Entertainment Era: My Good Sister Is All Over the World

"There's one more thing."

Factory Director Wang hesitated slightly, pausing for two or three seconds before saying, "It's not exactly a good thing, but it's not a bad thing either; it just might cause you some trouble."

Huang Wenbin became curious and asked, "What's wrong?"

A slightly embarrassed expression appeared on Director Wang's face: "A director sent a letter of assistance to Beijing Film Studio, specifically requesting your help in making a film. Because of the earnestness of his words, I couldn't refuse."

"What movie?" Huang Wenbin asked, a thought flashing through his mind. "Could it be Shaolin Temple?"

Factory Director Wang shook his head: "It's still a long way off before filming for Shaolin Temple starts."

Huang Wenbin asked, "What movie is that?"

Factory Director Wang suddenly chuckled and countered, "Besides 'Shaolin Temple,' what other scripts have you sold?"

"A cotton cassock?" Huang Wenbin quickly realized, then exclaimed in astonishment, "It's been several months, and Xi'an Film Studio still hasn't started filming?"

Wang Yang nodded: "Xi'an Film Studio is relatively poor, has few talented people, and its output is always among the lowest."

Director Wang's tone couldn't help but carry a hint of sympathy. "Just last year, Wu Tianming's film 'The Trembling of Life' received some good feedback, but it was still a drop in the ocean. We bought your script because we wanted to take a gamble, but when it came time to start filming, we found that there were still countless difficulties."

"The factory has already held a meeting and decided that we must help this sister factory. You are part of the talent support program, and we will be sending some filming-savvy staff over later."

Huang Wenbin initially wanted to refuse, but quickly realized that it might be an opportunity to test some of his ideas.

He said with a serious expression, "The most important factor in making a good film is actually the martial arts choreography!"

"That's true." Factory Director Wang was well aware of the current shortage of talent in this area in China. "So, what do you plan to do?"

Huang Wenbin said calmly, "When it comes to martial arts instruction, it's definitely better to hire someone from Hong Kong."

"That's a bit difficult," Factory Director Wang shook his head, his tone not very optimistic. "The directors over there are very interested in the Taiwan market and won't come here."

Huang Wenbin chuckled lightly: "Someone has already been here."

"They've been here before?" Factory Director Wang couldn't recall anyone for a moment. "You mean Director Li Hanxiang?"

"It's Director Xu Xiaoming," Huang Wenbin explained. "He's practiced martial arts since childhood and worked as a stuntman and stuntman for over ten years. In recent years, he's also directed some films and television dramas, so he has a wealth of experience. Although he's not one of the top martial arts choreographers in Hong Kong, he's more than capable of directing this film."

Factory Director Wang hesitated and asked, "Then it must be very expensive, right?"

"That's the cheapest among action choreographers," Huang Wenbin continued, suggesting, "Then why not have Xi'an Film Studio co-produce with their film company to share some of the costs? And while we're at it, sign a revenue-sharing agreement to see if we can earn some of the Hong Kong box office revenue—it's foreign exchange, after all."

"That's an idea," Wang Yang nodded, then said, "I'll have Comrade Fu Qi from the left contact this Xu Xiaoming."

Huang Wenbin said, "I have his landline number in Hong Kong, so I can contact him directly."

"Why do you have his number?" Wang Yang asked, puzzled.

Huang Wenbin replied with a smile, "He stayed at a guesthouse a while ago, and then he spent almost half a month in Jiangmen. He's already gotten to know them well."

"You're quite capable," Director Wang smiled approvingly, then added, "But you need to be careful to maintain a proper balance. The policies from above are still unclear. While we won't interfere with your personal relationship, other things are uncertain."

Huang Wenbin nodded: "I know."

"That's all." Factory Director Wang rubbed his hands together and said to Huang Wenbin, "But is there anything you want to ask or mention? You can say it now."

"Indeed, there are." Huang Wenbin asked directly: "What stage is the Shaolin Temple project at? And when does Director Xie plan to start filming 'The Coffin in the Mountain'?"

Director Wang, with an expression that suggested he had expected this, smiled and said, "I knew you were going to ask these two questions. The film 'Shaolin Temple' is a project led by Hong Kong's Great Wall Film Company; we were just there to provide support."

Director Zhang is currently in Shandong casting for a national martial arts competition involving ten provinces, which is being held there. He estimates that once the casting is complete, the competition will begin.

However, since Director Zhang hasn't come looking for us, we have no reason to interfere. Let him be, and don't hold a grudge.

"I have no resentment, anyway, the script was sold to him." Huang Wenbin shook his head inwardly, knowing that Zhang Xinyan's "Shaolin Temple" wouldn't start so soon.

