So what if I work with celebrities?

Xu Zan dared to say this because he had a tacit understanding with Mei Changling. Even if Master Shao called at this moment, he would only get the answer that it was necessary to do this for the sake of the country.

Of course, Boss Shao was just joking; he wouldn't actually get angry over such a small matter.

Lin Qingxia and Hu Huizhong sat silently to the side, admiring Xu Zan for being able to chat and laugh with such an important person.

After chatting for a while, Boss Shao invited Xu Zan to join the Shao family business, offering him whatever conditions he wanted, but Xu Zan politely declined.

"Shaosheng, I owe too many favors in Taiwan. It wouldn't be right of me to switch jobs and leave!"

"Haha, it's alright, you can do both, just make a few films for Shao's every year!" Boss Shao said.

Xu Zan knew that Master Shao was a ruthless man who could even take away money that he and his brothers had deposited in Japan without saying a word.

Moreover, Xu Zan, being an outsider, would have no choice but to flee back to Taiwan like Wang Yu once the contract was signed, if he wanted to leave Shao's company.

That would severely hinder his future development.

"Shaosheng, I want to buy Director Li's 'The Kingdom and the Beauty' and have it shown in my theater." Xu Zan didn't want to dwell on this topic.

He bought the film to see if there was a market for the Huangmei opera "Dream of the Red Chamber," and first used the old film "The Kingdom and the Beauty" as a substitute.

Mr. Shao did not refuse and readily signed a contract with Xu Zan, selling him the screening rights to "The Kingdom and the Beauty" for HK$200,000.

……

After hearing from Huang Jiaxi that someone in Taiwan had invited him to direct "Dream of the Red Chamber" and that the higher-ups had agreed, Li Hanxiang began writing the script day and night.

"Dream of the Red Chamber" is the movie he has wanted to make the most in recent years, but unfortunately, Boss Shao absolutely refused.

In the film industry, Li Hanxiang dares to say that he is the director who understands "Dream of the Red Chamber" the most, and he believes that others will only ruin a good story.

After two weeks of preparation, he had written a preliminary script, which he took out of his bag and handed to Xu Zan for review.

"Director Li, you know these actresses too. How about it? One will play Jia Baoyu, one will play Lin Daiyu, and one will play Xue Baochai. Is that alright?" Xu Zan said as he flipped through the script.

Li Hanxiang had already thoroughly examined these three women. Having worked in the film industry for many years, he had seen countless beauties, from Zhou Xuan and Butterfly to Le Di, Lin Dai, You Min, Wang Ling, Niu Fangyu, Jiang*…

Having spanned several eras, it can be said that each era had its own period of dominance.

"I'll try on the makeup later!" Li Hanxiang didn't give a direct answer.

As the largest film company in Hong Kong, Shaw Brothers had the largest number of costumes in the country. The only downside was that the clothes were never washed unless they were obviously dirty.

This is where Shaw Brothers' meticulous planning comes in. Washing makes them prone to deformation and damage, while not washing them means they're considered new as long as the camera can't capture the image. As for the actors' feelings?

Being allowed to appear on camera is already a huge favor, how can you say the clothes smell bad?

The three girls tried on both men's and women's clothing, and Li Hanxiang sat there giving his critiques. From a certain angle, Lin Qingxia and Hu Huizhong looked exactly alike.

They are both quite tall, so if they were to play young women and Sylvia Chang were to play Jia Baoyu, it wouldn't quite fit the language of the camera.

To put it simply, it's rather unattractive.

Lin Qingxia appeared dressed in white, and under the lights, she seemed to glow, exuding an ethereal aura, like a fairy descending to earth.

She held a handkerchief, made a shy expression, nodded and raised her eyebrows. Her eyes, which already had a lot of white showing, looked somewhat aloof.

Seeing this stark contrast between ice and fire made Xu Zan want to offer some pointers.

"This kid is amazing!" Li Hanxiang pulled out a small notebook from somewhere, filled with pictures of women from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

"I plan to replicate the clothing depicted in the scroll; the investment won't be small."

"No problem, I also think that when filming classic works, we should strive for the greatest possible fidelity. Only in this way can we do justice to art!" Xu Zan did not object.

Nowadays, film production not only needs to consider box office revenue, but also prestige. Panda Entertainment's brand has gained a certain degree of recognition in Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Japan.

The movie won't have trouble selling; the only question is how much profit it will generate.

