Huayu has been doing one good deed a day since 2001

Chapter 225 Senior Brother, you still say you don't know martial arts?!

On August 16, 30 episodes of (Reply 1988) aired on Beijing TV.

The highest viewership rating exceeded 35%, while South Korea's rating is already approaching 47%.

Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand are also reaching new heights.

Old Li was checking the pre-production progress of (Lucy) in his office when Fatty Bing came back from outside and said with slight surprise, "Brother Yu, the August First Film Studio is going to film a military drama."

"They don't have enough funds, so they've come here seeking cooperation."

"I just met with a deputy factory director over there. The script is an adaptation of a play that won a major award in the drama world."

“Give some face to the leaders within the system, invest a few million? They only have a shortfall of a few million.”

"The book is called (Soldiers' Assault)."

Old Li, “…”

He left his desk and nodded. "Invest."

Modern military dramas are not a good project for product placement.

But if the popular TV series (Soldiers Sortie) comes knocking on their door, they certainly won't refuse.

It's similar to how the crew of the TV series "My Own Swordsman" invested in time back then.

This is Wang Baoqiang's most famous work, although it can't be considered a phenomenon among Korean stars like Ma Tai.

However, (Soldiers Sortie) was downloaded online and automatically distributed on DVD, which triggered a strong emotional resonance in Chinese communities around the world.

In the local team at Hong Kong Harbour Bay, the protagonist Xu Sanduo even became a representative of the image of Chinese soldiers.

Huayi Brothers was originally a major investor.

Now that the company is standing so firmly, it's perfectly reasonable for the August First Film Studio to attract investment here first.

You said you've already invested in Time Entertainment, so do you still want to cast Wang Baoqiang as the male lead? Is Wang Baoqiang with Huayi Brothers?
Let's proceed normally and give Wang Baoqiang a try. Someone else might not be able to play Xu Sanduo well.

Wang Baoqiang from the original Trails series wasn't recommended by Huayi Brothers before he was cast.

The leaders of the August First Film Studio also watched his performances in Blind Shaft and A World Without Thieves.

They gave him a chance to try, and only confirmed the male lead after they were sure he was suitable.

At the level of time, there's no need to be so narrow-minded as to refuse to share resources with those who aren't under your control.

He has a higher opinion of Wang Baoqiang as an actor, since even his wife can't deny his reputation.

It can be described as a unique phenomenon in the entertainment industry.

The show "Soldiers Sortie" made Bao Qiang, the most popular male lead, and Chen Sicheng, the second male lead.

When Wang Baoqiang starred as a soldier, his salary was 10,000 yuan per episode, slightly higher than Liu Yifei's.

After the soldiers, the TV series paid 15 yuan per episode.

Old Chen earns several thousand yuan per episode, while the soldier earns 10 yuan per episode.

This means that (The Temptation of Going Home) has increased the value of the female lead and the second female lead.

Time Media and August First Film Studio collaborated, and Wang Baoqiang was recommended for the male lead.

It shouldn't be a problem to choose a second male lead and let rising stars like Wen Zhang, Wang Chuanjun, and Zhu Yawen compete fairly for the role.

These rookies are currently at their peak.

After all, 1988 was still in the midst of an explosion.

For example, Dell offered 1800 million yuan to endorse its laptops for a year, while Jeon Ji-hyun offered 1200 million yuan.

The remaining 600 million yuan goes to Hu Ge, Wen Zhang, Wang Chuanjun, and Zhu Yawen.

Even if it's nonsense, they'll still take the lion's share of the 600 million.

Wen Zhang and others also earned advertising endorsements ranging from several hundred thousand to one million yuan per person.

Old Li poured himself a cup of tea and said with a smile, "Since we've already invested, we can continue to invest if there's a cash crunch over there. Let's go for it."

"The actor's salary, paid at market price, is also included in the investment."

This TV series was tasked with having the screenwriters create countless stories and characters of good-natured soldiers from rural areas, just like Xu Sanduo.

