The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 531: Art in the Left Hand, Business in the Right Hand

When the plane passed through the clouds, outside the window was a landscape of islands and hills alternating between land and sea.

Surrounded by clouds, with steep mountains and deep and narrow bays, the Xiangjiang River is located in this mountain and sea.

Hong Kong is roughly composed of three parts: Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong Island, and the New Territories located in the north of Kowloon.

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Liu Shishi who was holding a romance novel beside him, and asked: "Do you know the origin of the name Xiangjiang?"

"I don't know." Although Liu Shishi had little knowledge, she did not feel embarrassed at all.

Lu Yuan gave her some scientific knowledge: "There is a saying that before the Song Dynasty, a large number of people from the inland areas migrated south and built villages in this area. They used it as a distribution port for transshipping spices from southern Guangdong, so it was named Xiangjiang."

"Oh, I see." Liu Shishi raised her head from between the pages of the book with difficulty.

I happened to meet my boyfriend's eyes, which seemed to show concern for a mentally retarded person. I felt insulted and pinched him in annoyance.

When Lu Yuan begged for mercy, she raised her chin proudly and asked, "Do you think I should take the film remuneration directly, or choose to invest in the film remuneration and get dividends after the movie is released?"

She was talking about Zhao Wei’s graduation work, “To Our Youth That Will Soon Pass Away”.

I don’t know what Zhao Wei said to her, but Liu Shishi readily took on the role of the second female lead.

Now that the box office of "Out of Time" is rising steadily, her joining at this time will obviously eliminate the secret struggle among several investors behind "So Young".

Also because "Out of Time" made a lot of profit, Liu Shishi was enthusiastic about the method of converting film remuneration into shares.

When she was filming "Out of Time", her salary was 200 million. According to current box office estimates, the final dividend will be 1000 million before tax.

"Think about it yourself." Lu Yuan once again provoked her with a caring look, and when he saw her baring her teeth, he hurriedly said.

"Senior Sister Zhao gave you a salary of 400 million. The total investment in So Young is 6000 million. Your investment accounts for about 6.7% of the film.

If the final box office is 1 million, the pre-tax dividend is 200 million, and the actual amount after tax is deducted is about 160 million, which means that in order to achieve a profit of 400 million, the box office must be at least 2.5 million. "

"Then if the box office exceeds 2.5 million, I will make a lot of money. If it is 5 million, I can get 800 million, which is rounded off to 1000 million." Liu Shishi thought about it and became very excited.

Seeing that she looked so obsessed with money, Lu Yuan didn't have the heart to say anything to hurt her.

The purpose of their trip to Hong Kong was to finalize the actor for the role of Ding Qing in "New World".

Originally, he didn't need to personally take action on this matter, Wen Muye or Galaxy Image could contact them directly.

However, as the box office of "Time Raiders" continued to rise, Lu Yuan and Liu Shishi would be watched by reporters all the time no matter where they went, and they were unable to guard against them.

Not only that, the media began to brag about his so-called directing talent from various angles, believing that he had chosen the wrong career and was a director who was hindered by his acting skills.

When Liu Shishi is bored, she likes to take some random photos with her mobile phone.

Sometimes, for the so-called sense of ritual between lovers, I would send a photo to him, use his mobile phone to post on Weibo, and cheat netizens' traffic.

So many media outlets dug out those photos and praised them, saying that the light, color, composition...

Lu Yuan found it funny, but he didn't feel elated at all.

He knew very well that the success of "Time Raiders" was largely due to the fact that he hired a good team.

He can remain calm in the face of praise or criticism, but Miss Liu is always frightened. She is often looked down upon by men for her low IQ and poor acting skills. When did she develop the talent to be a director?

So they clamored to make a film to suppress Lu Manguan in the future.

Lu Yuan had no choice but to carry her back to the room, calm her down, appeal to her emotions and reason, and try to dispel her unreliable ideas.

Miss Liu felt tired, her voice was hoarse, and when she was feeling ecstatic, she even shouted "no", so the idea of ​​becoming a director died in her womb.

In addition to the popularity of "Time Raiders", the media's pursuit of the signing of the contract between "Poetry and Distant Places" and vivo the day before yesterday was also a key factor.

