"Do you remember the party at our house that day?"
Li Hanxiang did not answer Lin Chaoyang, but asked him a question.
Lin Chaoyang nodded, "Remember."
"You remember Xu Guanwen, right?"
"You're a big star, of course you remember."
When people in later generations mention the comedy king of Hong Kong movies, the first person they think of must be Stephen Chow.
But what many people don't know is that before Stephen Chow was born, when people in Hong Kong mentioned comedy movies, the first thing they thought of was Hui Kwan-wen.
Different from the nonsensical style that Stephen Chow is good at, Xu Guanwen is a cold-faced comedian, and his performances and works often incorporate a strong human touch. This style can be said to be unique in the Hong Kong film industry in the 1970s.
The work was also a hit, and Xu Guanwen became a leader in the film industry, and also made his three brothers popular.
The story of the four literary and military heroes, the Hui brothers, has always been a favorite story in the Hong Kong film industry in the 1970s and 1980s.
Unfortunately, after he became very popular with "Modern Bodyguard" in 1981 and won the Best Actor Award at the first Hong Kong Film Awards, his stardom became bumpy.
First, the cooperation between the Hui brothers decreased, and then he retreated behind the scenes to write, produce, and direct works such as "The Ghost Hunters" and "Teppanyaki" that failed at the box office and received bad reviews.
The successive blows plunged the once-popular movie star into a long period of low ebb.
"In fact, Brother Wen prefers writing and directing to acting. It's a pity that his screenwriter and director left his acting, and it seems that he is not popular with the audience. The audience may prefer to see him act in movies."
Xu Guanwen's famous work is "The Warlord" directed by Li Hanxiang, so the two have a good relationship. "Big Brother Wen" is an affectionate name between the two because Xu Guanwen is the eldest in the family.
After finally figuring out who wanted him to write a script, Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but curiously asked, "I'm a mainland screenwriter. He's not afraid of finding a script written by me. But he won't be able to adapt to the local climate in Hong Kong?"
"You don't understand the struggles and embarrassments he has now. Brother Wen has no shortage of scripts and movies to shoot, but he is different from ordinary movie stars. He has his own pursuits.
He wants to be a screenwriter, a director, and tell his inner story to the audience, rather than just being an actor forever.
But the audience only likes to watch him perform these things, and this is the fundamental reason why he fell into a slump."
Listening to Li Hanxiang's words, Lin Chaoyang thought thoughtfully, "Oh, talent is not worthy of ambition!"
An accurate comment made Li Hanxiang's expression become a little embarrassed. He had just finished praising Xu Guanwen for his pursuit, but to his surprise, Lin Chaoyang wiped it out with cruel reality.
In the film and television industry, comedy requires the most talent and audience connection, and it is also the most tiring.
Regardless of whether they are in China or abroad, many actors who became famous through comedies either stopped acting or struggled in bad films. In short, they could not escape the sentence of "the talent has been exhausted".
Therefore, these people will seek breakthroughs when they reach a certain age, but very few succeed.
Of course Xu Guanwen is not without talent, but his talent lies more in acting, but he insists on taking advantage of it, and the result can be imagined.
After experiencing a trough period for several years, Xu Guanwen thought about it and returned to his old ways.
In the late 1980s, he successively released works such as "Chocolate Detective" and "Chicken Talk". After returning to his old ways, he became famous again.
But it is a pity that his rise to fame did not last for a few years, and he was knocked down repeatedly by his junior Stephen Chow, and finally faded out of the film industry in the early 1990s.
After the embarrassment, Li Hanxiang did not dwell on the issue, but continued to say to Lin Chaoyang:
"Both films, "Curtain Behind the Curtain" and "Chess Master," were written by you, and both have achieved good results in Hong Kong, which fully demonstrates your talent in this area.
Talent does not distinguish between regions. As long as it is a good work, everyone will appreciate it.
If you can write an excellent script for Brother Wen, maybe you can help him change his acting style and make him soar to the sky!"
