Liang Chaowei and Andy Lau are in the same frame.
On May 24, Yang Shoucheng, chairman of the Emperor Group, attended the film "Goldfinger", he held Liang Chaowei in his left hand and Andy Lau in his right hand, laughing and saying to the camera: "The two film emperors have been waiting for more than ten years, and the opportunity is rare!" ”
It is reported that "Goldfinger" is mainly built by the Emperor Group at a cost of 350 million yuan, and it has spent 50 million yuan on the construction of the scene alone.
What is even more surprising is that Yang Shoucheng, who has always been generous, rented the presidential suite of the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong as one of the sets.
In response, Yang Shoucheng responded: "Everyone knows that The Peninsula Hotel will not easily borrow locations for the crew to shoot, but this Academy Awards team lineup is convincing, besides, there is not one of them to do the office for 'Wei Zai (Liang Chaowei)'!" "Goldfinger" is a blockbuster, and it must have the style of a blockbuster. ”
Yang Shoucheng is humorous and witty, and the atmosphere is as bold as ever.
In addition to greeting Andy Lau and Liang Chaowei, Yang Shoucheng also asked the choreographer Zhuang Wenqiang, supervising producer Huang Bin and others about the finished film.
At the same time, Yang Shoucheng also paid tribute to Cai Zhuoyan (Asa), Ren Dahua, Taibao, Jiang Haowen, Fang Zhongxin, Qian Jiale, Chen Jiale and other actors, and made some understanding of the performance of the new generation of actors such as Hu Zitong, Cen Jiaqi, He Qihua, Xu Haochang and so on.
In the end, Yang Shoucheng returned satisfied, happily saying that he wanted to "get a sneak peek and have begun to wait to witness the birth of another Hong Kong classic movie!" ”
So, what was the last Hong Kong classic movie in Yang Shoucheng's mind?
There is no doubt that it is "Infernal Affairs", which is known as the "rescue work" of Hong Kong cinema.
Coincidentally, the film's lead actors are also the main actors of "Goldfinger" - Liang Chaowei and Andy Lau, and the screenwriter of the film is also the screenwriter of "Goldfinger" - Zhuang Wenqiang.
In order to make this movie also become a "rescue work", Yang Shoucheng can be described as a "blood capital". Not only invested 350 million, but also formed a strong card division and luxurious lineup, and he invited a number of film and television company owners to come and make cameos.
And he himself went to the set many times to visit the class, understand the shooting situation, and help solve the problem.
So, nineteen years ago, Zhuang Wenqiang and Liu Weiqiang joined forces to "save" Hong Kong films with "Infernal Affairs"; nineteen years later, can Hong Kong films still rely on Zhuang Wenqiang?
Before we get to the bottom of this question, let's take a cursory look at the current state of Hong Kong cinema.
Since 2020, Hong Kong has experienced its first negative economic growth in a decade, which has directly affected the Hong Kong film market.
The top ten Hong Kong films at the box office that year were no.1 "Grandmaster of the Qi Dynasty", with a box office of 29.45 million; no.4 "Mai Luren", which had a Hong Kong box office of 8.28 million and a mainland box office of 18 million; no.7 "Fat Dragon Across the River", which grossed 5.64 million; no.10 "Murder in San Jose", with a box office of 2.46 million.
Therefore, some time ago, Wang Jing said bluntly in an interview:
Now that Hong Kong makes a film that costs more than 6 million yuan, it will be worried.
Secondly, it is an objective fact that the continued downturn in Hong Kong films in recent years, once relied on overseas markets for exports, now their own film and television industries have developed. For example, the import of Hong Kong films in Southeast Asia and the investment of overseas funds in Hong Kong films are declining every year, which is a strong proof.
Then, there was a "fault" in Hong Kong actors: the superstars were either exhausted or discouraged; the new generation of actors either did not have the opportunity to come out or lacked box office appeal.
"Labor models" like Gu Tianle and Andy Lau shoot many films a year; and film emperors such as Chow Yun-fat, Leung Ka-fai, and Liu Qingyun began to "play in the mountains". In addition, the "artist training class" mechanism is not attractive to fast-paced young people, and Hong Kong actors have a situation of "green and yellow".
Finally, the rise of the mainland film and television market has had a huge impact on Hong Kong films.
We don't have to take last year's "Mai Luren" that broke the mainland cinema line to analyze, just look at the "True Three Kingdoms Matchless" that "left" the Early Departure in the May 1st show: Today's Hong Kong films want to compete with mainland films, and they have almost no advantage.
Coupled with the serious stylization of Hong Kong films, single themes, clichéd plots and other issues, the current situation of Hong Kong films is worrying.
But even so, Sister Pickpocket personally believes that Hong Kong movies really rely on Zhuang Wenqiang, or rely on "Zhuang Wenqiang".
First, Zhuang Wenqiang is a successful commercial film director like Wang Jing and has a very rich successful experience.
After the millennium, when the rivers of Hong Kong movies were declining, Zhuang Wenqiang took the script of "Infernal Affairs" and looked for people to invest everywhere, and finally was favored by Huanya, and joined hands with Liu Weiqiang to forcibly save the decline of Hong Kong films and give Hong Kong filmmakers a "shot in the arm".
Second, Zhuang Wenqiang's choreography and directing skills have reached their peak. In addition to "Goldfinger" and "Infernal Affairs", he also has many hits such as "Red Sea Action", "Peerless", "Head Text D", "Eavesdropping" series, and it is worth mentioning that Zhuang Wenqiang's works every time he creates are stuck on important nodes. Needless to say, works such as "Red Sea Action", "Peerless", and "Eavesdropping" series competed with mainland films at that time, not only did not lose momentum, but also had a good box office and word of mouth.
Third, Zhuang Wenqiang has keen market insight. We go back to the film and television companies he cooperated with, cooperating with "Infernal Affairs" at the peak of Huanya; cooperating with "Goldfinger" when the Emperor was carrying out the layout of the mainland market; and launching "Operation Red Sea" when the mainland film and television companies and Hong Kong film and television companies cooperated closely...
As the saying goes, if the film is made well, it must sell well, and Zhuang Wenqiang knows it well.
Fourth, Zhuang Wenqiang's creative direction can always be closely linked to hot spots. When the police film was hot, he made "Infernal Affairs"; when the suspense film was hot, he made "Peerless"; when the racing car was on fire, he made "Head Text D"; when the main theme movie was popular, he filmed "Red Sea Action" and "Goldfinger"...
In a word: what the audience wants to see, Zhuang Wenqiang will shoot.
Therefore, the reproduction of Hong Kong movies must of course rely on Zhuang Wenqiang and "Zhuang Wenqiang"!
Rely on their professional skills and dedicated attitude;
Rely on their courage to seek innovation and change and a keen sense of market smell;
It is the responsibility that they can always stand up in times of crisis and carry Hong Kong movies on their shoulders;
It depends on their spirit of courage and never accept defeat!
Finally, I hope that this "Goldfinger" can become a "rescue work" of Hong Kong movies like "Infernal Affairs".
I hope that Zhuang Wenqiang will immediately open the "death pit" of Hong Kong movies as soon as he makes a shot.