Chapter 37 Arrival

John drove Wu Yuan himself to Los Angeles International Airport.

"Daniel, you have to come back as soon as possible. "Juno" is scheduled to be released on July 8th, leaving us not much time for promotion."

On the way, John kept giving Wu Yuan instructions, worrying that he would never come back.

"Don't worry, I have business to deal with when I go to Hong Kong Island." Wu Yuan said helplessly.

John's eyes lit up: "Daniel, you, a director, suddenly want to go to Hong Kong Island, aren't you looking for actors?"

"Already have plans for your next movie?"

"Hey, I think you should consider Fox Searchlight. The company is willing to invest in your movie."

Wu Yuan glanced at John meaningfully, with a smile on his face: "John, you are really a good employee of Fox Searchlight. You never forget the interests of the company."

"Haha, they are the ones who pay me my salary after all, aren't they?" John said nonchalantly.

"Oh?" Wu Yuan raised his eyebrows: "So what you are saying is that you will work hard for whoever pays you a salary?"

"Oh! Daniel, what do you mean?" John looked at Wu Yuan in confusion.

"It's nothing. My flight has arrived. Let's talk about it when I get back." Wu Yuan shrugged, said goodbye to John, and walked into the airport.

Watching his leaving figure, John fell into deep thought.

China Film Group was indeed able to contact Mr. Zhang Guorong.

Mr. Zhang Guorong was one of the first Hong Kong actors to go north to the mainland to film movies. He came to the mainland to film "Farewell My Concubine" in 1992.

Back then, "Farewell My Concubine" was a co-production between Beijing Film Studio and Hong Kong Island Film Company. Now Beijing Film Studio still has contact channels with Mr. Zhang Guorong.

Director Han heard that Wu Yuan wanted to meet Zhang Guorong, so he immediately sent the message to Hong Kong Island through connections.

Zhang Guorong heard that a mainland director who was filming in Hollywood (Note 1) wanted to meet him, so he made an appointment with Wu Yuan on a date and place.

Both of them have resolute characters, so Wu Yuan boarded the flight to Hong Kong Island.

On the plane, Wu Yuan lay in the first class cabin with his eyes closed and resting, and all that flashed through his mind were the movies Zhang Guorong had made.

I have to admit that even in the glory days of the Hong Kong entertainment industry, Zhang Guorong was one of the brightest stars.

Without any major background, he entered the music scene from the runner-up position in a singing competition. It only took him five years to become the most popular singer in Hong Kong Island.

Later, he and Alan Tam started the Tan-Zhang competition for supremacy in Hong Kong music. The two dominated the Hong Kong music scene that year!

At the same time, he moved to the film industry and filmed films such as "A Better Tomorrow", "A Chinese Ghost Story", "Days of Being Wild" and "Across the World", which were extremely popular throughout Asia.

"Farewell My Concubine" and "Happy Together" are two films favored by the Cannes Film Festival, which prove Zhang Guorong's acting skills!

From Japan, South Korea to Southeast Asia, almost everyone knows that Zhang Guorong has conquered countless Asian fans!

Until now, he is still recognized as an Asian superstar!

Until that leap two years later, everything came to an abrupt end.

I have to say that this is a big regret for the Chinese film industry.

Although, Zhang Guorong will always live in the hearts of fans after his death, and he is even more famous and has been promoted to the altar. Just like other deceased artists, he is more famous after death than when he was alive.

But for the Chinese film industry, a living Zhang Guorong is definitely more important than being hung on the wall to commemorate him!

He is only in his forties and is at the peak of all aspects of an actor. If he had not made the leap, he would have created more classic roles for the Chinese film industry and given more movie souls!

Wu Yuan actually thought about reversing this regret and saving Mr. Zhang Guorong from a few years ago.

But there was nothing he could do before.

Now, he had the qualifications to contact Zhang Guorong, but he hesitated.

It’s really hard to save.

According to what he saw in his dream, Zhang Guorong was suffering from endogenous depression.

