Hong Kong variety show: I Am a Tycoon

Chapter 206 The New Chronicle Concludes
Late at night, Sai Wan.

At the dock, a dim streetlamp was lit.

A low-profile convoy slowly pulled up to the shore. Five or six new gunmen, centered around the four-eyed dragon, looked around with serious expressions.

“Ah Po, Ah Sheng, Ah Jun, Ah Qiang, I don’t know when I will be able to return from Hong Kong this time. You must be careful and never have any conflict with Boss Jun.”

Xu Huayan looked at Xu Huabo, Xu Huasheng, Xu Huaqiang, Axe Jun and others in front of him, and gave them his parting words of advice.

"Ah Jun, make a call. Why hasn't the fishing boat arrived yet?" Xu Huaqiang raised his hand to look at his watch, his face showing anxiety.

Axe Jun pulled out his mobile phone and dialed a number, but it was always busy.

Everyone immediately realized something was wrong.

"Thorn."

Just then, several cars with their headlights on pulled up in front of them, stopping gracefully in front of the group. Fully armed Flying Tigers, armed with MP5A3 submachine guns, jumped out of the cars and pointed their guns at Xinji and his men.

"Don't move."

"Get down! Get down!!!"

Chief Superintendent Wu Cheuk-yan of the Anti-Triad Unit opened the car door, lightly stomped his leather shoes on the ground, and said to them with a warm smile, "Gentlemen, are you waiting for the boat?"

"do not move."

Several loyal New Detective gunmen wanted to draw their guns and fight back, but Four-Eyed Dragon raised his hand and immediately stopped them, already knowing that the situation was hopeless.

"Get down!"

"Hands behind your head! Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!" Hu Zhuoren shouted sternly, his face filled with murderous intent.

"Hand over your weapons," Four-Eyed Dragon shouted at the crowd.

The new gunmen looked at each other, then slowly placed their guns on the ground, kicked them over, and then knelt down with their hands behind their heads.

"Four-Eyed Dragon, our anti-triad team found your New Brothers' underwater roster in Zhang Renlong's office building, in Zhang Liangsheng's office."

"you lose."

Hu Zhuoren breathed a sigh of relief and let out a cold laugh. The so-called underwater register was actually a list of members of the New Detective Organization.

Four-Eyed Dragon, however, gripped the dragon staff and laughed loudly into the sea breeze: "Inspector Hu, you're wrong. I didn't lose to your anti-triad squad."

"I lost to Jun, the boss of Hung Hing."

"The victor is king, the loser is villain; I accept my defeat wholeheartedly."

Hu Zhuoren laughed again: "Are you done reminiscing? Cuff them all."

As the cold handcuffs were placed on his wrists, Four-Eyed Dragon looked at Hu Zhuoren and said, "Hu Sir, I... I request to be hooded, and I also request 24-hour protection. Boss Jun will definitely send people to the cell to take action!"

"Take them all back." Hu Zhuoren ignored him and waved his hand, shouting.

"Officer, I'm just here to see my brother off. I'm a public figure..." Xu Huaqiang pleaded.

“Officer, I’ve already published it.” Xu Huasheng said calmly.

"Shut up, all of you, and stop talking nonsense." A Flying Tigers member kicked Xu Huaqiang in the sole of his foot.

……

A full month has passed since the Sha Tin riots, and newspapers are still reporting on Sun Kee. Xu Huasheng, Xu Huaqiang, Xu Huabo, and Huang Jun were released on bail the following day because they were not deeply involved in the Sha Tin incident.

The arrest of Xu Huayan, the leader of the New Gang, Zhang Liangsheng of the White Paper Fan Gang, and others caused a stir in the martial arts world.

In Hong Kong, any triad with a bit of power would try to overstep its bounds and seize the territory of the Sun Kee.

The former Sun Kee Sha Tin World was acquired by Hung Hing.

