Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 277 Rosamund Kwan and Michelle Reis Amidst Jealousy? "Fifty First Dates" Takes the Lead!
"I don't like what you're saying. What do you mean by fake news? Is it possible that there's just a problem with the statistics? Or that the data is outdated?"
This was just a minor mistake at work. We shouldn't be so harsh on our staff; after all, they're just employees.

We should be magnanimous.

Ma Xun did indeed nod in agreement with the 'fake news' that Chung Chu-hung had mentioned.

Having admitted it, they planned to use the tactic of releasing false information.

However, he also gave a fairly reasonable 'explanation'.

Let's not play the temporary worker card; let's just say there's a problem with the statistics, and that'll be the end of it.

Of course, this requires the cooperation of Golden Harvest.

The good news is that Golden Harvest, Hong Kong's largest cinema chain, can make this fake news a success if they cooperate.

The bad news is...

“Mr. Ma, why should Jiahe cooperate with you? Don’t forget, Big Brother and Jiahe have a very good relationship.”

If anyone else heard what Cherie Chung said, they would probably be completely taken aback.

Yes, need I say more about the relationship between Jiahe and Big Brother Long?

Back then, my elder brother Long and Mr. Ho Kwun-cheung were godfather and godson, their relationship was even better than that of biological father and son.

Even though Mr. Raymond Chow is no longer with us, surely Brother Lung should still remember our family's legacy and the affection we have for him.

Furthermore, even though Jackie Chan has successfully broken into Hollywood, he will still come back to make Hong Kong films.

The latest one is "The Accidental Spy," which is a very impressive big-budget production.

Simply put, the eldest brother dragon travels all over the world and fights in many countries.

The box office results were also quite good.

So, Ma Xun, aren't you just dreaming?
But Ma Xun smiled.

"Mrs. Zhong, you might be able to fool others with these words, but if you're trying to fool me, then you're really underestimating me."

Before, I might have believed that Golden Harvest and the elder brother had a good relationship, but now... haha, don't you know what's going on with this movie, *The Accidental Spy*?

Ma Xun's question made Cherie Chung laugh as well.

"Alright, Mr. Ma, please tell us about the situation with this movie."

She is setting questions, but she is not setting questions.

Ma Xun said with a smile: "It's very simple. Although this movie looks like it did well at the box office, with 4000 million in mainland China and 3000 million in Hong Kong, its performance overseas can be described as quite disastrous."

This is publicly available data.

As for the investment situation of this movie, I will of course use publicly available data.

In other words, the initial budget for "The Accidental Spy" was HK$120 million, according to publicly available data.

But later, news of various cost overruns emerged. Although there was no concrete data, the film was touring the world.

I estimate it will cost at least 200 million!

A film with an investment of 200 million, but its box office revenue did not exceed 100 million Hong Kong dollars at most.

Do I even need to tell you how badly Jiahe lost money?

Therefore, I'm certain that the relationship between my elder brother and Jiahe has completely fallen out!

Upon hearing this, Cherie Chung couldn't help but clap softly, "You're amazing!"

That's right, that's the reality!
Jiahe and her elder brother Long have broken up; Ma Xun is absolutely certain of this.

The Accidental Spy was the last film they collaborated on.

Because the losses were so severe, they immediately turned against each other.

In fact, there wasn't much of a familial bond between the eldest brother, Lung, and Golden Harvest anymore, since Mr. Raymond Chow had already passed away.

In fact, the cost overrun of "The Accidental Spy" may very well have been deliberately orchestrated by Big Brother Lung.

His current film salary is extremely high, tens of millions of US dollars, and as long as he says one word to Golden Harvest, his salary will not be reduced.

Then Jiahe would definitely overspend and lose a fortune.

Of course, this is just speculation by Ma Xun, but it is more likely that his elder brother Long deliberately targeted Jiahe.

Let's not speculate anymore, let's just get back to the present.

"I believe that even without my involvement, Golden Harvest would still want to stir up some trouble."

These words made Chung Chu-hung even happier; she had only wanted to test Ma Xun.

He's still as amazing as ever.

In fact, Ma Xun made his plan because he saw how the movie "The Accidental Spy" made Golden Harvest lose a fortune. Otherwise, why would he have traveled all the way to Hong Kong to do something that was impossible?

At this point, what is Cherie Chung's attitude?
"Of course I can help you, and besides, you already know everything. I can't lie to you at all. But... this child in my belly..."

Ma Xun smiled after hearing this, "Jiahe is actually already discussing the sale, right? I heard before that Lin Jianyue had this plan. Also, there is a technology company in Taiwan that wants to acquire a portion of the shares. I feel that the Taiwanese company probably wants to make an investment and then do some copyright-related things."

Mrs. Zhong really wanted to applaud Ma Xun again, because he was truly amazing.

He had already investigated all these matters thoroughly, which is the proper attitude and effort one should have when doing business.

Ma Xun is indeed doing so. He's preparing for this summer's box office battle, and this time, his formidable opponent is none other than Jackie Chan's film, "Rush Hour 2".

