1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 195: God of Gamblers Midnight Show
There is a sense of demoralization within Xinyi City.

But under the leadership of Zou Wenhuai, Jiahe remains as stable as an iron barrel.

He Guanchang treated Chen Shilon like his own son and even gave orders to the production department staff after get off work.

"The copies of 'Fast Food Trucks' will be sent to various theaters as soon as possible. In the last few days, the guys in the publicity department will work hard to keep an eye on the posters of the bus stations, signboards, and theaters. The guys in the art department will make a few two-meter-high and ten-meter-long posters and hang them in Longtou Theater in advance. The distribution department will contact Formosa now to report and ensure that the film is withdrawn from Hong Kong and the copies are sent to Formosa immediately for the second round of screenings..."

Throughout Jiahe's production department, employees were walking back and forth hurriedly like worker ants working in a nest.

Zou Wenhuai went down from his office upstairs to the production department, and when he saw the scene in front of him, he smiled and shook his head.

"Achang, that's enough. Let everyone finish work early and you can go back and rest early."

As the big boss of Jiahe, he basically no longer interferes in film production, and focuses on business development. He Guanchang has become the head of the production department.

"Brother Wen." He Guanchang greeted Zou Wenhuai and walked up to him and said, "The movie 'Happy Ghost' by New One City is really exciting. It made nearly 20 million at the box office with a budget of 2 million. If I don't work overtime, I'm afraid I won't be able to beat the youngster Huang Boming."

Zou Wenhuai was also surprised to learn that "Happy Ghost" had achieved great success with a small investment. The Silver Princess' cinema chain was very different from the temporary cinema chain that was formed by 1024 last time by involving dozens of theaters. With a production cost of two million, the box office increased nearly tenfold, which is rare in the history of Hong Kong films.

"Are today's young people so capable? It's true that the younger generation pushes the older generation forward, and the new generation replaces the old generation."

Zou Wenhuai couldn't help but sigh, and then asked: "I heard that 1024 rented the theater to the movie "Shaolin Kid" above, and they don't have their own movie in the summer?"

He Guanchang said: "Yes, but it's a gambling film. I saw nothing surprising in the poster. Jiuyi didn't have a name on it this time. The production and production company are both Sanhe Studio under Zhai Yuan."

"Is it the Sanhe that produced three pornographic movies in May?"

"That's right."

Zou Wenhuai didn't understand what Zhai Yuan was trying to do with this move. "A Better Tomorrow" pioneered the gangster hero movie, and people thought this young man would continue to work hard. Why is he now shooting a gambling movie, which is a decadent and outdated subject matter?
"Let's see if he has any tricks up his sleeve. Don't underestimate this young man."

"I know, but no matter how good his gambling movies are, he can't come up with anything new. Unless we invite the gambling king from the horse racing industry to make a cameo appearance, it's probably going to be us and New One City competing against each other again this summer."

He Guanchang was joking, but he also didn't think highly of gambling movies.

Xie Xian, once the top star in Southeast Asia, has become outdated. Can Zhai Yuan’s God of Gamblers Gao Jin compare to the King of Gamblers Luo Sihai?
Zou Wenhuai said: "In the Hong Kong market, it doesn't matter who we compete with. This time, we even invited American action stars to come to Hong Kong for the movie "Fast Food Trucks". The money earned locally may not be enough to cover the production costs. Our main targets are still Japan, South Korea and North America. We will release it casually in the local summer season, and then go to Japan to show our strength during the Lunar New Year season. That is the home turf for the three brothers."

The three brothers refer to Chen Shilong, Yuan Biao and Hong Xinbao, who are currently the most popular Hong Kong stars in Japan.

He Guanchang sighed and said, "That's true, but Jiahe hasn't won the local box office championship for several years in a row."

Since the launch of the Best Partner series, Jiahe has always been a level lower than New One City in the domestic market, not to mention the emergence of Jiuyi Entertainment last year.

Zou Wenhuai has no interest in local champions. No matter how well a movie is made, the box office revenue will be at most 20 to 30 million.

However, he could understand He Guanchang's feelings. His godson Chen Shilon was invincible outside, but he just couldn't take over the local territory. As his godfather, he would definitely do his best to help him win back the victory.

Say Cao Cao and Cao Cao will arrive.

The two chatted for a few words, and then Chen Shilong, the leading actor of "Wheels On The Road", came over, surrounded by a group of martial arts brothers.

"Godfather, Mr. Zou."

Chen Shilong came to the production department and saw that the two bosses had not left yet. He was slightly surprised and then went to greet them with a smile.

When Jiahe's biggest cash cow showed up, Zou Wenhuai smiled a little more and nodded to say hello.

He Guanchang frowned and said, "Aren't you recuperating in the hospital?"

While filming "Wheels On Meals", Chen Shilong was seriously injured. The most serious one was when he was kicked by Jet Benny and vomited blood. As soon as the film was finished, he was forcibly sent to the hospital by He Guanchang.

"It's all right now. The people in the hospital deliberately made the problem sound serious and refused to let me leave the hospital. They were just trying to cheat me out of money."

