1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 155 Finishing

After the acceptance of the 1024 Theater was completed, Zhai Yuan contacted the mainland film studios through the Lianhua Cinema Line.

Let’s start with two classic masterpieces directed by Li Hanxiang, “The Burning of the Old Summer Palace” and “The Last Emperor”.

His own company's "This Man From Earth" and "While You Were Sleeping" were screened simultaneously.

As well as local releases such as "People Scare People", "Life and Death", and "The Hollow Young Master" were also sent to theaters one after another.

We have temporarily passed the early stage of the theater's glass line phase when there was a lack of film sources.

Qian Maosheng, the manager of the Jinmaoping Theater, who had dealt with him several times before, was poached by him with double the salary.

If there is no time to train new management, poaching is the best way.

Qian Maosheng smiled brightly. The economy was in a downturn and people were losing their jobs everywhere. Under such circumstances, he was actually going against the current. No one would believe him if he told others about it.

Zhai Yuan said to him, "I have prepared a single bed for you. You will live in the theater for the next month so that I can communicate with you at any time."

Qian Maosheng smiled and said, "As long as the boss is willing to pay me, you can bury me in the theater to protect the house."

Zhai Yuan said: "Say hello to my family so that my wife and children won't worry."

Qian Maosheng said indifferently: "It doesn't matter. My wife has been unable to give birth to a child for so many years. She has no other requirements from me. As long as I pay her on time, there will be no problem."

Zhai Yuan laughed and joked: "It may not be your wife's problem, go to the hospital for a check-up~"

"Of course it's her fault that she can't have a baby. Is it my fault?"

Qian Maosheng said with a matter-of-fact expression, "But it doesn't matter. We have adopted a godson a long time ago. He will be 18 years old soon. We treat him as our own son."

Zhai Yuan couldn't help but look at him again: "Sister-in-law, what's your name?"

Qian Maosheng curiously replied: "My last name is Zhang, why?"

Zhai Yuan shook his head and said it was nothing, thinking that as long as the person’s surname was not Li, it would be fine.

According to Zhai Yuan's plan, the theater would be open for free for three days at first, and advertise in newspapers to spread its reputation, and then start charging fees on the fourth day.

However, Qian Maosheng was the first to raise objections.

"I used to run a lunch box business, and my business was pretty good every day. When I closed the shop, there was sometimes some food left over, so I packed it up and gave it to the neighbors."

He told a story that happened to him: "As soon as I gave away free food, my business got worse day by day. The freeloaders told customers everywhere that they should not buy my lunch boxes because I would give them away for free when I closed the store. Later, regular customers who were willing to spend money felt that they were being taken advantage of. In the end, I simply poured all the leftover food into the swill bucket and didn't even charge outsiders. In the end, I didn't use it at all. Not only did my business not improve, but I was scolded by the neighbors for being heartless. So I changed my job to become a theater manager."

Zhai Yuan patted his forehead and realized that young people in later generations are the main consumers in the film market, with a higher average quality. The mainland market is also large, and a little gossip will not have much impact, so it is rare to encounter the situation of "a little bit of kindness and a big bit of resentment".

But now it is the 1980s, the quality of everyone is uneven, and the local market is small, so the free approach is indeed not feasible.

It’s a bit like some forums in the future, where a free resource is posted with a link directly. No matter how much you ask for replies and likes, most people will just take the seeds and leave. But as long as you set it so that people can only view the link after liking and replying, you will receive dozens or hundreds of pages of “Good people will have a peaceful life”.

There still has to be some threshold.

Zhai Yuan thought about it and said, "Then we'll offer half the price, plus a bucket of popcorn, and put the ad in the newspaper."

Just keep the freeloaders out. Those who are willing to spend money will come back to support the business after the price goes back to the original price after three days. Freeloaders will indeed attract a lot of weird people.

“After the three-day trial operation, add a new rule.”

