This negotiation broke up unhappily, and when he came out, Ex complained that Lin Mingyang shouldn't have said so badly, so that Gusta didn't even get down the steps, but Lin Mingyang shook his head, he knew that Gusta would definitely come to him again.

Sure enough, someone came to the door three days later, although Lin Mingyang had already prepared in his heart, but this time the lobbyists found by Gusta were so big that Lin Mingyang was really surprised.

As soon as he saw Lin Mingyang, he was stunned, Jackie Chan laughed, he turned his head and said jokingly to Jet Li beside him: "Mr. Li, look, I'll just say that you are a bigger name than me, when Ah Ming and I met for the first time, I didn't have such an excited expression." ”

Jet Li smiled slightly, "Brother Cheng said that he was joking, Mr. Felix is so famous in Hollywood, and he is dating celebrities who are bigger than us, how can he be excited because he sees me?" ”

"You're welcome, two big brothers, you two are big stars I admire, and I was inevitably a little surprised when you suddenly appeared together today, but it made you two laugh!" The sinicization of a mouthful of words and a round tone came out from the mouth of Lin Mingyang, a "foreigner", and there was no trace of abruptness, Jackie Chan didn't say it, but Jet Li heard Lin Mingyang speak Chinese for the first time, so he naturally felt very cordial.

After a simple greeting, Jackie Chan beckoned to the two and said with a smile: "Let's sit down and talk!" ”

After taking a seat, Jackie Chan did not get straight to the point, but chatted with Lin Mingyang: "Ah Ming, I haven't had time to congratulate you, I haven't seen you for two years, you won two Oscars in one go." It's really more human than human, it's infuriating, when I was your age, I was still working as a stuntman in Hong Kong! ”

Hearing Jackie Chan compare him with himself, Lin Mingyang was secretly ashamed in his heart, and he smiled modestly: "It's just a fluke!" ”

Lin Mingyang's performance was seen by Jet Li on the side, he has cooperated with many Hollywood movie stars, in terms of fame, those people are definitely not as good as Lin Mingyang in Hollywood, but those people's shelves are much bigger than Lin Mingyang, after comparing the two, the more he has a good impression of Lin Mingyang in his heart.

Among the three, Lin Mingyang and Jackie Chan have known each other before, and they have a lot less restraint when chatting about various topics, while Jet Li and Lin Mingyang have just met after all, and he only occasionally interjected a sentence or two in the chat, and the whole person seemed relatively silent and reserved.

The topics of interest to both parties were quickly finished, and Jet Li saw that the time was ripe, so he glanced at Jackie Chan.

Jackie Chan nodded knowingly, and was ready to have a showdown with Lin Mingyang: "Ah Ming, in fact, we came this time..."

"For 'The King of Kung Fu'?" Lin Mingyang said in one sentence, Jackie Chan was fine, but Jet Li was surprised.

Looking at the confused expressions of the two, Lin Mingyang explained with a smile: "In addition to that film, what else can make the two of you come together?" Lionsgate approached me before, and what made me curious was that their partner was called J&J, and I didn't know about this company..."

"This company is a joint venture between me and Mr. Li." Since Lin Mingyang asked, Jackie Chan immediately confirmed the matter.

Lin Mingyang nodded, "So that's the case!" ”

Jet Li attaches great importance to this cooperation, and as soon as Lin Mingyang's voice fell, he couldn't wait to ask: "So Mr. Felix has already read the script of that film?" ”

"I haven't read the script, but I know the general plot!" Lin Mingyang looked at Jackie Chan and Jet Li calmly, "To be honest, I'm not optimistic about that script!" ”

Draw conclusions without even reading the script, if these words come out of other people's mouths, Jackie Chan and Jet Li will definitely scoff, and even feel that the person who said this is a little arrogant, but these words came out of Lin Mingyang's mouth, but Jackie Chan and Jet Li fell into deep thought.

