Zhao Gang didn't just come this time to tell Wang Xiaohu about his real experience in the theater, after talking for a long time, Zhao Gang said cautiously: "Lao Wang, Liao Gong wants to gradually you." [Reading Network]"

"Liao Gong? Which Liao Gong? Wang Xiaohu asked with a frown.

"It is Minister Liao of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who served as an adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the founding of New China, and at the same time is the deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the State Council, taking into account the director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office." Zhao Gang introduced Liao Gong's situation little by little.

"What kind of thing?" Wang Xiaohu said.

"I don't know the specifics, since the release of "Myth" in North America, Liao Gong has felt a lot of emotion, and I watched "Myth" in the Great Hall of the People with the chief a few days ago, and asked me to find you this morning."

Zhao Gang pondered for a moment and said with a smile: "I don't think it's a thing, it should be a few words of praise for you." ”

Zhao Gang said this not without reason, "Myth" currently has a high influence overseas, and the American media have repeatedly published in newspapers the deeds of overseas Chinese singing "March of the Volunteers" while watching "Myth", and said that this is another film that has aroused unprecedented cohesion among overseas Chinese after Bruce Lee's kung fu film gave the Chinese a strong sense of pride.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liao Gong has been unique on the diplomatic front, has a deep affection for overseas Chinese, and is even more worried about the return of Hong Kong and Macao.

Just as Wang Xiaohu was pondering, Zhao Gang whispered: "Liao Gong is the son of GMD founder Liao Zhongkai, who just underwent heart surgery from the United States in March this year and returned to work soon after recovery, which is really admirable." ”

"Oh." Wang Xiaohu nodded and didn't say much, and after a long time, he asked, "When?" ”

Zhao Gang looked at his watch and said, "In half an hour, Duke Liao will finish his routine physical examination, let's visit his home." ”

"Hmm." Wang Xiaohu snorted.

The visit to the home means that it is not a government matter, but a private visit, which shows that Liao Gong does not intend to escalate this matter to the perspective of state affairs.

In fact, Wang Xiaohu's identity is more complicated at present, he is a native of Hong Kong, and he was named a British knight, and he is also the owner of a multinational film company, and he is also a more influential director in the world. To put it bluntly, you have to use the Huairou policy

In Liao Gong's simple study, Wang Xiaohu sipped fragrant tea and quietly listened to the 72-year-old elder in front of him, who was still sticking to the diplomatic field, tell him about his feelings about "Mythology".

"Xiao Wang, don't care about the criticism of some old guys in China, since the 60s of the last century, I have often been in contact with compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao, and it was at that time that I learned about Hong Kong movies."

Liao Gong's face was still a little pale, and he spoke very slowly and softly, like a gentle breeze and drizzle.

"As for your affairs, I have also heard about it, a few years ago, you and Mr. Bruce Lee created "Jingwumen" and "Ip Man" greatly increased the prestige of our people, and later I recommended it to the chairman, and asked the president of the Hong Kong branch of the Xinhua News Agency Liang to come forward to borrow a copy, you don't know, the chairman especially likes to watch these two movies."

Wang Xiaohu smiled slightly and said, "I still think the chairman will hate me, after all, I played the role of Yue himself in "Jingwumen". ”

Wang Xiaohu knew that when the chairman watched the model play "The Legend of the White Snake", he had a special hatred for Fahai, and this hatred even implicated the actor who played Fahai, and I heard that the actor was criticized during the Cultural Revolution.

Liao Gong shook his head and said: "The chairman didn't see it at the time, but after watching "Ip Man", he liked it very much, saying that the national integrity of "Ip Man" is far more noble than "Jingwumen", and further sublimates personal grievances to the point of national hatred and family feud, the script is good, and the acting is good. It wasn't until the third time he watched it that he said, hey, isn't this the Ip Man who played himself in "Jingwumen"? ”

"Hahaha." After Liao Gong finished speaking, he laughed: "I hurriedly said: Chairman, it is not Ip Man who plays himself, it is Wang Xiaohu, and he also plays Ip Man." ”

Talking about these interesting things back then, Liao Gong was much more open-minded, and his pale face actually improved a little.