Lin Chaoyang smiled and said: "If transformation was so easy, he wouldn't be in a low ebb now."
Li Hanxiang asked: "So, you don't want to help him write the script?"
"That's not true. As long as the price is right, the script can still be written."
Li Hanxiang thought to himself that the situation is easy to change, but the temperament is hard to change!
"How much money does he plan to pay?" Lin Chaoyang asked.
"As long as the script is excellent, 200,000 Hong Kong dollars!"
Li Hanxiang made a "V" sign with his hand and his tone was full of confidence. This figure was much higher than the fee Lin Chaoyang paid him to write the script of "Under the Curtain".
But Lin Chaoyang's face remained calm after hearing this. Seeing his expression, Li Hanxiang hurriedly asked: "What? Is it still too low?"
"Um."
"Isn't this much higher than the fee for other scripts you wrote?"
"This moment, that moment."
Lin Chaoyang didn't explain anything, but Li Hanxiang could understand it as soon as he thought about it.
The scripts handled by Lin Chaoyang, whether in the Mainland or in Xiangjiang, have good box office and reputation, and all of them are box office hits.
If a movie is like this, some people may say that it is the director's credit, but the problem is that every movie is like this. Who can shamelessly erase Lin Chaoyang's credit?
Li Hanxiang's idea was not wrong, but Lin Chaoyang showed little interest in this matter. The main reason was that writing scripts for others was becoming less and less cost-effective for him.
Compared with the royalties he earns from writing movie scripts, he may get more returns from writing some novels and earning royalties.
While the two were talking, Zou Shifang had been listening quietly.
He met Lin Chaoyang in 1978, when Lin Chaoyang was an ordinary librarian at Yanda Library.
When he occasionally went to the Chinese Department to take classes, he would meet Lin Chaoyang, who also went to take classes, or when the May Fourth Literary Club organized activities, they would also invite Lin Chaoyang to participate.
During his four years in college, he watched Lin Chaoyang write one wonderful work after another, and his reputation grew accordingly.
Now, more than two years after he graduated from college, we met again. Lin Chaoyang was already a famous writer throughout the country, and the person chatting and laughing with was a great director like Li Hanxiang.
Others asked him to write a script for HK$200,000, but Lin Chaoyang was indifferent.
You must know that he is a graduate of Yan University and has worked for more than two years, and his salary is only more than 60 yuan.
A huge gap lay in front of Zou Shifang, and he couldn't even feel any envy because the money was beyond his concept.
Understanding Lin Chaoyang's mentality, Li Hanxiang didn't say anything more. He certainly couldn't force this kind of thing on others. He changed the topic, and everyone was still talking and laughing.
Liang Jiahui asked Lin Chaoyang that some film and television companies in Hong Kong wanted to invite him to star in movies, and whether he wanted to star in them.
Li Hanxiang was kind to Tony Leung Ka Fai. Because he was going to make "Fire Dragon", Tony Leung Ka Fai definitely couldn't agree to those film contracts now, but the remuneration offered to him by those production companies really made him excited.
Listening to Liang Jiahui's troubles, Lin Chaoyang smiled and said: "If you want to make money, you can take advantage of the fact that the production company recognizes you and take on more movies. If you want to hold on to this job for a long time, you still have to look at the script and the cast behind the scenes.
That’s all.”
Tony Leung's expression was subtle when he heard this, because most of the production companies and movies that came to him didn't even have scripts, they only said which star they wanted to hire for the lead role.
Such an impetuous atmosphere is in line with Lin Chaoyang's stereotype of Hong Kong movies.
He pondered and said to Tony Leung: "You may make less money by making one good movie than ten bad movies, but you will definitely make more than ten movies in the future."
Liang Jiahui was thoughtful, and finally nodded seriously, "I understand what you mean."
He regards Li Hanxiang and Lin Chaoyang as his mentors in his acting career, attaches great importance to their opinions, and is determined to plan his future path according to Lin Chaoyang's guidance.
