Hong Kong Entertainment: The King of Kung Fu

Thanks to the appreciation of the Japanese yen, the box office of "Mojin: The Last Dragon" in Japan was 49 billion, equivalent to more than million US dollars.

However, the RMB is depreciating, and the box office of more than 50 million in the mainland is only equivalent to more than 15 million US dollars.

It's still on paper and cannot be actually exchanged, but it doesn't matter. You can earn money in China and spend it in China, and you can't take it away.

According to comprehensive estimates, the total global box office is about 200 million US dollars.

Although it is far from the global box office of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" of 3 million US dollars, it is still impressive enough.

Yang Ye has been constantly innovating action movies over the years, and has gradually cultivated a solid fan base around the world.

In addition, "Terminator 2" made him completely popular again, and there were also factors such as rising prices and appreciation of the Japanese yen. The fact that "Mojin: The Last Dragon" broke million was just basic operation.

The performance of "Mojin: The Last Dragon" in Europe and the United States was actually average, because it was not a serious action movie, which made Yang Ye's fans a little uncomfortable.

However, the theme of treasure hunting and adventure is creating a whirlwind around the world and has attracted many audiences to go to the theaters to watch it.

As for the Feng Shui and gossip discussed in the movie, foreigners can’t understand them, but that’s not a problem at all.

These things only appear occasionally in the movie, so just treat them as spells.

When Asians watch Western fantasy movies, who knows what the spells in the movies mean?
Because I don’t understand it, I find it very novel and a bit impressive.

Today, Yang Ye has already become a cultural symbol, with unparalleled influence in the world, especially in Asia.

In the minds of many Chinese people, he has become something like a spiritual totem.

The reason why people like Lao Si and Lao Martin were able to surpass Yang Ye in box office sales was due to the overall strength of Europe and the United States.

But Yang Ye’s problem was that he lacked a base camp.

The size of the tens of millions of Chinese in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia is still too small to support his career.

Even if Japan and South Korea are included, it is not enough.

……

The advertising effect of the premiere was quite good.

In addition, Yang Ye himself possessed a huge influence. On the day of the premiere of Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, long queues formed in all major cinemas in Beijing.

At Wudaokou, in front of the Workers' Club, Ai Da looked at the long line in front of him and sighed, "Fuck, how long will it take? If I had known, I would have stayed up late to queue up. Hey, you know, it's so cold, will I freeze into a popsicle if I stay up late to queue up?"

This guy is a chatterbox and keeps on talking, but the old wolf behind him doesn't say a word.

The short guy couldn't help but turn around and said, "Brother, there are many beautiful women in the world. It's just a fruit. I'll help you find another one."

Lao Lang shook his head and still said nothing. He was heartbroken.

Pan Qian was going to study in the United States, and from then on the two were separated by the Pacific Ocean.

Although I didn’t say it, and although I was reluctant to leave…

But everyone knew in their hearts that after this departure, they would be people from two different worlds from then on.

Breaking up is only a matter of time.

Lao Lang didn't want this to happen. He loved Pansy, but he couldn't stop Pansy from moving towards a better future.

These days even dogs want to go abroad; there is always a long queue in front of the American Embassy in Beijing.

This opportunity is hard-won.

……

Finally we got in. There were nearly two thousand people sitting in the auditorium-style cinema, and it was very noisy.

After a while, the movie officially started.

There was a striking gunfight at the beginning, and the scene of various bullets flying around made the audience stunned.

The two fish that escaped the net returned to Wohu Mountain, and Zuoshan Eagle was furious: "Thirty-seven people went out, and two dogs came back."

"Third Master, the Communist Army has tanks!"

The audience burst into laughter. In fact, there was no tank, but there was a soldier nicknamed Tank.

"In one word, dishonest!"

"Third Master, those are three words!"

Zuoshandiao’s catchphrase “one word” runs through the whole film and is a highlight.

Lao Ba, played by Zhao Benshan, is also a highlight of the whole film, with his comedic talent at its best.

"Whether you have shit or not, if you have shit, then poop!"

"Old Nine, he wants to see my butt!"

"Third Master, there's nothing wrong with Old Nine!"

Zhao Benshan's Lao Ba always makes the audience laugh every time he appears, especially when Yang Zirong asks him if he has any paper when he is taking a shit, he takes out a branch and says, "I can use it!"

The audience laughed like crazy.

Of course, comedy is just an embellishment, and the several battles are very effective, making the audience's hormones soar.

Especially the final battle against the plane, which cleverly edited and collaged together the various emotions and actions of Yang Zirong, Zuoshandiao, and Ma Qinglian, as well as the thrills of the plane losing control, pushing the audience's emotions to the limit. Many viewers were even so nervous that they were breathing rapidly.

In order to pass the review, this part in the original movie was used as an Easter egg. It was imagined and the effect was at least 50% reduced.

In addition, the audience at that time was more knowledgeable, so a 50% discount and another 50% discount would be enough.