As long as the story is genuinely crafted, it doesn't matter whether it's profitable or not.

Even if it means losing money, we should still support it.

Fat Bing nodded and smiled, "These small matters are easy to handle. I heard that some leaders want to promote a big-budget film as a tribute to the nation?"

"If they asked you to act, would you?"

Old Li chuckled, “Acting? If they ask me to, I’ll do it. I’ve never been against cameos, especially since these are quite meaningful things.”

Strictly speaking, this was when President Han's three-part tribute series was first released.

The criticism far outweighed the positive feedback.

But that was the era and environment; there were too many public intellectuals and people who were paid to do evil, and they would even spend money to promote it.

Moreover, around 09, the development gap between mainland China and countries like the United States was still very large.

By the 20s, many patriotic films were both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.

Even in 2025, the quality of the first installment, a tribute to the past, is still quite good when you rewatch it, far better than most bad movies.

The script for the first installment of the tribute series was indeed launched in 05, just like (Soldiers Sortie).

He took another sip of tea and smiled, "(Lucy) has progressed to the point where we can officially start filming now, but it feels a bit out of sync with the Lunar New Year film season."

The preparations for "Superbody" started early.

The script was completed in early April, and Industrial Light & Magic was contacted in early May to schedule the production.

However, this involved the construction of a series of green and blue screen studios, and the creation of numerous props and models.

The way science fiction movies are filmed is also different from ordinary ones.

We've been preparing for this for three or four months now.

Filming would take two months to complete, followed by three to five months for special effects production.

There was only a chance that it would be released on January 29, 2006, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Fat Bing laughed, "Then let's start filming the day after tomorrow? If it can't be released during the Lunar New Year season, let (Lone Agent) do it."

With so many great projects, there's no need to rush.

This is, after all, a major work in her transition to becoming a renowned director.

To be fair, if "Lucy" becomes a hit, it will mark the beginning of a new era for mainland Chinese sci-fi blockbusters.

Before this, let alone the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan didn't have many serious sci-fi blockbusters.

Li Wenyu nodded, "Then we'll start filming the day after tomorrow. Once filming starts, I'll fly to South Korea to oversee Ah Xin and Quan Zhixian's work."

He went, and he himself became the biggest target of criticism.

A simple and unpretentious business battle.

It does not necessarily include the rule of "not punishing one's wife, children, or family members."

Why did SoftBank and Judah choose to target Li Jiaxin when they could have gone after him directly?

Of course, Lao Li will be in a position of being a latecomer on the global moral scale, and will be able to retaliate without restraint.

Fat Bing pursed her lips, feeling a bit like she was both amused and exasperated.

Now, Ah Yan, the most beautiful Miss Hong Kong, can become someone who takes the blame for her, the official wife, after they leave!
It's also too fantastical.

…………

On August 18th, (Lucy) began filming in Beijing without much promotion.

But when the actual filming date arrived, Shanghai was the primary location for shooting on the mainland.

Li Wenyu, along with Li Jiaxin, Quan Zhixian, and Dong Xuan, flew to Seoul on the 19th.

Dong Xuan did not help with the roadshow for (John Wick 2).

She had just finished filming her scenes in "The Hearing Girl" in mid-August. When Teacher Dong took a break, she went on vacation to the peninsula with Lao Li.

Even if it might be photographed by paparazzi.

But regardless of the explanation, she and Ah Xin became super best friends.

Whether it's a cameo role in (Lucy), it can be easily resolved.

Dong Xuan really made a cameo appearance; she was one of the drug mules captured by ruthless members of the Peninsula Gang, a supporting female character just like Ah Xin, the main female lead.

After takeoff, filming resumed for Liu Shishi's (the hearing girl) scenes.

Xiao Shishi flew to Shanghai with Pang Bing.

…………

Time flies by.

August 8, the summer heat ends.

Li Wenyu was at a large hotel on the Peninsula when he received the news report as soon as he got up.