"Xiao Wang, there is another thing that called you here this time." Liao Gong took a sip of boiled water, and after a moment of silence, he said: "At the end of last year, I watched a lot of Hong Kong martial arts films, among which I watched several of your movies, but at that time you were in Hong Kong, and I never told you what I thought. ”

"Liao Gong, you say." Wang Xiaohu hurriedly pricked up his ears and listened.

"Although "Myth" is good and has achieved good results internationally, after all, it is a lot of martial arts action that is done by borrowing high technology, you see if we can make a film with our domestic film company that reflects traditional Chinese martial arts, I think our Shaolin Temple and Wudang Mountain can be filmed."

"Hmm" Wang Xiaohu was stunned when he heard this, and set off a lot of waves in his heart, and said secretly: Could it be that this Liao Gong is the driving force behind "Shaolin Temple" back then?

"You see, the "Shaolin Temple" filmed by the Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong has no real scene in China, which is really a pity, and our Henan Dengfeng Shaolin Temple has a long history and world civilization, why can't we make a film? I feel like I can make a movie like Shaolin Temple, or Tai Chi with the theme of Wudang Mountain, what do you think? ”

After Liao Gong finished speaking, he looked at Wang Xiaohu with a smile, waiting for his answer.

Wang Xiaohu is now completely sure that the source of the filming of "Shaolin Temple" was the Liao Gong in front of him.

"Since Liao Gong said so, Xiaohu naturally agreed." Wang Xiaohu said happily.

"Well, it's still a young man!" Liao Gong was in a good mood and said: "In this way, I don't have to contact Hong Kong's Xinlian Film Company." ”

Then Liao Gong said his early plans. At the beginning, he planned to ask three leftist companies in Hong Kong to help shoot the film, after all, Xinlian, Phoenix and Great Wall are domestic film companies funded behind the scenes.

In fact, it is not that Liao Gong did not take into account Wang Xiaohu, but at that time he thought that Wang Xiaohu was not capable of such a heavy task, although Wang Xiaohu was the first Hong Kong filmmaker to enter the mainland to cooperate in filming, but the filming of "Earthbreaking" was interrupted by the Tangshan earthquake, and Wang Xiaohu did not shoot many pictures in the 20-day incident that year, and he was too young, Liao Gong was a little worried that he would not be able to control such a big-theme movie.

During the filming of "Myth", Liao Chengcheng went to Yuben for a friendly visit, after all, his main work in recent years is to reach cultural exchanges with Yuben, and he has also indirectly contributed to many Sino-Buddhist exchange conferences, so I don't know about the filming of "Myth".

When he returned to China, the filming of "Myth" had already been completed, and he consulted the Ministry of Culture, and Huang Zhen did not follow him to the filming site, so after he came up with the idea of filming Shaolin Kung Fu and Wudang Taiji, he has been considering asking three leftist companies to help with the filming.

This idea was completely changed the night before yesterday, after Liao Gong accompanied the chief to watch "Myth".

Liao Gong saw the Chinese cultural elements that Wang Xiaohu asked to expound in "Mythology" clearly, and combined with the Chinese cultural fever that was blowing all over the world, he came up with the idea of talking to Wang Xiaohu on the spot.

At this time, Liao Gong no longer doubted the young Wang Xiaohu's ability to control traditional Chinese culture, and it turned out that this young man was not only able to package Chinese culture as a commodity acceptable to Americans, but also far surpassed any director of the three leftist film companies in terms of film attainment.

