Rebirth of Xiangjiang - 1978

Taking advantage of the year before, Lau Chun Wai and Wong Kar Wai quickly made an appointment with Xu Guanying to discuss "The Ghost Story".

As long as Xu Guanying can be dealt with, the remaining supporting roles will be much easier.

"Both directors, please come to me if you have any good news."

Xu Guanying received a call from Liu Zhenwei asking him to have tea, and he readily agreed.

In a tea restaurant, Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar-wai met Xu Guanying.

"Brother Ying, I'm sorry to bother you when the Chinese New Year is almost here."

Jacky Cheung and Chen Ziqiang can cheat, but Xu Guanying has been in the entertainment industry for so many years, and it is obviously impossible to cheat him.

Moreover, Xu Guanying's salary is not high. Compared with others, his salary is already very cheap.

Therefore, Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar-wai did not think of trying to undercut him in terms of salary.

"You two directors don't need to be so polite. We all work in this industry for a living. It's not uncommon for us to have to film during the Chinese New Year. I wonder if you two have any business with me?"

Xu Guanying shook his hand. In fact, he didn't know much about Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar-wai.

Especially Wong Kar-wai, he has never even heard of the other party's name.

As for Liu Zhenwei, Xu Guanying had heard people talk about him before, and he seemed to be highly appreciated by Lin Daoqiu.

However, because the film "The Gambler" given to him by Lin Daoqiu was failed, he is now working as a director for Dongshi.

I didn't expect this kid to come to me suddenly. Could it be that he wanted to film a TV series with me?

Xu Guanying has never taken on a TV series before, and he has no plans to make a TV series.

It is true that in the previous life, Xu Guanying never filmed any TV series, but the specific reason is unknown.

Because Xu Guanying himself is very low-key and rarely appears in public when he is not making movies. This is very similar to Lin Daoqiu.

"Actually, it's like this. We have a movie that we would like to invite Brother Ying to star in. I don't know if Brother Ying is interested."

When Xu Guanying heard that he was not looking for a TV series but a movie, of course there would be no problem in that case.

"No problem. It's an honor for you two to like me. I wonder what kind of drama this is?"

"This is a supernatural comedy."

When Xu Guanying heard what the other party said, he immediately thought of "Mr. Zombie".

"Is it a zombie movie?"

Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar-wai looked at each other, and then nodded.

Because there is indeed a zombie scene in "Menggui Mission Hall", which they have nothing to deny.

Xu Guanying didn't think there was anything strange about it, because whenever he was asked to make supernatural films, they were almost always zombie films.

"Then I have no problem, but I don't know when the movie is going to be filmed?"

Although Xu Guanying is not a popular star, he also has his own schedule and it is impossible to have time to cooperate with them all year round.

"We will shoot after the Chinese New Year. It will take about two months to complete."

In Liu Zhenwei's opinion, if everything goes well, he can finish filming "The Ghost Story" in two months.

Xu Guanying thought for a while, then nodded and agreed.

"No problem, then this matter is settled. As for my remuneration, there should be no problem, right?"

Before arriving, Lau Chun Wai and Wong Kar Wai already knew how much Xu Guanying's salary was.

His price is 600,000, and it has not increased much, so hiring Xu Guanying at this price can be said to be very reasonable, especially in this era.

"No problem, no problem, just the previous salary."

Seeing that the other party was so cheerful, Xu Guanying didn't think anything of it, and then they shook hands, and Xu Guanying's starring role in "Meng Guanying" was finalized.

Before the movie was even made, it cost 1.2 million just to hire the two leading actors. Only 800,000 was left, and some supporting roles were also needed.

And these supporting characters can't be too bad, and they can't be the kind of people that the audience can't recognize.

"You don't want to invite a few more stars, do you?"

Returning to his residence, Wong Kar-wai suddenly heard Liu Zhenwei sigh.

Having known Liu Zhenwei for so long, Wong Kar-wai can more or less guess what he is thinking now.

"Just Jacky Cheung and Xu Guanying are definitely not enough. We also need several famous supporting actors."

Hearing what Liu Zhenwei said, Wong Kar-wai shook his head directly.

It's not that he doesn't want to hire better actors, but the problem is that the budget of two million has already been spent by 1.2 million, leaving only 800,000.

If we hire a few more famous stars, there will be no money left for filming.

"I think the only way now is to go to Mr. Lin to increase the budget by one million, otherwise the movie won't be filmed."

Regarding Wong Kar-Wai's suggestion, Xu Guanying simply shook her head and rejected it.

Asking him to go to Lin Daoqiu to add money doesn't mean he is asking for death? This is something Liu Zhenwei cannot do no matter what.

In front of Lin Daoqiu, he was under too much pressure and could not ask the other party to increase money.

Although one million was nothing to Lin Daoqiu, Liu Zhenwei still didn't dare.

"How about saving some money when the time comes? You can still make a good show if you save a little."

Liu Zhenwei also felt helpless, but under the current situation, he could only break the penny and spend it in half.

…………

"They invited Jacky Cheung and Xu Guanying to star in "The Ghost Story"?"

It didn't take long for Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar-wai to submit the cast list to New Oriental and then get the budget for the filming.

When Lin Daoqiu learned that two guys, Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar-wai, dared to go to Jacky Cheung and Xu Guanying to film this movie with a budget of two million, he didn't know what to say.

Jacky Cheung's salary is 1.2 million, while Xu Guanying's salary is less, but still 600,000.

In addition to the salaries of these two people, other supporting roles also cost money. It is impossible to afford these actors with just two million.

"Go and call Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar-wai and ask them to come over."

The next day was New Year's Eve, but Lin Daoqiu thought it would be better to settle this matter before the New Year.

But when he learned about this, Lin Daoqiu also felt that the budget he gave them at that time was too low.

It can be said that it is very difficult to make a quality movie with two million in Hong Kong at this time.

Unless the main actors are all newcomers, and then spend some money to hire famous Green Leaf to be supporting actors and guest stars, the price can be lowered, but the risk is too high.

If results can still be guaranteed under such circumstances, basically no one except Lin Daoqiu would have such confidence.

So Lin Daoqiu put himself in their shoes and felt that the conditions he had offered them before were a bit too harsh.

At this time, he was ready to give Liu Zhenwei and others an additional budget of 1 million to help them film "The Ghost Story".