The king of ghost horse comedy

Chapter 245

In addition to the stars' New Year's Eve concert in the New Year, Xu also presented an infinitely joyful comedy feast "The Deed of Sale" to all Hong Kong citizens. Compared with "Genius and Idiot", this drama is much more joyful and not too much. A lot of black humor makes the audience more happy to watch.

This play tells the story of Xue Zhiwen, a young artist played by Xu Guanwen, who signed an eight-year blank sales contract with the TV station.But in the TV station, he is not reused, and can only run around occasionally, which is very miserable.

By chance, he was a guest host on the neighboring TV station, and the effect was very good. He was appreciated by the other TV station and wanted to sign a contract with him.But because of the bond of selling his life, Xue Zhiwen had no choice but to decline.

Later, when the agreement with the TV station failed to terminate the contract, Xue Zhiwen had no choice but to enter the TV station with his younger brother to steal the contract.Xue Zhiwen's younger brother, Tadpole, is played by Xu Guanying. He is a folk inventor with many weird inventions.

The two went through many hardships and sneaked into the TV station to steal the contract, but what they didn't expect was that the contract was taken out, but the tadpole was locked in the safe.

In order to save his younger brother who was trapped in the safe, Xue Zhiwen turned to the magician Zhu Shijie (played by Xu Guanjie) for help. After some twists and turns, he finally rescued the tadpoles, and Xue Zhiwen also regained his freedom.

The film gives a bitter satire to the phenomenon of TV stations signing long-term contracts to squeeze artists, because Xu Guanwen and Xu Guanjie have both worked in TVB and have tried the pain of selling personal contracts, so the acting is really full of blood and tears.

But from Xu Guanwu's point of view, the elder brother and the fourth younger brother are not too wronged, at least they escaped after only two years of working.In the future, TVB will treat artists more ruthlessly. Once they sign a contract, they will sign it for five years. If they don't want to sign, they will directly block it.

Liu Dehua was a top-tier actor on TVB back then, but because he refused to follow the company's instructions and refused to sign another five-year long-term contract, he was also hidden by TVB for more than half a year.

Later, the contract of the entertainment company was even more stringent, all artists under the banner had to sign for 15 years, with a ten-year death period and five-year term.The next five years is the company's decision. If you still have the potential to squeeze out, I will renew the contract with you for five years.If there is no improvement in the career in the past ten years, then the company will give up directly.

Moreover, the artists of these entertainment companies do not have a basic salary, and they have to borrow money from the company every month to live.The company is responsible for finding job opportunities for them, and once the order is accepted, they will die.Moreover, the company takes a high commission from it, often [-]% to [-]%.

In comparison, the Superstar Manager Company is definitely a kind person. When Qi Xiaofu was first recruited into the company, the original agreement was to sign a seven-year contract. No one had any objection to this.After all, actors have a longer shelf life than singers. If they only sign a contract for two or three years, the contract will be terminated as soon as they make two films, and they will be making wedding dresses for others.

Also, it was originally said that the wages were paid in advance every month, and the company would be returned to the company after the work was paid. Later, because the company's performance was good, all these martial artists were working hard, so this rule was also cancelled.

At the same time, even though their own employees make their films, Xu's is not as stingy as Shaw's, and stars are paid according to market conditions.In this way, the stars will not feel disadvantaged and have a greater sense of belonging to the company.Moreover, when the company helps out with jobs, the commission is only [-]%. No matter how high Shaw's asking price is, it is only a fixed salary, which is quite unkind.

……

In addition to the movie "Deed of Sale", there is another movie "The Prodigal Boy" starring Hong Jingbao, Yuan Biao, and Lin Zhengying, which was also released on New Year's Eve.

This movie is the first movie that puts Wing Chun on the screen. It also introduces Wing Chun's fighting style, characteristics, and mental methods in detail in the movie. It can be called the Wing Chun movie textbook version. .

It is well known that Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do was created from Wing Chun, and Bruce Lee's master Ip Man is also a famous boxer in Hong Kong.Wing Chun boxing gyms can also be seen everywhere in Hong Kong, and it is a kind of boxing that is widely spread.

