Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 181 Peak Year
1992 was a special year for Hong Kong film industry, known as the Stephen Chow Year. Up to now, 6 films starring him have been released this year.
Including the recently released "The Legend of Drunken Master", there are now 7 of his films, and the top four on the Hong Kong annual box office rankings are all his works.

"The Legend of Drunken Master" is also very popular, and it is obviously aiming for the top 5!
The climate in Hong Kong is much warmer than that in BJ. While Norika Fujiwara was enjoying shopping in Hong Kong, Aaron came to Golden Harvest Film Company.

Because Aaron had previously sold "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" to New Line for Golden Harvest when he was an agent, and it was a huge success, he got to know the CEO of Golden Harvest, Raymond Chow.
As the overlord of Hong Kong films, Golden Harvest's position in Hong Kong is unparalleled.

"Aaron, you came to Hong Kong, why didn't you call us in advance to let us know?"

Zou Wenhuai was very happy about Aaron Anderson's arrival. Dawn's achievements in Hollywood in the past two years are obvious to all.

Diamond Hill, Hammer Hill Road, Golden Harvest headquarters, Aaron followed Raymond Chow to the office.

"I just came to take a look. Hong Kong films are very famous now!"

Zou Wenhuai smiled and poured Aaron a glass of wine. "There are also big problems with Hong Kong films nowadays."

Aaron took a sip of his wine. "The third Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was released this year, right?"

Zou Wenhuai nodded and said, "Yes, it will be released next year!"

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" released two films in 1989 and 1990, with the third film coming a little late;

Of course, the box office of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2" is definitely not as good as the first one.

"Aaron, this year a Hong Kong director named John Woo is going to Hollywood to shoot a movie in collaboration with Universal.

"The leading actor is action actor Jean-Claude Van Damme!"

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "John Woo, the director of 'Hard Boiled', right? The film's violent aesthetics caused quite a stir in Hollywood."

However, John Woo's entry into Hollywood was considered a fresh start, and "The Hard Target" was probably completely led by Jean-Claude Van Damme.

"Yeah, that's the style that Hollywood likes John Woo!"

Raymond Chow said, looking at Aaron, "Golden Harvest has always wanted to break into Hollywood. In the 1980s, we introduced Jackie Chan to Hollywood, but unfortunately, the results were not very ideal."

Aaron raised his glass and said, "Jack Cheng's videotapes have a certain market in Hollywood!"

As the leading movie star of Golden Harvest, Jack Cheng is deeply bound to Golden Harvest;

It seems that Golden Harvest still has ideas about pushing Jack Cheng to Hollywood.

Zou Wenhuai took a sip of his wine and said, "The Hong Kong film market seems to be booming right now, but it's filled with too many shoddy products!"

The booming Hong Kong market is inseparable from the enthusiasm of Taipei film distributors, who are generous and can get money directly from the trailers;

As a result, Hong Kong filmmakers are now extremely busy with multiple projects, with everyone having several projects.

"Hong Kong is truly amazing. With a population of over 500 million, it produces over 200 films a year."

"We have five cinema chains now, and with the support of foreign markets, it's no wonder our film exports are second only to Hollywood!"

Taipei has a film quota restriction, which strictly stipulates the number of copies of foreign films, but not local films, so it purchases a large number of Hong Kong films.

However, this will cause more problems. An actor will often be filming for four or five crews at the same time. How can he have time to polish his work?
Especially the Hong Kong speed, a movie can be produced in one month, and it only takes two months from the idea to entering the theater!
"Hong Kong originally had three cinema chains, and the various film companies relied on these chains. Now with two more cinema chains, the demand for more films has increased."

"More and more filmmakers have set up their own production companies. With the support of Taiwanese businessmen, the number of works has increased significantly, and the trend has become serious, and the quality has dropped a lot." As the boss of a film company for many years, Zou Wenhuai has a very accurate vision. Today's Hong Kong films are becoming more and more exaggerated and empty!

"Especially Hollywood, you are now eyeing the Asian market."

Isn’t Hong Kong film the biggest competitor of Hollywood in Asia right now?
Hong Kong films have a significant influence in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.

Raymond Chow has been immersed in the film industry for many years. He founded Golden Harvest Film Company and brought down Shaw Brothers, the dominant Asian film company. His ability is undoubtedly top-notch.
Given the market and size of Hong Kong, it is inevitable that we must attach importance to the export of films. Can we rely on the local market to support these Hong Kong filmmakers?

Last year, Golden Harvest's long-time competitor, Cinema City, fell apart, which was originally a good thing;

At Golden Harvest, "Once Upon a Time in China", a joint project between director Tsui Hark and Jet Lee, encountered problems, and the male lead Jet Lee left.

"By the way, I heard that in Hong Kong, the most important movie season is the Lunar New Year holiday. Every cinema chain will have its own Lunar New Year blockbuster showing, right?"

Aaron suddenly asked about the Lunar New Year box office.

Raymond Chow nodded. "It's almost Chinese New Year. This year, Golden Harvest's Lunar New Year film is Jackie Chan's action-comedy 'City Hunter'!"

Previously, Jack Cheng's films "Miracle" and "Project Eagle" had serious budget overruns, but their box office performances fell short of Golden Harvest's expectations.

Then, this year Jack Cheng filmed the sequel "Police Story 3: Super Cop", which achieved good results, entering the top ten in the Hong Kong market, but the performance in foreign markets was also gratifying.

"Aaron, are you interested in collaborating?"

Aaron smiled and said, "Oh, how do we cooperate?"

"Golden Harvest has always hoped to make Jack Cheng an international movie star. Is it possible for Dawn to prepare a script for him?"

Raymond Chow has always been jealous of the huge market in Hollywood. Jack Cheng is now well-deserved as the top star in Asia.

Now the only way to go further is to break into Hollywood.

Aaron tapped his knee in thought, "There really aren't many Chinese-speaking stars in Hollywood. There was Zun Long before, but he's also lost in the limelight now."

"Hollywood currently has a huge demand for action films. There are many paths for action actors, and for Jack Cheng, it's indeed a good opportunity to try it."

"Or, you can come up with a script based on the Hong Kong model, I'll find someone to revise it, and then your director can go to Hollywood to shoot it!"

Zou Wenhuai was stunned. "So, is Jack Cheng the male lead?"

Golden Harvest's previous film "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" used Hollywood directors and actors, with only the action scenes being produced by Hong Kong.

"Of course he's the male lead. As long as it doesn't turn out like the original 'Dragon Detective', Jack Cheng's strengths must be brought into play."

"Nowadays, Hollywood is full of muscular action movies with fistfights. Jack Cheng's comedy action might have a different flavor!"

Aaron felt that he could make "Rumble in the Bronx".

Zou Wenhuai's eyes lit up, there is great potential!

(End of this chapter)