Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 229 Chapter 239 [Director Chen: I’m filming the greatest emperor of all time]

"Thank you, thank you so much, Director Li!"

Hearing this good news, Zhao Wenzhuo on the other end of the phone was so excited that he kept expressing his gratitude.

Li Yishu smiled cheerfully: "If you really want to thank me, I will invite you to film in the future, just don't pay too much."

A few days ago, Zhao Wenzhuo called and asked Li Yishu to consider Anita Mui more when choosing the female lead.

Seeing that Zhao Wenzhuo had called to beg for the role, Li Yishu just chose Anita Mui, which was considered to be the best way to restore the movie.

Zhao Wenzhuo quickly said, "Director Li, don't even mention reducing your pay. I'm willing to act in your movie even if you don't pay me!"

"Haha, you can't not ask for a paycheck, just give me a discount. You're so popular in Hong Kong recently, how can you win the heart of a beautiful woman if you don't make some money?"

"How about that? I..."

"Okay, okay, it's settled. I won't call Miss Mei to inform her. You can tell her yourself. I have an appointment with a friend later."

"Okay Director Li."

After hanging up the phone, Li Yishu played with his phone for a while and couldn't help but smile. He hoped that Zhao Wenzhuo and Mei Yanfang could have a good result.

night.

Li Yishu is in a villa halfway up the mountain.

He held the other person's head, and after a tremor, he let go of his hand with relief.

"Cough cough..."

Li Jiaxin raised her head and gave him a charming look: "Director Li, you almost choked me to death."

"Haha, I couldn't help it."

Li Yishu smiled. This feeling was so good. She touched the other person's pretty face and said, "'Rumble in the Bronx' will probably start filming in March. If you have nothing to do during this period, you can think more about the script."

"What about the movie in which I am the heroine?" Li Jiaxin asked quickly.

“It’s estimated to be by the end of the year.”

Li Yishu shook his head. He only has two movies on hand right now, one is "Rumble in the Bronx" and the other is "Fireworks". He promised to give Li Jiaxin the female lead role, and he will start another one when the time comes depending on the situation. Anyway, he definitely won't have much time in the first half of the year.

"Jingle Bell……"

Just then, Li Yishu's cell phone rang. Li Jiaxin got up wrapped in the bed sheet, walked to the table and picked up the phone.

"I'm going to take a shower first."

After handing over the phone, Li Jiaxin said something and walked towards the bathroom.

After everyone left, Li Yishu picked up his phone. He saw the caller ID and saw it was Izumi Sakai. He answered curiously, "What's wrong, Izumi?"

It's so late and Izumi Sakai suddenly called me. There must be something wrong.

Izumi Sakai on the other end of the phone said anxiously: "Mr. Li, it's bad, Takeshi Kitano was in a car accident!"

"what?!"

Li Yishu immediately sat up straight and asked seriously, "What's going on?"

"I'm not too sure, I just saw the breaking news on TV and saw that Mr. Kitano had been in a car accident and has been sent to the hospital."

Izumi Sakai knew that Takeshi Kitano and Lee Yi-su had been working together, and she was looking forward to spending some time with Lee Yi-su when she came to Japan to film, but she didn't expect that Takeshi Kitano suddenly had a car accident.

"Okay, I got it. I will take some time to go to Japan in the next two days."

Li Yishu frowned. He didn't expect that Takeshi Kitano would still get into a car accident. When they met last year, he clearly reminded him not to drive after drinking.

I don’t know how serious Takeshi Kitano’s injury is this time.

"Okay Mr. Li, I will try to find out about Mr. Kitano's injuries."

After chatting for a few more sentences, Li Yishu hung up the phone and called the number of Amy's assistant in Hong Kong, asking her to book a flight to Japan for tomorrow afternoon.

He has to go and check on Takeshi Kitano's injury. If the injury is not serious, he can continue shooting as planned. If the injury is serious, he may have to change the project or replace the shooter.

Japan, Tokyo.

Kadokawa Corporation.

Kadokawa Toshihiko extended his hand enthusiastically and said, "Director Chen, welcome to visit our Kadokawa Corporation."

"You're welcome, Mr. Kadokawa. I'm honored to visit your company."

After listening to the translator beside him, Chen Kai said with a smile on his face: "I have heard that Kadokawa Bookstore is the number one publishing house in Japan. I just visited it with the staff and I have to admit that your company has made great achievements in literary production..."

Brother Chen Kai's nice words were as free as can be, and he kept throwing them at the other person's face. As expected, a satisfied smile appeared on Kadokawa Koyomi's face.

He came to Japan this time to attract investment.