As Chen Shilong spoke, he threw a few punches in a funny manner like a naughty boy.

Zou Wenhuai smiled and said to He Guanchang: "I have said it before, your adopted son grew up drinking cow's blood."

"Movies are all edited. Don't think you are really good at fighting and will never get hurt."

He Guanchang shook his head helplessly, gave Chen Shilong a few words of advice, and then shouted to the group of martial artists behind him who didn't dare to come closer: "Keep an eye on him, and call me anytime if anything goes wrong."

…………

"Hey! Just a heads up, I might have to go to the mainland in October."

The big guys outside are all very concerned about their own movies in the summer season, but when it comes to Zhai Yuan, they act like nothing has happened.

He was wearing an apron and cooking in the kitchen.

The braised pork in the iron pot was sizzling, and the spatula in his hand was flying up and down. Zhai Yuan took the time to shout to Zhao Meizhen and Zhai Yao who were waiting for dinner outside.

The mother and daughter outside ignored him, and it was not known whether they did not hear him.

Zhou Haimei, who was helping out in the kitchen, asked, "What are you going to do in the mainland? I heard it's very chaotic up there. Will it be dangerous?"

Zhai Yuan wiped his hands on his apron and scratched her nose: "Don't listen to what others say next time."

The people in the inland areas at that time were indeed simple and honest, and two villages could even fight over a bucket of manure. However, Zhai Yuan felt that it would be better if he went to Yanjing City.

I don’t know how much a courtyard house cost in the 1980s. I’ll go back and ask the price and buy a few to stockpile.

Get some more stars like Jet Li, Wong Fei Hung, Fist of Fury and the like to do it.

It would be better to recruit a few more technical experts from the state-owned factories. The VCD factory in Yuen Long is controlled by three Japanese people, and I always feel uneasy.

Zhai Yuan was looking forward to his trip to the mainland in October, and he was taking action without any delay.

Change the small pot to a big one, throw in all the onions, ginger, garlic, peppercorns, cooking wine and light soy sauce, stir-fry the chicken in the pan for a while, then pour in the water.

He said to Zhou Haimei: "Give me the mushrooms, and don't pour out the soaking water."

Zhou Haimei said warmly, took out the soaked dried mushrooms, and looked at Zhai Yuan who was cooking seriously with admiration in her eyes.

Girls of seventeen or eighteen have no idea about having a successful career, but they have no resistance to the mundane world.

While Zhai Yuan was simmering the pot of 'Chicken and Mushrooms' with the lid on, Zhou Haimei glanced outside at the living room, and seeing that Zhao Meizhen and Zhai Yao were not paying attention to what was going on here, she tiptoed and gave him a kiss.

"Sneak attack on me?"

Seeing that she was about to break away from the touch, Zhai Yuan hooked his hands around Zhou Haimei's neck, lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers, making a low hum. Zhou Haimei then obediently passed her tongue over him.

After a period of intoxication, Zhou Haimei leaned softly in Zhai Yuan's arms, her eyes moist.

Zhai Yuan licked the corner of his mouth, pointed at his body, and said, "Cousin, do you think my apron looks good?"

in the living room.

Zhai Yao looked at the two figures standing close together in the kitchen and gossiped, "Wow! They are filming an idol drama!"

Zhao Meizhen slapped her on the leg: "Watch your TV!"

Zhai Yao said, "Mom, do you believe that after twelve o'clock tonight, cousin Haimei will disappear from my room again?"

Zhao Meizhen reached out and twisted her ear.

It was night. Just after ten o'clock, Zhou Haimei tiptoed into Zhai Yuan's room.

Under the dim light, she was only wearing an apron, her little rabbit teeth biting her lower lip, and looking at Zhai Yuan with a reproachful look for requiring her to dress like this before allowing him to enter the house, with a blush on her face.

Zhai Yuan swallowed his saliva, quickly stripped off all his clothes, threw himself, weighing more than 100 pounds, onto the bed, and slapped the bed board: "Come on!"

…………

September 1984, 8, 8:11 pm.

"God of Gamblers" held its first round of midnight preview screenings at the 1024 Theater.

Chen Lan invited many reporters to attend the performance. In the back row of the theatre, Wang Jin, Wan Ziliang, Liang Jiahui and other cast and crew members were anxiously waiting for the trial.

1024 is currently the most civilized cinema in Hong Kong. Gangsters and young and dangerous people are not allowed to enter. Even if the movie looks like shit, the director and actors will not be in any danger.

But boos are inevitable.

“The attendance is a bit low.”

Chen Lan was busy outside and returned to the theater before the movie started. She sat next to Xu Jiaqiang and said something worriedly.

When "A Better Tomorrow" was screened at midnight last year, the attendance rate of the four theaters reached a terrifying 97%. However, this time, the attendance rate of "God of Gamblers" was less than 80%, including the reporters and film critics she invited.

The subject of gambling movies really has no gimmicks. Even if 1024 has over fans, it cannot support the scene of a midnight show.

Xu Jiaqiang patted the back of her hand and joked, "It's okay. If you think there are not enough people, I can call some new people over."