Zhai Yuan continued to say to Qian Maosheng: "All elderly people over 65 can enter the theater for free with their ID cards for a period of one month, with 100 seats available each day. Losing money is not a big deal. The most important thing is to continue advertising in newspapers to increase exposure, take advantage of Mother Teresa's popularity, focus on caring for children's welfare, and stir up new topics."

Mother Teresa is a famous Indian philanthropist and missionary. She visited Hong Kong two days ago and set up a home for the elderly in Hong Kong. She has been widely discussed on TV news recently.

The cheapest marketing method is to use hot topics to attract traffic.

"The attention these two tactics bring should last until Wu Yusen finishes filming A Better Tomorrow. The rest of the marketing methods will have to be saved until around Christmas to build momentum for the new movie."

Zhai Yuan thought about it and discussed a few details with Qian Maosheng.

On November 1983, 11, after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Hong Kong’s first 12 Cinema officially opened for business.

Huang Zhan wrote a simple slogan for the theater with a stroke of his pen.

1024, unstoppable!
After the advertisement was published in the newspaper, in addition to the introductory text that said the advertisement was half-price for three days, the entire page of the black-and-white newspaper was filled with pictures of the interior of the theater.

The spacious and bright ticket hall, the multi-screen theater with uniform sofa seats, and the luxuriously decorated VIP theater are in sharp contrast to the existing theater style.

Currently, the cinema with the most seats in Hong Kong is the Palace Cinema in San Po Kong, with more than 3,000 seats squeezed together. The smallest cinema has at least 800 seats. One of the problems with large venues is that they are difficult to clean. The larger the cinema, the worse the sanitary conditions. It is very normal for old dirt to remain on the seat surfaces.

After the interior photos of the 1024 Theater were published in the newspaper, the half-price discount was not as attractive as the photos.

Many people came here after reading the newspapers. When they arrived at the theater entrance, they were first attracted by the huge poster covering half of the wall.

Other cinemas in Hong Kong also make posters, but I have never seen one this big, and the characters in the posters seem to be about to break through the wall.

"It's a pity there is no 3D TV wall, otherwise the effect would be better."

The posters used by Zhai Yuan were different from ordinary printing technologies. He spent a little more money to have the prop master do coated paper printing and simple engraving, and finally produced a slight naked-eye 3D effect, which is still quite shocking in this era.

Upon entering the ticket hall, many viewers were surprised to find that the actual environment of the theater was even more exquisite than the black-and-white photos in the newspaper.

The ticket counter with a marble countertop has a glass display case with cooked food and popcorn. The wall behind it is hollowed out like a bar and filled with alcohol and drinks. There are several simple tables in the hall, and even the seats for rest are all soft leather sofas. On the other side of the ticket counter, there is an area where several claw machines and pinball machines are placed, and there is a special redemption counter. There is also a pool table on the second floor for guests to have fun.

The staff are all young and beautiful ladies dressed in professional attire. They are responsible for ushering guests in and serving tea and water in the rest area. Regardless of the distance, they all communicate using walkie-talkies and look extremely professional.

Walking through a viewing passage I had never seen before, the walls were decorated with blue light tubes and posters of the currently showing movies, giving it an inexplicable sense of science fiction.

After walking through many turns and entering the theater, the audience, who are used to big theaters, first reacted to the fact that it was so small. Then they noticed that the air was sprayed with a light freshener, the seats and aisles were spacious, and the individual sofa seats were far better than the rows of sofas that were only available in the super seats of big theaters.

There are four ordinary halls, each with only two hundred seats, which means a better movie-watching experience.

Needless to say, the picture is better, and with the same equipment, the sound is clearer and richer, and the sense of immersion is stronger.

There is even a separate bathroom in the theater, paved with white tiles, filled with mothballs, and cleaned by the housekeepers at all times.

With all these factors, the theater environment of 1024 can be described as perfect.

On the first day of trial operation, the half-price tickets were not sold out.

After a short period of fermentation, the theater's attendance rate jumped to 80% the next day.

The third day was packed with people.

High-end places often attract young people with artistic tastes and those who pretend to be cool.

