By the end of November, even in Hong Kong Island, the weather was already starting to cool down, but Lam Fok-wong knew that his Asian film company was about to become a hit.
For no other reason than that they unearthed a treasure like Chan Kong-sang and Jackie Chan's brand, which was already world-renowned even before Lam Ho-wong's rebirth!
The phone on the table rang, and he slowly picked up the receiver.
"Awang, it's me."
Liu Rumeng's clear, slightly excited voice came from the other end of the phone.
Lin Huowang smiled and said, "Mengmeng, judging from your voice, you have good news to tell me."
"You guessed it! Snake in the Eagle's Shadow is a success. Director Lo Wei has already cut out the final cut, and we had a small-scale preview screening at the company today."
"How was the effect?" Lin Huowang asked, as if he already knew the answer.
He wrote the script himself. Lo Wei and Jackie Chan are both very talented and their scripts fit perfectly. He knew very well that this movie would be a success, and a huge success at that.
This is Jackie Chan's breakthrough film and a milestone that ushered in a new era of Hong Kong kung fu comedy.
He had only brought its birth forward a little. Not to mention, Lin Huowang's script was more refined than the original, with more jokes and plot twists, and a richer and more rounded storyline. It was at least 50% better in quality.
"The effect... the effect is absolutely amazing! Ah Wong, you can't even imagine, that actor named Chan Kong-sang is a natural-born martial arts star on camera!"
His style of making funny faces while fighting, with fast and funny movements, is something we've never seen in any kung fu movie before!
My colleagues laughed from beginning to end, all saying this movie was bound to be a hit and a huge box office success!
Listening to Liu Rumeng's description, Lin Huowang knew that the final result should be quite good.
That's right!
Jackie Chan should be like this.
He did not disappoint his own expectations, nor did he waste the opportunities that this era gave him.
"I knew it, my judgment is never wrong," Lin Huowang said calmly.
Liu Rumeng on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then gave a bitter laugh.
"Awang, don't be too happy yet. I'm here to bring good news, but also bad news."
"oh?"
Lin Huowang didn't take it to heart and laughed, "Tell me about it."
Liu Rumeng sighed and said, "The quality of the movie 'Snake in the Eagle' is definitely not a problem, but we have a big problem with our theater distribution plan."
It's November now, and we want to release the film before Christmas or New Year's, so time is very tight. I've been going to theaters all this time, but the results haven't been ideal.
"How exactly is it not ideal?" Lin Huowang asked.
"Sigh, Hong Kong Island has a lot of cinemas, but in reality, they are all monopolized by a few big players."
Liu Rumeng began to explain in detail to Lin Huowang.
"Currently, the largest cinema chain on Hong Kong Island is Shaw Brothers Cinemas, which owns sixteen cinemas in prime locations across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories."
It can be said that Shaw Brothers alone accounted for almost half of the screen share in Hong Kong Island.
The problem is, our Asia Television is currently locked in a fierce battle with Shaw Brothers' TVB, and Shaw Brothers simply cannot allow our films to be shown in their theaters. With this one avenue blocked, we've directly lost half of our box office potential.”
Lin Huowang listened quietly without interrupting. In fact, he was very familiar with the current state of the Hong Kong cinema industry.
Liu Rumeng continued, "Besides Shaw Brothers, the second largest force is Golden Harvest. However, Golden Harvest Cinemas only opened its first cinema this year, and they mostly cooperate with independent cinemas. But Raymond Chow seems to have some reservations about us and has been unwilling to budge."
What remains are some smaller forces known as the 'third cinema chains'. For example, the Lijing Cinema Chain only has seven cinemas. There are also some left-wing cinema chains with even less influence; their cinemas are located in less desirable areas, and their attendance rates have always been low.
Despite my best efforts over this period, I have only managed to secure deals with two or three small cinema chains, including some left-wing ones. The total number of screens they can accommodate is probably less than one-fifth of the total number of screens in Hong Kong.
Ah Wong, to be honest, I'm really not happy about this. It would be such a shame if such a good movie like "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" couldn't get good box office results just because of theater issues.
With the limited number of screens we have now, let alone making it into the top ten at the annual box office, it's questionable whether we can even break even.
It has to be said that Liu Rumeng is quite anxious right now.
This is the inaugural film of the Asian film company. If it fails to make a splash from the very first shot, it will definitely be a huge blow to the morale of the entire company.
However, Lin Huowang on the other end of the phone chuckled softly.
"I wondered what it was about, but it turns out it's a problem with the cinemas."
He said in a relaxed tone, "Mengmeng, don't worry, I'll take care of this."
Liu Rumeng was taken aback for a moment and asked, "You're going to handle it? How are you going to handle it? The Shao family is a real tightwad; there's no room for negotiation."
Lin Huowang said with a smile, "Sir Shao isn't such a petty person, I can handle it."
Upon hearing this, Liu Rumeng on the other end of the phone burst out laughing.
"Ah Wong, are you serious or joking? In all of Hong Kong, you're probably the only one who dares to say that Sir Run Run Shaw isn't stingy. If he really wasn't stingy, would ATV and TVB be fighting like this now?"
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