Hong Kong Entertainment: The King of Kung Fu

Shirley Lansing led a delegation of members of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to Hong Kong and met up with Yang Ye.

Yang Ye personally went to the airport to greet the delegation and invited them to attend the premiere of Speed.

After the premiere of "Speed", they went to Beijing together for the final round of negotiations with China Film Corporation.

Yang Ye must take the lead in this matter. After all, he is also a member of the MPAA. If he doesn't contribute when he should, he will have no fun in the future.

But he was just going with the flow. Hollywood originally entered mainland China in 1994.

The first Hollywood blockbuster introduced in the form of profit-sharing at that time was "The Fugitive" starring Harrison Ford.

It was only shown in a few big cities like Shanghai, and attracted huge crowds, grossing 2580 million yuan at the box office.

Harrison Ford's action movies have fewer gunfights and more fighting, but the fighting skills are poor, they are all brawls and cuckold punches.

The highlights are the tight rhythm, exciting scenes, and various death-defying plots, which can keep the audience's emotions in suspense.

The scene of a train crashing into a bus in "The Fugitive" was actually filmed using a real train and a bus. The Chinese audience at the time was shocked and saw what a blockbuster movie is.

After the success of "The Fugitive", Cameron brought "True Lies" the following year, which shocked Chinese audiences again and grossed 100 million yuan at the box office.

That year, Chen Long also brought "Rumble in the Bronx", which grossed 9500 million.

That year, movies such as "Die Hard 3", "The Lion King", "Speed", "Bad Boys", and "Forrest Gump" were released, giving mainland audiences a feast for the eyes.

This time and space is due to Yang Ye’s special contribution. He brought Hong Kong movies to the mainland eight years ago.

Every year, he personally stars in action blockbusters, and mainland audiences have had a lot of good movies.

China Film Corporation also made a lot of money from this, as they were both the distributor and controlled the cinema chains, so they got double the profits.

Then the money earned from the movies was used to continue investing in cinema chains. After eight years, the construction of cinema chains in the mainland has achieved initial results.

This also lays a solid foundation for the further opening of the film market.

……

The box office of Hong Kong films plummeted in the second half of this year, and the company had a falling out with Taiwanese film producers. The cinema chains in Hong Kong and Taiwan were all relying on Yang Ye to save the market.

"Speed" is Yang Ye's last shot this year, and the red carpet show was star-studded.

Not only did Yang Ji's stars attend the event in their best attire, but Taiwanese film producers also came to show their support, and even Paramount's president Shirley Lansing came to lend a hand, making the event particularly grand.

Golden Harvest's "The Money-grabbing Couple", which was released at the same time, was released quietly despite the presence of Andrew Hui and Josephine Siao.

Since you can't do it anyway, you might as well keep a low profile.

In addition, three other movies are currently being screened: "The Demon Cult Leader", "New Hard-to-Finish Brothers" and "Love Unforgettable".

"Love Unforgettable" is a romance film invested by Yang Ji, directed by Derek Yee, and starring Andy Lau and Angelica Yuen. It bucked the trend amid the low tide of Hong Kong films and had an extremely long run, being released for more than two months before being taken off the screen. The local box office exceeded 30 million Hong Kong dollars.

Derek Yee successfully made a comeback, Andy Lau made it through, and as for Anita Yuen, it was Yang Ye who found Derek Yee and designated her as the leading lady, so his vision in discovering new talents once again impressed everyone.

"New Hard Times" is a comedy film produced by Black Canyon, a company founded by Chen Kexin.

Han Er's "Surfing the Waves" is a remake of this movie, about a man traveling back in time to become brothers with his father.

Originally there was a Xiao Li in "New Hard Times", and the protagonist suggested that he go into real estate.

Han Er also followed suit and added a pony to the movie, and the protagonist suggested that he go to Shenzhen.

However, due to Yang Ye's sudden appearance, there is no Li Huanggua in "New Hard-Eaters". There is a Xiao Yang who is very good at fighting, and the protagonist suggests that he go make a movie.

When it comes to time travel to witness the love between parents, this plot is all left over from "Back to the Future".

As for "The Demon Cult Leader", it was very popular when it was released, but the box office performance was not satisfactory.

Influenced by "Kung Fu", the box office was even worse than the original time and space. The local box office did not even exceed 10 million. It was a bloody failure, which can be called Jet Li's Waterloo.

Yang Ye met Fatty Wang at the premiere of Speed ​​and asked casually, "Are you still filming Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber?"

Fatty Wang said dejectedly, "I wanted to shoot it, but this time I ruined Ajie's reputation. The investors lost a lot of money, so I can't continue shooting."

