Entertainment Era: My Good Sister Is All Over the World

Chapter 95 Ignites Hong Kong (Please Subscribe)

The midnight screenings of "Let the Bullets Fly" on the fourth day were almost entirely booked by Hong Kong filmmakers.

Jackie Chan, Hung King-po, and Yuen Biao, the three fellow disciples, sat in the last row.

Sitting next to them were Karl Maka, Tsui Hark, and others; they were preparing to establish Cinema City.

The first two rows prominently featured Wong Jing, son of Shaw Brothers director Wang Tianlin, Du Qifeng, Wang Tianlin's apprentice who rose to prominence with "The Deadly Gold in the Cold Mountain," and Chu Yuan, who had gone bald.

Further ahead, there were also familiar faces from within the industry.

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Jackie Chan was slightly annoyed because his movie "Young Master" had just been released a few days ago.

Although the box office remains strong and is in the lead.

However, "Let the Bullets Fly" was released a week later than his film, but its box office performance showed signs of catching up, which made him somewhat worried.

"Young Master" was his first film after joining Golden Harvest, and in his mind, it was not only to be a hit, but also to leave everyone else in the dust.

This way, everyone will know that Golden Harvest paid HK$420 million to sign Jackie Chan, which was excellent value for money, and that he deserves this status.

Golden Harvest certainly had great confidence in Jackie Chan, otherwise they wouldn't have released the film during the Spring Festival.

Originally, other film companies avoided this release period because who would dare to go head-to-head with Jackie Chan? Only a few low-budget films were released at the same time.

Who knew that just as "The Young Master" was beginning to dominate, a film was suddenly shown in a left-wing cinema.

Jackie Chan didn't take it to heart at first. Leftist cinemas used to show movies with obvious biases, which were too didactic and didn't appeal to Hong Kong audiences. So, they were just barely surviving during this period.

Many discerning people can see that if things continue like this, the left-wing film companies will eventually go bankrupt.

I never expected that "Let the Bullets Fly" would be a commercial film, and its power is unbelievably strong!

In just three days, it grossed over two million yuan at the box office. If it continues like this, it could easily reach ten million yuan in a month.

Jackie Chan is starting to panic. If his first film with Golden Harvest only manages to come in second at the box office, he won't be able to explain himself. What's more, being defeated by a left-wing film would be too embarrassing.

So, Jackie Chan disregarded his pride and secretly dragged his closest fellow apprentices over to see what magic this movie possessed.

Hung Ching-pao was also very curious: what kind of movie could become so popular!

He had just returned to Golden Harvest and, with the support of Raymond Chow, established Bo Ho Film Company. He was just preparing to launch his first film when suddenly the winds of change shifted.

In the past few days, several people have recommended this movie directly or indirectly, and he is extremely curious about it.

He accepted the invitation as soon as Jackie Chan invited him.

Yuen Biao, on the other hand, didn't have that much on his mind; he was just there to watch the movie.

A short while later, the screen went dark.

An eagle takes flight, its head appears behind it, and a song begins to play.

More than ten white horses pulled the train and galloped in, heading straight for the faces of all the spectators.

Next, bandits appear, hijacking the train, killing officials, and impersonating the county magistrate!

Entering the city, they engage in a battle of wits and courage, with back-and-forth exchanges, climaxes upon climaxes, and a tense and exciting atmosphere.

From beginning to end, it's thrilling and captivating.

Even after the movie ended, Jackie Chan's body was trembling uncontrollably.

He had never felt this way before, only when he saw Hollywood's top stars sleeping soundly!

"Incredible!"

After a long pause, Jackie Chan finally uttered four words, then froze in his seat: "I can't film it! Absolutely not!"

"Big Nose, don't scare yourself." Hong Jingbao was also deeply shocked. He never expected that the mainland, which had always lagged behind, would suddenly take off. "This movie is indeed amazing, but with hundreds of millions of people in the mainland, it is normal for one or two classic movies to appear from time to time."

Yuen Biao was equally excited, muttering, "How was this movie made? There weren't any big scenes, the train didn't explode when it crashed, and there was no martial arts used when they were fighting, but it was still so enjoyable to watch. I almost jumped up just now!"

"That's the power of a good script!" Hung Ching-pao is, after all, a veteran filmmaker, and has an extraordinary sense for commercial films. "This script has definitely been refined through countless revisions. The dialogue is extremely precise. There isn't a single wasted line or shot from beginning to end. Its structure is so tight that even Hollywood today probably doesn't have many scripts like this."

"Indeed, Hollywood has a lot of bad movies and very few good ones."

Jackie Chan shook his head. He used to live with his parents in Australia for quite a long time, and he would watch movies whenever he had free time.

"Sanmao, can we make a movie like this?" Yuen Biao said with a smile to Hung Ching-po.

Hong Jingbao gave a wry smile and asked in return, "What do you think?"

"Is that not allowed?" Yuen Biao was taken aback.

"Of course not!" Hong Jingbao said speechlessly, "This kind of script needs to be polished for several months. We have dozens or even hundreds of brothers working for us, and we need to eat every day and pay them salaries every month. We don't have time to polish any script. If we have a good idea, we just shoot it. We think about the plot while we're shooting, and most of the lines are improvised."

"That's true!" Yuen Biao recalled his experience filming and nodded slightly. "That would be a real shame."

Then, another idea came to him: "Could we poach the guy who wrote this script?"

"You're definitely out of your mind!" Hong Jingbao laughed in exasperation, glaring at him. "That's a screenwriter from the mainland, probably some old man in his sixties or seventies. What makes you think you can poach him?"

