Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start

1979 October.

Li Jiangbo, dressed in a four-pocket vest typically worn by directors, squatted in a makeshift inn at the Shaw Brothers Studio in Clearwater Bay.

Before me stood a man and a woman tearing at each other, with two cameras set up around them.

At first glance, this doesn't look like a proper movie. What kind of movie has two people tearing at each other, with half of their breasts showing?

He was a little confused. How could he, a 33-year-old born in the 90s, have time-traveled after waking up drunk? He wasn't even born in 1979!

He looks much younger now. Who is this 33-year-old, pot-bellied, struggling short drama director, Director Li? He's now a 1.78-meter-tall, long-haired artsy young man!

Born in Hong Kong, with ancestral roots in Shaanxi, he was a junior director at Shaw Brothers specializing in erotic films.

This is perfect! He was from Shaanxi in his previous life and he's from Shaanxi now. He was a flopping short drama director in his previous life and he's a flopping romance director now. This is a perfect match for his profession!

His time travel was simply a process of falling asleep and waking up. After the time travel, his memories merged. The original owner was a person who grew up in the New Territories, without parents, and worked as a failed director at Shaw Brothers for two years.

Even more outrageous, he also had a simulator in his mind, which he could summon with his thoughts whenever needed.

It took him three days to figure out how to use this life simulator; it was very simple:

Consuming popularity points allows you to predict the future; 10 points can simulate events for the next year.

His current popularity score is 150, which comes from the short drama he filmed before he transmigrated. The system's note for him is "unknown".

Just as he was lost in thought, a shout woke him from his sleepwalking.

"Director!" The speaker was assistant director Ma Fei.

Li Jiangbo exclaimed "Huh?" before turning his gaze away. "What's wrong?"

Ma Fei smirked, a hint of mockery in his eyes. "Director Li, Hu Jin and Yue Hua just can't seem to get the right feel for their performances. I just can't understand them. Why don't you step in and give them some pointers?"

Upon hearing this, the crew members fell silent. They all knew that the assistant director, Ma Fei, disliked this newly arrived director.

This film, "Ghostly Spring," was directed by Lee Han-hsiang, the pioneer of erotic films. However, just as filming began, Lee Han-hsiang had to go to the United States for medical treatment due to heart problems.

Originally, Ma Fei was supposed to take over as director, but Li Jiangbo suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

So when Ma Fei was filming on set, he kept making things difficult for Li Jiangbo. Now things are going to get interesting.

Li Jiangbo took the script from Ma Fei, glanced at it briefly, and knew the general problem with this segment.

He took two steps forward. "Sister Hu Jin! Could you moan a little more seductively? You're a vixen. You want to have sex with Yue Hua to turn him into a cow. If you don't moan seductively enough, how will you make him confess and turn into a cow?"

Hu Jin nodded thoughtfully, seemingly unconcerned about her half-naked state.

Li Jiangbo then said to Yue Hua, "Brother Yue! You need to act like you're impatient, but your eyes should hide a cunning scheme. You were the one who tricked the female lead into eating the bun that could turn her into a cow."

"Wow! Director Li, you've really put me in a difficult position."

After thinking for a moment, Li Jiangbo said, "Here's what you do: use your tongue to lick up from Hu Jin's stomach, then glance at the camera and give a playful smile."

As he spoke, he demonstrated for Yue Hua, which annoyed Hu Jin, who shoved Li Jiangbo away.

"You, having made so many erotic films, do you always have to demonstrate the techniques yourself?"

Li Jiangbo gave an awkward smile, not taking it seriously, and shouted to the photographer and lighting technician, "Okay, let's shoot it again!"

Filming continued, and Yue Hua performed the scene as Li Jiangbo requested, completing it in one take.

The crew members present all gave a thumbs up and whispered among themselves.

"Wow, that's impressive! No wonder he's a director who specializes in erotic films!"

"Look, with this guidance, Yue Hua's acting is becoming more and more nuanced!"

"If Director Li is so good at directing actors, why doesn't he make normal movies?"

"Sigh! It's all because he made a terrible movie, and Sir Shaw never contacted him again..."

"Tsk! What a pity!"

Ma Fei, standing to the side, wore an incredulous expression. He understood all too well what Director Li had just instructed him to do; he could simply spot an actor's problems with just a glance, demonstrating his exceptional professional skills.

However, he simply couldn't believe that Director Li, who only made shoddy films, had suddenly become enlightened.

