Chapter 186 As Wish

Stephen Chow, dressed in spring casual clothes, was looking down at the script.

The other person's long hair instantly reminded Du Sheng of a character in a Kung Fu movie.

I have to say, life is like a play.

"A Sheng is here, let's eat something first."

Liu Dehua heard the door open and greeted them with a smile.

Du Sheng naturally wasn't polite and responded with a polite smile.

Zhou Xingchi put down the script, and Liu Dehua took the initiative to say:
"Ah Xing, this guy who just displayed his power should be familiar to you."

"Mr. Du, nice to meet you. Please take a seat."

Stephen Chow stood up with a smile and warmly invited Du Sheng to sit down.

Liu Dehua looked at Stephen Chow's expectant eyes and couldn't help feeling a little surprised.

When I mentioned Du Sheng before, he didn't seem so enthusiastic.

I also plan to find a few more martial arts artists as backup.

Why did your attitude change so much all of a sudden?
"I heard from Huazai that Du Sheng was once a martial arts director?"

Zhou Xingchi looked at Du Sheng, who was standing tall and dignified in front of him, and said with some emotion.

During this period, he was more physically and mentally exhausted than ever before in order to prepare for "Kung Fu".

In fact, he felt a little overwhelmed when filming "Shaolin Soccer".

In order to portray the role well, he also practiced boxing hard and successfully lost more than ten pounds, making himself look younger.

But during this process, I not only felt tired often, but even staggered when I walked.

Although the film won many awards, he clearly felt that time had become more ruthless since then.

However, he has always had a vision, which is to make a kung fu movie that belongs to the Chinese.

He was worried that if he didn't act now, he might never have another chance or the energy to complete it.

Because of this, he resolutely set the tone for the shooting.

However, after more than a year of preparation, we still haven’t been able to gather all the characters, and our troubles are increasing.

Seeing such an outstanding rising star like Du Sheng at this moment, Zhou Xingchi had some thoughts in his mind, but he was actually a little envious.

Because at the other person's age, he was still playing supporting roles.

"I know a thing or two."

Du Sheng didn't quite understand what Zhou Xingchi meant by this. Seeing Liu Dehua's look, he smiled and said:
"I heard that Brother Xing is preparing a new film recently. Hasn't he hired a martial arts director yet?"

He couldn't figure out for a moment whether the other party was short of roles or martial arts directors?

"As martial arts director, I invited Hong Yibao's team to come, but he hasn't given his approval yet."

Zhou Xingchi knew that his previous words, which were spoken with emotion, had been misunderstood by the other party, so he smiled and explained:
"Brother Hua just praised you in so many ways, which really surprised me, and I was inspired to speak out.

But I came here tonight with the intention of inviting you to play a guest role..."

He has filmed so many movies and met many martial arts directors, but those who are capable and experienced are never younger than 30 years old.

It would be strange if I didn't feel emotional.

Du Sheng understood and did not mention the matter again. He smiled and said:
"Brother Xing is open-minded. No matter how busy you are, you have to make time for it."

In front of a veteran like Hong Xibao who has been in the industry for decades, he is indeed not good enough.

Moreover, in the field of martial arts guidance, Hong Xibao is very authoritative in Hung Gar and Sanda and has rich experience in action design. It is no exaggeration to say that he is an expert.

For someone who strives for perfection like Stephen Chow, it is impossible for him to believe that he has the ability to match that of Hong Xibao based on one side of the story.

"I think you fit the role in every way."

Zhou Xingchi was not a man who would drag his feet, so he handed over one of the documents:

"If you have any ideas, you can take a look at this script first."

Du Sheng took it and saw three bold words:
Coolie strong!
To be honest, this is both reasonable and unexpected.

After all, there are only so many outstanding characters, and they can be eliminated one by one.

Roles like the landlord, the tailor, and the Fire Cloud Evil God are either not suitable for his age, temperament, or fail to bring out his strengths.

The Fire Cloud Evil God is better, but Stephen Chow asked for it to be ugly to highlight the protagonist.

After counting them, only three or two can fit.

Kuliqiang is a martial arts expert. Although he is dull and not good at speaking, he is kind-hearted.

In particular, the scene where he couldn't bear to see the Axe Gang burn a mother and daughter to death, and bravely stood up to face the siege, sublimated this character.

Having Du Sheng make a guest appearance is indeed a perfect match in every aspect.

What surprised him was that this role in the previous life should have been played by Shaolin disciple Shi Xingyu. Could it be that he hasn't come for audition yet?

But when I think about the fact that Stephen Chow auditioned more than 200 people before he got the role, I feel relieved.

"When does Xingge plan to shoot?"

Du Sheng glanced through it and found it was not much different from what he remembered.

"If you agree to act, and I finalize the casting for the landlady, we can basically start filming."

Seeing Du Sheng put down the script, Zhou Xingchi asked with some expectation:

"By the way, do you know the Twelve-Move Tan Leg?"

In fact, even if Du Sheng couldn't do it, he would invite him to make a guest appearance.

Just as Liu Dehua said, with the other party being so popular and well-known, you’d be a fool not to be tempted.

"As the saying goes, southern fists and northern kicks, almost all martial artists here have practiced the Twelve-Move Tan Leg."

