1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 349: Driving the tiger and swallowing the wolf
The world will suffer from freedom for a long time!

After listening to Chen Rongmei's analysis, Feng Bingzhong rubbed his face vigorously and did not speak for a long time.

If it loses the support of even the Taiwan film producers, Xinbao Cinema Line will really be without any foundation or background and can only compete with Jiahe and 1024 based on its own strength.

But the problem is that the current Xinbao Cinemas has no strength at all.

Now it seems that they had chosen the wrong side and followed the Freedom Association, which led to Zhai Yuan's late realization and the establishment of the Film Association.

Now that the Freedom Association is about to close, 1024 is thriving thanks to the Film Association, attracting a large number of filmmakers to provide film sources for their theaters.

Even Jiahe lent Chen Shilon to the other party to shoot a new film, and there was a subtle trend of forming an alliance.

One wrong step, one wrong step.

Do we have to bow down and give in to the other party?

When Feng Bingzhong thought of this, he looked up at Chen Rongmei again, wanting to know what his old friend was planning.

"My sixth uncle studied in a private school in Wutong Village, Luoshan Town, Fujian Province. He went to Manila to work hard at the age of 13, and went to Hong Kong to do film business at the age of 30. He established the current Xinbao Cinema Line."

Chen Rongmei lit up a cigarette, not in a hurry to give advice, but narrowed her eyes and recalled the advice given to her by her sixth uncle Chen Junyan, the head of this generation of the family: "My sixth uncle often told me that for young masters from wealthy families like us, who can't do anything and don't want to work for others, and want to be their own boss, the most suitable business is to make money from movies. There is no need to build a warehouse, nor to store and count goods, which can save a lot of trouble."

"So when he divided up the family property, he sent me to take over the theater business in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, my sixth uncle would never have thought that times have changed. It's not the era when he could just own a few theaters and collect ticket sales."

Chen Rongmei smiled at Feng Bingzhong and blew out a cloud of smoke: "When Xinbao and Taitai jointly filmed a movie called "A Good Wife", it was sold out. Zhao Yifu would be jealous after watching it, and the theaters and film distributors were all happy. What kind of film sources do these people provide us now? "The Best Partner: Saving the Policewoman from a Thousand Miles Away", which is known as the strongest series, has a budget of 2000 million from the Formosa Film Company. They invited Chen Shilong to make a cameo appearance, and invited Sylvia Chang and Sally Yeh. They filmed for several months and thought it was a good movie. In the end, the box office was 2300 million, which couldn't even recover the cost. Damn it! If I were a Formosa Film Company, even if I was dragged to the target for political stance issues, I would not be stupid enough to invest money~"

"The main problem with this drama is the actors' schedule arrangement..."

Feng Bingzhong shrugged helplessly and gritted his teeth and said, "There is also the problem of pirated copies!"

When Xinbao Cinema Line was established, it was in full swing and made a bold statement that it would release ten movies a year. The largest investment among them was Bald Man's "Rescue of the Policewoman". The transfer of Mecca from 1024 was also a sensational entertainment news.

In order to ensure that the film source could fulfill the promise of ten dramas, the male lead of "Rescuing the Policewoman from a Thousand Miles Away" Xu Guanjie was asked to shoot another drama "The Legend of Wesley" at the same time. As a direct result, Xu Guanjie was physically exhausted and fell ill and was hospitalized. Many action scenes in the two dramas were difficult to cope with, so the script had to be temporarily modified and the role of the female lead Sylvia Chang was increased.

Then, when these two movies were released, they were all flops as expected.

It’s not quite right to say that. In fact, judging from the box office data alone, it’s not a flop, after all, it’s over 10 million.

But compared with the production cost, it is a disaster.

"A Thousand Miles to Save the Policewoman" had a budget of 2000 million and a box office of 2300 million.

"The Legend of Wesley" had a budget of 1800 million and a box office of 1900 million.

The losses from the two big productions directly scared off the Taiwan film producers who were still supporting the Freedom Association at the time, and they never mentioned continuing to buy trailers and invest in New Treasure's films next year.

"Losses are losses, there's no need to find other excuses. Besides, do the pirated discs of these two dramas sell well? I don't think so."

Chen Rongmei brushed off the cigarette ash on her pants and said with a smile, "We sent someone to investigate the pirated market two days ago. The prices of the discs of the movies sold by Xinbao Cinema this year are the lowest among pirated discs. Have you ever seen the scene where you get a free copy of Wesley when you buy Sex and Zen? I'm afraid Zhai Yuan was like he was facing a formidable enemy and deliberately pirated our cinema's movies, but he didn't expect to win without a fight like this."

1024 and Qvod Technology have the same boss. Even if Zhai Yuan's pirating of Xinbao Cinema's movies was done in secret, he even threw dirt on himself by pirating his own movies first.

All he wanted was to avoid being caught at the legal level. Anyone with a discerning eye could still see clearly that it was his work.

I just didn't expect that the movies released by Xinbao Cinema this year were so bad, which wasted the hard work of Mr. Zhai's piracy team.

