1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 545 Little Pepper

Although Demi Moore, this white Western woman, became an overnight sensation in Hong Kong, countless women followed her example and cut their hair short.

However, her appearance in "Ghost" did not impress Zhai Yuan.

In terms of generosity, it falls far short of "The Stripper," which saw her transition into a sex symbol, and in terms of acting skills, it doesn't compare to her later film, "Something."

Nothing special, really.
Not only was Demi Moore unremarkable, but after watching "Ghost" more than ten times, Zhai Yuan felt that even this movie was unremarkable.

"I can now point out the flaws of this play from nine different angles."

Early in the morning, the Bentley drove to Ngau Tau Kok Theatre.
Sitting in the car, Zhai Yuan curled his index finger and said seriously to his team, "Nine types!"

The people inside the car echoed and smiled in agreement.

Shi Nansheng countered, "Although most North American film critics rated 'Ghost' as very mediocre, since its release in July, it only lost to 'Die Hard 2' at the box office in its first week. After that, it remained at the top of the charts and stayed in the top five until the end of November. It must have earned the tears and wallets of countless people."

Zhai Yuan remained expressionless, but sighed, "The ignorant majority!"

Liu Zhenwei, standing nearby, immediately wiped his shoes and said, "Of course it's ignorant! Both are about human-ghost love stories, but in terms of plot depth, Mr. Zhai's 'A Chinese Ghost Story' and 'Rouge' are far superior!"

Zhai Yuan clicked his tongue and praised, "You have good taste!"

…………

A year has passed so quickly. It feels like Jurassic Park just finished its run, and the Jurassic Resort on Sharp Island is still going strong. Now, the second Lunar New Year blockbuster that Hong Kong movie fans have been eagerly anticipating is about to hit the screens.

"Iron Man", a Lunar New Year release, produced and written by Zhai Yuan.

As for your question about director Benny Chan, special effects company Tsui Hark, and props from the Hong Kong Props Association?
What rotten fish and shrimp!
At this time, the supporters of Zhai Yuan's fan club were quite similar to the fan groups of a comedian in later generations.

Any project my brother is involved in, no one else can claim credit for it unless his reputation suffers, then you're not qualified to take the blame.

The car stopped in front of the 1024 Theatre in Ngau Tau Kok, where the actors who had arrived early had already given their first round of interviews.

Upon seeing the Bentley's iconic 91 license plate, reporters and fans immediately left John Lone and others behind and swarmed towards Zhai Yuan, who had just gotten out of the car.

John Lone couldn't help but exclaim, "Mr. Zhai is so popular!"

Lam Chun-ying wholeheartedly agreed: "Even if he doesn't appear in front of the camera, his fans in Hong Kong might not be inferior to those of Chan Si-lung and Tam Wing-lun."

Xie Xian adjusted his brown-tinted glasses: "The younger generation surpasses the older generation..."

Zhai Yuan, who is known as "Hong Kong's No. 1 Handsome Man" and has many other titles such as "Prodigy", "Friend of Women", "Youngest Billionaire", "Justice of the Peace of the New Territories", and "Chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk", is now popular among people of all ages in Hong Kong!
"Councilor Zhai, with the Soviet delegation visiting Hong Kong this time, will 91 Entertainment consider expanding into the Soviet market in the future...?"

"Mr. Zhai, is the long delay of 'Iron Man' because you're not overseeing things in Hong Kong...?"

"Chairman Zhai, we, the Tanka people of the New Territories, have come all the way to town today to support your show..."

After Zhai Yuan and his main creative team got out of the car, they were only a dozen meters apart from Zun Long and his group.
Surrounded by enthusiastic reporters and fans, it took a full ten minutes for them to be interviewed before they were able to meet.

After exchanging pleasantries, a quick glance revealed that most of the cast of "Iron Man" had arrived.
John Lone, Lam Chun-ying, Patrick Tse, Pat Ha, Rei Akasaka, John Hopkins... This superhero blockbuster features actors of Chinese, Japanese, and British descent.

"Where's the madwoman?"

Zhai Yuan glanced around, but couldn't find the female lead.

During this period, even rising stars like Maggie Cheung and Joey Wong emerged, while Lan Juying, an original employee who joined 91 Entertainment during the "God of Gamblers" era, had a rather low profile.

Therefore, the actress specially chosen by Zhai Yuan to play the female lead, Little Chili, who co-stars with John Lone in "Iron Man" is Lan Juying.

Given the endearing nature of the character "Little Chili" and Lan Juying's resolute and mature demeanor, and in the current climate of feminism in Hong Kong, there is great confidence that she can also become a star, and it is not impossible that she will take over the niche of Chung Chu-hung after her retirement from acting.

