1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 411 The Gambler is here

"Dear listeners, welcome to the latest channel of Television Broadcasts Limited. Today we bring you a new program "Gu Zai Quick D Talk". I am your new friend He Jinhua..."

Secret Garden, the newly established adult phone company, has remained the leader in the industry after several years of competition.

However, as more and more competitors enter the market, the market is being squeezed and the ability to generate profits is no longer as good as before.

Fortunately, the salaries of veterans such as Shen Nana, Ni Wawa, Su Yutang, Xia Qingzi, and Miao Xiaoji did not decrease, but instead increased a lot.

Zhai Yuan cherishes the old friendship with his former cash cow.

The profits from Secret Garden were now nothing to him, so he took out a portion of his own shares to increase their salaries so that the founding veterans would not lose their jobs or be laid off.

General Manager He Jinhua was transferred back to the dubbing department of Jiuyi Entertainment.
In addition to dubbing for Joey Wong in "A Chinese Ghost Story", Zhai Yuan gave her another task, which was to start a new column on TVB Radio Station - "Gu Zai Quick Talk".

at noon,

Taxi drivers drive their taxis around the city.
He Jinhua's gentle and sweet voice came from the car radio.

"The first ancient story I bring to you today is a science fiction novel that was recently serialized in the September 1st Daily, Mr. Yu Zecheng's The Three-Body Problem. The story takes place in a crazy era..."

A taxi had just picked up a passenger and stopped downstairs of a tenement building.

The middle-aged driver counted the fare and put it into his wallet, then leaned back in the car to take a rest.

"What about The Three-Body Problem? I haven't even heard of it. They didn't even finish their episode of Black Hero Mulan: The Headless Mermaid yesterday. What's wrong with the radio station?"

The driver closed his eyes to rest and waited to see if anyone nearby wanted to call for a ride.

He Jinhua's voice was still melodious on the radio: "...Ye Zhetai asked calmly: 'Relativity has become a classical theory in physics. How can the basic course not involve it?' 'You are talking nonsense!' The female general next to him scolded sharply: 'Einstein is a mother who feeds her, and he went to build atomic bombs for American imperialism...'"

"laugh!"

The driver, who was resting with his eyes closed, laughed unconsciously.

But you just said this is a science fiction novel. Apart from some incomprehensible theoretical terms, how is the science fiction shown?
Look at the great writer Ni Xun, brain waves, aliens, super killers, and the fantasy world...

This is science fiction!
At this time, "The Three-Body Problem" had been serialized for more than a month.
With the speed of 3000 words updated every day, the plot has reached the climax point where the Earth's rebels are exposed and the Judgment Day appears.

But the heat is actually very ordinary.

Firstly, the sales of "Jiuyi Daily" are continuing to decline. Secondly, readers who are used to packaging science fiction with martial arts are not very interested in "The Three-Body Problem".

Naturally, there are a number of fans and die-hard followers, and even a small circle of Three-Body fans has been formed, but most of them are concentrated in the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

As the saying goes, the aroma of wine is also afraid of deep alleys.

The entire first part of "The Three-Body Problem" has just over 200,000 words, and the story serialized in the newspaper is nearing its end.

So Zhai Yuan thought it could be promoted appropriately.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the plot of this novel, but there are too many theoretical foundations in the writing.

Thus, TVB's new radio program "Gu Zai Kuai D Jiang" was born. Through the promotion model of audio novels, the reading threshold was greatly lowered, allowing the driver bosses across Hong Kong to act as salesmen, gradually expanding the popularity of this novel.

"Luckily, this pretty girl named Ye Wenjie met Bai Mulin, otherwise I don't know how much suffering she would have to endure."

On the radio, He Jinhua was talking about the plot of Radar Peak. The driver was getting more and more interested in it and couldn't help but make comments.

At this time, the voices of other drivers from the same company came from the intercom:

"Is anyone near the Chun Qiu Drama School? It's the Chun Qiu Academy of Performing Arts that is being renovated recently. We have customers calling for a ride to Central. First come, first served."

"I'm nearby and will be there soon."

Upon hearing that a customer was coming, the driver quickly stood up and replied into the intercom.

Starting the engine and turning up the volume of the radio novel, the taxi stepped on the accelerator and rushed to the boarding point of Chunqiu College.

…………

Spring and Autumn Academy of Performing Arts.

The school renovation was carried out in great style. Workers pulled turf into the playground, sheds were set up for expansion at the construction site, the original school building was demolished, and several dormitory and office buildings with shiny tiles were re-erected.

A taxi drove past the stop, carrying a mother and son who had just finished touring the campus and were considering whether to enroll next year.

The driver's angry curse could be vaguely heard in the car: "Fuck your mother Bai Mulin..."

At school,
A newly built teaching building.

