At the end of 1992, affected by politics, Hong Kong films, just like the current Hong Kong economy, came to the same crossroads as historical inertia. This cannot be blamed on Lin Xiaozhi's lack of hard work. In the past few years, under his promotion, although the general environment of Hong Kong films has been much better than the same period in history, with the arrival of the new Hong Kong Governor Patten who is bent on causing chaos to the return , the whole of Hong Kong has now reached a critical crossroads. Soon after he took office, Patten fell into bad relations with the mainland. In October just past, Patten issued his first policy address during his tenure. The report mentioned the political reform plan and stated that he would reform the electoral system of the Legislative Council and strive for a better future. Within a few years, real democracy will be given to Hong Kong people and Hong Kong people¡¯s elections will be realized in the true sense of the word. This attempt to split naturally aroused strong dissatisfaction from the mainland, because as we all know, Hong Kong has been occupied by the British for more than a hundred years since the late Qing Dynasty. After more than a century of Western education, at least half of the people in Hong Kong are born locally. I have never been to the mainland. In addition, after the Kuomintang strategically retreated to Taiwan, it often cooperated with the British in launching a propaganda war against the mainland in Hong Kong. Therefore, once Hong Kong people are truly given the choice, no one will doubt that more than 80% of Hong Kong people will vote for independence or remain in the Commonwealth rather than return to the mother country. You must know that since the early 1980s, among Hong Kong¡¯s middle- and high-income groups, there have been calls for remaining in the Commonwealth and following Singapore¡¯s example of independence. Lin Xiaozhi has nothing to do with politics and other industry matters, because in the Hong Kong film industry alone, the general environment is constantly changing, and no one can tell what will happen at the next moment. What worries him most now is that Patten has invited the new US Secretary of State to visit Hong Kong early next year, as he has done historically. Once the two men negotiated the "General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade", Patten acted as a hawk for the Americans as he had done historically, destroying the wall of Hong Kong films and using legal bills to help American blockbusters and American film capital enter Hong Kong. If the way is cleared, then Hong Kong films, which could still rely on local protection policies to fight fiercely with American blockbusters, will immediately face the danger of a backyard fire. Although he has made some preparations in advance, he often calls on the government to introduce film protection policies in his media. Especially after the establishment of the Hong Kong Film Association, he personally participated in the preparation of several local film development and protection drafts and applied for legislation to the Legislative Council and the Hong Kong government. At the same time, he also notified many local film producers in advance to try to attract as many people as possible. Stand with yourselves. He has done everything he should do. He just wants to influence politics with the voice of an industry. Lin Xiaozhi knows that he still needs to do a lot. After "League of Assassins" was released in the United States, the box office continued its popularity in Asia and Europe. It took in a box office of US$36.72 million in just four days in the first week of its release in the United States, making the United States, which has begun to pay more attention to Hong Kong films in recent years, The media was also quite surprised, especially paying close attention to Lim Hyo-chi, who has been treated as a top-tier local director and film mogul in the United States, and the films he made. And "Assassin's League" did not disappoint those who paid attention to it. With a lot of innovation and excellent special effects, "Assassin's League" does not have too many hand-to-hand combats compared to the many self-produced gunfight action movies in the United States this year. "Although it has shortcomings, the super eye-catching ability of the bullet special effects and original gun fighting skills helped it quickly beat a large number of American blockbusters released at the same time at the box office in the second week of its release in the United States, achieving the first box-office ranking of Lin Hyo-ji's film in the United States. , topped the box office for the week with a weekly box office of US$67.74 million. "League of Assassins" became the first Hong Kong film to hit the top spot in the United States in the most important North American market. It earned Lin Xiaozhi countless praises and praises, so much so that despite repeated invitations from Miramax, he had to He temporarily put down his work and went to the United States with the crew. He attended a crew meeting organized by Miramax and accepted interviews with the media. This earned him the praise of "Best Commercial Film Director in Asia" from the American media for the first time. The car slowly stopped in front of the Media Asia Twin Towers. As soon as Wu Yusen got out of the car, he saw a familiar figure walking towards the building. He quickly shouted: "Fa Zai" That figure made him feel very familiar. The sound stopped, and he turned around and took off his sunglasses to look at the source of the sound. After seeing his old friend John Woo, Chow Yun-fat asked with a smile: "Brother J, haven't you been filming recently? What, you have an appointment with Lin Sheng?" John Woo's English name His name is John. He is a veteran in the Hong Kong film and director circles, so many people will call him 'Brother J' in order to show their kindness and respect for him. "Yes, I have made an appointment with Lin Sheng. Okay, what about you? "Wu Yusen nodded and smiled, "Did you have fun in the United States a few days ago? " In the past two years, there have been rumors in the circle that there are some problems with their golden pair. In fact, it is not just speculation from the outside world. There may be a dispute between the two or John Woo's movie company.There were indeed several unhappy moments between Si and Chow Yun-fat's manager, Fa Sao, over contract and remuneration issues. Fa's sister-in-law, who was born into a wealthy family in Singapore, got pregnant once with Fa Ge two years after they got married. However, because Fa's sister-in-law