Huayu: Director started with art films

That afternoon.

Mid-level villa.

Inside Jin Yong’s house.

Cai Lan came to visit, and Jin Yong naturally gave a warm welcome to his old friend.

Jin Yong, who has completely retired, lives a leisurely and fulfilling life. When he has nothing to do, he goes out to meet with old friends, or walks around at the invitation of various activities, and talks about profound truths through martial arts novels.

In the sun room, I am enjoying the air-conditioning and looking at the beautiful scenery in the distance.

Cai Lan said enviously: "You live a comfortable life, drinking tea, reading books, and going out for a walk occasionally."

While brewing Kung Fu tea, Jin Yong said with a smile: "If you are envious, you can retire like me and come to me every day to drink tea and play chess. Isn't life comfortable?"

"Forget it. I can't sit idle." Cai Lan shook his head. He was not the kind of person who could sit idle. He would rather be busy and fulfilled.

Hearing this, Jin Yong smiled and poured him a cup of tea, "Try it and see how it tastes."

Cai Lan picked up the teacup and drank it in one gulp, not caring about the burn. He pursed his lips and praised, "Not bad, your Kung Fu tea making has improved a lot. The tea tastes bitter at first but sweet later. It leaves a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth, and the tea flavor is overflowing!"

"Haha! With a review from a great gourmet like you, I can say that I have perfected my Kung Fu tea making skills."

Jin Yong laughed, looking very happy, and poured another glass for the other person: "Why are you free today? Aren't you going to do your food show?"

"We have already recorded three episodes of the program. We will wait and see how it goes when ATV airs it."

Cai Lan said with a smile: "How about you and I go to the mainland together in the fourth episode? There are so many delicious foods over there. I have gained two kilograms in just three episodes."

"Never mind. I'm retired now, and you know I never participate in these TV shows."

Jin Yong shook his head. He himself didn't like participating in TV shows, otherwise he, the leader of the four great talents in Hong Kong, would not have refused to participate in "Tonight Without Defense", in which three of them participated.

Jin Yong considered himself to be a man of letters. Besides, he was old and the money he earned was enough for him to spend in several lifetimes. He had long since lost interest in gain and fame was the only thing he cared about the most.

Cai Lan didn't say anything, but just picked up the teacup and started drinking again.

Jin Yong repeatedly poured him more tea.

Cai Lan then said, "I came to see you this time because someone asked me to do so."

"Oh?"

Jin Yong looked at him in surprise and asked curiously, "Who can invite you, Cai Lan?"

Cai Lan smiled and said, "Who else could it be? Of course it's the boss!"

boss?

Jin Yong was stunned for a moment, then he remembered the food show Cai Lan was producing recently, which seemed to be participated by ATV, and asked in surprise: "Li Yishu?"

Cai Lan nodded: "Yes, Mr. Li asked me to find you and make an appointment to meet you. I originally wanted to call you, but Mr. Li respects you and asked me to come in person."

"Do you know why he wants to talk to me about this?" Jin Yong felt very confused. He had never met Li Yishu before. Could it be that he was talking about the TV series adaptation of his martial arts novel?

But there is no need to personally ask Cai Lan to make an appointment for a meeting, right?
What's more, he handed over the copyright issues of the novel to his assistant.

"I don't know that."

Cai Lan really didn't know why Li Yishu was looking for Jin Yong. At first, he thought it was a copyright issue, but then he thought that it didn't require Li Yishu to step in personally.

No matter how much respect you have, you shouldn't fight over something as trivial as copyright.

"Mr. Li is in Hong Kong?"

"Yes, I just met him at noon."

Hearing this, Jin Yong thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Then please tell Mr. Li to have breakfast together at Lu Yu Tea House at five o'clock tomorrow morning."

"Okay!" Cai Lan agreed readily.

the next day.

The sky is still bright.

Li Yishu sat in Fan Liu's car and went to Lu Yu Teahouse together.

The reason why Liu was brought along was mainly because there had to be one person to play the good cop and the other to play the bad cop.

Li Yishu didn't know much about Jin Yong's personality, and he didn't dare to ask Cai Lan more. He only learned from Liu that Jin Yong had been keen on participating in social activities after retiring in the past few years.

In October last year, he was invited to visit Peking University, where he stayed for nearly a month. Not only did he hold seminars for several days, he also accepted the title of honorary professor awarded by Peking University and had a tea party with a group of writers from Yenching University.

In March this year, I also visited Nanyang University in Singapore, where I spent half a month and met with Singaporean leaders.

Although Liu did not say it explicitly, Li Yishu probably guessed that Jin Yong was getting old and starting to build up his fame.

There are probably three things that people pursue: wealth, power, and fame.

Jin Yong is not short of money, and power is dispensable at his age, but fame is different. Fame during one's lifetime and fame after one's death are all different.

