assistirfilmes Chapter 64 Contract Disputes
Chapter 64 Contract Disputes
"Missing?"
Tang Long couldn't help but laugh.
"You're still laughing? I'm so worried my lips are practically blistered."
"There's no use in you being anxious. A movie as popular as 'Once Upon a Time in China' would rather disappear and quit filming than play along with you guys."
They must have been wronged, and wronged terribly at that.
At this point, Xu Ke became even angrier:
"It's all because of the contract between Jet Li and Golden Harvest. Golden Harvest is such a big company, yet they're so stingy."
"The movie 'Once Upon a Time in China' earned them twenty or thirty million, yet they still withheld their pay. They're really clueless; a leopard can't change its spots."
"Director Xu, could you elaborate?"
Tang Long moved a stool and sat down opposite Xu Ke, but unfortunately there were no sunflower seeds in his office.
In his past life, he only knew that Li Lianjie and Golden Harvest had a conflict, and then Cai Ziming stood up for him.
After Tsai Tzu-ming was shot and killed, he received investment from Taiwanese tycoon Yang Teng-kui and founded Zhengdong Film.
However, Tang Long was not really clear about the specifics of his dispute with Jiahe.
Seeing his expression, Xu said irritably:
"I think you're just looking for trouble."
"Of course I don't mind making things worse. I'm glad I didn't sign with Golden Harvest back then, otherwise I might have ended up like Jet Li."
"Did you ever consider signing with Golden Harvest?"
"After 'The Blade' was released, my boss suggested that I sign with a company for better security."
He recommended Golden Harvest to me, saying that Golden Harvest was a large company with abundant resources, which would be beneficial to my future career.
"Tell your boss to focus on making good movies and stop giving random advice."
Luckily, you were smart enough not to sign with Golden Harvest. Over the years, besides Jackie Chan, who else has been able to work peacefully with Golden Harvest?
Let's not even talk about Sammo Hung and Hui Kwan-man. If Bruce Lee hadn't met with that accident, he and Golden Harvest would have parted ways anyway.
Yuen Biao wanted to start a film company, but Golden Harvest refused outright and significantly reduced his resources.
"How can a newcomer like you expect to do well after signing with Golden Harvest?"
"I was just worried that Jiahe would bully its customers because it's a big store. That's all in the past now. Tell me about Li Lianjie."
Xu Ke also wanted to vent his frustrations to someone.
"Back then, Li Lianjie went to the United States to open a martial arts school, but he was invited back by Luo Wei two years ago."
However, Li Lianjie was tricked by Luo Wei's son, Luo Dawei, into signing a management contract with him and becoming his agent.
Luo Dawei's mother is Liu Lianghua, who is also a shareholder and senior executive of Golden Harvest. Her relationship with Zou Wenhuai is well known in the industry.
Luo Dawei was closer to Liu Lianghua, so he tricked Li Lianjie into signing a contract with Golden Harvest.
The contract stipulated that for a two-year period, Jet Li would make four films for Golden Harvest, with a fee of HK$1.5 million per film, for a total fee of HK$6 million.
However, during the contract period, Golden Harvest only arranged for Jet Li to film two movies: "The Dragon Returns" and "Once Upon a Time in China".
In June of this year, the contract expired, and Li Lianjie felt that Golden Harvest needed to pay the remaining three million.
Golden Harvest refused to pay, citing Li Lianjie's failure to complete four films, and demanded a two-year contract extension until the remaining two films were filmed, at which point they would receive full payment.
"Both sides have their own reasons, and the contract wasn't handled carefully when it was signed, but I still think Li Lianjie is in the right."
"That's right, I also think that what Jiahe did was unfair, but at least it can be negotiated."
The most despicable one is that scoundrel Luo Dawei. When he signed the contract, he was completely on the side of Golden Harvest.
When Jet Li and Golden Harvest had a dispute, his agent not only didn't help negotiate, but also helped Golden Harvest put pressure on Jet Li.
In the past two years, Luo Dawei's agent has earned nearly one million yuan in commissions and also borrowed one hundred thousand US dollars from Li Lianjie.
He took more than half of the money Li Lianjie earned.
"And then?"
Later, Li Lianjie saw through Luo Dawei's character and decided not to renew the contract, intending to give up the remaining payment and return to the United States.
But Jiahe withheld his US visa, threatening to prevent him from leaving and cutting off his escape route.
Jet Li was forced to back down and renew his contract with Golden Harvest for an additional six months.
I thought "Once Upon a Time in China II" would be filmed smoothly, but now Jet Li has suddenly disappeared.
Tsui Hark's film studio was also an investor in "Once Upon a Time in China II," so he was extremely anxious.
Otherwise, he wouldn't bother with this; after all, the loss from the suspension of film production is what Golden Harvest suffers.
Tang Long pondered for a moment and analyzed:
"Since Li Lianjie renewed his contract, it means that he was willing to compromise at the time."
But now he's suddenly disappeared. Either he's become famous and arrogant, thinking he's qualified to challenge Golden Harvest, or...
Either someone gave him strong support, which gave him confidence.
Tang Long thought it was highly likely that Li Lianjie and Cai Ziming had made contact beforehand.
Despite all the twists and turns, some things that are bound to happen will still happen.
"It's impossible for him to be arrogant. 'Once Upon a Time in China' was a huge hit. He has always been quite humble. Someone must have contacted him."
"Since someone has contacted him, Director Xu, you don't need to worry. Li Lianjie can't just disappear forever."
I'm sure he'll show up soon, and then we'll know who's behind him.
"That's true, there's no use in worrying now," Xu Ke sighed. "By the way, did you come to see me because you need something?"
Tang Long sat up straight and asked:
"Director Xu, I heard you're preparing for 'Swordsman 2'?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ke couldn't help but smile and lean back in his chair:
"You're pretty well-informed. What, are you trying to act?"
"Of course I want to act! In the first movie, I was the stunt double for the lead actor, so naturally I want to be the lead actor again in the second movie."
"There's no rush for 'Swordsman 2'. The project is still in the early stages of preparation, and the script hasn't been fully finalized yet."
Furthermore, Kim Yong and I had some disagreements regarding the adaptation.
He had long had the idea of filming a sequel to "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," but the box office failure of the first film forced him to put it on hold for the time being.
However, the box office success of "New Dragon Gate Inn" rekindled his confidence.
Xu Guanjie definitely can't play the male lead anymore.
He was the most controversial at the time; he was indeed a bit older, and he used a stunt double for all his action scenes.
Some long takes of martial arts moves couldn't be filmed, which greatly affected the overall style of the movie.
Tsui Hark's original first choice was Jet Li, but working with him on "Once Upon a Time in China" made him more aware of Li's potential.
Jet Li is arguably the actor who has performed the most beautiful fighting scenes he has ever seen.
He had certainly considered Tang Long, and his relationship with Tang Long was even closer.
But he still felt that Jet Li was more suitable.
However, he is now hesitant.
Li Lianjie's sudden disappearance made him uneasy.
The reason why the production cost of "Swordsman" skyrocketed was because King Hu suddenly withdrew, and many scenes needed to be reshot.
If the director of "Swordsman 2" disappears again while filming, will it have to be remade?
He was in charge of this film, and he didn't want to repeat the same mistake.
To be on the safe side, Tang Long is the most suitable candidate.
Besides, he's not bad at all; he just doesn't play as well as Jet Li.
But meeting his requirements is no problem at all.