The world begins with Hong Kong movies

Chapter 334 Money moves people’s hearts

In the early 1990s, being seconded to work on Hong Kong Island was a highly coveted and attractive job.

The main reason is that ATV Hong Kong and Fengrui Film & Television considered the secondment subsidies to be extremely high.

In fact, compared to ATV's regular employees in the same job, the so-called secondment allowance is naturally somewhat lower, but it is not difficult to earn three or four thousand Hong Kong dollars a month.

Actors, especially those who participate in the filming of TV dramas, also receive actor fees.

Even a supporting actor with a certain level of importance can easily earn tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars just from the film fee subsidy.

What is this concept?
At that time, the average price of a commercial apartment in Shanghai was just over two thousand yuan.

In a third- or fourth-tier city, you could easily buy a large house of over 100 square meters.

Although being a "ten-thousand-yuan household" is no longer a rarity, it is still a highly coveted title for ordinary working-class families.

One household with 10,000 yuan a month!

How much of a shock this is to mainland staff is obvious to anyone who isn't mentally unstable.

When the news reached the mainland, it caused a huge uproar.

It should be noted that the personnel that relevant mainland authorities are willing to second are basically marginal figures within their organizations.

The true core members, who control most of the resources of the relevant units, would never be rashly transferred to Hong Kong Island to start over.

Of course, the seconded personnel are just as capable.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to become seconded personnel. Poor performance on Hong Kong Island would be a disgrace.

However, due to their age and lack of experience, they cannot access many resources from their original workplaces and can only rely on their technical skills and time.

For example, a film studio in mainland China has a limited amount of filming funds allocated by the central government each year, and its filming tasks are also limited.

However, there are quite a few veteran directors in the film studio. They are not so old that they cannot move. They firmly control the film studio's filming resources based on their seniority and experience.

Students graduating from film academies, once they enter a film studio, basically have to start from the bottom and work their way up, unless they have connections or a background.

Just like leveling up in a game, you start as an apprentice, then become an assistant's assistant, and finally an assistant. It takes more than ten years to get to that point.

By the time they became key players, they were around forty years old.

This is assuming everything goes smoothly; otherwise, the training period would be even longer, but of course, one's technical skills would be greatly improved during this time.

Actors are a special case; if they are noticed by a director, it's not difficult for a single film to become an instant hit.

However, without a director's appreciation, one can only start accumulating acting experience from minor supporting roles, and it will take at least more than ten years to become truly famous.

This is why actors from film studios and performing arts troupes in the 1980s and 1990s all possessed superb acting skills.

They are either truly talented, or they have accumulated a certain level of skill through long-term experience.

The characteristics of the times are quite obvious in the mainland film and television industry!

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, due to policy and funding reasons, the mainstream ideology was the dominant force in the film and television industry.

Similarly, a group of handsome, pretty-boy actors rarely get the opportunity to showcase their strengths.

However, their abilities were not bad at all. They had all undergone long-term professional training and had experience in drama and other performances, making them much stronger than the so-called "young idols" of later generations who had only received short-term training.

So when ATV made a request to borrow actors and behind-the-scenes staff, some male actors who were not valued by film studios came to Hong Kong Island.

As a result, they quickly rose to prominence in various ATV dramas. In terms of professional skills, actors from ATV's acting training program simply couldn't compare to actors seconded from the mainland.

In terms of appearance and temperament, the actors seconded from the mainland are not only not inferior, but may even be stronger.

And so it was; after a short period of adjustment, the actors on loan from the mainland were soon able to appear in various types of ATV dramas.

Some of those who performed exceptionally well have even become important supporting actors.

Wu Feng was never stingy with his subordinates; it was normal for an important supporting role in a TV series to receive several thousand yuan per episode.

After a year of hard work at ATV, you basically have enough capital to buy a property on Hong Kong Island. It's that simple and unpretentious.

Those who are even luckier will directly join Fengrui Film and Television, where the income will be even more outrageous, making hundreds of thousands a year is nothing to them.

But his colleagues at the same film studio in mainland China were not happy about it.

In particular, the veterans who controlled most of the film studio's shooting resources felt that the young people who were seconded out were not capable enough, and only when they took charge themselves did they show that they valued the cooperation with ATV more.

So, before the first batch of colleagues' secondment period was even over, they started making a fuss. Money really can move people's hearts.

Not to mention the veteran directors at the film studio, even the leaders are envious.

The news naturally reached Wu Feng's ears.

"Let's not get involved in their internal conflicts!"

"Let's stick to one idea: act in accordance with the contract!"

"Furthermore, we must firmly retain control over the selection of personnel!"

"It's their prerogative to send whomever they want, but how we select the right people is our own responsibility!"

"Use it if it works, return it if it doesn't. There's no need to be polite; we all have to pay real money to maintain it!"

Wu Feng's attitude was very firm. Through relevant departments, he conveyed his thoughts and ideas to many partner organizations in mainland China.

If it were someone else, such an attitude would likely have caused a very strong backlash.

Sometimes, some people may not be good at accomplishing anything, but they can do something bad quite easily.

Fortunately, Wu Feng's identity is rather special!

The relevant authorities on the mainland attach great importance to his opinions and ideas.

Especially during this special period, the West has launched a very severe propaganda offensive against the mainland, and the pressure from foreign media and diplomatic channels is immense.

At this time, a friend like Wu Feng becomes all the more precious.

Not only are they willing to continue cooperating with the mainland, but they are also willing to bring along mainland arts and culture professionals to help the mainland reverse unfavorable public opinion abroad through the influence of films and television dramas.

Therefore, the relevant parties that cooperate with ATV and Fengrui Film & Television dare not cause trouble on this matter.

At least until the first batch of seconded personnel finished their assignments, they could only complain privately at most, but they didn't have the guts to cause trouble.

Of course, the mainland staff on secondment to Hong Kong Island also heard some rumors and faced a choice about their future.

Should they try to stay on Hong Kong Island, or follow their employer's arrangements and return to the mainland?

(End of this chapter)