The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 554 Brother Kaizi is convinced
A golden crow flaps its wings, overlooking the earth.

White clouds swayed in the sky.

The breeze blows gently, cool and mixed with the smell of Cantonese morning tea.

In front of an ordinary tea restaurant on Kowloon Island, a car slowly stopped and two middle-aged men and women stepped out of the car.

Both looked to be in their fifties.

The man has long hair, is short, has a big head, has a square face, wears a pair of glasses, a blue casual suit, and a pair of dark gray jeans.

He always had a smile on his lips and looked like a kind man.

However, when he got off the car, he never looked at anyone else, his eyes kept looking upward.

This person is Chen Kexin, a great director on Hong Kong Island. He made a fortune from "October Siege", "Martial Arts", and "The Legend" and bought a villa on Hong Kong Island.

The woman originally had shoulder-length hair, but now she had her hair tied up, with a stiff smile on her face.

She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a knee-length skirt. She had a very ordinary appearance, like an ordinary grocery shopping lady.

When passers-by recognized their identities, she waved hello out of habit.

This woman is Zhou Xingxing's best female partner - Wu Junru.

Relatively speaking, Wu Junru is more down-to-earth, while Chen Kexin has a sense of distance from other people.

The two couples walked in and talked in a low voice. Wu Junru sounded worried, "I wonder if Ayu is willing?"

Chen Kexin smiled confidently, "Don't worry, I'm confident. I will definitely be able to persuade her this time and ensure that she comes out to act."

Wu Junru curled her lips, "You said you were confident for 10 minutes last night, but you didn't surrender early."

"It was an accident."

Chen Kexin smiled awkwardly and lowered her voice, "I've been too tired recently. I'll definitely recover after I take some rest."

After a while, the two people came to the second floor of the tea restaurant and saw Zhang Manyu, who was thin and had an afro, but his eyes were still young and lively.

Zhang Manyu looks very thin, even a little unhealthy.

However, after she retired from acting, she traveled all over the world and released records. She had many houses in London, Paris, and Hong Kong Island, and she was far more chic than Sandra Ng.

Her eyes were still full of curiosity, and her whole person was very active and young.

Wu Junru and Zhang Manyu are about the same age. Sometimes when she sees Zhang Manyu, she wonders whether she is too tired to live like this and whether she should learn to live like Zhang Manyu.

But when I think of Maggie Cheung, Joey Wang earned more than her when he was an actor, and now he has the capital to live life and style.

But she couldn't do it for the time being, so she gave up the idea.

"Ayu, I've been waiting for a long time."

Chen Kexin and his wife sat down and had a lively chat with Zhang Manyu.

The three of them have known each other for a long time and have a good relationship. Chen Kexin and his wife are quite busy and usually don't have time to get together. Sitting together now, it seems that they have endless things to talk about.

When the morning tea was served, Chen Kexin ate a basket of small buns and felt a little full. Then she picked up the tea, took a sip, and then said to Zhang Manyu: "Ayu, you have been resting for several years, do you want to come out and make something?" Well, now the mainland film market is very big, with domestic films worth RMB [-]-[-] million."

Chen Kexin has completed the production of "Chinese Partners" and is waiting for it to be broadcast in the summer.

Although the film has not yet been released on a large scale and the public's reputation has not yet come out, he feels very good. China Film's executives were also very satisfied after seeing the finished film.

Chen Kexin got some inspiration from "Chinese Partners".

Those historical blockbusters, martial arts films, and musicals cannot touch the emotional G-spot of mainland audiences.

If you want your movie to be a hit, you have to make some down-to-earth movies.

He already has some ideas about his next movie, and he plans to invite popular mainland actors like Zhao Yanzi and Huang Bo.

In addition, he also wanted to bring Zhang Manyu over as a gimmick for the new movie.

Hearing this, Zhang Manyu smiled and shook her head, "I haven't seen any interesting stories, so I don't want to act for the time being."

After she retired, a large number of scripts were written almost every year, including Lao Mouzi who once approached her.

But she rejected them all.

As an award-winning actor, she still has a very high eye for choosing movies.

In her opinion, the stories sent to her in recent years are too ordinary and not interesting.

Chen Kexin and Wu Junru looked at each other, and then said as sincerely as possible: "Ayu, I want to prepare a new movie about the story of parents who have lost their children and search for their children. Please help me."

Zhang Manyu was stunned when he heard this, "Do you want me to make a cameo?"

After all, there is a favor, if the role is suitable, she is willing to guest star for a few minutes if she can help.

Chen Kexin shook her head, "I want to invite you to play an important role."

"What is this character's identity?"

"A middle-aged woman from the mainland lost her child and wants to get her child back."

