At noon, Luk Fook Restaurant.
Shao Yifu and Fang Yihua booked a box, laid out a banquet, and entertained Fang Yan with enthusiasm.
On the dining table, steamed scallops, salt and pepper abalone, salt and pepper shrimps, Longjing chrysanthemum smoked squab and other delicacies were placed.
Shao Yifu wiped his hands with the hot towel, "Yan Zai, the seafood and Cantonese food here are quite good, you can try it."
Fang Yan picked up a piece of salt and pepper abalone and held it in his mouth. , the crispy cake is actually soft, chewy and delicious.
Seeing that he was eating satisfactorily, Fang Yihua smiled even brighter and took the opportunity to ask:
"Yanzi, you just mentioned three plans, what are the remaining two?"
“The second one is of course adaptation, but I don’t have many novels at hand at the moment.”
Fang Yan said seemingly casually that Kubrick had chosen “Artificial Intelligence” .
Hearing this, Run Run Shaw and Fang Yihua’s expressions instantly became lively. They knew that Fang Yan had a wide network of contacts in Hollywood, but they didn’t expect it to be so wide. They didn’t even know two of the Four Elites of New Hollywood. Come on, it’s actually related to the “genius director” Kubrick again.
"Besides this, the "Once Upon a Time" series has been handed over to Director Xu's studio."
Fang Yan gave numerous examples: "As for the mystery crime novels, I'm afraid they are not in line with the appetite of the Hong Kong audience, and the remaining ones can be of great value. I'm afraid the only one I used was "Farewell My Concubine". This novel was co-written by me and my friend Miss Li Bihua from Xiangjiang. It is also published and sold in Xiangjiang..."
Fang Yihua suddenly interrupted and said that she bought a copy because of its reputation. Although the content is excellent, if it is adapted into a movie, I am afraid that it will not be a literary film. It's not that literary films are not good, but that Shaw Brothers Pictures has fallen to this point precisely because commercial films have greatly hindered it.
Right now, only commercial films are being made, and there may be a glimmer of hope for Shaw Brothers.
“Indeed.”
Run Run Shaw agreed very much, "Yan Zai, to tell you the truth, the film market in Hong Kong and even Southeast Asia is different from that in the mainland. The movies that make money are basically entertainment films for citizens. They like to watch martial arts, monsters, and comedies, but they want to When they appreciate art, they just play the piano to others."
Fang Yan is not annoyed. In fact, even if Shaw Brothers Pictures is willing to make "Farewell My Concubine", he is still reluctant to give it!
So he stretched out his third finger and said that the third plan was the original script.
This answer suits Run Run Shaw and Fang Yihua best.
Fang Yihua asked curiously: "So back to the original question, I wonder what script Yan Zai is going to write? Is he planning to continue the martial arts film like "Once Upon a Time"?" and then added a sentence , "Martial arts and martial arts are one of the signatures of Shaw Brothers Pictures."
"Director Xu and I had discussions about martial arts films in Hong Kong when we were filming "Once Upon a Time in Heaven.""
Fang Yan said: "We all felt that traditional martial arts films had reached a dead end. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible." Won't hit 'New School Martial Arts Movies' ', and martial arts films are also moving closer to fashion martial arts films such as "The Best Partner" and "Five Lucky Stars"."
Then I added a piece of beans, which couldn't be more cooked, and it was definitely not like that. It's like Chef Huang, who can make people vomit after eating them and then wash their stomachs.
While eating, he said: "If Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu are not happy, Shaw Brothers Pictures has lost its reputation to commercial films, and has actually lost to the declining martial arts films."
"Pa! ”
Run Run Shaw was also well aware of what was wrong with Shaw Brothers Pictures. He slapped the table and raised his wine cup:
"Yes, you are right. Shaw Brothers was also a martial arts actor during its rise and its demise."
Fang Yan drank with him, "So if Shaw Brothers wants to reverse the situation, they must find a replacement for Wu." "A new type of martial arts film."
Fang Yihua repeatedly said, "What kind of film does Yan Tsai think can replace it and become the mainstay of Shaw Brothers?"
"The difficulty is? Here, I have to think about this carefully and not jump to conclusions easily.”
Fang Yan smiled, "After all, the life and death of Shaw Brothers Pictures is involved, so we have to be cautious."
Shao Yifu and Fang Yihua looked at each other and smiled. Instead, they felt that he was mature and steady, and was the most suitable person to save Shaw Brothers Pictures. candidate.
"But Uncle Six and Aunt Six, I also have something to say first."
Fang Yan narrowed his eyes and changed the topic to mention his remuneration.
With his current status, even Ni Yu, the top screenwriter in the Hong Kong film industry, is not on the same level as him.
Run Run Shaw and Fang Yihua were also mentally prepared, but they were really shocked when they heard that Kubrick asked him to be the screenwriter of "Artificial Intelligence" and paid him millions of dollars in script fees. After all, These days, the exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar and the US dollar is fixed.
