Chapter 313

As for the male lead, Li Xiaoyao, Cai Yinong originally wanted to find one of the F4 members to carry the popularity, but surprisingly, not a single one came to audition.

Huang Huang Xiao Ming only wanted to act in serious dramas now and directly rejected the role. Zhong Hanliang felt Li Xiaoyao wasn't his style. Qiao Zhenyu had already played Duan Yu and also felt that Li Xiaoyao's boisterous personality didn't fit his own. Wu Kequn was completely immersed in music creation, preparing for his new album.

So, in the end, Cai Yinong simply went to find a newcomer and signed Hu Ge, who was still a student at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Wu Yuchen felt a sense of emotion; this fate was truly wonderful. He hadn't interfered at all, yet in the end, the male and female leads of "Chinese Paladin" were still these two. However, he thought that since this project was still a collaboration between Cai Yinong and Li Guoli, with their vision and aesthetics, making the same choice as in his past life didn't seem so strange after all.

However, while Zhao Linger and Li Xiaoyao hadn't changed, the actors for some other roles had changed.

For example, the other female lead in the show, Lin Yueru; this role was originally played by the Taiwanese actress Ady An. But now, because the producer of "Chinese Paladin" was Miracle Film, which had much higher strength and status than Tang Ren in his past life, many mainland actresses were quite keen on this drama.

Ultimately, the role of Lin Yueru fell to Chen Zihan. Well, she used to be called Chen Shasha, and now she had changed her name to something that sounded more poetic, though Wu Yuchen felt Chen Zihan wasn't as memorable as the original Chen Shasha.

She had developed quite well in the last few years; she collaborated with Huang Huang Xiao Ming in "The Prince of Han Dynasty," playing Princess Pingyang, and played Yin Li in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber." This time, the role of Lin Yueru was more significant than her previous roles; she was already a female lead.

Wu Yuchen thought about Chen Zihan's acting and felt it was acceptable. Whether it was Yin Li in "Heaven Sword," Guo Fu in "Return of the Condor Heroes," or Lu Zhi in "The Myth," she played them all very well, but it was a pity that the roles she played didn't have much audience appeal.

However, this time it was different; Lin Yueru was a good opportunity for her. If she acted well enough, she would definitely attract a large wave of fans.

Thinking of Chen Shasha, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but think of Yin Qiaoqiao, one of the "three golden flowers" in their dormitory at the time. This girl had become famous a few years ago for her role as Princess Peacock in "Journey to the West Sequel," and her development in the following years had been relatively smooth.

But what Wu Yuchen was more curious about was whether she had gotten together with Yu Dong now?

Come to think of it, about half a year ago, which was when the SARS epidemic ended, Yu Dong resigned to strike out on his own. After all, he was an ambitious person who wanted to venture out. In the few years he spent at Miracle Film, he had accumulated a vast network of connections, which would provide no small amount of help for his future entrepreneurship.

Wu Yuchen wasn't overly concerned; after all, Miracle Film's publicity department had grown up through the tempering of these past few years and wouldn't fall into a situation where it couldn't function without a Yu Dong. The work that needed to be done would still be done.

In this rough-and-tumble era where Chinese cinema was still developing rapidly, he, Wu Yuchen, could already say: Ask Chinese cinema, who determines its rise and fall?

Wu Yuchen smiled and then asked Gao Yuanyuan beside him, "Yuanyuan, how does it feel to film 'Kung Fu Hustle'?"

After the SARS epidemic ended in the second half of last year, "Kung Fu Hustle" began filming, wrapping up in three and a half months. Gao Yuanyuan played the role of the mute girl in it. As for Huang Shengyi, let her be; since her ultimate goal was to marry Yang Zi, then don't waste resources on her.

"I wasn't used to it when I first joined the crew. More than half of the crew, from top to bottom, were from Hong Kong, so communication was very inconvenient. Stephen Chow's Mandarin was also very poor, and he would easily get anxious while speaking."

"Hmm? Did he snap at you?" Wu Yuchen raised an eyebrow.

Gao Yuanyuan shook her head: "That didn't happen! But Director Chow is very serious when working. I often saw him scolding people on set; his temper was a bit irritable, and in the end, he even had a falling out with the Hung Gar Class."

Wu Yuchen had heard about this, but didn't know the specific process, so he asked Gao Yuanyuan: "What exactly happened between them?"

