In addition to the New Year's Eve concert, Hui's also presented an infinitely joyful comedy feast "Deed of Sale" to the citizens of Hong Kong, which is much happier than "Genius and Idiot", and there is not too much black humor, so that the audience can watch it more joyfully.

This play tells the story of Xue Zhiwen, a young artist played by Xu Guanwen, who signed an eight-year blank deed of sale with the TV station. But in the TV station, it can't be reused, and it can only occasionally run the show, which is very miserable.

By chance, he made a guest appearance on the TV station next door, and the effect was very good, and he was appreciated by the other TV station and wanted to sign a contract with him. But because of the deed of sale, Xue Zhiwen had no choice but to refuse.

Subsequently, when the agreement with the TV station was terminated to no avail, Xue Zhiwen had no choice but to enter the TV station with his younger brother to steal the contract. Xue Zhiwen's younger brother Tadpole, played by Xu Guanying, is a folk inventor with many bizarre inventions.

The two of them went through all the hardships to sneak into the TV station to steal the contract, but what they didn't expect was that the contract was taken out, and the tadpole was locked in the safe.

In order to save his younger brother trapped in the safe, Xue Zhiwen turned to magician Zhu Shijie (played by Xu Guanjie), and after some twists and turns, he finally rescued the tadpole, and Xue Zhiwen also regained his freedom.

The film gives a spicy satire to the phenomenon of TV stations signing long-term contracts to squeeze artists, because Xu Guanwen and Xu Guanjie have both worked in TVB and have tried the bitterness of selling their deeds, so it is really bloody and tearful to act.

However, in Xu Guanwu's opinion, in fact, the eldest brother and the fourth brother are not too aggrieved, so they escaped after only two years. In the future, TVB will treat artists more ruthlessly, and they will sign for five years as soon as they sign it. If you don't want to sign, block it directly.

Liu Dehua was a first-line actor of TVB at the beginning. Because he didn't follow the company's orders. refused to sign another five-year long contract, so he was also hidden by TVB for more than half a year.

Later, the contracts of entertainment companies were more stringent, and their artists had to sign for 15 years, with a 10-year death period and a 5-year current term. The company is in charge of the next five years, and if you still have the potential to squeeze, you will renew it for five years. If there is no improvement in the career in the past ten years, then it will be directly abandoned by the company.

Moreover, the artists of these entertainment companies do not have a basic salary, and they have to borrow money from the company every month to live. The company is responsible for finding job opportunities for them. An order has taken over the task, and he has to die. And the company's commission is very high, often 50% to 70%.

In comparison, the superstar manager company is definitely a kind person, and when he first recruited Qixiaofu into the company, he originally said that haode was signing a seven-year contract, and everyone had no opinion on this. After all, the shelf life of an actor is longer than that of a singer, and if he only signs a contract for two or three years, he is afraid that he will terminate the contract as soon as he becomes popular after filming two dramas, and he is completely making wedding dresses for others.

In addition, it was good to advance the salary every month, and then return the salary to the company. Later, because of the company's good performance, these martial artists were all desperate. So this provision was also abolished.

At the same time, although it is its own employees who make films for themselves, Xu's is not as picky as Shaw Brothers, and the salaries of celebrities are all given according to the market conditions. In this way, the star will not feel at a loss and have a greater sense of belonging to the company. Moreover, the company helps to pick up work outside, and the commission is only 20%, like Shaw Brothers, no matter how high the asking price is, it will only pay a fixed salary, which is quite unkind.

……

In addition to the movie "Deed of Sale", there is also a movie "Loser" starring Hong Jingbao, Yuan Biao, and Lin Zhengying, which was also released together on Chinese New Year's Eve.

This movie is the first movie to put Wing Chun on the screen, and it also introduces in detail the fighting style, characteristics, and mental techniques used in Wing Chun, which can be called the textbook version of Wing Chun movies.

As we all know, Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do was created from Wing Chun, and Bruce Lee's master Ip Man is also a famous boxer in Hong Kong. Wing Chun gyms can also be found everywhere in Hong Kong and are one of the most widely spread types of boxing.

