Hong Kong Entertainment: The King of Kung Fu

"The Voice of China cost 30 million yuan and recovered its investment in one month!"

The Oriental Daily used a big headline to expose the funding situation of The Voice of China, which made many people in the industry secretly shocked.

The production cost of 30 million Hong Kong dollars is a sky-high price for TV stations in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Nowadays, the cost of shooting a large-scale costume TV series in Hong Kong and Taiwan will not exceed 15 million.

The cost of a movie in Hong Kong is more than 20 million Hong Kong dollars, even if it is an A-level production, Yang Ye and Chen Long are not included.

The production cost of a singing competition like "The Voice of China" reached 30 million Hong Kong dollars, which is really outrageous.

But what’s even more outrageous is that it actually made a profit!
When The Voice of China was first broadcast, it was title sponsored by Lindt & Sprünchen and co-sponsored by Citroën, and several other advertisers inserted ads during the breaks between programs.

After the first episode of the show received rave reviews, the number of sponsors immediately increased dramatically.

Before this, host Deborah had nothing to do except handing the microphone to the contestants and accompanying the contestants' relatives and friends as they waited for the results of the competition.

Starting from the second episode, things suddenly became busy.

Before each contestant goes on stage, Deborah reads a long list of sponsor advertisements like a machine gun.

Deborah is a senior host with excellent diction. She reads the advertisements quickly and urgently, and is very clear and understandable.

With such performance, he was soon dubbed "China's Good Tongue" by the media!
Yang Ye has a deep understanding of this.

As the show becomes more and more popular, the price for commercial inserts is also rising!

After four episodes of The Voice of China were aired, all production costs were recovered and the show became a net profit.

At the same time, the first volume of The Voice of China album has been released across Asia and is selling very well.

Oriental Daily estimates that The Voice of China will make a profit of at least HK$400 million.

In fact, Oriental Daily News’s number is too small because they didn’t know there would be a spin-off program of The Voice of China.

And, the even more profitable "The Voice Tour"!
If the entire process goes through without any unexpected problems, the profit of the first season of The Voice of China will exceed HK$1 billion.

Moreover, this is only direct income, there is also subsequent indirect income.

Singers who become famous because of their good voices can immediately become cash cows for record companies and make money by releasing albums individually. The ultimate economic benefits are simply impossible to estimate now.

Some people may question, how can this make more money than The Voice of China in later generations?
There's nothing surprising about this, considering that this is the golden age for the record and performance industries.

The four Asian tigers, which are influenced by the Voice of China, are also at their peak.

Today’s entertainment life is not as developed as in later generations. The ratings of The Voice of China couldn’t even break ten points, and it was already super popular.

Nowadays, a show only has a 10-point rating? That's garbage, stop it immediately!
In the past, it was laughable if a popular singer could sell tens of thousands of copies of an album, but nowadays, it is simply shameful to sell tens of thousands of copies.

Many popular singers in later generations lost money when holding concerts. They were very stingy and many of the seats were not even full.

Nowadays, when popular singers hold concerts, they usually hold at least ten shows in a single venue, and often exceed thirty shows, lasting a full month.

After “F4” became popular last year, they held concerts for half a year, performing everywhere, even in Japan.

It was only a month ago that they finally stopped and started filming "Meteor Garden 2", preparing to reap another wave of profits.

……

Golden Harvest!

Zou Wenhuai put down the newspaper and said with a smile: "This Ah Ye, I didn't expect that he could make such a big fuss by organizing a singing competition."

Zou Wenhuai has a very good impression of Yang Ye recently.

Zou Wenhuai gambled his life and fortune and spent 1350 million US dollars to make a movie "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in Hollywood.

As a result, Fox had no confidence in the film and kept it from being released.

You have to know that Jiahe in this time and space is not as rich as the one in the original time and space. If it fails this time, Jiahe will be finished.

At this time, Shay from United Artists came to the door and took over the distribution task of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and carried out global distribution.

In the end, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" grossed $1.35 million in North America and exceeded $ million at the global box office.

