mijobooks Chapter 20 Xu Ke's Invitation
Chapter 20 Xu Ke's Invitation
July and August are the busiest months for the Hong Kong film market.
Major film companies will launch their key blockbusters to compete in the summer movie season.
This summer's movie season was completely overshadowed by one film.
This film is "God of Gamblers," produced by Siyuan Pictures, directed by Liu Zhengwei, and starring Stephen Chow.
Not many people were optimistic about "God of Gamblers" when it was first released.
The movie followed the trend of last year's hit "God of Gamblers," but Stephen Chow's popularity is far from comparable to that of Chow Yun-fat.
To everyone's surprise, "God of Gamblers" became a huge hit after its release on July 2nd.
It grossed 18 million in its opening week and surpassed 30 million in box office revenue after 13 days of release.
The film received rave reviews, and more than a dozen cinemas even added 4 a.m. screenings for the first time ever to meet the demand of the audience.
As of July 28th, "God of Gamblers" has been in theaters for 26 days and has grossed over 40 million at the box office.
The film broke Hong Kong's box office record and became the first film to gross over 40 million.
Prior to this, the highest box office record in Hong Kong was HK$37 million for "All's Well, Ends Well 2018" starring Chow Yun-fat.
Last year's "God of Gamblers" grossed over 36 million, just one step away from breaking the record.
Stephen Chow, the male lead in "God of Gamblers," became an overnight sensation in Hong Kong, transforming from "Sing Jai" to the highly respected "Master Star."
A Chinese Ghost Story 2 was originally scheduled to be released on July 5th.
Tsui Hark didn't take "God of Gamblers" seriously at the time, but then very honestly withdrew the film from its release date and postponed it to the last day of July.
However, he still underestimated the influence of "God of Gamblers".
Although the movie is nearing the end of its run and about to leave theaters, it is still generating a lot of buzz in the news.
The media is reporting that the movie has grossed over 40 million at the box office and is discussing Stephen Chow and his nonsensical comedic style.
This has significantly impacted the promotion and distribution of "A Chinese Ghost Story 2".
"Unexpectedly, after a trip to the mainland, Hong Kong has seen the rise of another superstar."
Stephen Chow is incredibly popular; even the taxi driver kept talking about him when I got here.
Seeing Tang Long's envious expression, Cheng Xiaodong smiled and said:
"That's how the Hong Kong film industry is; every now and then, a superstar emerges."
Twenty years ago it was Bruce Lee, ten years ago it was Jackie Chan, four years ago it was Chow Yun-fat, and now it's Stephen Chow. Who knows, you might be next.
"I've fantasized about it too, but right now I just hope that 'The Blade' can break even."
"Don't worry about gains and losses. If you fail, you can always start over. Let's go, TVB doesn't provide food."
Tang Longgang, Cheng Xiaodong, and some of the main creators of "A Chinese Ghost Story 2" participated in a TVB program.
He was quite willing to participate in the promotional activities.
Even though he was sitting on the far side, his frequent appearances at least made him a familiar face.
"Boss, didn't you say that Director Tsui Hark wanted to see me? It's been two days and there's still no word from him."
"I don't know either, I haven't seen him in the last two days either."
"They probably forgot about it long ago."
The gap in status and position between Tang Long and Xu Ke is like a chasm.
The other party may become interested in him on a whim, but may forget about him the next day when they get busy.
Two days passed quickly, and on the evening of the 31st, "A Chinese Ghost Story 2" held a fairly grand premiere at the Lisheng Theater.
This film was exclusively produced by the film studio; Golden Princess Entertainment was merely listed as a subsidiary.
Xu Ke, leveraging his long-standing reputation in the entertainment industry, also attracted many celebrity guests to attend.
However, compared to the premiere of "Swordsman", the star power was somewhat dim.
Backstage, Tang Long and Zhang Xueyou, who hadn't seen each other for three months, had clearly grown distant from each other.
They were on different teams when promoting the movie.
This is their first meeting since filming wrapped on "A Chinese Ghost Story 2".
"Ah Long, I heard you've become the male lead in a movie, and you even wrote your own script."
Zhang Xueyou remained as enthusiastic as ever.
"There's no other way. Nobody's offering me movies, so I have to write my own scripts and act in them myself."
"How come I never realized you had this talent before?"
What surprised Zhang Xueyou even more was that Tang Long was actually able to get the film project going.
Although Tang Jia and Cheng Xiaodong assisted him, there is no doubt that he was the initiator of this project.
Let alone a newcomer, even he, nowadays, would find it difficult to manage a film project.
"Talent is often forced out of people. Don't talk about me, you are the one who is truly enviable."
His new album sold very well, and he also starred as the male lead in Wu Yusheng's new film.
You're making a full-fledged attack on both the film and music industries; I've even heard the media call you one of Hong Kong's Four Heavenly Kings.
1990 was indeed a year of great strides in Zhang Xueyou's career.
In the music field, he took advantage of the withdrawal of Zhang Guorong and Tan Yonglin from music award selection to release the album "Only Want to Love One Person in My Life".
The new album sold five platinum records in Hong Kong and will win several awards at the upcoming music award ceremonies.
In the film industry, he made five movies this year.
"Curry and Pepper", "Swordsman", "A Chinese Ghost Story II", "Bullet in the Head" and "Days of Being Wild" are all highly influential works.
He won the Best Supporting Actor award at the 27th Golden Horse Awards for his role as Ouyang Quan, a lackey of the Eastern Depot, in the film "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer".
He delivered the best performance of his entire film career in "Bullet in the Head," which was recognized by the entire Hong Kong film industry.
"Don't talk nonsense. There are no Four Heavenly Kings. It's just something made up by tabloids," Zhang Xueyou quickly said.
"Why are you so nervous? The media's reporting proves you're famous enough."
Tang Long then remembered that the title of "Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong" was officially established and popularized in 1992.
This year and next year mark the era of the "Three Musketeers." In 1992, Aaron Kwok, who had become a sensation in Taiwan, returned to the scene, and his momentum was extremely strong.
During an event hosted by Hong Kong Radio, the four performed together for the first time, and the emcee repeatedly referred to them as the "Four Heavenly Kings," which can be considered as official confirmation from the government and mainstream media.
Prior to this, the title "Four Heavenly Kings" had already appeared, but it was just something some gossip tabloids used to grab attention.
But this also proves that Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, and others were indeed very popular at that time.
Just as the awkwardness between the two gradually disappeared and they were chatting enthusiastically, Cheng Xiaodong walked over with a thin and very recognizable man.
"Boss, Director Xu." Tang Long and Zhang Xueyou quickly stood up.
Xu Ke first greeted Zhang Xueyou, then walked up to Tang Long:
"Did you write 'The Blade'?"
"I wrote 'The Blade'."
"It's very well written. It's a real shame that I've been too busy lately and missed the opportunity to direct this film."
"Thank you for your recognition, Director Xu."
"I've always wanted to see what kind of person wrote 'The Blade,' and today I finally met him."
"You didn't disappoint Director Tsui, did you?"
"Haha, no, even though you're young, I've always believed in the existence of geniuses, because I am one."
While this statement may sound somewhat self-praising, there's nothing wrong with what he said.
In the film industry, Tsui Hark is indeed a genius.
"I watched your performance in 'A Chinese Ghost Story 2.' The action choreography was very creative, and I heard you're also quite skilled in martial arts."
I'm preparing for a new film, and there's a role that would be perfect for you. Would you be interested in working together?