Hong Kong Stubborn - Chapter 123

On July 23, “Golden Branches and Jade Leaves” was screened on the Oriental Snow Country Cinema. Such a comedy-style love literary film has given other theaters a heavy blow.

Luo Junyan’s status in the Xiangjiang music scene was not just blown out, it was completely copied. Although Brother Cheng no longer has that free time, he has long stopped writing songs, but there are still a large number of veteran fans who come to the theater to join in.

On July 21st, “Heaven and Earth” produced by Tianmu was screened on Xinbao Cinema. Andy Lau’s appeal in the film market today is still much worse than that of Luo Junyan. The premiere of “Heaven and Earth” is not very successful, and the attendance rate is only less than 70%.

On July 28th, “Bodyguard of Zhongnanhai” starring Jet Li was screened on Jiahe Cinema. Jiahe had high hopes for this film, and as a result, under the double attack of “Life and Death” and “Golden Branches and Jade Leaves”, the attendance rate of “Zhongnanhai Bodyguard” was also unsatisfactory.

At this time, the series of “The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” had just returned to Xiangjiang and continued to film the remaining scenes, mainly special effects production. The price of special effects production is high because the money is calculated by frame, and the production speed is extremely slow, unless you use more computers and invest more manpower.

Not only did Luo Junyan watch and learn by himself, he also asked Bian Sicong and Brother Cheng to go to Xiantao Digital to steal the teacher. At this time, he realized that it is no wonder that it needs to invest 5 million US dollars. The special effects companies in the United States are more than one rank ahead of the special effects of Xiangjiang. The investment in software and hardware is naturally different, and the team of technical talents is even larger.

Faced with such a large investment project, Luo Junyan can only raise Will and Allen first and ask them to recruit and train staff in Hong Kong and South Korea. As for whether to create a new company, it will be decided after the box office of “The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” comes out.

Bian Sicong’s positioning for the Snowman Century Entertainment South Korea branch is investment rather than production. South Korea’s Silver Snow Throne Entertainment’s position is to train celebrities and act as brokers. South Korea’s “Yu Yuan” is still used to control artists and ultimately save their lives.

Adding a special effects production company to the base seems good, but the company needs to have money on its accounts. Luo Junyan is now basically clear, don’t even think about leading in Asia without 5 million US dollars. Sony’s special effects company established in Japan in 1992 should not be less than this amount.

The South Korean Performing Arts Base has been completed, and a spacious office has been reserved for Luo Junyan on the top floor of the main building. Because the banquet hall was converted into an office space, the remaining 22 million Hong Kong dollars of construction funds were transferred from Korean won to Hong Kong dollars and transferred to Luo Junyan’s private account.

There are more than 55 million Hong Kong dollars in the private account of Luo Junyan and his wife. If Brother Cheng firmly opposes the establishment of a special effects company, he can only do it with his own funds.

On August 3, the “Overlord of Western Chu”, which took nearly two months, was finished, with a box office of 15.73 million Hong Kong dollars. Time can not only change the space, but also the box office, but to be honest, the box office is still very good. The Yindu Cinemas not only completed the political mission, but also definitely made money.

On August 4, “Splendid Future” produced by Yongsheng Entertainment was screened online at Xinbao Cinema, starring Leslie Cheung, Kwan Chi-lin and Liang Jiahui. Yongsheng Entertainment is taking over the assets of Yongsheng Movies. Xiang Huasheng retreated to the backstage and hosted by Xiang Huaqiang. According to the public opinion, Xiang Huasheng had a bone spur.

Luo Junyan thinks that after half a month in the police station, bone spurs shouldn’t develop in his feet. The low output of Yongsheng this year may really be related to the changes in the Hong Kong government’s efforts to crack down on associations. It is estimated that like Luo Junyan, he also has the mind to run away at any time.

But regardless of whether it is Yongsheng Movie or Yongsheng Entertainment, it is still difficult to get his film source on the Oriental Snow Country Cinemas, and Luo Junyan can’t pay attention to it.

On August 12, “Bodyguard of Zhongnanhai” was finished, and the final box office was only 11.19 million Hong Kong dollars. This result can be said to be quite poor, and the box office expectations of other cities have also plummeted, which greatly disappointed Jiahe.

On August 13th, Tsui Hark’s “Blessed Lovers” directed by Jiahe was screened at Jiahe Cinemas, starring Wu Qilong and Yang Caini. At this time, Jiahe had to introduce Taiwanese capital to share the risk in the production of new films.

On August 19, “The Tiger of Wan Chai” produced by Yonggao Film Company was screened online in Xinbao Theater. Yonggao’s boss Luo Jiecheng has a very close relationship with Xin Ngong An, and he has often forced celebrities to accept film appointments, and now there are signs of reforming evil.

