Dreams of the Fragrant River

The Christmas season of 1993 was more tragic than the summer season. Last year, 10 Hong Kong films were released at the same time, but this year there were only 5 Hong Kong films. ￡∝,

Among them, "New Difficult Brothers and Difficulties" and "Money Stealing Couple" are both from, "The Demon Sect Leader of Heaven and Dragon Slayer" is produced by Yongsheng, "White Haired Witch" is produced by Huang Baiming's Xincheng Pictures, and the Oriental Cinema is released by Xu The "Green Snake".

There are two main reasons why there are such a small number of Christmas movies: one is that Taiwanese filmmakers have reduced their investment in Hong Kong films, and the other is that Hong Kong’s local box office has frightened the academies, preferring to keep the cinemas empty rather than Show those bad movies that are destined to hit the street.

The works of many small and medium-sized film companies, because they cannot be released, can only be released by the way of video tapes, which stimulates the prosperity of the video tape market in disguise.

Among the five Hong Kong films released on Christmas, "New Difficult Brothers and Difficulties" () was far ahead with a box office of 21.36 million, "Money Stealing Couple" (18.37 million) was second at the box office, and "The Demon Lord of Heaven and Slayer" (Yongsheng Film Company) ) ranked third at the box office with 11.85 million, "The White Haired Witch" (Xincheng Pictures) ranked fourth at the box office with 1180, and Xu Ke's "Green Snake" (Oriental DreamWorks) only received 10.32 million at the box office.

This is definitely the worst Christmas file at the box office in Hong Kong for more than a decade. At this time, the news of Kang Jianfei's "The Sixth Sense" being a hit in the United States has not yet come back, and there are already media in Hong Kong calling "Hong Kong films are dead" !

Hong Kong movie giant Golden Harvest actually did not participate in this year's Christmas show. Last year's high-spirited Yonggao Films had reported that it was about to suspend production. Chen Rongmei, sitting on the largest theater chain in Hong Kong, did not invest in a movie. Even DreamWorks, which has always been a hot seller, only barely exceeded 10 million at the box office of "Green Snake" directed by Xu Ke this time.

Kang Jianfei felt very depressed about this. Originally, the Christmas movie of the Oriental Cinema Line was scheduled to be "Face Change", but unfortunately this guy Wu Yusen bounced. I can only temporarily top it with Xu Ke's "Green Snake".

This year's Christmas stall is the only eye-catching thing.

Two years ago, when Hong Kong cinema was at its peak, Zeng Zhiwei proposed an ambitious plan. He connected with more than 20 actors including Er Dongsheng, Xu Anhua, Luo Zhuoyao, Chen Kexin, Zhang Zhiliang, etc., invested in the film under the director's name, and contacted eight theaters to organize a new theater line to shoot and show these directors who wanted to film but not necessarily anyone. Ken invested in the film, hoping to cut a **** path through novel ideas.

Unfortunately, this plan was ultimately aborted, because Zeng Zhiwei was a little whimsical. His fame and appeal were not enough to complete the plan.

The plan failed before it could be put into practice. Zeng Zhiwei had to settle for the next best thing. He found Zhong Zhen and Chen Kexin, and the three formed a joint venture (the abbreviation of the producer's joint organization, "If Love", "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves", "October Siege") , "Sweet Honey", "Famous Name" and other films were all made by this company).

When Hong Kong films were shoddy, they insisted on creating films with unique styles and novel contents. At the same time, directors are their own bosses, and the films they make must consider the box office, so although the films they produce are exploratory, they are not as incomprehensible as Wong Kar Wai's films.

This is extremely rare. Like a breeze blowing through the turbid Hong Kong film industry, at least Kang Jianfei is happy to see such a different film company appear.

Especially this Christmas, a total of 5 Hong Kong films were released in Hong Kong, and 2 of them came from the hand. And they also won the first and second runner-up at the Christmas box office.

Some newspapers even predicted that it would become a new art city in the 1990s.

The analysis of "Movie Biweekly" is more rational:

"The amazing performance at Christmas is actually a proof that Hong Kong people hate bad films. Because of shoddy production and follow trends. Many classic scenes have been made over and over again, and the audience has long been sick of watching it. The produced film may It's not the best, but its style and plot are definitely new and unique.

To be more abstract. This is a star-centered and director-centered competition. In recent years, the vast majority of Hong Kong films are the products of the star-centered system. The whole film revolves around these stars, relying on stars to attract audiences into the film, so as to achieve the purpose of profit. On the other hand, the three bosses of this company are all directors. At the beginning of filming, they first established the style and content of the film, and then found suitable actors to shoot. The director controls all aspects of the film, from investors and distribution. Business has few constraints.

The core of the movie is always the movie itself, not the sudden emergence of several bright and bright stars, which is actually a return to the essence of the movie. Those producers who want to rely on celebrities to trick the audience into paying, maybe they should think more about it, the audience is not a fool..."

Zeng Zhiwei finally has a good time. He has worked in Xinyi City, Oriental DreamWorks, and under Zou Wenhuai and Chen Rongmei. This time he finally became the leader of the Hong Kong film industry.

...

"cheers!"

In the private room of the Hongye Club, Zeng Zhiwei, Zhong Zhen, Chen Kexin, Zhang Zhiliang and others gathered together to raise a glass to celebrate the rise of the group.

