Huayu started as a lecturer at Beijing Film Academy

After getting the certificate with Zhang Da Niu, they were not in a hurry to go back. Instead, they went to Europe for almost ten days, which was considered their honeymoon.

By the time they come back, the Spring Festival season has come to an end.

This year’s Spring Festival box office in mainland China reached 3 billion, an increase of more than 60% compared to the same period last year.

Previously, most people predicted that this year's Spring Festival would be a three-way or two-power struggle for hegemony. What they never expected was that the entire period would be almost a one-man show of "Mermaid".

As of the evening of February 27, the film's cumulative box office has reached 1.7 billion, accounting for more than half of the Spring Festival box office!

Since its release, the film has had the lowest single-day box office of 230 million, and the box office on the fourth day of release did not drop like other films, but was the same as on the third day, and it took less than four days to exceed 1 billion. , the speed is unprecedented in Chinese films.

The box office of 3 billion is already a certainty. The revenue brought by this movie is equivalent to the previous year's revenue!

Shen Teng has become famous thanks to his outstanding performance in "Mermaid". Now some media even compare him to "Zhou Xingxing's successor!"

He became famous almost two years earlier than in his original time and space. Now that he has mastered Shen's acting style, it seems that it is time to arrange "Charlotte Trouble".

After the normal celebration, Gu Zhongyu was ready to start filming the new film "Wushuang" and tried to finish it within two months.

Before the filming of the movie started, in order to truly restore the production process of counterfeit banknotes, director Xin Yukun actually led the team to study how to make counterfeit banknotes, and even led the crew to actually print the counterfeit banknotes!

Although the quality is not very good and cannot be mistaken for the real thing, it is enough to bluff people.

Fortunately, the crew had reported in advance, otherwise the director and the staff would have had to go in just for this operation...

Finally, the crew started filming in Hong Kong on March 10. Director Xin Yukun, Lin Chaoxian as the artistic director, Gu Zhongyu is still the male lead and producer, playing Li Wen

Zhang Songwen officially takes the leading role this time, playing the role of Wu Fusheng.

Yaya - Ruan Wen

Dong Xuan——Wu Xiuqing

Ningli——Uncle Wu

Chen Shu - Chinese Girl

Li Yuan——Inspector He

…

The outside world has long been accustomed to the fact that Gu Zhongyu always finds new directors to direct his movies, but the cast of "Wushuang" still aroused everyone's interest.

Because according to the plot content currently announced by the crew, this is a crime movie about counterfeiting banknotes, and the background story is also in Hong Kong. However, in the entire crew of "Wushuang", except for some behind-the-scenes personnel, there is no one from Hong Kong in the main role. !

An outstanding mainland actor!

There are many mainland movies that are filmed or shot in Hong Kong. The co-productions basically have a lineup of a male lead from Hong Kong + a second male lead or female lead from Mainland China. However, this time "Wushuang" does not have a role of a Hong Kong actor, so reporters on the day of the launch conference People flocked here to find out why.

"Hello, I would like to ask Director Xin why there are no actors from Hong Kong among the protagonists in your movie. Does this mean you have any prejudice against the people of Hong Kong?"

This label is a big one, as the reporter is obviously here to cause trouble.

After all, Xin Yukun was a new director who had never seen many big scenes, so he was a little nervous when faced with this kind of question. At this time, Gu Zhongyu took over the question.

"We decided on the cast after careful discussion. The reason why there are no actors from Xiangjiang, I can only say it is a coincidence, but this does not mean that we have any prejudice against the people from Xiangjiang, and there are still many colleagues from Xiangjiang in our behind-the-scenes team , such as Director Lin Chaoxian next to me!”

Of course, the reporter was not satisfied with this answer and continued to ask: "But according to the content of the press conference, most of the scenes of this movie are in Xiangjiang, but there is no one from Xiangjiang among the main characters. Isn't this weird? No. Is it good for the audience’s sense of immersion?”

"This reporter, have you watched a classic old drama called "Escape"? What do you think of that drama's sense of immersion?"

"I watched it when I was in school. It was a very realistic police movie."

Gu Zhongyu smiled knowingly and said: "Then you know what? That drama also tells the story of Xiangjiang, based on the gangster Zhang Zixiang, but there is not even a Xiangjiang person in the creative team, and even the crew has never been to Xiangjiang, but Does this prevent it from becoming a classic?”

