Huayu: King of Kung Fu

Chapter 133 I had a hearty meal

Lin Hu explained, "Shen Teng is a college student at the PLA Academy of Arts. He has a great talent for comedy, so I signed him as an artist."

"He is currently co-starring with Fan Binbin in a new film directed by Peter Chan, which will be released at the end of this year."

Jiang Xuerou nodded and said, "Being able to star in director Peter Chan's new film is very promising, but—"

Jiang Xuerou looked troubled: "Brother Tai, when we make TV dramas, we need to consider the overseas market."

"When choosing the male and female leads, we usually choose an actor from Hong Kong or Taiwan, especially a Taiwanese actor."

"Because there are many TV stations in Taiwan, it is very easy to sell copyrights."

Jiang Xuerou was right. Taiwan has more than 100 television stations and has always been the largest overseas market for domestic TV dramas.

Many TV series are first broadcast in Taiwan, such as "Chinese Paladin".

For a long time, the production of TV dramas in the Chinese entertainment industry, especially contemporary romance and historical dramas, had to take the Taiwanese market into account.

Furthermore, Taiwanese idol dramas are very influential in Southeast Asia, and using Taiwanese artists makes it easier to sell copyrights in Southeast Asia.

This was based on economic considerations, which is certainly correct, but Lin Hu did not agree with it.

Lin Hu wasn't against money; rather, he cared about long-term returns.

He is well aware of the future and understands that in the long run, it is more worthwhile to promote a mainland artist than a Hong Kong or Taiwan artist.

Specifically, the TV series "Love Through Time" was the pioneering work of the mainland Chinese time-travel drama and was extremely popular.

The male lead is Xu Zhen, and the female lead is Taiwanese actress Zhang Ting.

Taiwanese actors were immediately banned by Lin Hu. Such a hit drama is naturally reserved for his own woman, so he recommended Fan Binbin to star in it.

In fact, Lin Hu felt that Zhou Xun was more suitable for the role of Xiao Wanzi, but Zhou Xun had to stay at home to take care of her child.

Compared to a TV series, my daughter is naturally more important.

Xu Zhen is very talented and a great actor, but Lin Hu isn't interested in him because he's difficult to work with.

In the original timeline, after Xu Zhen became famous for his role in "Lost in Thailand," the company invited him to collaborate on a second film.

After reading the script, this guy said he wasn't interested.

He turned around and set up a film company, plagiarized someone else's script, and made a movie called "Lost in Thailand," which grossed over a billion yuan at the box office.

Later, people sued him, but at that time, copyright protection laws in China were practically nonexistent.

After several years of trouble, the infringement was confirmed, and they were ordered to pay five million yuan in damages.

Shen Teng is Xu Zhen's replacement. He is funnier, has better box office appeal, and is easier to work with, so Lin Hu naturally chooses Shen Teng.

Lin Hu understood Jiang Xuerou's strategy, but he said, "Chen Kexin's new film was tailor-made for Shen Teng and Fan Binbin by me and him."

"Once the movie is released, I guarantee they'll become famous. You'll probably be scrambling to get them to act in your movies then."

"Their relationship in that movie is somewhat similar to yours in this film. It would be a perfect match. You should meet them."

""

Jiang Xuerou thought for a moment and said, "Brother Tai, I'll definitely give you face, so let's meet!"

"OK!"

"Why are you making me take on a TV drama role?"

Fan Binbin didn't quite understand Lin Hu's arrangement. These days, people still value movies more, and those who can become movie stars rarely take on TV dramas.

"The script is so good, this performance is guaranteed to be a hit!"

"Really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

-

"Alright then, I'll take it!"

"Good girl!" Lin Hu put his arm around Fan Binbin's waist and kissed her on the cheek.

"Are you attending the opening ceremony for 'My Sassy Girl' in a few days?"

"Of course I'll participate; I'm even planning to have a cameo role."

"You're so sweet!" Fan Binbin hugged Lin Hu's neck and kissed him on the cheek.

The two embraced, praising each other and whispering sweet nothings.

You kiss me every now and then, and I kiss you every now and then.

Kiss, kiss, and we become one —

After Lin Hu got together with Fan Binbin, he was finally able to eat his fill.

Of Zhou Xun's two previous girlfriends, she only had one pair of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).

Gao Yuanyuan and Fan Binbin both have B-cup breasts, which isn't considered large.

But size depends not only on bra cup size, but also on body type.

Fan Binbin is a Shandong girl, from the Jiaodong area, and has a naturally large frame.

Although she is only a B cup, she has a large base and a lot of flesh. If she wears a shaping bra, she can be squeezed into a very exaggerated shape.

Lin Hu really—couldn't put it down!

