The 1993 film Christmas season was even more tragic than the summer season. Last Christmas, 10 Hong Kong films were released at the same time, but this year there are only 5 Hong Kong films.￡∝,
Among them, "New Brothers in Trouble" and "Money Stealing Couple" are both produced by ufo, "The Demon Cult Leader Who Slays the Dragon in Heaven" is produced by Yongsheng, and "The White-Haired Witch" is produced by Huang Baiming's Metro Pictures, while Oriental Cinema released it
"Green Snake" by Xu Ke.
There are two main reasons why there are so few Christmas movies: First, Taiwanese film companies have reduced their investment in Hong Kong films; second, Hong Kong’s local box office scares theater companies, who would rather leave theaters empty than
Show those bad movies that are destined to hit the streets.
Because many small and medium-sized film companies' works cannot be screened, they can only be released through VCD and video tapes, which in disguise has stimulated the prosperity of the video tape market.
Among the five Hong Kong films released on Christmas Day, "Brothers in Trouble" (ufo) is far ahead with a box office of 21.36 million, "The Money-Grabbing Couple" (ufo) is second with a box office of 18.37 million, and "The Demon Cult Master" (Yong Sheng) has a box office of 18.37 million.
Film Company) ranked third with a box office of 11.85 million, "The White-Haired Witch" (Metropolis Pictures) ranked fourth with a box office of 1,180, and Xu Ke's "Green Snake" (Oriental DreamWorks) only received a box office of 10.32 million.
This is definitely the worst Christmas season at the box office in Hong Kong in more than ten years. At this time, the news of Kang Jianfei's "The Sixth Sense" has not yet been released in the United States. Some media in Hong Kong are already shouting that "Hong Kong movies are dead."
!
Hong Kong film giant Golden Harvest actually did not participate in this year's Christmas show. Last year's high-spirited Wing Ko Pictures has already reported that it will cease production. Chen Yongmei, who owns the largest theater chain in Hong Kong, has not invested in a single movie. Even the always hot-selling movie
DreamWorks, this time "Green Snake" directed by Xu Ke barely broke 10 million at the box office.
Kang Jianfei felt very depressed about this. Oriental Cinema's Christmas movie was originally scheduled to be "Face Changing", but unfortunately Wu Yusen missed the ticket. He could only use Xu Ke's "Green Snake" as a temporary replacement.
The only eye-catching thing in this year’s Christmas season is UFO.
Two years ago, when Hong Kong movies were at their most prosperous, Eric Tsang put forward an ambitious plan. He contacted more than 20 actors including Er Dongsheng, Ann Hui, Luo Zhuoyao, Chen Kexin, Zhang Zhiliang, etc., to invest in the film in the name of the director, and contacted
Eight theaters have organized a new theater chain to specialize in shooting and screening films that directors want to make but no one may be willing to invest in, hoping to carve out a new path through novel creativity.
Unfortunately, this plan ultimately failed because Zeng Zhiwei was a little too whimsical. His fame and appeal were not enough to complete this plan.
The plan failed before it was put into practice. Zeng Zhiwei had to do the next best thing and found Zhong Zhen and Chen Kexin. The three jointly formed UFO (the abbreviation of United Producers Organization), "If? Love", "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves", "October"
"Fortress Besieged", "Sweet Honey", "Tou Mingzhuan" and other films were all produced by this company).
At a time when Hong Kong films were being shoddy and shoddy, UFO insisted on creating films with unique styles and novel content. At the same time, directors were their own bosses, and the films they produced had to consider the box office. Therefore, although the films produced by UFO were exploratory, they were not like Wong Kar-wai.
The movie is so incomprehensible.
This is extremely rare. UFO is like a breeze blowing through the turbid Hong Kong film scene. At least Kang Jianfei is happy to see such a unique film company appear.
Especially this Christmas, only five Hong Kong films were released in Hong Kong, two of which were produced by UFO. They also won the first and second place at the Christmas box office respectively.
Some newspapers even predicted that UFO would become the new art city of the 1990s.
The analysis of "Film Fortnightly" is more rational:
"UFO's amazing performance at Christmas is actually proof that Hong Kong people hate bad movies. Due to shoddy production and following trends, many classic scenes have been filmed over and over again in countless movies, and the audience has long been made to want to vomit. Produced by UFO
The film may not be the best, but its style and plot are definitely novel and unique.
To put it more abstractly, this is the competition between the star-centered system and the director-centered system. In recent years, most Hong Kong films are the product of the star-centered system. The entire film revolves around these stars, relying on the stars to attract the audience.
In order to make movies, UFO is different. The three bosses of this company are all directors. When they make a film, they first establish the style and content of the film, and then find suitable actors to shoot. The director controls the film.
In all aspects, there are very few constraints from investors and issuers.
The core of a movie is always the movie itself, not a few glamorous stars. The sudden rise of UFO is actually a return to the essence of movies. Those producers who want to rely on celebrities to deceive audiences into paying money should probably think more about it.
Not a fool..."
Zeng Zhiwei finally became famous. He had worked in New Art City, Oriental DreamWorks, and also worked under Zou Wenhuai and Chen Yongmei. This time he finally became the leader of a separate faction in the Hong Kong film industry.
…
"cheers!"
In the private room of Hongye Club, Zeng Zhiwei, Zhong Zhen, Chen Kexin, Zhang Zhiliang and others gathered together and toasted to celebrate the rise of UFO.
