Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start

The only attendees at this meeting were Zhao Yazhi, Pan Yingzi, Shi Nansheng, Xu Ke, Wang Jing, Johnnie To, Chen Xunqi, Lan Naicai, and Gao Zhisen.

After Li Jiangbo and the others arrived, they put down the reports in their hands and glanced at everyone present.

"Everyone has seen the box office performance of 'Taken.' It broke nine million in just one week."

A round of applause erupted in the conference room.

After the applause subsided, Li Jiangbo continued, "This achievement is not my achievement, but the achievement of everyone here. Assistant director Xu Ke, cinematographer Lan Naicai, composer Chen Xunqi, and everyone who contributed to this film."

He paused, then said, "But that's not what I wanted to say."

The crowd fell silent and looked at him.

Li Jiangbo stood up and paced back and forth in the conference room.

"The Hong Kong film market is only so big. If you want to go further, there are only two ways: either bring audiences to the theater or sell your films."

He turned around and looked at everyone. "So, the focus going forward has two directions."

"First, continue making good films. Second, expand into markets outside of Beijing."

His gaze fell on Xu Ke.

"Old Xu, how's the script for your new 'The New Swordsman of Shushan' coming along?"

Xu Ke paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "It still needs some polishing."

Li Jiangbo nodded.

"Okay! I'll personally review this play."

He then looked at Wang Jing.

"Brother Jing, what are your thoughts on this?"

Wang Jing chuckled, "I wouldn't call it an idea, but I'd like to try writing a notebook myself."

Li Jiangbo nodded. "No problem, but try to avoid using scatological humor, especially with actresses."

Wang Jing looked completely bewildered. "How did I come to know how to play these games??"

Li Jiangbo was too lazy to say more. Others might not know what kind of person Fei Jing was, but he certainly did.

In later generations, what wouldn't Fei Jing dare to do in order to make money?

Then, his gaze fell on Clifton Ko and Johnnie To.

"Although Ah Sen and To Sir are assistant directors, this year I'm planning to have you two direct a film on your own."

Upon hearing this, Clifton Ko and Johnnie To were overjoyed. They quickly stood up and said in unison, "Thank you, boss!"

Li Jiangbo smiled and nodded. "As for the scripts, the company won't prepare them for you. Just write them yourself or buy them, and then let me review them. When I think they're suitable, I'll invest."

"I understand, boss!"

Next up was Shi Nansheng. Li Jiangbo asked her with a smile, "Sister Nan, how's work been lately?"

Shi Nansheng nodded, "With Sister Zhi's help, the work is going quite smoothly."

Li Jiangbo nodded. "Then your task has arrived. I'm preparing to shoot a film to help open up the Taiwan market. You'll have to put in a lot of effort!"

"I understand, boss."

"Starting tomorrow, the company will be adjusting its direction. On the record side, we'll continue promoting 'Time Girl.' On the film side, we'll prepare to test the waters overseas, aiming to open up markets in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and other regions and countries this year!"

He paused for a moment, then added, "Generally speaking, our focus this year is on other regions!"

Everyone nodded.

Li Jiangbo concluded by saying:

"The Hong Kong market is only so big, but the overseas market is huge. Our goal is not just to be number one in Hong Kong."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds, then applause broke out again.

After the meeting, Li Jiangbo kept Zhao Yazhi and Pan Yingzi behind.

After everyone had left, Li Jiangbo closed the door and began the actual meeting.

"Sister Zhi and Sister Pan, I'm planning to reduce production this year."

Zhao Yazhi and Pan Yingzi looked at Li Jiangbo with some confusion. He hadn't said that at the meeting!

Li Jiangbo coughed twice. "I actually want to buy Shaw Brothers Cinemas."

Zhao Yazhi and Pan Yingzi stared wide-eyed at Li Jiangbo, unable to believe that he would dare to target Shaw Brothers cinemas.

After a long silence, Pan Yingzi finally spoke up: "Bo-zai, let's not even talk about whether we can afford it. Even if we could, it has to be Uncle Shao who sells it to us!"

