"Sir Shao, 50 million cannot be more," Zhang Moren hunched over and looked like he was bowing to Shao Yifu, but his tone was very rude, "You also know that the third round of the Communist Party and the British
Negotiations have already begun, but there is no sign of the Hong Kong issue being resolved. If a fight breaks out, and Mr. Kang has bought so many movie theaters, won’t he give away the mainland for nothing?”
Shao Yifu was almost 80 years old, but he was very energetic. He shook his head slowly and smiled: "Your boss, Mr. Kang, secretly bought land and houses in Hong Kong, and built a studio in Tseung Kwan O. These things are no longer a secret. He
How can we be afraid that the People's Liberation Army will attack us?"
"That's what I said, but the situation in Hong Kong is like this now," Zhang Moren finally raised his head and said, "Back then, Shaw Brothers had so many movie theaters in Hong Kong and Nanyang. When the Japanese came over, they were all gone. Who could
Do you know if the People’s Liberation Army will be like the Japanese?”
What Zhang Moren said is the truth. The Shaw family had already laid a huge foundation in Hong Kong and Nanyang before World War II. Unfortunately, the Japanese destroyed everything. The current Shaw family business was basically rebuilt by the Shaw brothers after the war.
of.
But can the Japanese compare with the People's Liberation Army?
Zhang Moren was just messing around, and Shao Yifu didn't bother to argue with him anymore, he just said: "150 million."
Zhang Moren said with a smile: "Of course 150 million is fine, but it must include Shaw Brothers' four leading theaters."
Shao Yifu shook his head and said: "Shao's Longtou Theater is only for rent, not for sale."
Zhang Moren asked: "What's the rent price?"
Shao Yifu said: "The three-year rent for the four theaters is 50 million."
"Sir Shao, are you kidding me? With the current land and housing prices in Hong Kong, it would cost me less than 50 million to rent land in prime locations and build four new theaters." Zhang Moren asked with a smile.
Shao Yifu said calmly: "I rarely joke."
The prices offered by the two parties were too different, so the two parties would naturally fall apart if they did not speculate.
After Zhang Moren left, Shao Yifu couldn't help but sigh.
Ever since the news came out that Shaw Brothers Cinemas was going to be sold, many people had approached Shao Yifu to talk, but these buyers all wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to lower the price, and no one was able to reach an agreement.
To be honest, Shaw Brothers and Shaw Brothers Cinemas can hardly survive, and their box office is always suppressed by Shaw Brothers, DreamWorks and New Arts City.
In a parallel space, this year's Christmas season, Shaw Brothers released a total of two movies, namely "Yang Guo and the Little Dragon Girl" directed by Huashan and "Sun Tribulation" directed by Chu Yuan. However, the starring roles of these two movies are Zhang Guorong, Zhong Chuhong and Er Dong.
Sheng, now they are all artists under Kang Jianfei, and have nothing to do with Shaw Brothers.
"Yang Guo and the Little Dragon Girl" was actually filmed, but the actor of Yang Guo was changed from Zhang Guorong to Andy Lau. The movie "Sun Tribulation" disappeared out of thin air and was replaced by "The Sword of Blue Blood" adapted from Jin Yong's famous work.
"Yang Guo and the Little Dragon Girl" starring Andy Lau has already failed. The local box office is only 1.68 million, which is a very ugly figure in the summer season. Shaw Brothers Pictures may be able to earn a lot of money from overseas box office, but Shaw Brothers
(Hong Kong) theater chains are actually losing money.
As for "The Red Sword," which collided with "The Express," it was released after only three days of release. If it continues to be shown with very few attendances, Shaw Brothers Cinemas will only suffer more losses.
Shao Yifu is now very conflicted. He wants to sell the theater chain quickly to reduce losses, but he is also reluctant to sell the theater chain that he worked hard for back then to others.
Fortunately, there are still TVB TV stations. Although TVB's ratings have been suppressed by Phoenix TV for three consecutive months, it actually didn't lose too badly, and it still has the upper hand in variety shows.
Shao Yifu has a lot of assets under his name. He has his own movie theaters in various countries in Southeast Asia, and also owns real estate and amusement parks in Singapore and Malaysia. Even if Shaw Brothers Pictures and theaters lose all their money, Shao Yifu's personal assets belong to Kang Jianfei.
