Chapter 165: Bedrock Corporation

Wilson Yip had established the entire tone of the film around the blurred boundaries between justice and human nature.

He also intended for the hand-to-hand combat between the characters to reflect similar tragic outcomes characterized by karmic retribution, cause and effect, and tightly linked consequences.

Therefore, the two most crucial and anticipated duel scenes in the film had to resonate with this established tone. Only through scenes of brutal and fierce slaughter could the audience truly experience the realistic tragedy born of darkness and chaos.

This was yet another characteristic and charm of Hong Kong police thrillers: realism.

The endings of such films were usually grim, mostly culminating in mutual destruction, with blood flowing across the screen.

Hong Kong police thrillers disdained offering anyone sweet, glorious, magnificent, or grand dreams. They did not provide superheroes, nor did they bestow protagonist halos.

There were only vulnerable flesh and blood, colliding head-on as they marched down the path of life and death.

Wilson Yip likewise hoped that his new film would act like a pair of cruel, invisible hands peeling away the skin of illusion, exposing the raw and gritty reality of bare bones, forcing the audience before the screen to watch and then swallow it whole.

Through this crew experience, Liu Qingshan had learned a great deal, particularly deepening his understanding of realist cinema.

Before he could fully digest and internalize these lessons, however, he was interrupted by Shi Hui, who was walking toward him.

She held a mobile phone in her hand, and the caller was Yang Wan-cheng.

"Shanzi, Tri-Friend Film Company has sent word through someone. I'm not sure if there's any need for me to tell you about it!"

"Uncle Yang, please go ahead and tell me. I can handle whatever the situation might be!"

"It's not really that serious, but their words reeked of disdain for you. Here is what happened: Fat Wah, one of the three bosses of Tri-Friend Film Company, had someone relay his dissatisfaction. He claimed you were merely a nobody and that he couldn't be bothered to entangle himself with a newcomer, so he came straight to me to call me to account!"

"Hahaha, that must mean the message I asked Big Brother Pao to pass along has worked!"

"I figured as much! Well, what are you planning to do? They haven't been giving you a hard time on set, have they?"

"Hahaha, Uncle Yang, if you don't ask a question, fine, but when you do, it comes as a whole string of them!"

"I'm just worried about you. What, are you already finding your Uncle Yang naggy?"

Liu Qingshan quickly corrected his attitude. "Not at all. You're an elder, and I completely understand your affection for the younger generation!"

"Since you don't mind, answer me quickly!"

"Alright, I'll be completely honest. Excluding Tri-Friend Film Company from my future business partners is an absolute must. Actually, I anticipated this outcome because I just gave Sammo Hung a script two days ago, and my only condition was that there must be no involvement with Tri-Friend Film Company!"

"You've written another script? How come I didn't know? Shanzi, this wasn't quite playing fair on your part!"

"Hold on, hold on, Uncle Yang, how could I ever forget you? If you want to hear my plan, the script I gave Big Brother Pao is called *Fatal Move*. The reason I didn't consult you in advance is that I don't intend to get involved in this film; I simply want to lend him a hand. Besides, Khing Wong Pictures just invested in *Kung Fu*."

"Do you think I, Yang Wan-cheng, don't have the money to invest in two movies at once?"

"Of course not! I was planning to collaborate with you on my next project, but since the script isn't finished yet, I hadn't brought it up!"

"You mean there's another one? And you're going to star in it?"

"Yes, that one is called *Flash Point*, and it will very likely be the sequel to *SPL: Sha Po Lang*."

Yang Wan-cheng fell silent on the other end of the line. After a full dozen seconds, he spoke again: "I'm starting to understand what you mean. You want to use the sequel to *SPL* to slap Tri-Friend Film Company right across the face, don't you?"

"As expected of Uncle Yang, your perspective is always so penetrating!"

"I know you're thinking I'm a cunning old fox. Cut the crap and tell me your plans!"

"That film will be a major production, though not quite as big as *Kung Fu*, with a budget of around thirty million. I want Khing Wong Pictures to be the sole investor, or perhaps I'll invest a portion myself!"

"Don't even think about it. It's only thirty million, and you still want to chip in?"

"I want to forge *Flash Point* into a classic among classics, and I plan to invite some top international martial arts experts to participate..."

Liu Qingshan detailed his plan at length.

Having finally grasped the situation, Yang Wan-cheng's spirits rose again, and he naturally showered Liu Qingshan with praise.

After hanging up, Liu Qingshan went straight to find Sammo Hung.

Upon learning about Tri-Friend Film Company's reaction, Sammo Hung wore an indignant expression. "Fat Wah is messing around! I'm going to call him right now and give him a piece of my mind!"

Liu Qingshan quickly stopped him. "Right now, I just want to finish shooting the current film smoothly. Besides, he was merely venting to Boss Yang. They are local tycoons; surely they're allowed to talk tough after being provoked by an outsider like me?"

"That's still no excuse to call Boss Yang! That is a clear declaration of war against Khing Wong!"

"Surely not? Boss Yang is extremely shrewd; why would he disrupt company protocol over such a trivial matter? My guess is that this Fat Wah's true purpose is to drive a wedge between me and Khing Wong."

"Hmm, that is a possibility."

"Big Brother Pao, when I handed you the script yesterday, I made it clear that that project must never involve Tri-Friend Film Company."

"Ah, I finally get it. Fat Wah must be feeling jealous. To tell you the truth, I was so excited after getting the script yesterday that I called Chairman Li of Rock Corporation. Tri-Friend Film Company must have caught wind of it!"

Rock Corporation was a subsidiary of Rock International Variety Group, a powerful and comprehensive entertainment conglomerate. Rock Corporation stood shoulder to shoulder with Khing Wong Pictures, China Star Movie, and Golden Harvest, collectively known as the Four Heavenly Kings of the Hong Kong film industry.

Chairman Li was Li Xiangze, the chairman of Rock Corporation, whose status matched that of Yang Wan-cheng.

The difference was that Li Xiangze had once been a veteran movie star in Hong Kong, with countless works throughout his life.

"What did Chairman Li say? Handing it over to Rock Corporation would be great too. I'm a fan of Chairman Li; I grew up watching his movies," Liu Qingshan nodded and said.

Sammo Hung smiled. "Chairman Li knows you, too. As soon as he heard it was your script, he told me to send it over without a second thought."

"Was the old gentleman satisfied?"

"More than satisfied—he admires the script a great why. He only asked why you aren't starring in it."

"And how did you answer?"

"What else could I say? I just told him your schedule was full!"

"The investment for that film will be around twenty million. Big Brother Pao, I'll say it again: if Rock Corporation feels there's too much risk, I can invest a portion myself!"

In reality, he couldn't scrape together that much money right now, even if it was just thirty percent.

The purpose of saying this was simply to implicitly affirm the promising future of his script.

"Haha, you're out of the running. That very night, Chairman Li made an appointment with Third Uncle to co-invest."

The Third Uncle in Sammo Hung's reference was Chow Cheong-wui, one of the three giants of Golden Harvest and one of the three co-investors in *Kung Fu*.

*Kung Fu* was ultimately co-invested by Stephen Chow himself, China Film Group from the mainland, and Golden Harvest. This matter had caused a huge stir in Hong Kong recently, which was why Li Xiangze of Rock Corporation knew of Liu Qingshan's existence.

Since the script for *Kung Fu* had been created by Liu Qingshan, Chow Cheong-wui decided to invest in the script for *Fatal Move* within a single night.