Liao Gong was naturally very happy when he saw Wang Xiaohu happily agree, he did not hide the joy in his heart, and said: "If you shoot a movie with this kind of theme, do you have any specific requirements?" ”

Wang Xiaohu thought for a while and said, "There are probably a few points." This time, I asked for an equal share of the domestic box office profits. Liao Gong, I am a businessman in public and private, the current popularity of "Myth" in China can be imagined, but I heard that "The Guns of the Secret Bureau" earned more than 20 million a year, I believe that "Myth" will only be higher than this data, if I don't share the profits, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to shoot. ”

"This" Liao Gong didn't come back to his senses for a while, and then he smiled and nodded Wang Xiaohu and said, "Are you still thinking about this money?" I know that "Myth" made 200 million in the United States! Why don't you say that you will make a profit with us. ”

"I also invested 20 million yuan in "Mythology", and my company has not done other business for two consecutive years, if the country still wants to reach out for profits, the thousands of brothers who eat with me will starve to death." Wang Xiaohu said confidently: "The company has a big stall, and there are too many places to spend money to ensure the status of our Chinese films in Hollywood!" ”

Wang Xiaohu's justification and cliché made Liao Gong speechless all of a sudden, why? Because he knows very well that movies are an absolutely money-burning industry, investing tens of millions of dollars in a movie bullet train in Hollywood, and when filming "Myth", only props, costumes and technical consultants were produced in China, and this money was only a million yuan, compared to the tens of millions invested by Wang Xiaohu, it was a drop in the bucket, and it couldn't solve the problem at all.

And more importantly, Wang Xiaohu smashed 200 million yuan in "Earth-shattering" back then, and the problem of eating after the earthquake for millions of Tangshan people was solved by the young man in front of him.

This time, Liao Gong still wanted to continue the way of cooperation last time, and if he played any tricks in this regard, people would obviously not agree.

Of course, you can find three leftist companies to cooperate in filming in China, but the leftist's family background is not solid, and besides, the influence of leftist directors may not be as strong as half of Wang Xiaohu.

In terms of reasonableness, public and private, Wang Xiaohu's requirements are not high at all. There is another problem, Wang Xiaohu also helps train Chinese film talents, you ask the three leftist companies to help, they have a limited level, and the big-name habits that have been cultivated in Hong Kong for many years may not be willing to help with the training!

"Slippery head!" Liao Gong scolded with a smile and said, "Okay, I will try my best to handle this matter for you, do you have any other requirements?" ”

"Yes!" Wang Xiaohu said with a smile.

"You're too embarrassed to speak." Liao Gong smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Wang Xiaohu said: "We are talking about business, and we are not going to be ordered to do any political task in a crisis. ”

"Say it."

Wang Xiaohu thought about it and said, "I need to select a group of martial arts athletes who have many years of martial arts foundation. ”

"Okay, I'll say hello to the Ministry of Culture when I go back, and I'll implement it for you as soon as possible." Liao Gong also happily agreed: "But you have to pay the wages of these athletes." ”

"A dollar a day?" Wang Xiaohu asked with a wink.

"At least follow the standards of "Myth", I remember that the employees of domestic film companies were all paid according to the work level of Hong Kong." Liao Gong said.

"Liao Gong, then I will lose even more! You must know that in Hong Kong, a qualified martial arts actor earns more than 100 per day! And the ones you sent are all martial arts athletes, and they don't know how to act at all, so I have to train again, so what a lot of time. ”

Wang Xiaohu began to cry poor again, shook his head and said depressedly: "No, let's score points in China." ”

"You don't lack that money, and besides, the domestic box office is half of yours, so it's a bit too much to ask for that." Liao Gong said with a displeased face.

"Okay, okay." Wang Xiaohu sighed and said: "Liao Gong, if we keep doing this in China, our Hong Kong film companies will not dare to come over to film." And you may not know it, once our actors come to China to film, Taiwan will immediately ban us, you must know that Taiwan is an important foundation for Hong Kong films, I have been banned for four years"

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, China has postponed the issue of reunifying Taiwan by force, and has instead hoped that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party can carry out peace talks.

Wang Xiaohu's remarks seem to be purely shocking, but in fact, they express Taiwan's resistance to the mainland.

