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

The meeting about "The Burning of the Yuanmingyuan" lasted for three days, and Li Jiangbo was just a bystander for the first two days.

By the third day, when it came time to discuss profit sharing, Li Jiangbo was no longer sleepy.

He unleashed his talent for debating with a group of scholars, challenging several leaders in various ways!

"Director Li, although you invested in this film, you want a share of the box office revenue..."

"Director Wang, I've invested money, so I definitely want a return. Otherwise, why would I invest at all?"

"The country is currently short of foreign exchange. If Hong Kong's box office revenue were higher, it could help solve a major problem for the country!"

Before Li Jiangbo could speak, Xia Meng objected.

"Director Wu, does that mean our Xiangjiang company doesn't need to make a living? We've been self-sufficient for years, and now that we've finally weathered the storm, we're eager to expand..."

Upon hearing this, everyone else fell silent. In previous years, the country was in complete chaos, which did nothing to help left-wing films in Hong Kong.

In the end, Liao Yiyuan consulted his superiors for approval. The approval document from the superiors stated that the box office revenue from Hong Kong would be split 40/60 between the mainland and Hong Kong, with the remaining 40% from Hong Kong to be split 50/50 between New Kunlun and Li Jiangbo's Time Pictures.

After the leader spoke, everyone fell silent and tacitly agreed to this cooperative solution.

When Li Jiangbo walked out of the conference room, his back was soaked with sweat. He had expected it would be difficult to get a piece of the pie from the several film studios, but he hadn't expected it to be this difficult.

However, as long as the ending is good, Li Jiangbo also hopes to take this opportunity to promote cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland. In that case, he will have his own grassland, and then it will be his grassland and his own horses, which he can do as he pleases.

Li Jiangbo and Li Hanxiang were about to return to the hotel when they heard someone calling them from behind. When they turned around, they saw Wu Tianming, the deputy director of Xi'an Film Studio.

Wu Tianming offered each of them a cigarette. "Director Li, when are you going back to Hong Kong?"

Li Jiangbo took the cigarette, lit it, and took a puff before saying, "It should be soon. Is there anything I can help with, Director Wu?"

Wu Tianming shook his head. "It's nothing major. I heard that Director Li's ancestral home is Chang'an. I'd like to invite Director Li to visit and exchange ideas at Xi'an Film Studio. I wonder if Director Li has the time."

Li Jiangbo knew perfectly well that this was bound to happen. He nodded in agreement, "Thank you for the invitation, Director Wu. I also want to see the development of my hometown and exchange ideas with my colleagues there. How about I fly to Chang'an the day after tomorrow?"

Wu Tianming was overjoyed upon hearing this, "No problem, Xi'an Film Studio will welcome you with open arms."

The two chatted for a while before parting ways. Before Li Jiangbo could move, someone called his name from behind.

Turning around, I saw that it was Wu Yinxian, the production manager of Beijing Film Studio.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wu Yinxian got down to business, "Do you two have time to come to the Beijing Film Academy tomorrow to share your experiences with our students?"

Li Jiangbo and Li Hanxiang exchanged a glance. Li Jiangbo understood that Li Hanxiang wanted to go. Now that the project was finalized, all that was left was to prepare the production team and actors.

This is a co-production, so we definitely need to use people from Hong Kong as well as people from the mainland, otherwise it wouldn't make sense.

Li Hanxiang nodded and said, "No problem!"

Li Jiangbo shook his head. "It's fine for Brother Li to go. It's not appropriate for me, as an investor, to go. Besides, I want to explore Yanjing a bit more tomorrow."

"Director Li is being modest! He became a famous director at the age of 19, and this year he raked in 12 million at the box office in Hong Kong with a campus comedy. His achievements are remarkable! If anyone says you don't understand movies, I'll argue with them."

Wu Yinxian looked at Li Jiangbo with surprise. A 19-year-old director? And he made a movie this year that earned over ten million? This...

Li Jiangbo tried to refuse, but Li Hanxiang strongly dissuaded him.

Wu Yinxian had a sudden inspiration and said, "How about this, I'll treat you two to Peking duck today. Let's invite my students too, and we can chat while we eat."

Li Jiangbo had no choice but to agree. He had no choice but to accept since they had already put it that way.

An hour later, in a private room at Fengzeyuan.

Li Jiangbo finally received the two top talents Wu Yinxian had mentioned, but there was one more person.

