It wasn't until Zhou Wen saw Li Cainv, a famous literary figure in Hong Kong, that he realized why Hong Gu said she hadn't noticed her.
Because Li Cainv is the kind of person who is never easily recognized in a crowd unless someone introduces her to someone else. She is very ordinary and quiet, sitting in the corner, drinking drinks with Guan Jinpeng, and she seems to be deliberately talking to the outside world. It means keeping an appropriate distance from things.
"Awen, this is Talented Lady Li. I have been waiting for you for a long time." Zhong Chuhong introduced with a smile.
Zhou Wen said apologetically: "It's because I'm ignorant and kept the talented girl waiting for a long time. I'm rude and disrespectful. I'm really sorry."
Li Cainv smiled and said: "Mr. Zhou is too polite. You are the focus of tonight. It is natural to be busy with social activities. Bihua has nothing to do anyway. The relevant director is here to chat with you, so there is no discomfort at all." "
"Sorry for the poor reception." After sitting down, Zhou Wen said straight to the point: "Maybe the occasion for meeting is not appropriate, but since we have met, I will keep the story short. I want to buy the film adaptation rights of several of your novels. "
"Oh?" Li Cainv stretched her eyebrows and said with a smile, "I wonder which one Mr. Zhou values ?????"
"Hmm I plan to buy three movies for the time being, namely "Rouge", "Green Snake", and "Farewell My Concubine"." Zhou Wen muttered: "This time I am mainly talking about "Rouge", and I am also looking for it. One of the reasons why the director came.¡±
When Li Cainv heard this, she felt a difference in her heart. She couldn't help but take a closer look at Zhou Wen. In her eyes, Zhou Wen was an anomaly in the Hong Kong film industry. He had won countless audiences with his violent aesthetics in his early twenties. When others thought that he would continue to perpetuate his violent aesthetics, He also launched a trend of hip-hop genre films and hero films.
Rao Shi Zhou Wen's films are full of various violent elements, but what makes them different from other mainstream commercial films is that Zhou's films pay great attention to portraying female characters, such as Yang Ziqiong in "The Fighter" and Zhong Zhong in the "Rivals" series. Chu Hong, Zhou Caier, Wang Zuxian in "The Legend of Wesley", she also heard that the just completed costume ghost film "A Chinese Ghost Story" is starring Wang Zuxian.
If Zhou Wen only focuses on male stars like other directors, maybe Li Cainv will not accept the invitation. She would not meet Zhou Wen in such a noisy and chaotic situation. What moved her to come was the invitation from Guan Jinpeng and Zhong Chuhong, as well as Zhou Wen's consistent style of not looking down on women.
Li Bihua is best at writing romance. The emotions in her writing are full of romance, excitement, and sadness. She is also good at depicting the complex and rich spiritual world of characters. The story is innovative. He is unique and can be called "the best romantic person in the world".
At first hearing that Zhou Wen asked for the rights to adapt three novels in one breath, Li Cainv was stunned and began to hesitate. After a moment, she said: "I'm very curious. Why did Mr. Zhou fall in love with these three novels? We must know that the stories they tell are completely Different, "Rouge Button" is about the love between humans and ghosts, "Green Snake" is about the relationship between humans and demons, and "Farewell My Concubine" is Don't you think it's very different?"
Zhou Wen smiled. He spread his hands and said: "It seems that the talented woman doubts my sincerity in investing. Haha, I admit that there is no absolute all-round talent in the world, especially in literary and artistic films that pay attention to delicate emotions, so I invited Director Guan Jinpeng, who is good at this kind of film, to direct, and After filming "A Chinese Ghost Story", I became very interested in the relationship between humans and ghosts. Let's do this. After the post-production is completed, I will invite you to participate in the first round of small-scale premieres. I believe you will change your opinion by then."
Zhong Chuhong suggested: "Awen, it will take at least a month to complete post-production. Why not make an appointment to look at the uncut rough film first."
Zhou Wen nodded and said, "That's fine. How do you feel about this talented woman?"
Li Bihua shook his head and said: "Actually, it doesn't have to be that troublesome. For me, I just need to take a look at the script."
Zhou Wen patted his forehead and smiled bitterly: "Yes, yes. I didn't turn around, but my writing is not as good as yours."
