Chapter 568: The Decline of Hong Kong City Movies
The car turned around the winding mountain road and arrived in front of a luxurious villa. It seemed that the doorman was very familiar with Hua Tsai's BMW and opened it immediately when he saw it. At this time, what came into view was a Suzhou garden. Although Xiang Huaqiang is the eldest brother of Jianghu, Xinyian is also famous in Hong Kong City, and China Star is a prestigious company in the entertainment industry.
But Xiang Huaqiang is a person who likes Chinese culture very much, so the villas are laid out in the Suzhou garden style, with a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right. The location has been seen by a Feng Shui master and is a very good Feng Shui location.
The two people quickly entered the villa. A majestic middle-aged man wearing a black Chinese tunic suit was sitting in the hall, with a cup of Jun porcelain in his hand exuding the faint fragrance of West Lake Longjing.
This person is the eldest brother of Jianghu, Xiang Huaqiang. If we talk about wealth, Xiang Huaqiang is certainly not as good as Shao Liushu, but if we talk about his influence on Hong Kong City, I am afraid that Shao Liushu is not as good as Xiang Huaqiang. When he saw Xiang Huaqiang for the first time, Ye Ming felt that this man was a teacher. He was the kind of person who should stand on a three-foot podium, hold a ruler and teach in a solemn and solemn way, teaching students and solving doubts. But it turns out that Hua Qiang is the boss of the largest society in Hong Kong.
After seeing Hua Zai and Ye Ming arriving, Xiang Huaqiang stood up and said, "Mr. Ye, I have admired you for a long time. It is my honor to have Mr. Ye as my guest today."
Xiang Huaqiang has always attached great importance to educated people. Ye Ming's talent, at least among young people, is unmatched by anyone. Ye Ming also immediately stepped forward and said, "You're welcome to Mr. Xiang. It's an honor for me to meet Mr. Xiang."
After all, Xiang Huaqiang is a man of the world and doesn't like to be sloppy in doing things. Ask Ye Ming and Hua Tsai to sit down, and naturally someone will serve them West Lake Longjing. Xiang Huaqiang immediately said: "Mr. Ye, I'm here to see you this time. I think Hua Zai has made it clear to you that Hong Kong's movies have declined to such an extent. I feel very uncomfortable watching it."
Wa Jai explained on the side: "This matter is really sad. In 1992, we only had 12 movies with a box office of over 30 million, but this was the last glory of Hong Kong movies. From now on It fell into a trough. In 1993, Zhou Xingxing became the box office champion with "Tang Bohu Spots Autumn Fragrance". This year, Hong Kong movies began to decline, with a total of 5 movies exceeding 30 million. It is worth mentioning that, "Farewell My Concubine", regarded as my brother's classic work, only had a box office of 9 million that year.
In 1994, Fat Brother fought in the world again. "God of Gamblers 2" broke the 50 million mark in one fell swoop, but it was only Fat Brother's last glory. There were 7 Hong Kong films that exceeded 30 million yuan that year. Wong Jiawei's ultimate work was also Lin Qingha The last movie before retiring, "Ashes of Time" was grandly released, but the box office was only 9.03 million. Li Lianjie's classic works "Tai Chi Zhang Sanfeng" and "The Bodyguard of Zhongnanhai" did not gross more than 15 million at the box office.
From 1995 to 1996, Brother Cheng Long, who had been dormant for many years, once again exerted his efforts and reached the peak of his career with "Red Zone" and "Police Story 4: Simple Mission". Both of these films achieved more than 57 million yuan, becoming the box office hits of the 1990s. The commanding heights of the city are no longer matched by anyone. In 1997, Cheng Long continued to lead the annual box office championship with "A Good Man", but the box office dropped to 45 million.
1998 was an important year for Hong Kong movies. In this year, "The King" starring Cheng Yijian and Aaron Kwok became the box office champion of the year, ending the situation of "bi-weekly" taking turns to dominate since 1985. This is not a good thing. Hong Kong films have declined as a whole. That year, there were two films with over 30 million, and the other one was Cheng Long's "Who Am I".
In 1999, Stephen Chow returned to the top spot at the box office with "The King of Comedy", which seemed to be a comeback. The box office was only over 29 million, and Hong Kong movies had reached their lowest point. This year, it is even more bleak. That is to say, "A Man and a Widow" starring me and Sammi Cheng has a record of 35 million, which has won more than 30 million Hong Kong films. No one can surpass it until now. I am not boasting. I estimate that it will be the box office champion this year. This is my movie, but I'm not happy at all. "
At this time, he talked about the Hong Kong city's film history in recent years in one breath, which also made Andy feel a touch of sadness. It took a lot of effort to reach the top of the box office, but I am not happy at all.
