Hong Kong Entertainment: The King of Kung Fu

As exciting clips flashed on the big screen, the voice-over read out the list of actors nominated for Best Actor.

"The nominees for the 9th Academy Awards Best Actor are... Hong Jingbao for "Seven Little Fortunes"... Liu Hua for "As Tears Go By"... Jiang Wen for "Red Sorghum"... Xu Guanwen for "Chicken and Duck Talk"... Zhang Guorong for "Rouge."

This wave of shortlisted candidates can be said to be a battle of gods, and their strength is extremely strong.

"The winner of Best Actor is... Hong Jingbao for "Seven Little Fortunes"!"

Hong Jingbao stood up excitedly, celebrated with Alex Law and Ann Hui, waved to the audience, and then quickly went on stage to receive the award.

Chen Long, who was sitting next to Yang Ye, was extremely envious. They were all fellow apprentices, but Hong Jingbao had already won the Best Actor award at the Academy Awards twice, while he hadn't even gotten a penny.

In terms of acting skills, Chen Long is not inferior to Hong Jingbao, but his luck in awards is not as good as Hong Jingbao. He has been nominated many times but never won.

Another person who has bad luck with awards is Zhang Guorong. He really gave an awesome performance in Rouge.

But then I came across Sammo Hung's "Seven Little Fortunes", a movie that tells the story of Sammo Hung's childhood.

Childhood memories, acting in his true colors, and the emotional power are fully utilized. Who can compete with him?
Fortunately, although "Rouge" lost the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, it still won the Best Director and Best Film awards.

In the end, he won four out of nine nominations for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing, becoming the biggest winner of this year's Academy Awards.

"My Sassy Girl" won the Best Actress and Best Film Song awards.

"As Tears Go By" won the Best Art Direction and Best Supporting Actor awards.

"Red Sorghum" won the Best Cinematography and Best Original Score awards.

"Seven Little Fortunes" won the Best Actor award.

……

All in all, this year's awards are just like previous Academy Awards, with the prizes being very scattered and the prizes distributed relatively evenly.

There wasn't a situation like last year where one movie swept the box office.

Last year was a special case, and no one dared to question the fact that "Terminator 2" won the global annual championship and swept the Academy Awards.

This year, it was generally fair, the only controversial award being Best Actress.

Before the competition, it was generally believed that Gong Li would win the award because she had already been recognized in West Berlin and became an international film queen.

Nowadays, Chinese people are still very superstitious about the word "international".

Unexpectedly, Gong Li lost to Wang Zuxian unexpectedly.

However, although many viewers were puzzled and even felt that there was something fishy going on, no one stood up for Gong Li.

Because Gong Li is a girl from mainland China, she gets criticized, so no one cares.

It's a bit of a coincidence. If Gong Li hadn't won the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress award in advance, the most popular candidate this time would have been Anita Mui.

If that happens, the Hong Kong media will have to do something.

Now, nothing happens.

Yang Ye thought that since he interfered with the Academy Awards, something bad would happen because Wang Zuxian could not convince the public.

But in the end everything was calm!

……

At the celebration banquet held by Baiyang Pictures after the Academy Awards.

Yang Ye couldn't help but complain: "Damn it, I was so nervous, but it turns out there's nothing wrong!"

After all, it was the first time I did this, so I felt a little guilty!

Yang Ye had just made a complaint when Wang Zuxian ran over with a plate in his hand.

"Brother Ye, who are you scolding again?"

"Nonsense, where do I have it?"

"Don't admit it yet. I heard you say fuck."

"Well, I mean, this celebration party for you winning Best Actress cost a damn lot of money!"

"Humph, you stingy guy!"

Wang Zuxian said this with a smile on his face. He sat down next to Yang Ye and started peeling the prawns on the plate.

Because she knew that Yang Ye was just talking, and had never felt sorry for the money.

She peeled a shrimp and put it to Yang Ye's mouth. Yang Ye opened his mouth and ate it. Suddenly he leaned close to her ear and whispered softly, "Xiao Xian, I love you too!"