However, Wing Chun did not appear on the screen early. The reason is that the victory and defeat of Wing Chun are all within a square inch, and the moves are fast and urgent. The battle is often over in two or three strokes, and the audience is often still watching. Did not respond.So it's not suitable for the screen.

The Wing Chun boxing in "The Prodigal Boy" has also been improved, the movements have been slowed down, and more ornamental routines such as Xiao Nian Tao and Qiao Ma are still used.

There has been a wave of martial arts practice in Hong Kong a long time ago, mainly because the society is unstable, so everyone can practice martial arts for self-defense.In the 70s, because of the rampant corruption in the police force and the extreme arrogance of the black X forces, only by practicing martial arts can the common people be able to protect themselves from being bullied.

This is also one of the reasons why Hong Kong-produced martial arts films and kung fu films were popular in the 70s and [-]s.

In the 80s, the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption wiped out the corrupt elements in the police circle, making the Hong Kong police truly become the nannies of the citizens, and the black X forces were also deterred by this. Ordinary citizens no longer worried about innocent victims, so the trend of martial arts gradually dissipated go.

Later, the disciples recruited by the martial arts school are no longer the bitter haha ​​of the factory, but the white-collar workers of the company.What is taught is no longer a killer move, but has become a gym-like existence.

……

In addition to Hui's two dramas "The Deed of Sale" and "The Prodigal Boy", Shaw Brothers also released "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "Lu Ah Cai and Huang Feihong".Golden Harvest launched "Emperor Flower" directed by John Woo and Wu Siyuan's popular drama "700 Million Robbery".

Wu Siyuan's "700 Million Robbery" is adapted from actual facts, and it is also his second film that brings hot news to the screen.

In June of 700, the Hang Seng Bank was robbed. Gangsters robbed [-] million cash in the street with guns, which caused a sensation in Hong Kong at that time.

One was that the gangsters were daring and robbed at the gate of Hang Seng Bank; the second was that the amount of money was too large, 700 million in cash, which could be said to be an astronomical figure at the time; the third was that the police failed to solve the case for a long time, which led to rumors in the market... …

Wu Siyuan chose to bring this hot news to the screen because of the box office success of the previous "Integrity Storm", so he strengthened his confidence in his heart.

……

During the Spring Festival, the six movies were released together, which was really exciting, and the fighting was bloody and bloody.

It is said that the quality of these six films is good, and if you take out any one at will, it has the potential to rank among the top ten in the annual box office list.But why do they all have to be released during the Spring Festival?
Xu Guanwu knew the tragedy that Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers were currently facing, and there were not many movies that could sell well in a year.If he is Shao Yifu or Zou Wenhuai, he will be released on a different schedule, and at least he will get more than 100 million box office.But such six high-level films are released together, and the competition is too fierce.

Originally, it was possible to sell two or three million at the box office, but it turned out that only a few could exceed 300 million, while the others all became cannon fodder.For example, "Deed of Sale" has hardly been affected by the soaring box office because of the golden signature of the Xu brothers.

Because "The Emperor's Flower" is an adaptation of a Cantonese opera, John Woo has added many comedy elements, old wine in new bottles, it has been welcomed by many fans and audiences, so the box office of this drama has not been affected.

However, "Lu Ah Cai and Huang Feihong" and "The Prodigal Boy" are both Kung Fu dramas, and one starring Liu Jiahui and the other is Yuan Biao. They are still newcomers, and the competition is the fiercest.

For publicity, Liu Jialiang specially held a lion dance parade, beating drums all the way from Causeway Bay to Central, attracting tens of thousands of people to watch.

Hong Jingbao didn't show any weakness when he saw this, he summoned martial artists to dance a long dragon, from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui, which also attracted a large number of people to watch.

As a result, a dragon and a lion met on Lockhart Road. It was really the dragon in the cloud meeting the dragon in the fog, the tiger on the mountain meeting the tiger on the mountain down, and the needle point meeting the wheat awn.

