An Invitation Letter to Mr. Wu Jing—Let Us Build a New Backbone for Chinese Action Films Together!
Dear Brother Wu Jing,
To see these words is as though we were meeting in person.
I took the liberty of writing because the The Grand Director project urgently needed a man like you—one with real kung fu, true character, and genuine responsibility—to carry the banner.
I heard that you had honed yourself in Hong Kong Island's film industry for four years, personally handling everything from flashing blades and flying swords to every craft on set. You had long become a rare all-rounder who could act, fight, direct, and produce.
That kind of tenacity was precisely the backbone most lacking in China's film industry today!
Brother, you had spent too long in Hong Kong Island making wedding dresses for others!
You were the one hauling equipment beneath the lights, and you were also the one risking your life before the camera. Yet in the end, you were merely "tilling someone else's fields while letting your own lie barren."
Though the afterglow of Hong Kong cinema's golden age remained, its hierarchy had long been fixed. No matter how capable you were, it would be difficult to break through that tiny ceiling.
But look at the mainland—the audience's tastes had changed!
Super Girl had seen grassroots contestants rise to prominence, emptying whole cities; Crazy Stone had won big with a small budget, proving that the time for local storytelling had arrived.
Young people born in the eighties no longer recognized only the brand names of Hong Kong stars. They craved their own heroes, their own passion, their own cultural roots!
Your rugged bearing and spirit of family and country were precisely the seeds this land yearned for most.
The Grand Director was a mid-budget production with only a ten-million-yuan budget. With your talent, it was indeed beneath you, yet it would carve out an entirely new world tailored specifically for you.
The male lead, "Lu Bing," was the Emperor Jiajing's milk brother, an Imperial Guard in a Feiyu uniform. He wielded an unbreakable Brotherhood of Blades blade that would drive the transformation of the Ming dynasty, a man of both blood and strategy. This role could be played by no one but you!
The positions of assistant director and associate producer await you! Your experience battling through the Hong Kong Circle would be the "stabilizing pillar of the set" we desperately needed for scheduling and cost control.
No one but you could serve as action director! Cast aside the empty showmanship of House of Flying Daggers, surpass the formulaic Hong Kong-style fights, and let China's kung fu crush Hollywood's action design once more!
I swear to make the martial arts system clear, realm-based, and realistic, then use industrial capability and engineering technology to recreate the soul of traditional martial arts and pioneer a new action aesthetic!
More importantly, The Grand Director was only the beginning!
This film was, in truth, an attempt by Han Sanping to advance China's film industry upgrade strategy. I may be untalented, but today I was also a sharp blade in the studio head's hand. Like your character, I would carve a path for the studio head toward period blockbusters and an upgraded Blockbuster Strategy.
I, too, wished to be a vanguard, to lead the charge for Chinese Cinema!
Thanks to the studio head's appreciation, The Grand Director was also the "first flash of the blade" for the hundred-million-yuan epic Brotherhood of Blades: Rebirth of Sun and Moon.
If we won this battle, I would not fail the studio head's great trust, and you would be the one to carry the banner for Brotherhood of Blades!
Then, armies by the thousands, the rise and fall of dynasties, and the martial soul of China would all await the two of us brothers to seize the reins of fate!
Today, China's film industry saw period films trapped in hollow spectacle and action films drowning in flashy but useless moves.
What audiences wanted was real kung fu with solid stances and hard strikes, real men of loyalty and righteousness. That was precisely the understanding you and I shared!
I should have invited you in person, but the new project was still in its infancy, and there were also dissenting voices within China Film Group and Beijing Film Studio. I could not come personally, so I wrote this letter. Seeing these words was like seeing me, and I hoped to express my thoughts fully.
Your joining us would mean taking up the torch with me.
Let us burn away the old shackles of the superficial, Westernized bones of House of Flying Daggers and Hong Kong-style fist-and-kick choreography, then plant a towering forest of action films that belonged to us on the fertile soil of the mainland!
P.S.: I sincerely invite you to meet and discuss this in person.
Enclosed are the outline for The Grand Director and Lu Bing's character biography. If you are interested, please come to Beijing as soon as possible. I will prepare a warm welcome and discuss our grand plans with you face-to-face!
Sincerely,
Awaiting your favorable reply!
Shen Shanden
January 18, 2007
At Beijing Film Studio
Wu Jing invited Ma Youde inside, then read the letter several times, his emotions tangled.
Ma Youde first glanced around the room. It was a single man's apartment, but it was neat and tidy, clearly just a temporary place to stay.
Then he studied Wu Jing's reaction. There was no obvious excitement.
"Brother Wu, the boss asked me to tell you personally that, first, he truly couldn't get away. Originally, he had wanted to use the Brotherhood of Blades project, but the pressure was too great, so he switched to The Grand Director. All kinds of preparations were insufficient."
