Huayu 1995

Chapter 326 Where do you get your confidence? (Seeking monthly votes)

Regional General Manager Lu Yu finally understood that Su Chao wasn't playing hard to get; he genuinely didn't want to discuss the Pepsi endorsement.

I don't think now is the best time.

why?
Where do you get your confidence?

Could it be because of his movie that's going to be released this summer?

Damn, does he think he's Ekin Cheng?!
In January of this year, a film titled "Young and Dangerous" was released, followed by "Young and Dangerous 2" in March. This film transformed Ekin Cheng, who replaced Kenny Ho as the leader of Causeway Bay, into a rising star.

It's ridiculous; there aren't that many Ekin Chengs in the entertainment industry.

After leaving the restaurant, Lü Bu opened the car door for Su Chao and let him get in.

“Principal, I actually think 300 million is quite a lot.”

Lü Bu felt like he was dreaming.

Last year's million-dollar deal with Wahaha was only finalized through a special agreement.

Pepsi offered Su Chao 300 million yuan for two years, but he complained it wasn't enough.

"Giving Aaron Kwok 800 and us 300 is such an insult."

The market prices in Hong Kong are much higher than in mainland China; three million is the annual price for a second-tier female star.

The top-tier earners earn even more, such as Michelle Yeoh, Princess Diana, Anita Mui, and former Joey Wong. They now earn around five to six million, which is about three million a year.

Male celebrities earn even more, with many earning tens of millions.

Su Chao felt that even if he couldn't make three million a year, two million would definitely be worthwhile.

That is, the price he would pay for ten songs.

If the price is any lower, then there's no point in endorsing the product at all.

Drinking too much cola is bad for you!
Once "My Sassy Girl" is released, I won't do it for less than five million.

How far is this place from the Milky Way Image?

Su Chao suddenly asked a question.

"Three or four blocks away, it's a bit far. They're poor, they don't have the money to work in this area."

Lü Bu's fate is uncertain.

"Five."

The fake Taoist priest took over the conversation.

Although he wasn't as daring as a monk, and although he enjoyed getting his feet washed, he wasn't incompetent in his job duties.

Su Chao had long since memorized the street maps of the places he frequented.

Before each trip to Hong Kong, he would review the neighborhood map in case Su Chao wanted to go to certain places.

We can't just flip through a map on the spot.

"Let's go see. I wonder what kind of movie they're planning to make next. After all, I'm still getting paid by them."

It wasn't a lot of money, but at least it conveyed the meaning.

Milkyway Image was somewhat at a loss when Su Chao arrived.

This former nightclub kid has now become a force to be reckoned with, so much so that Yau Nai-hoi called Wai Ka-fai directly.

Neither Wai Ka-fai nor Johnnie To were at the company—they don't work 9 to 6.

After meeting You Naihai, Su Chao got what he wanted.

This guy has two scripts that Su Chao wants.

One was "Dark Flower," and I received 70,000 yuan.

The other game, "Dark War," has a bigger discount, and you can get it for 40,000 yuan.

However, Su Chao did not leave immediately.

Acquiring the rights to "The Longest Nite" does not mean that Su Chao will abandon Milkyway Image and choose to make the film himself.

In fact, most of Milkyway Image's films do not have scripts, except for "The Birth of a Gangster," which had a complete script.

In other Milkyway Image productions, the scripts mostly only provide the general direction of the plot.

Many details were pieced together on the spot.

Some even allow actors to improvise freely.

"Is the company planning any new projects recently?"

The company Su Chao mentioned is Galaxy Pictures, and he can be considered a member of the company in a way.

"The Birth of a Gangster" was a box office flop, grossing only a little over three million Hong Kong dollars in both Hong Kong and Taiwan combined.

The loss wasn't significant, considering the initial cost wasn't much.

However, this was definitely a slap in the face for the newly established Milkyway Image.

This completely woke up those ambitious old fogies.

However, judging from Yu Nai-hai's behavior during the conversation, this defeat did not break everyone's spirits.

Anyway, it's really fun to make the movies I want to make.

"Make a movie about firefighters putting out fires...no script yet."

Yu Nai-hai had nothing to hide.

"It leans more towards business..."

Su Chao knew this movie; it was "Lifeline" starring Lau Ching-wan and Alex Fong, one of the better-performing early Milkyway Image films at the box office.

"Well, you're right..."

Yu Nai-hai didn't specify what he said was correct.

The two fell into a brief silence.

When Milkyway Image was founded, Su Chao said that we should pursue both art and commerce simultaneously.

Although the people from Milkyway Image did not refute him on the spot, they did not take Su Chao's words seriously.

There is a consensus among everyone.

Good movies will definitely have people who praise them and watch them. Even if the box office isn't that high, at least they won't fail to make money.

Unfortunately, everyone was wrong.

Su Chao is right.

When Wei Jiahui arrived at the company, Su Chao and You Naihai were having tea.

"Why didn't you let us know you were coming to Hong Kong? The company could have sent someone to pick you up."

Compared to Johnnie To's aloofness, Wai Ka-fai is much more amiable.

"No need for that trouble, a friend will pick me up at the airport."

Su Chao chuckled.

I'm just a nobody making a measly thousand yuan a month, how could I possibly deserve you sending a car to pick me up?

"So, have you had any good ideas lately?"

Wai Ka-fai received a call informing him that Su Chao wanted to come to Milkyway Image to discuss a new script, so he rushed over.

In fact, he and Johnnie To had an unpleasant argument about Su Chao and Andy Lau establishing Galaxy Pictures.

This was also the first time they had argued about something outside of the movie.

