Shaw Brothers Info

Hong Kong Information Technology and Broadcast Department and Land Department officially announced the Tseung Kwan O Movie City went to the Shaw's led Hong Kong Movie City for HK$78 million.
On the surface, the Golden Harvest group indeed needed the property more. The reason is its studio's lease has already come to term and it needs to find another location for its headquarters.
The 6 organization union of Hong Kong Movie City is reportedly headed by Shaw's. Since the group was formed in such a short time, the shares each organization holds were unclear.
Currently Hong Kong film is in extremely difficult times, even resources to make movies with are lacking. Golden Harvest has already greatly reduced production. Luckily its 50 million investment with Centro, The StormRiders, performed well at the box office. Otherwise insiders would worry about whether Golden Harvest would continue to produce Hong Kong film.
As for the 6 organizations of Hong Kong Movie City, Shaw's produces only a handful of films a year. The more active one is Wong Jing, who has claimed that he would make 40 movies during this period. Wan Ah and Mei Ah maintain their 10 films per year figure. The rest made less than 10 films and are quietly waiting for the market to return.
Now that Hong Kong films are leaning toward low budget production, the need for a studio isn't great. Just the opposite commercials use studios more.
As for post production, film printing, sound editing, and computer special effect companies all lack work. They try to reduct expenses to survive the bitter economic winter.
Creating at this time a Hong Kong Movie City, which will spend 600 million to 1 billion to build a 38,000 square meter Movie City with a 20,000 square meter intelligent and all computerized post production center, a 250 seat stadium theater, 5 modern studios which will occupy 77,000 square meter, is a really tough investment.
The first stage production will last 3 years and cost 400 million. If the 400 million is divided into a 3 year investment on film production, each year there will be 133 million available which could make 13 productions that cost 10 million each, or 20 productions that cost 6 million, nearly 1/3 of the current Hong Kong film production amount.
From a more optimistic point of view, the six large organizations that invested in Hong Kong Movie City naturally will continue to make Hong Kong movies and use these films to digest Hong Kong Movie City's investment. Otherwise there is no way to return a profit.
Is Shaw's, having focused on TVB during the last few years, returning to set the film world ablaze amidst a depressed market? Run Run Shaw (Siu Yut Fu) had the foresight to avoid this Hong Kong film depression, film people naturally hope he would lend a helping hand and again become the film tycoon of Hong Kong.
Golden Harvest's loss might actually turn out to be a good thing. Unless large swordplay or costume productions become mainstream (unlikely, where will all the resource come from), the Movie City will be useless.
What made people wonder is news that TVB will soon move from the Clearwater Bay Shaw's Studio to Tseung Kwan O (not the Hong Kong Movie City property). Shaw's now also have the new Hong Kong Movie City. What will Shaw's do with the now available Clearwater Bay studio?
The TVB loaned Shaw's Studio wasn't enough, but Shaw's didn't rent the still available location to TVB and instead wanted TVB to mass migrate like it did when it moved from Broadcast Road to Shaw's to Tseung Kwan O again. Sir Shaw must have other major plans.
Comparing to Shaw's Movie City, the 78 million Hong Kong Movie City really is a small potato.
No matter what, any investment in Hong Kong film is still worth being happy about. - Kwok Hin Jing

Translated by Wolverine http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/203

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Author: Black Tauna blktauna @ shawstudios . com
Last Updated: 9-18 1998