Who is Lin Mingyang? The winner of the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, the script written by him has created a cumulative box office of more than $5 billion, and his script and himself are the guarantee of the box office of Hollywood blockbusters, otherwise Lionsgate, the American partner of "The King of Kung Fu", would not have gone to such great lengths to invite him to join the film.

So far, Lin Mingyang has not missed once, his evaluation is equivalent to directly announcing the failure of this film, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, who were still full of confidence, suddenly felt that the prospects of this film have become gloomy.

Jackie Chan was secretly thinking about the pros and cons of this cooperation, but Jet Li was a little unwilling, he asked: "Mr. Felix, what is the bad writing of the script, can you be more specific?" ”

"Mr. Li's name is felix, don't be so polite!" Lin Mingyang shrugged, "It can be seen that the people behind the scenes who planned this film do have a familiar understanding and in-depth study of the history of kung fu films in Hong Kong." Out of the masterminds' sincerity towards Hong Kong kung fu movies, and the fact that you two Chinese kung fu superstars are finally able to make a splash in the same film, I can give it a passing grade! ”

But the rather messy lines, lacking novelty and imagination, make this story a very happy mix of oriental mythology and Hong Kong kung fu movie models, and there is nothing more to praise. The story structure of The King of Kung Fu itself is completely Western, completing the growth of a boy through an adventure. In the process, there are weirdos, mentors, beautiful women, and face-painted villains. It can be said that this is a very flat imagination, a template depicted against video games and children's stories. The process of everyone's treasure hunt and the existence of Wuzhi Mountain are also very reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, and the magical color of the script story is greater than the mythological consciousness, and it always flaunts its alien imprint. ”

This nuanced analysis made Jet Li nod again and again, but Lin Mingyang didn't leave him much time to think, he continued:

"Actually, this film is very much like most of the semi-finished products that came out of the assembly line in Hong Kong in the 80s. There are still many shining points that can be pondered when walking out of the cinema, but unfortunately it is a mediocre work both in terms of the whole rhythm and the overall story. Foreign audiences haven't watched kung fu movies much, and it's certain that they have a sense of novelty, but the Chinese-speaking audience is so picky, there must not be too much surprise. If the two of you could have joined forces 15 years ago, if Hong Kong's director Tsui Hark had the heart to make this film, would everything be on the next level in this film? ”

These words made Jackie Chan and Jet Li stunned at the same time, thinking about it carefully, this is indeed a pity.

Seeing the gloomy looks of the two, Lin Mingyang said with some emotion: "For me, I actually watched "The King of Kung Fu" with anticipation and emotion, and regret and regret on the other. All fans of kung fu movies and martial arts movies have been waiting for this scene for many years, and the higher everyone's expectations, the greater the disappointment! ”

Jackie Chan interjected at this time: "Do you think that if this film is filmed according to this script, it is likely to be smashed?" ”

Lin Mingyang shook his head, "On the contrary, this film is shot according to the current script, it is impossible to become a big hit, just with the reputation of the two of them, this film can recover its cost and even make a small profit in North America, but it is difficult to say in China." What do the audience over there think when they pay to walk into the cinema and see a nondescript movie? ”

Jet Li was silent, but Jackie Chan suddenly asked: "If we asked you to be the screenwriter of this film, how would you write it?" ”

Jet Li's eyes lit up, 15 years ago, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, who were just general friends, were planning to cooperate, but the local film couldn't pay the salaries of the two big stars, so it was postponed to this moment. American producers are very wary of Chinese costume films, although Jackie Chan and Jet Li have a certain right to speak, but the director and script of this cooperation are all Lionsgate's final say.

Jackie Chan's proposal made Jet Li think of another possibility, if Lin Mingyang joined the film and then proposed to rewrite the script, how would Lionsgate react? Other actor Jet Li doesn't know, Lin Mingyang is an actor with a "criminal record", it is not once or twice that he joined the film and then proposed to revise the script, compared with the little-known screenwriter, Lionsgate is probably more willing to accommodate this Hollywood star.

"What should this film look like in your minds?"