Zhai Yuan stood in a classroom, lighting a cigarette to block out the smell of paint.
Secretary Li was calling a team of workers to put up brand new desks and podiums.

Huang Boming and the production staff of New One City went around surveying, bringing along photographic equipment and planning scenes suitable for filming.

The Spring and Autumn Academy of Performing Arts is about to open, and time is tight and the task is heavy.

The entire process of "High School Musical" from project establishment to filming took only one week.

After the script was finalized, Huang Boming started making storyboards.

Zhai Yuan still remembers that he watched this drama in an English class in high school. The fashionably dressed English teacher screened this youth musical in the classroom. Several street dance clubs quickly sprang up in the school. They were extremely fashionable and attractive to young people of the opposite sex.

As a post-millennium song and dance film,

The original "High School Musical" was actually a TV movie broadcast on the Disney TV Channel. Because it was so popular, it sparked a youth musical craze on North American campuses, and the second part was quickly filmed, but it was not until the third part that the series was put on the big screen in theaters.

It was the end of 1987.

Not to mention Hong Kong musicals, there are very few musicals in the world, let alone campus musicals.

So even Zhai Yuan wasn't sure whether the audience would buy into this.

After all, the musicals that Hong Kong audiences watched in the early years were "The Execution of Su San", "Lingbo Fairy" and "The Love of Wild Rose", and the most recent "Moonlit Night in Hong Kong" was also released twenty years ago.

But it doesn't matter,
If this drama is a success, Girls' Generation's tours, stage plays, and record sales will all be secured.

It also serves as the best advertisement for the Chunqiu Academy of Performing Arts.

If marketing overseas is to earn US dollars, sending one's own artists to perform overseas is truly like cutting down a big tree with a knife.

If the film fails, it would only mean a loss of a few million in production costs, which is not a big deal for Zhai Yuan and is worth a try.

The entire "High School Musical" cast used newcomers from the Spring and Autumn Academy of Performing Arts.
The Hong Kong entertainment industry is not short of handsome men and beautiful women, and there are no complicated special effects or stunts, so the overall shooting is not difficult.

Besides, the Voice of China has ready-made choreography and music arrangements. The only trouble is that Zhai Yuan has to write a few suitable new songs for Girls' Generation so that they can bring out their best highlights in the play.

"It's time to work again!"

Zhai Yuan stroked his chin, a series of hit songs flashed through his mind, but were quickly eliminated.

He can only sing one or two original English songs, which is not enough to support the entire play. At the same time, the local audience must also be considered, so more songs have to be Chinese versions.

With the addition of Noriko Sakai, we have to make an extra Japanese song.

Apart from Li Lizhen who was excluded this time, Boss Zhai had to try his best to be fair. He wanted both young and lively, and positive, which immediately narrowed the scope of candidates.

"Mr. Zhai, this is almost the classroom setting. What do you think?"

Lizhi's voice sounded in my ears.

Zhai Yuan came back to his senses and looked at the classroom which was fully equipped with desks and chairs. He took a quick look around. There were only twenty or so Nordic-style desks in the classroom, which looked particularly spacious. There was a plexiglass timetable inlaid on the corner of the table, a split air conditioner and a broadcasting speaker hung above the podium, and a multimedia screen was laid on the magnetic blackboard, facing the Sharp projector at the back of the classroom.

"Yes, this will show the teaching quality of our school."

He had visited the University of Hong Kong, and for comparison, the decoration of the Spring and Autumn Academy of Performing Arts was several levels higher than that of the other. Art colleges have always been more willing to spend money than academic colleges. The Spring and Autumn Academy's campus was built according to the most luxurious standards in Hong Kong, and American and Japanese designers were invited to combine Chinese and Western styles. It has now reached an impeccable level.

"If the tuition fee is higher in the future, I think parents will be able to accept it."

Zhai Yuan added with a smile: "After all, in addition to the quality of teaching, we also arrange employment opportunities in the entertainment industry."

"How could we have such conditions back then?"

Huang Boming couldn't help but come up and sigh, then said: "There's no need to talk about the past. Lin Lingdong was filming the third part of his Stormy series, School Storm. I went to visit the set two days ago. They were shooting in a bad school. There were bad boys and bad girls walking around. They were so bold as to collect protection money from the crew. The difference between this school and Mr. Zhai's is really huge."

Zhai Yuan smiled when he heard this. He was also a student from Xiumaoping Middle School, and he deeply felt that the play "School Storm" was indeed equivalent to a realistic bad boy school.

Hong Kong is a place with so many differences that it makes people feel very disconnected.

There are two adjacent streets. On one street, gangsters are hacking people and blood is splattered on the street. On the other street, white-collar workers are leisurely drinking tea and eating buns.