Golden Harvest can get more than 50 million US dollars and make a net profit of 400 million Hong Kong dollars. Zou Wenhuai and Ho Kuanchang are about to laugh their teeth off.

United Artists also made a lot of money. More importantly, United Artists took over the movies that Fox did not dare to release, and they turned out to be huge box office hits.

This wave not only made Fox a laughing stock, but also highlighted United Artists' unique vision in movies.

United Artists is now planning to go public. The "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" incident has undoubtedly boosted investors' confidence and made the road to listing smoother.

Ho Kuan-chang said with a smile: "Come to think of it, Ah Ye has been in charge of ATV for ten years. If he had such a good idea, why didn't he use it before?"

Zou Wenhuai said: "This kid has a big appetite. Running a good show in Asia Television can only radiate to Hong Kong and Macau. It is not worth his effort."

Ho Kuan-chang said, "How about letting Purple Air Company produce the special effects for the second part of Ninja Turtles?"

Zou Wenhuai said happily: "Of course no problem!"

Ziqi Company’s technology is not inferior to Hollywood’s, and because labor costs are relatively low, its charges are much cheaper.

However, there was no convenient Internet back then, and communication between the American production team and the Hong Kong special effects team was difficult, which greatly increased costs, so the final production cost would not be much less.

Golden Harvest still entrusts the special effects work to Ziqi Company, mainly to return the favor.

After discussing the matter of Ninja Turtles, the two old guys turned their attention to this year's summer movie season in Hong Kong.

The movie released by Golden Harvest this year is "My Cousin, My Goodness!" produced by Eryou Company, a company owned by Cheung Kin-ting and Kenny Bee.

Although Zhang Jianting's output is not high, his urban films have repeatedly been box office hits, which is quite something.

This time they went big, blending the relationships between mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan together, using all sorts of innuendos and ridicules to create this bizarre movie.

If this movie were released in the future, it might be considered insulting to China, and the main creators might also be severely criticized.

The movie tells the story of Zheng Yuling, a public security officer from Sichuan, who comes to Hong Kong to catch criminals. Due to regional cultural differences, she and Hong Kong police officer Liang Jiahui encounter a lot of strange things.

Later, Liang Jiahui brought Cheng Yuling back home to live with him, and it turned out that his father was a veteran of the National Army.

My goodness, the two sides were naturally at loggerheads, incompatible with each other, and a bunch of weird things happened.

In the movie, Liang Jiahui initially disliked his cousin from Sichuan. She spit everywhere, didn't know how to use computers, didn't know about couple hotels, took showers with her clothes on... She was a complete country bumpkin.

But as the contact deepened, he saw many shining points in his cousin. She was a martial arts expert, a master of marksmanship, courageous, smart, and willing to sacrifice at the critical moment of life and death...

Finally, the theme of the film is expressed through Liang Jiahui's words: I respect what my father's generation insisted on, and I admire some of the advantages that mainlanders have.

“Hong Kong people, mainlanders, Taiwanese, we are all Chinese!”

At this time, there were still seven years before Hong Kong's return.

Many people are thinking of immigrating before the return, so the market is flooded with immigration movies.

But some people are full of expectations for the comeback, so movies like "My Cousin, You Are So Good!" were produced.

There are even movies like "Triumph to the Ninth Heaven" that praise the country's rocket industry and scientists.

Of course, this kind of movie has very poor box office performance and is a complete flop.

Because people living in the international metropolis of Hong Kong don’t believe that their poor relatives are so capable of building such an awesome rocket!

How should I put it? Regional discrimination exists everywhere.

It is certainly despicable that Hong Kong people discriminate against "Ah Chan", but it is not so smart for Shanghai people to discriminate against "country people".

People are multifaceted and human nature is extremely complex. It is not advisable to focus on one point and deny everything.

Attacking each other will only deepen the conflict and will not help.

Just as what was said in the movie, whether you are from mainland China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong, we are all Chinese.

What the Prime Minister proposed at the Bandung Conference, “putting aside differences, shelving disputes, seeking common ground while reserving differences and seeking common development” is the golden road.

……

"My Cousin, How Good Is Your Fortune" was released in late June and was a huge hit, with the local box office exceeding HK$20 million.

