1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 283: Successive Finishing

After sleeping until noon, Zhai Yuan yawned and went to the cheap restaurant downstairs.

I ordered a mutton soup set meal and ate the donkey meat hot pot while reading the newspapers on the table.

A piece of news took up the entire page of the newspaper.

Million-man disarmament.

The mainland has promoted the world's peace process through practical actions.

Foreign media commented in the newspaper: The whole world is talking about disarmament, but so far only the mainland has been consistent in its words and deeds.

Zhai Yuan looked at the text on the page and thought to himself: "This should be a milestone in the reform and opening up... The mainland economy is gradually picking up."

A greasy lunch was eaten.

When paying the bill, the new guests had already started chatting about this matter.

Several middle-aged men were talking loudly across the table, worried that after this cut, they would no longer be able to defeat others in a fight in the future.

Zhai Yuan did not get involved in this topic.

I turned left and went into the grocery store, and bought a pack of the most expensive soft Zhonghua cigarettes, supporting military spending with practical actions.

Start Santana.

Rush to the set of "Once Upon a Time in China".

As expected.

A group of men, including Zhou Xuejun, were also gathered together to discuss this matter.

It seems to be the nature of men to be keen on grand narratives.

Comrades from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and China Film Corporation who came to visit the filming, originally needed Zhai Yuan to act as a go-between before they could have a chat with Xu Qi and others because they were not familiar enough with each other in the past two days. Today, they talked about this important event attentively, and everyone was no longer shy. They expressed their opinions with saliva flying, as if they were old friends.

"When poverty strikes, everyone becomes a soldier. Our steel production is almost catching up with that of the United States, so we are definitely not poor. Director Xu Qi, do you think what I said makes sense?"

"That makes sense. Besides, in the future, the wars may be fought by robots from special effects movies, and there will be no need for real soldiers... Have you ever seen a movie called "Terminator"? "

Perhaps influenced by Shi Nansheng, Xu Qi's Mandarin is quite standard. While chatting, he told the comrades from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles the story of the electronic killer T-800.

Zhai Yuan came over from behind, kicked his chair and said jokingly, "You still have time to chat here instead of doing anything?"

Xu Qi looked back at him and said with a smile, "Rosamund Kwan has just joined the crew, and we are waiting for her to put on makeup and shoot the first scene."

"How could you not hire me, the world's best beauty artist, to help you with your makeup?"

I took a look at the makeup truck parked on the side of the road, and the vinyl car cover was tightly fitted.

Zhai Yuan curled his lips and asked Xu Qi: "Which scene are we filming today?"

Xu Qi pointed to Jet Li, who had a shaved head, and said, "We will shoot the first meeting scene between Huang Feihong and Aunt Thirteen during the day. The extras are waiting in the restaurant next door."

The cost of costumes and props for "Once Upon a Time in China" was higher than that of "Mr. Vampire". There were dozens of extras alone, and there were more location scenes, so setting up the set was also a big project.

The scene that Xu Qi mentioned is about Thirteenth Aunt returning from studying abroad and reuniting with Wong Fei-hung in a restaurant.

In order to shoot this scene, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles helped to pick a street with ancient style. There was a two-story building on the original site before the founding of the People's Republic of China, which was well preserved with carved beams and painted rafters. The props team temporarily removed the modern signboards near the street and replaced them with hastily made props such as old-style plaques, restoring the scene of the early Republic of China to its original state.

The group chatted for a few more minutes.

The heroine Rosamund Kwan finally finished her makeup, opened the car door and walked out slowly.

As soon as she got off the car, the male compatriots around her fell silent unconsciously and all their eyes were drawn to her.

In her early twenties, Rosamund Kwan had just reached the peak of her beauty. She was more pure than Wong Siu-fung and Barbara Yung, and more sexy than Kathy Chow and Vivian Hsu.

Especially at this time, she changed into a double-breasted shirt with a Western style in the early Republic of China, a long skirt and leather boots, which made her waist look slender and her chest look tall.

Four words, captivating.

……

everything's ready.

The crew director took the leading actors to the official shooting location.

This time, the entire street was booked for the filming, which caused quite a stir.

When Zhai Yuan and his team arrived, the crowd who had heard the news had already surrounded the area in three layers, looking at the actors dressed in the style of the Republic of China with curious eyes.

Xu Qi was not surprised by such scenes. When walking side by side with Zhai Yuan, he even asked, "Mr. Zhai, what do you think of my grandfather's big move to reduce the military this time?"

"Good news." Zhai Yuan withdrew his gaze from Rosamund Kwan, who was swaying her slender waist in front of him, and said with a smile: "I guess there will be new material for the second part of Mai Yongxiong's "The Provincial and Hong Kong Flag Soldiers" soon."

Xu Qi smiled knowingly: "That makes sense."

There was a lot of wind and sand in Yanjing, so Guan Zhilin covered her face with a scarf when she went out.

