Turmoil in Hong Kong

Hong Kong. In Jackie Chan's mansion, he slammed a newspaper onto the floor, stamped on it twice, and cursed, "Nonsense! I'll give you nonsense! You're the one who ought to drop dead—you and your whole family!" The huge shoeprint lay pressed right against an article, an analysis of the box-office battle in this year's Chinese New Year slot. All four major powers had taken the stage, each screening on its own circuit, and all was well with the world: First was Shaw Brothers' Legendary Weapons of China, directed by Lau Kar-leung. Box office: 7 million, predicted to settle around 9 million. The Left's The Shaolin Temple still had no small momentum, but it had failed to overtake Tai Chi. The current box office was 13 million, predicted at around 15 million. Golden Harvest's Dragon Lord had come on strong, only to turn out to be all thunder and little rain. The box office was only 8 million now; by the forecast, breaking ten million would already be doing well. Cinema City's Aces Go Places had exploded. The box office had already broken 20 million, and attendance was still running hot. Admissions stood to break Hong Kong's all-time record. The result finally let Cinema City hold its head high, and it had gone beyond everyone's expec—oh, no! Everyone's except that guy. "Jackie Chan is washed up. All he ever shoots are Republican-era kung fu films. He never refreshes the formula, the stories are all the same, and audiences are sick of them." "He flopped in Hollywood, thought he could come back to Hong Kong and still be the big boss, and flopped again!" Every word stabbed into Jackie Chan's heart like a knife. He was so agitated he could hardly bear it, and he wanted a drink, when he suddenly heard the shuffle of slippers behind him. Lin Fengjiao came over in a pretty set of pajamas. She put her arms around his neck from behind and said softly, "What is it? Unhappy?" "The paper's making things up. I'm a bit angry!" "Hong Kong papers are always like that. You ought to know them better than I do. Don't stoop to their level." "This time is different..." Jackie Chan did not like talking about work with women. He patted her cheek and said, "Go back tomorrow. I'm going to have to get busy." "I came specially to see you, and you send me away? I'm not asking you to spend more time with me. I only ask that you be happier. I want to see you smile..." Lin Fengjiao coaxed him, all tenderness, and did manage to soothe his mood a little. The two had met only last year, and not long after meeting they had gotten together. But Lin Fengjiao knew she was only one of his girlfriends. Unlike the other women, she had a plan, and that plan was to have a child. In his biography, Jackie Chan had said: "Back then I had many girlfriends. I was choosing which one was the best. Then, before I knew it, there was Little House (Fang Zuming). I didn't actually want to get married. At the time it was like being forced into it..." It was this very year that Lin Fengjiao would leave the film world, marry him in secret, and then, at the end of the year, Fang Zuming would be born. Late at night. Jackie Chan came out of the bedroom. He still could not sleep, and he still wanted a drink. He sat on the sofa, opened a bottle, and poured for himself. Then he picked up the newspaper again. He had gone in person to see every one of these films. Legendary Weapons of China was still nothing but Lau Kar-leung's old show of flashy skill. The fight scenes in The Shaolin Temple were hollow. Aces Go Places had truly given even him a shock. He had not imagined Hong Kong could already make a commercial film with a relatively complete structure, rich elements, and such strong entertainment value. Films like this, he had only ever seen in Hollywood. Then he thought of that guy again, and his heart gave a jump. "Even if he was only guessing, he couldn't have guessed this accurately, could he? He said ten million for Dragon Lord, and ten million it would be. He said Aces Go Places would explode, and explode it did. I hear the mainland likes studying paranormal powers. Could his real identity be some marvel who came to Hong Kong for united-front work?" The more Jackie Chan thought, the wilder it got; the wilder it got, the more sense it seemed to make. Hong Kong people were superstitious! In these days the fame of the White Dragon King of Thailand had not yet reached Hong Kong, but Jackie Chan had also consulted many masters. All of them spoke in cloud and fog, the same talk spun round and round. How was any of it as accurate as Chen Qi? "What else was it he said?" Jackie Chan thought a moment. Oh—he had also said Shaw Brothers had best close its doors and concentrate on developing TVB; that even joining hands, Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers could not beat Cinema City; that this year not a single foreign-language film would break into the top ten! "He also told me to go to the Left. How could I go to the Left..." Jackie's thoughts began to stir. He said to himself: But meeting them, and having a talk, would do no harm. ...... Clear Water Bay Studio. Boat People was about to wrap. Some of the footage had already gone into post-production. In the office, Xia Meng and Ann Hui sat in silence. They had gone to Hainan and Guangdong to shoot. Everything had been fine, but somehow word had leaked, and the Hong Kong press had exposed them. Shooting on the mainland—how could that be borne? The Free Association was furious! The Taiwan Government Information Office was furious! Word was they meant to investigate the matter to the bottom. Xia Meng had great confidence in this film and did not want it left imperfect. After pondering a while, she said, "Director Hui, some of what I have to say may sound selfish, but I still feel I ought to tell you." "..." Ann Hui looked up at her. "The Free Association forbids Hong Kong filmmakers from contacting us. Once they find out, they blacklist you. But the blacklist is a sham; the extortion is real. The company pays money, the actors write a letter of repentance, and it blows over. Boat People has been made known to everyone. Naturally they cannot extort me. They can only force you to make all kinds of promises. In any case, Boat People cannot be sold to Taiwan either. You and I both have great hopes for this film. As things stand, you might as well ignore them outright, put your real name to it, finish the film, and make a classic." "..." Ann Hui thought it over seriously, then smiled. "I make art films. I never had much of a market to begin with. I don't mind!" "Then it's settled?" "I mean it from the bottom of my heart!" Both of them laughed. Xia Meng let out a breath of relief. Ann Hui was the soul; so long as she remained, the film remained. But Ann Hui also asked, "Then what about the actors?" "I'll go and talk with them. In any case, the picture has to be finished." With that, Xia Meng went out and turned into another room. George Lam, Miao Qianren, and Liu Dehua were waiting, all of them looking gloomy. The moment they saw Xia Meng come in, they stood up together. She was a great senior, after all. "Sit." Xia Meng waved a hand and spoke first. "Things have come to this. I won't make it hard for you. You are under contract with me. Please be sure to finish the last of your scenes. What you do after that is not for me to mind." "Thank you for understanding!" "Thank you!" "Then may we go back to the company first and talk it over? Everyone is very anxious." "You may." The talk was brief. The three went straight back to TVB. That's right—all of them were with TVB. George Lam had started at Commercial Television. When Commercial Television folded, he jumped to TVB. Miao Qianren had taken part in the Miss Hong Kong pageant, and afterward entered TVB. Since coming back, Liu Dehua had already signed a formal contract. He was TVB's now too. The three hurried back to the company, and what met them was a vicious scolding straight in their faces. "Eight lifetimes of foul luck, and I'm stuck with you three prodigies! And that damned newspaper—where did they dig the news up? How did they catch you! Well, this is perfect. The Association knows, Taiwan knows, all of Hong Kong knows!" "..." Liu Dehua was a newcomer, so let that pass. The other two felt a little wronged. When they had gone out to take the work, they had of course told the company, and the company had agreed. Now that trouble had come, they were the ones being scolded. "Won't writing a letter of repentance be enough?" Miao Qianren said. "This time the nature of it is different. I'll take you to the Association at once and sound out their attitude first!"