Liu Shishi became the spokesperson for a series of the brand.

Lu Yuan became the spokesperson for vivo's entire product line with a sky-high endorsement fee of 5 million yuan over five years.

There are also reports that vivo gave up its original candidate Zhou Jielun and spent 70% of the group's annual marketing expenses to sign Lu Yuan.

In response to netizens' inquiries on Weibo, vivo's official wording was vague, neither denying nor admitting it, leaving the onlookers to speculate.

It is hard to believe in the industry that 4000 million a year is not enough for many top-tier celebrities to earn 4000 million even if they work their ass off and receive endorsement fees throughout the year.

Yesterday, when Lu Yuan was being interviewed by CCTV-6 Movie Channel, he came out of the building after the interview and was squeezed by the crowds of reporters until he was short of breath.

Due to the media's constant pestering, Lu Yuan simply brought his girlfriend to Hong Kong for a visit.

Just after getting off the plane, Liu Shishi sat lazily on the suitcase and was pushed away by her boyfriend.

“Hey, there are reporters.”

She saw a group of people standing at the exit, turned her head to look at her boyfriend behind her, and asked in confusion: "Brother, what's going on? Didn't you swear before boarding that no one would know our itinerary?"

"If you ask me, who should I ask? Maybe they are not waiting for us."

Having said that, Lu Yuan himself didn't believe it. He had noticed that the reporters were staring at them.

Liu Shishi got down from the suitcase, and the two of them, hoping for the best, walked forward. As soon as they reached the exit, the reporters who had been waiting for a long time rushed over.

Tourists nearby also took out their mobile phones to take pictures out of curiosity.

"Crack, click, click."

A reporter rushed to the two and asked impatiently, "Lu Yuan, what is the purpose of coming to Hong Kong this time? It is said that the filming location of "New World" has been chosen in Hong Kong. Don't you have the mainland to provide a suitable filming location?"

The first question from the Hong Kong reporter subtly reduced Lu Yuan's overall impression of the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Upon closer inspection, he had two frictions with people in the Hong Kong circle.

For the first time, when he announced that he would direct and star in "Out of Time", even if his mainland colleagues were not optimistic, few of them were sarcastic.

However, in order to promote the film, the director of Far Cry deliberately disparaged him in an interview.

Lu Yuan doesn't mind his peers using him to hype themselves up, and he is accustomed to their marketing tactics.

Since he became famous, many of his peers have bought him publicity, saying that his acting skills are comparable to Lu Yuan's, that his acting skills surpass Lu Yuan, and some even marketed him as Little Lu Yuan, but he just laughed it off.

But Zhong Jichang went too far. He was bossy during the show and had the usual arrogance of some people in the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Lu Yuan has always been easy-going, but that doesn't mean he has no temper. The Hong Kong circle cannot suppress him, so he resolutely fights back.

The second time was the "box office stealing" incident hyped by Li Guoxin.

Both contests ended with Lu Yuan's complete victory, which to a certain extent can be seen as a victory of the mainland over Hong Kong entertainment.

Hong Kong journalists have long been disdainful and prejudiced against the mainland, so it is not surprising that they dislike him.

With a serious tone, he asked bluntly: "My journalist friend, what do you mean by 'Hong Kong'? Why do you, the mainland, have a country like you and me?"

The reporter had no shame, changed the subject, and continued to ask shamelessly: "Some people suspect that vivo rejected Jay Chou and chose you as its spokesperson. There must be something fishy going on. Can you tell me about it?"

Lu Yuan was too lazy to pay attention to it, it was just a waste of words.

He finally realized the shamelessness of Hong Kong reporters. No wonder there were frequent reports of Hong Kong entertainment reporters getting beaten up.

Just then, the person sent by Galaxy Image to pick someone up arrived, and he took Liu Shishi's hand and was about to leave.

Liu Shishi was a little angry that the man dared to question her aunt.

She thought for a moment, then turned to the reporter and said with an unhappy look, "Someone suspected you? Is that person you? You took the news you heard from others seriously. Is this your professional ability?"

Seeing that she had taken the bait, the reporter decided to strike back. Lu Yuan did not give the two sides a chance to confront each other again, and dragged her away. This girl's verbal attack power was not enough.

