Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Chapter 122 Zhang Shuai'an is a bit of a mystery (3rd update, please subscribe)

The first thing that appears in the picture is a blue sky.

Then countless rolls of film intertwined, like layers of clouds.

As the sun reached its zenith, four large characters appeared: 【天下影业】 (Tianxia Film Industry).

Below is a line of smaller print: "The world of cinema, we reign supreme."

A burst of laughter immediately erupted in the theater, some mocking, some sarcastic, but some felt it was exceptionally domineering.

From the crowd, Mai Guangtou sneered and said to Shi Tian beside him, "Zhang Shuai'an, that kid, is pretty arrogant!"

Huang Baiming lowered his voice and said, "If I were as young, handsome, and famous as him, I'd be even more arrogant than him."

.

Shi Tian simply said softly, "Let's watch the movie, don't make a sound."

Then, rousing music began to play, and at the same time, red subtitles appeared: "Producer: Zou Wenhuai".

Producer: Chow Wen-huai

Starring: Zhang Shuai'an, Shi Tian

"6

""

As the opening music was about to end, five large red characters appeared: [Zhang Shuai'an's Work].

The opening dance scene was indeed eye-catching.

Many of the audience members in the theater were young people in their twenties. They were most sensitive to this new thing, and some even swayed their bodies involuntarily.

"What kind of dance moves are those? They're so cool!"

"It looks so cool, I've never seen anyone else skip this before!"

"Are these dance moves created by Xu Wenqiang himself?"

"What Xu Wenqiang? His name is Zhang Shuai'an!"

"That's about it, everyone knows who it is. I definitely need to learn this dance move."

"How can you possibly learn something in just a few minutes at the beginning of a film?"

"I'll just watch a few more games."

"You're right, I'll watch it with you a few more times."

Soon, they forgot to talk because the plot was indeed exciting, and there was a joke every three to five minutes, the kind that made the audience burst into laughter.

For example, the scene at the beginning where he confesses his love to Yu Mulian is quite reminiscent of Stephen Chow's fight with Ah Mei in "The Lucky Guy".

Hong Kong audiences couldn't stand this kind of scene and laughed uproariously.

Later, several stunningly beautiful women appeared one after another, making them even more envious.

"Damn it, how can someone as ugly as Shi Tian manage to pick up so many beautiful women?"

"It's not from Shitiangou, it's from Zhang Shuai'an."

"If I were half as handsome as him, Dibona would be mine, and Xie Laosi wouldn't even have a chance."

"9

"Wow, Zhao Yazhi is so beautiful. She's usually so dignified, but I never expected her to look so sexy in business attire."

"What's sexy? It's just one word: slutty. But I like it, hahaha."

"There's something strange about Miao Kexiu playing this female doctor."

"It's obvious she has low libido."

"7

At this juncture, Hong Kong audiences are very uninhibited and direct when watching movies. They will praise the scenes they like and swear when they see scenes they don't like.

Actually, daytime screenings are fine, but for midnight screenings, some audience members even smoke while eating sugarcane.

Before long, a famous scene was performed.

The model Bai Fangfang, played by Debona, invites Roberto to her house that night. Roberto thinks she is asking him to do *that*, so after Bai Fangfang says she is going to take a shower, he excitedly takes off his clothes and jumps onto the bed in the bedroom.

As a result, a man sat up in surprise in bed, and he and Roberto looked at each other.

Before the two could react, Bai Fangfang walked in looking flustered and said that her husband was back and that they should hide.

Deborah's husband was played by He Jiatong in a cameo role. He was a silly and foolish rich man, which allowed He Jiatong to experience being a rich person for a while.

The scene of catching the adulterer, with its agile movements, is almost inspired by Tsui Hark, who had a similar scene in "Peking Opera Blues".

Of course, this kind of scene is a common trope in old Hong Kong films, and it also appears in Jackie Chan's "Project A".

There's another classic scene later on, where Gao Fei, played by Miao Kexiu, has a conversation with Roberto in the car.

Miao Kexiu: "Do you want to sleep with me?"

Roberto shook his head: "No?"

Miao Kexiu was somewhat skeptical: "You really don't want to sleep with me?"

Roberto shook his head firmly: "I don't want to sleep with you at all. Anyone who wants to sleep with you is a dog."

Miao Kexiu was somewhat disappointed: "Never mind then, I was originally planning to prepare the medicine with you tonight."

Roberto: "Woof, woof woof."

These kinds of vulgar jokes seem to hit the audience's funny bone; the more vulgar they are, the louder they laugh.

There's actually a sequel to this.

Miao Kexiu asked with some confusion, "Is sleeping together really that interesting?"

Roberto: "That's so interesting."

Miao Kexiu: "I think spiritual communication is more important."

Roberto: "So, how often do you think physical intimacy should occur?"

Miao Kexiu: "It's only once a year!"

Roberto jumped up in anger: "Once a year? Do you think this is Christmas?"

It was also a memorable scene that erupted.

The plot flows smoothly throughout, featuring handsome men and beautiful women, quirky and nonsensical humor, and a constant stream of laughs—the audience is almost overwhelmed, thoroughly enjoying the show and laughing heartily.

At the end of the movie, Roberto delivered a heartfelt monologue, which moved many female viewers, making it a perfect ending.

"This movie is a sure thing!"

