1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

"move place?"

Huo Sheng was stunned, a little taken aback.

"Yes, we're moving."

Seeing that he didn't understand, Liu Qingyun stopped and asked, "Where do you live now?"

"Electric Road".

"hiss……"

Liu Qingyun knew this place; it was the busiest area in North Point, filled with old buildings over forty years old. He gasped, exclaiming, "The accommodations are really basic!"

"Please, I'm just a bartender, what kind of nice place can I stay?"

"That's true..."

Lau Ching-wan nodded and carefully explained, "You live on Electric Road in Sai Kung, which is three districts away from Clear Water Bay. Filming isn't a short project; it can take anywhere from a month to a year. We'll need to communicate with the screenwriter constantly during filming. What if it's in the middle of the night? Living so far away won't work."

"I see!"

Huo Sheng agreed and thought it made a lot of sense. He used to rent a shack because it was close to the Golden Sparrow Tower and the rent was cheap. Now he didn't have to be so frugal and could choose a more suitable apartment.

So he nodded in agreement and said, "Then I'll contact a real estate agent in the next couple of days to look at apartments nearby."

"No need for that."

Lau Ching-wan waved his hand, "TVB has free staff dormitories. Although the conditions are ordinary, they are conveniently located nearby."

"There's such a benefit?"

Huo Sheng was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, it's mainly for actors from other places and newcomers behind the scenes, to make it easier for them to work on set."

Lau Ching-wan explained, "Besides, you are now the only main creative screenwriter in the crew. Even if I don't mention it, Producer Wai will still contact you again because he wants you to live in the TVB dormitory."

Huo Sheng was taken aback, not understanding this train of thought, and asked curiously, "Does the producer even care where I live?"

Is it really necessary to implement closed management for filming a TVB drama? That's too exaggerated.

"So I can focus on my creative work!"

Lau Ching-wan said matter-of-factly, "When filming starts, Producer Wai and the other main creative team will also move in. That way, you'll be neighbors, and he won't have to worry about you going somewhere drunk the day before and not being able to find you the next day."

He paused, then said with schadenfreude, "Especially now that you've signed a pledge to write the entire series. Once the project is finalized, a workaholic like Producer Wei might want to tie you and the director to his belts, so you can just quietly create and do nothing else."

"This works?"

It sounds rather strange that three grown men are inseparable all the time.

"Just kidding, I would never really restrict your freedom."

However, jokes aside, the arrangement of spending every day with the producer and director was exactly what Huo Sheng wanted.

Living at TVB allows you to spend more time on set and observe how TVB efficiently assembles its production teams and how producers guide the work.

You can start as a screenwriter, but you don't have to be a screenwriter for life. There are plenty of people who switch to directing or producing.

Besides, although he majored in directing in his previous life, he always worked in production companies and didn't have this kind of experience working with film crews, so it's very necessary for him to learn.

Especially now that I've returned to Hong Kong in the 90s, the things I learned before are very likely to be incompatible with the local culture.

Therefore, Huo Sheng felt this was a great opportunity. He could put the luxury apartment aside for now and turned to Liu Qingyun to ask, "How do I apply for a dormitory?"

"Um……"

Liu Qingyun pondered for a moment, then said, "You're a signed lead screenwriter now, so you should meet the requirements. Just take your contract to the administration department."

So the two of them went back to the administration department, signed and stamped documents in their cubicles, made phone calls, and completed the whole process. They quickly got the keys.

"Let's go, let's see this through. I'll show you around a bit," Liu Qingyun said enthusiastically.

He's just an extra, and he has tons of free time.

The two of them headed south together.

TVB has a large area, with the living quarters sandwiched between the administration building and the outdoor filming area, consisting of three buildings.

Facing the center is an H-shaped building made of plain concrete with ten floors. The first and second floors have a medical room, and the upper floors are all grid-like dormitories, six-person rooms with bunk beds, which are where the work group and newly signed artists live.

The other two buildings are not tall, one of which is six stories high. They are long, government-built housing estates with standard double rooms inside.

There is also a four-story building, a sturdy building with a long rectangular design, and it doesn't look like anything special from the outside.

"From the very beginning of a TV series' preparation, all the cinematographers, art directors, costume designers, prop masters, and so on, will live here."

