1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 650 "Rouge"

In 91, East China was hit by floods. To raise funds, Hong Kong produced a movie called "The Banquet".

This film brings together more than 200 Hong Kong entertainment stars, making its cast and crew unprecedentedly luxurious.

Directed by Tsui Hark, Clifton Ko, Cheung Tung-cho, and Cheung Kin-ting.

The film features over a hundred stars, including Sammo Hung, Carol Cheng, Richard Ng, Eric Tsang, Rosamund Kwan, Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and George Lam.

The movie ends with a scene between Michael Hui and Stephen Chow.

The two men were fighting over a piece of food. Michael Hui said it was a chicken butt, while Stephen Chow said it was a chicken head.

The two people fighting over chopsticks, though just a pointless gimmick, carries a special significance because of their presence: the flag of nonsensical comedy has been passed down from generation to generation.

In other words, Michael Hui of that era was equivalent to Stephen Chow later on.

There's a saying these days that Michael Hui is to comedy films what Bruce Lee is to kung fu films.

As is widely known, the four Hui brothers, namely Michael Hui, Ricky Hui, Sam Hui, and Sam Hui, are collectively known as the Hui Brothers.

Michael Hui is the eldest and the backbone of the Hui family. He moved to Hong Kong with his parents when he was 10 years old. His family was very poor when he was a child, and they lived in a wooden shantytown in Diamond Hill without water or electricity. He said that he was willing to do anything to have food to eat.

Later, he hosted programs on TVB and co-hosted the variety show "Double Stars" with his brother Sam Hui.

The program started as an irregular segment, but in less than two months, it was changed to a weekly prime-time program, achieving the highest viewership rating for Hong Kong television that year.

Then Michael Hui was spotted by Li Hanxiang, who asked him to shave his head and play a warlord. That's how Michael Hui made his screen debut.

That's right, this was his first time acting in a movie.

As a result, even though it's 2025 now, a generation of netizens are still using the references from his movie.

Michael Hui thus became a comedian.

He himself felt: "I have no sense of humor, not since I was a child. I am very serious and I don't understand why other people find me funny."

Therefore, many people have given him the title of "deadpan comedian".

After directing several films for Shaw Brothers, he had the idea of ​​directing his own films. He handed over his best script, "Games Gamblers Play," to Run Run Shaw and hoped to co-produce films with him and split the profits.

Run Run Shaw said your script was terrible and rejected it outright.

Michael Hui ran away from Shaw Brothers. At this time, the boss of Golden Harvest said that if Shaw Brothers didn't want him, Golden Harvest would. Golden Harvest boss Raymond Chow also promised to help the Hui brothers start a film company. So Michael Hui switched to Golden Harvest and then led his brothers to start Hui Brothers Film Company, which was essentially a satellite company of Golden Harvest.

The film "Games Gamblers Play," which Run Run Shaw didn't approve of, was soon released and caused a sensation upon its release, achieving a box office of six million, surpassing Bruce Lee's films and Shaw Brothers' comedy "The House of 72 Tenants" released at the same time, breaking Hong Kong's box office record.

From then on, the Hui Brothers' comedy films became the highest-grossing films in Hong Kong for five consecutive years, breaking the record for the highest box office in Hong Kong since its opening three times. The Hui Brothers were the guarantee of box office success at that time.

That was already in the late 70s.

Although Michael Hui has gradually faded out of the film industry, his status is undeniable, roughly equivalent to Stephen Chow's status when he made "CJ7".

He may be getting old, but his skills are still sharp; his name remains a guarantee of box office success.

Therefore, Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong were both surprised when Jiang Xian said he wanted to assemble a cast that included Michael Hui.

This was completely unexpected by them.

Because Jiang Xian was unfamiliar with the place and the company was new, and had little influence in Hong Kong, he was surprised that he wanted to pull off such a big heist right away.

Since he had brought up Michael Hui, the two of them really couldn't continue negotiating with Jiang Xian under the same conditions as before. After all, as long as Michael Hui was involved, the box office of this movie was guaranteed to be high.

And Xinbao could never find a film with a bigger cast than Jiang Xian's.

“I think we should go with Mr. Jiang’s proposed plan,” Chen Rongmei said.

He wasn't stupid. He knew that Jiang Xian must have spent a lot of money to invite Michael Hui. If he didn't let Jiang Xian make a good profit, it would likely anger him, causing him to either stop making the film or release it in the Shuangnan Cinema. If that happened, no one would benefit.

If we follow Jiang Xian's plan, he'll make enough money; Xinbao Cinemas definitely won't lose money this time.

