Huayu 1995

Chapter 158 You want me dead?! (Seeking monthly votes at the end of the month)

Despite Su Chao's busy schedule, he is actually just the producer for the advertising agency.

You could also say they were apprentices.

The real director is Huo Jianqi.

When the first take failed, Su Chao remained calm.

This is how Huo Jianqi directed the art direction for "Postmen in the Mountains".

The film production team brought in by Xi'an Film Studio.

Zhou Xun, Zhang Ziyi, and Yuan Quan are all future superstars.

We've done everything we could.

It's normal to only get one take; if we can't finish filming today, that's just fate.

At most, it's just heartache.

Having been poor for so long, I'm unwilling to spend a single extra penny.

"Brother Chao, the phone's ringing~"

Lu Bu patted Su Chao and quietly gestured with his phone.

Su Chao took the phone and walked a little further away to answer the call.

The person opposite is... Andy Lau.

"Brother Hua, what made you suddenly decide to call? Is there some problem with the concert?"

Su Chao did not ask Andy Lau if he was dissatisfied with the song and wanted to return it.

Because he doesn't accept returns or exchanges for the songs he sells.

Well, even if it's a seven-day no-reason period, it's already long past that timeout.

"There's no problem with the concert; six shows have been approved."

Liu Dehua spoke in a relaxed tone.

"How come it's only six races? I thought you were going to drive all the way along the provincial capitals."

Su Chao knew how embarrassed Liu Dehua was at that moment.

"We'll continue filming in the first half of next year. I have a film starting in early November. Would you be interested in participating?"

Liu Dehua is truly grateful to Su Chao.

He was in a dead end, and it seemed that his only options for survival were to cede territory, pay reparations, and sell himself into servitude.

As a result, Su Chao's song "Chinese" helped him break the deadlock completely.

Not only did he get the approval for the concert, but many people's attitudes towards him also changed. Even banks took the initiative to contact him, saying they could help him through his difficulties.

What's the reason...? Isn't it obvious?

Even the movie script that had already encountered problems fell into his hands again.

Ding Li from "Shanghai Bund"!
The production company behind this script originally intended to give him the role only after he asked to borrow money.

"Sure, what kind of script, what kind of role?"

Su Chao did not refuse.

He can't simply pursue a singing career.

With 365 days a year, at most two albums can be released, and the rest of the time is spent lying around like a corpse?

Therefore, his best path is to debut as a singer while simultaneously gaining connections and experience through acting in films and television dramas.

His acting skills are just so-so; he has more theoretical knowledge than practical experience.

If you give him an Oscar-worthy role now, he simply can't handle it.

I need to play more roles to hone my skills.

As for schooling and training classes, those are just icing on the cake.

"The movie is called 'New Shanghai Bund,' and the character is a member of the China Democratic League. He doesn't have a specific name, but he has quite a lot of screen time. You'll force Leslie Cheung to kneel down for trial, and then kill me in the finale..."

"You want me to die?!"

Su Chao immediately knew who he was to play.

He couldn't write the script for Andy Lau's version of "Shanghai Bund," but he still had some impression of the plot and characters.

Most importantly, the actor who played the role that Andy Lau mentioned was not an unknown.

Jung Woo-sung!
That's right, it's the "husband" from the plastic surgery couple's battle against the rootless old man. Before the surgery, he was Guo Xiaodong, and after the surgery, he became Jung Woo-sung.

This character is the most outstanding among the main characters.

It will definitely attract a lot of attention.

Nonsense! Forcing Leslie Cheung to kneel down for interrogation and almost killing him with a knife, what are Leslie Cheung's fans supposed to think?

Most seriously, he mistakenly believed that Andy Lau had killed Leslie Cheung, so he killed Andy Lau himself.

How many fans does Andy Lau have these days?

You point a gun at their idol and shoot him indiscriminately, riddling him with holes all over his body. What are his fans supposed to think?

