Entertainment tycoon since 83

Chapter 258 The Last Pit

Huang Ze thought about it carefully.

The Hong Kong version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes was only filmed a few years ago, so there’s no need to film another one right now.

Moreover, if these films are shot too close to each other, it will not be good. The audience's impression is still there, and it will be difficult for the latter to surpass the previous one.

As for The Return of the Condor Heroes, it had very high requirements for Xiaolongnu. The key point was that many scenes were in ancient tombs, and it was difficult to make use of the newly built film and television studio.

After much thought, I decided to just go with the first part of the trilogy, Tian Long.

"Let's remake Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. We should find a way to buy the adaptation rights from Jin Yong, and then go to the mainland to shoot the scenes. We should include all the beautiful mountains and rivers, and make it more grand."

"Then……"

Huang Ze thought of the actor while tapping the table.

In Huang Ze's heart, Hu Jun played the role with more of a rough and rugged vibe, and standing at 1.85 meters tall, he was indeed a tall and strong man.

But it's a pity that he can't act like this, because Mr. Hu is a little young now, and everyone can tell at a glance that he is only in his early twenties.

This is not appropriate.

Then we can only use the other more classic version.

"That guy from TVB named Huang Rihua, try to find a way to recruit him and let him play Qiao Feng."

"Mr. Huang, there's no need to dig anymore." Liang Shuyi smiled when she heard Huang Ze's words, and then immediately explained.

"It's like this. Previously, the TVB Five Tigers had a dispute with TVB over a contract, and all five of them were ignored for a while."

"Didn't we also poach a screenwriter named Wei Jiahui from TVB? He has a good relationship with Felix Wong, and this year Felix Wong has already joined ATV."

"That's perfect." Huang Ze laughed, "We can also find a few mainland actors."

“Wang Yuyan left it to our company to sign Cheng Hong, and then give it to her, forget it.”

Huang Ze originally wanted to talk about Ning Jing, but having just finished filming "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", there was really no need for him to play a supporting role in such a purely male drama.

"Give Tao Huimin a supporting role, and besides..."

Huang Ze remembered something.

The previous version by Huang Rihua was really popular in mainland China. When you turned on the TV, you would hear "It depends on how good you are," "There are not many people in the world who can fight a tie with this poor monk."

But its ratings in Hong Kong Island don’t seem to be that good.

First of all, some people criticized the casting. Everyone felt that Huang Rihua did not look like Qiao Feng, and Fan Shaohuang was even less suitable for Xu Zhu, who was only slightly handsome.

Because in the original novel, Xu Zhu's appearance is described as "quite ugly, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, upturned nostrils, ears sticking out, and very thick lips."

As soon as these words flashed through his mind, a person's appearance began to drill into Huang Ze's mind and he couldn't get rid of it.

"Damn it, it's you."

"Leave the role of Xu Zhu to me. I need to find someone else."

After saying that, Huang Ze made a phone call to Beijing. Not knowing Jiang Wen’s contact number, Huang Ze first called Zhang Yimou and asked him to find the person, and then he contacted Jiang Wen.

"Director Huang, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"ATV is going to shoot a TV series called Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. You can play the role of Xu Zhu." Huang Ze was too lazy to beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

"Ah?" Jiang Wen was silent for two seconds. "Isn't this inappropriate? Brother Huang, I have read the original novel of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. How do you think I look like Xu Zhu?"

"It's just that the protruding ears and the nostrils are a bit protruding, but my lips are not thick. The key point is, how can your appearance be related to being extremely ugly?" "Then why didn't you get admitted to Beijing Film Academy?" Huang Ze teased him and said, "Well, a man's appearance is not important. The most important thing is talent."

"Don't worry, I really don't think Xu Zhu and I look alike. This is too much of a sacrifice for me."

"Give you some compensation?" Huang Ze had already heard the hidden meaning in Jiang Wen's words and asked.

"Hehe, it's not really compensation." Jiang Wen smiled sheepishly, "Can you just give me a chance?"

"I want to be a director and make a movie that I want to make. Can you support me, Brother Huang?"

"Is there a script? What's the subject matter and story?" Huang Ze asked.

"No, I'm asking you for a promise in advance. I'll think about what to shoot after I finish filming the TV series for you, Brother Huang."

"I don't even need to take a penny of the director's fee. Is that okay with you?"

"..." Huang Ze paused.

There are three big pitfalls in the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong and Macau, and one pit after another is coming to find you.

Of course, despite all the complaints, Huang Ze doesn’t think it’s a big problem.

Wang Jiawei has gone out to trick Deng Guangrong, and I think he will give the other party a surprise.

Hou Xiaoxian himself will not occupy all his investments. After all, his only film "A City of Sadness" made the top three. The others did not make that much profit, and might even result in losses.

After all is said and done, Jiang Wen is the only one left.

And the other party’s debut work is not a rip-off either.

Huang Ze was inclined to agree, but he did not respond too readily. After chatting for a long time, he finally pretended to be reluctant.

"Logically speaking, I wouldn't agree to an investment in an actor-turned-director who has never directed a movie before."

"But we've known each other for a long time and have such a good relationship. As long as the investment doesn't exceed three million, I'll invest."

"Well, it's settled then!" Jiang Wen's voice was filled with joy, "Let alone Xu Zhu, even if you asked me to play Qiao Feng, I wouldn't even frown."

"What do you mean? I'm embarrassed to point it out to you, so I'll let you play the role in my Water Margin movie..." Huang Ze wanted to say Ximen Qing, but when he thought about how Jiang Wen had really done this, it would be a bit offensive to say it out loud, so he immediately changed his words, "Wu Dalang."

"I'm not bad at playing Wu Song, Brother Huang. Let's make it a deal. When I finish performing Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils and have the script ready, I'll come to you. You can't go back on your word."

"Don't worry, my word is as good as my words." After hanging up the phone, Huang Ze inspected all departments of ATV and returned to Xinghai to concentrate on the post-production of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Fine editing, final editing, and dubbing.

Because Huang Ze only selected actors who could speak Mandarin, he did not have to teach the actors one sentence at a time like Li An in his previous life, but the effect was never achieved.

This led to Li An saying in an interview that he wanted to kill Chow Yun-fat and Yang Ziqiong first, and then commit suicide to put an end to it all.

Everything went smoothly, and by mid-October, Huang Ze finally finished filming Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

After watching it once, I found that the martial arts were even more exciting than in the previous life because of Li Lianjie. Although Li Lianjie's literary acting is not as good as Zhou Runfa, he is also good in the acting field and he grasped the temperament very well. Huang Ze is still very satisfied with the finished film.

After leaving the audio-visual room, Huang Ze couldn't help but come to the office, opened the window, and took a deep breath, "Finally finished."

After standing in front of the window for more than ten minutes, Huang Ze sat back at his desk and made a phone call.

"Arrange the nearest flight to Los Angeles starting the day after tomorrow. I need to discuss a business deal with Warner."

(End of this chapter)