Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 209 Boeing is coming too (Second update, 3200+ words)

"Brother Le, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Let's do the variety show first, and then bring in the newcomers." Li Song thought that Boss Shao was quite capable; the director is the core of both movies and TV series.

No matter how good your actors and other resources are, without a good director, it's all just empty talk.

“In this way, I will personally allocate ten million Hong Kong dollars every year to support new directors. You can let those who want to become directors submit their scripts and their shooting plans, and they can get investment.” Li Song thought of some big directors in Hong Kong who had not yet started directing.

Benny Chan, Johnnie To, Andrew Lau, Lee Lik-chi, and others—these people were able to make a name for themselves in Hong Kong during the 1980s and 90s, which means they definitely had real talent.

These people are either actors or photographers, but they all definitely dream of becoming directors.

Li Song knew that directing was a job that required talent, and that some directors relied on seniority, resulting in films that lacked logic and made TV dramas that got worse and worse until nobody watched them.

And that gala director, at the beginning it's all about what the audience says is good, but at the end it's all about what the director says is good. If you, the audience, don't like it, that's your problem. Take it or leave it.

"Okay!" Liu Jiale was under a lot of pressure because the TV station had invested a lot in various equipment, office buildings, and studios.

If you don't have a good relationship with Shaw Brothers, they definitely won't let you film on other people's sets.

"We'll produce variety shows first, and then run artist training classes."

"You can apply for the copyright for 'The Voice of China,' but let's not try to get rich overnight. As for TV dramas, let's not expect to overwhelm others all at once," Li Song continued.

"Yes, it's already been applied for, the million-question challenge, the million-level challenge." Liu Jiale nodded.

"That's good."

"Lucas called. Interstellar Mercenaries will be broadcast on cable TV in the American states of California, Washington, and New York in mid-September."

"Of course, they advertise themselves as a company that deals with Ying," Liu Jiale continued.

"Yes, their advertising isn't wrong." Li Song knew the reason for their advertising, but it was the truth now.

“Wang Jing signed with our TV station. I guaranteed him two TV series or movies a year, with an investment of no less than HK$100 million for each one. He also brought in some other people.”

"But we're still negotiating!"

"Some contracts haven't expired yet, and we'll probably have to go to court."

"Also, there's the situation at Cinema City; they're currently experiencing some internal conflict."

"The main problem is that the film's investment is too large!"

"The copyright fees were quite high at the time!"

"So they decided to go for a big production!"

"But now Mr. Lei feels that too much money has been invested!"

"So Boss Lei started to back down!"

"I feel there's no need to invest any more money!"

"Huang Baiming, Shi Tian believes that since so much has already been invested, the losses would be even greater if we didn't invest more. We can still take a gamble now!"

"McGarden and Boss Ray have decided to stop investing!"

"Mainly because of Mecca and Mr. Lei, the two of them have the most shares."

"The latter owns 72 percent of the shares."

"Huang Baiming owns nine percent of the shares, and Shi Tian owns nineteen percent of the shares!"

“Huang Baiming came to me to solicit investment!” Liu Jiale mentioned another matter.

“That’s negotiable!” Li Song replied immediately upon hearing this.

The movie adaptation of "The Lost Tomb" has a very high chance of becoming a huge hit.

There are also overseas copyrights.

Because if "Treasure Mystery" becomes a box office hit, it will naturally lead to a huge success for the movie "The Lost Tomb".

"What conditions did they propose?"

"They haven't mentioned any conditions yet. I feel like they're having some kind of conflict right now. Since I don't know what your plans are, boss, I haven't dared to reply to them!" Liu Jiale is very cautious in his actions!
Li Song picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "You can try asking around. As long as it's not too outrageous, I'm willing to invest. I have a way to make Golden Harvest's Treasure Mystery a box office hit. Maybe it can even break this year's Hollywood box office record!"

"It would be difficult for their movie to lose money, given that it's also a direct result of this."

Liu Jiale was puzzled when he heard Li Song's words, but Li Song didn't continue, so he had no way to ask.

"Then I'll try to make contact!"

"I feel that when there are too many people in a company, it becomes difficult to handle certain problems!" Liu Jiale nodded.

"Uh-huh!"

"As long as the conditions aren't too outrageous, you can invest."

"When the Tomb Raider Chronicles movie comes out, we'll ask for a share of the box office revenue."

"Okay, boss!"

"Where does the boss think would be a suitable location for our TV station?"

"You decide that yourself."

"it is good!"

Li Song only grasped the general direction of the TV station and the magazine.

The rest was left to Liu Jiale.

After finishing his story, Li Song left the magazine office, while Amin had already left long ago.

Li Song originally planned to present the script for Jinling in Kyoto, but he felt it would be too abrupt to do so there.

After all, I'm not old enough to write war-themed scripts.

If I show it to people next week, they won't suspect anything and will assume that I had someone in Hong Kong write it for me.

Today is September 7th!

I'm moving next Sunday.