In the original story, after Zhang Xinyan found the actors, he had them train for several months before filming began in the late summer of 1980 and continued until July 1981, taking more than ten months to complete. The film was not released in Hong Kong until February 1982.

Now that Huang Wenbin has a script, it might bring forward the pre-production time, but the time it will take will likely not change much.

Huang Wenbin was just a little disappointed, as it seemed unlikely that he would be able to participate in the film "Shaolin Temple".

Then let's focus all our energy on "The Cotton Robe," which might be released earlier than "Shaolin Temple" and allow us to make a quick buck.

"As for 'The Coffin in the Mountain,' that depends on Director Xie's health," Director Wang sighed, sounding worried. "It might not start filming until the second half of next year."

This project was originally a major focus this year, and filming should have started this month. However, director Xie Tieli is not fully recovered and needs to recuperate for a few more months, so it has been postponed to next year.

Huang Wenbin said, "I hope Grandpa Xie recovers soon."

"Anyway, go help with 'The Cotton Robe' first," Director Wang said, putting aside his distracting thoughts. "The Beijing Film Studio will still provide the subsidy, two yuan a day. As for whether the Xi'an Film Studio will give you any, don't force it; they are indeed facing difficulties there."

Huang Wenbin nodded, understanding naturally.

These days, personal relationships still outweigh personal interests. Seeing how difficult things were at Xi'an Film Studio, Director Wang directly asked for manpower; if it weren't for the inappropriateness of offering money, he might have even considered investing in the studio.

Director Wang said, "Director Wu Tianming from Xi'an Film Studio might be coming over in a while. You should discuss it with him then."

After finishing all the arrangements, Huang Wenbin left the factory manager's office. Too lazy to go back to the school, he went straight back to his room 404.

He now needs to sort out his thoughts and his assets.

The movie "The Cotton Robe" is definitely not as good as "Shaolin Temple", so it needs to be filmed before "Shaolin Temple" and released first.

His plan was to first open a film company in Hong Kong with Xu Xiaoming, and then use this company to co-produce films with Xi'an Film Studio.

In this way, he can get a share of the Hong Kong box office revenue.

Of course, given his current status, he can't open a company in Hong Kong, so he needs to cultivate a spokesperson there.

He had his eye on Cherie Chung as the spokesperson from the very beginning.

He traveled from the future and has the advantage of "foresight".

Chung Chor-hung, seemingly glamorous, is actually very pure and traditional. Despite a long acting career, she has had very few scandals, only some unsubstantiated rumors. She retired from the entertainment industry immediately after marriage, avoiding the messy drama of wealthy family feuds. Even after her husband's death, she remained steadfast and did not remarry.

Huang Wenbin recognized this point and felt that Cherie Chung was an excellent partner for him.

He then tallied up all his income from the past year. The short story royalties added up to a thousand yuan, and the novellas added up to about two thousand. He sold the script for "Shaolin Temple" to Zhang Xinyan for five thousand yuan, "The Cotton Robe" for eight hundred yuan, and the screenwriting fee for "Let the Bullets Fly" was also eight hundred yuan.

In addition, the manuscript fee for these three scripts published in "Film Creation" is 10 yuan per thousand words, which adds up to more than a thousand yuan.

Then there were his manuscript revision subsidies and filming subsidies during this period, which added up to about two hundred yuan.

"Going Out at Eighteen" plus "Winning Against Heaven" cost over six hundred yuan.

"The Benevolent Huang Feihong" actually brought in the majority of revenue, as the circulation of "Foshan Literature and Art" had skyrocketed to 500,000 copies.

They also published a book, which has already sold tens of thousands of copies.

Based on the number of print runs and royalties, he has already received more than 20,000 yuan.

Aside from the money he sent home, Huang Wenbin now has about 30,000 yuan in hand.

Oh, and there's also the 30,000 yuan check deposit that Li Heizi gave me.

In this era, his income is already higher than that of the vast majority of people.

However, it is still far from enough for the cause he wants to pursue.

We still need to find a way to squeeze more money out of them. The fastest way right now is to squeeze it out of Li Hanxiang.

HK$20,000 for a script is still too little.

Huang Wenbin planned to bargain with Li Heizi again to see if he could get the price down to 50,000 yuan.

His scripts are not the kind of stuff written by those flyers in Hong Kong; they are definitely worth more than their price.

After making up his mind, Huang Wenbin began writing a long letter.

One letter was written to Cherie Chung, and the other to Xu Xiaoming.

At this moment, he was filled with emotion and his thoughts flowed freely. He wrote both letters in one go without making any corrections.

After writing the letter, he went straight to the post office and arranged for it to be sent out expedited.