Literary Master 1978

After entering the Plam restaurant, Lin Chaoyang saw a man and woman with very special appearance.

Tsui Hark and Nansun Shi are the kind of people who can be recognized in the crowd at a glance, not because of how beautiful and handsome they are, but because of their sharp clothes and temperament.

The man has a goatee, the woman's hair is shorter than the man's, and the clothes are more fashionable than the other, which highlights the uniqueness of each.

Lin Chaoyang had met the two at the Academy Awards, but it was a quick glance in the crowd.

After greeting and sitting down, Nansun Shi asked Lin Chaoyang what kind of wine to drink, and Lin Chaoyang said: "Do you have coffee? Let's have a cup of coffee."

Originally, Lin Chaoyang wanted to ask for a cup of tea, and it was estimated that there was no coffee in the restaurant, so Nansun Shi asked him a cup of coffee.

Tsui Hark and Nansun Shi are very Western-style people. They ordered whiskey, as if they regarded this place as a bar. They were not shy with Lin Chaoyang. After a few greetings, they chatted while drinking easily.

At first, the main topic was still focused on the Academy Awards a few days ago. After all, the two sides were not familiar with each other, and this was the only common topic.

Tsui Hark admired Lin Chaoyang's script very much, which was why he contacted Lin Chaoyang.

In his opinion, Lin Chaoyang's creative style has a kind of upright atmosphere, which is completely different from the style of most screenwriters or directors in Hong Kong today.

It is difficult to judge which of these two styles is better or worse, but Tsui Hark has been in the industry for so many years and has gradually become tired of some of the stereotyped creative content in Hong Kong. This is also one of the reasons why he left Cinema City.

"When the movie "The Chess Master" was released, I went to see it on purpose. It was shot very well. I also bought the novel.

I especially like the stretched shot at the end of the movie. There is a cruel poetic romance."

"The movie was shot well, and Director Chen contributed a lot."

"Yes. I think he deserves a best director award, but it's a pity..."

When Tsui Hark and Lin Chaoyang were chatting enthusiastically, Shi Nansheng stayed quietly on the side.

Although she looked very strong on the outside, she was unexpectedly gentle in front of Tsui Hark, which was a sense of contrast.

Seeing that the two had not yet gotten to the point, she asked, "Mr. Lin, the movie The Truman Show you worked on with Ann Hui has been very popular recently. Hong Gu said that Ann Hui wanted her to play the leading female role."

The Hong Gu mentioned by Nansun Shi is "Cherry Chung", who is now very popular in the Hong Kong film industry. Lin Chaoyang replied, "Yes. Director Hui has a good relationship with her, but unfortunately, she has already agreed with you on "Swordsman and Lady".

Cherry Chung starred in Ann Hui's famous work "The Story of Woo Viet". Last year, Ann Hui's assistant director Stanley Kwan started to set up his own studio. Ann Hui also specially helped him to get Cherie Chung to star in "A Woman's Heart" directed by Stanley Kwan.

Shi Nansheng smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. At most, I can do two movies at the same time. Hong Gu is so popular, it would be abnormal if she didn't do two movies at the same time.

The master's next movie, "Swordsman and Woman", will not start shooting until October. I heard that "The Truman Show" will start shooting in August, which can stagger most of the time."

"Master" is Shi Nansheng's nickname for Tsui Hark in private.

In the later film and television circles in the mainland, doing two movies at the same time is often regarded as an unethical practice, but it is a common thing in Hong Kong today.

Now Hong Kong movie stars are embarrassed to say that they are popular if they don't run two or three groups every day.

Shi Nansheng continued, "The master has another idea recently. He wants to remake an old movie, which may be shot after "Swordsman and Woman". I want you to help write a script."

The film companies that contacted Lin Chaoyang were all looking for his scripts. The ideas of Tsui Hark and his wife were within his expectations.

