The world begins with Hong Kong movies

Chapter 342 The Real Hot Commodity
At the exchange meeting, the most popular people were not Zhang Yimou, who had just shone on the international film scene, nor the directors and assistant directors who had established themselves at Fengrui Films, but a group of middle-aged and young people with different appearances.

Many actors from mainland China, along with behind-the-scenes staff, enthusiastically surrounded these unassuming young and middle-aged people, chatting and laughing, creating quite a lively atmosphere and attracting considerable attention.

Even the equally acclaimed Zhang Yimou, and the disheartened Li Lianjie, subconsciously glanced over there a few times.

These young and middle-aged people were really unfamiliar faces; they had never seen them before when they were in mainland China.

"Who are these people?"

Zhou Ye's wife was also very curious. Although the couple did not go over, they stood not far away and frequently watched.

"They are all well-known novelists from mainland China!"

Zhou Ye's tone was somewhat eager, and he said with envy, "Among all the artists from the mainland who came to Hong Kong Island, they are the most successful!"

"Do people on Hong Kong Island also idolize great writers?"

His wife was very curious and asked, puzzled, "How come I've never heard of it?"

"Not those writers from mainland China who write traditional, serious literature!"

Seeing that his wife had misunderstood, Zhou Ye quickly explained softly, "I'm a popular fiction writer, or you could say an entertainment fiction writer!"

"The novels they write are mostly fantasy, martial arts, kung fu, and science fiction, and they are at least quite exciting to read!"

"It's not the same concept as the 'scar literature' from mainland China!"

"You mean the famous Hong Kong and Taiwan novels by Jin Yong and Gu Long?"

His wife, realizing what was happening, asked curiously, "Are their novels popular in Hong Kong?"

"Very popular!"

Zhou Ye nodded hurriedly and said, "The main reason is that the standards for judging novels are different in Hong Kong and the mainland, and the ways of making money are also different!"

Seeing his wife's curiosity, he patiently explained, "Mainland writers can strive for many relevant awards when writing serious literature!"

"These literary awards are all backed by the mainland government and have considerable credibility!"

"Anyone who achieves success in writing and wins literary awards will not only receive honors but also substantial royalties!"

"In addition, they can also secure a place in the Federation of Literary and Art Circles or the Writers Association, gaining a considerable social status, which can be said to bring them both fame and fortune!"

"The mainstream of literature in mainland China is serious literature, and popular novels can only take a backseat. There's nothing we can do about it!"

"But on Hong Kong Island, interests are the most important thing!"

"The purpose of writing and publishing novels here is quite pure: to make money. The more money you make, the more famous you become!"

"After all, Hong Kong is a capitalist society, and tangible benefits are the most important consideration!"

"It's obvious that popular fiction is the mainstream in Hong Kong Island, otherwise readers wouldn't be willing to pay for your novels!"

The wife was stunned and asked instinctively, "Didn't the Hong Kong British government have any thoughts on this?"

"Heh, as long as you don't openly oppose the Hong Kong British government, they won't care what you think!"

Zhou Ye hurriedly shook his head and said, "These mainland writers are able to appear here and receive substantial royalties and copyright returns, all thanks to ATV boss Wu Feng!"

"Back then, he spent a lot of money to solicit manuscripts from the mainland, specifically seeking well-written popular novels, and now many famous popular novelists have emerged!"

"It is said that their works, as long as they can be serialized in the Mong Kok News, will be paid at least 120 yuan per thousand words!"

"A popular novel, yet it's quite long!"

"That means a popular novel of 500,000 words can earn HK$60,000 in royalties alone!"

"so much?"

His wife was taken aback and said in disbelief, "Isn't that a bit too exaggerated?"

"No, not at all!"

Zhou Ye shook his head hurriedly and said with a wry smile, "That only includes the fees for serializing in the newspaper, not the royalties after the book is published!"

"The more novels you sell, the higher your royalties will be!"

"I've heard that some authors earn more than HK$500,000 in royalties from just one novel!"

"This doesn't even include the royalties from adapting the novel into a comic book!"

As he said this, his face was full of envy.

Those who work with words are really something!

I've heard that established serious literary writers in mainland China can earn several thousand or even tens of thousands of yuan from a single novel, which is definitely in the high-income category.

