Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

At that time, the Hong Kong film industry still operated on a minimum guarantee system.

The so-called "bottom-line guarantee" system means that the production company pays a fixed fee to the theaters before the film is released, which is called the bottom-line guarantee fee. Regardless of the final box office profit or loss, the theaters can get this guaranteed income.

When the box office exceeds the minimum guarantee fee, the excess portion is then divided according to the agreed ratio, usually with the theaters taking 50-55% and the production company taking 45-50%.

This system essentially means that cinemas transfer market risks to film producers, while the cinemas themselves are guaranteed profits regardless of market conditions.

Currently, there are three main cinema chains in Hong Kong: Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest, and Ritz-Carlton (which will be renamed Golden Princess next year).

As for left-wing films, there are only five or six scattered theaters, and it's hard to say whether they can be considered a theater chain.

Shaw Brothers cinemas basically only show films produced by Shaw Brothers itself, which is a self-produced and self-distributed, self-entertaining type of film.

Golden Harvest Cinemas is similar. Although it doesn't produce movies itself, it has many satellite companies that provide it with film sources, so it doesn't have to worry about not having films to release. Sometimes there are so many films that you have to queue up to see them.

The awkward thing is that Golden Princess Cinemas, which will be launching next year, is a truly independent cinema chain. It doesn't have its own film company, and sometimes when there aren't enough films available, it has to find ways to show some Western movies.

Raymond Kwan, the owner of Golden Princess Cinemas, also noticed this predicament, so starting this year, he plans to support some of his own film production companies to solve the problem of film shortage.

Among them, the company he was most optimistic about was Struggle Pictures, founded by Mai Guangtou, Huang Baiming, and Shi Tian.

He then invested a large sum of money in Fendou Film Company, acquiring 51% of the shares. The three individuals in Fendou Film Company together held 49%, and in 1980, they were reorganized into Cinema City.

Back to Jiahe.

(The two giants of Golden Harvest, left: Ho Koon-cheung, right: Chow Man-wai)

Chow Wen-huai looked at Jackie Chan and asked, "Jackie, how's the filming of 'Young Master' going?"

"It went very smoothly, all the scenes have been filmed." Jackie Chan replied with a smile, "I just personally delivered the film reels."

Zou Wenhuai smiled with satisfaction and said to Cheng Long, "You really put my mind at ease with your work."

His gaze immediately fell on Zhang Shuai'an: "And who is this young man?"

Jackie Chan then introduced Zhang Shuai'an again: "His name is Zhang Shuai'an. He's an actor, screenwriter, and top-notch action choreographer. I estimate that without his help, the film's shooting schedule definitely wouldn't have been this fast."

Ho Koon-cheung sized up Zhang Shuai-an and suddenly smiled, "A while ago, TVB aired a very popular drama about Bao Zheng. You were the male lead, weren't you?"

"Yes, it's me." Zhang Shuai'an nodded.

He Guanchang continued, "Young man, you do have some talent. I heard that Boss Shao values ​​you highly."

Upon hearing the words "Boss Shao," Zou Wenhuai immediately perked up and said to Zhang Shuai'an, "Since you're so talented, why don't you sign with our Golden Harvest? Joining Jackie Chan's stunt team would be fine too."

Zhang Shuai'an said softly, "Could you allow me a few days to consider before giving my reply?"

"Of course, no problem." Zou Wenhuai was an extremely gentle person and rarely got angry.

Jackie Chan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mr. Zou, there's something else, but I'm not sure if I should say it."

Zou Wenhuai said, "What else can't you say in front of me and Mr. He?"

"That's right, we had just left the set when the studio caught fire."

Jackie Chan took a deep breath and said loudly, "The fire started in the place where we usually keep the film reels. If Andy hadn't reminded me to bring the film reels over first, they might all be burned by now."

He added, "This kind of thing has happened several times recently. There are also gangsters roaming around the film set; I'm afraid something else might happen!"

"This is outrageous!"

Zou Wenhuai instantly understood what was going on: "What exactly is that old bastard Luo Wei trying to do! Is this never going to end?!"

Ho Koon-cheung also frowned. Golden Harvest had already lost Bruce Lee, and now they absolutely could not lose Jackie Chan.

