Traveling Through the Tokyo Bubble Era

Chapter 1023 Golden Dragon Award

When Hideki Hanyu arrived at the Asia Cinema conference room with Peter Fang and Rosamund Kwan, the room was already full of people.

No matter how fiercely everyone was fighting for market share in private, the atmosphere in the meeting room was completely devoid of any sense of tension.

When Hideki Hanyu entered, everyone stood up to greet him.

After greeting everyone, Hideki Yuzuru sat down in the head seat of the conference room.

Hideki Hanyu skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point.

"This meeting will determine the subscription quota. Before the final determination, does anyone have anything to say?"

As soon as Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, Mr. Jiang, the owner of Edko Films, asked, "If the share has not yet been determined, Mr. Hanyu, could you grant us some more time?"

"No."

Hideki Hanyu spoke casually, but the implication was undeniable.

He then held up a document in his hand and said.

"I said today is the deadline. Whether you're dissatisfied with the price or have any private issues, that's your business."

If you do not submit your subscription amount, I will consider it a waiver, and those who waive their subscriptions will be asked to leave the meeting room. Unsubscribed shares will be allocated proportionally to companies that have submitted subscriptions.

As soon as Hideki Hanyu said this, several major production companies visibly panicked.

They first set a fixed share for the smaller company, and then they fought amongst themselves, not to cause mutual destruction and benefit the smaller company.

Even so, no one wanted to suffer a loss, and they kept exchanging glances, but they still couldn't come up with a result.

Seeing this, Hideki Hanyu said somewhat impatiently, "Everyone, my time is very precious, and the time of Asian cinemas is also very precious. Going public will also require a long preparation time."

Therefore, I don't have time to waste here with you. Give me your answer now, or please leave.

Facing a group of bigwigs from the Hong Kong film industry, Hideki Hanyu spoke without any politeness or consideration.

To be honest, these so-called Hong Kong film moguls sitting in front of him are of no value to Hideki Hanyu.

But these are precisely the kinds of people who are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything.

In order to advance his subsequent domestic cinema strategy, he had to use the listing of Asian cinemas as a fence to bring everyone in with benefits, so that these people wouldn't hold him back when he was doing things.

Despite Hideki Hanyu's ruthless attitude, no one dared to complain.

Firstly, Hideki Hanyu genuinely shared the cake with them.

Secondly, Hideki Hanyu is very powerful, so even if they have any complaints, they still have to keep them to themselves.

In this situation, everyone exchanged glances again, and finally all looked in the direction of Jiahe.

The next moment, Mr. He took out a document and handed it to Guan Zhilin.

Guan Zhilin handed the document to Hideki Hanyu. Hanyu glanced at it and noticed that several major film companies that had been omitted were listed.

Hideki Hanyu glanced at the list but didn't pay attention to the specific subscription shares before handing it over to Peter Fang.

As I said before, how these film companies compete, allocate, and subscribe to them, and what grudges and feuds they have behind the scenes, are none of his business.

All he wants is results.

With that, the matter of dividing the cake was settled, and Hideki Hanyu looked at everyone with a smile on his face.

"From now on, Asian cinemas and all the pillars of Hong Kong cinema are one family."

Hong Kong's film market is about to enter a new era, a time when all industry professionals can share in the profits of the film industry.

I also hope that everyone can work together for the success of Hong Kong films, make them more popular, and let's make more money together.

To put it bluntly, a good working environment is the foundation for us to make money.

Since everyone can make more money from cinemas in the future, everyone should also shoulder the corresponding responsibility of protecting the interests and operations of cinemas.

Otherwise, everyone would lose hundreds of millions or even millions of yuan a year, and I don't think anyone would be happy about that.

As soon as Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, everyone naturally echoed his sentiments, saying that they would all be one family from now on and would of course support Asian cinemas.

As for the specific subscription agreement and related procedures, Peter Fang will naturally be responsible for them, so Hideki Hanyu doesn't need to say anything more.

None of the people present believed that a big shot like Hideki Yuzuru would break his promise for such a small amount of money.

Just when the atmosphere was just right, Hideki Hanyu casually offered a suggestion.

"After listing, if Asian cinemas want their stock price to perform well, they naturally need to do something to attract attention. I wonder if anyone has any suggestions?"

Although the listing of Asian cinemas is still a long way off, people are still enthusiastic and offer all sorts of opinions when it comes to stock prices.

However, these opinions sounded somewhat unreliable to most people.

Some are against the rules, some seem unlikely to be effective, and some have absolutely nothing to do with the film industry.

Hideki Hanyu reluctantly called a halt, saying, "Everyone, we are a cinema company, not a nightclub. Any suggestions you make should at least be related to the film."

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, Xiang Qiang, the boss of Yong Sheng, quickly suggested, "I think it would be better for Asian cinemas to take the lead in organizing a film festival or film awards ceremony. If we can invite all the big stars, it will definitely attract attention."

After the boss made this suggestion, everyone discussed it and agreed that it was feasible.

