Chapter 345: Not an ordinary person
Li Lianjie has already established his reputation as a kung fu boy with "Sword Rain" and "Book of Swords".
This time "Fang Shiyu" is released, Baiyang Pictures is very optimistic about it, and they have stepped up their efforts to promote it. The momentum is very fierce.
The Dragon Boat Festival in 1984 was on June 4th, which happened to be a Monday.
"Fong Sai Yuk" will be released simultaneously on June 2 in more than 90 theaters in Hong Kong.
A weekend plus the Dragon Boat Festival is a good schedule.
After the theater alliance was established, there were two biggest changes.
First, when new films are released, there are several times more theaters than before. If the film schedule is high, the early box office will be very fierce.
This makes the film company attach great importance to the publicity work before the movie is released, because if it is done well, the cost can be recovered within three days.
Second, large film companies no longer open shows casually and have become very cautious.
In the past, the three major theater chains could only rely on their own films. In order to prevent the theaters from being empty, the opening of the theaters was very haphazard.
Often the director has an idea, well, let’s shoot it!
Script, what is that? Just think about it while taking pictures!
Not anymore, because there are new movies released every week.
Hong Kong can now screen about one hundred Chinese-language films a year, including Taiwanese films and mainland films.
Not counting foreign language films, an average of two new films are released every week.
This time, at the same time as "Fang Shiyu" is the salty and wet film "The Unbridled Girl of the Tang Dynasty" produced by Shaw Brothers, with Xia Wenxi playing the role of Yu Xuanji, a talented woman of a generation.
Xia Wenxi is unkind and seems to have the whole effect, but the key parts are tightly blocked and nothing can be seen.
You don’t show off your wet and salty movies. What kind of salty and wet movies are you shooting?
No professionalism at all, bad review!
The plot of "The Unbridled Women of the Tang Dynasty" is quite boring. She took off her clothes but didn't take them off at all. What did the audience want to watch?
Therefore, after viewing the sample film, the theater chain alliance was not optimistic about the box office and only gave 15% of the film schedule.
The film schedule of "Fang Shiyu" is as high as 70%, and the remaining 15% are old films that are still in theaters.
The scale of the screening of "Fang Shiyu" is more than double that of the previous single-day screening at Baiyang Cinemas.
In just one week, the box office reached 15 million.
By mid-June, the films being released were Shaw Brothers' "The Devil's Dragon" and Mainland China's "Qiu Jin."
Both of these two movies were ignored, with a box office of hundreds of thousands, and they did not pose any threat to "Fang Shiyu".
There were no decent movies released throughout June, leaving "Fang Shiyu" to occupy the entire month's schedule.
It wasn't until Chen Long's "Shanghai Noon 2" was released in July that "Fang Shiyu" was announced to be finished, with a box office of 25.8 million.
With this box office, Jet Li has completely secured his position as a first-line star in Hong Kong.
Yang Ye also kept his promise and opened a film studio for Yuan Kui and Jet Li.
Yuan Kui's talents are not as good as those of Chen Long and Hong Jingbao, and he cannot stand alone.
Li Lianjie is not like the Seven Little Fortunes who grew up on the set. He has comprehensive skills and can do everything.
Both of them are self-aware and know that they must join forces to be qualified to compete with Hong Jingbao and Chen Longyi.
"Shanghai Noon 2" continued the style of the first film and once again grossed US$30 million in North America, allowing Chen Long to enter the ranks of first-line stars in North America, with his salary rising to US$1.5 million.
The salary in Hollywood was set in 1992. The salary of a top-tier super star can reach 15 million US dollars. Before that, 3 million US dollars was a sky-high price.
Although Zou Wenhuai failed in North America because of his "Blade Runner", he did not give up.
Because the VHS video recorder developed by the Japanese became popular in North America, the audio and video market for movies ushered in explosive growth.
Zou Wenhuai discovered that although "Blade Runner" failed miserably at the box office, it has performed well in the audio-visual market in the past two years, and its reputation has been reversing.