Gao Yuanyuan fed another cherry into Wu Yuchen's mouth and said: "From the beginning of filming, Stephen Chow and Sammo Hung's opinions didn't seem to align. At first, the Hung Gar Class designed a set of actions, but Stephen Chow wasn't satisfied. Later, Sammo Hung designed two more sets, but he still didn't want to use them.

I heard people say Stephen Chow felt the 'Hung-style martial arts' style designed by Sammo Hung was too heavy and wouldn't match his film style, and it didn't fit his philosophy that every shot had to be new, so the two of them had a conflict."

"They just had a falling out like that?" Wu Yuchen asked while chewing the cherry gently.

Gao Yuanyuan shook her head:

"Not yet. Sammo Hung didn't explode at first, but Stephen Chow had a bad temper and often called for a halt during filming, saying there were problems with the actions, and then the people from the Hung Gar Class were all dissatisfied, feeling he was deliberately making things difficult.

At that time, Sammo Hung directly asked Stephen Chow for leave, saying he had 300 mosquito bites on his body and couldn't continue working, so he had to be hospitalized for treatment."

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this; he understood immediately. Fatty Hung was using a disguised strike to coerce the director!

I've done so much and you're still not satisfied? I'm leading a group of brothers; where does that leave my face? If I don't get some respect back, how can I lead people in the future? Since you're not satisfied, I'll just stop doing it and see what you do!

"And then?"

"Then Sammo Hung went to the hospital, and Stephen Chow was so angry his face turned green. About five days later, Stephen Chow invited the Yuen Clan over and directly told the people from the Hung Gar Class that they didn't need to come anymore."

Wu Yuchen smiled and patted Gao Yuanyuan's thigh: "I reckon it's Fatty Hung's turn to have a green face this time!"

Gao Yuanyuan rolled her beautiful eyes: "I was quite scared at the time! Sammo Hung was particularly angry, his hair was standing on end, and he brought a group of people from the Hung Gar Class. I was afraid they would fight with the crew!"

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head, rubbing Gao Yuanyuan's chest: "You're overthinking it. He wouldn't dare to make a move; otherwise, he would be cutting himself off from the entire industry."

Gao Yuanyuan said "hmm," then covered her small mouth and laughed: "Before he left, he pointed at Stephen Chow and cursed: 'In this entire film set, only he is a human, and we are all dogs!'"

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head: "That Fatty Hung! So, were the actions he designed kept?"

Gao Yuanyuan nodded: "They should have been kept. The battle between the three masters and the Axe Gang, as well as the action scenes where they sparred with each other, were all designed by him, and they weren't reshot later."

Wu Yuchen thought about it; then the action scenes were actually quite good. He had watched the movie "Kung Fu Hustle" more than once in his past life, and the design of the three masters' fighting actions was still quite good. Fatty Hung's professional level was passable.

However, in this matter, for a martial arts director to quit and coerce the director, regardless of what happened before, he was definitely not in the right. The reason Hong Kong people scolded Stephen Chow so much after this incident was because his interpersonal relationships were too poor, not because Fatty Hung was so reasonable.

Afterwards, Wu Yuchen shook his head. There were reasons for Stephen Chow's poor interpersonal relationships. He asked: "Yuanyuan, did Director Feng go over to make a cameo?"

"Yes, I think Director Feng is really great; he looks particularly funny!" Gao Yuanyuan wanted to laugh when she thought of it.

Wu Yuchen also thought of Feng Xiaogang as the Axe Gang boss, and asked with a smile: "Did he also make an agreement with Stephen Chow to help each other out?"

"It seems so."

"Then I reckon Director Feng is going to be disappointed! Stephen Chow will probably renege on this agreement~"

"Ah? Isn't it just a cameo? It shouldn't go that far, right?" Gao Yuanyuan said in surprise.

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head: "He is a person who is impeccable at work and has a lot of talent and ideas regarding film. But in his dealings with people, he only wants to take advantage and is unwilling to give."

Take the relationship between Feng Xiaogang and Stephen Chow, for example. It was agreed that they would help each other, but when it came to "A World Without Thieves," Stephen Chow backed out.

Feng Xiaogang didn't hold it against him at first, and years later, he still went to support and promote Stephen Chow at the premiere of "CJ7." However, two years later, when "Aftershock" was released, he invited Stephen Chow to attend the premiere, and was refused by Stephen Chow again.

This time, Feng Xiaogang was so angry that he publicly announced his break with Stephen Chow, saying in an interview: "There is no one like Stephen Chow. I helped you twice, but you didn't return a single favor!"

So, with a person like Stephen Chow, maintaining a working relationship is fine, but don't ever think about being friends with him, otherwise, you'll really be angered to death.

