Hong Kong Stubborn - Chapter 17

Just after the New Year’s Day holiday, in the lobby cafe of the Peninsula Hotel.

Fang Yihua just read the final edition planning book of “The Next Stop, Queen of Heaven”, took a sip from his teacup, and said: “Army, 3 million investment in a romantic movie. To be honest, I don’t have the confidence to make money.”

Sister Army said: “In order to invite Miss Teresa Teng, the original budget was 4.5 million. Miss Teresa Teng really liked the role in the script of “The Next Stop, Queen” and took the initiative to reduce the remuneration from our estimated 2 million to 500,000. Otherwise. If so, I didn’t have the guts to show this planning book to Aunt Six.”

Fang Yihua weighed it up in his heart and said, “2 million rewards? You are so brave. Which of the female artists in Hong Kong and Taiwan earns more than 300,000 dollars. This is already a sky-high price of 500,000. How can you compare them to Jackie Chan?”

Sister Army nodded and said: “So I can’t make up my mind. On the one hand, I think the investment risk is too great. On the other hand, it will be Miss Teresa Teng’s debut on the screen after her fame. Without Miss Teresa Teng’s appeal in the Chinese society, it would be countless. Fans, I will directly reject this planning book.”

Fang Yihua rarely hesitated, but this time he couldn’t make up his mind. It is not a matter of money, but that this large investment is inconsistent with Shaw’s established low-cost Kianhai tactics. Once a major decision-making error occurs, Fang Yihua will lose his prestige in Shaw’s.

In the end she didn’t dare to take the risk and said, “Army, this time Shaw Brothers will not join in the fun. Older, not as aggressive as your young people. However, Shaw Brothers hopes to get the distribution rights of this film in Nanyang. You can put forward the conditions.”

Teresa Teng’s influence in Southeast Asia is extraordinary. It can be said that this is the biggest piece of cake.

Sister Army sighed and said, “Aunt Six, you know too. Such a big investment in a literary film depends on the markets of Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Last year, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and various rumors about the National Government are flying in the sky. If the control is strengthened, it is hard to say whether the Taiwan market can enter or not.”

Fang Yihua laughed and said: “Do you know how Uncle Six praised you? Don’t fight or grab, but listen to the thunder in a silent place. The box office of this film is divided into 4:6, and the producer takes 6. If you don’t agree to the buyout, the producer’s box office score will be signed at 25%. Bar.”

Shaw’s issuance revenue in Southeast Asia generally accounts for about 55% of the total box office revenue. Like this movie starring Teresa Teng, the box office share can get at least 65%, but Shaw is responsible for the promotion of the film.

Shaw Brothers has hardly distributed any films to independent production companies, and even if it is distributed by agents, it will only give the producers about 20% of the box office revenue. In other regions, such as Taiwan, Japan, Europe and the United States, Shaw does not have mature distribution channels, so it does not require agency distribution rights.

Sister Army considered for a while and said, “OK. Aunt Six, we can sign a contract at any time.”

Sister Army conveyed the conditions reached with Shaw Brothers to Brother Cheng and Junyan Luo. The two minority shareholders disagreed life and death, believing that Shaw Brothers is an empty-glove white wolf, and the loss of profits in Southeast Asia is too great, and it is likely to cause film losses or meager profits.

After nearly a month of searching by investors, it was concluded that no suitable investors were found. Many people are willing to pay, after all, it is Teresa Teng who starred, but from the formation of the crew to the release and settlement, such investors will not contribute to all links, but will share the copyright, so they will not be introduced as a last resort.

Aggregate Entertainment decided to invest 1 million yuan, and Luo Junyan immediately transferred 500,000 film remuneration to Teresa from the accountant. The contract signed by the two parties is considered to be officially effective. Sister Army almost ran away when she learned that she would definitely get into trouble if she didn’t put a chain on Luo Junyan.

Of course, in the end, Cheng and Luo Junyan bowed their heads to sister army and accepted Shaw’s condition. Then the army sister was forced to personally contribute 2 million yuan, which was agreed to account for 70% of the investment ratio, and the dust settled.

The annual investment plan for buying a house made by Sister Army is a waste. She still has more than 10 million cash in hand. It is not a problem at all to buy a house, but she suddenly feels that she is not in the mood. The new film of this private investment aggregation caused sister army to eat her words again. She decided not to mention the words “must” and “must” in front of Luo Junyan in the future.