The seven-episode series (How I Met Your Mother) has already finished filming and will air on US television networks in the second week of August.

The first episode had a viewership of over 710 million, and the second episode had 790 million.

This isn't considered a proper (fall season) premiere; proper premieres are in September.

But the data obtained is already quite good.

If it continues to grow and reaches over 900 million viewers, it will be an even more popular series than the blockbuster "Dark Glory." Megan Fox will then truly rise to fame as a television star.

Incidentally, Guo Jingfei, along with the other main creative team members.

Megan is a legitimate student; she's an American who graduated from high school and came to Beijing, China to study at the Beijing Film Academy.

She became a symbolic figure who had just started her junior year at the Beijing Film Academy after the summer of 05.

This kind of representation is a unique kind of stimulation for Hollywood and the entertainment industry in Europe.

Before Megan, there was Blake Lively.

What if we add (9 Broke Girls) which will air in September?
This is the best demonstration of the achievements of the Chinese entertainment industry group led by Time Entertainment in its rise to become a force to be reckoned with, chasing after traditional giants like Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros.

Around 8 a.m. on the 23rd.

When Lao Li arrived at the second-floor buffet restaurant to have a meal, he had just stood in front of the various foods with his tray when he grabbed his phone and made a call.

"Executive Director Li, some people have a very strong ability to infiltrate."

"My breakfast has been drugged, something addictive. You'd better take care of it."

With a fitness attribute of up to 500/100, the biggest advantage is that the food and drink we consume are not harmful to human health.

His intuition is sharper than Spider-Man's spider-sense.

This didn't just happen after 500.

In fact, the perception of breaking human limits emerged after the number 100.

It simply means that the higher the value, the more sensitive the sensory ...

You might not realize you've eaten more than 100 grams until it's in your mouth, so you need to spit it out immediately and induce vomiting.

When the amount is around 200, you can put it near your mouth and it will give you a warning sign.

He was now standing among a variety of dishes, the furthest of which were several meters apart.

You can then clearly distinguish the many buffet dishes.

Which one was messed up, and which one is normal?

The foods that were drugged were his favorite foods, which he had frequently appeared in public with.

Of course, it's not a deadly thing.

It can be highly addictive.

He called Lee Jae-yong because Superbody would still be promoting Samsung phones, laptops, computers, and so on.

All expenses for the film crew during their trip to South Korea were covered by Samsung, and the hotel was also provided by Lee Jae-yong.

Ensuring security has long been standard practice.

Was the hotel provided by Lee Jae-yong infiltrated? In the capitalist world, money can make the devil turn the millstone.

Samsung also provided 2000 million in advertising sponsorship fees.

Because South Korea was only part of the filming location for (Lucy).

Shanghai also served as a filming location for a large proportion of the major scenes.

Dong Xuan, who came down with Lao Li, was stunned after he hung up the phone.

Teacher Xuanxuan grabbed his arm and muttered, "Senior brother, you still say you don't know qigong?"

Old Li explained, half-laughing and half-crying, "This isn't qigong, have you forgotten that I taught myself traditional Chinese medicine?"

"The top doctors are also the most powerful medicinal cuisine masters. They can distinguish and judge many things by color, aroma and taste."

Dong Xuan, who had been practicing her crying scenes frequently these past few days and was crying rhythmically, promptly rolled her eyes at him.

"Even though my high school grades were terrible, I only took the medication for 10 months."

"But Sister Bingbing has been taking medication for four years!"

Old Li, “…”

These are all medicines to prevent deaths and lawsuits; in the early days, they were bought from the market.

Now it's all personally arranged by Lao Li.

Forget it, he's not going to spout nonsense anymore.

When you're at home, continue to exercise, be disciplined, and stay fit.

A career breakthrough is the best tonic for a person.

Wait a minute and try to fool Li Jiaxin into thinking she has a special constitution.

Ah Xin even started rolling her eyes in response.

