Chapter 59 Audacious to the Extreme

With this question posed, all eyes turned backward to look at the young man sitting in the corner.

Fu Qi also turned his gaze over, quite surprised. Did someone in the mainland actually care about box office revenue? Still, he answered, "As of now, the number one is the foreign film *Moonraker*, with over 7 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office. If we are talking about the top Hong Kong-produced film, that would be *Dance of the Drunken Mantis*, a martial arts movie starring Jackie Chan, which made a little over 5 million."

"Then, how many martial arts films are in the top ten?"

"This..."

Fu Qi was not entirely sure. After whispering a few words with Shi Hui, he said, "There should be three or four. Many Hong Kong films contain martial arts action scenes, but they aren't pure martial arts movies."

Shi Hui stared intently at the speaker, tilting her head to ask, "Who is this person?"

"He is Chen Qi!" Wang Yang said with a smile.

"Oh~"

Shi Hui rolled her eyes, suddenly looking quite delighted.

"A few months ago, the studio organized a screening of an internal reference film called *Drunken Master*, which also starred Jackie Chan. Is he currently the most popular actor in Hong Kong?"

"What is wrong with you, young comrade?"

Before Fu Qi could reply, Deputy Studio Director Sun Wenjin chimed in with a reprimand, "How can anyone else ask questions when you fire off so many in one breath? Besides, what kind of things are you asking about? Box office? Film quality and ideological substance are what matter most!"

"But isn't box office important too?" Chen Qi asked with an innocent look.

"As film workers, our primary responsibility is to art! Don't go on and on about the box office—that shows a severe bourgeois mindset!"

"Oh right, you are entirely right!"

Hey!

Sun Wenjin grew even more irritated. Why did that particular phrasing always carry such a sarcastic undertone?

"Alright, alright. The young comrade is naturally just curious, it's no big deal," Fu Qi smoothed things over, patiently explaining, "To answer your previous question, Jackie Chan is indeed the most popular new star in Hong Kong right now, and his influence is enormous. Do you have any other questions?"

"Is his film popular overseas?"

"Very popular. *Drunken Master* grossed 1.9 billion yen in Japan and drew over 800,000 admissions in South Korea. Much like Bruce Lee, he is widely recognized in Hong Kong as the next kung fu superstar."

"Thank you for the answers. I have no more questions!" Chen Qi smiled.

His sudden interjection left everyone momentarily lost for words, not knowing what else to ask. Eventually, Wang Yang summarized a few key points and brought the seminar to a close.

As the crowd dispersed, Wang Yang called out, "Xiao Chen, come here for a moment!"

"Oh!"

Bearing various meaningful glances from the departing crowd, Chen Qi walked over while mentally rolling his eyes. Office politics existed in every era! Not everyone was as kind and generous as Wang Haowei, especially since he had been rather showy earlier, making him stand out awkwardly in this conservative environment.

More people might jump out to target him in the future.

Still, it didn't matter. Fighting against people was an endless joy!

Chen Qi stepped into the office, where the married couple looked at him with warm smiles. Given their seniority, they looked at him as if he were a child.

"Sit down, Xiao Chen... Come to think of it, this is our first official conversation."

Wang Yang started the dialogue with a smile, "I've actually known about you for a while, lad. I kept looking for a chance to talk, and today happens to be it. I've read your *Cotton Kasaya*. Not bad at all. How did you come up with the idea of writing a martial arts story?"

"My parents work at Xinhua Bookstore, and I've read miscellaneous books since I was a child..."

He pulled out that worn-out excuse again, spouting nonsense with a straight face. "...When I was staying in Lushan with nothing to do, I felt like writing a story. Fearing that literary magazines wouldn't want it, I specifically submitted it to *Story Monthly*. As for my creative motivation, it's very simple. Men, you see..."

Chen Qi paused, then asserted decisively, "Which man doesn't like martial arts?"

All three of them burst into laughter.

Shi Hui, a native of Nanjing, spoke with a soft Jiangnan accent. "That's true. We are currently shooting a film with a Shaolin theme and feel that parts of *Cotton Kasaya* would fit very well into our story. We'd like to incorporate them. What do you think?"

"Which parts?"

"The romantic storyline between the male and female leads. We'd like to borrow some elements—ideally the ending, which we'd like to use directly. Don't worry, we won't shortchange you on compensation."

