1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 228 Birthday Party

Shi Nansheng gave the draft script of "Once Upon a Time in China" to Tsui Hark, hoping to divert his attention and change his mood.

As a result, after reading the script, Xu Qi became even more depressed.

After reading the entire script, Xu Qi was deeply affected by a line in it:
Master Huang, no matter how good our Kung Fu is, it is no match for foreign guns.

"Master, Zhai Yuan is having a birthday party tonight and inviting colleagues from the company to dine together. I picked out two suits for you. Which color do you like?"

After Shi Nansheng finished his busy work at the company, he went home to take care of the giant baby Xu Laoguai. He selected a complete outfit for him from the inside out, and then walked into the study with two suits.

One is linen and the other is pure black.

Without even raising his head, Xu Qi stared at the script and said "whatever".

Shi Nansheng shook his head helplessly: "Then black, I'll go out and help you polish your shoes."

After the door was closed again, it took a few minutes for Xu Qi to come back to his senses: Did someone come in just now?

Forget it, it doesn't matter.

Xu Qi unscrewed the red marker and outlined the line "no match for foreign guns".

What I am comparing in my mind is the gap between the traditional special effects of Hong Kong movies and the CG special effects of Hollywood movies.

In 1978, Hollywood's first hit superhero movie "Superman" was released, and the impact it brought to Hong Kong filmmakers was no less than detonating a nuclear bomb in their hearts.

When Christopher Reeve's Superman stretches out one arm and flies over the city.

Hong Kong filmmakers, including Xu Qi, checked the images frame by frame, trying to find out where the director had hidden the wire rope.

Later I realized how advanced Hollywood special effects have become. They are far from the low-quality light pollution level when Li Xiuxian followed the trend of "Masked Rider" to shoot "Chinese Superman" three years ago.

As one of the representatives of the New Wave directors, Xu Ke has been obsessed with pursuing special effects ever since. He spent tens of millions of dollars from Golden Harvest to make "New Shushan Swordsman", a film that combined traditional stunts with computer special effects. However, it was a complete failure at the box office.

Although there were not many special effects scenes in "The Invisible Woman", Xu Qi still enjoyed it very much and had great hopes for the film.

But after watching "Terminator", my hope was instantly shattered.

Xu Laoguai has been thinking these days: Oh my god! How was the T-800 killer robot made?

"Zhai Yuan said that the script of Huang Feihong is still in draft form and he has no ideas for many lines yet. If you have any ideas, you can add them in first."

Shi Nansheng walked into the study again at some point, stood in front of the desk, and pointed at the blank space in the script.

Xu Qi's eyes fell on one of the dialogues. Zhai Yuan's simplified Chinese characters were not written neatly.

Wong Fei-hung: Chinese people should not wear Western clothes at all, because Chinese are Chinese and foreigners are foreigners.

The next line, which was supposed to be spoken by Aunt Thirteen, was left blank.

Xu Qi thought, isn’t this what many local directors are thinking now?

Our traditional stunts are so sharp that Hollywood directors would give us a thumbs up after seeing them. Foreigners don't dare to risk their lives and are even afraid of jumping off buildings. Any martial artist is better than them.

Xu Qi also felt that the foreigners did not dare to risk their lives, but they could just pose in the studio and do anything in the finished film.

If Hong Kong films remain complacent, they will be doomed!

Xu Qi took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then took out a pen to complete the line he had just spoken.

Thirteenth Aunt: A railway will be built here soon, and a telegraph office will be opened. Everything will change in the future, and China will change along with the world...

…………

Zhai Yuan spent the day at home with Zhou Haimei to celebrate her birthday, then coaxed her back to Sai Kung and rushed to the Long Feng Restaurant in Kowloon.

Although Ye Zhiming did not bring his sister Ye Yuqing to visit, he booked the entire restaurant to celebrate his birthday and also invited the employees of the gambling boat to have dinner together.

Zhai Yuan felt that it would be too disrespectful to refuse again, so he simply asked the employees of his own film company to hold an annual meeting together.

eight pm.

The full-time driver Wei Xing drove Zhai Yuan to the entrance of Longfeng Hotel. As soon as he got out of the car, Ye Yuqing came up to him with a sweet smile and took his arm.

Tonight, Ye Yuqing wore a pink princess dress, which was very different from her usual rebellious look. The neckline exposed her collarbone, and the rest of the dress was tightly wrapped, giving her the image of a pure and obedient girl.

Only Zhai Yuan knew how open she was in private.

The restaurant was filled with colorful lights and hanging balloons, creating a lively atmosphere.

Zhai Yuan felt that this situation was a bit awkward.

Especially when he entered the door and couldn't tell whether they were employees of a gambling boat or a film company, they clapped and sang birthday songs, and he had to respond with a smile and thank them.

Zhai Yuan whispered to Ye Zhiming beside him, "Isn't that too ostentatious?"

