Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 359 A Small Matter (24)

Uh, Shen Yan showed absolutely no mercy…

It's like they're using Manfred Wong to criticize Hong Kong films, directly tearing away the fig leaf of 'mainland censorship restricting the development of Hong Kong films'!
These Hong Kong filmmakers…

To put it bluntly, it's because they take themselves too seriously.

The essence of the decline of Hong Kong cinema is the loss of the market and revenue from Southeast Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, and other regions.

At its peak, some Hong Kong film stars' new movies were even able to have their distribution rights for various regions bought by film companies before filming even began.

—I don't even know what you're filming, but I can't go wrong by buying it first; I'm sure I'll make a profit!

In return, Hong Kong films would add scenes that would appeal to certain regions. For example, in the Korean version of "All's Well, Ends Well," a gunfight scene was added at the end, featuring Leslie Cheung!

It's because Koreans love watching "A Better Tomorrow 2" and they love Leslie Cheung!
After Hong Kong filmmakers faced limitations in technology and capital, and their earnings in Southeast Asia, South Korea, and Taiwan were shattered by Hollywood productions, mainland China remained a stable source of revenue for a considerable period.

Do you think Hong Kong filmmakers are starting to pander to their new box office market?

As a result, at this point, Hong Kong filmmakers started to take themselves seriously and act arrogantly!

They keep bringing up the fact that it was approved!
Unwilling to "submit" to mainland movie fans, unwilling to "submit" to rules...

Oh, and there's something else I wanted to mention.

Back then, Hong Kong film crews ate boxed lunches, slept in cramped dorm rooms, worked from dawn till dusk, and weren't even allowed to sit on set. But when they came to the mainland, they suddenly started leaving get off work on time, eating buffets, and they even angrily reprimanded mainland actors for sitting on benches...

What did they do after they came to the mainland?

Wu Jing said that when he was filming "Tai Chi Master," he was ostracized by his mainland counterparts. He couldn't even get a boxed lunch, and when he injured his hand, no one took him to the hospital—even though he was the male lead!

Chen Zihan said she was in a Hong Kong production crew, and after waiting on set all day, she was told that she didn't have any scenes to film that day—the Hong Kong lead actors were playing basketball, and no one informed her.

There are videos of all of this.

Johnnie To's "Election" series, considered a classic by many, grossed less than 1000 million HKD combined from the two films. Milkyway Image relied entirely on the love story of Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng to make money and support their film production.

Later, he couldn't hold on any longer and went north. He even made films in the style of Hong Kong martial arts movies, like in "Drug War," where he went on a rampage—fighting head-on and taking down forty or fifty armed police officers!
The armed police have surrounded the factory and dispatched so many police cars. They even have explosives ready to blow up the doors, which shows that the police are taking this incident very seriously.

But the armed police only had pistols?
They didn't even have flashbangs or pepper spray, let alone heavy weapons like submachine guns...

Too fake!
Normally, we would just bring grenades and mortars and blow up the whole area.

And yet, a bunch of people are still praising "Drug War" as amazing... for daring to make such a film...

They also set a bunch of ridiculous rules. Yes, suddenly they've started talking about rules!
These are all old rules from the Peking Opera world, such as actors not being allowed to sit on costume trunks, women not being allowed to touch cameras, the stage for the opening ceremony not being placed facing north, and the camera being covered with a red cloth and wiped with a red cloth before filming begins. Many Hong Kong filmmakers come from Peking Opera backgrounds and have inherited these rules.

Look at Hollywood film crews, they're full of female photographers!

—Reed Murano, cinematographer and director of *The Handmaid's Tale*; Mandy Walker, an Australian cinematographer who photographed… *Mulan*;
Oh, later on, when these filmmakers were busy making easy money, they were willing to make any kind of film, such as online movies like "The New Nine-Rank Sesame Official" and "Ji Gong".

……

After the forum ended, Manfred Wong stormed off, ignoring even the reporters' attempts to interview him…

Shen Yan accepted the interview with a smile.

"I've seen a bunch of Hong Kong filmmakers online bringing up mainland censorship, and it makes me uncomfortable... If anyone should be saying anything, it should be us!"

"American films imported into mainland China also have to undergo censorship. Has Hollywood earned less RMB in recent years?"

"Anyone can shirk responsibility and make excuses. Making excuses is fine, it's one thing to fool others, but don't fool yourself too..."

"Many investors used to have this impression: Hong Kong director + mindless comedy = high box office. Starting with Wang Jing's 'The Spy Who Loved Me,' mainland investors poured money into those washed-up Hong Kong directors like they'd found a lifeline. 'Dragon and Phoenix Shop,' 'The Three Smiles,' 'Summer Love,' 'Journey to the West,' and even the long-struggling Lee Lik-chi made 'Flirting Scholar 2' to prove he was past his prime. But can this kind of repetition still lead to success? The answer is no!"

"Alright, that's all I have to say. That should be enough for you guys to write a few reports... If you have no more questions, I'm leaving..."

"I'm not participating in the rest of the forums; they've made my stomach hurt. I'm going to eat some crayfish..."

As he left the venue, Huang Xiaoming was waiting for him.

"Brother Xiaoming!"

"...You've really offended Wen Jun this time. I heard he's incredibly petty!"

“I know…” Shen Yan nodded: “With me around, Leslie Cheung would never have won an award.”

During the Hong Kong Film Awards selection process, Manfred Wong publicly stated that Leslie Cheung had no chance of winning…

He also criticized Stephen Chow, saying, "As long as I'm at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Stephen Chow will never win an award! His nonsensical movies are like child's play, with absolutely no merit!"

Waving his hand, Shen Yan continued, "But I won't cooperate with him, and I don't want to win the Hong Kong Film Award. He poses no threat to me!"

“I really like the script for ‘American Dreams in China’…” Huang Xiaoming asked in a low voice, “Who are you planning to cast as Su Mei?”

Shen Yan glanced at him, not wanting to keep him in suspense, and said directly, "Nini!"

"Who?"

"Nini... Yu Mo from 'The Flowers of War'!"

Huang Xiaoming frowned: "...Can she even act now?"

Shen Yan immediately asked, "Why not?"

Huang Xiaoming explained, "I heard that her management contract was signed with New Picture, and I heard that she's been sidelined!"

Then he explained what he knew...

It's simply a matter of the two Zhangs breaking up, and Nini, Zhou Dongyu, and a group of others choosing to side with Zhang Yimou...

This is perfectly normal!
After all, they were "Zhang Yimou Girls," not made famous by Zhang Weiping...

Then, New Pictures decisively banned media interviews and filming...

In short: Shelve them!
Then Zhou Dongyu was taken over by Wang Jinghua, and Nini temporarily stayed with Zhang Yimou…

Shen Yan was speechless: "...Hide my ass... She's a Zhang Yimou girl, Zhang Yimou became famous by chance, she can't be hidden away..."

This is true—Zhang Yimou's leading ladies start as second-tier actresses, and they don't lack fame.

Nini's three-dimensional features give her a sophisticated look, and she has a wide range of acting opportunities, so there's bound to be a talent agency willing to take her on!

"But her agency contract is with New Picture!"

"It's no big deal, we can just sue to terminate the contract... I think Nini has a lot of a Su Mei vibe..."

Xiao Ming smiled wryly: "...I was thinking of giving Tian Bao a role!"

Shen Yan shook his head: "Tianbao looks too young; he's not suitable for our movie..."

(End of this chapter)