When the filming officially started, she tied the scarf directly around her fair neck and stood among the extras who were wearing homespun gowns, adding a bit of nobility to her look.

The mainland has no shortage of extras.

The first opening shot of "Once Upon a Time in China" was filmed a few days ago.

The picture shows a group of young men practicing boxing and kicking as the sun rises, accompanied by the background music of "Men should be self-reliant".

If this scene took place in Hong Kong, each extra would have to earn at least 80 yuan a day in appearance fees, and they would also have to coordinate their movements.

As a result, Jet Li directly brought a truckload of young boys from the sports school.

The crew chose a morning with fine weather and moved to the vicinity of Baihe Bay to shoot. They finished this shot in just two hours. The movements of the children from the sports school were so uniform that Xu Qi exclaimed that they were very sharp.

The extras for today's play are people borrowed by the Federation of Literary and Art Circles from the art troupe.

Zhai Yuan and his comrades from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles sat down in a restaurant across the street and looked through the window at the crew members opposite.

The extras upstairs and downstairs have already started acting according to the script.

Zhou Xuejun pointed at the extras dressed as passers-by and said to Zhai Yuan proudly, "If you want to make a war movie, I can help you borrow people from the army."

Zhai Yuan smiled without comment, but he didn't think he was bragging. After all, this kind of situation became quite common later. Movies like "Tai Chi Master" and "The Legend of Drunken Master" had this kind of situation.

"All units, prepare."

After the photographers and actors were in place, Xu Qi in the opposite building picked up a megaphone and called out, "Once Upon a Time in China, scene 4, shot 1, first take, Action!"

……

On the second floor of the restaurant, extras wearing fake braids were carrying bird cages, looking like wealthy landlords in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.

Luo Jiaying wore a peep show on his nose and a rich man's hat on his head. He had just rushed over from the crew of "Mr. Vampire". This time he played the role of Thirteenth Aunt's father and Huang Feihong's great-uncle.

As Jet Li's Huang Feihong appeared, the extras all hugged and gave fists: "Master Huang!"

Jet Li is one year younger than Rosamund Kwan, and even with a shaved head and a braid, he still looks young.

Fortunately, his acting skills are still there. After getting into the role, Jet Li has a naturally elegant demeanor, which is very different from his usual restless personality.

Huang Feihong: "Uncle, I haven't seen you for a few years. You look more energetic."

Uncle: "TOEFL TOEFL, Feihong, look who came back with me this time."

The Thirteenth Aunt, played by Rosamund Kwan, poked her head out from under the black cloth covering an old-fashioned camera, and walked quickly towards him with a look of joy in her eyes. …

A few days later.

The filming of both crews is proceeding in an orderly manner.

Zhai Yuan originally wanted to hook up with Guan Zhilin, but this woman always had a polite yet distant attitude when dealing with people.

After visiting the crew of "Once Upon a Time in China" twice without much progress, Zhai Yuan rarely went there again.

On the contrary, his relationship with Moon Lee is getting better and better.

June passed quickly.

The weather is even hotter in July.

Zhai Yuan had to eat a few Old Yanjing popsicles to cool down every day, and take time to visit the crew, or go to CCTV to talk to his superiors about the filming of "Journey to the West".

Zhai Yuan didn't have any big requirements for this series. He just wanted to give the money and follow the ideas of director Yang Jie and their creative team in filming.

The only thing is: in art, we must maintain the current oriental style and not blindly learn from overseas.

It was later said that director Yang Jie's daughter returned from Hong Kong after studying fine arts, and gave the actors new trendy looks in the sequel. In particular, the "Windy Lady" with smoky makeup and big hair was really shocking.

"I have read the novel Journey to the West, and it is quite different from the TV series."

After watching two videotapes, Xu Qi suggested to Zhai Yuan, "Since you are willing to pay, Mr. Zhai, why not let them shoot it according to the original novel? For example, the Lion Camel Ridge section in the novel has a cult film vibe. Although it is not bad to shoot it this way now, it does not seem to be consistent with the original novel."

Zhai Yuan didn't expect that Xu Qi was still a fan of the original novel, but he did not agree with his suggestion.

For Zhai Yuan, the TV series "Journey to the West" is not only a childhood memory, but also has more value as a commodity.

In the future, we have to cooperate with discs to drive the sales of VCDs, so family fun is the way to go.

“It doesn’t have to follow the original novel, as long as the core is still there.”

“What is the kernel?”

"The golden monkey raised his thousand-pound stick, and the sky cleared of dust. Haven't you heard of it? You should learn it, Old Xu!"

…………

Under the coordination and deployment of comrades from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

The filming progress of "Mr. Vampire" and "Once Upon a Time in China" was surprisingly fast.

In the past, if Xu Qi and his team wanted to shoot this kind of scene, they would have to communicate with Baodao for a long time to choose the location and set.

When we arrived in the mainland, with Zhai Yuan's support, the crew and relevant departments were like family and we were given whatever we wanted.

