1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 122 Recruiting troops
"…The ending is, of course, that the villain Tan Cheng is beaten to death, and the two brothers Song Zijie and Song Zihao both walk towards the police who have already surrounded the shipyard."

In a teahouse in Kwun Tong, Zhai Yuan roughly told Wu Yusen the plot of "A Better Tomorrow".

The feeling in Wu Yusen's heart became stronger and stronger.

I feel like I'm living in the shadow of this young man!

Seriously speaking, Wu Yusen once discussed the script of this movie with his good friend Xu Qi. Of course, it was not as detailed as what Zhai Yuan is talking about now, but the general outline is somewhat similar.

"Boss Zhai, did you create this story yourself?"

Wu Yusen asked with a strange look on his face.

"Half and half. Actually, I referred to "A Better Tomorrow" directed by Long Gang and the Bollywood movie "The Wall" in the 1970s. I got inspiration from these two films."

Who hasn’t read a few analyses of classic movies?

How could I not know where you and Xu Qi got this film from?
Zhai Yuan thought so in his heart, but his expression was sincere.

Wu Yusen nodded thoughtfully.

It turned out to be a bridge accident (similar plot), I thought you had read my diary.

But he admired the young man in front of him more and more. He and Xu Qi had a rough chat about the plot, and they only decided that it was a theme of brothers turning against each other and then reconciling. Zhai Yuan actually filled in all the details and even added a character named Xiao Ma Ge.

"Isn't it that Xiao Ma Ge's role has too many scenes? It overshadows Song Zijie."

Wu Yusen asked an extra question because in his and Xu Qi's conception at the time, there was no such important character.

Zhai Yuan felt helpless, thinking to himself, wasn't it because you added more scenes to Zhou Runfa's role while filming, which is why his role kept increasing?
But fortunately, many people later copied this movie, and I know where you copied this character from!

"To be honest, the character of Xiao Ma Ge is not original. I referred to the image of Ken Takakura in the Japanese movie "The Chase"."

Zhai Yuan smiled embarrassedly.

Wu Yusen pondered for a moment the character Du Qiudong played by Ken Takakura, and an expression of enlightenment gradually appeared on his face.

"Sure enough, a hero comes from a boy!"

Wu Yusen was silent for a moment, sighed softly, and felt a sense of powerlessness as if he was thrown onto the beach.

Zhai Yuan felt a little guilty when he saw his dejected look.

You've made me feel embarrassed to copy movies like "Along the World", "Bullet Beat" and "Face/Off".

"How about it, Director Wu, do you think this kind of movie is feasible?"

Zhai Yuan asked: "Or, are you interested in filming it?"

Wu Yusen was very interested. Not only did he like it, he also wanted to see the shocked look on his good friend Xu Qi's face after the filming.

"Boss Zhai, let's sign the contract today!"

"Don't worry, I want to judge from your experience, how much does it cost to produce a movie like this?"

Zhai Yuan did not agree immediately, but asked the most important question first.

Wu Yusen closed his eyes and began to think, tapping his fingers on the table and moving his lips silently.

After two or three minutes, he opened his eyes again: "If the actors' salaries can be controlled within one million, the total production cost will be about five million. If Boss Zhai is willing to pay this money, I guarantee that this movie can be made."

Five million was considered a high-level production cost in the film industry at that time. Although later film analyses did not mention the cost and box office of the film, Zhai Yuan learned that due to limited budget, the role of Mark's sister-in-law Xue Zhilun (the female demon Xiaoqing in A Chinese Ghost Story) was deleted from this film.

However, it seems unnecessary to add a woman to Brother Xiao Ma.

"Five million is not a small amount."

Zhai Yuan immediately showed a difficult expression and began to mutter: "My new company has just been established. I have rented a theater and spent a lot of money. The actors' salaries are expensive. If I really can't make it, I can only wait a few years and make a low-budget comedy to make some money..."

He shook his head and sighed, then looked up at Wu Yusen and asked innocently, "By the way, Director Wu, what is your expected salary?"

…………

"Five-year contract, three thousand a month salary, two hundred thousand for the director's fee?!"

When Peng Jiayan heard the news, her eyes almost popped out: "You kidnapped Wu Yusen's family?"

She had just come out of the editing room and when she rushed to the teahouse, Wu Yusen had already left. Only Zhai Yuan was left humming a tune and drinking tea leisurely.

"We have a mutual respect for each other. Director Wu thinks it's not easy for young people to come out and work hard, so he gave me a preferential price."

Zhai Yuan picked up the teacup, took a sip, smacked his lips and said.

Peng Jiayan showed an expression that said, "I'd be surprised if you didn't believe me."

"Hey, I watched the MV you shot. It turns out that boy is the Zhang Guorong you mentioned before?"

"Yes, are you interested?"

"No, she looks a bit feminine, not my type."

Zhai Yuan smiled and didn't dare to respond, thinking to himself, you have never been cyberbullied!

“But your MV was really well shot.”

Peng Jiayan immediately said excitedly: "The heroine is Michiko, right? I didn't recognize her at first sight. Whose art director did you hire?"

"The most beautiful finger in the world, your brother Yuan."

Zhai Yuan raised his head and said.

"you?"

The expression on Pang Chia-yen's face was even more shocked than when she heard that Wu Yu-sen only charged NT$200,000 for the director's fee.

What else can you do?

Seeing Zhai Yuan nodded in agreement again, Peng Jiayan was silent for a moment, and suddenly smiled embarrassedly.

She asked expectantly, "What style do you think suits me? Can you give me some advice?"

Zhai Yuan frowned and looked her up and down.

Peng Jiayan stood up straight as if she was being reviewed.

"Forget it, you're hopeless." After a moment, Zhai Yuan withdrew his gaze and sighed heavily.

