1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 47: Detailed Talk about Human Bombs
The dim lights flickered in the corridor.

Shen Wei's face flickered in the shadows, and his voice sounded bewitching.

"We heard that Mr. Deng was in the video hall business and we all agreed that this model would be the way for theaters to transform in the future, so we wanted to establish a good cooperative relationship with him in advance."

"To show my sincerity, I brought a new videotape from our company. This movie was released in Hong Kong not long ago. It's called Jennifer's Revenge."

"As our first partner in Hong Kong, we are willing to grant Mr. Deng a one-week screening license. After a week, if Mr. Deng feels that we can cooperate, we can sign a contract and sit down together to discuss the specific details."

Shen Wei finished speaking slowly, then placed a videotape on the table.

The videotape was new, with the plastic film still on it.

Deng Leling looked at the videotape in front of her with an interested expression.

Jennifer's movie caused quite a stir some time ago. Even she went to the theater to see it. Its later hasty withdrawal from the theaters caused dissatisfaction among some viewers.

If it can be put in a video hall, it can at least guarantee a good attendance rate for the next period of time.

It's better than showing those crappy movies made by Deng Zecheng himself.

"Hello Mr. Zhuang, I am a shareholder of the video hall and the elder sister of the boss Deng Zecheng."

Deng Leling was still rational and did not agree immediately.

So far, everything has been going so smoothly, it feels like pie in the sky.

"Also, what are the requirements of Mr. Zhuang's company?" she asked.

"It's very simple. As a distributor, we certainly hope that the film can be distributed overseas. According to the current scale of the company, we can guarantee a stable output of 50 new films every year. If a cooperation is reached, we hope that Mr. Deng's video hall can take this order."

Shen Wei explained it seriously, and then told Deng Leling from a professional perspective that because Hong Kong's cinemas and production companies have close relations, Australian companies cannot intervene, so they would turn to small video halls like theirs.

It sounds reasonable.

Deng Leling believed it 60%, but still did not agree: "I can't make the decision on this matter. I need to discuss it with my brother."

"Okay, but hurry up. Because I won't stay in Hong Kong for too long. The next step is to go to Japan to investigate the market. If Mr. Deng is interested in cooperation, please feel free to call me at any time."

As Shen Wei spoke, he took out two copies of the copyright contract in Chinese and English and said, "Ms. Deng, you can show the movie Jennifer's Revenge in the video hall first. These two copies are screening licenses provided by our company, which can guarantee your exclusive screening rights in Hong Kong. They are a gift from the company to you and Boss Deng."

……

"So the situation now is that as long as Deng Zecheng's video hall starts showing Jennifer's Revenge, we can sue him for copyright infringement, right?"

Zhai Yuan was strolling on the beach outside the Seaside Garden, talking to Lawyer Shen on the other side of the phone while holding his brother's phone.

Not far away, Zhou Haimei walked barefoot on the beach, wading through the water with her arms outstretched, her red skirt fluttering in the sea breeze.

"That's right." Shen Wei's voice came from the other side.

"If they produce the screening permit you provided during a surprise inspection, it would constitute the crime of forging government documents, right?" Zhai Yuan asked again.

"Yes." Shen Wei continued to answer.

It is also a forged certificate. Zhai Yuan’s film copyright actually obtained the screening license from the Hong Kong government’s Film and Television Department and has been notarized. Even if it is discovered to be a fraud one day, it will be a slap in the face of the original review department, so the fake is also real.

However, the two certificates that Shen Wei gave to Deng Leling, although also indistinguishable from the real ones, were not certified by the Hong Kong government, so they were as good as fake.

In addition, as the only copyright holder of Jennifer's film in Hong Kong, Zhai Yuan said it was fake and it couldn't be true. You said it was provided to you by the Australian distributor? Where is the person? Find him and let me see.

Even if he found Shen Wei, he could say that he had never met Deng Leling.

The court is a place for evidence. I have been having massages in a boneyard from day to night today, and the masseuse there can prove it. You said I have been to a video room. Was there any surveillance camera or witnesses?
Today, Hong Kong still uses the first edition of the British Copyright Law of 1956, which has too many loopholes in this regard.

Just because producers don't pursue piracy doesn't mean they don't want to, it's just that it's too troublesome to file a lawsuit.

But Zhai Yuan is different. I have plenty of time to play with you, so it doesn’t matter whether you compensate me or not.

As long as the lawsuit is filed, your video hall will have to be closed and investigated. At that time, I will accompany you in this lawsuit until the return of China in 1997.

In fact, he had already decided to use this trick to bring down Deng Zecheng's video hall when he was preparing for the release of the movie "Jennifer's Revenge".

Previously, Chen Jiale was asked to report to the Film and Television Department every day and conduct spot checks on Deng Zecheng's video hall in order to cut off his source of pirated cassettes, causing his film source to decrease.

Video halls are a shady business that makes money from piracy. They have a large selection of films and low ticket prices to attract audiences.

If everything is formalized, costs will inevitably increase, and it will be difficult to maintain a balance between income and expenditure with ticket prices of a few dollars. This is one of the reasons for the subsequent decline of this industry.

The purpose of having Liang Zhichao secretly film Deng Zecheng's video is to preserve evidence of his entire business process, so that once he dares to release his own movie, he can start to sue him.

The whole process is closely linked, but in fact, in Zhai Yuan’s original plan, this method was not the optimal solution.

If Deng Zecheng had not been so overbearing as to not allow him to rent public housing, he would have originally planned to defeat the other party in a fair and square manner in the business world.

Alas, my heart was set on the bright moon, but you forced me to look into the ditch!
"Let Carlos Chan spread some rumors outside the video parlor, saying things like gang members seeking revenge or police raids, to further reduce the number of customers in his place."

Zhai Yuan glanced at Zhou Haimei who was stepping in the water on the beach. Her long legs were pleasing to the eye.

He watched intently and continued, "Once they start showing Jennifer's movie, have Carlos Chan go to various theaters to help them attract customers, and have Leung Chi-chiu's camera ready to take pictures."

"What if they refuse to be fooled and would rather lose money than show our movie?" Shen Wei asked.

"Who am I asking you to ask me?"

Zhai Yuan was very dissatisfied: "Now you are the Australian distributor. How to convince them to screen your company's films? Isn't that what you should do?"

There was silence on the other end of the receiver for a few seconds. Although no sound was coming from the other end, it seemed like someone was cursing very dirty.

"Okay, I'll think of another way." Shen Wei's voice sounded again, sounding helpless.

"Anything else?"

Zhai Yuan couldn't wait to hang up the phone because Zhou Haimei smiled at him.

That’s so sweet. Who wants to talk nonsense with an old man like you?
"There shouldn't be anything else. I'll report to you if there's anything else."

Shen Wei suddenly changed the subject and became excited: "I remember now! Deng Zecheng's sister is so hot, boss! Big eyes, big breasts, big as grapefruits, a really voluptuous body! I find it surprising that Shao Yahui can live to be in his forties!"

"Oh my god! You're leaving this serious matter till the end?"

Zhai Yuan's finger was already on the hang-up button, but he retracted it upon hearing this: "Quick, quick, tell me in detail what kind of flesh bomb it is!"

(End of this chapter)