Huayu is here for you

Chapter 181 The Banquet

The casting of Li Ming, who had no knowledge of Peking Opera, as Mei Lanfang backfired, causing the art of Peking Opera, which should have shone brightly, to be relegated to the background in the film. This became an insurmountable technical hurdle that both the director and the actor avoided.

Moreover, the "small group scene" in the movie is the best illustration, but how much of it was actually filmed?

The duet between the grandfather and grandson was captivating, and the end of the old-style Peking Opera was heartbreaking. If Yin Zhi could play the second half of Mei Lanfang, Lin Yu felt that the performance alone would be worth the tens of yuan in the audience's ticket money.

Unfortunately, Chen Kaige was never able to fully present his ideal and perfect Mei Lanfang to the audience, which is probably the most regrettable aspect of this film.

But you can't blame him! As mentioned before, even Lin Yu would be hesitant about this! He'd hesitate for two or three days, and whether he'd actually dare to do it in the end is another matter!

After the premiere, at the banquet for "Mei Lanfang", Chen Kaige greeted everyone and then went directly to Lin Yu. Accompanying him was Han Sanping, whom Lin Yu had not seen for a long time.

Lin Yu was initially puzzled! When Chen Kaige told him to have a proper talk at the premiere, he was thinking of discussing the movie "Mei Lanfang"! He never expected that Chen Kaige would actually talk about "The Founding of a Republic".

"Little Lin! Are you interested? Your senior brother has already agreed." Han Sanping, who came with Chen Kaige, asked Lin Yu with a smile:

Lin Yu glanced at Chen Kaige and nodded in agreement, meaning: Why don't you join in too!

"Hehe—Chairman Han, with you personally leading the charge, plus my senior brother, isn't that enough?" Lin Yu thought for a moment and laughed, "How could that be enough? It's been so long since I've made a movie; I'll have to rely entirely on you guys! Oh, and—Feng Xiaogang will be coming too." Han Sanping added, "Director Feng?—Chairman Han, is there anyone else?"

"That's all. I only wanted to book three people. You're the last one, so hurry up and do me the honor of giving your Uncle Han some face?"

Linyu: ————

"So, I took the spot that Director Chen had given me?" Lin Yu thought to himself.

He remembered that there was a Chen Kexin in the original timeline!

"Since you've already said so much, what else can I do? Just let me know when the time comes. But Mr. Han, I need to tell you in advance that I don't have much time. A week or two is fine, but any longer and I won't be able to free up any more time," Lin Yu said with a smile after considering it.

Hearing Lin Yu's answer, Han Sanping and Chen Kaige couldn't help but grin.

It doesn't matter how long or how many shots they take, all they want is for Lin Yu to come!

After all, they knew that Lin Yu had a lot on his plate right now. He was in charge of the post-production and special effects for "Wanted" and the movie "Your Name" was in production.

Not to mention there's an Inception movie waiting for him overseas!

And a while ago, this guy went abroad and set up some kind of special effects company, upgrading the shooting equipment for starlight both domestically and internationally.

They're even busier than them!

"Okay, no problem, I'll arrange the time accordingly." Han Sanping happily clinked glasses with Lin Yu.

At the premiere banquet for "Mei Lanfang," although Chen Kaige was the host, Lin Yu was even more popular than his junior fellow apprentice.

People kept coming up to chat with him.

"Director Lin! Long time no see!"

"Director Lin, it's been so long since we've worked together—"

"Director Lin, how's the movie 'Your Name' coming along?"

"Director Lin, about your film 'Inception'—"

Lin Yu, feeling a bit parched, took a moment to sit down in a corner of the banquet after seeing off yet another group of people who had tried to curry favor with him.

I plan to eat something to fill my stomach and drink some beverage to soothe my throat.

But before he could even begin to enjoy his meal, another familiar woman walked over.

"Don't you have any tact? Can't you see I'm tired and want to rest?"

Lin Yu watched the smiling figure walking towards him and thought to himself, "Heh—Director Lin! Long time no see! Have you already forgotten about me? You didn't even say hello?"

""

With her captivating gait, Zhang Ziyi gracefully walked over to Lin Yu and plopped down in the seat next to him.

