsibility can be put on Zhai Yuan.

Of course, there is one last resort, which is to make a public statement and sign a letter of repentance, but Zhai Yuan feels that there is no need to go that far.

After seeing off Peng Jiayan, everything is ready.

"The first shot of the fifth scene of "This Man From Earth", Action!"

Zhai Yuan stood in front of the camera and perfunctorily cut the clapperboard.

Six actors, including Norton and Michelle Pfeiffer, immediately started to move and entered the performance state.

The camera lens cap was not opened because it was not time for the actual shooting yet.

Because the film was too expensive, Zhai Yuan wanted them to rehearse for a while so that the director and actors could get to know each other better.

Sure enough, less than ten seconds into the fifth scene, a supporting actor made a mistake in his performance.

Zhai Yuan shouted helplessly: "Cut!"

Fortunately, the camera was not turned on, otherwise the lines from The King of Comedy would have appeared:

Do you know how many seconds, frames of film, money, and the staff’s time and efforts were wasted because of your mistake?
……

On the seventh day, the crew has entered the official shooting schedule.

"The Man From Earth, Scene 17, Scene 3, Action!"

The clapperboard is cut, the camera is aimed at the scene, the lights are in place, the microphone boom is raised, and the actors enter the performance state one after another.

Apart from simple forward and reverse shots, the entire film, after entering the early and middle stages, is filled with the actors' dialogues.

Even without a viewfinder, Zhai Yuan can easily direct the scene. He only needs to use the dual cameras to shoot close to the face without having to focus on the rhythm of the whole scene.

Almost all mistakes come from actors forgetting their lines.

Zhai Yuan doesn’t know English and can’t hear the mistakes in the lines, so he is often accompanied by two translators during filming.

A foreigner who was not in this scene, so he just held the script and compared the lines of the actors on the scene.

The other is Shen Wei.

The foreigner heard something wrong and told it to Shen Wei, who then told it to Zhai Yuan.

Any experienced director passing by would have cursed the group as a makeshift one.

The two Japanese actors, Yasuaki Kurata and Michiko Nishiwaki, spoke Japanese throughout the film and needed post-production dubbing.

Then the filming went on in a muddled way, and surprisingly it went smoothly.

ninth day.

Zhai Yuan is tired of taking the camera.

As the actors got into the groove, their lines became more and more proficient and their mistakes became fewer and fewer.

His work was becoming increasingly boring.

"Hey you, come and stare at the camera for a while."

After another scene ended successfully, Zhai Yuan waved to the director of photography who was slacking off.

When I invited him, I wanted to have a director of photography to work with me to decide the camera's perspective, the composition and movement of the shots, the emotional atmosphere and visual characteristics of the scene.

Now I realize that I was overthinking it. This movie doesn't need such high-end things at all.

This is a waste of money!

After leaving the villa, Zhai Yuan leaned back on a lounge chair in the garden and lit a red cigarette.

After a while, Shen Wei and Michelle Pfeiffer also followed out.

"Boss, the ghost girl has something to tell you."

Shen Wei approached Zhai Yuan and said, "It seems that she received a call from America, asking her to go back for the audition, so she asked if you could finish filming her part first."

After asking a few more questions, Zhai Yuan found out that although the director of Scarface looked down on Michelle Pfeiffer, the producer Martin Bregman insisted on letting her give it a try.

"Ms. Feihua, I hope you can think about it. The competition in Hollywood is too great. If you come to our company, I can at least guarantee that you will have a movie to shoot every year. And you can also see that I don't have a bad temper. I'm not like those big directors in Hollywood who curse at people like firecrackers. We have been working together for so long. Have you ever heard me swear?"

Zhai Yuan asked Shen Wei to act as an interpreter and persuaded him: "What if you fail the audition for Scarface when you return to America this time? Wouldn't it be a wasted trip? On the other hand, if this movie fails like Grease 2, you will have to bear the criticism of public opinion again. But you don't have to worry about this problem in Hong Kong. My company can help you solve the public opinion problem at a high price."

Michelle Pfeiffer was very touched and then rejected Zhai Yuan.

The simplest reason is that her family is still in the United States, and "Scarface" is a project with a Universal investment of tens of millions, so of course she would try it if she has the chance.

"Then let's sign a few film contracts. I'm actually a fan of yours. I think your acting skills are not inferior to Audrey Hepburn and Jessica Lange. If one day I go to Hollywood to develop my career and you are still an actor, I hope we can have a chance to work together again."

Zhai Yuan used his skills of coaxing and flattering, and after a lot of persuasion, he finally convinced Michelle Pfeiffer.

In her personal capacity, she signed two film contracts with Zhai Yuan, agreeing to complete the filming within five years, otherwise it would be considered a unilateral breach of contract by Zhai Yuan.

