Chapter 141: The Peak is not peaceful

Victoria Peak is located in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong Island and is the highest peak on Hong Kong Island.

The Peak is a place on Hong Kong Island where every inch of land is worth a lot of money.

People who live here are either rich or noble, like the gambling king, Superman Li, the No. 1 figure in Hong Kong Island, etc.

Li Ming, Zhou Xingchi and others from the entertainment industry also live here, but compared to the above people.

Their mansion can only be regarded as a small dwelling.

But even so, there are still people in the entertainment industry trying their best to get in.

In fact, this phenomenon is easy to explain.

From a psychological point of view, who doesn’t want to be high above and look down on everyone?

Just so happens that The Peak can satisfy this requirement.

A stand-alone villa on the top of Victoria Peak, equipped with swimming pool, garden and parking lot.

The sun is shining brightly on the wide meadow.

An elderly couple was sitting on either side of a round table under a parasol.

This couple is the helmsman of TVB, Edwin Siu and his wife Fong Yee-wah.

Standing in front of him was Zeng Lizhen, a TVB executive who was also not young.

"You said that young man from the mainland is also interested in joining the market?"

Although Zeng Lizhen is respectfully called Sister Zhen by TVB artists.

But in front of this couple, who were almost 200 years old in total, he did not dare to act rashly.

She was promoted by Fang Yihua and can be said to be Fang Yihua's confidant.

Although the young director from the mainland is more than old enough to be her son.

She also had a grudge with her cousin Zeng Zhiwei, but when faced with such a big thing, she did not dare to hide it.

Zeng Lizhen placed the prepared materials respectfully on the round table.

"Uncle Six, there is no mistake. If the other party didn't mean that, he wouldn't come to inquire about the price."

She has already met Wu Bin.

Although Wu Bin did not directly state that he wanted to negotiate the purchase.

But the implicit meaning behind his words is that he wants to know TVB's bottom price.

"It's true that the new generation pushes the old generation forward. The talents in the mainland cannot be underestimated anymore." Shao Yifu sighed.

He is now ninety-nine years old and has seen all kinds of storms.

Fang Yihua, who was sitting next to him, picked up the information and took a look: "Ah Zhen, does this young man have this ability?"

"Sister Fang, this mainland director Li has risen so fast in the past few years that it's dizzying."

"Conservatively speaking, his assets are no less than 2 billion."

Although Fang Yihua was over seventy, her mind was still clear. She nodded and said, "So, there are other people behind him?"

The difference between 2 billion and 10 billion is huge!

"Yes, he has close ties with China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, Yinghuang and China Xing."

"You mean there are also the shadows of Ah Qiang and Ah Cheng behind this?"

“I haven’t checked this out yet.”

"I see, you go down."

Zeng Lizhen bowed slightly and left the villa.

When Wu Bin returned from Hong Kong Island, he reported the progress to Li Chen.

Li Chen was not surprised after hearing what Wu Bin said.

This was just the beginning, and he didn't expect to accomplish it all at once.

After all, wireless is not going downhill yet.

Wireless’ market value is said to be 200 billion.

The couple is Wireless's largest single shareholder.

He holds 32% of the shares, but asked for 100 billion.

But they asked for a high price and paid a low price.

Neither he nor any other competitor could be the scapegoat.

Wu Bin frowned slightly, but could not help but remind him: "Director Li, according to what Miss Zhen said, CCTV and Li Chaoren are also interested in taking over TVB."

"And the son of Mr. Li Chaoren is also unwilling to be left out. He may have recently sold his shares in PCCW to raise funds."

During this trip to Hong Kong Island, Wu Bin also found out the parties that wanted to take over TVB.

The energy of either side is definitely superior to ours.

It turns out that Li Chaoren and his son are not in the same camp.

It left him puzzled.

It is also possible that the father and son wanted to have double insurance.

Li Chen doesn't worry about these things for the time being. The success or failure of this acquisition depends entirely on Wireless.

If they insist on the 10 billion and refuse to give up, then this acquisition will definitely fail.

The boss wanted to take advantage of the current good fortune of TVB and wait for a good price to sell it.

But no one who can afford the price is a fool, let alone this time traveler.

Wu Bin has a natural awe of CCTV.

What he meant by saying this was actually to indirectly remind his boss not to ignore the power of CCTV.

How could Li Chen not understand?

"Director Wu, let's put this matter aside for now. We won't consider CCTV, and we won't join forces with him."

"Remember, we are a private enterprise, a grass-roots king. Do you think if we cooperate with CCTV, CCTV will allow us to have the final say?"

Wu Bin swallowed his saliva and said, "Director Li, do you mean that we should compete with CCTV?"

Li Chen said with a smile: "Look how scared you are. So what if it's just a fight? It's all business, each has his own way."

"Besides, although CCTV is very powerful, it is not without disadvantages."

"After 1997, many industries in Hong Kong welcomed mainland capital."

"But the media industry, which is concerned with speech and news, has always been distrustful of mainland capital."

