Chapter 265: Core Culture

Thus, Xiao Ran controlled a group worth trillions of Hong Kong dollars, yet he could only resort to selling it to raise funds. Although the other subsidiaries had money, they were needed for their own development and couldn’t be used casually.

Xiao Ran was clear about this: if necessary, he was willing to sell one of the two oil fields under Russian control to Sinopec. That deal alone would likely bring Phantom at least eight billion dollars in profits.

Wei Dongling pondered for a moment, calculating whether the funds would be sufficient. “I think it should be enough. Most of the companies I’m interested in are still in their early stages, so we probably won’t run out of money!”

After saying that, he handed Xiao Ran a document listing the acquisition targets. Of course, these weren’t full acquisitions or aimed at gaining control, but rather at generating profits. Both Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling had realized that Phantom’s funds were invested in very important areas that couldn’t be sold, so they felt it was necessary to make other investments to circulate the capital.

On the list, Xiao Ran recognized only a few familiar names—Motorola, Intel, and Siemens. The rest were unfamiliar to him. However, he trusted Wei Dongling’s judgment. After all, Phantom’s success over the years had already proven his acumen.

Xiao Ran was well aware of Wei Dongling’s ambitions to acquire shares in companies like Motorola and Siemens. If the opportunity arose, he planned to launch a battle for control and bring these electronics companies under Phantom’s umbrella, creating a powerful industrial chain.

Xiao Ran had no reason to object, especially after seeing such well-known companies as Motorola and Siemens. The list was entirely focused on investments in high-tech industries such as information and communication technology—areas in which Xiao Ran had no involvement, as he lacked the vision.

In the future, the companies on this list would undoubtedly generate huge profits for Phantom. The only mistake was with the other two companies: Phantom held a 20% stake in them, but due to sudden events and Wei Dongling’s negligence, the investment lost one billion dollars.

However, Wei Dongling quickly took action to become the largest shareholder in those two companies, sent people to manage them, and spent three years operating before selling them, earning over ten billion dollars for Phantom. Of course, that was later.

At the afternoon meeting, most of those present were Phantom’s long-time loyalists, who were now well-known figures in the business world. After exchanging pleasantries and taking their seats, Xiao Ran began to make more specific decisions regarding the entertainment and media industry.

After the group restructuring, both Wei Dongling and Xiao Ran were much more relaxed. As for the strategies for the other flagship companies, especially in areas like network application technology and electronics, they simply provided a few guidelines for development: cutting-edge, fashionable, packaging, and promotion.

It’s now time for them to make decisions regarding the entertainment media industry. Wei Dongling sat next to Xiao Ran, spinning the pen in his hand, and glanced at these veteran officials before saying with a smile, “Since everyone is here, let’s start the meeting. As you can see, technological progress in society is advancing very rapidly. In terms of information technology, personal computers, and the internet, these will all become key areas in the future!”
“As an entertainment media company, Shuxiang Media must incorporate all of these elements. Bai Pengfei, look—Yahoo invested less than a few hundred million Hong Kong dollars in our company, yet Yahoo’s recent listing immediately generated billions in profits for us,” Wei Dongling said to the calm Bai Pengfei beside him. “So, as a top priority for the company, Shuxiang must develop in this area. The internet will become a new means of information dissemination, and the newspaper industry will face certain challenges. That’s why I asked you to sell some of our newspapers!”
“Is it really that significant?” Bai Pengfei and the others were confused and couldn’t help but object, “But, President Wei, according to surveys, it takes at least five to ten years for any technology to mature and be widely adopted. I believe internet information technology will become one of the future media tools, but it’s unlikely to happen that quickly!”
“It’s hard to describe this feeling…” Wei Dongling chuckled and pointed at Xiao Ran, who was smiling silently beside him. “A few years ago, when President Xiao told me this, I didn’t believe it either. I even opposed acquiring Dell’s shares back then. But now, neither of us can deny it. Just with Dell, our investment of less than 100 million dollars has now grown to several billion dollars.”
“Think about what Cisco does. Over the past few years, Cisco has grown rapidly, helping our company earn a lot of money as well!” Wei Dongling sighed with admiration. Last year, he advised Xiao Ran to sell some of his shares in Dell and Cisco, but over the past year, those stocks continued to soar. “We both have to admit that times have changed.”
Xiao Ran cleared his throat gently, stood up, and walked over to the electronic screen behind him, scanning it around. “Times have indeed changed. Thanks to the rapid spread of personal computers, the internet will connect the whole world. If we can seize the platform of internet-based entertainment media ahead of others, we’ll be able to secure a place for ourselves; otherwise, we’ll be left behind by the times.”
“In fields like electronics and computers, the cycle of innovation will become shorter and shorter. And with the internet, the time needed for promotion will be even reduced further,” Xiao Ran said with a faint smile. “For example, everyone probably has a mobile phone made by Nokia. But in these past two years, have you noticed that your mobile phones have become smaller and smaller?”
“That’s the change of the times. As information flows more freely, the growth and maturity period of each product will become shorter, and the effects they produce won’t last very long either,” Xiao Ran chuckled. He suddenly realized he had strayed from the topic, but the others didn’t seem to notice. “Of course, as long as we have core technologies, we can package them in various ways to promote and sell them!”