If this continues, in ten or eight years, he will earn back the money he invested.
Seeing that Chen Long is now popular in North America, Zou Wenhuai hooked up with Chen Long again and planned to ask Chen Long to be the protagonist and make another Western film.
If nothing else, this Western movie is the shocking "Pandemic".
Yang Ye won’t pierce it, just let them do whatever they want!
"Powerful Detective" is the source of inspiration for "Police Story". If Chen Long does not step into this trap, "Police Story" will not be able to come out!
……
Although "Shanghai Noon 2" is a hit in North America, it is relatively average in Asia.
The Japanese box office is 300 million yen, only one-tenth of "Plan A".
After landing in Hong Kong, the box office grossed more than 14 million Hong Kong dollars, which was hundreds of thousands less than the first film.
Despite this, Chen Long didn't take it seriously because he was already making money in North America.
This guy took Tom Cruise and wandered around Asia happily, doing publicity everywhere. There was a handsome white guy following him wherever he went, and he called him big brother. He has a lot of face. You're so good at pretending!
Asia has Japan, the second largest film market in the world. Tom Cruise can use this to increase his influence in Asia, which is naturally a dream.
It can be said that the two hit it off!
Half a month after the release of "Shanghai Noon 2", "The Fighter" is finally about to be released.
The filming of "The Fighter" has long been completed, and the global distribution rights were sold out through the Hong Kong International Film Festival in March.
Yang Ye's movie box office has remained relatively stable in recent years, but there has been little improvement.
Generally speaking, if he makes a traditional Hong Kong-style action movie, the global box office will exceed 70 to 80 million US dollars.
If we cater to the West, we can exceed 100 million. If you make a Western movie and hire a white person to star in it, it will be even higher. For example, "First Blood" grossed US$160 million worldwide.
This is not Yang Ye’s problem.
First of all, before Hollywood's special effects took shape, the European and American film markets themselves were growing slowly. Yang Ye's stable output is already very impressive.
Secondly, action movies have always been in the category of curiosity in Europe and the United States, and are B-level movies. Yang Ye's movies are already at the top of the box office among B-level movies.
However, as the audio-visual market gradually took shape, Yang Ye's movies began to show their power in this field!
Now, audio and video stores in big cities in North America and Japan have exclusive shelves for Yang Ye. All of them are filled with his videos and records, and the sales are very good!
Especially last year's "Kowloon Walled City", which was specially filmed for "Qing Kung" (parkour), is even more popular among young people.
The young people bought the video tape and practiced according to the movements in it, setting off a "Qing Kung" craze on the streets.
The box office of "Kowloon Walled City" in North America was only over US$27 million, but its video revenue was as high as US$12 million.
Coupled with more than 18 million US dollars in video rental revenue, the total exceeded its box office in North America.
In Japan and Europe, Yang Ye also performs well in the audio and video market.
When the news came back to Hong Kong, the media exclaimed and gave Yang Yean the title of "King of Video Tapes"!
Yang Yexin said, this is not even close. Jet Li's "Baby Knight" in the original space and time was a poor box office after its release, but it grossed 79.8 million US dollars in the disc market. That's what it deserves to be called " "The King of Disc Market"!
Due to its great power in the video tape market, the sales price of "Boxer Fighter" has skyrocketed, and it was finally sold for 15 million US dollars.
This does not include North America, Japan, Southeast Asia, and several island countries in the Caribbean.
Because in these places, Yang Ye’s movies are distributed in divided distribution.
When Yang Ye originally acquired Rediffusion, Rediffusion also gave him a lot of radio stations in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.
At first, except for sending someone to check the accounts every six months, Yang Yegang ignored everything else and let them do whatever they wanted!
Later, I had an idea and simply established a film distribution department based on several Rediffusion radio stations in the Caribbean, specifically to distribute Hong Kong films in the region. There are nearly 40 million people in the Caribbean, and over 100 million people in the Southeast Asian region. They are a bit poor, but mosquito legs are also meat.