However, Wing Chun did not come to the screen early, the reason is that the winner of Wing Chun is between square inches, and the moves are fast and urgent, often ending the fight in two or three clicks, and the audience often has not yet reacted. So it's not suitable for the screen.

The Wing Chun boxing in "The Loser" has also been improved, the movements have been slowed down, and it is also a selection of small thoughts, bridge horses and other more ornamental routines.

Hong Kong has long had a trend of practicing martial arts, mainly because of social instability, so everyone can practice martial arts to defend themselves. In the 70s, because of the rampant corruption in the police circle, the black Xshili was extremely arrogant, so the people could only ensure that they were not bullied through martial arts.

This is also one of the reasons why Hong Kong-made martial arts films and kung fu films sold well in the sixties and seventies.

In the 80s, the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption eliminated the corrupt elements in the police force, making the Hong Kong police truly become the nanny of the citizens, and the black Xshili was also deterred, and ordinary citizens no longer worried about innocent victims, so the trend of practicing martial arts gradually dissipated.

Later, the disciples recruited by the martial arts hall were no longer bitter haha in the factory, but the white-collar class of the company. What is taught is no longer a killer move, but has become a gym-like existence.

……

In addition to Hui's two dramas "Deed of Sale" and "The Loser", Shaw Brothers also launched the carefully concocted "Dream of Red Mansions" and "Lu Ah Cai and Wong Fei Hung". Golden Harvest launched "The Imperial Flower" directed by John Woo and Wu Siyuan's popular drama "Seven Million Robbery".

Wu Siyuan's "Seven Million Robbery" is based on facts, and it is also his second film to bring hot news to the screen.

In June '75, the Hang Seng Bank robbery occurred, and gangsters robbed 7 million cash in the street at gunpoint, which caused a sensation in Hong Kong at that time.

One is that the gangsters are bold enough to rob at the door of Hang Seng Bank; Second, the amount of money was too large, seven million in cash, which could be said to be astronomical at the time; The three cases in which the police have been unable to solve the case for a long time have led to rumors in the market......

Wu Siyuan's choice to put this hot news on the screen is also because the previous "Honest Storm" was a big box office success, so he strengthened his confidence in his heart.

……

The six movies in the Spring Festival file were released together, which was really exciting, and the flesh and blood of the fight were blurred.

It is said that the quality of these six movies is good. Feel free to take out one. All have the potential to rank in the top 10 of the annual box office rankings. But weishenme has to be released in the Spring Festival schedule?

Xu Guanwu knew about the tragic situation that Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers were currently facing. There aren't a few movies that sell big in a year. If he is Shao Yifu or Zou Wenhuai, he will be released on a different schedule, and at least he can get more than one million box office. But with such six high-level movies released together, the competition is too fierce.

It was possible to sell two or three million at the box office, but it turned out that only a few could exceed two million, and the others all became cannon fodder. For example, "Deed of Sale" has the golden sign of the Xu brothers, so the box office has soared almost without being affected.

Because "The Imperial Flower" is an adaptation of a Cantonese opera, John Woo has added many comedy elements. The old wine in the new bottle was welcomed by many theater fans and audiences, so the box office of this drama was not affected.

and "Lu Acai and Huang Feihong" and "Loser" are both kung fu dramas, and the starring roles are Liu Jiahui and Yuan Biao, both of whom are still newcomers.

In order to do publicity, Liu Jialiang specially held a lion dance parade, beating drums all the way from Causeway Bay to Central. It attracted tens of thousands of onlookers along the way.

Seeing this, Hong Jingbao did not show weakness, and summoned the martial artist to dance a long dragon out. Dancing all the way from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui also attracted a large number of onlookers.

As a result, a dragon and a lion met on Locke Road, which was really a dragon in the clouds and a dragon in the fog, a tiger in the upper mountain met a tiger in the lower mountain, and the tip of the needle was on the wheat mang.