However, since everyone involved was a film company owner, they didn't pay much attention to the details. So, aside from saying that it would be better to hold an awards ceremony, they didn't specify how to do it or what the scope would be.

However, at this moment, Jackie Chan, who was sitting in the Golden Harvest camp, stood up and said.

"Since we're going to hold a film awards ceremony, we definitely need to set some general rules first."

For example, regarding the scope of eligibility, since Asian cinema chains currently mainly operate in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and may expand into mainland China in the future, it would be better to include any Chinese-language film in the selection.

This expands the reach, increases the number of investors who become aware of it, and will definitely benefit the stock price of Asian cinema chains.

Jackie Chan's words immediately won the approval of the film company bosses.

The owners of these film companies are not the aloof film "artists" behind the Hong Kong Film Awards.
For them, the protection of Hong Kong films as a local market is far less important than tangible stock prices.

Meanwhile, in the Golden Harvest camp, Mr. Zou and Mr. He looked at Cheng Long, who was speaking, with some doubt, and then exchanged glances.

Both of them felt that what Cheng Long had just said was completely out of character for him.

Although the two were puzzled, they didn't feel comfortable asking about it now.

After Cheng Long finished speaking, Hideki Yuzuru followed suit with his own statement.

"Xiang Sheng and A Long both spoke very well, but if we want to make this new award a success and attract more attention, we still need everyone's strong support."

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, all the bosses patted their chests and assured him that they would definitely support him.

After all, if it's just for the sake of fame, people won't be very enthusiastic about the awards. But when it comes to the stock price of Asian cinemas after their listing, people will naturally be very eager.

Hideki Hanyu added, "Since everyone has no objections, I will have Asian cinemas begin preparations immediately and try to hold the first awards ceremony before the IPO."

At this point, Hideki Hanyu looked at Jackie Chan.

"Ah Long, since you're so interested in the new award, how about we put you in charge of planning it?"

Upon hearing this, Jackie Chan pointed to himself and said, "Me?"

Hideki Hanyu said, "Yes."

Jackie Chan said somewhat uncertainly, "But I'm just an action movie actor, and I have no qualifications or experience. Should I cooperate with the bi-weekly magazine and the film association?"

Hideki Hanyu waved his hand dismissively and said, "There's no need. Our initial intention in organizing this award was to gain greater influence. While we should emphasize a certain level of artistic merit, we will definitely lean towards commercially viable films with a wider audience. As for qualifications and experience, the film awards are organized by Asian cinema chains, so there's no need to care about other people's opinions. If I say you're good, then you're good."

As for experience, that doesn't matter. You can learn from others, you can copy others. As long as you build a good framework, invite the judges, and ensure fairness, everything else is minor.

Jackie Chan was suddenly entrusted with an important task, and scratched his head, somewhat at a loss, "But I have to film a movie recently, and I don't have any time at all."

"The Asian cinema chain will set up a team to assist you in completing the work. Besides, there's no rush now. It won't be until next year at the earliest, by which time you'll definitely have finished making the movie."

I think instead of worrying about how to prepare for the award, you should think about what to name it.

Seeing that Hideki Hanyu had directly handed over the responsibility of hosting the awards to Jackie Chan, the other bosses did not have much of an objection.

After all, in the eyes of these people, this so-called new film award is just a way to attract attention for Asian cinemas going public, and it is not worth the industry's attention at all.

Just as Jackie Chan was racking his brains for a name for the new film award, Hideki Hanyu had already stood up and announced it.

"We've covered everything we needed to discuss. Thank you all for your support of Asia Cinemas. Peter, the manager in charge of the subscription, will personally contact you regarding the details. That concludes today's meeting."

With Hideki Hanyu's announcement, the meeting officially ended.

The group bid farewell to Hideki Hanyu and left.

The Xiang brothers from Yongsheng were the last to leave the meeting room. When Yu Sheng Hideki said goodbye to Xiang Qiang, he not only said farewell but also expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Xiang."

Xiang Qiang said politely, "It was nothing, Mr. Yusheng, you don't need to be so polite."

Upon hearing this, whether it was Peter Fang, Guan Zhilin, or Xiang Sheng standing next to Xiang Qiang, they all guessed what was going on.

Clearly, Hideki Hanyu had already communicated with Xiang Qiang before today's meeting began.

As for the content, it was clearly the award ceremony that Xiang Qiang had finally proposed.

After all, Hideki Hanyu had no reason to interfere with the subscription of shares.

“In the past, Xiang Sheng has taken good care of Ah Min, and I have rarely thanked him. Today, he helped me at the meeting again, so I owe Xiang Sheng a favor.”

Upon hearing Hideki Yuzuru's words, Xiang Qiang's eyes revealed an undisguised joy.

After all, Hideki Hanyu's favors are extremely precious.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Hideki Yuzuru saw the two brothers off.

After the two left, Hideki Yuzuru saw someone return from outside, and the way he walked was none other than Jackie Chan.

"Ah Long, didn't you leave with Boss Zou? Why are you back?"

