Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 467: It’s reasonable to take a sick leave, right?

“The story of A Better Tomorrow is already very complete, and it would be impossible to make it more wonderful.

Besides, it's enough to make a comeback once.

If you do too much, the audience may not buy it.”

Lin Chaoyang's last words were somewhat meaningful, and everyone also sensed something was wrong from his words.

After chatting with everyone for a few words, Dillon pulled Lin Chaoyang aside and asked seriously:

"Chaoyang, I saw you went to the office with Tsui Hark and the others just now to discuss the sequel, right? Didn't you come to an agreement?"

Seeing that there was no one around, Lin Chaoyang said truthfully: "Mai Jia and Tsui Hark want to make a sequel with the original crew."

"You know, the story of A Better Tomorrow is already complete. To write more about it is just a lie. It would be better to just make a new movie."

Ti Lung is a person who has his own pursuits in movies, otherwise he would not be thinking about transformation in his middle age, and he would not repeatedly advise Chow Yun-fat not to take on multiple roles on the set. Therefore, he understands Lin Chaoyang's thoughts very well.

"I see, you don't want to be in charge of the script, so they want to shoot it without you?"

"Yes. You also understand that if we spread the word now, the film producers in Taiwan and Southeast Asia will definitely come to our door to offer money. They will not miss the opportunity to make money. I am not the only one who can write scripts."

Ti Lung hesitated when he heard this and said, "If you don't write the script, then I won't act in it either."

"If you don't take the role, you'll offend people. It's not like I'm completely broken up with Cinema City now. Why don't you take the opportunity to make money?"

"I'm not a young man in his twenties, do you think I'm doing this just for the sake of loyalty?

You and Arsen have contributed the most to the success of A Better Tomorrow. Without you, the probability of failure of the sequel would increase significantly.

You said I have turned over a new leaf, so of course I have to take good care of my reputation. Otherwise, if I shoot a few movies while I am still popular, I will make money, but what if I become outdated? "

Ti Lung's tone was relaxed and his reasons were very convincing, but Lin Chaoyang knew that the main reason he did this was definitely because he decided not to participate in the production of the sequel.

"Hey, you're putting a lot of pressure on me!"

Dillon teased him, "Don't give me that! Do you think I don't know? Why did you come out and tell us all this?"

"What do you mean by telling you? I was obviously telling John Woo."

"So, you want to poach people from Cinema City?"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't say such harsh words, what do you mean by poaching?
I think it’s a bit of a waste of his talent to stay in Cinema City, and he might have a better development if he came to our Lin Group.”

Dillon looked at him in surprise, "You still say you didn't break up with her?"

"We are all adults now. When it comes to doing business, there is no such thing as breaking up or not. If it is beneficial, we will cooperate. If it is not beneficial, we will develop on our own."

Ti Lung worried for him and asked, "Aren't you afraid that Cinema City will cause trouble for you?"

"Do they have time to cause trouble for me?" Lin Chaoyang looked in the direction of Shi Tian and Huang Baiming, with a suggestive look in his eyes.

The internal strife among the three giants of Cinema City has been exposed in the past two years. The reason why it can still maintain its dignity is entirely because the company can still make huge profits for everyone.

Ti Lung has been in the film industry for so many years and has seen many examples of people who can share adversity but not wealth.

He knew very well that such a prosperous and flourishing situation would be difficult to maintain for long. Once a problem occurred, the collapse of the building would be imminent.

But he still had to admire Lin Chaoyang's big heart.

With the support of Golden Princess, Cinema City has been very famous in the Hong Kong film industry in recent years. Without some confidence and strength, who would dare to turn against them easily?

"Even if they are at odds with each other now, they are not easy to deal with. You don't have to confront them head-on."

"You don't really think I'm trying to recruit John Woo just to be angry with them, do you?"

Dillon looked at Lin Chaoyang seriously, isn't it?
"If I say it doesn't matter at all, it won't sound true. But our Lin Group also needs to develop, and outstanding talents are always in high demand. Don't you agree?"

