The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 610 Give you a chance

Wu Yusen, nicknamed Wu Baige.

Because there are always white pigeons in this movie, just like Xu Ke likes to grind tofu, Quentin is a foot fetishist
In his early years, Wu Yusen collaborated with Xu Ke to complete the movie "A Better Tomorrow", which marked his path to becoming a film master.

He later went to Hollywood and filmed "Face/Off" and "Mission Impossible 2", the former of which grossed $2.45 million worldwide and the latter $5.45 million.

Since then, he has leapt from a well-known Hong Kong director to an internationally renowned director.

Then came "Windtalkers", which brought MGM, which could have been saved, to its demise. Wu Yusen's Hollywood journey was also interrupted, and he returned to Taiwan to seek other development opportunities.

"Hello, Director Wu!" Lu Yuan greeted politely.

Wu Yusen shook hands with him and forced a smile on his sickly face: "Lu Yuan, New World has been released for nine days and the box office has exceeded 800 million. Congratulations!"

Lu Yuan looked at his sallow face and felt very impatient, but he still smiled and was polite to him.

He was rather resistant to this director.

It has long been an open secret in the industry that Hong Kong and Taiwan directors use mainland funds to support new Hong Kong and Taiwan actors.

The specific operation is to use the opportunity to direct co-production films and the nominations for the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards as bait to make mainland stars willingly play supporting roles for newcomers from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In this way, it can not only directly suppress newcomers from the mainland, but also allow the status and commercial value of newcomers from Hong Kong and Taiwan to rise rapidly.

And Wu Yusen is a master in this field.

After all, this guy is a famous Hollywood international director.

Before and after the release of the movie "Red Cliff", the crew vigorously promoted "Meng Meng Stands Up".

With the help of Zhao Yanzi, Song Jia and others as supporting actors, Lin Chiling, a model who has no idea about acting, was pushed to the rank of top actresses in the Chinese film industry.

Since then, all kinds of top fashion resources have come to her, and she has played the leading role in one movie after another.

It's funny to say that "Red Cliff", which cost hundreds of millions of dollars, only left the audience with the memory of "cuteness".

There shouldn't be too many similar operations by Wu Yusen, including but not limited to "Sword Rain" and "Fair Gentleman".
The two chatted for a while, and Chen Kexin interrupted at the right time: "Yesterday when I was chatting with Yu Sen, we also talked about Chow Yun-fat's matter. Yu Sen lamented that he had also suffered the same fate."

Peter Chan and Rain Wu have a close relationship and have been good friends for many years.

At that time, Wu Yusen happened to be filming "Heroes Without Tears" in Thailand. By chance, he joined the crew as a translator. Without finishing college, he plunged into the film industry.

Lu Yuan cast a curious look at him.

If I remember correctly, Wu Yusen and Chow Yun-fat were a famous golden pair in the Hong Kong film industry in their early years.

The two of them made a comeback together thanks to "A Better Tomorrow".

Chow Yun-fat turned from a box office poison into a hit, and Rainie Wu also established his position as a director in the Hong Kong film industry with this film.

Chen Kexin was about to explain, but Wu Yusen interrupted him with a smile: "Let me tell you."

He coughed and said, "Fa Zai, it makes me feel cold just thinking about him.

I spent three years preparing for the filming of Red Cliff. Initially, he was chosen to play the role of Zhou Yu, with a salary of 4000 million.

We agreed to pay half of the money before filming started and the other half during the filming process. He asked for a global share of the film in the contract, and we agreed.

Not only that, he also required that the contract be based on the standards of Hollywood's top actors, listing hundreds of requirements in the contract, including accommodation, car provision, etc.

But he had no appeal in the United States and was worried about losing money. The American insurance company did not agree with the contract drafted by his lawyer, so negotiations continued.

We helped him out as we were long-time friends, but he suddenly quit the show the day before filming started and went to report to the crew of Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows. This matter was reported a few years ago, but the details disclosed by the media were far less rich than what Wu Yusen said.

At this point, the crew began to pack up.

Chen Kexin gave a few simple instructions and then said, "Don't stand there, it's time to call it a day. Let's find a restaurant to sit down and chat while eating."

"Okay!" Lu Yuan had no objection.

There is a Shanhai restaurant near Columbia University, just a five-minute walk away.

The restaurant was founded by a Columbia University alumnus. The decoration inside the store adopts the style of Chinese landscape painting. Most of the diners are Chinese and Chinese students.

Noticing Lu Yuan coming in, several international students looked him over carefully and greeted him chatteringly.

"Ah! Isn't this Lu Yuan!"

"Lu Yuan, when did you come to New York?"

Lu Yuan waved at them with a big smile on his face: "The crew is filming here, so we came over."

"I watched 'New World', it was really great!" an international student shouted excitedly.

"Thank you!"

"Can we take a photo with you? I'm your fan, and I've also turned my Russian girlfriend into your fan." Another male international student with a crew cut said expectantly.

"Hahaha, of course. Let's take a group photo together." Lu Yuan agreed readily.