"Director Li, if you're going to say it's absolutely accurate, how about bringing out some antiques?" Xu Zan glanced through the women's book.

"You've hit the nail on the head. I have some collections from over the years that I can bring out, but as for a complete restoration... that would be quite difficult."

"How about we visit the Forbidden City?"

"Going to the mainland?" Li Hanxiang asked in surprise.

"No, Taiwan has it too."

Xu Zan would never have dared to dream of borrowing cultural relics from the Palace Museum before; wasn't that just wishful thinking? But since the last robbery of "The Eight Hundred Heroes," he has already opened up channels with higher authorities.

Having already gotten to know the officials in charge of both the news and culture departments, they won't be completely blind when it comes to getting things done.

He can't go to the mainland yet, and it would be a shame not to make movies about the beautiful landscapes of the motherland. However, Xu Zan is well aware that with policy changes, going to the mainland is not impossible.

Xu Zan declined Shao's dinner invitation that evening, as he had important plans for the next day and it wouldn't be good if he got too drunk to get up.

He brought three women to a century-old shop in Hong Kong that specializes in wonton noodles. The way Cantonese noodles are made is very strange. When kneading the dough, no water is added, only eggs are added. The dough is then pressed repeatedly with a bamboo pole, and finally a little alkaline water is added.

This type of noodle has a chewy texture, and wonton noodles are one of the most representative dishes of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is not only a paradise for the rich, but also a place where ordinary citizens work hard.

Dillon led Xu Zan and the others on a night tour of Hong Kong, sitting on the top deck of Shaw Brothers sightseeing bus, watching the bright lights and bustling streets of Hong Kong.

Xu Zan started by leading them in singing "Half a Heart": "I asked if this place was alright, you looked up but said nothing, you hugged me and kissed my lips..."

The lyrics were much bolder and more direct than those of Cantonese songs from Hong Kong in the 1970s. As a result, the song became an instant hit after Teresa Teng released the album.

This song, along with "A Thousand Songs," became a benchmark for Cantonese songs, breaking away from the established style of movie theme songs.

"Mr. Xu, do you have a role that would suit me?"

Although Dillon has been enjoying his collaboration with Chu Yuan recently, he's felt a sense of crisis ever since his hairline started receding. He wants to find more diverse acting roles to ensure he can continue working in the industry.

The entertainment industry is always ruthless; audiences don't care about past relationships. They'll support what's good and discard what's bad.

"You'll take any kind of film?" Hsu Tsan asked, taking a bite of the fruit Sylvia Chang offered her.

"Erotic films are no good," Dillon said with a chuckle.

"Erotic films... haha," Xu Zan thought of Consort Shen Fangfei.

If Dillon were to actually make an erotic film, it would be a guaranteed box office hit, and young women in Hong Kong would probably line up to watch it in theaters.

Just like those young heartthrobs in my past life, if they showed off their bodies while filming, their female fans would practically book the entire theater to watch.

Dillon and David Chiang were an old-school on-screen couple who were incredibly popular.

"Would you take on a horror movie?" Hsu Tsan asked, seeing that Brigitte Lin looked unhappy. He then fed her a piece of watermelon.

Horror movie.

Dillon hesitated. Horror films belonged to the lower end of the film industry, almost at the bottom of the hierarchy of contempt. As a big star, it would be somewhat beneath his status to make this kind of film.

But Xu Zan is also a rising star director. He can make horror films, so they can't be the kind of bad movies he makes.

"Was it directed by you?"

"Of course, I'm planning to make a big investment, but the script is still being improved."

The script wasn't written, but Hsu Tsan was preparing to shoot a movie that could be released in North America. She needed handsome men and beautiful women as the main characters, and the supporting roles could only be played by European and American stars, and they had to be minor actors.

"Then I'll act!" Dillon didn't hesitate. He always regarded making movies as a job and wouldn't limit himself to following whoever he was with forever.

When Zhang Che promoted him, Dillon didn't consider himself one of Zhang Che's men. He would work with whomever the company told him to, completely failing to understand that old-fashioned films belonged to a specific industry.

As a result, her relationship with Jiang Dawei has now plummeted to a freezing point.

Xu Zan felt that making zombie movies was definitely not going to work, since foreigners wouldn't understand Taoist magic or Eastern culture.

To infiltrate the enemy, one must naturally adopt the enemy's cultural guise, hence his plan to film the "Conjuring" series.