"Escape" is a classic TV series. The story takes place in Hong Kong, but no well-known actors from Hong Kong were cast. Except for the protagonist Zhao Yanguozhang, who plays the role of Brother Hao, the rest are unknown. Most of the actors are from northern China, and they can’t even understand a sentence in Cantonese!

However, the wonderful plot and distinct sense of rhythm completely made everyone ignore these, especially the actor Zhao Yanguozhang, whose acting skills alone can outshine all the decent villains. It can be said that it is the best character creation in domestic crime dramas. Peak!

This reporter couldn’t help but. Of course he couldn’t say that the drama “The Wings of Escape” was not a classic, but he still had to bite the bullet and continued: “But that’s because the crew’s funds are limited, so they can’t hire actors from Xiangjiang... "

"We also have limited funds!"

Gu Zhongyu smiled and pointed at Zhang Songwen and Ning Li who were sitting in a row, "Look! Apart from a few beauties, our movie doesn't have any big stars. I am an investor myself, so I don't need to pay for it... It's really true. Poor! All this is to save money and invest in production!”

Labor and management believed your lies!

The reporters in the audience were all complaining madly in their hearts. Zhou Xingxing's "Mermaid" has a box office of almost 3 billion, and the movie was independently produced by you guys. How much can you, Gu Zhongyu, earn from just this one movie? We don’t even dare to think about it!

Now you actually have the nerve to say that you have no money to make a movie?

"Furthermore! If the story takes place in Xiangjiang, I have to find Xiangjiang actors. Then if I want to make a science fiction film later, do I have to find Martians as actors? Can we focus more on the work itself? Don't come up Just give someone a thumbs up?"

If "Wushuang" hadn't included sensitive plots such as belittling the police, and the security on the mainland was so good that forcing a shootout wouldn't be justified, Gu Zhongyu would have wanted to put the story background of "Wushuang" directly in the mainland!

After Gu Zhongyu said this, the reporter who started the trouble could only retreat in anger.

However, there have been rumors in the industry that Gu Zhongyu doesn't like working with actors from Hong Kong. After this "Wushuang", this rumor is basically confirmed.

But... who cares?

…

In Fuk Hang Estate, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, there is the former Yuen Long Water Treatment Works. This is a water treatment plant that has been abandoned for a long time. Many police and criminal movies were filmed here, so it has never been demolished.

The first scene is the scene where the counterfeit banknote team is discussing the real and fake paintings, and the painter finds inspiration and solves the watermark.

The main plot of "Wushuang" is the production of counterfeit U.S. dollars. The whole process is complicated and cumbersome. It is a very novel subject for viewers who do not know the process of making counterfeit U.S. dollars. Especially the entire production process shown in the movie is about encountering difficulties and solving them.

Rhythm control is very important, and there are dazzling tools and professional terms that everyone is not exposed to on a daily basis. This is also a process of acquiring knowledge, making the audience feel that making banknotes is like an art!

Ning Li, who plays Uncle Wu, saw the painter and Li Wen come in.

"I'll finish this bet first."

"Still betting? I'll buy a thousand, really!"

Li Wen glanced sideways at his companions, put down the food in his hands, and did not participate.

"What kind of business does he do? One thousand, fake!"

Hua Nu: "This painting of pine trees was authentic. I saw it in the office of a manufacturer in Xiangjiang last year. I bought it for 5,000 yuan. It's fake!"

Chen Shu has a mature temperament, stable lines, and a wavy perm. When she stood next to Zhang Songwen, Gu Zhongyu thought he was seeing the sister-in-law from "Hurry Up".

Uncle Wu's face was expressionless, his head lowered, and his tone was a little lazy.

"I also took a photo of one in Wanwan three months ago, and it sold for 800,000 yuan." He glanced sideways at the Chinese girl with a slightly mocking tone, "Do you think that one is real or fake?"

Ning Li is worthy of being a drama actor. His expression, tone, and even his eyebrows are all drama. Qi Yukun is very happy to watch, and Yaya, who is watching from the side, also nods frequently.

She was a little worried that she wouldn't perform well and would be suppressed by them.

Then Li Wen was also involved in the gambling game, and unexpectedly chose to place three bets, all of which were true!

"If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense!"

"The framer of traditional Chinese paintings has a unique skill, which is to peel off an ink painting layer by layer. Depending on the thickness of the rice paper, up to three layers can be peeled off. Top painters are able to see through the back of the paper. Even if they peel off three layers, they will be almost the same. , this ink is lighter! It should be the top layer!”