"I, I, I... just wanted to thank you for what you said."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"Hey, what I said is true!"

……

"Enemy at the Gates" is scheduled to be released on Easter, and the promotional work is in full swing.

While Yang Ye was focusing on the post-production of "Mojin: The Lost Tomb" and "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy", he also began preparing for "Swordsman 2: Invincible in the East".

This time, Yang Ye gave up the director's job and handed the baton to Cheng Xiaodong.

He is too busy, with a lot of things to do and a lot of people to accompany.

With Cheng Xiaodong's ability, it is more than enough to shoot this movie
Yang Ye just needs to grasp the general direction and not deviate.

Many of Xu Ke's films follow this model. He only serves as the producer, while letting John Woo, Cheng Xiaodong, Li Huimin and others be the directors.

The result was such masterpieces as "A Better Tomorrow", "Hard Boiled", "A Chinese Ghost Story", "Swordsman", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and "New Dragon Inn".

To be honest, among all the works Xu Ke participated in, most of the top-notch ones were produced by him, while those he directed himself were inferior.

As a director he is considered first-rate among Chinese people, and as a producer he is top-notch!
This time, the characters in "Eastern Invincible" are almost completely different from those in the original time and space, and this time all the original cast members have returned.

Lin Qingxia played the role of Dongfang Bubai, Yang Ye played Linghu Chong himself, Chen Yulian played Ren Yingying, Guan Zhilin played Yue Lingshan, and Kara Hui played Lan Fenghuang.

……

While preparing for "Invincible in the East", Yang Ye was also looking for a director for "50 First Dates".

Johnnie To was invited by Wong Jing to film "A Lang's Story". The contract had already been signed, so he couldn't let him break it.

There are two candidates, one of them is Chen Kexin. Chen Kexin has been following Yang Ye as a script supervisor since "Terminator 2", and Yang Ye recognizes his abilities.

Another one is Benny Chan, who has always been with Johnnie To, from assistant to executive director, and he also longs for an opportunity.

In Yang Ye's impression, Chen Musheng is more suitable for shooting hot action movies, while Chen Kexin is better at delicate dramas.

However, Chen Musheng is also the director of the classic romance film "A Moment of Romance".

Although that film was produced under the supervision of Johnnie To, it reflects Johnnie To's will.

"50 First Dates" is a representative work of American comedy star Adam Sandler.

The protagonist of the story, Adam, is a veterinarian at an oceanarium. One day, he met a girl named Lucy in a restaurant.

The two fell in love at first sight and sparks of love flew.

Because we had such a pleasant chat, we made an appointment to meet in a cafe the next day.

The next day, Adam came to the cafe in high spirits. Although Lucy was still sitting there, she didn't recognize him.

It turns out that Lucy had been in a car accident before and suffered from an extremely rare short-term memory loss.

When the sun rises the next day, she will forget everything that happened the day before and return to the day before the car accident!
Adam has fallen in love and he can't give up his beloved Lucy.

In order to prove to Lucy's father that he could take care of Lucy, he decided to go and court Lucy once a day.

He hoped that Lucy would fall in love with him again when the sun rose and each new day came.

This movie is light-hearted, humorous, romantic and touching. It became a global hit when it was released.

And it is very easy to localize. All you need to do is go to Hong Kong Ocean Park to shoot, find some animals from the aquarium, such as penguins, walruses, etc., and make them act cute, and the box office will come in big.

……

Yang Ye was too lazy to think too much, so he only gave the idea that the heroine would lose her memory every day, as well as the basic setting of the story.

Then, let Chen Kexin and Chen Musheng write their own scripts, and whoever has the better script will be the director of the film. Since both of them want this opportunity, let's have a fair fight, and no one can say anything.

Both Peter Chan and Benny Chan cherished this opportunity very much and they each stayed at home racking their brains to write the script.

At this time, Song Xiangru's "A Play on Qianlong" had already been written.