With a worried look on his face, Cheng Long said, "Yuzuru, you've really put me in a difficult position. Didn't you say you only wanted me to offer suggestions? How come you've now assigned me the responsibility of organizing the awards ceremony and naming the event?"

Upon hearing Cheng Long's words, Peter Fong and Rosamund Kwan immediately realized that Hideki Yuzuru had hired more than just Xiang Qiang as a plant.

Hideki Yuzuru patted Jackie Chan on the shoulder, "The capable should do more, Jackie, I believe in you."

And have you considered that once you accomplish this, your status in the Hong Kong film industry will be vastly different from before?

Upon hearing Hideki Hanyu's words, Jackie Chan's mood immediately became excited after a moment's thought. After all, personally hosting a film awards ceremony was quite prestigious.

But after the initial excitement, thinking about the difficulties involved, Jackie Chan said with some uncertainty, "What if our awards aren't as popular as the Hong Kong Film Awards?"

Hideki Hanyu asked, "What, do you not want to compete with the Hong Kong Film Awards, or are you afraid of competing with them?"

Jackie Chan quickly replied, "It's not that I don't want to, nor am I afraid. After all, the Hong Kong Film Awards have been around for a long time, and we will definitely be compared to them."

Hideki Hanyu said confidently, "With my support, what are you afraid of?"
"At worst, we can just combine the awards ceremonies. You have all the major film companies in Hong Kong and cinema chains across Asia behind you. Which award do you think the stars will choose to attend then?"

Upon hearing Hideki Yuzuru's threatening words, Jackie Chan quickly waved his hand and advised, "It's not that serious, it's not that serious. We're all contributing to the film industry, there's no need to make things worse."

There's no way to refuse them, because Jackie Chan is very young, and they really have the ability to blacklist celebrities who don't choose them, and it's a comprehensive blacklist.

After all, their strength is overwhelming, whether it's the media, cinemas, production companies, or even commercial endorsements.

Honors are good, but the prerequisite is being able to make a living.

"Okay, I'm just kidding."

Upon hearing Hideki Yuzuru's words, Jackie Chan immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Little did Cheng Long know that when Hideki Yuzuru decided to announce the new award at today's meeting, he already harbored the idea that two tigers cannot share one mountain.

In his past life, he disliked the Hong Kong Film Awards. It had the potential to become the most influential award in Chinese-language cinema, but due to his narrow-minded and conservative regional views, it turned into a game played by a small circle.

Now, if the new film awards are successfully held, he will have many ways to target the Hong Kong Film Awards. If he wants to ruin the Hong Kong Film Awards, it will be a piece of cake.

Ultimately, on the surface, he seemed to be just playing around, handing the award to Jackie Chan.

But this was just a smokescreen, misleading others while also making it difficult for him to openly intervene in the award due to his status.

In any case, once the team assisting Jackie Chan in Asian cinemas is established, he will definitely be the one operating behind the scenes.

Thinking of this, Hideki Yuzuru glanced at the time and asked Jackie Chan, who hadn't left yet.

Are you filming again this afternoon?

Cheng Long shook his head and replied, "I finished filming this morning so I could attend the meeting this afternoon."

"Then come with me to dinner. I suddenly have a craving for barbecue. Let's have a barbecue party and invite other friends over so we can drink until we drop."

Hideki Yuzuru called Cheng Long and prepared to leave.

However, before he had even left Hopewell Centre, Cheng Long suddenly stopped.

Hideki Hanyu looked puzzled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Jackie Chan replied, "I've come up with a name for the award."

Hideki Yuzuru laughed and said, "Ryu, you say you don't want it, but you worry about it more than anyone else."

Ignoring Hideki Hanyu's teasing, Cheng Long asked with great interest, "What do you think of calling it the Golden Dragon Award?"

Hideki Hanyu pondered for a moment, then said, "I think it's good."

There was also a Golden Dragon Award in my past life memories, but it seemed to be related to anime. Hideki Hanyu didn't pay much attention to it, so I can't remember it clearly.

Cheng Long hesitated, "Won't it look a bit rustic?"

"The Golden Dragon Award sounds grand and majestic, and it is also full of meaning. After all, the dragon is the symbol of the bloodline and spiritual totem of China. How could it be considered tacky to use it as the name of a Chinese film award?"

Instead of worrying about the name being unfashionable, you should worry that after the name is announced, people will think you're naming an award after yourself.

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, Cheng Long's concerns were largely dispelled.

But because of Hideki Hanyu's last words, I couldn't help but add something.

"Then let's learn from other awards, add a prefix, and call it the Chinese Film Golden Dragon Award."

Hideki Hanyu said nonchalantly, "Whatever, I'm leaving everything to you anyway."

Actually, it doesn't matter what the new award is called, as long as it's not too abstract. With Hideki Hanyu's support, it will definitely be a success in the end.

Once the Asian cinema chain's whitewashing plan succeeds, the Golden Dragon Awards will grow alongside the development of domestic films and gradually increase its influence.

At that time, domestic films will at least have a relatively reliable award, and they won't have to rely on Hong Kong and Taiwan to please others anymore.

(End of this chapter)