Seeing that Chen Rongmei had already agreed, Feng Bingzhong readily agreed as well.

What Chen Rongmei could think of, he could certainly think of too. Since Jiang Xian had even invited Michael Hui, even if he didn't give Jiang Xian face, he would at least give Michael Hui face.
“Then let’s sign the contract,” Jiang Xuan said.

"no problem."

Chen Rongmei immediately had her company prepare the contract and took the opportunity to inquire with him, "I heard that the mainland has a planned economy. Boss Jiang is so generous. It doesn't seem like he only makes money in the mainland. Is there hot money coming in from overseas?"

"this one"

Jiang Xian paused for a moment, then, without hiding anything, simply flexed his muscles and said directly, "I own a film company in Hollywood, USA."

"No wonder!"

Chen Rongmei then suddenly understood.

No wonder Jiang Xian's style is so different from that of people from the mainland.

Not only are they generous with their money, but they also have a clear mind.

They're a seasoned player in Hollywood!

If you can navigate Hollywood, why can't you navigate Hong Kong?
Feng Bingzhong was also very shocked, "What is Mr. Jiang's company?"

Today's Film Studio.

“Today Film Company? That sounds familiar,” Feng Bingzhong recalled for a moment, and Chen Rongmei immediately reminded him, “The one that invested in ‘The Last Emperor’!”

“Yes, yes, we talked to them about the distribution of ‘The Last Emperor’ back then.” Feng Bingzhong quickly remembered, “So, Mr. Jiang’s visit to Hong Kong this time means that the film company is officially entering the Hong Kong market today?”

"That's one way to understand it," Jiang Xian smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

In his heart, he believed that the Hong Kong company and the US company should be kept separate. After all, there is an old Chinese saying that goes, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

"It seems I can learn from Mr. Jiang not only in literature, but also in the film industry in the future," Chen Rongmei said with a smile.

"Mr. Chen, you're too kind," Jiang Xian said modestly, not taking his words to heart.

The two parties quickly drafted the contract, at which point Chen Rongmei's subordinate looked troubled, "We haven't asked what the movie's title is yet?"

"The movie title?" Everyone in the room was slow to realize that after talking about the movie's cast for so long, they still didn't know the movie's title.

"A happy family reunion," Jiang Xian said calmly.

That's right, the movie he collaborated on with Raymond Wong is considered the ancestor of the Lunar New Year film genre.
—Family Reunion

Michael Hui plays a mainland Chinese character named Yan Nangui, who has been separated from his sister Ah Ping, who married and moved to Hong Kong, for many years.

Although A-Ping often sent money and goods, Yan Nangui mostly used them to benefit the villagers, while he himself spent his days leaping and working in the woods, finding great joy in it.

One day, Yan Nan Gui finally decided to go to Hong Kong to visit his sister and her rumored wealthy brother-in-law, Huang Jia Fan.

However, as soon as Yan Nangui arrived, he discovered that the reality was quite different. His sister's family of four and Jiafan's unmarried flight attendant sister, Huang Jialing, were crammed into a small two-bedroom apartment. Huang Jiafan supported his family by working as a shoe store clerk.

Meanwhile, the Huang family felt uncomfortable with Yan Nangui's carefree, rural lifestyle, and the two sides' forced cohabitation under one roof caused many conflicts.

Yan Nangui got a job at a shoe store through Huang Jiafan's introduction, but was kicked out by the boss's wife after only one day. Jialing's relationship with the wealthy businessman was also ruined by Yan Nangui.

Disappointed, Yan Nangui participated in a prize-winning program and unexpectedly won a chance to go abroad, but unfortunately encountered an accident during the journey.
After its release, the film grossed HK$3 million, pushing Cinema City's highly anticipated film "Aces Go Places," starring Sam Hui and Karl Maka, to second place in the Lunar New Year box office.

But if we're talking about how good this movie is...

Neither did that.

Because this movie is a hastily made comedy, it's just trying to be lively and interesting. Rather than a Lunar New Year film, it's more like a comedy released during the Spring Festival season.

This movie became a hit, thus initiating the "family-friendly" series of domestic films, which later became the massive wave of dumpling-eating movies.

However, the core message of the film is quite good; it talks about the cultural differences between Hong Kong and mainland China.

The name "Wild Geese Returning South" is quite suggestive.

In short, Jiang Xian didn't interfere at all with the script, leaving it to Raymond Wong. As for Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong, they almost tacitly assumed that such a big-budget film must be personally handled by Jiang Xian.
Right here, Jiang Xian took advantage of an information gap.