He quickly came up with a solution and said, "Mr. Zou, let Ah Long go abroad to avoid trouble. Anyway, the movie is already finished."

"Huh?" Jackie Chan was stunned for a moment, not expecting Ho Koon-cheung's method to be like this.

He Guanchang suggested, "Jiatong Company happens to have a lot of foreign exchange that it can't use up. Let's use it to make two Western films for Ah Long."

"Ah Long is indeed very famous in Hong Kong, so it wouldn't be a bad thing for him to try his luck in Hollywood."

Zou Wenhuai also began to seriously consider the issue. He turned to Jackie Chan and asked, "Jackie, what do you think?"

Jackie Chan glanced at Ho Koon-cheung, then looked at Cheung Sau-on: "Sau-on, what do you think I should do?"

Zhang Shuai'an was just sitting quietly on the sidelines, listening attentively, but unexpectedly Jackie Chan asked for his opinion.

"If you stay in Hong Kong, those gangsters will definitely keep chasing you. Better safe than sorry!"

Since Jackie Chan had asked so sincerely, he naturally felt it necessary to give him some genuine advice: "At this time, going abroad might not be a bad choice."

"With you gone, Mr. Zou and Mr. He can negotiate with those people without any worries. Once everything is settled and there's little risk left, you can come back then."

Ho Kwun-cheung nodded and said, "An-zai is right, that's exactly what we mean."

"Okay, I'll follow the company's arrangements." Jackie Chan knew everyone was doing it for his own good, but he still had some doubts: "How long will I have to stay there?"

Zou Wenhuai said calmly, "It won't be long."

He thought for a few more seconds, then said, "I'll go with you this time. It'll be a good opportunity to develop Jiatong Company and make a splash."

Golden Harvest Films was a branch of Golden Harvest Films established in the United States in 1976 by Chow Wen-huai. It was a subsidiary of Golden Harvest Films in Hong Kong, but focused on producing Western films.

Since its inception, it has produced and released films such as "The Holocaust" (1977) and "The Third Army" (1978), and has become quite well-known in the American independent film scene.

Jackie Chan nodded and asked, "When do we depart?"

He Guanchang said, "There's no time to lose, let's set off tomorrow."

"Do you speak English?" Zou Wenhuai suddenly looked at Zhang Shuai'an and asked.

Zhang Shuai'an nodded subconsciously: "Yes."

In the system shop, you can exchange for proficiency in a language for only 66 Star Points. However, it is not permanent and requires Star Points to maintain until you have truly mastered it.

Zou Wenhuai pointed at him and said, "Then you should come too."

"Me? Where to?" Zhang Shuai'an was a little surprised. Did I have anything to do with this?

Zou Wenhuai asked with a smile, "Don't you yearn for Hollywood? Don't you want to see what it's like over there?"

I'm terrified of going there and getting targeted by the execution line!

Zhang Shuai'an thought to himself, but said aloud, "I'm not a member of Jiahe, why should I go along?"

"Let's go together," Jackie Chan said to Zhang Shuai'an. "With you by my side, it'll be a great help when we're filming action movies abroad."

Zhang Shuai'an said, "There are far more people in the Jackie Chan Stunt Team who are better at action choreography than me."

"None of them understand me like you do," Jackie Chan said earnestly. "Just think of it as a vacation. Anyway, I'll cover all the expenses—food, lodging, transportation... in short, everything."

Ho Koon-cheung replied, "No need, these companies will handle everything."

Zou Wenhuai said directly, "Since Ah Long appreciates you so much, we'll hire you as a special consultant this time. Ah Long will arrange the specific work for you, with a monthly salary of 80,000. How about it?"

Now that things have come to this point, who would turn down money?

Zhang Shuai'an replied, "Since that's the case, what else is there to say? Go!"

"Let Ah Feng announce it to the public."

Chow Wen-huai immediately said to Ho Koon-cheung, "Just say that Ah-Lung has received a warm invitation from Warner Bros., one of the eight major Hollywood film studios, and has decided to go to Hollywood to make a few films! To boost the morale of the Hong Kong film industry! To once again showcase the brilliance of the Chinese people!"