As soon as the question was asked, the expressions of Xia Wenxi, who played a flirtatious reporter in the film, and Akasaka Rei, who made a cameo appearance as a war correspondent, changed slightly.

Then the others also showed awkward smiles.

Zhai Yuan glanced at him briefly, vaguely guessing what was going on, and whispered to Liu Zhenwei, "Has that crazy woman offended someone again?"

Liu Zhenwei chuckled: "It's nothing serious. Ms. Lan was just being a bit too outspoken during an interview while filming."

Before I could ask any more questions, a taxi slowly pulled up in front of the theater.

The car door opened, and Lan Juying, carrying a paper bag, ran over with a carefree smile on her face, greeting Zhai Yuan and the others from a distance.

"Sorry, I was late this morning because I was doing volunteer work."

Lan Juying leaned closer to the crowd and said with an apologetic smile, then took the initiative to walk in front of the reporters and fans: "Thank you all for waiting here. I brought some gifts for you. Please support our company's new film!"

As she spoke, she squatted down, placed the paper bag on the ground, took out cups of milk tea from it, and then handed them out to reporters and fans one by one.

Seeing this, Zhai Yuan scratched his head. "That shouldn't be the case. Doesn't this look quite like a person?"

Looking at Xia Wenxi and Akasaka Rei, upon seeing Lan Juying arrive, the two women walked into the theater lobby with sour faces.

“Hey, you madwoman.”

"You're the one who's crazy!"

Zhai Yuan waved for the others to enter first, then stepped forward to distribute milk tea to Lan Juying. Their opening remarks were the familiar banter they'd had in a long time.

After the two of them worked together to distribute all the milk tea, they chatted with reporters and fans for a few more minutes.

Lan Juying clapped her hands, then looked Zhai Yuan up and down.

She tilted her head and smiled, commenting, "You went to the Soviet Union, and you look quite tanned! You could easily pass for Bao Zheng if you stuck a moon on your forehead!"

Although many people's impression of the Soviet Union is that it is covered in snow, the northern cities have extremely long hours of sunshine, sometimes almost like daylight. Zhai Yuan's skin tone did indeed darken a few shades when he returned this time.

But it was clearly not as exaggerated as Lan Juying described.

Zhai Yuan rolled his eyes, beckoned her to come into the theater with him, and casually asked, "Can you tell me something? Did filming 'Iron Man' go smoothly?"

Lan Juying nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, chattering on and on: "Of course it went smoothly! This is a big production, we even went to Japan to film on location, everyone had a lot of fun while filming, it's a pity there weren't any scenes for me in the Soviet Union blah blah blah..."

Seeing her excited expression, Zhai Yuan tentatively asked, "Has anything unpleasant happened, like with your colleagues on set?"

Lan Juying frowned, and finally shook her head seriously: "Everyone gets along very well, how could there be any unpleasantness?"

Zhai Yuan hummed in agreement: "I heard that a reporter interviewed you on set before. Tell me about it." Lan Juying recalled for a moment and laughed: "Oh~ a reporter did visit the set in Japan last time. We chatted for a bit. There wasn't much to say. Those reporters were so gossipy. They even asked me if I would be willing to take my clothes off to film a Category III film in the future."

Zhai Yuan raised an eyebrow, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart: "How are you going to answer them?"

Lan Juying replied matter-of-factly, "Of course I said no, is that even a question? I made it very clear to them that I'm going to get married in the future, how can I take my clothes off on the big screen? What if people laugh at me? How will I find a boyfriend in the future? How can I face my future husband?"

Good stuff! Good stuff!
Zhai Yuan finally understood why Xia Wenxi and Akasaka Rei had such sour expressions earlier.

There's a reason you can't make friends...

In an era when Category III films were prevalent, this one sentence offended more than half of the actresses in the industry.

Zhai Yuanxin said, "If it weren't for me protecting you, those petty women could easily seduce any director and make your life difficult in no time, you crazy woman!"
Lan Juying, oblivious to the situation, pressed for details, asking, "Is there something wrong?"

Zhai Yuan exhaled a breath of stale air: "Is it possible that what you said might upset Xia Wenxi and Akasaka Rei?"

Lan Juying frowned and said, "Oh! Really? I was just talking about myself, I didn't mean anything by it... I'll go apologize to them right now!"

As they were talking, they entered the theater. Lan Juying saw Xia Wenxi and Akasaka Rei waiting to enter and immediately went up to them.

Zhai Yuan reacted quickly, grabbing the brainless woman and saying wearily, "Don't say anything yet, let's leave it at that, okay?"

