Chapter 159 Dinner and Hong Kong's Most Beautiful Girl
On December 1st, Liu Zhou organized a cocktail party at the Peninsula Hotel in the name of Jiahe.

This was Liu Zhou's official debut in the Hong Kong film industry.

Therefore, most of the people Liu Zhou invited this time were from the Hong Kong entertainment industry. Of course, Liu Zhou would not try to please those who were obviously hostile to him.

That night, the Peninsula Hotel once again became the focus of the entire Hong Kong media.

Although these media reporters did not count the number in detail, they felt that most of the people in Hong Kong's entertainment industry were there.

This made them a little shocked.

Is Liu Zhou’s influence so great?
In fact, it is not difficult to understand why people in the Hong Kong entertainment industry gave so much face and accepted the invitation.

Liu Zhou is not only a great director, but also the helmsman of a long-established Hong Kong film company. He also holds a pivotal position in the Hong Kong film industry.

Not only that, Liu Zhou took over Jiahe with such aggressiveness, like a fierce dragon crossing the river, it seems that he definitely hopes to make a big move.

As long as Jiahe has new projects, they will have work to do and they won't have to live off their past capital.

Don’t be surprised. Even famous stars nowadays don’t have work every year.

As for those popular stars who have no shortage of work, they would not fail to give face to Liu Zhou. They are more accurate in handling human relationships.

So these reporters could see that Cheng Long came with a group of Emperor Entertainment Group artists;

Jet Li came with his wife Lizhi;

This was sent by Zhou Run, who had just returned from a setback in Hollywood;
Even the Four Heavenly Kings, who rarely appear on the same stage in public, came over one after another.

In addition to these people, there are other big and small celebrities in Hong Kong, as well as some important figures in the circle who are not in the front stage.

In fact, what Liu Zhou really values ​​are not these glamorous and beautiful artists, but those who have a say in the circle.

But in order to create momentum, these artists must be invited.

Zou Chongyan personally welcomed the guests at the door, while Liu Zhou entertained the guests in the hall.

After walking around the hall several times, Liu Zhou also got to know some prominent people in Hong Kong.

As the guests arrived, Liu Zhou, as the host, spoke briefly and then stepped down, allowing everyone to communicate freely.

Next, Zou Chongyan will represent Jiahe to communicate and negotiate with these people.

Liu Zhou came to a small banquet hall, where the people he needed to make friends with were the ones he needed to make friends with.

Among them were Liu Zhou’s acquaintances, Emperor Entertainment’s boss Yang, and Media Asia Group’s boss Lin Jianyue, whom Liu Zhou knew.

In addition to these two people, there are also Xiang Huaqiang, the boss of Yongsheng Entertainment Group, and Li Guoxing, the boss of Media Asia Entertainment Group.

These four people are currently the giants remaining in the Hong Kong film industry after years of trials and tribulations, and are also the helmsmen behind the scenes of Hong Kong films.

Currently, 80% of Hong Kong’s film producers are from these companies, and together with Aomen Capital and Silver Capital, they cover almost all of Hong Kong’s film and television capital.

Now with Liu Zhou taking over Jiahe, he will become one of these people.

Among these four people, Liu Zhou was more interested in Xiang Huaqiang and Li Guoxing.

They all have gang backgrounds. Although they have now been cleansed of all charges, the power behind them cannot be underestimated.

Their development processes are different. Yongsheng started out by making movies. In the beginning, they followed the popular movies on the market, but in the end, they didn't expect to grow bigger and bigger.

It outlasted several competitors and finally successfully went public.

Media Asia Entertainment started out by distributing videotapes, and its distribution network spread across Southeast Asia. Later, it gradually got involved in film distribution and then participated in the upstream production process.

It was eventually listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and became a local giant.

"Hello, Xiangsheng. Please take care of me in the future!"

Liu Zhou smiled and attacked Xiang Hua forcefully.

Xiang Huaqiang also smiled and held Liu Zhou's hand, saying:
"Hello, Mr. Liu, you are really young and promising!"

Xiang Huaqiang has a somewhat stern expression, and his smile also gives people a somewhat cold feeling, but this person is indeed someone that Hong Kong movies cannot avoid.

Later, Sammo Hung once said in an interview that among Hong Kong artists, only Stephen Chow lived like a human being in front of him.

Regardless of whether this statement is exaggerated or not, it also shows that this person is a rather domineering person.

Afterwards Liu Zhou also greeted Li Guoxing, and then sat down and chatted with a few people.

When talking about Emperor Entertainment Group's move to the north, Xiang Huaqiang and Li Guoxing seemed very interested and kept asking about related matters.

Only Lin Jianyue seemed to have no interest in this at all.