Ti Lung nodded, and "A Better Tomorrow" earned 3000 million Hong Kong dollars. Director John Woo was as popular in the Hong Kong film industry as Lin Chaoyang.

Not only Lin, but many film companies also extended olive branches to John Woo privately or publicly. Thinking about it this way, Lin Chaoyang's recruitment did not seem to be a big deal.

The two chatted for a while, and then Mai Jia and Tsui Hark appeared again, and arranged to go to the restaurant to celebrate. Lin Chaoyang and his wife did not go with them. Everyone maintained a happy appearance, said hello and left the top floor of the Shichuang Bank.

On the way home, Lin Chaoyang told Tao Yushu about what happened today, and Tao Yushu looked serious.

"Others can write this script, but you can't. You can't let them consume your fame. You are right to cherish your reputation. These filmmakers in Hong Kong are really ruthless in making money."

"People die for money, birds die for food, this is normal. If nothing unexpected happens, our two films will be the first and second place in Hong Kong's annual box office this year, and our reputation will be established.

After the dividends from A Better Tomorrow arrive, you will have more funds, and you can start to make great achievements in the future."

Lin Chaoyang said in a relaxed tone.

"The Truman Show" brought Lam's Film Studios tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars in revenue, which seems like a lot, but it was just enough for Lam's Film Studios to recruit some talents and independently produce two new films.

The revenue from "A Better Tomorrow" is the bulk of the revenue, which can ensure that Lin's Pictures has sufficient capital chain. There is no need to wait for repayment, and new films can be released continuously, forming a snowball effect.

As the couple chatted, Tao Yushu asked, "Chaoyang, is our strategy a bit radical?"

“It is definitely radical, but the Hong Kong film industry is like a racing game. If you don’t catch up, you will be left behind.

As long as we can attract a group of talented people, the company's development will not be a big problem."

Tao Yushu nodded. In the past two years, she had a deeper understanding of the Hong Kong film industry and knew that what Lin Chaoyang said made sense.

The next morning, the opening ceremony of "The Romantic Comedy" - the first film invested and produced by Lam Pictures after its establishment - was held at Golden Harvest Studios.

Tao Yushu attended the event as the producer. The director and screenwriter of this film is Wang Jing, the leading male (Lankoufa) is Chow Yun-fat, the second male (Wu Zhun Shao) is Chen Baixiang, the third male (Traffic Light) is Stephen Chow, and the leading female is Maggie Cheung.

Lam Pictures was about to produce a new film, and Maggie Cheung volunteered to play the leading female role. The role of the heroine in The Romantic Comedy was not difficult for her, so Tao Yushu gave it to her.

Chen Baixiang was recommended by Wang Jing, and he has a very good relationship with Wang Jing.

On the day of the start of filming, many reporters came to the set, most of whom came to see Chow Yun-fat's new film.

After the movie "A Better Tomorrow", "Poison Fat" became "God Fat". The role of Mark Brother made Chow Yun-fat earn enough tears from the audience, and he is now extremely popular.

During the interview, the reporters almost all surrounded him and producer Tao Yushu, and the other leading actors became background boards.

Stephen Chow looked at Chow Yun-fat who was surrounded by reporters with envy, "Brother Fa is so popular!"

Chen Baixiang teased him with a sly smile: "Xingzai, don't be envious, I have calculated for you, in less than three years, you will definitely be more famous than him!"

Zhou Xingchi looked shy and said, "Brother La, don't make fun of me!"

"Hey, how could they be making fun of you? They all said that Mr. Lin is very optimistic about you. Look at Brother Fa, I heard that it was Mr. Lin who personally chose him to play Brother Xiao Ma, and he is so famous now!
You are not still doubting Lin Sheng's vision, are you? "

Although he knew that Nat Chan was teasing him, Stephen Chow didn't know how to refute him and could only force a smile in response.

"Okay, Brother Le, Ah Xing just started acting, stop teasing him."

At this time Maggie Cheung came out to rescue Stephen Chow, and Stephen Chow couldn't help but give her a grateful glance.

