1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 356: Buying an Island and Building a School
"Mr. Zhai's script for The Silence of the Lambs is very powerful. It seems to be closer to the style of Western films than his previous work A Better Tomorrow."

After Wu Yusen finished reading the script in his hand, he was struck by the suspenseful and thrilling story style. Along the way, he kept discussing the plot with Xu Qi beside him.

"They are both storytelling, but when he tells this opening, it is more attractive than your "The Heroes". Otherwise, how can he be the boss?"

Xu Qi led him to an apartment near Queen's Road West.

Living here is the talented actor, Hopkins, whom Zhai Yuan brought from Hollywood.

Xu Qi stood in front of the door, turned around and said to Wu Yusen: "I have booked a flight for tomorrow, and I would like to introduce you to the male lead selected by Mr. Zhai. Whether this drama can be filmed depends on his opinion."

Wu Yusen had never been to Japan and didn't know much about Hopkins. He was surprised when he heard this and asked, "What kind of actor is so reserved?"

Xu Qi knocked on the door gently, saying, "He has real talent. Mr. Zhai invited him to teach acting classes. The contract between the company and him also clearly states that if he is not satisfied with the script of a play, he can choose to refuse to film."

The door opened quickly.

The person who opened the door was a young man in his twenties. Xu Qi recognized him. He was a new actor who had just signed a contract with Jiuyi Entertainment last year.

"Jiadong? Is Mr. Anthony starting class today?"

"Yes, Director. The company arranged for us to come and attend the lecture."

Twenty-year-old Lam Ka Tung has shed his youthfulness. Born in the Walled City, he has worn plastic flowers, delivered takeaways, and worked as a waiter. Feeling bored at work, he decided to join the entertainment industry last year. He sent his resume to training courses at TVB and ATV, and sent another to 91 Entertainment with the mentality of giving it a try. As a result, someone notified him to go to Ngau Tau Kok for an interview the next day.

Lin Jiadong joined Jiuyi Entertainment without knowing what was going on. Even though he didn't have a job offer, he was still getting a basic salary of 1500 yuan per month. He felt like it was pie in the sky.

The only requirement the company currently has for this group of new employees is that they must attend acting classes on time when they are scheduled, and wait for notification on when to start work.

Seeing the two big directors standing in front of him, Lin Jiadong took out his cigarette case and handed out two cigarettes: "Director, if you have work, remember to find me. I can do anything."

"Okay, Lin Jiadong, huh? I'll remember you."

Wu Yusen has seen too many newcomers and knows it is not easy to make a name for himself. However, now that the company is gradually becoming formalized, they dare not change the script and add new characters as they did in the past.

After casually agreeing, Old Wu tilted his neck to Old Xu and said, "Come on, let's go in and listen to what this foreign guy is teaching."

The apartment, about 100 square meters, is not very big, but the living room is full of young newcomers, all of whom are the newly recruited artists of Jiuyi Entertainment.

When Xu Qi and Wu Yusen walked into the living room.

Anthony Hopkins is explaining the classic film "The Godfather", combining it with images from a TV VCD and breaking it down scene by scene like a film.

The new artists recognized the presence of two directors from the company, and a low commotion broke out in the living room.

Xu Qi and Wu Yusen clasped their hands together and apologized to Hopkins, then consciously moved two chairs and sat at the end of the crowd.

During the whole process, Hopkins kept smiling. When the commotion gradually died down, he continued to explain the rhythm of the scenes in the movie to the artists. Because he was speaking English and was worried that the artists might not be able to hear clearly, Hopkins spoke in a slow and leisurely style throughout.

Two words: elegant.

"Sometimes improvisation outside the script can also impress the audience. You cannot foresee all the scenes, and improvisation can better show your understanding and reaction to the role... Today's class ends here. Marlon Brando's Godfather is not only a gang leader, but also a father, a husband, and a man deeply traumatized by war. In the future, if you can get into the heart of the character in practical performance, it will be easier to interpret a flesh-and-blood character."

After the class, the artists stood up and politely said goodbye to Hopkins and the two directors.

"Yan Qianwen, you just joined the company today. Remember that you have an acting class in the afternoon. Don't be late."

"Where are you, Mr. Mai Changqing?"

"At Mr. Zunlong's house in Haibin Garden, all the students who don't know English will be there. Be careful if you go too late, there won't be a seat..."

