The world begins with Hong Kong movies

Chapter 484 The Springtime for Mainland Actors! (Seeking monthly votes)
In fact, this incident did not affect the overall situation of the Hong Kong film and television industry.

Although in the period that followed, many bad movies appeared in theaters that only lasted three days or a week, and these movies were all starring big stars.

But the audience isn't stupid; they've learned their lesson after being fooled a few times.

When choosing which movies to watch, they no longer idolize so-called big stars, but instead focus on which company produced the film.

Those who are knowledgeable about the film and television industry will even check out the production team behind the scenes.

Any reliable film company can guarantee the quality of its films.

Once the newcomers introduced by mainstream film companies are well-received by the market and audiences, the situation is completely settled.

To put it bluntly, since the difference in box office figures between films with and without big stars is still within an acceptable range, mainstream film companies will naturally choose to promote newcomers.

As for the so-called newcomers, they are not actually new or inexperienced actors.

Instead, they were minor characters in the film and television industry who had never had a chance to stand out before, but whose acting skills and looks were both excellent.

This time, the actors from mainland China are winning big.

Originally, actors borrowed from the mainland could only appear in films and television dramas produced by ATV and Fengrui Films.

Other film and television companies in Hong Kong Island were more or less resistant to this.

Well, it's partly due to the arrogance of Hong Kong people, and partly due to consideration for local Hong Kong stars.

Those who become big stars in Hong Kong's film and television industry usually have good relationships with many film and television companies.

Hong Kong Island is such a small place, and the relationships within the film and television industry are incredibly complex; no one really knows how complicated things are inside.

Faced with mainland competitors vying for resources, Hong Kong's top stars naturally join forces to suppress them.

Not to mention others, even Li Lianjie, who has been working in the Hong Kong film and television industry for a long time, has been affected quite a bit, but he just doesn't know it.

This time, however, the salaries of many big stars in Hong Kong have skyrocketed, forcing mainstream film companies to seek alternatives.

Fortunately, the actors on loan from the mainland have performed quite well in the film and television dramas produced by ATV and Fengrui Film & Television.

Given the extremely low pay, I decided to give it a try and collaborate with them.

The result was surprisingly good!
Although the box office performance of the movies they starred in was not as good as expected, it was still within the acceptable range for major film and television companies.

The key point is that they are really too cheap.

Even if you're the lead actor in a movie, the highest salary you can get is only 500,000.

This was only given by major mainstream film and television companies because of Fengrui Film and Television's status as a benchmark; otherwise, 100,000 or 200,000 would have been fine too.

Production costs were reduced by nearly ten million!
With so much money, even if you have to work hard, you can turn an ordinary movie into a near-masterpiece or even a masterpiece.

Most importantly, the actors borrowed from the mainland are quite skilled.

Many scenes were filmed in one take, while the actors and crew on the Hong Kong side often made mistakes and delayed filming. That's for sure!
Don't romanticize TVB's acting training program!
By mainland standards, TVB's acting training program can really only be considered a short-term training program.

Each student's study time is less than a year. How can that compare to the professional film and television schools in mainland China, where students study for at least three years?
The TVB acting training class is famous because it has produced many big stars in Hong Kong.

In fact, besides their genuine acting talent, the most important factor is that they have a lot of opportunities to practice.

Like Stephen Chow, who had just joined TVB's night school for actors, he had the opportunity to work as an extra in the "Legend of the Condor Heroes" series to familiarize himself with the crew environment.

By the time they graduate from the training program, they will at least have plenty of experience playing minor roles.

Once the opportunity arises, I'll have no problem getting a small role.

In short, TVB produces a large number of dramas every year, providing graduates with plenty of opportunities to gain experience.

Of course, it must be said that the TVB acting training class in the early 1980s produced a number of actors with exceptional talent.

In fact, their theoretical knowledge was quite lacking, but their acting experience was too rich.

Even so, when Hong Kong's so-called acting talents go to the mainland, apart from a very few who can hold their own, the rest simply cannot compare to mainland actors of equal caliber in terms of acting ability.

If we really want to make a comparison, let's compare the top stars from TVB with the leading actors of many mainland theater troupes and the top stage actors in the drama world.

In the movie "Bullets Fly", Runfa's acting skills did not overshadow Jiang Wen, and there were even signs that he was overshadowed.

Apart from the top stars, the acting skills of the other actors in Hong Kong are nothing compared to those of their mainland counterparts.

Otherwise, why would many Hong Kong film crews go to the mainland to recruit actors, especially lead actors, after 1995?
The mainland actors who were seconded to ATV and Fengrui Film & Television were all peripheral roles in major film studios.

The reason they were marginalized was not because of their poor acting skills or other factors, but mainly because their image and temperament did not conform to the mainstream aesthetic at the time.

Handsome men, dashing gentlemen, and pretty boys are not popular in the mainland film and television industry.

But who dares to say that Guo Qiang, when he was young, didn't have acting skills?

Next year, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" will be adapted into a TV series, and the actor who plays Zhuge Liang will definitely amaze the audience, as if he were the real Zhuge Kongming.

And then there's Zhu Shimao, whose performance in "The Herdsman" was outstanding. Who dares to say he lacks acting skills?

Even in "Journey to the West," the Tang Monk was replaced three times in a row, and no one could see any problem with it.

At that time, among the young mainland actors, those like Jiang Wen, Li Baotian, and Chen Daoming, whose acting skills were the worst?
No one can guarantee that there aren't some incredibly talented young and middle-aged actors who are overlooked in film studios!
Anyway, this time, many film and television companies in Hong Kong have recognized the professional skills of mainland actors; what they lack now is fame and exposure.

This is not a big problem for film and television companies; they only need to invest some publicity resources.

Zhou Ye, who was mentioned in the previous article, seized the opportunity this time and successfully played an important playboy role in an urban action film, which was unanimously recognized by the director and the audience.

With replacements for the big stars, Hong Kong's mainstream film companies immediately felt at ease and continued to produce films to make money according to the shooting plans made before the new year.

As for those big stars who have lost the 'favor' of mainstream film companies, who cares what they actually think?
However, they are currently busy with numerous filming projects, leaving them with very little time to rest, so they haven't noticed anything unusual yet.

(End of this chapter)