When Shi Nansheng mentioned that Tsui Hark wanted to remake an old film, Lin Chaoyang's mind flashed through several movies. Among the many classic films shot by Tsui Hark, a considerable number were adapted from old films produced by Shaw Brothers in the 1960s and 1970s.

Lin Chaoyang asked what the film was, but Tsui Hark took out the script directly. It turned out to be "A Better Tomorrow" produced by New Art Films in 1967.

The film was directed by Long Gang and starred by Xie Xian and Shi Jian.

In the 1960s, the Cantonese film market was still dominated by dramas and romances. "A Better Tomorrow" tells the story of a prisoner being released, and does not involve love between men and women at all. It was bold and innovative at the time.

After its release, it received a good response, with box office revenue of up to 400,000 Hong Kong dollars.

This number seems pitifully small now, but in 1967, this number could already squeeze into the top ten box office rankings of that year.

That year, Chang Cheh directed "One-Armed Swordsman", which became the first movie in Hong Kong film history to have a box office of over one million, and Chang Cheh was therefore called the "million-dollar director".

When the script was handed to him, Lin Chaoyang immediately understood Tsui Hark's thoughts.

"I want you to rewrite this script..." Tsui Hark made his request to Lin Chaoyang.

The 1967 version of "A Better Tomorrow" is a dark realistic social theme movie. Tsui Hark likes this story, but he wants to pursue a heroic spirit, which is missing in the original script.

After listening to his ideas, Lin Chaoyang did not talk about the script anymore, but talked to Shi Nansheng about the issue of remuneration.

He knew that Shi Nansheng was in charge of the film studio, and Tsui Hark was only responsible for making movies.

Lin Chaoyang had just won the Best Screenwriter Award at the Academy Awards for two consecutive years. Shi Nansheng was already prepared to ask him to write the script at this time.

"I heard that Lin Sheng used the script as an investment in the movie "The Truman Show"?"

Listening to Shi Nansheng's words, Lin Chaoyang was slightly surprised.

Generally, the first reaction of a film company to his request is to refuse, but Nansun Shi did not take the usual path and took the initiative to mention it.

He thought about it for a while and probably guessed what Nansun Shi was thinking.

The financial backer behind the film company she and Tsui Hark run is Boss Lei, and the bulk of the investment is from Boss Lei and Xinyicheng, so whether the investment share is a little more or a little less actually has no big impact on the income of the couple.

On the contrary, if they can get Lin Chaoyang's script without spending a penny, it will reduce the production cost of the film, which may be more beneficial to the development of the film studio.

After understanding this truth, Lin Chaoyang chatted with Nansun Shi for a while.

With the case of "The Truman Show" in front, Nansun Shi did not hesitate too much and quickly agreed to Lin Chaoyang's request to use the script fee as investment, and the proportion was still 10%.

Then Tsui Hark talked to Lin Chaoyang about his ideas about the script. Lin Chaoyang received all his information and then summarized it with his own ideas.

"I understand what you mean. You want to make a martial arts film with an urban style, with elements of being framed, upholding justice, settling accounts for revenge, and two heroes competing for supremacy. These martial arts elements must be present, but they must have modern characteristics.

The most important thing is to have a heroic spirit, to act with imperfections in small matters, but not in big matters, and never to drag your feet."

After listening to Lin Chaoyang's summary, Tsui Hark was as excited as if he had met a soulmate, "Yes, yes, yes, you are so right, this is the feeling I want."

After dinner, Lin Chaoyang promised Tsui Hark to hand in the script within two months, and then left the restaurant.

After returning home, Lin Chaoyang told Tao Yushu about what happened today, and said to her: "Let's register a film company later, and you will be the boss, as the investor of "A Better Tomorrow" this time."

Lin Chaoyang wanted Tao Yushu to open a film company, but it was impossible for him to invest or produce films independently right from the start.

Given the current situation of the couple, it is best to cooperate with others for the time being.