You two think this is my script.

Actually not.

He was simply using his Hong Kong Film Awards screenwriter title as leverage to secure screen time during the Lunar New Year holiday season.

In the contract, Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong basically forgot to clarify this point. They focused on breach of contract. If the film could not be delivered before the New Year's season, or if the film was of poor quality and caused box office losses, Jiang Xian would have to pay a huge amount of liquidated damages.

These conditions were basically within his expectations, and Jiang Xian agreed without any hesitation.

Having successfully secured a Lunar New Year film slot at Xinbao Cinemas, Jiang Xian and Zhu Lin happily went to a restaurant to celebrate.

With Fu Qi's help, the film and television company in Hong Kong was finally established successfully – Jiang's Film Industry.

Jiang Xian initially wanted to name it "Huigui" Film Industry, but they said that since he wasn't even pretending, they wouldn't process it for him no matter what.

Later, Fu Qi suggested that it was better not to cause trouble and simply call it Jiang's Film Industry, which Jiang Xian agreed to.

The two of them were busy in Hong Kong, and another month passed. Some letters came from mainland China.

The letter from home was written by Jiang Xian's mother. She first said that everything was fine at home, and then said that the little emperor cried every day at first because he didn't see the two of them for a long time. Later, although he got used to the absence of his parents, he was still not very happy. Along with the letter was a picture of the little emperor. Jiang Niannian had two pigtails and her little mouth was puffed out with a wronged look.

Jiang Xian and Zhu Lin felt a pang of guilt, as if they were the parents of left-behind children.

She wrote another letter home, wishing everyone well, and then wrote some comforting words for the little princess, saying that she would buy her Garden red envelopes and biscuits, colorful Swiss candies, and triangular chocolate bars when she returned from Hong Kong, so that she could study hard.

Then, Jiang Xian received another letter from Harvest magazine, written by Li Xiaolin himself, saying that his manuscript "The Miracles of the Namiya General Store" was very popular in the editorial department of Harvest and that they had decided to publish it in full as the main novel in the next issue.

That's right, "The Miracles of the Namiya General Store" has been completed and sent to the editorial department of "Harvest" magazine.

Given Jiang Xian's experience, Harvest magazine wouldn't dare to make any changes to him like they would to a new writer. They would only do some simple textual proofreading. Moreover, in Li Xiaolin's opinion, Jiang Xian's novel was already perfect, and any changes would probably change the flavor of the novel.

After sending out these letters, Jiang Xian, carrying a book, met another person with the help of Xu Xiaoming: a female writer.

"This is Li Bihua."

"This is Mr. Jiang Xian."

Xu Xiaoming introduced the two men and then tactfully said, "I won't bother you any longer. You two should have a lot in common, as you are both writers and screenwriters."

"Ms. Li, hello." Jiang Xian shook hands with Li Bihua generously. "I heard that you recently won the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Screenplay. Congratulations."

Li Bihua was flattered and said, "My Hong Kong Film Award is nothing compared to yours. You are too kind."

This Li Bihua is not very old, not even 30 years old. She is of average appearance and has worked as a primary school teacher, interview reporter, columnist, and screenwriter.

In 1981, when she was just over twenty years old, she co-wrote the screenplay for the film "Father and Son" with Cheung Kin-ting and Chan Chiu, which won the Best Film Award at the 1st Hong Kong Film Awards.

Later, she and Qiu Gangjian adapted her novel "Rouge" into a film of the same name.

This year, it stole the show at the Hong Kong Film Awards, winning seven awards including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Editing, Best Original Film Score, and Best Original Film Song.

Although the Hong Kong Film Awards are often jokingly referred to as being a niche event, this year's awards were extremely competitive.

"Rouge" faced stiff competition from Wong Kar-wai's classic "As Tears Go By," which is the source of Jacky Cheung's infamous "Eat shit" meme.

There's also "Tonight the Stars Are Shining" starring Brigitte Lin and George Lam.

"Seven Little Fortunes" is adapted from the true stories of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and other fellow students learning their craft at a drama school.

Stephen Chow's "Final Justice".

Zhang Zhiliang's "The Last Eunuch in China".

But none of them can compare to "Rouge," starring Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung.

The screenwriter of this film, Li Bihua, is undoubtedly a talented woman.

She later wrote screenplays for films such as *Kawashima Yoshiko*, *Green Snake*, and *Temptation of a Monk*.
Jiang Xian's visit this time was also for one of her novels, which was...

—Farewell My Concubine

(End of this chapter)