Huayu: Director started with art films

night.

Peninsula Hotel.

Lan Jieying walked in holding Li Yishu's arm.

Led by the doorman, the two came to the restaurant.

At this time, Fan Liu had already arrived with Cai Shaofen.

Li Yishu stepped forward and extended her hand, apologetically saying, "I'm sorry, Mr. Liu, there was a traffic jam on the road and I was late."

"It's okay, Director Li. We are here too early."

Fan Liu smiled and said, "We agreed to meet at six in the evening. Ah Fen wanted to go shopping, so I accompanied her to a nearby mall in advance."

Li Yishu is chatting with fan Liu.

Lan Jieying also greeted Cai Shaofen enthusiastically.

"Long time no see, Afen!"

"Yeah, long time no see."

The two hugged each other warmly. They had worked together on "A Chinese Odyssey" before. They couldn't be said to have a good relationship, but they knew each other after all.

The four of them sat down and chatted casually while eating.

As they chatted, because of the relationship between Anita Mui and Cai Shaofen, they talked about "A Chinese Odyssey" which was released at the beginning of the year.

"When we were filming this movie, I felt it was weird that Sun Wukong actually had someone he loved."

Cai Shaofen said: "As expected, the box office was dismal. The total box office for the two films was only 5420 million Hong Kong dollars."

Fan Liu has always been interested in the entertainment industry, not just because there are so many beauties. When he heard that the box office was over 5400 million Hong Kong dollars, he couldn't help but ask, "Not bad, it's said to be two parts, but weren't they filmed together? million Hong Kong dollars is not a small amount, right?"

Lan Jieying said: "It is not a small amount, but when I was in the crew, I heard that the total investment of "A Chinese Odyssey" was 6000 million Hong Kong dollars."

"6000 million?" Fan Liu was stunned and looked at Cai Shaofen in surprise: "Isn't this a huge loss?"

According to the box office share ratio in Hong Kong, the investment cost of 6000 million will require at least 1.2 million Hong Kong dollars to recover the cost.

But if we have 8000 million, we can recover the costs and even make a profit overseas.

But now the total box office in Hong Kong is only 5400 million Hong Kong dollars, and in mainland China, due to the relationship between theater chains, the film has not been released on a large scale except in a few cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

And because the 83 Journey to the West was too classic, the plot of Sun Wukong's love affair was so shocking that even though Zhou Xingchi was the lead actor, the film only earned a few million in box office in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Many mainland film magazines and newspapers have criticized Zhou Xingchi for slandering "Journey to the West" by letting Sun Wukong fall in love and letting Zhu Bajie give birth to Tang Sanzang...

It's not just nonsensical, it's totally nonsense!
Therefore, the reputation of "A Chinese Odyssey" was extremely bad, so bad that Zhou Xingchi's "Star Color Film Company" declared bankruptcy last month.

The three of them started chatting, and Li Yishu listened the whole time without expressing her own opinion.

But with such a great director around, both Anita Mui and his fans Liu and Cai Shaofen wanted to hear his opinion.

Cai Shaofen took the initiative to ask: "Director Li, have you seen this movie?"

"Yeah, I've seen it."

Li Yishu nodded. Not only had he seen it, he had even seen "A Chinese Odyssey Part Three", although it was not starred by Chow Hsing-Chi.

Such a bland answer left Cai Shaofen at a loss for words.

Although this film did poorly at the box office, Zhou Xingchi's influence in Hong Kong remains unchanged. As long as he continues to make films in his past nonsensical style, he will always be a guarantee of Hong Kong's box office success.

So it’s difficult for Cai Shaofen to say what this movie is like. It’s okay to discuss it privately, but if she does it publicly, that might be a bit offensive.

Even though Li Yishu and Lan Jieying are not talkative people, it is better not to tell others about this kind of thing.

It’s also hard to say for Anita Mui. She is quite grateful to Chow Hsing-chi for letting her play the role of Chun Sanshi Niang. There were a lot of jokes during the filming and she felt very comfortable in the crew.

No one in the crew wants to see a movie with such poor box office performance.

Fan Liu didn't have so many concerns and said directly: "When this movie was released, I went to see it with Ah Fen. Anyway, I didn't like it. Ah Xing's comedy movies are still very interesting, but this time's "A Chinese Odyssey" is a bit bad."

Li Yishu said: "Actually, whether it's bad or not depends on the person."

"Director Li thinks this movie is well made?"

"If we put aside the settings of Sun Wukong and Tang Monk, the movie itself is about the love story of Zhizunbao and Zixia Fairy. The reason why people feel that it is poorly made is due to the inherent impression."