Yang Ye said: "If you don't take pictures, how can Minmin go to Dadu?"

Fatty Wang spread his hands and said, "With losses like this, no one will invest anymore!"

Yang Ye said: "I will take back the copyright and let Yangji invest."

Fatty Wang was pleasantly surprised: "Really?" Yang Ye thought, how could it be false? Damn it, how many years have I waited just for Minmin's smile?
I've been waiting for the time travel and still haven't gotten to see it. Don't you deserve an explanation?

Yang Ye said: "Of course it's true, you also want to redeem yourself, right? This time the production should be better, go to Beijing to shoot, don't mess around, I will give you more production fees."

If Yang Ye is willing to invest, then everything will be easy to discuss. Fatty Wang immediately asked humbly, "What do you think is the reason for the box office failure of Yitian?"

Yang Ye asked back: "What do you think?"

"Everyone says your Kung Fu is so amazing that after watching it, other martial arts films are boring to watch."

"Any more?"

"Also, there are too many martial arts films, and they are overused. This year alone, there have been more than a dozen movies adapted from martial arts novels, and everyone is tired of them.

In addition, piracy has been rampant recently. After the midnight show, before the official release, they secretly recorded the film and made it into VCDs to sell.”

When Fatty Wang said this, there was a hint of resentment in his eyes as he looked at Yang Ye.

"Kung Fu" was filmed by Yang Ye, and the VCD was produced by Yang Ye. In the final analysis, Yang Ye is the culprit.

However, Fatty Wang thought so in his heart but did not dare to say it out loud.

Yang Ye curled his lips: "Don't look for external reasons. Even if the market is sluggish, good films will stand out. Look for your own problems."

Wang Jing sighed: "It may be that my version of Zhang Wuji is too subversive and unlike the original novel."

Wang Jing's version of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" made major changes to the original novel, making it look like a fan work.

Zhang Wuji in the novel is kind-hearted and gentle-hearted, a good-natured man.

However, the Zhang Wuji portrayed by Wang Jing is a dark, patient, power-hungry avenger and an ambitious man.

Yang Ye said: "It's not really a subversion. In Jin Yong's serialized version, Zhang Wuji was like that when he was a child, but his personality changed when he grew up."

Wang Jing sighed and said, "I think his character as a child was right. How can a person who has suffered so much, felt so much malice, and endured so much pain become a good person even if he doesn't take revenge on society?"

"So you think you set things right in the movie?"

"It's not about rectifying the wrongs, I think it should be like this! I don't know why Jin Yong wrote it like that."

"Because if I don't change it this way, the novel can't be written. Zhang Wuji is the leader of the Ming Cult and the anti-Yuan leader.

If he was a scheming and ambitious person, then he should be the emperor. What would Zhu Yuanzhang have to do with it?
This is Jin Yong's limitation. He dare not change history, so he can only make Zhang Wuji become a good guy and lose his desire for power. "

Wang Jing humbly asked: "Then how do you think we should shoot the sequel?"

Yang Ye said: "In fact, Jin Yong's novels have changed a lot of history, for example, he changed the place of Mengge's death from Hezhou to Xiangyang. If he was a little bolder, it would not be a bad idea to let Zhang Wuji replace Zhu Yuanzhang."

"Ah?" Wang Jing was stunned.

For people of this era, they believe that the outcome of history cannot be changed.

For a historical event, you can play with it in the process, but the final outcome must be consistent with history, otherwise the timeline will be messed up.

For example, in "A Step into the Past", Ying Zheng had to ascend the throne and destroy the six kingdoms, and Xiang Shaolong could only hide his identity in the end.

Jin Yong changed the place of Mongke's death and had Yang Guo kill him, which actually falls within this category.

But letting a fictional character replace Zhu Yuanzhang and become emperor is beyond the scope of the doctrine.

Jin Yong didn't dare to think about it or do it, and Wang Jing naturally didn't dare to think about it or do it either.

Seeing Wang Jing's expression, Yang Ye smiled and said, "I'm just saying, but if you want to make a sequel, my suggestion is to have less shit and piss.

Then the focus will be on strengthening Zhou Zhiruo’s role and promoting her to be a dual heroine alongside Zhao Min.

Zhao Min wants to move from the political arena to the world of martial arts, while Zhou Zhiruo wants to move from the world of martial arts to the political arena.

One is going down, the other is going up. The collision between the two is very exciting. It depends on how you grasp it!"

After hearing what Yang Ye said, Wang Jing couldn't help but frown and think.

……

PS: I have something to do today, so this chapter is relatively short, sorry.

I will update twice tomorrow! (End of this chapter)