Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 45 [A trip to Hong Kong Island to discuss investment] Please read
In addition to this courtyard house he lives in, Li Yishu also wants to buy another one, but there is no rush for it. He will wait until he returns from Japan.

Cheng Long later revealed that in 1990, he spent 400 million to buy 8 courtyard houses, with an average price of about 50 per unit.

The rate of return after ten or twenty years is astonishingly high.

There is nothing to invest in now. Commercial housing has not started selling yet, and Li Yishu doesn't know much about stocks. He only knows that there will be a lot of speculation in the south next year, such as the 92 Certificate of Fortune.

But it is still difficult to fight for this kind of money. So many people hire outsiders to queue up to buy it. How can you compete with those local tyrants?

What's more, they can only make a few million at most by trading these so-called certificates of wealth.

Those who say online that they have made tens of millions or even hundreds of millions are basically not likely to do so. The stock market itself has been a pilot program in recent years, and the government has very strict control, so it will not allow one person to do that.

So in the end, investing in a courtyard house is simple and convenient. It makes sense that so many people became real estate speculators.

A courtyard house of that size costs 18 yuan in this location. Twenty years later, when the housing prices are at their best, it can be sold for at least 3000 million yuan, which means a 100-fold return rate.

Li Yishu felt that it was worth spending 60 yuan to buy two courtyard houses with independent entrances and exits.

Time flies, and it’s already the 10th.

Li Yishu asked Director Situ for a week's leave. After saying goodbye to Yu Feihong that day, she went to the airport and took a flight to Hong Kong.

I set off two days in advance just to go to Hong Kong to discuss investing in "Farewell My Concubine" with Xu Suo.

Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport.

The airport that appeared most frequently in Hong Kong films was demolished a few years later because it was replaced by a new airport.

Li Yishu has successfully checked in. It seems that the Kowloon Walled City has not been demolished yet. It would be nice to have a chance to take a look at it from afar.

After getting off the plane and just passing the exit gate, Li Yishu saw Xu Suo walking towards him with two people.

"Director Li, welcome to Hong Kong!"

"Sister Xu, how can you bother me to come pick you up in person?"

While Li Yishu was speaking, she was also looking at the two middle-aged men beside her. The one on the left looked familiar but she didn't recognize him, but the one on the right was very familiar to her. He was Xu Ke, the pioneer of new-style martial arts in Hong Kong.

"This is Director Li's first time in Hong Kong, so naturally as the host I have to come and greet him in person."

Xu Su smiled, and when he saw Li Yishu looking at the two people beside him, he introduced: "This is Director Xu Ke. I think you should know Director Li."

"Of course, Director Xu's name is well-known."

Li Yishu extended her hand, "Hello Director Xu, I really like your films "Swordsman" and "Once Upon a Time in China". You created a different world of martial arts, which is worth learning for many martial arts directors."

"Haha, Director Li is too polite. There are so many directors who are good at making martial arts movies. I am just groping in the dark. And I can't compare to Director Li's first work which won the Venice Golden Lion Award in one fell swoop, which greatly increased the prestige of us Chinese!"

Xu Kexiao was very happy, and it was obvious that Li Yishu's compliment touched her heart.

In the past two years, he has been transforming into making martial arts films. The first one was "Swordsman" starring Hui Guanjie. The box office performance was decent and the style was also very popular with the audience.

So this year he continued with this style and filmed the first film in the famous "Huang Feihong" series. The box office exceeded 2980 million, which is the highest-grossing martial arts film in the past decade. This also confirmed his success in transforming into a martial arts film director.

However, his style of shooting martial arts films was questioned by many senior veterans in the circle.

Now that he has been recognized by Lee Yi-shu, he is naturally happy. Although Lee Yi-shu is young, she is the winner of the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival in Europe after all.

In terms of the quality of awards alone, there are only a few in Hong Kong that can match them.

"Okay, you two stop complimenting each other."

Seeing that the two were praising each other, Xu Xu immediately introduced the next person: "This is Director Chen Xinjian, who is also the next president of the Hong Kong Directors Association. You should have seen President Chen's works, such as the New Half a Catty, Eight Taels starring Xu Guanwen last year."

"It's President Chen. Hello, your film 'New Half a Catty, Eight Taels' is great. It's a pity that it hasn't been shown in mainland China. I also watched this film on videotape. I really like your adaptation of this classic film. It brings a different viewing experience."

Perhaps it was a habit from being a seasoned veteran in her previous life, but even though Li Yishu didn't know the other person very well, when she heard that he was the director of this movie, she couldn't help but say good things about him.

After all, he had actually seen this movie, but he had long forgotten the plot.

As expected, Chen Xinjian seemed very happy and said in not very fluent Mandarin:
"No, no, Director Li is our role model. We have already watched your award-winning film in advance at Qiu's company. It has a very profound humanistic educational significance. I think this is something that our new generation of Hong Kong directors do not have."

When we met for the first time, everyone had a good impression of each other.