Chen Lan rolled her eyes at her, and before she could say anything, their chairs were kicked several times from behind.

Zhai Yuan sat in the back row, with Anita Mui on the left and Nishikie Michiko on the right. He leaned forward and said to Xu Jiaqiang and his wife, "How dare you!"

This is an upscale community, where fashion and lifestyle are important. How can we allow a bunch of bad boys to make it so chaotic?

At half past eleven, the movie officially started.

After the Sanhe Studio's logo appeared on the screen, the movie quickly entered the first shot.

It was claimed that the film was shot in San Francisco, USA, but in fact, Xu Qi just shot some location footage from overseas and interspersed it into the film to create the feeling of a Chinese or foreign blockbuster.

The scene changes.

In the noisy gambling hall, the foreign extras gathered in a circle.

On the gambling table, a hand first enters the painting, with a green jade ring on the little finger.

Immediately in the monitoring room of the casino, several staff members in suits stared at the situation at the gambling table through the TV screen. When the owner of the green jade ring won another game, the manager quickly called up his data file on the computer.

A line of text appeared on the blue screen of Big Head's computer:
Gao Jin, a Chinese American, about 36 years old, has no criminal record and never cheats. Unpopular casinos: all casinos in Monte Carlo, all casinos in Las Vegas, all casinos in Atlantic City, Genting Casino in Malaysia, Manila Casino, Walkerhill Casino in South Korea, Nice Casino, Malaysia Casino...

Then a photo of Wan Ziliang's back appeared on the computer, which complemented his back in the surveillance footage.

The casino employee in the play asks: "What is this photo?"

The manager responded: “He never takes pictures.”

A few brief screen switches cast a veil of mystery over the identity of the character played by Wan Ziliang.

The audience in the theater were curious and unconsciously drawn into the plot.

In the next shot, the casino manager comes to the gaming table in person.

"Mr. Gao Jin, I'm the manager here. We welcome you to come to this casino today, but our director has just decided to change your bet from 50,000 US dollars to 1,000 US dollars."

Wan Ziliang has a slicked-back haircut and was taught by Wu Yusen to look a bit noble during the filming of "Wushuang". It doesn't look out of place in "God of Gamblers" either.

After a simple "cash", Wan Ziliang left the gambling table.

The white dealer asked curiously: "Who is he?"

The manager said sternly: "God of Gamblers."

At this point, the bright red title of "God of Gamblers" appeared on the big screen accompanied by low background music.

"Wow~"

There were low cheers from the audience.

Wang Jin observed the reactions of the people around him with squinted eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. This was a good start.

The script of "God of Gamblers" is quite solid. When Wang Jin got the script, he agreed to shoot the film without hesitation. On the one hand, it was for the sake of Xinji and the money, and on the other hand, the story resonated with him.

Director Wang's mother was a woman who loved gambling by nature. She had lost all the family wealth twice, which greatly influenced his attitude towards gambling. When he was a screenwriter in the late 1970s, he used the mother who was addicted to gambling and affected her children as a projection of his own mother in "The Trap".

Nine times out of ten you lose.

In the movie, Wan Ziliang won wealth and fame in the casino, but killed his beloved woman Chen Lan, and became a lonely man on the stage of fame and fortune. For him, this was the retribution for gambling.

"Mr. Zhai's script seems to be tailor-made for me."

Wang Jin glanced sideways towards the back row, and from his angle he just happened to see Zhai Yuan turning his head to talk in a low voice with Anita Mui, while at the same time he put his hand into Nishixie Michiko's clothes without making a sound.

Zhai Yuan noticed Wang Jin's gaze, raised his eyebrows and glared at him. The fat man immediately played blind, as if he saw nothing.

"Look! Michiko is out."

Yammie Lam was not very interested in the plot of this type of heroic film, but she was keen on finding scenes where her colleagues in the crew appeared, and of course, she was most looking forward to the role she would play.

Chen Lan is the second important character to appear after Wan Ziliang. She uses lines to explain that the characters in the play are now in Tokyo.

Then there was a two-second shot of a Tokyo street, and the scene switched back to a gambling table.

It looks like a big production, but in fact it is all small scenes.

The famous scene between the God of Gamblers Gao Jin and the Oriental Dice Demon Kikuko pushes the film to its first climax.

When Michiko Nishiwaki took off her kimono, revealing the large tattoo on her shoulder, the audience was shocked.

This look has been used in previous movie posters, but when the muscular beauty ripped off half of her kimono with full aura, it still brought great shock to the audience.

Zhai Yuan turned his head and whispered to Michiko, "I forgot you have this look. Wear this next time you come to see me."

Michiko asked, "But the tattoo has been washed off."

Zhai Yuan said: "It's okay, I'll help you draw it again."

…………

The God of Gamblers, which had a low attendance rate, ended its first preview with many people saying "It's so enjoyable".

In the ups and downs of the plot, the unpredictable gambling skills do not have an advantage over previous gambling films, but Gao Jin's identity transformation from chocolate back to the peak, mixed with the side stories of Long Wu, Gao Yi, Dao Zai, A Zhen and other characters, fully mobilized the audience's viewing emotions.

(End of this chapter)