As a man of the old school, Jin Yong, 71 years old this year, has reached the age of sparsely populated. He had a reputation during his lifetime, and naturally he had to maintain it after his death.

Perhaps Li Yishu's understanding is a bit utilitarian, but he still knows the characteristics of old-school literati.

What's more, Li Yishu is not really young. In his previous life, when he was fifty years old, he was also keen on participating in various industry activities.

So, if Jin Yong was really not interested in fame and fortune, he would not have been invited by Zhang Da Huzi many times in the future to say that Zhou Xun's lively and charming Huang Rong was his favorite.
He also said that Liu Yifei is the best Wang Yuyan in his mind, and told the media: Only when Liu Yifei plays Wang Yuyan, readers and audiences can understand that I am not writing nonsense.

While thinking this, I unknowingly arrived at Luk Yu Tea House in Central, Hong Kong Island.

After Li Yishu went up with Liu, they saw Cai Lan and Jin Yong had already arrived.

I didn't expect to be late even though I got up so early. Li Yishu walked over and apologized, "I'm sorry, Mr. Jin, Mr. Cai, I'm late because of the traffic jam."

"Haha, it's okay, Mr. Li, we just arrived."

Cai Lan said with a smile: "Come sit down, it's rare for Mr. Liu to drink tea with you."

"Yes, Mr. Cai." Liu smiled. He had also met Cai Lan before.

Jin Yong has been looking at Lee Yi-seo. It is the first time he has seen Lee Yi-seo in real life. He has to admit that she looks really young.

It is truly amazing that he has achieved such results at the age of twenty.

"Mr. Jin, is there something on my face?" Seeing Jin Yong staring at her, Li Yishu touched her face, thinking it was the lipstick mark left by Li Jiaxin last night that was not wiped off in the morning.

"No, I just sigh that heroes emerge young."

Jin Yong smiled and said: "I often hear people mention Mr. Li, and I have also seen several movies you made, especially "Sword Rain", which is very creative and the results achieved are amazing!" He is a martial arts master, so he naturally favors martial arts-themed films.

That year, "Sword Rain" earned 1.8 million US dollars at the global box office, and the sensation it caused was huge. Because after this martial arts film, Hong Kong once again set off a wave of shooting martial arts films.

But there are no more martial arts films like "Swordsman" that can catch people's eyes.

Li Yishu said modestly, "Mr. Jin, you are overpraising me. I just took an idea of ​​the photography technique. I am actually not very satisfied with the script."

"Are you not satisfied with the script?" Cai Lan asked in surprise, "Mr. Li, I remember that you wrote this script, right?"

"Yes."

Li Yishu nodded, and under the curious gazes of several people, she smiled and said, "Although I wrote the script, it doesn't mean I am satisfied with it. I can only say that it is okay."

When Li Yishu filmed "Sword Rain", the main consideration was to promote Gong Li, and secondly, the plot was relatively simple, just a simple vendetta in the martial arts world.

After much thought, I realized that there is nothing to learn from when creating my own original work. Secondly, this "Sword Rain" is actually not clichéd today.

The heroine's face-changing is one of the main features, and the plots of killing people and stealing treasures are also in line with the times.

However, due to box office considerations, 10 minutes of ninja and samurai scenes were added specifically for the Japanese market, making the film leap from a traditional martial arts film to a high-level martial arts film, and even adding a touch of fantasy.

Of the three, Jin Yong was the one who had the most say. Cai Lan and Liu looked at him. Jin Yong smiled and said, "Mr. Li is still too modest. Although I haven't read the script, the film was shot very successfully and is very attractive."

Li Yishu smiled and didn't say anything modest. No matter what the script was like, the movie was a success, both in terms of box office and reputation. Gong Li also opened up her acting career through it, otherwise the director of "New Dragon Inn" and "New Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" would not have asked her to star.

Li Yishu said: "Speaking of which, what I want to film most is Mr. Jin's martial arts novels, whether it is Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, or Snow Mountain Flying Fox..."

"Mr. Li, are you also interested in filming my novel?" Jin Yong was very surprised. His martial arts novels are very famous, but so far, most of the adaptations are TV series, and the few movies have not had very high box office results.

The main reason is that the novel is too long, and when it is condensed into a movie, many things are not explained clearly. Secondly, the audience has long lost their expectations for the story.

"Of course I am interested. Mr. Jin's martial arts novels were my favorite when I was young. The martial arts world in them makes people yearn for it. The great heroes Guo Jing who serve the country and the people, and the open-minded and unconventional Linghu Chong..."

As Li Yishu spoke, she couldn't help but reveal her true feelings. Although Jin Yong's martial arts novels have a lot of personal opinions, but apart from these, the novels are still very exciting, otherwise they would not have been spread among the Chinese community all over the world.

Even if someone has not read the novel, they have more or less watched related TV series.