When Su Chao presented "My Sassy Girl," Milkyway Image rejected him, so he took another approach and collaborated with Andy Lau.

This made Wai Ka-fai very unhappy. He felt extremely embarrassed.

After all, it was he who invited Su Chao to Hong Kong in the first place, and Su Chao came to see him.

As a result, Su Chao started his own company, Galaxy Pictures.

The Milky Way and the Star River have a somewhat defiant feel to them.

But in reality, Su Chao had no intention of being associated with Milkyway Image.

He did not directly present the script for "The Dark Flower".

Instead, he took out a piece of paper and wrote and explained on it, quickly providing the story structure and character settings for "The Dark Flower".

Wei Jiahui and You Naihai listened intently, their eyes shining.

The way people looked at Su Chao was filtered through a "Holy crap, that's awesome" lens.

That kid's a beast.

Is this the kind of script a 19-year-old like you could come up with?
"The sense of destiny is too strong!"

Yu Naihai sighed.

He felt that if Su Chao wasn't so talented, he should have become Milkyway Image's go-to screenwriter.

After all, few people can fit Milkyway Image's style so well.

He would have to admit defeat.

"I'm in charge of this script. The company can film it, and we'll make arrangements as soon as possible."

Wai Ka-fai also expressed his satisfaction.

“I’ll give you 100,000 for this script, and I’ll also designate two actors, or rather, both of them are actors we used in ‘The Birth of a Gangster’.”

Su Chao never thought he would go in and act.

There really wasn't a role in "The Dark Flower" that was particularly suitable for him.

It's not worth making a long trip just for a cameo role.

Su Chao's current plan is to use albums to make money, build his commercial value, and establish his status in the entertainment industry.

Film and television projects are primarily for making money and honing acting skills.

Once your acting skills are good enough, find a script that can win awards and become a legend in one fell swoop.

Aren't you involved in the project?

One hundred thousand dollars is not cheap, but Su Chao has done a good job with the plot and character design. For the Hong Kong production team, which doesn't really need a script, this is equivalent to giving them a complete script.

A good script deserves 100,000 yuan, which is reasonable.

"I have other things to do and don't have time to be on set. My brother Hai can come along."

Su Chao was referring to You Naihai.

"Whom to designate?"

Wei Jiahui did not try to persuade Su Chao further.

Su Chao's status in the music industry is equivalent to that of a top-tier singer; the title of "Little King" is well-deserved, as that is his main profession.

"Police officer Ah Chen and assassin Yao Dong, one played by Francis Ng, the other by Sean Lau..."

Su Chao actually designated Francis Ng.

But saying it like that makes people think he has no selfish motives.

"I think it's okay!"

Wai Ka-fai agreed without hesitation; they were all actors he frequently worked with.

His acting skills were also highly recognized by him and Du Sir.

"Then I'll take my leave. I'll organize the script later and have someone send it over here. We can discuss the project's progress by phone."

Su Chao immediately stood up.

"No, we've come all this way, aren't we going to have a meal together?"

Yu Nai-hai was dumbfounded.

He was even thinking about throwing a welcome banquet for Su Chao and getting all the people from Milkyway Image together.

"To be honest, I just had dinner with people from Pepsi, and I have three meetings scheduled for today."

Su Chao chose to tell the truth.

Since that's the case, Wai Ka-fai and Yau Nai-hoi decided not to keep them any longer.

Su Chao did not produce the script for "Dark War".

This script will definitely be produced by Galaxy Pictures itself.

In 1999, the film ranked ninth among Chinese-language films at the box office with HK$1500 million.

It was 1996, and the Hong Kong film market wasn't in such a bad state yet. If the movie were made, the box office would only be higher.

We can borrow a group of people from Milkyway Image to help out at that time.

Thanks to Su Chao's special contributions to the screenplays of the films "The Birth of a Gangster" and "The Longest Nite".

Even Milkyway Image felt embarrassed to refuse his request to lend them people.

Unfortunately, these kinds of films may not be easy to get into mainland China, partly because there are few slots available and partly because the screening process is quite strict.

Su Chao's next meeting is with Francis Ng.

Besides Francis Ng, there are also Sean Lau, Carman Lee, and Kathy Chow.

This is his proposed cast list for "Phone Booth".

Starring Francis Ng, with Sean Lau playing a policeman, Carman Lee playing Francis Ng's wife, and Kathy Chow playing his lover.

In addition, Andy Lau plays an assassin.

However, he went to the mainland to film the music video for "Chinese People" and is not in Hong Kong for the time being.

When Su Chao arrived, Chen Peihua was chatting with a few of them.

Su Chao's involvement is not required for the actor invitation.

Chen Peihua took over.

Su Chao is a film director, so this time he didn't hire Benny Chan again.

This movie is relatively simple, both in terms of plot and setting, making it suitable for Su Chao to practice on.

"Chao Zai is here! Nice to meet you!"

Francis Ng, Carman Lee, and Sean Lau have all met Su Chao.

The former starred in Su Chao's "My Sassy Girl," while Lau Ching-wan and Carman Lee met Su Chao when Milkyway Image was established.

But they never expected that Su Chao, who was just a nobody back then, would become such an important figure in their work and life so quickly.

Now, Su Chao is a director and screenwriter, and they are the actors.

They were Su Chao's soldiers.

This was the first time Zhou Haimei had met Su Chao.

Mainland Chinese people's impression of her mainly comes from her role as Zhou Zhiruo in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber", Jacky Cheung's MV "Goodbye Kiss", and a fight scene with Stephen Chow.

It's a real fight scene, the serious kind.

(End of this chapter)