The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 638 Hairy
"The 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards will be held on the evening of April 4. New World is strong and may become the biggest winner!"

"Zhao Yanzi, Liu Shishi and others appeared in Chongqing, and 'So Young' started its nationwide promotional tour."

"The Academy Awards ceremony will be held today. Lu Yuan, Wen Muye, and Xu Zheng will take a flight to Hong Kong!"

The above are reports from the mainland, which are quite standard. The entertainment newspapers in Hong Kong are much more exaggerated.

"The giant continent attacks Hong Kong, the Golden Statue is in danger!" accompanied by a handsome headshot of Lu Yuan.

"Mainland superstar Lu Yuan is coming to Hong Kong with "New World", and may take off the last underwear of the Academy Awards!"

"The Hong Kong Film Awards are opening their legs to mainland male artists, flattering them to the extreme?"

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On April 4, the 13nd Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Grand Theater of Hong Kong Cultural Center.

Lu Yuan, Wen Muye, Xu Zheng and others, along with their respective assistants, arrived in Hong Kong at noon that day.

The reason why Xu Zheng came here was because "Lost in Thailand" was nominated for the Best Cross-Strait Chinese Film Award.

Other nominated films include "1942", "Painted Skin II" and "Time Travel".
In Yau Tsim Mong District, a luxurious five-star hotel close to Victoria Harbour.

Xu Zheng put down his luggage exhaustedly and slumped down on the sofa, panting.

"Oh, no, I'm going to be useless."

"Old Xu, how many months is it? Boy or girl!" Ning Hao patted his big belly.

"Get out of the way!" Xu Zheng quickly covered his face with his hat and complained, "The Academy Awards are so stingy. They don't even provide airport pick-up service. Compared to those awards in China, it's really too shabby."

"After all, the place is small." Wen Muye stood in front of the window, looking at Victoria Harbour, and pushed up the frame of his glasses.

Lu Yuan had just washed his hands and came out of the bathroom.

According to the tradition of the Academy Awards, the organizers will not bear any travel expenses of the actors, including air tickets, accommodation, etc., and there will be no appearance fees. Everything must be taken care of by themselves.

Ning Hao revealed: "I heard Chen Jiashang say in an interview that the activity funding in previous years was only about five million. This time, thanks to government funding and advertising sponsorship, a total of 1100 million Hong Kong dollars were raised, equivalent to about 1000 million RMB, which is much more abundant than before."

Ning Hao has been supervising the filming of "Seven Days of Rebirth" in Hong Kong recently. Knowing that they were coming, he arranged everything in advance and it was he who picked them up at the airport today.

Xu Zheng sneered and gave an example: "The Shanghai Film Festival receives tens of millions of yuan from the government each year, and more than 5500 companies have raised hundreds of millions of yuan in special funds to support it. The Beijing International Film Festival also receives tens of millions of yuan in corporate sponsorship. Even the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, which has a mediocre reputation, has invested million yuan in the least-invited festival."

"Okay, just say less. Why are you so angry?" Lu Yuan glanced at him.

"Most likely he had a quarrel with his wife." Ning Hao joked while playing with a big gold chain.

Different from Lu Yuan who keeps himself clean, Xu Zheng is an out-and-out playboy.

Ever since Lost in Thailand became a huge box office success, although he still keeps a low profile in front of the media, his private life has inevitably become more indulgent.

Many young and beautiful girls tried to get close to him in order to get a chance to perform.

But Xu Zheng was very smart. He was so excited that he would rather go to a nightclub for fun than get entangled with these people.

I've been getting excited more frequently lately, and was caught by Xiao Taohong, so we had a lot of quarrels.

"Tsk~" Xu Zheng was too lazy to pay attention to him. Who are they talking about? The eldest brother doesn't talk about the second brother, but you are the same. The red flag is flying at home and the colorful flags are fluttering outside.

The Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for the afternoon, which is still some time before the evening banquet.

Ning Hao saw that everyone had rested enough, so he slapped his thigh and suggested, "Let's go and take a look at the crew of 'Seven Days Reborn'."

"Okay!" Several other people responded. This was the itinerary they had planned long ago.

"Seven Days of Rebirth" was filmed in Ping Shek Estate in Ping Shan, Kwun Tong District, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

It took nearly 20 minutes to drive from the hotel where we were staying, passing through Hung Hom and Kowloon Walled City, and reach our destination.

After getting out of the taxi, Lu Yuan and others looked up and saw tall buildings standing in rows, like a huge birdcage, and they even suffered from claustrophobia.

"This is too depressing." Wen Muye exclaimed.

He filmed "New World" here last year, but this was his first time seeing this kind of residential building.

Hong Kong is a small and densely populated area with a population of over seven million, and housing prices are shockingly high.

Public housing estates provide shelter for the vast majority of Hong Kong people.

Public housing estates, also known as public housing, have small rooms and are also called subdivided flats, coffin houses, and cage houses.
Just by the name, you can tell it's not a good place.

Mainly aimed at low-income families, public housing is equivalent to low-rent housing in the mainland, and the rent is far lower than the market price.

