Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 448 Hong Kong Circles Heading North
Hong Kong Island.

After Long Wu hung up the phone, the smile on his face vanished without a trace, and a trace of worry even appeared.

His trip to the mainland was quite fruitful. After deepening his relationship with Zhang Yan, he was selected as the intermediary liaison between Optoelectronics and Hong Kong Island.

Although it's not an official status, it's still a good bargaining chip. In the future, when it comes to matters related to mainland China, I'll have more say in the industry.

only……

Can Hong Kong films really compete with Hollywood after entering the mainland market?

Thinking back to last year's "Jurassic Park," Lung Wu felt a little less confident. His company in Hong Kong is known for copying and following trends. No matter what movie becomes popular, he will rush to make several of the same kind.

But Jurassic Park is different. It's there, and no one can copy it properly. It's not even in the same league as Hong Kong films.

If several Hollywood movies like this were released every year, wouldn't the box office profits all go to Americans?

Moreover, during this meeting with Zhang Yan and Han Sanping, they were discussing big-budget productions and industrial films, seemingly agreeing with the Hollywood model.

It's important to know that these two are leaders in both state-owned and private enterprises in mainland China. Their thinking means that mainland China will not follow the old path of Hong Kong films.

How am I supposed to copy then...?

"boss."

At this moment, one of his subordinates reminded him, "It's almost time for the agreed-upon departure. When shall we set off?"

Long Wu then came to his senses, regained his usual composure, and waved his hand, saying, "No rush, we're going to be the grand finale this time!"

Whether he gets crushed by Hollywood or gets double-teamed by both Hollywood and mainland China in the future, he's powerless to change it anyway, so he should just focus on the present.

…………

Luk Yu Tea House, Central.

A Mercedes-Benz slowly pulled up in the open space in front of the teahouse. Lin Jianyue, a wealthy second-generation real estate tycoon, got out of the car, looked up at the teahouse's signboard, and looked quite smug.

He was invited to this gathering of film industry leaders as the owner of Media Asia Films.

As a newly established company with few works to show for it, it shouldn't be qualified to be here, but what can you do when his father is in the real estate business?
He strolled upstairs, pushed open the door to the private room, and found that there were already six or seven people inside, including established figures such as Wong Pak-ming and McDonald's.

This surprised Lin Jianyue somewhat, since as a young man who had just entered the industry, he had already moved the time forward by twenty minutes.

After some pleasantries and introductions, he sat down next to Wong Pak-ming and asked in a low voice, "What are the conditions on the mainland side? Are there things we can discuss but not things we can't?"

As a newcomer, he didn't have a full grasp of the industry's dynamics, so he was eager to grasp the key points of this meeting so that he could have something to say.

Huang Baiming glanced at him and said calmly, "We can talk, but we don't know the conditions yet, because we haven't made contact with them."

Lin Jianyue was completely confused by what he said. If they could talk, how could they not make contact and how could they not know the other party's conditions?
Seeing his confusion, Huang Baiming, out of respect for his father, explained further: "It's like this, the mainland hopes we can send a representative to negotiate, but we haven't been able to select one, so..."

"Can't choose?"

Lin Jianyue was still puzzled: "Is it because they're afraid the other side will make exorbitant demands? But I've heard that the other side has always been very generous in these matters in order to ensure a smooth handover."

“It’s not that we’re afraid the mainland will make exorbitant demands, it’s that we’re afraid…” Huang Baiming pointed to the sky: “There are still three years until 97. If we stand out and get targeted by the British, we might not be able to make it to 97.”

Lin Jianyue suddenly realized that his enthusiasm for attending an industry gathering for the first time had been immediately dampened.

Anyone involved in real estate development needs to maintain good relations with the local government—it's hard to say what the Lin family's future will be like, but their current inclinations are obvious.

After that, the big shots arrived one after another, but he was no longer as lively as before. He kept his eyes down and didn't want to stand out. In fact, he wished that no one would notice him.

Seeing that the agreed time had passed, Zou Wenhuai, who was sitting at the head of the table, asked, "Is everyone here? Is anyone still missing?"

Someone in the corner said, "Mr. Shao said he's not involved in film production anymore, so he won't be joining in the fun."

Immediately someone else said, "Mr. Lei is ill and cannot come."

No one was surprised that Lei Juekun was sick. His company had encountered difficulties in the past two years, and the situation was getting worse. He was even preparing to sell the cinema chain. Given Lei Juekun's strong personality, he naturally did not want to show his weakness in front of others.

