Chapter 98

Acquiring the copyright is a simple matter; Shen Zhenghui himself doesn’t need to return to China. He can just give a call and instruct the people in his company in China to handle it. Professor Zheng Wenguang was very pleased that someone was interested in this novel and readily agreed to the copyright and adaptation rights, even willing to sign the contract without any payment.

Professor Zheng Wenguang is a meticulous person. When he heard that the animation film "Puhai Fortress" produced by the company that bought the copyright was being screened, he bought a ticket and went to watch the animation. After watching the film, Professor Zheng wrote a film review for Xinghui Company, stating that although the story was well-shot and the love story was touching, the core of the story, the conflict between humans and aliens, was set up too hastily, making the entire story too soft. He then solemnly handed it to the Xinghui Company staff who came to sign the contract.

Shen Zhenghui received the film review forwarded by Xinghui Company and found it somewhat amusing and touching, while also admiring the meticulous character and noble character of the older generation. However, whether it’s "Puhai Fortress" or "Tokyo Fortress," fundamentally, they are both romance films. The setting of the alien forces is an external need, not an internal one, so beneath the sci-fi facade, they are essentially small romances, and the portrayal of the alien forces is naturally too light and simple. This is similar to Spielberg’s "War of the Worlds," which is criticized from the outset. If the aliens are easily defeated, what’s the point of human resistance? Throughout the film, the alien invasion is merely a backdrop for individual heroism. The weight of the story comes from the intertwining of love, family, and life and death.

However, for sci-fi films (including disaster films), the most important factor is the visual spectacle. If the effects don’t shock and intrigue the audience, the plot, no matter how good, is meaningless. Therefore, Shen Zhenghui initially excluded sci-fi films from his movie plans. After impulsively acquiring the copyright for "Flying to Sagittarius," Shen Zhenghui was somewhat taken aback to find that this story was difficult to adapt.

"Whatever, if I have to do everything myself, what kind of boss am I?" Shen Zhenghui directly assigned the work to Li Hong and Aheng, letting them take over this important task. This would be a project to establish his level. Once completed, it would leave a mark in history, and cooperation with "Science Fiction World" could also be initiated. He informed them of his ideas across the Pacific and gave them instructions.

"We don’t have enough space to publish so many comics," Li Hong said hesitantly, gently suggesting, "There are too many submissions now."

After "Jinhong Comics" became successful, it naturally attracted the attention of comic artists nationwide. At a time when no other comic magazines had emerged, the charm of "Jinhong Comics," backed by an animation company, was irresistible.

"Improve the quality of the submissions," Shen Zhenghui said, "If necessary, you can issue special issues or increase the page count."

"Costs," Li Hong said hesitantly, "Should I discuss this with Mr. Liu?"

Shen Zhenghui narrowed his eyes. Was his word no longer effective? "Sure, talk to her. I’ve already mentioned the cooperation with 'Science Fiction World' to her. She’s busy looking for animation topics, and there are too many unsuitable ones provided by Jinhong Comics now."

Does "Science Fiction World" have suitable topics? Li Hong kept this thought to herself but indicated that she would consider the issue and quickly come up with a feasible plan to inform Shen Zhenghui.

While Shen Zhenghui was still worrying about the next animation project, Fukuda Mitsu gave him a new headache:

"I’ve bought the copyright for 'The King of Fighters.' Get ready to start!"

"Which version of 'The King of Fighters' did you buy?" Shen Zhenghui asked in surprise.

"I bought the package. They sold us all the plots that have been released so far." After a pause, Fukuda Mitsu added, "Use it as much as possible, don’t waste it."

Now it was Shen Zhenghui’s turn to be troubled.

"Starting with such a complex movie is a bit overwhelming. Let’s start with something simpler to test the waters!" Shen Zhenghui rubbed his head. "How’s the search for my assistant director going?"

"You know, it’s hard to get Hong Kong directors to sign long-term contracts, but I found a promising young man through our partners in Hong Kong," Fukuda Mitsu said. "He has a good background, having worked on 'The Storm Riders' and 'The Chinese Hero.'"

"Is he just a production assistant?" Shen Zhenghui asked, somewhat worried.

"Something like that. Because of this, he has a good understanding of the entire production process and has also been involved in post-production." Fukuda Mitsu added, "He’s from the mainland, and his situation is a bit tough. He doesn’t want to return to the mainland and can’t make it in Hong Kong, so he’s planning to come here to try his luck."

