The Shocking Inside Story of China-Hong Kong Co-productions｜The Hong Kong Director Trapped in the Grand Narrative (Part 1)｜Let's talk about Marley

Hello everyone, my name is Marley. This is a small channel that has been removed for a long time, but is dedicated to improving your thinking ability and tearing fifty cents. In each issue, we will combine a political and economic case to help you analyze the reasons behind it and different thinking dimensions.

With the popularity of the movie "Changjin Lake", this patriotic blockbuster co-directed by Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, and Lin Chaoxian, since its release on September 30, as of October 25, the box office has exceeded 5.3 billion yuan. It ranks third in the total box office list of Chinese films, close to the champion "Wolf Warrior 2". Regarding the right and wrong of "Changjin Lake", I believe that everyone has seen too many introductions and film reviews, so I won't say much here. What attracted more attention to me was the blockbuster joining of two Hong Kong directors represented by Tsui Hark and Lin Chaoxian. Many people saw this and said without thinking that it was because of the RMB! But is this really the case? Today, let's take a look at how Hong Kong directors started the road to main theme movies.

This theme is divided into three parts. First, we briefly review the history of Hong Kong films and co-productions between China and Hong Kong, which can help us understand what Hong Kong and mainland filmmakers have done together in those years. Second, let's discuss together the reasons and trends of Hong Kong directors "going north", and the pits dug together in those years. Third, let's analyze how Hong Kong directors step by step into the love-hate relationship of Chinese-style theme blockbusters.

Speaking of Hong Kong movies, I believe it is the childhood memories of many Chinese friends. In an era when information was not very developed, the video halls full of smoke, adrenaline, and moldy damp were the first lessons for many small-town teens in the mainland like me to experience sex education, brotherhood, and swordsmanship. Almost all the time after class is dedicated to this little black house, which is less than 30 square meters. We can "cross the four seas" here, or read the "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra" silently. This is our "Day and Night in Tianshui Wai". . I still remember the simple poster written on the blackboard and chalk at the door, and the feeling of panic when I went to the ticket office to drink poison to quench my thirst, because it is very likely that you will find that sitting in the first row is the head teacher who is usually strict with himself. Of course, he is just a spectator who has already entered the play.

Fortunately, it was the golden age of Hong Kong cinema at the time. Hong Kong is the only artistic paradise for free creation in the Chinese society. The ideological impact of foreign film and television, coupled with Hong Kong's own way of life of various social transformations under the economic take-off, has greatly enriched the subject matter of Hong Kong movies, and the total output value has jumped to the top of the No. 2 in the world, known as the Hollywood of the East, almost swept the entire Asian market.

In addition to those classic Hong Kong films that everyone is familiar with, there is actually a mysterious film circle in Hong Kong. They are the "leftist" film companies represented by Great Wall, Phoenix and Xinlian. The background of these three companies was founded by leftist filmmakers who came to Hong Kong from the mainland (Shanghai) in 1949. Naturally, these leftist film companies are inextricably linked with the CCP. They mainly made some Mandarin films with social themes. In the 1960s, it once formed a rivalry with Cantonese film companies. You can understand that these film companies are the CCP’s earliest “big foreign propaganda” agencies in Hong Kong.

In 1979, when China's national policy of reform and opening up was put forward, Hu Yaobang, then minister of the Central Propaganda Department, proposed to set up a "China Film Co-production Company" (referred to as "China Production Company", also known as "Co-production Company") in the Cultural Film Bureau. It is the first agency established by the government to be responsible for Sino-foreign film cooperation. In 1981, at the suggestion of Liao Chengzhi, who was then the vice chairman of the National People's Congress, the filming of "Shaolin Temple" was directed by Zhang Xinyan under the name of "Zhongyuan Film Production Company" by Hong Kong "Mainland Background" film companies "Great Wall" and "Xinlian". ". As we all know, the great success of this film, Jet Li also became famous because of this work, and started the road of kung fu star. In 1982, "Chang", "Feng" and "Xin" three film companies with mainland background merged to form the famous "Yindu Organization Co., Ltd.". Although it is registered in Hong Kong, it is an adequate Chinese state-owned film company.

