Chapter 81: Speech by the Film Association

Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice—it was Xiao Ran speaking. He stood up and scanned the room: “What exactly are the responsibilities and obligations of the Film Association?”
“Coordination, facilitating management, and resolving conflicts!” The director frowned at this newcomer, not understanding what Xiao Ran meant.
Xiao Ran was well aware that the establishment of the Film Association was inevitable and necessary, but he believed it played little role in Hong Kong. While it could use collective strength to tackle companies that produced films carelessly, the current association clearly lacked such awareness.
It was like the century-old film company founded by several directors from the post-1997 Directors Association, which declined after producing just a few films, failing to fulfill its intended role of revitalizing the industry. What was the point then?
Chuckling lightly, Xiao Ran glanced around again before saying calmly, “I think there should be more detailed explanations, as well as clearer responsibilities and obligations. For example, our production companies should plan the proportion of themes for each year—this is crucial. The art of market coordination lies in this.”
“Hey, it’s you, kid!” A voice came through the crowd. Xiao Ran hadn’t noticed the fat man sitting among them outside the hotel. The fat man was surprised and scornful: “Who are you? What gives you the right to give orders here?”
Xiao Ran broke into sweat again. He didn’t expect this fat man to be from the film industry, let alone someone who didn’t know him—someone from within the industry. Clearly, the fat man felt despised by everyone; after all, who didn’t know Xiao Ran, the rising star even more famous than some big celebrities? Yet this fat man still didn’t recognize him.
Perhaps someone had told the fat man about Xiao Ran’s status. The fat man froze for a moment before remembering him, then slammed the table and snapped, “How long have you been in this industry? Everyone here is your senior. How dare you speak here?”
Xiao Ran sweated even more. He couldn’t believe this fat man could still survive in the film industry—it was a miracle. But he also didn’t know who this fat man really was; anyway, he wasn’t someone Xiao Ran needed to deal with.
“Enough, stop arguing!” The director glared at the fat man and cursed inwardly. This Wang Guiyi always caused trouble. Didn’t he know who Xiao Ran was? Could he even afford to offend him? After thinking for a moment, he tapped the table and said to Xiao Ran, “Boss Xiao, everyone has made a decision. Stop causing trouble. As for Boss Wang, he doesn’t know you—so don’t bother him!”
“It’s fine. If a dog bites me, I certainly won’t bite it back!” Xiao Ran shrugged nonchalantly, mocking him. His words caused everyone to laugh uproariously. The fat man, furious and embarrassed, tried to retort but was scolded harshly by the director.

Actually, Xiao Ran didn’t want to be so ostentatious. He knew his words just now were too sharp and didn’t reflect his usual personality. But he also understood that there was no need to be polite with such insignificant people—otherwise, everyone would take advantage of him. However, he wasn’t aware that his character was gradually changing, becoming more profit-driven.

Xiao Ran was utterly disappointed by this Film Association meeting. That worthless Film Association had nothing; they hadn’t even half the awareness of future crises and were only focused on dividing up the market. His proposal had been excellent, yet everyone deliberately ignored it, which really disappointed him greatly.

“Damn it, they’re such fools, only concerned with making small profits!” Xiao Ran left the Regal Hotel with Wei Dongling and Guan Xin, cursing loudly, “If they don’t listen to me, they’ll be ruined by this market sooner or later!”

When Wei Dongling and Guan Xin exchanged shocked looks, Xiao Ran waved his hands angrily, “If things keep like this, we’re done for sooner or later. I must get a position of influence in the Film Association!”

Yet, despite his anger at those fools, he had no choice but to accept this cruel reality. He knew very well that Shadow Company currently didn’t have the strength of Jiahe, not even the influence of some mid-sized companies. He was probably allowed to attend this meeting mainly because of his name, not because of Shadow Company.

Half a month later, with box office earnings reaching 20 million, Xiao Ran waved his hand decisively and laughed as he decided to hold a celebration party. Previously, it was others who hosted such events; now it was his turn to enjoy them.

At the celebration party, Shadow Company invited all its contracted artists and filmmakers, along with reporters, of course. Xiao Ran raised his glass, his face full of joy, and looked around at everyone before shouting, “Let’s drink to our success! To the company’s success! To all of us!”