Lin Mingyang's tone was a little vague, but Jackie Chan still saw hope in it, and he said quickly: "Naturally, it's a kung fu movie, the two of us get together, it's impossible to make a science fiction movie, right?" ”

"The two of them have filmed a lot of scenes in Hollywood, but which one can be regarded as a real kung fu movie?"

Lin Mingyang's heart-wrenching question made Jackie Chan and Jet Li's eyes appear dazed at the same time, whether it is Jackie Chan's "Rush Hour" series, or Jet Li's series of films in Hollywood, although they all show their vigorous and courageous skills, but in a real sense, these are not kung fu movies. Hollywood movies do not have the category of kung fu films, and most of the films starring Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie are labeled as action movies.

"Kung Fu is the name of Westerners, and I know that Chinese prefer to talk about martial arts, but Westerners don't care about that. In their eyes, if there are still movies in China, then 'Kung Fu' must be the only theme. In the 10 years from 1994 to 2004, among the top 10 Asian films at the box office in the United States, the first was "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in 2000, approaching $128.1 million, and the second was "Hero" starring Jet Li in 2004, which grossed $50 million. The third is Jackie Chan's "Red Fan Zone" in 1996, $32.4 million, all three of which are kung fu movies. You've acted in so many kung fu movies, in fact, I'm curious to know, what exactly is kung fu? ”

Lin Mingyang's question seems a little inexplicable, but it really makes Jackie Chan and Jet Li very difficult, because this term covers a very wide range of content, and they themselves can't find a particularly appropriate and accurate explanation. When facing reporters, they can always talk about such issues, but what Lin Mingyang wants is obviously not the kind of excuse to deal with the media.

"Actually, I've been thinking about this myself, and I'm worried that Westerners will be like Hong Kong and mainland audiences, tired of those costume martial arts films, bamboo forests, Jiuzhaigou, and indiscriminate bridges and actions. Although American blockbusters have been repeating the same routine - ordinary people in special function robes become heroes; The end of the earth always comes easily, all because of the Americans' insecurity and fragile tolerance for the heavens to favor them too much, but the advanced technology always makes the audience in other countries forgive the pale stupidity of the story. ”

"I think the ambition of Chinese kung fu movies to go international should not only be limited to making foreigners applaud for novelty, but more importantly, let them understand the Chinese culture behind kung fu. If you can't do that, then kung fu will always be a foil in Hollywood. Why are Hong Kong kung fu movies in decline? I think the main reason is that after they interpreted the formal things of kung fu movies to the extreme, they did not continue to dig deep into the cultural connotations behind them, which eventually led to the decline of the entire genre film. ”

"Jet Li's big brother "Huo Yuanjia" I also watched when it was released in the United States last year, I know that this film is not inferior to Peter Jackson's "King Kong" at the box office in China, from the perspective of martial arts action, this film actually does not have a big breakthrough, but why it can be favored by the audience, I think the essence is because the film reflects a patriotic spirit of the Chinese, which is the connotation of the whole film."

"It's really not easy to make a kung fu film with connotation, and Westerners have always lacked enough understanding of the connotation of kung fu, if I were to be the screenwriter of this film, I would arrange the whole plot like this." The whole discussion finally became Lin Mingyang's one-sided narrative, and Jackie Chan and Jet Li also forgot their original intentions for the time being, and listened to them with relish.

"The whole story is about a dream!" Lin Mingyang has actually conceived the whole plot a long time ago: "The protagonist Jason is a college student, this night he had a strange dream, he dreamed that he went to a video store in Chinatown to buy a disc of a kung fu movie, but unfortunately encountered a robbery, the vicious robber killed the shopkeeper, Jason was so frightened that he hid in a dim warehouse, in the dark he accidentally touched a stick, and then was taken to China in the mythical world. ”

Hearing this, Jet Li couldn't help but show a puzzled expression on his face, the beginning of Lin Mingyang's story and the original drama just changed the form, and there was no change in essence. He was just about to ask, but Jackie Chan stopped him with his eyes.