Although he was confident from the start, he still did a lot of work and gathered a lot of intelligence in order to achieve victory.

These intelligence sources... included Li Jiaxin, Guan Zhilin, and others.

Lin Jianyue had always been eyeing Jiahe. His purpose in joining the anti-Jiahe alliance was actually similar to Ma Xun's.

They also wanted to cripple this former Hong Kong film kingpin before acquiring him.

However, Lin Chien-yueh was unlucky. Jiahe was preparing to join forces with Acer, an electronics company in Taiwan.

Ma Xun had heard about this in the original timeline, but Acer was, after all, an IT company and had not truly taken over completely.

To put it bluntly, Golden Harvest took the opportunity to prolong its existence for a while.

Then now...

"Taiwanese companies can only save Golden Harvest temporarily, but they can't really solve the problem. I am the one who can save Golden Harvest. How about this, if the acquisition is successful, then of course you will get a share, and you can become the new leader of Golden Harvest in the future."

Upon hearing Ma Xun's words, Chung Chu-hung's smile was even more beautiful than a flower.

“I knew I hadn’t misjudged you; you’re definitely a good father.”

Mrs. Zhong's words were full of implications.

very good.

Ma Xun needs this kind of attitude from her.

But then, Ma Xun felt Chung Chu-hung's stockings rubbing against his calves.

"Is it stable now?"

"Of course it's stable."

"But I still don't want any accidents to happen."

"You really are... never mind."

Ma Xun had essentially rejected them; after all, he was still quite cautious.

Mrs. Chung should just obediently give birth to the child and then wait to become the CEO of Golden Harvest.

In fact, as of now, Golden Harvest's market value is not much left.

With Ma Xun's capabilities, he wouldn't need to take out a bank loan to complete the acquisition.

However, borrowing money from banks to make acquisitions is considered an unspoken rule in the industry.

Try to borrow money if possible.

Of course, it's still unknown when Golden Harvest will truly make the decision to sell itself.

However, judging from the current development trend, it won't last much longer.

In short, Golden Harvest will definitely help Ma Xun with his film "50 First Dates".

However, there are still details involved.

Based on the release date, "Rush Hour 2" will be released in Hong Kong at the end of July.

"8 First Dates" is scheduled to be released in mainland China in August.

If the two films were to compete against each other, Ma Xun would inevitably have to bring forward the release of this film.

However, if it's released earlier, then in the main market of mainland China, the release dates of "50 First Dates" and "Rush Hour 2" seem to be quite different.

The release date for "Rush Hour 2" in Hong Kong is different from that in mainland China.

Generally speaking, a one-week difference in availability is considered pretty good, a two-week difference is still considered a competitor, and a difference of more than that is not ideal.

In other words, these two films should be released in mainland China at least within a short period of time.

When you're far behind, you don't feel like you have a rival anymore, and Ma Xun is determined to go head-to-head with this blockbuster this time!
What should I do?
Mrs. Zhong noticed this very carefully and offered a reminder, to which Ma Xun gave a rather interesting suggestion.

"The reason why I must make the movie 'First Love' win is also related to a big plan. That is, this movie is a pilot film for the theatrical release system. If it can achieve high box office and beat a blockbuster like 'Rush Hour 2', then the reform of the theatrical release system will definitely be accelerated!"
Conversely, I can also take advantage of this pilot reform of the cinema chain system!

In other words, the film "First Love" will have a wide-ranging preview screening in theaters across the country at the end of July.

There's a good reason for this preview screening: to put pressure on the nationwide cinema chain reform!

it is good!
That's a brilliant idea!
It's perfectly legitimate, and it also allows for a sneak attack, essentially giving the opponent a surprise attack!
This whole plan is absolutely perfect!

Chung Chor-hung couldn't help but applaud him again.

Who can possibly defeat him?

……

As time goes by, Hong Kong's summer movie season has entered its peak period.

However, "Shaolin Soccer" truly stands out in this release window.

It looks like it's about to reach HK$6000 million at the box office.

6000 million! That's a new box office record.

Meanwhile, news also came from Japan.

Shaolin Soccer has surpassed 20 billion yen at the box office!
This is truly remarkable, because even in the current Japanese film market, very few of their own live-action films can achieve this level of box office success. Such outstanding results naturally drove the Hong Kong media wild, who felt that Hong Kong cinema was experiencing a resurgence.

We're finally emerging from this slump.

Then, we eagerly await Big Brother Dragon's new Hollywood film.

In fact, these media outlets had criticized Brother Long quite a bit before.

They also criticized the previous film, "Rush Hour."

But now, they've changed their tune and started boasting again.

Journalism, I suppose, and I'm a Hong Kong journalist.

Meanwhile, another new film has come into the public eye.

"50 First Dates? How can there be so many first dates?"

"Ma Bangde's latest masterpiece? His last romance film was very successful, I wonder how this one will be..."

"Jia Jingwen's male lead this time is actually an ugly man?"

Here we come, our "50 First Dates" is here too.

However, it seems that the Hong Kong media really has a foul mouth.

It seems the publicity for our film isn't very friendly.

