Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 471 Throwing Thunder Mother!

In a blink of an eye, Lin's Pictures has been established for more than a year, and only two works have been produced in this period of time. This efficiency is really not high compared with many film companies in Hong Kong, but the profit ratio is enough to make those companies drool.

When the company was first established, it relied entirely on Lin Chaoyang's royalties for capital injection, and it subsequently injected nearly 300 million Hong Kong dollars, which gave people the impression that it had no strength.

Starting from the second half of this year, first the 1000 million Hong Kong dollars from "The Truman Show" and then the 2200 million Hong Kong dollars from "A Better Tomorrow" were received.

After deducting the company's various expenses and investments, by mid-November, Lin's Pictures had more than 11 million Hong Kong dollars in its account. Tao Yushu felt an unprecedented happiness.

With sufficient funds, the first thing Tao Yushu wanted to do was to start a new play.

"The Romance of the Condor Heroes" was released yesterday. Wong Jing first went to Golden Harvest's Dragon Head Cinema in Kowloon to attend the screening, and then went to two more cinemas and did not return home until midnight.

I was called to the company by Tao Yushu before I woke up early in the morning.

On the way to Lam's Film Studio, Wong Jing bought two newspapers and read through them. He felt a little comforted when he found the news report about "The Romance of the Condor Heroes".

The box office information won’t be released until the afternoon, but seeing the news reports now proves that the movie is still quite popular.

Working at Shaw Brothers is different from working at Lam Brothers. At Shaw Brothers, you work for the boss, but at Lam Brothers, you are half the boss, so naturally you are more concerned about the box office performance after the movie is released.

Therefore, he was inevitably a little uneasy along the way. The box office had not come out during this period, and he didn't know why Tao Yushu wanted to ask him to do something.

"Ajing, come and sit down."

When he arrived at the company, Tao Yushu's attitude was as gentle as usual, and Wang Jing felt a little relieved.

"Mrs. Lin, is there something urgent that you asked me to come over?"

"Nothing important, I just want to talk to you about the new play."

"New play?" Wang Jing's tone was full of surprise.

"The Romantic Comedy" was only released yesterday, and the first day box office hasn't come out yet, but the boss is already thinking about the next movie?
Wang Jing didn't know how to react for a moment.

He wasn't sure whether his boss had confidence in "The Romance of the Condor Heroes" or in him.

But no matter what, this confidence is somewhat blind.

“Yes, the company has plenty of funds now, but too few new film plans.

At least five films must be made in a year, including pre-production, mid-shooting, post-production, release and settlement.

Five films can at least ensure that our Lin films will always appear in the news and in the market."

What Wang Jing was thinking was that there were only a handful of people in Hong Kong who could produce five films a year.

Golden Harvest, Cinema City, D&B, Bowery... quite a few of them are companies affiliated with Golden Harvest and Cinema City.

He knew from the beginning that Tao Yushu was very radical, but he didn't expect her to be so radical that she would produce five plays a year in the second year after the company was founded.

However, there is nothing wrong with this for him, as long as there is a show, there is money to be made.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the box office is ideal.

"No problem, I'll write the script right away."

Although he had no idea about the new play, Wang Jing agreed to Tao Yushu's request without hesitation.

Since entering the film industry, Wang Jing has had a clear understanding of himself.

He is a craftsman, not an artist.

People in Hong Kong say, it’s about making money.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have any ideas now, many times ideas are forced out.

His answer made Tao Yushu look somewhat relieved. Her husband was right. Directors like Wang Jing were really useful.

He has no bad habits in art. As long as his boss pays him, he can keep taking pictures.

The two then went on to discuss the idea of ​​a new film, and agreed that if the box office of "The Romantic Comedy" was ideal, they could make two more films along this path.

Wang Jing himself is a man of quick wits, otherwise he would not have been able to achieve the top efficiency of making a film in a week during his peak period.

After chatting with Tao Yushu for nearly an hour, he gradually had some ideas in his mind and planned to go home and write the script first.

At this time, someone happened to come to Tao Yushu to discuss something. He wanted to leave, but Tao Yushu introduced him to someone else.

