Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 168 A Milestone: Who Wouldn't Want It?
The two had just checked into a hotel when Jiang Zhiqiang called Wu Yuchen to arrange a visit the next day. Although short, Jiang Zhiqiang was incredibly charismatic, and he put his arm around Li An's shoulder.

"Haha, great news! Director Wu said he welcomes us and told us to go see him tomorrow!"

Li An breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, feeling much more at ease, as it was a good omen.

However, sometimes, the more you fear something going wrong, the more likely something will happen.

That evening, just after finishing dinner, Li An saw Jiang Zhiqiang arrive with a very unpleasant expression, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Brother Qiang, what's up?"

“Li Lianjie has withdrawn from the show…” Jiang Zhiqiang said, rubbing his head, a look of dejection on his face.

"How could that be? Weren't we having a good chat before?!" Li An's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

Jet Li is the absolute male lead of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and most of the investment for this martial arts film would have to come from the kung fu emperor Jet Li. The previous investors were willing to invest 8000 million because they were optimistic about the combination of Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, but unfortunately, they encountered the Asian financial crisis and lacked liquidity.

Jiang Zhiqiang sighed: "He said he's planning to marry Lizhi next year, and he won't be accepting any more movie roles then..."

"Marriage? Marriage won't affect his filming. We can change the filming schedule so as not to interfere with their honeymoon. I'll fly over to him right away and have a good talk with him..." Li An said anxiously.

Jiang Zhiqiang waved his hand: "It's no use. You don't know how much he loves his wife. He worked tirelessly, filming movies to help pay off tens of millions in debt. Now he wants to fulfill her 10-year promise. I've said everything I could, it's completely useless..."

"This..." Li An scratched his head, not knowing what to say. After all, he himself had gone through several very difficult years when his wife supported him, so he wouldn't belittle the matter of marriage.

Ultimately, it's the impact of their investors withdrawing their funding that's causing the delay. It not only wasted two months but also added a lot of uncertainty. What if the filming isn't finished next year? Will Li Lianjie still get married? Maybe he should just call it off.

But now that the male lead is gone, how can I possibly ask Wu Yuchen for investment tomorrow?!
……

The following day, Wu Yuchen took time out of his work on the film's pre-production team to treat the two men who had come to him to a Chinese restaurant. Hearing about the pairing of Jiang Zhiqiang and Li An yesterday immediately reminded him of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the first Chinese-language film to win an Oscar. In its previous life, after winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, it was instantly hailed as a legend in China, a true milestone.

As for "The Last Emperor," which won more awards, sorry, it's a film entirely in English, not a Chinese-language film. Even if Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh's Mandarin in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" wasn't perfect, it was still Chinese.

Wu Yuchen had never even considered adapting "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" before. The novel's rights had long been acquired by Li An, and it wasn't something you could just decide to film. The fact that these two were approaching him now suggested something was wrong. He remembered that in his previous life, the film had changed investors before finally finding Sony and Columbia to produce it.

Just as Wu Yuchen was pondering, he saw Li An walk in with a short man.

"Director Li, it's been a long time! Mr. Jiang, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Wu Yuchen greeted first.

He would not underestimate the short Jiang Zhiqiang in front of him, a very capable and successful international film businessman.

When it comes to successful Chinese producers in Hollywood, Zhang Jiazhen and Jiang Zhiqiang are two names that come to mind. Zhang Jiazhen initially bet on Wu Baige, enjoying several years of success. Then Jiang Zhiqiang rose to prominence, hitting big with films like *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* and *Hero*, riding the wave of martial arts films to become Asia's top producer. Ultimately, both turned their attention to mainland China—to make money!
"Director Wu, we apologize for disturbing your film preparations during our visit!" Jiang Zhiqiang said with a smile.

Wu Yuchen waved his hand and smiled, "It's alright, we're all family, there's always time for a meal."

While eating, the group first chatted about Wu Yuchen's "The Sixth Sense," and then talked about Jackie Chan, whose "Rush Hour" was released in mid-September and has already grossed over $120 million in North America, setting a record for the highest-grossing film by a Chinese actor and breaking the box office ceiling for films with Chinese protagonists, shocking Hollywood.