After "Shaolin Temple" became popular, in 1982, the famous director Li Hanxiang formed his own "New Kunlun" film company to co-produce the historical films "Burning the Old Summer Palace" and "Listening to the Government" with the mainland. Chen Bo, director of the Cultural and Film Business Administration at the time, directly participated in the discussion of the literary script and the director's sub-lens script. The mainland Chinese-made companies have also given financial support regardless of risk and return. Strictly speaking, the mainland basically regards this kind of cooperation or co-production as a "political task" to accomplish. The political significance of its "United Front" is far greater than the expected economic return of the film, and of course it also opened the prelude to the co-production of films between the mainland and Hong Kong.

The large-scale cooperation between China and Hong Kong began in the mid-1980s. At that time, due to the restructuring of China's state-owned film studios (enterprise management of public institutions), independent accounting and self-financing began. Suddenly there was no central blood transfusion. Discomfort and loss. Coupled with the popularity of TV sets, Chinese films have experienced a serious market crisis, and they have begun to get in close contact with the Hong Kong film industry, hoping to use the commercial experience of Hong Kong films to save the sluggish film industry in the mainland. To sum up, there are the following phenomena.

First, state-owned film studios generally have problems of poor management. In cooperation with Hong Kong companies, they can first charge a management fee, usually ranging from tens of thousands to 300,000, that is, to buy the factory standard in China, that is, the studio will pay an annual fee. The production index obtained from the film bureau, which is the patent of the state-owned film studio. Second, the profit of the film is divided between the film studio and its partners. In addition to these, it also includes venue rental fees, rental fees for staff and equipment from state-owned film studios, etc. For state-owned film studios that lack funds, co-production is a sure-fire business; thirdly, for Hong Kong films, relatively cheap labor and large production venues are advantages that Hong Kong does not have, and Hong Kong filmmakers also contribute to mainland films. The industry brings commercial film production techniques that are worth learning and reference. For mainland and Hong Kong film companies, it can be said that each gets what he needs and gets his own benefits.

After 1986, the number of co-productions went from less than 4 per year to more than 50 in 1992, accounting for one-third of the total domestic films at that time. As everyone knows, the New Dragon Inn Dahua Westward Journey Tang Bohu Dian Qiuxiang Huang Feihong series are the representatives of the co-production films at that time. A group of Hong Kong directors, represented by Tsui Hark, made the grand, well-made and imaginative martial arts action films, which have formed an astonishing box office miracle in the three places on the Taiwan Strait and even in the Asian market. As for the literary film market, it has received a large amount of indirect investment from Taiwan film companies (in the name of Hong Kong companies), and a large number of realistic films such as Farewell My Concubine, The Red Lantern Hanging High, Living, and Blue Kite have been cast. The model of "Taiwan funds Hong Kong to produce mainland talents" has also created the international popularity of a large number of Chinese directors such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige.

In fact, the co-productions during this period did not mainly target the mainland market, but mainly aimed at the local Hong Kong and Southeast Asian markets. In general, co-productions have given Hong Kong films more room for development, and to a certain extent curbed the downward trend of the film market in mainland China. But nothing really changed.

With the increase of co-productions, since 1994, China's film authority (SARFT) has gradually fully involved in all aspects of film investment, production, publicity and distribution, and has strengthened its control over film production. In 1996, the "Regulations on the Composition of the Main Creators of Domestic Feature Films and Co-production Films" stated that: in addition to directors, screenwriters and photographers, the main creative personnel should be mainly Chinese residents, and there should be no less Chinese residents who play the main role. at 50%. This administratively planned film approach has made the space for co-productions smaller and smaller, and the policy risk of investing in films is far greater than the market risk, and the two have started a vicious circle. Before and after the handover in 1997, Hong Kong's economy and society experienced huge turmoil, coupled with the impact of the Asian financial crisis, the outflow of funds, the loss of film talents, and the shrinking of the Southeast Asian market, making the entire Hong Kong film industry enter the lowest point in history.

With China's entry into the WTO in 2001, for the sluggish Chinese film industry, it was forced to embark on the road of reform and opening up again. While retaining the censorship system, the threshold for industry access has been lowered, allowing foreign personnel and institutions to engage in film production. In 2004, the "Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Trade Partnership Arrangement" (CEPA) came into effect. The agreement on films in CEPA is: Hong Kong and mainland co-productions enter the mainland market and enjoy the treatment of domestic films, that is, they are not subject to quota restrictions. The condition is that the proportion of mainland actors in the co-production film shall not be less than one-third of the total number of main actors in the film. piece".

