Chapter 00088: Dragons and Tigers Gather in the Capital (Seeking First Subscription)
# Dragons and Tigers Gather in the Capital (Seeking First Subscription)
Chapter 88
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 88: Dragons and Tigers Gather in the Capital (Seeking First Subscription)
Behind the main building of the Beijing Film Studio lies the No. 1 soundstage, spanning 5,000 square meters and hailed as the largest in Asia.
Behind the soundstage is a vast open area, flanked by residential buildings of the living quarters.
This open space has now been cordoned off with barriers, resembling a construction site, with workers bustling about.
The beginnings of an old street have already taken shape.
This is the Xisi Archway Street being built for the film Camel Xiangzi.
Since the Ming Dynasty, this area has been a bustling hub, filled with shops and teeming with carriages and pedestrians.
Chen Qi and Li Wenhua stood to the side, watching the workers.
After a while, Chen Qi spoke up, "Director Li, should we hold another meeting to discuss the female lead?"
"Discuss what?"
"To see who's suitable!"
"..."
Li Wenhua suddenly rolled his eyes and said, "Just look at your description. The female lead has a congenital weakness, is frail and sickly, always carrying medicine. To avoid burdening others, she has remained unmarried despite her age. She has delicate brows and gentle eyes, is kind and intelligent. Though she lacks martial skills, her theoretical knowledge is exceptional. After being saved by the male lead, she develops feelings for him and teaches him the essence of Tai Chi. They address each other as siblings... Do we even need to discuss this? It's clearly Gong Xue, written stroke by stroke! Little Chen, I really find it strange. When others write scripts, the crew has to go through great lengths to find the right actors. But when you write a script, it's as if the characters have grown straight out of your descriptions!"
"Hehe, maybe it's just a coincidence!"
"One coincidence, two, three, four—all coincidences?"
"Then how do you explain it?"
"Forget it. In all my decades in this industry, this is the first time I've believed in something so uncanny."
"So, do you agree to have Gong Xue as the female lead?"
"Change the script, and I'll agree," Li Wenhua snorted.
At this moment, the status of the screenwriter became evident.
Once the script is finalized, unless the screenwriter makes changes, even the director can't touch it.
Chen Qi felt quite pleased.
Being a cultural figure in the 1980s was great—no need to grovel on the ground...
"Director Li!"
"Little Chen!"
At that moment, someone ran over to report, "A few actors have arrived and are at the guesthouse."
"Alright, let's head over!"
With that, the two hurried back.
Upon reaching the fourth floor of the guesthouse, they saw several doors wide open.
They entered one room, where Yu Hai and Sun Jiankui were tidying up.
"Coach Yu! Jiankui!"
"You're finally here. It's our first time at a film studio, and we're quite nervous," Yu Hai said.
"First time's awkward, second time's familiar. Stop tidying up for now. Let me introduce you to your colleagues!"
The two led them into the second room, where Ge Chunyan and Huang Qiuyan were chatting.
Chen Qi gathered everyone together and said with a smile, "Come, come, let me introduce you. This is Comrade Yu Hai, the head coach of the Shandong team! Comrade Sun Jiankui... These two are from the Beijing team—one specializes in Baguazhang, the other in double swords."
"Hello, hello. We've met at the National Games."
"This is Chen Zhengying, and this is Xiao Tao, your daughter's personal maid. You two are considered employees of Prince Duan—one guards the third level, the other the fifth. Get to know each other."
Sun Jiankui and Ge Chunyan exchanged glances, but there was no tension.
Martial arts is also a sport, and competitive sports are divided by gender.
If men and women were to fight, it would be like... well, let's not go there.
In the third room, Li Lianjie, dressed in a blue tracksuit, was chatting with Wang Qun.
"Hong Kong people aren't reliable either. They said they'd cast me in Shaolin Temple, but instead of becoming a monk, I'm doing Tai Chi first. What kind of nonsense is this?"
"Since we're here, let's just shoot it. It's all movies anyway."
"It's not the same!"
Li Lianjie jumped onto the bed, agile as a monkey, and whispered, "Shaolin Temple pays one yuan a day. We don't even know how much Tai Chi will pay. If it's only fifty cents, shooting for a few months means losing dozens of yuan."