Next, the formation of the crew of “The Next Stop, Queen of Heaven” encountered problems. The three shareholders of the production company Aggregate Entertainment differed greatly on the director candidates, and had to meet again and again to negotiate and unify their positions.

Sister Army said: “My opinion is to invite TVB’s director Zhao Zhenqiang. Jun, when you went to record the theme song of “Shanghai Beach”, you often wandered around the crew. How about the personal ability of director Zhao Zhenqiang? He should have had an intuitive understanding. And as an intern of the artist training class, Liao Qizhi can play an important supporting role in “Shanghai Beach”. Don’t you think you should return someone else’s favor? The entertainment industry has contacts.”

Cheng Ge said first: “Army, Zhao Zhenqiang is a traditional TV drama director after all, and “The Next Stop, Queen of Heaven” is a romantic romance with a female perspective as the core. I personally think that the director Xu Anhua is The best candidate.”

Sister Army retorted: “Brother Cheng, apart from being a woman, “Mad Catastrophe” is An Hua’s first movie, and she was just a TV screenwriter working for TVB. As for me, I don’t agree to invite An Hua to come. Directing, because in my feeling, she will make the main line of love in the film too deep. Then “The Next Stop, Queen of Heaven” will transform from a commercial film to a literary film, and the aggregation needs a pure commercial film. Rather than applauding unpopular literary films.”

Luo Junyan said: “Since I’m not sure, it’s better to know how to use it. I still support Brother Xiang. He is most suitable for commercial films, has a good problem-solving ability, and the director’s pay is definitely the lowest.”

Brother Cheng was a little tempted by low pay. As the screenwriter of “The Next Stop, Queen of the Day”, he tried hard to recall the type of director of “Notting Hill”, but he didn’t have any impression. Yes, many parts of “The Next Stop, Queen of Heaven” refer to “Notting Hill”, a romance film that Cheng Ge was fooled into. At that time, he thought it was an extremely nonsense fairy tale movie.

Sister Army directly rejected it and said: “Axiang can’t do it, he can’t control the movie on this subject.”

At this time, Luo Meiwei, who was taking the minutes of the meeting, raised her hand timidly, and asked, “Three bosses, can I intervene?”

Luo Meiwei is 20 years old this year. She was selected from the resumes of many clerks delivered to TVB by sister army. He had already asked Cheng to recruit a clerk long ago, but he wanted to persuade Zhong Chuhong to join the aggregation. This kind of procrastination and ineffective recruitment has touched the bottom line of sister army, so Luo Meiwei was directly placed in the aggregation.

Sister Army likes this diligent and motivated girl, and encourages her to say: “Awei, Aggregation is a small company, and there is no such strict hierarchy. You are the number one employee of the company, and you can boldly speak out if you have good ideas. .”

Luo Meiwei nodded and said: “The three bosses, I believe everyone in Xiangjiang will have watched the “Below the Lion Rock” broadcast by the TV station. I think that since such an inspirational and touching TV series can be produced, then “Below the Lion Rock” “The director of this new film should be suitable for the company.”

Brother Cheng and Luo Junyan looked at sister army, only she was familiar with the various characters of the TV station.

Sister Army smiled at Luo Meiwei and said, “Awei is still very hard. “Below the Lion Rock” was recorded by RTHK. In fact, Anhua is also one of the directors. What impressed me was another part-time director, Wanting Zhang. , This is also a female, but she is not from TVB and currently works at RTHK.”

Brother Cheng didn’t want to drag on any longer, and the estimated salary would be low, so he said, “Army, then please contact the director Zhang Wanting. We are sincere, and she can have fun in this film, of course, the salary Still have to compare with the standards of new directors.”

Therefore, after sister Army and Director Zhang met like a confidant, Director Zhang postponed his study trip to the United States and took over the filming of “The Next Stop, Queen of Heaven” at a price of 30,000 Hong Kong dollars for a newcomer. Because of the need to accommodate Miss Teresa Teng’s schedule, the crew of “The Next Stop, Queen of Heaven” was not officially formed until April.

During this period, several influential events occurred in the Xiangjiang entertainment circle.

On February 9th, after Jackie Chan joined Jiahe, the first self-directed and self-acted humorous kung fu film “The Junior Brother” was screened on the whole line of Jiahe Cinemas. In just a few days, the box office exceeded 3 million. For a while, Xiangjiang shook, and various people in the entertainment circle were eagerly waiting for the final box office.

