The next day, while having breakfast, Chen Chong told Lee Kai-yuan a few words. After that, he simply stopped going to the company. He took a minibus and went to Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island leisurely. Follow the map and found the editorial department of "Movie Biweekly".

The editorial department is very shabby. The office is dozens of square meters and there are two small single rooms separated. There are three or four tables in the hall. The slightly larger free space is full of things, which is cramped and tight, making it inconvenient to walk.

An editor who was drinking water with a cup saw Chen Chong protruding his head at the door and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

As soon as Chen Chong was about to speak, he saw an acquaintance.

"Oh, isn't this Ah Chong?" Chen Bosheng also saw Chen Chong. He twisted between the tables, walked to the door, shook hands enthusiastically and said: "When did you come back from the United States?"

"I just came back the day before yesterday." Chen Chong was infected by his enthusiasm and joked with a smile: "I happened to pass by and come to the pilgrimage."

"Which saint is coming to the sight of?" Chen Baisheng was stunned.

"Here." Chen Chong drew a big circle to the editorial department with both hands and said, "It's a holy place in the hearts of movie lovers."

"Ah Chong, you are a shabby person, right?" Chen Bosheng thought Chen Chong was joking and said with a lot of laughter: "I can't even walk, so what kind of holy land is it?"

It is difficult to explain the status of this magazine in the hearts of later Hong Kong film lovers. Chen Chong thought about it and quoted two sentences in literary style, "The mountains are not high, and the water is not deep. Confucius said: Why is there any ugliness?"

"I am really a talented man from the Chinese department."

Chen Baisheng accepted his compliment with a smile, introduced the two editors in the hall, and then brought Chen Chong to one of the small compartments - when Shu Qi was away, he was responsible for the daily work of the magazine.

"What are Ah Chong doing in our small place?" Chen Baisheng handed over a cup of tea and said, "Is there a new work to be published?"

"No, I've been in the United States for more than a week and haven't seen a movie recently." Chen Chong shook his head and denied that after he came back, he looked at the newspaper and found that there was no movie worth mentioning during the Spring Festival in Hong Kong.

After looking around the small compartment, Chen Chong asked knowingly: "Your magazine is very tight in funds?"

"Yes." Chen Bosheng smiled bitterly and said, "We have collected funds and jointly organized shares, but we don't have much money. At present, this is all we can do."

"How did the first two issues of the magazine sell?"

"It's so careless, I can barely maintain the balance of income and expenditure." Chen Baisheng kicked a bunch of magazines next to the table and said, "It's less than expected. Look, the pile of returns is just about 200 copies, so I can only sell it as waste paper."

"Didn't you ever think about finding someone to invest?"

"I looked for it, why didn't I look for it..." Chen Baisheng sighed, "When those bosses heard about black and white printing, they shook their heads. Then they heard that if they didn't print celebrity photos, they ran away faster than rabbits."

After chatting for a while, Chen Chong basically figured out the current personnel structure and operating costs of "Movie Biweekly", and was more confident in the acquisition of the magazine.

So he stopped hiding his purpose and said straight to the point: "Brother Chen, how about I acquire "Movie Biweekly"?"

"Owning a magazine is not as simple as running a school magazine in school." Chen Baisheng was leaning on the back of the chair to smoke. After he said a few words, he saw that Chen Chong was not like a joke, so he quickly sat upright and said, "A Chong, are you serious?"

"Of course it's true, otherwise what do you think I'm here to do today?"

"Aren't you still a student?" Chen Baisheng was surprised and said in a stressed tone, "It's very expensive to run a magazine!"

"I have made money recently." Chen Chong showed a harmless smile of humans and animals. "Thinking that it is a waste to put it in the bank, I might as well take it out and make some investments. I know, I like movies very much, and I feel that it is good to do movies and magazines."

"Then you have to think about it. Making a magazine is a bottomless pit..." Chen Baisheng was kind-hearted, and he advised with great sincerity: "Look at us, save and save, every issue is about 100,000 yuan, and if you can't sell it, you will lose all your money. If you want to invest, you might as well invest in real estate."

"Brother Chen, how can you do that? I want to invest and recommend it hard."

"I'm telling the truth. In the past, Tang Shuxuan and Sister Tang held "Big Feature Close-up", I was the voluntary editor. I saw her losing money, and she lost for several years." Chen Baisheng vomited smoke rings and sighed: "A Chong, you are still young, and your future is still long, so I can't harm you."

"It's okay." Chen Chong said with a smile: "This is a lot of money, I can't lose it. This way, Brother Chen, please help me first, what are the other shareholders of the magazine thinking? I can buy shares at a premium."

Seeing Chen Chong's face was determined, Chen Bosheng stopped persuading him and said, "The magazine is half dead. If you want to buy it, I don't think it's enough to have a premium. The original price will basically be sold to you."

"Okay, sell me your share first." Chen Chong took out a check book half-jokingly, "Come on, you can quote a price."

