Chapter 62: Get to the Point! "The Mad Scholar of Nanhai"! (Third Update)

"Wuxia?"
"What's so strange about that?"
"But, but..."
"Oh, you silly goose, stop with all the 'buts'. The more projects he takes on, the more opportunities we'll have."
"That's true, but it doesn't seem very easy."
"Oh? Yuan-yuan, I never realized you cared so much about him."
"I do not! I was just thinking that if he messes up, we'll be the ones who suffer."
"You, your insincerity is written all right across your face."
"No, it isn't."
"Alright, keep listening."
Ma Xun's arrival was indeed quite a surprise.
Since it was a surprise, they might as well observe a little more.
Hao Lei and Yuan-yuan came over together to eavesdrop.
Well, not quite eavesdropping; they just concealed their figures slightly and listened to the conversation between Ma Xun and Elder Zhang.
And lo and behold, they actually picked up on some interesting details.
Ma Xun wanted to make a Wuxia film?
That certainly counted as a trending topic.
However, there was a problem with this trend.
From Hong Kong's perspective, the Wuxia craze had actually passed.
Although there were still Wuxia films being shot at present,
if you asked anyone in the Hong Kong industry, they would definitely say:
Wuxia films have no future.
You could even push this statement back twenty years and it would still hold true.
Derek Yee had mentioned in multiple interviews that
on the day he entered the industry, his master told him that Wuxia was dead.
Yet later on, he still directed quite a few Wuxia movies.
This was because of a few crucial figures.
One was Chu Yuan.
He continuously directed twenty or thirty Wuxia films, single-handedly reviving the genre for a wave.
Another was Tsui Hark.
His string of works, especially Swordsman II, made Wuxia rise once again.
It even caused Brigitte Lin to rise along with it.
At that time, even a great beauty like her had bowed to the passage of time.
Yet once Swordsman II was released, Brigitte Lin's acting range suddenly broadened.
She went on to shoot many Wuxia films afterward, and every single role carried the shadow of Invincible East from that movie.
Not just the styling, even the acting was identical.
The classic staring-eyes technique.
In fact, Brigitte Lin's portrayal of Invincible East was completely different from the original novel; it was a super-massive adaptation.
Many people probably didn't know that because of this heavy alteration, Mr. Louis Cha was extremely furious.
Tsui Hark was subsequently unable to secure the adaptation rights to any of Louis Cha's works at all.
However, this gossip remained a closely guarded secret, as Louis Cha was a scholar after all.
Outsiders had no idea that the two of them had fallen out.
And Wuxia on the mainland... was still in its infancy!
The mainland had indeed produced Wuxia TV series and Wuxia movies,
but very few truly became popular.
Most of them ended up losing money at the box office.
Although Hao Lei and Gao Yuan-yuan had not been in the industry for long,
don't forget, the crew of our Grandmaster of Tai Chi was full of industry veterans who had been making Wuxia films for years.
Right in the middle of shooting,
Hao Lei and Yuan-yuan could hear such conversations almost every day:
"Why bother with this anymore? Wuxia was finished long ago."
"You mainlanders are just foolish; even Hong Kong and Taiwan have stopped shooting them now."
"No future, no potential at all."
Complaints were something anyone who had ever worked a job could understand.
Yet this also created a rather strange atmosphere within the crew.
Most people felt that our Grandmaster of Tai Chi was doomed to fail as well.
Under such an atmosphere, Ma Xun now proposed that he was going to make a huge push into Wuxia!
How could Hao Lei and Yuan-yuan not have their doubts?
Worrying that their boss's business might tank wasn't exactly wrong, right?
Wait a minute, why were the two of them suddenly getting so close?
This, of course, was because of Li Xiaoran's appearance.
Although Li Xiaoran usually kept to herself and simply filmed according to instructions,
Hao Lei and Yuan-yuan were not fools.
"External enemy invades! Sisters share one heart!"
"Mhm mhm."
Hao Lei raised the banner first, and Yuan-yuan followed closely behind.
Emphasizing internal unity first.
However, things turned out okay later on; Li Xiaoran really didn't stir up any trouble.
This time when Ma Xun came... she didn't show much of a reaction either.
Still, they couldn't lower their guard!
Of course, what they meant by sisters sharing one heart was...
The resources arranged by this guy Ma Xun must not be wasted on outsiders by us sisters!
That's right, profit came first.
"Sister Hao, if the next project is a Wuxia drama, then we..."
"Next time, I'll let you be the female lead."
There you go, dividing the spoils between sisters first.
Such petty little thoughts were actually quite amusing.
Ma Xun finished chatting with Elder Zhang and planned to head back.
As for the female artists under his banner... what was there to chat about?
A simple meeting and a nod were enough.
This was a film set, so they should just focus on filming properly.
Ma Xun never denied that he was fond of wealth and beauty, but he also had his principles.
Since they were still newcomers and he was the boss,
he spoke as little as possible on set.
Yet such behavior...
"Ma Xun, I never realized you were quite something."
Sister Hong felt very favorably disposed toward this.
Ma Xun still didn't say much, only offering:
"We'll talk when we get back to Beijing."
With that, he drove away.
Sister Hong's car followed right behind.
Once the two of them left, naturally they wouldn't see
a certain girl standing at the entrance of the Pijiaoying Film Studio, watching secretly.
...
The small courtyard, still that same small courtyard.
Aside from the persimmon tree being affected by the seasonal change,
everything else seemed largely unchanged.
"Why didn't you wait for me?"
As soon as Sister Hong walked in, she complained.
This made Ma Xun shake his head helplessly. "Sister Hong, I feel like you're getting a bit full of yourself lately."