According to the budget, if "The Emperor and the Assassin" wants to compete with Lee Yi-su's "Red Cliff", it will cost at least 1.5 million RMB.

In Chen Kaige's vision, the film should restore the Qin Palace of the Qin Dynasty, and if possible, the Afang Palace should also be built.

The investment in construction alone would be at least tens of millions, not to mention the grand scene of King Qin Ying Zheng sweeping across the world.

Brother Chen Kai did not expect the Beijing Film Studio to invest, nor did he expect anyone in the country to invest, so he contacted Kadokawa Leyihiko, the president of Japan's Kadokawa Shoten, through his connections, hoping that the other party would invest in the film.

In addition to Kadokawa Lehiko, Chen Kaige has also shortlisted several foreign investors. However, considering that if his movies want to achieve high box office in the future, the Japanese market is naturally indispensable, so his first choice is to come to Japan to attract investment.

In contrast, the Kadokawa family entered the film industry as early as the 70s, but the Japanese film market has always been dominated by Toho, Shochiku and Toei.

Kadokawa Group is not as wealthy as Sony, which has led to their not-so-smooth development in the film industry over the past two decades.

This time, Chen Kai asked someone to seek investment. Kadokawa Lehiko felt that this might be an opportunity for their family to enter the film and television industry. The Chinese market is so huge, with a population of more than one billion, which is much larger than Japan.

Entering the film industry and allowing the Kadokawa family's ancestral business, Kadokawa Shoten, to enter the Chinese market is definitely a sure-win deal for Kadokawa Leyuki.

China has a population of over one billion and there are many people who love reading. With the rise of various new wave cultures, Kadokawa Kojihiko, as an industry insider, is naturally envious of the huge domestic book market.

After the two exchanged greetings and sat down, they began to talk about the investment.

Kadokawa Koyomi said, "Director Chen, we at Kadokawa Corporation are very proud of your talent, but isn't the investment in this film a bit too much?" "Mr. Kadokawa, I'm going to film the Qin Shi Huang. I believe you know him. As the first emperor of a unified China, I'm going to film him, so I'm going to make sure I get the best results."

Chen Kai said incessantly: "My plan is to recreate the grand scene of Qin Shi Huang sweeping across the six kingdoms. By then, there will be tens of thousands of extras involved... I wonder if Mr. Kadokawa has seen the American film Ben-Hur? My plan is to make such an epic masterpiece. When the picture is presented, it will definitely be enough to shock the world."

"Si Guoyi!!"

Kadokawa Lehiko widened his eyes, and in the face of what Chen Kai said, he was overjoyed and said: "Director Chen, do you really want to shoot such a big production?!"

Of course he had seen Ben-Hur, a big-budget movie that used 15,000 extras for the chariot race scene alone.

Chen Kai said confidently, "Yes, I think Ben-Hur is too conservative. It may be because the protagonist is not Caesar, so there are no big scenes. But I am going to shoot Qin Shi Huang, the emperor who swept across the six kingdoms. The big scenes that will appear at that time will definitely be much stronger than Ben-Hur. Just imagine the scene of tens of thousands of troops sweeping across the world. Once this movie is made, it will definitely shock the world!!"

Kadokawa Koyomi was fooled and blinded by the epic war scenes depicted by Chen Kaige.

He nodded excitedly and said, "Director Chen, I believe in your ability. You will definitely be able to make a good film. We, Kadokawa Group, have invested 1.5 million RMB!"

"Thank you, Mr. Kadokawa!"

Chen Kai's face lit up and he said, "Don't worry, I have been preparing for this film for seven years. We Chinese have an old saying, 'It takes seven years to sharpen a sword, and it will be sharp in one day.' I believe that once my film is released, it will definitely shock the world."

After hearing the translation, Kadokawa Lehiko became more confident: "Siguoyi, you spent seven years just to prepare a movie. Director Chen really has the craftsman spirit of our Japan. I believe you can make it well."

"Then I wonder when the first investment will be finalized? I also need to return to China as soon as possible to prepare the crew."

"Three days, give us three days."

three days?

Brother Chen Kai was ecstatic. He had already thought about how he would brag about himself after returning home.

But when he thought about the 2 million investment budget of Li Yishu, he pondered for a moment and wanted to increase the budget, but when he glanced at Kadokawa Lehiko's happy expression, he decided to wait and see.

Let the other party invest a sum of money first, and then make additional investments later. By that time, they will be trapped and Kadokawa Lehiko will have no chance to escape.

