Huayu: King of Kung Fu

Lin Hu returned to the courtyard house and told Zhou Xun about his meeting with Han Sanping.

"These old guys don't think I have a chance!"

Lin Hu muttered a helpless complaint.

Speaking of which, after he arrived in Beijing, he met a lot of people. Apart from Zhou Xun, whose thinking was quite unique, most people with even a little experience in the film and television industry didn't really believe him.

Zhao Yanzi glanced at the script and rejected it. Wu Bin and Han Sanping didn't believe that a novice like him could make a good movie.

Zhou Xun comforted her, saying, "You're a newcomer, so their reaction is normal."

Lin Hu hugged Zhou Xun tightly and sighed, "You're still the best!"

Zhou Xun let him hold her, giving him warmth.

After a long pause, she finally said, "So what are you going to do now?"

"The first option is to go to Hong Kong and see if we can find a company to cooperate with and get them to handle the procedures for our filming trip to Hong Kong. This is quite difficult."

The second method is simpler: go on a tour to Hong Kong and take the opportunity to film some unimportant scenes, while filming the important action scenes in Guangzhou.

However, this would affect the filming quality. Mainland cities and Hong Kong are too different; viewers would easily tell it's a fake Hong Kong.

Zhou Xun listened in silence.

In the evening, Lin Hu finished typing and went to bed.

Zhou Xun suddenly said, "I contacted my brother about going to Hong Kong to film a movie, and he said he could ask Oriental Film Company for help."

Lin Hu was taken aback: "You have an older brother? Aren't you an only child?"

Zhou Xun explained, "I was referring to Leslie Cheung. I used to act with him, and everyone called him 'brother,' so I started calling him that too. It's just a habit."

"oh!"

Lin Hu immediately thought of the nickname "Brother" that Leslie Cheung had in the entertainment industry.

Wang Zuxian first used this term when filming "A Chinese Ghost Story" in 1986.

Wang Zuxian felt that Leslie Cheung was gentle and considerate, just like his older brother.

Later, this nickname spread, and people in the industry started calling him that.

Lin Hu never expected that Zhou Xun would solve his problem with just one phone call.

Leslie Cheung is a Hong Kong superstar who has a long-standing collaborative relationship with Raymond Wong's Oriental Film Company.

With just a word from him, it was a trivial matter for Oriental Film Company to handle Lin Hu's filming trip to Hong Kong.

Lin Hu asked curiously, "Is Zhang Guorong such a nice person? He helped you with just one phone call."

Zhou Xun said, "He always felt that he owed me something."

"I owe you? Why?"

Zhou Xun recalled the past and said, "Do you know the movie 'Temptress Moon'?"

"Yes, I know it. It's a movie starring Chen Kaige, with Leslie Cheung and Gong Li."

"I was once the female lead in 'Temptress Moon'..."

Zhou Xun slowly recounted a story to Lin Hu.

Three years ago, Chen Kaige, the renowned director who had just won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, was preparing his new film, "Temptress Moon," with great ambition.

When choosing the female lead, he heard that a girl named Zhou Xun was very talented.

I went to a bar in Sanlitun specifically to see Zhou Xun's performance.

After watching it, I thought, "Wow, it's really good," so I took Zhou Xun back to the set for an audition.

Zhou Xun is very talented in acting, and her natural charisma is undeniable.

After her audition, Chen Kaige was very satisfied and decided to cast her as the female lead, Ruyi, in "Temptress Moon".

Zhou Xun made many preparations for this film, but unexpectedly, something went wrong just before filming was about to begin.

Investor Xu Feng felt that casting an unknown newcomer as the female lead was too risky from a commercial standpoint.

She suggested that Gong Li cover up Ruyi's identity.

When Leslie Cheung was filming "Farewell My Concubine", he worked very well with Gong Li.

He greatly admires Gong Li and hopes to work with her again.

Ultimately, considering the opinions of investors and the male lead, as well as market pressure, Chen Kaige replaced Zhou Xun with Gong Li to play Ruyi.

At that time, Chen Kaige had just won the Palme d'Or and was at the height of his career.

For Zhou Xun to land the lead role in his film is an absolute chance to skyrocket to fame.

Lin Hu could imagine how heartbroken Zhou Xun must have been when she learned that she had been replaced.

Lin Hu hugged her small body tenderly, stroking her back, and said, "How did you get through that?"

Zhou Xun said, "I told Director Kai, 'Give me a sleeping pill.' He gave it to me, I took it and went to sleep, and I felt better the next day!"

"alright?"

"Yeah, what's not mine is not mine, so what can I do?"

Lin Hu was impressed. He truly lived up to his reputation as Xun Ge'er, he had such a big heart!

He began to understand why Xun Ge'er had gone through so many relationships; it was because she was someone who could take things in stride and let them go easily!

"And then?"

"Director Kai probably felt bad for me, so he said, 'Then you can stay and watch me film.'"

I said okay, and after staying in the crew for half a year, he even arranged a role for me as a little dancer.

Back then, I spent all my time on set, and everyone treated me very well.

Leslie Cheung and Gong Li are both very talented actors. I watch them film every day, trying to figure out how to act, and I even ask them for advice.

Leslie Cheung probably felt bad for me, so he took the initiative to teach me all his acting experience.

Looking back now, I think I had a pretty happy six months.

Later, when director Kai Ge was filming "The Emperor and the Assassin", he also gave me the role of a blind woman.

Although I didn't have the chance to play the female lead in "Temptress Moon," they were all very kind people.

After hearing Zhou Xun's words, Lin Hu thought to himself, "So Brother Kai is this good to my Xun-ge'er? I won't badmouth him anymore."

Lin Hu finally understood why Zhou Xun always got so deeply into her roles when she acted in movies.

In truth, this is all Leslie Cheung's fault.

Acting can be broadly categorized into method acting and experiential acting. Experiential acting involves immersing oneself in the role and portraying the character's emotions.

This is an extremely clever acting method, but the price is that you get too immersed in the role and can't distinguish between reality and the movie.

Leslie Cheung himself often gets too immersed in his roles and can't get out of character, and his apprentice Zhou Xun is the same.

In this light, Zhou Xun's rise and fall can both be attributed to Leslie Cheung.

Zhou Xun ultimately used her connections to do Lin Hu a big favor.

Lin Hu was deeply moved and could only repay the debt of gratitude tonight!

……

Leslie Cheung acted quickly; the very next day, a man named Roman contacted Lin Hu.

This person is the secretary of Raymond Wong, the owner of Hong Kong's Oriental Film Company.

After some discussion, Roman said that Oriental Company would send someone to Beijing to help them with the filming in Hong Kong.

Taking the opportunity, Lin Hu asked if they could entrust Oriental Company to handle some matters after they arrived in Hong Kong.

For example, renting equipment, contacting film sets, and hiring staff, especially actors.

Lin Hu also specifically mentioned that he wanted to invite Qin Pei to play the main villain, Master Hong, in the movie.

Of course, he could pay a commission to the Eastern Company.

Roman said, "Since you're my brother's friend, of course it's no problem. But I don't know if Mr. Qin Pei is available. I'll have to ask. Wait for my news!"

"That's great, thank you!"

Lin Hu hung up the phone, feeling relieved.

With Leslie Cheung's intervention, Oriental Film Company was quite easy to talk to; Zhou Xun really helped a lot this time.