Patting his forehead with a headache, Liao Gong sighed and said: "Xiao Wang, this matter can't be done in a day or two, I can understand your current mood, I hope you can hold on, our domestic political axe will further strengthen communication with Taiwan, as long as the two sides reach an agreement, I believe Taiwan will not ban you Hong Kong filmmakers again." ”

"Liao Gong, on behalf of the filmmakers in Hong Kong, thank you."

Although Wang Xiaohu knew that this matter could not be completed within ten years, and Taiwan had not been recovered since he was reborn, he still sincerely said thank you in the face of this righteous Liao Gong.

There was silence in the study for a while, and Liao Gong first broke the silence: "Xiao Wang, which one are you going to shoot first?" ”

"Huh?" Wang Xiaohu didn't think about it and said, "Shaolin Temple." ”

Then he said his thoughts: "If you combine historical factors and cultural heritage, Shaolin Temple has more advantages than Wudang Mountain, during the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Indian monk Bodhidharma arrived at Shaolin Temple to teach Zen teachings, leaving a lot of folklore, and Shaolin Temple has experienced a number of twists and turns in history, there were thirteen stick monks to save the story of the Tang King, I sent people to Shaolin Temple last time to roughly take a group of exterior scenes, although Shaolin Temple is now full of wilderness, deserted, the temple is also in disrepair, However, we have rebuilt a brand new Shaolin Temple in Concord Film and Television City. ”

"A brand new Shaolin Temple?" Liao Gong was a little puzzled when he heard this.

Wang Xiaohu explained with a smile: "Yes, Liao Gong may not know, our Concord Film and Television City is currently the largest film and television base in Asia, and I have made several similar locations based on China's great rivers and mountains, symbolizing the surname, well, although the scale is a little smaller, but it is better than exquisite, and it can basically retain the original appearance of the landscape." ”

"Didn't you shoot in Henan?" Liao Gong asked with concern.

"Of course, you have to go to Shaolin Temple to shoot." Wang Xiaohu said: "At least Songshan, waterfalls, Tallinn, murals and other places I still have to shoot on the spot. ”

"Oh, then I'm relieved." Liao Gong breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'm worried that the landscape you made is not real. ”

"Hehe, it's quite real, I'll get a few photos and show it to you." Wang Xiaohu said.

"It seems that you have already had an idea about Shaolin Temple?" Liao Gong relieved himself.

Wang Xiaohu touched his nose embarrassedly and said: "Actually, I didn't have an idea in advance, I just did it by the way, and I plan to move several other well-known classics in China to Hong Kong when I go back." ”

"Not a bad idea, this can be used for filming, and if there is no movie, it can be used as a tourist attraction, and you can make a lot of money just by collecting tickets."

Liao Gong jokingly said that Wang Xiaohu did not deny that he had come up with this idea at the beginning, only hehe smiled.

After the joke, Liao Gong said: "Tell me how you plan to shoot Shaolin Temple, you should have a general direction, right?" ”

"Well, I preliminarily determined to take the clues of the thirteen stick monks to save the Tang King as a sentence, and then take the historical background of the competition for hegemony in the Central Plains during the Sui and Tang dynasties, and describe the story of the young man who was born in the martial arts to avenge the revenge of Wang Renze, the rebel general at the end of the Sui Dynasty, who killed his father, died in the Shaolin Temple of Songshan, cut his hair for a novice, worshiped the monk of Tanzong as a teacher, practiced kung fu hard, and finally killed the enemy with his own hands."

"Yes, a good idea, it's just a bit monotonous, and the idea is insufficient, it feels like it's just a personal grudge, how did you put the righteous act of saving the Tang King in the movie?"

Liao Gong nodded approvingly, and secretly said in his heart that he was worthy of being a great director in Hong Kong, and there were so many ideas extended just about Shaolin Temple, and he was busy asking how to involve the plot of saving the Tang King.

Wang Xiaohu frowned and thought for a while before saying: "This is exactly what I am still thinking about, after all, I found in my research on the historical materials of Shaolin Temple that the thirteen stick monks were not to save the Tang King, but to help the Tang King." ”

(To be continued)