Kowloon Walled City, Yau Ma Tei, Kwai Tsing, Tsz Wan Shan... wherever it was Sun Kee's territory, it would be attacked by other triads. Without a leader, Sun Kee was completely unable to resist a pack of hungry wolves.

The once powerful and dominant New Journalists Association in Hong Kong fell from grace overnight, relegated to the second tier of triads.

The name of Chun, a leader of the Hung Hing triad, once again resounded throughout the underworld.

As for the trials of high-ranking officials such as Xinji Siyanlong, Zhang Liangsheng, and Xu Zhancheng, they have only just begun.

Before we knew it, December had arrived.

On this day, the three bus groups, Kowloon Motor Bus, China Bus, and Sun Bus, as well as almost half of the bus stops and all Hong Kong newspapers, published movie posters for "A Better Tomorrow".

The advertisement contained only one sentence: "A Better Tomorrow will be released in Hong Kong on December 25th."

Meanwhile, posters of "A Better Tomorrow" appeared at the entrances of stores of Youngor, Bosideng, Uniqlo, and Anta Sports, and the main characters, including Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-fat, and Dillon, frequently appeared at the ribbon-cutting ceremonies of these stores.

TV stations such as ATV and TVB also frequently broadcast trailers for "A Better Tomorrow".

After more than half a year of preparation and filming using the world's most cutting-edge special effects, "A Better Tomorrow" is finally about to be released.

Hung Hing Cinemas has completed its scheduling, but Shaw Brothers Cinemas has yet to release any information.

"Ah Kun, didn't we invite people from Shaw Brothers to come and see the sample footage? Why haven't they given us any feedback yet?"

Chen Jiajun looked at Liang Kun seriously and asked, having poured his heart and soul into this movie.

“Ah Da, Sir Shao wants you to go there in person.” Liang Kun looked slightly embarrassed.

"Damn it, what's Sir Shaw up to? Get Chow Yun-fat over here right now, I'm coming right away."

Clearwater Bay.

The Shaw Brothers Studio administration building, Chairman's office.

Boss Jun sat in his office with TVB's popular actor Chow Yun-fat. Chow Yun-fat was still somewhat uneasy when facing his boss, Shaw Yat-fu.

"Mr. Chen, you are truly an honored guest, to have the time to come to our Shao family for tea."

A staff member brought over tea. Shaw put down his pen, walked around the desk, looked at Chen Jiajun, and said slowly and deliberately, with a hint of barbs, "Uncle Six, you flatter me. You are a senior, and I am just a junior."

Chen Jiajun remained calm and polite.

"Hehe, I'm afraid once 'A Better Tomorrow' makes its debut, you won't be a junior anymore."

Shao Yifu's words still carried an aggressive tone: "I wonder what brings Mr. Chen here today to have a chat with me?"

I'll choose.

Didn't you tell me to come here in person?
However, Chen Jiajun could understand Shaw's feelings. Shaw was a true giant and founder of the Hong Kong film and television industry, a senior of Sir John Paul Wong, and a good friend of the Lin family.

It can be said that in Shaw Yifu's eyes, Da Lao Jun was a pure accomplice, a junior and a junior.

This junior, without consulting Shaw Brothers, poached Chow Yun-fat, one of Shaw Brothers' top lieutenants, to make a movie. Getting him to make a movie would have been the end of it, but now he actually wants the movie to be shown in Shaw Brothers theaters?
If he were Shaw, he would be even angrier, and might have already arranged for Doom and the old prison guard to do things...

However, anger aside, we still need to talk.

"You're a senior, so I won't say much more. I'm here mainly for the release of the movie 'A Better Tomorrow,' and I'd also like to ask Chow Yun-fat to switch sides and make a movie with me."

"what?"

"Chen Jiajun, you've got some nerve. You've made a few movies and you've become so arrogant, thinking you can get my people to switch sides with you?"

Who do you think you are?

"When I was making movies and having sex with actresses, you weren't even born yet."

"Damn it."

Shaw raised an eyebrow and smashed the cigar he was holding onto the ground.

