Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

1992: The year when the Four Heavenly Kings were crowned kings.

From this moment on, his fame rose rapidly, gradually overshadowing the older generation of people in the circle, and even overshadowed his contemporaries in the Hong Kong entertainment circle.

To be honest, Lu Yang had never thought about signing the Four Heavenly Kings at the same time to be the spokespeople for the Little Prodigy Learning Machine.

Because it’s too luxurious.

I dare not even think about it.

Afraid of not being able to pay the high endorsement fees.

But later, after asking around and asking acquaintances, I found out.

It turned out that I was overthinking it.

This era is far from the future. Although the Four Heavenly Kings are famous, they are newcomers in the film and television industry who belong to the younger generation and have just begun to emerge.

In addition, the Hong Kong circle of this era was far from the domestic entertainment fan circle of later generations. There were no such things as sky-high endorsements and sky-high pay. In the Hong Kong circle at that time, when preparing to shoot a movie, many people only invested one or two million Hong Kong dollars, and as high as five or six million. If it exceeded 1000 million Hong Kong dollars, it was a big production, and if it could reach 3000 million Hong Kong dollars, it was a super-super-big production.

It will definitely cause a stir in the circle, and all the actors and stars will want to participate, even if they don't want to be paid, just play a small supporting role.

Would this be something that the domestic entertainment industry would dare to imagine in the future?

OK.

It's just 3000 million, not even half of the salary of agelababy. You must know that one satisfaction is equal to 208 million. 3000 million is just enough for me to be satisfied for half a month after joining the crew, and then the crew will have to officially declare bankruptcy.

Lu Yang spent 3000 million to invest in making a movie, and then asked the leading actors to endorse it and appear in the commercials. No local Hong Kong star could refuse this.

Of course, the focus here is on the locals, and those who have already broken out of Hong Kong Island and headed for Hollywood, such as Uncle Long, and the next Brother Jie, Brother Fa...

Then it is calculated separately.

Just because their pay is already on par with Hollywood.

This is why, whenever Hong Kong stars mention Hollywood, their eyes light up and they are full of yearning, wishing they could replace Hollywood themselves.

Even if he gets beaten to a pulp, he has no regrets, just to gain a foothold in Hollywood.

That’s right, it’s all about money. If you can develop in Hong Kong Island and earn high pay and a lot of money, then why should you go to Hollywood and humble yourself and start all over again from scratch?

Well, domestic entertainment in later generations has done very well in this regard. Let’s not talk about the acting skills first, and we can put aside the shitty plot of the screenwriter. There is no need to rush to complain about the 5-cent special effects. At least in terms of pay, it is indeed gradually catching up with Hollywood!
----

"Yes, that's right, that's right."

"I admit that the Four Heavenly Kings combined are indeed enough to compete with Uncle Long and Brother Jie, and even surpass them, but why do we have to make a movie?"

"Thirty million! This is thirty million. If it goes down the drain, buddy, don't you feel bad at all?"

Does Lu Yang feel heartbroken?

Xiao Jun didn't know, but his heart was aching at the moment.

Because he also has a share of this money.

And he is not an idiot, he is a living person, he has eyes to see...

Let's put it this way, in 1991, which was last year, the top ten Hong Kong movie box office rankings, counting from the bottom up:

No. 10: "Prison on Fire 2", box office 2437 million, starring Chow Yun-fat.

No. 9: "My Cousin, You Are So Wild", box office 2521 million, directed by Leslie Cheung Kin-ting, starring Lucy Cheng and Leslie Cheung Kin-ting.

No. 8: "Once Upon a Time in China II", box office 2967 million, starring Jacky Cheung and directed by Tsui Hark.

No. 7: "The Inspector Lei Luo", box office 3069 million, starring Hua Ge.

No. 6: "God of Gamblers 3070", box office million, starring Stephen Chow.

No. 5: "Tricky Brains", box office 3139 million, starring Stephen Chow.

No. 4: "Along the Way", with a box office of 3340 million, starring Chow Yun-fat and brother Leslie Cheung.

No. 3: "Unleashed Ho", box office 3870 million, starring Ray Lui.

No. 2: "Project Eagle", box office 3905 million, starring Uncle Long.

No. 1: "Fight Back to School", box office 4383 million, starring Stephen Chow and Uncle Tat.

On the surface, it seems that it is not low.

