As a result, the amount of film investment increased immediately, and an investment of seven to eight million was just ordinary.

According to this investment, no matter what the box office, it will take 16 to 7 million to make back the original investment.

Based on the local box office of Xiangjiang Film, if the box office in the past two years exceeds 17 million, it can basically break into the top ten annual box office.

Of course, film companies and investors cannot lose money. The reason why they are willing to pay high salaries to stars is because of their box office appeal in other places.

It doesn’t matter if Hong Kong’s box office is not profitable, there are still Bay Island, Malaysia, Thailand...

Today's Xiangjiang movies are becoming more and more influential in East and Southeast Asia. There is always a way to make money back. Not only can they make back their money, but they can also make a lot of money.

John Woo kept murmuring in Tsui Hark's ear, and Tsui Hark was read for a long time. Finally, he said helplessly: "Okay, okay, I will talk to Xinyi City later and ask them to invest more."

Seeing Tsui Hark in such a dilemma, Lin Chaoyang said: "If they don't agree to additional investment, we, Lin's Pictures, can invest a little."

Tsui Hark looked at Lin Chaoyang with some surprise. Lin Chaoyang used the script as investment before, and now he has to spend real money to invest in "A Better Tomorrow". Why does he feel that he is more confident in this movie than himself?

Another thing he was curious about was that Lin Chaoyang was born in the Mainland and his main job was a writer. Even if he had savings, he probably wouldn't have much.

Film investment can easily amount to several million Hong Kong dollars. Does he really have that much money?

"Lin Sheng wants to invest? How much do you plan to invest?" Tsui Hark asked.

"Our Lin's Pictures has limited strength. If we don't have more, one or two million Hong Kong dollars is still okay. I mainly consider that with our investment, it may be easier to negotiate with Xinyi City."

Tsui Hark couldn't help but nodded after listening to Lin Chaoyang's words, and his eyes looked a little softer when he looked at Lin Chaoyang. He understood that Lin Chaoyang did this to help him.

He thought for a moment and said: "Thank you very much for Lin Sheng's kindness. How about Lin Sheng invest 1 million Hong Kong dollars first, and I will talk to Xinyi City for the rest."

"That's fine."

After talking about investment, John Woo had the opportunity to talk to Lin Chaoyang about the script and several main characters. He wanted to hear Lin Chaoyang's views on these characters.

When the filming of the later "A Better Tomorrow" started, there was not even a script. Tsui Hark and John Woo just wrote an outline based on the 1967 version of "A Better Tomorrow", and the rest was performed on the spot.

One of the very important factors is the on-the-spot performance of the actors. For example, Ma Ge, played by Chow Yun-fat, was originally just a guest on the set.

But John Woo thought his performance was good, so he kept giving him additional roles. As a result, Chow Yun-fat, who was a guest actor, was added as the protagonist, but the male lead played by Cheng Haonan was added and eliminated.

In this time and space, Zheng Haonan is equally miserable. Originally, the male lead in "The Great Sword" was his, but he was snatched away by Tony Leung Ka Fai.

Now that Lin Chaoyang has "copied homework" and produced a classic enough script, John Woo is naturally more than satisfied and wants to understand some of Lin Chaoyang's thoughts when he created these characters.

The two chatted for more than an hour, and John Woo was full of confidence and in high spirits.

Lin Chaoyang doesn't have a profound understanding of film shooting, but he can't resist cheating. Everyone started in the fog of war, but he started the game with a bright card in Landlord, and he really mastered John Woo's imagination.

Some scenes and lines can be felt by John Woo just by describing them in his words.

Having a screenwriter like Lin Chaoyang here is simply a blessing for the director!

"Lin Sheng, after listening to you for so long, your concept of the movie is so mature. Do you have any suggestions for actors?" John Woo asked.

"Director Wu, you are the director, you can take care of the actors." Lin Chaoyang said.

"No, no, no, we can discuss the actor's matter together. What I want is that the actor fits the role and adds luster to the movie."

In John Woo's view, Lin Chaoyang has just been able to make the main characters in the script so vivid and lifelike. In addition to his deep understanding of the characters, the most important thing is that he must have his own imagination for the characters.

John Woo is now eager to know what these character images in Lin Chaoyang's mind look like in reality.

"That's it..." Lin Chaoyang pondered for a moment and then said: "Then let me talk about my personal views. Let me talk about the two brothers Song Zihao and Song Zijie first..."

Lin Chaoyang couldn't stop talking, and he couldn't stop talking. He talked for a long time. He first analyzed the background and personality of each important actor, and then proposed the actors he thought were suitable.

Ti Lung plays Song Zihao, Leslie Cheung plays Song Zijie, Chow Yun-fat plays Xiao Ma Ge, and Yue Hua plays Tan Cheng.

There is only one discrepancy between the list of actors he recommended and the later version of "A Better Tomorrow", and that was the actor who played the villain Tan Cheng.

Tan Cheng was played by Li Zixiong in the later "A Better Tomorrow", and his acting skills were very good. He played the role of Tan Cheng who is weak and honest on the outside but sinister and cunning on the inside.

As for why he was not recommended but Yue Hua was recommended, of course it was because Lin Chaoyang was familiar with Yue Hua.

Moreover, Yue Hua has played many villains since he became famous, and it is not difficult at all to play a role like Tan Cheng.

After Lin Chaoyang finished talking about all the actors, John Woo imagined in his mind what these actors would look like in costumes.