Several times, the family assets are even more than those of Kang Jianfei.
But Shao Yifu's love for the film and television industry is definitely more pure than that of Kang Jianfei. Back then, the Shao brothers sold their family property to make movies. Shao Yifu almost died in a shipwreck in order to go to the United States to buy equipment.
Shao Yifu has dominated the film industry all his life. He was very unwilling to be forced by young people to close his film company until he was old.
To be honest, the movies produced by Shaw Brothers this year are not without their highlights. For example, "The Frog Prince" directed by Wang Jing has a box office of more than 15 million, which gives Shaw a little hope to continue to persevere.
A few minutes later, Huang Jiaxi, the current general manager of Shaw Brothers Pictures, came in and said: "Uncle Six, Liu Jialiang wants to make a kung fu movie. I heard his idea and thought it was good..."
It is said that Huang Jiaxi, the general manager of Shaw Brothers, is feeling aggrieved. Now he has to consult with Shao Yifu whether a movie can be filmed, because the funds on the company's books are really tight.
"What is he planning to take? Tell me." Shao Yifu asked.
Huang Jiaxi said: "Liu Jialiang is planning to film the story of Yang Wulang in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was framed by a traitor and defeated in the army. He became a monk and learned the Bagua stick, and then went down the mountain to take revenge."
It’s that drama of grievances and grievances again!
Shao Yifu felt that all of his directors were stupid, so why didn't they learn from Jiahe, Golden Princess, and DreamWorks to be flexible?
Huang Jiaxi continued: "Uncle Liu, Yindu Agency will release "Shaolin Boys" in the New Year period, starring Li Lianjie who played "Shaolin Temple". This film will probably sell very well. If we want
If we are filming "Wu Lang Bagua Stick", it is best to start shooting as soon as possible and release it after "Shaolin Boys" becomes a hit."
Shao Yifu is still very relieved about Liu Jialiang. Although Liu Jiabaan's movies have not made much money, they have not made much money. Now that he can borrow the success of "Shaolin Boys", there will definitely be no problem in getting back the cost.
Shao Yifu finally nodded and said: "Then let's shoot."
"However," Huang Jiaxi hesitated and continued, "Liu Jialiang wants Hui Yinghong to be the heroine."
Shao Yifu hated traitors the most. He had no good impression of actors like Hui Yinghong who switched jobs to DreamWorks. He said with an unhappy face: "There are no actresses in Shaw Brothers? If Liu Jialiang can't find a suitable actor in Shaw Brothers, then let him
He went to the wireless station to choose!"
Huang Jiaxi didn't dare to say more, so he had to agree.
In fact, according to Huang Jiaxi's idea, if Shaw Brothers makes a film now, it would be best to hire one or two popular female stars from Oriental Entertainment Company, so that the box office will be much better.
But now he just mentioned Hui Yinghong and was directly rejected by Shao Yifu. Huang Jiaxi could only give up the idea.
The filming plan for "Wu Lang Bagua Stick" was approved. As a producer, Huang Jiaxi immediately contacted Ni Kuang to write the script after leaving Shao Yifu's office.
Not long after Huang Jiaxi left, Shao Yifu pushed away a book on his desk. Underneath was today's newspaper. The headline on the entertainment page was the eye-catching headline - "Forty-one Cinemas Hong Kong Joint Screening. First Day of Fatal Express"
Box office record breaking."
Forty-one cinemas are showing one movie at the same time, which is definitely an unprecedented event in Hong Kong.
A few years ago, Princess Golden's predecessor, Lisheng Cinema, was affiliated with Golden Harvest Cinemas. Combined with some other retail cinemas, the number of theaters of Golden Harvest Cinemas once reached 35, accounting for half of the first-round theaters in Hong Kong.
many.
Nowadays, due to the rapid prosperity of Hong Kong films, the number of cinemas in Hong Kong has also increased, with the total number reaching 107, which has already caught up with the level of 1985 in parallel time and space.
What is the concept of 41 cinemas showing it at the same time, which means that one-half of the first-run cinemas in Hong Kong are showing the movie "The Express".
With the strong appeal of Cheng Long and Lin Qingxia, combined with the distribution capabilities of Golden Harvest and DreamWorks, and the influence of Kang Jianfei, a lucrative director, the box office of "Fatal Express" on the first day was actually 4.63 million.