"Ah Jing, let me introduce you. This is Ann Hui and her husband Law Kei-luk..."

Feeling Tao Yushu's attention to Zhang Wanting and her husband, Wang Jing knew that they would be colleagues in the future.

He greeted the two and exchanged a few words. Tao Yushu then said to him, "Wait for me first. Let's have lunch together. I think the box office statistics for yesterday will be out soon."

"Okay, Mrs. Lin, you go ahead and do your work."

Wang Jing left the office, found a seat outside and sat down casually, and started chatting with Wu Meizhen.

"Brother Jing!"

The two chatted for a while, and then Stephen Chow came to the company.

He worked with Wong Jing on "The Romance of the Condor Heroes" and their relationship became much closer.

"Hey, Axing, are you in the company again?"

Wong Jing is very close to Stephen Chow. Everyone in the company calls him "Xingzai", but Wong Jing insists on calling him "Ah Xing".

Because Wang Jing knew that Lin Sheng also called Stephen Chow the same way.

Mrs. Lin also told him that if there was an opportunity, the company would give Ah Xing a solo role to promote him, which was enough to show how much the company valued him.

"Yeah, I have nothing to do, so why not come to the company to see if there's anything I can do to help. By the way, Brother Jing, why are you here today?"

Wang Jing is a director and spends most of his time filming and rarely appears in the company.

"Mrs. Lin asked me to come and talk about the new play."

Zhou Xingchi's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Want to start a new movie? How about giving me a supporting role?"

Seeing him like this, Wang Jing laughed and said, "You are the top brother of our Lin Group. You will be the leading actor in the future."

"Brother Jing, please stop making fun of me. I haven't acted in many dramas and I'm not famous."

"Are you still worried about not having any movies to shoot in Lin's company..."

While the two were talking, the phone on Wu Meizhen's desk suddenly rang and she picked up the call.

When Wong Jing heard the word "box office", he stopped chatting with Stephen Chow and stared at Ng Mei-chun.

After she hung up the phone, Wang Jing hurriedly asked, "Ah Zhen, is the box office figure out?"

"Yes. Shaw Brothers' box office is out, 16 yuan."

Hearing this number, Wong Jing was delighted, and then he confirmed with Ng Mei-chun again, "We have opened five theaters at Shaw Brothers, with seven screens, right?"

"Yes."

Wang Jing is relieved now. The box office for a single screen was 2.3, which is a huge hit!

"Brother Jing, Brother Jing, this should do well at the box office, right?" Stephen Chow asked excitedly.

"Of course!" Wang Jing patted Zhou Xingchi on the shoulder, "A Xing, you are going to be famous!"

"Congratulations, Brother Jing!"

While the two were flattering each other, Tao Yushu's office door opened. She walked out with Zhang Wanting and her husband and said to Wu Meizhen:

"Ah Zhen, please help me book Felix Restaurant at the Peninsula Hotel for lunch with Director Wang and Director Zhang and their spouses."

As she was talking, she saw Stephen Chow, "Ah Xing is here too."

"Mrs. Lin!" Stephen Chow greeted Tao Yushu.

Tao Yushu nodded to him, and then said to Wu Meizhen, "Count Ah Xing in."

"Okay, Mrs. Lin."

Wu Meizhen responded and was about to call to make a restaurant reservation when she unexpectedly heard the phone on the table ring again.

"Mrs. Lam, the box office figures from Golden Harvest are out, a total of 84. Also, Shaw Brothers called earlier, their box office is 9."

After Wu Meizhen finished the call, she said to Tao Yushu.

Upon hearing this number, Wong Jing and Stephen Chow were a little surprised. Adding to what Shaw Brothers said, the box office of "The Romance of the Condor Heroes" on the first day actually exceeded one million?

No, this does not include the double south lines.

Although the box office revenue of the Shuangnan Line has always been low, it cannot be ignored.

Tao Yushu nodded calmly, "Not bad. Then let's wait a little longer. I think the Shuangnan Line should be coming out soon."

Less than twenty minutes after I said this, I got a call from Shuangnan Line with a box office of 15 yuan.

