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

After a quick meal, Li Jiangbo sat on the sofa and looked at the two women in front of him, getting straight to the point: "Jiahui and Lin Shanshan, I am a director from Time Pictures, and I would like to invite you to be the female leads in my new movie."

Rosamund Kwan looked at Li Jiangbo with suspicion, then at Principal Liu, and asked incredulously, "You want me to be the lead role?"

Lin Shanshan shook her head, "I'm sorry, Director Li, my family doesn't allow me to act."

Li Jiangbo didn't force her, and waved for Lin Shanshan to go back, leaving Guan Zhilin alone.

After Lin Shanshan left, Li Jiangbo said softly, "Jiahui, how about it? Do you want to be as glamorous as those big stars?"

Rosamund Kwan was not impressed by Li Jiangbo's words. Although she started getting perms and dating at the age of fourteen, it did not mean that she was ignorant.

Her parents are in the entertainment industry; they grew up together on film sets, so she was exposed to these things from a young age.

"How much money are you willing to pay? And what kind of film are you making? Could I take a look at the script?"

Li Jiangbo had anticipated that Rosamund Kwan would be difficult to deal with, so he simply pulled out a script outline from his bag and handed it to her, saying, "Because you're a newcomer, your salary is only 3000 yuan..."

Rosamund Kwan nodded upon hearing this. "The price is a bit lower, but since you're in the industry, why don't you contact my father directly? My father is also an actor with Shaw Brothers; his name is Kwan Shan."

Upon hearing this, Principal Liu looked at Li Jiangbo with suspicion.

Li Jiangbo laughed and said, "I came here to discuss the venue with Principal Liu. I didn't know you were at this school, nor did I know who your father is. But you mentioned Senior Guan Shan? I saw him a while ago when I was filming 'Shanghai Bund'."

Rosamund Kwan's eyes lit up when she heard the words "Shanghai Bund".

A while ago, the TV series "Shanghai Bund" was a huge hit, and she watched every single episode. She had long dreamed of acting and wanted to become a star in Hong Kong like Zhao Yazhi.

"Director Li, I really want to act too, but you'll have to convince my dad first."

Li Jiangbo frowned. "Alright, I'll contact your father."

After the discussion, Rosamund Kwan left, while Li Jiangbo discussed the details of the cooperation with Principal Liu before taking his leave.

As soon as he left the school, Li Jiangbo contacted Wang Jing and told him about the venue and Rosamund Kwan's appearance. He then asked Wang Jing to contact Guan Shan as soon as possible to secure Rosamund Kwan's participation.

I asked how the production team was preparing, and learned that the production team was ready and all that was left was the actors.

Li Jiangbo simply handed over the casting to Wang Jing, only telling him that he wanted Leslie Cheung, Lydia Shum, Rosamund Kwan, and others to star in his film, and that he would handle the other venue arrangements.

I spent 50,000 yuan to hire him as an assistant director, wouldn't it be a waste not to use him?

If he were to negotiate with these people, it's estimated that it might not be possible to reach an agreement until the end of July.

After hanging up the phone, Li Jiangbo rushed to the amusement park in Lai Yuen and the hotel in Kowloon Tong. After some back and forth, he finally managed to secure all the filming locations.

The next day, Li Jiangbo and Wang Jing arranged to meet at their usual spot.

As soon as Li Jiangbo entered the rehearsal room on set, Wang Jing got up to greet him.

"Director Li! You've kept us waiting for ages!"

Li Jiangbo smiled sheepishly, "I was working on the storyboard last night, and it got a little late. Sorry."

Everyone took their seats. Li Jiangbo looked around at the people present, some of whom he knew and some he didn't.

He took a thick stack of scripts out of his briefcase and handed them to Wang Jing, asking him to distribute them.

Wang Jing took the script and explained it to Li Jiangbo as he handed it out.

"Leslie Cheung, Kwan Ka-wai, Shih Chieh-keung, Shen Dianxia, ​​Teresa Teng, Wong Cho-shih, Tong Chun-yip, Lam Nai-tsai..."

Li Jiangbo nodded and shook hands.

After the scripts were distributed, Li Jiangbo said, "Alright, everyone has their scripts now. I'll assign the roles to you."

Li Jiangbo picked up the script, "Arong will play Zhu Xiucai, Jiahui will play Lin Xiaohua, Ashi will play Yan Ruyu, Aqiang will play Uncle Fei, and Sister Xia will play Uncle Fei's wife..."

Lan Nai picked up the storyboard drawn by Li Jiangbo, opened it, and her eyes widened in surprise.

He was amazed by the vivid characters in the script and the script's professionalism.

The look in his eyes when he looked at Li Jiangbo revealed a hint of admiration. He never imagined that this young director, who started out in the world of romance, would draw such a professional storyboard.

He started as a junior employee at Shaw Brothers and worked hard for five or six years before becoming a photographer. He knows all the hardships he endured during that time.

In contrast, Li Jiangbo, like himself, became a director in less than three years and even produced the popular TV series "Shanghai Bund" that swept Hong Kong.

Looking at his professionalism and hard work, no wonder Li Jiangbo can become a director and raise money to make movies on his own!

After assigning roles, Li Jiangbo began organizing a script reading.

Actually, there is no script reading in Hong Kong. Many actors receive the script, ponder it a bit, and then go on set to film.

Now, Li Jiangbo asked everyone to read along, and they couldn't refuse, so they all started performing.

Li Jiangbo organized the reading for his own purpose: to help Rosamund Kwan and Cherie Chung better integrate into the film crew.

Cherie Chung fared better; after being immersed in the world of "Shanghai Bund," her delivery of lines and acting became quite impressive.

Rosamund Kwan, on the other hand, seemed much more amateurish, often mispronouncing her lines and even liking to interrupt.

Helpless, Li Jiangbo had no choice but to stop and let Guan Zhilin take a good look at the script before proceeding with the script reading.

Seeing that the reading session had stopped, Zhao Yazhi quietly pulled Li Jiangbo aside and said seriously, "Bo-zai, making movies is very expensive. When I was filming 'Vortex,' the director tried to cut corners as much as possible, and in the end, we didn't even have enough money for publicity. So, what's the budget for your movie? Is it enough?"

Li Jiangbo looked at Zhao Yazhi with a puzzled expression. Their relationship was that of a director and an actress. What did she mean by asking that question?

After careful consideration, Li Jiangbo said, "The budget for this film should be around 80 yuan. As for whether that's enough..."

Zhao Yazhi quickly explained, "I didn't mean anything by it. You helped me before, so I wanted to help you too. I don't need the payment. If it's not enough, I can lend you 100,000 yuan."

Li Jiangbo was both surprised and delighted to hear this. He always believed that good people are rewarded, but he never expected it to happen so quickly.

He whispered, "Sister Zhi, let's forget about it. I'm still short 300,000!"

Zhao Yazhi sounded a little anxious upon hearing this, "You're still short that much? Should I go borrow some for you?"

Li Jiangbo was moved again. He never expected that his personal charm could reach such a level that Zhao Yazhi would help him so much.

It's important to know that actresses in 79 didn't earn much. Even a star as famous as Zhao Yazhi only received a fixed salary at TVB.

Li Jiangbo laughed heartily, "Don't worry, Sister Zhi! 500,000 is enough to finish filming this movie. As for the remaining 300,000, that's for editing, dubbing, and promotion. I have a way to take care of that!"

Zhao Yazhi wanted to say something, but saw Li Jiangbo walk into the rehearsal room without turning his head.

He could only sigh and follow them into the rehearsal room.