"Have you dug up the treasure after you traveled to the country?" Chen Baisheng was stunned by Chen Chong. He snatched out the cigarette butts and said, "A Chong, are you really playing?"

"Of course it's true!" Chen Chong said without blinking, "The faster the better. I am very impatient."

Chen Baisheng picked up another cigarette and put it on the table and knocked it. After a while, he said, "It's good that you bought a magazine. At least you know the movies and don't mess around. Have you told Shu Qi about this?"

"No, I made an appointment for dinner yesterday, but he went to Jiahe to go to the venue."

"Oh, then that's it. I'll discuss with Shu Qi first, and then hold a shareholders' meeting. You will come too. If everyone agrees, sign the contract on the spot."

Chen Chong nodded, it would be best if he didn't look for shareholders one by one.

Shu Qi is not good-looking, has a relatively restrained personality, and has no reputation. However, judging from the scenes she has seen, Chen Chong felt that his organizational ability was very strong, and everyone obeyed his arrangements. This is probably the reason why he became the editor-in-chief.

After the negotiations were made, Chen Chong was not ready to stay for a long time. As soon as he stood up, he remembered another thing and asked casually: "Brother Chen, do you know Ann Hui?"

"Ann Hui? You said the female director who used to film "CID" on TVB?"

"Yes." Chen Chong sat down again when he heard this, and said, "Do you know her contact information?"

"That's not there, I have no contact with her." Chen Baisheng picked up the phone and said, "I'll ask Yan Hao for you."

"Yan Hao knows?"

"Of course Yan Hao knows." Chen Bosheng explained while dialing: "They used to film TV series on the same crew on TVB. Can Yan Hao be the director or Ann Hui's support? Do you think he doesn't know?" (Note 1)

Chen Baisheng made several calls in a row before finding Yan Hao. After saying a few words, he handed the microphone to Chen Chong.

"A Chong, what are you doing with Ann Hui?"

"Oh, I heard she wrote a script and was looking for investment." Chen Chong told the truth, "I'm quite interested."

"Ha! I've been my boss and invested in making movies. No wonder my crew didn't come to help."

Yan Hao screamed strangely, but he seemed very busy. Without asking much, he told Anhua Xu's contact number and hung up the phone.

He put down the phone and picked it up again. Chen Chong made a gesture to borrow the phone. Chen Bosheng nodded and said, "A Chong, are you robbing the bank? You bought a magazine and invested in movies, and you looked like a nouveau riche."

"Yes, I'll rob Wall Street." Chen Chong joked while dialing, "If you trade stocks, you should quickly sell all the stocks. In two days, news from the United States will come, and Hong Kong will definitely have a stock market crash."

...

The Peninsula Hotel, located at 22 Shsbally Balley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, is the oldest hotel in Hong Kong and one of the most famous and luxurious hotels in the world. Its lobby tea is well-known after afternoon tea, and many movie stars like to drink tea here. Therefore, since the 1950s, the Peninsula Hotel has been known as the "Shadowman Teahouse". It is said that this trend originated from Zhang Ailing and her "Love in the City".

Chen Chong sat in a corner of the teahouse in the lobby, stirring coffee while waiting for Ann Hui to arrive.

Ann Hsu, whose ancestral home is Anshan, Liaoning, is a mixed-race Chinese and Japanese. He first received a master's degree in literature from the University of Hong Kong, and then studied film at the London Film Academy. He studied for film for four times the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Best Director for the Golden Horse Awards. Among them, "Woman Forty" and "Peach Sister" are both unique Grand Slam works at the Academy Awards. Among Chinese film directors, Ann Hsu's talent and ability are second to none.

Chen Chong recalled the information about Anhua Xu in his mind, and was full of confidence in choosing her debut work as a trial result.

Just as he was thinking, Chen Chong saw two women coming over under the guidance of the waiter and stood up to greet him. Ann Hui naturally knew him. The other woman should be Chen Yunwen, the screenwriter of "Crazy Job", a famous talented woman in Hong Kong.

"Hello, Mr. Chen." Ann Hsu introduced herself: "I am An Hsu, this is my good friend Chen Yunwen, and she is the screenwriter."

"Hello, hello." Chen Chong nodded, "Please sit down. What do you want to drink?"

After ordering some drinks and food at will, Ann Hui asked first: "I heard that Mr. Chen wants to invest in making movies?"

"I have watched several TV shows filmed by Director Xu before, and they were very good. I heard that you are looking for investment, so I am very interested." Chen Chong nodded, and did not waste time. He asked straightforwardly: "Did you bring a script?"

Chen Yunwen took out a folder from her bag and handed it to Chen Chong.

After taking the folder and opening it, Chen Chong first glanced a few times, confirmed that this was the script of "Crazy Job", then turned back to the first page, and watched it carefully from the beginning, while comparing it with the finished film in his memory.

Xu Anhua looked at Chen Chong without saying a word, and read the script with a focused expression, feeling quite nervous.

