The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Kowloon, the administrative office area of ​​Golden Harvest Film.

It was the first time that Lin Zhichao officially met with the management team, director, screenwriter, etc. of Jiahe Films, but he has not yet been to the Yonghua Studio. The general administration is looked after by veterans such as Li Ziduo and Qiao Shan, and the professional team is led by Zou Wenhuai and the original staff of D\u0026M.

The main management personnel of Jiahe Film include: General Manager Zou Wenhuai, Deputy General Manager Qiao Shan, Production Department Manager He Guanchang, Publicity Department Manager Liang Feng, and Distribution Department Manager Gao Zhen (former Cathay Pacific senior executive).

Through clever combinations, "two factions" were formed, one dominated by Zou Wenhuai and one dominated by Qiao Shan. Of course, this is just the general theory. Qiao Shan will cooperate with Zou Wenhuai's work.

In the conference room, Lin Zhichao listened to everyone's work reports.

It has been a month and a half since Zou Wenhuai joined Golden Harvest Films, and he has integrated the company's resources, and there are no problems with production, distribution, and theaters.

In terms of theaters, whether in Hong Kong or Southeast Asia, they have found channels for cooperation. In fact, they are continuations of the original D\u0026M theater chain. However, overall it is weaker than the theaters of Shaw Brothers movies in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

When talking about cinema chains, Lin Zhichao said: "Although I intend to strongly support the development of cinema chains, large-scale acquisitions and construction of cinema chains require a long process. But have you ever thought that 'Shaw Brothers and Sons' focuses on the distribution business, which is Shaw Brothers?" Lao Liu's nephew (Shao Rendi's second son) Shao Weiying, I think we can abandon the sectarian mentality and cooperate with "Shaw Brothers" for Golden Harvest's movies in the future. In this way, we will have the strongest distribution network in Hong Kong. We have few theaters, and they There are many theaters in our country, and our theaters are good. If we work together, it will be a win-win cooperation."

Shao Laoliu came to Hong Kong in 1957 to manage production, and the "Shaw Brothers" did not belong to his industry. Even if they were related, they were not worth mentioning in the face of interests.

Before this, in Hong Kong, the film industry was quite censorious, and Shaw Brothers films would not be released in D\u0026M theaters. In fact, in this era, production is bigger than theaters and distribution.

Shao Laoliu originally managed his own theater chain in Singapore, which is the largest theater chain network in Southeast Asia and provides film sources from Hong Kong. As a result, the second brother in Hong Kong was not good at producing and was also corrupt. Shao Laoliu gave his second brother 250,000 Hong Kong dollars to make a film. His second brother first deducted 50,000 Hong Kong dollars to enrich his own pocket, and then went to the director and director for the remaining 200,000. The actors waited for filming; in the end, the films shot became worse and worse, and Shao Laoliu had to come to Hong Kong in 1957 to develop the production business.

In fact, Shao Laoliu didn't want to come to Hong Kong back then, and he felt quite helpless.

Zou Wenhuai immediately understood the benefits of this. He originally planned to learn from Hollywood, so he immediately said: "It is indeed possible to cooperate like this. I will talk to Shao Weiying then."

Lin Zhichao nodded and then asked: "Do you have any plans for making a movie? We need good movies to stand firm."

Zou Wenhuai hesitated for a moment and then said: "I have thought about this problem, but there is only one way at the moment - that is to poach Shaw Brothers' Wang Yu to come over and make movies. Wang Yu is the star of Shaw Brothers, and he has made two One-Armed Swordsman films. , The One-Armed Sword King, both have box office sales of over one million, and are absolute box office guarantees for new martial arts films.”

This was originally his planned secret weapon, but at this time there were three or four people in the conference room who were not part of his close faction; but under the watchful eye of his boss, he did not dare to form a clique openly.

Lin Zhichao said: "You don't want to make a marginal movie with the theme of 'one-armed', do you?"

Zou Wenhuai and others were shocked, and he couldn't help but said: "How did the boss know?"

Lin Zhichao laughed and said: "Wang Yu's two best box-office hits are the two films about the one-armed sword, and you are the creator and producer of these two films. It is not difficult to guess that you want to make a side project and become an instant hit."

Zou Wenhuai secretly sighed that this boss was really shrewd and understood people's hearts. As soon as he mentioned Wang Yu, the boss understood his thoughts.

"What do you think, boss?"

Lin Zhichao shook his head and said: "I don't think it's good! Shao Laoliu can tolerate you to persuade your friends to leave the Shaw Brothers film. If you film the Shaw Brothers' One-Armed Sword brand, it will be a deep hatred. Of course, I believe that making trouble When I go to court, even if it means millions of dollars in legal fees, I will give it a try, but I don’t want to do this kind of thing.”

