Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 234 Gong Li is going to break into Hollywood? "My Sassy Girl" breaks 4000 million!
The summer nights in Hong Kong are really hot.

Even here in Fei'e Mountain, it's so hot that you don't want to wear clothes.

Ma Xun and Gong Li were lying side by side on the hood of the car.

She was smoking a cigarette, resting her head on her hands, looking at the night sky.

Fortunately, there are no dark clouds today.

The stars and the moon shine together, and Ma Xun seems to absorb the essence of the sun and the moon after being injected with positive energy.

"The way of playing seems to have changed now." Gong Li exhaled a puff of mist and then said.

Ma Xun heard this and said, "If you don't like the old man pushing the cart, you can change it to the old tree with twisted roots."

Gong Li chuckled, "Who told you that!"

"So you want to talk about the movie?"

Ma Xun was just joking, he certainly knew what Gong Li wanted to say.

Gong Li nodded, "It seems that the investors are different now."

Ma Xun also became more serious. "Sister, when you were filming Red Sorghum, all the money was from the system. Later, it was foreign capital and Hong Kong capital. Now, after so many years, our private capital has also risen."

The term "private capital" is very interesting, and Gong Li understood it as soon as he heard it.

It is private enterprise capital, and at present, it is Zhang Xinming.

Well, Ma Xun and Sun Donghai can also be considered private capital, and they have been in this circle before.

What Ma Xun meant was that there are more private capitals now, not only them, but also the Wang brothers, Mr. Li, Haiyan, Deng Jianzhong and so on.

Of course, there weren’t many private investors who dared to touch the film industry, but there have indeed been big changes now.

Gong Li stopped smoking. "So from now on, these private business owners will have the final say?"

Ma Xun smiled, "It's not easy to say. But it can reflect one thing."

"What is it?"

"In the current film market in mainland China, many people should have seen the opportunity to make money.

This can be called the money-making effect. When this effect occurs, it will attract more funds.”

"This...what do you mean?"

"Sister, the film market in our mainland is going to pick up."

Ma Xun's words had a significant impact on Gong Li.

Gong Li can actually be said to be a very lucky actress. She has never filmed a TV series since her debut until now, and most of the movies she has filmed are excellent.

Whether in terms of status or box office influence, she is one of the top female stars in the country today.

However, she actually also experienced an entire dark period for our Chinese film market.

From the late 80s to the present, the domestic film market is really hard to describe.

Fortunately, there has been some improvement in recent years, but it hasn’t really taken off yet.

Gong Li is obviously making a decision as to whether or not she should venture into Hollywood.

This year, she is in her thirties, which is the right age for adventure.

But from what Ma Xun said now, it seems that staying in the country to develop is not a bad idea.

Obviously, Ma Xun saw through Gong Li's thoughts.

"You are really amazing." Although this comment seemed to be spoken casually, it came from Gong Li's heart.

Ma Xun continued with a smile, "If you go to Hollywood, there's nothing wrong with it, but there's a particularly serious problem there. That is, any actor from outside of Hollywood who goes there, no matter how big a star he is in his own country, will become a rookie in Hollywood. This is a very abominable practice."

You are right, that is the situation.

Gong Li also knew this, which is why she hesitated.

Nowadays, filmmakers all over the world actually yearn for Hollywood.

But as soon as they get to Hollywood, Hollywood no longer treats them as human beings.

Big stars in their own country can only play supporting roles in Hollywood, or even not even a supporting role and become extras.

Like Chow Yun-fat and Jet Li.

Especially Jet Li, he had a very frustrating time in Hollywood.

The initial salary offered to him was 100 million US dollars, which was not a big price drop, so he just accepted it.

When the other side sees that you accept it, they press it again.

He also accepted the last 50.

But there are various fees included in the 50, and the agent over there also needs to share something.

He didn't make a single cent (he said this himself when he was on Lu Yu's show).

Moreover, his role was the villain in "Lethal Weapon 4", and he didn't have many scenes. Although he played a powerful character, he only appeared for a few minutes, and he was even required to keep a braid. The image of this character is the epitome of the stereotype that Americans have of us Chinese.

This character is pure black for us.

He answered.

This is where Ma Xun started to dislike Jet Li.

In fact, I really liked it in the past. I believe that any young Chinese who likes movies will like Jet Li’s kung fu movies. The fighting scenes are so beautiful and exciting.