Yang Ji also released "A Chinese Ghost Story 2" at the same time, which grossed 2300 million in local box office, slightly better than its cousin.

However, "A Chinese Ghost Story" was sold throughout the Asian market. It sold NT$8800 million in Taiwan, JPY 15 billion in Japan, and attracted 30 viewers in Seoul, South Korea. For Hong Kong, this little income is just pocket money.

Speaking of the Korean market, halfway through the year, three Hong Kong films have already occupied the top ten of the box office charts.

Yang Ye and Lin Qingxia's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has 40 viewers, surpassing Hollywood's "Pretty Woman", "Dead Poets Society" and "Back to the Future 2", and is currently ranked first.

"Black Sun 731" and "A Chinese Ghost Story 2" ranked fifth and sixth respectively.

Today's Korean market is the battlefield between Hollywood and Hong Kong!
"A Chinese Ghost Story" is more than halfway through its release, and "The Lion King", which Blue Bird Animation Studio has been working on for four years and has finally made its debut after extensive publicity.

"The Lion King" caused a sensation in Hong Kong two months ago at the "Hong Kong International Film Festival" because of the sky-high price of copyright fees. Coupled with the overwhelming publicity, it became popular before it was released and has become a must-see movie for children during the summer vacation.

……

The film market is in full swing, and the craze created by "The Voice of China" remains unabated.

Although the blind audition has not yet been broadcast on TV, it has actually been completed long ago. The four mentors are now rehearsing with their fourteen students.

Because of busy rehearsals, the filming of "Like You" has not started yet.

Deng Lijun's home.

Yang Ye was teaching two kids to draw, glancing at the TV from time to time.

What was broadcast on TV was naturally the blind audition of "The Voice of China".

Deng Lijun suddenly smiled and said, "Honey, your students are on stage!"

Yang Ye didn't even raise her head, thinking, damn, which beauty made her jealous again?
But I heard a man's voice coming from the TV, singing with a hint of sadness:

"On the flower-filled riverbank, the warriors followed her scented gaze.

The mountains and rivers are broken, and love grows solemnly in the smoke of gunpowder. Come on, girl, hug the one you love most.

A promise, a river, an endless fragrance..."

Yang Ye raised his head and said, "Oh, it's Old Wolf!"

Lao Lang's voice is warm and moving. Every time he sings a song it's like he's telling a story. He is the only fourth-level student under Yang Ye.

As for Wang Fei, she did not get four turns. In the blind audition stage, Wang Fei's shot was only a glimpse, which was intentional by the production team.

Wang Fei is the strongest contestant in this session. The program team hid her in order to create surprises for the audience in subsequent programs.

Yang Ye was watching Lao Lang on TV, and suddenly thought of something. He picked up a piece of paper his daughter had been drawing on and wrote a song on the table.

……

In a rental house near Xiamen University.

A silly young man with long hair was waving a homemade antenna back and forth on the roof.

Suddenly, a pretty girl leaned out of the window downstairs and said, "Okay, don't move!"

"It's done, right?" The stupid young man breathed a sigh of relief, let go of the antenna, and climbed down from the ladder.

This stupid young man is short and fat.

After breaking up with Lao Lang in Hainan, this guy wandered all the way to Xiamen.

At Xiamen University, he met a female college student named Hong.

He got her into bed with him in just a few words, and they even rented a house outside the school and lived together.

Ai Da Jin lies in his rental house every day and does nothing but recite poems and think about life.

He is penniless and depends on Hong's living expenses!
Oh, I was wrong, he is not doing nothing, he is very popular.

When Ai Dajin returned to the room, Hong was staring at the TV. She was watching "The Voice of China" on Star TV.

Normally, Star TV cannot be received in Fujian, but Ai Dajin majored in radio at Wudaokou Vocational College.

Not long ago, Ai Da Jin got news about Lao Lang and learned that he was participating in a singing competition on Star TV in Hong Kong.

So he made his own antenna, hoping to see Lao Lang on TV.

Ai Da hugged Hong tightly and sat down. Hong pointed at Lao Lang who was singing on TV and said, "Is this your buddy?"