Zhao Yazhi chimed in, "Sister Pan is right. You recently transferred all the company's money to Australia, and only brought back 60 million! I wonder what you did with the remaining 20 million?"

Li Jiangbo smiled mysteriously and said in a profound tone, "That's why I decided to reduce production this year!"

Zhao Yazhi hurriedly asked, "What does reducing production have to do with whether you buy Shaw Brothers cinemas or not? Buying cinemas won't stop you from making movies and making money."

Pan Yingzi didn't speak; she seemed to realize something.

Li Jiangbo pulled out two reports from the folder and handed them to Pan Yingzi and Zhao Yazhi.

Zhao Yazhi took the report with a puzzled look and examined it carefully.

Then, puzzled, he asked, "Bo-zai, why did you give me the Shaw Brothers' financial statements?"

Pan Yingzi, standing to the side, looked at the reports with increasingly bright eyes. She had figured out Li Jiangbo's purpose in reducing production.

Before Li Jiangbo could speak, she interrupted, "Bo-zai, are you trying to put Uncle Shao in a difficult position?"

Li Jiangbo smiled, a very happy smile.

At this moment, Zhao Yazhi was still completely bewildered, "What do you mean by forcing Uncle Shao to do something?"

Pan Yingzi immediately explained, "Ah Zhi, take a look at the reports. Since last year, not counting the films produced by our Time Pictures, Shaw Brothers has already produced almost ten films. Have you noticed a problem?"

"What's the problem?"

"Shaw Brothers has made almost ten films, but they haven't made much money. They're barely breaking even thanks to our movies. If we stop making films, won't Shaw Brothers theaters go bankrupt?"

Li Jiangbo couldn't help but give a thumbs up, "Sister Pan is amazing!"

Zhao Yazhi understood Li Jiangbo's plan, but she still asked worriedly, "Bo-zai, aren't you afraid that Shao Daheng will hold a grudge for doing this?"

Li Jiangbo nodded. "I'm afraid! That's why I'm preparing to expand into other markets, so that I won't let Shao Daheng say anything."

Zhao Yazhi and Pan Yingzi exchanged a glance. "No problem, we support you."

......

The film's box office momentum remains strong even in its third week of release.

Twelve million.

Thirteen million.

Twenty million.

Breaking 20 million in three weeks! Although the record holder is Li Jiangbo, the momentum of "Taken" is obviously much stronger than that of "A Better Tomorrow" last year.

In the conference room of Jiahe, Zou Wenhuai and He Guanchang remained silent.

Ho Koon-cheung said with a wry smile, "Last year, it took 'A Better Tomorrow' three weeks to break 20 million. This year, although it also took three weeks, the momentum is much stronger than that of 'A Better Tomorrow'."

Zou Wenhuai remained silent for a long time before finally asking, "Have you decided whether to call Ah Long back, or to film a John Woo-style gunfight?"

Ho Koon-cheung shook his head: "Ah Lung still has to film another movie, so if he comes back, it will probably be too late."

Zou Wenhuai fell silent again, and after a long while, he sighed.

"Then let's make 'The Killer'!"

In the "Struggle Room" of Cinema City, Mai Jia, Huang Baiming, and Shi Tian were also having a meeting.

Mai Jia scratched his head and sighed, "Twenty million! Twenty million in just three weeks. Our 'The Comical Era' only cost a little over five million in total."

Huang Baiming pushed up his glasses. "There's no comparison. We simply can't learn the filming techniques used in his movie. That... Steadicam, one unit costs hundreds of thousands, and you have to specially train the cinematographer. Where would we get the money for that?"

After a long silence, Shi Tian said, "Stop competing. Making money is the most important thing for us!"

Mai Jia and Huang Baiming nodded in agreement.

A week later, the film was taken off the screens, and "Taken" grossed 26.47 million.

Although it did not break 30 million, it has already surpassed the record set by "A Better Tomorrow" last year.

A new box office champion has been born in Hong Kong film history.