Hong Kong films: From street thugs to Hong Kong financial tycoons

Outside the headquarters building of Yiu Shing Film Company, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.

"Hurry up, all of you, get this done! Wrap all those wire stunts and cameras in the highest quality shockproof foam. If even a corner gets damaged, I'll take your wages to cover it!"

Fatty Wang, wearing large sunglasses, a big gold chain around his neck, and holding a megaphone, was standing in front of an extended bus, giving instructions with spittle flying everywhere.

Three full days have passed since Lin Yao issued the order to the film crew to enter the set at Yuntai Peak.

For the past three days, Yaosheng Pictures has been like a war machine running at full speed, operating at breakneck speed.

It's important to know that in the late 1980s, most film crews in Hong Kong would simply set up a green screen in the Clearwater Bay film studio or make do with a dilapidated, unfinished building.

The crew usually eat boxed meals that cost a dozen yuan or so, and when they go out, they can only hire a few dilapidated minibuses at most.

But this time, it's different. This film was shot on location in the mountains of Sichuan, and it's a blockbuster epic of Eastern mythology with an investment of over a billion yuan.

"Director Wang, how are we going to transport all these hundreds of people and so much heavy filming equipment? Should we go by sea or slowly make our way there by train?"

A young stagehand, covered in sweat, ran over to ask for instructions.

"Is this your first day working at Yaosheng Film Studio, since you're taking the train?"

Fatty Wang slapped the stagehand on the back of the head and arrogantly cursed, "Our boss has no shortage of money, and he hates wasting time the most. Do you understand what we call a great migration?"

Fatty Wang pointed towards Kai Tak Airport not far away and shouted loudly:

"The boss has already given the word. He's chartered three Boeing cargo planes, and all the equipment will be airlifted. Everyone on the crew, whether they're carrying cameras or setting up lights, will fly over in first class."

"When we arrived at the airport in Sichuan, dozens of heavy helicopters were waiting for us, ready to airdrop us directly to the film set on the mountaintop!"

boom!

Hearing these words, the crew's lower-level employees who were still moving things were all stunned.

They chartered three Boeing passenger planes, and then used helicopters to pick them up at their destination?

This isn't a movie shoot! This spectacle is a million times more extravagant than the US president's presidential procession! Working at Yaosheng Film Studio, the perks are enough to give you a brain orgasm.

Just as the crew members were cheering wildly, a black Mercedes-Benz sedan smoothly pulled up to the side of the road.

The car door opened, and Master Lin Zheng, dressed in his signature bright yellow Taoist robe and carrying a century-old peach wood sword, stepped out with a furrowed brow.

Following behind him was Wang Zuxian, who had changed into an elegant ancient costume dress and looked ethereal.

"Uncle Zheng, Zuxian, you've finally arrived! Hurry up and get in the car, the private jet is getting impatient!"

Fatty Wang quickly went to greet him.

Master Lin Zheng looked at the chaotic yet extravagant scene of the great migration, stroked his beard, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Director Wang, it's not that I'm being nosy, but when we're making ghost movies or mythological films, we're all about the atmosphere. It's commendable that the boss spent so much money to build sets in the deep mountains and forests, but I still feel uneasy about it."

Master Lin Zheng is an extremely traditional filmmaker. He believes that special effects and set design are ultimately just supplementary; the core is still the actors' acting skills and the script.

"In just one or two months, no matter how much money you throw at it, what kind of decent palace can you build on those cliffs?"

"Don't go to the site and find it's just a bunch of fake scenery made of styrofoam and cardboard that will collapse in a gust of wind—that could kill someone!"

In Lin Zheng's view, although Lin Yao was rich, he must know nothing about construction engineering. Building a palace on a cliff? That was just a gimmick to fool laymen, and in the end, they would definitely have to rely on post-production editing to cover it up.

After listening, Fatty Wang chuckled and didn't refute.

"Uncle Zheng, don't worry about it. Once you get there, you'll see for yourself what kind of god our boss really is. Come on, let's board the plane."

Most of the day later.

Deep in the mountains of Sichuan Province, above Yuntai Peak.

"Buzzing—!"

The deafening roar of the propellers echoed wildly among the mountains.

