1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

The road ahead is bright.

Huo Sheng immediately threw himself into writing the script. He needed to prepare two scripts at once: one was more literary and the other was a scene script draft for drawing the script.

He has re-entered autistic mode.

He remained withdrawn, seemingly intending to rot in the office, but Wai Ka-fai was never idle. The anniversary drama was not just about filming and airing; a mountain of work awaited him, requiring him to work like a donkey pulling a millstone, day and night.

He practically lived in the editing room, overseeing the editing of each episode. He had to make the final decisions on pacing, mood, cuts, and reshoots.

Meanwhile, the music composition and mixing work were also progressing simultaneously. Following Huo Sheng's advice, Wai Ka-fai purchased the copyrights to Anita Mui's "It Seems Like an Old Friend Has Come" and Faye Wong's "Easily Hurt Woman".

Huo Sheng did not reveal that he was the copyright holder of the song, but entrusted a third party to help negotiate. In the end, he was given a friendly price of 30,000 yuan.

After purchasing the background music, Wai Ka-fai also had to coordinate and insert the music at the right time, while ensuring that the audio and video were synchronized.

After color grading, proofreading subtitles, and producing the opening and closing credits, we worked through each step and barely managed to produce a version.

The film was sent to the drama division and higher-ups, but it was sent back for revisions because some of the content was too explicit. It went through several rounds of back and forth.

People from the GG department would also come to him for meetings every now and then.

The promotional trailers for the anniversary drama need to be edited separately, and the product placement shots of the sponsoring brands need to be timed frame by frame. The brand exposure stipulated in the contract cannot be omitted, but the rhythm of the plot cannot be disrupted.

After he finishes all that, an even bigger problem awaits him.

That is the annual TVB Anniversary Gala.

"This year marks the 25th anniversary of TVB, which is of great significance. As our flagship anniversary drama, we need to prepare even better."

Wei Jiahui scratched his head: "The station has given us two time slots, one is for performing in the middle of the show, and the other is a 20-minute interview after it ends. Let's see how we perform."

Unable to come up with a solution himself, he pulled Huo Sheng out of his seclusion and held a production meeting with Yuan Yingming.

"etc."

Huo Sheng was the first to raise his hand, asking curiously, "Why are we the ones who have to come up with ideas for this program?"

"Of course! We're the anniversary celebration crew!"

Yuen Ying-ming explained, "Every year, the production team of the anniversary drama has to put on a promotional program, incorporating the highlights of the drama into it, and promoting the drama to the audience in front of the entire Hong Kong audience. This is an old tradition."

"The previous year, 'Laugh Out Loud Tomorrow' prepared a skit, and last year, 'No Regrets in This Life' arranged for Leon Lai and Kathy Chow to sing a duet."

Wei Jiahui paused, looking at the two men: "To get off to a good start, we absolutely can't be worse than the previous two years. Do you two have any ideas?"

Asking Wai Ka-fai to film a serial killer is fine, but asking him to film an artsy program is a bit of a stretch.

Yuan Yingming frowned and thought for a moment: "How about we let A Qiu go up and sing a song?"

"How's his singing?"

"Well, it's barely listenable."

"Then let's forget about it..."

Huo Sheng declined, saying, "After the performance, Ding Xie is going to jump off a building again."

"Then how about we let Vivian Chow sing?"

Yuan Yingming added, "She's the Jade Maiden Sect Leader. As long as we go up there, we've already won."

"Nothing new!"

Wei Jiahui said.

Huo Sheng thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What are the rules for this year's anniversary celebration?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention, this year there are separate men's and women's teams!"

Wai Ka-fai laughed and said, "Because it's the Silver Jubilee, Sister Fong is learning from the Japanese Red and White Song Festival and is also organizing group competitions."

All the performers in Taiwan were divided into male and female groups, and they performed everything from singing and comedy to death-defying acrobatics. The final score determined the champion. Our production's act was added to the corresponding team's score.