Xiang Huaqiang was also a little disappointed and said: "From twelve movies that can exceed 30 million, there is only one now, and we have to deduct inflation. Therefore, speaking of it, at this time, Hong Kong City The entertainment industry is not optimistic. The film market is on the verge of collapse. No one can deny this. How does Mr. Ye view this environment?"
Ye Ming thought for a while and said: "Just now the talented guy asked me in the car why Hong Kong movies are so lonely. In fact, good talents go to Hollywood. This is a very difficult thing to ignore. Wong Jiawei, Cheng Long, Zhou Stars, Jet Li, Zhou Yunfa, Yuan Hoping and other good filmmakers have gone to Hollywood one after another. This has directly caused the vitality of Hong Kong movies to be severely damaged. It is simply impossible for us to stop this trend.
Unless they all come back, there is probably still hope, but I dare not say anything about others. Brother Cheng Long will never come back casually. He is quite popular during his peak period. Also, in fact, the emergence of DVDs has had a huge impact on the film market, especially pirated DVDs. This is also a side issue. "
Cheng Long's last two Peak Hour films did not continue the myth of the first film. Although they were not considered a loss, they were not very good in any way. Therefore, he finally returned to China to film. But that's something for another day. At this time, Cheng Long was very popular in Hollywood, so naturally he wouldn't come back casually.
Zhou Runfa and Li Lianjie would not give in casually. Xiang Huaqiang shook his head and said, "Don't think about it. None of them will come back. We filmmakers in Hong Kong actually need exciting news. We need to save ourselves and need a good work." To enhance the confidence of the entire Hong Kong people in movies.
Originally, I thought that this movie might be the star of a lonely man and a widowed woman. However, I didn’t expect that the box office did not reach the goal I thought about. Not to mention surpassing Process Long’s two peak movies, or even 50 million failed to surpass it. This is at most a relatively successful commercial movie.
Therefore, in such a situation, after I saw your script, I think it is a pretty good movie. At this time, if it is done well, it will become a Hong Kong movie. The savior, therefore, I found you, Mr. Ye, and I hope that everyone can work together to save the decline of Hong Kong Film. "
Back then, Hong Kong City's movies swept across the Asia-Pacific and were known as the Hollywood of the East. But now it seems that this has become history. The loss of a large number of film talents has made it impossible for Hong Kong City's entertainment circle to revitalize the film market. Nowadays, it is also said that the moon is getting worse and the sun is setting.
But I believe that as long as Mr. Ye's movie appears, it will at least give everyone a reason to go to the cinema. So I thought we could work together and make this movie. "
Xiang Huaqiang also had good intentions. Under such a situation, Ye Ming also nodded and said: "Since Mr. Xiang appreciates this book like this, it is indeed possible for us to cooperate. However, there is One point, in fact, we at China Film and Television are not very short of money, but we still have a little money to make movies.
If we cooperate, like this, if I pay one-third to Mr. Xiang, the network rights in Hong Kong City will be mine, and the rest will be all Mr. Xiang’s, and the mainland market will be mine. As for overseas copyrights, we According to the investment share? Moreover, when I make a movie, others cannot force me to be an actor. If Mr. Xiang has anyone to recommend, he can follow the rules, but he will not get any big privileges. "
Originally, Xiang Huaqiang planned to use half of the investment to cooperate with Ye Ming, but for some reason Ye Ming flatly proposed a one-third amount, which was quite embarrassing.
Seeing Ye Ming's resolute look, Xiang Huaqiang suddenly realized that he was still not very settled with the young man he was facing.
If it comes to money, then under such a situation, Ye Ming is really not short of money. In fact, the financial situation of Huihuang Film and Television is really not very good. Otherwise, at this time, Xiang Hua Qiang would not come up with this co-production plan.
But now that Ye Ming can agree to give up one-third, then this is already a very good result.
Thinking about the strength of the script of Infernal Affairs, Xiang Huaqiang is also very patient about this. He is betting that Infernal Affairs is a movie destined to become a classic.
Therefore, Xiang Huaqiang finally nodded and said: "Okay, there is no problem with this. This is originally a movie about salvation, one-third is one-third. I will ensure the smooth shooting of the movie in all aspects." , Mr. Ye, if you have any other movie actor candidates, you can tell me, I am in Hong Kong City, I believe they still have some face."
Xiang Huaqiang not only has face, but also has a very big face.
If Xiang Huaqiang were to invite people, basically speaking, no one would refuse to participate.
Ye Ming is the director, and Xiang Huaqiang knows very well when to delegate authority to whom. If he wants Ye Ming to shoot a life-saving work, he must not be able to restrict Ye Ming's rights. (To be continued)