After a brief period of word of mouth, the 1024 Cinema actually became a tourist attraction in Ngau Tau Kok. Many audiences came in with cameras and took photos with the posters on the wall outside, the wine display cabinet at the front desk, and the blue lights in the viewing channel...

The influence of tap water surpasses any marketing methods.

On the fourth day, when the ticket prices of 1024 Theater returned to normal, the attendance rate did not decrease at all. A large number of audiences came to the theater, and even the rest area was crowded with audiences waiting in line to enter.

Popcorn and drinks are more expensive than outside, but sales are surprisingly good.

It costs thousands of dollars to take a photo at the Regent Hotel, but here, popcorn and Coke, combined with the bright and luxurious decoration, can satisfy the emotional values of the petty bourgeoisie.

On the same day, the newspaper published the news that in response to a charity appeal, the 1024 Cinema offered free admission to Hong Kong seniors aged and above.

The petty bourgeoisie were deeply moved. There was no need for Zhai Yuan to deliberately market the event. Photos of groups of staff leading the elderly into the venue and their affectionate relationship were continuously submitted by them and appeared on the pages of major newspapers.

Half a month after opening, the attendance rate of 1024 is still high.

Qian Maosheng excitedly reported the news to Zhai Yuan.

"Boss, in addition to the four regular theaters being fully booked, the line for customers to book our VIP theater is already three months later!"

The VIP Hall is the most special theater in 1024. It has 24 seats in total.

It is divided into 12 groups of double-person independent partitioned seats.

The entire theater is covered with carpet. In addition to adjustable high-foot sofas, there is also a special dining table. There is a service button in the hall to call staff in at any time.

Most importantly, this cinema provides booking services for birthday parties, proposal parties, etc., and the cinema manager will bring the staff to send blessings at that time.

All in black suits, whether you are attending a wedding, funeral, housewarming or school enrollment, it is absolutely imposing and provides one-stop service.

Zhai Yuan almost copied the first-class cabin service and the sea fishing service into the VIP theater.

During this period, we have received more than 100,000 Hong Kong dollars in deposits for booking the VIP theater alone.

"Basic operation, don't get excited, stay calm."

Listening to Qian Maosheng's excited tone on the phone, Zhai Yuan said calmly.

hang up the phone.

He sat in the driver's seat of the Ferrari, exhaled softly, but gradually he couldn't hide the smile on the corners of his mouth, and he slammed the steering wheel hard!
Sure! I was just worried that Hong Kong audiences wouldn't be able to stomach the finer details, but now it seems that was unnecessary worry.

Zhai Yuan pushed himself up with one arm and jumped out of the car easily.

"Director Wu, if you can't finish this last scene tonight, all your salary for this month will be deducted!"

Zhai Yuan walked to the set in a few steps and spoke to Wu Yusen who had just got off the machine.

He did nothing for the past half month and just stayed on the set to supervise.

If "A Better Tomorrow" is delayed any further, it may not be able to make it to the Lunar New Year holiday, let alone Valentine's Day or Lantern Festival.

Wu Yusen's face was full of fatigue. He had been forced by Zhai Yuan to work around the clock recently and didn't want to say much.

He made an OK gesture to Zhai Yuan, walked aside to drink a sip of tea, and then hurried back to the machine to give instructions.

11 month 29 day.

After filming the final battle scene in the abandoned shipyard.

"A Better Tomorrow" has finally wrapped up!
"Go back and have a rest. I'll take care of the editing."

After packing up all the films and seeing Wu Yusen looking like he was about to pass out, Zhai Yuan finally had the kindness to let him and the actors leave first.

Jiuyi Entertainment now has its own editing room and no longer needs to borrow one.

Although Zhai Yuan has only used PR, Aipai and Aijianji, he does not know how to cut film.

But this is not a big problem, it can be done by hiring two editors.

When it comes to film editing, the most important thing is the editor’s ideas and thoughts. The collision between shots builds up a complete story.

"A Better Tomorrow" consumed more than 200 boxes of 70mm film, which alone cost nearly one million Hong Kong dollars.