There are currently 126 cinemas and more than 240 screens in the Hong Kong film market, but only % of them are used to show Hong Kong films.

In addition, theaters specializing in Hong Kong films such as Ka Lok, Shaw Brothers, Golden Princess, and D&B are hostile to each other, so the scale of the opening of most films will not exceed half of the screens.

"The Romance of the Condor Heroes" was released in three cinema chains: Ka Lok, Shaw Brothers, and Tsung Nam, with nearly 40 theaters and 70 screens. This scale of opening is considered to be very high in Hong Kong.

The box office on the first day was 117.3 million, which can be considered an excellent number for any new film.

"Mrs. Lin, congratulations on the success of your new film!"

"Congratulations, Mrs. Lin!"

When the first day's box office figures came out, there was a round of congratulations in the company. Tao Yushu responded to everyone's congratulations with a smile on her face, and asked Wu Meizhen to give extra meals to the few people who stayed in the company at noon.

She took Wong Jing, Ann Hui and others to the Peninsula Hotel.

"Afa has been very popular recently, the box office was good on the first day, and the audience went to see the movie just for him.

We have to wait two more days to see if our play is a hit.”

During the meal, Tao Yushu and Wang Jing and others talked about the box office of "The Romance of the Condor Heroes", and she was not as optimistic as she was when she was in the company.

Wang Jing has been in the film industry for many years and understands this principle.

Then Tao Yushu talked about how Lam Pictures had already decided to invest in a new film starring Ann Hui and her husband, titled "Autumn Fairy Tale".

"The focus of this play is love, so we need to find two handsome men and beautiful women," said Tao Yushu.

Wang Jing smiled and said, "Mrs. Lin, have you heard a saying recently?"

"What?"

“No one can be richer than Chow Yun-fat, and no one can be more popular than Cherie Chung.”

Tao Yushu couldn't help but laugh when he heard that. "They are indeed handsome men and beautiful women. Let's invite them both."

Hearing her words, Ann Hui and Law Kei-luk's faces were filled with surprise.

Chow Yun-fat and Cherie Chung are both the hottest stars in the Hong Kong film industry now. If they were to be hired, the production cost would probably be in the tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars.

The couple had only been tinkering with low-budget movies before, but now they were suddenly getting to make a movie with such an investment, and happiness came too suddenly.

But at the same time, the couple was a little worried, what if the photo shoot went wrong...

I don’t dare to think about it, I don’t dare to think about it at all.

With tens of millions of dollars invested, if the film fails, the couple will probably not be able to continue working in the Hong Kong film industry anymore, as no boss would dare to hire them.

Seeing that Zhang Wanting and her husband looked very stressed, Tao Yushu had to comfort them with a few words, making them feel a little more relaxed.

In the following days, the box office of "The Romantic Comedy" maintained the hot momentum of the first day of its release, with daily box office exceeding one million for many consecutive days.

The total box office exceeded 1000 million in the first week of its release, making it the biggest dark horse in the Hong Kong film market in November.

Because of the popularity of "A Better Tomorrow" overseas, Chow Yun-fat also became very famous in many regions and countries such as Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Just two days after the release of "The Romantic Comedy", overseas film producers began contacting Lam Films, hoping to distribute the film.

Tao Yushu gave the distribution rights of "The Romantic Comedy" in several countries including Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines to Shaw Brothers.

The Run Run Shaw family made their fortune in Southeast Asia and only came to Hong Kong in the 1950s. Shaw's cinema chain has a considerable market share in several Southeast Asian countries.

Tao Yushu did this on the one hand to show goodwill to Shaw Brothers and prepare for leasing or acquiring Shaw Brothers' cinema chain in the future, and on the other hand to form alliances and prevent Golden Harvest from backstabbing.

Entering December, the box office performance of "The Romance of the Condor Heroes" is still very good.

Several film companies put their major blockbusters on screens after Christmas and New Year's Day. Without any strong competitors, "The Romantic Comedy" can be said to be in its element, with cumulative box office revenue reaching HK$2130 million in three weeks.