Cooperating with a film studio is a good choice. First, Tsui Hark's performance is relatively stable. Second, the scale of the film studio is not large, so there is no need to worry about the store bullying customers. Third, with Lin Chaoyang's cooperation with the film studio, Golden Harvest will not dare to go too far.

"Do you need to apply for residence?"

"Of course." Lin Chaoyang teased her again, "Speak a few words of Cantonese."

The couple has been in Hong Kong for more than three months. The reason why they have not yet applied for Tao Yushu's identity is mainly to give Tao Yushu time to familiarize herself with the environment, culture and language of Hong Kong.

Tao Yushu is the one who goes out and communicates with people the most in the family. She is also studious. After a few months, she has become quite fluent in Cantonese.

In the next few days, Tao Yushu went to the Immigration Department with the help of Zhang Cuiying to apply for her identity, and then registered a film company.

The name of the film company was very casual, it was called Lin's Film, and Tao Yushu served as chairman and general manager.

The chairman of Lin's Film was surnamed Tao, which was a kind of black humor.

With the establishment of the new company, Tao Yushu had one more general under him, Tao Yumo, the deputy general manager, the head of the legal department, and the head of the administrative department.

As for Lin Chaoyang, he was so casual that he would definitely not be able to go to work. At most, he would be a part-time screenwriter.

The first thing to do after the establishment of the company was to find an office location. Chairman Tao spent several days surveying the surrounding area with Oriental Garden as the center, and finally set his sights on the Prince's Building at the intersection of Prince Road and Keti Road.

It is less than 300 meters away from Oriental Garden, and the monthly rent for a 500-square-foot office is about HK$3,000.

Tao Yushu did some calculations. HK$3,000 a month is HK$36,000 a year, and the property price of Prince's Building is only HK$950 per square foot, and 500 square feet is less than HK$500,000.

If you rent for more than ten years, the capital will be returned.

Since the beginning of the 1980s, the world economy has experienced an overall recession due to the oil crisis, and at that time, China and Britain had not reached a consensus on the Hong Kong issue.

As a result, the Hong Kong real estate market continued to fall in the past few years, with a cumulative decline of more than 30%.

It was not until the beginning of this year that the Hong Kong housing prices turned from negative to positive after the negotiation results were reached.

But it will take at least a year to return to the prices before the 1980s.

Therefore, this period is not the golden time to buy the bottom of the property market, but it is also a good opportunity.

Chairman Tao listened to Lin's analysis of the world situation and market conditions and thought that renting was not as good as buying. He waved his hand and spent nearly 500,000 Hong Kong dollars to buy the property on the sixth floor of the Prince's Building with an area of ​​500 feet, which is about 46.5 square meters.

After the purchase, Tao Yushu was still a little dissatisfied, because she heard from the agent that the house here only cost 850 per square foot last year. It has only been half a year, and the price has risen by 100 yuan per square foot.

"I should have bought it last year!"

Chairman Tao said he felt very distressed after spending 50,000 Hong Kong dollars more.

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "Be content. You didn't come last year."

Tao Yushu regretted, "It's a pity that the company also needs funds, otherwise we can buy more houses."

During this period, Lin Chaoyang has received three royalties from Ming Pao Publishing House, and the couple's savings have reached 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars.

After spending 500,000 to buy the property of Prince Building, there is still 1 million Hong Kong dollars left, which is the start-up capital of Lin's Film.

Building a house is a typical commercial speculation, and Tao Yushu naturally cannot invest all his money here.

In the next few days, the family was busy decorating the office and purchasing office supplies, and finally the company's facade was propped up.

Lin Chaoyang originally planned to open the business quietly, but he didn't expect that Li Hanxiang would come with Xu Guanwen, Yue Hua, Dillon and a group of people to show his support on the opening day.

The flower baskets sent by this group of people filled the company, even the elevator hall and the corridor entrance.

"Chaoyang, you should open the business openly. Why are you opening your company in a sneaky way!" Li Hanxiang said half jokingly and half sarcastically.

