The results are out.
Regarding the copyright infringement and unfair competition case of "The King of Comedy 2018" in 2018, the trial results were announced.
The filmmakers announced through social media that the project had been withdrawn and the shooting plan was terminated.
In other words, the plaintiff, Zhou Xingchi's Xinghui Company, won the case.
This result is not unexpected.
Similar to the voice on the Internet, "The King of Comedy 2018" is indeed suspected of using "The King of Comedy" to create heat and obtain benefits.
Although it is common for movies and TV titles to be repeated, it also depends on which works they are.
If it's "Avatar" and "Jurassic Park", you have to call "Avatar 2077", "Jurassic Park 2099", that is definitely not OK.
"The King of Comedy" has a certain popularity, not to be false, box office and network on demand are the best embodiment.
Specially take a title of "The King of Comedy 2018", the public will naturally think of the 1999 "King of Comedy", associated with Stephen Chow.
A netizen said it well.
If the story is completely original, it is not considered an infringement, then can it be filmed in the future "Wolf Warrior 1888", "Mermaid 1888", "Crazy Stone 1888", "Charlotte Troubles 1888"?
What's more, the director invited by the film side is still Li Lizhi.
Co-director of The King of Comedy.
In many of the early years of the material, the director still only wrote Li Lizhi.
If you don't link "The King of Comedy 2018" to "The King of Comedy", the audience will really become fools.
At that time, when Xinghui Company sued, Li Lizhi also wrote a letter of apology.
The letter is talking to some "you."
"Do you remember the works we have worked together for many years, such as "Tang Bohu Dian Qiu Xiang", "Domestic Ling Ling Lacquer", "God of Food", "King of Destruction" and other works that meet the requirements of the country's small cost, big feelings and positive energy production to tell the bloody and inspirational story of a small person working hard for his dream, how difficult and difficult it was for us to struggle in those years."
That "you" is clearly Zhou Xingchi.
However, the title written at the beginning is "head of Xinghui Overseas Co., Ltd."
Li Lizhi is an important figure in Stephen Chow's film career, and his influence on Stephen Chow is no less than that of Wu Mengda.
Wu Mengda is the first supporting role of the royal staff;
Li Lizhi is the royal director.
The two began to cooperate in the 1980s during the TVB period, and in the early 90s, Zhou Xingchi became popular, and soon cooperated with Li Lizhi on "Love Saint".
In 1993, after the success of their cooperation with "Tang Bohu Dian Qiu Xiang" and winning the annual Hong Kong film ticket, they took advantage of the hot iron to concoct two films that returned to modern times, "The King of Destruction" and "Domestic Lingling Paint".
Until Zhou Xingchi began to stand on his own, he temporarily fought with Li Li.
In 1995, Zhou Xingchi's "Journey to the West" failed to start a business, and Li Lizhi's "Ten Brothers" only had a box office of more than 10 million, and I don't know if there was a loss.
Anyway, in 1996, the two worked together again, and "God Eater" was finalized, laying the foundation for Zhou Xingchi's Xinghui Company.
Li Lizhi should be the director of Xinghui Company at this time.
Later, Xinghui produced "The King of Comedy" and "Shaolin Football", he has participated.
However, by the time of "Shaolin Soccer", Li Lizhi was no longer a co-director, and his name did not appear on the promotional poster.
It is also from this time that the poster of Stephen Chow's movie will only write "Stephen Chow works".
At that time, there were reports that Li Lizhi and Zhou Xingchi had a fight.
Li Lizhi had a serious disagreement with Stephen Chow and quarreled on the set, and he decided to move out of Xinghui Company.
I don't know whether Xingye decided to write only his own name, or whether Li Lizhi was changed to executive director afterwards, and anyway, the two have not cooperated since then.
There is no longer even a crossover.
Until 2018's "King of Comedy 2018", the two sides were directly against Bo Gongtang.
Li Lizhi said in his apology letter that because he was too busy to drink tea and chat, it caused a misunderstanding.
But clear-eyed people know that even if Zhou Xingchi has time, it is estimated that he will not drink tea with Li Li.
No matter who is right and who is wrong, it is really endless to think that the golden partner of the year has reached this point.
It's not just Li Lizhi.
I think that the partner next to Zhou Xingchi at that time was almost only Tian Qiwen who was still working together.
Those who left Stephen Chow have almost all successively taken over projects related to Stephen Chow's films.
Like the supporting characters of "Kung Fu", they made the online movie "Fire Cloud Evil God" series together;
Huang Yishan took over the "New Truant Veyron".
There is also a film called "The Fake President of the Dragon Set King", and the supporting characters are undoubtedly "paying tribute" to their classic role in Stephen Chow's movie.
Some people say that Zhou Xingchi is not affectionate.
But if you really want to sue, how many people will receive a lawyer's letter.
Or maybe the outside world thinks too well about the relationship between Zhou Xingchi and a number of golden supporting characters, and takes it for granted that after so many years of cooperation, they should all be old friends.
They're really just working together, strictly speaking, as colleagues. Whether they want to be friends or not is their own business.
Zhou Xingchi defends his own interests, what is wrong;
His former colleagues continued to work to earn money, even if they had the idea of rubbing heat, what was wrong.
Sometimes right or wrong really isn't the most important thing.
The root of the problem is that no one can go back.
Can't go back to the era of working together and struggling together, and it was also the era when Hong Kong cinema was still brilliant.
Without Li Lizhi and others and Zhou Xingchi arguing in order to make better works, Zhou Xingchi's film creativity slowly became less.
Without the boss of Zhou Xingchi, everyone can only nibble on the old book.
The most ruthless thing should be time.