The two directors were given the script and the screenplay, and they didn't have to worry about anything else except training the actors.

end of July.

"Mr. Zombie" took two months to shoot and has basically been completed.

Mid-August.

"Huang Feihong" was also completed.

Liu Zhenwei ascended the throne of the crown prince by virtue of his faster film production speed than Xu Qi.

"We'll talk about the wrap party later. Now there are two things to do."

In the foreign guest hotel.

Zhai Yuan said to Xu Qi and Liu Zhenwei: "Mr. Vampire has added computer special effects this time. From editing to special effects production, it will probably take some time to see the finished film, so we have to bring it back to Hong Kong and find an American special effects team to produce it."

This version of "Mr. Vampire" is somewhat different from the original film. In addition to slight changes in the plot, it also adds computer special effects that were not originally there. Although it is just simple light and shadow, the overall production quality is already much higher.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qi immediately raised his hand and said, "Let me do it. Leave the special effects to me."

Zhai Yuan shook his head and said, "You want to stay in the mainland. Do you remember that I have a drama called "Dagger and Lady" to shoot? While many sets have not been dismantled yet, I will just spend some time to shoot a drama. The quality doesn't have to be too high."

"Damadan" is a play to please the opera troupe, and Zhai Yuan does not intend to spend too much time on it.

Then he added: "In addition, we also need to do the post-production editing and dubbing of Once Upon a Time in China. You have to stay and help with the planning."

Seeing that he couldn't create his favorite special effects, Xu Qi sighed with regret.

"Don't worry, the company will set up its own visual effects company next year, and you will be in charge of it then."

Zhai Yuan first gave him a pie in the sky, then turned to Liu Zhenwei and said, "When you return to Hong Kong, in addition to being responsible for finishing Mr. Vampire, you also have to ask James Wong and Joseph Koo to finish the soundtrack of Once Upon a Time in China and send it to the mainland. I have discussed this with my friends at the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and we will first screen it in the mainland market to see the audience's reaction."

Today’s movies don’t make money in the mainland market.

Because private film companies are not allowed to be established at present, films like those produced by Zhai Yuan Jiuyi Entertainment, although shot in the mainland, are imported films.

Q: How are the profits from imported films divided?
Answer: There is no profit sharing.

Sell the film to the studio, and the rest has nothing to do with the film company.

It is also difficult for theaters to make money from it.

Whether it was Huangpu Film Studio or Yanjing Film Studio, after the film was released, the box office statistics were taken and the studio took 70% of the proceeds.

Of the remaining 30%, each issuing unit will take a portion first, then hand over a portion to the national treasury, and finally pay various taxes.

In total, about 32% of the % is taken away, and the rest is the cinema income.

Zhai Yuan said: "The studio bought the screening rights of Once Upon a Time in China at a friendly price of one million yuan."

Xu Qi and Liu Zhenwei were both shocked: "Only one million? RMB?"

"Yes." Zhai Yuan nodded, and added with a smile: "Also, the studio is in financial difficulty, so they are temporarily owing me the one million. They just wrote me an IOU, and we will discuss repayment after they collect the box office revenue."

Liu Zhenwei said "pick", even though it was not a movie he made, he had a look of losing a lot of money: "Mr. Zhai, you are willing to agree to such a request?"

Xu Qi seemed much calmer and said carefully, "It won't be a loss. We didn't consider the mainland market in the first place. It's just an extra round of release. I think Mr. Zhai wants to use this movie to promote the brand of 91 Entertainment in the mainland and let everyone know that there is such a Hong Kong film company."

"That's pretty much it."

Zhai Yuan said with a smile, and then said: "The production studio also feels embarrassed, so as compensation, they will be fully responsible for the subsequent copying and editing, including post-dubbing."

Copying and editing are secondary. What Zhai Yuan cares most about is actually the post-production Mandarin dubbing by the Shanghai Film Translation Studio.

All movies made after September 1st will be made into discs. Dubbing is a long-term task. The Shanghai Film Translation Studio is currently the top dubbing studio for translated films in the mainland. It has a large number of talented dubbing artists, so we must get in touch with this line in advance.

Guan Weiming called Zhai Yuan yesterday and was told that the first phase of the factory in Yuen Long has been completed and can produce discs and assemble VCDs on a small scale.

Once the follow-up funds are in place to purchase all the machines, large-scale mass production will be possible.

"Don't worry. I can go back to Hong Kong after I finish the final work of Once Upon a Time in China. I can catch up with you in the special effects production. I have been in the mainland for so long, and I am looking forward to the various changes that will happen when I return this time."

Zhai Yuan smiled and patted Xu Qi's shoulder. He took out a videotape from the bedside table and handed it to Liu Zhenwei: "Take this back to Hong Kong first."

Liu Zhenwei asked curiously: "What's it from?"

Zhai Yuan smiled and said, "Boss Zhai's latest single is the theme song of the movie "Huang Feihong", "A Man Should Be Self-reliant."

(End of this chapter)