Gao Yuanyuan couldn't achieve that, but she was perky and rounded, which Lin Hu also liked.

I absolutely love it!

Lin Hu began to recruit actors and negotiate collaborations.

He no longer uses his own money to make movies.

Because there were just too many people approaching him hoping to invest.

Many times, you can't eat alone.

He decided that in the future, the company would only contribute half of the funds to its projects, and sell the remaining share at a premium.

As a result, the production cost of "Brotherhood of Blades" quickly soared to 100 million RMB, but there were still plenty of people scrambling to invest.

This 100 million RMB is not all used for production; Lin Hu's director fees, acting fees, and screenwriting fees—all of these must be accounted for.

Those companies that buy shares will then resell them.

For example, if a company spends 10 million to buy a 1000% investment share, it will then allocate 5% of that share, valued at 1000 million, and resell it.

It's like he got a 5% share for free without spending a single cent.

This is why film investment costs in later generations often reach hundreds of millions.

Jia Ling's weight loss movie, an art-house film, cost 3.5 million yuan; the original Japanese version only cost 1500 million yen, equivalent to 100 million yuan.

Why is the cost so high for a remake of Jia Ling's film?

Because all investors knew that Jia Ling's movies could make money, they naturally rushed to invest.

So the production company sold its investment share at a premium, and before filming even began, the production company had already made a fortune.

This is standard practice in the film industry. Lin Hu previously remade "The Legend of the Martial Arts," and that's how China Film Group does it.

Lin Hu continues to play this game now; he can't stop!

Although the cast of three brothers and the female lead has been confirmed.

However, the remaining roles of Wei Zhongxian, Zhao Jingzhong, and Ding Xiu are also very important, and many people are vying for them.

Even the role of Wei Ting, Wei Zhongxian's adopted daughter, which had very few lines, was highly sought after.

Lin Hu is so popular that everyone wants to appear in his movies, even for a small role.

Many investors are still thinking of putting people into the production crew.

Lin Hu's rule for making movies is that he will use Hong Kong actors if they are suitable, but he will not use Taiwanese actors at all.

This isn't about discriminating against Taiwanese actors; it's just that his movies can be shown freely in Hong Kong and rake in Hong Kong box office revenue, so using his actors is perfectly acceptable.

However, Taiwan has restrictions on mainland Chinese films, making it difficult for his films to be screened in Taiwan.

What is the significance of using Taiwanese actors?

It's pointless!

Lin Hu even refused investment from Taiwanese film companies because they couldn't provide him with any resources, and he didn't lack investment.

After several rounds of auditions, the cast was quickly finalized.

Donnie Yen, Lin Hu, and Wang Baoqiang play the three brothers.

Lin Hu plays the second brother, Shen Lian, who is the male lead, while Gao Yuanyuan plays the female lead, Zhou Miaotong.

For the role of Wei Zhongxian, Lin Hu specially invited veteran actor Wei Zongwan.

Wu Jing plays Zhao Jingzhong, who eventually surrenders to the Later Jin. Wu Jing is Manchu, so there's nothing wrong with that.

In the end, Shen Lian will catch up with Zhao Jingzhong, have a final battle with him, and kill him with his own hands to avenge his brother.

In the original "Brotherhood of Blades," this final battle was hastily concluded.

This time, Lin Hu wants to make this decisive battle the highlight of the film, and have a good fight with Wu Jing.

The original actor Zhou Yiwei played the role of Ding Xiu very well, earning him the nickname "Brother Run".

Unfortunately, he didn't know kung fu and was dropped by Lin Hu, so Hong Kong actor Collin Chou was brought in.

In addition, Chen Kun and Li Xiaoran both had roles in the film.

Chen Kun plays Yan Gongzi, the man Zhou Miaotong likes.

Li Xiaoran plays Zhang Yan, the daughter of a doctor. She is the woman the third brother likes. Although she doesn't have many scenes, she brings a rare warm touch to the film.

They were quite familiar with Zhou Xun and Fan Binbin because they had previously worked together on "Like Fog, Like Rain, Like Wind".

Fan Binbin introduced them to the audition, and Lin Hu gave them face and hired them.

At this time, news also came from Zhang Yimou's side that Li Lianjie had agreed to play the role of Broken Sword, with a salary of 2600 million RMB.

Since that was the case, Lin Hu agreed to play the role of Wuming, and his salary was the same as Li Lianjie's.

Filming for "Hero" will begin in August, and it's April now.

Lin Hu decided to speed things up and finish filming "Brotherhood of Blades" before "Hero" started filming.

Therefore, all departments began to step up preparations, and the actors also began to coordinate their schedules, so that filming would begin in May.