Chapter 97: Pornography and Violence

“I have no objections!” Xiao Ran wore a strange smile as he said calmly, “Bosses, I know what you’re thinking. Without a rating system, many films could surely earn more at the box office. But precisely because of the content restrictions, we can more accurately target our audience. Most importantly, we must not ignore public opinions at all!”
“I agree!” Lei Kaitai chuckled and shook out his cigarette ash before speaking, “A Ran is right. I’ve made it this far step by step. I’m quite aware of what the public thinks. If we ignore their voices, trouble might arise!”
Pan Disheng smiled at Xiao Ran before speaking solemnly to the department head, “I agree too. Content restrictions are crucial. Without them, the impact would be severe, and it would end up being counterproductive.”
Seeing that the decision was made, the film department head finally breathed a sigh of relief. Aside from Xiao Ran, who was a newcomer, the others were all wealthy and influential bosses with significant clout in politics. “Since everyone agrees, I’ll send the draft to you all tomorrow!”
“Wait a moment!” Xiao Ran glanced leisurely at Wei Dongling before saying, “I’m curious—after implementing ratings, will Category 3 films be allowed to be made without any restrictions?”
Xiao Ran’s question made sense. From what he knew, after Hong Kong introduced the rating system, the number of Category 3 films was controlled by the government. Each production company had to pay a certain amount annually to purchase a quota. If they wanted more, they had to set up satellite companies to get additional quotas.
This shouldn’t have been a problem, but the fact that these quotas could be bought meant that stronger companies had a much better chance, leading to unfairness. In fact, Xiao Ran had always believed that the government shouldn’t interfere in the specific operations of the film industry. Matters like the number and proportion of Category 3 films, he thought, should be decided by the film association.
The film department head was shocked and glanced at Xiao Ran in surprise. He hadn’t expected Xiao Ran to see through the underlying tactics. After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, “That’s right. There are indeed limits on the number of Category 3 films each year. But it doesn’t matter—these are quotas that can be bought!”
Xiao Ran smiled faintly, unsure whether he was talking to himself or planning something. “Not bad. That way, the government’s revenue will increase significantly. Good idea—selling quotas. Maybe we can even auction them. What more can we make then?”
The film department head didn’t know what to say. He could see that the British government intended to make money from this. But since he couldn’t make the decision, he helplessly glanced at the others. Pan Disheng and Lei Kaitai’s expressions changed slightly. It seemed the government planned to take money out of their pockets.
Xiao Ran chuckled rudely. “I wonder if other film genres will also be restricted and their quotas sold in the same way. If so, I think it might be better to sell fish balls on the street—maybe we can make more money there!”

Lei Kaitai laughed heartily, even Pan Disheng couldn’t help but twitch his face, while the film department head was utterly embarrassed. At this moment, Xiao Ran truly stole the show. But this was exactly the effect he wanted—he intended to use it to show the three major companies that Phantom was by no means an easy target. Of course, the main reason was to unite the three companies to fight against this quota system.

Lei Kaitai waved his hand grandly, showing the demeanor of a top boss: “No need to discuss further. Without fixing this quota system, don’t expect us to agree!”

After saying that, everyone stood up and dispersed. Only the film department head was left in a terrible dilemma. Xiao Ran nodded at Wei Dongling, signaling him to get closer to the department head. He stepped forward and patted the department head’s shoulder: “Sir, it’s okay. They didn’t offer money before, but now they’re trying to get involved in the film industry—of course we won’t agree. I think the higher-ups just want to test the waters; they don’t intend to implement this plan right away!”

The film department head glanced at Xiao Ran, whom he both hated and admired—hating him for exposing the true purpose behind everything in such a situation, and admiring him for not treating him as a puppet like others.

At that point, Xiao Ran signaled Wei Dongling to take over. Then he turned and left. After taking a few steps, He Guanchang came up with a laugh: “Aran, please do us the honor of having a talk?”

Xiao Ran shrugged and found a place to sit. He Guanchang handed him a glass of water and said, “You know, Golden Harvest is responsible for distributing films in Southeast Asia. Last time, we couldn’t get your ‘God of Gamblers,’ and now we deeply regret it.”