Many Americans are obsessed with Jackie Chan's Chinese kung fu. Wherever he promotes his films, fans shout "Jack Chan!" and "Kung Fu!"
Jackie Chan has now entered the top tier of Hollywood, and is irreplaceable, enjoying immense success.

Jiang Zhiqiang smiled and praised, "We Chinese have first produced Director Wu, and then stars like Jackie Chan. I believe our path in Hollywood will only get easier in the future!"

After accepting the compliment, Wu Yuchen didn't want to waste too much time, so he tentatively asked, "Mr. Jiang, Director Li, how have you two been lately?"

In fact, he noticed that Li An had been looking worried ever since he came in, so the two of them must have encountered something.

Jiang Zhiqiang sighed upon hearing this:

"Director Wu, Li An and I are preparing to film Wang Dulu's 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' but the investors withdrew their funding. We originally wanted to ask you for help, Director Wu. But now the situation is even worse, and we're too embarrassed to ask you..."

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this, thinking, "You were too embarrassed to say it, but you still said it anyway."
This actually piqued his interest: "Have you two encountered an even more difficult situation?"

Jiang Zhiqiang nodded and then recounted the whole story, since Li Lianjie's withdrawal from the show couldn't be kept secret and could be confirmed with a single phone call.

Wu Yuchen finally understood: investors withdrew their funding and the biggest star, the male lead, dropped out of the show—it was like adding insult to injury!
Li An no longer concealed his feelings and poured out all his bitterness:
"Moreover, my script for 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' was designed based on Jet Li. No one can replace his masterful demeanor and charisma as a martial artist. I don't know how this movie could have been made without him!"

Wu Yuchen nodded in agreement. Li Lianjie was skilled in kung fu, had a great presence, and was a familiar face in Hollywood, making him the most suitable choice. Even if Jackie Chan wanted to play Li Mu Bai, he couldn't; he was simply unsuitable. Moreover, he had previously collaborated with Michelle Yeoh and martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping on "Tai Chi Master," and the chemistry between the three was truly amazing.

If Wu Yuchen hadn't seen the finished film of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in his previous life, he would definitely have chosen Jet Li.

Wu Yuchen picked up the teapot and poured tea for Li An, saying with a smile, "Director Li, don't rush, have some tea to cool down."

Then Wu Yuchen asked calmly, "Director Li, did you bring the script? I'd like to take a look."

Jiang Zhiqiang's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, which meant that Wu Yuchen was still interested!

He immediately took the script out of his briefcase and showed it to Wu Yuchen.

In his previous life, Wu Yuchen had read both the novel and the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and read them more than once. Now, after reading the script he created for Jet Li, he noticed many differences in the details.

First of all, this version of Li Mu Bai has significantly more screen time than Chow Yun-fat's version in the previous life, and also includes several more major action scenes. Wu Yuchen can understand this; since it was tailor-made for Jet Li, it's impossible to leave his excellent martial arts skills unused.

After Chow Yun-fat was recast as the male lead, director Lee On-cheung drastically reduced the number of action scenes, because Chow Yun-fat's martial arts skills were simply not up to par. At Chow Yun-fat's age, he could relearn English, but he simply couldn't keep up with the martial arts training. While Chow Yun-fat might not be as good as Jet Li in terms of fight performance, he perfectly captured the essence of the character "Li Mu Bai" in terms of "character temperament."

Then there's the character style. If Chow Yun-fat's Li Mu Bai is a Confucian swordsman, then Jet Li's version is a heroic swordsman. In fact, in the novel "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Li Mu Bai is described as masculine and chivalrous, with movements as swift as a dragon, exuding grandeur and magnificence. If we're really going to follow the original work, Jet Li is indeed more suitable, as both the role and the acting style are very compatible.

Another point is that with Li Mubai having more screen time, other characters naturally have less. For example, the role of Yu Jiaolong has been reduced accordingly in the script.

After a while, when Wu Yuchen finished watching, he noticed that Jiang Zhiqiang and Li An were both staring at him expectantly. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Director Li, is this film you're aiming for the Oscars?"