The management, headed by Zou Wenhuai, all felt that Lin Zhichao was not ruthless enough and was too particular about benevolence and justice.

Zou Wenhuai said: "This is probably the best way to become famous at the moment, and the lawsuit will definitely be won."

Lin Zhichao said: "Don't worry yet! I have a way to break this situation."

Zou Wenhuai said immediately: "Boss, please speak!"

They don't believe that you, an outsider, can break the "one family" of Shaw Brothers?

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "How Shaw Brothers started, we will start. Wang Yu is the actor representative of the new martial arts film, so let's find a representative of modern kung fu films. I heard that there is a Jeet Kune Do master from Hong Kong in the United States. , deeply respected by Hollywood action movie actors in the United States. However, he also likes to act in movies, but how can the United States accept Chinese as protagonists, so he can only play a small role in Hollywood. You can invite him to come back and make a few movies , to create a genre of modern martial arts films."

"Bruce Lee?"

Zou Wenhuai said in surprise.

Why was he surprised? It wasn't because the boss said something shocking.

Lin Zhichao said: "Well, that's him, Ip Man's apprentice. I often travel in the United States on business, and I heard that there is such a person. You can invite him back to Hong Kong to star in movies, not only as the protagonist, but also as a big investment; anyway, he is in The United States can only act as a sideshow, so why not return to Hong Kong to be a starring role, make a name for yourself in Asia, and then return to Hollywood, maybe you can achieve good results."

Zou Wenhuai said immediately: "Yes, these reasons can indeed impress him!"

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "As for Wang Yu, we can win over him, but we just don't want to film Shaw Brothers' One-Armed Sword series."

At this point in the meeting, everyone understands that it’s not that the boss doesn’t understand movies, but that he just doesn’t have the time to manage. No matter whether Bruce Lee is as good as Wang Yu in making Hong Kong movies, there is one thing. The boss at least has a plan. Whether it is a producer or a theater, he can get everyone's approval.

Early June.

The second store of Café de Coral, Mong Kok, has a grand opening.

Lin Shaodong, head of the retail department of Cheung Kong Holdings, attended the opening ceremony as a representative.

From now on, the retail department led by Lin Shaodong will be responsible for the related work of Café de Coral.

From the involvement of Lin Zhichao at the beginning, to the involvement of deputy general manager Huang Changhong, and now to the involvement of Lin Shaodong; it is not that Café de Coral Fast Food is being looked down upon, but that the Yangtze River Industrial Group is refining the management classification of various tasks.

The retail department of Cheung Kong Industrial Group is currently still an affiliated department of the commercial real estate project, that is, Lin Shaodong is directly under the management of Liang Guangchang.

The retail business must develop to at least a certain level before it can transform from a subsidiary company to a subsidiary company.

There is also the Yangtze Food and Beverage Company, whose general manager Chen Ping is a subsidiary of the group, and is temporarily managed directly by Huang Changhong.

However, in fact, Yangtze Food and Beverage Company is relatively independent. Apart from Chen Ping's normal work reporting, the group is rarely involved.

Lin Zhichao is not in a hurry to reorganize assets. After all, there are still three years until the listing, so he is not in a hurry to do that.

After all, an asset reorganization consumes a lot of the company's energy, and he, the boss, has to be meticulous about everything.

When cutting the ribbon.

Lin Zhihao invited Lin Shaodong to cut the red silk together to show respect for his partners.

He didn't dare to keep a high profile just because he was Lin Zhichao's cousin, because he knew from a young age that his cousin was superior. In addition to showing respect in front of his father, he was more dignified and maintained towards his cousins ​​like them. at a certain distance.

It is very helpful to their family and supports them a lot, but there won’t be many family gatherings or anything like that. In the words of his father, my cousin created a family, so how could he recognize the 'family' of the previous generation?

If you don't show certain abilities, your cousin won't recognize you and do business with you.

Because of this, neither the father nor the three brothers and sisters would regard themselves as relatives of 'Sir Lin' to outsiders.

First, he was afraid of making his cousin Lin Zhichao unhappy;

Secondly, my cousin has supported their family, and they are considered a wealthy family in Hong Kong;

Third, everyone wants to be successful and don’t always rely on their cousin for support.

Lin Zhihao believes that it was because his abilities were recognized by his cousin that he was able to cooperate, so he has always attached great importance to learning and hard work.

For example, in order to study how to cook abalone, he spent every day in the kitchen learning from the chefs. Half of the current abalone cooking at Fulin Restaurant was developed by him, a half-way monk.

