Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

The story in the script is not original and has a strong Hollywood style. Judging from the movie's title and script, you can probably tell that this is a special effects movie.

Special effects movies are a hallmark of Hollywood. They became popular in the late 1970s and, after nearly 20 years of development, have become a hallmark of Hollywood.

Especially in recent years, with the development of computers and the increasing sophistication of digital technology, visual effects have become increasingly realistic and have been enthusiastically received by audiences. As a result, making special effects movies has become a trend in Hollywood, with countless special effects films being produced every year, and their share in the global box office rankings is also increasing.

Among special effects movies, science fiction movies are the most popular.

However, this new film from Hamlet's Company is not a science fiction film, but a fantasy film that incorporates popular kung fu elements, making it a very appealing product.

While the addition of fantasy and kung fu elements is novel, the story follows a familiar formula: an evil force attempts to invade Earth, and when humanity faces an unprecedented crisis, the protagonist steps forward to save the planet and protect all of humanity, single-handedly saving the world and showcasing individual heroism to the fullest.

Hu Xiaoxiao carefully examined the script. The title, translated into Chinese, could be called *The Magic Contract*. It tells the story of Noah, a retired US special forces soldier who returns to his hometown and discovers that his sister's family, who own an antique shop, have died mysteriously and in gruesome ways. Through investigation, Noah discovers that the tragedy was caused by a strange parchment scroll received by the antique shop, covered in eerie black runes. His sister had cut her finger while peeling fruit, and the blood dripping onto the scroll activated it. The runes on the scroll transformed into black tentacles, passing through the bodies of his sister's family and draining their blood. Then the tentacles returned to the scroll, the black runes faintly tinged with red.

Noah learned from an elderly professor with white hair and a long beard that the parchment scroll was a contract from the demon realm, which could not be touched by blood; once blood was drawn, it would be activated. As more and more blood was absorbed, the runes on the contract would turn from black to red. When the runes turned the color of blood, it would open the gates to the demon realm, and demonic spirits would pour out, harming the creatures of Earth. Furthermore, from the moment the contract began to absorb blood, a crack would appear at the connection between Earth and the demon realm; the redder the runes, the deeper the crack.

Noah tried everything he could—burning it, soaking it in water—but he couldn't destroy the magic contract. Demonic energy was already seeping into the earth from the cracks.

Under the old professor's guidance, Noah learned that to destroy the Demon Contract, he must find a wisp of fire left behind when the Phoenix immolated itself, and use a branch of the Sun Tree as fuel to burn the Demon Contract to ashes. However, both of these places were extremely dangerous.

The old professor also told Noah that if he wanted to successfully obtain the two items and repair the spacetime rift, he needed to find the descendants of the Eastern wizard for help. This was because, a thousand years ago, the ancestors of the Eastern wizard had participated in sealing the magic contract and repairing the spacetime rift.

In order to collect the Phoenix Fire and the branches of the Sun Tree, Noah found several retired comrades and formed a small team.

With the old professor's guidance, Noah found Li Lin, who ran a bookstore on an old-fashioned street in Philadelphia. Li Lin was a descendant of an Eastern wizard, and Noah persuaded her to join him in destroying the magic contract and saving humanity.

Hu Xiaoxiao skimmed through the early plot, noting that the key scenes were the Death Valley where the Phoenix was retrieved, the dungeon where the Sun Tree branch was obtained, and the battle with the mutated creatures while sealing the rift. These three scenes would heavily utilize special effects and were the film's main selling points.

After reading the script, Hu Xiaoxiao picked up a pen and deleted all the passionate scenes between the female lead and the male lead. She said to Dong Peiyu, "I will not act in passionate scenes, and any changes to the female lead's storyline must be approved by me. This must be written in the contract. If they accept this, we can proceed with the signing; if they do not accept this, then I can only apologize."

Besides fantasy and kung fu elements, the script also wanted to include several steamy scenes between the male and female leads during the most dangerous moments to increase the film's appeal. Hu Xiaoxiao was furious; these had to be cut! She also needed to have the female lead's veto power over the script, otherwise, who knew if another passionate scene would be added during filming? The contract was already signed, and not filming it would mean a huge financial loss.

Hu Xiaoxiao and Dong Peiyu carefully studied the script several times, picking out some plot points that were not conducive to Hu Xiaoxiao's image and compiling them together.

Dong Peiyu took these summaries to Philip and negotiated with him. When Philip heard that Hu Xiaoxiao was unwilling to act in a sex scene, he objected. How could a Hollywood hero male lead not have any erotic scenes? How many stars have sacrificed themselves and performed all kinds of explicit scenes in order to break into Hollywood and become famous?

But Dong Peiyu's attitude was very firm: if he didn't delete it, then there was no point in talking.

Philip eventually compromised. As Huang Yuliang said, it wasn't that Hu Xiaoxiao needed them, but rather that they needed Hu Xiaoxiao to help them open up the Asian market.

They had approached many Asian actors before, but were not satisfied with any of them; none could compare to Hu Xiaoxiao. Moreover, this was a film with kung fu elements, and the female lead, Li Lin, had many fight scenes. They desperately needed a female star who could fight beautifully to enhance the entertainment value of the kung fu.

Asia has the world's most populous population, and its film market is the largest in the world after Europe and America. For Hamlet Film Company to expand into overseas markets and increase its competitiveness in Hollywood, it cannot do without operating in the Asian market.

When discussing the female lead's veto power over the script, Dong Peiyu and Phyllis talked for a long time, until they were both exhausted, before finally reaching an agreement.

Then, after arranging a time, Dong Peiyu took her people to Hollywood to discuss the contract in detail. Once Dong Peiyu had settled everything, Hu Xiaoxiao finished her work overtime and set off for Hollywood—the place known as the center of the world's film industry.

After getting off the plane, Hu Xiaoxiao sat in the car on the way to the hotel, looking at the steel buildings that stood like a forest on both sides of the road, gleaming with a metallic luster in the sunlight.

Unlike other Eastern reliefs and decorations, this one is full of exotic style. As night falls, colorful lights, like countless magnificent jewels, illuminate the entire city, making this beautiful city that never sleeps.

Even after watching many Hollywood movies, nothing is more shocking than seeing it with your own eyes.

This is the most developed place in the world, full of fashion, prosperity, and luxury. Compared with other countries, it seems to be another world on a higher dimension.