At least more than 3000 million, right?
But that's not the case. The final box office revenue is subject to taxation in any region. Cinemas also need to receive commissions, plus some distribution fees. The actual amount that investors can get may be less than 40% of the total box office.

So, if the total investment in a movie is 3000 million, then if she wants to make a profit at the box office, the total box office must be at least 7000 million.

What is this concept?
It's more than the 91 box office winner "Tricky Brains" and the tenth-place "Prison on Fire II" combined.

Do you think this is possible?

-

"Why is it impossible?"

Lu Yang pointed at Xiao Jun's nose and scolded him with a smile: "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"That's not how you calculate the account."

"Yes, I admit that it is almost unrealistic for this movie to make up for the loss at the box office."

Seeing that Xiao Jun was a little anxious.

Lu Yang patted his shoulder again and said, "Don't forget, we can still make up for it besides the box office revenue. For example, we can sell the copyrights in Southeast Asia and make millions."

Xiao Jun sensed the pressure on his shoulders and said with a wry smile: "But it will still be a loss!"

Lu Yang glanced at him sideways, patted his shoulder heavily and said, "Brother, can you be less careless?

We are people doing big business, so we don't need to care too much about a mere tens of millions. We should take a long-term view. I chose this movie not without purpose, as most of the content elements in it are heroes from the Famicom games.

Our game learning machine is also playable. As long as the advertisement is well placed, and the gimmick of the four kings joining together is added, even if the box office of the movie does not explode, as long as the discussion continues in the mainland, our product will be hard to fail. Do you believe it?" Xiao Jun was a little dumbfounded when he heard it. He said with a dry mouth: "How can we achieve the long-term and sustained discussion in the mainland?"

The movie is destined to be released in Hong Kong, and it may not be approved in the mainland. As it involves game violence, even if it is approved, it may not be in time. However, the discussion must be based on the mainland, so how to achieve this?
He can’t figure it out!!!

Lu Yang knocked his head and said, "You are so pedantic. If the movie can't be shown, can't pirated discs be sold?"

Xiao Jun felt pain and retracted his head, warning Lu Yang fiercely with his eyes: Bastard, try to hit me again?
Lu Yang chuckled and changed his knocking to touching: "Okay, don't be angry, I'm just hitting you to wake you up. By the way, you are a local snake in Pengcheng, you should know a lot of local pirated disc dealers in Pengcheng, right?"

Xiao Jun slapped his hand away in disdain: "So what if we know each other?"

Lu Yang walked to the riverside, holding on to the railing. At this moment, they were walking to the port of Victoria Bay. The sea breeze blew towards them, bringing with it a faint smell of fish and gasoline.

Lu Yang took a deep breath, narrowed his eyes and said, "I plan to have you reveal the source of the film to these pirated disc merchants in advance. They are closest to Hong Kong, separated by only a river. By the time the film is released in Hong Kong, it will probably take no more than a week. Given the efficiency and profit-seeking nature of these pirated disc merchants, I estimate that pirated discs of this film will be circulated throughout the mainland market."

After all, there is 3000 million invested in this gimmick.

It’s not enough, what if the Four Heavenly Kings were combined?

Not enough, what about Stephen Chow? Don't forget, last year was Stephen Chow's year. The top 10, No. 6, No. 5, and No. 1 on the Hong Kong box office chart were all movies starring him.

If that’s not enough, leaking the secret in advance should be enough, right?
With an investment of 3000 million, the Four Heavenly Kings joining together, and Stephen Chow leaking the secrets in advance, one can watch the movies currently showing in Hong Kong cinemas for free. With so many factors put together, even if the movie is a piece of shit, I'm afraid there will be people who want to see it, right?
Then Lu Yang added fuel to the flames, spent some more money, hired some internet trolls, no, should be called film critics, and asked them to comment on the film in major newspapers. With the dissemination power of newspapers in this era and people's demand for entertainment, wouldn't the discussion level increase?
"hiss--"

Xiao Jun took a deep breath and slapped his thigh, saying, "Great! I see. You want to sacrifice the box office in exchange for the discussion of the film among the mainland people, and then take the opportunity to sell our products, right?"

At least the child is teachable.

Not too stupid.

Lu Yang opened his eyes, turned around, and said with a smile: "Then let me ask you, will you do it?"

Xiao Jun also laughed and said, "Why not? But why did you do this? I'm afraid you didn't inform that fat guy Wang Jin in advance, right? Otherwise, he might not agree. And Master Xing and the Four Heavenly Kings, if this movie doesn't do well at the box office after it's released, they will also be greatly affected, right?"

