1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 278 Master
When it comes to the world's largest IP, there is still a lot of controversy.

Star Wars, Mickey Mouse, Pokémon, Harry Potter...they all change with the times.

However, the biggest IP in China is only Journey to the West. Especially after the 83 (86) TV series was broadcast, its status has become unshakable.

When I was a kid, I always thought this TV series was very long, but later I found out it was only twenty-five episodes long.

This time the production team came to him on their own initiative, and with some money in hand, Zhai Yuan thought that he had to shoot 81 episodes to satisfy his craving and give this generation of kids a little shock during the summer vacation.

"Of course the cast cannot be changed. I invested in this TV series because I value the acting styles of the main actors."

In a state-owned hotel in Yanjing City.

With Zhou Xuejun's introduction, Zhai Yuan met the leaders of CCTV and director Yang Jie.

After a cordial and friendly meeting between the two sides, the God of Wealth went straight to the point and first raised a requirement regarding production.

During the filming of this TV series in later generations, the conflict between the actors and the director was quite serious, almost to the point of becoming enemies.

The reason is that the pay is too low.

Teacher Liu was only paid 80 yuan for each episode of his Monkey King, but after the first few episodes of Journey to the West were broadcast, he could earn thousands of yuan by performing at a temple outside, so he naturally felt unbalanced.

Director Yang Jie, who looked quite strong, naturally did not tolerate the actors. In addition to not allowing them to go out for performances and affect the progress of filming, she also said sharply that anyone with monkey hair could play the role of Sun Wukong, and if they couldn't play the role, she would replace them.

Teacher Liu was not replaced in the end, but the other actors were basically replaced, and the role of Tang Seng was passed on by three actors.

After Zhai Yuan made his request, the CCTV leader smiled broadly and said, "That's definitely no problem. The actors are all employees of the drama troupe and Kunqu Theater. We will ensure that they can complete the filming task."

Yang Jie, who was standing by, said sternly, "It may be difficult. Let's not talk about the long-term. Tang Sanzang is now played by Wang Yue and Xu Shaohua in turn. The three brothers of Sun Wukong have also asked for a pay raise. I just raised Liu Xiao Ling Tong's pay to 100 yuan per episode, but he's still not satisfied. In addition, actors like Li Jing, Nezha, and the Jade Emperor have made guest appearances once or twice. It won't be easy to invite them back..."

The leader coughed awkwardly and interrupted Yang Jie's report: "If they want to boycott the performance, just go find the person in charge of their unit. This is not a big deal. Do more ideological work for the actors and overcome any difficulties."

After saying that, he made some more promises to Zhai Yuan. Seeing this, Yang Jie next to him stopped talking.

Zhai Yuan said: "It would be better for the actors to unify their salaries and increase their salaries appropriately. Teacher Liu, a leading actor, only gets 100 yuan per episode, which is indeed a bit low."

So far, 11 episodes of this drama have been filmed, which took more than three years. The actors only received about yuan at most.

The leader asked: "It should be increased. How much do you think is appropriate, Mr. Zhai?"

Zhai Yuan calculated the salary of the Zhao family artists, who were known in Hong Kong for being stingy, and said, "How about a monthly salary? A fixed amount of 3,000 yuan a month."

Director Yang Jie immediately objected, "No, no, that's too high. We need to spend the money on filming and production, not spoiling the actors!"

Not only her, but also the leaders of CCTV and Zhou Xuejun who was accompanying them were shocked by the price.

Three thousand yuan a month? We can’t even earn that much even after working for two years!
Zhou Xuejun half-jokingly said, "If you really want to give me 3,000, please also arrange a position for me in the crew."

The CCTV leader did not agree with Zhai Yuan this time, shaking his head and saying, "It is indeed too high. It will have a bad impact if it gets out."

Such high incomes are obviously not conducive to solidarity.

Zhai Yuan had no choice but to lower the salary again. Finally, after some discussion, he decided to set a monthly salary of 800 yuan for the master and apprentice group, while the rest of the guest actors would still be paid based on the number of episodes.

In fact, TVB later came up with a model of paying by show. Each time an actor shows his face in a play is counted as a show, and then the money for each show is calculated, which is very suitable for salary distribution in TV dramas.

But Zhai Yuan was worried that if they did so, the production crew would reduce the number of supporting characters' appearances in order to save money, which would ruin the filming.

"Eight hundred yuan is still high." Director Yang Jie sighed, looked up and said to Zhai Yuan: "But I still want to thank Boss Zhai on behalf of the actors. If anyone dares to complain about the low salary again, I will ask them to pack up and leave immediately!"

The leader said, "Boss Zhai, do you have any other requests?"

Zhai Yuan said: "No, we try not to interfere with Director Yang Jie and her creative team."