The artists rustled out of the apartment.

Lin Jiadong was very considerate and helped Hopkins tidy up the living room. Before leaving, he put on a flattering smile and made a phone call gesture to the two directors.

Wu Yusen had never seen such a scene before, and was surprised: "Wow! Mr. Zhai is really running a training class?"

"Just like ATV and TVB, they all come from a talent pool."

Xu Qi responded, stood up, smiled and shook hands with Hopkins: "Hello again, Mr. Anthony. The class was very good."

After saying some polite words as usual, Wu Yusen handed the script to Hopkins, and put the script for the training class aside. Having just watched the other party's slow and leisurely lecture, Old Wu now felt that the white guy in front of him was too suitable to play this kind of gentle pervert...

…………

"Mr. Zhai, I just met with the district councillor in Sai Kung. There are no residents on Pillow Island and White Sand Island, so they are not involved in the relevant welfare system. So wait for the documents from other departments to be signed and give them their stamps. The councillor there invites you to come over for tea when you are free."

Xiawan Village Representative Office.

He Zilang is reporting to Village Chief Zhai on the leasing of two outlying islands.

Following the order from the village chief, Lao He has been busy with this matter these days.

Lands Department, Environmental Protection Department, Shipping Department, Housing Authority, Economic Development Branch...

In short, He Zilang ran around to all the departments related to the leasing of outlying islands and took care of everything.

Relying on Zhai Yuan's status as a district councilor in Yuen Long, he encountered basically no obstacles in the process. After all, these are just two uninhabited outlying islands.

Zhai Yuan asked: "Should we arrange for those foreign officials to play a few hands on the Natural Selection tonight, and have each of them lose 100,000 yuan to them?"

He Zilang thought for a moment and said, "All good. This way the process should go faster."

"Then you can contact them to go on the boat and get these formalities done early to avoid any more hassles later."

Zhai Yuan added, "Also remember to ask the director of the Education Bureau, Xu Yu, to help me get the teaching qualifications for the Spring and Autumn Academy of Performing Arts. I will give him an honorary school director position after the school is built."

Still running training courses in Hong Kong? It's outdated.
Zhai Yuan's goal is to cultivate elite talents, promote academic development, and advance public construction.

Of course, it would be even better if it could improve social reputation, reduce fiscal taxes and build brand image at the same time.

Although Hong Kong's economy was booming, it was still quite backward in terms of higher education. It was called a cultural desert for a reason. There were only three or five decent universities, and only 3% of high school graduates in Hong Kong had the opportunity to continue their studies in university. Just look at how Haimei's cousin and Xiao Zhou are now, and you will know that they don't actively pester Zhai Yuan.

When the previous Governor of Hong Kong, Edward Youde, was alive, he attached great importance to the development of education. Unfortunately, he died too early and many of his policies were not implemented.

Now Zhai Yuan is rebuilding a performing arts school on the original Chunqiu Drama School, which is also an educational charity. However, once the school is completed, it will obviously be more authoritative than the training classes of TVB and ATV.

“It’s relatively easy to get teaching qualifications, but students from performing arts academies like these usually can’t get degree certificates from regular universities.”

He Zilang said, "Director Xu Yu told me before that if we register under the name of Hong Kong University, we can make it like Shue Yan College and Baptist College, and issue college certificates to students."

A college is what is called a junior college degree.

Privately funded universities are involved in government projects, and even if they can get the Education Bureau to approve them, they still cannot pass the Legislative Council, so they have to be affiliated with a formal institution like Hong Kong University.

"Will it dilute my reputation as a philanthropic educator?"

"No, Hong Kong University just has one more branch. Mr. Zhai is still in charge of Spring and Autumn."

"Then go to college. It's better than nothing."

"This is a matter related to education and people's livelihood. It will be more troublesome than leasing an outlying island and it will be difficult to implement in the short term."

"As long as you can do it, there's no rush. Take your time."

After a brief exchange, it was basically decided to build the next college in Hong Kong. It didn't matter if one couldn't get a bachelor's degree or higher, as there would be plenty of opportunities to upgrade from a junior college to a bachelor's degree in the future. Zhai Yuan didn't have unrealistic ambitions and had to do this or that. Right now, there were only two teachers, Hopkins and Zun Long. The only thing he wanted to do was to provide a place for the company's artists to take classes, and recruiting more students was the next step.

Walk out of the office.