To show his sincerity, Zhai Yuan offered a high price of HK$200,000 for the two film contracts.

He signed the check and drafted the contract immediately without any hesitation.

Shen Wei felt that Zhai Yuan was really spending a lot of money to pick up girls!
Michelle Pfeiffer felt that this trip to Hong Kong was not in vain. Including the salary for filming this movie, she earned more than 30,000 US dollars in just half a month, which immediately solved the financial pressure of being cheated by X cultists.

Zhai Yuan remained calm and was overjoyed.

I bought out the contracts for two films starring the original Catwoman for 200,000. Even if I don’t shoot them myself, I can resell them for dozens of times the price in two years.

At this time, Michelle Pfeiffer had no idea that after filming "Scarface", her salary would skyrocket to more than 100,000 or 200,000 US dollars per movie.

The lower the ability, the more likely it is that people will overestimate themselves, while people with strong abilities tend to underestimate their own value.

Of course, it also has something to do with self-confidence. This was exactly the time when Michelle Pfeiffer had the least confidence.

She was very touched to have a fan like Zhai Yuan supporting her and said, "Thank you!"

Zhai Yuan thought to himself that it was okay, just don’t regret it in a few months.

……

Michelle Pfeiffer's scenes were filmed quickly.

Zhai Yuan did not waste her time. With the film contract in hand, he was more worried than Michelle Pfeiffer that she would miss the interview opportunity.

He first printed out the rough films and reviewed them all, then asked her to reshoot a few scenes with lighting problems, and then sent Catwoman on a plane back to America.

Michelle Pfeiffer continues to pursue her Hollywood movie dream.

The filming of the movie "This Man From Earth" is gradually coming to an end.

The eleventh day of official shooting.

With Zhai Yuan's "Cut", the entire film was completed.

All the props that appear in the film were custom-made by specialized prop masters.

Especially the ambulance that appeared at the end. In order to avoid any sense of incongruity, Zhai Yuan specially rented a Ford F-series pickup truck, added a trunk, and asked the prop master to make stickers, and transformed it into an American public ambulance.

It seems that it is not impossible to convert a minibus into a police car and a revolver into an AK.

"Finally done."

Zhai Yuan turned off the machine and let out a long breath.

It took eleven days to complete the filming of "This Man From Earth", and the remaining work is post-production editing, recording, and music composition.

Except for Michelle Pfeiffer who was not present, the actors and production staff all came close to Zhai Yuan, hugging and high-fiving him enthusiastically.

The end of a movie means that everyone’s efforts have been rewarded.

Michiko Nishixie also hugged Zhai Yuan and jumped up and down excitedly. This was her first play and also the first day she signed the contract with Jiuyi.

"Thanks for the chance, Boss!"

He spoke poor Cantonese, obviously having just learned it from Yasuaki Kurata not long ago.

Zhai Yuan hugged the woman and felt that her muscles were not as hard as he had imagined.

"Everyone, the filming of 'This Man From Earth' officially wrapped up today. Thank you all for your hard work during this period."

Zhai Yuan made his final statement, and after two seconds of silence, he added, "But the crew hasn't disbanded yet! We're having a drink tonight! Don't go home until you're drunk!"

Cheers and whistles suddenly rang out, one wave higher than the other. Rothrock even hugged Zhai Yuan and spun him around several times on the spot.

So fucking tough!
After landing, Zhai Yuan shook his head and said, "It's a good thing I didn't sign a contract with you. In comparison, Nishixie Michiko looks like a beautiful girl from a small family."

"It's time to contact America."

Zhai Yuan looked at the noisy crowd, took two steps back, and said to Shen Wei beside him: "After the film is edited, we can find a few rubbish theaters in North America to show it twice, and then we can build momentum."

Shen Wei nodded in understanding: "We have contacted four local newspapers. According to your request, they will immediately find an opportunity to interview American politicians, celebrities, and church leaders after the movie is released and ask misleading questions."

"Four isn't enough, find a few more."

Zhai Yuan thought for a moment and said, "We'll also find a few reporters in the UK to ask questions. The questions will still focus on religion. As long as someone dares to answer, we can piece it together into their promotion for the movie. Do you understand what I mean?"

Shen Wei nodded heavily, unable to help revealing excitement on his face.

He seemed to have foreseen the sensation that the next movie would cause in Hong Kong and even around the world.

"Calm down, basic operations."

Zhai Yuan patted Shen Wei and continued, "I will finish editing the movie within a week at the latest. In addition to contacting the American side, you must also quickly negotiate the acquisition process of Guanji Cassette Field. If you don't have enough money, go to the bank to borrow money. You must keep all the machines and employees. Once the momentum is built, produce one million videotapes first. Then it will be time to open the champagne and celebrate."

PS: There will be a 6,000-word chapter later. Please give me your monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)