"I'm Di Long, where is Mr. He now..."
"Brother Long, I'm sorry, He Sheng is busy with the promotion of "Police Story" and is not in the company now. I will call you back later."
Di Lu's face instantly stiffened, and a series of beeps sounded from the receiver, and the light in his eyes dimmed.
Picked up the wine bottle on the table and took a deep sip. The bitter wine entered my throat and my heart ached. I never thought that I, a big shot in the Hong Kong film industry, would also face a mid-life crisis in middle age. , not only hair loss and baldness, but also about to fall into the dilemma of middle-aged unemployment.
The crisis in my acting career will begin when my contract with Shaw Brothers expires in the first half of this year.
In the past, whenever the contract expired in more than a year, Fang Yihua would approach him to negotiate a contract extension. This has been the case for more than ten years and has not changed.
Whenever he encounters a trough in filming, several great Shaw Brothers directors such as Zhang Che, Li Hanxiang, and Chu Yuan will help him get back to the top. But this year is different. Di Lu has not received a sequel from Shaw Brothers. It was a contract, but a handwritten letter written by Fang Yihua.
There is only one line in it, "Thank you for your achievements for Shaw Brothers Pictures over the years."
Although cold and cruel, Di Lu did not have many complaints. After all, Shaw Brothers Since the 1980s, the business situation of the film industry has been deteriorating, with continuous losses. At the beginning of this year, it even reached the point where it reduced production shutdowns, contracted its film business, and prepared to sell its theater chains and equipment.
It was a good time to get together and break up, and I did not pester Shaw Brothers. Instead, I placed my hope on Jiahe.
For many years, Zou Wenhuai and He Guanchang have always wanted to recruit themselves to Golden Harvest. When they were in Shaw Brothers, they would make phone calls all day long to make appointments and often ask for help. However, they never expected that as soon as the news of their departure from Shaw Brothers came out. , and now when I called him again, his secretary kept saying that they were either not in the company or not in Xiangjiang. Even Cheng Long, who had always called him "Dad", changed his name to "Brother Long".
I used to call myself Xiao Tiantian, but now that I am entering a mid-life crisis, I will call myself Mrs. Niu instead?
Not only Golden Harvest, but also film companies such as New Art City and Debao rejected Di Lu one by one. There was no film to film for several months.
I was extremely anxious, but at this moment, Shaw Brothers Pictures, which had already half-stepped into the coffin, miraculously revived the dead wood with the magic of dialects with "Baby Wisdom Stars" , brought back to life.
In less than a month, the box office in Xiangjiang alone has reached 33.18 million. Not long ago, at the King of Gambling Charity Gala, Fang Yan personally promoted the "One Yuan Charity Donation" movie event , the gradually cooling enthusiasm for watching movies has picked up again.
And with the help of public opinion, the movie's box office is showing signs of exceeding the HK$35 million mark.
Maybe it will trigger a big re-watching effect when it is re-released during the Spring Festival.
So he changed his direction and re-placed his hopes for filming on his old employer. However, what chilled him was that Fang Yihua’s secretary kept denying her absence. Even if Fang Yihua answered the call in person, she only took care of it. In the past, all the friendships sent out were invitations to TV series.
The person playing the role is either the protagonist’s master, the protagonist’s father, or even the protagonist’s grandfather.
Suddenly, the dignity and confidence of the former top stars were completely gone.
When I was most desperate, I had already considered giving up acting, but I also wanted to save the last bit of my "big brother" face.
Di Long drank half of the bottle of wine, drunkenly scratched his head, and found another handful of hair that had fallen out due to pressure between his fingers.
At this moment, the defense in my heart suddenly collapsed. I covered my face with my hands and burst into tears, sobbing loudly.
“Woooooo~”
“Dingle bell! Dingle bell!”
Suddenly, the phone rang, which shocked Di Lu's heart.
But when I heard the caller announcing his home address and claiming to be "Shi Nansheng", I immediately stopped crying, as if grasping a life-saving straw.
"Ms. Shi, are you saying that Director Xu wants to make a movie with me?"
"Yes, Brother Long, we happen to have a movie here that will be shot next year. I wonder if you would like to Don’t want to give it a try?”
“Of course you do!”
The extinguished fire in Di Lu's heart burned again.
“As for the specific details of the play, I can’t explain it clearly on the phone.”
Shi Nansheng asked him to attend the premiere of "Police Story" on time, and Xu Ke and others would come to see him He met.
When he thought about Jiahe and Cheng Long’s attitude towards him, Di Lu felt as uncomfortable as eating half a fly, and said in confusion:
“Why did you choose to meet at this place? ”
"Because this is what Teacher Fang chose."
"Teacher Fang?"
Di Lu was stunned for a moment. When Shi Nansheng said "Dialect", he suddenly woke up and Huo Di stood up from the sofa.
There was a hint of surprise in his tone: "Did Fang Sheng write the script of this play!?"