A moment later, someone else said, "Mr. Long Wu doesn't seem to have arrived yet, but he said he would attend." Zou Wenhuai frowned slightly, while Pan Disheng next to him urged impatiently, "Let's get started already. It's been dragging on for over a month. I'm getting annoyed, even if you're not."

Pan Disheng's D&B Films gave up filmmaking in 92 and currently relies mainly on theaters to maintain its industry status. Therefore, the entry of Hong Kong films into the mainland is not very beneficial for him, and may even be harmful in the short term.

Therefore, he was one of the least enthusiastic people about this matter.

"Then let's discuss it first."

Zou Wenhuai looked at everyone present and said, "Please feel free to express any opinions you may have."

As a result, no one responded for a long time after he finished speaking. Even his two henchmen didn't say a word. After all, the problem now was that no one wanted to be the first to speak up.

"Humph~"

Pan Di scoffed, "Since no one has anything to say, I don't think there's any need to waste time. Let's finish our tea and call it a day."

Upon hearing this, Zou Wenhuai glanced at Pan Disheng with displeasure, but he himself did not want to be the one to stick his neck out, so he did not provoke Pan Disheng.

Just then, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open, and Long Wu swaggered in, looked around, and asked, "Where's Uncle Shao? Why isn't he here?"

Zou Wenhuai was somewhat displeased with Long Wu's carefree attitude. Although no one wanted to offend someone like Long Wu, Zou Wenhuai was not afraid of him.

He then coldly replied, "The matter of the film being shown in mainland cinemas is not something that TVB needs to follow up on for the time being."

"Then it's difficult to discuss."

Long Wu sat down in an empty seat near the front and spread his hands, saying, "I finally got this opportunity, and I need Mr. Shao to stand up and support me."

"Opportunity? What opportunity?"

Thinking about how Lung Wu had been frequently going to the mainland recently, Zou Wenhuai's heart skipped a beat. At the same time, he couldn't help but secretly complain to himself, how come he, who was doing business honestly, was so cautious, while someone like Lung Wu could get along with both sides?

Have you ever heard of the Golden Eagle Awards in mainland China?

Long Wu gave a brief account of the matter and then said, "If anyone is interested, you can each send a representative to participate in this year's Golden Eagle Awards. Director Lin, who is in charge of Hong Kong Island affairs at Optoelectronics, will also be attending. Everyone is welcome to share their thoughts."

After listening, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Someone questioned, "How is this any different from the current situation? Aren't we all fighting our own battles? How can we confirm the results without a unified representative?"

"Haha~"

Long Wu chuckled twice, looked around at everyone, and said, "You think this was negotiated? No, this is a unilateral concession from the mainland to Hong Kong Island. The only question is how much benefit you can persuade Director Lin to give up!"

The group exchanged glances again, none of them wanting to admit it, but they all knew it was the truth.

Currently, mainland films and television series face restrictions when entering Hong Kong, and can only accept low-priced buyouts, making it difficult to obtain box office revenue sharing. Under these circumstances, Hong Kong films' desire for the mainland to open its market is essentially a pursuit of unequal, one-sided concessions.

Seeing that no one spoke, Zou Wenhuai took the initiative to ask, "Are you sure this is Director Lin's idea?"

Long Wu spread his hands and said, "Although I didn't get to meet Director Lin, this is what Zhang Yan from Tianjin said. He was also behind the Golden Eagle Awards, so it shouldn't be false."

Upon hearing Zhang Yan's name, many people nodded silently.

"Since it was Big Guy who personally relayed the message, it must be true."

"Yes, even he took the initiative to set up the stage, it must be the order from above."

"I heard that Yuanmeng Investment's 'In the Heat of the Sun' has grossed nearly 60 million yuan at the mainland box office—the mainland market really has great potential!"

The farce in April brought Hong Kong people's attention to Zhang Yan and his dream. Now, while everyone may not know everything about Zhang Yan's background and connections, they have a general idea.

Seeing that everyone's minds were starting to stir, Zou Wenhuai simply announced, "In that case, I think there's no need to continue this meeting. Everyone can decide whether or not to send someone to the mainland based on their own circumstances."

There are some things that can be done but not said.

If you were to ask them one by one, most of the people present would probably deny it outright; but if you ignore them, more than half of the bigwigs present would probably send someone to attend the Golden Eagle Awards.

(End of this chapter)