Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 688 Tsui Hark's "The Ghostwriter"

(The previous chapter was reviewed and 2000 words were deleted. Speechless.)

Hong Kong's Causeway Bay, the Hong Kong office of Huayi Brothers.
Tsui Hark stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a schedule of theatrical releases in his hand.

After staring at the schedule for a long time, Tsui Hark let out a heavy sigh.

Outside the window, cruise ships shuttled back and forth in Victoria Harbour, but he couldn't see any scenery at all.

The message he had just received was like a bucket of ice water, poured over him from head to toe.

Golden Harvest Cinemas has completely banned "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame," refusing to screen the film.

"Jiahe is trying to wipe them out completely."

Producer Zhang Jialu, who was standing next to him, sighed, his voice filled with barely concealed anxiety.

Tsui Hark was deeply worried. He knew all too well the weight Golden Harvest held in the Hong Kong film industry. In the 1980s and 90s, Golden Harvest defeated Shaw Brothers and shared the market with Cinema City, making stars of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Michael Hui, and more...

That was the golden age of Golden Harvest.

Today's Golden Harvest, in terms of sheer size and importance in Hong Kong, has even surpassed the Golden Harvest of that time.

This long-established cinema chain now controls nearly 30% of Hong Kong's screen resources and is the number one cinema chain in mainland China. It is no exaggeration to say that it "supports half of the entertainment industry".

What worried him even more was that Jiahe was not fighting alone.

As a core member of the Five Continents Cinema Alliance, its attitude directly influences the decisions of other cinema chains within the alliance.

While it might not be a direct ban like Golden Harvest, Tsui Hark understood the implications behind the phrase "targeted" better than anyone.

With prime-time screenings squeezed out and the number of screens reduced, for a period epic with an investment of over 100 million yuan, this is almost tantamount to a death sentence for its box office performance.

"Director Xu, how about we try talking to President Wang again? Perhaps Huayi Brothers can talk to Golden Harvest again?"

Zhang Jialu tentatively made the suggestion.

Tsui Hark shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Talk? Who is Chen Xi? He's a notorious stubborn mule. When he gets angry, he doesn't even give face to the Film Bureau. This time, he's clearly targeting Huayi Brothers. We're just innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire."

I returned home exhausted at 11 p.m.

The motion-sensor light in the entryway turned on. Shi Nansheng was sitting on the sofa in the living room reading a script. When she saw him come in, she got up and took the briefcase from his hand, asking calmly, "Why are you only coming back now?"

She had barely finished speaking when she smelled alcohol on him: "You've been drinking?"

"Yeah, I was feeling down, so I had a drink with Jialu."

A hint of heartache appeared on Shi Nansheng's face: "Is it because of the censorship of 'Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame'?"

Tsui Hark nodded.

He loosened his tie, slumped onto the sofa, and wearily pinched the bridge of his nose: "What a mess this is. It's clearly a feud between Huayi and Xingchen, so why is it our show that's suffering?"

Shi Nansheng poured her a glass of warm water, sat down beside her, and gently comforted her: "Don't take it to heart. Golden Harvest's ban on 'Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame' wasn't targeting you."

Director Zhang and Huayi Brothers have gone to war. Chen Xi is determined to teach Huayi a lesson this time, and "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame," as Huayi's major production this year, naturally became its primary target. But don't worry, Director Chen Xi said he'll compensate you.

"Compensation?" Tsui Hark looked up at her.

“Hmm,” Shi Nansheng nodded, picking up a thick proposal from the coffee table. “He promised to give you the opportunity to direct ‘The Ghostwriter.’ This is the initial outline of the project; take a look.”

Tsui Hark took the proposal, and the five big characters "Ghostwriter Universe" on the cover were particularly eye-catching.

Turning the pages, the grand world-building immediately captivated him—a world of martial arts rivalries involving ghostwriters, bandits, imperial guards, and assassin organizations, featuring both sword fights and the weighty historical themes of national sentiment.

"This setting... is quite interesting."

Tsui Hark stroked the pages of the book, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes, but it quickly dimmed again. "But 'Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame' is the culmination of two years of hard work, and I'm not willing to let it be held back by theatrical releases."

He looked at Shi Nansheng, his tone pleading: "Nansheng, you and Chen Xi have some connection, could you put in a good word for me and let 'Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame' off the hook? Just let us have normal screenings."

Shi Nansheng shook her head decisively, saying seriously, "No. Don't you know Chen Xi's temper?"