He Guanchang then put on a pained expression: “But this time, we’re not going to let you slip away from us. Give us ‘Prison Storm,’ and we can discuss the price!”

Xiao Ran couldn’t help but laugh in amazement. Golden Harvest must be extremely frustrated—last month, ‘God of Gamblers,’ released in Southeast Asia, crushed the box office of ‘Oriental Eagle.’ ‘Oriental Eagle’ was originally a major production by Golden Harvest, featuring many popular stars and action heroes at the time. Yuan Hua became famous for playing a distinctive villain in this film, but unexpectedly, Phantom had indirectly undermined it even in Southeast Asia.

Speaking of this, it’s necessary to mention Golden Harvest’s business scope. In the 1970s, Golden Harvest was inferior to Shaw Brothers in every aspect. But in the 1980s, with stars like Cheng Long, Hung Jin-pao, and Xu Guanwen, Golden Harvest grew rapidly, expanding its operations to a considerable scale.

It’s no exaggeration to say that although New World Pictures and Diamond Films can compete with Cathay-Keris in production, they fall short in distribution and post-production aspects. Especially in distribution, Cathay-Keris is the exclusive agent for several cinemas across Southeast Asia. It pays a company to acquire certain films and then releases them there. This is why many films from two decades ago still bear the Cathay-Keris logo—not because Cathay-Keris produced that many films. New World Pictures and Diamond Films have considered entering the agency business but have never been able to compete with Cathay-Keris and thus focus on securing their own film sources. Of course, production companies can choose to sell to Cathay-Keris, but Cathay-Keris is not only the agent in Taiwan and other five regions but also in Thailand and elsewhere. In this way, it naturally earns more money.

However, not every film company is willing to sell its Southeast Asian distribution rights to Cathay-Keris, such as Phantom. Xiao Ran is well aware that to revitalize Hong Kong’s film industry, he must confront Cathay-Keris.

In a sense, New World Pictures is a reliable ally, while Diamond Films is far from having the presence to become a dominant force and pose a threat. So, if Xiao Ran has any rival in Hong Kong’s film industry, it must be Cathay-Keris. Under such circumstances, he has no reason to let Cathay-Keris seize control of his Southeast Asian distribution.

Yet, facing He Guanchang, Xiao Ran felt somewhat tempted. Cathay-Keris has access to European and American markets, an advantage that other companies lack and one Xiao Ran greatly desires. If he could entrust Cathay-Keris with European and American distribution, it would undoubtedly help him break into those markets.

But after careful consideration, Xiao Ran immediately dismissed the idea. He had his own ways to enter European and American markets and couldn’t allow Cathay-Keris to get involved. So, with a smile, he rejected this highly tempting offer: “No, Uncle Chang. You know Phantom has already signed a one-year contract with Lin Guiyun and the others!”

He Guanchang shrugged slightly. He thought Xiao Ran was an ambitious person and unlikely to agree. Unfazed, he said with a smile, “There’s something I want to tell you, but don’t get angry, really!”

“Of course not, Uncle Chang. That sounds a bit dismissive of me!” Xiao Ran was curious—what could make He Guanchang try to hide his embarrassment with laughter?

He Guanchang chuckled and said a few words to the waiter, and soon a man came over from the back room. From a distance, Xiao Ran vaguely recognized him as Tie Long, which surprised him greatly. He wondered, How is he here?

Tie Long sat down next to He Guanchang and bowed slightly to Xiao Ran, saying, “Hello, Boss Xiao!”

Xiao Ran was even more puzzled. Why was Tie Long with He Guanchang? He Guanchang gave an awkward laugh and said, “Ah Ran, it’s like this—A few days ago, Tie Long brought us a script. But he told me it was actually you who wanted it! Since he thought the price was low, he gave it to us instead!”