"If mainland capital is combined with CCTV, the effect of 1+1 is less than 1, which will only be counterproductive."

"CCTV's cooperation with Li Chaoren and Li Chaoren and his son's separate operations may not have been without consideration of this point."

Wu Bin suddenly understood, and thought to himself, does this mean that CCTV’s collaboration with Hutchison Whampoa is also a roundabout way to save the country?
Li Chen then added: "People on the Peak have long been 'seeing enemies everywhere'. Even the most normal commercial activities will be magnified infinitely if CCTV is involved."

“It’s hard to be peaceful on the top of Victoria Peak!”

Wu Bin's eyes trembled. "What a saying! It's hard to be peaceful on the top of Taiping Mountain. Director Li sees it too clearly."

Li Chen estimated that it would take at least another two years for this matter to bear fruit.

After the subprime mortgage crisis breaks out, or when someone turns 100, he believes that some people will be anxious.

After leaving the company, Li Chen attended the celebration banquet for "Those Years".

There were no widely invited guests, just the main creative staff of "Those Years" and director Xue Xiaolu.

Xue Xiaolu looked radiant and drank a lot at the banquet.

She became an overnight sensation and stepped into the 200 million club in one fell swoop.

The box office of "Those Years" has entered its fourth week, with daily box office revenue of around 150 million.

"The Da Vinci Code" had an amazing first week, earning 3200 million in mainland China.

Li Chen estimates that the box office of "Those Years" will eventually exceed 2.7 million.

Even though it didn't break 3 million, it made a number of film and television companies jealous.

It's not just jealousy, there's also pressure.

Once upon a time, Zhang Yimou was the only one who was invincible with "Hero".

The club that once enjoyed the title of the 200 million club now has Li Chen, Xu Zheng, and Xue Xiaolu.

On the other hand, the poet who once vowed that "The Promise" would aim for 300 million yuan, and the young talent who stepped into Cannes with great confidence, have fallen behind.

If they don’t catch up, the first echelon will only be Zhang Yimou and Li Chen.

At the same time, "Those Years" was also a box office hit across Asia.

Issuers in Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.

They all expressed their willingness to buy the remake rights of "Those Years" and the copyright to adapt the original novel into a TV series.

Liu Yifei's name became famous in Asia.

Invitations for variety shows, endorsements, and advertisements come one after another.

Lu Yuyouyue also sent invitations to Li Chen and Liu Yifei.

I hope the two of them can accept Lu Yu’s exclusive interview together.

Lu Yu had wanted to visit Li Chen more than once before, but Li Chen declined every time.

This time, it's no exception.

Tim reported to Li Chen that Those Years was screened in 150 theaters in North America, and the response was mediocre. This was also within Li Chen's expectations.

There are differences in concepts between the East and the West, and the audience of "Those Years" is mainly college students and young people.

It’s no surprise that it’s been coldly received in North America.

"Those Years" is actually just a stepping stone.

Li Chen did not expect to make Miss Liu famous in North America overnight.

"Insidious 2" will also start filming on June th, and Wan Zairen can't wait.

Fan Qiaoqiao's plastic surgery was a big success and attracted much attention, even overshadowing the Cannes Film Festival.

As expected, it turned out to be original and authentic.

This has completely silenced the rumormongers.

But he also offended more than 90% of the female stars.

I don’t know if this is what the person behind the scenes wanted to achieve.

This day, in Conference Room No. 2 of Rongchen Pictures.

The script reading of "Father's Love Is Like a Mountain 2" starts at o'clock.

Among the leading actors, Chen Shu and Fan Qiaoqiao arrived first, followed by Huang Bo and Zuo Xiaoqing.

Li Chen invited these two to play the driver and lover.

Chen Baoguo and Liu Dehua arrived one after another.

When the receptionist saw Liu Dehua, wearing a black polo shirt and navy blue casual pants, walking out of the elevator.

Suddenly, his heart started beating fast and his face turned red.

"Hello everyone." Liu Dehua saw the two girls at the front desk looking at him in a daze.

He had long been accustomed to this situation.

After smiling and saying hello, someone took him to Conference Room 2.

"Hua Zai just smiled at me, did you see it?"

"I saw him, so handsome. If I could see Hua Zai every day, I would be willing to be a receptionist for the rest of my life!"

The assistant informed Li Chen that everyone had arrived.

Meeting Room 2 is very large, second only to Meeting Room 1.

Among the main actors, Fan Qiaoqiao is the youngest.

Fan Qiaoqiao and Chen Baoguo play father and daughter.

The two had known each other for a long time on the set of "Justice Bao", so they were not unfamiliar with each other.

Li Chen hadn't arrived yet, so the two sat together.

Fan Qiaoqiao humbly asked Chen Baoguo some questions about the script and cultivated the father-daughter relationship at the same time.

In case Director Li asked the two of them to perform a scene on the spot, she would not be unprepared.

Liu Dehua and Chen Shu have a lot of scenes together and are quietly going over their lines.

Li Chen came in and several people stood up.