Fortunately, my school has taken the high-end route from the beginning. Even if there is no Sun Kee to support it, there are still the church, the school supervisor and the Hong Kong government to support it. It is impossible for the kind of plot in "School Storm" to happen in the future.

"Let Lin Lingdong finish his film 'School Storm' as soon as possible and arrange for it to be released at the same time as 'High School Musical' next year."

Zhai Yuan patted Huang Baiming on the shoulder and said, "Movies are the best promotional tool. If we make more comparisons, those parents who are reluctant to pay will naturally be willing to pay the tuition for our Spring and Autumn School..."

…………

Mid-December.

"High School Musical" officially started filming after completing all the preliminary preparations.

First shoot the unimportant supporting roles.

The actors invited this time are all students of John Lone and Hopkins. Their ages are mostly around 20 years old and they have to fit the temperament of college students.

Including but not limited to Lam Ka-tung, Nick Cheung, Jordan Chan, Cheung Suet-yu, Chung Suk-wai, Ho Ka-lai, Ng Wing-hung... a group of young artists of the new generation.

These people act as background.

The five beautiful girls of Girls' Generation took up more roles.

At the same time, we also need a young and handsome guy who can hold the scene.

Zhai Yuan selected a familiar photo from a list of new artists, a new actor who had just participated in Zunlong's training class some time ago.
Brother Haonan——Ekin Cheng.

The original script structure of the movie is very simple. The athletic male protagonist and the nerdy female protagonist met at a party during the New Year holiday, sang a song together, and later found out that they transferred to the same school. The two decided to participate in the school's musical audition, but their friends and teammates opposed it because they felt that it would distract them and affect basketball games and academic competitions. During this period, the villain was worried that his position on the stage would be replaced, and he used tricks to obstruct it. However, the two sides finally reached a great settlement...

A very smooth happy ending story, without any intrigue, and ultimately aims to show the kindness and innocence of the students.

It forms two extremes compared to "School Storm" which was filmed at the same time.

Based on the original script, Zhai Yuan made some modifications, adding scenes where necessary and deleting scenes where necessary. He removed the American elements and replaced them with ones that suit the current trends among young people in Hong Kong, and gave more scenes to the Spring and Autumn Academy of Performing Arts.

The male lead is Cheng Ekin, a rookie who just turned 20 years old.

The heroine, Girls' Generation's vice-captain Zhou Huimin.

The whole film highlights a positive and innocent youth, and there is not even a kissing scene. In order to successfully obtain an all-age rating and expand the audience when it is released, all violence, blood, and horror elements are passed. Zhai Yuan even requested that during the filming, even drug addicts on the street be cleared and not allowed to enter.

In between the scenes shot by the supporting actors,

Zhai Yuan racked his brains to come up with the arrangement.

The theme revolves around youth, friendship, dreams and love, and the first Cantonese chorus song was finalized first.

Our Memorial Book.

The shooting scene was naturally a lip-sync duet,
The script required Ekin Cheng and Chow Hui Man to act out scenes of being young and naive, looking at each other lovingly.

As a result, this scene was cut more than a dozen times that day.

"It's hard to handle, Mr. Zhai. Yi Jian performed well, but Miss Zhou is totally out of form. Why not let Miss Ye give it a try?"

Huang Baiming complained to Zhai Yuan on the phone.

Zhai Yuan, who was recording a new song, received a call and said unhappily, "Hui Min has never acted in a movie before, can you be a little patient?"

Huang Boming said helplessly: "But she really is like a piece of wood, with a dull look in her eyes. It's hard to tell that she has any feelings for the male lead..."

ten minutes later.

Zhai Yuan drove to the shooting site.

Script Note: "High School Musical, Scene 1, Take 1, Take 20, Action!"

With his arms folded, Zhai Yuan stood behind the camera and heard Huang Boming complaining to him about Zhou Huimin's poor acting skills.

Then, in the camera, Xiao Zhou, who was standing with Zheng Yijian and looked a little nervous, suddenly brightened up his eyes and smiled naturally when he saw Zhai Yuan appear in the audience.

Four words, full of affection!

"Cut!"

The assistant director slapped his thigh and turned to look at Huang Baiming: "Boss, Miss Zhou performed very well this time!"

Zhai Yuan squinted at Huang Baiming and said, "Who was that idiot who just said that my Huimin doesn't know how to act?"

Huang Baiming: “…”

……

During the filming of "High School Musical" was in full swing.

Christmas is approaching this year.

December 12, Christmas Eve.

The exterior walls of 1024 Cinemas are covered with giant screen posters.

'The God of Gamblers relies on skills, while the Saint of Gamblers relies on supernatural powers! Uncle San teaches the way, Ah Xing uses his powers, and his supernatural powers sweep the gambling world, making the whole of Hong Kong laugh!'

"God of Gamblers" is here.

(End of this chapter)