Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 328 339 [Gangster director Johnnie To, ATV suffering heavy losses] Please give me your monthly vote!

"I didn't expect Mr. Liu to be so optimistic about Jiahe!"

"When Mr. Zou comes, I'll have to talk to him about this. Mr. Zou and I will treat you to a meal later."

Li Yishu looked at Fan Liu with a smile. He didn't have much ill feeling towards this man, but was just curious about why he was looking for him.

"Haha, if anyone wants to treat someone to a meal, it should be me."

Fan Liu laughed and said, "If Golden Harvest hadn't gone public, I wouldn't have found the opportunity to make a fortune, so I should be the one to treat you."

Li Yishu raised his glass and said, "Okay, I'll wish Mr. Liu a big profit in the stock market in advance."

"Thank you Director Li for your kind words." After getting to know each other for a while, Fan Liu introduced the woman next to him: "This is my girlfriend Cai Shaofen, an actress. She really likes the movies made by Director Li and dreams of working with him."

Seeing that she was introduced, Cai Shaofen quickly stretched out her hand: "Hello, Lei Dao, I have a small portion of food."

"Pfft!"

Yang Shoucheng, who had been standing aside without saying anything, suddenly laughed out loud on the spot.

Li Yishu almost laughed out loud when she heard Cai Shaofen speak Mandarin.

This is too bad!
I knew in my previous life that Cai Shaofen spoke Mandarin very poorly, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.

"Le Island, yes, I'm sorry, I ..."

Cai Shaofen was speechless and her head was really exploding. It was the first time she regretted why her Mandarin was so poor.

Fan Liu came to the rescue: "Sorry Director Li, A-Fen's Mandarin is not standard."

"It's okay, Mr. Liu. People in Hong Kong speak Cantonese, so it's normal for it to be ordinary but not standard."

Li Yishu waved his hands. He just found it funny. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Cai Shaofen not being able to speak Mandarin. There were also many older generations in Sichuan who couldn't speak Mandarin well.

"Yes, my Mandarin is not standard. I still need to practice."

Fan Liu also heard Cai Shaofen speak Mandarin for the first time. Seeing how badly she spoke, he reminded her, "Ah-Fen, practice your Mandarin when you get a chance. If you want to act in Director Li's movie, you can't speak Mandarin in a standard way."

"That's not the case. I don't necessarily require actors to speak Mandarin when I make a movie."

Li Yishu smiled, but changed her tone the next second and said, "But if Ms. Cai wants to be a good actor, she must practice Mandarin well. Although there are voice actors, directors often prefer actors to use their original voices so that it can fit the plot."

Hong Kong films like to use dubbing the most. The most famous one among them is probably Stoney. He dubbed Zhou Xingchi, and his iconic laughter became the memory of a generation.

I knew who was coming by just hearing his voice without seeing him.

Cai Shaofen bit her lip and nodded slightly in agreement: "Lei Dao, I...I..."

"Speak Cantonese. I can still understand a little bit."

Li Yishu really doesn't want her ears to be polluted.

Cai Shaofen blushed and lowered her head, saying, "I'm sorry, Director Li. I will practice well."

"It doesn't matter. You have to take your time to practice your accent."

Li Yishu smiled and gave encouragement on the surface, but in her heart she didn't think the other party could master Mandarin.

In her previous life, Cai Shaofen had been an actor for more than 20 years and had filmed many TV series in mainland China. But when she later starred in "The Legend of Zhen Huan", her Hong Kong-style Mandarin was so frustrating.

This is something that has been modified before it was broadcast on a TV series. When it appears on some variety shows, if you don't listen carefully, you can't understand the Mandarin at all.

"Why don't you thank Director Li?"

Fan Liu suddenly said, "Director Li is a world-class director. It's rare for him to teach people. He asked you to practice Mandarin well. He must be very optimistic about your future acting career."

Cai Shaofen realized it later: "Thank you Director Li, thank you Director Li."

Li Yishu smiled without saying anything, but just glanced at Fan Liu intriguingly.

"Director Li, I won't bother you any more. I'll host you later, and you must honor me."

"Easy to say."

Watched Fan Liu and Cai Shaofen leave.

Yang Shoucheng smiled and said, "Director Li may not know that Liu has been very popular in Hong Kong Island recently."

Li Yishu raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

"The girl next to him was the runner-up of Miss Hong Kong a few years ago. Last month, Cai Shaofen's mother owed a large sum of money from gambling in Macau. It is said that it was more than 20 million yuan, which made the girl frown all day long."

Yang Shoucheng said this and smiled softly: "A few days ago, Cai Shaofen became much more cheerful. The newspapers said that Liu spent a lot of money to make the beauty smile. I don't know whether it is true or not, anyway, Hong Kong newspapers have been reporting it some time ago."

Shaking his head, Li Yishu said nothing.