Although Liu Jialiang is a master and a senior of Hong Jingbao, at this time, he must not back down, otherwise wouldn't it mean that his movie is worse than others'?

The dragon dance team and the lion dance team did not retreat, and the two groups of people and horses directly blocked the road, attracting countless passers-by to watch for a while, which was really lively.

Later, it wasn't until the police came forward and after some adjustment that you went left and I went right, and it was safe.

However, because the competition between the two films was too fierce, the box office did not exceed two million. However, because both sides have invested in publicity, Yuan Biao and Liu Jiahui have become famous, and they have also become popular stars.

Wu Siyuan's "Seven Million Robbery" and Li Hanxiang's "Dream of Red Mansions", because the theme is not very suitable for release during the Spring Festival, one is shouting and killing with a knife and a gun, and the other is crying and crying to death, and the intention is not very good, so the box office has not exceeded one million.

But fortunately, these two dramas are slow-burning dramas, so the box office is still slowly rising, and Zuihou may not have a chance to become popular.

……

In addition to visiting relatives in the New Year, there are many business entertainments.

Xu Guanwu is no longer a nouveau riche without the slightest foundation, and under the guidance of Shen Bi, the general manager of HSBC, he has become one of the upstarts in high society.

During the Spring Festival, he was invited to many parties, including top parties such as the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce, the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, and the Jardine Ball.

The Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce is a chamber of commerce jointly organized by Chaozhou businessmen, mutual assistance and cooperation to create prosperity, and is a very famous chamber of commerce in Hong Kong's business community.

Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing, real estate tycoon Luo Yingshi, watch king Huang Ziming, etc., are all members of the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce.

And the Ma brothers, one of Xu Guanwu's rivals, are also members of the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce. Chaozhou people are righteous and have a strong local concept, so they are more united, and they form a group when they encounter problems.

Although the Ma brothers all knew that they started their businesses in illegal business, because the Ma brothers knew how to behave, they were all sheltered if they fled to Hong Kong, and the newspapers in their hands did not report any bad news about their fellow villagers. So the other fellow villagers naturally turned a blind eye.

Xu Guanwu lacked connections at the beginning, so he was a little timid in the face of the Ma brothers, but now he is not afraid.

After seeing the invitation from the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce, he thought about it and agreed to go to the meeting.

The headquarters of the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce is set up in Yau Ma Tei, Tin Hau Niangniang Temple. Because Yau Ma Tei is a wharf, Teochew merchants originally started as a ship trader, and they all made their fortunes here when they loaded and loaded their goods in Yau Ma Tei, so although they all turned to other businesses later, Yau Ma Tei was still regarded as a place of fortune by Teochew merchants.

The Tin Hau Niangniang Temple, which was originally built with donations from the first batch of Teochew merchants, has now become one of the famous temples in Hong Kong, and the incense is flourishing. It is also regarded as a ancestral temple by Chao merchants, and it is extremely pious to kowtow to incense during the New Year's Festival.

Because of such a complex, the party held by the Chao Chamber of Commerce is quite old-fashioned. not only sings Teochew opera, but also eats flowing water seats, in short, it is to abide by the tradition.

Xu Guanwu had also attended parties at the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce before, and the parties held by the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce were much more trendy than those of the conservative Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce.

To sum up, the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce is like the Qing Dynasty, and the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce is the kind of old Shanghai Shili Foreign Field, everyone is using the Spring Festival to grandly operate it, so as to reminisce about the most powerful moment.

"Mr. Xu, please, please, I really didn't expect you to come over." Chen Bichen, president of the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce, greeted him personally.

It's not because Xu Guanwu is rich, with his net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars, he hasn't been looked at by Mr. Chen. Because the family itself is a bank, and his Bangkok Bank is also the largest private bank in Thailand, with branches all over Southeast Asia, and it is a well-known wealthy businessman in the Nanyang area.

What Mr. Chen Bichen really values is the relationship between Xu Guanwu and Shen Bi. (To be continued......)