"That much of a difference?"
Wang Qun was also concerned.
Though he was the senior brother, when it came to making money and financial sense, Li Lianjie was the most astute in the entire martial arts team.
His father had passed away early, and with two older brothers and two older sisters, the family relied solely on his mother's meager salary.
He was fortunate to join the martial arts team at 11, and from a young age, he had to earn money to support the family, so he took this very seriously.
By the way, there were always rumors about his grandfather's identity, but there was no concrete evidence...
"Talking? How's the room?"
Just then, Chen Qi, Yu Hai, and the others entered.
Li Lianjie immediately jumped off the bed, full of enthusiasm.
"It's great, really great. It's my first time staying at the film studio's guesthouse, and it feels wonderful."
Yu Hai also chimed in.
The martial arts circle is small, and even fewer make it to major competitions.
Everyone knows each other, but they're not close.
When Li Lianjie heard that Yu Hai was playing Chen Zhengying, he laughed and said, "So you're my master and father-in-law. Please take good care of me!"
He displayed a cleverness far beyond his years, but in some ways, he was also very straightforward.
After chatting for a bit, he pulled Li Wenhua aside and asked quietly, "Director, how much are you paying for the subsidy?"
"Uh..."
Li Wenhua was taken aback by the blunt question.
"Shaolin Temple pays one yuan, so of course we'll pay one yuan too."
"Is that one yuan for the lead actors, or for everyone?"
"The crew treats everyone equally. One yuan for all!"
"Got it!"
Li Lianjie nodded and went back inside.
Chen Qi watched from the side, not engaging much with him.
There would be plenty of opportunities later.
But from these few words, he had already gauged the other's personality and silently lamented that it was no wonder things turned out the way they did later.
Personality truly determines fate.
He earned one yuan a day for Shaolin Temple, and later for Shaolin Kids and North and South Shaolin, it became two yuan a day.
But those Hong Kong extras, lying on the ground playing dead, earned fifty yuan.
To earn that fifty yuan, he even put on makeup and played a corpse.
At the time, someone in Hong Kong offered him three million yuan per movie, but the martial arts team wouldn't let him go.
Comparing the two, it was hard not to have thoughts.
Calling him selfish, opportunistic, or a refined egoist—that's all part of human nature.
His real scandals came later, with the One Foundation and his Buddhist endeavors, but let's not delve into that.
After meeting the actors, as soon as they left the guesthouse, Li Wenhua sighed.
"One yuan a day for subsidies is the highest in the country. We're a big target, and there are countless people jealous of us."
"Only mediocrity goes unnoticed. It's normal."
Chen Qi didn't care and laughed.
"The most important thing right now is to make a good film. In the face of a masterpiece, all reactionaries are paper tigers!"
"You're more carefree than I am. Alright, let's make a good film!"
...
Yuen Woo-ping would join the crew only when filming began.
For now, it was all about intensive training.
These people were all non-professional actors, so they needed to be taught some basics.
As spring blossomed in Beijing, the main creators gradually arrived at the Beijing Film Studio, forming a training class of over a dozen people.
Li Wenhua was the group leader, and Chen Qi the deputy.
The group consisted of national martial arts champions and runners-up, with the weakest being provincial champions.
Only Ji Chunhua had no accolades, and the old guy felt a bit out of place.
But he felt the weight of responsibility: he represented Zhejiang and couldn't let his hometown down!
The others felt the same way—whether from Beijing, Shandong, or Guangxi, they were determined to bring glory and not shame their hometowns!
Chen Qi, sensing this high-spirited atmosphere, was overjoyed.
"In later years, you'd never see such a scene. The crews I worked with, aside from kissing scenes, were all about stunt doubles. Fight scenes were all slow-motion special effects. They couldn't even twirl a sword properly, and their walking had no grace, like they were carrying a turtle shell on their backs. This is what you call dragons and tigers gathering in the capital!"
(Thanks to Lidong's support...
A quick update on the results: The chapter was posted at midnight, and within six hours, the first subscription count has already surpassed 10,000. You guys are amazing! Let's keep it up.
If we can hit 20,000, I'll push myself to the limit and add more chapters!)
(End of Chapter)