A food stall somewhere in Hong Kong.

Under the cover of night, among the brightly lit high-rise buildings, the aroma floats in the air in the small shop, and the sound of diners chatting can be heard one after another, giving it a full flavor of life.

Inside the shop, a small table that could seat nearly ten people was filled with a group of middle-aged men in football uniforms, who appeared to be having a midnight snack after playing football.

If there are viewers who are familiar with Hong Kong film and television dramas, they will find that this group of people are well-known veteran actors in Hong Kong.

In fact, this scene is very common in the store. There is a football field nearby, and the older generation of Hong Kong actors often organize football games there. This seafood food stall has become their "gathering point".

This situation is very common in Hong Kong. Being an actor is just a profession, the audience doesn’t have much filter, and their life after work is similar to that of ordinary people.

In recent years, with the gradual decline of Hong Kong films, the market is no longer comparable to that of 20 years ago. For many veteran actors, it is normal for them to have no films to shoot. With more free time, they started playing football.

Among them, Guan Yaoqiang, who played "Han Ziang" in "The Wandering Earth" directed by Ye Zhiqiu, is also one of them.

Guan Yaoqiang started out as a comedian and appeared in many Hong Kong film and television productions in the 80s and 90s. Although he was always a supporting role, he has accumulated a lot of experience over the years.

Even so, he still had no work to do in recent years until "The Wandering Earth".

In fact, when the crew first found him through his agent, Guan Yaoqiang agreed immediately without much thought and without even reading the script.

After all, for a small role like his, it's good enough to have a role to play, and there's no room for being picky.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was lively.

"It was fun tonight! We beat them 3:1. Let's see if they can still act arrogantly!"

"Wow, that ghost guy on the other side slid and tackled me, my feet are all blue."

"I'm helping you get revenge. That foreigner was just baring his teeth, but he was actually very weak. He got scared when his opponent kicked him."

“Hahaha, Brother Hao practiced hard qigong when he was filming, I didn’t expect to use it now.”

"There are two young guys on the other side, but they still can't beat us old guys."

"Brother La, don't tell me, I don't have any movies to shoot but I do exercise and play soccer every day, and I feel better than when I was young."

As everyone talked, they inevitably talked about filming.

Someone looked at Luo Zhaoliang, the "movie king" who had retired from the screen for more than three years, and asked, "Brother Liang, you order."

"I heard that a good crew was looking for you, but then there was no further news. Do you have no plans to make a comeback?"

Luo Zhaoliang just turned 50 this year. He has won the Hong Kong "Best Actor" award twice and is a real talent for acting. At this moment, he is peeling a prawn and putting it into his mouth.

"Don't mention it." After swallowing the food in his mouth, Luo Zhaoliang said: "I also want to make a comeback, but I have read the script and I really can't act it out."

"It's not just an old story, it doesn't even have the most basic logic, it treats the audience as fools. If I really want to make a comeback, I still want to make a few more good works, otherwise it's better not to make any, so as not to be laughed at at my age."

Everyone agreed with Luo Zhaoliang's complaints.

They are all insiders in the industry and have been paying attention to changes in the market. To be honest, they feel that Hong Kong films have not made much progress in recent years, and the level has even regressed.

It's not that we "respect the past and despise the present". In fact, in the 80s and 90s, Hong Kong films were full of a "rough" atmosphere, and there were many shoddy works. Many actors started acting after attending assembly line training courses, and there was no such thing as "craftsmanship" or "artistic pursuit".

But to be honest, there were many innovative story scripts at that time, and the market was active; the actors were also dedicated. When filming costume dramas, they would practice horse riding; when filming police and gangster films, they would practice disassembling guns and playing with daggers. Everything was a thriving scene.

Today, this scene no longer exists in the declining Hong Kong film industry.

People are nostalgic. After experiencing the glory of Hong Kong's film and television industry, and contrasting it with the current depression, everyone sighs.

Luo Zhaoliang saw it clearly and said, "It's the general trend, there's nothing we can do about it."

"People outside say that the decline of Hong Kong films is due to the impact of Hollywood and foreign blockbusters. I actually have a different view. These are superficial issues. The essence is a problem of funding and talent."

"If you don't believe me, look at the mainland. A movie made there can make 30 billion or even 50 billion at the box office. It's not inferior to Hollywood at all. Not only has it not been defeated, it has also beaten Hollywood to a pulp."

“Why can’t Hong Kong do it? It lacks funds and talents!”

"The production cost of a movie here can be as high as 5 million or 6 million. What kind of concept is that? It is impossible in Hong Kong. The highest-grossing Hong Kong movie at the local box office is less than 2 million, which is less than one-third of the cost of other movies."

"The bigger the market, the bigger the scale. The higher the wages will be for actors and production. I asked a photographer friend from the previous crew, and he has been stationed in the mainland crew for five years."

"He told me that I could participate in a blockbuster movie with an investment of several hundred million yuan, the salary would be several times higher than before, and I could fly all over the country. Would you go?"

"People always want to move up, so anyone with some talent will go to the mainland. Without talent, the decline of Hong Kong films is inevitable."

Luo Zhaoliang's words caused everyone to fall silent.

Someone sighed and said, "This is indeed true."

"I've been to the mainland to film movies, and it's really different from 30 years ago. Hong Kong movies used to be better, but now people are much better than us in terms of scale, professionalism, and everything else."

"I advise everyone, if you can't find a way out in the Hong Kong market, you might as well submit your resume to mainland drama crews, maybe there will be another way out."

During the meal, someone suddenly remembered something, looked at Guan Yaoqiang and asked, "Oh, right, there is a fresh example right now."

"Uncle Qiang, didn't you just star in a big movie in the mainland a while ago? It's about to be released now, right? How do you feel about it?"

Under everyone's gaze, Guan Yaoqiang took a sip of water and said, "I'm speaking the truth."

"Before I accepted the role, I was not confident about 'Chinese science fiction', but after reading the script, my opinion changed completely. After filming the role, I felt that many so-called European and American science fictions could not compare to ours."

"It's no exaggeration to say that after filming for half my life, this role and this work are the most satisfying in my career."

"However." Guan Yaoqiang thought for a moment and added: "Rather than saying that mainland films have made progress, I think the most important thing is the director Ye Zhiqiu."

"His abilities and talents are unique among the young people I have ever met. He is truly a dragon among men."

Guan Yaoqiang's high evaluation surprised everyone.

Ye Zhiqiu and the others had naturally heard of him, and they also knew that several of his works had achieved good box office results.

But "Chinese science fiction beats foreign science fiction"? This sentence already sounds very sci-fi...

But precisely because of this, many people have become quite interested in the movie "The Wandering Earth".

In the crowd, the "movie king" Luo Zhaoliang, who was listening very attentively, seemed to be thinking about something.