The so-called endogenous is actually caused by what most people call physiological factors, that is, endocrine and other problems.

His depression was not caused by external influences, public opinion pressure, or psychological factors, but by physical lesions.

In the beginning, it was due to recurring stomach problems that the body experienced some torturous pains, such as acid reflux, stomach pain, twitching of limbs, etc., and then it persisted, affecting the brain, causing endocrine disorders, and inducing depression.

And even before his death, he was actually full of desire to survive. He never subjectively wanted to commit suicide.

Zhang Guorong was well aware of the seriousness of his condition but actively sought medical treatment and actively cooperated with the treatment.

When he eventually lost control of his condition and committed suicide, his suicide note contained the words "This past year has been very hard and I can't bear it anymore" and the ending "I have never done anything bad in my life, why are you like this?" which further expressed his extreme helplessness and his desire to linger on this world.

It was the torment of illness and the incomparable physical pain that caused him to finally lose control.

Later people also analyzed it.

Endocrine problems in the body and recurring stomach problems are mostly due to overwork.

According to the disclosed information, Leslie Cheung should have started to have physical problems in the second half of 2001, and was diagnosed with depression in March 2002.

It just so happens that this period of time is Zhang Guorong's busiest time.

While he was giving concerts non-stop, he was also preparing for his own film, writing songs to prepare for a new album, taking on new roles, and dealing with the paparazzi everywhere in Hong Kong Island.

To deal with so many things, can the body not be overworked and cause recurrence of stomach problems?

The only way to change Zhang Guorong's life is to stop him from being so tired during this period, and to actively treat the stomach problems as soon as they appear, so as not to delay until endocrine disorders lead to brain diseases, which may prevent depression from occurring.

Once endogenous depression really occurs, there is really no way to save it, and one can only carefully prevent suicidal behavior when it occurs again and again.

Fortunately, Wu Yuan still has a chance now. Zhang Guorong's depression was delayed until March and April 2002, and there is still time to change.

Regardless of whether it can be done in the end, Wu Yuan wants to give it a try!

As a director, he can't just watch an excellent actor go to the end.

After another long-distance flight overnight, Wu Yuan arrived at Hong Kong Island International Airport in the early morning of Hong Kong Island time.

Wu Yuan, who had no luggage but a travel bag, took a taxi with his backpack on, found a random hotel and went to catch up on his sleep and adjust to the jet lag.

The next day, before eight o'clock in the morning, Wu Yuan left the hotel in neat clothes and went to a very famous tea restaurant in Hong Kong Island.

He and Zhang Guorong agreed to meet here.

"Hello, do you have an appointment?"

"Yes, Mr. Leslie has reserved a private room."

Although the front desk clerk was a little uncomfortable with Wu Yuan's Mandarin, he immediately showed his signature smile and guided him to the private room behind the tea restaurant that was not open to the public.

Soon, Wu Yuan met the legendary Asian superstar in a very elegantly decorated private room.

"Hello, Mr. Zhang Guorong, I am Director Wu Yuan, and I am very happy to meet you."

Wu Yuan took the initiative to step forward and stretched out his hand to shake hands with Zhang Guorong.

Now, whether in terms of fame, achievements, or status, he is not as good as the Asian superstar in front of him.

He also did not think that knowing the other person's future meant that he was superior.

"Hello, Director Wu."

Zhang Guorong also had a bright smile on his face. He did not look down on Wu Yuan or show disdain just because Wu Yuan was less famous than him.

"I've heard of you. You're amazing. Your first movie was sold to the global market."

Zhang Guorong spoke Mandarin very well, even with a little Beijing accent. He smiled and asked Wu Yuan to sit down.

"I've seen your movie "The Night the Comet Came". It was really well made. I heard that the American version of this movie has already earned more than 30 million US dollars at the box office?"

"It's really amazing!"

"Come on, let's sit down and talk."

Note 1: Hollywood is the transliteration of Hollywood in Hong Kong.