Speaking of Jin Yong's martial arts novels, Liu Cixin is also involved in them. He grew up in Hong Kong and can be said to have grown up watching Jin Yong's martial arts novels.

Thanks to Li Yishu's later insights, her comments on Jin Yong's martial arts left the author Jin Yong stunned. Did he think about these things when he was writing?

A few of them chatted and laughed, and over the time it took to have morning tea, they gradually became familiar with each other.

Jin Yong also likes the young man Li Yishu, who became famous at a young age and is proud but not arrogant.

The four of them ate and chatted until about seven in the morning, when the morning tea was considered over, but the party did not stop.

Jin Yong took the initiative to invite Li Yishu and Liu Liu to his house for tea.

It's about eight o'clock in the morning.

At Jin Yong's home.

As they were talking and laughing, Jin Yong asked, "Mr. Li, you asked me out not just to talk about martial arts novels, right?"

Seeing that the other party took the initiative to ask, Li Yishu glanced at Da Liu beside him, and then nodded and said, "Mr. Jin, to be honest, I came to see you this time because I want to ask you for help with something."

Please help yourself?
Jin Yong asked curiously, "What's the matter?"

Cai Lan also looked confused. Li Yishu is not an ordinary director now, and he is not looking for a martial arts novel. What could he want from Jin Yong?

"It's like this, Mr. Jin, I want to acquire Ming Pao!"

Acquire Ming Pao?!
Cai Lan and Jin Yong were both shocked.

Jin Yong looked at Li Yishu, who didn't seem to be joking, and said hesitantly, "Mr. Li should know that I have sold all of my Ming Pao shares and completely withdrawn from the Ming Pao Group."

"I know, so this time I came here mainly to hope that Mr. Jin can support me in acquiring Ming Pao..."

Li Yishu briefly explained the purpose of wanting to acquire Ming Pao.

Jin Yong frowned and shook his head, saying, "Mr. Li, if I had met you a few years earlier, I might have chosen to sell Ming Pao to you, but now I have retired and sold all my shares. If Mr. Li really wants to acquire Ming Pao, perhaps I can help you make an appointment with Pin Hai."

Hearing this, Li Yishu looked at Liu, who immediately took out a document from his bag and said, "Mr. Jin, Mr. Li asked me to acquire Ming Pao because of concerns about public opinion. I originally wanted to go the normal acquisition route, but when I was looking for someone to value Ming Pao, I found these."

Jin Yong took the document and looked at it. It clearly stated that Yu Pinhai, the current chairman of Ming Pao Group, used Ming Pao shares as collateral for a mortgage to open a casino in Canada.

Seeing this, Jin Yong was incredulous: "Mr. Liu, is this true?"

"Yeah, I wasn't sure at first, but then I asked someone to investigate in Canada and found out that it was not only true, but also..."

Liu shook his head and took out another document about Yu Pinhai's early years in Canada.

Jin Yong quickly took it and started reading it quickly.

Cai Lan, who was standing by, took a quick look. Stealing, forgery of checks, illegal use of other people’s credit cards, possession of guns, and imprisonment…

He suddenly took a breath of cold air.

Yu Pinhai is really good at playing!

Why didn't I see this kind of character before?

When Yu Pinhai was courting Jin Yong, Cai Lan and other good friends had met him several times and were very optimistic about this young man.

I just didn’t expect that you can’t judge a person’s heart by his appearance.

Jin Yong had always thought that he had found a qualified successor for Ming Pao. Now, looking at these things, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

If Yu Pinhai is a prodigal son who has returned, it can be said to be a good story. But now he refuses to repent. He used Ming Pao as collateral for a loan and illegally diverted the money for other purposes, the most important of which is to open a casino!

Looking at the two documents, Jin Yong's face was solemn. He pondered for a long time, raised his head and said, "Mr. Li, do you really want to acquire Ming Pao?"

Hearing this, Li Yishu knew that it was safe, and nodded: "Yes, Mr. Jin, Ming Pao has been established in Hong Kong for many years, and is well-known in East Asia and also well-known in Southeast Asia. I intend to develop Ming Pao into the largest newspaper in Asia..."

"Give me three days and I'll get it done."

Although Jin Yong has sold his shares and retired, he is the founder of Ming Pao and brought it to its peak. His prestige is unrivaled throughout the Ming Pao Group.

Even if he no longer has shares, Jin Yong can still use his prestige and the information in his hands to make Yu Pinhai willingly sell his shares to Li Yishu.

The other shareholders of Ming Pao Group will definitely support Jin Yong.

Li Yishu is not only an outstanding international director, but also the chairman of ATV and the chairman of Arts Entertainment Group.

If the Ming Pao Group can be included, then, without any surprises, a giant entity spanning film, television, newspapers, news, distribution, media... will be born, a media empire that is self-contained and integrated! (End of this chapter)