1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 354: The Bridge King Returns
The beginning of 1987.

Zhai Yuan set a small goal to dominate the Hong Kong film industry.

It has been five years since I entered the industry in 82.

It’s neither short nor long.

Stepping on the western film theaters to rise to the top is in line with Boss Zhai’s philosophy of harmony being the most important thing.

Besides, how dare you, a scumbag like you, try to steal Mayday’s corporate culture?
With the idea of knowing both ourselves and our enemies, Zhai Yuan quickly ordered people to bring back from America those videotapes of Western films that were still in the promotion period from Xinbao Cinema Line.

I first watched the other party's "The Most Charming Girl" which is scheduled to be released in May overnight.

The English name is “Another Roll in the Hay”.

Just the translated title alone made Zhai Yuan sigh: "At least there are some experts in the Chinese translation team of Xinbao!"

At that time, after the classification system promoted by Zhai Yuan was established in the Hong Kong Category III film market, works had sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. Even the Silver Capital Organization was affected and started the project of "Black Sun 731" in advance, earlier than Zhai Yuan remembered.

However, at that time, audiences rarely saw images of big horses in Western films.

After watching the ninety-minute video with Zhou Haimei as the translator, Zhai Yuan yawned in lack of interest.

To be honest, white dudes are really not suitable for making pornographic films, they have no aesthetic sense at all.

Apart from the novelty of being a big foreign film and the good translation of the title, this drama is not even qualified to be compared with any Category III film produced by 91 Entertainment. If last year's "Sex and Zen" had been released in May this year, it would have crushed the other one in seconds. I don't know where Xinbao got the confidence to snatch the schedule of the sexy Mayday from itself.

Zhou Haimei was stunned by the passionate and unrestrained action scenes of the white ghost woman in the movie, and it took her a long time to come back to her senses.

She hugged Zhai Yuan's neck affectionately and asked, "Do you have any inspiration?"

Zhai Yuan sneered: "Pen and ink are at your service~"

…………

"Dear Friend East?"

With the end of the Spring Festival holiday, the main creative team of Jiuyi Entertainment gathered in the tea room. They first expressed their feelings about "Top Gun", which finally earned 3400 million Hong Kong dollars and once again broke the Hong Kong movie box office record. They also sighed that they didn't know what the fate of their own projects would be. Finally, they cursed Xinbao Cinema Chain as traitors and traitors, causing that there are more Tom Cruise posters on the streets than Chen Shilon.

Then with a snap, Boss Zhai pushed open the glass door of the tea room and threw the stack of manuscript paper in his hand directly onto the tea table.

The four bold words on the cover are particularly eye-catching:

All the way east!
"Xinbao is trying to steal our audience for the third-level movie in May. I've seen the videotape of their movie, and it's garbage."

Zhai Yuan came in and spoke directly, pointing at Wang Jin who was sinking into the sofa: "Fatty, you can handle it. The script has been prepared for you. Wu Dairong will be the male lead as usual, and you can choose any actress from Japan."

The main creators in the tea room then realized that the manuscript on the table was the script of an adult film.

"Mr. Zhai, what is the content of this play?"

Zhai Yuan walked to the sofa and asked Xu Ke to move a seat for him. He answered casually, "It tells the story of a young man who grew up in a family with strict discipline and a very boring life. In order to pursue love and freedom, he formed an adventure team with his friends and headed to the East. In the process of heading east, his mental journey gradually changed and he grew up."

"Huh? That sounds pretty deep."

"Why is Dongyang on the east side of the Xiangjiang River?"

"Northeast, that's about right~"

It was a rare occasion for Boss Zhai to return to his old business and personally start writing. A group of creative people became interested and gathered around Wang Jin to admire his calligraphy.

In order to fit the times, this third-level blockbuster Zhai Yuan has undergone many modifications. All mobile phone and computer social software have been replaced with products corresponding to this era. The plot has naturally been changed as well. The most important thing is that the location has been changed from Dong Wan to Dongyang. Dongyang is also Dong after all.

After reading a script, everyone fell silent.