He thought for a long time and found that the actors recommended by Lin Chaoyang were indeed in line with the character's temperament.

Take the character Song Zijie for example. His brother is a gang leader, but he is a police academy graduate with a sense of justice and professionalism in his heart.

We need to find a popular star to play him, so that he can portray his high-spiritedness. Leslie Cheung is very suitable, he is pretty and popular enough.

However, John Woo also has some concerns about the candidates recommended by Lin Chaoyang, because he recommended four people, and none of them are real first-line movie stars at this stage.

Ti Long and Yue Hua were popular back then, but they have long since faded away in recent years.

Chow Yun-fat is a popular TVB actor, and he is very famous and popular. However, he moved to the film industry and acted in many movies, but he never had a box office hit.

The audience's impression of him is still limited to the TV screen, and some film producers have even labeled him "box office poison".

Leslie Cheung is currently popular, but his popularity is more concentrated in his singing career, and his performance in film and television is mediocre.

After Wu Yusen analyzed the situation of these actors, he couldn't help but murmur in his heart. He wondered if Lin Chaoyang didn't understand the current movie market very well. After all, a movie star should be used here!

Lin Chaoyang observed John Woo's expression and could probably guess what he was thinking.

"Director Wu, I don't know if you feel it. In fact, in our movie, the emotion is more important than the plot and characters."

Some things can only be understood and cannot be expressed in words. Lin Chaoyang's words were very vague, but Wu Yusen felt that he could understand the meaning.

He thought of Brother Ma's line in the script.

“I don’t want to be stepped on by people all my life!

Do you think I'm a beggar?

I have been unlucky for three years, just waiting for an opportunity!

I want to take a breath, not to prove that I am better than others, I just want to tell others that I must get back what I have lost with my own hands!"

John Woo thought about his experiences in the past few years, and suddenly there was a surge of empathy in his heart, as well as a strange thought that he had never had before.

I just want to lead this group of actors that no one is optimistic about and overthrow the Hong Kong film industry!

As soon as the thought came up in his mind, Wu Yusen was shocked by himself. He didn't even know why he had such a thought.

But when his eyes met Lin Chaoyang, John Woo completely understood.

This is the "emotion" Lin Chaoyang calls it!

He was thinking about the actors Lin Chaoyang chose. Didn't they fit the mood of the movie?

At this moment, John Woo feels that he is full of unprecedented confidence in this movie.

"Okay! The actors will be as you say, Lin Sheng. For this movie, we must give Xiangjiang Movies a unique shock!"

Seeing John Woo's state as if he had been given a shot of blood, Lin Chaoyang smiled with satisfaction, that's right!

It would be impossible to make a film like "A Better Tomorrow" without this attitude.

Tsui Hark listened to the two talking for a long time and didn't understand why John Woo suddenly became excited, but he felt relieved seeing that the two communicated so well.

The director and screenwriter have a tacit understanding, and the effect of the movie will definitely not be bad.

Lin Chaoyang and his wife spent almost a whole day in the film studio. In the evening, Shi Nansheng helped everyone book a table for dinner at the Sevva Western Restaurant in Prince's Building, which was a celebration of the important progress in the preparations for "A Better Tomorrow."

After finishing the meal, they parted ways.

Shi Nansheng and Tsui Hark walked together on the brightly lit Queen's Road Central.

She looked at Tsui Hark and hesitated, "Do you really want to take Lin Sheng's investment?"

Tsui Hark looked back at her, "Are you afraid of where the Freedom Association will be?"

"Yes." Shi Nansheng frowned slightly and said: "In the past, Lin Sheng only participated in investment with scripts. This time is different. He got real money. What if the Free Association..."

"I have also thought about this issue. In my opinion, there should be no problem. Hasn't Ah Hui's banning order been lifted?

After all, Lin Sheng and Mrs. Lin have no official status. The news report the year before last was so fierce, but in the end it was nothing!

If the Liberty Association is really picky, Jiahe will be the first to be unlucky, and Boss Zou is not that stupid."

From the 1950s to the 1970s, the Hong Kong film industry was a battleground between the Bay Island and the Mainland.

In the mid-1950s, in order to cope with challenges, the Information Bureau of the Bay Island funded the establishment of the "Freedom Federation", an unofficial organization in Hong Kong.

The purpose is to win over people from the cultural circles in Hong Kong and exclude people who are pro-mainland.

The first thing this organization did after its establishment was to announce to all walks of life in Hong Kong that films could not enter the Bay Island without the approval of the "Freedom Federation".

However, during the first dozen years of the battle between the two sides, local capital and Z-sect filmmakers have always been in an advantageous position.

During the heyday of the Z faction, the three film companies, Chang, Feng and Xin, produced a total of 262 films. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Wandao and Y faction filmmakers were overwhelmed.

Not only were the numbers astonishing, but they also took over the top-grossing Hong Kong films at the time. While the two sides were fighting each other, they also cultivated a group of outstanding literary and artistic workers in Hong Kong.

It's a pity that the wave in 1967 ruined the good situation.

In addition, the mainland market was closed in those years, while the Bay Island market opened its arms to Hong Kong. The balance of the battle between the two sides continued to tilt, and many Z-style filmmakers who were pro-mainland have gradually withered away in recent years.

By the mid-to-late 1970s, as a bridge between the Hong Kong film scene and the Bay Island Information Bureau, Cultural Bureau, and the film market, the Liberty Federation had become the king of the Hong Kong film industry.

When they coughed, many Hong Kong film companies trembled.
To be continued...