"Haha, that's how you make a lasting impression. So, are you interested?"

Liu Dehua went to great lengths to secure this role for Su Chao.

After all, it was a collaboration between him and Leslie Cheung.

The last time such a combination was used was in Wong Kar-wai's "Days of Being Wild".

At that time, Andy Lau was at the height of his popularity, while Leslie Cheung was already a superstar in the music industry. However, Andy Lau didn't have many scenes, while Leslie Cheung was the lead actor, so the two didn't have many scenes together.

This time is different.

This time it's a drama with two male leads, a remake of the once-popular TVB series "The Bund".

Moreover, it was produced by Tsui Hark.

Even for supporting roles, a lot of people want to get in and make an appearance.

"Of course I'm interested. Thank you so much, Brother Hua, I don't know how to thank you enough."

Su Chao didn't hold back either.

"Oh, don't mention thank you or anything. Just write more songs for me in the future."

Su Chao is good at songwriting and has no shortage of good songs; it's only a matter of time before he becomes famous.

Liu Dehua's invitation to Su Chao as a guest at his concert can only be considered as speeding up the pace a bit; it's not a huge favor.

Fortunately, Su Chao also pursues an acting career.

This would give Liu Dehua the opportunity to exchange benefits with Su Chao.

"Don't worry, I've got your title track covered!"

Su Chao laughed heartily.

This is something I've been longing for.

A song costs 100,000 yuan, and in the entire Chinese music scene, there are only about a dozen people who can afford it.

Moreover, they also have top-tier creators with whom they regularly collaborate.

Su Chao also needs to retain major clients.

"Oh, by the way, when is your album being released?"

Liu Dehua had previously wanted to introduce Su Chao to sign with a record company in Hong Kong.

If he were to intervene, the new signing contract for the Scottish Premiership would look better.

I only found out after asking that Su Chao had signed with Red Star Production Company and had already recorded his first album.

"It will be released in multiple locations at the beginning of next month, around National Day..."

After the album was recorded, the work fell to other people.

However, Su Chao will continue to monitor the progress.

"So fast!"

Liu Dehua was startled.

"Haha, it's probably because they gave us the green light; we have a mutual friend."

Su Chao also felt it was very fast. Liu Dehua's reward was a concert, so how could Su Chao, as the songwriter, get nothing?

His album was submitted for approval and review at lightning speed, just like a rocket launch.

Normally, the approval process takes fifteen days to a month, but which album doesn't need revisions?

Even if the cover is too revealing, or the font doesn't meet the requirements... there will always be things you need to change.

It's difficult to talk about money if things don't change.

If any changes are made, this 15-day to 1-month period will need to be refreshed and recalculated.

It's normal to make changes two or three times.

However, Su Chao's new album was never sent back for revisions.

All the approvals were completed in just half a month.

Chan Kin-tim originally planned to release the album in November, which is a golden period for the record industry. Even if the competition is fierce, as long as the song itself is good enough, it may not be impossible to break through.

However, Su Chao went to attend the Princess's concert in mid-October, one in Hong Kong on October 12 and the other in Taipei on October 15.

Then in late October, I went to attend Andy Lau's concert.

You can join any event.

With Andy Lau's wife leading the way, the album will definitely be stocked up in advance, and it's sure to become a huge hit.

This can save a lot of advertising costs.

"This friend is so loyal, hahaha~"

Liu Dehua had previously been somewhat hesitant.

He was worried that if he stood out, he would be suppressed in various ways, and that even the mainland might not be able to protect him.

I never imagined that the mainland had such great power.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have needed to hide it; I would have come out as a pawn long ago.

In one word, cool!

The two chatted happily for a while, and Su Chao was also in a good mood.

Compared to when he first came to Beijing carrying a snakeskin bag and wearing canvas shoes, looking like Stephen Chow in "Shaolin Soccer," his life is now damn much better.

