The struggles of a failed college entrance exam candidate in Hong Kong entertainment

Chapter 043 Filming Wraps Up, Charging into the Summer Blockbuster Season

April 19, 1991, Shanghai film set.

As the final performance ended, Su Nan grabbed a megaphone and shouted "That's it!"

The entire (Kung Fu) crew was in an uproar; this was a 100-day filming and production project.

For many mainland actors at this stage, a project cycle of 100 days is nothing.

But people like Yuan Heping, Cheng Xiaodong, Yuan Hua, and Yuan Qiu? They are a minority.

Stephen Chow ran over to a camera, smiling and cupping his hands in greeting, "Congratulations, Mr. Su, on the successful wrap of your big-budget film, which marks your official debut in the industry."

Su Nan chuckled and patted A Xing on the shoulder, "Just don't complain about how long it took me."

"Let's have a wrap party together tonight, and hopefully we can collaborate in the future."

Ah Xing beamed, "Definitely, definitely. It's been a wonderful experience working with Su Sheng."

When Ah Xing saw Chen Hong coming over, he politely said a few words and made way for her.

Other people who wanted to come over and greet them wisely changed direction.

The 100-day construction period for (Kung Fu) refers to the period excluding annual leave.

Many people in the same production crew could feel that in the early stages of filming, Yuan Heping and Cheng Xiaodong were the main figures who suppressed the various departments.

Then, big stars such as Cheung Kwok-wing, Cherie Chung, and Leung Ka-fai visited the set.

Those people were exceptionally polite to Su Nan, which subtly reinforced the director's authority.

In the early stages, Su Nan, the leading man of the production team, had some flaws in directing and coordinating various aspects of the operation.

It will continue to operate and become smoother.

If we score out of 100, 80 points would be enough to be nominated for Best Director at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Most people, both behind the scenes and in front of the camera, would give Su Nan's performance at the beginning of filming a score of just over 60.

By the time filming wrapped, the other person's skill level had risen to at least 70 points.

Of course, with Yuan Heping and Cheng Xiaodong in charge, plus Su Nan having all the finished product images in his mind.

What's the rating for the whole movie? Nobody knows anything about the whole movie right now.

It also depends on the post-production editing, dubbing, background music, special effects, etc.

But after all this time, people generally agree that this is a mature, commercially successful blockbuster.

The film was successfully released and did well at the box office, making it a valuable asset to the entire crew.

Ah Hong reached out to Su Nan, took his arm, and said with a smile, "We've finally wrapped up filming. Let's have a proper celebration after the wrap party."

"Not only has Sister Zhi finished filming the Wong Fei-hung project, but her starring film (My Wife Is Not Human) has also been released and the box office is not bad."

(Once Upon a Time in China) was still in production when Rosamund Kwan finished filming her solo project.

(Not a person) squeezed in time to rush to finish filming other projects, and although it was released, the box office results were disappointing.

Su Nan shook his head with a smile, "This movie will have a hard time making 500 million in Hong Kong, it's going to be a flop."

"(Kung Fu) was in production for two months, and it was going to be released during the summer season with many strong competitors."

During this time, he should have flown to Moscow quickly and returned, but he still went several times.

After all, it's a stable cash flow; from October to March last year, it withdrew $106 million.

Part of this money was used to pay the film remuneration and monthly salary to practitioners in the (kung fu) industry in Hong Kong.

The remaining funds were gradually invested in Microsoft, while April is the off-season for movies.

However, Mak Dang-hung's (To Be Number One) grossed nearly 2000 million HKD in its opening weekend and following weekend.

It has already sparked a sensational craze for biographies of powerful figures throughout Hong Kong, and it's too easy for the overall box office to surpass 3000 million.

Back then, Xiang Shisan had even joked about this, and then quickly went to Taiwan to visit someone who was copying his homework.

Even if (Detective Wubai) hasn't started filming yet, at least he's working on the text.

This summer's blockbusters are (Once Upon a Time in China 1) and Ah Xing's (Fight Back to School) (God of Gamblers II: Back to Shanghai).

Films like (Prison on Fire 2), (A Chinese Ghost Story 3), and (Happy Ghost 5) should be listed later.

(Kung Fu) faces considerable pressure in its bid for the summer blockbuster season.