Today's mainland audiences have never seen this. When the plane slid off the cliff and got stuck between two mountains, many audiences' hearts were stuck in their throats.

With a gunshot, the mountain eagle fell off the cliff, and everything settled down. Some of the audience even broke out in a sweat.

This is the shock brought by transcending time and space.

There was warm applause in the cinema and people started a heated discussion as they left the theater.

"Too beautiful!"

"It's really beautiful!"

"This Yang Zirong is so fucking awesome!"

“Oh my god, how did this get filmed?”

“It wasn’t really filmed on a cliff, was it?”

After leaving the cinema, Lao Lang suddenly said to Ai Da Jin: "Let's go to Hainan!"

Shorty was delighted, patted Old Wolf on the shoulder and said, "Brother, you finally figured it out."

During this period they performed everywhere and gained a little fame, and even a nightclub in Hainan invited them to perform.

But the band members felt it was too far and didn’t want to go.

Only Ai Da Jin wanted to go, but he couldn't sing, so he urged Lao Lang to go.

Going means dropping out of school, and Laolang has not made up his mind.

Now, he finally figured it out.

Maybe he just wanted to go farther away and leave this sad place.

……

After Yang Ye introduced the experience of Baiyang Film, he had nothing else to do.

Let them discuss among themselves how to reform.

However, Yang Ye has not left the capital for the time being. It would be fine if he did not come, but since he is here, he has to take care of many things.

The first is the matter of Star TV purchasing the broadcasting rights for the Asian Games, which is being negotiated by Chung King Fai.

But since Yang Ye was in the capital, he naturally had to show up on some important occasions.

The Asian Games Committee also invited Yang Ye to sing the theme song of the Asian Games, "Hand in Hand", at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games. "Hand in Hand" was originally the theme song of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but Yang Ye hijacked it.

The theme song of the Seoul Olympics was changed, but the lead singer is still the "Arirang" group.

Because this group is very famous in Europe and the United States, and is Korea's international face.

"Hand in Hand" is known as the most popular and sung theme song of all Olympic Games.

Its melody is simple, clear and easy to sing, and its lyrics are simple and appealing.

"Let us hold hands and travel around the world, and we will create a beautiful home together" reflects the common aspiration of mankind.

As for "Asian Pride", it is not the theme song of the 90 Asian Games, but a promotional song.

The original theme song of the 90 Asian Games was called "Burn, Torch".

However, this song is not very good and is far inferior to "Asian Pride", so it was forgotten.

Today, "Hand in Hand" and "Asian Pride" are both popular, and it can be regarded as a good story in the future generations.

Since the song was written by Yang Ye, it would be most appropriate for him to sing it, so Yang Ye gladly accepted the invitation.

But "Hand in Hand" is not suitable for one person to sing alone. At the Seoul Olympics, it was sung together by the "Arirang" group, a family of four.

It is precisely because they are a family and have good cooperation that their influence is more contagious.

Therefore, Yang Ye suggested that "Hand in Hand" should also find four singers to sing together, and it would be best if they were from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, with one singer from each of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the four places.

"Arirang is a family of four, and we are a big family of the Chinese nation," said Yang Ye.

The leaders of the Asian Affairs Commission were very surprised to hear this. This is a good idea. It is so damn politically correct.

I'll go back to the meeting and discuss this immediately.

……

Li Zhi introduced Yang Ye: "This is Director Zhang Guoping of the TV Production Center of Shanghai TV Station, and this is Director Guo Xinling."

Yang Ye shook hands politely with several people and sat down in the reception room.

In the past two years, CCTV and ATV have collaborated to produce several popular TV series.

ATV produced the film, with assistance from CCTV, which provided convenience for the filming. After the filming was completed, the domestic copyright belonged to CCTV, and the overseas copyright belonged to ATV, following the same routine as co-produced movies.

CCTV started a business with no capital investment and made a ton of money, and ATV of course also made a lot of money. Filming a drama costs money, so cooperating with CCTV actually saves money.

ATV also provided technical support for CCTV's filming of "Journey to the West". Before filming "Journey to the West", director Yang Jie went to ATV and Ziqi Company to study for half a year.

Now all the TV stations in the mainland want to cooperate with ATV, and Shanghai TV came to us. Needless to say, they are going to film "Investiture of the Gods".

The Investiture of the Gods produced by Xi'an Film Studio in 1989 was so fucking scary that it scared countless children to tears, and it also showed the numbness and buttocks of the characters.

If this were a movie, it would be a definite Category III film. The fact that it is openly shown on TV is truly unbelievable.

Regarding the fact that this drama was stopped after only five episodes, the general saying is that it was banned.

But the lead actress Liang Li provided another explanation. The producer and artistic director of the drama, Wu Tianming, was invited to give lectures in the United States, but he ended up staying there and did not return, so the filming was not done.

Wu Tianming was the director of Xi'an Film Studio and Zhang Yimou's mentor. His posthumous work "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" became well-known to many people because the producer knelt down and begged for screening.