"Teacher Gu, is there really an ink painting that can reveal the third layer?"

After filming the scene, Chen Shu asked Gu Zhongyu very curiously. She usually likes painting and has even hired a professional painter to paint oil paintings for herself, but she has never heard that a painting can reveal three things. layer argument.

Others also looked at him with curiosity. After all, this script was written by Gu Zhongyu.

Gu Zhongyu shook his head: "Actually, there are very few such paintings, and they cannot be revealed exactly the same. Generally, the method of counterfeiting is copying, that is, letting those who can draw be responsible for the painting, and let those who can inscribe and postscript be responsible for the inscription, and those who can make the seal. I’ll be responsible for making the seals. I’ll just look for rice paper from the Ming Dynasty and use UV light to make it look old! This is what some antique dealers do.”

Yaya was a little surprised when she heard this: "Then if we filmed it, wouldn't it be a lie?"

Gu Zhongyu rolled his eyes at her:

"How can you call it a lie when it comes to filmmakers?"

"Literary and artistic works can of course be exaggerated, and I won't talk about this stuff. Not many people know it, just like most people don't know: in bullfighting, the bull doesn't actually rush over because of the red cloth! It's because the matador is there. Dance that cloth!"

"Teacher Gu is right!" Chen Shu nodded in approval, "Art works can have these imaginative spaces, just like realism and abstraction in painting. You can't think that abstraction is incomprehensible and incompatible with The reality is that the painting is not very good!”

Gu Zhongyu’s inner os: Actually, I also think abstraction is not very good...

However, I didn't expect that this Chen Shu is full of artistic bacteria, and although she is almost forty, her temperament is really attractive. These few years should be the last period of her beauty.

Noticing that Gu Zhongyu was looking at him, Chen Shu was not shy or embarrassed at all. Instead, he sat there calmly and let him look him up and down.

Or they say that mature women are sensible!

It is said that this woman has a colorful love life and has been photographed dating young men many times. It seems that what they say is true!

"It's time, let's go eat!"

Ya Ya looked at the ambiguous look of the two and felt that if they were not on the set, they might have already started to have sex, so she quickly called Gu Zhongyu to eat.

"Come on, Mr. Gu, try our Cantonese roast meat!"

As a Cantonese, Zhang Songwen was like a fish in water when he came to Hong Kong to film this time. He had already become familiar with the Hong Kong people in the same crew in Cantonese. When he saw Gu Zhongyu, he was very good at handling things and personally brought the lunch box to him.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang! How do you feel after a day of filming?"

Zhang Songwen scratched his head in distress: "To be honest, the pressure is quite high. In the past, I could only play a villain boss at most, but this time, Mr. Gu asked me to play the leading role in such a big movie. When I first received the script, I was so scared that I wanted to turn it down!"

Indeed, although the movie "Wushuang" didn't cost much to hire actors, it had to be filmed in Hong Kong, Peru and other places, and the investment was almost 100 million. Zhang Songwen has never starred in such a movie in all his years of working.

"And to be honest, Mr. Gu, from a market perspective, you really should ask Chow Yun-fat and Chiu Wai to play Wu Fusheng, and the box office will definitely be guaranteed!"

Chewing the tender white-cut chicken in his mouth, Gu Zhongyu said indifferently: "Will they definitely be able to carry the box office if they are invited? I don't think so!"

The cumulative box office of "Wushuang" in the previous life was 1 billion, mainly because of the novel subject matter, the wonderful plot, and the relationship between the leading actors Zhou Runfa and Aaron Kwok. It certainly cannot be said that there is no relationship, but it is definitely not the main reason!

Apart from fans, not many people go to the cinema for the stars. Everyone chooses movies based on online reputation, recommendations from friends circle and short video promotion.

If these two really have the so-called box office appeal, there is no way to explain why only a few years later, Chow Yun-fat's "Don't Call Me God of Gamblers" and Aaron Kwok's "The Temporary Robbery" failed to even recover their capital!

Before that, these people also had a lot of money-losing movies. How can the success of "Wushuang" mean that they are guaranteed to be box office?

Box office appeal is originally a very mysterious thing. Even Huang Bo and Wang Baoxiang, who have proven their strength, are bound to have their failures. As for the so-called box office guarantee of Hong Kong stars, it is definitely exaggerated!