1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 477 Read My Eyes and Act
The entertainment industry can never escape the word "censorship," and with the birth of each new thing, the censorship system will also be updated accordingly.

Early review was only prevalent in the printing industry.

Then radio stations emerged, and due to the lack of corresponding regulations, some stations soon started making outrageous claims to increase their listenership, saying things like "the head of state has attacked" or "aliens have landed on Earth," causing widespread panic among the public. The authorities then had to quickly patch up the radio stations' practices.

With the booming of the film industry, it is natural to need to manage and regulate the production, distribution, and screening of films.

Compared to Western Europe, where cinema originated, mainland China started its censorship system much later.

Decades ago, due to certain special reasons, the fate of a film depended entirely on the will of one person.

However, with the reform and opening up in the 80s, and under the impact of investment in ideology, culture and entertainment and global economic integration, the mainland's censorship system gradually became more standardized. In 1988, which was last year, the revised draft of the "Film Censorship Regulations" was formally formed.

However, this initial version of the regulations only pointed out a general direction, and there are still controversies in practice.

Zhai Yuan thought of the arduous censorship process for similar period films in his previous life, hence the extra question.

Surprisingly, when asked about the censorship of the films "Farewell My Concubine" and "Red Sorghum," Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou both nodded at the same time.

"When the script for 'Red Sorghum' was first submitted for approval, the leaders held a meeting to discuss it, but they were also afraid of taking risks, so it was delayed for a while. Fortunately, in the end, a powerful person in the bureau made the final decision to comply with the newly issued review regulations, so the project was approved."

A helpless smile appeared on Zhang Yimou's dark face as he continued, "However, by the time all the procedures were approved and filming could officially begin, we had missed the spring planting season. We had to spend an extra 3 yuan to have the villagers replant dozens of acres of land."

It was clear from the national advisor's tone that he was indignant about the extra 3 yuan spent on expenses.

"As long as it passes the review." Zhai Yuan smiled and then asked, "Has the final cut been approved?"

Zhang Yimou nodded again and said, "It's approved. The final cut was approved quickly."

Zhai Yuan nodded. The script and the finished film underwent two rounds of review in mainland China. Only with these approvals could the film be officially promoted and released, and then taken to overseas exhibitions.

"The situation with 'Farewell My Concubine' is not that complicated."

After Zhang Yimou finished speaking, Chen Kaige also smiled and said, with a hint of boasting in his tone: "Director Teng and Deputy Director Liu of the Film Bureau have a good relationship with me. Both approvals were successfully obtained, so Mr. Zhai can rest assured."

Zhai Yuan glanced at him in surprise. It was said that the review process for the film "Farewell My Concubine" was quite complicated in later years, but Chen Kaige was talking about it so casually. It was hard to tell whether he was just bragging or had taken a different approach.

But it doesn't matter anymore. As long as the film passes the review smoothly, all that's left is for the housekeeper to do it according to the normal procedure.

In fact, these two films are true co-productions.

"Farewell My Concubine" was a collaboration with Beijing Film Studio, and "Red Sorghum" was a collaboration with Xi'an Film Studio. Without the involvement of 91 Entertainment, the first co-production between Hong Kong and the mainland in this parallel universe would have been delayed for some time until Stephen Chow's "A Chinese Odyssey" was released.

"OK~"

Zhai Yuan stood up, stretched his limbs, and said to everyone, "I've seen the films, and they're all very good. You can discuss the rest with Sister Nan. We'll have a casual meal together later, and someone will arrange for you to take a tour of Hong Kong."

After exchanging a few polite words, Zhai Yuan, the hands-off manager, prepared to leave.

Hong Huang also stood up and said to Zhai Yuan with a smile, "Mr. Zhai, shall we talk privately some more?"

Zhai Yuan patted his forehead: "Look at my memory... Sister Huang, come sit in my office."

……

"My husband, Old Chen, is a good person in every other way, except that he's too concerned about his image. In Beijing dialect, he's just pretentious."

In Zhai Yuan's office, Hong Huang toured the trophies, awards, and movie posters displayed around.

After the receptionist brought in two cups of coffee and closed the door again, Hong Huang sighed softly and said apologetically to Zhai Yuan, "I saw him make a fool of himself today, and I felt embarrassed myself. Mr. Zhai, please don't take it to heart."

"Don't mention it." Zhai Yuan waved his hand with a smile: "I think Director Chen is quite honest."