At the same time as the release of “Junior Brothers”, the film industry broke out surprising news. The Golden Princess Entertainment, founded by Lei Juekun, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kowloon Real Estate, entered the Lisheng Cinemas, and the Lisheng Cinemas was officially renamed the Golden Princess Cinemas. Another big success entered the movie market. The three strongest princesses.

It seems that in order to further support the opening of the flourishing age of the Hong Kong movie, the final box office of “Senior Brother” has historically exceeded 10 million Hong Kong dollars, and the final box office was 10.26 million when it closed. The box office surpassed tens of millions. This was a milestone moment for all colleagues in the Hong Kong film industry. Jackie Chan completed a pioneering work with historical mission significance.

Luo Junyan and Cheng Ge also went to the theater to enjoy “Junior Brothers”. They were all impressed by the exquisite martial arts design, the humorous character movements, and the English theme song sung by Jackie Chan himself. When he walked out of the theater, Luo Junyan was still wondering whether the box office would exceed 11 million if someone else sang the theme song.

At the beginning of March, TVB broadcasted an innovative masterpiece “Shanghai Beach”, which attracted tens of thousands of people. The theme song of the same name once again aroused the popularity of singing among the citizens, and the sales of albums skyrocketed. It’s a pity that Luo Junyan is just a small fire, and TVB’s protagonist Chow Yun-fat and Zhao Yazhi are very hot. Brother Decheng yelled behind her back that Sister Army was TVB’s gangster and Shaw’s running dog, but in front of her he smiled and begged Army Sister, mostly for Luo Junyan’s chance of exposure in TVB programs.

On April 17, Teresa Teng secretly flew to Xiangjiang from Taiwan, and sister army, brother Cheng, Luo Junyan and director Zhang greeted him at the airport.

Because she had just won the first best female singer of the Taiwan Golden Bell Award in March, Teresa Teng was very excited to see Luo Junyan, and she pulled him tightly from the airport to show off with complacency. Luo Junyan carefully complimented him, but as soon as he asked him to treat and give gifts, Luo Junyan immediately turned to greet his aunt.

Sister Army and Director Zhang didn’t expect that Luo Junyan and Teresa Teng were so close. If they didn’t know the truth, they would definitely think that they were a pair of brothers and sisters who joked in front of their mother. And the most surprising thing is that Teresa Teng’s mother actually met the two kindly unhelpful faces.

On April 18th, the crew of “The Next Stop, Queen of Heaven” held a ceremony to worship God at the Shaw’s Clear Water Bay Studios.

The supporting role of the show invited wireless contracted artist Zheng Zeshi, the former drummer of Wenna Band Chen You, and TVB artist Ye Dexian who was a singer to join.

The artists of this era are really abiding by the rules, and the total remuneration for the three supporting roles is less than 70,000. And Luo Junyan’s salary is only 180,000 yuan. It’s not that Luo Junyan wants to abide by the rules, but Cheng doesn’t regard him as a first-line star, so he negotiated an auspicious figure for him. Luo Junyan had to argue any more, so it was the army sister who took the initiative and said over and over again, shouldn’t the boss save money for the company?

“The Next Stop, Queen of Heaven” was filmed in Hong Kong and Taiwan. There is only one scene of Teresa Teng’s concert in Taiwan, which is left for the final filming, and other actors don’t have to go to Taiwan with them.

The most expensive part of the whole film is Teresa Teng’s concert at the Hong Kong Stadium. This is the highlight of the whole film and the absolute climax of the film. No one has held a concert in the stadium this year, and this is an old-fashioned stadium built in 1953. How is it set? How to set the camera position? How to record? How to mobilize super large-scale group performances? Everyone is thinking about a question, how did Brother Cheng imagine this kind of concert scene out of thin air?

In fact, Brother Cheng was wronged too. He thought that the Hung Hom Stadium had been completed early without field investigation. And he didn’t even know that the so-called so-called so-called solo concerts of the top singers in Hong Kong and Taiwan are nothing more than a special performance for a hundred and eighty people on the stage of a large theater.

But Teresa Teng really likes this setting. Luo Junyan finds it new. Sister Army thinks it is a hot spot. Director Zhang is willing to try this kind of challenge. So Cheng couldn’t delete it anymore, so he could only bite the bullet and go on.