"Aqing planned it. If you are not satisfied, return the money to me. The fee for booking the venue is 20,000 yuan."

Seeing that Zhai Yuan didn't know what was good for him, Ye Zhiming sneered, glanced at Ye Yuqing who was almost leaning into his arms, frowned and scolded: "Be more polite!"

……

Xia Meng also came to the restaurant with a few friends from Yindu Organization.

"I'm one year older now. I'll be more careful in my work from now on."

Xia Meng looked at Zhai Yuan with admiration for his junior, and continued, "The mainland will soon hold the Spring Festival Gala, and Silver City is also planning to hold a gala in Hong Kong. After the signing of the joint statement, there has been some unfavorable public opinion outside. Friends in the Hong Kong-Malaysia Exchange Office hope to use the influence of celebrities to stabilize the situation."

The so-called unfavorable public opinion refers to the fact that since the signing of the joint statement, some people have fabricated rumors and caused a panic-induced immigration trend in Hong Kong.

Zhai Yuan nodded in understanding, thought for a moment and said, "I will put on a show and bring the company's artists to the stage."

Xia Meng suggested, "The song 'Pearl of the Orient' is a good one."

Zhai Yuan thought that this song was a bit out of place in the current situation. Luo Dayou also had a charity chorus that was quite suitable for the current environment.

He temporarily suppressed the thought and changed the subject to Xia Meng, saying, "My company plans to produce a few more dramas after the New Year, and we want to film in the mainland."

Xia Meng said: "I'll help you communicate."

……

After a brief chat, more people came to toast him. Zhai Yuan drank two more glasses and felt dizzy.

He went to the bathroom to wash his face, and as soon as he came out, he saw Zhou Huimin standing outside shyly.

Zhai Yuan was stunned for a moment, then he smiled and took her hand and asked, "Why didn't I see you just now?"

Zhou Huimin symbolically withdrew her hand and said, "Miss He Jinhua and I are sitting next to each other."

Zhai Yuan laughed and said, "Be careful not to be led astray by those gossipy women."

"Not as bad as you." Zhou Huimin muttered, handed a gift box to Zhai Yuan, and said hesitantly: "I can't afford to book a whole restaurant to celebrate your birthday, so I'll give you a small gift."

Zhai Yuan wondered why such a sentence came out?
Then he smiled: "Are you jealous of Ye Yuqing?"

Zhou Huimin blushed and her heart started beating fast, and she denied it three times in a row.

"I'm doing business with Aqing's boss. I treat her like a younger sister and have no other thoughts." Zhai Yuan opened the gift box while speaking. Inside was a Seiko men's watch, estimated to be worth several hundred dollars.

He put the watch on his wrist and said to Zhou Huimin seriously, "This is the best birthday present I have received today."

Zhou Huimin couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth, looked up and asked, "Really?"

Zhai Yuan didn't say anything, he just lowered his head and bit her lips.

Compared with the previous two sneak attacks, Zhou Huimin did not show any resistance this time. She closed her eyes tightly and pinched the edge of her skirt with her fingers.

But before a few seconds had passed, Zhou Huimin suddenly opened her eyes and looked down with horror. Zhai Yuan's big hand had already climbed onto her chest, and she was so scared that she quickly took a few steps back.

Zhai Yuan smiled shyly and grasped his hands a few times: "I'm drunk and can't stand steadily. Hold on to something to feel more stable."

……

The banquet ended at 11 o'clock in the evening.

Before leaving, Lan Juying gave a tie to Zhai Yuan.

Zhai Yuan said: "This is the best birthday present I have received today."

Miss Lan smiled proudly: "Of course, I spent a long time choosing~"

Zhong Chuhong gave me a genuine leather wallet.

Zhai Yuan said: "This is the best birthday present I have received today."

Zhong Chuhongren smiled soberly: "Save this kind of words for deceiving those young girls, boss."

Get in the car.

The satellite helper stuffed a bunch of gift boxes into the trunk.

He started the car and asked Zhai Yuan, "Where are we going now?"

Zhai Yuan closed his eyes and rested: "Go home and sleep."

Satellite was silent for a moment: "Which home are you going back to?"

Zhai Yuan said unhappily, "What kind of talk is that! How many families do I have?"

Half an hour later.

The car stopped outside Deng Leling's garden villa in Kowloon Tong.

Zhai Yuan gave Wei Xing a guilty smile: "Mine."

I opened the door and walked into the room. The lights were on and the TV in the living room was still on, with the snowy screen making a rustling sound.

When I opened the bedroom door, Deng Leling was already sleeping wrapped in a quilt, breathing evenly.

Zhai Yuan yawned, took off all his clothes, and slipped into the bed.

Deng Leling was suddenly awakened. She turned around and saw the familiar face before she breathed a sigh of relief. She turned around and gently hugged Zhai Yuan: "Happy birthday."

…………

At noon the next day, Xu Qi rushed to the company with the script of "Huang Feihong".

