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

Chen Tianfang stared at Li Jiangbo with two black eyes and a venomous look in his eyes.

Wearing a suit, Shao Yifu sat in the boss's chair, drinking coffee and whispering to Fang Yihua next to him.

Ignoring Chen Tianfang's murderous glare, Li Jiangbo went straight to Shao Yifu's desk, took out the script outline he had written the night before, and handed it to him.

"Good morning, Mr. Shao. I wrote a script outline last night and would like you to take a look."

Shao Yifu took the script and looked at the words on it: "Shanghai Bund", Li Jiangbo.

He immediately became interested. Instead of looking at the script, he focused his gaze on Li Jiangbo in front of him.

After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Young man, since the founding of Shaw Brothers, you are the first person to physically assault a leader on a film set. Don't you intend to explain yourself?"

Li Jiangbo said calmly, "What happened yesterday was my fault. I apologize and accept the company's punishment."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tianfang grinned. He hadn't expected Li Jiangbo to be so powerful! Apologizing right to his face made it even easier to destroy him!

Upon hearing this, Shao Yifu's lips curled into a smile of appreciation.

Li Jiangbo is quite good! He didn't make a fuss, didn't argue, he just took responsibility! I admire young people who are responsible and committed.

On the other hand, Chen Tianfang is a complete waste. After being beaten, all he does is tattle. He rose to power because of his sworn brother status. He is incompetent and bad at handling things. Now, the problem is how to deal with Li Jiangbo.

Thinking of this, he shook his head helplessly, his hand unconsciously tapping rhythmically on the table.

After a while, Shao Yifu's gaze swept over Li Jiangbo, "You worked at Shaw Brothers for two years, going from a handyman to a director. It wasn't easy. During that time, you made four erotic films. The highest-grossing one was 'The Young Master, Take the Medicine,' which grossed 400,000, and the lowest-grossing one was 'The Bedroom,' which grossed 180,000."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Looking at your past performance, it's hard for me to trust you again."

Li Jiangbo laughed and said, "Mr. Shao, why don't we take a look at the script first?"

Chen Tianfang scoffed, "What good writing could a bumbling director who makes erotic films possibly produce..."

"Tianfang!" Fang Yihua said calmly, interrupting Chen Tianfang's outrageous remarks.

She also felt that her godson was truly hopeless. Having spent so much time with Shao Yifu, she could tell from his gaze that he had begun to appreciate her talent.

Chen Tianfang immediately shut his mouth and stopped talking.

At this moment, Shao Yifu finally opened the script in front of him.

The inscription read: After the student movement failed, student Xu Wenqiang went to Shanghai and became sworn brothers with Ding Li. They fought among the Shanghai gangsters, and he won the heart of gangster boss Feng Jingyao's daughter, Feng Chengcheng, by helping her. Subsequently, he and Ding Li joined Feng Jingyao's side...

This outline, though only five hundred words long, describes the tumultuous events that unfolded throughout Shanghai.

Shao Yifu turned the pages one by one, gradually slowing down his pace.

Having worked in the film industry for decades, Shaw Yi-fu could immediately see the potential of this content to be a hit. The story structure was strong, and the narrative structure was also good. It was a work with great potential, even more solid than the plot of the TVB drama "Family Feud" produced earlier.

About fifteen minutes later, Shao Yifu put down his notebook, put on his glasses, and his eyes became vacant.

Seeing this, Fang Yihua picked up the script on the table and started reading.

As he flipped through the pages, he frowned slightly. "The story is good; it has the potential to be a hit. However, we rarely make films set in the Republican era..."

Li Jiangbo smiled slightly and immediately explained, "Manager Fang is right, but I remember that ATV also produced a period drama set in the Republican era in 73, and it had very good ratings!"

Fang Yihua nodded upon hearing this and continued flipping through the pages.

Chen Tianfang, standing to the side, couldn't sit still. Who would have thought that Li Jiangbo, a flop director of erotic films, could write a script that both Shao Yifu and Fang Yihua thought highly of?

"What kind of Republican-era script? You're a director who makes erotic films, what kind of good TV script could you possibly write? You should know that television and film are different..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shao Yifu interrupted him.

He pondered for a moment before speaking, "The script is well-written. I'll take it. Thirty thousand dollars, how about it? If you're willing to join TVB and become a screenwriter, I can let bygones be bygones for what happened yesterday!"

Before Li Jiangbo could speak, Chen Tianfang became anxious, "Sixth Uncle, we can't do this, he..."

Shao Yifu glared at Chen Tianfang and continued, "Xiao Li, your contract with Shaw Brothers expires in three days, right? I heard you didn't renew it?"

Li Jiangbo nodded. "Shao Sheng, I still prefer making movies."

Shaw Yifu laughed heartily. He stood up, walked to the window, and murmured, "Movies will inevitably decline with the development of television, while television will..."

His voice grew softer and softer until Li Jiangbo could no longer hear it.

After a while, Shao Yifu turned around and looked at Li Jiangbo with lightning speed. Seeing that Li Jiangbo was not afraid at all, he sat back down in the boss's chair and took out a piece of paper from the drawer.

He picked up a pen, signed his name, and pushed the slip of paper in front of Li Jiangbo.

"I won't insist on renewing the contract. This is the script fee of 20,000. I should have given you 30,000, but since you did hit someone, the remaining 10,000 can be given to Tianfang as compensation."

Li Jiangbo stuffed the note in front of him into his pocket, nodded, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Shao."

"Don't thank me yet, I have one more request."

"Mr. Shao, please speak."

"You'll work as an assistant director on the set for free until filming in Shanghai is finished."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiangbo frowned. Although it was unpaid labor, he wouldn't refuse if it could peacefully resolve his contract issues. He nodded and said:

"No problem, but Mr. Shao, I want to be a director."

Upon hearing this, Shaw Yi-fu chuckled and leaned forward slightly. "You want to be a director? Bo-zai, you just showed off on set, and now you think you can skip all the steps and directly ask for the director's rights with just a TV outline? The director's chair at TVB isn't so easy to sit in."

An invisible pressure rushed towards Li Jiangbo, but he did not back down. Instead, he took half a step forward.

"Mr. Shao, I understand your concerns. Television drama filming has a tight schedule and a very tight budget, but please give me a chance. No one understands better than me what kind of actors and acting skills this script needs."

Shao Yifu tapped his hands rhythmically on the table, pondered for a moment, and said, "That's true, but television is a team effort, and your style of dominating as a director in the film industry must change."

He paused for a moment, then said, "How about this, let Tianlin be the producer and director. You give it a try first, and if it doesn't work out, you can work as Tianlin's assistant."

Li Jiangbo was overjoyed upon hearing this and thanked him repeatedly.

Shao Yifu waved his hand, "Go out. You can contact Tianlin to handle the specifics."

Li Jiangbo nodded and turned to leave.

As soon as the door closed, Shao Yifu smiled at Fang Yihua and said, "This kid is a tough nut to crack, but also a sharp knife. If used well, he can carve out a new world for us; if used poorly, he can easily hurt our own people. Keep a close eye on him."

Fang Yihua nodded, "I understand, I will have Tianlin take good care of him."

Chen Tianfang, standing to the side, turned pale and then flushed. He knew in his heart that it wouldn't be so easy to get rid of Li Jiangbo.

But a crazy thought rose in his mind.