Oriental Charming Building

Zhuo Botang stood at the entrance of the building, looking at the six gilded characters of dragon flying phoenix dancing, and couldn't help but touch them with his hands.

Seeing this, Lin Niantong asked with a smile: "Why, do you want to come back to work?"

"Of course, you are doing it in full swing in Hong Kong, but I can only be the bench in Taiwan." Zhuo Botang shook his head and said with some emotion: "I didn't expect that so many changes have occurred in just over a year."

"Yes, there has been such a big change in one year, it's incredible to think about it." Lin Niantong also sighed for a few words, and then said tentatively: "Since you want to come back, why don't you find an opportunity to apply to Mr. Chen?"

"Let's talk about it." Zhuo Botang was undecided and walked into the building, saying: "In fact, Taiwan's work is leisurely and comfortable, and the salary is as high as yours. It's logical that there is nothing to be dissatisfied with, but the Taiwanese film industry is a stagnant water, and staying there is so boring that it feels like wasting time."

"That's nothing to do. Taiwan is still under martial law and political pressure."

"I don't know when it will end. After the Academy Awards, many people think that Taiwan's film industry will make big moves. It's almost September now, and I haven't even seen a splash. It's still the same as before. Keep shooting movies that talk, fall in love, love, and love beauty. I'll see the Academy Awards next year, and Taiwan may be invincible."

"It's not that. "The Country Man" directed by Li Xing is good. I went to watch it last week. It was very exciting. I should have won some awards at the Academy Awards. There is also "The Source" at the beginning of the year, which is also a very in-depth and breadth film. Xu Feng's performance was very outstanding. I am very optimistic that she won the award."

"How big a storm can one or two movies cause?" Zhuo Botang sighed and said, "The Origin was originally a 30-minute movie. In order to cater to the market, it was shortened to 10 minutes. The editing was messy and many details were unclear, which seriously affected its quality. Although "The Original People" is good, the character prototype of this movie is not famous enough, and it will suffer a lot at the Academy Awards. Do you think, except for 5 Taiwanese people, the rest of the judges know who Zhong Lihe is? Oh, is the list of the jury for next year's Academy Awards determined?"

"Not yet, Chen Bosheng has made a 50-person list, and Mr. Chen is still considering it."

Zhuo Botang said oh, he stood in front of the elevator, looked at the empty and quiet hall, and asked, "Hong Kong Film and Culture Center has moved out?"

"I moved to Shaw Brothers Cinema in Qingshui Bay. There are large venues and many crews, so I can teach on-site." Lin Niantong pointed to the corridor on the left and said: "The empty place is now free to lend to several newly established associations for office use."

"What association is it?"

"Hong Kong Performing Artists Association, Hong Kong International Film Critics Association, Hong Kong Film Directors Association, Hong Kong Professional Photographers Association, Hong Kong Screenwriters Association, Hong Kong Film Action and Stunt Guidance Association."

Zhuo Botang was amused by his series of registrations as if he was talking crosstalk, and said with a smile: "It's so amazing. Hong Kong has been filming for sixty or seventy years, and there has never been any association. Now there are so many."

"In the past, Hong Kong movies were a mess, companies broke up with each other, artists were jealous, and they couldn't organize them at all. Mr. Chen took advantage of the opportunity of the Academy Awards to stand up and make everyone talk together. He took the lead, so he started to do it. Next year, the Academy Awards will be selected. These associations will select some professional awards."

"In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", it is said that snakes cannot do without a head, soldiers cannot be in trouble, and Mr. Chen is generous in his work and has a high vision. It is a blessing for Hong Kong movies." Before entering the elevator, Zhuo Botang pointed to the right and asked, "Where is the other side?"

"There are 'Magic Friends, Clubs, Friends of Oriental Charm, abbreviated as Meiyou. It is the place where fans of Oriental Charm Film Company gather and hold events. It was just established a while ago. Now it has less than a month, and it has tens of thousands of members, which is of great help to the company's image and movie promotion."

"This is a very interesting idea."

The two chatted and went up the third floor and entered the editorial department of "First Movie Review". Zhuo Botang glanced at it, then smiled and said, "Hehe so free."

It's indeed free...

Some tables are horizontal and some are vertical, some chairs are large and some are small, some are suits and ties, some are T-shirts and shorts, some are busy writing, some are paced and lyrics, and there is a relaxed and casual atmosphere everywhere, which is very different from the traditional stereotyped and serious office...

"Mr. Chen said that as long as you can submit your manuscripts on time, you can do whatever you want, so I don't bother with them." Lin Niantong opened the door of the editor-in-chief's room and asked Zhuo Botang in, asking, "Sit down, drink tea or coffee?"

"The coffee is ready." Zhuo Botang did not sit, but stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the messy editorial department, and said: "Some people in Taiwan say that Mr. Chen is a dictator, so they should really come and have a look."

"Because Mr. Shen's speech in Singapore?"

"Yes, it's that elite authoritarian." Zhuo Botang smiled and said: "It is said that President Chiang from Taiwan appreciates the speech very much and specially asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask for live recordings from the National University of Singapore, so the democratic fighters said that Mr. Chen is an authoritarian."