However, Su Nan is still confident, after all, he learned by doing.

With its slightly downgraded, rudimentary special effects, (Kung Fu Hustle) should easily gross 3000 million at the box office.

After all, he was just copying homework, and he was still the male lead in Stephen Chow's drama.

Today, Su Nan has long since handed over the entire script of (Never Ending) to Lao Hong, and this time Skyworth has a 70% investment ratio and Baoxiang has a 30% investment ratio.

The postponement was only due to Hung Kim-po still filming (Remote Control).

(Remote control) It was said to be June 4th, but when Su Nan took the money, Lao Hong declined again, saying that he would first advance the box office revenue and then share the profits and make up the difference.

This made Su Nan a player who got something for nothing.

It's alright. Xu Yajun and Jiao Enjun should continue to spend more time on set and learn more.

Meanwhile, Skyworth's second batch of 10 elites also arrived in Hong Kong to continue working with Atao, Ashun, and others.

Any one of the 20 bodyguards could easily be a member of the Red Pole gang of Hutchison Whampoa and 14 other gangs.

Playing with tactical knives and comparing marksmanship, he crushed Hutchison and 14 gangs of gunmen.

This is the capital that allows Hung Kin-po's faction to no longer worry about being harassed or harmed by triads.

Shixiawei Nan Ge has worked and learned extensively in various film crews.

Xu and Jiao are far from reaching their respective peaks; they still have much to learn.

After several auditions, Xu Yajun's acting skills are indeed much better than Ajun's at this stage. He has been cast as the male lead in (Endless) and we are waiting for filming to begin.

Afterwards, Su Nan watched as the assistant director, Da Pao Hui, and Li Lu cleaned up the mess for the entire crew.

Everyone enjoyed the food and drinks at the wrap party, which was much more lively than many wrap parties in Hong Kong.

After all, you can get more food and drinks in Shanghai by spending RMB than you can get in Hong Kong by spending HKD.

Around 9 p.m. on the 19th, when Su Nan and Ah Hong returned to the old mansion together, they were surprised to find that Rosamund Kwan had already arrived.

Sister Guan has a very precise grasp of timing.

……

On April 22, Su Nan rested in Shanghai for two days and three nights.

They flew back to Hong Kong with a large number of film rolls to begin post-production.

When filming wrapped up (Kung Fu), nearly 300 film canisters held more than 200,000 feet of 35mm film.

By comparison, he was already considered wasteful in pursuing the standards of (Huang Feihong's Top Gun).

For example, a mature team like those in the "God of Gamblers" or "God of Gamblers II" productions only need to produce a final batch of 100-odd boxes.

Of course, this still can't compare to Wong Kar-wai, who was able to edit together "Forever and Ever" from the scrap footage of "Days of Being Wild".

Even with some reshoots and retakes, it's still bizarre.

After the flight landed in Kai Tak, Da Pao Hui successfully met up with Skyworth's bodyguards and drove a truck carrying film rolls.

The three from Su Nan got into the car, and Rosamund Kwan, who was driving, laughed and said, "The usual ratio for movie screenings is ten to one."

"One roll of film contains 11 minutes of footage, and (Kung Fu) has nearly 300 rolls."

"Brother Fan, you have to roughly cut out more than 100 minutes from more than 3000 minutes of footage. The workload for the next few days will be enormous."

This would certainly be the case with a regular director.

However, there are already finished products in southern Jiangsu. Besides, many of these films contain repeated content, with one take completed and another taken.

The overall workload was not enormous for him.

Ah Hong laughed, "You've been watching me in front of the camera for so long, you won't get tired of it soon, will you?"

"By the way, Sister Zhi, what do you think of Ah Xin who's been with you for two months?"

Her mute character doesn't have much screen time, but after watching for a while, it seems easy to get tired of her.

Ah Hong was a little emotional; she had known Su Nan for a whole year without realizing it.

The narrow, winding path has been widened into a highway.

Su Nan asked curiously, "Is she the kind of person with a soul, or just a wooden beauty?"

Rosamund Kwan shook her head, "She'll do as a decorative vase."

Hong Xin, that kind of follower, is really just a pretty face, barely passable.

She's tall, has long legs, and a youthful, radiant face; you can't ask for more in the short term.