Hong Kong 1990: From stuntman to King of Kung Fu

Tang Long didn't have many options when it came to choosing a director.

The most suitable candidate would undoubtedly be Xu Ke, but that's simply impossible.

Not to mention he doesn't have the time right now, even if he did, he couldn't afford to pay his salary.

Besides, why would such a big director come to this small film crew, unless he invested in the movie?

Tang Long has always had only one choice for director: Cheng Xiaodong.

He excels at both elegant and fluid martial arts design and raw, realistic movement sequences.

Most importantly, he is familiar with Tang Long and will listen to Tang Long's opinions.

If it were someone else, even with Tang Jia as the producer, they might not care about the thoughts of an unknown nobody.

Therefore, Cheng Xiaodong is the most suitable director for him.

"Uncle, I'd like to invite my boss to be the director."

"Cheng Xiaodong? He's certainly a good candidate, but is he available?"

"He just finished filming 'A Chinese Ghost Story 2,' and I haven't heard of him taking on any new projects in Cheng's film crew yet."

"Then let's finalize the deal as soon as possible, lest things get complicated."

In the afternoon, the two split up into two groups.

Tang Jia went to a lawyer to draft the contract, while Tang Long went to Cheng Xiaodong.

Cheng Xiaodong was surprised to hear that Tang Jia had secured the investment.

He's only been back for a few days?

Later, when he learned that Tang Jia had paid two million Hong Kong dollars, he suddenly realized what had happened.

"I've taken on the directorial role for 'The Blade'."

I can't support you with real money like your uncle Tang Jia did, after all, I have a group of people to support.

You're a member of the Cheng family troupe, so if you call me "big boss," I have to support you.

"Just give me HK$500,000 as payment; that'll go towards the staff's salaries."

"Boss, I won't stand on ceremony with you. The movie has a total investment of five million Hong Kong dollars, and funds are indeed a bit tight. I will remember your kindness."

Cheng Xiaodong could sense Tang Long's sincerity and responded with a smile:

"I naturally acknowledge your character, and besides, I've been working hard for 'The Blade' for a long time, and I also hope that this project will be successful."

However, it will take about another week to completely complete the post-production of "A Chinese Ghost Story 2".

I have to wait until the finished film of "A Chinese Ghost Story 2" is released before I can participate in the preparation of "The Blade".

"No problem, a week is not a long time. It will also take a few days for us to officially sign the investment agreement with Shao Daheng."

Tang Long breathed a sigh of relief when Cheng Xiaodong was confirmed as the director.

The situation was better than I had imagined; the director and action choreographer team were paid HK$500,000 each.

His original budget was one million, but now it's been reduced by half, which will allow for more funding for the filming.

But I now owe another adult a favor.

However, debts are a burden, and Cheng Xiaodong's kindness can be repaid slowly in the future.

Upon reflection, Tang Long felt that he was quite lucky, as he had always had people helping him along the way.

First came his master, Li Haisheng; then Cheng Xiaodong; and finally his uncle, Tang Jia.

Sometimes Tang Long felt that he was losing face as a transmigrator.

The others who transmigrated over here worked alone, were adept at navigating social situations, and quickly became industry leaders.

He traveled through time and wanted to make a movie in which he was the male lead, but he faced numerous difficulties and finally succeeded with the help of others.

But only by traveling back in time and truly understanding Hong Kong during that period can one truly appreciate how difficult it was to make a name for oneself, especially in the initial stages.

Three days later, Tangde Film Company and Metropolitan Film Company officially signed an investment agreement for the film "The Blade".

Tangde Film Company was a film company founded by Tang Jia before.

He set up the film company for accounting convenience; the members of the Tang Family Team were all affiliated with Tangde Film Company.

Previously, he only disbanded the Tang Family Troupe but did not deregister the company. Now he has revived Tangde Film Company.

Cheng Xiaodong also owns a company, and what they have in common is that neither of them ever invests in films.

However, Tang Jia is making an exception this time, and "The Blade" has become the first film invested in by Tangde Film Company.

After the contract was signed, both parties deposited the money into a joint escrow account.

Tang Long and his companion were finally relieved to see that the money from Metropolitan Film Company had arrived in their accounts.

Just one day later, Cheng Xiaodong completed all the post-production work for "A Chinese Ghost Story 2" ahead of schedule.

The core trio of "The Blade" is officially in place.

Tang Jia and Cheng Xiaodong had known each other for a long time and were quite familiar with each other.

Everyone got along very well, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two began to discuss business.

"Ah Long, I can tell you that you clearly want to film 'The Blade' in mainland China. This requires prior communication with the relevant departments in mainland China."

As Taiwan relaxed its restrictions, the "Regulations on the Administration of Sino-Foreign Co-productions of Films and Television Dramas" promulgated in mainland China came into effect in 1990.

It has become much simpler and more convenient for Hong Kong films to travel to the mainland for location shooting.

This year, everyone is still observing, but starting next year, Hong Kong film crews will begin to travel to the mainland on a large scale for filming.

"Metropolitan Films will handle the communication in this regard. They have a long history of cooperation with the mainland and have a close relationship with each other," Tang Jia replied.

Although Fang Yihua's conditions were relatively demanding, there were actually many benefits to cooperating with them.

Although the Shaw Brothers collapsed, Shaw Daheng (Shaw Tai-heng) did not, and his connections could still be put to use.

For example, in this collaboration, they didn't need to worry about establishing connections with the mainland side at all.

Moreover, they solved the problems with filming equipment and even the actors.

Despite Tang Jia's insistence on arguing with Fang Yihua about the actors, he secretly wished to select actors from TVB.

TVB actors are not only famous, but more importantly, they are cheap, which is much more cost-effective than hiring people from outside.

"The most important thing next is to determine the actors."

There are four main characters in "The Blade": the male protagonist Ding An, his senior brother Tie Tou, the bandit Fei Long, and his master's daughter Xiang Ling.

"Ah Long, you'll be playing the male lead, Ding An. Do you have any suitable candidates in mind for the other three roles?"

"Uncle, has Fang Yihua recommended any actors who can play my senior brother Tie Tou?"

"Of course I recommend them. They even recommended three for us to choose from: Lau Ching-wan, Wan Siu-lun, and Felix Wong. They are all currently popular male actors at TVB."

I suggest choosing Huang Rihua. He's the most famous, and he was one of TVB's Five Tigers back in the day.

Moreover, his nickname, "Fiery Hua," perfectly matches Iron Head's personality.

Tang Long shook his head:

"Let's choose Liu Qingyun instead. Huang Rihua was once known as box office poison."

After becoming famous at TVB, Huang Rihua did consider switching to the film industry, but he failed.

Not only was Chow Yun-fat called "Poison Fat," but he, Wong Yat-wah, was also called "Poison Wah."

Chow Yun-fat is famous, and his nickname "Poison Fat" makes his life story even more legendary, which is why he is known to so many people.

Huang Rihua, having failed in his attempt to switch careers, has focused on television dramas, and his reputation as a box office poison has gradually faded from public memory.

Although it's a bit mystical, Tang Long is still a little worried that Huang Rihua's box office poison attribute will kick in.

On the contrary, Lau Ching-wan became a prominent figure in Hong Kong cinema in later generations.

Cheng Xiaodong looked at Tang Jia, and seeing that he did not object, he said:

"We'll tentatively cast Liu Qingyun as the lead actress, but what about Xiang Ling?"