That is, 7.8 Hong Kong dollars is equal to 1 US dollar, which is equivalent to the dialect's retouching fees exceeding 10 million. This price is unique in the whole of Hong Kong. Even Cheng Long, who is popular in Southeast Asia, can only get a maximum salary of 8 million for a movie.
What’s more, this was the price before winning the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Now it’s already a different price, starting from at least US$3 million!
Don’t think it’s expensive, don’t discount it, our great writers are worth the price!
Just like this, how many companies in Hollywood want to kneel down but have no way to do so, and they are all rushing to cooperate!
Even for the sake of Fang Yihua and Run Run Shaw, the friendship price offered must not be less than US$2.5 million, otherwise it will be too much of a loss!
"This...this..."
Fang Yihua and Run Run Shaw exchanged eyes rapidly.
The atmosphere at the dinner table gradually became solemn and tense. In order to resolve the embarrassment, Fang Yan mentioned another cooperation model.
That is to follow the Hollywood model and use part of your screenwriting fees as investment in the movie. When the box office is divided, you have to get your share, and the scope of the division is not limited to Hong Kong, including the Asian market. and even the entire global market.
This was one of the reasons why he asked Luo Dian to register an independent production company for him.
In addition, the movie IP is also owned by his company, which means that he has the final say on plans for sequels or spin-off movies in the future!
Faced with such various conditions, Run Run Shaw and Fang Yihua neither refused nor agreed immediately:
"Yan Zai, this matter is of great importance, can you allow us to consider it for a while?"< br>
"Of course!"
Fang Yan smiled meaningfully, "While I'm at it, I have to think carefully about what kind of script I should use to help Shaw Brothers Pictures."
...... ...
After dinner, to the surprise of everyone at TVB, Run Run Shaw arranged his own car to take Fang Yan back to the hotel.
Fang Yihua followed his instructions, took care of everything, and quickly returned to the office, where she saw Run Run Shao standing in front of the window, looking down.
"Everything has been arranged and the car has driven away."
"It's really hard on you today."
"Let's not talk like this again between us."
Fang Yihua handed over the tea cup, "It's Yan Zai's condition, how have you considered it?"
Shao Yifu couldn't help but sighed: "Sure enough, a great talent like him can't be achieved so easily. cooperative.”
"But the remuneration he proposed is really too high, and the conditions are too harsh."
Fang Yihua frowned and said, "And what I'm most worried about is that if I really agree to him, the entire Shaw Brothers The old people in the film industry and the entire TVB screenwriting department will be dissatisfied and will follow the rebellion and ask for a salary increase. After all, 'it is not about scarcity but about inequality'."
"This is why I only gave Bruce Lee 2,500. The reason for the beautiful knife.”
Shao Yifu said with a straight face, “If I gave Bruce Lee more than 10,000 US dollars, then I would give a dozen or dozens of them a salary increase, but the result would be that they would be criticized. Pregnant with $15,000 knife It took Bruce Lee away to bring Jiahe back to life and turn over completely."
Looking at his car disappearing from his sight through the window, he sighed quietly:
"When I got to Cheng Long, it was different again. Obviously I offered 5 million Hong Kong dollars, which was 200,000 Hong Kong dollars more than Jiahe. Just because I was a step later than Wen Huai, Jiahe was the first to take over. Shaw Brothers' martial arts films have since There has never been a better martial arts movie than Jiahe."
Then he turned around and looked at Fang Yihua, " Now, Jiahe is going to compete with Shaw Brothers again. If Wen Huai really promotes the cooperation between Cheng Long and Fang Yan, how can he not break into Hollywood by then? Production is closed.”
“So you have to fight?”
Fang Yihua understood.
“I want to win back some face for myself, and I also want to win back a glimmer of hope for Shaw Brothers.”
Run Run Shaw said with a serious face: "This is a battle of emotions, but it is also a battle of business. You must understand what I mean, right?"
"When I made the arrangements just now, I specially sent two cars."
Fang Yihua nodded in agreement: "I asked the people in the other car to secretly stare at Yan Zai. As soon as Jiahe came into contact with him, he immediately Report to me immediately." Then he raised a mysterious smile, "As for Yan Zai's car, I also asked Zu Xian to accompany him to Kowloon Tong."
Shao Yifu was surprised, "I. It seems that Yanzi doesn't look like someone who would fall into traps, so he offered to let Zu Xian..."
"It was my repeated request."
Fang Yihua went to Xu Ke under the guise of Wang Zuxian to discuss the promotion of the "Working Emperor" movie, and asked Fang Yan to give her a ride.
Shao Run Run smiled knowingly and said: "There must be secret agents, and there must be outposts, but I don't know if the person you picked can do it." (End of Chapter)