Ai Dajin smiled and said, "Yes, his real name is Wang Yang. Because he is very good at singing Qi Qin's "Wolf", we all call him Lao Lang."

Hong said appreciatively, "He sings so well!"

Shorty said proudly: "Of course, everyone else is singing, but he is singing!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The four mentors turned around one after another!

Ai Dajin was so happy that he and Hong jumped up to celebrate.

The old wolf was not affected at all, and continued to sing affectionately:

"Beautiful birch forest, please sing your wind sounds.

No matter how far away the wind and clouds are, they can stop the one you love from being on the road.

Time flows silently, and the years are beautiful because of love. My pain, your eyes, your heart..."

Ai Da was watching the old wolf on TV, when suddenly an idea came to his mind and he shouted, "I got it!"

He quickly went to find paper and pen, then started writing on the table.

Just as Ai Dajin wrote down the words "classmate", his head suddenly buzzed and he went blank for a moment...

On TV, Lao Lang finally chose Yang Ye as his mentor.

Hong said happily: "Your friend chose Yang Ye."

However, Ai Dajin turned a deaf ear to it.

Hong called out twice, but seeing that Aidajin didn't respond at all, she walked over curiously, patted his shoulder, and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Ai Dajin turned his head, his eyes were empty, as if he was possessed by a ghost, and looked a little scary.

Hong was frightened by his expression and asked again, "What's wrong with you?"

Ai Dajin came back to his senses, rubbed his head vigorously with both hands, and said in confusion: "I don't know, what was I going to do just now?"

Hong asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

Ai Dajin covered his head and thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "I'm fine, I just seemed to have an inspiration and wanted to write a song.

But when I was about to put pen to paper, all of a sudden, the lyrics and melody I wanted to write disappeared, and I couldn’t remember anything at all.”

Hong heaved a sigh of relief, hugged the big pig-headed Aidajin, and comforted him softly, "It's okay, inspiration is a matter of a moment. If you don't catch it, forget it."

……

Deng Lijun saw Yang Ye suddenly pick up a piece of paper and write furiously on the table. She knew that he had suddenly got inspiration, so she did not disturb him.

After a while, Yang Ye threw down his pen, and Deng Lijun asked, "You wrote another song."

Yang Ye smiled brightly and said, "Yes!"

Then he handed the song to Deng Lijun.

Some people may question, isn't it too fake to just pick up a piece of paper and write a song? At least use a guitar to pretend!

There is nothing to doubt about this. When the Taiwanese singer Wawa met Li Zongsheng in a tea restaurant, she wanted to ask him for a song.

Li Zongsheng thought about it and suddenly had an inspiration. He picked up the napkin on the table and quickly wrote a song on the paper.

That song is the famous "I Came Across the Ocean to See You". Wawa has been singing this song all his life, and this is the most famous one.

The doll was holding the napkin at that time, so carefully.

If it gets torn accidentally and you can't see clearly, you're doomed.

This kind of divine help would be useless even if she went back to look for Lao Li.

Deng Lijun took the drawing paper and read, "My Deskmate?"

Yang Ye hummed and said, "Let's see how it's written."

Deng Lijun read the lyrics and the music again, and thought it was very beautiful, so she sang softly:

"Will you remember tomorrow the diary you wrote yesterday?

Will you still miss yourself tomorrow, the one who used to cry the most?

The teachers can no longer remember or guess the question about you.

I just happened to look through the photos and remembered you, my deskmate."

Deng Lijun sang softly and Yang Ye clapped the beat gently.

"Who married you who was sentimental? Who read your diary? Who put your long hair up? Who made your wedding dress..."

After singing the song, Deng Lijun teased: "So you have such a youthful past?"

Yang Ye put away "My Deskmate" and laughed dryly: "This... everyone has been young before!"

……

Late at night, Yang Ye and Deng Lijun fell asleep in each other's sweet embrace.

On the other side of the sea, Ai Dajin sat on the roof, looking blankly at the starry sky and the distant sea, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

He just couldn't figure it out: Damn it, where's my inspiration? (End of this chapter)