Chapter 141: Not So Peaceful on Victoria Peak
Victoria Peak is located in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong Island, and is the highest peak on Hong Kong Island.
Victoria Peak is a place where every inch of land is worth a fortune on Hong Kong Island.
Those who live here are either rich or noble, like the King of Gamblers, Li Chaoren, and Hong Kong Island's number one figure, among others.
Leon Lai, Stephen Chow, and other entertainment industry figures also live here, but compared to the aforementioned individuals, their mansions can only be considered humble abodes.
Yet, even so, people in the entertainment industry still fight tooth and nail to get in here.
Actually, this phenomenon is easy to explain.
From a psychological perspective, who doesn't wish to be high above, looking down on all living beings?
Victoria Peak happens to satisfy this point.
A detached villa on Victoria Peak, complete with a swimming pool, garden, parking, and various other facilities.
On the spacious lawn, the sun shone brightly.
Under a sun umbrella, an elderly couple sat on opposite sides of a round table.
This couple was the helmsman of TVB, Run Run Shaw and his wife Mona Fong.
Standing in front of them was Tsang Lei-zhen, an equally elderly TVB executive.
"You mean that young man from the mainland is also interested in entering the market?"
Although Tsang Lei-zhen was respectfully called Sister Zhen by TVB artists, she dared not be presumptuous in front of this couple, who together were almost two hundred years old.
She had been promoted by Mona Fong and could be said to be Mona Fong's confidante.
Although the young director from the mainland was more than old enough to be her son, and had a grudge with her cousin Zeng Zhiwei, she dared not hide such a major matter.
Tsang Lei-zhen respectfully placed the prepared documents on the round table.
"Sixth Uncle, there's no mistake. If the other party didn't mean it, he wouldn't have come to inquire about the price."
She had already met with Wu Bin.
Although Wu Bin did not directly state that he wanted to negotiate a purchase, the meaning conveyed between the lines was that he wanted to know their TVB's bottom price.
"Indeed, the waves behind push the waves ahead. Mainland talents are increasingly not to be underestimated," Run Run Shaw sighed.
He was now ninety-nine years old; what storms hadn't he seen?
Mona Fong, sitting beside him, picked up the documents and looked at them: "A-Zhen, does this young man have this much power?"
"Sister Fong, this Director Li from the mainland has risen with dazzling speed in recent years."
"Conservatively estimated, his assets are no less than two billion."
Although Mona Fong was over seventy, her mind was still clear. She nodded: "So, there are others behind him?"
Two billion and ten billion are still a huge difference!
"That's right, he has close ties with China Film Group Corporation, Shanghai Film Group, Emperor Entertainment, and China Star."
"You mean there are also traces of A-qiang and A-cheng behind this?"
"I haven't investigated that yet."
"I understand. You may leave."
Tsang Lei-zhen bowed slightly and left the villa.
After returning from Hong Kong Island, Wu Bin reported the progress to Li Chen.
Li Chen was not surprised after hearing Wu Bin's words.
This was just the beginning; he hadn't intended to achieve it in one go.
After all, TVB was not yet on a downward trend.
TVB's market value was said to be 20 billion.
That couple, the largest single shareholders of TVB, held 32% of the shares but were asking for 10 billion.
However, it's always a case of asking for the sky and settling for less.
Neither he nor his competitors would be willing to be the fall guy.
Wu Bin's brows furrowed slightly, and he couldn't help but remind: "Director Li, according to Miss Zhen, CCTV, in conjunction with Li Chaoren, is also interested in taking over TVB."
"And Li Chaoren's son is not content to be idle either. The recent sale of PCCW shares might just be to raise funds."
During his trip to Hong Kong Island, Wu Bin had also found out about the parties interested in taking over TVB.
Any one of these parties had far more influence than their own.
Li Chaoren and his son were surprisingly not in the same camp, which puzzled him.
It was also possible that the father and son wanted a double insurance.
Li Chen temporarily put these concerns aside. Whether this acquisition succeeded or failed depended entirely on TVB.
If they insisted on 10 billion and didn't budge, then this acquisition would certainly come to nothing.
The helmsman wanted to sell at a good price while TVB was still doing well.
But no one who could afford the price was a fool, let alone himself, the transmigrator.
Wu Bin had a natural sense of awe towards CCTV.
His words were actually a roundabout way of reminding his boss not to underestimate CCTV's power.
How could Li Chen not understand?
"Director Wu, let's put this matter aside for now. We are not considering CCTV, and we will not join forces with them."
"You must remember, we are a private enterprise, a 'grassroots king.' Do you think if we cooperated with CCTV, would CCTV allow us to call the shots?"
Wu Bin swallowed: "Director Li, do you mean we're going to compete with CCTV?"
Li Chen chuckled: "Look how scared you are. So what if we compete? These are all commercial activities; each goes its own way."
"Moreover, although CCTV is powerful, it's not without its disadvantages."
"After '97, many industries in Hong Kong Island welcomed mainland capital, but the media industry, which involves speech and news, has always maintained distrust of mainland capital."