Li Yishu still likes the movie "A Chinese Odyssey" very much, but more importantly, it is the influence of Internet culture a few years later that makes her think this movie is good.

If we look at this movie from the perspective of people's aesthetics and values ​​of this era, it is a bad movie that completely subverts Journey to the West and the public's perception of Sun Wukong.

Putting aside the settings of Sun Wukong and other characters, the editing style of the film's plot can easily cause ordinary audiences to have difficulty watching the film.

That’s right, it’s film viewing disorder, a term that almost does not exist in later generations, but is still very popular in the current market.

To put it simply, mainland audiences are unable to accept film styles, complex editing methods, and narrative methods that they have never been exposed to.

"A Chinese Odyssey" uses a parallel time and space story background that is extremely rare in this era. The dual identity of Supreme Treasure and the time travel in the movie also create a lot of misunderstandings for the audience.

Nowadays, when the average person watches less than 50 films, there is no way to compare with the audiences in the Internet era.

Moreover, settings such as "time travel" and "dual identity" became very common in later online novels.

With the rise of movies on the Internet, it has become a classic in many people's minds, just like "The Shawshank Redemption".

Just because the values ​​and perspectives of the times are different from the understanding of watching movies!
Therefore, Li Yishu just explained to a few people the differences and interesting points of this movie from a movie perspective, and by the way, shared some of the later generations' understanding of "A Chinese Odyssey".

Regardless of whether it was an over-interpretation or whether it was really understood according to the director and the main creators' ideas, Li Yishu's words left Fan Liu and the others stunned.

The three of them had all seen "A Chinese Odyssey" and thought it was not a very good movie. But after hearing what Li Yishu said, it seemed that the movie was not bad.

What does it mean that when Zhizunbao puts on the golden hoop, he gives up his freedom and love...

There is also the love story between Zhizunbao, Zixia Fairy and Bai Jingjing...

"Director Li is worthy of being Director Li. His understanding of the film is impressive!"

Fan Liu expressed his feelings, but he still thought it was a bad movie.

For a fast-paced person like him, the more interesting the movie is, the better.

As for that bullshit love, just forget it.

His fan Liu only gives money but not favors!

"Yes!" Cai Shaofen said, "I made this movie myself, but I didn't expect that this movie would contain so much thought."

Lan Jieying beside her also nodded in agreement.

"Haha, whether I think about it or not, it may just be my personal opinion. Isn't there a saying that goes, there are a thousand Hamlets for a thousand people, and everyone's understanding is different. Maybe I am looking at this movie from the perspective of the director and screenwriter, rather than as a fan?"

Li Yishu smiled.

If you simply watch this movie from the perspective of today's audiences, then this movie is a mess. Regardless of whether it is funny or not, the fact that Sun Wukong falls in love is enough to ruin the entire movie.

83 Journey to the West is a true classic. The image of the Monkey King has long been solidified in the minds of audiences in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

At this time, a Monkey King who can fall in love, and is involved in a bloody love triangle, suddenly appears. It is simply unacceptable to the general audience.

This is like letting Huang Rong fall in love with Yang Guo, which is pure rebellion!
The group had a great chat, and after about half an hour, they were almost done with the meal.

Cai Shaofen took the initiative to pull Lan Jieying to the bathroom to touch up her makeup.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Fan Liu took the initiative to ask, "Director Li, what did you say you wanted to see me for during the day?"

He was actually very curious about what Li Yishu could want from him?

Movie investment? They even acquired ATV, so they shouldn’t be short of money, right?
As for other collaborations, Fan Liu feels that his relationship with Lee Yi-su should not have reached this stage.

Just an acquaintance.

"Mr. Liu, to be honest, I asked you to meet me this time because I want to ask you for help with something!"

"Director Li, you can talk as you please."

Seeing Li Yishu's sincere expression, Fan Liu waved his hand and said proudly, "Everyone in Hong Kong knows that I, Fan Liu, am most willing to help others. As long as I, Liu, can help, I will definitely help!"

"Then I'll tell you." Li Yishu sorted out his thoughts and said, "I want to ask Mr. Liu to help me acquire Ming Pao!"

“Acquire Ming Pao?!”

Fan Liu was surprised. "Director Li... Director Li means acquisition?"

"good."

Li Yishu nodded and said seriously, "Our Art Entertainment Group intends to develop into the media field. ATV is just our first step. Next, we will gradually acquire some newspapers, weekly magazines, radio stations, etc."

This is not a trade secret.

As long as the art and entertainment group starts acquiring newspapers and weeklies.

The outside world will understand that this is the path of a media group, expanding from a film company to TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, and weekly magazines...

