The literary era since 1979

The unexpected box office performance of "Baby Smart Star" not only surprised Golden Harvest, but also put other Hong Kong film companies including Cinema City under great pressure. Cinema City launched a series of Lunar New Year movies, originally hoping to make a fortune before the Seven Monsters disbanded, but did not expect that the box office after the release was not ideal, so they had to postpone the release of subsequent movies to avoid a head-on battle with "Baby Smart Star".

Other film companies followed suit, and "Baby Smart Star" surpassed all others and once again reached the 1500 million box office mark at the fastest speed.

The Hong Kong film market was dominated by one company at the end of the year, which was something many people had not expected.

Shaw Brothers used this opportunity to sweep away the gloom of many years, stop its decline and regain its glory, making many audiences who were deeply influenced by sentimental marketing couldn't help but dream back to the 60s and 70s. At that time, Shaw Brothers Films was really invincible. For a while, people in Hong Kong had an illusion that they were in another world.

With such a huge success, Run Run Shaw and Fang Yihua were "rarely" generous and held a grand celebration banquet at the Peninsula Hotel.

In addition to the main creative team, all employees and artists from Shaw Brothers and TVB were invited to the banquet, and the excitement was comparable to that of TVB's anniversary celebration.

Countless reporters flocked to the hotel, trying to grab the best spots at the hotel entrance. Their cameras were constantly focused on the celebrities walking on the red carpet, but the focus was always on Wang Jing, Stephen Chow, Ng Man-tat, Nicholas Tse and others, and of course Fang Yan and Gong Xing.

“The film has achieved such success thanks to everyone’s support.”

Faced with the media bombardment, the husband and wife followed suit and dealt with their endless questions tacitly.

After a long while, he finally got rid of the reporters and walked into the lobby.

"In the past, when there were occasions like this, you always went through the side door or the small door. Why are you suddenly going through the main door these times?"

Gong Xing was wearing a bright red wool coat and a pure white scarf around her neck. Everything from head to toe was a Christmas gift from Fangyan.

"It's all for you. This is your first time participating in a film as an assistant director, so I must contribute."

Fangyan raised his lips and said, "By the way, as the director's family member, I'd like to take advantage of our great director Gong."

"You are the director's family, but I am the screenwriter's family!"

Gong Xing felt warm in his heart, but he said jokingly: "You think I don't know, you are doing this for the sake of Uncle Six and Aunt Six, right?"

"You are letting me down by saying that."

Fangyan blinked his left eye playfully, "No matter how big their reputation is, it's not as big as your reputation as the great star Gong!"

"Go to hell, you're making fun of me again!"

Gong Xing rolled his eyes and smiled, repeatedly reminding him to drink less at the banquet later and not to get drunk like he did last time in Changbai Mountain.

"Got it."

As soon as Fangyan finished speaking, he heard a noisy sound beside his ears and his eyes turned over.

Deborah led Nicholas Tse and finally fought their way out of the crowded crowd, but they were soon entangled by reporters again.

"Mrs. Xie, could you please tell me how much your son is paid for this movie?"

"I am not in a position to disclose this question."

Deborah covered half of Nicholas Tse's face with her hand and only said that her son had paid a friendly price this time.

The reporter asked, "Will you and your fourth brother continue to let your son make movies?"

Deborah responded calmly: "We haven't thought about this issue yet. After all, the child is still too young. The key is to see if we can get a suitable role in the future." However, the smile that she could hardly hide finally betrayed her.

"So, what if there's a sequel to 'Baby Smart'?"

"Of course, this depends on Uncle Six, Aunt Six, Mr. Fang, and the director's opinions."

Deborah said: "If they say they want to shoot, we will certainly help them..."

While she was still being interviewed, Nicholas Tse, who was already fed up with her, seized the opportunity and ran into the hotel lobby.

When he saw Fang Yan and Gong Xing standing not far away with smiles on their faces, his eyes suddenly lit up and he immediately trotted over.

"Sister Gong Xing!"

Nicholas Tse first shouted excitedly, and then under Fang Yan's gaze, he called him "Mr. Fang" with respect and awe.

Deborah hurriedly caught up with them, and unlike her previous arrogance in front of the media, she greeted them respectfully.

Fang Yan stared at Xie Tingfeng and asked, "Why is your father nowhere to be seen?"

Diborah hurriedly explained that Xie Xian had something urgent to do and was unable to attend, so he was very sorry that he could not attend.