Five military-grade heavy transport helicopters, lined up in a long, imposing line, were piercing through the thick clouds and descending towards the highest point of Yuntai Peak.

Inside the cabin of the first helicopter, Master Lin gripped the seatbelt tightly with both hands, his face pale.

He rarely even uses wires when filming, so this was the first time in his life he had ever ridden in a helicopter, especially flying in such a treacherous deep mountain forest.

"Director Wang...isn't he here yet? This place is all abyss; where on earth is the film set located?"

Master Lin Zheng, suppressing the churning in his stomach, shouted loudly.

Sitting opposite her, Wang Zuxian was also so nervous that her pretty face turned pale. She gripped the handrail tightly and looked through the porthole, trying to find traces of human buildings in the vast sea of ​​clouds below.

"Almost there, almost there! We'll be there once we get past this layer of clouds!"

Fatty Wang, wearing noise-canceling headphones, excitedly pointed ahead.

As the helicopter descended, the thick, impenetrable white clouds around it were finally torn open by the fierce winds whipped up by the propellers, creating a huge gap.

The next second, everyone in the cabin had a sudden, clear view.

When Master Lin Zheng and Wang Zuxian's gaze pierced through the clouds and landed on the summit of that solitary peak below.

"hiss--!!!"

Inside the cabin, one after another, terrifying gasps of cold air rang out. Even the well-informed Master Lin Zheng couldn't help but utter a vulgarity that was extremely inconsistent with his Taoist identity.

This is a film set! Is this something a human being would do?

Below, on a flat, extremely steep cliff surrounded by abysses on three sides, lay a scene of breathtaking beauty.

A magnificent ancient architectural complex, covering tens of thousands of square meters, stands quietly like an ancient behemoth lurking above the sea of ​​clouds.

The enormous Tai Chi Bagua Square is entirely paved with one thick, solid piece of bluestone.

At the end of the square stands the Sanqing Main Hall, towering tens of meters high, with upturned eaves and carved beams and painted rafters.

Although the paint on the exterior walls was not completely dry, the overwhelming and powerful aura that seemed to suppress the very essence of heaven and earth was like a giant hammer, striking the very depths of everyone's soul.

What's most chilling is that behind the main hall, there is a giant statue of the Three Pure Ones, over thirty meters tall and almost reaching the clouds, with its eyes lowered, looking down at the vast Hundred Thousand Mountains.

"This...this is all a real set built from solid wood and concrete?"

The helicopter landed steadily on the newly built helipad. Master Lin Zheng scrambled off the helicopter, not even caring that his legs were weak.

Like a madman, he lunged straight at the largest red pillar closest to the tarmac.

He stretched out his trembling hands and gripped the pillar tightly, even pounding it twice with his fists.

"Bang! Bang!"

A deep, solid, and indestructible sound came from within. This was not foam or hollow wood; it was a real, solid load-bearing steel column capable of withstanding an 8-magnitude earthquake, with top-grade golden nanmu wood edging.

"My Three Pure Ones..."

Master Lin was completely dumbfounded, and the century-old peach wood sword in his hand fell to the ground with a thud.

He's been in this industry for most of his life; what big productions hasn't he seen?

But he never dreamed that Lin Yao would actually take 1 billion yuan and, on this impassable cliff, brick by brick, using reinforced concrete and helicopter drops, painstakingly build a real Celestial Master's Mansion.

"This doesn't look like a movie set at all..."

Master Lin Zheng burst into tears and knelt down in front of the more than 30-meter-tall statue of the Three Pure Ones, his voice trembling wildly.

"Even if this were the ancestral temple of Maoshan, and even if our ancestors from hundreds of years ago had poured the entire nation's resources into building it, they couldn't have constructed such a magnificent and imposing divine palace!"

At this moment, the Taoist priest, Hong Kong's most famous zombie, completely lost his resolve.

He thought capital was just about having money, but now he understands that when the power of capital becomes enormous enough, it can truly create gods on the spot and conjure miracles.

Beside her, Wang Zuxian, who had just stepped off the helicopter, looked at the breathtaking scene before her, which resembled a heavenly palace, and then at the young man in a tactical windbreaker standing on the edge of the cliff with his back to them, smoking.

Wang Zuxian's heart was pounding wildly like a deer.

