1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 157 Returning Home (Please Subscribe!)

"Congratulations to Mr. Chen from mainland China on his new film 'The Devotion of Suspect X' winning the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and achieving an outstanding overseas copyright acquisition of $905 million!"

"Following 'Andhadhun,' Mr. Chen's new film has once again captivated foreign audiences and set a record overseas copyright price of $905 million."

"A shining light for Chinese-language films..."

As Chenglong looked at the newspaper this morning, the scales in his heart gradually tipped.

"Perhaps, that Mr. Chen really can help me break into Hollywood!"

As Hung Ching-pao said before, as long as we break into Hollywood, even if we lose the Taiwanese market, it will be worth it.

Chenglong hesitated before mainly because he was worried that Chen Fusheng was not capable enough to safely bring him to the other side, which would offend the Freedom Association and put him in a dilemma.

However, it now seems that Mr. Chen does indeed have the capability, and considering the future return of Hong Kong to China, Chenglong has decided to take a gamble.

Of course, it's not enough for him to agree alone; the company also needs to agree.

Chenglong picked up the newspaper, intending to first go to the cinema to see what Mr. Chen's new film, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, looked like, and then go to the company to discuss it with his godfather.

That's right, The Devotion of Suspect X was officially released in Hong Kong today.

The first screening in the morning relied on the publicity from the previous days and Chen Fusheng's past reputation. None of the cinemas were full, with an occupancy rate of only about 60% or 70%.

However, starting from the second show, with the arrival of the first batch of audience members who had read today's morning paper, the attendance rate for the second show soared to over 95%.

Starting in the afternoon, tickets were sold out completely, with many latecomers unable to purchase them.

Because of the success of "Andhadhun" last year, the opening day box office figures for "The Devotion of Suspect X" were also tallied by theater staff working overtime in the early hours of the morning.

The total is HK$129 million.

This data is not the limit for movies, but the upper limit for theaters in a single day.

What was the opening day box office figure for Mr. Chen's new movie?

At the morning meeting of the Hong Kong magazine "Film Biweekly" the following day, editor-in-chief Chan Pak-sang asked this question as soon as he walked in.

"129."

"It doesn't seem to be as popular as New City's 'Aces Go Places' at the beginning of the year."

"No, that's because there are only eight theaters, while the Golden Princess Cinema Circuit, where 'Aces Go Places' is shown, has 18 theaters."

The man continued, "And it's said that Mr. Chen's 'The Devotion of Suspect X' has been 100% full since yesterday afternoon, which is terrifying!"

"After all, it's the first Chinese-language film to win the Golden Bear for Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival. Who wouldn't be curious? I wanted to go see it, but unfortunately, when I went, they told me there were no tickets left."

"Yes, even if you don't know anything about the Golden Bear, just the hype of the $905 million overseas copyright makes you want to find out more."

After listening to everyone's remarks, Chen Baisheng nodded and said, "Therefore, film festivals are very important for enhancing films, which is why our magazine is working with RTHK to organize the Hong Kong Film Awards."

"Sigh, if Mr. Chen's 'The Devotion of Suspect X' had been released in Hong Kong a month earlier, no, even half a month earlier, we would have considered it."

"Yes, it's such a pity. If our first Hong Kong Film Awards could have capitalized on the popularity of this movie, it would have been a great start."

"But Mr. Chen may not come to participate. Just like we awarded him an award for 'The Tuner,' but we haven't received a reply since we sent the message."

“Mr. Chen probably doesn’t know yet,” Chen Baisheng said. “I have friends at Great Wall Film Company. I heard that after Mr. Chen returns to China, he will most likely come to Hong Kong to promote his film. When he comes, I will personally visit him to see if I can invite him to the film festival awards ceremony.”

"That's a good idea..."

……

The day after "The Devotion of Suspect X" was released in Hong Kong, Chen Fusheng and his team landed safely at Beijing Capital International Airport. Just like when they returned from the Cannes Film Festival, they were greeted with a very high level of hospitality.

The two secretaries, Director Shi, Director Dai from CCTV, the former director of Beijing Film Studio...

Of course, the people from their Oriental Company were even more present; everyone except the gatekeeper came.

However, this time Chen Fusheng was mentally prepared, and he was not as surprised as the first time when faced with such a scene!

Or rather, the expressions of surprise and shock were transferred to the faces of others.

For example, directors Chen Huaikai and Fu Jinggong...

Even Zhang Guorong, a Hong Kong resident, was shocked when he learned of the official titles of the several secretaries.

"Welcome home, our cultural and artistic warriors!"

Hua Hua Hua~
Hua Hua Hua~
After the applause subsided, Chen Fusheng led his group of 24 comrades, including himself, forward to exchange pleasantries with the leaders who had come to greet them. After each of them carried a bouquet of flowers, they boarded the bus that had come to pick them up.

"Is this car going straight into the lake again?" Chen Fusheng couldn't help but ask after getting in the car. It's understandable that he was curious, given the precedent he had seen.

"It seems I'm going to disappoint you, Comrade Fusheng. This time, the car isn't heading to the lake, but to the ministry to give you a welcome dinner," Secretary Zhu joked.

"I'm sorry to make you laugh, Secretary Zhu. I still remember the last experience vividly, so I was already nervous as soon as I got on the bus."

"Haha, that's normal. Even we would be a little nervous if we went into the lake," said Secretary Ding.

Former factory director Wang Yang chimed in, "Comrade Fusheng, don't worry. You've achieved such outstanding results in Berlin this time, not only bringing glory to the country but also earning tens of millions of US dollars in foreign exchange. The leaders will definitely want to see you, but they're just too busy right now."

"understand……"

After they arrived, a welcome banquet was arranged for them.

Of course, a brief meeting was held before the welcome banquet, during which Chen Fusheng gave a verbal work report.

"On the afternoon of the second day of the film festival, we arranged a screening of Ling Zi's film 'The Cotton Robe,' and then sold the overseas Asian rights to Toho International in Japan for $101 million. The film's overseas rights were subsequently sold to South Africa, Venezuela, Egypt, and other countries, but the transaction prices were not high. In the end, the total sales amounted to $128 million."

"The overseas rights for my film in Asia and Australia were also sold to Toho International for $260 million, the North American rights to Warner Bros. for $400 million, the European and African rights to a French film company for $205 million, and the South American rights to Brazil for $40."

"..."

No. 16, Siji Hutong.

Liu Xiaoli, who had already taken maternity leave last week, was playing games with her daughter when she looked up and saw Director Yang Jie in the yard. Before she could speak, he asked, "Xiaoli, I heard your Director Chen is back? Where is he?"

"He hasn't come back. Director Yang, who told you that?"

"It seems he hasn't gone home yet, but he must have returned to China."

"how do you know?"

"Director Dai went to the airport at noon to pick up Xiao Chen and the others. He didn't return to the factory until almost the end of the workday. I heard him say this himself, so I thought Xiao Chen had already arrived home, and that's why I came to check on him."

Director Yang Jie continued, "I guess they'll be back soon."

Liu Xiaoli nodded, and just then, she seemed to hear the sound of a car coming from outside the yard...

Just as she was listening intently, her daughter suddenly put down her toy, looked up, and asked:
"dad?"

"Yes, Dad is back."

(End of this chapter)