Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 149 Eunuch Road Boss
The next day, Lu Kuan accompanied Emil to the Lionsgate headquarters to sign the contract.

Starting today, "Paranormal Activity" will be released in North America on DVD.

If the terms of the bet previously agreed upon by both parties are met, Lionsgate will be responsible for the film's theatrical distribution at 30% of the distribution fee.

Both parties in the transaction thought they had gotten the best deal, but they passed each other and called each other idiots.

Lu Kuan was just about to go downstairs when he met a middle-aged couple with Chinese faces at the corner.

The man was tall and spoke with a strong Hong Kong accent: "Are you the guide?"

Boss Lu was stunned. He didn't know these two people and had no impression of them in his previous life.

The woman looked at her husband doubtfully, and when he gave her a reassuring look, she smiled and stretched out her hand.

"Hello, Lu Sheng, I'm Zou Chongheng from Golden Harvest Films, and this is my husband, Chen Yingming."

Golden Harvest?

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land and being so welcoming, Boss Lu asked Emil to go back to the company to deal with the contract first, and then he found a coffee shop to chat with the Hong Kong couple.

"Hello, Ms. Zou and Mr. Chen, nice to meet you!"

Chen Yingming laughed and said, "Lu Sheng is incredible. He angrily withdrew from the Golden Horse Awards. We all support you."

Hong Kong filmmakers have a relatively bad impression of the Taiwanese film industry. There are some historical reasons for this, but given the terrible nature of the Golden Horse Awards, there are very few real supporters.

Chen Yingming is friends with Fruit Chan, who participated in the Golden Horse Awards, and has also acted in his movies. He should have seen himself at the Golden Horse Awards in November.

As for the uproar he and Liu Yifei later caused on the Internet, it became a hot topic among people in the industry after dinner.

The “Dead Horse Award” is so mean!

"Why are you two here at Lion's Gate?"

Zou Chongheng's face was a little stiff, and her husband Chen Yingming sighed to help her out.

"The current situation of Jiahe is not very good."

"My father-in-law is planning to let Chong Heng take over and hand over Golden Harvest to her. We're here to visit Lionsgate and investigate, and to discuss some film rights."

Boss Lu suddenly understood.

This is not simply a matter of Zou Wenhuai's succession, but a real crisis for Golden Harvest.

The kind that is terminally ill.

The Asian financial crisis hit in 1997, and the complex problems of the Hong Kong film industry broke out, and Golden Harvest was not spared.

At the critical moment, his old enemy Run Run Shaw joined forces with six film companies including Huaqiang and Lam Kin-yuet to launch an attack, and won the government-approved land for the Tseung Kwan O Studios from Golden Harvest.

Soon after, Golden Harvest lost the Axe Hill Road Studio and completely lost its power.

How can a film company survive if it no longer has its own cinemas and filming locations?
In 2002, the film "The Secret Agent" produced by Fang Long and Golden Harvest was a big flop, and there was another biggest blow to Mr. Zou Wenhuai -

Fang Long ran away.

He reached an agreement with Eagle King and launched Eagle King Films, then headed north and began to fully embrace the mainland film market.

Boss Lu saw the depressed looks on the couple's faces and was afraid that Fang Long was about to leave.

Boss Lu said with emotion: "When I was a kid, I knew it was a Golden Harvest film as soon as I heard 'dangdangdang'. Mr. Zou is a very sentimental filmmaker. I hope you can get through this difficult time."

This is half true and half false
It’s true that there is sentiment, but Golden Harvest...

That’s Golden Harvest!

Golden Harvest, which owns the copyrights to countless films by Fang Long and Bruce Lee, has been a dominant force in the Hong Kong film industry for decades and has influenced a generation!
In 1970, Raymond Chow left Shaw Brothers and founded Golden Harvest with Ho Kuan-chang and others. He soon became the dominant force in the film industry with three films: "The Big Boss", "Fist of Fury" and "Way of the Dragon".

After Bruce Lee's unfortunate death, Golden Harvest discovered stars such as Fang Long and Sammo Hung.

When talking about Chinese film companies overseas, the first one that foreigners mention is undoubtedly Golden Harvest.

For Mr. Lu, Golden Harvest’s copyright value, cinema chain value, distribution capabilities covering the entire Southeast Asia region and mature filming team are important.

It would be a lie to say I'm not jealous.

Zou Chongheng and her husband looked at each other and were both moved.

"Thank you, Lu Sheng. I will definitely convey your wishes to my father."

The two sides exchanged a few words and then left.

Lu Kuan was walking on the streets of Los Angeles, but he was still worried about Golden Harvest.

For his closed loop of the film industry, theaters are certainly indispensable.

The symbolic meaning of the name Golden Harvest even exceeds its value itself.

Later, until 2007, Zou Wenhuai and his daughter sold their 24% shares to Chengtian Entertainment for more than 2 million Hong Kong dollars, which was only one-third of their value when they were first listed.

As for Golden Harvest now, it is not certain that they can easily overcome the current difficulties.

Because in addition to the wide road, there will also be a strong enemy surrounding Zou Wenhuai and Golden Harvest.

News Corporation of the United States.

In 2004, American media tycoon Murdoch entered the Asian market and intended to acquire Golden Harvest.

Later, Zou Wenhuai asked Li Huanggua to be his white knight to ensure his position as a major shareholder.

In this life, Lu Kuan obviously does not need to wait for 5 or 6 years to intercept Chengtian Entertainment and take over the shares held by Zou Wenhuai.

But he doesn't have much time left. With Golden Harvest's current share price of HK$0.2 in the US, he will need at least RMB 4-5 million in funds.