After Yang Ye got the script, he quickly read it through and found that Song Xiangru was indeed a gold medal screenwriter.

Not only is the plot full of ups and downs, which is appealing to both the elite and the laggards, but the dialogue is also extremely concise, with hardly a single word of nonsense.

It's not like many TV dramas that are filled with water.

No wonder this TV series became a sensation after it was broadcast.

Yang Ye picked up the phone: "Zhizhi, help me check if Qiu Guan is in Hong Kong. If he is, make an appointment with him and I will invite him for tea!"

The "Asia-1" satellite will be launched soon, and lobbying of the Hong Kong government has reached a critical moment.

Once the satellite TV stations are established, Yang Ye will have two TV stations in his hands, and the demand for TV dramas will become even greater.

A top TV star like Adam Cheng is worthy of Yang Ye’s personal recruitment.

Li Zhi came in quickly and said, "Boss, Mr. Zheng is currently filming "The Loyal Heroes" in Hong Kong. I have made an appointment with him to meet at the Film People Tea Restaurant at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

……

In 1989, there were two movies with similar names in Hong Kong, one was "The Loyal Heroes" and the other was "The Brave Heroes".

"The Loyal and Righteous Heroes" is starred by Zheng Shaoqiu. It tells the story of seven chivalrous men including Qi Dafu in the Republic of China period who assisted poor villagers in resisting brutal bandit gangs at all costs and at all costs.

As soon as you hear it, you know that this is a remake of Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai".

"Seven Samurai" is considered the mother of all movies about "several people completing a mission."

It has influenced countless directors around the world and has been remade by many people. "The Loyal Heroes" is one of the worst remakes.

"The Heroes" was directed by John Woo and starred by Chang Cheh's disciples such as David Chiang, Danny Lee, and Chen Kuan-tai. It was a birthday film for the great director Chang Cheh.

Like King Hu, Chang Cheh was very poor in his later years.

King Hu had a group of disciples such as Xu Feng and Cheng Pei-pei who were filial to him, and naturally Chang Cheh also had some.

Chang Cheh is a very interesting person. No matter what happens to him, he chooses to handle it by himself. He never tells anyone about it, complains to anyone, or asks for help.

Even though he had helped and promoted many people, and those people later became successful and wealthy, he never asked for anything in return.

In his later years, Chang Cheh could no longer keep up with the times. Every film he made lost money and he became poorer and poorer. He never said a word and just lived a lonely life with his wife.

After his disciple Danny Lee learned about this situation, he launched an initiative.

I hope Chang Cheh’s disciples can unite and make a movie for him, so that he can earn some money and spend his old age in peace.

Danny Lee joined the Chang family very late and was never promoted, but he still remembers Chang Cheh's kindness.

But on the other hand, Danny Lee keeps exploiting Stephen Chow. It can only be said that human nature is complicated.

The film was "The Righteous Man", and they decided to shoot it in the style of Chang Cheh.

All of Chang Cheh's disciples participated, and it was all voluntary labor, without any remuneration.

The director is naturally John Woo, because he is the one who inherited Chang Cheh's true teachings.

John Woo's movies replaced Chang Cheh's ancient sword fights with modern gun fights.

Among the actors, Ti Lung was the most famous, and John Woo wanted Ti Lung to be the leading actor.

But Ti Lung didn't come, everyone was very angry, and in the end David Chiang became the male lead.

Ti Lung went in the end, but only showed up once and made a cameo appearance.

It turned out that there was something wrong with his teeth and his face was swollen.

Toothache is not a disease, but it can be fatal. As a result, I was unable to film during that period.

But Ti Lung had the same temper as Chang Cheh. Even when others were angry, complained, or even called him ungrateful, he remained silent.

The box office of "The Heroes" was average, but everyone was doing voluntary work, so the profit was very considerable.

The disciples gave the money to Chang Cheh, hoping that he could retire and spend his later years in peace.

As a result, Chang Cheh used the money to make movies and spent it all.

