Entertainment Era: My Good Sister Is All Over the World

(Some friends said they don't like the recent plot and are thinking of dropping the series. I'd like to ask what kind of plot you'd like to see. You can reply here and I'll take it into consideration later.)

Du Yuming was quite interested in acting and readily agreed.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Huang Wenbin and his companions said their goodbyes and left.

With most of the main roles finalized, Huang Wenbin stopped interfering with the remaining roles and left the selection process to Wu Tianming.

There are actors at Xi'an Film Studio, so they will definitely be involved.

Wu Tianming was not averse to Huang Wenbin's decision to cast most of the main characters; on the contrary, he found it very efficient.

This way, the crew can get to the filming stage as soon as possible, which is also beneficial to Xi'an Film Studio. If it drags on any longer, the studio will go bankrupt. Why worry about this and that?

Xu Xiaoming and the others should have stayed in hotels catering to foreigners.

However, Xu Xiaoming still preferred to stay at the Beijing Film Studio's guesthouse next to Huang Wenbin's, as this made it convenient for them to discuss matters related to the film crew and filming.

Neither the co-production company nor the film bureau had any objections; it was all for the good of the film, and they were willing to compromise on minor, insignificant matters.

They will be holding meetings constantly these next two days to discuss all aspects of the filming.

We must finalize each and every detail so that we can have a clear plan for the subsequent filming.

……

At this time, Li Xuejian and Zhang Guoli were still staying at the guesthouse.

Because Huang Wenbin kept asking Director Chen to recommend them for guest roles in other film crews, so that they could continue to receive subsidies and stay in guesthouses.

Li Xuejian is no longer confused. Although he still plays supporting roles, his hard-working and conscientious spirit is very popular with his former superiors.

Factory Director Wang Yang, in particular, liked Li Xuejian very much and was already planning to find an opportunity to bring Li Xuejian over from the Air Force Political Department Drama Troupe.

Huang Wenbin called the two of them, along with Zhang Yimou, Zhang Lai, and others, over for a small meeting.

Xu Xiaoming also came with Lin Dian.

As for Cao Rong, he was in a bad mood and sulked alone in his room. Huang Wenbin naturally ignored him, and Xu Xiaoming also planned to give him the cold shoulder for now.

Derek Yee is just a photographer, so naturally he doesn't need to attend this meeting.

Those who can attend Huang Wenbin's small meeting are all talents he is preparing for future company openings and business expansion.

"This is director Xu Xiaoming; you should have all met him before."

Huang Wenbin casually introduced Xu Xiaoming to them, "He came here this time to co-produce a martial arts film with Xi'an Film Studio, called 'The Cotton Robe,' and I wrote the script."

Zhang Yimou and the others already knew, but none of them said anything.

"Xi'an Film Studio was short-staffed, so they asked me to be a planner."

Huang Wenbin was pleased with their attitude, smiled, and continued, "This film is sure to be a hit. As your friend, I certainly won't forget you, so I plan to include you in the filming. Do you have any objections?"

"Brother Wen, you're absolutely right!" Zhang Lai was the first to express his support, saying confidently, "We were able to start filming so early entirely thanks to you. If you need anything done, just say the word, and I, Zhang Lai, will go through fire and water for you."

Zhang Yimou blushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed for Zhang Lai, but still replied, "I'm definitely fine."

Li Xuejian nodded in agreement, saying, "I'll do whatever Teacher Huang says. You would never harm us."

"And you?" Everyone turned to look at Zhang Guoli.

Zhang Guoli was stunned for a moment, then turned around: "Huh? What?"

"What are you thinking about?" Huang Wenbin asked, somewhat puzzled. "You seem a little distracted."

Zhang Guoli smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "It's my wife. She's in the Chengdu Railway Art Troupe, you know. We've been apart for a few months, and she's been urging me to go back."

"You're not married to her yet, are you?" Zhang Lai scoffed. "And this woman's already trying to control you?"

Zhang Guoli scratched his head: "She's just urging me to go back and get married."

"That's your private matter, we won't interfere." Huang Wenbin didn't want to get involved in their affairs, and casually said, "The film 'The Cotton Robe' will take at least four or five months to shoot, and we'll be going to Inner Mongolia, Henan, Hubei, and other places. So if you decide to join the crew, you might not be able to return to Chengdu for more than half a year."

Zhang Guoli's eyes darted around, and after weighing the pros and cons for a few seconds, he gritted his teeth and said, "I choose to join the crew!"

"That's right!" Xu Xiaoming laughed, patting Zhang Guoli on the shoulder. "A man should prioritize his career. Once you've built your career, you'll have no trouble finding a good wife."

Zhang Guoli was actually conflicted because his relationship with the Chengdu Railway Art Troupe was still going strong; it was his girlfriend's family who had helped him get the job.

"Don't worry so much," Huang Wenbin said calmly. "The road is winding, but the future is bright. As long as you keep getting roles and gradually grow, these film studios will definitely be eager to hire you."

Zhang Lai said with a smile, "That's right, just like Xue Jian. Director Wang has praised him by name several times, saying that he will definitely transfer him over."

Li Xuejian said somewhat embarrassedly, "Director Wang was just saying it casually, don't take it seriously."

After exchanging pleasantries, the group dispersed.

The specific roles and tasks will be determined in detail at the meeting.

Finally, only Xu Xiaoming and Huang Wenbin remained in the room, and they needed to discuss some more confidential matters.

Others were used to it, since the two of them were the most influential people in the "Cotton Robe" production team.

"Brother Xu, how's the thing I asked you to do going?" Huang Wenbin asked directly.