"Isn't the story good enough?" Li Bihua said with a smile: "But there is something I must tell Mr. Zhou. I still have the film adaptation rights for "Rouge Button" and "Green Snake". As for "Farewell My Concubine" I sold it four years ago.¡±
"Huh?" Zhou Wen was shocked. He hurriedly asked: "It was sold four years ago. Who is the buyer?"
Li Bihua did not directly answer who the buyer was. Instead, he said with a smile: "Hey, Mr. Zhou seems to care more about "Farewell My Concubine", which makes me curious. What should I say about this novel? Moreover, the content involving the cultural crisis in mainland China is relatively sensitive. I feel that I don't know much about it. I¡¯m personally willing to touch upon this kind of subject matter.¡±
"That's a bad statement. If no one wants to touch it, why did someone buy the movie adaptation rights before me? It shows that there are still people who appreciate this type of novel." Zhou Wen sighed and said: "Who bought it? Adaptation copyright?¡±
"AhOh, it seems that the other party has a good background. She starred in "Dragon Inn" directed by King Hu in her debut and won the Golden Horse Award. Later, she also contributed to the first Chinese-language film "The Heroine" that became famous in Cannes. Later, she won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress. Her outstanding performance in "Assassin" won her the Best Actress Award at the 13th Golden Horse Awards that year. "
Following Li Bihua's narration, Zhou Wen's brain began to spin crazily. There is no doubt that "Dragon Gate Inn" and "The Heroine" hold a respected position among Chinese costume martial arts films. They are considered classic masterpieces of the 1960s and 1970s. They were remade by Xu Ke in the early 1990s. "Dragon Inn" shows the influence of the film.
But no matter how Zhou Wen recalled it, he couldn't figure out who the other party was. He frowned for a moment, but Zhong Chuhong thought about it and said with some uncertainty: "Is it Xu Feng? The production manager of Tomson Pictures."
"That's right, it's her!" Li Bihua nodded in approval: "It seems that the actress understands the situation of the actress."
"Haha, when I attended the Golden Horse Awards last year, she was the award presenter. We have exchanged experience in acting." Zhong Chuhong patted Zhou Wen's hand and said, "Since it was Sister Feng who bought the copyright, let me leave the matter to you. Let me handle it. Anyway, you are not planning to film "Farewell My Concubine" at the moment. Besides, we don't have to buy the copyright. We can completely cooperate with Tomson Pictures. Awen, are you right?"
"Yes, that's absolutely right. I was the one who got the best of it." Zhou Wen laughed. Unknowingly, the selfishness in his heart got the upper hand. Hong Gu was right. There was no need to compete with the other party for any copyrights. It was absolutely fine. Cooperation is a win-win situation.
"Awen, can you tell us about the filming plan of "Rouge Button"? I want to know when I can start filming and who you plan to find as an actor." Guan Jinpeng, who had been silently observing, said.
"The actors and actresses I chose are Zhang Guorong and Anita Mui." After Zhou Wen returned to normal, he said: "Zhang Guorong plays the role of the Twelve Young Masters. Anita Mui plays the role of Ruhua. Everyone is familiar with these two, and they are both kings and queens in the music industry. There is also a lot of room for improvement in terms of acting skills, and I am not afraid of everyone laughing. "Rouge Button" is mainly used to hone Young Master Rong's acting skills. Of course, Young Master Rong still has to complement Aunt Mei's performance."
Li Bihua lowered his eyes and thought for a long time. Zhou Wen saw this and asked, "Do you have more suitable actors than these two people?"
Li Bihua shook her head and said: "I'm not doubting Mr. Zhou's vision. In fact, any character you choose is the most suitable for the character. It's just that I wonder if it would be a bit for two singing brothers and one sister to play such a role The difficulty, I¡¯m afraid it will affect their image.¡±
"Haha, you don't have to worry about this. It's too easy to handle Rong Shao's side." Zhou Wen held his chin and muttered: "As for Mei Gu, it's actually very easy to handle. She is participating in the filming of the prequel of "A Better Tomorrow" , I¡¯ll talk to her later.¡±
Seeing that Zhou Wen was so confident, Li Bihua immediately smiled and said: "It seems that Mr. Zhou had already planned it and had already arranged everything before he informed me."