Du Sheng smiled and said:
"If the filming starts in the near future, the timing will coincide." There is a boxing proverb 'If you practice boxing without practicing legs, you are like a reckless person', so Tan Legs is also regarded as one of the basic training items in martial arts.

Moreover, this leg technique is very popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. It is simple and easy to learn and is the best choice for strengthening the body.

Du Sheng must have practiced it, but he just can't be said to be proficient in it.

"That's great."

Zhou Xingchi was somewhat pleased and said:

"This movie will be shot in Modu. I'll call you when the shooting starts."

As he spoke, he handed over a card.

"Okay, I'll wait for your call, Brother Xing."

Du Sheng took it with a smile and agreed immediately.

"The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" should be completed in May. By then, "Infernal Affairs" will have just been released and "Infernal Affairs 5" will be in preparation, so there will be some free time.

Although it was just a cameo, it is not easy for mainland artists to appear in such a popular movie.

For example, if you ask Lu Yi, Li Guanpeng, Ren Quan and other first-line actors to choose between guest-starring in a hit movie or shooting a small or medium-investment TV series, you will see what they choose.

Moreover, this is Stephen Chow's signature movie, and the character is also outstanding...

Why would you refuse to spend a week making some personal connections?
Seeing that they had reached an agreement, Liu Dehua was happy for Du Sheng and said:
"The food is served. Come on, come on, eat something first and then we can talk."

For a moment, the atmosphere became relaxed and everyone was talking and laughing.

As long as they are not in the filming state and Stephen Chow does not turn into a tyrant on the set, it is still easy to communicate with him.

During this period, Liu Dehua also took the initiative to mention the production and promotion of Infernal Affairs to Du Sheng, and the possibility of asking him to cooperate in promoting it in mainland China.

This is as it should be, and it is also for the purpose of making the film perform better, so Du Sheng has no objection.

Taking advantage of the other party's good mood, he jokingly asked:
“If Infernal Affairs becomes a huge hit upon its release, will a second part be released soon?”

Liu Dehua did not hide it and nodded with a smile:

"According to the current popularity and predictions from many parties, Infernal Affairs should have the potential to be a hit. Wei Qiang, Wen Qiang and others have already prepared the script in advance..."

Du Sheng understood in his heart that this should be the prequel to the younger version of Liu Jianming and Chen Yongren.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will have to prepare to join the crew after finishing filming "Kung Fu".

If we also take into account Zhang Baizhi's costume film, I'm afraid I'll have to work non-stop for the next few months.

This is the result of the explosion of popularity.

As wished!
By the way, if Stephen Chow hadn't found the female lead yet, he had originally planned to recommend his cousin to audition.

Unexpectedly, when I asked, I found out that the other party had already signed a female artist named Huang and was planning to help her debut, so I gave up.

As long as Liu Yifei wants to act, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Zhou Xingchi was worried that the night would be too long and he directly asked his assistant to bring the contract. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Du Sheng signed his name.

Having solved one problem, he was in a good mood and planned to keep working hard.

Therefore, after the dinner, Stephen Chow said goodbye and went out, heading straight to the landlady's house with his assistant.

Du Sheng sent the film acceptance information to Ye Jingzhi to avoid conflicts when arranging advertising endorsements.

When he saw Liu Dehua standing up, he suddenly remembered something and asked:

"Brother Hua, did Zheng Shao ever mention the Huabang charity to you?"

Liu Dehua had dealt with Zheng Zetao before, so he naturally knew who Zheng Shao was that Du Sheng mentioned.

He sat down again, thought for a moment and said:
"Mr. Zheng did look for me, and I heard a little about it.

He told me that many impoverished areas in the mainland lack charitable assistance, and he advised me to take the lead in donating some money.

It seems that this 'Huabang' was co-founded by you and him?"

"Yes, but donations alone won't last long."

Du Sheng did not hide anything and told her his plan:

"I plan to donate part of the shares of the Kung Fu School clothing brand to the Huabang charity to operate on two fronts..."

Liu Dehua actually showed some interest and nodded in approval from time to time during the chat.

He knew that it would be difficult for a charity to maintain and develop over the long term relying solely on donations from the public.

Its operation is also far more complicated than the outside world imagines.

Therefore, many charities choose to make commercial investments in order to maintain their own healthy operations.

Take the famous Wellcome Trust as an example. Since its establishment, through a series of investment operations, the charity has been able to obtain considerable returns every year and achieve a virtuous cycle of funds.

More importantly, this operating model allows charitable organizations to reasonably avoid taxes within the scope permitted by law, while ensuring that a certain proportion of funds are used for charity every year.

Although this may seem somewhat utilitarian, it at least ensures the sustainability of charity to some extent.

However, investment is ultimately a risky discipline, and no investor can guarantee profits forever.

Zheng Zetao's original intention of investing in charity is commendable, but he did not consider the stable source of funds needed for the long-term development of charity organizations.

Furthermore, donations are too volatile and completely dependent on the willingness and ability of others.

As for donating a small sum for each piece of clothing sold, it does not solve the root cause of the problem.

Therefore, Huabang Charity not only needs a professional team to manage it, but also needs a stable investment channel to supplement the donations.

The plan proposed by Du Sheng is undoubtedly a good attempt.

In other words, it is a strong guarantee.

.........

(End of this chapter)