"My company has no business after opening. It is just a decoration now. There is no need to create momentum."

Although he said so, Lin Chaoyang still wanted to express his gratitude for everyone's support.

"Let's go to Fulinmen at noon. I'll treat you!"

Everyone cheered when they heard the voice. Everyone didn't need this meal, but they liked this atmosphere very much.

Although Lin's Pictures was said to be opening, there was really no business. Everyone came to chat and laugh, which attracted the attention of some company employees in the building.

Although Ti Lung and Yue Hua were a little out of date, their fame was there. As soon as they showed up, many people gathered at the door of Lin's Pictures to watch the excitement.

Li Hanxiang looked at the popularity at the door and said with a smile: "Look! This is what it means to open a business! By the way, there will be a surprise later."

His mysterious expression made Lin Chaoyang couldn't help asking a few more questions, but Li Hanxiang kept silent after saying this and kept it a secret.

Until half an hour later, a charming and beautiful woman came to the door of Lin's Pictures, and the people watching at the door immediately boiled!

"Cherry Chung!"

"Hong Gu!"

The appearance of Cherie Chung not only made the onlookers crazy, but also caused a sensation in the entire Prince Building. Knowing that Cherie Chung appeared in the Prince Building, the white-collar workers didn't care about work and rushed to the sixth floor just to see the beauty.

"Hong Gu, Hong Gu, she is really famous!"

Yue Hua couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the enthusiastic people outside the company.

Just now, the crowd outside was getting bigger and bigger. For safety reasons, Lin Chaoyang closed the company's door. The onlookers could only stand outside and wait, with no intention of leaving.

"What should I do?" Tao Yushu had never experienced such a scene before. She looked at the thick crowd outside and was a little overwhelmed.

But Cherie Chung was already used to it. She had just accepted the heroine of "The Truman Show" and was called by Xu Guanwen to support Lin's Pictures today.

"Mrs. Lin, it's okay. These people are just curious. I'll go and say a few words to them and they will disperse in a while."

Cherie Chung's appearance really had a miraculous effect. Although the onlookers were a little reluctant, how could they not give some face to the goddess when she came out!

After a while, the crowd dispersed, leaving only a few fanatical fans waiting at the door, hoping to see the goddess again when Cherie Chung left.

At this time, the elevator arrived in the elevator hall, and Chen Ziqiang and Maggie Cheung, who had dyed purple hair, walked out of the elevator, with a young man holding a flower basket behind them.

"Mr. Lin, Mrs. Lin, congratulations! Congratulations! Good luck on the opening!" Chen Ziqiang bowed and congratulated as soon as he met.

After congratulating, Maggie Cheung automatically came to Tao Yushu like a cat smelling fish.

Tao Yushu and Cherie Chung both have bright and elegant looks and temperaments. Her style is pure and sweet. Standing next to the two of them, she feels like a little bird relying on others.

Seeing Tao Yushu and Cherie Chung chatting enthusiastically, Maggie Cheung felt a little uncomfortable. Her eyes wandered around and suddenly found a pair of familiar eyes.

The reason why I say familiar is that she looks very similar to Tao Yushu, but her temperament is completely different, which makes Maggie Cheung feel a sense of mutual appreciation.

After a while, the two of them got together.

When it was almost noon, everyone went to Fulinmen Restaurant. After a big meal, the opening ceremony of Lin's Films was considered a complete success.

When she returned home in the evening, Tao Yumo said to her sister: "Sister, you have given me so many positions, you have to pay me some salary, right?"

"What salary? Isn't the pocket money I give you enough?"

Although he had just become a capitalist, Tao Yushu's heart was really black at an alarming speed, which made Tao Yumo heartbroken.

"Pocket money is pocket money. I take care of the children and help you all day. I have no credit, but I have worked hard."

The coolie Qiang made a fuss about raising his salary, and his request was reasonable. Even a black-hearted person like Tao Yushu had to consider it as appropriate.