"Bullshit!" Hong Huang rolled her eyes and didn't hold back in criticizing her husband in front of outsiders: "I won't even mention his pretentious foreign language and elite-like behavior today. Just look at the censorship of 'Farewell My Concubine.' Were the two directors of the Film Bureau giving him face? He talked like he was the chairman of the XX Association. It makes me angry."

Zhai Yuan chuckled when he saw the woman's assertive, eye-rolling expression.

I thought to myself, no wonder you and Chen Kaige had such a bad falling out later. You didn't give each other any face at all.

It was from Hong Huang that Zhai Yuanfang learned about another version of "Farewell My Concubine" that was able to pass censorship this time.

As a film set in a specific historical period, lasting over two hours,
When the script for "Farewell My Concubine" was submitted to the Film Bureau, even though the names of Zhai Yuan and Li Bihua, two compatriots from Hong Kong, were listed in the screenwriter column, no one dared to sign the approval document.

Since the early 1980s, a fierce conflict broke out between the Film Bureau and various cultural departments over whether a film called "Bitter Love" should be released. As a result, it was stipulated that whoever signed off on a script would be held responsible for any problems that arose in the future.

Therefore, after the script of "Farewell My Concubine" caused controversy again in an internal symposium, it was delayed in being approved, just like "Red Sorghum".

"Later, people from the Film Bureau came to him and said, 'Director Chen, our bureau is too small. Why don't you have your wife go and talk to the higher-ups?'"

Hong Huang, holding his coffee, wore an expression of exasperation: "After that, Old Chen fawned over me every day, saying this film was very important to him and asking me to help him find a way. Coincidentally, later, Deputy Director Liu, a playwright in the bureau, really cherished your script and, against everyone's objections, signed it, saying that firstly, 'Farewell My Concubine' would definitely leave a significant mark on film history, and secondly, this film would definitely win major awards overseas, allowing mainland films to go global. Another Director Teng, after hearing this, said, 'Then let's approve it. We'll share the responsibility if anything goes wrong.' That's how 'Farewell My Concubine' passed the censorship. It wasn't as miraculous as he made it out to be!"

Zhai Yuan chuckled after hearing this, thinking that Director Kai Ge was really... hard to evaluate.

However, this seems to fit his established persona.

Zhai Yuan recalls that "Farewell My Concubine" did indeed win many awards later on, but Leslie Cheung failed to win the Best Actor award.

It's quite normal, really. The dialogue wasn't done in the original voice, and the acting couldn't compare to David Thewlis's. Even if you say there was some behind-the-scenes manipulation, that's fine. Cannes really can't let one film sweep all the awards.

However, in an interview, Chen Kaige said things like, "Actually, it's because he plays an androgynous character in the film, and some judges couldn't tell his gender, so they voted for him for Best Actress." Just like this time with the censorship approval, it's essentially an attempt to embellish his own image, but he speaks without thinking…

There are also claims that "Farewell My Concubine" created a fake script to pass censorship before filming began. Does this kind of clever trick mean that the various departments of the Film Bureau are idiots, or that the investors are crazy enough to take such a big risk?

“Men, they like to brag a little.” Zhai Yuan shook his head with a smile and said to Hong Huang, “It’s no big deal, I like to tell a little lie too.”

Hong Huang chuckled, then sighed and said, "I shouldn't even mention this, but that's just my temper. I feel uncomfortable if you don't let me say it."

Zhai Yuan smiled again, took a sip of coffee, and said, "Then let's just leave it at that. I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. Sister Huang, shall we talk about something else?"

"Yes, I'm so angry I've lost my mind."

Hong Huang took a deep breath and became serious: "Mr. Zhai wants to cooperate with Taiwan and the mainland to develop the semiconductor industry. As the representative of the German metal industry group MG in the mainland, I think we can discuss future cooperation in materials."

After saying that, she added, "Of course, it's not necessary to cooperate with foreigners. Whether it's Mr. Zhai or TSMC in Taiwan, if you can find other more suitable material suppliers, then just pretend I didn't mention this."

Zhai Yuan nodded in understanding.

Ms. Hong brought this up specifically during her visit, which, given her personality, was probably not her true intention.

A woman who became MG's chief representative in China at the age of twenty-six.
To be honest, Zhai Yuan didn't think the other party relied solely on their own abilities.

Therefore, her actions largely represent the reaction of the higher-ups behind her.

Due to the COCOM embargo, cutting-edge technology products and rare materials were still not easy to enter the mainland. As a result, the mainland naturally responded to COCOM's export restrictions. For example, the German metal industry group where Hong Huang worked used its own economic interests to break through COCOM's blockade to a certain extent.