"It can be said that it was co-written by Fang Sheng and Director Xu. Yes, Fang Sheng and his wife are the consultants and producers of this drama.”
Shi Nansheng smiled and said that it was Fang Yan who recommended him to Xu Ke.
“Really?!”
Di Lu’s face was red and emotional, and he couldn’t wait to ask for more information about this movie.
But Shi Nansheng only refused and said that he would wait until the premiere of "Police Story" to announce it, and then it was time to inform the next person.
…………
Meanwhile, Kowloon Tong.
Wu Mengda got out of the taxi, signed his name for the attentive driver, and strode upstairs to the door with a familiar house number.
"Ding dong ding dong", the doorbell rang over and over again, and finally the door opened.
I saw that Zhou Runfa's hair was messy, his beard was unkempt, he was slovenly and neglected, and he was muddy and smelled of alcohol.
“Ada, it’s you, why are you here?”
"No, boss, I just called you several times, but you didn't answer the phone. I was so scared that I thought you drank detergent again!"
Wu Mengda blurted out in desperation. .
At that time, Zhou Runfa became popular all over the country with Xu Wenqiang in "Shanghai Bund". He was proud of his career and his love life. His long-term girlfriend, TVB's leading actress Chen Yulian, wanted to marry him and be at peace with himself. The woman, Zhou Runfa's mother, was dissatisfied with her future daughter-in-law and did not agree to the marriage, which put him in such a painful situation that he committed suicide by drinking detergent in front of his lover.
Finally, I was sent to the hospital in time for gastric lavage, which saved my life. In the end, I had to let go.
However, since then, the fate of the two people has been reversed 180 degrees. Chen Yulian, who had been hidden by TVB, broke out. She successively played Xiao Longnu and Wang Yuyan in Jin Yong's martial arts dramas. Her popularity skyrocketed and her career rejuvenated. On the contrary, Zhou Runfa began to memorize characters gradually.
From TV series to making movies, although the works produced are all well-received, such as Hui Anhua's "The Story of Hu Yue", the box office has been hovering between hundreds of thousands to several million, and it has not been popular at all, and people have given it away. It was dubbed "Poison Hair" and became a box office poison that changed people's minds after hearing about it.
“Without detergent, I can drink myself to death even if I drink.”
Zhou Runfa staggered away, “But now I’m not drunk to death, you can rest assured.”
Wu Meng replied: "I came here this time to see you for something."
"You came to see me for something?"
Zhou Runfa smiled bitterly and said: "You are currently popular now. You got a lot of salary increase from the movie "Baby Smart Stars" and got a lot of film contracts, right? I also heard that "Baby Smart Stars 2" will start filming soon, right? You have something to do? If you come to me, you should ask Brother Da to take care of you if I have something to do?”
“Afa, if you have something to do, I will definitely help you. If it weren’t for you back then, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Me."
Wu Meng replied: "I've probably been beaten up by those debt collectors and thrown into the river."
"It's different now. Feng shui has turned, and you have been lucky, but look at me..."
Zhou Runfa leaned back on the sofa, crossed his feet on the ground, and tilted his head back slightly, looking extremely sad.
Wu Meng replied: "Don't say that, your chance to transfer has come now."
"Transfer? I am now a 'poison hair', no one wants to film with me anymore."
Zhou Runfa is heartbroken Frustrated: "Those who wanted me to be the protagonist at the beginning are too late to hide from me now? How can they still People are willing to ask me to act?" Wu Meng replied: "It's true, otherwise why would I make so many phone calls and travel all the way!"
Zhou Runfa still The teacher looked despairing, "Thank you, Ah Da, who directed the play?"
"I don't know who the director is."
Wu Mengda only said that he only knew that the producers of this film were Xu Ke and Fang Yan. It was precisely because Shi Nansheng was unable to contact the drunk Zhou Runfa that Fang Yan was He would ask Gong Zhen to call him and tell him that Zhou Runfa, an old acquaintance of his, must come and find him.
"Fang Sheng! You mean Fang Sheng!"
Zhou Runfa sat up in shock when he was dying and stood up suddenly.
“Yes, who else in the world can be worthy of the name ‘Fang Sheng’.”
Wu Mengda comforted him with a few words, "When you meet Fang Sheng and Director Xu, the day will come when your fortune will turn around."
Zhou Runfa grabbed his shoulders with both hands, shook them and asked: "Where can we meet? ! See you when!”
Wu Mengda said bluntly: “On the day of the premiere of “Police Story””
…………
I don’t know. A week passed without realizing it, and "Police Story" was released as scheduled.
No matter how reluctant Di Lu was, he still wore formal clothes and arrived at the premiere early. By chance, he bumped into Zhou Runfa.
"Afa!"
"Brother Long!"
The two people who met by chance looked at each other and smiled, and walked to the cinema together.
Seeing their figures, the faces of the members of the Cheng family class who were responsible for assisting Cheng Long in welcoming him changed greatly, as if they were seeing a disaster star.