Because he knew that this matter was true, Cai Shaofen herself had mentioned it publicly.

Speaking of which, there are many people like Cai Shaofen in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Li Yishu vaguely remembered reading a report in her previous life that mentioned the three weird mothers in the entertainment industry.

Cai Shaofen’s gambling mother, Anita Mui’s blood-sucking mother, Zhang Shaohan’s curly mother.

In addition to these weird mothers who are addicted to gambling, bloodsucking, and embezzling their daughters' assets, there are also people like Jia Jingwen who are forced into a desperate situation because her father is sick and hospitalized.

In this life, if she had not been a classmate of Jiang Qinqin and had not had a relationship with Li Yishu, she would have dropped out of school and returned to Taiwan to be kept by someone.

Seeing that Li Yishu was not very interested in these things, Yang Shoucheng changed the subject and talked about other things.

The grand event of Golden Harvest Film Company's listing made Yang Shoucheng foresee the glory of Eagle King Entertainment's listing in the future. Li Yishu only has 5% of the shares in Golden Harvest, but 30% of the shares in Eagle King Entertainment.

The two were chatting, and some people came to Li Yishu and Yang Shoucheng to toast, to which he responded with a smile.

Time passed little by little, and Zou Wenhuai came back from outside. He had picked up all the people who were supposed to be picked up, and there was no need for him to personally greet the remaining people.

"Everyone, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend the cocktail party hosted by Zou Wenhuai. Our Golden Harvest Film Company has been established for more than 20 years..."

Zou Wenhuai stood in the center, holding up a wine glass, smilingly thanking the guests from all over, while recounting the past history of Golden Harvest.

Looking at Zou Wenhuai surrounded by the crowd, Yang Shoucheng was extremely envious. He also wanted to take Eagle King Entertainment public one day.

"Mr. Li, Jiahe got a great deal this time."

Yang Shoucheng looked at Li Yishu beside him and said sourly, "It's a foregone conclusion that Rumble in the Bronx will gross over 100 million dollars worldwide, but we at Eagle King Entertainment haven't even released a single movie yet."

Eagle King Entertainment recently prepared a food movie "Golden House" starring Zhang Guorong, Zhao Wenzhuo and others. Now the film has been completed and the post-production is also completed. It is planned to be released during the New Year's Day. Yang Shoucheng is very optimistic about this movie, but no matter how optimistic he is, it can't compare to the global box office performance of "Rumble in the Bronx" of 100 million US dollars.

After hearing Yang Shoucheng's complaints, Li Yishu could understand his thoughts. Watching others make money is always not as good as making money yourself.

He thought for a moment and said, "Boss Yang, I do have a script for a commercial film that is quite suitable for filming in Hong Kong Island, but I am not interested in it. If Boss Yang is interested, perhaps we can cooperate?"

"Of course I'm interested. Everyone knows that Mr. Li's scripts are famously good!"

Yang Shoucheng was overjoyed. He didn't expect that just by casually complaining about his troubles he would actually receive a pleasant surprise.

He was definitely a little jealous of the money made by "Rumble in the Bronx", but not much. On the contrary, he felt that the more famous Jackie Chan became, the better the box office sales of the movie "Rush Hour" he was preparing would be in Europe and the United States.

It’s just that Li Yishu has two new scripts, and they are suitable for filming in Hong Kong Island. It is obvious that they will be handed over to Eagle King Entertainment.

"Haha, Mr. Yang, you're joking. No matter how good the script is, it still needs to be filmed by different people."

Li Yishu smiled. He had planned to make a Hong Kong film a long time ago, but it was not him who would shoot it. Instead, it was handed over to the branch company in Hong Kong Island.

However, Hong Kong has not yet returned, and society is still relatively chaotic.

Now that Yang Shoucheng is interested, it would be a good idea to find him. He has extensive connections in Hong Kong Island and knows people in both the black and white worlds.

The crew doesn't have to worry about encountering any trouble.

Yang Shoucheng understood what he meant and said, "Mr. Li is right. No matter how good the script is, it still depends on the director. Mr. Li, just tell me what director you want. In Hong Kong, I can basically hire any well-known director."

Li Yishu asked, "Do you know Du Qifeng?"

"Du Qifeng..."

Yang Shoucheng frowned, thought for a while, and looked up and asked, "Is it the director who worked with Ah Mei on "The Heroic Trio" last year?"

"That's him. I've seen a few of his films. His directing style is very interesting and I think it's suitable for my script."

The script prepared by Lee Yi-su was the Korean movie "New World", which later became quite famous.

The plot of this movie actually has some resemblance to "Infernal Affairs" and "Breaking the Law Knowingly" starring Daniel Wu.