"Thanks to Ah Liang and Ke Xin this time, you two are great heroes, come and have a drink!" Zeng Zhiwei was obviously in a state of excitement. The film produced by his company actually occupied the first and second place at the Christmas box office. unreached peak in life.

Chen Kexin and Zhang Zhiliang are both very restrained personalities, but because they are in a good mood, they even have a few drinks with Zeng Zhiwei.

After drinking for a while, everyone's spirits began to rise. Zeng Zhiwei waved his arms and said, "Although the Hong Kong film market is in recession now, I think it is a good opportunity to rise. In the 1980s, Hong Kong films were similar to the current situation. There are shoddy kung fu movies and martial arts movies everywhere, and the audience is tired of watching it. DreamWorks and Art City have grown by innovating and bringing forth new ideas. Now, the audience is tired of gambling movies, zombie movies, shit, piss, funny movies and new schools. For martial arts films, our avant-garde and novel style can attract audiences and can definitely beat other film companies that are not enterprising. I think we should set up our own theater chain in the coming year, so that the company's films can have a good schedule in the future. I heard that Luo Jiecheng's Yonggao Cinema is about to be sold, and now that the company has sufficient funds, we can take over several cinemas in good locations..."

Zhong Zhen was still awake, and he poured cold water on Zeng Zhiwei: "We will talk about the establishment of the cinema chain later. Now that the supply of cinemas in Hong Kong has exceeded the demand, it is better to make movies with peace of mind. As long as the film is well filmed, The bosses of those theater companies will beg us to show the film in his theater."

"I also don't think it is necessary to set up a theater chain." Chen Kexin pushed the frame of his glasses. In fact, he doesn't have much right to speak. When the company was formed, Zeng Zhiwei and Zhong Zhen paid for it, while Chen Kexin obtained a small amount of shares with the director's remuneration.

Zeng Zhiwei is very tactful in his life. Although he is in a state of high spirits now, after hearing the objections of both partners, he will no longer mention the establishment of a theater chain, because that will only cause conflicts between the small partners. He laughed twice: "Then don't care about the theater chain. Now that the company has one more drama, it's about to be finished, and it has to be completed in the later stage and enter the Spring Festival New Year."

Zhong Zhen, Chen Kexin and Zhang Zhiliang looked at each other and felt that Zeng Zhiwei seemed a little arrogant.

Zhong Zhen reminded: "There is something wrong with the Lunar New Year file. First, there is not much time for the film to do post-production. Second, the competition for the Lunar New Year file is too fierce."

Chen Kexin also said: "This year's New Year's Eve includes Liu Jialiang and Cheng Long's "Drunken Fist 2", Gao Zhisen and Zhang Guorong's "The House of the Rich", and Kang Jianfei and Zhou Xingchi's "Kung Fu", our company's movies go to the Lunar New Year file Competition is courting death."

Zeng Zhiwei was a little unhappy after being splashed with cold water one after another, but his mind became much clearer. Although he still fantasized about going to the New Year stalls to compete, the names of Kang Jianfei, Cheng Long, and Zhou Xingchi still made it difficult for him to make up his mind.

"Then, let's take it easy." Zeng Zhiwei still didn't have the courage to fight with those great men.

...

Compared with the deserted Christmas stalls, the New Year stalls on New Year's Day in 1994 were surprisingly lively. A total of 15 films were released in January. It seems that Hong Kong films are showing signs of recovery, but there are several films that have only been released for a few days, and they were released early because the box office was too bad.

The only thing worth paying attention to is "New Cohabitation Era" directed by Yang Fan and Zhang Aijia. This film is invested by Taiwan China Film Company and produced by Hong Kong Bigao Films. It is a three-stage literary love film. It actually killed other commercial films released in the same period and won a box office of 20 million Hong Kong dollars.

I have to say that Hong Kong audiences have matured. They are tired of watching shoddy commercial films, but they are more and more inclined to make well-made literary films~www.wuxiaspot.com~New Cohabitation Era's success, sounded Taiwan filmmakers to invest again The horn of the Hong Kong film. After a period of thinking for half a year, Taiwanese filmmakers still decided to invest in Hong Kong film production, but their investment is more cautious than before, and there will no longer be a magical event where Liu Dehua's film will sell for 8 million.

As the Lunar New Year is getting closer, the propaganda of Chinese New Year movies has begun to bombard the eyes of Hong Kong citizens. The two most watched films are "Drunken Fist 2" and "Kung Fu". The former is the first collaboration between Liu Jialiang and Cheng Long, and the latter is the second collaboration between Kang Jianfei and Zhou Xingchi. Looking forward to the movie.

Hong Kong's newspapers have already collectively said: ""Drunken Fist 2" is undoubtedly a kung fu film, "Kung Fu" can be seen from the name of its content, Zhou Xingchi vs. Cheng Long, and it is still a fistfight, whoever loses who wins is worth looking forward to What's more interesting is that Liu Jialiang's style is the traditional kung fu of a hard bridge and a hard horse. What kind of sparks will he create when he collides with Cheng Long's humorous fighting style? In addition, it is rumored that Liu Jialiang also acted in "Kung Fu" The action director of the three fight scenes, does this count as hitting himself? Zhou Xingchi has always been known for his nonsensical comedies. Although there have been fight scenes in "Tang Bohu's Autumn Fragrance", "Su Qi'er" and other films, they are all conspiracy With the stand-in, can he compete with Cheng Long this time?" (To be continued..) u

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