Li Jiangbo handed the script directly to Ma Fei, indicating that he should continue filming. He believed that the remaining scenes were not too difficult and that anyone could complete them.

He found a corner, brought up the life simulator, and prepared to give it a try.

"Should I spend popularity points to simulate life?"

"yes!"

He checked in his mind and saw that 20 points were automatically deducted from the 150 popularity points on the semi-transparent screen in front of him, leaving 130 points. He decided to try simulating it for two years first.

In February 1979, your contract with Shaw Brothers was about to expire. Shaw Brothers' deputy manager, Chen Tianfang, discussed the contract with you, but you refused, saying you wanted to make feature films. Chen Tianfang was furious and immediately blacklisted you.

In March 1979, you wrote the classic screenplay "A Better Tomorrow," but because you had always focused on erotic films, no one dared to invest. You had to humbly beg for help, and eventually the film received support from the triad society, Yi Sheng.

In June 1979, filming wrapped on the movie "A Better Tomorrow." At the wrap party, Chen Tianfang stormed in and stole the film negatives. You only found out later that the leader of the triad society Yi Sheng was Chen Tianfang's brother...

In December 1979, you headed north with a few tens of thousands of yuan you had scraped together to make a living. Halfway there, you were bribed by Chen Tianfang, a member of the Big Circle Gang, and your body was thrown into the sea, ending your short and farcical life.

[Simulation successful. Would you like to claim your reward?]

[Reward: The screenplay for "Shanghai Bund"]

Seeing the words flashing on the screen, Li Jiangbo almost spat out a mouthful of blood. "Damn it! Chen Tianfang, is that bastard out of his mind?!"

Even if it's a simulated life, Chen Tianfang is relentlessly exploiting me. What's the point of this time travel?

Is it really true that in just one year, I, the transmigrator, have finished filming and reached the finale?

Looking back at Chen Tianfang in reality, Li Jiangbo and Chen Tianfang were only nodding acquaintances, and the contract he signed with Shaw Brothers two years ago was not with Chen Tianfang.

Looks like I need to think carefully about how to extricate myself from the contract at the last minute.

And this reward? Why give me a TV series script? I'm a movie director, why should I lower myself to make a TV series? Even erotic films are still movies.

After all, there are hierarchies in the industry. In short, making movies is a step above making TV series.

At this moment, Li Jiangbo stared into deep thought as he looked at the rewards on the screen!

The film crew on the side continued filming the remaining scenes.

After a while, a man in his late twenties, wearing leather shoes and trousers, a navy blue suit jacket, and gold-rimmed glasses, with his hair parted in a side part, looked around downstairs at the inn, seemingly looking for someone.

But no one in the crew paid any attention to him, so he had no choice but to prepare to go upstairs.

As he walked, he called out, "Li Jiangbo!"

The film crew, still shooting, was brought to a halt by the shout. Li Jiangbo, already furious, rushed out and yelled:

"Hey Cui Zi! Don't you know we're filming a movie?"

The bespectacled man's face immediately darkened, and he stared intently at Li Jiangbo upstairs.

Li Jiangbo looked closely and realized that this was Chen Tianfang, the one who had just exhausted himself in the simulator!

He inwardly cried out in alarm, realizing he had planned to go back and continue filming.

But after taking only two steps, he became angrier and angrier. Why should he, a transmigrator with a cheat system, avoid his sharp edge?

Li Jiangbo turned around again, ran downstairs, and looked Chen Tianfang up and down.

"Was it you who called me just now?"

Chen Tianfang kept a straight face and didn't answer. He got into Shaw Brothers because of his god-sister Fang Yihua, and no one in the company had ever scolded him like that before.

Seeing that Chen Tianfang did not answer, Li Jiangbo lost interest in continuing to nitpick and turned back to continue filming.

Who knew, just as filming began! Another shout came from outside.

"Li Jiangbo!!!"

This time, Li Jiangbo couldn't stand it anymore. He slipped outside again, looked at Chen Tianfang, and asked, "Why did you call me?"

Chen Tianfang's lips curled into a mocking smile. "It's nothing."

Li Jiangbo swung his fist and punched Chen Tianfang's gold-rimmed glasses.

With a "bang," many fine lines appeared on Chen Tianfang's gold-rimmed glasses.

"Go to hell! Don't you know we're filming? Your yelling has wasted so much film and the hard work of the crew!"