Chapter 96

To be honest, the cost of living in Hong Kong is truly expensive; a bowl of wonton noodles costs forty or fifty dollars. The wrap party in the evening was set for three tables; it wasn't a luxurious hotel, but Wu Yuchen estimated that one table would cost two or three thousand Hong Kong dollars, which would definitely be settled for three or five hundred back in the mainland at this time. But it was just this one meal, so Wu Yuchen didn't skimp.

At Wu Yuchen's table, besides the main creators and leads, there were also staff from Sil-Metropole and Law Kar-ying.

At the beginning, it was naturally a celebration, but after the atmosphere warmed up, he didn't expect the topic to shift to Hong Kong's housing prices.

A staff member from Sil-Metropole began to complain bitterly, saying that in '95 he had originally planned to take out a loan to buy a house, but he didn't expect housing prices to keep rising, and by now, in a year and a half, they had risen by more than 50% on average, and he regretted it deeply now.

Ni Dahong couldn't help but ask: "How much are housing prices in Hong Kong now?"

Law Kar-ying gestured with his hand and said: "About seven thousand."

Ni Dahong sighed: "Goodness, that's twice as high as in our Beijing!"

Seeing this, Wu Yuchen said: "Teacher Ni, houses in Hong Kong are calculated by the square foot. The seven thousand Uncle Law mentioned is per foot, which is 65,000 Hong Kong dollars per square meter."

The so-called thousand-foot luxury mansion in Hong Kong is actually only 93 square meters.

With this explanation from Wu Yuchen, not only Ni Dahong, but Fu Dalong, Li Xiaoran, and the others at the table were all shocked.

"65,000 per square meter?! Is this house made of gold or silver? Does that mean I can't even afford a toilet after working my whole life?" Ni Dahong, who was middle-aged, hadn't even saved up 65,000 yet.

Law Kar-ying waved his hand: "It's all speculated! It's a good thing I have no children, no wife, and earning money to support myself is easy and carefree!"

A Hong Kong person next to him asked Wu Yuchen: "Wu Dao, how many cadres are there in the mainland in total?"

This question caught Wu Yuchen off guard: "I'm not too sure about that, why ask this?"

"Everyone is saying now that housing prices can't fall. Once Hong Kong returns, the million cadres in the mainland will all come to Hong Kong to buy houses. There is a row of townhouses being built near the No. 9 subway line, known as high-official housing, each unit costing twenty or thirty million, reserved specifically for high-level cadres!"

Seeing the other person speaking so seriously, the few people from the mainland at the table looked at each other; they didn't know that a term was popular in Hong Kong at this time called "Red Chip Takeover," which was the conviction that the mainland would definitely come to take over, so they speculated recklessly.

Wu Yuchen coughed:

"I don't know if there are a million, but I can be sure that even if there were a million, more than 90% of them currently couldn't afford a house in Hong Kong at all. This kind of talk is all real estate developers fooling you. I suggest you'd better wait and see, and refer to the trend of Tokyo's housing prices in the past few years."

He knew very well that once Hong Kong returned next year and the British Hong Kong government ran away, this high housing price would be punctured, falling by 80% in a few years and creating hundreds of thousands of people with negative equity. However, few people believed him when he said this now, so a reminder was enough.

The few Hong Kong people at the table couldn't help but look at each other after hearing this, not knowing how much they had taken in.

On the way back that night, Ni Dahong sighed:

"Everyone in the country says the capitalist flower-filled world is good, but I think their life really isn't as good as ours!

Having worked a whole life and dedicated everything to the capitalists, where is there any energy left to pursue dreams and happiness!"

"Teacher Ni is right, living a whole life for a house, what's the point of living?" Fu Dalong also echoed.

Now the mainland hadn't started the mode of skyrocketing housing prices, and few people worried about houses; everyone's current understanding was that as long as you found a good job locally, housing wouldn't be too big of a problem.

However, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but remind them after hearing this:

"I think that if you have spare money, you should still buy a house in Beijing in these few years, at least solve your own housing problem first. After our domestic economy develops, housing prices will definitely rise in the future. Only with material security and a sense of security can you better pursue ideals and happiness, right?"

"Wu Dao, you're right, Beijing is the national center after all. But I estimate that no matter what, housing prices will top out at ten thousand or eight thousand; how could they be as crazy as the capitalist world!" Ni Dahong laughed.

These words made Wu Yuchen's heart twitch unconsciously; we always think we are different, but in the end, we are all the same. But seeing the approving expressions of Fu Dalong, Li Xiaoran, and the others beside him, he didn't say anything more.

