Chapter 64

"Mr. Li, the plot is roughly like this. This is the script, you can take a detailed look at it!"

Du Qifeng, a first-time director, was clearly still a bit nervous. In front of Li Xuan, a potential investor, he spoke hesitantly. It took him quite a while to give Li Xuan a brief introduction to the story outline of the movie.

This was a martial arts mystery film about a wandering swordsman named Lu Tianjun who, during a gold escort mission, had the gold stolen and then worked hard to recover it.

Actually, Li Xuan wasn't very optimistic about this movie. Du Qifeng's introduction didn't make him feel particularly excited. Searching his memory from his previous life, he had no impression of this movie at all.

In his previous life, the first movie Li Xuan saw with Anita Mui was "Five Lucky Stars." At that time, he was just starting junior high school and only thought the female lead was very beautiful. He truly remembered Anita Mui after watching her performance as Red Bean in "A Better Tomorrow."

After that, Li Xuan watched most of Anita Mui's movies. He remembered that her breakout role was in "The Story of Wu Yue," directed by Ann Hui in 1981. Therefore, Li Xuan could almost be certain that the movie "The Golden Swallow" she took on before "The Story of Wu Yue" must have flopped.

Li Xuan wasn't interested in flipping through the script. He straightforwardly said, "Mr. Du, this is a typical martial arts film, and the role of You Peipei isn't very significant. I want Ah Hong to play this role as her debut! If you can accept this and modify You Peipei's ending to let the lovers be together, I can invest 200,000!"

Li Xuan wasn't satisfied with the ending where You Peipei was brutally murdered, so he suggested Du Qifeng modify the plot. If Du Qifeng agreed to these two conditions, he would invest 200,000. Regardless of whether the movie flopped, it would be a way to let Anita Mui hone her acting skills. If Du Qifeng refused, it wouldn't matter; he could always start his own film company and create a script tailored for his girlfriend, because that's what having money allows you to do!

Seeing Du Qifeng's somewhat hesitant expression, Li Xuan smiled and said, "Mr. Du, you don't have to reply immediately. You can take some time to think it over and then decide!"

Li Xuan took out his wallet, pulled out a few business cards, and handed one to each person. The cards were very simple, with no titles, only the words "Li Xuan, Oriental Electronics Technology Co., Ltd." and his office phone number below.

The simpler the card, the more it gave a sense of depth. Zeng Zhiwei and the others had only heard Li Xuan introduce himself as a student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Now, with the mention of Oriental Electronics, they couldn't guess his identity but took the cards very seriously.

"Xuan, how about you also invest some money in me and let me make a movie? My last movie, 'Challenge,' grossed 1.85 million in ten days!" Zeng Zhiwei's eyes twinkled as he said this with a half-serious, half-joking smile.

"Investing isn't impossible, but you need to provide a script for me to review first!"

Hong Kong cinema was about to enter its most glorious 1980s. Li Xuan remembered watching pirated VCDs of Hong Kong films at his classmates' homes when he was a child. Although Hong Kong films were generally much rougher in production compared to Hollywood blockbusters, Hong Kong comedies left an indelible impression on his childhood.

He scanned the room and saw Zhong Zhen-tao, Chen Bai-xiang, and Wang Jing, suddenly remembering that Anita Mui had worked with them on a movie called "The Frog Prince." It was a low-budget romantic comedy directed and written by Wang Jing, which did very well at the box office, even making it into the top ten for the year.

"I have an idea. We can make a low-budget romantic comedy. The male lead, born into a wealthy family, is shy by nature. To pursue a girl, he seeks advice from his cousin, who is short, poor, and ugly but has countless girlfriends!" Li Xuan pointed at Zhong Zhen-tao and Zeng Zhiwei, suggesting they could play the cousins, which drew a burst of laughter from everyone.

Li Xuan continued, "The cousin, to teach the nephew how to charm girls, takes him to a high-end Western restaurant. They see a popular female celebrity in the restaurant. The cousin encourages the nephew to pursue the celebrity, while secretly trying to win her over himself. The nephew, forced to do so, actually has his eye on a waitress in the restaurant. Thus, a series of funny stories unfold, and in the end, both couples end up together!"

Li Xuan's memory of "The Frog Prince" was a bit fuzzy, so he added some elements from "Pursuit of a Girl," which Zeng Zhiwei had starred in, and which Li Xuan still had some recollection of.

"The handsome one can't get the girl, while the unattractive one has endless success. I think this contrast and disparity is inherently comedic. The cousin appears to be helping the nephew pursue the celebrity but is secretly undermining him to create opportunities for himself. The nephew, encouraged by his cousin, reluctantly pursues the celebrity but is actually interested in the waitress. This complex love quadrangle can generate a lot of laughs!"

Li Xuan's idea immediately caught Wang Jing and Zeng Zhiwei's attention. Both had experience as screenwriters and felt that this movie had great potential just from Li Xuan's description.

Especially Wang Jing, who had worked as a summer intern at TVB during college, writing jokes for "Tonight's Laughter." Listening to Li Xuan, he already had several good comedic ideas in mind.

"Mr. Li, your story idea is great. How about you sell it to me, and I'll produce it for Shaw Brothers!" Wang Jing said eagerly.

"Hey, Wang Xiaoyan, Shaw Brothers only gives you 20,000 for a movie. Is it worth it to work so hard for them?" Zeng Zhiwei immediately objected, "Xuan is a big spender. Would he lack money? This idea should be given to me. I'll get a script done within a week, and I think Ah Hong would be perfect for the role of the waitress!"

Zeng Zhiwei was indeed more experienced and better at gauging Li Xuan's intentions. However, Li Xuan preferred to have Wang Jing handle the scriptwriting. Although his movies were often criticized as lowbrow comedies, they were grounded in the lives of ordinary Hong Kong citizens, which is why Wang's comedies achieved many small-budget, high-grossing miracles.

"How about this: Brother Wang, you handle the script. Since your directorial contract is with Shaw Brothers, you can be the producer of this movie, and Brother Zeng can direct and star in it. We can start our own company. As long as the script is good, I can sign a check for 1 million as an investment!" Li Xuan said decisively.

As the dinner progressed, everyone's focus shifted away from the meal. Du Qifeng was eager to go back and discuss Li Xuan's conditions with Liu Songren. Zeng Zhiwei and Wang Jing were preparing to work on the script overnight. Zhong Zhen-tao was delighted to have a chance to play the male lead, while Chen Bai-xiang and Tan Yong-lin remained calm, as it didn't concern them directly.