Chapter 785 "The Return of the Great Sage"?

Xu Ke has always wanted to film "Journey to the West"...

In 1987, the film studio had a preview of filming "Journey to the West". However, the actor could not be found to play the role of Sun Wukong, and the film technology did not meet the requirements.

The plan to shoot "Journey to the West" was delayed again and again. In the 1990s, Xu Ke once launched "Journey to the West" and bought a monkey from Africa. He planned to shoot the scene where Sun Wukong was born with a real monkey.

But "Journey to the West" didn't start until the monkey died.

In 1992, "The Invincible East" starring Brigitte Lin was an unprecedented success. Xu Ke intended to let Brigitte Lin play the role of Tang Monk, but he could not find a suitable Sun Wukong, and the plan was shelved again.

After Brigitte Lin quit the entertainment industry, Xu Ke had plans to let Leslie Cheung play Tang Monk, but in the end he failed to make it...

Because if you do a little calculation and shoot it to satisfy the audience, it will cost at least more than 100 million yuan in investment!

The Hong Kong film market at that time couldn't afford such trouble!

The closest he came to success was when he entered Hollywood in the 1990s and wrote three episodes of the English script for "Journey to the West". He found George Lucas to be the producer, but the cost was too high and no agreement was reached...

Xu Ke made two movies in Hollywood, both with Jean-Claude Van Damme, "The King of Counterattack" and "K.O. Thunderous Strike"...

The box office and reputation were very bad, and I couldn't gain a foothold in Hollywood...

After returning to Hong Kong, I first filmed "The Legend of Shushan" to explore the future. "Shushan" was Xu Ke's masterpiece. It left a deep impression on the audience and made it easy to enter the cinema. It chose a bunch of stars with both acting skills and popularity, such as Cecilia Cheung, Louis Koo, etc. Ekin Cheng and so on.

"The Legend of Shushan" severely damaged the vitality of Xu Ke's film studio, and there was no money left to film "Journey to the West".

After going to the north, several dramas were financed by financial investors...

Therefore, after hearing Shen Xudong's suggestion, he immediately said: "Yes, I have been doing research..."

"Then do you think if "Journey to the West" is to be adapted into a movie, where would you start?"

"Sun Wukong!"

"Have you figured out the taste?"

"No," Xu Ke shook his head: ""Journey to the West" is too big a fantasy work. There are too many kinds of monsters, ghosts, snakes, gods, soldiers and generals, and it is too difficult to turn them into images in pictures and reality. This is a very big fantasy work. A large project has high technical and production requirements. Putting "Journey to the West" on the screen requires a long time of preparation and has high technical requirements. In addition, everyone's understanding of the three apprentices and Tang Seng is also They’re all different…”

"You have to understand that in the eyes of Chinese culture, the image of Sun Wukong is that of an upright and good man!"

"Good guy?"

"From "Journey to the West" to "The Legend of Wukong", from "Lotus Lantern" to "Journey to the West", and of course "Journey to the West", in almost all works, Sun Wukong has a level of trust as soon as he appears on the stage. What does it mean that additional explanation needs to be given by setting up a plot? It means that his image has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people!"

Xu Ke was silent for a while...

What Shen Xudong said is of course right. Among Chinese mythological themes, Sun Wukong is the only person who can be absolutely trusted.

He is upright, smart, his mission is to "protect", his sharp eyes will not be blinded, and he hates evil as much as he hates it...

Basically, when Chinese people mention Sun Wukong, they will naturally have such a sense of trust.

Moreover, he has a rebellious spirit. He feels that the rules are unjust and unfair. He will make trouble in the Heaven Palace and break into the Underworld!

"If you want to make a film, the first thing you need to do is to cast a character. You must choose a Sun Wukong that satisfies the public!"

Xu Ke smiled bitterly: "Where should I go to find you?"

"Let me introduce you to Qiu Jirong, the inheritor of Qiu School of Art. His monkey opera is very good..."

Xu Ke was surprised: "Really?"

"I went to see one of his performances that day, and that's when I came up with the idea. If I didn't have a candidate for Sun Wukong, I wouldn't have approached you!"

Xu Ke looked excited: "Now that we have found the actor who plays Monkey King, we can start it."

Shen Xudong shook his head: "...The script hasn't been written yet. What are you preparing for? How are you going to make it? Make it a series or just one movie..."

“It’s definitely going to be made into a series!”

"If it is made into a series, how do you write the plot for the first part...directly follow the original work? It is too long, and the 120-minute plot cannot be told at all... Also, how do you solve the problem of Sun Wukong's hatred of Tang Monk as soon as he sees him? All kinds of trust?"

Xu Ke was stunned for a moment...

This is really hard to do!

Shen Xudong said: "I think I can set the first part during the five hundred years when Sun Wukong was suppressed..."

Shen Xudong talked about the story of Sun Wukong and Jiang Liuer...

Xiao Jiang Liu'er is the first of Tang Monk's ten reincarnations. Jiang Liu'er is a young monk who is only seven or eight years old. His parents were killed by a mountain demon when he was a baby and he became an orphan. Fortunately, he was raised by the wandering monk Faming. He grew up in Chang'an City. Jiang Liu'er is brave, kind, innocent, lively, curious and generous. He admires the Monkey King who makes trouble in the Heavenly Palace, and dreams of becoming a hero like the Monkey King.

Until one day, he accidentally released the idol from the Five Elements Mountain, only to find that the Great Sage had fallen into despair and lost all his magic power. He just wanted to go back to the Huaguo Mountain, which he might never return to. He took risks many times and refused to give up. In the end, this nagging naughty child inspired the great sage's passion, allowing him to achieve himself while saving others.

Well, a very typical Hollywood narrative!

"This story serves as a starting point, and it completes the story of Sun Wukong's closeness to Tang Monk and his absolute trust as soon as he saw him..."

"Okay, I'll find the screenwriter to complete it..."

"Well..." Shen Xudong nodded, and then thought of something: "Director Xu, have you watched "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"?"

"...I've only seen "Planet of the Apes"..."

"I'm talking about the new version, which was released this year and uses the latest motion capture technology... You can go check it out!"

As Shen Xudong spoke, he took out his mobile phone - someone called him!

The latest version of motion capture technology?

Xu Ke, a technology geek, was decisively interested. Just as he was about to continue the discussion, he saw that Shen Xudong was already on the phone...

"Who? Wang Shicong? He..."

The person on the other end of the phone was Gao Fenfen, explaining: "Wang Shicong is Wanda's prince. Maybe he couldn't stand it, so he joined..."

"Who do you dislike?"

"I can't stand Yangzi..."

"Why?"

"Go check Weibo yourself..."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Xudong looked at Xu Ke: "Director Xu, do you have anything else?"

"...It's okay, I'm going to watch "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"..."

"Well, I'll ask them to take you there. There's still a distance from the cinema here!"

After calling the staff to see Xu Ke off, Shen Xudong had time to check Weibo... As expected, Wang Sicong ended up pointing the finger at Yangzi, saying that he could not represent the rich second generation and directly said, "Let's do some actual business, every day." He just knows how to put on a show. He’s over thirty and has accomplished nothing, so he still has the nerve to represent the second generation of rich people? You're a piece of shit! ’

The key is that Yangzi doesn't even dare to fart...

Shen Xudong smiled and then ignored it...

This thing has nothing to do with him. Xudong doesn’t know Wang Shicong at all!