Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Chapter 119 Zhang Shuai'an Begins to Focus on the World (3rd update, please subscribe)

No matter the era, you can't mess with crazy fans!

For the next period of time, Zhang Shuai'an stayed only at the company and home, fearing that a few more "Shanghai Bund" dramas might appear.

His die-hard fans wanted to beat him up.

During this time, a small incident did occur.

He Jiatong took the initiative to approach Zhang Shuai'an and said that he wanted to move out.

"What's going on?" Zhang Shuai'an asked, somewhat puzzled.

He Jiatong explained, "I'm dating someone, and she wants me to live with her."

Zhang Shuai'an's curiosity was piqued: "Oh, the iron tree has blossomed! Who's that woman?"

"It's Xiao Cai, the makeup artist from Jiahe!" He Jiatong answered somewhat awkwardly.

Zhang Shuai'an recalled that among the people sent by Jiahe to assist with the filming, there was indeed a slightly chubby girl who had just graduated from university and was currently a trainee makeup artist.

"What's your character like?" Zhang Shuai'an asked.

He Jiatong said with a happy expression, "She's very good to me, and she cooks for me every day. Before, I was afraid you would see, so I would hide and eat."

Zhang Shuai'an then asked, "Was this request made by someone else, or by you?"

"She suggested it," He Jiatong replied. "She said that even if we have a good relationship, we should keep our personal and professional lives separate. Now that I'm earning money, I can't keep taking advantage of you. Our combined salaries are enough for us to rent an apartment and live comfortably, and we can even save a little. After saving money for two years, we'll get married."

Zhang Shuai'an thought the girl was indeed quite reliable, and asked, "Have you told your aunt about this?"

"Not yet." He Jiatong shook her head. "I was just planning to tell you after I'm done with this busy period."

Zhang Shuai'an nodded: "Okay, once 'Chasing Girls' is released and there's nothing else going on, I'll go with you to talk to your aunt."

""

"Chasing Girls" is scheduled for release on June 20th, which is still more than a month away.

Golden Harvest was in charge of the film's promotion, with Jiang Zuyi also helping out, so he didn't need to worry about it.

So, Zhang Shuai'an found himself with free time.

He's a restless person; since he has nothing to do, he'll find something to do.

Zhang Shuai'an's first thought was that he could start brainstorming ideas for his next film.

"Chasing Girls" is of better quality than the original and is shown in more theaters, so there's no reason for it to flop at the box office.

As a film company, especially a Hong Kong film company, it is obviously impossible to make only one film a year.

"Brother An, we've received a message from Shaw Brothers."

He Jiatong found Zhang Shuai'an and reported to the director: "The payment for 'Shanghai Bund' has been transferred, and it's confirmed. Golden Harvest has also transferred the remaining payment for you."

So Zhang Shuai'an gathered the company's main creative staff: Wang Pangzi, Chen Xunqi, Liu Guanwei, and Huang Bingyao.

"The release date for 'Chasing Girls' has been set, and Golden Harvest will be the first to open it. You probably already know that."

Zhang Shuai'an first gave a brief overview of the situation, his tone surprisingly relaxed: "The publicity is proceeding smoothly, with both newspapers and television stations talking about the show. However, we need to take a longer-term view."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang immediately guessed what he was up to and asked in surprise, "Brother An, are you planning to make a new film?"

"So soon?" Chen Xunqi was also somewhat surprised. "Let's at least wait until 'Chasing Girls' is released before we talk about it."

"No need." Zhang Shuai'an had seriously considered the matter. "Starting a company definitely requires a longer-term plan."

During this period, apart from necessary publicity, the main creators didn't really have much to do.

Huang Bingyao, however, was very supportive, saying, "There's nothing wrong with preparing for the next film in advance."

The main problem is that if they don't make new films, screenwriters like them won't have much of a chance to shine.

"Shaw Brothers has already transferred the remaining fees for 'Shanghai Bund,' and Golden Harvest has also settled the remaining fees."

Zhang Shuai'an listed the money he could currently use in the account, "Adding the extra money I earned in Taiwan—all sorts of miscellaneous things added together, it's more than five million, enough to shoot two movies."

Liu Guanwei asked directly, "Does the boss have any good ideas or a good script?"

"Ah Jing, Bing Yao, you two rewrite a script based on the model of 'Chasing Girls'."

Zhang Shuai'an didn't take on everything himself; he still needed to use his subordinates: "Brother Qi, you be the director."

"Me?" Chen Xunqi was taken aback, quite surprised, as he had never been a director before.

Following the original timeline, his first film as director and actor was "A Date with a Beauty" in 1983.

"What's wrong? Don't you have confidence in yourself?" Zhang Shuai'an asked.

Chen Xunqi smiled and said, "That's not true. You're the boss and you're not afraid I'll mess things up, so why should I be afraid?"

"That's right." Zhang Shuai'an had a lot of confidence in Chen Xunqi. "As for the female lead, we can start by choosing from our own company, such as Cherie Chung or Rosamund Kwan."

"If they are not suitable, we will look for actresses we have worked with before, such as Michelle Yim, Nora Miao, Deborah Lee, and Liza Wang."

Fatty Wang chuckled: "I know, that's what they call keeping the good stuff in the family."

"What do you mean 'fertile water'? You're the fertile one." Huang Bingyao subconsciously retorted to Fatty Wang, "You really don't know how to talk. Is this what you call taking care of an old friend?"

Fatty Wang glanced at him and said, "Hey, you're pretty fat too, and you're still talking about me."

"I'm just muscular!" Huang Bingyao argued. "Don't let my similar build fool you, I'm all muscle inside my bones."

Fatty Wang retorted, "You're not going to grow any muscle inside your bones! I think you're more like chicken meat!"

The group's noisy chatter actually made the place feel lively and vibrant.

Zhang Shuai'an didn't stop them; his silence only made things more distant.

Next, Zhang Shuai'an needed to consider what he should film.

According to his own vision, Tianxia Pictures certainly couldn't just make commercial films; it also needed to produce some films with substance and depth.

"Chasing Girls" is a commercial film.

Next, I need to make a film that can win awards.

The Hong Kong Film Awards were not established until 1982, and its current organizer, Film Biweekly, has only been published for less than a year.

He doesn't care about the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.

If you're aiming for awards, you naturally have to keep an eye on the three major international film festivals: the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin Film Festival, and the Venice Film Festival.

These days, the three major European film festivals still have a significant influence and credibility.

For example, King Hu's "A Touch of Zen" was originally a box office flop, but he bought back part of the copyright, re-edited it, and submitted it to the 28th Cannes International Film Festival, where it won the highest technical award.

This award propelled King Hu's reputation to new heights, even leading to him being named one of the world's five greatest directors in 1978 by the British International Film Guide.

If Zhang Shuai'an can win the Palme d'Or, he'll be hailed as the greatest.

Actually, I also want to gain international exposure and experience a wider world as soon as possible.

Of course, he didn't expect to win the Palme d'Or in one go. This requires constantly building his reputation, and sooner or later he will shock these foreigners into silence!

However, winning the Palme d'Or is not so easy; Cannes doesn't really care about most films.

Even Zhang Shuai'an himself couldn't stand things that were too artistic.

How to balance art and commerce is a question that must be seriously considered.

Zhang Shuai'an opened the system store and carefully browsed through the scripts that could be exchanged, intending to choose a good one as his second directorial masterpiece!