Entertainment: Since 1990

Chapter 277 The Script of "Princess Pearl"

In a private room in Hong Kong, Cao Jian invited Chen Kaige to dinner and also asked Chen Hong to accompany him.

However, Director Chen had not had much contact with Chen Hong before, and upon meeting this woman, he simply felt that Cao Jian was quite lucky.

During the meal, Cao Jian inadvertently mentioned Gong Li, which made Chen Kaige somewhat wary.

Could it be that Director Cao has feelings for Gong Li?
However, everyone in the entertainment industry knows about Zhang Yimou and Gong Li's relationship; perhaps Director Cao is just gossiping.

Therefore, Director Chen frankly stated, "They broke up."

"What a pity, they were a perfect match."

"Director Cao, that's not right. Gong Li is beautiful, but Zhang Yimou's talent is just so-so. He's an art director, so he can only do some work on the visuals in movies. When it comes to film shooting techniques and skills, I feel he's still lacking."

Chen Kaige is petty, and when he heard Cao Jian praise Zhang Yimou, who had once worked for him, he surprisingly refuted him.

"Director Chen, although I am younger than you, there is something I still want to say to you."

Cao Jian said calmly, "Acknowledging the strengths of others is a sign of magnanimity."

"Director Cao is right."

Although he knew Cao Jian was right, Chen Kaige just didn't want to acknowledge Zhang Yimou's merits.

"hehe."

Cao Jian sensed that Cao Jian's words were insincere and decided not to continue the meal. He smiled and said, "I will help you with the Hong Kong Film Awards. I hope you and the main actors can come to Hong Kong for the awards ceremony, and we can get together then."

"Definitely, definitely."

Chen Kaige readily agreed, but a slight worry lingered in his heart.

Why did Director Cao insist on having all the main actors come to Hong Kong?

The female lead in "Temptress Moon" is Gong Li. Could it be that he wasn't just gossiping, but actually had feelings for this woman?

Watching Cao Jian leave accompanied by a beautiful woman, Chen Kaige softly remarked, "That's how one should conduct oneself."

On the way back, Chen Hong asked, "Honey, are you really going to help that man? He's already dumped Sister Ni Ping. I actually really like Ni Ping as a host."

"Help him? Ha!"

Cao Jian plans to return to the mainland to develop his career, but given his current reputation, does he need Chen Kaige's help?
Not at all.

However, Chen Hong's words made him quite happy.

Chen Hong immediately said, "When you were eating, you asked about Gong Li and even invited all the actors from 'Temptress Moon' to come. Was it because of that woman?"

"This woman is really smart."

Cao Jian mentally gave Chen Hong a thumbs up; she really understood him.

However, he still said, "I'm looking for Gong Li because we're going to work together on a film."

“Every time you make a film, we gain another sister. But if you direct for ten years, I'm afraid…”

Chen Hong stopped there, too embarrassed to continue, fearing her words might come true.

"ten years?"

Cao Jian shook his head: "I'll be an actor for another five years at most. After that, I'll just enjoy life with you guys."

"No changes allowed."

The two were relieved and laughed together, saying, "When the time comes, we'll have lots of children for you!"

Chen Kaige spent a few days in Hong Kong navigating various relationships, but the box office performance of "Temptress Moon" did not improve much.

In contrast, "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" grossed only HK$700,000 to HK$800,000 per day for half a month after its release, although it didn't reach the same level of popularity as when it was first released. This was much higher than "Temptress Moon".

At the same time, another drama directed by Cao Jian, "Armed Reaction", premiered.

This drama not only features popular actress Kwan Wing-ho, but also Zhu Yin, who captivated countless men with just a blink of an eye in "A Chinese Odyssey".

After the TV series premiered, its ratings in Hong Kong even surpassed those of "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

This is mainly because Hong Kong audiences have a special fondness for police and gangster films, perhaps because Hong Kong was really too chaotic before the 1980s.

Although Hong Kong has produced TV dramas featuring female police officers, characters like Sister Ngo and Sam Yuen are like friends who live among everyone.

With its suspenseful plot, sweet romance, and the director's reputation, the show's ratings steadily climbed after its premiere.

At its peak, it reached 39%, with an average viewership of 36%.