Although it is called a "house", it can hardly be called a livable place.

The group walked into the square building and saw that the housing estates were arranged in a criss-cross shape.

Standing in the center and looking up, the stacked square buildings form a light and dark contrast in the sunlight, as if they form the shape of a "口" in the sky.

Depression and crampedness are the only feelings in their hearts.

Lu Yuan sighed: "If you live in this place for too long, you'll probably have psychological problems."

"Yes, just like the bottom of a well." Xu Zheng agreed.

Ning Hao introduced: "This kind of house cannot receive sunlight for a long time, and is considered by Hong Kong Feng Shui masters to be a place with heavy Yin energy. In addition, there have been many cases of people jumping off buildings in similar areas, so Hong Kong horror films particularly like to film here."

As he spoke, Ning Hao suddenly had a bad taste in his mouth. He raised his voice, pressed it against the back of Xu Zheng's neck, and spoke in a weird voice.

"In 09, a murder occurred here. A family of four, parents and two daughters, were all buried. The two daughters were buried alive, and their deaths were tragic. The murderer was the man's cousin. Do you want to know why?"

"Get out, get out!" Xu Zheng was frightened by him and his whole body trembled. This crappy place was already cold and gloomy, and he even blew air on his neck deliberately. He was almost annoyed by this guy.

"I'm not interested. I don't want to listen. Can you shut up?"

"Old Xu, don't you want to know? Let me change it. A few days ago, when filming a scene of arresting someone in a stairwell, when Juno Mak was watching the playback, he suddenly found a person with long hair standing behind the door.

At first, Junlong Mak thought it was just an NG shot and didn’t take it seriously, preparing to reshoot it. However, the more he thought about it, the more something seemed wrong. He asked a few people to review the scene and found that there was no one standing at the door at the time.

"Old Xu, do you want to see that scene?"

"Get lost!" Xu Zheng cursed, "Can you please stop following me, Ning Hao, you bastard?"

The two guys were pulling and tugging at the back. Lu Yuan and Wen Muye looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

"Bang!" The iron door of the stairwell was suddenly pushed open and Li Gen jumped out from inside.

"Boss!"

"Soul Ferry" was filmed and edited at the end of last year, so he came here to observe the filming of Hong Kong-style horror films.

Behind Li Guang were several crew members who greeted him at the same time. From their accents, they seemed to be Hong Kong natives.

This group of people could understand Mandarin but just wouldn't speak it. They spoke in Cantonese and were very arrogant. Lu Yuan couldn't quite understand them and was too lazy to pay attention to their little thoughts.

After a few brief greetings, the group went upstairs.

The corridors were narrow and cramped, and some tenants' doors were open. A whole family, including parents, children, and even the elderly, lived together in a space of 40 to 50 square meters.

Most of them have blank expressions and dull eyes, as if life has lost its color. Although Hong Kong is known as an international city, the bottom class is just as hard-working everywhere, living like the walking dead.

Lu Yuan retracted his gaze, looked at Li Weng beside him, and asked, "How is your stay here?"

Li Guang smiled and replied: "Although Director Mak Junlong is directing for the first time, he is absolutely first-rate in creating a horror atmosphere."

He gave a thumbs up: "With the help of Japanese horror master Shimizu Takashi, this zombie film completely abandons the zombie image of Lin Zhenying's style and pursues real horror, pure horror."

Seeing that he was talking with great excitement, Lu Yuan listened quietly.

Since he started filming "Soul Ferry" last year, Li Gen has developed a strong interest in horror films. He has spent a lot of money to buy the copyrights of many horror novels and has been clamoring to go to Thailand to film.

Hmm. I'm obsessed.

We went up one more floor and arrived at the shooting site. In a narrow corridor, the crew was filming.

When Mai Junlong saw him coming, he immediately showed an apologetic look on his face: "Mr. Lu, I should have gone down to pick you up"

"It's okay!" Lu Yuan pressed his shoulder, preventing him from getting up, and stared at the picture on the monitor.

In the corridor, Hui Hongying hugged a little white-haired boy and covered his eyes.

Qian Xiaohao stood close to the wall with his eyes closed, as if he was afraid of something.

Then, four tall and strange creatures, with their heads almost touching the floor, came slowly towards them, holding worn paper umbrellas, with sacks on their heads, and wearing robes that were full of decay from the old times.

"Tsk!" Lu Yuan felt creepy in his heart. This scene was very similar to the style of the vaginal kiss in "Mr. Zombie".

But I encountered such an exciting scene right at the beginning. What the hell is going on?

I should have brought Liu Shishi here earlier.

"Yes, next one!"

Mai Junlong shouted, turned his head, saw Lu Yuan was curious, and hurriedly explained.

"Mr. Lu, this is called a tall ghost in Hong Kong. I don't know if there is a similar term in the mainland. Originally, I wanted to invite Mr. Xu Guanyin to play opposite the four tall ghosts. The role was designed to be quite a lot, in a comedy style. Unfortunately, Mr. Xu Guanyin passed away, so the appearance was changed and it became what it is now."

