Chapter 64

On May 15th, the second film of Donglong International, "The Young Master," officially premiered.

Calculating the time, Wu Cheng had been in Hong Kong for a year. During this year, he accomplished many things and met many people, especially a few stars who would become very famous in the future.

Of course, there were also many big shots. What made Wu Cheng somewhat helpless was that he had actually become an opponent to one of these big shots—Zou Wenhui.

Of course, if we were to judge by his assets, Zou Wenhui could hardly be called a tycoon at this time. He had only established Golden Harvest a few years ago.

But in just these few years, he had successfully established Golden Harvest's foothold and forced Shaw Brothers to struggle. In the local box office of Hong Kong, Shaw Brothers had been unable to recover. Although Shaw Brothers invested in many overseas co-productions and made a lot of money, this situation was hard for Shaw Brothers to swallow.

Thus, under Wu Cheng's stimulation, Donglong and Shaw Brothers had this collaboration.

During this period, a film that could earn one to two million in the local box office was considered successful, especially for Shaw Brothers, as their films were mostly low-budget.

For example, "Luk Ah Chai and Wong Fei-hung," which was taken off the screens two days early to make way for "The Young Master," only earned one million in box office.

If a film could earn two to three million in the local box office, it would be considered a big hit.

However, due to the "Five Lucky Stars" raking in 12 million in box office at the beginning of the year, the local box office record in Hong Kong was pushed to a crazy height, making it difficult for many filmmakers to accept the two to three million box office figure, feeling that the gap was too wide to close.

Faced with this situation, everyone could only feel jealous and envious.

On the evening of the 15th, Wu Cheng held the premiere of "The Young Master" at the leading cinema of Feilong Cinema Line, inviting many stars to support the event.

Of course, most of these stars were from TVB. Since Shaw Brothers' tycoon had come to attend the premiere, these stars naturally hurried over to show their loyalty.

For this premiere, Wu Cheng not only invited many journalists but also specially set up a red carpet for the stars to walk on, with the dresses provided for free by Phoenix Fashion.

This alone cost Phoenix Fashion nearly two million.

But Wu Cheng felt that this investment was not much, as it was free advertising for Phoenix Fashion! And it was advertising that didn't cost any money.

This kind of red carpet event was a first in Hong Kong.

The journalists who had arrived early were puzzled by the red carpet that extended all the way into the cinema, about thirty meters long, with red barriers on both sides and a black-clad security guard with sunglasses every three meters.

The scene looked incredibly grand and upscale!

Around 6 PM, the host, Sister Feifei, appeared on the red carpet. Seeing the red carpet, Sister Feifei was somewhat surprised, as this "red carpet event" was unique in Hong Kong, especially the "star red carpet event."

Before coming, she had been given instructions on how to host.

Initially, she was somewhat dismissive, thinking that after hosting so many events, she would know how to do it. However, after being reminded, she realized that this hosting needed to be on par with the Oscars in Hollywood, which made her marvel at Donglong International's grand gesture.

When Wu Cheng appeared on the red carpet with Zhao Yazhi, many journalists were taken aback by their attire and immediately started taking photos frantically.

Wu Cheng wore a well-fitted white shirt with the cuffs rolled up, black casual pants, and white flat shoes, a simple yet sophisticated look.

Zhao Yazhi wore a black, form-fitting floor-length dress that accentuated her slender figure. Her hair was loosely tied back, revealing her white, swan-like neck. The contrast between the black dress and her fair skin created a strong visual impact.

Almost all the men present couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

The journalists seemed to have an endless supply of film, clicking away madly.

"Miss Zhao is truly beautiful, no wonder she is known as the first beauty of Hong Kong!"

"Mr. Wu Cheng is also very handsome! His attire looks so stylish!" Clearly, this was a female journalist, who had already fallen for Wu Cheng's "young meat" appearance.

"Today was worth it. Donglong International really went all out. This event will definitely make the front page tomorrow."

"Golden Harvest is also holding a premiere tonight. I wonder how it's going over there?"

"How can Golden Harvest compare to Donglong! This kind of 'premiere' was first introduced by Donglong International. Golden Harvest is just imitating it, and the scene is nowhere near as grand!"

"Actually, Donglong is also learning from Hollywood..."