The total length of all the film reels is dozens of hours. What Zhai Yuan needs to do next is to condense these dozens of hours into ninety minutes and build a complete movie from the fragments.

Why ninety minutes?

Because the movie is too long, they will have to show fewer shows every day, which will result in a big loss of money, so few theaters agree to do this.

After all, it is a commercial film, and everything is based on profit.

"I don't want this part, I don't want this part, I don't want this part either!"

Wu Yusen shot a lot of material outside the script, or shot the same scene twice as a backup.

Zhai Yuan showed no mercy when he started working, without any artistic pursuit at all. Even the master who cut the film said that he had never received such a quick and efficient job from him.

Since the director is not here, of course he, as the editor, has the final say.

Zhai Yuan could imagine that if Wu Yusen were sitting here, he would definitely bargain with him and ask to keep the pictures he had taken with so much effort.

However, there was no director in the editing room, so Cameron had to kowtow to the editor even when he came over.

"If I had known earlier, I should have written the plot for the second part and let him spend his extra time on shooting the material for the second part. Now we can produce two dramas with just a little effort."

A bunch of insignificant materials flashed before Zhai Yuan's eyes, all of which were wasted film, making him sigh.

When editing the scene at Fenglin Pavilion, Zhai Yuan always felt that something was missing.

When he saw Wan Ziliang hugging the dancer and hiding the gun while kissing her, he suddenly realized that there was a missing background music.

"Avoid Losing Your Will".

This song can be regarded as the soul of the entire Fenglin Pavilion play and is indispensable.

"But I only know one phrase in Minnan dialect: Lin Bei Gan Lin Niang!"

Zhai Yuan scratched his hair, planning to go back and memorize the pronunciation of the entire verse, and then find someone to sing it. Otherwise, it would be like a person from Yanjing composing a Cantonese song, which was really outrageous and aroused suspicion.

I spent ten hours in the editing room.

Not even one-third of the film had been edited, and problems were picked out in several scenes.

The next day, Wu Yusen rushed to the editing room, looking forward to seeing the results of the editing, but was coaxed and pushed out by Zhai Yuan.

"Reshoot these scenes, hurry up, hurry up!"

In order to save time and catch up with the Lunar New Year holiday, all employees of Jiuyi Entertainment are working on multiple fronts.

The actors reshot the scenes while starting to dub the edited clips.

Di Long, Zhang Guorong, Liang Xiaolong and others basically dubbed themselves. The dubbing of Nishixie Michiko was naturally done by He Jinhua, who has now resigned from Zhaoshi and was arranged by Zhai Yuan to work in the management of Secret Garden.

Finally after a week.

The entire film of "A Better Tomorrow" has been edited.

There is still one song left, "Free from Losing My Will" and some less important soundtrack dubbing.

"I'll leave the rest of the work to you. I'll take the copy to meet the theater owner first!"

Zhai Yuan ignored Wu Yusen's resentful eyes and rushed out of the editing room with the film.

"Hey! Uncle Lan, has Uncle Six returned to Hong Kong? Okay, I've finished my play, and I'm coming to see you with a copy."

After hanging up the call to Cai Lan, Zhai Yuan went straight to Zhao's Qingshui Bay Studio.

On the other hand, Shen Wei, head of the company's legal department, also took another copy and began to contact Lianhua Cinemas.

The entire Lianhua Cinema Chain, with Nanyang, Nanhua, Yindu, Guobin, Huadu and other theaters as its backbone, is a Chinese-funded system. The largest screenings in recent times are two plays by Li Hanxiang, and the Lunar New Year schedule has not yet been finalized.

Carlos Chan was sent to contact independent theatres and declining Western film chains that were willing to schedule their films.

12 month 6 day.

In addition to Zhai Yuan who was extremely busy, there was also a girl sitting at home, holding a stuffed toy and twisting its ears. Her pretty face was pouting, and she looked unhappy and lost.

"I waited for you for a whole day, but you didn't even call me. You are such a loser!"

Today is Zhou Haimei's birthday.

(End of this chapter)