The box office on the first day was 4.63 million!
It is equivalent to the local box office of most of Shaw Brothers' movies. This huge gap makes Shao Yifu, who has been making movies for decades, very uncomfortable.
But Shao Yifu had to admit that Kang Jianfei and Zou Wenhuai were both people who could afford to let go. Although the two companies' movies were still competing for the box office in the first half of the year, they were able to cooperate vigorously in the second half of the year. This is not something ordinary people can do.
.
…
General Manager's Office of Golden Princess Theater.
Lei Juekun was silent for a long time while holding the box office data of "Fatal Express", and finally said to the theater manager Li Maowen: "Delay the release time of "The Best Partner", and let other movies be screened first during the Christmas period."
"That's all we can do." Li Maowen said helplessly.
Precisely because "Deadly Express" was heavily promoted and it was a collaboration between two major companies, Lei Juekun didn't want to beat two people one at a time and moved the release date of "The Best of Us 3" back a few days.
But the box office data of "Fatal Express" is really terrible. It was released in 41 theaters at the same time, and the average attendance rate was still more than 90%. Although "The Best of Us 3" was shot in France, and although it also invited 007 actors to guest star,
Neither Lei Juekun nor Mecca and others have the confidence to compete head-on with "Fatal Express".
Li Maowen suddenly said: "Shaolin Boys will be released in Yindu Cinema during the Spring Festival. The box office of that movie should not be low."
"No matter how good the Yindu Agency's drama is, how can it be sold? "Shaolin Temple" was a big hit. It was just filming in the mainland." Lei Juekun didn't take "Shaolin Boys" seriously. In his eyes, the biggest
The only competitors are Jiahe and DreamWorks.
Lei Juekun's other major industries are all listed companies, which have suffered heavy losses in the past two years. He has to seek development in the film industry.
In 1978, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was only 383 points. However, with the reform and opening up of the mainland, Hong Kong's political and economic environment has greatly improved. At the same time, relying on the mainland market, Hong Kong's status as a trading port has been restored.
While Hong Kong's economy was developing rapidly, the Hang Seng Index soared from 383 points to 1,810 points in just three years. Stock traders in those years could make huge profits just by buying any stock. Not only that, house prices at that time were also very high.
It's scary, almost two to three times what it is now.
However, in the summer of 1981, as banks adjusted deposit interest rates, the Hong Kong property market bubble was instantly burst. The plummeting property market also affected the stock market, and the Hang Seng Index also fell from 1,810 points to around 1,000 points.
At that time, Lei Juekun's two listed companies were already suffering from heavy losses. At the same time, due to Sun Hung Kai's acquisition, Lei Juekun lost his status as the largest shareholder of the bus company.
Next came the Sino-British Hong Kong negotiations. During the first round of negotiations, the Hang Seng Index fell from 1,000 points to more than 600 points. After that, the Hang Seng Index gradually rose back to more than 900 points, but this summer, it fell back to more than 600 points. Now
It has only risen to around 800 points.
The Hong Kong stock market has experienced such ups and downs that many investors have made huge profits from stock trading, but many more investors have lost so much that they have jumped off the building. Even Lei Juekun, a major shareholder of a listed company, is completely unaware of the changes in the story caused by this general environment.
There is no way.
Lei Juekun is very satisfied with the performance of New Art City. Even Chen Xunqi's Yongjia Pictures has been a box office hit one after another. It can be said that the entire Golden Princess and its satellite companies are now more profitable than Lei Juekun.
Business must be strong.
However, Lei Juekun has always been worried about DreamWorks leaving DreamWorks and uniting with a group of retail investors to establish New Era Cinema. Lei Juekun hated Kang Jianfei a little and regretted forcing Kang Jianfei away, but he had to admit that Kang Jianfei
Due to my ability, I have to stagger the release dates with DreamWorks movies during good schedules.
Anyway, when mentioning Kang Jianfei, Lei Juekun feels like a lump in his throat. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian () to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to
m.read.)
ps: This morning I went to buy a TV with my mother, and in the afternoon I did some trivial matters. I have to go to the city to look at houses tomorrow.
But there will definitely be a third update today, and I will make it up even if I write it in the middle of the night.9
