My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 952 I'm very good at this job
No, the film industry that needs the most direct reform is not the mobile projectionists that Liang Jiahui mentioned, nor the major film studios that Lao Wang mentioned.

It's the Hong Kong film that Wei Dong and his team are currently working on.

It's not that those two parts don't need reform, but rather that some grassroots projectionists are gradually losing their audiences, their roles, and their positions. Who cares?
Even though film studios are undergoing restructuring, they don't know how to restructure.

Every year there are allocated funds and quotas, and filming is strictly carried out in accordance with the requirements of higher authorities. Even the number of films to be produced each year, and the proportion of realistic themes, revolutionary historical themes, industrial themes, and rural themes, are strictly regulated.

Since there's no box office or theater system to measure it anyway, if a film is well-made but doesn't make money, and nobody watches it, it doesn't matter, so nobody cares.

At most, a few people are just aiming for awards, trying to win popular domestic awards and controversial international awards. They just need to follow this line of thinking to advance their careers.

Therefore, there's no rush to address issues that might only surface years later.

Wei Dong and his team waited in Jinling for two days, where they were greeted by the head of HK Beidu Film Agency, who was working on a co-production film at a film studio in Guixi.

Having received instructions from superiors, and perhaps after some discussion, I finally arrived in Nanjing:

"Beidu Film Group can fully join forces with Comrade Wei Dong's film group to create a brilliant future for the Hong Kong film industry."

Wei Dong was a little confused: "Beidu? Sorry, I'm just an investor and I'm not really familiar with the Hong Kong film industry. Do you make any films?"

Since they've arrived, let's not delay and board the ship together. This time, Jinling Shipyard also sent several engineers to accompany them, and Jinling Electronics Factory and Dongsheng Branch sent several people to Jiangzhou to learn from the experience of the North District Commercial Building.

So more than ten additional people boarded the ship, and it slowly set sail shortly after 10 a.m.

The group from Beidu Cinema went upstairs to the VIP cabin to talk with Rang Weidong, and the scene was quite beautiful.

A thin mist hangs over the vast river, making both banks appear and disappear like a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Even with shipboard radar detection, they still worried about insufficient visual range and slow speed, and still sped across the river like otherworldly mythical beasts.

Even though most of the people from Hong Kong had taken the high-speed ferry between Hong Kong and Macau, they were still amazed by the river view.

Of course, it's also possible that when it comes to grades, people tend to dodge the question.

"Uh... 'Shaolin Temple' is one of our productions. 'Shaolin Kids' and 'North and South Shaolin' are also examples. We pioneered the path of shooting real-life scenic spots in mainland China. Promoting Chinese martial arts in kung fu films is also one of our strengths. Xiao Jie works for our company..."

what?
Wei Dong was a little puzzled that after Brother Jie filmed "Shaolin Temple," it would take several years, at least ten years, before the golden age of Hong Kong martial arts films featuring characters like Wong Fei-hung and Linghu Chong would begin.

He didn't know where he went in between.

Besides, he's been so busy these past few years that he hasn't had time to watch movies.

So you guys were filming the Shaolin series: Oh, that's like holding a golden bowl and begging for food. There are so many famous kung fu masters in history, and their patriotic and anti-enemy stories could be made into great dramas one by one. Why do you have to get stuck on this one subject and make it into a dead end?

The fact that Jay Chou was able to portray characters like Zhang Sanfeng, Fang Shiyu, and Huang Feihong so vividly demonstrates his exceptional acting skills in both dramatic and dramatic roles, in addition to his unparalleled talent in martial arts.

As a result, these people also looked conflicted: "His organizational affiliation is in the mainland, so there are many things we can't decide. Since Comrade Weidong, you have influence in the relevant units and in Hong Kong, why don't you mediate the work situation?"

Wei Dong, already a seasoned veteran, sensed something amiss: "You guys have some...work-related conflicts?"

The group looked at each other, but still explained the situation.

With Liang Jiahui standing next to Wei Dong, he could also contribute and supplement.

After all, his first film in mainland China, "The Burning of the Yuanmingyuan," which was suppressed by the Right Bank, happened to be released around the same time as "Shaolin Temple."

I've experienced this kind of collaboration between different systems.

The female lead he co-starred with that time was a mainland actress named Lang Bowan Qingjie, but she could only eat steamed buns and pickled vegetables, sleep in a dormitory, and receive a subsidy of 50 cents or 1 yuan per day, because they wanted to emphasize to their Hong Kong counterparts that they were on a model of equal pay for officers and soldiers.

An unknown and rootless newbie in Hong Kong was enjoying a life of luxury.

Liang Jiahui felt embarrassed at that time.

So it's no wonder that in recent years, mainland actors, once they've become famous and found a way to make it, all flock to other countries.

If this treatment is applied equally to everyone, and no matter how much they earn, they contribute it all to the country, then there is nothing wrong with that.

Even though Jay Chou is already a leading actor in films with box office earnings of over 100 million yuan, he still only receives subsidies when he signs a contract to film in Hong Kong. His daily wage is even lower than that of an extra or a backstage worker in Hong Kong.