"If mainland capital is combined with CCTV, it will be a 1+1 < 1 effect, which will only backfire."
"CCTV's alliance with Li Chaoren, and Li Chaoren's father and son operating independently, might also be due to this consideration."
Wu Bin suddenly understood, thinking to himself, so CCTV's alliance with Hutchison Whampoa was also a roundabout way to save the country?
He then heard Li Chen say: "The people on Victoria Peak are already 'on high alert.' Even the most normal commercial activity, with CCTV's involvement, will be infinitely magnified."
"Victoria Peak is not so peaceful!"
Wu Bin's eyes widened: "What a phrase, 'Victoria Peak is not so peaceful.' Director Li sees things so clearly."
Li Chen estimated that this matter would take at least another two years to come to fruition.
After the subprime mortgage crisis erupted, and after a certain person turned a hundred, he believed someone would be anxious.
Leaving the company, Li Chen attended the celebration banquet for 'those years'.
There were no extensive invitations; it was just the main creative team of 'those years' and Xue Xiaolu, the director.
Xue Xiaolu was radiant and drank quite a bit at the banquet.
She had become an overnight sensation, stepping into the 200 million club.
The box office for 'those years' was in its fourth week, still grossing around 1.5 million daily.
'the da vinci code' had an astonishing first-week performance, raking in 32 million in the mainland.
Li Chen estimated that the final box office for 'those years' would exceed 270 million.
Even if it didn't break 300 million, it still made many film and television companies green with envy.
Not just envy, but also pressure.
Once upon a time, only Zhang Yimou's 'Hero' was invincible, enjoying the title of the 200 million club. Now, Li Chen, Xu Zheng, and Xue Xiaolu had joined him.
In contrast, the Poet, who had confidently declared 'The Promise' would aim for 300 million, and Xiao Gang Pao, who had ambitiously stepped onto the Cannes stage, had already fallen behind.
If they didn't catch up soon, the first tier would only consist of Zhang Yimou and Li Chen.
Meanwhile, 'those years' was also performing well at the box office across Asia.
Distributors in Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Thailand all expressed interest in buying the remake rights for 'those years' and the adaptation rights for the original novel into a TV series.
Liu Yifei's name was thoroughly established in Asia.
Variety shows, endorsements, and commercial invitations poured in.
A Date with Luyu even sent invitations to Li Chen and Liu Yifei, hoping they could both accept Luyu's exclusive interview.
Previously, Luyu had tried to interview Li Chen more than once, but Li Chen had politely declined.
This time was no exception.
Tim reported to Li Chen that 'those years' was screened in 150 cinemas in North America, but the response was lukewarm.
This was also within Li Chen's expectations.
Given the different Eastern and Western concepts, plus the fact that the target audience for 'those years' was mainly college students and young people, it was not surprising that it was met with a cold reception in North America.
'those years' was actually just a stepping stone.
Li Chen did not expect Miss Liu to instantly become famous in North America.
'insidious 2' was also scheduled to start filming on June 5th, and Wen Ziren was already impatient.
Fan Bingbing's plastic surgery Identification was conducted with great fanfare, attracting widespread attention, even overshadowing the Cannes Film Festival.
The result was as expected: original and authentic.
This completely silenced the rumor-mongers.
However, it also offended over 90% of female stars.
It was unknown if this was the goal of the mastermind behind it all.
This day, in Rongchen Film and Television's Conference Room 2.
The script reading for 'father's love is like a mountain 2' began at ten o'clock.
The main actors, Chen Shu and Fan Bingbing, arrived first, followed closely by Huang Bo and Zuo Xiaoqing.
These two were brought in by Li Chen to play the driver and the mistress.
Chen Baoguo and Andy Lau arrived one after another.
When the front desk lady saw Andy Lau, dressed in a black polo shirt and dark blue casual pants, emerge from the elevator, her heart immediately pounded, and her cheeks turned crimson.
"Hello," Andy Lau said, seeing the two young ladies at the front desk staring blankly.
He was already accustomed to this kind of reaction.
He smiled and greeted them, and someone led him to Conference Room 2.
"Hua Zai just smiled at me, did you see?"
"I saw it, he's so handsome! If I could see Hua Zai every day, I'd be willing to be a front desk for life!"
The assistant informed Li Chen that everyone had arrived.
Conference Room 2 was very large, second only to Conference Room 1.
Among the main actors, Fan Bingbing was the youngest.
Fan Bingbing and Chen Baoguo played father and daughter.
The two had already met in 'Young Justice Bao,' so they weren't unfamiliar with each other.
Before Li Chen arrived, the two sat together.
Fan Bingbing humbly asked Chen Baoguo about some questions in the script, while also fostering father-daughter feelings.
Just in case Director Li asked them to perform a scene on the spot later, she wouldn't be unprepared.
Andy Lau and Chen Shu had quite a few scenes together and were quietly going over their lines.
When Li Chen entered, everyone stood up.