Zhang Manyu's face stiffened slightly when she heard this. She has good acting skills. She can play Ruan Lingyu, Jin Xiangyu, and Li Qiao.

Many people say that she is a versatile actress, but Maggie Cheung knows very well that actors have limitations after all.

Her personal temperament is more urban. If she is asked to play a country woman, she will not be able to play it.

She grew up in Great Britain, and later returned to Hong Kong Island to work as an actress. She has always been a city girl, and she really doesn't understand the life of rural people in the mainland.

If you give her a year or two to observe carefully, maybe there will be no problem.

But this role doesn't have such great charm, so she needs to spend so much energy preparing.

Seeing this, Chen Kexin continued: "Ayu, we have collaborated on "Sweet Honey" before. You know my style. My movies can definitely guarantee the quality. I have been working hard in making movies for so many years."

Zhang Manyu smiled and said, "Director Chen, of course I believe in your ability, but... I know too little about women in the countryside in the mainland, so I am not qualified."

Chen Kexin heard Zhang Manyu's words and planned to tell her the big move she thought of, "Ayu, your acting skills are definitely not a problem. I am not going to start filming right away. I have to wait four or five months. You have enough time to prepare.

The film is finished and we are going to compete for the Golden Rooster Award.

You have already won so many Best Actress Awards, but you are still missing one Golden Rooster Best Actress Award. Are we Chinese? There are three Golden Rooster Awards in the Chinese film industry. If you collect them all, wouldn’t that be even more powerful? "

Zhang Manyu did not immediately answer Chen Kexin's words and got up to go to the bathroom.

Seeing Zhang Manyu leaving, Chen Kexin rubbed her hands nervously.

Wu Junru curled her lips and said, "I'm going to see Ayu."

She then followed her to the bathroom. When she was almost there, Zhang Manyu's voice sounded inside.

“I don’t want to film, there’s no interesting script.

Yes, I plan to reject Director Chen.

But what Director Chen said makes sense. If there is a good story, I can give it a try and see if I can win an award.

Please keep an eye on it for me. If Director Lee Sheung Yew has a script to send over, send it to me as soon as possible. "

In the bathroom, Zhang Manyu was on the phone with her agent.

Wu Junru immediately stopped, then quietly returned to her seat, and told Chen Kexin what she had just said.

"Forget it, now in the entire China Entertainment Group, only Lee Sheng Yew can ask her to touch her." Lee Sheng Yew just won the Palme d'Or and broke the record at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first person in history to win the Palme d'Or twice in a row. This incident Shocked the Chinese film industry.

I heard that the news network in the mainland reported this incident.

Although Chen Kexin has made classic movies such as "Sweet Honey", he has not won the three major film festival awards.

Apart from age, there is no other way to compare with Lee Sheng-yew.

He smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I know, find someone else."

……

Chen Kexin has produced "Chinese Partner" and Brother Kaizi has completed "Search". During this time, both movies are being promoted.

Regarding this new movie, Brother Kaizi attaches great importance to it. Not only does he take the filming seriously, but he also keeps an eye on the post-production.

On this afternoon, the weather in Yanjing was good. The warm sun was high, the spring breeze was gentle, and the leaves on both sides of the street made a rustling sound.

In a large courtyard in Yanjing.

Brother Kaizi and Gao Da sat close to each other. There was a pot of tea and a fruit plate on the table.

Brother Kaizi was wearing a coat and looked tired. He had been busy with the post-production of "Search".

Now I finally have some free time, the weather is much warmer in May.

But after all, he was 60 years old and could not indulge as much as he did when he was young, so he specially put on a coat to avoid catching a cold.

Short, tall, tight and much younger, he wore a gray short-sleeved shirt.

He is short, tall, with slim shoulders, a big head, a thick neck, and short arms. Wearing short sleeves completely exposes the shortcomings of his figure.

Moreover, he was gray and white, and his short, tight face had pits and many bumps. His skin looked even worse at this time, just like the surface of the moon where it had rained.

But she is short, tight and looks good.

He previously directed "Da Wu Sheng", invited two traffickers, Han Geng and Wu Zun, and got 4000 million at the box office. This result will definitely not be able to recover the cost.

There is no way for the movie to recoup its costs, and it has nothing to do with the income of the director and actors. They have already received their salaries.

The director Xiao Da Jin earned 500 million.

Although the movie lost money, the salary was several million. Xiao Daqing felt that making movies was more cost-effective than writing songs.

This gave him a taste of the sweetness, and he planned to continue making new movies. This time he came to see Brother Kaizi for advice and advice on selecting materials.

"Brother, have you watched the news recently?"