Lin Yu stared at the woman who was smiling and raising her glass to him with dead fish eyes, thinking to himself: Damn it!

"Hehe, Sister Zhang, what are you saying? How could I forget you? We talked too much earlier! I thought I'd rest here for a bit." Lin Yu said with a smile in her eyes.

As he spoke, he picked up his wine glass from the table and clinked it against hers.

Seeing Lin Yu's changing expression, Zhang Ziyi clearly didn't take it to heart, or rather—even if she did, she couldn't show it.

So after taking a sip of red wine, Zhang Ziyi smiled and said, "Director Lin, I heard you went to Hollywood again recently?"

You even founded a special effects company? To be honest, my husband works in film and television there now, so maybe you two can collaborate sometime! I'd appreciate your help then.

"Not at all! Your man is a senior to me too. If we ever have the chance to work together again, I'll definitely give him a discount!" Lin Yu put down his wine glass and laughed. "Hehe—thank you very much, Director Lin! Oh! By the way, Director Lin, when is your movie 'Wanted' scheduled for release? Could you reserve a ticket for my sister in advance? I've been looking forward to this movie you and my brother are working on for a long time!"

"Is this some kind of desperate attempt to help out? Or is it just a publicity stunt?" Lin Yu thought to himself. "Maybe around the end of April or the beginning of May next year! I'll definitely send you an invitation then."

"May Day? May Day is not bad, hehe—but have you considered the National Day or Lunar New Year holiday? I think most of the big directors these days are aiming for the Lunar New Year holiday. If you want to release your film during this period, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"And maybe the box office will be even higher!" Zhang Ziyi suggested.

Lin Yu secretly rolled her eyes. "Do you think I don't know about scheduling issues? Do I need you to tell me? Can't I choose whichever release date I want? Are there any directors in China these days who dare to go against me?"

"If it weren't for Lu Taro waiting for me to deal with, I could release 'Wanted' and 'Your Name' during the Lunar New Year and Chinese New Year holidays respectively, and who wouldn't give me face? Besides, the current Chinese New Year releases aren't even on the radar of the major directors!"

However, Lin Yu suddenly paused, his mind blank.

"Isn't the behemoth *Avatar* about to be released? And this thing single-handedly elevated the Chinese New Year film season to the same level as the Lunar New Year film season. Everyone will be stunned by its box office performance during that season!"

In China, there are only two major film seasons in a year: the summer season and the Lunar New Year season. The summer season is also allocated to foreign films, so the big-budget films produced by major Chinese directors are usually released during the Lunar New Year season.

However, since Avatar, the Spring Festival period has immediately become one of the top choices for directors when selecting release dates.

"Early January 2010? There's still a little over a year to go before this movie that will sweep the global film industry with 3D is released. That means next year's Spring Festival film season will be the last one that domestic directors don't care about. In that case, should I still make 'Your Name'? After all, it's the movie that Ms. Liu really wants to make. Maybe I shouldn't be so impulsive?"

"Director Lin—what are you muttering about?"

Seeing Lin Yu suddenly lost in thought, Zhang Ziyi couldn't help but ask, "Ah? Oh—nothing! I was just thinking about the scheduling issue you mentioned." Lin Yu chuckled and said:

Zhang Ziyi felt a pang of helplessness upon hearing Lin Yu's clearly perfunctory words! However, she then began to envy Liu Yifei!

"If I were ten years younger—or even just five—I'd be the same age as this man in front of me, and I'd definitely have to pursue him! How could such an outstanding man be won over by that immature little girl?"

Just as Lin Yu and Zhang Ziyi were deep in thought, Li Ming slowly walked over with a wine glass in his hand.

He had long wanted to get to know Lin Yu. If he hadn't taken on the role of Mei Lanfang when Lin Yu was casting for "Wanted," he would have gone to audition long ago!

After all, those who know Chen Kaige understand what he's like! If you dare to take on other projects while filming one of his movies, he'll make sure you can never film any more movies in the Beijing film circle again! Not to mention, Lin Yu, who currently has the greatest influence in the domestic film and television industry, is still his junior!

It's not impossible that you won't be able to take on any more mainland dramas in the future.