Staff from Milkyway Image picked up the plane in a Rolls-Royce Silver Angel, which was 5.39 meters long.

According to the driver, this car was bought by Johnnie To in 2001. The following year, Rolls-Royce Silver Angel announced that it would be discontinued.

Before production was discontinued, a total of 1570 Silver Angels were produced, with body colors mainly black, silver-blue, and silver, with champagne being relatively rare.

However, Johnnie To's car is white, which is even rarer.

Lu Yuan was not very interested in the car, but Liu Shishi was listening very interested.

She had driven that Lamborghini a few times and found it too vibrating, so she left it in the garage to gather dust, planning to buy another one after the dividends from "Overtime" arrived.

This woman is a spendthrift now.

Buses can be seen everywhere on the streets of Hong Kong, and skyscrapers are crowded on both sides.

The Rolls-Royce turned left and right along the main road of Kowloon and stopped in front of a three-story factory building in the Kwun Tong Industrial Zone. The surrounding narrow streets still retained their old appearance.

This is where the Milkyway Image is located.

There is no particularly impressive sign at the entrance of the studio. If it weren’t for an advertising poster of Lin Wei, the exclusive supporting actor of Milkyway Image, pulling a cart, it would probably be difficult to be discovered.

Johnnie To was already waiting at the door. Besides him, there was also someone Lu Yuan didn't expect to see standing there: Liu Dehua.

Andy Lau is Johnnie To's favorite actor. The two have a long history of collaboration. With the movie "Infernal Affairs", Andy Lau successfully transformed himself and won the Best Actor Award at the Academy Awards for the first time.

It can be said that Liu Dehua’s transformation from an idol to a talented actor is inseparable from the help of Johnnie To.

Johnnie To has gray hair on his temples and crow's feet at the corners of his eyes are clearly visible. He wore a white shirt, paired with a black vest and suit pants, and his look was quite artistic.

Seeing Lu Yuan getting off the car, Johnnie To came over with a gentle smile and said in broken Mandarin, "Mr. Lu, you're here."

Many directors and artists from Hong Kong and Taiwan speak average Mandarin, but now they are all heading north. Some of them are unable to change due to their age, but some are simply unwilling to humble themselves and learn Mandarin.

Lu Yuan smelled the cigar smell coming towards him, held his hand, and said with a smile: "Rolls-Royce is nice."

Johnnie To is a romantic director, his camera, and the actors' positions, angles, and lighting under the camera.

In this city of steel and concrete, a sense of pleasure and romance of the martial arts world arises for no reason.

He started making films very early and is a great Hong Kong director of the same generation as Tsui Hak who was born in 50.

However, directors such as Yusen Ng, Tsui Hak, Wong Jing and Wong Kar-wai rose to prominence in the mid-80s.

It cannot be said that Johnnie To has been completely marginalized. At least his works from the 80s to the mid-90s were not the most impressive.

The company really rose to prominence in the late 90s, when it gathered a group of talented people to form Milkyway Image, and then produced a number of classic gangster films, police films, crime films and suspense films.

In the environment where Hong Kong filmmakers are collectively moving north, Milkyway Image, which insists on making authentic Hong Kong films, appears to be particularly different and also particularly valuable.

"That car is quite old. I was just talking to Huazai about when you guys would arrive."

After Johnnie To finished speaking, he gestured to Miss Liu: "This must be Liu Shishi, hello."

He doesn't like women who are too flamboyant, so the women in Galaxy all have a classical beauty, such as Maggie Shiu and Liu Shishi, who are quite in line with his aesthetic.

"Hello, Director Du." Liu Shishi responded politely.

On the other side, Andy Lau was one step behind Johnnie To and also greeted him. His Mandarin was also awkward, but overall it was pretty good.

This was not the first time he met Lu Yuan. They had known each other through Ning Hao a long time ago and had also met at some activities.

Liu Dehua came here this time to discuss the details of the script "Blind Detective" with Johnnie To.

I also heard from Johnnie To that "New World" is a good gangster-themed book, so I was curious and came to take a look.

After exchanging a few pleasantries at the door, they turned and walked into the office area.