After eating, everyone said goodbye.
Zou Shifang, like Lin Chaoyang, came here on bicycles. After the two separated at the intersection, Zou Shifang couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Lin Chaoyang's retreating back.
The distance between the two became farther and farther, just like the gap between them, Zou Shifang was filled with emotions.
When he returned home from Donglaishun, Lin Chaoyang's face was flushed by the cold wind. On the way back, he was thinking whether he should buy a four-wheeled vehicle, otherwise winter would be too painful.
As soon as he pushed the bicycle to the corner, Tao Yushu came out of the main room and said to him: "Chaoyang, we have a guest at home!"
"Who?" Lin Chaoyang asked.
"Nie Weiping!"
Lin Chaoyang was a little surprised when he heard this. Counting the days, it would be the Sino-Japanese Go Tournament again soon. Why did he come to his home?
After entering the room, Lin Chaoyang saw Nie Weiping sitting on the sofa. After the two shook hands and exchanged greetings, Lin Chaoyang asked: "It seems that the arena competition is about to be held soon? Why are you free to come to my place today?"
"I came to you just because of the arena competition. Are you free tomorrow?"
Although he didn't know what Nie Weiping wanted to do with him, Lin Chaoyang still said: "I'm free."
"That's great! I'll treat you to a movie tomorrow."
Lin Chaoyang was a little confused when he heard this. He didn't know what kind of medicine Nie Weiping was selling in his gourd.
Nie Weiping explained with a smile: "Watch "The Master of Chess"! The day after tomorrow is the Sino-Japanese Go Tournament. Our strength is not as good as the Japanese. We lost the first game and the team members are under great pressure."
Captain Hao said that he would lead the team members to watch "The Master of Chess" to boost everyone's morale.
I thought, if I want to boost morale, I have to call you as the author!"
There's a game coming up soon. Can you be more reliable when you go to watch a movie?
They complained in their hearts, but Nie Weiping and the others wanted to watch "The Master of Chess" after all, and this wave of support could be regarded as support for themselves.
Besides, what if we really win?
No, not just in case, but definitely win!
It is true that Nie Weiping defeated the three top players in the Japanese chess world in the first Sino-Japanese Go Tournament and created a myth.
In this same arena competition, there was another young Chinese player who showed great bravery.
He was the 22-year-old Jiang Zhujiu who played in the second game.
When the Chinese Go community was feeling melancholy and depressed about the prospects of the Sino-Japanese Go Tournament, Jiang Zhujiu stood up.
First, he defeated Noriyoshi Yida in the second game with 2 eyes in white, and then defeated Kaku Kobayashi in the middle game in the third game with black, and then in the fourth, fifth, and sixth games...
Jiang Zhujiu completed the "Penta kill" against the Japanese team by himself, and was finally defeated by Kobayashi Koichi.
Koichi Kobayashi is the top player in the Japanese chess world. Except for Nie Weiping, almost no one on the Chinese team can compete with him, so it is an honor for Jiang Zhujiu to lose.
His heroic performance put those Japanese players who had made such nonsense before the game to shame. It not only greatly frustrated the arrogance of the Japanese team, but also made Chinese Go fans feel bad.
Memories flashed through his mind, and Lin Chaoyang said: "Okay, I'm going to meet the national players tomorrow."
At this time Tao Yushu said: "Chaoyang, let's take Dongdong with us tomorrow."
Lin Chaoyang turned his head to look at her. Ms. Tao's eyes were shining, and that light made people feel friendly and familiar.
Back then, I hoped my husband would become a dragon, but now I hope my son will succeed!
Lin Chaoyang glanced at Xiao Dongdong who was playing with toys again. The roly-poly doll dressed in blue and white stripes swayed under his movements, causing him to let out bursts of crisp and loud laughter.
Son, this is how dad came here too, just get used to it and you'll be fine!
Chapter completed!