Chapter 148: Let Things Take Their Course

Not only Taiwan, but also the distribution agents in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore were seized by Fang Ruohai. Fang Ruohai was convinced that Xiao Ran would soon find out about this. However, he didn’t think Xiao Ran could be knocked down by such a blow.

In fact, Fang Ruohai didn’t know much about the film industry. Apart from appreciating movies, he was practically a film ignorant. So, in the early stages, he didn’t realize the importance of distribution and didn’t even know that rushing into it might provoke a counterattack from film companies.

But soon he became aware of the potential power from the film industry. So, while Xiao Ran was in Macau filming “Dark Flowers,” he quietly acquired New Art City, two major studios, a newspaper, and a television station at a relatively low cost.

At that time, he realized that every industry has its own small circle—people outside are allowed to bring in flowers but not to pick them inside. So, he cleverly invented a lie: Haisen Company was about to acquire MGM.

Of course, it was a lie. Investing 300 million dollars in films was already the limit. Fang Ruohai believed that if Xiao Ran heard this news, he would surely realize it. That’s why he chose to act when Xiao Ran wasn’t around.

Fortunately, Golden Harvest and the others believed Fang Ruohai’s exaggerated lies. Fang Ruohai had calculated that with Haisen Company’s billions in assets, along with some tricks and by stoking resentment among Golden Harvest and Deppa over Phantom’s rapid expansion, it wouldn’t be difficult to form an alliance.

Golden Harvest and the others clearly understood what it meant to acquire a Hollywood film company—that it meant having a powerful distribution network. Their films could then be spread worldwide through this network to reap huge profits. It was indeed violent, but if they could really distribute their films globally, with Hong Kong movies’ low costs, they could at least achieve twentyfold profits.

Of course, Fang Ruohai thought he could hold his ground. But after two or three months, several films from Hailue Entertainment Group did become successful. Yet, Fang Ruohai gradually sensed something was wrong. Although New Art City had its own distribution channels, they were limited to a few small regions. In Korea and Japan, their films were sold through Golden Harvest.

After careful consideration, he quickly realized that distribution was an extremely important matter. He thought it wasn’t too late to realize this, because he noticed that Xiao Ran strangely hadn’t done anything against Hailue. This once made Fang Ruohai anxious, but Xiao Ran’s reaction finally told him that everything he had done before had had no impact on Phantom—it was all in vain.

Still, thinking of this, Fang Ruohai smiled. Even though they were enemies, he increasingly admired Xiao Ran. He had gone to great lengths to keep the news of poaching from leaking out, even delaying the poaching plans, which reduced their effectiveness.

But he had to admit that Phantom wasn’t really affected—only a bit chaotic administratively in those first few days, which was quickly put in order by General Manager Wei Dongling. The few people Fang Ruohai recruited now held important positions at Hailue Entertainment and were performing very well. What frustrated Fang Ruohai was that although he had managed to poach some talent, Xiao Ran soon promoted other newcomers who quickly got up to speed and performed excellently. He had to admit that in terms of talent reserves and vision, he was inferior to Xiao Ran. It was indeed he who caused the gang-related problems this time, but it wasn’t him who made the plans—it was Fang Poli. Fang Poli went to the United States to meet Wang Yang and told him something. Then Fang Ruohai began to execute the plan: he wanted to seize the Taiwanese distribution rights that Xiao Ran had failed to obtain, as well as those in Japan and South Korea. While distribution rights were one aspect, Fang Ruohai truly wanted the people from those three major gangs to be involved in the film industry. He realized that apart from his own company’s films, he had no way of obtaining films from other production companies for distribution. So this was a win-win situation. Of course, if Xiao Ran could be killed by the assassins hired by Wang Yang, the plan would be even more perfect. At that point, with the help of the gang forces, he could take over the production companies controlled by Phantom, seize the distribution rights, and become a major company on par with Jiahe. Although Fang Ruohai disliked—really disliked—such methods, he had to admit that his father’s approach seemed highly effective. What saddened Fang Poli and made Fang Ruohai resentful yet admire was that Xiao Ran not only remained unharmed but also seemed to have anticipated this day, swiftly dealing with those three major gangs and giving them a harsh lesson. Now it was even better—he had obtained distribution rights for one more region than Xiao Ran, making it interesting to see how Xiao Ran would respond. Right now, he was simply sipping red wine, enjoying top-quality caviar, and waiting for Xiao Ran’s counterattack… What counterattack could Xiao Ran have? There really wasn’t much to counter—Taiwan had more than one theater chain, so there could be more than just him and Jiahe as distributors. This wasn’t much of a loss for Xiao Ran. The only problem was that since Hailue had obtained the distribution rights, it meant it had the strength to compete with Phantom. While Hailue Entertainment was still using its traditional distribution methods, Xiao Ran didn’t even give it a second thought. He knew very well that if Hailue continued in the same way, it would eventually be pushed out by companies that held distribution rights. But now the situation was different, and Xiao Ran had to take this seriously. After explaining some concepts related to post-production, Xiao Ran hurried back to the company. Wei Dongling looked very serious because he also understood well how high Hailue, now in control of distribution, could rise: “What do you think we should do now?”

