weddingnovel Chapter 73 New Industry Landscape
Chapter 73 New Industry Landscape
Chapter 74 New Industry Landscape
On the evening of January 8, a celebration banquet was held at the Shangri-La Hotel for the film "Reign of Assassins".
The banquet hall was brightly lit and sparkled with starlight.
Meanwhile, a nearby film processing plant was in complete disarray.
A slightly overweight middle-aged man, covered in sweat, finally managed to tear off the tape sealing his mouth. Ignoring the pain in his mouth, he gasped for breath.
It took a while for his breathing to calm down.
He looked down and saw a metal box labeled "A Happy Event at Home" lying quietly at his feet.
He was still shaken by what had just happened.
The film negatives for "All's Well, Ends Well" had just been developed and printed. I had just sat down to catch my breath when three masked thugs burst in.
Before he could react, a gun was pointed at his head, which completely terrified him.
The bandits kept pressing him for the whereabouts of the negatives for "All's Well, Ends Well," but he couldn't hear a sound.
Seeing this, the thugs were furious and kicked him a few times, then taped his mouth shut.
The robbers, whose vision was obstructed, grabbed several tin boxes that were also labeled "All's Well, Ends Well" in their panic.
However, these metal boxes actually contain movie clips and rough cuts, which are unedited materials, not the most valuable original negatives.
He didn't know whether to be thankful for surviving the ordeal or to laugh at the robbers' stupidity.
Before long, Huang Baiming rushed over.
He saw that the film negatives were intact and breathed a sigh of relief while holding the tin box containing them.
If the film is stolen, his world will truly collapse.
To film "All's Well, Ends Well," he paid Stephen Chow a whopping eight million Hong Kong dollars, far exceeding his market value of five million.
But there's no other way; if we don't offer such a high price, we simply can't hire him. There are plenty of projects begging him to participate.
In addition to the salaries of many stars such as Zhang Guorong, Zhang Manyu, Wu Junru and Li Lizhen, the total investment cost of "All's Well, Ends Well" exceeded 20 million yuan.
He had recently left New Town, and this film, "All's Well, Ends Well," was a gamble for him, a film in which he staked everything on to prove himself once again.
If the film is stolen, bankruptcy may not be an option, but his career will likely suffer a severe blow. He will completely lose his say in Yonggao Film Company and become Roger Cheng's employee.
1991 was a year of great growth for Hong Kong cinema, but it was also the year that New City Films and D&B Films, two former film giants, came to an end.
Needless to say, the three giants of New City have long been doing their own thing.
Following the passing of Lei Juekun and the release of his last film, "The Wild Fairy Tale," New City officially announced its closure and cessation of production.
Huang Baiming, the only one who still has a passion for movies, is ambitiously preparing to make a big splash.
Meanwhile, due to the lack of attention from its owner, Pan Disheng, and the departure of its management team and contracted directors and actors, Pan Disheng no longer needed D&B Cinemas and simply closed it down, then sold the D&B Cinema Circuit to wealthy businessman Roger Cheng.
Roger Cheng is Lau's underling. He started his business in real estate, then ventured into the catering industry, accumulating considerable business experience and cash flow.
Seeing how booming the Hong Kong film market was, he couldn't resist the urge to enter the film industry.
Just then, Pan Disheng planned to sell Debao Cinemas.
Roger Cheng directly bought the D&B Cinemas chain.
He then hit it off with Huang Baiming and together they established Yonggao Film Co., Ltd., and renamed Debao Cinema Line to Yonggao Cinema Line.
From Shaw Brothers Cinemas to D&B Cinemas, and now to Wing Ko Cinemas, Hong Kong still maintains the pattern of four major commercial cinema chains.
Yung-Gao Group quickly rose to become a Hong Kong film giant, enjoying immense popularity.
The two are a typical combination of capital and expertise.
Roger Cheng provided funding and distribution channels, while Huang Boming was responsible for production.
"All's Well, Ends Well" was the opening film of Yonggao Films.
If the film's negatives are stolen, then the only way to continue operating Yonggao Films is to inject capital, but Huang Baiming has no money left.
If Roger Cheng acquires too many shares, he will repeat the same mistake he made at New Town.
He never wanted to work for anyone else again.
Fortunately, fate took pity on him, and a few foolish robbers allowed him to escape.
Ignoring his back, which was already soaked with cold sweat, Huang Baiming left the film processing plant clutching the film negative tightly.
The one who was instrumental in preserving the negatives was overlooked by him.
People came and went, and in the end, only a mess and his slightly chubby figure remained in the printing room.
What Huang Baiming didn't know was that the news that his new movie was almost stolen quickly spread throughout the industry.
The news reached Cheng Xiaodong's ears, who was about to attend the celebration banquet for "Reign of Assassins".
Shocked, he immediately sought out Tang Long, who had recently mentioned that someone might directly steal the film negatives.
Unexpectedly, it actually happened, and it was Huang Baiming who was robbed.
You should know that Wong Pak-ming is a bigwig in the Hong Kong film industry; he even dared to steal film negatives.
What about the others?
No company can escape this fate.
Tang Long had anticipated this, but he didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that it happened on the night of the celebration banquet for "Reign of Assassins".
"Boss, there's nothing strange about it. You know how rampant the gangs are."
They might do even more outrageous things later.
"Ah Long, we must learn from this and take extra care to safeguard the negatives of our new films."
"I understand, boss. I've always been very careful."
"Forget it, let's go inside. The celebration banquet is about to begin."
Cheng Xiaodong sighed deeply. He had made a living from the film industry since he was a child, and the current state of the film industry made him quite unhappy.
Tang Long noticed that although Xu Ke and Wu Siyuan were smiling, their smiles looked somewhat forced, and he realized that they must have also heard the news that the negatives of "All's Well, Ends Well" were almost stolen.
The saying "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold" applies to them as well, and everyone in the Hong Kong film company will be on edge.
Only Deng Guangrong was unaffected in the slightest.
Whether she didn't hear the news or heard it but didn't care at all, she kept moving around every corner of the banquet hall, making her presence very noticeable.
After greeting everyone, Tang Long's cheeks were slightly flushed. As one of the main creators of the film, he was the absolute focus of the celebration banquet and was pulled to drink quite a bit of alcohol.
He was just looking for a place to eat something and rest when his eyes caught sight of a beautiful figure in the corner.
Holding a wine glass, he looked at the bustling banquet hall, but his eyes seemed unfocused, and he remained motionless.
A sense of loneliness washed over me.
Tang Long couldn't stand this, so he put down his wine glass and went to that corner.
"Sister Zuxian, what are you daydreaming about?"
When Wang Zuxian saw that it was Tang Long, she forced a smile and said, "Ah Long, congratulations."
"Congratulations! You were also an actor in 'Reign of Assassins'."
"I only had a cameo role at the time, and I didn't contribute to the film's huge success."
"Everyone in the crew deserves credit, and we even included your image in the promotional posters, which attracted many of your fans."
Wang Zuxian smiled upon hearing this.
"Sister Zuxian, is something on your mind?"