Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start

Leslie Cheung smiled and looked at Cherie Chung, "Cherie Chung, are you here to see Director Lee?"

Chung Chor-hung's face flushed all the way to her ears, and she gave a soft "hmm".

"Wait a minute, Director Li is recording a song right now!"

Chung Chor-hung originally planned to go see "Happy Ghost" in Taiwan with Li Jiangbo, but she didn't expect Leslie Cheung to be there too, which made her very embarrassed.

Just as the two fell silent, Li Jiangbo pushed open the door to the recording studio and came out.

He immediately spotted Cherie Chung standing to the side. "Cherie Chung? What's wrong?"

Leslie Cheung, with a knowing smile, looked at Li Jiangbo who had just come out and said, "They're looking for you!"

Chung Chor-hung lowered her head, not daring to look at the two of them, and said timidly, "Brother Li, 'Happy Ghost' premieres tonight at Zhongshan Hall."

Li Jiangbo nodded, thinking to himself: "Happy Ghost" has been off the screens in Hong Kong for a month, and it's only now that it's premiering in Taiwan. Shaw Brothers' efficiency isn't that great!"

What he didn't know was that for a Hong Kong film to be shown in Taiwan, it had to be reviewed by the censorship department and various connections had to be smoothed over.

If Shaw Brothers hadn't wielded considerable influence in Taiwan, his film would probably have taken another year and a half to arrive.

Seeing that Li Jiangbo didn't react much, Chung Chuh-hung became a little anxious. "Brother Li, I just bought some movie tickets. Do you want to go together? Brother A-Rong too?"

Leslie Cheung quickly waved his hand, "No, no. If I go, I'll just ruin the atmosphere!"

Seeing that Leslie Cheung had misunderstood, Cherie Chung quickly explained, "It's not what you think, Brother Leslie. I originally wanted to go with Xiao Na from the crew, but Xiao Na said that since we don't know the area well, it would be best to find a guy to go with us, so I came to find Brother Li."

Listening to Cherie Chung's explanation, Leslie Cheung couldn't tell the truth from the falsehood for a moment.

However, he still said, "Oh, is that so? It's a pity I have to practice singing tonight, so I can't go. Let Director Li go with you."

Upon hearing this, Chung Chu-hung was not disappointed, but looked at Li Jiangbo with expectation.

Li Jiangbo nodded, "Okay! Let's go together tonight, Rongzai, you should come too."

"No, I need to practice..."

Before Leslie Cheung could finish speaking, Li Jiangbo interrupted him.

"What are you practicing for! When can't we practice? It's better to go together so we can look out for each other!"

Chung Chor-hung was somewhat taken aback by these words. However, she quickly concealed her disappointment.

At 6 p.m., in front of the Zhongshan Hall Cinema.

Looking at the bustling crowd outside the movie theater, Li Jiangbo and his companions sighed inwardly; as expected, there weren't many people watching the movie.

Chung Chor-hung pointed to the movie posters hanging above the entrance and asked, "Brother Li, why are the posters here different from those in Hong Kong?"

"That's normal. The market in Taiwan is different from that in Hong Kong, and the way they promote themselves is also different."

"oh!"

The group chatted and laughed as they lined up, waiting to enter.

Li Jiangbo's attention was entirely focused on his surroundings, listening to the audience's discussions about the film.

They didn't even notice Cherie Chung standing to the side—she had changed into a more fitted pale yellow dress for the evening's movie, and her hair had been carefully styled.

"I wonder if this movie is any good?"

"I don't know, but the publicity campaign is quite extensive."

"Aren't Hong Kong full of martial arts movies? How come there are suddenly ghost movies?"

......

There weren't many people waiting to enter; most of them were young students and couples.

A short while later, the four of them followed the crowd into the movie theater.

As soon as Li Jiangbo entered the movie theater, he looked around and found that the theater was quite large, capable of holding more than 800 people!

Judging from the crowd, the occupancy rate seems to be around 50%.

Chung Chor-hung, standing to the side, said somewhat dejectedly, "There don't seem to be many people?"

