Chapter 00075: A Difficult Start
# A Difficult Start
Chapter 75
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 75: A Difficult Start
In the office, three people were engaged in a secret discussion.
The scene was quite unusual.
Wang Yang and Zhu Dexiong were both seasoned comrades with revolutionary experience, while Chen Qi was the only young man present.
In theory, they shouldn’t have been sitting together discussing matters, but who could argue when Chen Qi had proposed a plan to earn foreign currency and even written a script? According to the workflow, he had every right to be there.
The first topic of discussion was the budget for Tai Chi.
Chen Qi spoke up, "If we film all the scenes of the tower challenge, that’s seven duels, which would take at least 20 minutes. If we follow the usual format of a 90-minute film, that leaves only 70 minutes for storytelling, which could easily feel rushed. To make it work smoothly, we’d need to extend the runtime to 100-110 minutes."
At that time, films over 90 minutes were rare, though not unheard of.
For example, The 405 Murder Case, produced by the Shanghai Film Studio, ran for 102 minutes.
"I agree. The tower challenge must be complete, or else it’s a waste of effort!" Wang Yang chimed in.
Zhu Dexiong added, "No matter what the final budget is, it’s always good to save where we can. Xie Tian is preparing for Teahouse and needs a lot of costumes and props from the late Qing dynasty. We can borrow those, which will save us some money. But, Xiao Chen, does Tai Chi need to show some of the old Beijing streets from the late Qing era?"
"It would be great if we could!" Chen Qi replied.
"Then we’ll need to build outdoor sets. That’s a big project and will definitely cost a lot," Zhu Dexiong said, falling into deep thought.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Chen Qi, knowing what he wanted to propose, waited a bit before carefully suggesting, "Building outdoor sets is expensive, but we don’t have to tear them down after filming. We can keep them for future use. With the film industry booming and television growing, there will be more and more productions in the future. We can even rent the sets to other crews, which would bring in some income."
Zhu Dexiong’s eyes lit up at this idea.
"Old Wang, hasn’t Ling Zifeng been talking about filming Rickshaw Boy?"
"Yes, he has!" Wang Yang replied.
"Didn’t he want to build a Xisi Archway street? Do you remember?"
"Rickshaw Boy..."
Wang Yang took a deep drag from his cigarette.
"Rickshaw Boy is set during the warlord era, which is a bit removed from the late Qing dynasty. Wouldn’t that be inconsistent?"
"We can just change the shop signs to match the late Qing style and build a few new sections as needed. It’s still cheaper than building an entire street from scratch, right?"
"That’s a great idea!" Wang Yang’s eyes sparkled as he nodded in agreement.
Ling Zifeng, one of the "Four Greats" of the Beijing Film Studio, had directed a classic film, Rickshaw Boy, in the early 1980s, starring Zhang Fengyi and Siqin Gaowa.
To recreate the old Beijing atmosphere, he had built a 150-meter-long Xisi Archway street within the studio.
Over time, it expanded to cover 14,000 square meters, becoming the famous "Ming-Qing Style Street."
Many iconic films and TV shows, such as Farewell My Concubine, My Fair Princess, Prime Minister Liu Luoguo, and Kangxi Incognito Travel, were shot there.
It was the first location in China to have the attributes of a "film and television city."
"Our film hasn’t even started shooting, and we’re already thinking about borrowing resources to make it happen!" Wang Yang shook his head and asked, "Old Zhu, how much would it cost for Ling Zifeng to build that street?"
"We’ve done some preliminary calculations. At least 200,000 yuan!"
"200,000 yuan!" Wang Yang gasped, standing up and pacing around the room.
He waved his hand decisively, "Build it! Not just for Rickshaw Boy and Tai Chi. Xiao Chen’s idea is good. We’ll keep the street after filming, and it can be used for future projects!"
"But what about the money?"
"I’ll go to the Ministry of Culture and apply for a special grant!"
