When the head of production at Central asked Chen to apply for the grant under the studio's banner, Chen said, they had agreed that if Central put up money to shoot the film they would use the same "independent" model they had employed on Chen's previous film Peony Pavilion. This meant that Chen could shoot with his own crew.
後來中影當時的製片部經理請他將企劃案交由中影代為申請，他在同意時已經聲明，如果中影要出資拍攝，必須沿用先前他和中影合作《我的美麗與哀愁》的方式，以自己工作班底拍片獨立製作。