Lan Juying blinked a few times, pouted, and said "Oh," then retorted softly, "But I really didn't mean that..."

…………

After the rating system was introduced, Category III films became very popular in Hong Kong, and it was not uncommon for Taiwanese film companies to spend a lot of money to have stars remove their shirts.

Almost every female star has experienced a situation similar to Lan Juying's.

But regardless of whether it's Rosamund Kwan, Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau, or any other female star, they have all given textbook-perfect answers when facing interviews from reporters.

Actually, taking off one's clothes is really no big deal for actors. It's about professional ethics. It's not about how much money you'll get before you'll do it. As long as the script is artistic enough, I really don't mind, blah blah blah.

And look at Lan Juying's answer... it's really crisp and clear!

In the theater, Zhai Yuan glanced at Miss Lan, who was still deep in thought, and gave a helpless smile.

Lan Juying remained silent for a while, then suddenly turned her head and asked seriously, "Do you think I should clarify things with them privately?"

"Shh!" Zhai Yuan gestured for silence: "Let's watch the movie first!"

The lights dimmed, and the entire theater fell silent.

Without opening credits, "Iron Man" jumps straight into the first scene, showcasing the large-scale scenes filmed in the Soviet Union.

Boom! Bang! Bang! Boom!

The footage shows armored vehicles being smashed to pieces, helicopters strafing with machine guns, and various standard weapons being displayed one after another.

As Zunlong was blown away by a mortar shell, the screen went black.

The audience in the theater gasped in unison.

Iron Man

The film's title, featuring special effects that evoke a metallic feel, has appeared on the big screen for the first time.

The screen turned,
The banquet hall, where the film was shot at Government House, was brightly lit, and the political and business celebrities in the movie all came to attend John Lone's awards ceremony.

"Zunlong, a military and technological genius, built his first circuit board at the age of four and his first engine at the age of six... At the age of twenty-one, he returned from his prodigal son's life and became the CEO of Shenshan Industry, bringing his father's legacy into a new era and creating the most advanced intelligent robots... Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to present this year's Extreme Award to Mr. Zunlong. Please welcome Brother Long to the stage to receive the award... Brother Long? Brother Long?"

At the awards banquet, Chen Shilong, who made a guest appearance, was dressed in a sharp suit, but the real actor kept calling him "Brother Long" in the movie, which drew chuckles from the audience.

On screen, Chen Shilong awkwardly holds up the trophy, trying to smooth things over by saying, "I think everyone knows that Brother Long's best and worst quality is that he's always working..."

"Work it!"

The scene changes again.

In the Natural Selection Casino, John Lone, dressed as a playboy in a floral shirt and surrounded by beautiful women, flicks a chip onto the table.

The forced switch to English puns brought another burst of laughter from the audience.

After cutting some of the American-themed scenes from the original film, the overall narrative pace of the movie became faster.

Five minutes into the show, John Lone had already slept with reporter Xia Wenxi.

Next, it was the turn of Xiao Chili, played by Lan Juying, to appear. With her aloof and icy demeanor, she politely and distantly saw Xia Wenxi off from the mansion.

"This villa looks nice."

Looking at John Lone's luxurious villa on the screen, Zhai Yuan turned to Chen Musheng and asked, "Where were the scenes filmed?"

Benny Chan whispered, "A Mr. Law Siu-fai from Barker Road on Victoria Peak contacted us to lend him the property when he heard that a new movie was going to be released on September 1st."

Zhai Yuan nodded knowingly. Real estate agents certainly know how to do business, using their own movies for advertising.

However, considering that his family business is growing bigger and bigger, he should consider changing his Deep Water Bay Garden Villa. The property on the screen looks quite pleasing to the eye.

In addition, some properties needed to be acquired for those Soviet devils, and Luo Zhaohui, as Liu's subordinate, was just the right person to handle this matter.

"If you have time, please contact Luo Zhaohui for me. I'll treat him to tea."

"Yes, Mr. Zhai."

Zhai Yuan glanced at the little chili pepper in the play, then at Lan Juying beside him, his fingers sliding down the seat and gently resting on the back of her hand.

Lan Juying rolled her eyes at him, completely lacking in romance: "What?"

Zhai Yuan stared at the screen and ignored her, then lightly stroked her fingers and gradually clenched her palm.

Lan Juying belatedly realized what was happening, her face flushed, and she lightly pinched Zhai Yuan's mischievous hand, whispering reproachfully, "Let go!"

Zhai Yuan remained seated upright, seemingly completely absorbed in the movie, and his lips twitched slightly: "Shh~ Watch the movie!"

(End of this chapter)