Zhu Dexiong explained to Chen Qi, "Rickshaw Boy is a literary classic. If we say we’re filming a classic, the higher-ups will be willing to give us the money. But if we say we’re making a martial arts film, they’ll tell us to go fly a kite!"
"Got it, got it!" Chen Qi nodded quickly.
The start of Tai Chi was humble, relying on borrowing resources and hitching a ride on others’ projects.
There was no other way.
Teahouse and Rickshaw Boy were prestigious works, while Tai Chi was just a bunch of flashy fights with no artistic depth.
"In the end, we still need to raise the bar," Wang Yang sighed.
"I’ll have to go hassle the China Film Group to increase the purchase price. If they pay more, I can allocate a bigger budget. That’s my job. Your job is to make sure the film is good. Xiao Chen, do you still want to hire a martial arts director from Hong Kong?"
"Yes, preferably Yuen Woo-ping, the martial arts director of Drunken Master. You’ve seen that film—the action choreography is absolutely stunning. I’d like to invite him."
"Comrade Fu Qi mentioned at the symposium that Hong Kong people are being evasive with us. It won’t be easy to get them here. Plus, their salaries are high, which would increase our costs. Why don’t we look for someone on the mainland?"
"Old Director, the last seven fights in Tai Chi—how are we supposed to design them? We need to bring something new to the table to impress audiences both at home and abroad. Please try to contact them first. If they’re not willing to come..."
Chen Qi paused, then added, "I can offer something in exchange."
Among the four major Hong Kong martial arts directors, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan were at the peak of their careers and definitely wouldn’t come to the mainland.
Lau Kar-leung specialized in southern-style martial arts and looked down on the mainland.
When Shaolin Temple needed a new director, they approached him first, but he refused, so they turned to Zhang Xinyan.
Yuen Woo-ping was different from the other three.
While they were both in front of and behind the camera, being big stars themselves, Yuen Woo-ping was purely a behind-the-scenes figure, working as a martial arts director.
This made him more flexible in coming to the mainland.
Moreover, Yuen Woo-ping didn’t have any messy personal issues.
He followed the director’s instructions and designed the fights accordingly.
He later collaborated with the mainland multiple times on projects like The Kung Fu Kid, Tai Chi Master, and Water Margin.
Seeing Chen Qi’s earnest request, Wang Yang reluctantly agreed.
"What about the lead actor? Do you have someone in mind?"
"I’d like Jet Li to play Yang Yuqian. He’s the right age, has a good look, and is photogenic."
"Why does everyone want Jet Li?"
"Because he’s really good at martial arts!"
"Zhang Xinyan has already booked him. How are you going to get him? Are we supposed to wait until Shaolin Temple is finished before we start filming? That’ll take forever!"
Although Wang Yang valued Chen Qi, he wasn’t going to indulge him blindly.
Chen Qi thought for a moment and said, "If I can find a way to get Director Zhang to let us have him first, would you agree?"
"If he’s willing, of course I’d agree!"
"Alright, I’ll get to work on it. I’ll try to gather a group of actors before the Spring Festival."
"You’d better make a pledge. If you fail, you’ll have to take responsibility!"
"Ah, pledges only work on Ma Su. Do I look like Ma Su to you?"
This made Wang Yang laugh, and he waved Chen Qi out of the room.
Zhu Dexiong watched with interest and said, "Old Wang, you really do care for this kid."
"Reform isn’t easy these days. He’s a young man with no backing. If I don’t support him, who will? When he grows up, I hope he’ll be like the Monkey King and cause a ruckus in heaven."
Wang Yang thought for a moment and said, "Let’s transfer him temporarily and give him the title of planner."
The Beijing Film Studio had a planning position, which was part of the literature department.
Since a film started with a script, the literature department not only worked with writers but also had the responsibility of finding topics, scouting for screenwriters, and developing scripts.
By giving Chen Qi this title, it meant that Tai Chi was his brainchild.
(End of Chapter)