The leader smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. The station has never interfered with the filming of Journey to the West. We give them the greatest freedom to perform."

Yang Jie nodded silently, thinking that they were indeed given enough freedom, and even the funding was cut off. If it weren't for the financial sponsor Zhai Yuan, the show would probably have been cut short.

"Thank you Director Yang Jie for your hard work. I will have Hong Kong remit the money to you in batches for filming. I look forward to seeing a well-made Journey to the West world."

Zhai Yuan smiled at Yang Jie, then turned to ask the CCTV leader: "What about the CD copyright and co-production?"

"Don't worry about that." The leader took out two contracts from his briefcase and said, "The office prepared the contracts overnight. Take a look and see if this is what you mean."

Zhai Yuan took the contract, scanned it, and signed his name on it without hesitation, thus obtaining the distribution rights for the "Journey to the West" CD.

…………

After having dinner at the state-owned restaurant, Zhai Yuan returned to the hotel and dialed the number in Hong Kong.

Three calls were made one after another.

The first call was made to Ho Chi-long, asking about the situation in Yuen Long.

He Zilang told me that the construction of the CD factory is progressing in an orderly manner. Two factory buildings have been built and employee dormitories are being built. Once the machines are in place, they will be able to recruit workers and set up an assembly line to start production.

Ho Tsz-long's voice came out from the receiver: "Your application for election as village representative was unanimously approved by Xiawan Village. I have recently made appointments with representatives from several other villages, and they are willing to support you in running for councillor in the Heung Yee Kuk."

Zhai Yuan asked, "Does it cost money?"

He Zilang hummed, "You have to give them a little. I plan to arrange for them to go to the Natural Selection and have a try. Also, after the factory is built, the villagers in their village will be given priority for employment. This way you can get the most votes."

Zhai Yuan said he understood: "Come to my company tomorrow to get the money."

The second call was made to the housekeeper Shi Nansheng.

"Sister Nan, have you figured out the box office statistics for God of Gamblers 2 and those third-level films? Tomorrow a man named He Zilang will come to the company to get money. Please help me take care of him. Also, I need million Hong Kong dollars in the mainland. Please find a way to transfer the money over..."

Five million in foreign exchange is a large sum, and even in Hong Kong it is subject to some controls.

Fortunately, Zhai Yuan owns a film company, so running the business is just a little more troublesome with the formalities.

"I will have to deal with foreign exchange in the future, so I have to think about where to register an offshore company to avoid regulation."

Zhai Yuan hung up the phone with Shi Nansheng and started to think about the flow of funds in preparation for a rainy day.

Once Nishikie Iwana opens up the Oriental market, it will be a real hassle to figure out how to get the money back into his pocket.

Zhai Yuan’s third call was to Shen Wei.

"What's the current situation of the exchange?"

"According to Mr. Zhai's instructions, I will take the finance department to check Du Jiancheng's accounts every day. Everything is normal at the moment. However, the Japanese yen exchange rate has fallen recently, and you have lost some of your previous money." "Tell Du Jiancheng to continue to increase his position. If the price drops by one dollar, add ten dollars."

With the script in hand, Zhai Yuan was not worried about the temporary depreciation of the Japanese yen, as it was just a technical adjustment.

After making three phone calls, Zhai Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

It's ok. Everything is going as planned.

After thinking about it, he picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers.

"Cousin, I miss you..."

"Hui Min, I miss you..."

"Aqing, I miss you..."

"Sister Ling, I miss you..."

That night.

The crews of "Once Upon a Time in China" and "Mr. Vampire" have finished work.

John Lone, Lam Ching-ying and Yuen Woo-ping found Zhai Yuan together.

Yuen Woo-ping said, "Mr. Zhai, I would like to visit Master Yu Zhanyuan tomorrow."

Zun Long and Lin Zhengying also said, "We have a day off tomorrow, and we also want to go see Teacher Fen Juhua. Would Mr. Zhai like to come with us?"

They had been in Yanjing for a few days and should have visited teachers Yu and Sun a long time ago, but they were unfamiliar with the place and thought Zhai Yuan would make arrangements, but the junior uncle didn't even mention it. The two of them discussed it privately before taking the initiative to come to him.

Zhai Yuan looked at the three people in front of him, slapped his forehead and sighed, "I was so busy that I forgot I have an old mentor in Yanjing..."

The next morning.

Zhai Yuan came out of bed yawning.

After washing up and walking out the door, John Lone, Lam Ching-ying and Yuen Woo-ping were already waiting outside the hotel.

The three men each held a gift box in their hands, and when they saw him come out they greeted him one after another.

Zhai Yuan looked down at his empty hands and asked, "When did you prepare the gifts?"