While they were talking, Tao Yushu and Chow Yun-fat were answering questions from reporters. One reporter asked, "Brother Fa, I heard that Cinema City and the film studio are planning to shoot A Better Tomorrow 2. When will it start filming?"

Since the popularity of "A Better Tomorrow", Chow Yun-fat's name in the film industry has evolved from "Ah Fat" to "Brother Fa".

He listened to the reporter's question without answering, but looked at Tao Yushu.

The movie sequel is still just an idea now, but I didn’t expect these reporters have already gotten the news. They are really well-informed!

Tao Yushu said at this time: "As for the sequel, you should ask Cinema City or the film studio."

The reporter listened to Tao Yushu's words and sensed something was wrong. "Mrs. Lin, will Lin's Pictures be involved in the production of A Better Tomorrow 2?"

"No comment!"

Tao Yushu did not answer the reporters' questions, but that did not stop them from asking her questions shamelessly. In the end, she was so disturbed that she had to leave Chow Yun-fat and face the reporters alone.

As soon as Maggie Cheung saw her coming out of the crowd, she immediately went over to her.

"Sister Yushu!"

"what happened?"

"Nothing, when will Yumo come back?"

"It should be just these two days. This damn girl had a lot of fun in Japan!" Tao Yushu said angrily.

At this moment, on the 1th floor of Building H7 of Oriental Garden, Tao Yumo pressed the doorbell for a long time with his suitcase, but no one opened the door.

"What's going on? Are you all out?"

No one opened the door for her, so she had to put down her luggage and take out the key to open the door.

The door opened, and the house was clean and tidy, spotless, as if no one had ever lived there.

Tao Yumo instinctively felt that something was wrong. She walked back to the door puzzled and looked at the house number.

"That's right!"

She swept around the house and found that everything was cleaned up thoroughly. It was impossible for it to be so clean after being robbed, right?
What's going on? Are they moving back to the mainland?

Tao Yumo tried to make a call, but found that the phone was turned off.

She didn't know what had happened and was extremely anxious and panicked. She threw her luggage in the house and ran towards the Prince's Building.

When they arrived at the Prince Building and saw the "Lin's Pictures" sign was still there, Tao Yumo finally put his mind at ease after feeling uneasy all the way.

"Azhen!"

Seeing Wu Meizhen, Tao Yumo immediately grabbed her.

"Miss Tao, you're back!" Wu Meizhen greeted Tao Yumo.

"I'm back. Where are my sister and brother-in-law?" Tao Yumo asked anxiously.

"Mrs. Lin went to attend the opening ceremony of "The Romantic Comedy" today. I'm not sure about Mr. Lin."

Tao Yumo nodded, said nothing more, picked up the company's phone and called Tao Yushu.

"Hey, sis, I'm home, why is the house empty?"

"what?"

That evening, in Mid-Levels Central, Garden of Hope.

The night is hazy, the mountain scenery of Mid-Levels is hidden in the darkness, and the night view of Victoria Harbour in the distance is fascinating.

The evening breeze blew Tao Yumo's hair. She gathered her hair with a cold expression.

"So, you don't have to tell me if you move?"

There was a hint of coldness and grievance in her voice.

Tao Yushu was sitting on the sofa, feeling very uncomfortable. "I thought your brother-in-law told you everything on the phone."

A hot potato was thrown into Lin Chaoyang's hand. It burned him so much that he grimaced but didn't dare to let go. He gave his sister-in-law an apologetic smile.

"This matter is indeed my brother-in-law's fault. I was so busy urging you to come back that I forgot to tell you about moving to a new home."

His apology did not cause any emotional fluctuations in Tao Yumo. She looked at her brother-in-law coldly.

"Forgot? How come you didn't forget to ask me to sign the contract? How come you didn't forget to ask me to look after the kids?"

Knowing that he was in the wrong, Lin Chaoyang nodded and apologized repeatedly, "Yes, yes, it's my fault, brother-in-law, for not considering it carefully. Yumo, you have worked really hard on this trip to Japan, and you need a raise next month."