Youth growth? That's what growth is, right?
Zhai Yuan ignored the bunch of old-fashioned people who didn't know how to appreciate things. Most of the third-level films in these people's minds were probably still from the era of Li Hanxiang's erotic films, and they couldn't keep up with the pace of the young people at all.

He turned around and asked Xu Laoguai beside him: "Going to Japan next week?"

Xu Qi nodded and replied, "Yes, An Nan asked me to finish the special effects of "Hiroshima Monster" as soon as possible, so that at least this year, Xinbao Cinema Line can release another blockbuster movie during the Lunar New Year holiday, and we don't have to be as passive as before."

"Sister Nan is willing to let you go to Japan on your own initiative?"

"I can't help it. The western version is too evil."

"Top Gun" has great staying power. Despite the joint efforts of two major theater chains, it still broke the box office record of Hong Kong movies, making a group of young Hong Kong people excited, fascinated by American soldiers, and eager to join the Air Force career immediately.

Even though the film has been taken off the screen, the shock it brought to local producers has not yet ended.

It can be seen from the fact that Shi Nansheng took the initiative to urge Xu Qi to go to Japan that "Hiroshima Monster" had been mostly filmed in Japan last year, and the remaining special effects shots can be completed in three or two months even if the production cycle is slow. But Guan Jia Po is no longer considering other schedules. Even if the film is ready, she has decided to postpone it to the Lunar New Year period as a backup, because she is afraid that Xin Bao will come out with a more explosive film during the Lunar New Year period this year.

Jiahe also had a strong sense of crisis. Chen Shilong took the script of Police Story 2 written by Zhai Yuan and started preparing to start filming before the Spring Festival was over. He turned down all other work and invited more than supporting actors of all sizes. The guest roles of shopping mall security guards were played by familiar faces such as Wu Ma, Guan Shan, Lou Languang, and Liu Qingyun. The alternation of old and new actors made it the most luxurious cast in recent years.

“Once the special effects for Hiroshima Monster are finished, we’ll make a list of equipment and move the necessary machines to Hong Kong, so we don’t have to fly back and forth for the next movie.”

Old weirdo Xu's status depends on his wife. Zhai Yuan is very satisfied with the housekeeper's work attitude, and he also buys an industry for the new visual effects company.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhai."

Xu Qi rubbed his hands excitedly. He had long coveted those gleaming supercomputers in Mitsubishi Research Institute. However, the prices of tens or even hundreds of millions of US dollars made it simply unaffordable for the new visual effects company that had not yet balanced its income and expenditure.

"No, your goal is to become the Industrial Light & Magic of Hong Kong~"

Zhai Yuan smiled and patted Xu Qi's shoulder, then turned his head and glanced at Wu Yusen, who looked at him attentively: "The housekeeper told me that your movie 'Across the World' has finally recovered its cost through the overseas box office and CD sales, and you are planning to start a new movie, right?"

"Yes, yes!" Wu Yusen nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. "It's almost the 40th anniversary of my master Chang Cheh's film career. I plan to make a movie for him. I will definitely keep the cost under control this time!"

“What story are you going to shoot?”

"I have discussed this play with Ah Xu. He is going to be the producer and I will be the director. It tells the story of a former gang leader who retires from the underworld and hopes that his three adopted sons will abide by the law from now on. However, one of the adopted sons turns traitor and not only continues to hang out in the gang, but also kills the gang leader. The other two adopted sons kill the traitor brother in order to avenge their father... This is roughly the plot."

After listening to this, Zhai Yuan rubbed the stubble on his lips and recalled for a moment that this seemed to be a play called "The Righteous and Brave Heroes".

The film as a whole is pretty decent, the type that can be filmed or not.

One of the few highlights of the original film was the participation of Stephen Chow, and it was also the first time that Wu Yusen met Stephen Chow in the parallel universe. In his later interview, he mentioned that Li Xiuxian asked him to take care of Sing-Chi at that time, so after the script of "The Heroes" was completed, he still added a role for him. In Wu's description, Sing-Chi, who was still very shy at the time, said thank you twice, and he waved his hand to say that he didn't need you to remember this matter, which was quite Jianghu-like.

But now that Zhou Xingchi has been assigned to film "God of Gamblers", Zhai Yuan has less and less interest in this drama.