Walking on the newly built asphalt road in Xiawan Village, passing villagers stopped to greet Zhai Yuan when they saw him, feeling like a local emperor.

Walk to the Qvod factory.

The production line for VCDs and optical discs makes pleasant sounds of crawler conveyor belts.

New machines and CDs were delivered to the warehouse. Several trucks were parked outside the warehouse to load and unload the goods, which were then transported to dealers in the city.

"Last year's statistical report showed that VCD's market share in Hong Kong has exceeded 35%."

Guan Weiming walked up to Zhai Yuan, his tone filled with relief and sighing: "If we continue to place advertisements this year, the share of home video tapes will soon be eliminated from the market. Several of my old friends who used to make cassette tapes still can't believe that new products will replace old products so quickly."

Zhai Yuan smiled and said, "That's right. The local acceptance is higher than in North America. Disney has also obtained the patent and is also promoting it, but the effect is average."

Home videotapes are deeply rooted in the North American market, and the rental business is more mature. Unless new content is only released on the disc channel, the primary and secondary markets will still choose the VCR playback devices that every household has.

On the contrary, in Japan, since signing a contract with Toshiba Home Appliances, the popularity of VCD has been surprisingly high.

Toshiba obviously wants to beat Sony and other companies in the field of home projection, and has spared no effort in publicity. The spokesperson image is changed every few days. It also specially sent someone to Hong Kong to find Chen Shilon to record an advertisement, which is broadcast repeatedly during prime time on TV stations.

"I hope that Brother Long's reputation as an advertising killer won't affect my Kuaibo..."

Although Zhai Yuan also knew that Chen Shilong was so famous and endorsed so many advertisements that it was inevitable that a large number of industries would go bankrupt, metaphysics was a difficult thing to explain.

Toshiba promoted VCD vigorously in Japan, and another beneficiary was naturally the Tokyo Hot agency.

After Tomomi Akimoto’s Bai Jie was made into a series, another IP called “Ling Xiaodong and Zheng Yiyun” was launched.

The heroine is Hitomi Kobayashi, who has transformed herself into a more reserved person after starring in pornographic films.

New drivers may not know this name yet, but it is precisely because Kobayashi Hitomi, an actress with her own popularity, transformed into starring in Adult Video that the term "Adult Video actress" has appeared in the history of Japanese films.

As soon as Ms. Hitomi Kobayashi made her debut, her popularity was comparable to that of the company's veteran artist Tomomi Akimoto.

The two characters, Bai Jie and Zheng Yiyun, were beaten badly by the Japanese.

As a result, the first batch of daily necessities and toys produced by the "Good People Have a Peaceful Life" studio were also sold out.

The cash provided by just one ToKyo Hot was enough to finance the purchase of the other two outlying islands near Sharp Island.

Inevitably, some foreign exchange controls in Japan would be involved during this period, but for Zhai Yuan, who was in charge of three Toshiba production lines, it was basically not a big problem. He could easily transfer millions of Hong Kong dollars into an account in Hong Kong by simply falsifying some expenses and making a few entries. He didn't even have to set up an offshore company.

The days in Hong Kong passed one by one.

February 2, Valentine's Day.

Boss Zhai is getting older as time goes by, and he is one year older after his birthday.

The birthday is a busy day. How to find someone to attend an appointment, how to say sweet words, and how to go to the city to have a bowl of civet cat stewed with water fish penis as a tonic.

There is no need to elaborate on the details~
In early November.

Approval documents from various departments of the Hong Kong government were signed and stamped one by one.

The 450-year-old Zhai Yuan rented the two outlying islands of Baisha and Zhentou for million yuan.

With the addition of a bridge island, the outline of the Jurassic theme park has emerged.

At this time, Disneyland had not yet opened in Hong Kong, and in the entire East Asia, only Tokyo Disneyland had just broken ground and opened.

The prop master of the "Good People Live a Peaceful Life" studio in Japan was quickly recalled to Hong Kong.

Zhai Yuan also gathered the Prop Masters Association under the entire Film Association and more than 70 prop masters from all over Hong Kong, and distributed drawings to them one by one.

Dinosaur patterns of various shapes are drawn on the drawings.

Flying in the sky, running on the ground, swimming in the water, jumping in the grass shells...

In short, the Hong Kong film industry this year is destined to be in great shortage of prop masters.

(End of this chapter)