Bruce Lee came back to Hong Kong to make the first movie. The box record of “The Big Boss” was beyond expectation. It not only strengthened Bruce’s interest in movies, but also his confidence in directorship and in establishing his own company.
Under this circumstance, he worked with Raymond Chow. They organized a film company. It was called Concorde Production Company.
In choosing Raymond Chow to be his partner, Bruce said, “He is smart, knows about administration and production of film, but in boxing, I am better than him.”
According to Bruce’s idea, he would take up the work of screen-play, actor and martial arts director; and Raymond Chow wou be in charge of production and administration.
A gentleman, though loves money, takes it in a proper way
As to the work of Concorde Company, Bruce Lee said, “I don’t dare to say that the work of Concorde Company will be the best work. It is only a sentence of publicity. Whether it is a good film, the audience has to decide for themselves. But I can say this. I will try my best to make it.
My demand is high. As to the box record, I don’t care. I emphasize quality and not result. In making movie, the thing that I like most is the process of making the movie, and not the box record. And I believe that my film is not bad. I’m not kidding.”
“How do you look at money?”
Bruce Lee said, “I am told that good opportunities are few, I have to make good use of them to make some money. But I think differently. If I make movie carelessly today, I can earn a lot of money. Someone is willing to pay HK$10,000 (about US$2,000) for me to take a picture with a wristwatch on.
Others ask me to do a day of publicity, and ask me to give them a price. But I have rejected their proposals, because they are meaningless. If the publicity is meaningful, I am willing to do it. I don’t mean that I do not like money. If one says that he does not like money, he lies. Life is practical. But I think, history is like a mirror. Later, when I stand before the mirror, I will see that Bruce Lee has such an ugly face. What meaning is this?”
“What kind of publicity is meaningful?”
Bruce said, “For example, someone is maltreated because of a certain matter, and I can say something to help him, I will do it for him. It is meaningful.”
The rough draft of the script of the first work of Concorde Company, “The Way of the Dragon”, was finished in about a month’s time. In the morning, Bruce would come back to his office in Golden Harvest Company, and lock himself up to write the script.
But he did not actually write it himself, he only spoke it out and recorded it in a tape-recorder. It was all in English. Then, the tape was translated into an English script, and later, into a Chinese script.
Obviously, because of his education in United States, he could express himself more freely in English than in Chinese. For he was at the same time the script-writer, the director, the actor and the martial arts director. Although the script was only a rough draft, it was not necessary to make any great changes.