Hearing this, Sister Hong not only didn't mind at all, but walked right over and sat on Ma Xun's lap.
"What? Full of myself? Is there something wrong with that?"
My goodness, when a beauty resembling Diaochan
speaks to you with a hint of spoiled arrogance and a trace of small grievances,
even a hardened, straight-laced man would melt into absolute softness.
Ma Xun admitted that he had very little resistance
to Sister Hong's beauty and the effortless, casual allure she exuded.
But right now, he still had to talk business.
The thrill of making money surpassed chasing women at the moment.
"Sister Hong, is The Soong Sisters considered to be heavily favored right now?"
"Of course it is, isn't... isn't that a good thing?"
Prompted by this question, Sister Hong noticed that Ma Xun's expression was quite peculiar.
Midway through her sentence, she changed her tone.
"Favored, it's only favored, which doesn't necessarily mean the movie will be a success."
What Ma Xun said sounded simple, but it carried profound meaning.
He could tell that Sister Hong had indeed grown a bit complacent recently.
Given their current cooperative relationship, it wouldn't hurt to give her a little reality check.
Sister Hong was still focusing more on the movie itself at the moment.
"From my perspective, this film is quite good. The pacing is very fast, and the cast is extremely powerful. Shouldn't it be a massive hit?"
Ma Xun smiled and asked, "You withheld a lot of information before, so let me ask you now: is this film dominated by the Hong Kong side, and does it deal with a historical subject?"
Sister Hong wore a puzzled expression.
"Of course, this film is considered foreign-invested and Hong Kong-led. Is there something wrong with that?"
Ma Xun stated bluntly, "Hong Kong is a small place, whereas historical subject matter requires grandeur and magnificence.
Hong Kong directors rarely have a grand vision.
And with a narrow vision, how can one create a magnificent work?"
These words instantly stunned Sister Hong.
After a long while, she nodded.
"Ma Xun, I never imagined you could see through things so thoroughly."
Sister Hong's words were filled with admiration.
In fact, anyone who understood the history of Hong Kong cinema and mainland cinema
could easily draw a conclusion through comparison.
Ma Xun was right!
It wasn't that Hong Kong had never made historical epics; they had tried.
But many such works failed.
Part of the reason was that Hong Kong simply lacked the conditions.
There were no real locations.
Historical epics almost demanded on-location shooting
to display the magnificent expanse of historical transformations.
Without mountains, rivers, and vast crowds of people,
there was nothing to speak of.
Hong Kong had neither mountains and rivers nor the space to accommodate so many extras.
Some Hong Kong films did shoot on location in the mainland, but the costs skyrocketed, ultimately resulting in failure.
Sister Hong briefly reminisced about The Soong Sisters.
Just as Ma Xun had said,
most of it was shot on the sets of the Beijing Film Studio.
After all, it was a studio set, but even so, that pair of director-writer spouses from Hong Kong were extremely satisfied.
Didn't this prove Ma Xun's point?
Fortunately, however...
"Guess who I played in this movie?"
"This... could it be the third sister?"
Ma Xun had actually guessed that long ago, though he hadn't voiced it.
Yet when he said it now, Sister Hong burst out laughing.
"I knew you wouldn't guess it! I played their mother."
Ah?
It was that character?
Ma Xun laughed as well, but though he guessed wrong this time, there was a silver lining.
"It looks like Sister Hong understands now."
"Fine, I'll listen to you this time and keep a low profile."
Actually, that was precisely what Ma Xun meant.
Ma Xun couldn't completely guarantee whether The Soong Sisters would succeed.
Judging by the current situation, the probability of success was truly not high.
If Sister Hong became overly arrogant just because the film was a massive investment,
and it flopped in the future, she would inevitably take the blame.
Ma Xun's warning could be considered doing his utmost.
Moreover, he naturally had another purpose.
"Don't you think Mad Phoenix has more potential?"
This was the film Ma Xun had mentioned previously,
and both of the current projects had been brokered by Sister Hong.
Even if both films lost money, it wouldn't be a big deal.
As mentioned before, as long as the Beijing Film Studio received the investment, it was already profitable.
How much money The Soong Sisters lost after its release had little to do with the Beijing Film Studio.
As for Sister Hong... it was a matter of her "vision."
Look at you, what kind of garbage were both of those movies!
Why would you recommend anything and everything!
Right, if both films bombed, Sister Hong might run into trouble managing other Hong Kong films in the future.
Ma Xun still had a strategy for Mad Phoenix.
"Focus primarily on the Guangdong and Guangxi markets, and there will definitely be an unexpected pleasant surprise!"
This tactic was truly prescribing the right medicine for the ailment.
In fact, Mad Phoenix was originally a stage play.
"Wine Sword Immortal" had played the role of Thirteen Lang countless times.
His grasp of the character could be said to be pure and consummate.
If Cheng Dieyi was someone who couldn't achieve artistry without madness,
then Thirteen Lang was someone who would rather go mad than compromise with worldly conventions.
However, this play had limitations.
It was better to target Guangdong and Guangxi first, and then seek an opportunity to move northward later.
By doing this, Ma Xun hoped that Sister Hong could use this operation
to build a stellar reputation for having a discerning eye for films.
In the future, when she continued to manage other Hong Kong films going north, she would have a solid foundation.
Never underestimate this business.
Yu Dong's Bona was built precisely like this.
And Sister Hong's success was Ma Xun's success!
In the future, she would become both a major director and a formidable businesswoman.
But in reality... well, just like right now.
Kissing, kissing continuously, and slowly moving downward.
Hiss~
There is still one more chapter.