"Manager Lin, when will your 7-11 convenience store open in Kowloon?" Lin Zhihao said with a smile.

When the 7-11 convenience store opened, Lin Zhihao was shocked.

Because 7-11 convenience stores sell hamburgers, hot dogs, fast food, etc., they are a proper ‘fast food competitor’.

Of course, he can only cooperate and temporarily provide some food for 7-11 convenience stores. Because he knows that this is bound to happen. Fortunately, he recently found that the impact on Café de Coral fast food is limited. After all, the catering market is so big.

"It's expected to be next year! We still have two stores open this year, one in Wan Chai and one in Causeway Bay. We would like to ask for your cooperation to provide boxed lunches for the time being."

Lin Zhihao immediately grasped the key point and asked, "Could it be that you have already prepared a central kitchen for Western-style fast food?"

Lin Shaodong nodded generously and said: "Yes, we are already preparing a central kitchen for our Western fast food and Chinese dim sum. But don't worry, Lin Sheng, we have our own characteristics and will not be the same as Café de Coral. Moreover, We will also produce our own lunch boxes in the future, but the lunch boxes we produce are called bento boxes, which are more single-dish than your fast food, more convenient and less complicated."

Currently, the lunch boxes in 7-11 convenience stores are provided by Café de Coral, with a limited number of servings available every day.

When the meal is not sold out, the next meal will be sold at a discount. This will be explained clearly to the customer and a microwave heating service will be provided.

According to Lin Zhichao’s guidance, 7-11 should make lunch boxes instead of lunch boxes.

The so-called bento refers to dishes that are more "factory-like" and "assembly-line", such as barbecued pork rice, chicken cutlet rice, beef rice, etc.

Lin Zhihao said: "Well, I analyzed it and found that the two companies do not constitute direct competition, which is good."

Lin Shaodong said with a smile: "We also have a stake in Café de Coral Fast Food, so it will definitely not be the same. And the lunch boxes you provide are actually not very convenient. More importantly, I am afraid that someone has already set their sights on Chinese fast food."

Lin Zhihao was shocked and said confidently: "You can rest assured that any competitor coming in now will not be a rival to our Café de Coral fast food."

This year, Café de Coral will have four stores, and they have already entered Central. At that time, advertising will be vigorously promoted, and the brand effect will be even better.

Who can defeat it?

Of course, Lin Zhihao had no intention of monopolizing the market. He had been in the catering business for many years and knew that competition in this industry was fierce.

In fact, he really admires his cousin's ability. Many of the plans of Café de Coral were established by his cousin in the early days.

After chatting for a while, the two started to visit inside.

"There are many students in Mong Kok, so it should be more popular! But it's summer vacation, so it should have an impact!" Lin Shaodong said.

"Fast food is suitable for many people, and I think business will not be bad during the summer vacation." Lin Zhihao replied.

"Well, that makes sense!"

At this time, Lin Shaodong felt that once they launched bento boxes, they would actually compete with Café de Coral.

However, the customer base of 7-11 lunch boxes is basically white-collar workers in office buildings. It is actually somewhat different from fast food in that there are fewer dishes.

The other side.

Luo Shengxiang and Luo Kaimu came to Mong Kok and looked at the newly opened Café de Coral fast food.

"It's so fast! Just after establishing a foothold in Central, I went to Mongkok, Kowloon to open a branch." Young Luo Kaimu said in surprise.

"It's normal! If nothing else happens, there should be one or two more stores to open this year, and Café de Coral has already taken the lead." Luo Shengxiang sighed.

The owner of Café de Coral is called Lin Zhihao. Regardless of whether it is related to Lin Zhichao or not, when others invested in Fulin Hotel, they had already invested a lot.

At this point, none of the Cantonese restaurants they opened were as good as Fulin Hotel.

"No matter! We have already selected a location there, and we will open in two months." Luo Kaimu said through gritted teeth.

They chose a store about 500 meters away from Café de Coral and are currently renovating it.

By then, the two companies will be in a direct competitive relationship.

"Don't worry! This model is very good. There is no problem for Hong Kong to accommodate two brands of fast food. In fact, there are some fast food restaurants in Hong Kong, but it's just that they haven't learned the essence at first glance. I'm afraid they won't be able to become chain stores." Luo Shengxiang said.

Indeed, in fact, half a year after Café de Coral came out, other Chinese fast food had already appeared, but they were opened in more remote places, or they had only scratched the surface.

"By the way, fourth uncle (Luo Fangxiang) and cousin Kaifu have agreed to come and help." Luo Kaimu said.

