Rebirth in 1985

Chapter 2: Guidance ()

Lu Shaohua is not an all-rounder, nor does he know everything, especially in the film company, he can be said to know nothing about it. But knowing nothing does not mean that he does not understand other things, especially for someone like him who has the memory of the next twenty years.

Looking at Xiang Huasheng and Xiang Huaqiang, seeing that they were listening attentively, Lu Shaohua stopped pretending and spoke. "You two know that I don't know much about film companies, so I can't talk about this aspect. What I want to talk about today are the other two aspects."

Originally, Xiang Huaqiang asked Lu Shaohua to come not to talk about the internal affairs of the film company, but because he was impressed by Lu Shaohua's unique vision and wanted to talk about the future development direction of the film industry and investment in films. After all, Lu Shaohua's success rate in film investment is as high as 100%.

"Well, tell me." Xiang Huaqiang said seriously.

Xiang Huasheng also nodded, indicating that he was listening carefully.

"Well, first, let me talk about celebrities." After a pause to organize his words, Lu Shaohua continued. "As for celebrities, you two have been in the entertainment industry for so long and you all know that it is not easy to cultivate a talented star, and it is even more difficult to make him famous."

At this point, Lu Shaohua paused, and waited until Xiang Huaqiang and his two brothers nodded to show their agreement before he continued, "Oh! Maybe you think differently than I do. Maybe you think that if you make a star famous, you should narrow their own value and let them continue to make more films, right?"

Xiang Huaqiang and Xiang Sheng nodded at the same time, indicating that this was the case.

"Haha! That's exactly what I want to say." Lu Shaohua laughed and said, "I personally think that after finally making a talented star famous, we should cherish him (her) even more. It's okay to let him (her) continue to make many films, but he should not accept all the films. If he (she) accepts films, he should choose some good ones. If he (she) accepts all the good and bad films, over time, this star who (she) finally becomes famous will gradually disappear from people's sight along with these bad films."

This was the case in Hong Kong in the 90s. Many celebrities who were once popular continued to act in films, whether they were good or bad, hoping to use their influence to boost the box office of the films. However, it often developed in the opposite direction. Maybe an audience would come to see one film because of your fame, but they would have to think twice about the second one. Everyone knows that after watching a bad film, they will feel a little cheated, and they will wait and see the second one. Who is willing to spend money to see a bad movie?

Before the Xiang Huaqiang brothers could react, Lu Shaohua continued, "It's the same for stars and directors. It's not easy to train a good director. Famous directors shouldn't shoot all kinds of films, otherwise it will have the opposite effect."

In Lu Shaohua's memory, Wang Jing is the best example. He produced many good films, which once set off a box office frenzy in Hong Kong. The films he made were also in line with the tastes of the audience at the time. However, he gradually declined for a while, produced many bad films, and finally went through a long low period for more than ten years.

Lu Shaohua stopped talking about the first question here, and had to give the Xiang brothers some time to respond. Lu Shaohua had instilled this question into Chen Darong long before Phoenix Entertainment began to diversify. To be a popular star, you must go for the boutique route and not take any film. Of course, it is easier said than done. A star enters the entertainment industry to make money, and the more films he takes, the more money he can make.

Therefore, there are still many tedious details that need to be improved to solve this problem, but it has already been solved in Phoenix Entertainment. The contract signed by a newcomer to Phoenix Entertainment has a clear barcode stipulating that filming must be approved by the company.

Just as Lu Shaohua said, Xiang Huasheng and his colleagues considered exactly the opposite of Lu Shaohua. They simply believed that after cultivating a popular star, they should take advantage of their popularity to narrow their value, without any long-term consideration.

But now that Lu Shaohua said this, the Xiang brothers felt that this was an issue that should be considered. It was not easy to cultivate a star now, and they had no other choice. You have to know that it was still the 90s, not the 21st century. If it were the 21st century, it would only take a moment to make someone famous.

"Well, Huasheng, I think the issue Xiaohua mentioned is worth considering." Xiang Huaqiang said to his brother Xiang Huasheng. After all, Xiang Huasheng is the founder now, so he has to make the final decision on everything.

"Well, I understand. I also waited until now to think of this problem, but it is not easy to implement it!" Xiang Huasheng also agreed with Lu Shaohua's statement, but he thought more deeply and knew that solving this problem was very complicated.

Lu Shaohua also heard it, but it was not Lu Shaohua's business. He came here to meet Xiang Huasheng and to express his own ideas. "Haha! This is just one of the problems. Another problem is the problem of Hong Kong movies, a problem that all movie companies have."

The word "disadvantages" diverted the attention of the two Xiang brothers. They were both waiting with great interest for the disadvantages that Lu Shaohua would mention. As for the question about the celebrity just now, they had already forgotten about it.

"Tell me, what kind of problem is it?" Xiang Huasheng asked.

"Follow the trend." Lu Shaohua said two words lightly.