"I have read that speech, nothing is it. Mr. Chen just said that many people don't know what they need or what they want, so they have to use topics like elite management of companies. Every company is like this. Only talent is the only way to develop by people, and only meritorious people can... Come on, coffee."

"Brother Nian, you are first-class in writing film reviews, but your political sense is not as good as possible." Zhuo Botang took the coffee cup, sat down on the sofa, and said, "You are not in Taiwan, and I don't know many things. Mr. Chen is talking about corporate management in public, and secretly says that the government wants to appoint elites, use authoritarian rather than democracy to maintain social stability and guide economic development... Forget it, you are not interested in these things, I also heard about it, so I won't say it."

"I'm not interested in Mr. Chen's speech in Singapore, but I have a manuscript here that you should be interested in." Lin Niantong picked up a bound manuscript on his desk and said: "You know, at the beginning of last year, Mr. Chen proposed the concept of the new wave of Hong Kong films, which later had a great impact. Over the past year, Hong Kong films have undergone many changes, with newcomers and good films constantly. So after the Academy Awards, we are going to create a special issue for summary. This is "The New Wave of Hong Kong Films and the Evolution of Type Films" written by Mr. Chen, take a look."

Zhuo Botang put down his coffee cup, took the manuscript, and asked, "Mr. Chen wrote it himself?"

"Yes, I handed it over to me as soon as I returned to Hong Kong the day before yesterday." Lin Niantong sat down beside him and said, "It was well written and had a high idea. It not only summarized the past, but also looked forward to the future. It is very instructive to Hong Kong movies and even the entire Chinese movie. I am going to use it as the finale of the special issue."

Zhuo Botang opened the manuscript and looked at it carefully.

This article is very long. The first half is to summarize the various phenomena of the Hong Kong new wave of films since 1979, while the second half is to discuss the issue of film genre.

"The process of industrialization, urbanization, and modernization has enabled Hong Kong to quickly transform from a traditional society to a popular society. The expansion of personal freedom and the gap between people in modern society and alienation have further required the relaxation of individuality and the satisfaction of desires. Because of this, the audience is eager for extremely ostentatious ⊥ entertainment activities, and the personality, authenticity, enlightenment, criticality, and artistic characteristics of traditional films have been replaced by the following characteristics of popular culture - repetition, standardization, entertainment, commodification, secularization..." (Note)

"How can you let the audience go to the theater to watch your movies? If there are no big stars, then the only thing you can rely on is the type - standardized production of things that have been tried and successful..." (Note)

"Love films can be subdivided into many types, such as pure beauty love films for young people, romantic love films for young people, and life love films for adults... Action films can be subdivided into many types, such as Cold War spy films represented by UU7, urban police and gangster films represented by "Die Hard", folk kung fu films represented by "Thirty-Six Rooms of Shaolin... Horror films can be subdivided into psychological horror films and sensory horror films..."

"The genre of films is an inevitable result of the commercial society. In the new wave, when all the new ideas are tried, Hong Kong film workers will face the problem of following the rules and being different from others, creating a sense of intimacy and introducing new things... All kinds of rules and genres are not only a framework for helping filmmakers create, but also an opportunity to show personal skills - if you can't break the rules, then it's best to play tricks." (Note)

Zhuo Botang read it for more than twenty minutes, and when the coffee was cold, he finished turning the last page. He closed the manuscript and said, "After reading this article, I feel that I can make a movie right away, and it is guaranteed to be sold."

"I also felt this way when I watched it." Lin Niantong took out a cigarette, divided it into one, and then said: "Mr. Shen explained the key points and creative techniques of genre movies thoroughly. How to target the audience, how to set the relationship between characters, how to deal with conflicts, etc., are all clear. This manuscript is like a standard movie shooting manual. If you shoot it according to it, even if you can't sell it, you will definitely not lose money."

"This kind of business experience is logically a secret of a company that is not passed down." Zhuo Botang put the manuscripts and asked, "Why did Mr. Shen write them out and make them public?"

"I asked the same question. Mr. Shen said that typing of movies is an inevitable trend in the future. Even if you don't talk about these things, others will still be able to figure them out in a few years, so Yu Qian is released." Lin Niantong spit out a mouthful of cigarettes and said, "Mr. Shen also said that movies are actually no different from canned food. The type is just glass bottles. Whether they are delicious or not depends on the taste of the food."

"With that being said, once this article is posted, it will definitely create many competitors for Oriental Charm." Zhuo Botang was still a little puzzled and said: "Hong Kong people are best at following the trend. In the past, they only watched the excitement and didn't know how to follow. Now with theoretical guidance, they will follow what Mr. Shen takes pictures immediately, so they will share a lot of box office sales."

"Mr. Chen's attitude is that the more competitors, the happier he is. Survival of the fittest, the elites are all achieved through competition, not by raising them.

"So heroic"

The note is adapted from the text in "The Light and Shadow of the Year: The New Wave of Hong Kong Films 79".

Notes are adapted from Wong Kar-wai's remarks.
Chapter completed!