Unfortunately, in his quest to make it in Hollywood, he has no bottom line.

But, then again, Hollywood really treats stars from other countries equally.

It’s the same when European stars go there; they all have to start with small roles.

After listening to Ma Xun's words, Gong Li pondered for a long time.

"But that's Hollywood. Who wouldn't want to give it a try?"

Ma Xun did not persuade him much, but just said: "Whether you go or not is up to you. I am only expressing my own opinion. They are playing cultural hegemony, by belittling the star actors of other countries, thus elevating the status of American stars.

If you go, you may succeed, but first you will encounter humiliation, which will tear your previous halo as an international film queen to pieces.

Weigh the pros and cons yourself."

Gong Li was indeed touched by Ma Xun's words.

That's what Hollywood does all the time.

Although she hasn't made a complete decision yet, she has been shaken a lot.

"Let's talk about your movie."

"mine?"

"That movie 'My Sassy Girl' is quite popular."

"of course."

"You're so proud."

"What? You want to be in my movie?"

"If I don't go to Hollywood, I have to act in a hit movie."

"We already have 2046."

"Don't give me that! Everyone knows that guy Wang in sunglasses is terribly slow at filming. God knows when he can finish this movie."

At this point, Ma Xun and Gong Li couldn't help but burst out laughing.

It feels really good to team up to cheat someone.

However, Ma Xun is not sure what kind of movies he will make in the future.

As for the rest...

"Do you think it will work once?" Gong Li asked.

"Anyway, I have confidence. It depends on whether you have confidence or not." Ma Xun definitely had something else in his words.

"Humph!"

After hearing this, Gong Li simply turned over.

It turns out that we need to change the way we play.

……

Until the end, Ma Xun never asked Gong Li why she wanted a child now.

But the most likely reason is that it was because of relatives who were eyeing her property.

Gong Li is a famous woman, and her wealth is definitely not a small amount.

I wonder how many people are coveting the money of a famous woman without children.

As for the original time and space...she hadn't divorced yet at that time, so she probably didn't expect that she would still get nothing even after the divorce.

But I didn’t think much about it.

After a night of hard work sowing seeds, Ma Xun was still full of energy.

It seems that he has mastered it now. His threshold is higher than when he was a young boy, and his strength becomes stronger as he gets older.

After all, he is not yet thirty, and has not yet reached the prime of a man's life.

That said, there is room to grow.

Therefore, when discussing the details of cooperation with Zhang Xinming and King of Sunglasses, it was also a steady performance.

To be honest, Ma Xun has no interest in "2046".

He even dared to say that maybe Sunglass King himself didn't know what the movie was about. This was not a random statement. Ma Xun remembered very clearly that later Sunglass King publicly stated that he himself was not sure who was the heroine.

Because at the beginning it was decided that Gong Li would be the female lead, but later he added more roles for Zhang Ziyi.

When asked this question by a reporter, this is the only answer I could give.

The King of Sunglasses is a representative figure who takes pictures wherever he thinks of. Moreover, there are many shots in this film. He also invited well-known actors to come and shoot them well... and then they were all cut out.

You are gone after one cut.

Zhang Zhen was the unlucky guy, and it was said that what was cut were his large-scale scenes with Carina Lau.

This melon is absolutely authentic.

But, Ma Xun is, after all, the key figure in the successful investment promotion of "2046".

Zhang Xinming, Sun Donghai, and also Long Wu and others, these bosses are at least related to Ma Xun.

So...

"We can't treat Boss Ma unfairly."

"That's right, I suggest that we give Boss Ma at least 5% of the profits!"

"I think this is okay."

Zhang Xinming was so generous that others followed suit.

Ma Xun didn't spend a penny and just got 5% for free!

Go ahead and fool me. I told you to fool me.

Look, they have us to thank.

But even though Ma Xun didn't like this movie, why not take it if he could get it for free.

But, once you get it, you have to do it.

"I think it would be better to leave the communication between the mainland and Hong Kong to Mr. Ma."

Zhang Xinming, the coal boss, is quite knowledgeable. He knows that he knows nothing and now he tries to show his goodwill to Ma Xun.

Liaison work is indeed very important and it is also a good job.

"That's what I didn't say."

Ma Xun knew that it would be bad to refuse, but the job was not bad anyway.

Moreover, the key here is Zhang Xinming's attitude.

If he sided with me, wouldn't that ruin Long Wu and Sun Donghai's plan?