Of course, it wasn’t just that. The fact was that on the back cover of the script, Tie Long had seen Xiao Ran’s comments: “Good idea; both the script and the author are usable.” But while he thought the price was too low, he remembered that the first screenwriter’s evaluation must be extremely valuable. So, he took the script and rushed to Jiahé, almost getting thrown out. Fortunately, he wasn’t thrown out, and a director saw him. After reading Xiao Ran’s comments, the director didn’t dare make a decision on his own and handed the script to He Guanchang. If there hadn’t been Xiao Ran’s comments on the back cover, He Guanchang would likely have dismissed the script. But once he saw those comments, he immediately changed his mind. He called Tie Long to find out about his meeting with Xiao Ran that day and promptly decided to pay 80,000 for the script, even recruiting Tie Long to Jiahé. However, since everyone was in the film industry, circumstances could change, and Jiahé had always had a good relationship with Meiyin. This move was essentially trying to poach clients from Meiyin. Thinking of Xiao Ran, who had grown so successful in just two years, He Guanchang felt disheartened, fearing that failing to explain things to Xiao Ran first could lead to serious problems in the future. Thus, the scene that happened earlier occurred. Of course, Xiao Ran had no idea that He Guanchang favored Tie Long because of his comments; otherwise, he would have written random critiques every time. But when he later learned the truth, he slammed the table in anger. At that moment, he merely felt a bit regretful before smiling indifferently and saying, “Uncle Chang, it’s no big deal. You don’t need to tell me personally! Tie Long wants to go to Jiahé because of your strength!” Seeing Xiao Ran’s easy-going attitude, He Guanchang felt a bit ashamed and wondered if his judgment of Xiao Ran was correct. “Anyway, it’s better to tell you, so as not to be awkward if we meet again! A’long, bring some tea to apologize to Boss Xiao.” Reluctantly, Tie Long went over to Xiao Ran. Since there was no tea, he had to offer a glass of water instead. Xiao Ran hesitated for a moment before smiling at He Guanchang and saying, “Uncle Chang, do we really need to go through such formalities?” “A’ran, just take it quickly. A’long’s hands are shaking!” He Guanchang was extremely uneasy; he wanted to settle things right away. A screenwriter favored by Xiao Ran couldn’t be that bad, so He Guanchang didn’t mind helping out a bit. Tie Long was extremely resentful—Meiyin had only paid 50,000 for the script, but it was sold at Jiahé for 80,000, with the promise that future scripts would be given priority. Now, with his new status, he had to serve tea and apologize to Xiao Ran, which he saw as an insult. Yet, Tie Long seemed to ignore the fact that without Xiao Ran’s approval, he wouldn’t have been taken seriously by Jiahé. Without Xiao Ran’s willingness to pay 50,000, Jiahé wouldn’t have paid 80,000. Moreover, he didn’t realize that what screenwriters at Meiyin valued wasn’t just the script fee but also greater rewards for box office success or awards. But there are always people in this world who are self-centered, as if the Earth should revolve around them. Tie Long was undoubtedly such a person—a person who didn’t know how to be grateful.

Xiao Ran didn’t notice the gaze and expressions of the minor character Tie Long, as someone else was already announcing the start of the charity auction. After nodding at He Guanchang, he went to look for Lin Qingxia and Wei Dongling.

He Guanchang watched Xiao Ran’s retreating figure, his confusion growing deeper. He had always thought Xiao Ran was a shrewd man who founded the film company, but now it seemed Xiao Ran wasn’t the kind of ambitious person. Of course, he also didn’t notice the strange looks Tie Long was giving him.

Lin Qingxia was patiently dealing with a wealthy young man when she finally saw Xiao Ran arrive and quickly walked over to him. Fa Ge and the others had already found seats, so Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia joined them. Zhong Chuhong glanced at them with a hint of a smile: “There’s a wonderful item up for auction today. If you buy it and give it to Qingxia, she’ll definitely love it!”

*****

Fictional name — Yuan Hua
Real name — Yuan Hua

Yuan Hua was a fellow disciple of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung; there were seven of them in total, known as the “Seven Little Fortunets.” The photo of him with Bruce Lee shown in “The Dragon’s Legacy” was real—he and Uncle Jiu, Lin Zhengying, used to perform with Bruce Lee. After Bruce Lee’s death, Yuan Hua continued working as a martial artist until “Oriental Eagle,” where his role as the villain made him suddenly famous.