"No, no. I've heard of your accomplishments and hold you in genuine admiration. It's just a few lines of text; please feel free to take whatever you wish. Mentioning money would be an insult to me. Of course, I do have one small request."

"Please go ahead!"

"Could you include my name in the credits as a screenwriter, even if it's at the very end?"

"Of course! Your story is immensely helpful to us, and your name belongs there," Shi Hui replied readily.

Ah!

Chen Qi sighed inwardly once more. Cultural workers were truly respected in this era.

In later generations, major screenwriters would employ a stable of ghostwriters to build frameworks and outline main plots, leaving the actual writing to the subordinates without giving them any credit. Forget respect—back then, countless screenwriters would happily crawl on the ground just to get their names in the credits...

Fu Qi took a liking to this young man. After a moment of thought, he simply said, "How about this? I think *Cotton Kasaya* is quite good. I'd like to buy the rights to it as well, and you can just write a new ending for it."

"Yes, that works too. Buying scripts is exhausting anyway," Shi Hui added.

Wang Yang chimed in, asking, "Don't that bunch in Hong Kong even write scripts for you?"

"That's right. When they occasionally help out, they have to do it in secret, using pseudonyms out of fear of being found out!"

"Then you two have it awfully tough!" Wang Yang sighed.

After a brief digression, Fu Qi returned to business. "I want to be clear with you upfront: buying the script is one thing, but we have a strict annual production schedule, and *Cotton Kasaya* won't go into production anytime soon."

"That's fine, that's fine. It is already an honor to be noticed by you two!"

While saying this, Chen Qi was privately complaining: what strict schedule, isn't it just a lack of money to shoot more films!

Actually, he was quite surprised by this turn of events. He hadn't expected that some of the creative concepts and the ending of *Cotton Kasaya* would be absorbed into *The Shaolin Temple*, leaving him to write a replacement ending.

That sort of thing was simple enough. Back when *The Shaolin Temple* exploded in popularity, all the subsequent Shaolin-themed films were merely bandwagon jumpers whose endings invariably featured the male lead becoming a monk and the female lead weeping...

Jumping on a bandwagon wasn't inherently bad as long as the quality was guaranteed; what was truly terrifying was chasing trends with garbage productions... and I am looking at you, *Shanghai Fortress*!

Once Fu Qi and Shi Hui finalized the arrangements, they sat for a little longer before rising to leave. Chen Qi handed over *Cotton Kasaya* right then and there without even asking about the payment, knowing they wouldn't treat him unfairly.

Furthermore, having the Leftist camp produce *Cotton Kasaya* suited his plans perfectly. When the time came, he could bring Tsui Hark on board as well.

Anyone certified by Taiwan as a "bandit-sympathizing filmmaker" was one of his own!

"You're a clever lad, knowing how to secure a screenwriting credit to build your resume. If *The Shaolin Temple* succeeds, you'll make a name for yourself alongside it."

"Hehe, just a bit of petty cleverness. You flatter me."

"No, no. This isn't some illegitimate tactic; your request is completely reasonable. However, they shoot films slowly—even slower than we do. You'll be waiting a while!"

Wang Yang had originally intended to discuss Chen Qi joining the Beijing Film Studio, but upon second thought, he decided to wait until *Romance on Lushan Mountain* premiered so he could gauge the opinions of other studio members. With nothing more to say, he prepared to conclude the meeting, only to notice the young man lingering as if he had more to say.

"Is there something else on your mind?"

"Director, I am an outsider, and this is my first time talking to you. Strictly speaking, I have no standing to speak, but I truly have an idea."

"What kind of idea?"

"You heard it yourselves just now: martial arts films are immensely popular in Hong Kong and overseas as well—grossing 1.9 billion yen in Japan, drawing massive crowds in South Korea, and so on. Could *The Shaolin Temple* achieve that kind of success too?"

"That's hard to say. Films have too many uncertain variables. One picture might hit, while the very next one could bomb," Wang Yang shook his head.

"Yes, yes. But listening to the seminar gave me a wild thought—if it sounds absurd, just consider it nonsense on my part... I was thinking, since foreigners love watching our martial arts films, shouldn't we produce more of them?"

Chen Qi looked straight at the veteran studio director and dropped a final thought: "They will definitely be popular domestically too. But if we can take them overseas... what if—just what if we manage to earn foreign currency?"

"What did you say?!"

Wang Yang leaped straight to his feet.