Seeing Feng Bingzhong speechless.

Chen Rongmei smiled again and said, "Fortunately, I have foresight. Since the Taiwan film distributors are willing to take the lead and pay the money, why don't I take the initiative to let them do it~ So no matter how much the next few movies lose, Xinbao Cinema Line will still collect the share. After deducting the daily expenses of the theater, there will be some profit anyway."

Feng Bingzhong sighed, "It's a pity that the big suckers like the Formosa Film Company can only be cheated this time. After the martial law is lifted, they would rather buy 1024's movies."

Once Formosa stops interfering in the stance of Hong Kong films, the Freedom Federation will become a paper tiger.

When the time comes, the Taiwanese film producers will certainly focus on importing the highest quality films. In theory, as long as they make money, it will be a win-win situation. The actors' salaries will increase, the quality of the films will be higher, and a virtuous circle of marketization will be formed.

Nowadays, which of Hong Kong's three major cinema chains produces the highest quality movies?
1024 is undoubtedly at the top of the list, even surpassing the Silver Princess Cinemas in its heyday. Even though it was suppressed by Jiahe and Xinbao Cinemas a few days ago and seemed a little weak, after the promotion of "Hiroshima Monster", it has become the most anticipated movie in the minds of citizens.

Not to mention the series of movies that have been recently announced and are currently in production, including "City of Lights", "Mr. Vampire 2" and "God of Gamblers".

The establishment of the Film Association has enabled Jiuyi Entertainment to have a large number of talented people and unprecedentedly abundant film resources.

"Jiahe's Liang Feng was promoted to Taiwan's overseas Chinese legislator, but he ran away to Toronto the next moment. Now the attitudes of the three tycoons, Zou Wenhuai, Ho Kwan-chang, and Tsai Tok-seng, are clear. They are unwilling to confront 1024 head-on and hope to have peace."

Chen Rongmei looked at Feng Bingzhong and said, "If Xinbao Cinema Line also moves closer to 1024, Zhai Yuan's position in the Hong Kong film industry will be the same as Zhao Yifu's dominance in the film industry during its heyday. So now there are two paths before us..."

Feng Bingzhong raised his eyebrows and motioned for him to continue.

"First, we took the initiative to talk to Zhai Yuan about cooperation. We will sell a portion of the shares of Xinbao Cinema Line's current 15 theaters to him. In the future, the movies produced by Jiuyi Entertainment can be scheduled in Xinbao and screened on both channels." Chen Rongmei said: "When he becomes the industry leader, we will cash out and leave, and still collect dividends."

Feng Bingzhong nodded without comment, picked up the cigarette box in front of Chen Rongmei, took out a cigarette and lit it.

After puffing out a few puffs of smoke, Feng Bingzhong smiled and said, "Uncle Chen has handed over Hong Kong's film business to you. Unless you are forced into a desperate situation, from what I know about you, you will not be so easily subservient to 1024 and willing to be a rent collector... Can you tell me about the other way?"

"You're wrong again. Sometimes it's not that I don't want to be a rent collector. When I came to Hong Kong, dozens of eyes from my family, big and small, were staring at me, making it so that I couldn't say anything even if I wanted to give in."

Chen Rongmei finished her speech with a rather helpless tone, and then added: "Since they are unwilling to give in, and these local film companies can't come up with good content, then there is only the second way left."

As she spoke, Chen Rongmei opened the drawer of her desk, took out a list and handed it to Feng Bingzhong.

"What's up?"

"Xinbao Cinema Line plans to release ten movies next year." Feng Bingzhong took the list curiously, glanced at it briefly, and frowned unconsciously.

Above is a list of North American movies, with detailed market divisions marked after each title.

Back to the Future, a sci-fi comedy, grossed $210 million in North America, starring Michael J. Fox…

"Top Gun", a drama action film, grossed $180 million in North America, starring Tom Cruise...

Crocodile Dundee, a comedy adventure film, grossed $170 million in North America, starring Paul Hogan...

"The most romantic budding girl"...

……

A list of ten Hollywood movies that were the highest-grossing in North America between 1985 and 1986.

Feng Bingzhong looked at Chen Rongmei in disbelief: "Are you planning to import all Western films and provide sources for Xinbao Cinema Line?"

"What's wrong with that? The current Western film theater chain is small and only has three or five theaters scheduling films. Xinbao's fifteen theaters are all showing Western films. In the future, Jiahe and 1024 will produce Hong Kong films, and we will specialize in Western films to completely fill this blank market."

Chen Rongmei said leisurely, "The quality of Hollywood movies is very high. You should know this better than me. These local filmmakers are unreliable. Instead of paying them a production fee to make a movie whose life or death is uncertain, it is better to use this production fee to buy the hottest movies in Hollywood. The North American film market is quite professional and has actively created box office rankings. We can even skip the step of searching for a needle in a haystack to select the source of the film. We only need to import the movies on the rankings."

Feng Bingzhong murmured, "If we do this, I'm afraid we will drive out the local film market in Hong Kong."