Our counterparts on Hong Kong Island are even more outrageous!

Even though Zhou Ye's tone didn't change much while he was busy explaining, it didn't seem like he was doing anything.

He was already shocked, which is why he didn't react much.

But when he first heard the news, his reaction was much stronger than his wife's.

It wasn't until I arrived in Hong Kong that I realized how important money is.

Almost everything is linked to money, which naturally affects his thinking, making him more proactive and motivated in making money.

"Even so, they couldn't possibly be this popular, could they?"

His wife wasn't stupid; she quickly recovered from her shock and muttered, "Look at those guys, they're practically wearing obsequiousness on their foreheads!"

"Oh well, what can you do when someone's novel writing skills are so good!"

Zhou Ye hurriedly smiled wryly and said, "I haven't finished yet. The main income of these mainland popular novelists is not manuscript fees and royalties!"

"That's just a small part; the real bulk comes from the costs of adapting films and TV series, as well as games and animations!"

"Any famous and high-quality novel will basically be adapted into a TV series or movie, unless the filming technology makes it impossible!"

"Because there is a considerable fan base for books, TV series adapted from high-quality novels generally do not have low ratings, as long as they are not poorly made."

"If it's adapted into a movie, its box office performance is almost guaranteed!"

"That's true. In Hong Kong, the cost of adapting a film or television series is generally not low, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands!"

"And the comic book adaptation rights, I heard the adaptation fee isn't high, HK$100,000 is the maximum!"

"The real bulk of the revenue comes from game adaptations."

"I heard that several arcade games adapted from popular novels became huge hits, and afterwards the game companies all increased their adaptation fees to the millions of Hong Kong dollars!" "Millions of Hong Kong dollars for adaptation fees?"

The wife was truly shocked; the number was astonishing.

"Of course it's true!"

Zhou Ye said enviously, "That's true. Any mainland writer who becomes famous for writing novels in Hong Kong is a rich guy!"

In such a short time, many mainland popular novelists have already bought properties on Hong Kong Island, and some of them are even so-called luxury homes.

"From what you're saying, there must not be many mainland writers who have become famous for writing novels in Hong Kong, right?"

His wife was extremely envious; it's true what they say, comparisons are odious.

She had been on Hong Kong Island for several days and was no longer as unfamiliar with the place as when she first arrived; at least she knew quite a few basic things.

Showing off wealth is no joke.

"You're wrong. There are a considerable number of mainland writers who have become famous in Hong Kong through writing popular novels!"

Zhou Ye's busy answer was unexpected: "As a top-notch newspaper in Hong Kong, Mong Kok News owes half its success to the high-quality novels serialized in it, so the newspaper is naturally very generous with its compensation!"

"I've heard that many mainland writers have easily become millionaires by contributing to publications like 'Mongkok News' and 'Fiction Monthly' in Hong Kong, and they live a very comfortable life!"

"I think I've heard of that before!"

After thinking for a moment, his wife smiled and said, "It is said that at first only members of literary associations from various regions wrote articles for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong, but later the restrictions were simply lifted, and anyone who is confident in their work can submit it!"

"It seems that quite a few school teachers and office clerks write and submit articles in their spare time, and some of them have made a lot of money in this way, but we just didn't pay much attention to it before!"

The uproar this incident caused in mainland China has continued to this day and has not yet completely subsided.

After all, Wu Feng's newspapers and magazines were giving him far too much.

In particular, the frequent occurrence of non-writers' association members making a lot of money through writing novels has a great stimulating effect on those around them.

Zhou Ye was unaware that, in order to help more writing enthusiasts, or rather, to cope with the increasing number of submissions, Wu Feng had established related magazines in mainland China.

By offering lower buyout prices—ten to fifty dollars per thousand words—the company absorbed novels of a certain caliber, but not yet worthy of being serialized in Hong Kong newspapers and magazines, helping many part-time writers earn their first pot of gold.

Similarly, although traditional serious literature and scar literature are still the mainstream in mainland China, popular literature is gradually gaining momentum.

Guided by publications such as Mong Kok News, Fiction Monthly, and other mainland-run magazines, various types of popular novels emerged, significantly boosting the mainland's popular novel market.

