FYN Chapter 22 Film Screening
Chapter 22 Film Screening
While Tang Long and Cheng Xiaodong were busy promoting "A Chinese Ghost Story 2", Tang Jia had already reached a cooperation agreement with Fang Yihua.
He contracted the post-production of "The Blade" to TVB for HK$200,000.
Editing, subtitles, background music, and so on were all handled by TVB's post-production department.
Of course, the editing process only involved renting TVB's editing studio; the editor was actually hired from outside by Tang Jia.
Editing is essentially a secondary creation, and it's of utmost importance, so naturally, you need to hire a professional editor.
Other post-production stages require the approval of Cheng Xiaodong and Tang Long to be considered complete.
They are equivalent to Party A.
The price of HK$200,000 wasn't expensive, and Fang Yihua still made the concession.
If you were to collaborate with a film company that has post-production capabilities, completing the entire film's post-production would likely cost well over HK$300,000.
It took three days to complete the initial cut of the film.
The subsequent fine-tuning was Tang Long's turn to shine.
It's not that he wants to do it himself, but rather that he needs to be more involved and grasp the overall style and rhythm of the film.
He didn't know the specifics of how to shoot or edit, but he knew roughly what the final product would look like.
To achieve the best results, the fine-cutting process took nearly a week.
Even Cheng Xiaodong felt that he was being a bit nitpicky.
However, Cheng Xiaodong could understand. The movie "The Blade" carried Tang Long's dream, and his uncle actually spent two million yuan of his own money on it.
Once the simplification was complete, he wouldn't need to get involved in the subsequent work.
"Uncle, have you contacted the theaters to release the film?"
"We've made contact with Debao Cinemas. This time, we're riding on Shao Daheng's coattails again."
Otherwise, contacting theaters would be a hassle, and you wouldn't be able to get a high number of screenings.
D&B Cinemas will allocate half of its screens to "The Blade," but only for the opening week; subsequent screenings will depend on the situation.
"Didn't Shao Daheng already sell the cinema chain to Pan Disheng? Why is D&B still giving Shao Daheng so much face?"
"You're crazy. Even if Shaw Brothers sold Shaw Brothers cinemas, he's still a senior figure in the industry. Even Zou Wenhuai would give him face."
Not to mention he's still a billionaire and the head of TVB.
Major film companies rely on TVB's distribution channels when promoting their films.
Tang Long underestimated Shao Daheng's influence in the film industry.
"So, does that mean we don't even need to find a publishing company?" Tang Long then asked.
"No need to look for others, we'll directly connect and cooperate with Debao Cinemas, but we'll need to handle the film promotion ourselves."
By the way, now that the condensed version of "The Blade" is complete, the release date should be set. And when will post-production be finished?
"The final cut should be available by the end of the month."
It's mid-August now, and even if the follow-up work is meticulous, given the current efficiency of the Hong Kong film and television industry, another half month should be enough to complete it.
"So when do you think would be a suitable time to release it?"
Upon hearing this question, Tang Long fell into deep thought.
"The Blade" definitely won't be able to compete in the Lunar New Year film season, and its release at the end of the year is too late.
September is also unsuitable, as the summer movie season has just ended and audiences' enthusiasm for watching movies has generally decreased.
September is notoriously a slow period for movie releases.
Therefore, the best time to release it is in October or November.
November is a bit late; October is just right.
"Uncle, are there any popular movies scheduled for release in October?"
Tang Jia pondered for a moment and replied:
"Not at the moment."
"Let's set the release date for October 1st then, that would be auspicious."
In 1990, Hong Kong's box office performance experienced a significant dip.
The first and second place winners were Stephen Chow's "All for the Winner" and "God of Gamblers II".
"God of Gamblers II" was a movie that Wong Jing immediately brought together Stephen Chow and Andy Lau to make after the huge success of "God of Gamblers II".
The film also grossed over 40 million Hong Kong dollars after its release.
This film has already been confirmed for release during this year's Lunar New Year holiday season and is Win's Entertainment's most important project for the second half of the year.
Since "God of Gamblers" and "God of Gamblers II", no film has grossed more than 30 million at the box office.
The third highest-grossing film of the year was Xu Guanwen's "New Half a Catty Eight Taels," which grossed over 26 million.
This movie was released earlier this year.
With these three strong competitors eliminated, even the highest-grossing films would only reach a little over 20 million, having a limited impact on "The Blade".
By late August, Cheng Xiaodong had completed the film's post-production five days ahead of schedule.
Tang Long underestimated the efficiency of Hong Kong filmmakers.
"Thanks for your hard work, boss."
Upon hearing that the post-production of "The Blade" was complete, Tang Long rushed over immediately.
"This is nothing compared to real hardship. You've never seen true hardship."
You don't need to rush to watch it. We'll invite Shao Daheng over for a screening later; after all, he's a film investor.
I'd also like to invite director Tsui Hark; he's already spoken to me and wants to see the finished film of "The Blade."
"No problem, boss."
Tang Long was indeed eager to see it first; he couldn't wait to watch "The Blade," in which he starred.
However, since Cheng Xiaodong said so, he forcibly suppressed the restlessness in his heart.
"By the way, has 'A Chinese Ghost Story 2' been taken off the screens yet?"
"Not yet, but soon. The film has just barely surpassed HK$20 million in box office revenue, and the final box office won't increase much more."
"Twenty million Hong Kong dollars, that's quite good," Cheng Xiaodong exclaimed.
After all, he directed "A Chinese Ghost Story II," so he was quite concerned about the film's final box office performance.
"Hey boss, there's more good news. A Chinese Ghost Story 2 is being released simultaneously in Taiwan, and it has already grossed over 80 million New Taiwan Dollars."
Historically, "A Chinese Ghost Story II" grossed approximately NT$90 million in Taiwan, ranking second among all Chinese-language films that year, second only to "God of Gamblers".
Although "God of Gamblers" was a movie last year, it was only released in Taiwan at the beginning of this year.
That's definitely good news.
Cheng Xiaodong smiled and then continued:
"Tell your uncle to organize this screening and coordinate the schedules of Shao Daheng and director Xu Ke."
I need to go back and rest first; I haven't been sleeping well for the past few days.
"Boss, I'll give it to you."
After saying that, Tang Long immediately opened the back door of Cheng Xiaodong's Mercedes-Benz, and after he got in, he skillfully sat in the driver's seat.
Upon receiving the notification, Tang Jia immediately took action.
Shao Daheng and Xu Ke are both very busy people, so the screening time naturally had to be mainly for the two of them.
After discussion, the date was set for September 6th, a day when both of them were available.
On the day of the screening, Liu Qingyun, Liu Jialing, and other key members of the film crew were present, but Yu Rongguang was unable to attend because he was in mainland China.
Tang Long first greeted Shao Daheng and Xu Ke, then sat down between the two. Liu Jialing couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.
"What have you all been up to since you returned to Hong Kong? I haven't seen you around at all."
"It's not that we're busy, it's that you're busy," Liu Jialing said irritably.
It's been over a month since I returned to Hong Kong, and Tang Long hasn't contacted me even once.
She does have the idea of gradually fading out their relationship, but it has to be done slowly.
Tang Long seemed to be able to detach himself instantly, which made her somewhat vulnerable.