Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

Many people know that the Wong family is slow at filming, but they don't have a concrete understanding of it. Here are three simple examples.

As the first film in Wong Kar-wai's love trilogy, "Days of Being Wild" only mentions that the filming process took more than a year.

It sounds alright, right? But because of this year and a half, Wang Jiawei single-handedly dragged the production company and investment firm into bankruptcy.

Then comes the final installment of the trilogy, "2046." This film was actually made in a mixed style starting with "In the Mood for Love," from 1999 to 2002. You thought it was finished?

No, Wong Kar-wai felt the filming was wrong and had it all reshot.

Filming went on until 2004, a five-year period that transformed actor Takuya Kimura from a bachelor into a father of two.

As the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race. If it were well-made, that would be fine. Unfortunately, this "2046" is entirely Wong Kar-wai's personal creation. The actors' performances are okay, but the editing is so messy that it's incomprehensible. It's not as good as the previous two films at all.

Then there's "The Grandmaster," which had the longest production cycle. The story was conceived in 1997, the script was registered in 2001, the filming plan was announced in 2002, and full-scale preparation began in 2004. After several years of preparation, with filming stopping and starting, it wasn't until 2009 that the official start of filming was announced.

Yes, it took almost ten years to officially announce the start of filming, which sounds quite funny. Then there were more than three years of actual filming, which took Tony Leung from forty to fifty years old, to the point that he didn't want to film anymore.

Many actors who have worked with Wang Jiawei have this thought: once they've worked with him, they don't want to work with him again. But what's amazing is that many stars only shed their idol image and embarked on the path of becoming serious actors after meeting Wang Jiawei.

For example, Leslie Cheung's only Best Actor award was for his role in "Days of Being Wild".

Tony Leung has won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor six times, four of which were for films by Wong Ka-wai.

But it's not necessarily true that Wang Jiawei has any special skills. Everyone knows that filming requires coordination, especially between actors, and Wang Jiawei has taken coordination to the extreme.

The constant refinement keeps the actor focused solely on how to portray the character, leaving nothing else to it. Once the refinement is complete, the character will naturally emerge.

An apartment in Happy Valley.

Wang Jiawei arranged to meet Jiang Lai at his home, and his purpose this time was to discuss "2046" and "The Grandmaster".

Jiang Lai looked at the two scripts in front of him. One was fragmented, with content that was disjointed and incoherent, and he had no idea what it was about.

The other one is a thick volume that is less of a script and more of a mixture of biographies and historical materials.

Jiang Lai put down his notebook. "Director Wang, did you come to me to ask for investment?"

Wong Kar-wai poured two cups of tea, gestured for them to drink, and said calmly, "It's both an investment and a matter of acquiring people."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"You, and your girlfriend, Zhang Ziyi."

"So what role do you want my girlfriend to play?"

Wang Jiawei pointed to the scattered book, "This one, she plays Bai Ling." Then he pointed to the thick book, "This one, she plays Ip Man's wife."

Jiang Lai nodded, picked up his tea and drank without saying a word. Personal relationships were one thing, but when it came to serious matters, he would have to think carefully about how to handle the Wang family.

Seeing that Jiang Lai remained silent, Wang Jiawei grew somewhat anxious.

He knows exactly what kind of person he is. Despite his fame, people in the investment circle don't like him. Putting aside the fact that "The Grandmaster" is still unfinished, one investor has already withdrawn from "2046," which is currently being filmed, and they urgently need to find someone to replace him.

"Lai Zai, don't worry, I can guarantee that both of these films will win awards."

Look at this, his way of speaking. He doesn't mention making money at all. He just talks about awards. With so many people idolizing me, Sunglasses King, winning an award is a piece of cake.

Jiang Lai smiled. He knew that nine out of ten of Wong Kar-wai's movies would lose money, but the fame overshadowed these shortcomings.

"Okay, I can invest, but I have two conditions."

"Okay, go ahead," Wang Jiawei said, sitting up straight.

"First, in '2046,' Zhang Ziyi's role was expanded, making her the leading female character."

"Can."

Jiang Lai was taken aback. Did he agree so easily?

Wang Jiawei continued, "I originally planned to have Maggie Cheung continue as the female lead, but she told me she was planning to retire from acting. I also think Zhang Ziyi is quite promising; she has a charming and alluring quality, and I think she could be a good fit..."

Jiang Lai didn't hear what was said after that; he only noticed five words: Zhang Manyu retires from acting.

He frowned in thought. Was it because of himself?

"Hey! Lai-zai?"

Wang Jiawei waved his hand in front of Jiang Lai, "What other conditions are there?"

Jiang Lai snapped out of his daze, temporarily putting Zhang Manyu's matter behind him, and opened the thick script.

"In this drama, Zhang Ziyi's role will be changed to Gong Er."

Wang Jiawei frowned. Gong Er's prototype was Shi Jianqiao, and it also incorporated many other images of extraordinary women from that period. He was afraid that Zhang Ziyi would not be able to portray the fierce and resilient character.

"This is my first condition."

Wang Jiawei was stunned. There was more?

"My second condition is that you must be extremely meticulous about the film's budget. I can give you ample funds and allow you to have a long shooting period and high expenses, but you must take all aspects into account and calculate them carefully. You are not allowed to exceed the budget."

After much deliberation, the Wang family finally agreed.

Such big investors are rare finds. Unlike other investors who are slow to spend money, he recently heard that Jiang Lai was investing in Jackie Chan's film and was very generous, enough for him to make a movie.

This is the advantage of collaborating with someone famous: Jackie Chan gains prestige, and Jiang Lai is more likely to be approached for investment.

However, Jiang Lai wasn't stupid. He knew that investing in Sunglasses King would result in losses, but he still invested for one reason.

He presented Zhang Ziyi.

In the original timeline, Zhang Ziyi won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress and the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress for these two films, achieving the triple crown of honors, which she absolutely had to obtain.

With his restrictions, it's okay if "2046" loses less money and "The Grandmaster" earns less, since the latter film still did well at the box office.

"Director Wang, which role will I play?"

Wang Jiawei gave an awkward laugh, "Um... I haven't decided yet."

Jiang Lai pursed his lips, "Then I'll volunteer. '2046' is fine with me, but for the other one, I want to play Ip Man."

"Don't joke around, Lai Zai. You're too young to play Ip Man. He's forty in the movie."

"When do you plan to film this movie?"

"I estimate it will take many more years of preparation. I need to visit some martial arts masters across the country."

"That's settled then. By the time you're ready to film, I'll be older. With some makeup, I can definitely act!"

Wang Jiawei scratched his head; there was really nothing wrong with what he said.

After the two reached an agreement, Jiang Lai left, leaving Lao Wang and his team to prepare the budget.

Just now I mentioned that Jiang Lai is more likely to be approached for investment, and then Andy Lau approached him.

Hua Ge thought that Jiang Lai had already invested in his Sky Screen, but unexpectedly, the man casually pulled out another 20 million US dollars, not Hong Kong dollars or RMB.

So he dragged Jiang Lai to look at a script, one that Hua Ge and others had been working on for many years.

It's called "Kill the Cop".