"You are so shameless. If you can't make an appointment on the phone, you just come to your door."
"What should we do now?"
"What should we do? Today is the day. Of course, Mr. He and Brother Long cannot let these plague gods get in the way of the big day that they value."
"How about we block it for Brother Long? Let them go back and forth from where?”
“You are like a stupid pig. There are so many media on such a festive occasion. If you can’t drive them away and make the matter bigger, it will not only be a loss. Brother Long’s face is also the face of Mr. Zou, Mr. He, and Mr. Fang. What do the other guests who are supporting me think?”
"It doesn't matter whether you rush or not, so what do you think we should do?"
"Although they have passed away, they were once big bosses anyway. Let's do this. You will take them in later and specially Choose a seat slightly further back for them, as long as they don't bother Mr. He, Brother Long and the others."
"That's it!"
People from Cheng's class. He immediately did as he was told and went to greet him.
Di Long and Zhou Runfa were both bewildered by the enthusiasm on their faces at first, but when they realized that they were led to a very remote back seat, their moods immediately felt like they had been in a car, and their expressions changed. It was quite ugly, especially Zhou Runfa, who was so angry that he gritted his teeth and said:
"This is Aaron's way of hospitality. I'm just Fang Sheng, so you call me..."
"Forget it, Ah Fa, don't embarrass these little ones."
Di Lu had long been accustomed to the harsh conditions of the world and waved his hand.
Zhou Runfa snorted coldly, and sat down angrily, "Ignore your old age, you are looking down on others."
"It is the status quo of our industry to step on the low and praise the high. .”
Di Lu changed the topic, "By the way, you just said that Fang Sheng asked you to come here?"
"Yes!"
"What a coincidence, so am I!"
"Brother Long, you too?!"
Suddenly, the two frustrated and outdated stars seemed to have found an organization and started chatting excitedly.
"Brother Long, you said that Fang Sheng and Director Xu wanted to find someone to film. There are a lot of people who are willing to film. Why did they just look for the two of us?"
Zhou Runfa was puzzled.
"I don't know either. We'd better wait until Fang Sheng and Director Xu come and let them tell us."
Di Lu asked him to be patient and wait patiently.
After a while, reporters and celebrities came in one after another, and the scene became more and more lively.
At this moment, Xu Ke, Shi Nansheng, Gong Xue and others walked into the theater, and after careful searching, they were finally found.
“Why are you sitting here?”
“Director Xu, let’s do it, we can only sit here.”
Zhou Runfa stood up immediately, Yu Guang caught a glimpse of Liang Jiahui and Wu Yusen behind Shi Nansheng and Gong Jie.
“Yusen?!” Di Lu was surprised and happy to see his fellow disciple.
"Long time no see, Longzai, I heard that you haven't been a big brother for a long time."
Wu Yusen hugged him tightly, saying nothing.
Zhou Runfa politely exchanged a few words with them, and couldn't help but ask: "I don't know Fang Sheng..."
"He will bring someone over soon, let you go first Look at the script."
Gong Cie took out the script of "A Better Tomorrow" from his bag and handed it to everyone one by one.
Di Long, Zhou Runfa, Liang Jiahui and others were so flattered that just like calling Fang Yihua "Fang Tian" or "Miss Fang", they also respectfully called "Mrs. Fang" or "Miss Gong", and then looked through the pages one by one impatiently. Start the script.
Gradually I was attracted by the plot and immersed in it. For example, when Di Lu saw the line "I haven't been a big brother for many years", he couldn't help but burst into tears.
I was so fascinated that when the main creative crew of "Police Story" appeared, they didn't notice Zhang Guorong following Fang Yan into the scene.
Naturally, they would not notice that the two people were walking in their direction.
Zhang Guorong took a closer look and felt a little bit in his heart. Di Lu, who has long since passed away and has no movies to film, "Poison Fa", who has been labeled as a box office poison and is self-destructive, and "Push Street Wu", whose movies have failed continuously. , and the "worst best actor" who was so softly banned that he could only set up a street stall in Causeway Bay...
Good guy!
One crew actually brought together so many "crouching dragons and phoenix chicks"!
If it weren’t for the husband-and-wife team Fang Yan and Xu Ke standing in front of him, Zhang Guorong would have really doubted whether he had fallen into a trap again. The psychological shadow caused by "Spring Shang Chun Lou Hong" immediately came to mind.
“Don’t panic, read the script first.”
Fang Yan patted his shoulder and motioned him to sit down with his eyes.
Zhang Guorong showed an awkward smile, and suddenly noticed that Zhou Runfa, Liang Jiahui, Di Lu and others had tears in their eyes, and expressed similar emotions:
"Yes, this is my line (experience)!"
< br>And the lines that touched them the most were, without exception, It’s that classic sentence that can’t be more classic -
“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for three years, not to prove that I am more powerful than others!”
“Just to prove what I have lost. , I must take it back!" (End of Chapter)