Now, Cao Jian, this all-around director who can direct movies, TV series, and screenplays, is virtually unmatched in reputation.

It was only after Wang Fei sang the theme song that people saw a different, more spirited side to this female singer. Previously, people said that Cao Jian was lucky to be considered Shaw Brothers' adopted grandson.

Now everyone realizes that it wasn't Cao Jian who was lucky, but rather that Shao Yifu had such excellent foresight and was so shrewd.

With Cao Jian on board, TVB might develop even better in the future.

In June, "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" finished its run, grossing over HK$26 million, breaking the record for the highest-grossing Hong Kong art film.

In July, after nearly half a year of filming, "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" finally wrapped up.

Even before the film was edited, the broadcasting rights for this drama were snapped up by countless television stations in mainland China.

The Condor Heroes was a huge hit, and Armed Reaction also climbed to the top of the ratings after being introduced to a mainland TV station.

With these two dramas as examples, how could "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" be bad?

Under these circumstances, the drama had just finished filming when it not only recouped all its investment but also made TVB a fortune.

Cao Jian was surprised by these things, but he also felt that they were reasonable.

If these films become popular, they might suppress the popularity of period dramas.

Because of the hot weather, after filming wrapped up, Cao Jian arranged the broadcast times and filming schedules for other TVB dramas, and then took several women to Taiwan for a vacation.

Besides taking a vacation, I also need to learn about the business operations of companies in Taiwan.

In Taiwan, Cao Jian owns two magazines, a film and television company, hundreds of milk tea shops, and a branch company with a clothing brand.

These industries, although, are far less profitable than VCDs.

But an annual revenue of 70 to 80 million is still much higher than that of an ordinary company.

After playing for two days, he found Qiongyao.

In March of this year, Qiong Yao's new drama "One Curtain of Dreams" was broadcast in Taiwan, starring Chen Derong and Xiao Qiang, who is currently still the number one beauty.

However, this drama is far less influential than "Plum Blossom Trilogy".

"Sister Qiong Yao, have you had any new dramas in the past two years?"

Cao Jian vaguely remembered that Qiong Yao began writing the script for "Princess Pearl" in the last two years, but he was not sure of the exact time, so he decided to give it a try.

"Not yet, I'm a bit out of inspiration. I plan to travel around during this time to find some inspiration."

Qiong Yao's screenplays in recent years have mainly focused on the Republican era.

It's normal to run out of inspiration when you create too much.

Cao Jian laughed and said, "I do have an idea, but I'm too busy to write a script. I can provide the story outline, and you can refine it. We can invest together then, how about that?"

"Princess Pearl" is an original script, and the first season had forty-five episodes.

Although I've watched the first two seasons of "Princess Pearl," if I were to reveal the details of the script, I wouldn't be able to do anything else for the next six months.

Moreover, the show is packed with bizarre and pretentious lines; if I were to write them down, I'd be laughed to death.

"Mr. Cao's inspiration must be quite good."

Qiong Yao already knew Cao Jian's talent; if he provided the story outline, the resulting script would definitely be nearly perfect.

As for investing together, that's no problem at all.

"I'll give you the outline in three days. We'll start preparations early next year, begin casting, and start filming in the middle of the year."

Cao Jian has already planned that this drama will depict all the harm that Emperor Qianlong and the Manchu Qing Dynasty inflicted on China, and will not allow some people to glorify the darkest period of Chinese history.

"Then I'll wait for your outline."

Seeing that Boss Cao had even prepared a plan, Qiong Yao hurriedly asked, "Then will you personally direct this drama?"

"I don't have time, I can just be a producer and a production manager."

Nowadays, directors have a lot of power in a drama, but Cao Jian really didn't have time to direct this phenomenal drama.

If you're a producer or executive producer, you wield considerable power.

Since I don't have time myself, I'll ask Chen Hong to supervise the filming and calculate the film budget for me.

This is also a form of training for her.

However, a foreigner with the surname Zhang is naturally unsuitable, but finding an actor to play Emperor Qianlong is quite easy.

But who should get the role of Little Swallow?

Zhao Yanzi is definitely out of the question, but she's pretty, lively, and has a very outgoing personality. We need to choose carefully this time.
(End of this chapter)