Treasure Island 1992, starting from the Four Little Heavenly Kings

“The film and television market in Hong Kong and Taiwan does not seem to be much smaller than in previous years.

But anyone with a discerning eye can see that without the support of several films from Qiming Film and Television, Hong Kong films might have been decimated by Hollywood blockbusters.

Moreover, one thing to note is that Qiming Films’ films are not entirely Hong Kong films.

Their company's films are all produced in the Hollywood style.

If you look at "The Lonely Agent", Chen Qiming directly released this film for its premiere in North America.

Obviously, when he was filming it, he had no intention of labeling it a Hong Kong film. "

"The downturn in the market is inevitable. A large number of investors have withdrawn from the industry, and the rest have begun to be unable to play in this market."

……

Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung and others talked about the recent downturn in the film and television industry while watching the filming there.

The mood of several people was inevitably a little low.

The decline of the film market still has a great impact on them.

Although they are all top actors in the industry, there will definitely be filming.

However, the withdrawal of a large amount of capital has affected the entire Hong Kong film company.

In the past, when there was capital support, a film company could develop three or four projects at the same time.

Not only are top actors like them not worried about filming, but even the young actors have their faces covered with oil.

But now, after capital withdraws, a large number of film and television companies have gone bankrupt.

This results in fewer and fewer projects.

With fewer projects, there are fewer and fewer opportunities for actors like them to choose from.

Fewer opportunities to choose scripts naturally means that there will be fewer and fewer good films.

Over time, the reputation of these actors will become smaller and smaller.

"I don't know if you have noticed, but there have been fewer and fewer new actors emerging in recent years!"

Andy Lau's words silenced everyone.

Speaking of which, there are fewer and fewer newcomers showing up, which actually has something to do with them.

As a large amount of capital withdraws from the film market, film companies have smaller budgets and fewer and fewer films to make.

For film companies, the entire company's funds are focused on one project.

In order to ensure the success of the project, they naturally need insurance.

The best insurance for a movie is naturally a top director and top actor.

Only they can make the movie box office guaranteed.

As a result, the protagonists of only some projects have been given to the people with the most box office appeal in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The result of this is that newcomers have almost no chance to stand out.

This can be seen from the movies of the past two years.

Almost all the movies on the market are produced by those with box-office ability.

As for newcomers, it is not without exception, but there are almost no exceptions. As soon as the movie is released, the box office will be a hit.

Film companies are not fools. Who would promote newcomers when they know that promoting newcomers is unlikely to bring benefits?

"Never mind this! Instead of worrying about this, it's better to star in a few more good films so that movie fans can have more confidence in Hong Kong films."

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit tense, Maggie Cheung hurriedly opened her mouth to lighten the atmosphere.

"It seems the filming is finished!" Tony Leung looked towards the set.

"This movie might be a hit again!"

Leslie Cheung glanced at the mess over there and couldn't help but speak.

The filming just now used a lot of explosions, and the scene was very big.

This is very rare in Hong Kong movies. As long as the plot is not bad, the movie should not fail.

"You have to have money to make a movie! You know Johnnie To's "Emergency" released in January?

That film suffered from the lack of money for special effects.

It is said that in order to film the fire-fighting scene, Johnnie To actually burned down an abandoned textile factory, and then asked the actors to do it themselves.

I heard several actors complained and nearly died on set. "

"I heard that the film was good, but unfortunately, the Met is about to close. Shaw Brothers seems to be reorganizing, and all the Mets are closing."

Andy Lau told the gossip he heard.

"It's already been considered a reorganization. Shaw Brothers is responsible for the distribution of "Emergency"!" Leslie Cheung corrected.

"What are you talking about? So serious!"

At this time, Chen Qiming finished filming and walked over dirty without changing his clothes.

In the plot he just filmed, he had an action scene with Nicolas Cage, and he was still falling and rolling on the ground, so he looked very embarrassed.

“We were talking about special effects!

By the way, your company is a big player in special effects, and every movie has a lot of special effects. Tell me, is the future of the industry really only limited to special effects? "

Andy Lau spoke first.

He really takes this issue seriously.

The business he opened a few years ago collapsed, but this did not stop him from becoming a boss.