Moreover, Huayi offended Zhang Chen, her boss, this time.

Sir, I can help with anything else, but this is definitely not an option.

Don't let my position as Vice President of Jiahe fool you; I wouldn't dare try to curry favor with them at this time.

She patted Tsui Hark's hand; "Master" was her affectionate nickname for him.

Tsui Hark fell silent. He knew Shi Nansheng was right; in the face of Chen Xi's icy demeanor, any plea would seem pale and powerless.

He could only sigh helplessly and pick up the proposal for "Ghostwriter" again, trying to shift his attention away from the predicament of "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame".

Shi Nansheng's voice rang out again from beside her: "Listen to me, 'The Ghostwriter' is a great opportunity. It has a bigger scope than 'Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.' What you missed with 'Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame,' you can make up for it with 'The Ghostwriter.' Besides, this is a project personally selected by Director Zhang, so it can't go wrong..."

Those in the industry know that Zhang Chen has never lost a film.

Upon hearing that this was a project personally selected by Zhang Chen, Tsui Hark's expression became even more formal.

September arrived in the blink of an eye, and with less than half a month left until the National Day holiday, the entire film and television industry entered a period of intense promotion.

Films are pulling out all the stops, bombarding audiences with trailers, roadshows, and celebrity interviews in an attempt to grab a share of the market during this prime time.

The film that kicked off the season first is "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen," co-produced by Enlight Media and Media Asia Films, scheduled for release on September 21, a week earlier than other films to seize market share.

This action film, starring Donnie Yen, continues the high-octane style of the "Ip Man" series. The trailer, featuring Donnie Yen in a black Zhongshan suit fighting at the Hongkou Dojo, instantly ignited the audience's anticipation.

Li Xiaoping, the vice president of Enlight Media, personally led the publicity team, traveling to more than 20 cities across the country, resulting in consistently high media exposure.

"Our film is meant to show the audience the backbone of the Chinese people!" Li Xiaoping declared emphatically at the premiere press conference, drawing thunderous applause from the audience.

Following closely behind is "Reign of Assassins," which was released on September 28.

"Reign of Assassins" is the same as "Reign of Assassins," the one about stealing the remains of Rama, produced by Star City Entertainment.

That's right, it's Xingcheng Entertainment, not Xingchen Entertainment.

Star City Entertainment is Zhang Jiazhen's company. As a former gold-medal producer who worked alongside Wu Baige, the two parted ways after "Red Cliff" due to differences in creative concepts.

Wu Baige joined Little Horse Entertainment, while Zhang Jiazhen, with financial support from Li Zekai, co-founded Star City Entertainment with Michelle Yeoh, signing a large number of well-known artists from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, including Zhang Fengyi, Kelly Lin, Pace Wu, and Song Hye-kyo, with ambitious plans to conquer the mainland.

Then, well, that's it!
The quality of "Reign of Assassins" is actually quite good. With an investment of nearly 80 million yuan, it tells the story of a group of martial arts heroes who engage in a life-or-death struggle to seize the mysterious "Remains of Rama".

The film's action choreography was personally handled by Ching Siu-tung, and it stars Michelle Yeoh and Jung Woo-sung. Both the production team and the cast are top-notch.

Unfortunately, it was born at the wrong time, coinciding with this year's National Day holiday.

I don't know what Terence Chang was thinking, daring to put "Reign of Assassins" in direct competition with "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" and "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol".

On one side is a domestic blockbuster directed by Tsui Hark and starring Andy Lau, Li Bingbing, and Carina Lau; on the other side is a Hollywood super IP action blockbuster starring Tom Cruise and directed by Zhang Chen.

The clash between these two films attracted the attention of almost all media and audiences, and "Reign of Assassins," caught in the middle, instantly became the most awkward presence.

That's normal. He still doesn't understand why the eldest (Wanglaoji) and the second (Jiaduobao) fought and wiped out the third (Heqizheng). This whole thing just started in August of this year, and there's still no winner yet.

……

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Star Entertainment, Zhong Lifang was sitting in her office listening to the publicity director report on the pre-release hype for "Mission: Impossible 4".

"Mr. Zhong, the concept of 'spy universe' has already generated a lot of buzz, and there's a lot of discussion about it among netizens."

The publicity director handed over a data report: "The Weibo hashtag #AgentUniverseAssembles# has surpassed 5 million views, and the trailer has over 2 million views, 30% higher than 'Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame'." Zhong Lifang nodded in satisfaction, her finger tracing across the report: "Very good, keep up the pace. Has the guest list for the premiere been finalized?"