"Then I'll give you an extra 1,000 yuan a month."

"I've taken on so many extra jobs, so I'll give you an extra 1,000 yuan?"

"You're really greedy! Isn't this much more than your previous salary?"

"Living in Hong Kong is not easy! You hold the financial power, how can you understand the difficulties of us common people!"

Tao Yumo pretended to be pitiful, but it sounded a bit weird.

The two sisters discussed for a long time, and finally gave Tao Yumo an extra 1,500 Hong Kong dollars in pocket money every month. Counting the original 1,500 yuan she was given every month, it was exactly 3,000 yuan.

Tao Yumo had fought for enough treatment for herself, and her face was full of smiles, and she almost had the word "money-grubber" written on her face.

She thought cunningly that 3,000 Hong Kong dollars a month, converted into RMB, was more than 1,100 yuan, which was equivalent to her income in two years working in Yanjing.

Why would she go back to work!

Two days later, Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu appeared at the Golden Harvest Studio.

The Golden Harvest Studio is located in Busan-do. Zou Wenhuai bought the bankrupt old Cathay Studio and renamed it Golden Harvest Studio.

Today is the day when "The Truman Show" starts filming. The crew members have arrived early in the morning, and there are also many guests who come to support the show.

Xu Guanwen is a capable person of Golden Harvest. Of course, Boss Zou must show up today. In addition to him, the boss, Cheng Long, Sammo Hung and other stars under Golden Harvest also showed up to support the show.

In addition to these people, Lin Chaoyang also saw the four brothers of the Xu family appear together for the first time today.

Among the four brothers, Xu Guanjie is now a superstar in the fields of film and singing, and is more popular than the eldest brother Xu Guanwen. This time, the brothers will all make guest appearances in "The Truman Show".

After the lively opening ceremony, the stars who came to the stage dispersed, and the first scene and the first shot of "The Truman Show" officially started filming.

The first shot of "The Truman Show" is a scene where Truman complains about his small belly in the bathroom.

Jim Carrey became famous for his comedy in the original version, and this movie is his transformation work. His performance in this movie restrains a lot of the exaggerated elements of comedy, but he still reveals some of his true colors unconsciously.

In contrast, Xu Guanwen's performance in front of the camera is more bland than Jim Carrey.

In 1993, Xu Guanwen played a movie "The Money Grabbing Couple", which tells the story of a news reporter played by Xu Guanwen who was terminally ill and was used by the fiercely competitive Hong Kong media, triggering a series of crazy "money grabbing" behaviors.

Among them, the clip of Xu Guanwen speaking to the camera was also popular in Douyin in later generations. His relaxation and ease in the movie at that time were impressive. It was modest to describe it as a movie emperor-level performance.

Lin Chaoyang watched Xu Guanwen's performance from the side and felt that his state was even better than that in "The Money Grabbing Couple".

It seems that he really worked hard on the script.

After one shot was finished, the next shot was the one where the Truman couple appeared together.

Cherie Chung is only in her twenties this year, so it stands to reason that she is a little young to play the role of Xu Guanwen's wife.

But her appearance and temperament are very mature. With a little makeup and dressing up, she looks like a young woman in her thirties without any sense of disobedience.

Compared with Xu Guanwen, who has natural and perfect acting skills, Cherie Chung's acting skills are much more immature. Today is the beginning of work again, and she has not yet entered the state. Ann Hui called her several times in a row.

"Take a break."

The shooting period of "The Truman Show" is very ample, and Ann Hui is not impatient, but gives Cherie Chung time to let her slowly enter the state.

By the afternoon, her performance was much better.

The next day, Lin Chaoyang received a call from Li Shifei in Guangzhou, saying that the publication of "The Truman Show" this time lacked the influence of the previous magazine publication, and Huacheng Publishing House prepared some promotional activities and wanted Lin Chaoyang to cooperate.