After hearing the "real money" apology, Tao Yumo's face finally looked better, but when she looked at the nanny A Di who was holding Yan Yan beside her, her face unconsciously darkened again.

There is a kind of dog that goes out to play, and when it comes back, it is shocked and bitter to find another dog at home.

Tao Yushu observed her expression and patiently explained, "Didn't you say you wanted to be a producer in the crew? Now that you're there, you can't be as indecisive as before. How can you have so much energy to take care of Dongdong and Yanyan?

A-Di's coming here can help you relieve some of the pressure... help me relieve some of the pressure. From now on, I will take care of the company's affairs, and you will take care of the crew's affairs. Isn't this just perfect?"

"Don't we still have my brother-in-law?" "Your brother-in-law only looks after the children, doesn't he do anything else?"

Tao Yumo glanced at A-Di with a complicated expression, "I don't want this kind of miscommunication to happen again."

"Yes, yes, yes." Lin Chaoyang and his wife nodded repeatedly.

"In order to prevent this from happening again, I think the company needs to give me a mobile phone so that we can communicate at any time."

Even though they knew that the girl was taking the opportunity to blackmail them, it was their fault that they had forgotten about her.

"Okay. You always visit the crew, so it's only natural that you have a cell phone."

Tao Yumo then showed a look of satisfaction, and the anger and grievance she had just felt disappeared in an instant. She walked to A Di and extended her hand to Yan Yan.

"Good boy Yanyan, come and let your aunt hug you!"

Yanyan was held in Tao Yumo's arms. Dongdong, who was waiting beside her, was extremely anxious. "Auntie, auntie, there's me, there's me!"

Tao Yumo quickly smiled and hugged him in his arms. One on the left and one on the right, a girl and a child, the three of them were smiling. While laughing, Tao Yumo did not forget to cast a provocative look at A Di.

See? I am the king of the kids in this family!
A-Di is over 40 years old and came to Hong Kong from the mainland a few years ago. She is an honest person. Seeing that Tao Yumo has a hot-tempered personality, like a Teddy bear, she lowered her head unconsciously.

Can't be bothered, can't be bothered!
"Okay, let's give the baby to A-Di first. Tell me about your situation in Japan and why you came back so late."

Tao Yumo's turn is over, and it's Tao Yushu's turn to make a move.

Upon hearing this question, Tao Yumo's eyes immediately flickered and his momentum weakened significantly.

"I have to sign a contract with Kawaide Shobo. They keep changing their mind. Besides, I did a good job of investigating in Japan this time."

"Oh? What have you discovered after the investigation?" Tao Yushu asked, staring into his sister's eyes.

"Well... I found out that the Japanese yen has been rising sharply recently. My brother-in-law's book is published in Japan, so it's a sure win..."

Tao Yumo was talking so much nonsense that she could hardly continue. She smiled guiltily at Tao Yushuo.

"Hey, sister~"

Seeing her surrender, Tao Yushu immediately scolded her harshly and said, "If this happens again, don't go there."

"No, no, no! Sister, I was wrong, I was wrong. Next time I will follow your instructions and never disobey you."

Tao Yumo made a solemn promise, but as for his credibility, it was almost as if he had said nothing.

Seeing her sister's perfunctory attitude, she took out the contract she had signed with Hechu Study, prepared to show off her achievements, and said to Lin Chaoyang:
"Brother-in-law, have you written the inscription Ms. Kondo asked for?"

"Nope."

"Why aren't you positive at all?"

Tao Yumo took Lin Chaoyang to the study and asked him to write a calligraphy as required. Then she frowned and looked at it for a long time.

"Your handwriting is just average!"

In a trance, Lin Chaoyang felt like he saw an old friend.

"You're quite nosy. This isn't given to you."

"I'm just trying to encourage you to improve. You still need to practice calligraphy with my dad. Okay, I'll frame this calligraphy and send it to Ms. Kondo. It will be used as the facade of your Japanese Literature Research Society."

Tao Yushu asked curiously about the Literary Research Society, and Tao Yumo became excited when talking about it.