"Director Li, Li Chen"

"Don't be polite, everyone, take a seat, Teacher Baoguo, Brother Hua, and all of you."

"You've all read the script, I'll go over it with you all, and you can raise any questions or inconsistencies."

"Director Li's style is still so clean and neat." Huang Bo said with a smile.

Li Chen didn't have any extra words.

Several people sat at the conference table on both sides of Li Chen, with a hollow area in the middle that could be used for live acting.

"Let's start with Lin Tai, played by Teacher Bao Guo."

Chen Baoguo picked up a pen with a calm and serious expression.

"My request to you, Mr. Bao Guo, is just one sentence: forget that you are the emperor, and when the audience thinks of you, the first impression that comes to their mind is Lin Tai."

"You are an entrepreneur who is well versed in political intrigue, a leader who cares about employees, and a father who loves his daughter deeply."

“I want to make the audience have an illusion after watching it: Is there really such a person in the world?”

Chen Baoguo was stunned, and immediately realized what Li Chen meant.

He has played the role of Emperor Wu of Han and just played the role of Emperor Jiajing.

It is indeed easy to fall into the habit of substitution without noticing.

"I understand, Director Li, don't worry, this is the most basic quality of an actor." Chen Baoguo said with a smile.

Li Chen nodded, and then said to Fan Qiaoqiao: "Lin Mengmeng, played by you, is the main character of the film, and she spent most of her time crying."

"So you have to figure out how to cry and what to do. You can't just cry by yourself, you have to make the audience in front of the big screen cry with you!"

Fan Qiaoqiao nodded frequently and took notes.

Even Chen Baoguo was taking notes seriously, so how dare she act like a big shot?

This is the first time that Chen Shu feels Li Chen’s style, and he doesn’t feel the immaturity of a young man at all.

Like a sword, sharp and powerful, no one in the meeting room dared to interrupt.

"How about this, Teacher Baoguo, you and Qiaoqiao go over the scene where Lin Mengmeng was arrested."

Fan Qiaoqiao's implicit comparison is indeed so.

This was not her first time reading a script, as directors had previously asked actors to rehearse their scenes on the spot.

"Okay, no problem for me." Chen Baoguo said straightforwardly.

"That's fine with me too." Fan Qiaoqiao said quickly.

Chen Baoguo immediately stood up and walked around the conference table with Fan Qiaoqiao to the center of the conference room.

Li Chen pointed at a few assistants and said, "You guys play the police, and we'll start when you're ready."

Fan Qiaoqiao thought for two or three minutes and nodded to Li Chen.

Chen Baoguo also indicated that it was no problem.

"start!"

"dad."

"What are you doing!"

"dad."

The two men carried Fan Qiaoqiao and turned to walk in the opposite direction. Fan Qiaoqiao looked back every step with tears in his eyes.

Chen Baoguo followed closely behind.

When they were almost at the end, Fan Qiaoqiao suddenly struggled and turned back, tears streaming down his face: "Dad, save me, Dad, save me!"

Chen Baoguo's eyes also turned red, and he roared, "Don't be afraid!"

"Dad, save me, Dad!"

"Stop!" Li Chen raised his hand and shouted.

Fan Qiaoqiao wiped away her tears.

"Sit down first."

Chen Baoguo and Fan Qiaoqiao sat down.

Li Chen did not ask Liu Dehua and Chen Shu, but directly said to Fan Qiaoqiao: "The crying scene is good, it makes people feel pitiful."

"But it doesn't feel right!"

Fan Qiaoqiao looked at Li Chen with tearful eyes, and humbly accepted his advice: "Director Li, can you explain it more clearly? What's wrong?"

"You cried a lot throughout the film. This crying scene reflects the word 'fear'. To put it simply, you cried because you were scared."

"Think about it, you are a pampered rich second-generation girl! You have never been to a detention center, let alone a police station."

"When you are suddenly handcuffed, you must be filled with fear! And then you collapse!"

"It's the fear of the unknown detention center, the fear of leaving your father to face this strange environment alone!"

Liu Dehua, Chen Shu, Huang Bo and others also nodded.

Li Chen’s words are simple and easy to understand.

Fan Qiaoqiao also understood and immediately applied it to other situations: "I understand, Director Li."

"My crying scenes in this play show fear, pity, regret and sadness. Every crying scene is a manifestation of negative emotions!"

Li Chen nodded: "Yes, you should think about it carefully. To put it bluntly, you are taking the sensational route."

"If I can make everyone cry when you cry, regardless of gender or age, then this play will be half successful."

A good actor, like Zhou Xun, you just need to tell her what level you want to achieve, and she will give you the answer based on her own understanding.

Li Chen is reading the script to the actors.

The head of Hong Kong TVB also deliberately released information about several investors interested in acquiring TVB.

Sure enough, no one who can live on the top of Victoria Peak is a vegetarian.

　I've been having a bit of a writer's block these days and don't want to write a director's article or a diary about making movies, winning awards, and breaking box office records.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)