Liu Zhou knew that Peter Lam was not uninterested in going north, but he was almost losing interest in the film industry.

"In fact, if you really want to invest in the north, you'd better ask Mr. Liu, he is the local boss in the mainland."

Liu Zhou saw several people looking at him and said slowly:

“The mainland is very welcoming to Hong Kong’s filmmakers and film capital, but the prerequisite is that the cooperation must be sincere.

Just like Mr. Yang, if you sincerely cooperate with the mainland, you can make a lot of money.

Moreover, the market in the mainland will get better and better, and more and more people will make money.”

After listening to Liu Zhou's words, both of them were thoughtful.

Although both of them could see that the center of future movies would definitely be in the mainland, they had certain concerns about going north.

Li Guoxing from Meiya is fine, but Xiang Huaqiang’s background is known to many people not only in the circle but also among ordinary people.

Although they have been cleansed, it still cannot change the fact that they were once black.

In the mainland, this is very taboo.

In later generations, the two of them did not go north due to various concerns.

Although the two companies are well-known, the most well-known news about them in later generations is:
Meiya signed a contract with Big Secret to shoot "The Island", while Yongsheng spent a huge amount of money to shoot the bad movie "Legend of the Gods" and promoted Xiang Huaqiang's son Xiang Zuo, but was suspected of money laundering.

After that, the Xiang family members went back to selling goods and participating in variety shows, and it seemed that they had completely given up their film career.

The few of them didn't have a deep conversation afterwards. This time they just wanted to get to know each other first, and there will be many opportunities for them to interact with each other in the future.

The five people came into the hall and immediately became the focus of everyone.

They seemed to adapt to this situation and quickly became friends with the people in the hall.

After all, Liu Zhou was not familiar with these people, and only knew a few of them, so relatively few people came to him.

Liu Zhou was also happy about this. He sat at a table and chatted with Liu Dehua and his newly recruited younger brother Lin Jiadong.

"A Zhou, I think I'll really need your care in the future," Liu Dehua said with a smile.

"You are so popular now, you still need other people's care."

"What are you talking about? No matter how famous you are, you are still an actor, right?"

"Okay, so do you have a schedule early next year?"

When Liu Dehua heard what Liu Zhou said, his eyes suddenly lit up. It was just a joke just now, but he didn't expect that there would be such a pleasant surprise.

"Of course there is. If you invite me, I will turn down all other film offers."

"Is it true? You moved me so much that I almost cried, haha!" Liu Dehua also laughed. Lin Jiadong didn't know what was so funny, but he also smiled a bit dryly but politely.

"Okay, no more jokes. Early next year I'm going to make a new movie, a pure Hong Kong film, so that those flops can have a good look at it, and my Hong Kong colleagues can appreciate it as well."

"You want to make a Hong Kong film? There isn't much of a market for Hong Kong films now, and mainland audiences are a bit tired of them."

"That's because they don't have any good ideas. If they have good ideas, everyone will like them very much. Isn't Infernal Affairs pretty good?"

"Infernal Affairs" did not have high box office in mainland China due to piracy, but it was widely circulated.

This series of movies is very popular among mainland movie fans.

"Ah Zhou, is there a role suitable for Jiadong? It doesn't matter if the role is not too long."

When Lin Jiadong heard Liu Dehua recommending him to Liu Zhou, he straightened his back involuntarily and looked at Liu Zhou with some nervousness and anticipation.

"I haven't finished writing the script yet. Let's wait until it comes out and then I'll look for Mr. Lin if there's a suitable role."

Liu Zhou was indeed not lying. He doesn't know what kind of movie he will make next year, he just has this plan.

"Well, Jiadong is a very good actor, I think he can't be buried."

Andy Lau really thinks highly of Lin Jiadong. Not only does he often introduce resources to him, he also often takes him with him when he makes movies.

Lin Jiadong is also a man of loyalty and righteousness. After becoming famous and winning the Best Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards, he has always stayed with Andy Lau and has never changed jobs.

While the three were chatting, Mrs. Chen came over with two beautiful young women.

"Hello, Mr. Liu. I am Huaqiang's wife and the general manager of Yongsheng Company. I hope I am not disturbing you by coming here."

"Oh, hello Mrs. Chen, it's nothing to bother you, we were just chatting."

Seeing this, Liu Dehua stood up and said:

"Ah Zhou, Mrs. Chen, I'm going to take Jiadong to visit Director Du Qifeng first. I heard that he's planning to make a new gangster movie and there's a role suitable for Jiadong. You guys can talk first."

In fact, Andy Lau and Mrs. Chan are also very familiar with each other, as they often collaborated in the 1990s.

But it seemed that she and Liu Zhou had something to discuss, so she left tactfully.

