So what if I work with celebrities?

At the start of 1976, Hsu Tsan gave the Taiwanese film industry a great start.

Reports of "Miss Granny" surpassing 20 million at the box office were broadcast for a week, bringing a surge of hot money to the previously relatively stable film industry.

Jianghu forces such as Sihai, Beilian, and Niupu flocked in. These people who made a living by licking knives naturally didn't know how to make movies.

But that doesn't mean they won't make demands. One by one, these gangsters, holding promotional leaflets for "Miss Granny," pointed at some directors and said, "You guys make this! I want at least 20 million in box office revenue!"

Don't even mention how green these directors' faces turned. Twenty million? Damn, don't these guys even look at the box office figures of their previous movies?

It can reach 20 million, but there are many additional conditions.

Firstly, the Spring Festival holiday provides ample time for audiences; secondly, the lack of competition leads to a relatively concentrated audience; and thirdly, ticket prices during the Spring Festival are generally higher than usual, which is the most crucial factor.

But the gangsters don't care about any of that. With a knife to their throats, they'll film it no matter what. And they're all rather stingy, only offering 900,000.

"I'll give you 900,000, which is 100,000 more than Xu Zan's first film. Don't say I'm not giving you face!"

The influx of hot money led to a surge in the number of Taiwanese film crews in early 1976, with 80% of them producing art-house romance films.

While dancing with Hsu Tsan, Brigitte Lin whispered to him that some gangsters had asked her to act in a movie.

The two men were rather strange; they stood by the window on the twelfth floor, pleading and saying, "If you don't agree, I'll jump off."

It was only later that we learned that these two had gone to a powerful figure in the underworld and lied, saying they could invite two of the "Two Qins and Two Lins".

The gang leader believed him and gave him a large sum of money. If the film didn't get made, he would definitely return the money to the gang leader in a "nine out, thirteen back" manner.

Millions of yuan, what's the difference between that and suicide?

"Brother Zan, do you have any new movies coming out in the first half of the year?" Brigitte Lin put her arm around Hsu Zan's neck, and the two swayed slowly to the music.

"Hmm... I have an idea." Xu Zan held her waist, his thoughts drifting far away.

"Can I participate?" Lin Qingxia, afraid he wouldn't agree, quickly replied, "I swear, I will never stand you up!"

"cannot……"

"Oh..." Lin Qingxia lowered her head, her eyes filled with tears. It was really difficult to repair the relationship. She felt a little wronged, a little resentful, and a little unwilling.

Xu Zan didn't actually intend to make art films, but he received a large number of film crews rushing to shoot "three-screen films." In this situation, he had to consider things according to Buffett's investment philosophy:

Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.

Entering the realm of art-house romance films at this point would be tantamount to suicide.

"I'm going to make a kung fu movie to practice my skills." Hsu Tsan picked up Brigitte Lin and tossed her into the air.

As her skirt billowed in the air, Lin Qingxia gasped in surprise. Before she could react, she felt her waist being tightly embraced, and Xu Zan's other hand resting on her thigh.

Lin Qingxia cooperated by placing her hand on Xu Zan's shoulder and leaning back. Her rollercoaster-like emotions left her feeling somewhat dizzy.

"A kung fu movie?"

"Yes, I helped Zhang Che film a segment of 'Marcopolo' last year, and I have some experience to share. I want to try something new at the beginning of this year."

"Can't I participate?" Brigitte Lin pouted pitifully.

"Do you want to be just a pretty face?"

"I'm willing, any film is fine as long as it's your film!" Brigitte Lin said decisively.

At that moment, the movie "Lust, Caution" came to Xu Zan's mind, and he wanted to play Mr. Yi. Then he shook his head; such a good girl should naturally be kept in a cage.

"You cook for me well, and I'll design a super awesome movie for you," Xu Zan said.

A little over a month later, the several cinema chains settled their accounts, totaling 7.8 million, with Shaw Brothers Nanyang Cinemas settling 800,000 US dollars.

Excluding Hong Kong and Japan, "Miss Granny" grossed a total of 39.8 million, while the cost was 4 million.