Li Jiaxin once accompanied Lao Li on a night run and unknowingly ran a full marathon.

It's not particularly tiring.

She had never practiced before.

Even on their first run, their results were only average among marathon enthusiasts.

Not to mention pursuing professionals.

But that's for the whole of Malaysia!
Ah Xin said that even when she was seventeen or eighteen and in her prime, it was absolutely impossible for her to be like this.

Dong Xuan complained again, "I'm just waiting to see when Sister Bingbing will have a baby, and then I'll take a long leave and follow suit."

…………

It's around 11am.

Old Li remained in his hotel room, but the film set where Li Jiaxin and others were shooting had a professional bodyguard team of one or two hundred people from Time and Samsung.

Lee Jae-yong raised a cup of tea and sighed, "I've also been exposed to addictive drugs, but it was voluntary."

"I'm not sure if it's SoftBank or not; it could be other capital."

Old Li nodded as he sipped his tea, "Leave it to me, I'll investigate slowly."

Samsung's Managing Director Lee caught the person in less than half a day.

Old Li didn't care what to do with this henchman.

He would use hacking to start with the henchmen and then track down the rest of the gang.

Lee Jae-yong nodded, "I admire Mr. Lee's security skills or his ability to hack other teams. China is such a vast and resource-rich country."

"Even though South Korea has benefited greatly from the most advanced technologies."

"But there are too few top-notch technical experts."

How can you compare a competition among tens of millions of people versus a competition among over a billion people?
After taking a sip of tea, Lee Jae-yong said again, "I will give President Lee an explanation. This traitor will be imprisoned for poisoning and will not be able to get out for twenty years."

“No matter where his adult relatives work, firefighters, business inspectors, tax inspectors, etc., they will all take turns working, resulting in collective unemployment within the three clans.”

“By setting this example, anyone who thinks they can do whatever they want just because they've been paid will be made a clown within their entire clan.”

Li Wenyu nodded and clinked glasses with Li Zaiyong.

The person who drugged him wouldn't get their hands dirty, but they also couldn't prevent their allies from retaliating.

He is not stupid.

To put it bluntly, it's not like he's cheating; there's a high probability that he and Dong Xuan will eat together.

Anyone who goes out for breakfast with him in the morning is likely to get infected randomly.

Neither he nor Lee Jae-yong would easily get their hands dirty once they reached a high position.

That traitor is indeed guilty of poisoning.

Regardless of the severity of the sentence, Lee Jae-yong has plenty of other legal means to keep him out of prison for many years.

Cyberpunk Han offended Samsung, betrayed Samsung, and became a double agent.

The slap in the face is severe.

…………

Two days later, the (Lucy) crew was steadily filming scenes on various sets or in green screen studios.

Old Li was drinking tea in his penthouse suite at the hotel.

It took a lot of effort, mainly to take down several dark web groups and uncover a lot of information.

He was speechless when he discovered that this addictive poisoning was orchestrated by Murdoch, not SoftBank.

He recalled that Murdoch's News Corporation acquired less than 2% of Weibo's shares.

From black communication platforms and black GPS to all sorts of shady groups, as for metadata storage, the other party doesn't make calls or send real-time communication messages.

He couldn't hear the phone conversation?
This will have to wait, but fortunately there is automatic programming software that can record and eavesdrop on communications in a timely manner.

"It's solid evidence that it's Murdoch. Let's expose his illegal wiretapping activities, make a scene about his surveillance of the royal family and high-ranking officials, and Weibo can be quite lively."

Just then, Lao Li's phone rang.

He grabbed it and looked at it. The call connected, and the manager of the media artist department on the other end respectfully reported, "Boss, one of Huang Xiaoming's casual sex partners is actively hyping up their affair in an attempt to become famous."

"Gossip magazines are asking the company for hush money."

"You've already paid hush money a few times while filming in Hollywood. Why don't you talk to him about it?"

Li Wenyu, "..."

(End of this chapter)