The first thing that catches your eye is the Milkyway Image logo, which shines with golden light and looks like a quadrilateral. The four sides are extended outward along the diagonal, and the lines are in arcs. In the middle, the letters "Milkyway" are written in English.

"There are two chairs here. Is there anything special about them?" Liu Shishi stared at the two brown chairs under the logo.

Johnnie To explained with a smile: "One for me and one for Jiahui."

The key to the success of Milkyway Image lies in Johnnie To, Wai Ka Fai, and the third core screenwriter, Yu Nai-hai.

The group continued moving forward.

Lu Yuan turned his gaze to the most conspicuous wall in the hall, on which were hung stills and posters recording the past filming history of Galaxy Image.

The arrangement of these posters is strange, as if they are divided into two rows according to the types of art and commercial.

The upper row includes works such as "Exile", "Gunfire", "Very Sudden", "Dark Flower", "Turn Left and Turn Right", "A Lang's Story", "The Birth of a Character", and "The Sparrow".

However, in the row below, there are only two films, namely "High Altitude Love 2" and "Single Men and Women".

In the middle of the two rows are five big brothers dressed in suits and gangster style. From left to right, they are Johnnie To, Law Wing-cheong, Wong Tien-lam, Benny Chan, and Yau Nai-hoi.

Johnnie To's master is Wang Tianlin, Wang Jing's father, Law Wing-cheong and Benny Chan's masters are Johnnie To, and Yau Nai-hoi's master is Wai Ka-fai.

Lu Yuan glanced at them and focused his attention on "Single Men and Women" and "High Altitude Love II".

"Single Men and Women" is the first work of Milkyway Image to enter the mainland, and it is also the first compromise to the market by Johnnie To after his style has matured.

There is a line of text on the stills, which is Gao Yuanyuan's signature quote: "The filming of "Single Men and Women" made me enjoy acting and fall in love with Hong Kong. Thank you director."

He is also familiar with "Love in the High Altitude 2", which was released on Valentine's Day this year. Its current box office is less than 10 million yuan, and it was beaten by "Time and Space" and made him doubt his life.

Johnnie To noticed his gaze and sighed. He was very clear that although there were still some excellent Hong Kong films today, the trend of wind blowing away leaves and falling was gradually becoming apparent.

Their generation has almost no way to restore Hong Kong films to their former glory, and they certainly have no ability to stop the trend of development of film art. All they can do is try their best and hope that Hong Kong films will decline more slowly, so that the audience will not forget the unique charm of Hong Kong films.

He touched the posters of "Exile" and "Gunfire" with his hands, and it was unclear whether he was trying to make up for his surrender to the market or for some other reason.

"I have two motivations for making movies. One is that I want to make them. Since the late 1990s, I have hoped to become an independent director. I have been discovering the themes I want to shoot while making commercial films, and I have been waiting for such an opportunity."

As he spoke, he looked at the posters of "Single Men and Women" and "Love at High Altitude".

"Another reason is for the survival of the company. In the current environment of Hong Kong films, we should first know how many bullets we have in our hands, namely money, people and time. If I want to make the film I want to make, I will never make any concessions. However, when facing the commercial market, we must compromise."

Liu Dehua standing by expressed his deep agreement.

Compared with several other superstars, he is not the best in everything, but he has managed to reach his current position from a small artist.

In addition to diligence, dedication and good character, it is also because of the ability to cater to the public's psychology and cater to the market.

For example, in 97, when Hong Kong returned to China, he wrote a song called "Chinese" which became popular all over the country, and another song was "Gong Xi Fa Cai".
Lu Yuan also felt that this was true. With one hand, he had to hold on to the artistic style and create acclaimed works, and with the other hand, he had to occupy the commercial heights.

Yuanfang Media’s current approach to investing in film and television dramas is to invest in both those that make money and those that are well received but not popular.

But there is a prerequisite, that is, the actors’ professional abilities must be up to standard.

Although he has transitioned to the big screen, the TV drama industry has always maintained attention.

The acting skills of some young actors in several hit dramas at the beginning of this year left Lu Yuan with a thorn in his side.

As capital takes control of the discourse, in pursuit of maximizing profits, shoddy production of film and television dramas is inevitable.

He may not be able to stop this trend, but he hopes that Yuanfang Media can hold its last ground.

(End of this chapter)