My past life's Da Mi Mi is a living example!

However, if Yang Mi were to get another role in that original timeline in this lifetime, she probably wouldn't dare to film any other dramas at the same time!

"Director Lin, hello, I'm Li Ming!" Li Ming smiled, holding his wine glass, and bowed slightly to Lin Yu as he spoke.

Lin Yu, who was debating whether to release "Your Name" during the 09 Spring Festival, was pulled out of his thoughts by Li Ming's words.

"King Li! I've heard so much about you!" Lin Yu smiled and clinked glasses with Li Ming, saying, "Hehe—Director Lin, you flatter me. I'm just an artist." Li Ming replied modestly:

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu thought to himself, "He's still as humble as he was in the original timeline!"

When it comes to Li Ming, most people probably think he's the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings!

This viewpoint is neither entirely wrong nor entirely right!

Because time plays a major role here.

After all, no one can stay popular forever—except for Andy Lau, who is a special case!

Lai Ming was truly at the height of his popularity in the 90s, right after he was named one of the Four Heavenly Kings. At that time, the most popular saying was: "You're popular? Are you more popular than Lai Ming?"

However, since the millennium, Lai Ming, who was once suspected to be the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings, has slowly begun to decline.

However, Lin Yu still admired him quite a bit, not only because of his title as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, but also because of the charitable work he did!

And there's another reason: Li Ming was also born in Kyoto, and he only moved to Hong Kong Island when he was about 4 years old! So it's not an exaggeration to say that he and Lin Yu are practically from the same hometown.

"You're too modest. How about we collaborate sometime?" Lin Yu smiled and said.

Li Ming: ω

Zhang Ziyi: →—→

"You weren't like this with me just now!" Zhang Ziyi thought with some resentment.

"Okay! Thank you, Director Lin! Thank you. Just call me when you have the chance, and I'll definitely come." Li Ming immediately put the cup on the table, put his hands together respectfully, and said, "Sit down! Why are you standing there? Besides, we're practically from the same hometown, so there's no need to be so polite. You were born in Beijing, right?" Lin Yu pointed to the seat next to him.

Li Ming first nodded to Zhang Ziyi, then pulled out a chair and sat down next to Lin Yu.

"Yes, Director Lin, I went to Hong Kong Island when I was four years old. I lived in Kyoto until the 1970s," Li Ming said with a smile.

Lin Yu nodded. "Hmm, I do know a little about it, haha—speaking of which, I only just met all four of Hong Kong's Heavenly Kings today."

"Oh? Director Lin, when did you meet your first three?" Zhang Ziyi interjected, seizing the opportunity.

Lin Yu glanced at the woman with surprise. "You really know how to find a way to strike up a conversation, don't you?"

"I've known Brother Hua for a while now, since 'The Martian.' The other two auditioned for 'Wanted,' that's how we met," Lin Yu said, composing himself. "Hehe—come to think of it, I actually met all three of these superstars during my auditions, except for you, King Li!"

"No way, Director Lin, just call me by my name. I can't handle you calling me 'Heavenly King' all the time!" Li Ming shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Hehe—Director Lin, look at your influence now! Even the Four Heavenly Kings say they can't handle it anymore." Zhang Ziyi laughed and said, "You can handle it? Stop chattering away. I'm just chatting with my fellow countryman, why are you always interrupting?" Lin Yu thought to himself, somewhat annoyed.

"Then I'll take your word for it, Li Ming!"

"It's alright, Director Lin. I feel better when you call me by my name!"

Looking at Li Ming's unpretentious manner, Lin Yu's opinion of him improved even more.

"Hehe, alright! But don't get your hopes up too high right now. I probably won't be making any big moves anytime soon. After all, I've been making quite a few big moves lately, and I'm a bit tired. But—are you interested in a low-budget film?" Lin Yu thought for a moment and then suddenly said, "—So straightforward?" Li Ming felt a little excited.

"No problem, Director Lin, I can do it."

Lin Yu smiled and said, "Listen carefully! I'm talking about a low budget. I won't give you the same four million as my senior brother! Otherwise, the film can't be made! And—I might not even be the director."

Li Ming: ————