Xiao Ran calmly recalled the method he had thought of a few days ago to deal with Hail Group. It was actually very simple, yet also extremely complex—namely, to unite the four major companies to exert pressure on Hail in terms of film distribution. Now that Hail had obtained the distribution rights, this method had to be changed.

“What if all the production companies in Hong Kong refuse to supply films to Hail? What will happen?” Xiao Ran stared at Wei Dongling and smiled faintly. “I think, within at most half a year, the theaters will be forced to terminate their contracts with Hail due to a shortage of films!”

“That’s a good idea…” Wei Dongling exclaimed, but soon lowered his head. “But we only control one-third of the production companies right now; it’s difficult to ensure that no films from across Hong Kong are supplied to Hail.”

Xiao Ran rubbed his nose. Wei Dongling had indeed hit on a key point—how could he get all the production companies in Hong Kong to unite? Then Wei Dongling shook his head and said, “The Japanese and Koreans are already watching to see which side is stronger. Now, they’re probably even more inclined toward Hail!”

Xiao Ran continued rubbing his nose; suddenly, it felt as if it was leaking air. Wei Dongling’s question was indeed crucial. The Koreans and Japanese were just waiting to see the internal strife among Hong Kong’s four major companies (with only Tianluo’s strength recognized by Xiao Ran) in order to gain more advantages. If Shadow lost, the Japanese and Koreans might make choices they wouldn’t want to see.

Before Shadow officially entered the distribution business, Hong Kong’s distribution situation was very poor, relying mainly on film producers coming to them. Only Cathay controlled a small portion of the market. When Shadow started to get involved in distribution, in just the first two quarters, it released nine films from other production companies, targeting only a few small countries and regions, yet still made a profit of 80 million.

Such figures were undoubtedly astonishing. If it could gain control over Taiwan, as well as Japan and Korea, the figure could likely double. Even without investing in production, relying solely on such distribution already yielded 80 million in profits. If films invested in by Shadow were included, the figure would be even higher.

So, any company with financial resources and connections began to engage in distribution. Unfortunately, this was clearly not a task for ordinary companies. Thus, currently, the entire distribution market was basically controlled by Cathay, Shadow, and a few smaller film producers.

“Let him do it. I believe Cathay’s patience is running out. If he secures these distribution rights now, Cathay might not necessarily show him disfavor!” After thinking for a long time, Xiao Ran still couldn’t come up with an effective solution—this was only because he hadn’t prepared adequately.

“Are you sure?” Wei Dongling stared at Xiao Ran in disbelief. Last time, Xiao Ran’s lack of reaction to the poaching attempt had already seemed strange to him; this time, he endured it as well—it was practically a miracle. “Do you realize that if Hail gets the agency rights from local production companies, it will be able to expand rapidly?”