When the door to the private room opened, three short young men wearing military overcoats walked in—no, two young men and one middle-aged man.

Li Jiangbo took a closer look and exclaimed, "Good heavens, isn't that Gu Changwei, Imperial Advisor Zhang Yimou, and poet Chen Kaige?!"

This left him somewhat stunned; he never expected to see these three again at this time.

Wu Yinxian frowned deeply. What was Chen Kaige doing here? He wasn't even his student. Although this guy often skipped classes in the photography department, he was from the directing department!

Wu Yinxian didn't say much to Li Jiangbo and Li Hanxiang, but stood up and introduced them: "Come, come, these three are the outstanding young talents of our Beijing Film Academy. Gu Changwei and Zhang Yimou are both top performers in the cinematography department; Chen Kaige is also a top performer in the directing department."

He then turned to the three men, "This is Director Li Jiangbo from Hong Kong, he's nineteen years old. This next to him is Director Li Hanxiang, you should have heard of him."

Chen Kaige looked at Li Jiangbo in surprise, "Nineteen years old?"

Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow slightly, his eyes revealing undisguised surprise.

Gu Changwei froze on the spot, his military overcoat almost slipping from his hand.

Wu Yinxian glared at Chen Kaige and immediately scolded, "Chen Kaige, is this how I taught you!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Kaige immediately lowered his head and shut his mouth. He had exchanged a pound of grain coupons for this opportunity, and he couldn't let himself be driven away.

Li Jiangbo quickly tried to smooth things over, "Everyone, please sit down!"

The three of them pulled out chairs and sat down, all looking at Li Jiangbo with curiosity, as if they couldn't believe that someone so young could become a director.

After the three sat down, Wu Yinxian added, "Director Li made a campus film in Hong Kong this year, which grossed 12 million Hong Kong dollars."

The private room fell silent, with only the heavy breathing of the three people remaining.

After a long pause, Chen Kaige asked haltingly, "Twelve million... Hong Kong dollars?"

Li Hanxiang chuckled and replied, "Yes, Hong Kong dollars!"

Zhang Yi stared at Li Jiangbo, who was already twenty-nine years old and had only been in school for a year. Before, when he worked in a sock factory, his monthly salary was only forty-seven yuan.

That's 12 million Hong Kong dollars, which is almost 10 million RMB! You probably couldn't earn that in a lifetime!

Chen Kaige asked in a trembling voice, "Director Li, what genre is it? What's the movie called?"

"It's a campus comedy called 'Happy Ghost.' It's just lucky it made so much money; the audience really supported it."

Gu Changwei asked, "Director Li, what's the budget?"

"Eight hundred thousand."

Everyone gasped in astonishment. Making movies really makes that much money? How much do they earn working themselves to the bone?

Wu Yinxian also found it somewhat unbelievable. How could an individual in mainland China earn so much money? He suddenly remembered that in Hong Kong, film production companies share profits with cinemas, and with that thought, he felt relieved.

Seeing the envious looks in his three disciples' eyes, he quickly changed the subject, "Director Li Hanxiang, could my students participate in this project and learn from each other?"

Li Jiangbo and Li Hanxiang exchanged a glance; now it was time to get down to business.

Li Han feigned a troubled expression, saying, "I'm just a director, only responsible for filming. As for assembling the crew, I'll have to ask the investors and the leaders of several film studios first."

Wu Yinxian's mind raced, and he quickly looked at Li Jiangbo and asked, "Director Li's meaning...?"

Li Jiangbo took a sip of tea, put down the cup, and said, "In principle, there's no problem, but..."

Wu Yinxian immediately understood what Li Jiangbo meant, "Don't make things difficult for Director Li, just go in and do odd jobs."

Li Jiangbo glanced at Li Hanxiang, and Li Hanxiang instantly understood.

"Okay, then the kids can come when it's time to film."

The meal was a great success, with everyone enjoying themselves. Wu Yinxian's three students kept urging him to drink. Li Hanxiang, due to his health condition, didn't drink much, but Li Jiangbo was in a terrible state, drinking from beginning to end.

The people who poured the alcohol were Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and Gu Changwei.

Although Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige sometimes have minor disagreements, they are very united in public.

The three of them used all their strength and barely managed to get Li Jiangbo about 80% drunk. It wasn't until Wu Yinxian intervened that Li Jiangbo finally surrendered by slamming his cup down.