Lin Mingyang continued: "In China in the mythical world, Jason was hunted down and killed inexplicably, and then he was scared awake! The next day, he told the owner of the video shop in Chinatown about the strange dream, who laughed at him for being whimsical. While visiting the warehouse of the video store, Jason found a stick that was the same as the one he had in his dream, and he curiously took the stick in his hand, but the miraculous thing didn't happen, and the shopkeeper saw that he liked it, so he gave him the stick. ”

On the way, Jason meets the same group of thugs who often bully him, and he is humiliated. Jason vows that he will learn the kung fu in the movie, and then teach these bullies a hard lesson. ”

After returning home, Jason followed Bruce Lee's martial arts moves in the movie, and finally lay on the bed and fell asleep. He was back in that dream. Jason narrowly escapes the hunt, and then meets a character from Chinese mythology and legend: Lu Yan, who claims to be one of the Eight Immortals and is proficient in drunken boxing, and with his help, he escapes the pursuit of evil forces once again. ”

Just when Jason begged Lu Yan to teach him kung fu, this dream suddenly woke up. The dream that could go on and on was already strange to Jason, and then something even stranger happened. A new neighbor moved across the street from Jason's house, a Chinese man who lived alone and had just immigrated from China. Jason was surprised to find that his neighbor looked exactly like Lu Yan in his dream, and even his name was not the same. ”

Jason accidentally saw the other party show his kung fu, combined with his strange dream, he decided that the other party was a real kung fu master, and then began to pester the other party, must let him teach himself kung fu. A lot of funny and funny things happened during this period, and after Jason's neighbor appeared, he didn't have that dream for several days, but no matter how much Jason pleaded, the other party just wouldn't agree. ”

"That night, Jason continued to enter the dream, and Lu Yan in the dream promised to give him kung fu, and at this time, the silent and mysterious monk appeared, and he told Jason a shocking prophecy: a messenger will return the legendary weapon to its owner, so as to save the Monkey King who has been trapped in the stone for five hundred years, and Jason is the messenger of the prophecy."

When he woke up the next morning, Jason was bewildered, and when he went to school, he found a new teacher in the school, who looked exactly like the monk in his dream. Unlike Lu Yan in reality, Jason found that the new teacher took the initiative to care about himself. And there was also good news from Lu Yan's side, under Jason's hard work, Lu Yan finally agreed to give him Chinese kung fu. ”

"The characters in the dream appear one by one in Jason's real life, in the dream he meets the vengeful chivalrous girl Jin Yanzi, and in reality, there is a Chinese girl who looks exactly like Jin Yanzi in the school... At first, Jason thinks that dreams are guiding his real life, but he gradually discovers that dreams and reality are not the same. ”

In his dream, he could easily learn the kung fu given to him by Lu Yan and beat the killers of the evil forces to the ground, but in reality, he learned kung fu for a long time, but he didn't even master the basic movements, and he couldn't beat the gangsters who bullied him, and he was made fun of by them. In the dream, his relationship with Jin Yanzi is very close, but in reality, the Chinese girl ignores him... He was confused by all of this and began to indulge in dreams as a way to escape reality. ”

"The real monk is the new teacher at the school who found out about Jason's problem, and then took the initiative to talk to him, he found that Jason may be suffering from a kind of paranoia, and then took the initiative to do psychological counseling for Jason."

With his help, Jason slowly understood the difference between reality and dreams, and Lu Yan also made Jason understand that the connotation of kung fu is not bullying, but a spirit that inspires inner courage and faces life with a positive attitude. Under the joint teaching of the two, Jason finally has the courage to face real life. He defeated the evil power in the dream and helped Monkey King regain his freedom, and in reality he bravely confessed to his beloved girl, and used the kung fu he learned to save the gangsters who had bullied him, the other party was moved, and then took the initiative to apologize to Jason, through this dream, he finally understood how he should face all kinds of difficulties in life. ”

(To be continued)