“Cheers!” Everyone excitedly drained their glasses. After taking photos with the reporters, they went their separate ways.

Xiao Ran went over to Fang Ruohai and Fang Ruoxin and smiled, “Don’t you feel happy? There will definitely be many more joyful parties like today in the future!”

“Do you know what Brother just said to me?” Fang Ruoxin behaved strangely—she always became extremely polite in public. No exception here; she gazed at Xiao Ran affectionately and said, “Brother said he wasn’t wrong about you. You’re truly talented—just one movie and you made him over 10 million!”

“Is that so?” Xiao Ran raised his glass and clinked it against Fang Ruohai’s silent one, then drank the water in his glass in one gulp. “You really made a profit from this deal. I even regret now why I cooperated with you—you’re too shrewd.”

Xiao Ran indeed regretted it. He shouldn’t have partnered with Fang Ruohai. He should have realized that although there were many film companies in Hong Kong that were just shell companies with no real substance, Xiao Ran was different. He only needed to secure the first investment, and after making a profit, he could inject a large amount of capital into the company.

Judging from the profits of The God of Gamblers, Xiao Ran didn’t even need to raise a second round of investment—he was fully capable of financing it himself. He lost money in this deal, a huge loss, which was equivalent to giving Fang Ruohai money that should have been for the future. It was only his own eagerness to find funds that led to this; he hadn’t considered other options, and he wasn’t very familiar with business matters, which explained his loss. But since Xiao Ran now had experience, he wouldn’t make such mistakes again.

“To be honest, you really lost a lot in this deal!” Fang Ruohai laughed. He hadn’t expected Xiao Ran to be so capable; it was completely beyond his expectations. “I think you should pay attention to these issues when doing business in the future, so as not to fall into others’ traps! That’s my advice to you!”

Xiao Ran raised his eyebrows. In business, there are always gains and losses; the key is to learn from them and avoid falling for the same traps next time. Gently taking Fang Ruoxin’s hand, he whispered in her ear, “Are you bored? Then don’t come next time!”

The two siblings were indeed bored. Fang Ruoxin had a terrible reputation in the industry, and even Fang Ruohai had been dragged down by it; almost no one wanted to do business with them. Fang Ruoxin glanced at Xiao Ran. “It’s okay. It seems someone is looking for you!”

Xiao Ran turned to look. At once, he saw Lin Qingxia’s eyes quickly avert from him, with a strange glint in them, which made his heart twitch slightly. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked at the newcomers.

It was Liu Zhenwei and Wang Jiawei. Xiao Ran frowned slightly. He knew Liu Zhenwei’s purpose, but Wang Jiawei was more difficult to deal with. Finding a place to sit, Liu Zhenwei, knowing that Xiao Ran preferred straightforwardness, quickly explained his reason: “A Ran, you see, both me and A Wei have been resting for a long time. Could you arrange something for us? We’d like to get busy again!”

Xiao Ran pondered for a moment. The company didn’t have many production projects available at the moment, so many filmmakers and artists had little work. Fortunately, Xiao Ran was open-minded enough to allow his artists and those under contract with him to work for other film companies, which prevented bigger problems.

But this issue eventually became unavoidable. After thinking it over, Xiao Ran decided to resolve it all at once. He signaled for Du Qifeng and Chen Musheng to be brought in.

Once they were all there, Xiao Ran rubbed his nose and said, “I know you’ve been idle for some time. But as you can see, the company is just starting out, so there won’t be many movies to shoot. Moreover, we focus on quality—it’s normal to spend a whole year on one movie. So, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to shoot several movies a year here!”

“However, I’m creating sufficient conditions for everyone to strive for excellence,” Xiao Ran said with a slight smile. “The equipment is state-of-the-art, there are screenwriters who can revise scripts at any time, and there’s a very relaxed creative environment. This might not be the best, but it’s the best I can offer right now!”