It's nothing, anyway, the key to Ma Xun's plan isn't in these open and direct confrontations.

No matter how much publicity it gets, it won't have much impact on him.

However, Ma Xun was not in a hurry to leave.

I still have some other things planned in Hong Kong these past few days.

Tonight, in the hillside mansion after nightfall.

Ma Xun chatted with Bai Xiaohang for a few minutes.

"I think it's relatively safe here. How about you go to Lan Kwai Fong for a drink?"

"Brother Ma, I still think there's something..."

"You're not afraid of your wife, are you?"

"How is that possible!"

Bai Xiaohang's wife is not in the entertainment industry; it was only when this was mentioned that he suddenly realized it.

"Oh, I get it, hehe..."

This guy drove off.

Ma Xun then revealed a strange smile.

Not long after, two cars arrived outside his hillside mansion.

They were all sports cars, and the people inside were all beautiful women.

However, when they saw each other, their eyes were not very friendly.

hum~
They seemed to snort simultaneously, but at that moment the gate of the mansion was opened.

After sending Bai Xiaohang away, Ma Xun went to the poolside.

As for the gate, he obviously operated it with a remote control.

Luxury homes naturally have many useful features, such as monitors in the swimming pool so he can see what's happening outside.

Right now, Ma Xun is holding a glass of wine, lying comfortably by the pool, gazing into the distance, waiting for someone to arrive.

Soon, two beauties appeared.

"Mr. Ma, are you going to go head-to-head with Big Brother's movie this time?"

"That's too risky."

They are Li Jiaxin and Guan Zhilin.

Ma Xun turned around and looked at the two of them.

"If you don't have confidence, you can leave now."

Could this be a test for the two of them?

Li Jiaxin and Guan Zhilin are both top-tier beauties, but they don't have many opportunities to appear on screen together in movies.

The most classic one seems to be "Swordsman II: The Invincible East", in which one is the junior sister and the other is Ren Yingying.

Honestly, Li Jiaxin wasn't up to par back then. She was far inferior to Guan Zhilin at that time, especially since she even got punched by Li Lianjie in one scene.

Okay, I admit it was an accidental injury.

But they really did fight.

Now, the two of them are in the same frame at Ma Xun's place.

Then we need to test it?

The two looked at each other.

"I don't think we'll necessarily lose."

"Anyway, I promised Mr. Ma that I would act in his play."

"I can act too!"

"Just you?"

How did things suddenly get so tense?

Seeing this, Ma Xun smiled and simply said, "I've been under a lot of pressure lately, so I'm very angry."

In other words, it needs to be released.

This time, Li Jiaxin and Guan Zhilin did not hesitate and immediately knelt down in front of Ma Xun.

The tongue that peeked out from those two such beautiful faces was indeed extraordinary.

Suddenly, Ma Xun grabbed their hair and pulled them back.

He said, "I know what you're thinking."

Both beauties were stunned for a moment.

"Only if I win will you all be completely devoted to me, right?"

After saying that, Ma Xun let go of her hand.

But the two of them didn't say a word and continued...

Wow, that's awesome!

……

After thoroughly enjoying the company of the two beauties, Ma Xun left Hong Kong and returned to Beijing.

Rosamund Kwan and Michelle Reis both spoke very nicely back then.

I'm sticking with you.

I have absolutely no ill intentions towards you.

However, Ma Xun just smiled after hearing this.

It's okay, Ma Xun is confident of winning!
Unexpectedly, upon returning to Beijing, he and Bai Xiaohang encountered someone.

"You seem to be Mr. Ma Xun, right?"

"Oh, have we met before?"

"I have seen it. When Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was being promoted, the Golden Horse Awards were also involved."

"I remember now, hello Ms. Zhang."

"Hello."

It was Zhang Ziyi.

She was dressed quite conservatively, after all, it was the middle of summer, and she was wearing long sleeves and a mask, so she must be a celebrity.

Ma Xun was actually pretending not to know him on purpose.

Zhang Ziyi seemed quite enthusiastic, and she even brought up something directly.

“Mr. Ma, it seems our films are now rivals.”

"Yes, they are indeed rivals."

"Then what do you think..."

"I'm sorry, I have something to do. Let's talk next time. But I can tell you, I'm always the winner."

After Ma Xun finished speaking, he simply left, which meant he didn't give Zhang Ziyi any face at all.

Zhang Ziyi stood at the airport, her whole being... Ma Xun, just you wait! You're doomed this time!

Clearly, she is very confident about her role in "Rush Hour 2".

This little incident at the airport is nothing at all.

By the end of July, it was already the height of summer.

A major news story has broken in the Chinese film market!

"A dark horse! 50 First Dates beats Rush Hour 2!"

The news came from Hong Kong media, but it was so explosive that it spread northwards at an extremely fast pace.

Soon, media outlets on the mainland also rushed to report on it.

By this time, both "50 First Dates" and "Rush Hour 2" had already been released.

Of course, "50 First Dates" is currently in the 'preview' stage.

However, some observant moviegoers will notice that although this movie is only having a limited release, it has a higher number of screenings than "Rush Hour 2"!

(End of this chapter)