"Ah," Shen Zhenghui was about to ask why the young man didn’t want to return to the mainland but remembered the previous conversation with Fukuda Mitsu and held back. "Have him come and meet me. I’ll talk to him."

"Sure, I’ll arrange it." Then Fukuda Mitsu paused, "I hope your new movie has enough female roles."

Shen Zhenghui rolled his eyes.

This young man, Lu Yang, is two years older than Shen Zhenghui and graduated from the Beijing Film Academy’s directing program—so he claimed. He came to Hong Kong in 1996 and started as a script supervisor, working in various crews at ATV, Ringwood, and Wing Shing. He claimed to be proficient in computer technology and had been involved in the post-production of "The Storm Riders" and "The Chinese Hero." Shen Zhenghui found this hard to believe, as the post-production of these films was handled by Xiantao Company, which wouldn’t hire temporary workers. However, Lu Yang argued that he represented the crew in the post-production process, which was hard to refute. Shen Zhenghui discussed film special effects and production with him and found that he was knowledgeable and experienced. After discussing directing and screenwriting, his answers were also reliable. Thus, Shen Zhenghui decided to sign a contract with him and presented two plans for Lu Yang to comment on.

Lu Yang was very interested in the black market boxing theme. In "You Are My Hero," the King of Hong Kong cinema had a segment involving black market boxing. Seeing Shen Zhenghui’s setup, this scene was meant to be a big spectacle. However, upon hearing that a group of girls would be the main characters, Lu Yang instinctively gave up on this plan because it required high acting and martial arts skills. Even a martial arts king like Li would struggle, and Shen Zhenghui, who had only been working out for a while, would find it difficult to play the role of a black market boxing king. A group of girls would be seen as mere eye candy, making the production an impossible task.

On the contrary, the idea of a school fight was interesting. The exaggerated fighting scenes could be easily created with special effects, and the actors only needed some training to pose properly. Lu Yang reported his thoughts to Shen Zhenghui.

Shen Zhenghui was not surprised by this result. It’s not easy to make a good kung fu film, and he didn’t have a national martial arts champion. The school fight was a clever choice and would also help accumulate experience for the special effects needed for "The King of Fighters," which would require special effects if it were to be filmed.

"Can Xiantao Company produce the effects we want?" Shen Zhenghui showed Lu Yang the "Tian Shang Tian Xia" comic panels. "It doesn’t need to be this exaggerated, but the fighting scenes should be as realistic as possible."

"You want a realistic style?" Lu Yang was puzzled. "Shouldn’t it be exaggerated special effects, like Wang Jing’s 'Super School Tyrant' a few years ago?"

"No, I want the punches to land," Shen Zhenghui said, realizing he wanted the effect from "Kung Fu."

"Like in 'The Storm Riders'?"

"I mean the fighting should be realistic, but the impact should be exaggerated," Shen Zhenghui explained, thinking about the effect he wanted.

"If we really want this effect, we need to prepare enough stuntmen and have the actors trained in advance," Lu Yang responded, "Training is essential to avoid injuries during filming." He glanced at Shen Zhenghui, "Do we have martial arts directors in Japan who can handle this?"

"Obviously not, or why would I need you?" Shen Zhenghui said bluntly, "We need to hire martial arts directors and stuntmen from Hong Kong. Make a plan for it."

Lu Yang rubbed his hands together, "Sure, no problem," he hesitated, "What’s the budget for this project?"

Shen Zhenghui thought for a moment. He needed to control the cost of this film, but he could be more generous for "The King of Fighters." "The film budget should be within 500 million yen, and the martial arts direction should be controlled within 100 million yen."

Lu Yang sucked in a breath. That was 30 million Hong Kong dollars, enough for a typical Hong Kong film.

"I have long-term plans for this," Shen Zhenghui continued, "I hope to recruit a knowledgeable person to join our company."

Lu Yang was taken aback.

"Try to see if there’s anyone in the younger generation of the Yuen family who wants to start their own business."

Shen Zhenghui specified that he wanted to recruit someone from the Yuen family, and Lu Yang was momentarily embarrassed, "I’ll go and talk to them."

"Sure, you can be open with Uncle Yuen. I’m not just developing in Japan; I have a company in the mainland, and the focus will be on all of East Asia. Training action actors and producing action films are crucial, so we hope to recruit talent as our own reserve. Of course, for major investments, we still need to cooperate with the Yuen family."

Faced with Shen Zhenghui’s ambitious plans, Lu Yang felt a fire burning in his heart, and his future seemed bright.