"But at least their scene is grand enough!"

...

"A Cheng, you're here!"

At the end of the red carpet, Hong Jinbao and his group of brothers were "standing by" to support the event. Seeing Wu Cheng, they all breathed a sigh of relief. With such a grand event, they were all on edge, fearing any mishaps. If something went wrong, it would be embarrassing.

Wu Cheng patted Hong Jinbao's arm and smiled, "No need to be nervous. The success of the premiere is not as important as the film itself. Have some confidence. We have more theaters than Golden Harvest for this joint screening. What's there to worry about? Besides, even if we lose, it's not a big deal. We can take revenge with 'Drunken Fist'!"

Shenglong, standing nearby, laughed, "That's right! Master, we're here too!"

Hong Jinbao playfully slapped Shenglong's head and scolded, "The film hasn't even been released yet, and you're already getting cocky. If the film becomes a hit, you'll be in for a treat!"

Shenglong didn't mind, just rubbing his head with a grin.

Wu Cheng smiled, "You guys take care of the guests. Call me when Uncle Six arrives!"

Entering the cinema with Zhao Yazhi, they passed through the interview area, where Sister Feifei stopped them, smiling, "Mr. Wu, Miss Zhao, please wait a moment. The journalists are eager to interview you... By the way, let's take a group photo first!"

Sister Feifei, being very familiar, held onto Wu Cheng and Zhao Yazhi, squeezing herself between them and making a V sign for the photographers.

The journalists, seeing Sister Feifei between the two, found the scene somewhat awkward. After all, Wu Cheng and Zhao Yazhi together were a golden couple!

However, they couldn't really say anything, as she was the host of the event. Offending the host would make the interviews very difficult.

For example, after taking the photo, Sister Feifei, at Wu Cheng's suggestion, specifically called on a few journalists to ask questions. If they offended her, would she still give them the opportunity?

"Mr. Wu, Miss Zhao, you two are doing well! Today, Golden Harvest is also holding the premiere of 'Half a Pound, Eight Ounces,' in which Miss Zhao is the lead actress. Is it appropriate for Miss Zhao to be here? Is it true that Mr. Wu and Mr. Zou are not on good terms?"

Zhao Yazhi smiled, "That's two questions! For the first one, I can answer that I did receive an invitation to the premiere of 'Half a Pound, Eight Ounces,' but their invitation came too late, and I couldn't be in two places at once. I am truly sorry!"

Zhao Yazhi's response made the journalists chuckle. Indeed, if compared to the speed of Donglong's invitation, Golden Harvest had no chance, especially since Wu Cheng and Zhao Yazhi were living together!

Wu Cheng smiled and added, "As for the second question, you're overthinking it. My relationship with Mr. Zou is just normal business competition. I believe Mr. Zou sees it the same way. Don't forget, I wrote the script for 'Half a Pound, Eight Ounces.'"

"Mr. Wu, Golden Harvest is using the script you wrote to compete against your own film. Don't you feel upset about that?"

Wu Cheng laughed, "Why should I be upset? No matter the outcome, I'm the winner. Besides, 'Half a Pound, Eight Ounces' and 'The Young Master' are different genres. Those who like action films won't miss 'The Young Master,' and those who like comedies will find humor in 'The Young Master' as well. In fact, 'The Young Master' has a better chance of winning!"

After answering a few questions, Wu Cheng and Zhao Yazhi entered the cinema.

By then, many stars had already appeared on the red carpet.

Among them was the figure of Chow Kuo-fa, who was just beginning to make a name for himself at the time, not yet the big star he would become in a few years, but he already had some popularity.

Following Chow Kuo-fa was the even more famous Chiu Shao-chiou, who was the undisputed leading man at TVB. He was the male lead in the upcoming martial arts drama "The Book and the Sword," which was already in the production stage.

Incidentally, at Wu Cheng's suggestion, Zhao Yazhi had indeed become the female lead.

Given Zhao Yazhi's current popularity, TVB couldn't ignore her, especially considering the collaboration between Shaw Brothers and Wu Cheng, which gave Zhao Yazhi a unique position at TVB.

After Chiu Shao-chiou, two beautiful women appeared, and their presence immediately raised the atmosphere to a small climax.