That's so powerful! This is her boss, a man who can build a city in this deep mountain forest with just a casual remark.

To be the absolute female lead in such a divine production, she would have died for it!

"Alright, Uncle Zheng, stop kneeling and get up."

Lin Yao threw the cigarette butt under his feet and stomped it out. He turned around, slowly walked up to Master Lin Zheng, and helped him up.

"Look at the mortise and tenon structure of this main hall. It was drawn by hundreds of college students from Guangdong Province who spent a month working on it. It is wind-resistant and earthquake-resistant. Even if you really invited a god to come down and fight inside, this building would not collapse."

Lin Yao patted the thick pillar, his tone carrying a hint of the tedium of Versailles.

"Boss... I take back what I said in Hong Kong."

Master Lin wiped away his tears, his expression becoming incredibly solemn and fervent: "To be able to film in such a real setting, let alone me, even a block of wood could give you an award-winning performance."

"If this movie doesn't become the highest-grossing film worldwide, I'll jump off this cliff!"

"Winning the championship is just basic stuff."

Lin Yao smiled and turned to look at Fatty Wang, who was directing the crew to move the photography equipment.

"Wang Sanri, now that everyone in the crew has arrived, let's take a day off today and let everyone get used to the mountain climate."

Lin Yao tapped the bluestone slab next to him.

"Tomorrow morning, we'll pick an auspicious time to hold the opening ceremony. We'll set up all the equipment and let all the media in Hong Kong and Asia see the power and presence of our film."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang immediately perked up and scurried over.

"Alright, boss, the pre-production blessing ceremony is the most important event for our Hong Kong film crew. I'll have someone prepare the offerings right away!"

Fatty Wang rubbed his hands together and looked at Master Lin Zheng: "Uncle Jiu, you're a professional at this kind of worship."

"Given the scale of this epic production, we should at least prepare a 300-pound roasted pig, along with several roasted chickens and some incense, right? I'll send someone down the mountain to buy them right away!"

In the tradition of Hong Kong's film industry, the ritual of offering sacrifices to the gods and cutting roast pig before filming is an unshakeable rule. A 300-pound roast pig is considered the most prestigious offering.

However, Master Lin Zheng had not yet had a chance to nod.

"Roasted pig?"

Lin Yao frowned and gave Fatty Wang a look of utter disdain.

"Wang Sanri, is your brain filled with nothing but lard?"

Lin Yao retorted without hesitation, "I spent a billion to build this Eastern Divine Court, and you put a roasted pig in front of my Grandmaster at the opening ceremony? Are you trying to humiliate me, or the Three Pure Ones?"

Fatty Wang shrank back, looking aggrieved, and muttered, "Boss, well... that's the rule in Hong Kong. If we don't display roast pig, what are we supposed to display?"

Lin Yao sneered, extended a finger, and domineeringly set the rules for tomorrow.

"Rules are made by the poor, and I, Lin Yao, am here to break them."

"Roasted pork? That greasy stuff, just throw it away!"

"Go contact the farms in Australia and have three of the top-quality purebred Wagyu cattle flow over to me overnight, whole heads, no need to cut them up, just put them on the Taiji Square and roast them whole."

"besides!"

Lin Yao pointed to the bottom of the cliff.

"Go to the seafood market and book ten fishing boats' worth of cargo for me: king crabs the size of washbasins, top-quality Australian lobsters half a meter long, and premium double-headed abalone."

"Get them all airlifted up by helicopter and pile them up in front of the Three Pure Ones statue to form a mountain of seafood."

"I gave you a budget of ten million for the opening ceremony. If you don't spend it all by tomorrow, you'll be going to the foot of the mountain to give Big D some cement the day after tomorrow."

boom!

Upon hearing this outrageous list of sacrificial offerings, Fatty Wang, Master Lin, and the entire crew were all dumbfounded.

Using a whole head of top-grade Australian Wagyu beef as an offering, and piling up king crabs and premium lobsters to worship the gods, is this some kind of Taoist opening ceremony or the Dragon King's super seafood buffet?

Master Lin Zheng swallowed hard, gazing at the compassionate statue of the Three Pure Ones, and silently murmured to himself:

"Grandmaster...please don't be offended by this in heaven, the offerings from these capitalists are simply too much!"