"Thanks to A Liang and Ke Xin this time, you two are the big contributors, come and have this drink!" Zeng Zhiwei was obviously in a state of excitement. The movie produced by his company actually occupied the first and second place at the Christmas box office. This is the first time he has ever done so.
The pinnacle of life that has never been reached.
Both Chen Kexin and Zhang Zhiliang have very reserved personalities, but because they were in good moods, they actually had several drinks with Eric Tsang.
After drinking for a while, everyone was getting drunk. Zeng Zhiwei waved his arms and said: "Although the Hong Kong film market is sluggish now, I think it is a good opportunity for UFO to rise. In the 1980s, Hong Kong films were in the same situation as now.
, there are shoddy kung fu movies and martial arts movies everywhere, and the audience is tired of watching them. DreamWorks and Xinyicheng became big by innovating the old. It is the same now, the audience is tired of watching gambling movies, zombie movies, shit funny movies and
For new martial arts movies, our UFO can attract audiences with its avant-garde and novel style, and can definitely defeat other film companies that are not enterprising. I think that UFO should set up its own theater chain in the coming year so that the company's movies can be scheduled well in the future.
I heard that the Yonggao cinema chain owned by Luo Jie is ready to be sold. Now that the company has sufficient funds, we can take over several cinemas in good locations..."
Zhong Zhen was still awake. He poured cold water on Zeng Zhiwei: "Let's talk about the establishment of theater chains later. Now the supply of cinemas in Hong Kong exceeds demand. It is better to make movies with peace of mind than to be a theater chain. As long as the movie is filmed,
The bosses of those theater companies will beg us to show the film in their theaters."
"I don't think it's necessary to set up a theater chain." Peter Chan pushed up his glasses frames. In fact, he didn't have much say in UFO. When setting up the company, Eric Tsang and Zhong Zhen provided the money, while Peter Chan used the director's remuneration to offset the accounts and get a small amount.
shares.
Eric Tsang is very tactful. Although he is in a high-spirited state, after hearing that both partners objected, he stopped mentioning the establishment of a theater chain because it would only cause conflicts among the partners. He laughed.
Two voices: "Then let's ignore the theater issues for now. The company has one more drama that is about to be finished. We have to finish the post-production quickly and get it ready for the Spring Festival."
Zhong Zhen, Chen Kexin and Zhang Zhiliang looked at each other and felt that Zeng Zhiwei seemed a little arrogant.
Zhong Zhen reminded: "There is something wrong with the Lunar New Year slot. Firstly, there is not much time to do post-production for the movie. Secondly, the competition for the Lunar New Year slot is too fierce."
Peter Chan also said: "This year's Lunar New Year slot includes Liu Jialiang and Cheng Long's "Drunken Master 2", Ko Chi-sen and Leslie Cheung's "The Rich Man", and Kang Jianfei and Zhou Xingchi's "Kung Fu". Our company's movies will be in the Lunar New Year slot.
Competition is courting death.”
Zeng Zhiwei was a little unhappy at being poured cold water on him one after another, but his mind was much clearer. Although he still fantasized about competing in the Lunar New Year stalls, the names of Kang Jianfei, Cheng Long, and Zhou Xingchi still made it difficult for him to make up his mind.
"Then, take it easy." Zeng Zhiwei still didn't have the courage to go head-to-head with those talented people.
…
Compared with the deserted Christmas season, the New Year's season on New Year's Day in 1994 was surprisingly lively, with a total of 15 movies released in January. It seems that Hong Kong movies are showing signs of recovery, but several movies were only released for a few days because
The box office was so poor that the film was released early.
The only thing worth paying attention to is "The New Era of Cohabitation" directed by Yang Fan and Zhang Aijia. This film is invested by Taiwan's China Film Company and produced by Hong Kong's Bego Pictures. It is a three-part literary and romantic film, and it actually beats other commercial films released at the same time.
, earning a box office of HK$20 million.
It has to be said that Hong Kong audiences have matured. They are tired of watching shoddy commercial films and are becoming more and more inclined to well-made artistic films.
The success of "New Cohabitation Era" sounded the clarion call for Taiwanese film producers to invest in Hong Kong films again. After a half-year thinking period, Taiwanese film producers decided to invest in Hong Kong film production, but their investment was more cautious than before.
There will never be another miraculous incident of Andy Lau's film selling for 8 million yuan.
As the Lunar New Year is getting closer, the promotion of Lunar New Year movies has begun to bombard the eyes of Hong Kong citizens. The two movies that have attracted the most attention are "Drunken Master 2" and "Kung Fu". The former stars Liu Jialiang and Cheng Long.
This is the first collaboration between Kang Jianfei and Zhou Xingchi. Fans of the four are looking forward to these two movies.
Hong Kong newspapers have already collectively commented: ""Drunken Master 2" is undoubtedly a kung fu movie. The content of "Kung Fu" can be seen from the name. Zhou Xingchi faces Cheng Long, and it is a fist and kick competition. Who loses and who wins?
It’s worth looking forward to. What’s even more interesting is that Liu Jialiang’s style is a traditional kung fu of hard bridge and hard horse. What kind of sparks will be created when he collides with Cheng Long’s humorous fighting style? In addition, it is said that Liu Jialiang also served as the director of "
As an action director with three fight scenes in "Kung Fu", does this count as beating himself? Stephen Chow has always been famous for nonsensical comedies. Although he has had fight scenes in films such as "Tang Bo Hu Spots Autumn Fragrance" and "Su Qier", they were all ridiculous.
Filmed by Wia and a stunt double, can he compete with Cheng Long this time?" (To be continued...) u