We walked out of the airport lobby chatting and laughing, got in the car and went directly to the Directors Guild.

Because today's meeting is an informal one, and Li Yishu is not yet capable of getting Hong Kong directors to meet him collectively, so today only the first president Wu Siyuan, who is also the initiator of this charity film, came to the meeting room.

Originally, the Artist Association would have sent someone, but now the Artist Association is in a mess.

It was established, but it was just a registered group. The number of Hong Kong actors who actually joined in was less than the number of one hand, and that was only because the people who called for it were not capable of it.

It was not until 93 that it was officially established with the support of some bigwigs. So today, when we discuss the co-production of films between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, we will not include the Artist Association.

On the way here, Xu Suo, perhaps because he was afraid that Li Yishu didn't know President Wu Siyuan, introduced him to the films he had filmed and his experiences in the past in advance.

So as soon as they met, Li Yishu approached him enthusiastically and said, "President Wu, I have heard of your name for a long time. I really liked the movie "Out of Law" that you directed."

"Director Li, you're too polite. Those are old movies from a few years ago. Are there still people in the mainland who like them?"

"I am a student at the Beijing Film Academy. Our school often shows the works of Hong Kong directors for us students to learn from. Director Wu's film has been shown many times in school."

"That's it."

Wu Siyuan had a smile on his face, and he obviously didn't expect that his movie would appear in the classroom of the Film Academy.

In fact, the reason why Lee Yi-su has such a deep memory about this movie is because Andy Lau starred in it.

After exchanging pleasantries, the group sat down and began to talk about the charity film.

The Hong Kong Directors Association naturally had no objection to the co-production between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, and Xu Suo was indispensable in mediating between them.

Hong Kong Island agreed, and as for Taiwan Island, Xu Lu also inquired about the opinions of the authorities there. He did not directly refuse, but just said to hold a meeting to discuss it.

But in Xu Suo's opinion, there is basically no problem.

After all, in the past, this kind of behavior would be considered pro-communist. Liang Jiahui was banned by the Taiwan authorities for several years just because he filmed the "Behind the Scene" trilogy.

The fact that no one has rejected it outright means there is great hope.

"As for the script, we have already found someone to write it. If nothing goes wrong, it will be ready in the next few days. If Director Li is free, why not come over and direct a few scenes?"

Wu Siyuan extended an invitation.

Xu Ke beside him also nodded and said, "Yes, Director Li, the director of this film is not only me, but also three other directors. If you come, and add the director from Taiwan, it will be a true cross-strait co-production."

Li Yishu hesitated: "…I'm afraid I don't have enough time. I'm currently preparing for a movie with Sister Xu."

Wu Siyuan said: "It's okay, just come over and shoot a few scenes, and then just put your name on it. The main director is still Xu Ke."

"That's no problem."

When she heard that they just needed to shoot a few shots and leave, Li Yishu agreed immediately.

It just so happened that when he and Gong Li came to make a guest appearance, he could just direct the scene.

Everyone chatted until noon. After having a quick meal at a restaurant near the association, Li Yishu said goodbye to the directors and got into Xu Lu's car to go to the hotel.

"Director Li, how long will you stay in Japan this time?"

"It will only take three or four days. It won't delay the crew's preparations. What's wrong, Sister Xu?"

"I'm wondering when the filming of 'Red Ling' will start."

Li Yishu was surprised: "Isn't Sister Li still writing the script?"

"I am writing it, but now that I have your plot, I am thinking of setting up the crew first."

The reason why Xu Suo was so anxious was because of Zunlong.

At that time, his appearance was so good that Xu Suo felt a little guilty for not being able to get the role of "Cheng Dieyi" for him.

So I thought of preparing the crew of "Chi Ling" first, and then after the filming of "Farewell My Concubine" is completed, it can be seamlessly connected.

"Sister Xu, there's really no rush for this matter." Li Yishu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His Farewell My Concubine hadn't even started filming yet, but he was already thinking about filming Red Angel.

"Okay." Xu Lu also knew that he was too anxious, so he could only sigh helplessly.

Li Yishu said, "By the way, Sister Xu, I came to Hong Kong not only to discuss co-productions, but also to talk to you about the investment in Farewell My Concubine and Red Angel."

Hearing the meaning behind his words, Xu Suo did not refuse. He said while driving: "In this case, then go to my company first and I will take you to the hotel later."

"it is good."

Li Yishu was very happy that Xu Suo did not refuse. That meant there was room for negotiation. He did not expect to get too much investment share. Two or three percent would be enough.

After all, Xu Suo had been preparing for this film for a long time, and he intercepted it halfway through, so it doesn't matter if he gets less, but he will definitely get the lion's share of the investment in "Red Ling".

Regardless of whether this film can win an award, at least the overseas copyright will definitely be sold. Zun Long is still quite famous in North America.

According to the current domestic production costs, even if the actors' salaries are taken into account, as long as the overseas copyright can be sold, there will basically be some profit, it's just a matter of how much.

　Seeking monthly ticket
　　
　
(End of this chapter)