Huayu: King of Kung Fu

Chapter 121 Stronger than Big Brother Long

"I have many ideas, but I don't have the energy to make them."

"You have strong production capabilities, which is perfect for bringing my ideas to life."

"I think this is a great complement, and I'm sure we'll have a pleasant collaboration!"

After thinking about it carefully, Peter Chan realized that it was indeed true.

Lin Hu's previous works, "Better Days" and "My Sassy Girl," were both excellent, and it's clear that he can produce even more.

After considering it for a moment, Peter Chan said to Lin Hu, "This is a big deal. Ah Zhen and I need to discuss it."

Lin Hu said, "Of course!"

Lin Hu led Fan Binbin out of the conference room and back to his office.

As soon as he entered, Lin Hu locked the door from the inside, pinned Fan Binbin against it, and gave her a passionate kiss.

"No—not here, ah—"

In the conference room, Xu Yuezhen asked Chen Kexin, "You've already made up your mind, haven't you?"

Peter Chan nodded and said, "After 97, Hong Kong films experienced a precipitous decline. The local market was too small, piracy was rampant, and investors withdrew their funding, making it extremely difficult to make movies."

"I founded AppiausePictures because I wanted to survive first, otherwise I would never have the chance to make movies again."

Unlike typical Hong Kong film companies, Applause Pictures, founded by Peter Chan, is positioned as an Asian multinational arthouse film co-production company.

Since the Southeast Asian financial crisis, it has become increasingly difficult for Hong Kong art films to find investment, and Peter Chan's attempt to break into Hollywood has failed.

After returning to Hong Kong, he planned to use Hong Kong's film resources to look for opportunities and launch collaborations throughout Asia.

That's why the film company has an English name.

Xu Yuezhen asked, "Do you believe Lin Hu can reliably provide us with investment?"

Peter Chan said, "It's not just about providing investment; I think he can play the same role as Chen Long, or even a greater one."

Xu Yuezhen, puzzled, asked, "What do you mean?"

Peter Chan said, "In the 1980s, Chen Long started his own film company."

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"Besides making action films, which he is best at, he has also produced many art films."

"For example, films like 'Rouge' and 'Center Stage' propelled Anita Mui and Maggie Cheung to the Best Actress award."

"Chen Long can use his name to increase the actor's popularity and promote the movie."

"Although Lin Hu is young, he has emerged as a dark horse and his influence is approaching that of Chen Long. He can play the role that Chen Long played back then."

"Lin Hu also has a strong literary talent and can write excellent scripts. In this respect, he is even better than Chen Long."

Xu Yuezhen had never imagined that cooperating with Lin Hu would bring so many benefits.

After thinking about it carefully, she couldn't help but say, "So, isn't Lin Hu the second Chen Long?"

Peter Chan said, "I think Lin Hu might be even more formidable. He's only twenty years old, while Chen Long is almost fifty."

"When Chen Long became famous, the Chinese film market was too small to support his big productions."

"Lin Hu, however, had access to a Chinese market worth over a billion people right from the start, which could bring him substantial returns."

"Lin Hu's 'Ong-Bak 2' grossed $70 million in the Asian market. How could a young Chen Long have achieved that?"

"That's why Lin Hu was able to easily break into Hollywood; they value his dominance in Asia."

Xu Yuezhen asked, "So you believe he's the future king of Chinese-language cinema?"

Peter Chan nodded: "If nothing unexpected happens, yes!"

Xu Yuezhen said, "Then we must cooperate with him!"

Fan Binbin sat on Lin Hu's lap, stroking his chin with great interest.

Lin Hu muttered to himself, "Why do they all like touching this place?"

Lin Hu actually preferred them touching another part of his body.

Fan Binbin asked, "Would director Peter Chan let you acquire his company?"

Lin Hu said, "Peter Chan mainly makes art films, but now Hong Kong art films are completely dead, so it's hard for him to find investment."

""

"As far as I know, he founded Applause Pictures in the hope of finding opportunities to shoot films within Asia."

Lin Hu had followed Peter Chan in the original timeline and had some understanding of Peter Chan's applause videos.

The films produced by Applause Pictures follow a model of Hong Kong production combined with Thai, Japanese, and Korean directors, specializing in low-budget genre films.

After shooting, they would submit the photos for awards, and if they won, they would receive a good return. Their shooting techniques were superb, and they almost always won awards, rarely failing to win.

Lin Hu knew that many blockbuster movies would be made in Asia over the next twenty years. His acquisition of Applause Pictures was actually an attempt to influence the Asian film industry through Peter Chan.

If nothing unexpected happens, Lin Hu's name will appear behind many of Asia's most acclaimed literary and artistic works in the next twenty years.

However, there was no need to tell Fan Binbin this. Lin Hu simply said, "Hong Kong cinema is almost dead. If Peter Chan lets me invest, I can get stable investment. He won't refuse."

Fan Binbin said admiringly, "It seems like you have everything under control!"

Lin Hu stretched out his hands and teased, "What do you mean 'one hand'? I'm holding it with both hands!"

"Pah, you scoundrel!"

The two sides met again and reached a preliminary acquisition agreement.

Applause Pictures is a relatively new company and hasn't made a single film yet.

Lin Hu invested one million US dollars to acquire 60% of the shares of Applause Pictures, while Peter Chan's team retained 40% of the shares.

Lin Hu did not change the business strategy of Applause Films, allowing them to focus on art films and continue to look for opportunities in Asia.

In the original timeline, the first work produced by Applause Image was the Thai film "Jan Dara".

Sexy goddess Christy Chung delivered a daring performance, and Lin Hu only watched her clips ten times.

The reason it's a Thai film is because Peter Chan is a Thai-Chinese, and his first thought was to collaborate with Thai people.

(Author's note: I mistakenly wrote "overseas Chinese in Vietnam" in the first two chapters. But I can't change it because the content of that chapter is not very harmonious, and any changes might be blocked by the system.)

With the acquisition agreement in place, all that remains is to draft and sign the contract. This matter can be put aside for now, and we can continue discussing the "My Sassy Girl" issue.

Regarding the casting issue, although Lin Hu agreed to let Eason Chan and Richie Jen, suggested by Peter Chan, audition, he also said that they were too ugly and hoped to hold open auditions for newcomers.

Peter Chan isn't stupid; he realized that Lin Hu seemed unwilling to cast Hong Kong and Taiwanese actors, but he couldn't say it outright.

Whether it's ugly or not is just an excuse.

But since Lin Hu is the investor, he's the most powerful.

Peter Chan felt the script was so good that he really wanted to film it.

So he went along with Lin Hu's suggestion and said, "Then let's not find famous singers, let's hold auditions for newcomers."

Xu Yuezhen said, "Then shall we go and take a look at the three major universities in China?"

Lin Hu corrected him, "The Four Greats."

Xu Yuezhen only knew the "Big Three" (Central Academy of Drama, Beijing Film Academy, and Shanghai Theatre Academy), and asked curiously, "What else?"

"Military Arts Academy!"