"I couldn't hide it from Director Wu's eyes. I wanted to make 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' as understandable as possible to Western audiences." The main characters, Li Mu Bai and Yu Xiu Lian, were designed for Western intellectuals. Their Platonic love, Shakespearean dialogue, and lofty humanistic ideals were all perfectly suited to their tastes. The main characters, Luo Xiao Hu and Yu Jiao Long, with their bold and daring Western cowboy personalities, were designed for ordinary viewers. The story of Li Mu Bai avenging his master by killing the Blue-Eyed Fox subtly echoed the main plot of "The Count of Monte Cristo," which was no secret to those in the know.

As Wu Yuchen pondered, he gently tapped the table with his right index finger, making a clicking sound that made Li An and Jiang Zhiqiang tense up.

Wu Yuchen then smiled and said, "Director Li, I actually think it's not impossible to film without Li Lianjie."

Li An perked up: "Director Wu, I'm all ears for your brilliant ideas!"

Wu Yuchen chuckled: "I wouldn't call it a brilliant idea. It's just a matter of changing the male lead's character from a chivalrous hero to a refined scholar. Then we can find another suitable actor. Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung Ka-fai, or there are good actors from mainland China. You can choose from them."

"What about the fight scenes?"

"As for the action scenes, it depends on the quality of the actors you find. If they're not up to par, you can add more scenes for Yu Jiaolong and Yu Xiulian. Besides, Yu Xiulian and Yu Jiaolong are quite interesting. One is outwardly masculine but inwardly feminine, and the other is outwardly feminine but inwardly masculine. You could appropriately increase their screen time, which might make the Oscars like them more."

Upon hearing this, Li An knew that Wu Yuchen had truly understood his script. After a moment of serious thought, his eyes lit up.
"Director Wu, your idea is good, but I don't know if the movie can still attract enough viewers if it lacks Jet Li's wonderful martial arts."

“You should ask director Yuen Woo-ping to help you solve this problem,” Wu Yuchen said with a smile.

In fact, this was the way Li An handled things in his previous life, but now that it has happened suddenly, he hasn't had time to react.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiqiang immediately chimed in, "That's right, Master Yuan is known as the world's number one action choreographer. Even if someone else were to design him, he could still create spectacular fight scenes! Director Wu, since you're interested in the script, then..."

Wu Yuchen chuckled: "I've invested in this project!"

With such a fantastic investment opportunity presented by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," it would be foolish not to invest. It was the first Chinese-language film to win an Oscar, grossed $2 million worldwide, and directly sparked global interest and a trend for Chinese martial arts films. It's undoubtedly a significant milestone in Chinese cinema!
Li An and Jiang Zhiqiang both showed surprise and joy, and couldn't help but clasp their hands in thanks, saying, "Director Wu, thank you so much! We've encountered these kinds of things one after another, and we all thought the project was going to fail. We never expected you to be willing to help us in our time of need!"

Wu Yuchen waved his hand generously and said, "We're all on the same side, so of course we should help each other out when someone is in trouble. Besides, I have a lot of faith in Director Li's abilities, and I'm sure he won't let me down."

Li An's directing ability is beyond doubt, and he has a deep understanding of Western aesthetics and values, enabling him to tell Eastern stories using Western values.

Throughout Li An's works, this dialectical relationship is what he most loves to explore. East and West, reason and emotion, morality and desire, etiquette and freedom, family and nation and individual, humanity and bestiality...

It was no accident that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won an Oscar.

Li An looked at Wu Yuchen with deep gratitude in his eyes. Although the other party was rich, even a major Hollywood film studio wouldn't trust him like this.

The rumors are true; Wu Yuchen is incredibly righteous!
Subsequently, the two parties agreed on an investment of $1500 million, with Miracle Pictures contributing $1200 million and Jiang Zhiqiang contributing $300 million. He was running around doing all the work because he was also an investor.

In his previous life, this guy brought in 650 million in investment from Sony Columbia, and he paid for the rest himself. He even mortgaged his own company for it. As a result, he made more than ten times his initial investment by going all in. The copyright of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" also belonged to his Edko Films.

