Hong Kong film professionals head north for work
Bigger box office means more commercial blockbusters made on the mainland
When Hong Kong director Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting first went to the mainland in 1989 to make her film Eight Taels of Gold ishe found an industry very different from that in Hong Kong.
Some mainland production staff needed to take an afternoon nap and she had to call the police to maintain order among a crowd of people who gathered to watch a scene being shot.
“There were some vans who made money by taking the local public to watch the movie making as many of them had never seen film making in their lives.” she said. “They applauded any car chase or action, which gave us trouble when recording the sound.”
At the time movie making in Hong Kong, dubbed the Hollywood of the East, was enjoying a golden era that nurtured a steady stream of talent ranging from directors to cinematographer and actors. The mainland film industry had not yet developed and Hong Kong directors only went north to make movies with mainland storylines.
Cheung said she had to take a lot of Hong Kong production staff to the mainland because of the lack of local talent.
They applauded any car chase or action, which gave us trouble when recording the sound
“We had hired some mainland staff but they were not that efficient and some had to take afternoon naps after their lunch break, which was the practice in mainland China at that time,” she said.