In recent years, the production of local films in Hong Kong has been increasing every year, and more than 160 films have been released this year.

Theatrical resources are limited, and three weeks is almost the entire life cycle of a movie, and the box office potential is completely exhausted. On the third day of the fourth week of its release, "The Romance of the Condor Heroes" was officially withdrawn from theaters.

The final total box office was set at HK$21720626, ranking 1986th in the 9 Hong Kong film box office rankings.

This box office result also completely established the reputation of Lam Pictures in the Hong Kong film industry.

Since the beginning of this year, Lin has participated in the production of two hit films of the year, "The Truman Show" and "A Better Tomorrow".

These two films were not only huge hits at the local box office, but also extremely popular overseas and in terms of copyright transactions.

Previously, newspapers reported that "The Truman Show" had impressive box office results after its release in the United States, France and other places, and it also caused some repercussions among the public.

There have also been many media reports on the popularity of "A Better Tomorrow" in East Asia, Southeast Asia and other countries.

Such eye-catching achievements naturally made Lam Pictures one of the most dazzling emerging companies in the Hong Kong film market.

However, Lin's involvement in these two films was not deep after all, and his peers mostly attributed the credit to Lin Chaoyang, the "master screenwriter".

The popularity of "The Romantic Comedy" after its release has, to a certain extent, broken the prejudice of peers and allowed them to see the magnificent side of Lam Pictures.

"A Better Tomorrow" grossed HK$3962 million in Hong Kong, "The Truman Show" grossed HK$3346 million in Hong Kong, and "The Romance of the Condor Heroes" grossed HK$2172 million in Hong Kong, ranking first, second, and ninth on the annual Hong Kong film box office list respectively.

As 1986 was coming to an end, the film companies took stock and found that a film company that had only been established for less than two years had actually produced three films that broke into the top ten of the annual box office.

The last film company that had such a strong momentum in the Hong Kong film industry was called Cinema City.

On the day when "The Romance of the Condor Heroes" was released, Tao Yushu held a celebration banquet at the Peninsula Hotel, and the scene was full of stars.

Given Tao Yushu's personality, she actually doesn't really like this kind of atmosphere of feasting and revelry, but this is also the best way to show off her power.

"Adu, have you really decided to join Lin's?"

In the crowd, a short and fat guy wearing glasses was asking his friends around him.

"What can I do? If the company doesn't give me a play, I can't be a screenwriter, right?"

The short fat man felt like he was shot in the back. "What's wrong with being a screenwriter? Many great directors got through this."

Johnnie To looked at his friend again and wanted to tell him in his heart that we are different.

Although Johnnie To is also a screenwriter, he has been filming several TV series and movies intermittently since the 80s. Screenwriter is just one of his identities, and his more important identity is director.

The friend in front of him was a pure screenwriter, also known as Feizhizai.

We are not on the same level, so please don't force it, okay?
Feeling the contempt in his friend's eyes, the short and fat man cursed: "Fuck!"

When turning around, the short and fat man accidentally bumped into a girl with a middle-parted hair.

"sorry Sorry!"

Stephen Chow bowed his head repeatedly to apologize.

"fine."

The short and fat man brushed off his clothes and said nonchalantly.

After the short and fat man and Johnnie To left, Stephen Chow approached Chow Yun-fat, with a smile on his face, and raised his glass somewhat stiffly.

"Brother Fa!"

At this time, there was a group of people around Chow Yun-fat. He calmly raised his glass to Stephen Chow, showing an indescribable elegance.

After taking a sip of champagne, Stephen Chow didn't have time to talk to Chow Yun-fat because the other person's attention had been attracted by other people.

Stephen Chow could only watch from across the crowd, his face full of envy.

"I'm jealous?"

Suddenly, a voice appeared beside his ear. Zhou Xingchi turned around and found that it was his boss. He bowed his head and greeted, "Mr. Lin!"

He said somewhat embarrassedly: "Brother Fa is so popular, who wouldn't envy him?"

Lin Chaoyang looked at him with a smile, "Maybe you will be more famous than him in the future?"

Zhou Xingchi was embarrassed when he heard this, thinking that Lin Chaoyang was teasing him, "Mr. Lin is joking."