Gao Yuanyuan nodded in agreement upon hearing this: "Stephen Chow is indeed quite capable. In fact, during the filming, most people's performances—the lecherous landlord peeking at the bath, the landlady imitating Bruce Lee, the Axe Gang dance, and many other scenes—were all demonstrated and taught by him bit by bit."

Wu Yuchen wasn't surprised. The film "Kung Fu Hustle" could be said to perfectly display Stephen Chow's cinematic talent, which one had to admire.

Afterwards, he smiled and turned to ask Gao Yuanyuan: "By the way, how was the film you shot later?"

"You mean 'Waiting Alone'? I didn't even feel like I was filming a movie; it was just like hanging out with a few friends, and it was filmed smoothly~"

Just a month or two ago, Gao Yuanyuan accepted the invitation for "Waiting Alone" and played the role of Liu Rong, the "dream lover" the male lead kept chasing.

The film "Waiting Alone" was also invested in by Miracle Film. It was truly a very grounded urban romantic comedy, and its director, Fatty Wu, was an American who understood the current love and life status of Chinese youth better than a bunch of Chinese directors. Who could have thought of that?

Wu Yuchen hugged Gao Yuanyuan and said with a grin: "Our Yuanyuan is now everyone's 'dream lover'!"

After saying that, Wu Yuchen held a cherry between his lips and pressed it onto Gao Yuanyuan's small mouth, and then the two of them entangled for a long time around this cherry, and in the end, they didn't even know who had eaten it.

A moment later, their lips parted, and then Wu Yuchen began to savor Gao Yuanyuan...

"Can't forget the feeling of holding you in my arms

Warmer than the heat hidden in my heart

Forgot the biting north wind outside the window

Once again overlapping tenderness and lingering affection

It's your red lips that stick to everything I have

It's your thoughtfulness that makes me passionate again

It's your myriad tenderness that melts the ice and snow

......"

Last year, because of the Oscar PR for "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas," Wu Yuchen didn't come back for the Spring Festival and only called home.

Therefore, for this year's Spring Festival, he would rather delay the post-production of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" than miss coming back. Although the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival is fading every year, at this moment of family reunion, being with family still brings a sense of satisfaction.

Wu Yuchen looked at the "Iron Triangle" of Zhao Benshan, Fan Wei, and Gao Xiumin on the TV screen. The three of them could make everyone laugh as soon as they got on stage. Even though the performance of "The Water Delivery Man" this time wasn't the best among their works, it was still much better than those boring skits of later generations.

Compared to twenty years later, these audiences are really very happy now; the language programs and skits are more than a grade better than those of later generations.

It's just a pity that if he remembered correctly, this was also the last public performance of the Iron Triangle. From then on, the three would completely break up. No matter how solid the friendship, it couldn't withstand the erosion of long-term unequal distribution of benefits!

However, during the Chinese New Year, Wu Yuchen also attended a low-key signing ceremony. Miracle Film and Warner Bros. International Cinemas signed a cooperation agreement to jointly build a batch of top-tier multiplex cinemas in China. Miracle Film held 51% to resolve local policy and related issues, while Warner Bros. held 49%, providing comprehensive technical support for the design and construction of the cinemas and assisting in the management and operation after the cinemas were completed.

Well, in 2004, China relaxed the control of private capital on cinema chains, and private capital could enter the cinema chain market. Wu Yuchen had been waiting for this day for several years!

For this, Wu Yuchen had long been prepared. He had already become a small shareholder in many high-quality cinemas he was targeting. Once it was relaxed, he directly took control of these selected targets through transactions, basically all in good locations in first and second-tier cities.

And now, the reason Miracle Film wanted to cooperate with Warner was that Wu Yuchen wanted to "freeload" off Warner Bros.!

In his past life, Warner Bros. thought China would relax the control on foreign capital for cinema chains, so they cooperated with Wanda, providing various aspects of help such as cinema chain design, technical support, and management and operation experience training, spending money and effort, just to enter the Chinese cinema chain market in one fell swoop.

As a result, after the cinema chains were built, the authorities had no intention of relaxing control on foreign capital at all and even specially issued a document to explain it, which left Warner dumbfounded. In the end, they had no choice but to transfer all their shares to Wanda and withdraw from the Chinese market.

So, the Wanda cinema chain, which later ranked first, actually freeloaded on the foundation laid by Warner Bros.' hard work. How could Director Wu miss such a good thing?

Little brother Wanda, you'd better stay on the side; it must be our big brother Miracle Film going first!