So what if I work with celebrities?

The Hong Kong and Kowloon Freedom Association conducts rigorous annual reviews of Hong Kong films, and certificates are awarded to qualified films.

This is just the first one; the film will undergo censorship again when it reaches Taiwan.

The advantage is that it can indeed filter out some low-quality films, but the disadvantage is that it hinders development.

Nearly two hundred films from Hong Kong are submitted to the General Association for review each year. As the Hong Kong film industry prospers, the number of films submitted for review is increasing, and the requirements of the General Association are becoming increasingly unusual.

What they need to provide is proof of the film's funding source, actor identification, director and other crew members' identification, as well as a script and explanations of the film's scenes that are comparable to academic papers.

The main logic is that you need to prove your innocence.

At this moment, Xu Zan arrived at the Hong Kong and Kowloon Freedom Association, led by people from the Government Information Office.

There are quite a few people here, about forty or fifty in total, but many of them are just people who take the money and don't do anything. In reality, there are only seven or eight people who are responsible for reviewing the films.

The current president of the association is named Tong Yuejuan. She is a Peking Opera actress. Despite being an actress, she is actually secretly engaged in revolution.

After her husband Zhang Shankun passed away, she took over Xinhua Film Studio and produced many well-known films, such as "Blind Love" and "The Nineteen Heroes of Qingcheng".

Even at 62 years old, Xu Zan's appearance still reveals that she was a formidable woman in her youth.

"Chairman Tong, I'm Xu Zan. Please give me some guidance in the future!"

"I've read your 'Eight Hundred Heroes,' but there's nothing I can point out," Tong Yuejuan said politely, leading them on a tour of the headquarters.

In the conference room, she briefly presided over the election, which was just a formality, and Xu Zan was elected as a director of the association.

He became one of the directors of the film censorship council, which can be said to have put him in the center of power.

"Xu Zan, go take a look at the films that Jiahe sent over later. You can review them and get familiar with the business!" Tong Yuejuan said with a smile.

The movie that Jiahe sent was Xu Guanwen's "Half a Catty Eight Taels". Xu Zan saw Xu Guanwen waiting at the door of the screening room.

He wouldn't go into the screening room; he would just wait here for the news, and if anything was not up to standard, he would go back immediately to make corrections.

These filmmakers usually come in person to avoid being harassed by the association's leaders.

"Director Xu? You also have a film submitted for review?" Xu Guanwen walked over and shook hands, assuming that they were in the same boat.

"Xu Guanwen, you should call him Director Xu! Hahaha!" Tong Yuejuan laughed.

"Huh?" Xu Guanwen reacted quickly, immediately standing at attention and saluting, "Good morning, sir!"

"Don't make me feel bad, we're both Xu!" Xu Zan patted him on the back, then followed the directors into the screening room.

The story of "Half a Catty, Eight Taels" is simple: a detective accidentally solves a robbery case. Hui Kwun-man uses humorous language and cinematography to depict the various aspects of Hong Kong society; he is undeniably very skilled.

The Hong Kong scenes in the movie are very similar to Guangdong in the 1990s. Everyone is busy making money. It doesn't look very urban, but everyone seems to have inexhaustible energy.

The movie opens with a unique chase scene; if you didn't know it was directed by Xu Guanwen, you'd think it was a Quentin Tarantino film.

In the one-and-a-half-minute clip, only two pairs of feet are shown: a tattered shoe chasing after a red high heel. The tattered shoe encounters all sorts of bad luck, and this alone made the people in the screening room laugh non-stop.

Perhaps the only one who doesn't laugh is Xu Zan. One reason is that he sometimes doesn't understand jokes in the context of Cantonese, and the other is that he has watched too many comedies and his sensitive skin has become less sensitive.

The other board members looked at him with strange eyes. This guy is so weird. Could he have a grudge against Xu Guanwen from earlier?

After all, he was sent by the Government Information Office, and anyone with eyes can see that he was there to take over the position.

As the movie unfolds, the detective played by Michael Hui finishes investigating the construction site and then gets a beard trimmed at a barbershop with buck teeth, while monitoring Sima Ke, played by Zhu Mu, who is standing next to him.