Brother Kaizi shook his head when he heard this, picked up the teacup, and took a sip of hot tea. "No, I was very busy a while ago. I didn't have time to watch the news. What's wrong? Are there any super blockbusters recently?"

Xiao Dajin shook his head, "There is no super blockbuster, is it news about Lee Sheng Yew?"

"Li Shengyao..."

Brother Kaizi remembered that Lee Sheng Yew was going to Cannes, but he had been focusing on the later stages of "Search" and did not pay attention to Lee Sheng Yew's news.

Xiao Da laughed tightly, "I knew you didn't watch the news. You were like this before. Once you were filming a movie, you turned a deaf ear to what was happening outside the window."

"What's the matter with him?"

"He won the Palme d'Or, two consecutive Palme d'Ors, and set a new record. The news network even praised him for one minute."

When Brother Chen Kai heard Gao Dajin's words, he felt his head buzzing, as if there were a dozen helicopters spinning next to him.

After a while, he finally came to his senses and nodded with a wry smile, "Genius screenwriter, genius director, really awesome."

The thing he is most proud of in his life is winning the Palme d'Or in Cannes.

Before, whether it was Lao Mouzi or the King of Sunglasses, they both competed for the Palme d'Or in Cannes, but they were almost unlucky in the end. Lao Mouzi won the Jury Prize and King of Sunglasses won the Best Director.

Before Lee Sung-yew, only Chen Kaige had won the Palme d'Or in the Chinese film and television industry.

But last year, "1937" shined at Cannes, and there was another winner of the Palme d'Or in the Chinese film industry, Lee Sheng-yew.

I didn’t expect Lee Sheng Yew to win the Palme d’Or again this year.

Two consecutive films, which shows that "Parasite" has a breakthrough compared to "1937", which is really rare.

In this case, Lee Sheng Yew would have two Palme d'Ors, surpassing him in terms of numbers.

The vast majority of film directors reach their creative peak between the ages of 40 and 50.

Brother Kaizi is already 60 years old. He can make commercial films now. Let him concentrate on making artistic films and compete for awards. He does not have the energy.

He will never make art films in the future.

And Lee Sheung Yew is only 32 years old, and still has endless possibilities.

Brother Kaizi knew that he would be suppressed by Li Shengyao for the rest of his life.

Even though there was reluctance in my heart, it could only turn into a long sigh.

Xiao Dajin nodded and continued: "Cahiers du Cinema also interviewed him. There will be a special report on Lee Sheng-yew in the June issue of Cahiers du Cinema."

Xiao Dajin is a thoughtful person. He very much hopes that the person interviewed by Cahiers du Cinema is himself. When he said this, his eyes were full of envy.

Brother Kaizi didn't answer.

He once accepted an interview with Cahiers du Cinema, which is an honor for a director.

Xiao Da then said: "I heard that the cover of the June issue of Cahiers du Cinema is Lee Sheng-yew. I have already reserved a few copies and will give you one when the time comes."

Becoming the cover star of "Cahiers du Cinema" is an honor that Kaizi has never had.

He won the Palme d'Or with Farewell My Concubine, but he did not become a cover star.

Brother Kaizi had originally finished "Search" and felt relieved. He was in a good mood, but now he felt very uncomfortable.

Lee Sing-yew continues to make progress, but they continue to retreat.

Xiao Da then said: "Sight and Sound is also very exaggerated. There is an article in the latest monthly magazine, saying that "Parasite" has been booked to be the number one of the year. It also said that "Parasite" is compared with other related movies. Millennium After that No.1.

Half a year has not passed yet, and they are so full of words that it will be funny to slap them in the face. "

Brother Kaizi was not in the mood to listen to Gao Daqian's words. He was completely distracted.

An hour later, Gao Dajin left with satisfaction. Brother Chen Kai got up and went back to his room. When Chen Hong saw him, he smiled and said, "What's the matter? That guy is gone?"

"gone."

Brother Kaizi then talked about Lee Sing-yew winning awards, appearing on TV, and appearing in Cahiers du Cinéma.

He was busy with "Search" and didn't know much about the outside world.

Chen Hong knew it a long time ago. When she heard Brother Kaizi talking, she was worried that Brother Kaizi would not be able to think about it, so she changed the topic and said, "Don't worry about him. It will be summer vacation in one month. When "Search" is released, we will go Look at Feiyu from Magnesium Country."

Brother Kaizi knew what Chen Hong meant, so he sat down and said, "Don't worry, I've already looked away and won't compete with him.

Li Shengyao is indeed awesome, incomparable.

I will support him from now on, and when Feiyu enters the entertainment industry, I will ask him to lead him. "

(End of this chapter)