After seeing the ending, Mai Guangtou first nodded, then shook his head: "I don't know if the box office will surpass 'Junior Brother', but it's 100% certain that it will surpass our 'Crazy Conman'."

"Isn't that obvious!" Huang Baiming rolled his eyes: "Crazy Conman sold over three million copies, not even beating Shaw Brothers' Modern Country Bumpkin."

Shi Tian stroked his chin and suddenly said, "Do you think we could make a fortune if we copied the 'Chasing Girls' genre and released a movie in a month?"

"Hmm?" The bald man's eyes lit up immediately, and he pointed at Shi Tian: "You play the male lead, and find a few pretty girls, it shouldn't be a problem."

Huang Baiming, a veteran screenwriter, immediately chimed in, "That's a great idea. I already have a scene in my head."

"Let's go, let's go back now."

Mai Guangtou immediately got up and walked out, saying to the two men, "Go directly to Mr. Lei for investment, then write the script and start filming as soon as possible."

The three of them left in a hurry.

Before long, they arrived at the chairman's office of Kowloon Motor Bus.

"Do you think 'Chasing Girls' will be a hit?" Although Lei Juekun had seen the test screening, he was not a filmmaker and didn't have a high sensitivity to this area, so he had to ask the three of them.

"It won't just be a hit, it'll be an explosion." The bald-headed man always used exaggerated language: "And it's also inspired us. We already have an idea: Shi Tian as the male lead, and a few beautiful actresses in the cast, we're sure to make a fortune."

Lei Juekun asked, "That's fine, how much does it cost?"

"Two million is enough!" The bald man estimated in his mind, then said, "We can find actresses from Taiwan, they'll be cheaper. As long as they're pretty, they don't need to be that famous."

Lei Juekun asked, "Do you need to find a handsome guy like Zhang Shuai'an?"

"No need," Huang Baiming said seriously. "People like Zhang Shuai'an are rare finds. We might as well just get rid of him and focus all our attention on Shi Tian. We can just find someone even uglier than him."

Lei Juekun asked, "For example?"

"Zeng Zhiwei!" Mai Guangtou immediately thought of a talent: "Short and ugly, but willing to play the clown, and useful."

Lei Juekun nodded: "Okay, let's do it that way! Film it as soon as possible, and your film will have to take its place as soon as 'Chasing Girls' is released."

The bald man laughed and said, "No problem."

In the following days, the venue was almost always packed.

When Zou Wenhuai, He Guanchang, and others received the theater manager's report on the attendance rate in their office, they couldn't help but be amazed.

Looking at the reported data, Liang Feng, who was in charge of film distribution, exclaimed, "This Zhang Shuai'an is simply amazing!"

Cai Yongchang murmured, "With box office revenue exceeding 1.2 million on the first day, surpassing 10 million in total box office revenue will be a piece of cake."

Ho Koon-cheung's eyes no longer showed excitement, but rather some worry: "His movie is very likely to break 20 million directly."

"Impossible!" Liang Feng was stunned, and subconsciously retorted, "How much is the total box office for the whole year? Ah Long's 'Young Master' was the first movie to break ten million at the box office, how could it break twenty million so quickly?"

Chow Wen-huai also expressed some concern: "Don't forget, Golden Princess Cinemas will also be showing 'Chasing Girls' next week!"

Golden Harvest Cinemas has nineteen cinemas and can earn tens of millions in box office revenue.

After consolidation, Golden Princess Cinemas now has eighteen theaters. Given the quality of the film "Chasing Girls," it's not impossible for it to gross tens of millions at the box office.

"I think it's impossible!" said Choi Wing-cheung, stating his opinion: "Hong Kong's movie audience is limited, and so is their enthusiasm for watching movies. Once is enough for us at Golden Harvest Cinemas; it's impossible for them to go to Golden Princess Cinemas to watch it again."

That makes some sense.

They simply overlooked the fact that many viewers, once their enthusiasm was ignited, would repeatedly buy tickets to watch the show.

Moreover, video rental shops weren't popular back then, and only a few families could afford VCRs; if you wanted to watch a movie, you had to go to the cinema.

Another week has passed.

The Golden Princess Cinemas also screened "Chasing Girls".

Many viewers who hadn't been following the news were completely baffled. Wasn't this a Golden Harvest movie? How did it end up being shown in Raymond Lam's theaters?

Could it be that Chow Wen-huai and Lei Jue-kun have joined forces and are trying to destroy Shaw Brothers cinemas?

Shaw Studios.

Fang Yihua looked distressed: "What trashy audience! How could they like a garbage movie like 'Chasing Girls'!"

Actually, it was entirely Fang Yihua's suggestion that Shao Yifu not arrange a theater for Zhang Shi.

That day, after watching the preview screening, she felt that "Chasing Girls" was just an empty shell made up of handsome men and beautiful women, just a few dirty jokes stitched together. It was okay to watch for entertainment, but it definitely didn't have any potential.

So, after returning, he directly advised Shaw Yifu not to pay attention to Zhang Shuai'an, since Shaw Brothers was already busy scheduling its own films and had no extra screenings to give to outsiders.

Shaw Brothers is also a very self-serving person. Zhang Shuai'an is no longer an artist under his management. Although the cooperation in the TV series is relatively pleasant, Shaw Brothers and TVB are completely different things.

After a brief consideration, Shao Yifu agreed to Fang Yihua's suggestion.

Unexpectedly, the slap in the face came so quickly!