This is the approximate amount of capital required to secretly acquire shares in the secondary market, make large-scale acquisitions, and acquire shares from Raymond Chow. Is it worth it? Definitely.

It’s just that a penny can make a hero fail. Where can he get 5 million in one year?

At this moment, Lu Kuan was like a castrated eunuch looking at the charming naked woman, feeling excited but impotent.

Of course, given Zou Wenhuai's status in the underworld, even if he had the money, he would first have to obtain the other person's approval. This is a story for later.

After finishing the affairs in the United States, Lu Kuan went to the embassy to handle the formalities, explained the situation to Emile, and then flew directly to Berlin.

Of course, before leaving, he also arranged some interception tasks, but there were not many hot products that could be intercepted in 2003.

He plans to register the copyrights of Lionsgate's "Insidious" series, "Buried," "The Hangover," and "The Hunger Games" after copying them.

The Twilight series, which is popular in North America, had to wait for the publication of books, and the popularity of subsequent movies was also based on a large number of book lovers and fans.

On February 2003, 2, Lu Kuan and A Fei landed in Berlin.

The Berlin Film Festival started on February 2th. Boss Lu was delayed due to visa issues, but fortunately he did not miss tomorrow's awards ceremony.

The road to the hotel was extremely congested, and the streets were filled with demonstrators, who were marching against the United States' impending war against Iraq.

As mentioned earlier, the Berlin Film Festival is jokingly called a political correctional facility, and the winner of this year's Berlin Golden Bear just confirms this point.

Just tomorrow night, a film about the experiences of Afghan refugees, "This World", will win the Golden Bear. The stubborn Germans don't seem to care much about the impact this will have on US-German trade.

"Director Li, long time no see!"

As soon as Lu Kuan entered the room, Li Yang followed in with the lead actor Li Yixiang.

The director of "Blind Well," with a haggard face, complained, "Director Lu! President Lu! We've finally got you here, why are you so late?"

"Oh no! Don't even mention it. It's all because of those protests out there. I had some trouble getting a visa in the US and almost couldn't come."

Li Yixiang laughed and said, "This foreigner is just too free and doesn't know the pros and cons."

Boss Lu is still more concerned about his money, especially now that he has his hands full with Golden Harvest, his desire for money is even greater.

"Director Li, how have your conversations with foreign film producers been these days?"

Li Yang was delighted. "Luckily you introduced me to Mr. Jiang. He knows a lot of people. Although it's been a bit tiring these past few days, I've gained something."

He pulled out several documents from his bag, all in the form of memorandums of understanding.

This is the requirement set by Mr. Lu, the major investor who holds 2/3 of the shares: Let’s talk about it before the end of the awards ceremony, no final decision.

Li Yang himself does not have such strong confidence in his own movie. This year's Berlin Film Festival is surrounded by strong competitors. Apart from others, Zhang Yimou's "Hero" is a huge mountain that stands in the way.

These are the only two Chinese-language films that entered the main competition unit.

Lu Kua roughly flipped through the contract. The number might be impressive for Li Yang, but it was far from his expectations.

"Wait a minute, I have a feeling that after tomorrow, the threshold of your room will be broken down!"

Li Yang laughed heartily: "Great! Everyone says Director Lu is a little god in the domestic entertainment industry. Let's see if it's true this time!"

Lu Kuan looked at his watch and said, "Let's go. I have a dinner appointment with Director Jiang and Director Yimou. Yixiang should come with us."

Li Yixiang said yes repeatedly with gratitude. If Lu Kuan didn't give the order, it would be difficult for Li Yang to take him with him.

The dining place was not far from the hotel, and several people walked there. Ah Fei looked around nervously, fearing that the boss would be bumped into by the demonstrators.

Jiang Zhiqiang and Zhang Yimou were already seated in the Chinese restaurant, with the latter sitting next to a pretty girl.

"Path, here!"

Zhang Yimou is already the biggest director in China, but he doesn't dress very well. He wears an old black sweater and his face is full of wrinkles when he sees Lu Kuan.

Boss Lu introduced a few people to each other and then started to joke about Jiang Zhiqiang.

"Mr. Jiang, I don't know what the rules are in Hong Kong. We in mainland China don't consider the New Year to be before the first month of the lunar year."

"It's the Lantern Festival tomorrow, in the middle of the first month of the year, and you, a big boss, are treating us to this?"

Boss Lu knocked on the shabby menu exaggeratedly. It would be more appropriate to call this an East Asian restaurant rather than a Chinese restaurant.

There were only a few Chinese dishes, but Korean kimchi and Japanese sushi took up several rows.

Everyone laughed, and the girl next to Zhang Yimou also covered her mouth, looking at this famous "drum washing machine" curiously.

Putting aside his directing abilities, he is much more romantic than his father.

Zhang Yimou belatedly introduced everyone: "Everyone, this is my daughter Zhang Mo, currently studying film at NYU."

"Mo'er, everyone here is your uncle and brother, say hello."

Zhang Mo, also a straightforward person, questioned his father: "Is Director Lu older than me? Didn't he just start his freshman year at the Beijing Film Academy last year?"

"Haha, Rafi and I are the same age."

"what?"

"Mine is from 82, it's Lafite from 82, haha."

Jiang Zhiqiang finally found an opportunity to tease him: "Xiaolu, don't get excited just because you see a pretty girl. Her dad is sitting here."

Lu Kuan bowed to him as if to apologize, and everyone just laughed it off.

"Come on, we are all strangers in a strange land, let's have a drink together!"

"cheers!"

(End of this chapter)