Lu Yang turned around, looked at the river and shook his head: "It is certain that it will be greatly affected, but the box office performance is ultimately the responsibility of the director, screenwriter and starring actors.

Although we leaked the information in advance, we did not leak it to the citizens of Hong Kong, but to the people in mainland China who generally look down on movies. They rarely go to movie theaters in mainland China once a year, let alone travel thousands of miles to Hong Kong to watch a movie, so in the end the impact on the box office of this movie should be minimal.

Unless it can also be released in mainland cinemas at the same time, then it may result in a dismal box office, but how is that possible, right?"

The reform and opening up of the mainland is indeed as rapid as fire, but some systems and some concepts cannot be changed overnight.

Such as the film censorship system.

Xiao Jun also nodded: "Well, what you said does make some sense, but I am confused, why me and not you?"

It's obvious that he's going to take the blame. What if the box office is really affected, resulting in less than 20 or 30 million? The Four Heavenly Kings plus Stephen Chow are together, and such an important gimmick has achieved such a dismal box office...

Once it became known to others, there must be a reason behind it. It was because Xiao Jun deliberately leaked the film source in advance, which resulted in pirated discs being rampant on the black market while the movie was still in theaters. Wouldn't he be blamed for this?

Lu Yang patted his shoulder and said, "Okay, who are you? You are the leader of Pengcheng Gang. It doesn't matter if you offend a few directors and stars in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, right?"

But I am different. Maybe I will set up an entertainment company in the future. Money in the entertainment industry is so easy to make, how can I not get involved? I will have to deal with those famous directors and stars for a long time. You should do the offending things, buddy.

Lu Yang said it twice, once with his mouth and once in his heart.

Xiao Jun thought about it and said: That's right, I am the leader of the Pengcheng Gang, why would I be afraid of offending a few actors, even if these actors are very famous.

So he stopped worrying about Lu Yang making him take the blame for no reason.

Agree.

Not only that, he quickly turned his attention to flirting with girls.

With a sly look on his face, he approached Lu Yang and said, "That fat guy has gone back to pick someone up. He will send the person over here later. What are you going to do? Do you want it or not?"

Wang Jin is a capable person.

Any woman he likes can be sent to Lu Yang.

Although we haven't officially lived together yet, it can still be considered as cheating on myself, right?

Oh, yes, Wang Jin was also a married man, so even if Qiu Shuzhen was with Wang Jin, she was just a mistress, not his original wife. Even her willingness to live with him was only because she was waiting for Wang Jin to divorce and then marry her. However, Wang Jin did not make any move for a long time, so he left on his own initiative after a few years in a silent and sad way.

Of course, according to Hong Kong media reports, the two broke up peacefully. Well, no matter who asked, both parties said so.

Apparently, Shu-chen Yau is not officially together with Wang Jin yet, and she hasn't even had time to shoot that 1+2-rated movie that she was going to make in an attempt to become famous again.

So now, if Wang Jin goes to find her and there is such an opportunity, a young boss from the mainland, who is not only handsome but also rich, and has invested 3000 million in a movie and wants her to be the heroine, what will she choose?
Should I choose Fatty Wang or Lu Yang?
In fact, Lu Yang was also a little conflicted. He did not directly reject Wang Jin's kindness, but was a little hesitant. However, it was this little hesitation that was caught by the fat man Wang Jin. He immediately stood up, understood what he meant, and went back to pick up the person with a lewd smile.

Oh, by the way, Xiao Jun also had a part, and Wang Jin also told Xiao Jun about it before leaving.

In addition to Qiu Shuzhen, he also had his eyes on another actress. He thought this actress was also good and could play the second female role in this movie. He wanted to send her over later so that Xiao Jun could help him make an evaluation.

Yes, it’s just a glance. Humph, anyone who has wrong thoughts, get out.

"What can I do?"

"What do you say?"

"How would I know."

"You don't know, why did you ask them to send someone over here?"

"You don't need a tour guide?"

“Are you really just in need of a tour guide?”

"nonsense."

"You are talking nonsense. I don't believe that you would let such a delicate female star come to your door and you would not touch her. Keep pretending!"

"Pretend to be your head."

"Oh, don't hit me, don't hit my head. I told you not to hit me in the head. If you hit me in the head again, I will get angry."

Lu Yang became furious and beat Xiao Jun up on the beach.

(End of this chapter)