On the contrary, as Chen Qiming's Qiming Film and Television grew bigger and bigger, he increasingly wanted to start a new company.

"Not necessarily! Special effects will definitely play an important role in future movies.

But in my opinion, not all movies must use special effects.

Drama films and comedies can also carve out a niche in the market.

If you look at Stephen Chow, the selling point of his movies is comedy.

Of course, that guy is also a reluctant master. He often asks me for advice on special effects. I think he may combine special effects with comedy in the future. "

"Mingzi, we just talked about the market.

I believe you also know that the market has shrunk severely in the past two years, especially Hong Kong films.

Audiences who originally liked watching Hong Kong movies now dislike Hong Kong movies less and less, and instead begin to pursue Hollywood blockbusters.

You've been in Hollywood a long time.

Tell me, in your opinion, is there still a way out for Hong Kong films? "

Hearing this, Chen Qiming couldn't help but take another look at Tony Leung.

This guy is usually a boring gourd.

I didn't expect that such a question would be asked.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him.

Chen Qiming wiped his sweat, found a chair and sat down, and then said:

“It’s difficult, the film industry is actually a market economy.

If the market is unstable and you can't make money, capital will definitely not stay in this industry for much longer.

You should also have noticed that more and more capital is beginning to withdraw from the film market.

Yongsheng, Jiahe and even Oriental Film and Television.

The number of films produced by these leading companies in Hong Kong films has dropped significantly in the past two years.

Why is this?

If they don’t have money, their sources of funds have already taken the initiative to cut off the supply of funds to them.

Without funds, it would be impossible for them to open several theater groups at the same time like before.

It is no exaggeration to say that if they continue at the current pace, they will not be able to hold on for long. As long as one film fails, they will collapse without financial support, and bankruptcy is possible.

And the film company has no money, so there are fewer crews to start work.

Not only did the actors not get a chance, but so did the people behind the scenes.

Haven't you noticed that a large number of people behind the scenes have started to head north?

They just ran out of jobs in Hong Kong, so they had to go north to look for opportunities. On the mainland, the economy has taken off at a rapid pace in recent years, and the film market will only get bigger and bigger.

Then there are talented people like them going north to provide technical support.

I believe it won’t be long before the mainland will officially overtake Hong Kong and become the number one film production base in the Chinese-speaking region. "

Chen Qiming answered this question based on some things in reality and dreams.

"What about Qiming? Other companies can't hold on, but you can hold on?" Maggie Cheung asked curiously.

“My Qiming is different from Jiahe and others. The establishment of companies like Jiahe was supported by capital.

As for Qiming Film and Television, it is entirely owned by me.

As long as the movie doesn't keep losing money, I don't have to worry about funding.

Moreover, haven’t you noticed that our company’s market is no longer Hong Kong?

Our company's current focus is on cooperating with Hollywood, and the most important market share has become Hollywood. "

To be honest, if it had relied on the Hong Kong market, Qiming Films would have collapsed long ago.

Although every film of Qiming Film and Television has a good box office in Hong Kong, Taiwan and even Chinese regions.

But if you really think about it, after excluding the investment in the movie, these box-offices actually don’t make much money.

If Qiming Film and Television's recent films had not achieved good results in the North American market, Qiming Film and Television might have reduced the number of films it produced like Golden Harvest.

"You are still awesome, you are good at singing, acting and being a boss!"

Andy Lau gave a thumbs up.

"Haha..." Andy's compliment still made Chen Qiming happy, and he couldn't help laughing.

Finally, he knew that these people were a little confused about the future, so he explained:

"You actually don't have to worry so much. No matter how the industry fluctuates, it will definitely not die completely.

You are all industry leaders, and whoever loses his job will not have your turn!

Moreover, why are you so pessimistic? If there are no good movies to be made in Hong Kong, then go to the mainland!

The mainland film market will definitely experience a big explosion in the next few years.

If you can catch up, it will be of great benefit to you. "

"I think so too!" Leslie Cheung agreed with Chen Qiming's statement.

In fact, if you want to say who is the smartest among these people, it must be Leslie Cheung.

While other Hong Kong stars were still feeling worthless pride that they were superior to mainland filmmakers, he had already collaborated on many films with the mainland.

Among them are classic movies such as "Farewell My Concubine" that have left their mark in film history.

