Hong Kong 1990: From stuntman to King of Kung Fu

Chapter 97 Submitting Homework Without Stopping

On the evening of April 26, Tang Long rushed to the film studio right after finishing the wrap party.

Despite feeling exhausted and aching, I had to grit my teeth and keep going because "Swordsman II" was about to be released.

This is what I make a living from, and besides, I've already received so much pay, so I have no right to complain about being tired or suffering.

Tang Long has been absent from many of the pre-movie promotional events.

The large-scale promotional campaign for "Swordsman 2" has already begun, with only three days left until its release.

He had to get involved as quickly as possible.

Xu Ke and Wu Siyuan frowned as they looked at Tang Long, who appeared travel-worn and exhausted.

"Ah Long, can you handle the intense promotional activities coming up in this condition?"

"Don't worry, Director Xu, I can hold on. It's only three days, not three months."

"You'd better be careful, don't ruin your health."

Xu Ke visited the set of "SPL: Sha Po Lang" and has some understanding of this new movie produced by Tang Long.

He had to admit that Tang Long really had ideas.

If nothing unexpected happens, "SPL: Sha Po Lang," which pioneers a new type of action film, is sure to be a huge hit.

Its influence is no less than that of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," which pioneered a new style of martial arts fiction.

But he also understands the hardships of filming "SPL".

Shooting action movies is inherently more arduous and time-consuming than shooting other types of movies. "SPL: Sha Po Lang" doesn't use wire work or suspension, and emphasizes real, visceral combat, making it even more challenging.

Tang Long, as the protagonist, is undoubtedly the one who is most exhausted.

But there's no way around it; he's the male lead in "Swordsman 2" and one of the box office draws, so he can't be absent from the promotion.

Getting him to join so late is already the limit.

"Ah Long, there's nothing we can do, we didn't want you to be in such a rush."

Stephen Chow's "Justice, My Foot!" was suddenly scheduled for release on July 15th, just three days after our original release date.

They'll either move the filing date forward or postpone it.

The theatrical release plan for Golden Princess was already finalized, but it was only through my efforts and Director Xu's joint efforts that the release date was moved up to June 30th.

"Mr. Wu, Director Tsui, I understand that avoiding Stephen Chow was the right thing to do."

He's on a roll right now; anyone who crosses him will be badly hurt, and a mutually destructive outcome is impossible.

If Stephen Chow was dominant last year, then he's unstoppable this year.

At the beginning of the year, the film "All's Well, Ends Well" raked in more than HK$48 million, setting a new box office record.

In March, the film "Fight Back to School 2" grossed another 32 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office.

In April, the film "The Deer and the Cauldron" was released, creating the most classic Wei Xiaobao and grossing HK$40.8 million at the box office.

For others, making a movie that grosses over 30 million Hong Kong dollars is incredibly difficult, but for Stephen Chow, it's as easy as drinking water.

Thirty million seemed like a passing grade for him, and forty million didn't seem like a difficult task either.

Only halfway through 1992, Stephen Chow had already achieved such a terrifying record.

Right now, no one in the entire Hong Kong film industry is willing or dares to go up against him.

His film "Justice, My Foot!" is scheduled for release on July 15th. Not only has "Swordsman II" moved up its release date, but several other films have also changed their release dates.

Tang Long knew even better that it was very wise for "Swordsman 2" to avoid "Justice, My Foot!"

This film, "Justice, My Foot!", is an even bigger box office bomb than "All's Well, Ends Well".

It was this year's box office champion, raking in over HK$49 million.

Any film that goes up against it will most likely become cannon fodder, or at least its box office will be greatly affected.

Wu Siyuan and Xu Ke discussed the details of the publicity campaign for the next three days with Tang Long.

"Ah Long, are you sure you don't want to create a scandal with Rosamund Kwan?"

We asked her opinion, and she was willing.

"Mr. Wu, forget it. If I only had one woman, Rosamund Kwan, I wouldn't be afraid of anything, not just rumors, but even an official announcement."

He wasn't afraid of creating scandals, but rather afraid of creating one with Rosamund Kwan.

Because their relationship is not a rumor.

"Fine, if you don't want us to respect your opinion, then we will."

"Mr. Wu, Director Xu, don't worry, I have confidence in the quality of 'Swordsman 2', and the box office will definitely be good."

"You brat, you're so young and already playing around like this. Be careful, you'll be in trouble when they run into each other," Xu Ke said irritably.

"Director Xu, you should only have fun when you're young, otherwise you might not be able to do it when you get to your age."

"Who do you think I can't handle? If I wanted to, I could easily make nine women completely submissive, let alone three."

"Stop bragging, get Nansheng under your thumb first," Wu Siyuan bluntly exposed his weakness.

Seeing Xu Ke's somewhat exasperated appearance, Tang Long and Wu Siyuan both burst out laughing.

Xu Ke was speechless upon seeing this, and then he laughed.

After joking around, all three of them seemed more relaxed.

"Ah Long, are you really not going to play the role of Wong Kei-ying? If not, I'll sign a contract with Donnie Yen."

"You haven't signed a contract with him yet?"

"Not yet. Firstly, the movie isn't finished in preparation yet, and secondly, I think you're the most suitable candidate. I want to ask you again."