But she didn't expect that Nicholas Tse would honestly "undermine" her by saying, "Mommy, didn't you say that Dad went to Macau to gamble?"

"Ah... don't talk nonsense, your dad is not going to Macau to gamble, but to do something important!"

Deborah gave an awkward but polite smile.

Fangyan saw through the situation but didn't say anything. He got into the elevator with them and then came to the banquet hall which was decorated in a festive and grand manner.

"Fang Sheng."

"Mr. Fang."

Wherever he went, no matter how big a celebrity they were, like Zhou Runfa, Zheng Shaoqiu, etc., he had to greet them politely.

Fang Yan took a quick glance and noticed that Andy Lau, who was hidden by TVB, was sitting in the corner, sitting at the same table with the child. His eyebrows raised, but before he could make the next move, his attention was quickly diverted to Run Run Shaw and Fang Yihua who were coming towards him and were greeting each other warmly.

Wang Zuxian stood quietly by and watched, just like all the celebrities and artists present. How could they sit down if the big shots didn't come to the table?

Fang Yihua was seen holding Gong Xing's hand with great joy, and saying to Fang Yan with a smile on her face, "When the box office results of "Baby Smart Star" came out, Run Run Shaw was so happy that he made an exception and drank a few more glasses that day, and he wanted to get drunk with him at the celebration banquet tonight."

"Then I will stay with you until the end."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "I will definitely drink with Uncle Six until we are satisfied today."

Run Run Shaw burst into laughter. What made him so happy was not only the success of "Baby Smart Star" in Hong Kong, but also the fact that it was released in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and other places one after another, with frequent good news, almost occupying the top spot in the box office in every region.

It can be said that it was invincible and this movie alone completely rescued Shaw Brothers from the ICU.

"Sit down, Yanzi."

Seeing him pulling Fang Yan to sit down, Fang Yihua pressed her hand and signaled everyone to take their designated seats.

"I'm old now. I can't deny my age. My vision is really not as good as yours now."

Run Run Shaw couldn't help but sigh: "Yanzi, you predicted it right. The box office of this movie is very likely to exceed 3000 million." "To be honest with you, I originally predicted 4000 million. It seems that I was a little too arrogant."

Fangyan said half-jokingly.

"3000 million is coming soon, can 4000 million be far behind?"

Run Run Shaw poured wine for him personally, and this scene was seen by Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau, Joey Wong and others, which was really shocking.

How prestigious would it be to have Mr. Shao Liu, a man who is well-known in the business world of Hong Kong, personally pouring wine for you?

Seeing Fang Yan "flattered" and refusing, Fang Yihua tacitly replied, "Yes, the first one was 3000 million, and the second one might be 4000 million. Yanzi, have you ever thought about when "Baby Smart Star 2" will start filming?"

"Of course, we are going to take advantage of this success. The sooner the better. It would be best if it can be released during the summer vacation."

Fangyan shook the glass to swirl the wine in it to decant it.

Fang Yihua and Run Run Shaw looked at each other, their joy difficult to conceal.

"But this second part may cost much more than the first one."

Fang Yan made it clear in advance that starting from the second part of "Baby Smart Star", they could no longer be petty and the location for filming could not be limited to Hong Kong but had to go abroad, such as Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, etc. Shaw Brothers Films had to be prepared to bleed for this.

"Of course this is no problem."

Run Run Shaw, who had always been shrewd and stingy, agreed for the first time.

After all, although "Baby Smart Star 1" saved Shaw Brothers Films, it was just a breath of fresh air. Only by continuously shooting sequels like "The Lucky Stars Series" and "Best Partner" can Shaw Brothers Films, which has been in losses for a long time, get a big boost.

But even if the company has recovered, it will not be enough to completely reverse the situation of Shaw Brothers Films by relying solely on an IP movie like "Baby Smart Star".

Like Run Run Shaw, Fang Yihua is still thinking about the big picture of "new type of feature film" that Fang Yan has promised them.

"Well, I haven't thought about it yet. Don't worry. Let me write the script for the second part of "Baby Smart Star" first."

Fangyan gave a meaningful smile.

"You really haven't made up your mind yet?"

Run Run Shaw looked at him, smiled knowingly, then picked up the wine glass and clinked it with his.

Then, accompanied by passionate speeches, the celebration party of "Baby Smart Stars" was officially held.