After these three films were released, Jiahe and Xinbao Cinemas recovered some of their decline, and only the Golden Princess Cinemas continued to wander on the edge of the abyss of death.

The July and August schedule for Oriental Snow Country Cinemas to dominate is a foregone conclusion, “Life and Death” still maintains a good attendance rate. Luo Junyan did not expect that a film that was used as a starter would become a dark horse at the box office. This cannot be all attributed to the hype. The film must have its own unique features.

The Oriental Snow Country Cinema did not leave the opponent too long breathing time. On August 25, “True Lies” was screened on the Oriental Snow Country Cinema. Judging from the attendance rate of the premiere and the audience response, it might not be possible that September will still be a great ride on the Oriental Snow Country Cinema Line.

“The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” has been produced for three months, Luo Junyan estimates that it will take at least one month, and the cost will exceed 1 million Hong Kong dollars. In Luo Junyan’s view, the production cost of 17 million is already a painful high price for him. If he counts his own remuneration, it is the cost of 25 million, but it is still not full of the pit of special effects.

The 5 million Hong Kong dollar remuneration of “Golden Branches and Jade Leaves” was transferred to Luo Junyan’s personal account after the production of the film.

Now that Luo Junyan has arrived, he can’t say who is right or wrong in the choice between Brother Hua and Brother Fa. The final box office of “Heaven and Earth”, which was released in July, was 10.01 million Hong Kong dollars, and Hua Ge estimated that he would recover the capital, and I heard that his disagreement with the Taiwan Scholars Company is getting bigger and bigger.

In mid-to-early September, “Splendid Future”, “Tiger of Wanchai Drunk and Dreaming”, and “Blessings of Love” were successively released, and the box office was 17.93 million, 11.06 million, and 18.64 million. This year, such box office results belong to the upper mid-tier level.

But if you want to use this kind of film to block the “Speed ​​of Life and Death”, “Golden Branches and Jade Leaves” and “True Lies” of the Oriental Snow Country Cinemas, it is simply not enough to watch, and basically cannot reduce the attendance rate.

On September 9, “I Have a Date with Spring” was finally released after 5 months of long-term screening, and the final box office score was 21.41 million Hong Kong dollars.

The Liberty League of Independent Cinemas is definitely losing money, but it can’t be considered a loss. Otherwise, the total box office of other films shown in the past 5 months is likely to exceed 20 million Hong Kong dollars, and a large number of films with a box office of over 1 million will be grabbed.

On September 17th, Yongsheng Entertainment produced “Domestic Lingling Paint” starring Stephen Chow and Anita Yuen in Xinbao Cinemas and Jiahe Cinemas. Stephen Chow’s film plus a two-line screening directly brought the attendance rate of “Golden Branches and Jade Leaves” to the next painting standard.

“Golden Branches and Jade Leaves” was drawn, and the final box office was 29.13 million Hong Kong dollars, which was an absolute big hit.

Subsequently, “Last Night Long Wind” produced by Oriental Film Distribution Company was released. During this period of time, the Oriental Snow Country Cinemas maintained the rhythm of the three films being screened at the same time, and was still able to resist the other three cinemas with the power of one family, but it was clear that “Last Night Long Wind” could no longer be the opponent of “Domestic Lingling Paint”.

On September 21, “The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” was finally completed.

Luo Junyan participated in the whole process this time and experienced the special effects production firsthand. Compared with traditional shooting methods, special effects production requires too much energy, and the visual effects of special effects are relatively rough, and the scene is not realistic. This is where the gap between Xiangjiang Special Effects Company and American special effects lies.

On October 5, “Last Night Long Wind” was released in advance. Although the box office was only 10.18 million Hong Kong dollars, it was still a good result in the near future.

Subsequently, “The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” was released immediately. To be honest, Luo Junyan is not satisfied with the special effects of this film, and it can even be said to be very disappointed. Can this film with a production cost of 17 million make a profit? Luo Junyan was really bottomless.

People often say that good spirits are not bad spirits. “The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” only experienced a high attendance rate of less than a week, and then it began to slide down at a 45-degree diagonal.

The special effects of this film really make the audience jump too much. No matter how good an actor’s acting skills are and how good the script is, he can’t force the audience to look at the cotton-wrapped dumplings as auspicious clouds on the feet of gods, right?

Now Luo Junyan can only hope that “The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” can last a few more days and can recover some more costs. He has decided that “The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” will not be released to the foreign market. At this time, his reputation is more important than short-term interests, otherwise it will greatly affect the future release of new films in the foreign market.

On October 26, “True Lies” was drawn before “Speed ​​of Life and Death”. The army sister made this decision based solely on attendance and audience surveys, and there must be a film to be drawn as “Ghosts in Disguise”. The premiere gave way.