"Although he had received Third Master Han's full support, there was a lot of pressure within China Film Group and Beijing Film Studio. The boss had to quickly put the project framework together, otherwise many parties would want to get their hands in."
At the mention of Han Sanping's support, Wu Jing's expression shifted.
"Second, the boss asked me to make this clear: if you refuse, don't feel burdened. After all, there are more opportunities for kung fu films in the Hong Kong Circle, while we're only just starting out on the mainland and are poor as hell. People strive upward, water flows downward—it's only human nature. Don't let pride keep you from refusing."
Disdain and anger rose in Wu Jing's eyes. What did they take him for?
Even a dog did not despise its poor home!
If there had been opportunities on the mainland, he would not have left his hometown.
Ma Youde continued, "Our project is under huge pressure too. The Big Three Directors have all gone quiet—you could say the sky has fallen. Right now, The Grand Director is a spark for mainland period blockbusters, even period action films. The pressure is unprecedented. I had to make that clear to you."
Wu Jing finally spoke. "I'll make a few calls. As long as the project is real, we'll head back to Beijing immediately."
With that, he took his phone into the bathroom.
Wu Jing had once fought his way to the very top. He simply was not good at working the circles, but he had all the connections he needed. It was not difficult for him to ask around.
"Brother, I heard Third Master is pushing a new project?"
"You're still this well-informed while you're in Hong Kong Island, huh? Haha, I'll only tell you this—hehe, this Shen Shanden might be Third Master's—"
"Sis, have you heard about that China Film Group project?"
"Little brother, have you come around? Your sister has always been waiting for you. This project is no simple matter, but your sister has some connections too—"
Wu Jing shuddered and quickly laughed it off before hanging up.
Shen Shanden's home.
For some reason, word had begun spreading around the Beijing Film Academy campus over the past two days that he had a major project in hand.
He kept "running into" students.
Some were from the directing department, some from cinematography, and some from acting. Sometimes, he even ran into teachers.
It was driving him crazy.
He could no longer freeload empty classrooms, so he simply moved his work home.
Unless necessary, Da Mimi did not go out much either.
After plenty of coaxing and pleading, she had still managed to obtain a great deal of information.
Brotherhood of Blades had been temporarily shelved, but Shen Shanden now had a solid mid-budget production worth ten million yuan in hand.
Hiss!
Da Mimi felt that it was not just Xiao Deng who had become scorching hot. Even the big one was starting to feel hot.
Her sense of security instantly dropped to zero.
After Shen Shanden took a call, Da Mimi saw him pump his fist without concealing his excitement and joy. She asked, "What's the good news?"
"Wu Jing's in!"
Shen Shanden let out a heavy breath. "If the flight isn't delayed, he should arrive this afternoon. I'll personally go to the airport to pick him up."
Da Mimi was stunned!
Wu Jing had already established himself firmly in the Hong Kong Circle, yet Shen Shanden had actually reeled him in.
Terrifying!
Shen Shanden was also extremely delighted.
Even though he had been confident that he could lure Wolf Warrior over, he still breathed a sigh of relief only once it was truly confirmed.
Shen Shanden had put a great deal of thought into that letter to Wu Jing.
It struck directly at Wu Jing's sore point, highlighting the sense of bottleneck he felt as a "hired hand" in the Hong Kong Circle and awakening his desire to fight on home ground.
He gave him a stage, used "multiple roles" to satisfy his all-round talent, and used the huge pie of Brotherhood of Blades to stir his ambition.
He displayed his backing: brother was currently Han Sanping's trusted general, someone had his back, so come quickly.
Then he raised the cause higher, folding personal development into the wave of "Chinese action film innovation" and giving him a sense of mission.
Then came the provocation: if Wu Jing refused, Shen Shanden would not say he was someone who despised poverty and loved wealth, who flattered the powerful and trampled the weak—but Wu Jing could think it over himself. Think it over carefully.
He appealed to emotion, tempted with profit, and moved him with reason.
Fake Chinese kids: after getting superpowers, they wanted to go to an internet café and play games.
Real Chinese kids: I can take on ten by myself. I've lived my whole life waiting for this day to show off!
Shen Shanden had never interacted with Wu Jing, but because he worked in the film industry, he understood even better that films were the private goods of their creators. Whatever kind of people the creators were, it could not be hidden in their films.
It was precisely because Shen Shanden had confidence in the letter that he had not gone personally.
Sometimes, words conveyed strength better than speech.
Once he lured Wolf Warrior over, the production management team and action design team would have their framework in place. The project was half finished.
Shen Shanden was extremely happy. Wu Jing was somewhat like the future Hu Ge: he had reached the top in television, lacking neither popularity nor fame, yet he simply had no chance to rise another level.
Hu Ge went abroad. He was not a female star and did not need to have children. Even if he retired at his peak, wasn't it still because he had no way forward?
He had originally planned to leave for the airport at two.
However, the flight was delayed.
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