Xu Xiaoming asked with a half-smile, "Are you referring to the company, or to Chung Chu-hung?"

"Of course it's the company," Huang Wenbin said calmly.

"Sigh, I feel sorry for Hongmei." Xu Xiaoming shook his head and said, "She's been running around for you and even held shares on your behalf, and you don't even care about her."

Huang Wenbin wasn't fooled and said, "She's already written to me about her situation, so I don't need to ask you."

"So you two were dating all along!" Xu Xiaoming mouthed "Wow!" and said to Huang Wenbin, "You're really quick on the uptake, you've only met a few times and you've already got her?"

Huang Wenbin didn't offer much explanation, but simply urged, "Tell me about the situation over there."

"The company is all set up," Xu Xiaoming said slowly, his playful grin fading slightly. "You own 40% of the shares, and Liu Songren and I each own 30%. After all, we're all counting on your scripts to make a fortune."

Huang Wenbin is undoubtedly the best in this regard; he has too many potentially hit scripts in his mind, but he currently lacks the opportunity and talent to bring them to life.

Xu Xiaoming and Liu Songren had both run companies before, and each one lost money. They knew all too well the importance of a suitable leader, so they wisely handed over the lion's share to Huang Wenbin.

Huang Wenbin took out two pre-prepared script outlines from his pocket and handed them to Xu Xiaoming.

"Shaolin Temple?"

Xu Xiaoming was stunned when he saw the first script outline: "What do you mean? You're going to compete with director Zhang Xinyan for the same release date?"

Such snatching of photos is commonplace in Hong Kong, especially in the early days of Shaw Brothers, who frequently used this tactic to suppress their rivals.

For example, if a certain company wanted to make a film called "The Butterfly Lovers," Shaw Brothers would also make one, and they would make it faster and release it earlier, thus exhausting the competitor's box office potential in advance.

"No!" Huang Wenbin shook his head and told Xu Xiaoming his plan.

Huang Wenbin first made his prediction: "Director Zhang Xinyan's 'Shaolin Temple' will definitely be a hit, and it will be a huge hit, sweeping across all of Asia."

"At that time, all the actors in the cast will become incredibly famous."

"But they are all from mainland martial arts teams and receive fixed salaries."

"So, after 'Shaolin Temple' became a huge hit, you immediately invited them to participate in 'Shaolin Kids' under the name of 'Civilized People's Films'. This movie might even do higher at the Hong Kong box office than 'Shaolin Temple'."

Although Xu Xiaoming didn't quite believe that "Shaolin Temple" would become that popular, he still followed Huang Wenbin's line of thought and said, "If 'Shaolin Temple' becomes popular, there will definitely be many companies that want to hire them to make movies. First of all, leftist films will be ahead of our company in the list."

"Yes, that's why I prepared the script in advance!" Huang Wenbin patted the outline of the script for "Shaolin Kids" and said with a smile, "No one can write a script as fast or as well as I can. Of course, this is just the first step."

"The second step is that our company must make a name for itself before that, otherwise it won't attract the attention of China Film Group."

Huang Wenbin spoke slowly and earnestly, saying, "This is also why I insisted that you direct 'The Cotton Robe,' to let the higher-ups see in advance that you have the ability."

Xu Xiaoming nodded. So that's how it is. No wonder Huang Wenbin wanted him to finish filming "Huo Yuanjia" as soon as possible and then rush to the mainland to take on this task.

"To become famous, you must have good works and achieve good box office results."

Huang Wenbin flipped to the second script outline, which showed "The Ring," and said, "This script is for this purpose."

"A ghost story? A movie?" Xu Xiaoming looked at the title and casually flipped through the script. "Is this script any good?"

Huang Wenbin nodded: "Absolutely."

The Ring is a Japanese horror film released in 1998, adapted from the first volume of Koji Suzuki's science fiction novel, The Ring, published in 1991.

That's right, the original works of "The Ring" are actually science fiction novels, and there are four of them.

However, the director and screenwriter took some ideas and fragments from the original work and adapted them into a horror movie.

The film was released in Hong Kong in April 1999, grossing over 30 million HKD and surpassing Stephen Chow's "King of Comedy" and Jackie Chan's "Gorgeous" to become the box office champion of the year. Meanwhile, the production cost of "The Ring" at the time was less than 600,000 to 700,000 RMB.

It has great potential.

Moreover, the core trick of this movie is the recording and the landline phone. The cell phone is not something that is 100% necessary for the plot. Many scenes have alternative scenes, and it is easy to modify.

After reviewing the script outline, Xu Xiaoming nodded and said, "I understand. It does resemble the current Hong Kong New Wave films in some ways, but it's clearly a better script than theirs."

"If I could go to Hong Kong back then, I would have filmed it myself."

Huang Wenbin then instructed, "If I don't have time to go, then please ask Gui Zhishi or Mou Dunfei to film it. You will be the producer and keep track of the appropriate level of detail."

Xu Xiaoming chuckled and waved two stacks of manuscript paper: "Then you'll have to do it. Who can be as good as you?"

"No rush. When we're making the movie, I'll gradually refine the script and even draw up the storyboards."

Huang Wenbin said with a smile, "As long as you follow the instructions, there will absolutely be no problem."

Finally, he elevated the theme slightly: "At that time, you will be in Hong Kong and I will be on the mainland. We will work together, support each other, and create a golden age of arts and culture."

"leave."

Xu Xiaoming wasn't fooled. He waved his hand and said, "It sounds really awkward. Don't say such high-sounding things in the future. It gives me goosebumps."