didn't pay attention, the fetus in her belly suffocated and died due to the umbilical cord being wrapped around the neck. After that, she was filled with regret and pain, and she dared not go back again. She wanted to have a second child, so she put all her energy into taking care of the family property for Brother Fa. She had a strong temper and wanted to get the best conditions for Brother Fa, so many film companies and brand owners who had worked with her did not like her. she. As we all know, John Woo and Tsui Hark, two former friends, turned against each other due to problems with the filming of "A Better Tomorrow". After being hidden and suppressed by Tsui Hark for several years, John Woo did not choose to compromise with Tsui Hark. As soon as he was satisfied, he immediately left Tsui Hark's film company, and with only the millions he had transferred from several years of hard work, he borrowed some Taiwanese capital to form his own film company. At that time, in order to express his gratitude for his support in the past, Chow Yun-fat declined the poaching offers from New Art City, Golden Harvest and even Media Asia, becoming the first and only superstar to sign a contract with John Woo's film company. It would be great if John Woo's film company could develop due to this. Unfortunately, although his ability to shoot action films is unmatched, his shortcomings in scripts, company management, etc. are obvious. After establishing his own film company , he made many movies one after another, most of which could only rely on his fairy-haired brand name and his previous reputation. He was able to save money, but he only made a lot of money with "Across the World", a movie co-produced with Media Asia, with more than half of the profit. All of it went into Media Asia's pocket, and even "Hot Detective" was a hit but not a hit, almost costing the investment. As a result, the Taiwanese capital that invested in John Woo with great expectations of making money could not make any money from him at all. Naturally, they were not satisfied, so divestments continued to occur. Even though John Woo's own film company was not in debt, Although he is tired but his financial situation has never been good, the remuneration he can give Chow Yun-fat is naturally much lower than his net worth. ??Fa Ge has always had high expectations for his old friend. In addition, he himself is known as the "fairy hair" and has no worries about not being able to film in Hong Kong, so he actually doesn't care about the contract he can get for starring in John Woo's movie. Seeing that John Woo's face was a little unnatural, Chow Yun-fat suddenly understood what he was worried about. He said calmly: "In the United States, I just got some exposure with Lin Sheng, and I just met the crew in Hawaii for two days. When I came to the great American director Spielberg, I heard that Lin Sheng had invested in his new movie. The investment alone was said to be close to 300 million Hong Kong dollars. I came over today and Lin Sheng said that he wanted to see a movie script with me. He was interested. He wants me to play the leading role in a new drama!¡± Because of his close relationship with John Woo, the contract Fa Ge signed with John Woo¡¯s film company when he left with him was not a very binding contract, it was just an ordinary 21 contract. That is, a two-year contract, with priority for renewal for one year after expiration. Counting the time, Fa Ge's contract with John Woo Film Company is about to expire. It was at the juncture of renewing the contract, and he also knew that John Woo was worried about leaving now, so he said directly and calmly: "Don't worry, Brother J, I know Lin Sheng's side. If you have a movie to shoot recently, I will recommend it." "It made John Woo feel warm in his heart. He also knew that his film company could not be compared with Media Asia, which has grown to become one of Asia's top players. His friend Chow Yun-fat's straightforward statement undoubtedly still remembers him. The support he received back then was just because people's hearts are full of flesh. Moreover, his company's finances have been very tight recently and he has no plans to launch a new movie, so he just smiled and nodded, and it took him a while to feel emotional. "Lin Sheng's business is getting bigger and bigger!" John Woo has had the idea of ????going to Hollywood since last year's "Hot Detective". Naturally, he has paid attention to Miramax, which was acquired by Media Asia in the past two years. It is also very popular in the United States. Now Lin Xiaozhi has spent a lot of money to invest in the new movie of the great American director Spielberg. The movies he shot are also selling well in Europe and the United States. It is impossible to say that he is not envious. After thinking for a moment, he finally felt that he could not be selfish, and instead took the initiative to persuade: "Media Asia wants you to play the leading role in a movie. This is a good thing. They have channels in Europe and the United States, which will be beneficial to your future career development. If If the script is not bad and the investment is appropriate, just take it. Anyway, I don¡¯t have any work there for the time being.¡± At this point, he smiled bitterly, ¡°You probably don¡¯t know yet. Lin Sheng called me a few days ago just to tell me that he had it. I want to see a script, but I don¡¯t know if the movie you want me to shoot for Media Asia is the same as yours!¡± He is obviously the boss of a film company, but it¡¯s a pity that he can¡¯t make a lot of money from his movies. Having to be reduced to controlling and directing for others, John Woo knows very well that this is actually an opportunity, because in the past few years, as long as he is a director who has collaborated with Media Asia, whether it is Gu Dezhao,Xiuxian, Chen Xunqi, Gao Zhisen, Liu Zhenwei, Tsui Hark, not only made a lot of money, but also climbed to the top in their careers. Chow Yun-fat was thoughtful when he heard this, but John Woo, who laughed at himself, seemed to have thought about it first. , patted his shoulder and pointed to the building in front of him, "Let's go, since Lin Sheng made an appointment with us both at the same time, maybe we can cooperate. It's not good to be late and make him wait for a long time!" Nodding, they both had been to Media Asia's Twin Towers and knew which floor Lin Xiaozhi worked on, so they only showed their faces at the front desk and asked the receptionist to call Lin Xiaozhi to inform him. The two of them didn't need anyone else. Guiding him, he got on the elevator and walked to his office.