Peng Jiayan immediately flew into a rage, roared like a tigress, and pinched Zhai Yuan's neck viciously with both hands.

…………

The cassette tape of "Secretly Obsessed" was produced.

Zhai Yuan did not rush to put the advertisement on various TV stations, but instead wrote a 30-second advertising script and filmed it quickly.

The plot is very simple. In the secret garden, the employees dressed up in fancy clothes are answering the phone with gentle tone.

Then Deng Leling and Nishixie Michiko started to introduce the company's business one after another, like they were singing a duet.

Finally, they said in unison: "Secret Garden, let the sound convey emotions~"

After all, it's a TV commercial, so it can't be too explicit.

But advertisements on posters in video halls can be much bolder.

For example (the pictures are too outrageous so I won’t post them all):

Then he started filming the MV for "Self-love".

This time the filming was even faster than Zhang Guorong's. Not only was Deng Leling dedicated to her work, but almost all the shots were completed in one go, showing her worthy performance as an actress.

The plot of this MV is more freehand, and the story is not as strong as "Secretly Obsessed".

Deng Leling's chubby figure is dressed in different clothes, and she dances and lip-syncs in the company, on the street, and at home, interspersed with a plot in which she secretly peeks at the back of a man who often calls the Secret Garden, but becomes sad when she sees that the man is with his wife.

The male actor did not show his face throughout the whole process, so this important task fell on Zhai Yuan.

It’s a good thing that he doesn’t have to show his face, otherwise his acting skills would definitely be a drag.

However, although the MV was shot, it still lacked a lead singer, so it could not be recorded into a cassette and released.

"We have to hire someone this time."

Zhai Yuan gradually felt that as his business expanded, the human resources he could get for free became fewer and fewer.

Then recruit soldiers and buy horses!

Jiuyi Entertainment is recruiting: film actors and singers, photography directors, art directors, recording studio staff, script supervisors and assistants in various departments.

In addition to singers, other film-related practitioners were recruited according to Wu Yusen's requirements.

It is obviously unrealistic to imagine that a movie with a five million dollar investment can be completed by just a few people like the previous film "This Man From Earth".

After the advertisement was released, Zhai Yuan had a premonition that his savings would soon flow out.

"We can't wait for the singer of 'Self-Devotion'. We need to launch a wave of advertisements first to get some money back from Secret Garden."

So the cassette of "Secretly Obsessed" was distributed free of charge to the two major TV stations, TVB and ATV, and they were shown the silent version of the MV of "Self-Sentimental" in advance, and it was promised that it would be broadcast on TV stations for free at that time.

There was only one requirement, which was that the two TV stations would set aside 30 seconds to broadcast his secret garden advertisement during prime time on their respective Jade, Pearl, Chinese, and International channels every Monday to Friday for a period of one month.

The heads of the advertising departments of the two TV stations discussed the issue for a few days and gave their responses.

ATV agreed to Zhai Yuan’s request.

TVB’s traffic far exceeds that of ATV, so it is more confident. However, it still charged him 60,000 yuan for a 30-second advertisement.

“It all depends on how effective this wave of advertising is.”

After everything was done, Zhai Yuan sighed tiredly.

He lay on the bed, rubbing his brows, and called Wu Yusen again.

"Director, how are your preparations going?"

"We're still preparing the venue. Don't worry, boss. Just gather the actors first. There won't be any problems on my end."

"Okay, accompany me to interview a few field assistants tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Zhai Yuan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

I don’t know how much the box office of "A Better Tomorrow" was that year.

If the 1986 movie had been moved to 1983 for early release, the market reaction would not have changed much.

The fact that this film brought back to life the frustrated middle-aged Di Long, the box office poison Chow Yun-fat, and Zhang Guorong, who was scolded the moment he went on stage, and allowed director Wu Yusen, who almost changed his career, to gain a foothold as an international director, is enough to prove the extent of its success.

The most important point is that Zhang Guorong entered the South Korean market with this movie and directly became an Asian star.

This is also what Zhai Yuan values most.

The overseas market is extremely important to Hong Kong actors.

After all, Hong Kong is just a city in China. How can it compare with the movie-watching population and box office of another country?

Even Stephen Chow, the fourth-generation comedy king who later became famous at the box office in Hong Kong and Taiwan, still needed Andy Lau, who had conquered the Japanese and Korean markets, to lead him in order to get a share of the overseas market. Even when he was filming "Kung Fu", he had to put Jackie Chan's name on the poster to ensure that he would attract the attention of North American foreigners.

"In this case, if Zhang Guorong wants to crack the South Korean film market, he has to make a move."

Zhai Yuan was not sure whether the role of Song Zijie would become popular if given to another person.

But one thing that is very certain is that even if the second person becomes famous, he will not be able to penetrate the South Korean market like he did.

Because Zhang Guorong can not only act in movies, but also sing and dance. I don't know how many South Korean fans think of him as Oppa.

It is really hard to find such an actor who is good at acting in film, television and music.

"A Better Tomorrow" just gave him a key to enter.

"He doesn't have a contract with a film company yet. The most that can be done by cheating him is to affect his record sales in Taiwan. But as long as he can open up the overseas market, these won't be a problem."

When Zhai Yuan thought of this, he instantly felt that he was saving Zhang Guorong and helping him avoid detours: "I'll publish the news with photos tomorrow. Zhang Guorong has a close relationship with the boss of Jiuyi Entertainment!"

Taking out a photo from the drawer, which he had deliberately taken with Zhang Guorong after the MV shooting, Zhai Yuan flicked the photos lightly a few times.

Arong, Arong, I'm afraid you can't stay in the local film industry anymore, so you'd better turn to the light and join me.

(End of this chapter)