"Mingzai, filming is about to start, get ready!"

"I have two more scenes, so you guys can play with them first. When I finish filming, I'll treat you to tea!"

Today's scene hasn't been finished yet, and John Woo's side started urging him again.

After exchanging a few words with a few people, Chen Qiming put down his water glass and ran quickly towards the shooting location.

After running for two steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back at the people, "I almost forgot, Director Wu said, you have finally come here, so I can't let you run away in vain.

You all should make a guest appearance! ! "

"Uh, boss, we finally had a rest and came to have some fun. Why don't you let us go?"

Andy Lau looked at each other and couldn't help but said speechlessly.

They say that if you do the same thing too much, you will get bored.

The same goes for filming.

No matter how much you like this industry, if you shoot too many movies, you will feel aversion to filming.

Go to work! Hate everyone.

"What nonsense! Just show your face, you just happened to be a little popular in North America.

And you guys too.

They are all regular visitors to international film festivals, so there must be many fans of yours internationally.

Y'all come and help! "

Chen Qiming pushed a few people towards the filming location without any politeness.

Several people had no choice but to follow him.

"Director Wu, they are here, tell them what scenes you want to arrange for them, and I will prepare it first."

Arriving at John Woo's place, Chen Qiming handed a few people over to John Woo, then trotted to the dressing room next to him to touch up his makeup.

By the time he came out, Andy Lau and the others had already been assigned roles by John Woo.

Everyone doesn't have much of a role.

But there are a few lines.

Andy Lau was assigned the identity of an agent and was on a mission in Hong Kong. He met Kester, who played Chen Li, and had a few words.

His character's name is Liu Hua.

Well, yes, John Woo, who had an impromptu idea, directly arranged Liu Hua from "The Alone Agent" into the movie after obtaining the consent of Chen Qiming, the copyright owner of "The Alone Agent", and let him intersect with Kester.

Character linkage is not common in Hollywood or even Hong Kong, but it is not unheard of.

Every appearance is a crossover between classic characters, which can promote the popularity of both characters.

At the same time, if the linkage effect between the two characters is good, the film company will consider putting the two characters into one movie.

The most classic character linkage among them is the future Avengers, King Kong vs. Godzilla.

However, all roles in the above two projects are owned by one company.

"Swapping Identities" is a Paramount movie, and "The Lonely Agent" is a work of Qiming Film and Television.

If the two parties intend to create a new movie based on the characters in the two movies, they will have to renegotiate and discuss cooperation.

To be honest, when John Woo suggested putting Andy Lau's character Liu Hua in "Swapping Identities", Chen Qiming didn't want to agree.

After all, this is a copyright dispute.

If by accident, Paramount cheats and says in the future that he has agreed to Paramount using all the copyrights to this character, it will be over.

At that time, there will inevitably be a lawsuit.

However, after John Woo learned of his concerns, he immediately called in the producer sent by Paramount.

Have the producers call Paramount back and ask.

After confirming that the two parties had entered into a contract and would pay US$20,000 in royalties for the character's copyright, Chen Qiming agreed to let Liu Hua's character appear in "Role Swap".

"Mr. Chen, our company thinks Director John Woo's proposal is very good.

If the response to the role of Liu Hua appearing in this movie is good and you agree, our company is willing to work with your company to create a movie in which Liu Hua and Chen Li play the leading roles together. "

Piltover, the producer of Paramount, looked at Chen Qiming expectantly and said.

"It's a very good proposal. I will discuss it with the company when I get back!" Chen Qiming nodded.

"OK!" Piltover nodded, then quickly ran to John Woo, bowed his head and told him a few words.

Then, Andy Lau's original guest appearance changed.

It became a small supporting role and had a single wonderful gunfight scene in the movie.

"What the hell? I clearly promised to make a cameo, but now you're giving me so many scenes!"

Andy Lau looked at the scene outline that John Woo had temporarily added to him, and was both happy and speechless.

I am happy to be able to participate in this large project with an investment of hundreds of millions. This is a happy thing in itself.

As for being speechless.

He has been really tired these days and just wants to take a rest!

It's fine now, it's delivered to your door.

Looking at the outline of the script, it was obvious that he would not be able to finish filming these scenes in just four or five days.

(End of this chapter)