Who can bear this?
Wei Dong was a little surprised: "He's already filming in Hong Kong, but his organizational affiliation is still in mainland China?"

He mumbled, "He's a martial arts athlete."

Wei Dong suddenly realized: "Oh, that's true, that's true..." Brother Jie went from the martial arts team to the screen, so he was a well-connected person who got a stable job in the system after working at a sports school.

For ordinary people, it's a secure job; for geniuses, it's a chain.

The reason why Wei Dong didn't pay much attention to Xiao Ming before was because he knew that Xiao Ming's affairs were very troublesome. It was only after he met Lao Xiao and learned that the first-grade child hadn't entered the sports school yet that he finally took over.

The terms of the exchange were hardly terms; they were far more outrageous than the exorbitant dowries for daughters in later short videos.

Later, the team's decision to go abroad almost ruined their reputation, and Ma Jian, because of his insistence on playing abroad, never entered the national team again.

The three of them were among the most outstanding geniuses of the 1980s and 90s.

Just as only the most exceptional geniuses who are closest to the Dao of Heaven can undergo tribulation, ordinary mediocre people have no idea of ​​such suffering.

To stand higher and see further, to achieve personal success and then turn around to participate in reform and improvement—that's already a mindset of becoming a god or a saint.

In the past, as an internet user, Wei Dong would easily join in criticizing these people for being unpatriotic, but after truly experiencing this era, he realized how difficult it is.

If you're so capable, try finding someone else to film Wong Fei-hung. Some people and some things are just unique.

Why can't we provide better conditions to achieve a better outcome?

If we insist on obedience and conforming to the superiors' views, won't Jiangzhou's economy suffer a severe blow?
Wei Dong laughed and said, "Alright, leave this to me. What resources do you have left that we can collaborate on?"

In fact, just the fact that Brother Jie is good enough is enough to make it worthwhile to join forces.

Two weeks and two beams, oh, Liu Dehua's film contracts are also included in the scale of the merger with Wing On.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe Wei Dong's Hong Kong film industry at this time as having unified the entire industry.

But Wei Dong never considered dominating Hong Kong films as an end in itself; after all, what kind of market is that?
They still need to make money from the right bank.

As it turned out, the North Capital Film Agency showed him a completely different world: "We now also have a Clearwater Bay Studio, which is the second largest film studio after Zhao's TVB. It was formed by the merger of three film companies and enjoys abundant resources for conveniently shooting on location at scenic spots in mainland China and co-producing films with mainland film studios..."

Even Wei Dong couldn't help but ask who your boss is.

Liang Jiahui explained to him: "Great Wall Films, Phoenix Films, and New Union Films are all leftists, the banners of patriotic and progressive films."

Wei Dong suddenly realized that, beyond what most mainland netizens and movie fans thought of as Hong Kong films, there had always been a group of filmmakers with patriotic hearts.

Or rather, in the Hong Kong film industry, which is largely fragmented and assembled on a temporary basis based on film projects, many filmmakers have actually worked hard for these progressive films.

However, since the purpose is to be patriotic, uphold progressive ideas, and "use film to convey moral principles," it is bound to lack commercial appeal and entertainment value.

Anyway, at this point, what naturally came to Wei Dong's mind was the scene where Brother Jie stood under the city gate, with someone next to him holding a lion head and saying something to Li Hongzhang or someone else, which could be described as taking patriotism, commercial appeal, and entertainment to the extreme.

Unfortunately, he could only give a rough retelling of the movie, knowing that Jay Chou gave a brilliant performance, but he couldn't remember who the director was.

When he was a security guard, he was only interested in watching movie plots and didn't care about this.

Wang Xin was one of the very few directors he might know, mainly because of the gossip surrounding him.

But don't rush, let's think of a solution slowly.

At noon, we ate Nanjing snacks cooked in the microwave on the ship, and also heated up a large pot of soy milk. The foreign chef, who almost choked on his food, kept saying how good it was. Then we looked forward to what delicious food would be available for dinner.
Because in Shanghai and Nanjing, the mechanics from Hong Kong have already experienced different cuisines.

Everyone kept saying yes, there definitely is!
We absolutely cannot afford to lose this battle.

I'm also a little worried that since the first two are top-tier provincial capitals, the next one might not be able to keep up.

This completely alleviated Wei Dong's concerns about the prevailing social norm of prioritizing food.

Sure enough, they arrived at the shore and set up camp 300 kilometers later that night, and the branch manager and Wu Shengyun eagerly awaited their arrival.

Although it's not the provincial capital, this is the place where Wei Dong learned about the reform and opening-up entrepreneur who made his fortune in foreign trade and whose annual output value exceeded 100 million yuan two or three years ago. So, he quietly arranged for people to focus on developing the business here.

Only Wu Shengyun knew the purpose behind his focus on developing this place.

By learning from our peers and observing the current wind direction, we can ensure that the entire ship sails steadily forward.

But what was unexpected was that this advance planning led to the inevitable outcome that the older generation had predicted.

(End of this chapter)