This filming of "Run Luo La Run" was slightly over budget, mainly because the cost of living in Hong Kong was high; eating and living for over a month cost money, and expenses in all aspects were higher than in the mainland, so Wu Yuchen had to withdraw another 100,000 US dollars.

And he didn't plan to go back to Beijing for post-production; he would complete it all at once in Hong Kong, and he planned to find local Hong Kong musicians to do the film's soundtrack.

As mentioned before, "Run Luo La Run" can be seen as a game, and this point is also very clearly reflected in its soundtrack, which makes extensive use of electronic music; not only can it reflect the tense atmosphere, but it also makes people feel like they are playing a game as soon as they hear it. And this kind of highly rhythmic electronic music and rock are currently better handled in Hong Kong than in the mainland.

Previously, during the filming, Wu Yuchen had already been washing and editing while filming, so the time in this regard was saved, and he finished other productions in a few days and started looking for people to do the soundtrack.

Wu Yuchen, with his arm around Li Xiaoran, whose hair had been dyed black again, walked into a cinema and bought tickets in English.

After buying the tickets, Li Xiaoran rolled her eyes and complained:

"People in Hong Kong are really snobbish; they are perfunctory to you if you speak Mandarin, but their attitude changes immediately if you speak English!"

"This is just like the people you met on the set, fawning over the high and trampling on the low. Economically developed regions generally have a sense of superiority and arrogance toward backward regions."

"I haven't seen that much discrimination against outsiders in our Beijing~"

"That's why we have to take Hong Kong back early; it will be even harder to handle if we wait any longer!" The two chatted and walked into the cinema hall.

Speaking of which, the Hong Kong film scene in '96 was actually the year of "Young and Dangerous"; the "Young and Dangerous" series directly made Ekin Cheng go from a nobody to a Hong Kong superstar. Among the top ten annual Hong Kong film box office rankings, 4 were Ekin Cheng's, and 3 were "Young and Dangerous"!

But this stuff is just exciting to watch for a moment; just buy a disc to pass the time.

Today, what Wu Yuchen brought Li Xiaoran to watch was "Comrades: Almost a Love Story," which had just been released this month, starring Leon Lai and Maggie Cheung; this was the classic film at the time of the handover.

Wu Yuchen watched the 4-minute "meeting in the crowd" scene at the end, and even after watching it again, he still had to marvel at it; it was filmed so well, whether it was the actors' performance or the director's camera work. There wasn't a single line of dialogue, only news broadcasts and Teresa Teng's singing, but it could leave an extremely deep impression on people.

One has to admit that director Peter Chan has some skills!

This film was actually shot by Peter Chan simultaneously; he only successfully negotiated with Golden Harvest to invest in "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" on the condition of filming the commercial film "He's a Woman, She's a Man 2." To ensure Golden Harvest didn't cut the investment for this art film, he would film a segment of "He's a Woman, She's a Man 2," then come back to film a segment of "Comrades: Almost a Love Story," then go back to film "He's a Woman, She's a Man 2." Filming two films in parallel was truly amazing.

Workers must practice various means of negotiating with capital!

Amidst the singing of "Comrades: Almost a Love Story," Li Xiaoran leaned her head on Wu Yuchen's shoulder: "It's so good, they finally ended up together."

Wu Yuchen rubbed her hair and asked: "Do you think Maggie Cheung acted well?"

"Of course she did, that scene where she wanted to laugh but cried after seeing Eric Tsang's corpse was too amazing!"

Li Xiaoran sighed; she herself had experienced how difficult it was to film scenes of emotional transition before, so seeing Maggie Cheung's brilliant performance, she couldn't help but marvel at it.

Wu Yuchen laughed and said to her: "If I told you this wasn't her acting, but that she broke character and laughed, would you believe me?"

"How is that possible?!"

Li Xiaoran directly expressed disbelief, but after seeing Wu Yuchen's calm expression, she couldn't help but ask: "Really or fake?"

"She laughed on the spot when she saw the tattoo on Eric Tsang's corpse—a green dragon on the left, a white tiger on the right, and a Mickey Mouse in the middle—and then realized it was wrong and immediately hurried to cry back. Originally, the director wasn't satisfied and made her film a dozen more takes, but in the end, the editing revealed that the take where she broke character was actually the best."

Wu Yuchen explained it to Li Xiaoran and then said to her:

"Relax your mindset; sometimes filming isn't always better the more tense you are. Natural reactions are also very important. Return to life off-screen, and what you perform will all come from your life experience."

He had been taking Li Xiaoran out to stroll and watch movies whenever he was free these past few days, just to pull her back to life; currently, the effect seemed quite good.

Li Xiaoran nodded with a sense of realization; she had truly gained a lot from participating in "Run Luo La Run" this time. When she went back, she would go to school to find her teacher to properly brush up on her fundamentals.