“Don’t complain about me assigning the projects to people outside the company. Once the films are released, you’ll realize I’m actually choosing the most suitable candidates!” Xiao Ran chuckled, looking at the silent directors. “A Du, I’ll make sure you get a film to direct this year, and Ah Sheng, you too will have a film.”
“As for Ah Wei, I think you’ll get a film to direct by the second half of the year!” Xiao Ran almost blurted out the word “grapes” and quickly warned himself. “As for Ah Wei, write out the script for the film you want to direct, and let me review it personally. There won’t be any restrictions on the theme—do it however you want!”
“Simply put, next year is when we’ll have our biggest projects!” Xiao Ran’s confident demeanor quickly calmed everyone down. “Next year, each of you will have a film to direct, and they’ll all have a chance to win awards! But nothing is decided yet—things might happen soon or not at all.”
Xiao Ran’s plan was simple: he wanted Wang Jiawei to direct “Carmen in Mong Kok” next year, Du Qifeng to direct “The Story of Ah Lang,” Chen Musheng to direct “If Heaven Has Feelings,” and Liu Zhenwei to shoot “The God of Gambling” this year.
He wanted to wait until next year because Xiao Ran didn’t want those films to compete with “A Fairy Tale in Autumn,” “Prison Storm,” and “The God of Gambling,” avoiding a situation where they competed against each other. He not only wanted to make Ekin Cheng the first actor to win three Golden Horse Awards but also to overwhelm films from other companies at the 7th and 8th Golden Horse Awards. With these two years, the company could gain sufficient influence in the film industry.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give these talented individuals films to direct—it was just that the time wasn’t right. None of them yet had their own style; some hadn’t even directed before. Everything needed a transition period; nothing could be achieved overnight.
“I recently watched ‘The God of Gambling’ and got an idea from it!” Liu Zhenwei frowned, trying to recall his idea. “I was thinking—could this gambling-themed film be developed into other genres? Then I read about supernatural powers in the newspaper…”
“I understand what you mean…” Xiao Ran cut him off, laughing. “Supernatural powers combined with gambling tactics—that’s a good theme. You can start working on the script. Then have Wei Jiahui review it, and the writing team can refine it further. If it works, you’ll get to direct it!”
Liu Zhenwei was shocked—flesh on his slightly plump face trembled. He hadn’t expected his casual idea to be instantly recognized by Xiao Ran, who seemed to have had such an idea all along. He suddenly felt that this man was terrifying—or incredibly talented.
“‘The God of Gambling’ is definitely going to be made,” Xiao Ran thought to himself with glee. It was a shame no one else shared his joy at stunning Liu Zhenwei. With “The God of Gambling” in place, “The Gambling Hero” couldn’t be overlooked. But Xiao Ran didn’t want a wave of similar films to follow just because he was producing a series on gambling. So, while “The God of Gambling” starring Zhou Xingchi would be promoted, “The Gambling Hero” could wait—after all, Liu Hua didn’t need that film to become famous.

Thinking of this, he strolled over to the group of actors including Zhou Xingchi who were chatting with Zhang Min, casually asking if they were having fun. Then he immediately noticed Liu Qingyun and Zhou Xingchi looking depressed. Without needing to think, Xiao Ran knew why and couldn’t help but laugh. There were currently no suitable roles for Liu Qingyun, which posed a problem. After some thought, Xiao Ran came up with an idea: why not have Liu Qingyun act in “Menggui Chaguan”? With a light cough, everyone knew Xiao Ran had something to say and stopped what they were doing to listen attentively. Xiao Ran smiled at these contracted actors of his team. In fact, his team was already quite strong; it was just that due to the company’s scale, they didn’t dare to produce large-scale films.
*****
Novel name: Liu Zhenwei
Real name: LiuLiu Zhenwei
Occupation: Director, Screenwriter
One of the most talented and uniquely styled directors in Hong Kong, known for his bizarre style and many highly distinctive films. Of course, what most people are familiar with him for is his line “Fuk you lao mu” from “A Chinese Odyssey.” He actually enjoys making guest appearances, having acted in films such as “The God of Gamblers” and “Menggui Chaguan.” His talent is unimaginable, with a mind that is extremely creative. He has been a long-time partner of Stephen Chow, having even helped with “Kung Fu.” He is also a close friend of Wong Kar-wai, having helped him with homework back in the TVB training class.
Works: “Jiuer Hei Meigui Dui Hei Meigui,” “The God of Gamblers,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “A Chinese Odyssey,” etc.