Although, Ma Xun still doesn't know what specific plans these two guys have.

But Zhang Xinming is a wealthy coal boss, which means he is one of the sources of funds.

If Long Wu and Sun Donghai get Zhang Xinming's full support, wouldn't that be a major concern for me, Ma Xun?

So, as long as Zhang Xinming sides with me.

No matter what, it's a good thing.

But for Sun Donghai and Long Wu, it was a kind of destruction.

Now it seems that Ma Xun has the upper hand.

So, we have almost finished talking about "2046".

It’s hard to say when the King of Sunglasses will take the photo.

After all, In the Mood for Love hasn’t been released yet.

But Ma Xun’s trip to Hong Kong is not over yet.

……

Macao.

The most famous thing here is of course gambling.

Now that the business is done, the next step is to have some leisure and entertainment.

Just relax.

Ma Xun is honest and he has an incompatible relationship with gambling and drugs!
So, he had no intention of setting foot here.

But now there are some small problems.

"Hey, Mr. Ma, don't you want to have some fun?"

"Boss Zhang, I'll just wait and see. I've never had very good luck. Let me tell you this, I always buy lottery tickets, but I've never won even five dollars."

"Haha... that's really bad luck."

"You play."

Zhang Xinming, the old gambler, finally seized the opportunity.

Ma Xun could see that this Lisboa might be Zhang Xinming’s favorite place, much better than the previous Paradise on Earth.

Of course, some people can see these.

"Boss Zhang, I'll accompany you."

Sun Donghai had no scruples and he went straight to the table with Zhang Xinming.

Seeing this, Ma Xun didn't say anything and just smiled.

Obviously, Sun Donghai wanted to further win over Zhang Xinming, the coal boss.

Just as Ma Xun had expected.

It seems that Sun Donghai, Long Wu and others are indeed short of money at the moment.

Of course, when Ma Xun and Sun Donghai were still working together, Sun Donghai did make money, but much less than Ma Xun.

Besides, Sun Donghai is even more ruthless than Ma Xun in drinking and sex.

Alcohol and sex will cost you money.

Well, to be precise, the actresses that Ma Xun has played with have all become very successful later on and were able to help him make money.

Therefore, Ma Xun's wealth did not decrease but increased.

The two are completely different.

But we won’t talk about these anymore. The reason we came to Lisboa this time was actually because Zhang Xinming said he wanted to introduce someone to Ma Xun.

This is most likely the person that the coal boss Zhang Xinming wants to support.

They had already started, so Ma Xun simply wandered around the casino with a glass of wine.

Definitely not playing it, but it's okay to watch.

But unexpectedly, he met a girl not long after.

He was wearing casual clothes, which seemed a bit out of place with this place.

But as soon as he saw Ma Xun, he immediately started laughing.

"You must be Mr. Ma."

"You are……"

Ma Xun was actually pretending because he had already figured out who this girl was.

Huo Siyan.

……

"Oh, what a coincidence, you met first, that saves a lot of trouble, Mr. Ma, this Miss Huo is the daughter of my friend, you have to help her."

"Oh, I understand what Boss Zhang means. Why not just do 2046 this time?"

"Good! Very good! Xiaoyan, why don't you thank Mr. Ma?"

"Thank you Mr. Ma."

Sure enough, Huo Siyan was the person Zhang Xinming wanted to introduce to Ma Xun.

And now she has just played the sister of the chatterbox Zhang Damin.

Ma Xun had heard that Huo Siyan actually had a lot of negative information about her, and that she was also related to the coal boss, but most of them were just rumors.

Now looking at it...it's nothing.

Anyway, Ma Xun had no interest in what their relationship was like.

It’s just that Huo Siyan is indeed young now, and her attitude towards Ma Xun is quite nice.

"I really like Mr. Ma's "My Sassy Girl", it's really good, I've watched it twice, oh yeah, I think it was just today.

The box office is 4000 million!"

what?
Ma Xun was stunned. He had been busy with other things these days and had ignored this matter.

Once the 4000 million mark is passed, it means that "My Sassy Girl" is really a hit!
So, is 5000 million not possible?
Sun Donghai saw all this from the side and immediately became excited.

"This is all good news! Come on, let's celebrate!"

"That's a good suggestion."

Indeed, let's celebrate.

But Ma Xun actually wants to go back to the mainland...

(End of this chapter)