"It was only when I went there that I realized that the Japanese people admired my brother-in-law..."

Two days later, Lin Chaoyang finally received the sample book sent by French Publishing House Gallimard.

It has been nearly four months since I signed the publishing contract with them in May and received the sample books, which is considered efficient.

Compared with the efficiency of Gallimard Publishing, the efficiency of China Film Group can be described as slow. The novels they imported were almost published, but "The Truman Show" has yet to be released in mainland China.

As early September was approaching, Tao Yushu planned to return to the mainland to check on the progress of Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou.

There is no rush for Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum", but Chen Kaige's "The King of Children" plans to participate in next year's film festival.

She planned to go back to Yanjing with Lin Chaoyang, and let Tao Yumo take care of Hong Kong.

Before leaving, Lin Chaoyang received the royalties for "The Truman Show" from Ming Pao Publishing House.

This was the second royalty after "The Truman Show" was published in Hong Kong, and it was much more than the first one.

The main reason, of course, is the huge hit of the movie "The Truman Show" in May and June, which directly led to a crazy increase in sales of the original novel.

In June, when the novel was at its most popular month, it set a sales record of 6 copies in a single month.

This sales volume was at the top level even when Hong Kong martial arts novels were at their peak in the 1960s and 1970s, not to mention that "The Truman Show" is a serious work of pure literature.

In the past six months, the sales of "The Truman Show" have reached 14.25 copies. If the previous sales are included, the cumulative sales of this novel have exceeded 20 copies.

It is the first time that a pure literary work has sold 20 copies in the Hong Kong literary world.

Therefore, over this period of time, the sales of Lin Chaoyang and "The Truman Show" have always been the focus of attention of many people in the literary world.

However, the development of pure literature in Hong Kong has always been non-mainstream and has not had a strong presence.

Since the novel sold well, Lin Chaoyang's royalties were naturally high. The income from this royalty settlement was as high as 150 million Hong Kong dollars.

Including the royalties settled previously, the royalties income from "The Truman Show" in Hong Kong alone has exceeded HK$200 million.

In terms of income alone, Lin Chaoyang's income is enough to surpass most writers in Hong Kong.

After returning to Yanjing from Hong Kong, Zhang Guiqin did not recognize the unfamiliar face of A-Di as soon as she entered the house. Lin Chaoyang explained that she was a hired nanny.

I heard that A-Di's monthly salary is 2000 Hong Kong dollars, which is equivalent to to RMB. Zhang Guiqin felt pained and pulled Lin Chaoyang to whisper:

"I can just take care of your child. Why spend this money?"

"Mom, the money you make is to be spent. If you want to stay with your grandchildren, you can have a nanny. With A-Di around, you can relax a little."

A grown-up son is no longer under the control of his mother. Zhang Guiqin knew that she could not convince Lin Chaoyang, so she could only mutter a few words to herself to reduce her reluctance to part with the money.

After settling down, Tao Yushu ran to the west courtyard first.

During this period, Zhang Yimou has been living here to study the script, and he is with Mo Yan and Chen Jianyu.

After arriving at the West Courtyard, Tao Yushu also saw an acquaintance, her old colleague Zhu Wei at People's Literature.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Tao Yushu learned that Zhu Wei came to the party last month, had a good chat with Zhang Yimou, and was also invited by him to join the screenwriter team.

By this calculation, there are already three people in the screenwriter team of "Red Sorghum".

When there are many people, there are many ideas. The more ideas there are, the more problems there are.

This was Zhang Yimou’s first time as a director, and Tao Yushu was really worried that they would mess up the script.

After she talked with Zhang Yimou, Tao Yushu felt relieved because Zhang Yimou's ideas were still very clear.

Afterwards, Tao Yushu called Chen Kaige home again. During the time when the couple returned to Hong Kong, Chen Kaige had rewritten the script of "The King of Children" and was waiting for Lin Chaoyang to make the final decision.

When Lin Chaoyang was reading the script, Chen Kaige kept observing his expression and felt a little nervous, fearing that Lin Chaoyang would think it was not good enough again.