Zhai Yuan was sitting at his desk, studying a book called "How to Become a Time Management Master".

"The director is here. Please take a seat." Zhai Yuan put down his book, took the script from Xu Qi, and said with a smile, "You finished it so quickly?"

Xu Qi said modestly: "Mr. Zhai's story structure is already very complete, I just fill it in a little."

Zhai Yuan was too lazy to exchange pleasantries with him and quickly glanced through the script, but didn't find any major problems.

The two also discussed the most critical martial arts scenes in kung fu movies.

Xu Kui said, "I saw Mr. Zhai wrote in the script that Huang Feihong used the Foshan Shadowless Kick. But last night I called a few martial arts friends and they told me that Huang Feihong was a southern martial artist who was good at Hongquan. The concept of the Shadowless Kick was invented by Guan Dexing in 1954 in "Huang Feihong's First Try of the Shadowless Kick". Do we need to make some changes in this regard?"

Zhai Yuan waved his hand to indicate that it was not necessary: "Chen Shilong's Huang Feihong is still beating the Drunken Eight Immortals. Who knew there was such a thing as drunken boxing in the world before?"

Xu Qi frowned and said, "But the shadowless kick looks ugly."

His current idea was obviously poisoned by Mr. Guan Dexing.

At that time, martial arts moves were still very backward and film production was also tried to be realistic. Therefore, the shadowless kick used by Kwan Tak-hing as Wong Fei-hung was, to put it simply, to use hand movements to attract the opponent's attention and then suddenly perform a crotch-kicking or upskirt kick when the opponent is not prepared, which was very close to the street fights in reality.

Zhai Yuan didn't dwell on this issue with him for too long and just called Jet Li over.

"Let me introduce him. He is the leading actor of this movie, Jet Li, the star of Shaolin Temple. Brother Jie, this is Director Xu Qi."

After briefly introducing the two, Zhai Yuan asked Li Lianjie: "Brother Jie, do you know how to fight Southern-style Hung Gar?"

Jet Li nodded slightly, and in front of Xu Qi, he first performed a set of I-shaped Fu Hu Quan, and then performed a few moves of the Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Leopard and Crane Five Elements Fist.

Xu Qi exclaimed: "Students trained in martial arts schools in the mainland are really sharp. These moves are better than Chen Shilong's."

In terms of the beauty of his movements, Jet Li is indeed miles ahead of those Hong Kong movie stars. After all, he has been performing at various celebrations at home and abroad since he was a child, and the most important thing is to be graceful and smooth.

"Remember, this is Hung Gar." Zhai Yuan said to Xu Qi, and then looked at Jet Li: "Kick a few times for Director Xu to see."

Jet Li asked: "How do you kick it?"

Zhai Yuan said: "Just jump up and kick the air a dozen times."

Jet Li was stunned: "Isn't that too exaggerated? The earth is attractive. I have tried to kick it in the air at most three times."

Zhai Yuan said, "Then perform a few quick northern leg kicks, and finish with a three-kick combo in the air. Be careful not to break the furniture in my office."

Jet Li nodded, stood there thinking for a moment, and performed a set of leg skills that he had performed before. The movements were accompanied by a whistling sound. At the end, he jumped up, and in Xu Qi's astonished eyes, he kicked out three times in succession with his legs and landed steadily on the ground.

Jet Li exhaled: "How is it, Mr. Zhai?"

Zhai Yuan said nothing, but raised his chin towards Xu Qi.

Xu Qi rubbed his beard and said, "It does look better than the previous Hung Gar form. If he can do a few more kicks in the air while hanging on the wire, this move might be even more eye-catching than the Drunken Eight Immortals in the future."

"The current Hong Kong kung fu movies have been filmed with the same old routines for decades. Even modern action movies cannot get rid of these routines, just like his first performance of Hung Gar. Only by finding ways to innovate can we attract audiences."

Zhai Yuan said: "In addition, we also need a team of martial arts instructors. When we do the movements in the future, we will ask them to design them according to this idea."

Xu Qi agreed with the word "innovation": "Mr. Zhai, which team do you think is the most suitable among Chen, Hong, Yuan, and Liu?"

Among the four major troupes of Chen, Hong, Yuan and Liu, Zhai Yuan excluded the Liu troupe without even thinking about it.

Liu Jialiang is known for being old-fashioned and conservative. He has always regarded himself as the true successor of Wong Fei-hung. If he knew that the Wong Fei-hung in this movie did not practice Hung Gar but instead used northern-style leg skills, who knows what kind of trouble he would cause.

Zhai Yuan said, "Let's get in touch with the Yuen Clan first. I heard there's a guy called Yuen Woo-ping who's great at action design and knows how to make movies. If the cooperation goes well, I'd like to use them again for another movie."

Xu Qi asked curiously, "Mr. Zhai is planning to make a second Kung Fu movie?"

Zhai Yuan shook his head and smiled mysteriously, and asked, "Have you ever heard of zombies?"

(End of this chapter)