1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 410 I Didn’t Predict You
Ice and Fire Five Heavens is pretty good.

Lightning Dragon Drill,
It's a mess!
The first ray of sunlight in the morning poured into the hotel room, illuminating Li Lizhen's back, lower back and peach, which were half covered by the silk quilt.

There were several red marks on the girl's fair skin.
There are red spots on it, which are round and look like burns. I don't know how they happened.

Li Lizhen lay on the bed on her side with even breathing, her face resting on a soft pillow, her mouth slightly open with a little tongue sticking out, the corners of her mouth still slightly raised in her sleep, with a cute and contented smile on her face.

"I need to get some Jinkui Shenqi Pills."

Zhai Yuan sat up from the bed, rubbed his old waist, yawned, glanced at the girl beside him, and walked into the bathroom.

Take a shower and wash up.

When I returned to the guest room, Li Lizhen was still not awake, as if she was very tired last night.

Various props, torn underwear and stockings were scattered on the ground. There was a chain hanging with a collar, and the other end was tied to the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. There were four handprints on the window glass, two large and two small.

Zhai Yuan found his clothes from the mess on the floor and changed them while sitting on the edge of the bed.

He pulled up his pants, looked back at the sleeping Li Lizhen, and walked straight out of the hotel.
Do not take away a cloud.

The punishment for Mi Tao for taking private jobs has come to an end for the time being, but it is not over yet. It is a small punishment but a big warning. Since she got too proud of herself, she will not be used in the new dramas for Girls' Generation. Although she will not be banned for more than 400 days like Andy Lau was banned, she must make a statement and let others learn from her. Otherwise, if everyone uses the name of her girlfriend to stir up trouble, will the business still be able to continue?

And they will also use Girls' Generation's new drama to promote the soon-to-open Chun Qiu Performing Arts Academy in advance.

As soon as I went downstairs, I saw my private car parked on the street.

Zhai Yuan got into the car and asked casually, "I asked you to be more polite last night. Did you get into trouble?"

"It should be considered Sven."

Wang Tuqiang scratched his head and said with a smile, "I called Brother Yonggan and told him that someone invited him to drink. He brought over a dozen apprentices from the boxing gym in the middle of the night, and then asked the man called Uncle Ben to drink with them. Each person drank a bottle of wine. I don't know what brand the foreigner's wine was. He made a lot of crosses and circles. Uncle Ben had a good alcohol tolerance and drank six and a half bottles. Brother Yonggan saw that he was loyal, so he took out a bottle of Songhe Liquor that he had collected for many years and invited him to drink. Anyway, he was sent to the hospital for gastric lavage in the end..."

Wei Xing, who was holding the steering wheel, glanced at the rearview mirror and asked, "Boss, Xu Jiaqiang contacted me last night and said that he had negotiated with the gang leader of the Number Gang and asked Uncle Ben to drink a round of peace wine to you and Miss Li after he sobered up and kowtowed to you and Miss Li to admit his mistake."

"I don't have enough time."

Zhai Yuan changed to a comfortable position and half-reclined on the seat. Secretary Li was not around, so he lost his beautiful leg pillow. He had to take the stuffed doll that someone had put into the car and put it under his neck. "That's it. Tell Xu Jiaqiang not to make a big fuss. Huang Yulang is now saying in the newspaper that I have a close relationship with Xinji. It's a waste of time to get into trouble."

"Okay." Wei Xing nodded and started to think about how to call Xu Jiaqiang back later.

……

The car drove to the downstairs of the company.
Zhai Yuan first went upstairs to meet Shi Nansheng and briefly told him about helping Girls' Generation produce a new play.

"A new play?" Shi Nansheng showed hesitation on his face, and asked carefully, "What is the budget? Has Mr. Zhai considered the release date?"

Zhai Yuan looked at her strangely. Why do you seem unhappy when I, the King of Bridge, take action?
"As for the budget, I think it will be around a few million. We are using new actors this time and the filming location is near Hong Kong, so the cost won't be high."

Zhai Yuan continued, "This play is mainly to promote my Chunqiu Performing Arts Academy, and to show it to young people to attract students. It would be best to put it in the summer season."

"All along the line?"

"Two lines, plus Jiahe Cinema Line."

Shi Nansheng hesitated after hearing this, then nodded and said, "Okay, I'll arrange it."

Zhai Yuan asked curiously: "Why, is your schedule so tight now?"

"Yes, the Film Association and several companies under Jiuyi produce a large number of films, and there are too many films scheduled, especially the ones produced by you, Mr. Zhai, which have been squeezed for a while."

Shi Nansheng said helplessly, "I'm still considering which movies to release during the Christmas and Lunar New Year schedules this year. Usually, they are divided into two parts, the front and the back. Hiroshima Monster will definitely take up one spot, and then there will be the three movies produced by you, Mr. Zhai, God of Gamblers, A Chinese Ghost Story, and The Silence of the Lambs. New One City's The Rich Are the One is also in post-production this year, and we want to continue to release it during the Lunar New Year schedule. Mr. Vampire 3 is also the last movie in the Republican era series. Plus the pornographic movies in May, we have to start lining up for next year's schedule..."

