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

Li Jiangbo stayed in Taiwan for a week, which is neither a long nor a short time.

For Li Jiangbo, this timeframe has exceeded his expectations. He had anticipated that the three scenes would take about half a month to film, at which point he would have been grateful.

All of this is thanks to Hu Jinquan, who completed the most difficult prison scene in just two days.

On the fifth day, Li Jiangbo took the crew to a prison in Taiwan for filming.

At the end of October, Li Jiangbo led the crew back to Hong Kong to continue filming.

The filming progressed very quickly, whether it was the scenes between Dillon and Chow Yun-fat, or the scenes between Dillon and Leslie Cheung.

Like the moment when Song Zihao saw Xiao Ma limping as he helped someone wipe a car, the two met.

It only took three takes to achieve Li Jiangbo's expectations.

However, what surprised him was Wu Qihua's growth.

In the early stages, his underlings still needed Li Jiangbo to train them, but when it came to the scenes of showing off and acting tough, he handled it even more smoothly than Dillon. Li Jiangbo even suspected that this guy had been involved in a gang before.

Li Jiangbo is still a little worried because they are going to film a scene with the three of them together tomorrow night.

There are very few scenes in "A Better Tomorrow" where the three main characters appear together, but every time they do, it adds an element to the plot.

The scene we're filming today is a bar scene. Because his older brother, Song Zihao, is involved in the underworld, Song Zijie has been suspended from his post by his superiors and, feeling depressed, goes to a bar to drink.

After meeting Xiao Ma, Song Zihao and Xiao Ma met up with some of their former buddies and went to the bar for drinks.

Tan Cheng also came to the bar to discuss a collaboration with a client.

The crew was ready in just about 40 minutes, thanks to the network of contacts that Li Jiangbo had built up beforehand.

When Li Jiangbo arrived, the crew was almost ready.

"Act 48, let's get started!"

With a snap, filming officially began.

Li Jiangbo used three medium shots here to showcase the characters appearing in the film.

The first shot focuses on Sung Chi-ho, Little Ma, and a few extras, all raising their glasses and chatting happily.

The second shot focuses on Tan Cheng and his clients, who are discussing business.

The third shot focuses on Song Zijie, who storms in, sits down at the bar, and orders a draft beer.

After seeing his clients off, Tan Cheng went to Song Zihao's table.

In his conversation with Dilong and Zhou Runfa, Wu Qiming held his own, spouting high-sounding words and calling him "Brother Hao" repeatedly.

He also said that my position was given to me by Brother Ma, and that Brother Ma should feel free to ask me for help if he needs anything in the future.

Little Ma showed no respect whatsoever, placing the lame leg directly on the table.

Seeing that Brother Ma was being so disrespectful, Tan Cheng couldn't stay any longer. He told Song Zihao to visit him when he had time, and then left with his men.

Song Zijie witnessed all of this. He had already been suspended from his post because of Song Zihao's identity. Now, seeing his elder brother Song Zihao with Tan Cheng, he was filled with resentment and called Song Zihao out.

"Cut! Scene change."

The crew spent half an hour tidying up before arriving at the alley outside the bar.

After an hour of set setup and lighting adjustments, filming continued.

As soon as Song Zijie entered the alley, he pinned Song Zihao against the wall and began searching him.

What are you doing?

"Don't move!"

Seeing that he couldn't find what he was looking for, Song Zijie nudged and shoved Song Zihao, "What did Boss Cheng say to you...?"

"Click!"

"Ah Rong! Song Zijie's feelings for Song Zihao are hatred, the kind of hatred that comes from disappointment. It's not the kind of hatred that runs deep. Tone your tone a little."

Leslie Cheung scratched his head, realizing he might have used too much force just now.

He was only moderately famous, while Dillon was a rising star at Shaw Brothers, and there was also Chow Yun-fat, who had just become popular at TVB. He didn't want to be outdone; he desperately wanted to prove himself.

Filming continues.

"What did Boss Cheng say to you?"

"Casual chat."

"Don't mess with me! Are we talking business or just chatting?"

"It was really just casual conversation."

......

Li Jiangbo was very satisfied with Dilong's performance. He directly expressed Song Zihao's shame towards his younger brother by turning half to the side and not daring to look Song Zijie in the eye.

"You know nothing, how can you be the boss?"

Song Zijie spoke very quickly, and in the middle of his speech, he directly straightened Song Zihao up.

