Hong Kong Island's wealthy era

Chapter 7 How could the Xiangjiang movie be without the Lei family?

Speaking of Hong Kong movies, we have to tell a historical story.

In 1913, Li Baihai and Li Minwei formed Huamei Film Company with Blasky, the boss of Shanghai Asia Film Company. In the same year, they directed the entrepreneurial film "Zhuangzi Tests His Wife".This film is Hong Kong's first truly local film, and it also made a leap for Hong Kong films from short to long.

In 1933, the Chung Hwa Film Company founded by Lai Pak Hai launched Hong Kong's first partial sound film "Conscience", and soon followed it with the first full sound film "The Wedding Room of the Silly Man", truly bringing Hong Kong movies into the sound era.Director Lai Man Wai is known as the father of Hong Kong cinema.

Li Minwei was the grandfather of Li Zi, a famous actress in Hong Kong in later generations. Attracted by his ability, Lai Zi married into the Ma family of Oriental Daily News.

The Ma family is a well-known demolisher of Xiangjiang flour. They established Oriental Daily in order to clear their name. No matter what, they succeeded in the end.And Li Zi also became a rich wife and a successful businessman.

Everyone has their own choice, but it is inevitable that they will feel a little emotional. I just feel that life is too real.

Lei Liquan really wants to set up a film company and run a newspaper now, and seize the Ma family's opportunities and women. (I mean...)
For a period of time, Xiangjiang Film represented a pioneer in the internationalization of Chinese-language films. It received rave reviews in the Southeast Chinese market, opened a new international chapter in the history of Chinese-language films, and established Xiangjiang Film's dominant position in Southeast Asia. It is also a memory of a generation.

In Hong Kong, a city with only a few million people, new movies have been released basically every day since the 60s.At that time, the investment in making a movie was about 50 yuan, and one could be shot in ten and a half days, just like an assembly line operation.

However, due to the narrow land and few people in Xiangjiang, the size of its own market was limited, and later it was defeated in the face of the powerful capital of Hollywood, and subsequently lost its central position in Chinese-language films.

In the 50s, Shao Daheng returned to Hong Kong from Nanyang and founded the Xiangjiang Shao Di Film Company.

Shaw Brothers' blockbuster production and streamlined filming created a period of glory.

The films produced by Shaw Brothers are a golden signature of Hong Kong cinema, and have been watched by generations of people forever.Even today, some of the Kung Fu films produced by Shaw Brothers are classics.

'A Shaw Brothers product must be of high quality' is not bragging at all.

The first heyday of Hong Kong movies was in the 60s.There are countless film companies, large and small, and nearly two hundred movie theaters.You can imagine how prosperous it is in a small Xiangjiang.

Shaw Brothers dominated the entire Hong Kong film market in the 60s.At that time, Lu Yuntao's D&M film was the only one that could compete with Shaw Brothers.

But something unexpected happened. Lu Yuntao heard at that time that some rare cultural relics brought by J from Da L were stored in a warehouse in Wufeng Township, Taichung. (The Taichung Museum had not yet been built.)
Lu Yuntao has always studied cultural relics and art, so he decided to lead the "Dianmao" delegation to Taichung to visit the treasures.

After visiting the treasures, on the afternoon of June 1964, 6, Lu Yuntao and his party were on their way back to Taichung by plane. Unexpectedly, a black swan incident occurred: Lu Yuntao's civilian passenger plane crashed in the sky above Shengang Triangle Village in Taichung.

Lu Yuntao's death caused great shock in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the Golden Horse Awards were suspended at the end of the year.

After Shaw Brothers lost its only rival, it began to feel a little unwilling to make progress. Shaw Brothers did not produce many good movies for a period of time, and the audience's enthusiasm for movies began to slowly fade.

Shaw Brothers dominates the movie theater chain in Hong Kong, and because of Shaw Brothers' large-scale studio system, self-produced and self-sold movies have restricted the development of Hong Kong movies.

The Xiangjiang cinema chain has also dropped from nearly [-] at its peak to less than [-].

One chicken dies, one chicken crows!

But God had his way. In the 70s, Zou Huaiwen, who did not want to be exploited by Shaw Brothers, founded Golden Harvest Film Company and began to compete with Shaw Brothers.

At this time, Bruce Lee, a martial arts master of a generation, was also not developing smoothly in Hollywood, so he hit it off with Jiahe.Four consecutive films broke box office records in the Hong Kong film industry, allowing Golden Harvest to not only gain a foothold in Hong Kong and become a film company competing with Shaw Brothers, but also bring Hong Kong films to Hollywood.

But Bruce Lee died young.After Bruce Lee died unexpectedly in 73, Golden Harvest almost went bankrupt.

Fortunately, Zou Huaiwen successively discovered Xu Guanwen, Jackie Chan, Hong Jinbao, etc., and they carried the banner of Golden Harvest's comedy movies until the new century.

The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead, and a new generation is better than its predecessors.

In the 80s, New Art City Pictures, founded by Lei Juekun, abolished the guaranteed system and changed to a share-cropping system, which once suppressed Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers.

Later, due to the backward big studio system of Shaw Brothers, Shao Daheng closed down the film business, officially announcing the end of a generation of film tycoons.

However, after the death of Lei Juekun, New Art City only flourished for ten years, but it made an indelible contribution to the Hong Kong film industry's take-off again, although it was only a flash in the pan in the long history of history.

At this moment, the film industry in Hong Kong is still in a state of limbo. If you want to change, the best way at present is to break the guarantee system of film production and implement a share-sharing system, so that a hundred flowers can bloom.

In early 1974, this was the best time for Lei Liquan to enter the film industry.Just like Xu Guanwen, the king of comedy, is still quietly building up his strength, waiting for one day to explode, and Lei Liquan can reach out and give him a hand.

The Lei family itself has a Lydia Cinema chain with eight theaters, and it also has a certain influence in the Hong Kong film industry.The theater is now leased to Golden Harvest for use.If Lei Liquan now enters the film industry and establishes his own theater chain, he only needs to take it back.

Nowadays, Hong Kong's economy is not doing well due to the major stock market crash.The economic downturn has caused the film industry to be sluggish now, and many theater owners want to cash in on their theaters.

Now that Lei Liquan has a lot of money, he is targeting these theaters.Of course, these theaters must also be worthy acquisition targets.

After Lei Liquan's acquisition, not only can he expand the number of Lei's theaters, he can also wait for the theaters to appreciate in value, and he can also enjoy the actresses of his dreams.

Killing three birds with one stone, singing every night!

Now, due to the economic downturn, a large number of Xiangjiang theaters are not operating well and want to cash out, which is exactly what Lei Liquan wants.It is also the best time to buy bargains.

Of course, to have a cinema chain, you must have good movies. Only good movies can truly gain a foothold in the film industry.

Speaking of movies, I think of Xu Guanwen, the king of comedy in Hong Kong. He must give me a hand and not let him sink forever.

Now that you have acquired Ritz Cinemas, don't hesitate any longer and get ready to start a new round of movie prosperity.

Hahaha, it’s better for the Lei family to change Xiangjiang movies.

Hong Kong’s film history has never changed!
　Dear friends, the storyline is slowly unfolding.Baldhead is a newbie, please collect, recommend, and criticize!

　　


(End of this chapter)