Sister Nan took some time to explain the current situation.

In a word, even the 1024 cinema chains, which have the largest number of screens, are gradually unable to cope with the current surge in film production.

All because of the establishment of the Film Association.

Zhai Yuan provides the filming fund. The Film Association is equivalent to a localized version of the eight major film producers in Taiwan. Last year, a total of 139 Hong Kong films were released in theaters. This year, the number is approaching 200, and the remaining ones are almost all scheduled for 1024 theaters.

Not to mention that there are some bad movies that are not qualified to be shown in theaters and can only be burned into discs and distributed overseas.

1024 has switched from glass wire to steel wire.

"What will Jiahe release during the Lunar New Year this year?"

"One after the other, there are two sequels led by Chen Shilong, "Police Story 2" and "Project A 2."

Zhai Yuan nodded in understanding. He was the one who provided ideas for the script contents of the two plays to Chen Shilon's Duqiao team.

Then he asked again, "What about Xinbao? Western films seem to be doing well this year."

Xinbao’s Western Film Cinema Alliance has not received much attention for some time. Even Zhai Yuan has not paid much attention to movies this year and has been focusing on other businesses.

All I know is that they have introduced a batch of new Hollywood films, which are competing against Hong Kong films in Hong Kong.

For example, the Disney animated film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" introduced around the summer vacation attracted a group of children of appropriate age to watch the movie, and even brought their parents to form a family viewing group. It competed back and forth with New One City's "Happy Ghost 3" and even crushed Jiahe's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes 2".

Hong Xinbao's "Eastern Condors" did make it into the top ten, but after deducting the cost, it still couldn't compare to the profits of the above three films "Daozi Sawing Down a Tree".

"Xinbao broke the box office record of its own film Snow White with Lethal Weapon in September."

Shi Nansheng said slowly, "It should be because they have tasted the sweetness of tough guy movies. They played two cards in this year's Lunar New Year holiday, "Predator" and "Robocop", both of which are tough guy special effects blockbusters."

These two plays do sound very intense.

In a parallel universe, "RoboCop" won the Christmas season championship in just a few theaters, firmly surpassing "A Better Tomorrow 2" which was scheduled in 25 theaters.

Today, there are about 20 cinemas in the Xinbao Cinema Alliance.
With the dramatic increase in screenings, the box office will undoubtedly increase significantly.

"Schwarzenegger and Peter Weller..."

When Zhai Yuan heard the names of the two plays, he thought of their respective leading actors.

It has to be said that the New Treasure Cinema Alliance is quite experienced in the market and knows that Hollywood comedies will not be accepted in Hong Kong, so they simply make some exciting sci-fi blockbusters during the Christmas and New Year holidays to seize the special effects market above Hong Kong's local amateur teams.

Just as the mainland film market has been sluggish in recent years, it has needed Marvel blockbusters full of visual effects, or highly stimulating genre films such as "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils", to attract audiences to return to the cinema and drive the economic cycle.

At any time, this type of film is the safest introduction plan.

"That is to say, at least six movies are competing for the Christmas and New Year schedules this year, and they are all big productions. This is unprecedented."

Zhai Yuan sighed, first he entered the market to improve the quality of films, and then Xinbao Cinemas introduced Hollywood blockbusters, which in turn forced the overall quality of films to rise.

It seems that keeping the Xinbao Cinema Chain in the country to make filmmakers feel a sense of crisis is a good thing, so that they don't have to rely on their old capital to death. Of course, the premise is that they can beat the other party in healthy competition, otherwise it will be like inviting a wolf into the house.

"'Hiroshima Monster' must be shown. It just won the box office championship in Japan. Local audiences have been waiting for this movie to be released in Hong Kong. But there is no rush. Let's first finalize the movies for the Christmas season. Sunpo and Jiahe are lining up 'Robocop' and 'Police Story 2'..."

Zhai Yuan thought about it, sorted out the current backlog of inventory, and said to Shi Nansheng: "If we count All-Nation as an action movie, then we will release The God of Gamblers during the Christmas season to stabilize the audience group of comedy movies first."

"It's no problem to avoid the crowds of moviegoers." Shi Nansheng hesitated, "But will "God of Gamblers" work? Zhou Xingchi is a newcomer and doesn't have much appeal. Would it be better for him to be in "The Rich and the Powerful"? "

In fact, she still wanted to star in Xu Ke's "A Chinese Ghost Story". After all, showing ghost movies during Christmas season has become a trend in the past two years.

It's a pity that Lao Xu's film still has visual effects and action, and it has an ancient flavor. I'm not sure if it can surpass the modern films of the two theaters opposite.

As the film industry continues to develop and is impacted by overseas trends, the appeal of local costume films has become increasingly low.

"If it's a comedy, it has to be The Gambler."

"Tsk tsk, Mr. Zhai is very confident in his script~"

Zhai Yuan listened to Shi Nansheng's slightly teasing ridicule.

I thought that I was not confident in the script of "God of Gamblers", but I was very confident in Zhou Xingchi.

Although Xingzai's influence is limited to the local market, he is also one of the core factors in stabilizing the local vote base in the next two to three years.