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. How about you be the male lead in Ajing's new movie?"

Zhou Xingchi was immediately surprised, but then he asked, "Mr. Lin, isn't Brother Jing going to ask Andy Lau to play the leading male role?"

"Andy Lau is currently filming Baohe's "The Good Wife", and the schedule clashes too badly."

In the Hong Kong film industry, overlapping roles is very normal. Generally, artists or their agents have the energy and can balance the relationships between the crew members, so it is not difficult to schedule their roles.

Andy Lau made his debut in 81, but his career rose quickly, and he achieved good results in both film and television.

In the television field, he was promoted by TVB and filmed dramas such as "The Falcon", "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and "The Deer and the Cauldron".

In the film industry, there are also works such as "Boat Man" and "Beyond the Law" which have achieved great box office success and won awards.

Last year, he fell out with TVB over contract issues, but he did not fall into despair after being blacklisted. Instead, he used his connections to film films such as "Emerald Jade" and "The Lucky Stars".

Wang Jing's new film is called "Best Friends", which continues the "chasing girls" routine of "The Romantic Comedy".

Originally, he wanted to name the new film "The Romance of the Romance 2", but Tao Yushu felt that it was too much of a money-making move to release a sequel just a few months after the release of "The Romance of the Romance".

There is no rush to wait half a year to shoot a sequel, since Wong Jing is very efficient anyway.

Andy Lau was recommended by Chow Yun-fat to play the leading role in "Best Friends", as the two had a good relationship at TVB.

At the beginning, Ann Hui was going to shoot "Boat Man", which was the sequel to "The Story of Woo Viet".

Originally they wanted to find Chow Yun-fat, but Chow Yun-fat did not take the role due to his acting career considerations. Instead, he recommended the role to Andy Lau, allowing the fledgling Andy Lau to make his mark in the film industry.

The situation this time is similar to that of "To the Fury of the Sea". Chow Yun-fat has already taken on Lam's "An Autumn's Tale", so he recommended Andy Lau to Wong Jing.

Wang Jing had previously worked with Andy Lau on "The Devil Wears Prada", and with Chow Yun-fat's recommendation, he naturally had no objection to this.

Unfortunately, Andy Lau is now close to Bowie. He previously played a supporting role in "The Lucky Stars", and now Bowie has given him a separate film "Loyalty".

The two films had the same release date, so of course Andy Lau wanted to take both, but Lam didn't give him the face.

We are not familiar with each other, so there is no need to accommodate him.

Stephen Chow looked at Lin Chaoyang, feeling a little bit unbelievable.

Even though Mr. and Mrs. Lin had said more than once that they would give him solo roles in the future, Stephen Chow had been at TVB for so many years and knew that sometimes one just had to listen to the boss' words and not take them seriously.

"Mr. Lin, I...have never played the leading male role. I have no fame and can't carry the box office..."

Stephen Chow moved his lips and spoke in a low voice.

"These are not things you should worry about. Just play your part well!"

Lin Chaoyang's tone was clearly a warning, but Stephen Chow felt inexplicably relieved when he heard it.

The boss's attitude clearly shows that he wants to promote him. The boss is not afraid of losing money, so why should he hesitate?

"Thank you, Mr. Lin. I will definitely work hard!" Stephen Chow said, pursing his lips.

“It’s not enough to just work hard, you also have to find your own characteristics.

There are many actors in Hong Kong, but only a few stand at the top of the pyramid.

You are my man, and I want you to be on it.”

Lin Chaoyang's words were earnest and full of hope, and Stephen Chow felt his blood boiling in his heart.

He said with a touching look on his face: "Yes, Mr. Lin, I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

Lin Chaoyang nodded with relief, patted his shoulder and left.

Zhou Xingchi was looking at Lin Chaoyang's back and was feeling very touched. Wang Jing came to his side and said, "Xing, Mr. Lin told you, right?"

"Brother Jing!" Stephen Chow turned around and saw Wong Jing, with joy and nervousness in his eyes.

"Don't be afraid, the boss is not afraid of losing money."