The Shaw Brothers of today are no longer the philanthropist who donates money to build buildings and libraries every day. Any powerful figure has a temper.

"Clap."

Setting down his teacup, Chen Jiajun squinted and said, "Sixth Uncle, I call you Sixth Uncle out of respect. If I want to screen the film in your theater, it's because I want to make money with you. Since you're not interested, then forget it. Ah Fa, let's go."

"I'll give you 48% of the box office revenue for 'A Better Tomorrow,' is that alright? After all, the bottom-line fee isn't common in Hong Kong anymore." Seeing Chen Jiajun about to leave the office, Shaw blurted out.

"Okay." Seeing that there was something to talk about, Chen Jiajun paused, then turned around and sat down.

Shaw picked up the cigar from the ground, blew off the dust, and took two puffs: "Also, it's not impossible for Fat to switch sides and work for you, but I have conditions."

"First, if you want your movies to be released in Shaw Brothers theaters in the future, then bring Shaw Brothers into the picture. We can discuss how much to invest."

"Secondly, make more use of Shaw Brothers and TVB artists."

"How about these two conditions?"

Chen Jiajun nodded: "No problem, but you're just an investor, you're not allowed to interfere. I have no other objections."

On the surface, Shaw Yi-fu's terms seemed to favor Shaw Yi-fu, but in reality, Chen Jia-jun received an enormous benefit.

The fact that artists from Shaw Brothers and TVB are available to Hung Hing Films alone can greatly enrich Hung Hing Films' artist pool.

Secondly, the fact that Shaw Brothers co-invested in some bad films reduced the risk for Hung Hsing Film Company.

Chen Jiajun makes movies purely to build a media platform and incidentally have fun with female celebrities; he can't possibly keep an eye on things at the film company all the time.

The person keeping an eye on the film companies is Liang Kun. Although he has industry elites such as Tsui Hark and Tsang Chi-wai to assist him, there are always a few films that lose a lot of money every year.

In the 1980s, the Hong Kong film industry seemed lively, with many companies vying for dominance. However, in retrospect, the era of large corporations dominating the market is now history.

Small production companies and film studios have sprung up everywhere, but they don't have a fixed production team or their own film sets.

When independent producers have a good idea, they look for partners to collaborate and utilize the production resources of large companies.

They contributed resources such as creativity, script, and appeal to the film as equity.

If a film incurs losses, the investors will naturally suffer the greatest and most direct losses.

Shaw Brothers' rise to become the leading film company in Hong Kong was a product of the times.

Times have changed, and Shaw Brothers' model is no longer suitable for the local context.

The name Shaw Yi-fu has been intertwined with film for more than half a century. He is the true emperor of film. Looking back for the next forty years, who can compare to his status today?

He has spent half his life working with movies and has an almost obsessive love for them.

How could he not see that?
This is also why Shaw decided to shift his focus to TVB.

As for why they chose to collaborate with Hung Hing Films, the reason is quite simple.

His feud with Raymond Chow was not over yet. He wanted Shaw Brothers to invest in Hung Hing Films' productions, also in order to compete with Golden Harvest.

Two days later.

Hongxing Leading Cinema Chain.

At midnight, A Better Tomorrow officially premiered.

In the 1980s, Hong Kong films would have midnight screenings for a few days before their official release, mainly to gauge audience reaction, and tickets were very cheap.

If the audience is satisfied, then increase the promotional efforts.

This is Hong Kong's unique midnight entertainment culture.

Midnight shows usually start at 11:30 p.m. The audience at this time is definitely not white-collar workers who have to go to work the next day, nor are they important people; they are mostly ordinary people and students.

Despite their low level of education, these people have watched countless films and their feedback is very direct: they applaud and praise good movies, and they criticize bad ones on the spot.

Chen Jiajun has great confidence in his painstakingly crafted film.

In addition, given that it is Christmas Day and Hong Kong is experiencing a massive influx of people, the midnight screenings were cancelled, and the film was released directly instead.

(End of this chapter)