After receiving the task, those broadcasting companies immediately took action.
A few years later, they actually made it so impressive that they distributed Hong Kong films everywhere, which can be said to be an outstanding achievement.
But this is not surprising. Life on the island is boring, and Hong Kong movies are very entertaining, so they are most suitable for entertainment.
Even the main island where several broadcasting companies are located has even started to share revenue with movie theaters.
In some relatively wealthy islands, such as Barbados, the annual profit is as much as one million US dollars, which is an unexpected surprise!
......
The premiere of "Boxer" was very grand, attracting hundreds of media and a large number of fans.
A red carpet was also laid out at the scene, and many celebrities in the entertainment industry came to support!
Yang Ye held Yang Liping's hand and Shi Shiran walked onto the red carpet, which immediately caused countless fans to scream.
Hundreds of media outlets immediately aimed their guns and cannons at the two of them, flashing their flashlights wildly and taking pictures non-stop, murdering countless films.
Yang Ye gently shook Yang Liping's hand, smiled and waved to the fans, and said calmly: "Don't be nervous, just wave like me!"
Yang Liping was really shocked by this formation and thought to herself, national leaders are not as pompous as him!
Yang Ye held Yang Liping and stood there for reporters to take pictures while accepting interviews.
"Mr. Yang, who is this beautiful girl next to you?"
Yang Ye introduced: "This is Miss Yang Liping. She is a dancer and the heroine of the movie "Boxing Fighter". You will see her wonderful performance in the movie later!"
While Yang Ye was being interviewed, Li Saifeng also held Wu Mengda's arm and walked onto the red carpet. Seeing the close relationship between Yang Ye and Yang Liping, she felt sour and a bit disgusting!
Li Saifeng thought that she was the heroine and that the master would lead her on the red carpet. Unexpectedly, Yang Liping, whom she had never heard of, suddenly appeared and she was so beautiful!
Wu Mengda was sleek and sophisticated, and he took it into his mind and said casually: "Where did you find this mainland girl, Mr. Yang?"
Li Saifeng shook his head and said: "I don't know, she's probably from the mainland. Be an actor!”
Although they and Yang Liping participated in the same movie, Yang Liping's scenes were all in the mainland, and their scenes were all in Hong Kong, so I didn't know that there was such a person before.
Ng Meng-tat said: "Most of this movie was shot in Hong Kong, and it didn't even take a few days of filming in the Mainland. The heroine should just be what Yang Shao said casually."
Li Saifeng He said yes. Actually, Li Saifeng didn't really care whether the female lead was the heroine or not. This "Boxing Fighter" was Yang Ye's one-man show, and the others didn't have much performance.
However, during this period of time, filming "Female Boxer" was very difficult because there were too many fighting scenes.
Yang Ye often comforted her and encouraged her. He also personally gave her medicine, massage, and cooked food for her. He took great care of her.
After all, Li Saifeng is a little girl, and she admires Yang Ye very much, and she was even broken by Yang Ye.
Having been so considerate and cared for by Yang Ye during this period, my heart has long since melted into a pool of spring water, and I have become extremely dependent on Yang Ye.
So, it would be strange not to be jealous when she saw Yang Ye walking on the red carpet without her, instead holding a woman she had never heard of!
......
After briefly answering a few questions from reporters, Yang Ye took Yang Liping into the theater.
At this time, Chen Long and Tom Cruise also walked onto the red carpet. Neither of them had a female companion, and they stood arm-in-arm on the red carpet for reporters to take pictures.
A reporter asked: "Brother Long, "Shanghai Noon 2" is a global hit. How do you feel?"
Chen Long smiled and said: "Of course I want to thank the audience for their support!"
“Who is this handsome guy next to you?”
“He is the Hollywood star Tom Cruise. Tom, say hello to everyone!”