It seemed Leslie Cheung used a bit too much force, causing Dillon to stumble. Fortunately, Dillon reacted quickly and regained his balance.

"Ah Jie!"

"Don't call me by my name, call me Officer!!"

Song Zihao turned away in silence, then turned back with tears in his eyes. "Officer, it's been so long since I've been a gang leader!"

By this point in the performance, before the crew had even reacted, the community members watching were already choked up.

Even Fei Bo, the leader of Yi Sheng, choked up quietly to the side.

During the subsequent questioning, Song Zijie no longer roared, but his tone was still barbed and sarcastic.

Little Ma, who was standing to the side, could no longer tolerate Song Zijie's attitude towards Song Zihao. He threw down the cigarette in his hand and shoved Song Zijie aside.

The two pushed and shoved each other, with Little Ma showing great momentum, taking a step forward with each push.

"You bastard, thief... thief... he doesn't have a name? Don't think you can be unreasonable just because you have a gun."

Sung Chi-kit got anxious, pulled out his sidearm, and pointed it at Mark Gor.

"If you dare to move again, I'll shoot you dead, you cripple."

"Kid, don't point a gun at my head. If you've got the guts, shoot me dead."

Song Zihao rushed forward and took Song Zijie's hand.

Afterwards, Song Zijie said something harsh and turned to leave.

The camera followed Leslie Cheung's steps, filming the final segment.

"Cut! Let's take a break!"

Li Jiangbo immediately called a halt, explaining that they were going to film the scene on the bar rooftop where Tan Cheng was beating up Little Ma.

Just as the crew was preparing to move to another location to set up for the next scene, Chen Xunqi quickly ran up to Li Jiangbo and said, "Director Li, Director Zhao has come to visit the set."

Li Jiangbo turned around and saw Zhao Yazhi carrying a lunchbox, walking gracefully towards him.

"Boss, we're filming a night scene today, it'll be a long shoot. I made you some soup, drink it while it's hot."

Li Jiangbo chuckled, took the lunchbox, and asked, "What kind of soup?"

"Open it and you'll see."

Li Jiangbo opened the lid and looked at it with a strange expression. This was just chestnut and chicken soup, whose main function was to nourish yin and tonify the kidneys.

I think I've only been gone for about a week, so what's going on? What does Ah Zhi mean by this?

Considering Zhao Yazhi's age, she seems to be approaching thirty.

Just as Li Jiangbo was sipping his chicken soup, Chen Xunqi ran over again, "Director Li, Miss Guan is here."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yazhi glared at Li Jiangbo with eyes as sharp as knives.

Li Jiangbo chuckled twice but didn't say anything.

Before Zhao Yazhi could react, Guan Zhilin's voice came from the alley entrance.

"Director Li!"

Li Jiangbo turned around and saw Rosamund Kwan wearing a red dress, carrying a thermos, and walking quickly towards him in high heels.

Li Jiangbo slapped his forehead. "Good heavens! What am I doing?!"

To his surprise, Rosamund Kwan was only the second; there was another one after her.

Fifteen minutes later, Cherie Chung arrived, also carrying a thermal container.

For a time, Li Jiangbo became the center of the storm, and the crew members all kept their distance, not daring to get close at all.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Yazhi stepped forward, a smile on her face, and said, "Miss Guan and Miss Zhong have also come to visit the set?"

Chung Chor-hung was momentarily speechless, but quickly recovered, "My mother heard that Brother Li was going to stay up all night filming, so she cooked some rice and asked me to bring it to Brother Li to try."

After she finished speaking, she stuffed the bag in her hand into Li Jiangbo's arms and took a small step back.

Rosamund Kwan lifted the bag in her hand and said, "I heard from Director Wong that Director Li will be filming all night, so I cooked some food myself and brought it to Director Li to try."

After she finished speaking, she stuffed the bag into Li Jiangbo's arms, but stood there without taking a step back.

The two women's eyes met, and an electric spark flew through the air. The surrounding air seemed to freeze slightly in this tense atmosphere.

At this moment, Li Jiangbo desperately wished someone could come and rescue him from this predicament!

As if on cue, Chen Xunqi reluctantly approached Li Jiangbo and said, "Director Li, everyone is almost ready."

Li Jiangbo quickly put down the two bags he was carrying and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Okay! Let's go! Let's hurry up and finish filming."