"I am not aware of what measures Taiwan has taken at the moment."

Zhai Yuan pondered for a moment. He hadn't thought about the material issue in detail yet, since it was still too early for this matter to be finalized.

Then he looked at Hong Huang and slowly said, "But if the import of materials is handled by Shenshan, it will probably still be transshipped through offshore companies in Japan and Hong Kong, entering the mainland via Shekou..."

"Too much trouble! It's too small and risky to support a $50 billion company in Nanjing."

Hong Huang, being straightforward, interrupted him directly, then paused and said, "Okay, I'll make the decision for you. If there are no objections from Taiwan, we'll still go with the German companies for materials. If any problems arise, someone will handle them, so you can relax."

Zhai Yuan smiled helplessly. This woman hadn't even exchanged two sentences before she started acting like an older sister again. She really didn't know her place.

"Okay, let's see what Taiwan says."

After a moment's thought, Zhai Yuan figured that Taiwan probably wouldn't have any objections, since they never intended to make this happen in the first place.

In this way, if Mount Shenshan is to be relocated to the mainland in the future, it will indeed need support in terms of material imports, not only because of its large throughput, but also because it will be easier to negotiate in case of any problems.

At that moment, Zhai Yuan felt as if a tall figure was saying to him: 'I've calculated it for you. Bringing these in little packages like this won't amount to anything...'

Zhai Yuan shook his head, clearing his mind of the jumbled thoughts, and said with a smile, "Sister Huang, we've come this far. There's another thing I might need your help with."

Upon hearing this, Hong Huang raised his chin and said generously, "It's alright, just say it! I'll definitely help if I can."

Zhai Yuan nodded slightly, stroking his coffee cup, and said carefully, "I also have a company called Kuaibo Technology in Hong Kong, which specializes in VCDs. The local market is almost saturated now, and I want to try expanding into the mainland market. First, there's the issue of choosing a location to build a factory, and the various permits and licenses... right? Of course, we can take our time with that. The most important thing is the material issue I just mentioned. Once we open up the mainland market, the demand for my supplies will be too great to hide, so I'm wondering if we can communicate with the German Metal Industries Group in advance..."

…………

"Farewell My Concubine" was definitely worth making.

By a twist of fate, he got in touch with Hong Huang, which built a bridge for Zhai Yuan to communicate with the mainland.

A comprador with extensive resources and connections in Yanjing City; the other party's own abilities are the least important.

The first issue that cannot be avoided when setting up a factory in mainland China is the raw materials for VCD and optical disc production.

At that time, the mainland already had some materials, but for a company like Kuaibo Technology, the variety was still far from sufficient.

Guan Weiming had previously investigated the material reserves in mainland China. In summary, the mainland has plenty of copper wire, magnets, ferrites, rare earth neodymium iron boron, etc. However, when it comes to optical components, semiconductor chips, rare earth magnets, CNC machine tools, etc., the mainland still lacks precision processing capabilities and technological accumulation, and its process capabilities are still insufficient, so it can only import them.

Then comes the issue of site selection for factory construction.

Hong Huang didn't make any grand pronouncements in Hong Kong. After returning to the mainland, the woman seemed to disappear and never contacted Zhai Yuan again.

For the next while, Zhai Yuan didn't just sit idly by waiting for news from the other party.

In addition to continuing to operate the content of other departments of the entertainment group, he also started the second-hand home appliance company that he had talked about last time with Xue Wan'en.

More than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

In early April, Zhai Yuan first received a call from Xue Wan'en, who invited him to a coffee shop at the foot of Taiping Mountain. She planned to introduce him to influential figures at the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant to discuss cooperation matters.

As the car headed towards Taiping Mountain, Zhai Yuan received another phone call from Hong Huang.

"Little brother, there's progress on your plan to build a factory in Shenzhen."

On the other end of the phone, Sister Huang's voice was as strong and energetic as ever, rattling off a string of words: "I recently used my connections to inquire for you, and I even made a special trip to Pengcheng. Here's the thing, there's a piece of wasteland in the south of the city, which used to be the back warehouse of the supply and marketing cooperative. It has water and electricity, and it's a 20-minute drive from the port... Anyway, take a look at the details when you have time. Also, the investment promotion leaders there aren't easy to deal with, so I'm afraid you'll get taken advantage of. I'll take you there when the time comes, and you just have to watch my eye..."

(End of this chapter)