"It's confirmed. Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie will both be there, as will Zhang Jin and Jing Tian, ​​the main Chinese cast and crew. In addition, we've invited half of the entertainment industry's stars to ensure a lively event," the publicity director said with a smile.

……

Meanwhile, at Golden Harvest, Chen Xi was in a meeting with his subordinates discussing film scheduling when the meeting room door was suddenly pushed open. His assistant, looking somewhat grave, entered and said, "Boss, there's a phone call for you. It's from the Film Bureau. They want to talk to you."

Chen Xi raised an eyebrow and put down the report: "Okay."

She went to her office, closed the door, picked up the phone, and after a few pleasantries, got straight to the point: "President Chen, we are calling this time because we hope that Golden Harvest can consider the bigger picture. We are all domestic film and television companies, why are we fighting each other so fiercely?"
The National Day holiday is a great opportunity to showcase the strength of domestic films; internal conflicts shouldn't affect the overall situation.

Chen Xi smiled politely and said sincerely, "Thank you all for your concern. I understand what you mean. We will consider it carefully."

After hanging up the phone, the PR director couldn't help but ask, "Boss, do we really want to settle?"

Chen Xi leaned back in his chair, a playful smile playing on his lips: "Reconciliation? Reconciliation my ass~"

The publicity summary immediately grasped her point—'Humble acceptance, but resolutely no change'.

Chen Xi told Zhang Chen about the call from the relevant department. Just as Zhang Chen hung up, Third Master Han called again.

"You better tone it down, kid."

The voice on the other end of the phone was serious: "After the New Year, the country may have to renegotiate film imports with Hollywood. The number of films imported may increase then. There's not much time left for domestic film companies. They should seize the time to develop, not fight amongst themselves."

Zhang Chen put away his joking expression and said seriously, "President Han, I understand what you mean. But Huayi started this trouble first. If I don't fight back, everyone will think Xingchen is a pushover."

Third Master didn't say anything more. Zhang Chen guessed that someone had asked him to intercede, and he was just going through the motions.

However, he knew that what Han Sanping said was not unfounded.

The impact of Hollywood is imminent. In the original timeline, the country allowed film companies such as Huayi Brothers, Bona Film Group, and Enlight Media to go public in the past two years in order to accumulate capital to fight against foreign enemies.

On September 29, the premieres of "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" and "Mission: Impossible 4" were held simultaneously in Beijing, one at the China World Trade Center Phase 9 and the other at the National Convention Center. Although they were only a few kilometers apart, they felt like battlefields for two opposing camps.

The media that received the invitations were fine; they could send representatives from both sides. But it was a different story for the celebrities; they almost all suffered from decision paralysis.

Going to this side means offending that side. This is no longer just attending a premiere; it's more like a silent choice of sides.

The premiere of "Mission: Impossible 4" at the National Convention Center was a star-studded affair.

Tom Cruise, dressed in a dark suit, waved to fans with a big smile, while Angelina Jolie, in a red dress, elegantly accepted an interview with the media.

Zhang Jin and Jing Tian, ​​as the main Chinese creators, have also received a lot of attention.

Tom Cruise was in high spirits. He had watched the film countless times. The quality of this movie far surpassed any previous Mission: Impossible film. Whether it was the thrilling jump from the Burj Khalifa or the cool display of high-tech equipment, it was enough to get the audience's blood pumping.

The only regret is that it lacks the iconic long takes of "Taken".

However, he also knew that "Taken" was Zhang Chen's real son, while "Mission: Impossible 4" was at best his adopted son. Even if there were long takes, Zhang Chen would most likely not use them in "Mission: Impossible 4".

"Mr. Zhang Chen, do you think Mission: Impossible 4 will become the box office champion during this year's National Day holiday?"

Reporters spotted Zhang Chen and immediately surrounded him.

Zhang Chen said with a smile, "The box office is for the audience to judge, but I can guarantee that this is a film that will not disappoint everyone."

He had just finished speaking when he saw Yang Xiaomi and Xue Xiaolu talking quietly not far away.

Zhang Chen walked over and heard Xue Xiaolu persuading Yang Xiaomi: "Xiaomi, filming for 'Love is Not Blind' will start after the New Year. You must leave enough time for it and you are not allowed to film at the same time."