As the mainland's film consumption market is booming and co-productions enjoy many conveniences, many Hong Kong filmmakers naturally flock to it. Hong Kong film companies such as China Star, Media Asia, Huan Yu and Xing Hao have moved north, hoping to rely on the vast market potential of the mainland, setting off a climax of co-production films. In addition, the rapid economic growth after China's entry into the WTO has also given birth to the re-prosperity of the film market. The film market has grown rapidly for five consecutive years. In 2004, seven of the top ten domestic box office films were co-productions ("House of Flying Daggers" and "Kung Fu"). ", "A World Without Thieves", "New Police Story", "2046", "Thousand Machines Change 2" and "Dragon and Phoenix"), by 2007, almost all of the top ten box office charts in the Mainland were from the Mainland and Hong Kong. Co-production video. Under normal circumstances, the box office of a co-production is more than three times that of Hong Kong. The rich market income has increased the confidence in film production, enabling co-productions to obtain more investment, and more and more Hong Kong directors and film companies have joined the competition in the mainland market, among which first-tier commercial directors such as Chen Kexin, Tsui Hark, and Liu Weiqiang have become " The representative figure of "Going to the North" for gold. -

The magic of capital and the lure of the box office make Hong Kong filmmakers believe that "going north" is the general trend. However, with the popularity of co-productions, problems have gradually emerged. Tang Zhenzhao, a famous Hong Kong film critic, pointed out the potential problems of "Xinbu Films" and expressed his concerns about Hong Kong films in his book "2003 Hong Kong Film Review: Changes in "New Port Films" brought about by CEPA" published in early 2004. .

The first is that due to the need for film review in mainland China, Hong Kong-produced films or co-production films entering the mainland will inevitably need to pass the review and castration. The original story and look and feel of the film may have to be compromised, especially as a way to highlight Hong Kong. This is particularly evident in the characteristic police and gangster films. The most classic example is "Infernal Affairs". The ending of Liu Jianming played by Liu Tianwang in the Hong Kong version is to continue to be a policeman, while the mainland version is changed to be arrested. In order to pass the trial and be released in the mainland, such dual-version plot films will be common in the next few years.

If the dual-version films have left a window for Hong Kong audiences, some films were made to cater to the mainland market, and the "Hong Kong flavor" gradually disappeared. For example, the 2003 romantic comedy "The Mouse Falls in Love with the Cat" starring Liu Tianwang and Cecilia Cheung, was originally a modern love story because the co-production film must have a Chinese background, but it was bluntly put on a nondescript costume film. In order to cater to the mainland market, a large number of films followed, forcibly adding mainland plots, and even directly or indirectly abandoning the Hong Kong market, and released them in the form of pure Mandarin films, such as the 2007 "Certificate of Investment". To meet the demands of the mainland market, a large number of Hong Kong films followed suit, many of which were shoddy. It can be seen that in the face of capital, art is a joke.

The resurgence of co-productions is of course a good thing for the Chinese mainland market. At first, Hong Kong capital entered the Chinese market relatively strongly. As mentioned before, it was mainly to take advantage of the labor costs and studio advantages of the mainland. With the increasing capital of the mainland, a large number of private film companies other than state-owned film studios have sprung up. Among them, the three giants represented by Wanda, Bona and Huayi Brothers occupy half of the domestic films. , the influence of Chinese mainland filmmakers has gradually surpassed that of Hong Kong. One of the most famous examples is the Hong Kong-style literary film "Sister Peach", which was invested by Bona and directed by Xu Anhua, starring Andy Lau and Ip Dexian. When he went north to Beijing for a meeting, he and the directors played by Tsui Hark and Sammo Hung played a big quarrel in front of investors. Investors who wanted to be peacemakers had to agree to an additional budget. The person who plays the investor is Yu Dong, the boss of Bona Films, an investor in "Sister Peach".

Where is this Yudong sacred? What influence did he have on Hong Kong movies? We'll leave it to the next time to break it down.