Wang Jing's tone was teasing, but meaningful.

"The Romance of the Condor Heroes" was a huge hit at the box office, and he received nearly HK$60 in local box office dividends alone.

Tao Yushu is very generous. The dividends from the local box office have been settled to him this morning.

If you include the investment dividends from Wang Jing Film Studio and the overseas dividends from the film, the amount would be at least several hundred thousand.

Wang Jing has been a director for almost ten years, but he didn't make as much as he did from this movie.

While he was feeling thankful, he couldn't help but have some other thoughts.

"The Romance of the Condor Heroes" became a hit, and Stephen Chow, as the third male lead, became somewhat famous. However, if he wanted to be the first male lead, he was far from being able to do so in terms of fame or box office appeal.

Wang Jing was very afraid that "Best Friends" would be affected because the leading male actor had no box office appeal. After all, this was related to his own interests.

But Wang Jing also understood that Stephen Chow was the person the boss wanted to promote. Besides, he had worked with Stephen Chow before and found that this guy did have some acting talent.

"Brother Jing, you'll have to take better care of me in the next scene."

Stephen Chow forced a smile and complimented Wong Jing. The two chatted for a while. Stephen Chow mentioned the issue of box office dividends, which just hit Wong Jing's sore spot. His eyes were full of smugness.

"Hey, Ah Du, I just heard Wang Jing chatting with the traffic light. He makes 200 million Hong Kong dollars for one movie!"

The short and fat man found Johnnie To and said in surprise.

The short and fat man didn't know Stephen Chow's name, he was calling out the name of his character in "The Romance of the Condor Heroes".

When Johnnie To heard his friend's words, he looked calm and not surprised at all, obviously he had known it for a long time.

"You already knew?"

"Nonsense, why else would I change jobs?"

"You didn't call me for such a good thing? Are you still my friend?"

"What Lin wants is a director, not a paper boy."

This time, Johnnie To's words were not a sniper, but a direct attack. The short and fat man looked at him angrily, and his eyes, which were red due to staying up late, became even redder.

He blinked his little eyes, trying to look imposing, but his eyes were too dry, and after staring for a while he felt like tears were coming out of his eyes, so he had no choice but to put the glasses back on.

"Don't you need a screenwriter to start a play? Besides, I can be the director."

"Then wait until you become one first."

"We are all brothers, you won't be so heartless, right?"

The short and fat man kept pestering Johnnie To. He finally said helplessly, "Let's make a deal. I'll come over first, and then you can think of a reason to resign. Don't say you're leaving with me. I don't want to offend anyone."

"Ok!" The short and fat man made a gesture and smiled carefully.

The celebration banquet was coming to an end and most people had left. Stephen Chow said goodbye to Lin Chaoyang and his wife before leaving the Peninsula Hotel.

It is not far from Tsim Sha Tsui to Ho Man Tin, less than three kilometers, and Stephen Chow usually chooses to take the Kowloon Motor Bus.

But for some reason, he wanted to take a walk tonight.

Behind him is the night view of Victoria Harbour, which has been blocked by high-rise buildings.

Harbour City, Kowloon Park, Yau Ma Tei... He measured the land beneath his feet with his footsteps, and suddenly he felt an urge to run.

When passing by Taiping Road, his footsteps startled an old man who was walking on the side of the road. Seeing Stephen Chow's fast footsteps, the old man was frightened.

He moved things onto the shelf with swift movements, threw them into the cart, and pushed the cart with such speed as if he was escaping from an enemy bombing raid, that he immediately overtook Stephen Chow who was running in front of him.

"Hey, old man, exercise!"

"Damn you, the police are here!" the old man said angrily.

Zhou Xingchi looked back as he ran, "Hey, are there any police? I don't see any!"

The old man looked behind him in disbelief, then turned to ask him, "Why are you running when there's no police?"

"I'm exercising, old man!"

The old man stopped, his heart was filled with rage, his eyes were murderous, and he swore at his words.

"Old Mother Throwing Thunder!"

Stephen Chow's steps never stop, like a running teenager.

"Goodbye, old man!"

(End of this chapter)