Lin Chaoyang asked in detail, and it turned out that Huacheng Publishing House wanted to hold a press conference for "The Truman Show". They invited some TV stations and newspapers in South China to attend.

In addition, they prepared several book signing sessions. Huacheng Publishing House hoped that Lin Chaoyang could run around several major cities in China, which was also a means of publicity.

Lin Chaoyang listened to the cities Li Shifei reported, starting from Guangzhou, then Changsha, Wuhan, and then along the Yangtze River to Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai.

After the south, it was the north, all the way north, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Tianjin, and Beijing.

Lin Chaoyang was numb after hearing this. It would take at least a month to run around.

"No, no. You are treating me like a donkey pulling a millstone. How can you order someone around like this?"

"How can this be called ordering you around? Aren't we also doing this for the promotion and sales of the novel?"

After a tug of war, the two of them finally agreed to only participate in the book signing sessions in Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing. This circle would only take about a week.

The new book launch of "The Truman Show" was scheduled for August 12, and Lin Chaoyang could go to Guangzhou just after attending Ermaitai's wedding.

Two days later, Lin Chaoyang was about to go to Shenzhen, but Tao Yushu found him and talked about preparing a wedding gift for Ermaitai.

It turned out that she had originally planned to prepare a motorcycle as a gift for Ermaitai, but after asking at the mall, she found out that this thing could not be brought through customs.

"Why not bring a TV or a VCR back?" Tao Yushu suggested.

"Forget it, don't bother so much. They just got married, and giving money is the most practical."

After the couple discussed it, Lin Chaoyang went to Hung Hom Kowloon Railway Station the next day, then took a train and went north along the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway to Luohu Port.

Nowadays, eye-catching signs can be seen everywhere on the streets of Shenzhen, such as the slogan "Time is money, efficiency is life" painted all over the streets and alleys.

Everywhere you look, you can see high-rise buildings under construction, long crane arms extending out from towers, and men and women in blue work clothes whizzing by on Phoenix bicycles next to the busy construction site.

Although he did not return to Yanjing, for some reason, Lin Chaoyang felt like he was home when he stepped on the land of Shenzhen again.

He followed the address provided by Ermaitai and found the Hongling Building in Futian.

"Chaoyang!"

Ermaitai was so excited to see Lin Chaoyang that he went up and hugged him.

Lin Chaoyang patted Ermaitai, "Great, you're really going to be a groom, you're dressed up nicely. Don't call me Ermaitai anymore, call me Dajingjing."

Ermaitai scratched his head and smiled. Luo Huifang also came over to greet Lin Chaoyang, "Chaoyang!"

Lin Chaoyang smiled and nodded, "Afang, congratulations!"

After a few pleasantries, Lin Chaoyang looked at Ermaitai and Luo Huifang's new home, "Your house is pretty good."

Speaking of the house, Ermaitai was a little embarrassed and said, "You They told me to buy a bungalow, but now I can't buy one in Luohu and Futian. Afang's family urged me to buy it, so I bought this one. This place is cheap, 300 yuan per square meter. "

Lin Chaoyang laughed and said, "What's the big deal? Houses are for living. By the way, why is this house so cheap?"

In recent years, the housing prices in Shenzhen have changed every year. When Lin Chaoyang came last year, Luo Huifang said that the prices of some newly built commercial houses have been several hundred yuan per square meter, and good real estate projects even cost 1,000 yuan per square meter.

"I was building the China World Trade Center before, and I found out about it when I was chatting with my colleagues.

This community was built by the Housing Authority. At that time, in order to raise funds for the construction of the China World Trade Center, the city had no money, so they built this place first and sold it to the public, regardless of whether it was private or public, and regardless of household registration, as long as 40% of the house price was enough.

We even bought it at a high price. It sold for 220 yuan per square meter the year before last."

Such a policy may only be enjoyed in Shenzhen. Apart from anything else, there are no design specifications for high-rise buildings in China now, but they dare to build high-rise residential buildings with more than 30 floors.

"So you two still have loans?"