Local film production companies are concerned about the menace of foreign movies, which have undermined their market position. Local films received an unhealthy setback in the box office last summer as attendance of foreign films saw marked increases.
Jurassic Park brought over $50 million to United International Pictures, while Cliffhanger and Last Action Hero saw box office receipts of about $20 million each. For imported films in a Chinese community, they had a good harvest. "It's really good if the gross can exceed $1 million for a foreign film," said Hong Kong film critic Paul Fonoroff.
The situation was different before last summer. Local films were doing just fine, thank you very much. The 10 top grossing films of Hong Kong in 1992 were all local films. The talk of the town, Basic Instinct, ranked only 12th.
Mr. John Dykes, entertainment editor of the South China Morning Post, put the issue in perspective. "Over the last three or four years, local films were getting more and more successful in the box office.....Foreign films seemed to be dying out in Hong Kong, as film distributors had no confidence in Western movies. Suddenly it changed. That's very interesting. Last summer the situation turned around drastically with a number of Western films making very good money," said Mr. Dykes.
However, Mr. Gordon Chan, the director of Stephen Chiau's Fight Back to School, held a different view. "It's not surprising at all. Both Western and local films are of low quality, actually. But in an atmosphere of global movie regression, the poorly produced Hong Kong films will surely suffer a severe blow."
According to Mr. Chan, the low quality local movies are produced as a result of the "greediness" of the local market. "Once a director has discovered a kind of film that makes money, other producers start to make cheap copies."
Mr. Dykes agreed. ''Producers are making the same kind of plots, so the audience soon lose their interest. Worse still, certain stars seem to appear in every movie. Lin Ching-hsia appeared in 13 movies in less than a year," said Mr. Dykes.
This explained why films with superstars like Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok had exceptional box office receipts.
Mr. Fonoroff agreed. "Last year we could see some trends in the market. The first was heroic films, then came the 'mou-lai-tau' and finally, there's a full bucket of 'Wong Fay Hung' and old-costume dramas."
He admitted that foreign films have filled the gap created by local productions. "Audiences may get tired when a particular trend dominates in the market. When they have no choice, they just turn to foreign films," said Mr. Fonoroff.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dykes believed that local audiences will support local productions unless they have no choice.
Mr. Chan also warned, "The situation really depends on local films. If Cantonese films are strong enough, there's no need to be afraid of any foreign films."
The emphasis on visual effects by local film producers also contributes to corny plots. "In the past, Hong Kong movies emphasized visual effects. Later the focus moved to plots. Now, the visual excitement is back again. . . , but the technique is not good at all," said film director Mr. Chan.
Added Mr. Dykes: "The script is less emphasized for the time being. But a good script is really what we want."
Mr. Chan believed that both the story line and the production technique of Western films are "far more advanced". "Jurassic Park, a family drama, or the hi-tech Last Action Hero, are films that seldom appear in the local market. That's why they work," said he.
Besides the boilerplate plots and low technical standards, rising production costs also have hit the fragile local film market. "The wages of stars are getting extremely high, while the profits plummet due to a poor market," said Mr. Dykes.
Mr. Fonoroff explained that the stagnant market led to a fall in investment by local movie producers. Hence, the number of good movies produced dwindled, and low taste movies were produced. "This further weakens the market. It's just a vicious cycle." Worse still, there is a trend that some distributors put out shelved movies, which were produced one to two years ago. Only a few of them got a satisfactory gross. "Actually there is a side effect for this. Most of the shelved films are of poor quality, and they gave a bad impression to the audience," said Mr. Fonoroff.
According to Mr. Chan, there has been a change in the audience, too. "The audience is now more mature and smarter. The major audience, coming from the lower class---the so-called `sugar-cane biters'---are now capable of understanding the subtitles of Western movies. They now have a choice," said Mr. Chan.
To hold onto the falling tides of the local film production market, film directors have different strategies. "To cope with the stagnant market, there are directors whose chief goal is to assure the box office. They produce obscene movies and treat audiences as fools. At the same time, there are promising directors who are innovative and willing to explore new story lines. They make impressive films. Potential does exist," said Mr. Chan.
Finding out the right potential could mean salvation. "Category III movies can't be the salvation for sure. It's very ironic. Some new story lines did give some strong films at first, but they have been exploited now," said Mr. Dykes.
Long queues outside cinemas for film tickets usually occur when foreign blockbusters are on the marquee.
In a recent speech, film director Cheung Chi Leung said, "The audience are now asking for more romantic and sentimental films, like Sleepless in Seattle and The Wedding Banquet, which are refreshing and comfortable." Said Mr. Dykes: "We have not got enough of that kind. . . . I think the market has to be slowed down and has to start again from the very beginning.''
Mr. Chan said, "Conscience and sincerity are needed to produce a movie. Movies are neither commercials nor selling products. The formula for a money-making film does not work at all."
Reviewing the film market, Mr. Peter Choy of Golden Harvest Film Company revealed their survival strategies. ''We select good films for distribution. After a certain period of time, we'll distribute movies of a new style.'' Mr. Choy did not see Western movies as the source of the problem in the local film market. According to Mr. Choy, the total gross at the box office last year was $9.2 billion, of which 70 percent to 75 percent belongs to local production. "Local films have a larger market when compared to Western ones. Foreign films will not be a serious threat actually. Films like Jurassic Park are just exceptions," said Mr. Choy.
Lurking behind the trend for big productions is another kind of film. Films such as Like Water for Chocolate and The Yen Family are films enjoying great fame. They became major topics of discussion in some sectors. "These are examples of `arty' films that Hong Kong lacks," Mr. Dykes said.
Said Mr. Fonoroff: "They're low cost films, but quite profitable. Yet, they cannot compete with local productions under the big production trend as they don't appeal to the masses. The circuits have no confidence on them.'' Mr. Fonoroff agreed that this kind of "arty" film does appeal to the youth nowadays. The young are a major group of movie-viewers in Hong Kong. And tertiary students have strong views on the local movie market:
"I think the market is in a very desperate state. There are only blue (obscene) or bloody films, or movies on violent crimes," said Mr. Lau Chi Shan of Baptist College. "I prefer Western films to local ones because there is a guarantee on the cast and the plot, and the production is better. For me, local films are less attractive," he said.
Mr. Eric Lau of The Chinese University also favours Western movies. "The Category III films are disgusting, and every movie tells the same story....I'd like to watch movies with attractive plots. That's why I like foreign films. They've got a great variety of story lines."