"Well, this is a good thing. We are all a family and we can only gain a foothold by working together." Luo Shengxiang said.

Luo Shengxiang recalled that it was his eldest brother who recruited several brothers to Hong Kong after his achievements in Hong Kong, and everyone worked together to develop Vitasoy. After becoming famous, each brother went out to start his own business. For example, he opened a Cantonese restaurant with his nephew.

Zou Wenhuai came to the United States and found Bruce Lee's martial arts hall.

It happened that Bruce Lee was teaching his disciples. After asking him why, Bruce Lee asked him to sit down in his office.

"How come I haven't heard of Golden Harvest Movies? I've often heard of it, Mr. Zou. Aren't you from Shaw Brothers Movies?" Bruce Lee said proudly.

The implication is that I only know Shaw Brothers movies.

Of course Zou Wenhuai wouldn't mind, but he knew that Bruce Lee wasn't easy to win over either.

"Golden Harvest Films is a newly established film company. It merged with the original D\u0026M, or in other words, the Hong Kong Cathay Pacific Group, and has formed a rival to Shaw Brothers Films. The boss behind us is Mr. Lin Zhichao, the world's shipping king, so we have strong financial strength . If Mr. Li returns to Hong Kong to shoot movies, we will be willing to invest heavily in each movie."

Generally speaking, the investment in each Hong Kong movie is only 200,000 to 400,000 Hong Kong dollars, but if Bruce Lee joins Golden Harvest Films, they are willing to invest 600,000 Hong Kong dollars per share.

After Bruce Lee heard this, he didn't think anything of it. He was a well-known martial arts master in the United States, and he was also well-known in Hong Kong. What's more, he had participated in Hollywood movies.

So he felt that it was normal for him to be treated like this!

Hong Kong, a small place!

Hollywood, the big stage!

Even if he goes to Hong Kong, he still hopes to make a movie with Shaw Brothers.

Thinking of this, Bruce Lee declined politely: "Zou Sheng, I don't want to go back to Hong Kong to shoot movies yet. I hope to make a career in Hollywood!"

Seeing Bruce Lee's arrogance, Zou Wenhuai felt that he was worth it!

So, he came up with his words: "Mr. Li, I know that you are very well-known in the American martial arts community. You are a great action actor in the United States, and I hope to become your teacher. But Hollywood is a place for white people after all. Of course, I also believe that, You can succeed in Hollywood in the future. However, I think you should conquer Asia first, use the Hong Kong film industry as a springboard, and become the Kung Fu Emperor in Asia. In this way, Hollywood will value your influence in turn. Then we will talk to Hollywood studios."

Listening to the boasts and beautiful descriptions, Bruce Lee could no longer control his mood and became vaguely excited. (Warriors, how many brains do they have!)

It turns out it can be like this!

He has always been a sideshow in Hollywood because he has no fan base. If he uses the platform of Hong Kong movies, he can gain many fans; then Hollywood production companies will definitely think highly of him.

As he approaches his thirties, he actually wants to go back to Hong Kong to make movies, but he just can't bear to leave Hollywood.

Now, this important figure in the Hong Kong film industry has awakened him.

After Bruce Lee thought for a while, he said: "I have been busy with the Chinese Martial Arts Museum recently. Let's think about it again. Mr. Zou is coming from afar. How about I take you to visit the Chinese Martial Arts Museum? I can also accompany you when you visit Hollywood."

When Zou Wenhuai saw this, he couldn't force it, so he could only say: "Then let's visit Mr. Li's martial arts hall!"

after one day.

Zou Wenhuai left the United States and returned to Hong Kong.

Bruce Lee didn't promise him anything, he just said that he should seriously consider it. Zou Wenhuai understood that this person was a bit difficult to deal with; he had no choice but to go back and contact Wang Yu. If the boss doesn't allow you to make a one-armed sword, then you can make other types of movies. Wang Yu is always a guarantee of box office.

Reality.

Bruce Lee still didn't believe in Golden Harvest Movies, but wanted to cooperate with Shaw Brothers Movies.

Because he knows the influence of Shaw Brothers movies in Asia. As for Golden Harvest Films' strong financial resources, making movies does not require a lot of money, so they will definitely succeed.

So Bruce Lee first rejected Zou Wenhuai, and then he planned to find an opportunity to tell reporters in front of reporters that he hoped to return to Hong Kong to film movies.

He thought that with his "influence" in Hollywood and Chinese martial arts circles, Hong Kong film companies would not be pursuing him by then. By then, Shaw Brothers movies will also extend an olive branch.

This is called - the return of the king.