Yuan Yingming, quick-witted, immediately chimed in: "Then why not have Lau Ching-wan and Vivian Chow sing a duet, and at the same time promote their love story? We'll get our job done, and everyone's happy."

"All you know how to do is sing?"

Wai Ka-fai was speechless. "And for the chorus, should it be the men's team or the women's team?"

"Tsk!"

Yuan Yingming was exhausted from thinking. "If I could figure it out, I would have switched to the variety show department long ago."

Huo Sheng thought for a moment and then came up with an idea.

"Since this year it's a men's and women's team competition, let's divide into men and women too. Anyway, the Ding family has four sons, the Fang family has three daughters, plus Zhou Huimin, so the numbers are just right. The men will stand on the men's team, and the women will stand on the women's team. We'll have our own people go up and fight in the ring."

Wai Ka-fai's eyes lit up: "Go on."

"Um……"

Huo Sheng thought for a moment about a few simple and interesting games from later generations, "How about we run on acupressure mats? Whoever finishes first wins."

What is a pressure point mat?

Wei Jiahui asked.

"It's just an uneven board with some bumps. Your feet are a very sensitive area, and it will hurt when you walk on it. When the celebrities run and scream, it will be good for the show."

This simple game, taken back to 1992, was a game-changer. Yuan Yingming was very impressed: "Ah Sheng, you're also very talented in variety shows!"

"No, no."

"OK."

Wai Ka-fai made the decision, "It's settled then. I'll report it to the gala coordinator."

"What about the interview segment?"

Yuan Yingming asked.

"Oh, that's easy."

Wai Ka-fai considered for a moment, "I'll have the coordinator bring over the question cards. Ah-Sheng, you can help write down the replies. They're all simple questions about the general plot. You know, the actors' educational level is limited."

"no problem."

After arranging everything, Wai Ka-fai sighed.

"It's a pity we can't watch from below this year; we can only help out behind the scenes."

……

Huo Sheng was born in 95 in his previous life.

He only had a vague impression of Hong Kong's most prosperous era. By the time he was old enough to think, these Hong Kong stars had either risen to stardom, retired from the entertainment industry, or passed away.

Therefore, Huo Sheng felt very sorry that he couldn't be a spectator.

After all, the most grand event in Hong Kong is the TVB Anniversary Gala, which is even more star-studded than the Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentations.

This year in particular, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai, and Aaron Kwok appeared on the TVB Anniversary Gala stage for the first time as the "Four Heavenly Kings".

In addition, there are Anita Mui, Irene Wan, Sally Yeh, and others.

It's truly an era of economic growth.

Huo Sheng wasn't a fan of anyone, but seeing over a hundred celebrities, both famous and unknown, all crammed together still made him quite excited.

……

October 5th, TVB Anniversary, has arrived in the blink of an eye.

The No. 1 recording studio at Clearwater Bay TV City is 1500 square meters and can accommodate 2000 viewers.

The interior was already decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. The stage was a huge semi-circular shape, with gold, red, and dark blue as the main colors. A giant "25" silver jubilee logo stood in the background, with embedded light strips, looking like a shining silver medal from a distance.

When Huo Sheng and Wei Jiahui arrived, the recording studio was already in complete chaos.

The corridor was bustling with people. The costume crew was pushing a whole rack of evening gowns at a brisk pace, the hair dryers in the dressing room were humming, and the variety show staff were clutching walkie-talkies, their expressions even more serious than when they were filming a movie.

The crew of "The Great Era" was arranged in one of the lounges, where about ten people were crammed into a space of only ten square meters. They had to greet the person next to them before they could even turn around.

However, this is already considered very good treatment. There are over a hundred artists here today, and most of them are squatting in the lobby.

Apart from Adam Cheng and Vivian Chow, everyone else is a background character who never gets a chance to appear, so they were very nervous.

Huo Sheng and Wei Jiahui could only accompany them through the rehearsals again and again.

That feeling, how should I put it, is a bit like that of a parent before a children's performance.