Tom Cruise showed his big white teeth and greeted everyone enthusiastically: "Lei Menghao, I love HongKong!"
At this time, Tom Cruise had not yet taken over the filming of "Top Gun", " Rain Man" classic movies.
He is just a "smelly" actor in Hollywood, also known as a young actor.
The two "Shanghai Noon" movies have greatly improved his status in Hollywood, and he has continued to make film appointments. He is very grateful to Chen Long.
Moreover, when the two of them were filming a movie together, he was also very impressed by Chen Long's agility, so the two quickly became good friends!
...
Yang Ye led Yang Liping into the theater, and a large number of people came over. Young Master Yang kept shouting, and they were all enthusiastic.
Finally sitting down, Yang Liping sat next to Yang Ye and whispered: "Last year I heard you said that you couldn't move freely in Hong Kong. I was a little skeptical. Now I know it's true. It turns out that you are popular. To this point!"
Yang Ye smiled calmly and said: "There are gains and losses in life. Although being famous will bring a lot of troubles, flowers and applause are also manifestations of the value of life. Sooner or later, you will too! Become very popular, you must stay calm and calm when the time comes!"
Yang Liping smiled brightly and said: "Thank you for your advice, I understand!"
While the two were chatting, Chen Long and others also entered the venue. When Chen Long saw Hong Jingbao and Yuan Biao, he invited Tom Cruise to sit over with them.
"Tom, let's go, I'll introduce my brothers to you!"
Tom Cruise said: "Paula hasn't come in yet!"
Tom ·The relationship between Cruise and his agent Paula Wagner is very close, because when he was a poor boy, Paula fell in love with him at first sight, and the two supported each other all the way.
Chen Long said: "It doesn't matter, we will leave a place for her."
The two walked over, sat down next to Hong Jingbao and Yuan Biao, and introduced each other.
Now that Chen Long is prospering in Hollywood, Hong Jingbao and Yuan Biao are quite inferior compared to him.
Yuan Biao can only thrive in Japan and cannot enter the North American market.
Hong Jingbao also relied on Yuan Biao and Chen Long to sell the Japanese port. No one would buy it on his own.
So they are all very envious of Chen Long!
Chen Long introduced a few people to each other. Since Hong Jingbao didn't speak English, everyone was just a little polite and didn't talk in depth.
Chen Long glanced towards Yang Ye and happened to see Yang Liping's beautiful profile. He couldn't help but be stunned and asked: "Where did Mr. Yang find a beauty? How on point!"< br>
Hong Jingbao shook his head and said, "I don't know, he's from the mainland, maybe!"
Chen Long was so envious that he said, "Young Master Yang is really a master at picking up girls, he's so lucky!"
>
Hong Jingbao said: "You don't have many ghost girl girlfriends in the United States, right?"
Chen Long shook his head, still staring at Yang Liping, and said: "The ghost girl is rough-skinned and thick-bodied, how can she compare with us Chinese girls!
In other words, this girl has such a temperament, she is completely different from us Hong Kong girls. It feels so good!"
Yuan Biao asked in confusion: "Is there one? Why can't I see it? She is very beautiful, and she has such a good figure!"
Chen Long said: "Look at her actions. , very elegant, this girl is definitely not an ordinary person!"
Hong Jingbao said: "Damn, you are really a master of appreciating women, you can tell from this?"
Chen Long patted Hong Jingbao on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Boss, you shoot so many movies a year and stay on the set every day. You don't even have time to spend time with your sister-in-law. Of course you can't tell. It's understandable!"
Hong Jingbao curled his lips and said: "It's useless for you to see it. That's Mr. Yang's horse. Are you going to snatch it?"
Chen Long shook his head and said: "A gentleman does not take away what others like. , Why should I grab it? But this does not delay my appreciation!”
Hong Jingbao sighed and said: “Damn it, I don’t envy the mandarin ducks, I envy Mr. Yang every day!” >
(End of this chapter)