"That's good, great! This time the shot was good!"

Huo Jianqi's shouts attracted Su Chao's attention.

"pass?"

Su Chao was very surprised; he had only gone to the side to make a phone call.

It's still roaming in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan; I didn't dare say too much.

"That was perfect! This last shot was absolutely outstanding; the lighting was just right, it was truly blessed by the heavens!"

Huo Jianqi was a little excited.

The right timing, the right location, and the right people...

He even doubted that he would be able to surpass this shot in any future advertisements.

Thinking about it this way, I suddenly felt a sense of loss.

"That's good, I'll give you a red envelope later!"

Su Chao was also very excited.

However, what excited him was not how well the photos turned out, but that they were all taken in one day, which saved him a lot of money.

"Principal, are you done filming?"

It happened so fast it was almost unbelievable; they hadn't even felt a thing yet.

Isn't it said that when filming for the first time, you often have to do dozens of takes? Even Maggie Cheung did.

How come they finished in just three tries?

This is so frustrating!

"Didn't I tell you? You are all outstanding, possessing energy that you yourselves are unaware of. It took three takes to get it right. Don't you feel ashamed?"

Su Chao pretended to be angry.

He's a specialist in CPUs.

"Sigh... I thought it would take a long time to film, but it was over in just a few minutes."

Zhou Xun wasn't satisfied.

Who among the three of us performed the best?

Zhang Ziyi was more concerned about this.

"Ah, you all did a great job..."

Su Chao felt a chill run down his spine.

Women are such a hassle. Whenever I say one of you is better, it will annoy the other two.

I'm not your husband, I'm not responsible for playing this kind of childish game with you.

If you want to play... that's at a different price.

"This is the best performance."

Huo Jianqi, however, didn't indulge them. He pointed at Zhou Xun and gave his own answer.

Zhang Ziyi didn't dare ask who was second.

Other trainees also gathered around, curiously looking at the various equipment of the film crew.

There will be more filming to come.

If you've paid for a day's rental, you should definitely film for the full day to make it worthwhile.

It's not just about equipment, but also about personnel and facilities.

Su Chao plans to film a music video in the flower field.

"Principal, can we act in your music video?"

The trainees in the second cohort were very dissatisfied.

Why didn't we from the second batch get a single music video?

Talking about the next album? That's a long way off. What if they don't release a second one?

"Principal, I have a lot of acting experience, and I'd like to act in one too..."

It was Zhang Tong who spoke.

She served as an arts troupe soldier, where she learned various performance styles such as drama, skits, singing and dancing.

Actually, there's no problem with taking the test directly.

She's the type who worries that if everyone else goes to training courses, she'll be overtaken if she doesn't.

Fortunately, the training center included a general education class, which suited her perfectly.

"It depends on the situation~"

Su Chao really couldn't agree to her request.

Although you are indeed very good-looking and have a great figure, once I open this door, I will definitely face more pressure from students.

That's too tragic.

"I designed a storyline myself. It's very simple and can be filmed in no time. Principal, you're lying in the flower field, and I'm sitting next to you. All you have to do is sing. Doesn't that sound great?"

Zhang Tong would not give up so easily.

She finally understood: the principal was capable and had high prestige. As long as she could cooperate with the principal, her status as the number one beauty in the second term would be secured.

The other beauties in the second cohort, and even those from the first cohort, glared at her angrily.

Sister, you've gone too far! You even brought your own script!
You're even more shameless than Zhang Ziyi!
Zhang Ziyi glared angrily at this little slut, asking if she didn't know anything about first come, first served.

“It’s really quite nice, but you could have Su Chao sit in the flower field, and you lie on his lap, then throw some flower petals off-screen. That would definitely have a strong visual impact.”

Before Su Chao could say anything, Huo Jianqi had already given a very authoritative evaluation of the MV script.

Absolutely...

It can be done!
(End of this chapter)