The King of Comedy with the shortest blooming period is still the King of Comedy.

"Actually, The Silence of the Lambs is also pretty good, and it's also written by you, Mr. Zhai."

Shi Nansheng continued to speak, she seemed to find it difficult to understand Zhou Xingchi's nonsensical style, even a gold medal producer can make mistakes sometimes.

After a pause, he continued, "The partnership between Anthony Hopkins and Zhang Manyu, one Chinese and one foreigner, and the suspenseful theme will still attract a certain group of moviegoers."

After Zun Long, the second foreign actor from the United States to join the film, Hopkins, also completed filming.

In the Hong Kong version of "The Silence of the Lambs", the heroine was chosen to be the future true queen of film - the unparalleled Zhang Manyu.

"Let's just go with "God of Gamblers". The audience for suspense movies won't be larger than that for comedies. Besides, why would there be a serial killer on Christmas~"

Zhai Yuan rejected Sister Nan's suggestion again without further explanation.

It's normal. Before Stephen Chow came out of nowhere, no Hong Kong filmmaker looked up to him.

Besides, films of this genre like "The Silence of the Lambs" are distributed overseas and on the DVD market, and do not count on the tiny box office in Hong Kong.

Shi Nansheng took a deep breath and said with a helpless smile: "Okay, I'll follow your orders, boss."

"Don't worry, big producer, I know what I'm doing."

Seeing her depressed face, Zhai Yuan smiled and stopped nagging about the topic of film scheduling. He asked, "Do you want to know what new drama I have arranged for Girls' Generation?"

Shi Nansheng pondered for a moment and said, "I think it's probably in the style of Chasing Girls or Happy Ghost? But Mr. Zhai, you are always unexpected, you probably won't come up with a one-off comedy."

After all, he was promoting his own girl group, so Shi Nansheng was very sure of his dedication this time.

"This time, I want to promote Girls' Generation and my Chun Qiu Performing Arts Academy. The skit-style pretty girl movies I used to watch are not suitable."

Zhai Yuan nodded, and a movie that they had been planning to shoot since Girls' Generation was formed came to mind.

He grinned and continued, "So we're going to raise the concept a little bit and make a musical with a mainstream theme. The name of the movie is..."

As he spoke, he pulled out a piece of manuscript paper and wrote down the title of the film.

"High School Musical"!
…………

"What is the main theme?"

"What is a musical?"

"That's not how you shine shoes, Zhenwei. You don't understand the main theme, and you don't understand musicals?"

In the conference room,

Jiuyi Entertainment and several of its directors and screenwriters were present.

The title of the movie "High School Musical" was written on the blackboard in the office.

Girls' Generation was almost all there, and even the new trainee Li Zi was sitting in the crowd.

The only one missing is Li Lizhen.

"If there are songs and dances, isn't it called a musical?"

Zhai Yuan wrote and drew on the blackboard, sorting out several key character relationships, connecting them with crisscrossing horizontal lines.

He threw down the chalk, turned around and walked to the group of pretty girls from Girls' Generation.

Zhai Yuan leaned forward slightly, placed his arms on Zhou Huimin and Ye Yuqing's shoulders, one on each side, and smiled at the two rows of directors and screenwriters across from him.

"As for the main theme... have you seen the movie Top Gun released by Xinbao Cinema last year? Simply put, as long as you see the American flag in the movie, you can tell it's a main theme movie, just like Top Gun was praised as the best Hollywood recruitment movie, and many people signed up to join the army after watching it."

"To explain it more broadly, films that radiate American culture can also be called mainstream themes. In the past few years, who would have spent all day in nightclubs? Look at today's young people, nine out of ten are into nightclubs, aren't they all influenced by American culture?"

"So this time, I want to make this "High School Musical" a Hong Kong version of the main theme theme. It's just an attempt to build momentum for my film school and recruit students. In other words, this drama should not be filmed in places like Sau Mau Ping and Wong Tai Sin, where there are bad schools. The focus should be on famous schools like Diocesan Girls' School and Hong Kong University. It should also be exaggerated and filmed in a high-end direction to let the outside world know about my film school..."

While Zhai Yuan was talking,

The door of the conference room was pushed open from the outside.

Li Lizhen, who woke up from the hotel, changed into a denim shirt, which looked a bit like her appearance in "The Girl Without a Button", and rushed in.

"Brother Yuan, why didn't you notify me of your meeting?"

As soon as Li Lizhen entered the room, her eyes turned around and stared at Zhai Yuan with shining eyes.

Thinking of the madness of last night, her face flushed slightly. She ignored the other filmmakers around her and asked expectantly, "I heard that a new movie is going to be released. Who will be the heroine this time? Although I was very tired last night, it won't affect my work~"

Zhai Yuan's lecture was interrupted, but there was no sign of annoyance on his face.

Turning his head and showing a smile to Li Lizhen, Zhai Yuan said with a smile: "Were you tired last night? Go back and rest, so as not to delay tonight's performance. You are now a famous star, with a lot of money waiting to be earned, you should give the opportunity to others, so I will not recommend you for this play..."

(End of this chapter)