Jackie Chan nodded: "We can't poach him. This screenwriter named Huang Wenbin is definitely a famous writer in the inner city, and he might even be working within the system. How could we possibly poach him?"

He also made up his mind that he must go to Hollywood to make a name for himself, at least to learn their advanced experience, so that when he returned to Hong Kong, he would be an overwhelming force.

Not just Jackie Chan.

The newly formed "Seven Wonders of Cinema City," who are about to debut as a group, are also looking at each other in bewilderment.

"This movie—" Karl Maka touched his bald head, realizing he didn't know what to say.

-

"This is amazing!" Shi Nansheng was filled with admiration. "This movie is simply ahead of its time. Hollywood probably only produces a movie like this every few years."

Huang Baiming, a veteran screenwriter, naturally saw this as well. He murmured, "What a powerful script, especially the dialogue. The amount of information is incredible; almost every line is meaningful and impactful. Famous lines come out like they're free. What kind of brain does this screenwriter have?"

Shi Tian was a notorious pessimist, and he was now holding his head in distress, saying, "It's all over. What's the point of setting up a new company? We can't even compete with mainland films!"

"Don't be so pessimistic." Zeng Zhiwei's voice was hoarse, but his tone was very gentle: "We're not bad either. No matter how powerful the mainland is, it can only be shown in left-wing cinemas."

"You've all got one thing wrong!" Tsui Hark suddenly spoke up, pointing to the movie screen. "This is a film distributed by Li Hanxiang, and it's eligible to be shown in other theaters."

Upon hearing this, the group looked up and saw the end credits, which displayed a line of large text in the center: "[Acknowledgements: Li Hanxiang, General Distributor in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and all overseas regions]".

"When did he get in touch with the mainland?" Teddy Robin asked, somewhat puzzled.

Mai Jia suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said with a sense of realization, "No wonder Li Heizi has been going to the United States so often these past two years. We thought he was going to the United States for medical treatment, but actually he was using it as a transit point to go to the mainland."

"What a cunning person," Shi Nansheng shook her head. "He's really a master of speculation."

"Who Li Hanxiang is has nothing to do with us!" Mai Jia said with a headache. "Our startup project may also have to be postponed for a while, until the hype surrounding this movie has died down."

Huang Baiming suddenly said, "Why? Can't we start from scratch, work overtime to come up with a new script, and ride the coattails of this movie's success?"

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Karl Maka's eyes lit up, and he pointed at Raymond Wong, saying, "Screenwriters really do have quick minds. Let's hurry back to the studio and talk all night to get the script out. Let's just follow the trend and make one similar to this one."

They left quickly.

The people from Shaw Brothers had already left.

After everyone had left, Jackie Chan and his two companions quietly slipped out.

Unfortunately, their every move was captured on camera by several reporters.

These reporters were obviously brought in by Li Heizi.

After "Let the Bullets Fly" unexpectedly became a hit, Li Hanxiang immediately realized that this was an opportunity. He then spent money to hire several reporters from tabloids to stake out in front of the Southern Theater and take pictures of people coming to watch the movie.

Sure enough, the next day's morning paper published photos of them going to see "Let the Bullets Fly".

[The whole of Hong Kong is ablaze with excitement, Jackie Chan and his two brothers are all smiles throughout; so cool they're practically pissing themselves, the mainland blockbuster is hotter than gunpowder], accompanied by a photo of the three Jackie Chan brothers leaving the movie theater.

[Mainland films become hits in Hong Kong, Shaw Brothers director is so worried he's going bald], accompanied by a photo of Chu Yuan scratching his bald spot.

[Shocking news! The screenwriter of this film is actually a 19-year-old! A genius! The mainland Chinese film industry truly harbors hidden talents!]

Jackie Chan was immediately reprimanded by Raymond Chow: "Big Nose, you're a big star now, not a stuntman anymore. Stop being so reckless and letting others take advantage of you."

Shao Yifu was equally enraged, hurling insults at Chu Yuan, Du Qifeng, and the others. After his outburst, he ordered them to submit a similar script within three days, or else their wages would be docked.

These reports further fueled the popularity of "Let the Bullets Fly," making it unstoppable.

Sure enough, the head of Shaw Brothers cinemas soon found Li Hanxiang under the direction of Shaw Yifu and demanded to buy out the film.

Li Hanxiang flatly refused.

When Shaw Yi-fu found out, he was furious, but he still suppressed his anger and personally went to Li Han-hsiang to say that Shaw Brothers wanted to renew his contract with him, and the terms were much more generous than before.

Not long after, the manager of Golden Princess Cinemas also approached Li Hanxiang, demanding that the film be made, and even offering to reduce the profit sharing.

Li Hanxiang's strategy was simple: stall!

He believes this movie can be even more popular!

The original plan can be adjusted slightly.

In just half a month, the Southern Theater was packed to capacity.

Liao Disheng, a leading figure in left-wing cinema, naturally noticed this situation and even went to see the film, only to be deeply moved.

Left-wing films are indeed in dire straits nowadays. At this critical juncture, the sudden appearance of this film gives him a sense that there is still a chance to turn the tide.

The prerequisite is that it must have the support of the mainland authorities.

First, the range of subject matter must be broadened; second, there must be a sufficient number of talented individuals.

Liao Disheng was also aware that the mainland was in dire need of reconstruction and that even if they wanted to provide assistance, they couldn't spare many resources.

He set his sights on a name mentioned in the newspaper: the screenwriter of "Let the Bullets Fly".

"Perhaps there is such a person, capable of defeating an entire army!"

Liao Disheng immediately picked up his pen; he wanted to write a letter to Liao Gong and the Central Committee.