Although Liu Jialiang is a master and Hong Jingbao's senior, but at this time, he must not shrink back, otherwise, wouldn't it mean that his movies are worse than others?

The dragon dance team and the lion dance team did not retreat, and the two gangs blocked the road directly, attracting countless passers-by to watch, it was really lively.

Later, it was not until the police came forward and after some adjustments, you go left and I go right, that nothing happened.

However, due to fierce competition, the box office of the two films did not exceed 200 million.However, both Yuan Biao and Liu Jiahui's fame rose sharply because both parties invested heavily in publicity, and they became popular stars.

Wu Siyuan's "700 Million Robbery" and Li Hanxiang's "A Dream of Red Mansions", because the subject matter is not suitable for release during the Spring Festival, one is screaming and killing with knives and guns, and the other is crying and crying. Okay, so the box office is not over a million.

Fortunately, these two dramas are slow-heating dramas, so the box office is still slowly rising, and there may not be no chance of becoming popular in the end.

……

In addition to visiting relatives during the New Year, there are also many business entertainments.

Now Xu Guanwu is no longer an upstart without the slightest foundation. Under the support of Shen Bi, the general manager of HSBC Bank, he has become one of the upstarts in the upper class.

During the Spring Festival, he was invited to many parties, including Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce, Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, Jardine Ball and other top parties.

The Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce is a chamber of commerce jointly organized by Chaozhou merchants. It is a very famous chamber of commerce in the Hong Kong business community.

Li Ka-shing, the richest man in Hong Kong, Luo Yingshi, the real estate king, Huang Ziming, the watch king, etc., are all members of the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce.

The Ma brothers, one of Xu Guanwu's deadly enemies, are also members of the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce.Chaozhou people are loyal and have a strong sense of locality, so they are relatively united and hold together when things happen.

Although the Ma Brothers all knew that they started out in illegal business, but because the Ma Brothers were human beings, any fellows who fled to Hong Kong were taken in, and the newspapers in their hands did not report any bad news about the fellows.So other fellow countrymen naturally turned a blind eye.

Xu Guanwu lacked contacts back then, so he was a little timid in the face of the Ma brothers, but now he is not afraid.

After seeing the invitation from the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce, he thought about it and agreed to attend the meeting.

The headquarters of the Teochew Chamber of Commerce is located in Yau Ma Tei, Tin Hau Niangniang Temple.Because Yau Ma Tei is a wharf, Chaozhou merchants started their business as a ship trader at first. They loaded and loaded goods in Yau Ma Tei, and they all made their fortunes here. Therefore, although they later switched to other businesses, Yau Ma Tei is still regarded as a place where Chaozhou merchants made their fortunes.

The Tin Hau Niangniang Temple was originally built with donations from the first batch of tide merchants, and now it has become one of the famous temples in Hong Kong, and the incense is at its peak.It is also regarded as the ancestral hall and family temple by the tide merchants. They have to offer incense and kowtow every year and festival, which is extremely devout.

Because of such a complex, the parties held by the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce are quite old-fashioned.Not only singing Chaozhou opera, but also eating flowing water seats, in short, it is to abide by the tradition.

Xu Guanwu also participated in the party of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce before. Compared with the conservative Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce, the party held by the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce is much more trendy.

To sum it up, the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce looks like it was in the Qing Dynasty, while the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce is like the old Shanghai Shili Yangchang. Everyone is taking advantage of the Spring Festival to organize it grandly, so as to recall the most powerful moment.

"Mr. Xu, please, please, I really didn't expect you to show me your face." Chen Bichen, the chairman of the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce, greeted him personally.

It's not because Xu Guanwu is rich, with his net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars, Mr. Chen has not yet taken him seriously.Because he opened a bank himself, and his Bangkok Bank is the largest private bank in Thailand, with branches all over Southeast Asia, and they are well-known wealthy businessmen in Nanyang.

What Mr. Chen Bichen really valued was the relationship between Xu Guanwu and Shen Bi.

(End of this chapter)