Walking out of the cinema entrance, Wu Yuchen looked back at Maggie Cheung on the poster for "Comrades: Almost a Love Story." She would be a judge at the Berlin Film Festival held a few months later; he wondered if she would support him once.

After the soundtrack was settled, the final version was soon made. After Wu Yuchen watched it once and found no problems, he hurriedly mailed the videotape to the Berlin Film Festival.

Actually, to tell the truth, he had already missed the November 30th deadline, but this date, to be honest, was just for outsiders to see. Those who do art aren't that strict, and the art circle is originally a circle of acquaintances. Many directors with some fame go to participate, and as long as they send it over before the final list is announced at the end of January, they can squeeze in.

Although Wu Yuchen wasn't very famous, he had just won the Berlin Golden Bear for Best Short Film last year, so he was currently considered a Berlin insider. He found an excuse, saying the courier had a problem and he had re-mailed a copy, and that smoothed it over.

Having been in Hong Kong for nearly two months, it was already December when Wu Yuchen returned to Beijing, and the temperature was much lower than in Hong Kong. After returning to Beijing, Wu Yuchen hadn't rested much before rushing to the Beijing Film Studio.

In the factory director's office, Han Sanping asked Wu Yuchen with a smile:

"Wu Dao, how was it? Was the filming in Hong Kong smooth this time?"

"Thanks to you, with you coordinating in the middle, Sil-Metropole was very cooperative and helped me a lot!

That's why I rushed back to report to you as soon as I finished filming!"

Han Sanping asked with concern: "Why don't you rest for a week first? After all, health is important!"

Wu Yuchen shook his head with a smile: "The filming is already late as it is, I don't want to drag it out until the New Year and not be able to return; then everyone in the crew would hate me!"

Seeing this, Han Sanping didn't try to persuade him anymore and nodded, saying:

"Wu Dao, I have already set up the crew for you. Cui Jian and Jiang Wu received the script a month ago, and as for the child actors, I also had people go to Harbin for casting. There are three or five candidates for each child actor role, but you still have to go and decide personally in the end."

"Factory Director Han, working with you can be summed up in one word: comfortable!"

"Hahaha, this is all my duty, after all, it's also a project of our Beijing Film Studio!" Han Sanping laughed loudly.

When Wu Yuchen first came to find Han Sanping, he had told him that they would cooperate once after filming "Run Luo La Run." Therefore, during his time in Hong Kong, Han Sanping had already helped him set up the crew and everything, ready and waiting for him to return to start filming.

At the very beginning, it was verbally agreed to be a cooperation between two parties, but after Wu Yuchen went back and thought about it, he felt that he should still bring the Youth Film Studio in, after all, they had helped him a lot before, and this film, which was highly likely to make money at the box office, couldn't lack the Youth Film Studio.

Therefore, after discussing with Han Sanping and Hou Keming, this time the Beijing Film Studio and Miracle Pictures each invested 40%, and the Youth Film Studio invested 20%, for a total of 1.2 million in funds.

The film Wu Yuchen wanted to shoot this time was purely aimed at the domestic box office, a tear-jerker, "My Brothers and Sisters."

This film was released in 2001, with a national box office of 26 million, while the total national box office that year was 870 million.

And next year is 1997, and the total national box office is about 1.1 billion. If calculated purely based on the box office share, then this film could definitely exceed 30 million.

Of course, the final box office performance of a film cannot be calculated this way; it has a lot to do with the social trend, market taste, and marketing at the time.

"My Brothers and Sisters" is a tear-jerker film similar to "A Borrowed Life," not pursuing any high artistry, just one word: make everyone cry!

Wu Yuchen estimated that in terms of social trends and the market, this film would only be more in line with public taste in '97 than in 2001; it should be said that it would be more tear-jerking.

And as for marketing, the reason Wu Yuchen thought of filming this movie was because of that Section Chief Yu, Yu Dong!

In his past life, because the Beijing Film Studio was merged into the new China Film Group, the entire department where he worked was abolished, and he resigned in anger. After establishing Bona on his own, he relied on this small production with a cost of 2 million to run up a box office of 26 million, not only making a big profit but also making a name for himself in the industry at once.

And now, this guy Yu Dong is not only available for direct use at the Beijing Film Studio, but this time he can also use the entire marketing channel of the Beijing Film Studio, which should have a much greater influence than the publicity of the small Bona that Yu Dong founded in his past life.

So, analyzing from all aspects, Wu Yuchen felt that as long as he could film "My Brothers and Sisters" well, the box office wouldn't be lower than 30 million, and he could even push for 40 million; in any case, it could definitely enter the top ten at the box office next year!