Wu Yusen and Chen Kexin sat down and took their eyes off Lu Yuan, who was being taken a photo with several Chinese college students.

The menu of the restaurant is quite unique, consisting of Kaijuan, Shan Jing, Hai Jing, Dayu Tangwen, Dahuang, etc., just like a classic of mountains and seas.

Chen Kexin simply flipped through the cups, took out three cups, poured water into each, rinsed them, and then refilled them: "How is your recuperation here?"

Wu Yusen took a sip to moisten his throat and smiled: "I am quite enjoying my life now. My wife is by my side to take care of me, and my three children take turns to take me to see the doctor and help me prepare various supplements."

"I'm not asking that. I'm asking how your health is now." Chen Kexin interrupted him and gestured on his neck twice.

During the preparation for "Life and Death" last year, Wu Yusen suffered from lymphadenitis and his neck was swollen.

When he returned to Beijing to see a doctor, the examination results showed that he had lymphoma and the cancer cells had metastasized to the tonsils.

Wu Yusen didn't believe it, so he went to Taiwan to check again, and the result was the same.

The situation was very dangerous at the time. If treatment had been delayed any longer, the consequences would have been disastrous.

Wu Yusen was forced to suspend the preparations for "Love in Life and Death", was hospitalized for chemotherapy, had his tonsils removed, and has been recuperating in the United States since then.

Of course, he only told others that he had found a small tumor in his neck and had a simple operation.

Wu Yusen touched his neck, still feeling a lingering fear: "It's fine. I went to the hospital for a checkup two days ago, and there is no sign of deterioration for the time being. I'm lucky that my sense of taste is still there."

Chen Kexin nodded. As far as he knew, even if the lymph node surgery was successful, there might be sequelae. Many people would lose their sense of taste after the surgery.

He glanced at Lu Yuan subconsciously, and then asked, "So the "Life and Death Love" project has been restarted?"

"Yes, I have been revising it during the time I was recuperating." Wu Yusen replied, and then paused: "By the way, it is no longer called "Life and Death", but "The Crossing"!"

"It's just a crappy name, changed over and over again." Chen Kexin curled his lips.

At the Cannes International Film Festival in May 08, Rainie Wu promoted "Red Cliff" and revealed to the media that he would be shooting a big production tentatively titled "5".

Later it was renamed "The Crossing", then changed to "Love at the End", and now it has been changed back.

"Why did you come here this time?" Chen Kexin was about to ask further when Lu Yuan walked over.

Due to Wu Yusen's physical condition, the three chose some light dishes and chatted about gossip in the circle while eating.

Wu Yusen continued to talk about his love-hate relationship with Chow Yun-fat, and said that he would never work with the other party again.

Changing the subject, Wu Yusen asked Lu Yuan: "Do you know about the Taiping incident?"

After he said this, Lu Yuan vaguely guessed the other party's purpose of coming here today, but he looked at him with pretended confusion.

Wu Yusen slowly said: "In 49, the Taiping set sail from Shanghai to Keelung with 1000 passengers. Due to overloading and the lack of navigation lights during nighttime sailing, the ship collided with the Jianyuan near the Zhoushan Islands and sank, killing 932 people on board.

Many celebrities and wealthy businessmen were on this sunken ship. This is China's Titanic!" Lu Yuan put down his chopsticks and said with a smile: "Isn't this the "Life and Death" you were busy with last year?"

"It's now called "The Taiping"!" Wu Yusen corrected and continued.

"I want to make this movie into the Chinese version of Titanic. The special effects will be handled by the original crew of Titanic. The director of photography is Zhao Fei, who has worked with you on Out of Time.

As for the cast, Zhang Ziyi and Korean actress Song Hye-kyo have been confirmed. Zhang Ziyi liked the script very much and said she had to act after reading it. Even when I was sick, she did not give up and waited for me to recover before continuing filming..."

Wu Yusen said a lot in one breath, using both emotion and reason to persuade him. He even felt a little uncomfortable in his throat, and then he invited him: "Do you want to try it?"

Worried that he was not persuasive enough, he tempted her again: "Although New World has good box office in China, it has no audience in Hollywood. You have to go abroad now, to Hollywood. If Chinese films want to open up the international market, they must shoot international themes, such as romance films.

I have been working in Hollywood for many years and I am somewhat confident. The goal for this movie is at least 3 million US dollars, or 20 billion RMB in total. I hope to make The Crossing an epic movie!"

When he got excited, Wu Yusen's face flushed.

A romance movie? Aren’t you shooting a gangster movie? Lu Yuan muttered to himself.

Although he disdains Wu Yusen's personality, he doesn't mind acting in a role if the script is good.

As for whether Wu Yusen will repeat the same old trick and use him to pave the way for new Taiwanese people.

Haha, Lu Yuan actually hopes he can give it a try!

With this thought in mind, he said, "I need to read the script first."

"No problem." Wu Yusen took out his cell phone and sent him an email.

For the next half hour, Lu Yuan read the script silently, while Wu Yusen occasionally interjected a few comments.