The renovation will be basically finished next week! Then, the house will be transferred to Arlene when she turns eighteen.

After Li Song left the magazine, Liu Jiale went to the Xinwanbao newspaper and published what Li Song had said in the newspaper.

That means Li Song personally invests HK$10 million annually to cultivate new directors!

Of course, it's not that anyone can get investment just by saying they want to be a director; you need to have a plan and a script.

Then there's the selection of the TV station's office location and the location of the film studio.

Liu Jiale considered two options: the first was to rent someone else's property, and the second was to build his own office space and photography studio.

You can either buy a factory building and renovate it, or you can buy land and build it yourself.

Then he called Huang Baiming again, saying that since the boss said the box office was going to be a hit, they could invest more money and get more box office revenue.

Monday, September 8, 1980.

The New Evening Post published a news item stating that Beipai Sanshu, the owner of Phoenix TV and a famous writer from Hong Kong Island, has donated HK$10 million as a fund to support new directors.

Below are the specific details: those who want to become directors can write a proposal and submit a script for review and approval before they can secure investment.

Upon seeing this news, Boss Shao cursed inwardly.

There are plenty of people who want to be directors, but not everyone can secure investment.

Making a film involves many aspects, and not everyone can handle it.

Beipai Sanshu's actions were clearly aimed at himself.

Mr. Shao also knew that many people wanted to become directors from his television station and film company.

However, it's impossible to have that many directors because funding is limited. Also, TVB and Shaw Brothers are too big, with too many directors!
There are also many staff members under its umbrella, and many people who want to become directors.

Mr. Shao cannot invest in everyone, because doing business is about returns.

It's unacceptable to throw away ten million like that.

On Monday morning, Li Song handed over the blueprints for excavators, bulldozers, and cranes, along with related production processes, to people on the mainland in a parking lot.

Li Song didn't arrive at Parkson Company until after 11 o'clock!

"boss!!"

"This is Lin Awang, and this is Yang Yaohui." Last week, Li Song planned to meet the two men, but they weren't ready yet, so Li Song asked them to prepare a proposal and come to see him again this Monday.

"Boss!" Lin Awang and Yang Yaohui quickly reached out to shake hands and greet Li Song when they saw him.

However, Li Song simply clasped his hands in a fist and bowed.

Li Song now greets strangers with a cupped-fist salute, rarely shaking hands.

Li Song had seen movies and noticed that some strangers would do certain things when shaking hands.

Of course, people of certain status wouldn't go that far, like when I shook hands with the governor last time I met him.

It's best to be cautious with people you've never dealt with before.

When Lin Awang and Yang Yaohui saw Li Song cupping his hands in greeting, they quickly returned the gesture.

"Let me take a look at your proposal first, and then I'll ask some questions!" Li Song treated this as an interview.

Li Song read their plan, which also included their resumes. After being fooled once, the two of them would be much more careful next time.

After reading it, Li Song first asked Lin Awang, "What is the best way to expand into the Southeast Asian market?"

"Boss, the best way is to cooperate with the locals. We'll just supply them with the goods, and they can then retail them themselves!"

“The locals in Southeast Asia have a lot of influence, and many local officials are involved in business!”

"Even large international companies sometimes struggle to adapt to the Southeast Asian market."

“If we do it ourselves, we’ll have to pay them protection money. If we don’t pay, they’ll come looking for trouble every day!” Lin Awang said.

Then Li Song asked Yang Yaohui, "What is the most important thing when doing business with the other party?"

Yang Yaohui shifted his body slightly and then replied, "We must be careful that accounts receivable do not exceed a certain limit!"

"If they keep delaying payment, I'd rather not ship the goods. Many people on their side are untrustworthy!"

"I am very satisfied with both of your answers!"

Never try to earn the last coin!

"We should strive for win-win situations in business, and this applies to Southeast Asia and other parts of the world as well."

"Now you two are both vice presidents of BMW Motorrad Hong Kong Island Sales Company!"

"Whoever has the highest workload over the next year will be in charge!"

"Any objections?" Li Song didn't know who should be in charge, so he let the two of them compete for it.

“You guys hand over the rest to Lao Tian. Lao Tian is also the vice president of BMW Motorcycle Sales Company, mainly responsible for legal matters!” Li Song added.

"Thank you, boss! Thank you, boss!" The two thought one of them would leave, but they ended up joining the company together.

Then the two of them went to find Tian Jiahui.

Li Song waited a while longer before Tian Jiahui arrived at the office: "Boss, I've already asked an acquaintance in Switzerland to inquire about the regulations of the International Motorcycle Racing Association."

"Yeah!" Li Song nodded.

"In addition, there are two outstanding payments from Zhang Dehua."

"You can get me to sign this later."

"In addition, we also need to set up a sales company for marine outboard motors!"

"Boss, McDonnell Douglas is preparing to send people over, as is Boeing." Tian Jiahui took out two letters.

(End of this chapter)