Xu Guanwen hadn't finished shaving his beard, leaving only a half-shaved side. He stood by the red, white, and blue rotating lights of the barbershop, peeking out. If you weren't paying attention, you might mistake him for Wang Xun.

Upon seeing this, Xu Zan burst out laughing.

This film features many celebrities. Wu Yaohan, who plays the police chief, previously worked with Xu Guanwen in "Double Happiness". His first major film role was in "Half a Catty of Eight Taels".

Shih Kin and Chu Mu are both veterans in the film industry. The former is a specialist in villainous roles, having played Li Xiaolong in "Dragon Fight" and Qiu Qianren in the 83 version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

The latter has a close relationship with Li Hanxiang. They co-founded Guolian Film Studio and later served as the producer of the film "A Terracotta Warrior's Tale".

Besides these, there are the Xu brothers, the most famous being Xu Guanwen and Xu Guanjie, while Xu Guanying is still a minor figure, and Xu Guanwu has always worked behind the scenes.

Oh, the unassuming clerk at the detective agency is Zhao Yazhi, a former Miss Hong Kong. She first worked as an assistant director at TVB, and in 1975, she starred in her first TV series, where she played the role of a detective agency clerk.

It wasn't until the TV series "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" was released that he truly became a sensation.

Xu Zan felt that Zhao Yazhi's appearance had not yet fully developed at this time, and he was far less pleasing to the eye than he was in "Chu Liuxiang" and "Shanghai Bund".

To be honest, Lao Xu isn't driven by lust; he doesn't get distracted by beautiful women. He just enjoys exchanging ideas with them.

However, Zhao Yazhi was not his type.

After the movie ended, the board members sat in the screening room and discussed it. Despite their casual conversation, they were incredibly knowledgeable about the details of the film.

It's like we just analyzed each frame one by one.

"Xu Zan, what's your opinion?" Tong Yuejuan asked.

"Sister Juan, I think there's nothing wrong with it. It's a good film that's both entertaining and educational," Xu Zan said.

"Alright, everyone, vote. Xiaowen, take notes." Tong Yuejuan stood up. "Those who agree, please raise your hands! Okay, those who disagree, please raise your hands. No one. Those who abstain, please raise your hands. No one. Unanimously passed!"

……

Xu Guanwen, who was sitting outside waiting for the results, was not worried about the film failing the censorship. He knew that the film did not contain anything prohibited by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

I'm just afraid they'll make things difficult for me, suggesting things that could be changed or not, and making me revise them over and over again.

"Director Xu, great film!"

Xu Guanwen looked up and saw Xu Zan had walked over at some point. He stood up, smiled, and shook hands. "How did it go?"

"No problem, it's approved!" Xu Zan said.

In the short time the two sat there, they reached an agreement on the screening rights of the film in Taiwan. Hsu Tsan offered good terms: after deducting all expenses, the profits would be split 60/40.

"The only pity is that if it were dubbed in Mandarin, the effect would be diminished. Without Mandarin, many people wouldn't be able to understand it."

Hsu Tsan still can't get used to the right-to-left subtitles used in Taiwan; it's practically inhumane.

"Director Xu, my two younger brothers are both quite good. If there are any suitable roles for them in the future, please help them out," Xu Guanwen said.

This story begins with the Xu brothers' collaboration in starting a company. Xu Guanwen and Xu Guanjie are both big names, one a king of the music scene and the other a comedy titan.

They earn a lot of money every year, but the other two brothers earn far less.

In particular, Xu Guanwen could not produce a film every year, so Xu Guanying had no way to make a living and could only play minor roles in various movies.

"No problem. Xu Guanjie is easy to talk to; he's already well-known and tall and handsome. Xu Guanying... needs a special movie; playing some comedic roles would be good," Xu Zan said.

Upon hearing that there was a chance, Xu Guanwen insisted on inviting him to dinner to have a good chat about the movie.

Amidst the clinking of glasses and the exchange of toasts, the clock struck midnight, and 1976 was over.