"The main plot is three kinds of love, the love of different people in the context of the great era"

However, the more he read, the more Lu Yuan felt that there were problems with the plot, which seemed too long.

He couldn't help but ask in confusion: "Are you going to split this into two parts, just like Red Cliff?"

"Correct!"

Lu Yuan nodded and silently gave this drama a cross in his heart.

He does not believe in the halo of big directors. Every director has his or her own area of ​​expertise.

No matter how great a director is, he is not an all-rounder. It's like asking Chen Kaiquan and Zhang Yi to shoot a comedy, and asking Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kexin to shoot a martial arts film, the result will be a hodgepodge.

It might be okay for Wu Yusen to shoot passionate gangster films and violent aesthetics, but forget about romance films.

He has been in the industry for nearly seven years and has starred in many high-grossing films. He is no longer an ordinary person and has a unique set of skills in judging scripts.

"The Crossing" is a commercial romance film. The main theme of the film is the ill-fated fate of three groups of characters including Lei Yifang who were caught up in the torrent of history.

However, there are many additional side characters, which makes the structure too large, but lacks a core line, and the audience can easily lose focus.

However, scattered narrative is in conflict with the positioning of commercial blockbusters.

Commercial blockbusters should pursue direct and effective narrative methods, with everything revolving around the main line so that the audience can keep up with the rhythm.

Therefore, even if Wu Yusen invited the production team of "Titanic" to help, he would push the special effects technology to the extreme.

Lu Yuan didn't think he could get good results either.

He continued to ask: "When will this play start shooting?"

"Mid-next year." A gleam of joy flashed in Wu Yusen's eyes.

"What a pity! My schedule is fully booked for next year." Lu Yuan shook his head regretfully.

Wu Yusen was slightly stunned, his eyes stayed on his face for a few seconds, somewhat incredulous.

He is Wu Yusen, one of only two internationally renowned directors in China. How many artists dream of getting a role in one of his films.

This time he came in person to invite him, which was considered to be giving Lu Yuan enough face, but he didn't expect the other party to refuse so bluntly.

Do you think it’s amazing that the two movies you starred in had box office revenues of over 1 billion?

He felt unhappy, but he suppressed it and changed his address: "Mr. Lu, are you interested in investing?"

He had heard a little about Lu Yuan's Star Project.

Just when Lu Yuan was about to decline, his cell phone rang suddenly. He glanced at it and hung up.

The other two people at the table looked curious when they saw this.

Wu Yusen wanted to continue asking about the investment, but heard Lu Yuan's cell phone ring again.

Lu Yuan had no choice but to apologize, "I'll take a call."

"it is good."

"random."

Lu Yuan stood up and walked out the door. Wu Yusen stopped pretending and his face instantly darkened several shades.

Chen Kexin didn't know what to say. Lu Yuan is now worthy of being an international director.

He then asked, "Didn't I hear you say last year that the investment in this play was sufficient?"

Wu Yusen shook his head: "Originally, China Film Group held 10%, Pony.com held 50%, and Huace Film Group held 40%, but Huace Film Group suddenly withdrew its shares."

"So you want him to invest?"

"Yeah." Wu Yusen nodded in acknowledgment.

On the other side, Lu Yuan answered Gong Yu's call.

"Mr. Gong, it should be early morning in China now. Why are you calling me so urgently? Is there any happy event at home?"

Gong Yu on the other side said in a bad tone, a little jumpy: "Mr. Lu, have I offended Lu Jing in any way? If so, I can solemnly apologize. In addition, can you please tell her not to do these little tricks again?"

"What happened to her?" Lu Yuan pretended to be ignorant.

"She asked me knowingly, I sent someone to contact Fengxing.com, she interfered, we were negotiating with CCTV about the broadcasting rights of sports events, she interfered again.

How many times has this happened? You must have done it on purpose. I have already explained to you clearly on the phone why your subordinates were ignorant and interfered in "The Heirs" before.

Lu Yuan didn't want to listen to his nonsense, and replied solemnly: "This is a development plan within PPS, I won't interfere."

After that, he asked again in confusion: "By the way, why don't you call her yourself and ask her?"

"Ask your sister! She blocked me."

"Boss Gong, you are a CEO, why do you swear?" Lu Yuan joked with a smile: "Besides, you know my cousin is shameless and like a dog-skin plaster. Most of the time, my words are useless."

"Lu Yuan, you..."

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes and put the phone away from his ear.

He turned and looked at Wu Yusen, and an idea suddenly popped into his mind.

The phone was still in the call mode. He walked over and said to Wu Yusen, "Director Wu Yusen, regarding the investment in The Crossing, it's a good script, so I have no problem with it..."

Having said that, he deliberately paused to make sure Gong Yu had heard it, and then hung up the phone immediately.

Although Wu Yusen was somewhat puzzled as to why he addressed him like that, he still showed a look of joy on his face.

Before I could even feel happy, I heard him add, "But the company also has a big project next year, and funds are tight. Sorry."

Wu Yusen: “.”

(End of this chapter)