Zhai Yuan thought about it for a while and said to Wu Yusen, "The story you told sounds ordinary, but I have another story in my hand. Why don't you try it first?"

When the King of Bridge spoke, the attention of the main creators around him was drawn again, and they all looked at him with attentive eyes.

Zhai Yuan's mind flashed with Hopkins's face. He thought for a moment and then said, "A murder occurred in Hong Kong. The murderer was a pervert who specialized in peeling women's skin. The female inspector of the serious crime team was ordered to visit a psychiatrist in Stanley Prison, hoping to understand the pervert's psychological behavior to help solve the case..."

…………

Less than a month into the new year, Jiuyi Entertainment has launched several new drama projects.

Following the publicity and promotion process of the Xinbao Cinema Alliance, its own publicity and promotion department also launched a targeted counterattack.

"The Most Romantic Girl" VS "Dear East"

"Poltergeist 2" VS "Mr. Vampire 2"

Xinbao Alliance’s publicity and promotion only lasted until July and August, but Jiuyi Entertainment had already made sufficient preparations to target the other party’s Lunar New Year film schedule.

Choose between "Hiroshima Monster" and "God of Gamblers", or just watch both.

The impact of Hollywood blockbusters has made Zhai Yuan pay more attention to his traditional business, movies, which has also led to competition in the local film market.

The number of movies that followed the trend in the past has dropped sharply during this period.

The reason is simple. The three major cinema chains have released blockbuster films one after another, sucking away most of the audience's budget for watching movies. Gradually, no one is willing to pay for the shoddy movies that follow the trend. It is becoming increasingly difficult to cheat investors' money, which has forced many companies this year to transform and focus on producing high-quality products.

"I told you a story about an ogre next door, so I'm going to tell you a new story here. It's said that in Norway, fresh sardines are more expensive than frozen ones, but these fish are lazy and will die soon after being caught. So local fishermen put a few catfish in their catch, and the catfish scare the sardines so much that they keep running around, and in the end they can live longer."

After meeting with the company's creative director and screenwriter team, I held a small meeting with the key members of the management.

Zhai Yuan finished telling a story in the style of a bosom friend with a smile, and said to Shi Nansheng and others: "Now the Xinbao Cinema Alliance is just a few catfish in the catch, so there is no need to kill them all at once. Otherwise, wouldn't it be easier to just go to the entrance of their theaters and hand out free CDs? I stayed in Japan for a long time last year, and now I'm back in Hong Kong to pick up the title of Bridge King again. I'll make sure I have enough money for creation in the future, and I'll have to thank Sister Nan and everyone for their hard work in other areas~"

It took some time to get 1024's movie business done this year.

What remains is nothing more than a set of processes including promotion, production and release.

Zhai Yuan continued to be a hands-off boss.

Walking out of the company building, he saw a silver Rolls-Royce parked next to his pickup truck. Wei Xing sat in the car and kept glancing sideways, which made Zhai Yuan's car look even more shabby and worn.

"The fake ones are all big bosses who have been on the rich list. Pay attention to your image and at least buy a new car~"

The door of the Rolls-Royce opened, and Ye Zhiming got out of the car, holding a cigar in his mouth. His shiny leather shoes stepped on the ground, and he wore an over-the-knee windbreaker with a scarf. Apart from the sparse hair on his head, he had the demeanor of a Hong Kong gambling boat tycoon.

Zhai Yuan smiled and said, "The economy is in a downturn, Brother Ming. I just spent 200 million US dollars in Japan, and now I want to develop tourism with you. If I don't save some money, I'm afraid I'll have to live in a public housing again soon."

Ye Zhiming exhaled a word of "pick" accompanied by a puff of smoke, walked forward and put his arm around Zhai Yuan's shoulders, teasing: "Marry Aqing, as long as you are willing to marry my sister, I will give you the entire Sharp Island as a dowry. The Hong Kong government has a 75-year property right for the commercial land in the resort area, and you have renewed it for another 75 years. You want to open a ghost theme park, right? 150-year property right, brother, in the future, the net ticket revenue will be collected by you and Aqing's children and grandchildren..."

(End of this chapter)