Chen Rongmei sneered: "What does it matter? You have been working at Silver Princess for so many years, you won't really have feelings for Hong Kong films. Do you want to consider the future of Hong Kong films?"

Feng Bingzhong remained silent.

As old friends for many years, he could see that this was indeed Chen Rongmei's style, with profit being the first priority. Other theater owners had to consider the issue of their filmmakers starting work, but Chen Rongmei did not interfere in film production, and after Return from Manila, he had no personal ties, so he could let go and introduce Western films.

"Let's put aside the possibility of offending 1024 and Jiahe. The Hong Kong government won't let you do that."

Feng Bingzhong took a deep breath and slowly said, "Even if you are a white guy, you have to consider the healthy development of the local film market. It is related to the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in the entire film industry. It is not something you can solve by just spending money to import movies."

"Since you said that last month, I might have to think about it seriously."

Chen Rongmei smiled and took out the second document and handed it to Feng Bingzhong, just as he said there were two ways.

"The situation is changing so fast now. Youde just died in Yanjing City, and the new Governor of Hong Kong has not yet arrived in Hong Kong. The boss temporarily appointed Chief Secretary Zhong Yijie as the acting Governor of Hong Kong. All in all, Zhong Yijie will only serve as the acting Governor of Hong Kong for half a year at most, and he will soon retire and leave the post of Chief Secretary. So I bought two properties in the UK, plus a shop, to celebrate his upcoming return to his ancestral home in advance."

Chen Rongmei pointed at the second document that Feng Bingzhong was looking through: "The only request is that he sign this permission letter for Xinbao Cinema Line to screen Western films for the next ten years during his term of office. The current censorship standards will still be followed, but the number of Western films that Xinbao Cinema Line can introduce during the ten years will no longer be restricted..."

…………

An acting Governor of Hong Kong who is about to retire does not really care about the lives of Hong Kong filmmakers.

Even the life and death of Hong Kong people.

Chen Rongmei seized this opportunity very accurately, and most importantly, she had the right time and place.

The then Governor of Hong Kong, Youde, suffered a heart attack and died in a foreign country during his visit to Beijing, becoming the first Governor of Hong Kong to die in office.

The British temporarily appointed a Chief Secretary, Chung Yik-kit, to the position. Unlike the previous governors who were parachuted in, Chung Yik-kit had come to Hong Kong in the 1960s and climbed up step by step. During this period, he made the acquaintance of many wealthy Chinese businessmen. Now that this water ghost has been promoted to the city god, it has indirectly given these businessmen the opportunity to suddenly come into contact with the highest official in Hong Kong.

Even Li Ka-shing hurried back to Hong Kong from Singapore to meet with the interim Governor of Hong Kong. Whampoa Industries inexplicably obtained a piece of commercial land near Diamond Hill.

Chen Rongmei's introduction of Western films became a trivial matter.

But for the Hong Kong film industry, this is undoubtedly another new earthquake.

"Drive the tiger away and devour the wolf!"

Because he lent Chen Shilong to 91 Entertainment, Zou Wenhuai, who was hiding in Borneo, Singapore and Malaysia at the time, looked at the newspaper in his hand and his face suddenly became solemn.

"Nanyuan Prince issued a statement that in order to enrich the variety of local films in Hong Kong, Xinbao Cinema Line will introduce all Western films from today." - Ming Pao

A report of just over a hundred words, accompanied by a photo showing Chen Rongmei in high spirits.

Zou Wenhuai clenched his hands unconsciously, crumpled the newspaper into a ball and slammed it heavily on the table.

The first thought was how did Chen Rongmei get the foreigner’s permit?
There are still ten years before the return. Why are the foreigners so quick to ignore the lives of local filmmakers? They have collected a lot of entertainment tax!

What followed was fear and terror.

Everyone knows the quality of Hollywood movies. Even Zhao Yifu did not dare to introduce Western films rashly, and he also suppressed the theaters that introduced Western films. Therefore, since the founding of Hong Kong, the most common type of Western films are dull British films.

Later, as Hong Kong's local film market grew larger and larger, the entire industry became a major taxpayer and job creator. The Hong Kong government no longer forced the import of even British films, and instead intended to support Hong Kong films and reduce the impact of imported Western films.

Now the balance is broken.

Chen Rongmei suddenly moved this big Buddha from Hollywood to sit in charge of Xinbao. The production cost of any movie can easily reach hundreds of millions. How can Hong Kong's low-cost Hong Kong films be qualified to compete with the other party?

"Ah Chang, have you read today's newspaper?"

After pondering for a long time, Zou Wenhuai took a deep breath, stood up and walked to the phone, and dialed the number of He Guanchang in South Korea.

"Fuck you, Mala! We have maintained the dominance of Hong Kong and Western films for so many years and no one dares to break it. He wants to wipe out the Hong Kong film market! Contact Cai Dusheng immediately and go back to Hong Kong with me. This time it's the turn of 1024 and Jiahe to join forces. Let's see who will be the wolf and who will be the tiger next!"

(End of this chapter)