"During the filming of 'My Love from the Star,' you were running between three sets a day, and you couldn't even remember your lines, which I tolerated. But '33 Days' is a film project, and that's absolutely unacceptable."

During the filming of "My Love from the Star", Yang Xiaomi was constantly filming other projects at the same time, which annoyed Xue Xiaolu.

There's no way around it, Yang Xiaomi is just too popular right now.

His starring movies were huge hits, and his starring TV series were also very popular. He received countless offers for roles every day.

Yang Xiaomi doesn't want to miss any of the projects; she has no choice, as she was previously controlled by the authorities.

Before she became famous, she was replaced in roles too many times. Roles that weren't confirmed were taken by others, and even roles that were officially announced were taken by others, which led to her having a morbid possessiveness towards film and television projects.

Yang Xiaomi said somewhat aggrievedly, "Director Xiaolu, I'm just afraid of missing out on good opportunities. You know, when I wasn't famous, I was replaced in roles so many times, even roles that were officially announced could be taken away. Now I just want to take on more roles so I can feel at ease."

The two have collaborated on many films and television series and are already very familiar with each other, able to talk about anything.

Just then, Yang Xiaomi saw Zhang Chen and immediately asked, "Director Zhang, you said before that 'Love is Not Blind' might become a blockbuster, is that true?"

Zhang Chen reassured her, saying with a smile, "Of course, 'Love is Not Blind' is the company's key project for next year, and it will be released on Singles' Day (November 33th)."

"Can it really explode?"

"That depends on your performance. Huang Xiaoxian is practically tailor-made for you. If you can't make a hit with this, then you won't need to make any more movies."

Yang Xiaomi hadn't expected it to be this serious; it was a do-or-die situation. She immediately nodded obediently, "Director Zhang, Director Xue, don't worry, I will definitely act with my heart~"

Actually, Zhang Chen hesitated at first about whether to cast Yang Xiaomi as Huang Xiaoxian, because Yang Xiaomi was a bit too beautiful.

In chick flicks, the female lead can't be too pretty.

Moreover, Yang Xiaomi has a bear, but Huang Xiaoxian doesn't!

But in the end, we decided to use Yang Xiaomi. We're all so familiar with each other, and Yang Xiaomi is sharp-tongued. Don't ask me how I know.

After leaving Yang Xiaomi and Xue Xiaolu, Zhang Chen saw Li Xiaoping talking to her assistant Gulina from afar.

He walked over and heard Li Xiaoping say with a smile, "Gulina, you're so beautiful. If you went into the entertainment industry to act, you'd definitely become famous."

We at Enlight Media are currently preparing for "Painted Skin" and are short of a pure and innocent female lead. I think you're perfect for the role. Would you like to consider it?

Gulina said with some difficulty, "President Li, I am just Brother Chen's assistant. I have no acting experience and I'm afraid I can't handle it."

Before Li Xiaoping could say anything more, Zhang Chen walked over and asked, "What are you two talking about?"

Seeing Zhang Chen approach, Li Xiaoping immediately stopped smiling and pretended to be surprised, saying, "Mr. Zhang, you're here too. I didn't know Gulina was your assistant. I just thought she had a very good image, and I wanted to invite her to star in our film project 'Painted Skin' next year..."

Zhang Chen smiled and declined, saying, "President Li Xiaoping, Gulina still has work to do for me, so I'm afraid she won't have time to film."

Li Xiaoping nodded quickly: "It was my oversight. I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, he left in a hurry.

Zhang Chen then looked at Gulina and asked, "What did she just say to you?"

Gulina honestly replied, "She said if I were to adopt an innocent, pure image, I could definitely outshine Cecilia Cheung."

Zhang Chen frowned. What era are we living in? Still using the "pure and innocent" persona? That's a thing of the past.

With the advent of the era of self-media, celebrities' private lives will inevitably be exposed to the public eye sooner or later. Are they afraid of not suffering enough if they try to maintain a pure and innocent image?
Zhang Chen paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you want to act in movies yourself?"

Gulina shook her head and said seriously, "I don't want to. I know I don't have that talent, and Li Xiaoping keeps inviting me, mostly because of you."

Zhang Chen looked at her with some surprise. He had originally thought she was just a pretty face, but he hadn't expected her to be so insightful.

He smiled and said, "You're right. Guangmang does want me to participate in the 'Painted Skin' project through you, but it's not a good project, so it doesn't really matter whether you participate or not."

(End of this chapter)