This time, Brother Chen Kai vowed to surpass Li Yishu, so the investment budget of 1.5 million is definitely not enough. It would be best if it was 3 million. In this way, he could have a budget 1 million higher than Li Yishu and create a true domestic blockbuster!

Early that morning.

Li Yishu arrived in Tokyo by plane and was picked up by Izumi Sakai.

She drove Li Yishu to the hospital where Takeshi Kitano was staying.

"Mr. Kitano is not doing well."

In the car, Izumi Sakai said as he drove: "I went to the hospital to see him this morning. Mrs. Kitano said that he was in a motorcycle accident and half of his face was completely disfigured. It will probably take more than half a year for treatment, not to mention the time for later plastic surgery."

Half of the face is disfigured?
Li Yishu shook her head slightly. It seemed that the expressionless Kitano Takeshi was about to appear.

A private hospital in Tokyo.

At the door of the intensive care unit, Li Yishu met Kitano Takeshi's wife, Matsuda Mikiko, a woman of ordinary appearance, but from her words, it was not difficult to tell that Mrs. Kitano was a well-educated person.

Mrs. Kitano still had a trace of sadness on her face. She bowed and said, "Director Li, I'm so sorry to have you travel thousands of miles from China to Japan to visit Kitano. I really troubled you!"

"Mrs. Kitano, you are too polite. Mr. Kitano and I are old acquaintances. Unfortunately, he had a car accident, so I should come to visit him."

While making polite remarks, Li Yishu also looked through the large glass window at Kitano Takeshi who was in the ICU with various tubes inserted into his body.

After comforting Mrs. Kitano with a few words, Li Yishu and Izumi Sakai accompanied her to see the doctor in the inpatient department.

From the resident doctor, they learned that although Kitano Takeshi was temporarily out of danger, the severe injuries to his face caused half of his teeth to be broken, and even the bones of half of his face were shattered.

Even if the plastic surgery goes smoothly in the future, it will probably be difficult to recover to her original appearance. There is a high probability that half of her face will have no nerves.

For a comedian, besides verbal humor, the most important thing is body language and facial expressions.

Just like Jim Carrey, who is very famous in the United States, he entertains the audience with his exaggerated facial movements.

Zhou Xingchi, who is known as the King of Comedy, also created most of his early works in this style.

Li Yishu asked, "Doctor, how long do you think it will take for Kitano Takeshi to fully recover?"

Izumi Sakai nearby helped translate.

"This... conservatively estimated to take at least a year."

The doctor couldn't determine the exact recovery time. After all, Kitano Takeshi's injuries were not serious, but his disfigurement was too complete.

It just means that Takeshi Kitano has some money. Most people in this situation would probably just live from hand to mouth.

"and……"

The doctor hesitated and said, "Even if he recovers, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Mr. Kitano to continue working as an actor in the future. His face is too obviously disfigured."

"Okay, thank you, doctor." Li Yishu nodded solemnly.

After a while, several people came out of the resident doctor's office and came outside.

"Director Li, Kitano...he has always liked your "Fireworks". He tells me every day how good the script you wrote is..."

Mrs. Kitano choked up and said, "I know that Kitano is disfigured and may not be able to work as an actor in the future, but I still hope that Director Li can wait until Kitano recovers. If... if Kitano still has hope, I can make the decision for Kitano. In order to make up for Director Li's loss, Kitano can not ask for any remuneration."

"Mrs. Kitano, you don't have to do this."

Li Yishu was a little hesitant. He did think about replacing Takeshi Kitano, or simply changing the script of "Fireworks" to Hong Kong, but after hearing what Mrs. Kitano said, he felt it would be better to wait.

Anyway, he has this project on hand now and the script has already been completed. It will be impossible for Takeshi Kitano to "originally" write this script in the future.

Thinking of this, Li Yishu decided to give Takeshi Kitano a chance. After all, when he was filming "Love Letter", Takeshi Kitano came to play a small postman, and later he promoted his movies on the show many times. It was reasonable to give him a chance.

"Mrs. Kitano, I can give Kitano a chance for a year. But you can rest assured, Kitano and I have known each other for a while. If he can't be an actor, I can sign him to work as a director in my company."

The few films directed by Takeshi Kitano later were still very good, such as "Kikujiro's Summer" and "Outrageous".

Mrs. Kitano was so moved when she heard this that she quickly bowed again: "What a bastard Arika is."

The soft Japanese female accent, coupled with the sad tone of her husband being hospitalized, was only because Mrs. Kitano was just average looking, otherwise Lee Yi-su would probably have been unable to resist saying:
Mrs. Kitano, you don't want Mr. Kitano to have no chance, right?

(End of this chapter)