"Director Li, Li Chen."
"Don't be polite, everyone, please sit. Teacher Baoguo, Hua Ge, and all of you, please sit."
"You've all read the script. I'll go over it with everyone. If you have any questions or concerns, you can bring them up."
"Director Li's style is still so clean and concise," Huang Bo said with a laugh.
Li Chen didn't waste any words.
The group sat on either side of Li Chen at the conference table, with an empty space in the middle for on-the-spot scene practice.
"First, let's talk about Lin Tai, played by Teacher Baoguo."
Chen Baoguo held a pen, his expression calm and serious.
"My request for Teacher Baoguo is just one sentence: forget you are an emperor, and when the audience thinks of you, their first impression should be Lin Tai."
"You are an entrepreneur skilled in power struggles, a leader who cares for his employees, and even more, a father who deeply loves his daughter."
"You need to make the audience feel a delusion after watching it: could there really be such a person in this world?"
Chen Baoguo was stunned, then immediately understood Li Chen's meaning.
He had played Emperor Wu of Han and had just played Emperor Jiajing.
It was indeed easy to habitually immerse himself without realizing it.
"I understand, Director Li. Don't worry, this is the most basic acting skill," Chen Baoguo said with a smile.
Li Chen nodded, then said to Fan Bingbing: "Lin Mengmeng, played by you, as the main character of the film, spends most of the time in crying scenes."
"So, how to cry and why to cry, you need to figure it out clearly. You can't just cry yourself; you also need to make the audience in front of the big screen cry with you after watching it!"
Fan Bingbing nodded frequently, taking notes with a pen.
Even Chen Baoguo was taking notes diligently, so how could she act like a diva?
Chen Shu was experiencing Li Chen's style for the first time, feeling no youthful immaturity at all.
He was like a treasured sword, sharp and full of momentum, and no one in the conference room dared to interrupt.
"How about this, Teacher Baoguo and Bingbing, let's go through the scene where Lin Mengmeng is arrested."
Fan Bingbing secretly thought, 'Sure enough.'
It wasn't her first time reading a script, and in the past, directors would also ask actors to rehearse scenes on the spot.
"Okay, no problem," Chen Baoguo said crisply.
"No problem for me either," Fan Bingbing quickly said.
Chen Baoguo immediately stood up and, with Fan Bingbing, walked around the conference table to the center of the conference room.
Li Chen then pointed to a few assistants and said: "You few play the police. We'll start when you're ready."
Fan Bingbing deliberated for two or three minutes, then nodded to Li Chen.
Chen Baoguo also signaled that it was fine.
"Start!"
"Dad..."
"What are you doing!"
"Dad..."
The two of them held Fan Bingbing and turned to walk in the opposite direction. Fan Bingbing looked back with every step, her eyes filled with tears.
Chen Baoguo followed closely behind.
As they neared the end, Fan Bingbing suddenly struggled to turn back, tears streaming down: "Dad, save me, Dad, save me!"
Chen Baoguo's eyes also reddened, and he roared: "Don't be afraid!"
"Dad, save me, Dad!"
"Stop!" Li Chen raised a hand and shouted.
Fan Bingbing wiped away her tears.
"Please sit first."
Chen Baoguo and Fan Bingbing sat down.
Li Chen didn't ask Andy Lau and Chen Shu, but directly said to Fan Bingbing: "Your crying scene is good, making people feel very pitiful."
"However, the feeling isn't right!"
Fan Bingbing's tear-filled eyes looked at Li Chen, humbly accepting instruction: "Director Li, can you explain more clearly, what's not right?"
"You have many crying scenes throughout the film. This crying scene embodies the word 'fear.' To put it simply, you are crying out of fear."
"Think, you are a pampered rich second-generation spoiled girl! Let alone a detention center, you haven't even been to a police station."
"Suddenly being handcuffed, at this moment, your emotions should be entirely fear! Leading to a breakdown in the end!"
"It's the fear of the unknown detention center, the fear of leaving your father and facing this strange environment alone!"
Andy Lau, Chen Shu, and Huang Bo all nodded.
Li Chen's plain language was easy to understand.
Fan Bingbing also understood and immediately drew inferences: "I understand, Director Li."
"My crying scenes in this play include fear, pity, regret, and sorrow. Each crying scene is an expression of a negative emotion!"
Li Chen nodded: "Good, you should ponder it carefully. To put it plainly, you are taking the sentimental route."
"I want people of all genders and ages, when they see you cry, to shed tears with you. If that happens, this film will be half successful."
Good actors, like Zhou Xun, you just need to tell her what level you want to achieve, and she can give you the answer based on her own understanding.
Li Chen was studying the script with the actors.
The helmsman of TVB in Hong Kong Island also deliberately released information about several capital parties interested in acquiring TVB.
As expected, no one who could live on Victoria Peak was a pushover.
These two days, I've been a bit stuck in writing, not wanting to write a director's story about filming, winning awards, and breaking box office records, or a mere chronicle of events.