The struggles of a failed college entrance exam candidate in Hong Kong entertainment

Chapter 87 If you stay with Brother Nan for another three years, you'll have hundreds of millions.

February 22, 1993, Dragon Head Festival.

Su Nan received a call from the United States early in the morning, informing him that the matter of purchasing the film and television adaptation rights (from Las Vegas) had been settled.

The original author only sold it for $2.

After ending the call, he smiled at Sister Guan, who had also woken up, and said, "When the novel comes back, you can take a look too."

"I doubt you'd even be interested in finishing it; you couldn't finish it even if you forced yourself."

Sister Guan rubbed her lower back and yawned, "Impossible, I also have artistic aspirations."

This is Nicolas Cage flying in from the US to ask Brother Nan for advice, hoping to win an Oscar for Best Actor.

Is there any doubt about Su Nan's judgment? After searching for a while, the scripts or novels he selected could not be guaranteed to be Oscar contenders.

But it's normal to have a 50% or higher chance of success, right? Skyworth has even started discussing signing a contract with Zhang Yimou.

So what Brother Nan is talking about now is the original project for the Olympics?

She has certain aspirations as an actress, so how could she force herself to not finish watching the Oscar-nominated projects?

The fact is that (The Matrix) continued filming and production, and the people arranged by Su Nan arrived in Shanghai on the 23rd.

They brought back not only film and television adaptation rights contracts, but also several original English books.

When Sister Guan was idling on the set of the hacker movie, she got completely bewildered while watching it.

It wasn't until Li Jiaxin came to visit the set on the 24th that I dared not disturb Su Nan and the other main cast members who were still busy.

Ah Xin, led by the stage manager, went to greet Rosamund Kwan.

After exchanging a few polite words, Li Jiaxin noticed that Sister Guan was still dazed and asked with a smile, "Sister Zhi, what's wrong? You seem to be sleepwalking."

Rosamund Kwan shook the book. "This novel has me completely confused."

(Leaving Las Vegas) The original novel tells the story of an American who loses his job, his wife and children due to alcoholism and depression.

All other social relationships were also severed.

Are there many people like this? Quite a few, especially when a midlife crisis arrives.

Unlike those who seek normal survival and want to overcome midlife crises and make a comeback, they are different.

The protagonist of the novel plans and decides to take out all his savings and go to Las Vegas, where drinks are cheap.

He wanted to drink himself to death in that city.

The protagonist constantly oscillates between sobriety and blacking out in cheap motels.

Going out was also just to buy alcohol and to wander aimlessly, feeling lonely.

Occasionally, I reminisce about the glorious and respectable times of my past, but my life decision is to keep drinking myself to death in a one-way downward spiral.

Then, during a solitary walk, the male protagonist meets a prostitute in Las Vegas.

What was the connection between him and her? On the surface, it was a business meeting, but in reality, he was paying her to keep him company and alleviate his loneliness.

Two people at the very bottom of society briefly sparked a glimmer of warmth in their lives during their lowest point, but the male protagonist ultimately self-destructed in a downward spiral.

The ending is that the male protagonist dies of alcohol poisoning and organ failure in a motel.

He made the choice himself, and the story didn't take any unexpected turns!

The original English version of this story is only a novel of tens of thousands of words.

I started reading Rosamund Kwan's book on the 23rd, but I've only been reading it intermittently since then, and I only have a few pages left to read.

Even without reading the last few pages, you can guess from the book's thickness that there's no plot twist.

So she was stunned. Such a dark, bleak suicide story? Could it even be nominated for an Oscar?

And after seeing this, you can probably guess what kind of video would be made?

It's such a low-cost trip! I drove to Las Vegas by myself, bought alcohol near a motel, drank, and got completely drunk.

How to meet and chat with a sex worker in the twilight of your life?

Even if you wanted to make a big-budget, high-production-value movie, it wouldn't cost that much money.

Rosamund Kwan put away her book and asked cheerfully, "Ah Yan, are you (Fong Sai-yuk) finished filming?"

Li Jiaxin nodded, "Post-production has already started. I've also taken on a GG video."

"When I was at the company, Hung Hsin told me that Win's Entertainment wanted to produce a new (Supreme) gambling film series and wanted me to play the female lead."

""

"However, Wang Jing still wants to invite Brother Jia Hui and Brother Hua to continue acting as partners."

"He wasn't afraid of Jia Hui's high salary; he was just unsure if the other party would be willing to take on that kind of film."

Speaking of the (Supreme) series of gambling films, from (Supreme Unrivaled) (Supreme Scheme Top Scholar) to (Supreme Unrivaled 2: Eternal Domination).

This film was released in the late 80s and early 90s.

Rosamund Kwan and Li Jiaxin also played one of the female roles in the series.

Sister Guan laughed and said, "Director Wang is quite talented. His projects may not be huge hits, but they won't be too bad."

The two chatted and laughed until Su Nan yelled "Cut!" in the distance, announcing the next scene transition.

The two women quickly walked over.