Four years ago, after she graduated from the London International Film Academy and returned to Hong Kong, she worked as an assistant director for the great director Hu Jinquan for several months. Then she couldn't find the opportunity to make movies and could only shoot some documentaries and TV series in TVB and Hong Kong Radio and Television Department. Now, Yan Hao, who was fighting for her at TVB, filmed "Jiali Coffee" last year. I heard that she recently got investment from Jiahe and started filming a new film.

This made Ann Hui very jealous. She had long been thinking about making movies, but she had never found any opportunity. Investors had no interest or confidence in female directors.

A few years ago, I heard that advertising tycoon Hu Shuru and Luo Kaimu, the owner of the chain fast food restaurant "Hao Le", joined forces to open a film company and invested in making movies everywhere. So she found a friend Chen Yunwen to work together to form a team and recommended herself to come to the door. They agreed to invest, but unexpectedly, after the script was written, Hu Luo and the other invested heavily in "Empty Mountain Spirit Rain" and "Legend of the Mountain" filmed by Hu Jinquan, and invested another amount of money in McDonald's. The turnover was not available, and the promised funds were gone. Around the Spring Festival, Ann Hui asked many times, but the other party was very vague. It seemed that there was no hope there.

It would be great if this young Mr. Chen, who was a little overly young, could agree to the investment. Yan Hao said that he seemed to understand movies very well.

Anhua Xu was worried about gains and losses, and heard Chen Chong ask, "Forgive me, can I write on this script?"

"This is a copy." Chen Yunwen was a little unhappy and reluctantly replied: "You can do whatever you want."

Chen Chong nodded, took out the pen from his pocket, and began to scribble the script.

"Crazy Job" is a good movie filmed in the environment at that time. From the perspective of the future, it is far from perfect. The script is insufficient, the editing is chaotic, and the soundtrack is a recognized disadvantage. The editing and soundtrack are post-production, so there is no need to consider it for the time being, but the script is the core of a movie and must be corrected before filming begins.

The script of "Crazy Job" is actually pretty good, otherwise the movie would not become a classic. It is said that it is insufficient. First, because the material of the script could have been made into a story with a strong suspense, but it did not work hard on this, which led to a scattered ending in the later stage, which was disappointing; second, because the family, friendship and love of the characters in the play were intertwined, and emotions should have been deeply explored, but the script just skimmed the water and passed by, making the characters in the movie too weak; third, there were many flaws in the script, which was the logical problem of the reasonable party criticism in later generations - for example, pregnant women have a big belly, and there are pregnancy reactions, such as the coroner who actually examined the wrong body, etc.

Chen Chong discussed this movie with his fellow Hong Kong movies more than once in his previous life, so he was confident and kept writing and smearing it for about half an hour before he put away the folder.

He did not rush to return the modified script to Chen Yunwen, but picked up the half-cool coffee, took a sip, and asked Anhua Xu: "What is the budget for this movie?"

This is the first time Xu Anhua made a movie. She has no experience and is afraid that she can drive too high and she will scare away Shen Chong. After hesitating for a while, she said uncertainly: "It's about 600,000 or 700,000."

"How long does it take to finish the filming?"

"It should be done in about three weeks."

Chen Chong nodded and said, "I am going to invest in this movie, and I can give you 1 million in budget."

Anhua Xu was overjoyed. After she looked at Chen Yunwen, she smiled and thanked: "Thank you Mr. Chen."

"What are you thanks, everyone will get what you need." Chen Chong smiled and said, "But I have a lot of problems. Before investing, there are two things to clarify."

"Mr. Chen, please speak."

"The first is the script." Chen Chong handed the folder to Chen Yunwen, "The script overall feels very good, the camera feels very good, but the plot is too weak and needs to be modified."

Chen Yunwen looked down at Chen Chong's script with full revisions. Anhua Xu explained awkwardly: "We wrote this script in one day. We didn't follow the story, but we followed the scene. We rushed too quickly, so we were a little scattered." (Note 2)

Chen Chong refused to say anything. After Chen Yunwen had read it, he asked, "Can Screenwriter Chen modify it?"

Chen Yunwen nodded and said in a tone that was both admirable and a little embarrassed: "You are very professional. All you draw are flaws in the script and needs improvement. I will modify it when I go back."

"Okay." Chen Chong nodded and said the second requirement: "The crew members are selected by Director Xu himself. I will not interfere, but if they do not meet the requirements, I have the right to kick people."

"Mr. Chen is the boss, of course he can do this."

"Okay." Chen Chong stood up, shook hands with Anh Hui, and said, "Happy cooperation."

—————————————————————

Note 1: Yan Hao was originally responsible for writing narration for TVB, but no one appreciated him. Later, when Ann Hui filmed "Qiquette Record", there was an episode that Yan Hao was filming because the filming location was inconvenient for women to enter, and he was listed as a co-director. Yan Hao entered the director circle.
Chapter completed!