Li Jiangbo explained calmly, "This is normal. The Taiwanese market is different from the Hong Kong market; comedy takes time to gain acceptance. Being able to do this fairly well is already a good start."

Leslie Cheung looked around and remarked, "It feels about the same number of people as a midnight screening in Hong Kong, around 50%."

Xiao Na laughed and said, "Although it's only 50%, isn't this the same as the premiere in Hong Kong? I believe it will definitely get better and better later on."

Upon hearing this, Cherie Chung's eyes crinkled with laughter, thinking to herself: Xiao Na is right, things will get better!

When she entered, Chung Chor-hung seemed to be bumped by the people behind her.

She gasped and involuntarily leaned towards Li Jiangbo.

Fortunately, Li Jiangbo noticed the unusual situation behind him and reached out to support Chung Chu-hung's arm.

The two separated quickly after their initial contact, and Chung Chor-hung's ears turned bright red.

The group found their seats in the middle. Chung Chor-hung and Xiao Na sat together, Leslie Cheung and Li Jiangbo sat together, and Li Jiangbo sat next to Chung Chor-hung.

As soon as they sat down, they found that the seats were a bit hard and made a slight creaking sound when they sat down.

When it was almost time, the lights in the theater suddenly dimmed, and the movie officially began.

The scenes from "Happy Ghost" slowly unfold, and the familiar background music begins.

Li Jiangbo is immune to this film; he's only interested in the audience's reaction.

When sporadic laughter broke out in the theater, Li Jiangbo watched with exceptional focus and concentration.

Chung Chu-hung secretly glanced at Li Jiangbo beside her; she could smell the faint scent of tobacco on him.

In the dim light of the screen, Cherie Chung thought Li Jiangbo was very handsome and stylish.

She felt a warm glow in her heart when she remembered that Li Jiangbo had brought her into the industry, taught her acting, and given her opportunities.

Chung Chor-hung thought to herself, "If only the movie were a little longer!"

Midway through the movie, a scene that was both comical and hilarious appeared on the screen.

Chung Chu-hung subconsciously shrank her shoulders, and her arm accidentally bumped into Li Jiangbo's arm.

Li Jiangbo smiled slightly and said in a low voice, "Why are you afraid when you filmed it yourself?"

"No, I didn't," Chung Chor-hung retorted softly, but didn't move her arm away.

The two touched each other gently, and Chung Chor-hung's heart was pounding with excitement; it was a very special feeling.

As the lights came on after the show, the audience members stood up and discussed the plot with their companions.

"This movie is good! It's quite entertaining."

"Hey! I really like Lin Qingqing, she looks so sunny!"

"I like Lin Xiaohua..."

"Didn't you all notice that the actor playing Zhu Xiucai is very handsome?"

......

These events were as Li Jiangbo had predicted. He remembered that the box office performance of "Happy Ghost" in Taiwan was not very high, though he couldn't recall the exact figures.

The four walked out of the movie theater.

Chung Chor-hung asked, "Brother Li, will this film be as successful in Taiwan as it is in Hong Kong?"

Li Jiangbo shook his head. "I don't know either. But the premiere looked alright."

Leslie Cheung nodded. "That's right. Anyway, it's already been released here, so now we just have to see how it goes. By the way, Director Lee, when is it released in Korea?"

"It's already out of theaters, and you're only asking now!"

Leslie Cheung gave an awkward laugh and then asked, "How were the box office results?"

Li Jiangbo gave a wry smile. "The effect wasn't very good. Martial law was declared in South Korea. Uncle Liu told me that after a month of screenings, it only grossed a little over 600,000 Hong Kong dollars."

Leslie Cheung sighed, "What a pity!"

At this moment, Cherie Chung suddenly spoke up: "I think it's great! Director Li's next movie will be even better! And Director Li will become the most amazing director in all of Hong Kong!"

The three of them burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Li Jiangbo laughed so hard he bent over, "Then let's take Ah Hong's good wishes!"