Huayu: Starting with Hijacking from "The Story of a Noble Family"

Chapter 88 Casting for "The Condor Heroes", New Movie

On Friday, May 28th, "Our Times" officially premiered in Hong Kong, and Zhang Da Huzi also arrived in Hong Kong that day.

After attending ATV's anniversary celebration on the 29th, Liu Yifei went straight back to Beijing.

Zhang Da Huzi will remain in Hong Kong and will visit Jin Yong tomorrow.

Now is a sensitive time for casting for "The Return of the Condor Heroes", so he certainly can't take Liu Yifei to visit Jin Yong again.

Besides, he hasn't made a decision yet about who will play Xiaolongnu, and it's not something he can decide alone.

It also depends on the investors' opinions, or more accurately, whether he can persuade the investors.

The box office figures for "Our Times" in Hong Kong for its first three days were released on Monday.

The film grossed HK$240 million on its opening Friday, HK$260 million on its second Saturday, and HK$210 million on Sunday.

The film grossed HK$7.1 million in its first three days, receiving a very positive response, much to the delight of Media Asia.

In Hong Kong, the revenue sharing ratio between producers and distributors is higher, exceeding 50%.

With a box office of HK$700 million, Media Asia can receive HK$350 million, which is roughly equivalent to US$45, enough to recoup the cost of the theatrical release rights and distribution fees.

If the box office reaches HK$1200 million, it will be enough to recoup all costs, and the rest will be pure profit.

Based on the current situation, there is almost no problem for "Our Times" to gross over HK$1200 million at the Hong Kong box office, and it may even exceed HK$1500 million!

Of course, no matter how high the box office is, it has nothing to do with Xu, but he doesn't care that much about it.

Another day later, Xie Tingfeng publicly admitted for the first time that he and Wang Fei had broken up, causing a sensation in the entertainment industry.

There's been a new development in the casting for "The Return of the Condor Heroes." A reporter photographed a picture of South Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun as the desktop background on Zhang Da-huzi's office computer, sparking speculation that Jun Ji-hyun would play Xiaolongnu. Zhang Da-huzi immediately denied this.

Previously, a reporter asked Zhang Dahuzi if he had considered inviting Xie Tingfeng to play Yang Guo. Zhang Dahuzi said that Xie Tingfeng's schedule was too tight, and that the production of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" would try to consider mainland actors.

It's obvious they never considered Xie Tingfeng at all; they were just being polite.

As it turns out, Wang Jing later revealed that Yang Guo was initially intended to be played by Xie Tingfeng, which was obviously a shameless attempt to ride on the coattails of Xie Tingfeng's popularity and to glorify himself and Hong Kong stars!

Meanwhile, Xu is preparing for his new film.

His main purpose in making this film was not for box office revenue or making money; he couldn't gain skill points from works that weren't intercepted from the system.

His real goal was to cultivate his own team and crew, so he chose another campus-themed film that wasn't too difficult to shoot.

The team that filmed "Our Times" was pretty good, but their skill level is definitely not comparable to that of a truly top-tier team; they still need to be nurtured gradually.

He didn't have the ability to cultivate it before, but now it's naturally different.

However, some people are definitely not suitable, so he will invite the suitable people again this time, and the remaining people can continue to be supplemented from Beijing Film Academy.

Back at school, Liu Yifei continued attending classes and occasionally met up with Shu Chang for a meal, but she didn't see Xu Heng again.

But every few days she would contact Xu to discuss topics about the new movie and share her own thoughts.

And so, a week passed.

On Monday, June 7th, the box office results for "Our Times" in Hong Kong for its second week were released.

With a single-week box office of HK$532 million and a total box office of HK$1242 million in Hong Kong, Media Asia has already recouped all its costs.

On Wednesday, June 9th, F4 member Zhou Yumin's birthday, nine superstars including Jay Chou, Cai Yilin, Guo Fucheng, and Chen Guanxi gathered in Hong Kong to celebrate Zhou Yumin's birthday.

F4 is still very popular now, and the members seem to have a good relationship, unlike in the future when they would cause trouble for a concert.

A few days later, on Monday, June 14th, the box office report for "Our Times" in Hong Kong for the third week came out.

The film grossed HK$248 million in its first week, bringing its total box office in Hong Kong to HK$1490 million. The final box office is expected to be around HK$1700 million.

In its previous life, "Our Times" grossed over HK$4000 million at the Hong Kong box office.

It's also important to know that the Hong Kong and Taiwan film markets didn't develop as rapidly as the mainland market in those years.

In the 15 years since "Our Times" was released in the previous life, the gap between the Hong Kong and Taiwan film markets and the current ones was not that big; it was probably at most two or three times larger.

So, the box office revenue of over 4000 million Hong Kong dollars in the previous life is roughly equivalent to 1500 to 2000 million Hong Kong dollars in today's box office revenue.

The box office in Taiwan was NT$410 million, which is roughly equivalent to NT$150 million to NT$200 million today.

This version of "Our Times" has undergone many adaptations, and the campus life depicted in the film is very different from that in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

However, campus life in Taiwan and Hong Kong is very different, so the box office in Hong Kong is roughly the same as in the previous life, while the box office in Taiwan is definitely far from comparable to that in the previous life!

Two days later, on June 16, Tencent officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The issue price was HK$3.7, with a total of 4.2 million shares issued, representing 25% of the total share capital.

The opening price was HK$4.375, the closing price was HK$4.16, and the market capitalization at the close reached HK$69.88 billion.

When Xu returned to the mainland from Taiwan, he took the time to open a Hong Kong stock account in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asian rights to "Our Times" sold for a total of US$104 million. This time, he bought US$100 million worth of Tencent shares and doubled the leverage.