As Liu Qingyun walked, he explained, "Some of them live in rooms with six people, some in rooms with two people, so guess who gets a single room?"

"Producer?"

"Producer counts, who else?"

"Lead actor?"

"Ordinary actors stay in six-person rooms, those with some fame stay in double rooms, and only the most popular actors are qualified to stay in single rooms."

Lau Ching-wan said with a hint of bitterness in his voice, "However, the lead actors don't stay here often; they prefer to stay at the Regal Hotel, which is not far from here."

"Wouldn't this building be quite empty then?"

"Who said that?"

Lau Ching-wan shook his head and explained carefully: "In TVB, people are used to calling the producer, director, and chief creative officer the 'iron triangle'."

The "iron triangle" (director, screenwriter, and lead actor) is key to the quality of a drama series, followed by the actors. Therefore, the director and lead writers are entitled to single rooms—this is a TVB tradition.

It seems that TVB only doesn't treat junior actors and production assistants as human beings, but still has considerable respect for the creative class.

Huo Sheng, feeling that his career path had broadened, asked with great interest, "Do you know which director Producer Wei will be casting for 'The Greed of Man'?"

In TVB's production system, it's normal for producers to have their own team, usually including directors and cinematographers who know each other well and work together seamlessly.

In fact, this team should have included several key creative writers and screenwriters, but this time they encountered a wild monster who not only parachuted in but also refused to work with the other key creative writers, which is really frustrating.

Lau Ching-wan hesitated for a moment, then said tactfully, "Producer Wai's team doesn't have any real directors, only one or two relatively experienced executive directors."

Why?

"Because producer Wai likes to direct his own films,"

Huo Sheng nodded knowingly, meaning that Wai Ka-fai and Jiang Wen had the same problem: they liked to usurp the director's power.

However, it's not necessarily a bad thing. If one of the three key creative partners is unreliable, the production is in danger; even a miracle couldn't save it.

Now Wai Ka-fai prefers to handle things personally, at least to ensure quality.

He pondered this in his heart, then followed Liu Qingyun up the stairs, walked down a long corridor, and stopped in front of one of the yellow wooden doors.

"We're here, this is your dorm!"

open the door.

The room is on the 4th floor, right up to the ceiling.

The room was about eight or nine square meters. There was a single bed, a set of wooden table and chairs, a wardrobe, a metal shelf, a stack of blank manuscript paper on the table, and an old-fashioned ceiling fan with some rust on the edges of the blades.

There's a small door on the wall next to the door; pushing it open leads to a separate bathroom, so narrow you can barely turn around. It has a squat toilet, a sink, and an electric water heater mounted on the wall.

The tiles were the yellow and white square type from the 1980s, with some blackened grout lines, but overall they were fairly clean. There was no shower room; a red plastic bucket and ladle sat in the corner.

It had been cleaned in advance, the bedding was newly changed, and there was a TV set. I turned it on casually, and it was showing the TVB drama "The Fortune of Thirty Million".

I doubt anyone has changed the channel, since you might accidentally see an enemy channel.

Huo Sheng looked quite satisfied. After all, he had just arrived in Hong Kong and moved into a squatter house. He had used a public toilet for two months and had to sit in a row to defecate. Now he had a private bathroom. What more could he ask for?

Being a screenwriter is awesome!

Go back immediately to cancel your lease and move in!

Lau Ching-wan temporarily took on the role of assistant, arranging everything, and asked, "Are you satisfied? If there's anything you're uncomfortable with or if you need anything additional, let me know, and I'll notify the administration department."

Huo Sheng nodded and smiled:

"Mr. Liu, I'm sorry to have troubled you again today."

Just call me Qingyun.

Liu Qingyun looked around and smiled, "Shall we stop here for today?"

Huo Sheng passed his job interview today and will soon start preparing the script for the film. He will also be moving house.

As for Lau Ching-wan, once "Dancing with My Love" officially wraps up filming, he will begin honing his acting skills and prepare to enter the role of Fong Chin-bo in advance. Although he has a promise from Huo Sheng, he must at least demonstrate his abilities during the audition to convince them.

He's not an idol!

Huo Sheng naturally had no objections. After resting briefly in the dormitory, the two went out together, preparing to part ways and go about their own business.