Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

Xiao Pang came because she had just gotten off the plane, while Hai Bo was simply waiting for her at the hotel.

The chubby boy had a white hair clip in his hair, wore a low-cut tank top, a black chiffon top over it, a belt to cinch his waist, and black wide-leg pants.

Under the lights, she was incredibly white, both pure and alluring. Her arrival immediately drew everyone's attention, with Haibo perfectly playing the supporting role...

The first thing Little Fatty did upon entering was not to look at her brother in the crowd, but at Wang Fei in the corner. When she noticed that Wang Fei was looking at her expressionlessly, she smiled, and he smiled back.

Little Fatty looked away and raised an eyebrow, thinking that Zhu Yuanyuan was too suspicious. Wang Fei not only came, but also didn't seem guilty.

She walked smiling all the way to her boyfriend's side, while Haibo went to find Cheng Er.

Yang Che smiled and said, "Bingbing, this is director Andrew Lau. He's the director of the Young and Dangerous series and also a very talented cinematographer. He directed 'As Tears Go By' and 'Chungking Express'."

"Hello Director Liu, I hope to have the opportunity to work with you."

"Great, great! We'll definitely cooperate if we have the chance."

Liu Weiqiang was very serious and not at all perfunctory. After all, he had just received Yang Che's business card and investment promise... Although he was unwilling to accept funds from mainland investors, what if? After all, among Hong Kong film production companies, only China Star is still investing. I heard that they recently brought Johnnie To over there to be the production director.

...........

7 points.

Jiang Zhiqiang, sitting at the bar, tapped his wine glass with a fork.

The room fell silent within two seconds, as it was too small and there were fewer than 30 people present.

"Good evening, I am Jiang Zhiqiang from Edko Films. I am very honored that we can gather in Hong Kong today to celebrate the success of 'My Sassy Girl' in Asia. As the Hong Kong distributor of 'My Sassy Girl', I am also grateful to Mr. Yang Che for giving me this opportunity."

"Let me first talk about the box office performance of 'My Sassy Girl' after a month of release in Hong Kong. I'm ashamed to say, it only grossed HK$2600 million."

The Hong Kong and Southeast Asian film distributors present all laughed; this pretentious act was anything but convincing.

Last year's Hong Kong box office champion, "King of Comedy," grossed HK$2900 million. What more could you ask for?

Jiang Zhiqiang smiled, raised his hand to smooth things over, and then said loudly, "Thank you to the creators of 'My Sassy Girl' for making such an excellent film. I'd like to share some news: I bought the Hong Kong rights to this film for less than HK$150 million..."

"coax"

Wang Jing's eyes practically blazed with fury as he looked at the smiling Jiang Zhiqiang. Then, glancing at the grinning Yang Che, his eyes softened with pity.

Manfred Wong, Andrew Lau, Tsui Hark, Lau Ka-ling, Lau Tak-hua and others looked at Yang Che with some reluctance and didn't quite understand why Jiang Zhiqiang was speaking like that.

Finding a bargain can be very satisfying, but it's not so satisfying to have someone else find a bargain and then loudly proclaim it.

At this moment, Jiang Zhiqiang shouted loudly, "So, so everyone enjoy yourselves today, it's on me. Now, let's invite Mr. Jung Byung-won, the publisher from South Korea, to say a few words!"

Zheng Bingyuan straightened his back instantly, his expression became serious, and he bowed slightly: "I'm really happy today. I met many old friends, Director Tsui Hark, Mr. Manfred Wong, Mr. Lau Tak-wah... (a long list), and I also had the honor of meeting Ms. Wang Fei."

Wang Fei rolled her eyes inwardly. This Korean was so slow. She was planning to leave after listening to Yang Che's speech... Anyway, she had achieved her goal and didn't want to stay any longer.

Fortunately, Jung Byung-won knew that this was not a report party but a celebration party, and the topic was changed to the box office.

"My Sassy Girl" attracted 240 million viewers in South Korea...equivalent to approximately $1050 million.

"Clap clap clap clap"

Fan Bingbing, unaware of the situation, grabbed her boyfriend's arm and excitedly exclaimed, "3000 million! 3000 million!" Then she whispered, "..."

The other friends were just as excited. Even though they wouldn't get a share of the money, they were still happy. Wu Shixian raised his hands high and clapped enthusiastically.

Yang Che had already passed the point of excitement, and patted the little fat boy's hand with a smile to show his composure.

People were extremely surprised; they never expected to obtain such data in South Korea. Their gazes towards Yang Che became even more sympathetic. They were also somewhat bewildered by Fan Bingbing's excited expression.

However, Zheng Bingyuan and others responded with a slight waning of applause and a smile: "When Mr. Yang Che initially asked for $200 million, I thought he was being delusional, so I proposed a 36% cut. Now I deeply regret it."

Zheng Bingyuan was joking, but his heart was bleeding, truly bleeding.

Most people in the room looked at Yang Che, who had a strange expression on his face: "Why are you looking at me? I'm not an investor."

People either smiled knowingly or grimaced, saying things like, "If you don't get a dividend, I'll eat shit upside down."

Then no one from the publisher spoke; instead, it was Yang Che, the host, who spoke.

"It's a pity that the celebration banquet is being held at this time. If it had been held half a month earlier, with so many big names in attendance, the box office would have been even higher."

Speaking of this, I, and all the distributors, have to thank Comrade Wang Fei, because of our rumored affair, the film's box office bucked the trend and rose.

I also have to thank you on behalf of my mom; her shop's business improved a lot during that time. Of course, there were also troubles; the glass door of her shop was smashed twice. When the police arrested the people who smashed the glass, they said they were two of your male fans.

My mom called me and said, "Son, I knew you were a fan of Wang Fei, so I didn't pursue the matter."

Yang Che spoke in a serious tone, while the people present were laughing so hard they were almost passing out.

The chubby boy is smiling.

Wang Fei was also laughing while covering her face with her hands.

Paul Fang and Jiayu Zhang laughed as they took notes.

"My Sassy Girl has grossed $3500 million worldwide. In mainland China, it grossed 6300 million RMB, making it the highest-grossing film in 1999."

Faced with the renewed applause and cheers, Yang Che swallowed back his words of dissatisfaction.

"Of the 6300 million yuan box office revenue, after deducting production and distribution costs, about 1000 million yuan is left. Our producer, Fan Zeping, said: This 1000 million yuan will be distributed entirely to the main creators of 'My Sassy Girl,' and will be divided equally among the production departments."

People were initially confused when Yang Che started calculating, until they heard the last sentence.

Aside from Haibo, Yu Wenhao, Wu Shixian, and Liu Chang, who could no longer contain their emotions and started yelling, many people felt not envy, but rather confusion and anger.

"So much pure silver is being given away to the poor—what a sin!"

Film critic Paul Fong and editor Jiayu Fong wished they had eight arms.

Afterwards, no one gave a public speech at the celebration banquet; instead, it became a free exchange session.

Wang Fei immediately walked towards Yang Che. Fang Baoluo, who was about to speak, immediately shut up, nodded politely, and turned to walk towards Cheng Er.