Currently, the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Hong Kong dollar is approximately 7.8. 1 million US dollars is equivalent to 7.8 million Hong Kong dollars. With a leverage of 1x, it becomes 15.6 million Hong Kong dollars, which buys a total of 0.22% of Tencent's shares.

At its peak in the previous life, Tencent's market value reached nearly one trillion US dollars. At that time, his 0.22% stake would be equivalent to approximately 20 billion US dollars, and he will most likely continue to buy more shares later!

Two days later, on June 18th, pop diva Wang Fei kicked off her national tour concert.

The next day, Li Yapeng accompanied Wang Fei to visit the ancient city scenic area. The two were seen without makeup and behaving intimately, and were followed and photographed by reporters and paparazzi throughout the visit.

On June 20th, Hong Kong media captured images of Wang Fei and Li Yapeng interacting intimately in a hotel elevator, confirming their relationship and officially announcing the "Pengfei Love," causing another sensation in the entertainment industry across Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong!

The entertainment gossip section, which was just separated from the film and television review section on Tianya on the 1st of this month, also exploded instantly!

"No wonder Nicholas Tse was in such a hurry to announce his breakup with Faye Wong; it turns out he knew the diva had a new romance!"

"Li Yapeng is amazing! Every girlfriend he dates is more famous than the last!"

"Li Yapeng was already a top-tier actor, and nowadays, the only actor in mainland China who can truly surpass him is probably Xu Heng, and that's only because of Xu Heng's background as a director!"

"Has Wang Fei been blinded by greed? Why would she choose a playboy like Li Yapeng over a talented man like Xie Tingfeng?"

"Li Yapeng is completely unworthy of Wang Fei. His relationships with Qu Ying and Zhou Xun were like that before, and now he's pursuing the diva. It's obvious he's after her fame and money!"

"Oh no, my goddess! We'll never hear her pure music again. She'll definitely be led astray by Li Yapeng!"

'

"That's just how the entertainment industry is; breakups and makeups are normal!"

"Those who say Li Yapeng isn't good enough for Wang Fei act like Wang Fei is some kind of innocent, pure-hearted woman. And Xie Tingfeng has had just as many scandals!"

"Which popular celebrity in the entertainment industry doesn't have a lot of scandals? Even Xu Heng's relationship with Liu Yifei has always been unclear!"

"It's hard to explain. Sisi and Xu Heng are just ordinary friends!"

'

'

'

'

Then, on June 25th, the first audition for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" took place.

And just this month, in addition to the speculation that "Jun Ji-hyun will play Xiaolongnu", news also broke that actress Sun Li, who became popular because of the TV series "Jade Goddess of Mercy", and Hong Kong actress Zhang Bozhi may play Xiaolongnu.

However, Sun Li's agency later stated that Sun Li was unavailable, and Zhang Dahuzi also denied having contacted Zhang Bozhi.

On the 20th, the "Peng Fei Romance" was exposed, and then the media reported that "Wang Fei will play the role of Little Dragon Girl".

Zhang Dahuzi once again refuted the rumors, saying that Wang Fei was not suitable to play Xiaolongnu, but more suitable to play Li Mochou. He is truly a master of hype!

On the day of the audition, the actors who auditioned for Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu naturally attracted the most attention.

Ultimately, only Huang Xiaoming, Nie Yuan, and Liu Yifei came to the audition for these two roles.

Zhang Dahuzi even stated on the spot that Liu Yifei, standing there without speaking or smiling, with her clear and cold eyes, was exactly like Xiaolongnu.

Liu Yifei has become the most popular candidate for the role of Xiaolongnu, at least for now!

As for Huang Xiaoming and Nie Yuan, Zhang Dahuzi and other casting personnel said they each have their own strengths and further evaluation is needed.

"Xu Heng, why didn't you participate in last week's audition for 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'?"

"As you know, I've been busy preparing for my new movie lately."

"So, are you planning to compete for the role of Yang Guo?"

"If Producer Zhang wants me to audition, then I will go."

Do you think Liu Yifei is suitable to play Xiaolongnu?

"Just as I said before, it will be difficult for any other actress to surpass Yi Fei in her portrayal of Wang Yuyan. Today, I can say it again: no other actress is more suitable for the role of Xiaolongnu than Yi Fei!"

"Are you so sure?"

"Hasn't the fact already proven it?"

On Thursday, July 1st, the final exams at Beijing Film Academy ended and the holiday began. Xu's new film also officially started filming at Beijing Film Academy.

At the opening ceremony, a large group of reporters surrounded Xu Tuantuan.

The casting for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is currently generating a lot of buzz, and there's a strong online demand for Xu Heng to play Yang Guo.

Xu's failure to participate in the first audition disappointed many netizens and his fans.

As for Xu Heng's new movie, it is "You Are the Apple of My Eye"!

He didn't choose to snatch the movie before, but he had seen it in his previous life!

Furthermore, when the system presented this option, it also briefly introduced the movie.

The novel that inspired this movie was started in the second half of 2005, and it's only July 2004 now.

By the second half of 05, the movie would definitely have been released.

Many of the characters in the movie use real names or homophones. For example, the male lead uses his own name, Nine Blades, which he would definitely have to change.

Some plot points need to be changed, but the changes don't need to be as drastic as those in "Our Times".

Most importantly, he had no box office pressure for this film, and his directing skills were far superior to when he made "Our Times," so he had complete freedom to improvise!

The reporters were taken aback by his answer.

However, given the relationship between Xu and Liu Yifei, it's normal for Xu to support Liu Yifei.

Not to mention that Xu was right. Whether other actresses will be able to surpass Liu Yifei in their portrayal of Wang Yuyan is unknown, but at least for now, Liu Yifei's portrayal of the "Fairy Sister" Wang Yuyan is indeed outstanding, and Liu Yifei has become a huge star because of this role!