Not surprisingly, starting from the next day, all major entertainment gossip magazines and newspapers reported the related news in length.

Flipping through the newspaper, I found some true and some false content. For example, I just saw the news in a newspaper that Stephen Chow and Ng Man-tat were going to star in a new film together. It was true. Taking advantage of the momentum of this pair of stupid thieves becoming a hit, Wang Jing was going to create a romantic comedy film, "Modern Cinderella", in which a habitual thief fell in love at first sight with an actor who was struggling to make a living. The heroine had not yet been decided and would be selected from Shaw Brothers artists such as Joey Wong and Maggie Cheung.

Another newspaper reported that Nicholas Tse's current net worth has risen to 30 Hong Kong dollars. But just the day before yesterday, Deborah Lee and Nicholas Tse and his wife Nicholas Tse both stated that their son would not accept any role if he was less than 50 Hong Kong dollars. However, Nicholas Tse is in Macau and is probably gambling enthusiastically at the moment.

“Are children paid so much?”

Gong Xian glanced at it casually and said in amazement: "Why do Hong Kong actors often get hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan? I only get a few hundred yuan for filming a movie in the mainland. In the end, even with the bonus for Huang Feihong, I didn't even get a thousand yuan."

"It's different in different places. If I were your agent, based on your current popularity, if you want to take a role in Hong Kong, you can't get a paycheck like Chung Chuhong or Lam Ching Ha." Fang Yan smiled, "Don't think it's too expensive, and don't give me a discount."

"Money-grubber! Fortunately, Nan Sheng is my temporary manager, not you!"

Gong Xing smiled and said, "I have talked to Nan Sheng, Qing Xia, and Zu Xian before. If we only talk about income, their income is much higher than ours, but they have no social status here at all. Even famous actors like Qing Xia and Zu Xian joke that they are 'actors' and 'low-class', but we definitely don't feel that way. We are..."

“Artists and artists who meet the spiritual needs of the people.”

Fangyan added.

"That's right!"

Gong Xing said quietly: "I hope that after the film industry becomes commercialized and market-oriented in the future, we will still be artists and never change."

Fang Yan did not answer, but changed the subject and said, "Then, literary worker, can we work together to write the script for the second part of "Baby Smart Star"?"

"Okay, just like we did when we wrote the first script."

Gong Xing had just taken out a pen and paper when the phone suddenly rang.

When Fangyan answered the phone, he was not surprised that the caller was Wang Jing, but was surprised that he brought bad news in a panic.

Nicholas Tse's father, Xie Xian, fought hard for three days and three nights in the Haojing Casino. Not only did he lose all the 600 million he brought with him, but he also borrowed 1500 million. He hoped to play a big game and win back all the money he had said before, and then make it back with interest.

"I'm sure you've guessed the result. All 1500 million was lost."

There was a hint of annoyance in Wang Jing's tone.

"How did you know this news?"

Fang Yan's heart skipped a beat. The box office of "Baby Smart Star" was currently climbing steadily. The fact that the protagonist's father owed gambling debts was like pouring a bucket of cold water on the raging growth, not to mention that this father was now the big star in Hong Kong, "Xie Xian".

"It was my fourth sister-in-law who called me."

Wang Jing explained that Xie Xian had not returned from Haojiang for a long time, and Diborah thought that he was having an affair, but she never expected that the debt collectors could not find Xie Xian, so they simply went to their house. Only then did Diborah realize how big a hole her husband had dug.

"Besides you, how many other people know about this?"

Fangyan asked hurriedly.

“Not many people know about it yet.”

Wang Jing said that when he called him, he reported it to Fang Yihua and Run Run Shaw first. They also realized the seriousness of the situation and intervened directly. Run Run Shaw even called the gambling king Stanley Ho and asked him to temporarily stabilize the debt collectors and strictly block the news at the same time.

"You can block it for a while, but you can't block it forever. Sooner or later, the news will leak out."

Fang Yan said: "If some bad media exaggerated and wrote nonsense, throwing dirty water on "Baby Smart Star"..."

"Yes, yes, we are also worried about this situation."

Wang Jing asked if he could come to Clearwater Bay TV City as soon as possible to discuss the next response strategy with Run Run Shaw, Fang Yihua and others.

Fang Yan sighed lightly and turned to look at Gong Xian, who was frowning slightly. "Put the script aside for now. Something has happened!" (End of this chapter)