However, now that Wu Yuchen is involved, he doesn't need to take that risk. Naturally, Wu Yuchen will take the lion's share. The copyright of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" belongs to Miracle Films, and Edko Films will enjoy 20% of the profits.

The entire process of the film was done according to Hollywood standards, and there was a guarantee upon completion of the film. This reassured Li An that even if something went wrong, the insurance company would cover it.

Now that they were on the same side, Li An thought for a moment and then discussed his filming plans with Wu Yuchen:

“Director Wu, if we follow your approach, I’ll have to extend the training time for the actresses. The movie might not be released next year, and it might not even make it to the Oscars the year after.”

It's 98 now, and Li An's idea is that the most likely target for the Oscars is the 2001 ones. With such a long gap in between, Wu Yuchen might have some complaints.

Wu Yuchen smiled generously: "Director Li, we are both directors, I understand. I also suggest that you put the quality of the film first, there's no need to rush."

He was very clear about the entire process of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in his previous life. First, he trained for nearly half a year, then filmed from July to December of the following year, released the year after, and won an Oscar the year after that. It was developing quite well according to the original trajectory.

Moreover, Wu Yuchen himself wants to try to win the title of the first Chinese-language Oscar next year. It would be good for the company to produce an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, but how can it compare to him directing and winning the first Best Foreign Language Film?

Who doesn't want a milestone?
If Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had been released a year earlier, wouldn't that have meant going head-to-head with him? The current situation is fine; even if he fails to make the cut, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be there to guarantee a release the following year.

He then shook his head inwardly, deciding to focus on filming "The Sixth Sense" first; there was no need to rush things for next year.

Regarding the roles in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Wu Yuchen didn't want to interfere too much. At most, he would recommend anyone around him who wanted the role, but the final decision rested with Li An, since he was the director and scriptwriter and knew best what he wanted to express.

Therefore, he didn't know who Li An would choose this time. Let alone whether Yu Jiaolong would still be played by Zhang Ziyi, perhaps even Li Mu Bai wouldn't be played by Chow Yun-fat, but rather by Leung Ka-fai. After all, Leung Ka-fai was the male lead in "New Dragon Gate Inn," hailed as the premier Chinese martial arts film, and his performance was outstanding.

In his previous life, Chow Yun-fat was chosen to secure investment from Sony and Columbia Pictures, since Chow Yun-fat had already made his way into Hollywood. But now, Wu Yu-chen has directly secured the investment, so he really can't say who Li An will choose this time.

It's worth mentioning that Jet Li was originally cast as the male lead in "New Dragon Gate Inn," but he withdrew for some reason, and Leung Ka-fai took over. It would be hilarious if Leung Ka-fai pulled a similar stunt this time.

After finalizing the arrangements for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Wu Yuchen didn't linger with Li An and immediately threw himself into filming "The Sixth Sense." Bruce Willis only gave him 40 days, which fortunately was enough for Wu Yuchen.

The filming locations for "The Sixth Sense" are not complicated at all. Everything was set up in Philadelphia, and there was no need to move between cities. As long as the actors performed well, there were basically no problems.

That evening, Jennifer Connelly asked in Wu Yuchen's arms, "Wu, are you sure this is a horror movie? Why do I feel that my script is so heartwarming? It's completely about a mother and son getting to know each other."

"Oh yes, honey, just treat it like a family movie. The thriller part isn't your job; you're responsible for bringing out the warm and tender emotions in the audience's hearts, understand?"

Jennifer Connelly pursed her lips upon hearing this, saying with a hint of melancholy, "I'm not even 28 yet, and I'm already playing a mother! Oh my god!"

Wu Yuchen thought to himself that the actress who played his mother in his past life was only 25 years old, but he still comforted himself:

"Don't worry, I guarantee this film will break your career box office record!"

Then, Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "You know what, darling, I want to call you 'Mom' right now~"

He looked at the pair of huge, white eyes in front of him, which were shining brightly, and immediately buried his head in them...

(End of this chapter)