Xiao Ran realized that he had no need to continue entangling with the Fang family. Otherwise, as long as neither side died, it would mean a lifetime of conflict. He never intended to drive Fang Ruohai to death, nor did he want to fight against him during the company’s expansion phase—it would only hold the company back. Just as he had said before, as long as he expanded into overseas and domestic markets, the Hong Kong market didn’t matter at all; he could even give it to them with a wave of his hand. Most importantly, he remembered that his original intention wasn’t to eliminate Fang Ruohai but to deliberately let him enter the market to help expand it. Still, he somewhat admired Fang Ruohai—someone who knew nothing about movies yet managed to grasp the key to this business in such a short time; it was truly remarkable. Glancing at Wei Dongling, Xiao Ran said calmly and confidently, “I’m sure. Remember, we let him in to help expand the Hong Kong film market. And since we were able to let him in, we can definitely force him out.” “As for Taiwan, I’ll go talk to them in person tomorrow!” Xiao Ran’s tone was extremely casual. “Japan and South Korea are easy to deal with. As long as we can ensure high-quality products, they’ll definitely come to us. The key lies in the summer holiday season!” With Wei Dongling’s thoughtful expression, Xiao Ran smiled mysteriously and said slowly, “Besides, we’re not incapable of doing anything.” Pan Disheng was very confused—what exactly did Xiao Ran want from him? And Xiao Ran was acting so secretly, as if afraid of being discovered. Out of curiosity alone, he was willing to meet Xiao Ran. This time, Xiao Ran went to Pan Disheng’s home in person. Upon seeing him, Xiao Ran laughed heartily and shook his hand, saying, “I’m really sorry I couldn’t make it to your wedding!” Pan Disheng and Yang Ziqiong had gotten married in February this year, and Xiao Ran hadn’t been there. Of course, he couldn’t have gone—Pan Disheng had just broken the agreement he made with Xiao Ran just two months earlier. Thinking of this, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but feel emotional—there had been quite a few separations and reunions this year. In January, Zhong Zhentao and Zhang Xiaohui got married, while Liu Jialiang’s mentor also married an actress in the industry, Weng Jingjing. Liu Jialing also broke up with Xu Dashaoshao. By October, Maomao might get married as well. Historically, Huang Rihua also got married at the end of this year. Pan Disheng, as always, looked cool and aloof. After asking Xiao Ran to sit down, he reluctantly showed a slight smile. “President Xiao, with all your busy schedule, of course you don’t have time.” “Enough nonsense!” Xiao Ran knew well that Pan Disheng didn’t like beating around the bush, so he got straight to the point. “Asheng, what exactly did Fang Ruohai promise to make you allow him in and even work together to take on Shadow?” Pan Disheng was stunned. Xiao Ran’s words were too direct. An awkward expression appeared on his usually cold face. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Aran, you must be misunderstanding…” Rarely showing impatience, Xiao Ran stared at Pan Disheng with an interesting expression. “Fang Ruohai said he wanted to acquire a Hollywood film company and then handle distribution for you, right?”

His tone was more assertive than questioning. Even Pandi Sheng, a calm-minded businessman, couldn’t help but be shocked: “Aran, please don’t misunderstand…”
“I originally came here with good intentions to discuss things. Now that you refuse to say even a single honest word, I think there’s no point in continuing this conversation!” Xiao Ran looked at Pandi Sheng with deep regret. If Pandi Sheng was only this good, he certainly didn’t deserve to be his competitor.
Seeing Xiao Ran stand up and head for the door, Pandi Sheng’s mind raced with countless thoughts. He was deeply afraid of how quickly Shadow had grown to its current strength in just one year. Not only him, but also Zou Wenhua and He Guanchang from Jiahe felt the same deep fear when talking about Shadow and Xiao Ran.
To them, it was nothing short of a miracle. They weren’t afraid of talent, but they were afraid of miracles, because miracles are unstoppable. Yet Pandi Sheng knew better—that he had already lost a round within the alliance of the three major companies, and he had lost to someone from his own side.
*****
Recommendations: Saling Dada’s new book *Play Until You Break Down*, http://www.feiku.com/showbook.asp?bl_id=48596; Ye Tingyu’s new book *Monk Dragon Path*, http://www.feiku.com/showbook.asp?bl_id=48263