……

Peninsula Hotel!

Yang Ye brought He Qing and walked leisurely into the Filmmaker Tea Restaurant.

He Qing has resigned from Zhejiang Kunqu Opera Troupe and came to Shenzhen to join Liu Xiaoqing's advertising company.

As soon as she arrived in Shenzhen, she ran to Hong Kong to have an affair with Yang Ye. Faced with this beauty, Yang Ye naturally gave her a warm welcome.

Many acquaintances in the restaurant greeted Yang Ye, and he responded with a smile.

Looking at those people with more or less flattering expressions, He Qing felt very proud.

It turns out that these high-ranking Hong Kong directors and stars all respect Yang Ye so much.

She thought her man was so awesome, and being with Yang Ye made her feel very proud.

When passing by the seats of Run Run Shaw and Mona Fong, Yang Ye said good morning, and then said to Run Run Shaw, "When is Uncle Six free? I want to talk to you!"

Run Run Shaw smiled and said, "Is it about the TV station?"

"Of course!"

"I'm free now!"

"Then please wait a moment. I have an appointment with Qiu Guan to discuss something. I will go over and tell him first."

Run Run Shaw nodded: "Go ahead!"

Yang Ye took He Qing to his seat.

Fang Yihua looked at the backs of the two people and couldn't help but complain: "Where did this bastard find a woman from?"

Run Run Shaw laughed and said, "This girl has a first-rate figure and looks. Even in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, which is full of beauties, she is not inferior to anyone. Ah Ye's ability to discover beauties is truly admirable!"

Zheng Shaoqiu was already waiting there. He naturally would not let Yang Ye wait for him. When he saw Yang Ye coming, he stood up and said with a smile, "Good morning, Sir Yang!"

"Morning, Qiu Guan! Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Zheng Shaoqiu, a famous Hong Kong actor, and this is Ms. He Qing, a famous mainland actor!"

After the two of them greeted each other, Yang Ye said, "Sorry, I have something urgent to discuss with Lord Shao. Please wait for me for a moment."

Zheng Shaoqiu smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. Your business is more important."

Yang Ye shook He Qing's hand and said, "You guys chat first, I'll be back soon!"

He Qing hummed obediently, Yang Ye let go of her hand and sat down at Run Run Shaw's table.

Fang Yihua reluctantly poured a cup of tea for Yang Ye, and Yang Ye smiled and said, "Thank you, Miss Fang."

He took a sip of tea and got straight to the point: "Sixth Uncle, I hope you won't obstruct me from setting up a satellite TV station."

Run Run Shaw did not comment and asked, "Actually, I don't understand. You already have Asia Television. Why do you need to set up another TV station? Isn't this just unnecessary competition?"

Yang Ye shook his head and said, "Hong Kong will not always have two TV stations. Let's not talk about the long term. Cable TV technology is now mature. I believe it won't be long before the Hong Kong government will issue cable TV licenses. Cable TV is not blocked by tall buildings or mountains, and its viewing quality is better than that of TVB. That is the threat to our two companies."

Run Run Shaw burst out laughing: "We were talking about satellite TV now, why did you end up talking about cable TV?"

"I want to tell you that this is the trend of the times and you can't stop it. However, I can promise you one thing. The satellite TV station will broadcast programs in Mandarin and there will be no Cantonese channels!"

After hearing this, Shaw was silent for a moment and asked, "Are you sure?"

TVB's audience is mainly in Hong Kong and Macau. The audiences here all watch Cantonese TV programs, and Mandarin programs have no appeal to them.

If Yang Ye's satellite TV station only broadcasts in Mandarin, then there is basically no competition between the two parties.

In this case, Run Run Shaw actually didn't need to do such thankless tasks and go to great lengths to obstruct Yang Ye.

Yang Ye smiled and said, "There's no need for me to compete with myself. We can ask the Hong Kong government to make clear restrictions on this point when issuing licenses!"

Run Run Shaw nodded and said, "I understand!" (End of this chapter)