"It's fine." What else could Lu Yuan say? Even the coward Xu Zheng was scared away.

He was also frightened, until he saw the four tall ghosts take off their costumes, revealing four big men on stilts, and then the feeling of horror faded away.

"Director Mai, when is the expected wrap time?"

"The filming will be finished very quickly, and it should be finished in early May, but this drama involves a lot of special effects, so the post-production will be a little slower."

"Okay, go at your own pace."

Lu Yuan and his companions walked around the set.

The staff members whispered to each other and found out that this person was not only a hot candidate for this year's Best Actor Award at the Academy Awards, but also the big boss of the crew.

After a brief chat with Shimizu Takashi, Qian Xiaohao, Chen You and other leading actors, Lu Yuan was about to leave.

This crappy place is really too scary. It's a mixture of Japanese horror and Hong Kong horror, with a main focus on atmosphere. Even grown men can't stand it.

Overall, he is quite satisfied with the drama, and it is estimated that it will attract a lot of users if it is broadcast on PPS.

As they were going downstairs, a series of insults caught their attention.

Several people looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old man and an old woman holding a script and arguing face to face.

The old man cursed in Cantonese: "You are crazy, you are crazy!"

"You idiot, believe me, I'll save you from the disease." The old lady was not to be outdone.

Lu Yuan had a headache. He couldn't understand Cantonese, but he knew the meaning of familiar swear words like "叼了老母" and "痴线".

Besides, the white-haired old man with a shoe-horn face is a familiar face on the screen - Wu Yaohan.

When Wu Yaohan was young, he had two small mustaches at the corners of his mouth, which was very impressive.

He played a minor role in Chaplin's last film and only became famous after starring in "The Lucky Stars".

In addition, he also played the role of "Green-Winged Bat King" Wei Yixiao in Jet Li's version of "The Demon Cult Leader" and collaborated with Lin Zhenying in "Mr. Spirit", in which he played the role of Mao Shanming and raised two little ghosts.

The Hong Kong film industry highly respects Ng Man-tat, calling him a comedy legend and a top comedian.

People in and outside the industry call him the "deadbeat comedian"!
Wu Yaohan's appearance is not funny, and his performance is not that funny on its own, but as long as he appears, he can make people laugh without any deliberate squinting.

He and Stephen Chow come from two completely different comedy styles.

Lu Yuan took a few steps forward and greeted him.

Wu Yaohan became famous early. In the late 70s, his film pay was as high as one million. He also had a habit of buying a building after filming a movie.

After being in the industry for many years and owning more than a dozen properties, he is now worth billions. Even at the age of seventy, he still chooses to come out and make movies, which shows that he really loves this industry and is worthy of respect.

Wu Yaohan is in his seventies, wears reading glasses, has age spots all over his face, and is not in good health. He plays a zombie in this movie.

When Lu Yuan got closer, he recognized this most handsome and impressive new generation actor in the mainland, and shook hands with him with a smile.

"Lu Sheng, I heard from Mai Zai that you invested in this movie. Investing in horror movies nowadays is not a good deal." He said in not very standard Mandarin.

Lu Yuan could barely understand what was said, and shook his head, not caring at all: "I watched a lot of Hong Kong horror movies when I was a kid, and this kind of theme hasn't been seen on the market for a long time. This is just a way to reminisce about the past. It really doesn't matter whether it makes money or not."

"Haha, what a nonchalance!" Wu Yaohan laughed out loud, and then coughed violently twice.

"Is everything okay?"

"It's okay. I won't die for the time being as long as it stays like this." Wu Yaohan is very open-minded about his condition.

"In fact, I didn't want to act in it at first. After all, I'm old and it's hard for me to walk. But Mai Zai visited me several times and told me that this is a love letter to Hong Kong zombie movies. Only then did I agree."

The cast that Juno Mak found for this zombie movie is indeed luxurious.

Chen You, Qian Xiaohao, Hui Hongying, Wu Yaohan, Zhong Fat and others who asked the ancestors to possess their bodies in "Mr. Vampire" are all familiar faces and can be said to be quite capable of fighting.

Lu Yuan was somewhat puzzled by Wu Yaohan's cursing behavior, so he asked, "What are you doing?"

Wu Yaohan held up the script in his hand and explained: "There is a swearing scene in the script. I NGed it many times. I am not used to swearing. Now, I am practicing it."

After that, he looked at the old lady opposite and introduced her, "This is Paw Hee Ching, who used to host the program "Happy Tonight". At that time, there was a hard rule that you couldn't swear in front of the camera, so she developed the habit over the years and now she can't swear in front of the camera."

Lu Yuan was stunned.

Wu Yaohan lived in the UK in his early years and his wife is also British. It is indeed not easy for him to speak fluently.

Back from the crew of "Seven Days of Rebirth".

Lu Yuan took a short rest in the hotel, and the makeup artist who came from the mainland did their styling.

At around six o'clock in the afternoon, the group set out from the hotel and headed to the Xiangjiang Cultural Center.

The 32nd Academy Awards ceremony officially begins.

(End of this chapter)