Guan Jinpeng also said: "Talented girl, don't you know that Mr. Zhou is a well-known strategist in the industry? Mr. Zhou spends a lot of energy preparing for every movie. It is said that he waited a long time to prepare for "A Chinese Ghost Story" More than a year."
"Director Guan was joking. If Miss Li has no other objections, we might as well make an appointment to sign the contract tomorrow. How about signing "Rouge Button" and "Green Snake" first?" Zhou Wen struck while the iron was hot.
Li Bihua nodded and said: "Of course, I also have the opportunity to visit your company. I would like to know the scale of Zhou Films, which has created the myth of Hong Kong movie box office and awards. However, there is one thing that needs to be added. I must participate Script adaptation.¡±
"Absolutely no problem!" Zhou Wen said happily: "If there is enough time tomorrow, I can even let you watch the audition of Twelve Young Masters and Ruhua."
"Really!" Li Bihua's eyes lit up. Although she was the creator of "Rouge Button", Twelve Young Masters and Ruhua were just characters she imagined out of thin air. Who would play them in reality. How to act, and whether it can bring out the feeling in the original work. These are all debatable, and it would be best to see them audition.
If everything just now was empty talk, she has now confirmed that Zhou Wen is sincere and even has such a thorough idea.
"Of course, it just so happens that Young Master Rong and Aunt Mei are still in Hong Kong, otherwise if it were one more day late, you wouldn't be able to see the beautiful Twelve Young Masters, haha." Zhou Wen said with a happy smile: "He was tortured terribly by me. I need to go on vacation for a few days to relax, otherwise I won¡¯t miss tonight¡¯s celebration reception.¡±
After the celebration banquet, Zhou Wen was not in a hurry to go back, but made an appointment with Guan Jinpeng to come to the Zhou family.
"Awen, I'm so happy to be able to work with you. I didn't expect that you would be delivering food to the crew two years ago and you would become my boss today." Guan Jinpeng sighed with emotion.road.
"There will be more opportunities for us to cooperate in the future." Zhou Wen poured him a cup of coffee and said: "In terms of "Rouge Button", I am only responsible for investment and production. You are in charge of directing and coordinating the entire film, screenwriting, photography, Just use the team you are most familiar with for art, editing, soundtrack and other matters. I don't have many restrictions on schedule and funds, as long as you practice Rong Shao's acting skills during the filming."
Whether Zhou Wen chooses "Rouge Button" or "Farewell My Concubine", it is to hone Zhang Guorong's acting skills. You must know that Zhang Guorong is an artist with amazing growth. He spans the music and film circles, and is even famous internationally. Cheng Dieyi in "Farewell My Concubine" can be called "unparalleled in splendor".
As for the copyright of "Green Snake", haha, when Wang Zuxian and Zhang Manyu's acting skills become more mature next year, they can start filming, and at least they have to leave their most dazzling and youthful figures on the screen.
Although Kwan Jin-peng has the least annual output among the new wave directors, his artistic films are of very high quality. "Underground" even won the Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Actor at this year's Academy Awards. Five nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay demonstrate Guan Jinpeng's directorial talent.
Although Zhou¡¯s Pictures focuses on the development of commercial films, it also needs to take into account award-winning aspects. Recruiting several award-winning directors under its banner is still very necessary to increase Zhou¡¯s overall popularity.
It was already past two o'clock in the morning when he returned home. Zhong Chuhong saw him coming back and said with a bowl of hot soup: "You, you are becoming more and more like a boss now, and the whole place is busy all day long. "
Zhou Wen wiped the corners of his lips after drinking the hot soup and said: "There is no way, the company must develop in many aspects. Some things must be planned well."
"It's not like we can start so many movies at once. After filming "A Chinese Ghost Story", there is less than 5 million left in the company's accounts. Adding in the 4 million that Boss Lei paid on collect, there is only 9 million. "Zhong Chuhong reported the financial statements familiarly and said: "You have to open "Rouge" and the fourth part of "Rivals". You have to prepare for Hollywood works. There are more things to consider. This little money is far away. Not nearly enough.¡±
"Fool, have you forgotten the five million US dollars in North American box office dividends? That's only 30 million Hong Kong dollars. It can be used to ease the financial situation." Zhou Wen laughed and said: "Tsk, tsk, so I still have 40 million in hand. , you can consider letting Wang Jing start a drama, the company has signed so many new people, you can't live in vain, right?"