Fan Liu didn't expect Li Yishu to have such a big idea. He couldn't help but ask, "Director Li, is your group still short of funds? It's hard to say how many billions it will be, but I can still come up with more than a billion Hong Kong dollars!"

Liu's wealth is still considerable. He has a net worth of tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars, but most of it is group shares and real estate. The actual cash he can use is estimated to be only a few hundred million Hong Kong dollars. But given some time, tens of billions can still be freed up.

"No problem at all."

Li Yishu smiled and said, "But we don't have any plans to raise funds for listing this year. If we need to raise funds at that time, we will definitely invite Mr. Liu to come."

"Director Li, then we have a deal!"

"Of course, I am always very generous to my friends!"

Fan Liu was still very powerful in Hong Kong. Later, he even invested in Xu Beidai. Unfortunately, Xu Beidai used the money to set up a dance troupe, causing Fan Liu to lose tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars.

Li Yishu didn't mind letting Fan Liu invest. After all, after the 1997 financial crisis, the stock market plummeted and all the wealthy people in Hong Kong suffered heavy losses.

He could have waited until then to buy back the shares.

Fan Liu asked excitedly, "So how does Director Li plan to acquire Ming Pao?"

He knew Li Yishu a little bit and knew him well. He was a person who valued friendship very much. At the beginning, Xu Suo, Qiu Fusheng and others did not help him much, but they all made a lot of money from the film industry later.

If I help the other party acquire Ming Pao this time, then wouldn’t the share I get in future financing be very high?
Li Yishu did not answer directly, but said: "Mr. Liu, I wonder if you have read the news recently?"

"Director Li, are you talking about ATV?"

Fan Liu reacted and realized that Li Yishu was from mainland China.

It is indeed a bit inappropriate that they are being so high-profile now, acquiring Asia Television and Ming Pao.

It’s not that it’s impossible, but with only two years left before Hong Kong’s return, the British began to get anxious and resorted to all kinds of random and low-level tricks.

Taking over Asia Television, a normal operation, was labeled as "mind control" by those British newspapers.

If they buy up even newspapers, doesn't that mean they are controlling even words?
"Yes."

Li Yishu nodded and said helplessly, "If I acquire the company in the name of Art Entertainment Group, it will be easy to cause unnecessary trouble in terms of public opinion, not to mention whether it will go smoothly. So I can only trouble Mr. Liu. I will set up a new company to invest in the acquisition."

Different people have different opinions on this matter, but there are always some citizens who have no discernment and believe these words.

After all, it's the Internet age thirty years later, and you can find out anything by searching it online.

But there are always people who are fooled by public accounts. They don’t believe the official media, but believe the gossip in Q groups and V groups.

This is the truth in a euphemistic way!

But it's normal. Conspiracy theories about top leaders have never changed, and they are the same in the East and the West.

"The current market value of Ming Pao is about HK$17 billion..."

Fan Liu calculated for a moment and said, "Director Li, if you let me handle this matter, I am confident that I can complete it within half a year. As for how much it will cost, I can't say now."

"I believe in Mr. Liu. I will let the people from the new company meet with Mr. Liu. Mr. Liu will be responsible for the operation, and our company will provide the funds!"

"Need not!"

Fan Liu waved his hand and said, "It just so happens that I haven't sniped in the stock market for many years, so leave this matter to me!"

Ming Pao is worth more than 10 billion Hong Kong dollars, and Fan Liu must have been interested in it in the past, but when it comes to the financing and listing of Li Yishu's Art Entertainment Group, he still feels that the latter is more valuable and more attractive.

It’s hard to say about other things, but ATV alone is worth tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars, not to mention Li Yishu’s film company and distribution company.

the next day.

After Li Yishu told Amy about this, she flew directly to Japan at noon that day and planned to stay at Izumi Sakai's place for a few days.

"Quanshui, you're very popular recently!"

Looking at the huge billboard on the building in the distance, the woman on it was none other than Izumi Sakai. Li Yishu asked in surprise, "How are the sales of your new album?"

He has been in contact with Izumi Sakai by phone. In March, she released her latest album, which debuted at number one on the Oricon charts with sales of 62 in the first week!
"It has exceeded 1.2 million."

While driving, Izumi Sakai said in a good mood: "I heard from the people in the company that as long as I hold a few more signing meetings, it won't be a problem to have two million tickets by the end of the year."

"Don't work too hard." Li Yishu frowned and said, "I saw the record company, just want you not to be too tired."

"It's fine."

Izumi Sakai smiled and said, "I'm so motivated now!"

"no!"

Li Yishu recalled the physical condition of Izumi Sakai in her previous life and said unhappily, "Stop all your work and come to China with me in the second half of the year." (End of this chapter)