The only highlight of the movie, apart from the Elevator God of War, may be the undercover male protagonist Li Zicheng, who eventually goes down a dark path and, after getting rid of all the insiders, takes control of the big group after it has been successfully whitewashed. He is considered the biggest winner in the whole show.

"New World" was very suitable to be filmed in Hong Kong Island before 97, because in this city, there is some connection with realistic themes.

The gangster-themed films that Johnnie To shot later, such as "Gunfire" and "Underworld", were also innovative works with different styles.

Li Yishu believed that if "New World" was given to him to shoot, the result would definitely be better than the original film.

Yang Shoucheng nodded and agreed, "No problem, Director Li, I'll find someone to contact this Johnnie To tomorrow."

"Don't worry, the script hasn't been written yet, and we'll have to wait until next year to start filming."

Shaking her head, Li Yishu was about to say something else when she suddenly caught sight of Zou Wenhuai walking towards her with two men.

Yang Shoucheng next to him said, "The one on the left is ATV Chairman Lam Pak-yan, and the one on the right is Lam Kin-yueh."

Hearing this, Li Yishu nodded without comment. He had met Lin Jianyue before. That was when he attended the Hong Kong Film Awards two years ago.

"Mr. Li!"

Zou Wenhuai strode over and said, "Sorry, there are too many guests."

Li Yishu smiled and said, "It's okay, Mr. Zou. You are the host today, so it's normal to be busy."

"Yes, Jiahe will be listed tomorrow. I hope it will have good results."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zou Wenhuai introduced the old man and the young man beside him, "Mr. Li, this is Mr. Lin Baixin, the chairman of Asia Television, and this is Mr. Lin's second son, Lin Jianyue."

"Mr. Li, I have heard a lot about you."

Lin Baixin's hair was already gray, but he looked in good spirits. He smiled and stretched out his hand, saying, "What I admire most in my life is people who bring glory to the country. Mr. Li has achieved such dazzling results in Europe and the United States. It really greatly enhances the prestige of us Chinese!"

Li Yishu said modestly: "Mr. Lin, you are too polite. I have only achieved a little fame. The ones who can truly bring glory to the country are those unknown scientific researchers."

"Mr. Li is right. A strong country in science and technology is important, but culture and sports cannot be left behind. I like Mr. Lu's words very much. Only the spirit of the people is valuable. Only when it is developed can China make real progress."

Lin Baixin said: "In my opinion, the national soul is the culture of us Chinese. Contemporary culture is diverse. In addition to books and newspapers, movies, television and sports are also part of shaping the national soul. In recent years, we at ATV have been increasing our publicity in sports and culture..."

Li Yishu looked at the other person in surprise. He didn't expect Lin Baixin to say such a thing. It overturned his impression of the wealthy people in Hong Kong Island.

Perhaps seeing his surprise, Lin Baixin smiled and said, "Mr. Li may not know that I came to Hong Kong Island with my family from Chaoshan in the 19th year of the Republic of China. At that time, I was just 16 years old. When I was in middle school in mainland China, the article written by Mr. Lu was what our teacher liked to teach us the most."

The 19th year of the Republic of China?
That would be 1930!
Li Yishu didn't expect Lin Baixin to be 80 years old. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect that Mr. Lin also likes Mr. Lu."

Lin Baixin smiled and said, "He was the most admired writer of our time."

Hearing this, Li Yishu nodded in agreement. There were many writers in the Republic of China, but the only one who could truly inspire a nation was Lu Xun.

After chatting for a while, Lin Baixin said, "Mr. Li, this is my son Lin Jianyue."

Lin Jianyue stretched out his hand: "Dad, Director Li and I met two years ago."

"Yes, Mr. Xiaolin, long time no see."

Li Yishu smiled and shook hands with him.

After chatting for a while, Lin Baixin, perhaps because of his old age, took the initiative to say goodbye and let his son help him leave.

Zou Wenhuai said a few words of regret for the poor hospitality and went to talk to the heads of other securities companies.

Tomorrow morning, Jiahe will be listed, and he must ensure that the stock price does not fall throughout the day.

Li Yishu curiously asked Yang Shoucheng beside him: "Boss Yang, why did you say Boss Lin came here suddenly?"

He thought for a moment and said, "I think it may be because ATV's ratings are not good and it has been losing money for years, so I want to cooperate with Director Li."

“Asia Television is suffering from heavy losses?”

"It's more than serious. From the time Far Eastern Group Chairman Qiu Degen took over ATV, ATV has been losing money almost every year for more than a decade. Under President Lin's leadership, although the losses are not as severe, it still costs tens of millions every year."

Shaking his head, Yang Shoucheng said:
"In recent years, several major TV stations in Hong Kong have come and gone, but Uncle Shaw's TVB has remained strong. I think in less than two years, Mr. Lin will probably sell off ATV."

　Double monthly tickets at the end of the month, please give me some, please, godfathers!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)