Following the trend is indeed a drawback of Hong Kong films. To be frank, it is precisely because of this drawback that many themes have been wiped out. The most prominent one is the movie "God of Gamblers". "God of Gamblers" has achieved unprecedented success in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and even internationally, and has created unprecedented results in box office and sales.

Precisely because of the excellent results, many movies followed suit, such as "God of Gamblers" and "The Saint of Gamblers", etc. All gambling-related movies were made to hit the market and were successful in the early stages. However, in the later stages, the audiences gradually got tired of it and lost interest. Movies with gambling as the theme also lost their original appeal and were completely wiped out.

In addition to "God of Gamblers", Hong Kong also has many new themes that are also like this, the zombie theme led by Lam Ching-ying is also the same. After the filming of "Mr. Vampire", many more zombie-themed movies came out, all starring Lam Ching-ying.

Speaking of this, we have to involve another issue, that is, the stars take both good and bad movies. Lu Shaohua doesn't know whether it is a problem of Lin Zhengying himself or his company. After "Mr. Vampire", Lin Zhengying himself also took on many bad movies, and like the nonsensical Wang Jing, he entered a low period in his acting career.

"Follow the trend?" Xiang Huasheng asked with a questioning look on his face.

"Yes, it's following the trend, following the trend of the subject matter." Lu Shaohua nodded affirmatively, and continued, "When a new subject matter comes out, it is bound to make people curious. If the film is shot well, it will definitely be a box office success. If it is successful, then there will definitely be companies following the trend to shoot movies with the same subject matter, and the company itself will also continue to shoot movies based on this subject matter."

After finishing speaking in one breath, Lu Shaohua was a little out of breath and had to stop to take a breath before continuing. "Maybe a new theme can be equally attractive if it is made into one, two, or even three films, but if it is made into a fourth film, it is hard to say. Over time, it is only a matter of time before this theme is completely wiped out."

Xiang Huaqiang and Xiang Huasheng nodded again. They didn't even notice that they nodded too many times today. But there was nothing they could do about it, because every word Lu Shaohua said today was true and he also hit the root cause of the decline of Hong Kong films!

"Well, following the trend has become a normal thing in Hong Kong, but there's nothing we can do about it. We can't stop people from following the trend," Xiang Huasheng said with emotion.

"I know this. After all, there is more than one film company in Hong Kong. We cannot stop other companies from doing what they want. But what I want to say today is that your own company must innovate. If others want to follow the trend, then let them follow." This is Lu Shaohua's point of view. At the same time, he is also reminding Xiang Huasheng that companies need to innovate, innovate continuously, and not follow the trend.

Xiang Huasheng looked at Lu Shaohua with a smile and nodded in gratitude. He seemed to understand what Lu Shaohua meant. He moved his mouth and was about to say something when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Xiang Huasheng had no choice but to look at Lu Shaohua apologetically and go to open the door.

The person knocking on the door was Xiang Huasheng's secretary. After whispering to Xiang Huasheng for a while, Xiang Huasheng came in with a large stack of documents. The documents were supposed to be placed on the desk, but for some reason, Xiang Huasheng did not put them on the desk. Instead, he took them to the table in the small reception room and put them down.

"These are all scripts, and they are waiting for my decision. Would you like to take a look? Maybe we can find an opportunity for cooperation." Xiang Huasheng said to Lu Shaohua. Lu Shaohua's reputation for 100% successful investment was firmly remembered by him. If Lu Shaohua liked these scripts, Xiang Huasheng could also decide the company's focus next year.

"Oh? Is that true? Don't tell me you don't want to cooperate with me when I take a fancy to you." Lu Shaohua said half-jokingly.

"Haha, I promise not to. My brother is here and he can testify. If it's the film you picked, I promise to cooperate with you." Xiang Huasheng said proudly. This is in line with his personality. He has the kind of attitude that once he speaks, it's hard to catch up.

"Well, I'll testify. Hehe, I stand for the right, not my relatives." Xiang Huaqiang also expressed his own point of view.

"Okay then." Lu Shaohua said this in a joking manner, not thinking that Xiang Huasheng was really going to cooperate with him. "However, before we cooperate, I have to say one thing first. If there is a script that I like and I have any suggestions, I hope you can consider it."

It is very clear what Lu Shaohua is interested in. Cooperation is cooperation, friendship is friendship, and the script does not mean that the actors have been confirmed. The opinions Lu Shaohua wants to raise are about the actors' issues.

"No problem, haha." Xiang Huasheng said happily.

"Okay then. I'll take a look at the script first." Xiang Huasheng agreed. Lu Shaohua didn't say anything else and just flipped through the script on the table. It was true that Lu Shaohua had some memories, but some of them were still vague and it was impossible for him to remember them all. In particular, he didn't know when the film was produced. He would only remember it when he saw the name. As for whether there were any works that would become popular in the stack of scripts in front of him, he would have to read them himself to know.

……