Zun Long smiled and said, "I brought a few things from Hong Kong, and bought some more gadgets here."

Zhai Yuan nodded and said, "Okay, then each of you can give me one, so I don't have to go buy more."

…………

The two elderly people, Pink Chrysanthemum Sun Ruixin and Yu Zhanyuan, have been in Yanjing for three or two months. During this period, they have been living in seclusion and have been living in the home of their newly appointed master Zhang Fuqi.

Zhang Fuqi's family lives in a courtyard house.

Early in the morning, the alleys were filled with the noisy voices of neighbors, the bastard Liuliqiu carrying a tape recorder through the streets, the children crying and shouting that they didn't want to go to school, the sounds of grandpa and grandma arguing, and occasionally a breakfast vendor passing by shouting and hawking...

In the courtyard, two Hong Kong masters who got up early had smiles on their faces. Compared to the fast-paced life in Hong Kong, there is a bit more of a down-to-earth atmosphere here.

"It wasn't unreasonable for Mr. Mei Lanfang to want to stay in Beijing for a long time. Now I don't even want to go back to Hong Kong."

"I'm still a little concerned about some of the students at school. I called yesterday and heard that Zhai Yuan and Lin Zhengying have also arrived in Yanjing. I guess they'll have to come over in the next couple of days."

"Really?" Yu Zhanyuan, who was teasing the mynah bird in a birdcage, raised his head and scolded with a smile, "Then he should come. He's not here for such an important event as the apprenticeship ceremony. What a loser!"

Sun Ruixin also smiled and shook her head.

It was agreed that the three of them would come to Yanjing together to become apprentices, but Zhai Yuan didn't show up until the day of accepting a disciple.

Many peers from the opera industry came to Yanjing City that day. They had never seen such a scene before, which made Zhang Fuqi's disciples look very embarrassed.

Mr. Zhang was quite open-minded, perhaps because someone had informed him in advance. He calmly accepted the kowtows from Sun Ruixin and Yu Zhanyuan, and then announced in public that he would also accept Zhai Yuan, who was not present, as his disciple. He was later ridiculed by his fellow martial artists.

"Your junior fellow apprentice has come to Yanjing?"

Sun Ruixin and Yu Zhanyuan were chatting in the yard when a thin old man came out of the side room with a cane and asked with a smile and full of energy.

Sun and Yu quickly stood up and called out "Master".

Mr. Zhang Fuqi, who is over 100 years old, looks quite strong. He is wearing an old man's shirt and cloth shoes, and his waist is slightly hunched.

Yu Zhanyuan smiled and said, "Master, you have sharp ears and eyes. You can hear us talking even from such a distance."

Zhang Fuqi groaned and joked, "It's no good anymore. When I sat at home, I could hear the kids playing pinball at the entrance of the alley."

The two old apprentices, who were about eighty years old, were amused by him.

Sun Ruixin picked up the teapot on the table and poured a cup for Mr. Zhang: "Master, please give me some tea."

Zhang Fuqi waved his hand and said, "In this new era, we don't care about old etiquette. Learn from your junior brothers and stop being so polite."

Yu Zhanyuan laughed and said, "We can't do anything that would betray our teacher and ancestors."

Sun Ruixin smiled slightly, not looking as stern as usual in front of her elders, and said softly, "I heard that there was a performance competition at Chang'an Theater today. We had originally planned to invite you, Master, to be a judge, but then you were notified that you were disqualified?"

Zhang Fuqi raised his eyelids and asked, "Who told you that?"

Sun Ruixin smiled but did not answer.

Zhang Fuqi said unhappily, "It must be Jianhua and the others again, right? Is this kind of thing worth talking about?"

Jianhua is the old man’s grandson, Zhang Jianhua, who is also in his forties this year.

The incident that Sun Ruixin mentioned was that after the news broke that Zhang Fuqi had accepted three apprentices from Hong Kong, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles facilitated the arrangement for Zhang Jianhua to work at the TV station.

This time, CCTV organized a Peking Opera competition program at the Chang'an Theater. Zhang Fuqi was invited to be a judge on the scene, and Zhang Jianhua was appointed as the program planner. However, when the recording of the program was about to begin, someone suddenly came to inform the Zhang family that they didn't need to go, and even Zhang Jianhua's job was replaced.

"There are snobs in Yanjing City too."

Yu Zhanyuan was not well-informed. He only understood the situation after listening to Sun Ruixin's explanation. He immediately said unhappily, "If you ask me, this matter should be blamed on Zhai Yuan. He is such a big boss, and people gave him face before, but he didn't even come to the apprenticeship ceremony. Now he doesn't show up in Yanjing... Well, I'll go find him!"

(End of this chapter)