Wu Tianming is not returning to China because of something he said during an interview in the United States and cannot come back for the time being.

Wu Tianming almost starved to death in Los Angeles. He managed to survive for five years by selling dumplings and with the help of local Chinese people, and was able to return home.

……

Now, Shanghai TV has decided to film "Investiture of the Gods".

Ziqi Company has contributed to the huge popularity of Journey to the West.

"Investiture of the Gods" naturally also hopes to get support.

There is nothing much to say about this, it is just a good match, Yang Ye likes it.

When it is broadcast on ATV and Star TV, won’t the ratings be great?
Shanghai TV's "Investiture of the Gods" was the childhood of many people, and they touted it as a classic.

In Yang Ye's opinion, it's nothing classic.

This is a bad drama. The only thing worth mentioning is that Mr. Lan Tianye's Jiang Ziya is good, with an immortal look. Daji is beautiful and coquettish, and she looks like a foxy woman.

In fact, these two images are very different from the original. In the original, Jiang Ziya is just an old man, without any immortal spirit at all.

Of course, apart from its excellent setting, the plot, writing style, and character creation of the book "Fengshen Yanyi" are all worth mentioning.

There is no need to respect the original work when adapting it into a film or TV series. It must be modified dramatically, and madly modified.

There's nothing wrong with making some magical changes to it, but this is a Chinese myth after all. You can't fucking turn it into an ancient Greek film.

This was in 1990. If it were in 2020, it would have been boycotted, reported and banned before it even aired.

King Zhou's palace is almost a replica of ancient Greek architecture, with tall halls and thick Roman columns.

As for the clothes, there are all kinds of metal headbands and sequins.

The men all wear big shorts.

Even Hong Kong actor Tang Zhenzong complained: "The pants don't look like pants, and the shorts don't look like shorts. They are so uncomfortable to wear!"

The women were almost half-naked, with the slits of their bottoms all opening above the waistline, revealing their white thighs... This was a benefit.

Fu Yiwei, who played Daji, couldn't stand it and went on strike in protest.

Finally, the crew agreed to add a layer of gauze to the costume she wore, and only then did they reluctantly allow her to continue to act.

Jiang Ziya wore a cheap metal headdress with a huge gem on it.

Many years later, Mr. Lan Tianye kept shaking his head on TV: "This is not the Investiture of the Gods that I had in mind. I don't understand. I still can't understand why our Chinese mythology has to be created in the style of Western mythology."

He said “I don’t understand” three times in one sentence.

The costumes of Yang Jian, Nezha, Jinzha, Muzha and Huang Tianhua are even more outrageous. They are actually copied from Japanese anime. They are definitely the five little warriors of Saint Seiya.

You know what, this designer is quite talented. He can copy the ancient Greek style so well that it can even be seen in "Saint Seiya".

After all, "Saint Seiya" is also a story based on Greek mythology, there's nothing wrong with that!

……

Some people say that this is all the fault of Hong Kong designers, but in fact, this kind of blame-shifting is unreasonable.

The designer is the second party, and the one who makes the final decision is the first party.

How he designs is his business. If you don't agree with his plan, he can't do anything about it.

According to Mr. Lan Tianye, the goal at that time was to commercialize and keep pace with the international standards, so whatever Hong Kong said was the final word.

Director Guo Xinling also has her own opinion. She said that they know what the clothing of the Zhou Dynasty looked like, but not that of the Shang Dynasty.

The designer thought that it was very hot during the Shang Dynasty and people should wear cool clothes, so he designed it this way and Guo Xinling agreed.

In fact, all versions of Fengshen are just nonsense, and no version has ever been restored.

Among the many versions, Yang Ye believes that the "523% Song and Yuan Dynasties, % Shang and Zhou Dynasties" of is more reasonable.

Because "The Investiture of the Gods" is a Ming Dynasty novel, derived from the Song and Yuan Dynasty vernacular novels, it is mixed with many later generations' imaginations and speculations about the previous dynasties, but it is more based on the positions, customs and culture of the people of this dynasty.

Xu Zhonglin had no idea what the Shang Dynasty was like. He just wrote "The Investiture of the Gods" based on the Ming Dynasty.

The difference between the book and the Ming Dynasty is that he copied it from the Song and Yuan Dynasty vernacular novels, which were all based on the Song and Yuan Dynasties.

Since "The Investiture of the Gods" is a novel written by people in the Ming Dynasty based on the style of the Ming Dynasty, if we don't know what people in the Shang Dynasty wore, we should just dress like people in the Ming Dynasty.

Anyway, if you dress according to the Zhou and Han dynasties, it will definitely not be right. If you dress according to the Greek and Roman dynasties, it will be even more outrageous.

Even so, Yang Ye did not make any comments, as this was not something he should worry about.

Yang Ye just said: "I am very happy to cooperate with Shanghai TV. As for the specific matters, I will ask Mr. Xu Xiaoming, the TV director of our Asia Television, to contact your station!" (End of this chapter)