Rosamund Kwan greeted Brother Nam with a smile and presented him with a thermos cup. Ah Yan greeted him and then explained her purpose.

Su Nan took a sip of water and nodded. "It's Win's Entertainment's new film, starring Wang Jing and Andy Lau. You can take the role."

He was stunned when he said this. Good heavens, this is (The Thirty-Six Stratagems of the Supreme - Stealing the Sky and Changing the Sun)?

If it's this movie? Leung Ka-fai's left, right, up, down, and left-right movements are minor.

What Su Nan wants to complain about is that the story features a supercomputer.

The operating mode of that thing is almost the same as that of major AI systems more than 30 years later.

If you have any questions, just ask the computer and it will give you the answer directly. This also includes the value display of major search engines.

Yahoo! only created its directory index in 94, and DEC launched the Altavista search engine in 95.

Altavista once became the world's number one search engine with 8000 million visits per day, thanks to its web crawlers and full-text indexing technology.

This natural language search model is the third generation of Internet search technology.

Google, founded in 1998, basically started with Altasista 3 technology.

Fei Jing had a sudden inspiration and guessed the future development direction correctly.

After some thought, Su Nan considered whether to include such a plot device in (Rescue in Fury 1).

The film "The Great Escape" is a good match for Li Jiaxin. It grossed over 1700 million HKD in Hong Kong and received good reviews.

This performance is even worse than his investment in (Never End).

But the popularity of using it to grow vases is enough; Li Jiaxin is a second-tier star in Skyworth.

In comparison, a new genre like "Taken" is more likely to make a global impact, while action blockbusters like "Invincible" are more likely to be a hit.

In the story, after the female lead is kidnapped, Jiao Enjun is also shot. He eventually recalls how the female lead's warmth in his daily life healed his PTSD.

So, in a fit of rage, he wanted to kill everything in his path?

This also raises a question: how did Jiao Enjun, as the male lead, know the details of the kidnapping team and the information about other masterminds behind the scenes?

In a typical action movie, the scene could be set up with the suspects going to a high-ranking security company executive to inquire with the police.

But if you insert the concept of a "supercomputer," the Internet stores countless data and information, such as police databases.

Alternatively, a highly skilled tech expert could use a computer to search and uncover information, revealing the entire background of the criminal organization.

After much deliberation, Su Nan decided to give it a try and incorporate the concepts of computer experts and hacker masters into (Rescue in Fury 1).

Assemble supercomputers and develop search engine technology.

Using technology online, we can uncover information about the kidnapping team and other masterminds behind the scenes.

If his anger explodes, and he gets a chance to win a prize, he might just win a state-of-the-art supercomputer.

Hollywood special effects studios don't use supercomputers in the traditional sense.

Instead, SGI workstations are specifically designed for fields such as 3D modeling, rendering, and animation design.

For example, in 97 (Titanic), a total of 300 SGI workstations were put into use.

An SGI workstation costs around $100,000, and the hardware workstation alone costs $20 to $30 million for Big Ship Films.

Not to mention the labor costs of CG experts and professional special effects artists.

When Su Nan was learning in Hollywood, the Skyworth Special Effects Studio he established also bought SGI worktables.

While taking the smart drug, he recalled lateral radiation and observed the current state of the internet technology development of the United States.

I gained a considerable understanding of the soon-to-be-created Yahoo! Directory Index and the third-generation search engine technology that emerged in 95.

Setting up and showing certain things in a movie like (Taken) can indeed be a way to plant hidden gems.

If you don't get a chance to win a prize, that's fine; if you do get a chance to win, you've already won.

While all of this may seem slow, it actually represents only a few seconds of thought process in southern Jiangsu.

He smiled at Li Jiaxin again and said, "Ah Xin, you are much more outstanding as a pretty face in modern dramas than in period dramas. You should make the most of your strengths."

Li Jiaxin exclaimed in surprise, "Then, Brother Nan, how about I wear office lady black stockings next time and ask you out for drinks?"

Southern Jiangsu, "————"

Rosamund Kwan couldn't help but tease, "Weren't you still thinking of asking Mr. Lau for a big house?"

Ah-Xin blinked. "I'm sure of one thing, Sister Zhi, once your status takes off, you'll have no trouble earning your own money to buy a house."

"It's normal and reasonable to be wronged when you ask for help; you have to give to receive."

"But sometimes the input and the return are not proportional."

In 93, Liu Luanxiong gifted her a luxury mansion in Mid-Levels worth HK$2000 million, approximately 200 square meters.

It was Li Jiaxin's most important source of income during her third, fourth, and fifth years.

She was initially quite content, but then she compared herself to Rosamund Kwan? A boyfriend can fetch three or four million Hong Kong dollars, or five million RMB.

This is GG (Gross Money), not salary. When discussing film salaries, Sister Kwan (Gross Money) earns over HK$150 million.

Without even mentioning the gains from investing in US stocks, Sister Guan could buy a 2000 million yuan luxury house in the Mid-Levels just by taking a few gigs a year.

Brother Nan has been cultivating Rosamund Kwan's earning ability!