The Oriental Snow Country Cinemas certainly can’t show all the external films, so it’s really a target. Therefore, it is better to remove “True Lies” and keep “Sixth Sense of Life and Death” to continue the screening.

The final box office of “True Lies” was 37.02 million Hong Kong dollars. The rise of foreign films in the Hong Kong film market is already unstoppable.

On October 27th, “Ghost in Disguise” was screened online at Oriental Snow Country Cinema. The popularity of Jin Carrey’s comedy is still not comparable to Stephen Chow in Xiangjiang. If you can’t grab the audience of “Domestic Lingling Paint”, the box office trend will not be easy to see.

During this period, the Golden Princess Cinemas had no sense of existence at all. Among the films screened, only one terrorist crime film “The Weak Kill” got 9.47 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office.

In 1994, the Golden Princess Entertainment Company did not invest in a new film, and the well-known directors gathered under its banner have done bird and beast dispersal. The Golden Princess is currently preparing for the listing, and she has no intention of making a movie at all.

On November 9th, “The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” was reluctantly finished, and the final box office was 13.68 million Hong Kong dollars. Hope Engineering Film Company’s “Mermaid Princess” will be released. This film is the third local production released by Snow Knight Distribution Company this year, starring Zhong Liti, Ekin Cheng, and Takeshi Kaneshiro.

“The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” can be said to be a fiasco. At the box office, only HK$4.1 million was recovered, and at least HK$14 million was lost after including the promotional expenses, which is comparable to Tsui Hark’s “Green Snake”.

Luo Junyan was not too depressed, and paying the tuition fee is not unjust. In the depths of his heart, for the first time he seriously thought about what Brother Cheng said. Xiangjiang is just a small place. Sooner or later, it will fall. You still have to learn to swim in the sea to see the vast world.

What’s more, too many films have lost money this year, and dozens of production companies have gone bankrupt, including some well-known film companies. Snowman Century Entertainment must have much luck in order to make a steady profit without losing money.

At the same time, he was also deeply aware of the gap between Xiangjiang Special Effects Company and American Special Effects Company. “Jurassic Park”, “Speed ​​of Life and Death”, and “True Lies” can all be successful. This proves that the application of computer special effects in movies is absolutely recognized by the audience, so your own special effects company must be set up, otherwise Will be dumped farther and farther in the future.

Before the painting of “The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” was finished, Luo Junyan went to South Korea to inspect the performing arts base and planned the establishment of a special effects company.

Before going to South Korea, he took a detour to Japan. The main purpose is to get to know Sony’s special effects company and take back the Golden Unicorn Award trophy at the 7th Kyoto International Film Festival in Japan by the way.

Jiahe Cinemas and Xinbao Cinemas chose Changying “Domestic Lingling Paint” because there really is no better film to top it. In this period, Yongsheng Entertainment is the happiest. The anticipated strong competitive film hits the street, the same type of foreign film can not take the audience, and the screening period has been extended. This can be described as killing three birds with one stone.

With “Green Snake” and “The Sixth Sense of Life and Death” both on the street, Xiangjiang Studios has become more conservative in the application of computer special effects.

The key is that the cost of special effects is too high, and the effect of making special effects in Hong Kong has been proven by two major productions, which is a loss of tens of millions at every turn. Taiwanese capital is not even going to pursue special effects. How can they shoot fast and follow the trend of production? This is the focus of their concern.

On November 25, “Legend of Mermaid” was finished, and the box office was only 3.25 million Hong Kong dollars. The Snow Knights Publishing Company only paid 910,000 Hong Kong dollars in advance, but made 420,000 Hong Kong dollars in addition to the promotion service fees.

The film that was subsequently released was “I Love Ferrari” distributed by the Oriental Film Distribution Company. As a result, it was only shown for 5 days, and the box office was 760,000 Hong Kong dollars. The nightmare got deeper and deeper, and I couldn’t wake up for a while.

With all the expectations, “Life and Death” was finally finished on November 30, and the final box office was 46.43 million Hong Kong dollars.

“Life and Death” is currently the box office champion film in the Xiangjiang Film Market this year. Now there is only one Christmas file left. Last year, Luo Junyan’s “Wushuang” pulled down “Jurassic Park” at the last moment. Will there be miracles again this year?

On December 7, “Domestic Lingling Paint” finally couldn’t hold it, and it was finished in two theaters at the same time, and the final box office was 37.52 million Hong Kong dollars. As a result, after the painting of “Domestic Lingling Paint”, “Ghost in Disguise” set off a small climax of watching movies. Although it quickly fell again, the box office rose a lot.

Luo Junyan returned to Xiangjiang on December 9. He has nothing to do with defending the local box office champion this year. The year-end celebration meeting can be held on time, and the discussion of the special effects company can’t be delayed for a moment.