""

"Forget it, I won't act in it. Donnie Yen is pretty good."

Mentioning Wong Fei-hung, Tang Long couldn't help but ask, "How's Jet Li doing?"

"He hasn't come back yet. Golden Harvest has already arranged for someone to invite him, but he still doesn't dare to return to Hong Kong."

After the release of "Swordsman 2," Si Yuan will personally travel to the mainland to meet with Li Lianjie and persuade him to return.

Tang Long felt that Wu Siyuan had gone to great lengths for the "Once Upon a Time in China" series.

When Tsai Tsz-ming intervened and Jet Li withdrew from the film, it was only through negotiations between Ng See-yuen and Tsai Tsz-ming that "Once Upon a Time in China II" was able to be filmed smoothly.

Now, the promotion of the release of "Once Upon a Time in China II" and the filming of "Once Upon a Time in China III" are inseparable from Jet Li, and Ng See-yuen has also been sent to the mainland.

When Li Lianjie was mentioned, Tsui Hark couldn't help but sigh: "Why is the 'Once Upon a Time in China' series so unlucky? If I had known, I would have let you play Wong Fei-hung back then, and there wouldn't have been so many problems."

I have a feeling that after filming "Once Upon a Time in China III," this series might come to an end.

"Director Tsui, you can't blame Jet Li for this. If anyone is to blame, it's Golden Harvest."

If they hadn't been so petty back then, none of these subsequent events would have happened.

Perhaps "Once Upon a Time in China 3" has already been filmed.

"Forget it, let's not talk about these upsetting things."

It's getting late, you should go home and get some rest. You'll have a lot to do tomorrow.

In the following days, Tang Long began to appear frequently in the media and was interviewed by several media outlets. He also participated in several offline events without stopping.

The promotion of "Swordsman 2" has been going on for some time, and Tang Long is just adding fuel to the fire for the movie.

However, he is no longer an unknown figure, and the spark he added can also bring in a lot of box office revenue.

This is the box office appeal of celebrities.

In the realm of martial arts films, no actor in Hong Kong currently has a higher box office appeal than him.

On June 30th, "Swordsman II" was released in Golden Princess Cinemas.

Tang Long could finally catch his breath.

He doesn't want to think about anything right now, he just wants to get a good night's sleep.

When he woke up, he looked at the gray sky outside and couldn't tell whether it was morning or evening.

-

But at this moment, his head was no longer foggy, and he felt refreshed, as if he had had enough sleep.

Liu Jialing pushed the door open and came in. She was pleasantly surprised to see that Tang Long was already awake.

She quickly walked up to him, took Tang Long's hand, and said excitedly, "Ah Long, you scared me to death! If I hadn't seen that you were still breathing, I would have thought you were dead."

You slept for too long.

"Sister Jialing, how long have I been asleep?"

"I slept from the early hours of the 1st until now, around 5 pm on the 2nd, for almost 40 hours."

"Has it been that long?"

Tang Long was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected himself to be able to sleep so much.

"Sister Jialing, have you been watching over me all this time?"

"Otherwise, I'll have to check on you every now and then to see if you're breathing and if your heart is beating."

He pulled Liu Jialing into his arms and said softly, "You've worked hard."

"This is nothing. I think you were really exhausted recently, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to sleep for so long. Don't push yourself like this again."

"No, that feeling is too painful."

Feeling Liu Jialing's body temperature, Tang Long's body immediately changed.

Liu Jialing sensed the change and chuckled.

"I didn't want to think about anything good as soon as I woke up."

"Sister Jialing, it's been sitting idle for almost half a month, it's practically rusting."

"How do you want me to grind?"

Liu Jialing rolled her eyes at him, then got up and straddled his waist.

Tang Long rested his head on his hands, watching her busy herself.

"By the way, Sister Jialing, how much was the opening day box office for 'Swordsman II: The East'?"

"The box office on the first day was 1.86 million."

Upon hearing this, Tang Long finally felt relieved.

He then stopped thinking about it and focused on the task at hand.

"When doing this kind of thing, you have to keep going until you're exhausted. How can you stop halfway through?"

After saying that, Tang Long stood up and used his strong waist and abdominal strength to lift Liu Jialing up.

Liu Jialing gasped in surprise, afraid of falling, and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hold on tighter?"

"Hold on tight."

"Sister Jialing, your physical strength has deteriorated after not exercising for more than half a month."

Liu Jialing doesn't want to talk right now.

All she wanted to do was breathe.

Fortunately, it was evening, and Tang Long was too lazy to go out.

Since "Swordsman 2" grossed over HK$1.8 million on its opening day, the chances of it flopping later on are very low.

With the film's wide release, it immediately sparked considerable discussion.

While Kim Yong couldn't accept Tsui Hark's adaptation of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," many viewers were pleasantly surprised by the film's bold adaptation.

In particular, Dongfang Bubai was transformed from a major villain into a flesh-and-blood human being with feelings.

Lin Qingxia's performance was absolutely stunning.

Major professional media outlets and film critics have highly praised Brigitte Lin's portrayal of Dongfang Bubai.

Even the gold shops later publicly praised it:

Qingxia's portrayal of Dongfang Bubai has more soul than mine.

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