"Is it still open?" Zhong Chuhong was surprised when he heard this: "Oh my God. Do you want Zhou to enter the full expansion stage? That's crazy!"
"How can we not be crazy!" Zhou Wen clenched his fist and waved it in the air a few times and said: "We want to fully blossom and create a Zhou Dynasty, so that all its artists will become the focus of everyone's attention!"
Zhong Chuhong rolled her eyes at him and said angrily: "When it comes to making movies, you are always full of energy. When have you ever considered the management of the company? If there are so many movies in one go, who will manage it!"
Zhou Wen scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "Uh, okay. Actually, I also missed a film. I originally planned to let Cai'er make a female version of "Fist Fighter" while the iron is hot. Since you said so, I will temporarily let it go. Just take a moment.¡±
Unexpectedly, Zhong Chuhong nodded vigorously and said, "It's possible. I think it's too easy for Cai'er to become famous. She feels a little drifting now. We must strengthen her training, otherwise she will be idle."
"" Zhou Wen blinked and calmed down. "Rouge", "Rivals" part 4, the female version of "The Fighter", "God of Gamblers" or "The Gambler", and "Prison". Including the films that entered Hollywood, it turned out that there were six films to be shot before I knew it, and they involved five major genres: art films, musicals, action films, gambling films, and prison films.
Zhou¡¯s will indeed attack across the board in the second half of the year! This is the time to enter the rapid development of a comprehensive monopoly market!
"You must stay calm and don't be dazzled by the temporary honors and achievements in front of you. Every movie is a challenge and opportunity for me, and I must take it seriously." Zhou Wen thought in his heart.
¡¡Dividing line¡¡
Early the next morning, Zhou Wen called Zhang Guorong and Anita Mui to the company, threw two novels of "Rouge Button" over, and asked the staff to put the audition costumes that had been made overnight on the table. Tan Tanshou said : "Two kings and queens, the purpose of inviting you here today is very simple. The novel in your hands is the new film you are about to shoot. I wonder if you two are interested."
Zhang Guorong shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Anyway, I've been tricked by you once. You just watch and deal with it."
"The implication is that if you want to kill or cut into pieces, you have to do whatever you want. You have to be responsible for me!"
"Aunt Mei, where are you?" Zhou Wen looked at Anita Mui and asked, "We have not cooperated before.However, you don¡¯t need to give me an answer now. How about reading the novel first, trying it on, and thinking about it for a few days? "
Anita Mui shook her head and said with a smile: "No need, Young Master Rong is worried about being tricked by you, so why should I worry about it? Besides, it's an honor for me to work with you. I really want to know what it means to be nominated for a Best Actress Award or to win a Best Actress Award." taste."
What Anita Mui said is true. Nowadays, there is a rumor in the circle that Zhou Wen has the Midas touch. Any actress he values ????will become famous overnight. At worst, she will even get a nomination. If she is lucky enough to be directly crowned Best Actress, Hong Gu will be the most practical. A real example, besides, she and Zhang Guorong are very good friends. When Zhang Guorong said that Zhou wanted to invite her to audition, of course he came over with joy.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Wen didn¡¯t waste any time and directly gave her the novel and the audition costume. The excitement left Anita Mui speechless.
"Okay, since Aunt Mei has no objection, when Miss Li Bihua and Director Guan Jinpeng arrive later, we will audition first and then discuss the film contract and remuneration." Zhou Wen clapped his hands and said with a smile.
The two singing brothers and one sister nodded happily, then changed their costumes and picked up "Rouge Button" to read. When Li Bihua and Guan Jinpeng came in, they immediately made a decision when they saw their dress and behavior.
"This is the Twelve Young Masters and Ruhua I want, Mr. Zhou, let's sign the contract directly!" Li Bihua suggested readily.
"Ayuan, ask the lawyer to bring in the prepared contract, and send two bottles of champagne!" Zhou Wen informed Zhang Yuan via internal line.
The signing of the copyright contracts for the film adaptations of "Rouge Button" and "Green Snake" went very smoothly. Zhou Wen helped organize the crew and finally had time to work on the post-production of "A Chinese Ghost Story".
But not long after he entered the special effects studio, he was invited out by the popular Zhang Jiazhen.