Eleven years ago, when Liu Zhenwei filmed "Yueguang Treasure Box", he repeatedly asked the King of Heaven to be a superstar.
In a fit of rage, he teasingly marked the opening credits:
Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Angelina Jolie, all of the above actors have no part in the starring role!
Eleven years later, Gu Tianle and Zeng Zhiwei initiated, led by the Hong Kong Performing Arts Association, and jointly produced and produced by 10 Hong Kong film and television companies such as Emperor, Shaw and Huanya, the anti-epidemic film "Always Have Love in Isolation" released the first trailer and also exposed the performance lineup.
Directed by Gu Dezhao, starring Gu Tianle, Jackie Chan, Leung Ka Fai, Wu Zhenyu, Xu Guanwen, Zeng Zhiwei and others.
Among them, in addition to Jackie Chan in the "Four Heavenly Kings" and "Double Monday Cheng", Maggie Cheung, Liu Jialing, Liang Chaowei, Zhang Jiahui... All of the above actors have no part in the starring role!
This special film shot in this special period, from the beginning of the project, Gu Tianle and Zeng Zhiwei went from east to west, tired of running for their lives.
In terms of funds, the two worked together to attract 30 million yuan of investment from ten film and television companies in Hong Kong, and 9 million yuan from the Hong Kong Development Foundation, a total of 39 million yuan, all invested in filming and production.
In terms of actors, the two begged their grandfathers and grandmothers to invite some film stars to star for zero remuneration as much as possible, and collectively promised to donate box office revenue to the bottom film and television practitioners in Hong Kong.
It is precisely for these reasons that "There is always love in isolation" is called "the new version of the "Night Feast of the Giants" by netizens;
It is for these reasons that before the film is not scheduled for Easter 2021, the performance lineup of its major platforms is different;
It is precisely for these reasons that the King of Heaven is silent, and the superstar is silent: Gu Tianle and Zeng Zhiwei did not make "The Night Feast of the Giants" after all!
"The Night Feast of the Giants" was filmed in 1991, when the floods in East China were imminent. Mui Yanfang, president of the Hong Kong Performing Arts Association, Hui Guanwen, vice president, and Tsang Chi-wai shouted, and the stars gathered - the biggest cast and the largest lineup in the history of Hong Kong cinema were born!
So, what is the reason why "Always Love in Isolation" has not become the new version of "The Night Feast of the Giants"?
First of all, the most intuitive reason is that the influence and appeal of Gu Tianle and Zeng Zhiwei are not as good as Mei Yanfang.
The good popularity of Gu Tianle and Zeng Zhiwei in the Hong Kong entertainment industry is obvious to everyone. But compared with the "Hong Kong daughter" Mui Yanfang, the gap is obvious.
The stars of Liu Jialing's kidnapping case took to the streets; the "Night Feast of the Giants" that raised funds for the flood disaster in East China; the stars of the "SARS" period sang righteously... The initiators and leaders of these activities are Mei Yanfang.
In the Hong Kong performing arts industry, Mui Yanfang is a "big sister head" with absolute appeal in addition to Shen Dianxia.
Secondly, it coincided with the peak of Hong Kong cinema, and there was close cooperation between major film and television companies, crews and actors.
The four directors of "The Night Feast of the Giants" Zhang Tingjian, Gao Zhisen, Xu Ke, and Zhang Tongzu have a lot of friendship with each other, and the cast of Jackie Chan, Hong Jinbao, Zeng Zhiwei, Wu Yusen, Mei Yanfang, Dillon, Shen Dianxia and others have great influence and appeal.
After Mei Yanfang and others took the lead in initiating, these superstars worked together, influence and appeal to superimpose, and finally achieved this great movie.
Then, the shooting speed of "The Night Feast of the Giants" is fast, and the short production cycle is also an important factor.
In the Hong Kong film industry in the early 1990s, there were many directors and actors who made more than ten films a year.
For the movie "Night Feast of the Giants", it seems that the actors have almost gathered the elite of the Hong Kong showbiz circle, but many people are cameos to appear.
For example, Wang Zuxian only has a few flashes of shots, and all the scenes of the "Four Heavenly Kings" were almost filmed in a few days.
In other words, the main creators had almost no pressure of scheduling conflicts - almost at that time in the Hong Kong performing arts industry, all the crews were suspended, and all the cast members were involved in the film
At the same time, funding is also an important determining factor.
At that time, many film and television companies in Hong Kong made a lot of money and had abundant funds, which was easy to invest in the production of such a public welfare film.
Today, the Hong Kong film and television circle is full of mourning, when investing in the production of "Always Have Love in Isolation", Gu Tianle and Zeng Zhiwei pulled the investment of ten film and television companies is not enough, and finally applied for 9 million yuan from the Hong Kong Film Development Foundation, which is the best proof.
For Gu Tianle personally, his 5 films in 2021 have encountered financial difficulties, and Liu Luanxiong and Gambi and his wife invested 15 million yuan in February this year to help him tide over the difficulties.
Gu Tianle is still like this, why are other actors embarrassed?
Finally, the epidemic is a force majeure factor that has hit the Hong Kong film and television industry hard.
Nowadays, in Hong Kong, it is not easy to shoot any film, even a public welfare film.
For many Hong Kong film and television practitioners who "go north", running back and forth between the two places and constantly needing to be isolated has become a resistance for them to participate in and shoot this movie.
However, in the end, it is still caused by the overall downturn in Hong Kong films.
The downturn in Hong Kong's film and television industry has led to zhou runfa and other kings to love between the mountains and rivers, Zhang Jiahui and other film emperors to "hide", and superstars such as Dawn have seen the beginning and the end in recent years.
The king of heaven was silent, the superstar was silent, and many film and television practitioners were discouraged by the development of the industry, ignored the initiatives of Gu Tianle, Zeng Zhiwei and others, and saw no hope for the future of Hong Kong films. In the end, they chose to ignore it.
But even so, there are still many people of insight in Hong Kong films with good traditions and profound cultural heritage.
For example, Zeng Zhiwei, after becoming the vice president of entertainment at TVB, he actively explored program innovation while strengthening artist management, and at the same time, he also carried the burden of revitalizing Cantonese songs on his shoulders.
For example, Gu Tianle, no matter what the development trend of Hong Kong films, he has always insisted on "allowing all entertainers to have enough to eat" as his responsibility.
Whenever Hong Kong movies come to a critical juncture, someone will always come forward: Shen Dianxia, Mui Yanfang, Gu Tianle, Tsang Chi Wai...
They are the backbone of Hong Kong cinema and the hope of Hong Kong cinema to regain its glory!
Maybe Gu Tianle and Zeng Zhiweili were not caught, but they have done their best and done their best;
Maybe this movie will boost the morale of Hong Kong film and television practitioners, but it is definitely a sincere work and will surely leave a title in the history of Hong Kong film.
No matter how difficult it is, no matter how much pressure it is. Tianxingjian, a gentleman should be self-reliant!
Hong Kong movies should be like this, and so should you and me.
I hope that the epidemic will end as soon as possible, I hope that Hong Kong movies will get better, and I hope that each of us will be as stubborn and strong as Hong Kong filmmakers.
There is always love in isolation, there is always love in the heart.
Best wishes!