Ah Xin asked herself honestly, and realized that Lau hadn't really helped her career much; Lau Luanxiong had divorced her.

But that man, let alone marrying her, continued to support Ada Choi and Yuen Kit-ying, and was also pursuing other newly crowned Miss Hong Kong and Miss Asia contestants.

Despite her materialistic nature, she was also disturbed by Sister Guan's seemingly good life, which caused her mental state to collapse.

She wanted to ask Sister Guan, "If you stay with Brother Nan for another three years, how many hundreds of millions will you have?"

Su Nan was speechless. "Stop overthinking all day. Only by honing your acting skills can you earn a big break."

"If your acting skills are lacking, you won't be able to seize good opportunities."

After saying that, he didn't talk much more and went to coordinate the next shot with the assistant directors.

(Hacker 1) It has been almost 40 days since the camera was turned on and started shooting.

The progress is going well; we'll also be filming some content back on Hong Kong Island later.

It showcases modern metropolitan scenes from the early 90s in the Matrix world, such as office plazas in Central or Tsim Sha Tsui.

It's also an essential element for filming.

Then, the rooftop showdown, rendered with CGI against a metropolitan backdrop, was filmed in Hong Kong.

By then, production would actually be much easier.

He managed to prepare for both "Rescue Fury" and "Leaving Las Vegas" during filming, which is a standard example of multitasking.

March 5th, the day of Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects).

After finishing work in the evening, Su Nan drove to a professional recording studio in Shanghai. Zhou Huimin mainly spent the beginning of the new year on vacation in Shanghai with the crew.

During her vacation, she occasionally went to a professional recording studio to practice the three new songs that Su Nan had given her.

Of course, the practice period takes place in the rehearsal room, and she is still in the process of getting to know the musicians arranged for her by the record company.

-

When he picked Amin up and took her home, Amin excitedly said, "I feel like I'm getting better and better."

"A new album with ten songs might just become a hit in the Taiwanese market."

"By the way, Brother Nan, how's the deal with signing that Director Zhang you wanted?"

Skyworth acquired the film and television adaptation rights (out of Las Vegas) about ten days ago.

He successfully adapted the novel into a screenplay, including giving a copy to Nicolas Cage.

As for the negotiations with Zhang Yimou? More than 20 days have passed, and Zhang Yimou is very ambitious about winning the Oscars and is currently reviewing the script.

And when considering personal relationships and not leaving the Guangdong West factory, should Skyworth sign a contract for ten or fifteen units?

He is not heartbroken from his breakup with Gong Li, nor is he hindered in his career development by continuously losing money on his films and losing investors.

Director Zhang is currently enjoying success in both his career and love life.

The question is, besides Skyworth, who else in the entire Chinese film and television industry would dare to guarantee your Oscar nomination for Best Director?

At this stage, only Skyworth dares to make such a statement, and the outside world will believe it!

The American version (Dynasty Warriors) was nominated for the Cannes Best Actor award.

Including the Hollywood Oscars this month, Wu Shuang has been nominated for major awards including Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture.

Once it happens, it will happen again. Skyworth dares to say this, and Zhang Yimou is willing to believe it, which is why things are progressing smoothly.

Su Nan commented for a few minutes, then remarked, "(Leaving Las Vegas) If they can still compete for the Oscars, there's also the factor of the times."

"Even by the usual standards of the Hong Kong film industry, this project is not considered a very large investment."

"The main problem is that the Oscars used to be dominated by epic, biographical, and inspirational stories, and the judging panel got tired of it."

"If Cage can bring this kind of no-reversal, head-on-the-way style to life, coupled with his background and public relations skills, then..."

"The chances are pretty good."

In the original film, not only did Cage win an Oscar for Best Actor, but the actress who played the prostitute was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress.

With a budget of three to four million US dollars, it was filmed in less than a month, just like most Hong Kong films.

The original director also achieved great success with this Best Director nomination, a remarkable feat in every aspect.

Amin laughed, "Since we've already bought it, can't this book be like (The Peerless Swordsman) with two versions?"

"Nicholas is aiming for the Oscar for Best Actor, should we support Skyworth as their Best Actor and Best Actress?"

"None of us are good actors, but how about we give it a try with Jia Hui and Wan Zi Liang as the male lead, and Wang Zuxian as the female lead?"

Su Nan was speechless. "It's really good to have two films based on one book. Putting aside the actors' salaries, a film (Leaving Macau) would probably be very good with one or two million Hong Kong dollars."

These award-winning films can make a fortune just by selling the videotapes.

Joey Wong was nominated for Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 87, but never won the award.

Is this another attempt to piggyback on Cage's fame? As long as Leung Ka-fai plays the male lead, his performance won't be any worse than the American version.

So, in the post-videotape, VCD, and DVD era, as mainland China became more developed, more and more people entered the industry.

I repeatedly watched and compared the acting skills of Leung Ka-fai and Nicolas Cage in (Project Gutenberg) (Departure).

This basically means that although Jia Hui has never won an Oscar for Best Actor, he has at least half a virtual trophy in his hand.

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