It's an absolute windfall of profits.

Because the Lianzhuhui (a secret society) emphasizes ethics, Xu Zan couldn't skip the sailor role to become the leader. However, his earning power was essentially enough to support the people in the Qinghe branch of the Lianzhuhui.

The sailor became increasingly polite to Xu Zan, and when he heard Xu Zan ask for 30 million to buy a Taipei cinema, he thought for a moment and agreed.

Don't be fooled by the large sum of 30 million; in reality, even a slightly larger cinema costs 2 million, and a cinema in a good location costs at least 3 to 4 million.

The sailor found someone to negotiate, and the purchase and construction were synchronized, eventually acquiring twelve cinemas to form the Panda Cinema Circuit.

Of the remaining 9.8 million, Xu Zan only took 4.8 million, and used the other 5 million to fund the Qinghe Hall's operations.

"Brother, why aren't you making romance movies anymore?" the sailor asked, puzzled.

"Brother, you must have experienced the era when Taiwanese films were everywhere, right? Back then, even people selling electric fans went into making movies, and what happened? How many people went bankrupt? It was like a stock market crash!"

"That's true. Back then, the newspapers said that Taiwan's annual film exports surpassed those of Hong Kong," the sailor said.

Sailor was even more excited than Xu Zan when he learned that he was going to make a kung fu movie, since people in the martial arts world still like to watch movies with fighting and killing.

"By the way, at the last celebration banquet, you said Wang Yu wanted to cooperate with us in real estate?" the sailor asked.

"That's true." Just thinking about the last celebration party made his back ache. It was too indulgent. There were ten people in the hot spring, and he was the only man.

"I'll go talk to my older brother about this. By the way, have you decided what kind of film you want to make?" the sailor asked.

"Shaolin theme!"

"Oh? All martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin. Shaolin is great!" The sailor led Wang Chao and Ma Han away.

Xu Zan invested the money he earned in the cinema. He could no longer get involved in the real estate business, but since his main business was film, he took out his script and started writing the screenplay.

I aim to finish writing the script for "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" in a week. A month for preparation, a month for filming, and that will be just in time for June, allowing me to join the "Eight Hundred Heroes" crew.

It has to be said that state-owned companies are inefficient. Two months have passed since the election ended before the Lunar New Year, and no one from China Film Group has come to him to sign a contract.

It's as if the whole thing fell through.

With the experience gained from "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin," Hui Chan was confident he could spend money to buy Jackie Chan's services and then make films like "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" and "Drunken Master."

These three movies follow a similar formula: they start out as enemies, their kung fu is bad, then they train, and finally they defeat the big boss. And they all feature kung fu kid protagonists.

Xu Zan took the contract and went to Chang Gong Film and Television Company. Zhang Che hadn't been idle these past few months; ever since he learned that "Eight Hundred Heroes" had no chance, he had become increasingly angry.

I was planning to make a war film, so I found Ni Kuang and we wrote a script together called "Eight Towers".

Adapted from the true story of seven Chinese soldiers who held their ground at the Gubeikou-Badaling battlefield during the Great Wall Campaign in 1933.

Xu Zan knew Zhang Che's plan without even thinking: a martial arts war film, with the Shaolin Five Groups replaced by seven soldiers fighting against Mongolian bandits.

"What brings you here to see me?" Zhang Che asked, a pipe dangling from his lips and large sunglasses in his hand.

"Can't I come to see you even if I have nothing to do? Try this cigar of mine, it's from Cuba, it's a rare find." Xu Zan took out a cigar from his pocket and handed it to him.

After exhaling smoke rings for a while, he finally got down to business. "Director Zhang, I'd like to borrow one of your actors."

Zhang Che gave him an "I knew it" look. "No problem, Fu Sheng?"

"no."

"Jiang Dawei? Qi Guanjun? Chen Guantai? Or Di Long?" Zhang Che named all his favorite generals in one breath.

"I want to borrow Liu Jiahui!"

"What? Playing a villain?"

"No, I want to play the lead role!"