Of course, the mainland has its own unique circumstances!

Even if a popular novel becomes a huge hit, it's virtually impossible for it to be adapted into a film or television series, and it's not just a matter of funding.

Otherwise, Zhou Ye's wife would not have been so unaware of the mainland novelists in Hong Kong.

Their existence is the crucial foundation upon which many mainland artists have been able to quickly establish themselves in the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

"Even if these mainland writers make money from writing novels, they probably don't have much interaction with the many entertainment industry people present here, right?"

The wife saw things very clearly and directly voiced her doubts.

The fact that so many people from the mainland arts and culture circles were so eager to support it was clearly not a normal situation.

"Heh, their novels have been adapted into movies and TV series!"

Zhou Ye hurriedly explained, "The TV station or Fengrui Film and Television will invite them to be screenwriters and participate in the adaptation and finalization of the script!"

"They have a lot of say in the selection of some actors!"

No wonder!
His wife suddenly realized that she was paying more attention to those unassuming, even overly shy, mainland writers at the exchange meeting.

"I heard that I was able to smoothly go from an ordinary supporting role to a major supporting role in the TV series I'm currently filming, thanks to the support of a mainland screenwriter on the writing team. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so smooth!"

Zhou Ye hurriedly said softly, "It's just a pity that the mainland screenwriter in the scriptwriting team returned to the mainland after finishing the script, and I didn't even have a chance to thank him!"

You really should thank them!

His wife chimed in, "Do you know the screenwriter's exact address in mainland China? I'll go and thank him when I get back."

"Well, I'm not quite sure about that!"

Zhou Ye hurriedly smiled wryly and said, "The TV station attaches great importance to the scriptwriting team, so there are some things that can't be done too obviously!"

The couple were unaware that Wu Feng's appearance would change many aspects of the Hong Kong entertainment industry, including the status of screenwriters.

The Hong Kong entertainment industry doesn't value screenwriters at all; otherwise, where would all those fly-by notes on set come from? It's practically a joke.

If it weren't for the surge in film and television talent in Hong Kong during the 1980s, coupled with a relatively friendly international environment, the golden age of Hong Kong cinema would not have arrived.

However, this small-scale, workshop-style filmmaking model on Hong Kong Island, while producing many excellent and even classic films, also resulted in a large number of films of mediocre quality and with numerous logical flaws.

Once mainland audiences have seen more films, the mystique surrounding most Hong Kong films will begin to fade, and there will be countless short videos exposing their flaws.

Some obvious logical problems are rooted in the incompleteness of the script.

It can only be said that the golden age of Hong Kong films coincided with the first time mainland audiences were exposed to entertainment films, which naturally led to a surge in admiration for Hong Kong films.

Sometimes, when luck comes, there's no stopping it!
The influence of Hong Kong films during their golden age continued even after the explosion of commercial films in mainland China, allowing them to continue to thrive – it's almost unbelievable.

Wu Feng's emergence changed the negative trend in Hong Kong's film and television industry of neglecting screenwriters.

In particular, hiring original authors of high-quality novels to participate in the adaptation is definitely an extra layer of insurance for the script.

The key is that the results are quite good!
Generally speaking, TV series adapted from high-quality novels achieve good ratings, and movies adapted from them are all profitable.

That's not all; the main problem is that developing the surrounding area is incredibly profitable.

Especially for game adaptations, with the help of film and television dramas to boost their reputation, the sales of arcade games and family game cartridges of the same name can easily exceed HK$30 million.

What is this concept?
The revenue from a high-quality film or television series, through various related developments, can easily exceed HK$50 million, making even the most wealthy families envious.

The power of role models is immense; other film and television companies will naturally follow suit, learn from them, and then replicate their successful models to make a fortune in Hong Kong dollars.

It's not hard to understand why the boss would give a share of the profits to the screenwriter after making a lot of money.

That's how it is in the capitalist world: as long as subordinates can generate more profit for the boss, the boss really doesn't mind sharing a portion of the profits.

Similarly, mainland writers who own the copyrights to high-quality novels are highly sought-after in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, and even film company bosses take them seriously.

After all, nobody wants to turn down money!

(End of this chapter)