"It's well written. This version will be the final draft."

Lin Chaoyang's words made Chen Kaige feel relieved, and he immediately became happy again.

"Aunt, can we start preparing for the production now?" Chen Kaige asked Tao Yushu with great anticipation.

Tao Yushu smiled and said, "Okay."

"Then in the next two days, will you help me audition the actors?"

"it is good."

The investment in "The King of Children" was 120 million RMB, of which 24 RMB was contributed by Yindu Organization, 36 RMB was contributed by Li Hanxiang's New Kunlun Pictures, and the remaining funds were covered by Lin's Pictures.

This investment is considered a low-budget movie in Hong Kong, but it is a considerable investment in China today. Currently, the buyout price that China Film Group pays to the studio for each movie is only 90 yuan.

With the funds in place, Chen Kaige was full of energy and enthusiasm. In just three days, the crew had completed preparations and even the actors were confirmed.

The reason why it was so fast was that Chen Kaige planned to use non-professional actors in the entire film except for the male lead.

The male lead was his college classmate Xie Yuan, and the rest of the people had to be found on the set when they arrived.

The filming location of "The King of Children" was set in Yunnan, where Ah Cheng went to the countryside and where the initial inspiration for "The King of Children" came from.

After the crew reunited, Chen Kaige couldn't wait to set off for Xishuangbanna, Yunnan.

Lin Chaoyang said that he wanted to participate in his film in the West Berlin Film Festival. Now there are only five months left until next year's West Berlin Film Festival. Time is tight and every second counts.

"The King of Children" was about to start filming, and Tao Yushu originally planned to go to Yunnan to stay for a few days, and then send someone from the company to supervise Chen Kaige after the crew stabilized.

But Lin Chaoyang came up with a dirty trick, "You hire Lao Chen."

"Old Chen?"

Tao Yushu didn't understand what Lin Chaoyang meant for a moment.

My son is making a movie and lets me be the military supervisor?

We are all family, aren’t you afraid that the father and son may do something wrong?

Then Tao Yushu thought about it and seemed to understand Lin Chaoyang's intention.

It is true that Lao Chen is an old fox, but he is a good person.

The most important thing is that this old guy wants his son to be successful!

If Chen Kaige were asked to be the producer of a movie, would he not do his best?

I'm afraid he will have to take on multiple roles, including producer, art consultant, and supreme director...

With such a high-level military advisor like Chen Huaikai, are you still worried that "The King of Children" will not be filmed well?
Tao Yushu thought about it for a while and found that Lin Chaoyang's move was really a perfect plan.

So she happily went to Chen Huaikai's house and proposed to hire him as the producer of "The King of Children".

Chen Huaikai was stunned. He thought for a moment and asked Tao Yushu: "Yushu, tell me the truth, whose idea was this?"

"It's my idea!" Tao Yushu said with a firm expression.

Chen Huaikai didn't believe it, "Don't lie to me. No one else can come up with such a bad idea except your husband."

Tao Yushu laughed. Seeing that he couldn't hide it from Chen Huaikai, he admitted that it was Lin Chaoyang's idea and teased, "No wonder you two are good friends."

No matter how Chen Huaikai listened, he felt that what she said was not a good thing, but it didn't matter. He was still thinking about Tao Yushu's previous offer.

5000 yuan.

Chen Huaikai is a meritorious director of Yanying Studio. His salary and benefits have always been high, but faced with the sky-high price of 5000 yuan, he still found it difficult to refuse.

What's more, this is his son's new film?

"What about the work at the factory?" Chen Huaikai asked in embarrassment.

Chen Huaikai has retired, but he still has a job at Yanying Studio, except that he does not have to work in the office.

Tao Yushu said lightly: "Chaoyang said you will find a way yourself."

Chen Huaikai cursed inwardly, this kid really had him plotted against!
It seems that I have no choice but to take sick leave.

Winter is approaching and my lungs are not feeling well.

It's reasonable to take a sick leave, right?

(End of this chapter)