After Liu Dehua left, Mrs. Chen introduced Liu Zhou:

"Mr. Liu, let me introduce you. This is Zhang Baizhi and this is Lin Xilei. They are both very good actors. Mr. Liu, please consider them if you find suitable roles in the future!"

"No problem. Ms. Zhang and Ms. Lin are popular actresses in Hong Kong. I am looking forward to working with them."

"Why don't you say hello to Mr. Liu? It's your luck to be able to act in Mr. Liu's movie."

The two of them immediately greeted Liu Zhou with a smile on their faces.

In fact, their eyes were already shining when they saw Liu Zhou.

Having been in the entertainment industry for several years, they know how good Liu Zhou is. Besides, they are not the kind of people who are content with what they have.

Mrs. Chen has helped them solve various troubles many times, especially Zhang Baizhi, who made Mrs. Chen very angry.

But Zhang Baizhi is currently the number one female star among the younger generation in Hong Kong, also known as the number one jade girl, and is very popular in both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong.

But to be honest, I don’t know if it’s because he has seen the photos taken by Chen Guanxi, but Liu Zhou just can’t feel that Zhang Baizhi has the temperament of a beautiful girl.

Even if Zhou Huimin, the previous winner of this title, stood next to her now, Liu Zhou still felt that Zhou Huimin might be better in temperament.

Liu Zhou originally thought that Mrs. Chen had something to discuss with him, but he didn't expect that she might just come over to say hello.

After introducing the two women and chatting with them briefly, Mrs. Chen took them away.

Afterwards, Liu Zhou also got to know Wu Siyuan, chairman of the Hong Kong Directors Association.

Although he doesn't make movies anymore, he still has a considerable influence in the Hong Kong film industry. Strictly speaking, it was he who brought Jackie Chan to fame.

The Hong Kong Directors Association may not have much effect in normal times, but it can play an important role in the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Liu Zhou felt that now that he had won Golden Harvest, he wanted to try to change the closed selection system of the Academy Awards.

It is a pity that the Hong Kong Film Awards had been cancelled. If it had been more open-minded, coupled with the strength of Hong Kong films in the 1980s and 1990s, it could definitely have become the top award for Chinese-language films.

It is because of their serious xenophobia that Wanwan's Golden Horse Award has secretly won this title.

But there are too many indescribable things about the Golden Horse Awards, which often make people feel disgusted.

Therefore, Liu Zhou has always been reluctant to participate in the Golden Horse Awards.

Although he knew that there would be great resistance to changing the Academy Awards, Liu Zhou was still prepared to give it a try.

The first thing is to contact some influential Hong Kong filmmakers who are not so xenophobic, and Wu Siyuan is one of them.

As time passed, the banquet came to an end and the guests left one after another.

Liu Zhou and Zou Chongyan said hello and left, but just as they reached the door of the banquet hall, a figure suddenly jumped out.

"Mr. Liu, are you ready to go back?"

Liu Zhou looked closely and found that it was Zhang Baizhi.

"Yes, what can you do?"

"If you are not busy, Mr. Liu can take a look at my acting skills. Then you will be more likely to think of me when you choose a role."

Liu Zhou looked at this bold Hong Kong beauty. Her big eyes were flickering around, which was indeed very confusing.

After a long while, Liu Zhou said:
"Does Mrs. Chen know about this?"

"She doesn't know, but I can make my own decisions about my own affairs!"

"I remember your student costume in Stephen Chow's movie The King of Comedy was quite pretty."

Hearing Liu Zhou's words, Zhang Baizhi's eyes lit up and he said:

"Really? I haven't played a schoolgirl for a long time, but if Mr. Liu wants to watch it, that's fine. I can also play many different roles, such as a nurse, a flight attendant, and a Hong Kong police officer. Do you want to watch it, Mr. Liu?"

"You didn't bring any clothes?"

"It's a small matter. I can ask my assistant to get it."

"No problem. I'll go back first. Come back after you get the clothes. Here's the room card."

"Okay, Mr. Liu."

After saying that, the two of them left. At this time, a figure walked out from the corner. It was Lin Xilei.

She looked at Zhang Baizhi who had got there first, and her teeth were chattering.

Of course Liu Zhou knew nothing about this and went straight back to his room to take a shower.

Since this beautiful lady from Hong Kong was so proactive, Liu Zhou certainly wouldn't refuse.

After all, she is a big shot in Hong Kong's entertainment industry and a famous actress. It must feel very good to ask her to come over and relax with you.

And it can be seen that she is already very good at playing now.

It was just right for Liu Zhou to give her some guidance so that she could have more experience in shaping various professional roles.

(End of this chapter)