“That’s the theme of our meeting today—packaging!” Xiao Ran glanced around, resting his hands on the table as he stared at Bai Pengfei. “Pengfei, if it were you, how would you approach this?”
“I…” Bai Pengfei was momentarily stunned, quickly thinking through it before responding, “If it were the television industry, I would choose richer content and combine various elements to achieve a packaging effect!”
“That’s completely wrong…” Xiao Ran laughed and waved his hand. “The packaging I’m referring to isn’t in a narrow sense—it’s in a broader sense. What is that? Fashion. We don’t need to be too ahead of the curve or too avant-garde, but we must lead fashion—that’s the core strategy of entertainment media.”
Everyone was stunned. Wei Dongling gave a signal to Xiao Ran’s new secretary, Han Yun, who immediately took action. The image of Little Ma Ge from “The Hero” appeared on the electronic screen. Xiao Ran sat down, and Wei Dongling explained, “If everyone’s memory isn’t too poor, you should remember how sunglasses and trench coats became popular after Brother Fa’s film was released.”
The young people around thirty years old, including Bai Pengfei, smiled broadly. They had been equally obsessed back then—trench coats, sunglasses, and toothpicks were all part of the trend. Suddenly, they understood what Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling meant.
Seeing their expressions, Xiao Ran nodded satisfactorily at Wei Dongling. “I think everyone understands what I mean. This is fashion, and this film is about leading fashion! When the information revolution arrives, we won’t need to promote things relentlessly; with the right and clever methods, we can quickly spread products! That’s the power of fashion!”
“And what we need to do is lead fashion, influencing the whole world silently!” Xiao Ran stood up, glanced at everyone, and said slowly, “Shadow is the most comprehensive cross-industry group in the world. Various seemingly unrelated industries will become important parts of this fashion-leading strategy—this is exactly what we aim to create.”
“But there are many types of fashion. What do we really want?” Wei Dongling and Xiao Ran’s dialogue was quite interesting. He glanced around at everyone before fixing his gaze on Liu Chun and Cheng Yawen, the new manager of the planning department. “Liu, Cheng, what do you think we should aim for?”
Liu Chun hesitated. As the general manager of Asia’s most famous film production company, he certainly had the capability. But Wei Dongling’s question was too vague. Cheng Yawen, Han Long’s assistant, had become the manager since Han Long left Universal. After thinking for a long time, she still couldn’t come up with an answer.
Xiao Ran smiled. The rest would involve films, and it would undoubtedly be more persuasive if he spoke about it. He stood up, walked around a few times, and came behind Liu Chun. “Liu Chun, what’s your opinion on Hong Kong cinema? I mean its advantages and disadvantages in a broader sense!”
“It’s flexible and free—there’s no way I can cover everything in just a moment!” Liu Chun answered almost without hesitation. “As for the disadvantages, I think it lacks a culture—a culture of its own.”

Xiao Ran nodded in approval. Being able to come up with such an answer so quickly truly showed that this was an outstanding talent. Hong Kong cinema lacked a cultural depth, which was a fatal flaw—and also one of its hidden strengths. Hong Kong had absorbed cultures from all over the world, creating something truly unique.

It was precisely this uniqueness that allowed Hong Kong films to gain considerable popularity in other countries, as they carried an irresistible charm. Of course, this didn’t mean that without that charm, films couldn’t attract audiences—it was after all secondary.

Xiao Ran pondered that, in terms of system, Hong Kong’s film industry had taken a different path from Hollywood, namely a director-centered system. Hollywood, on the other hand, followed a producer-centered system, with all roles revolving around the producer, except for super directors like Spielberg and Lu who could operate without interference.

In the first couple of years, Xiao Ran focused on how to make film creation more free and better suited to the context of Hong Kong cinema. Once he concluded that a director’s freedom to create was paramount, the core of the director-centered system took shape.

As Mirage grew larger, Xiao Ran began to look further ahead and realized he needed to devise a system more conducive to filmmaking. Hollywood’s approach didn’t work—it largely stifled directors’ creative instincts.

Thus, in the 1990s, Xiao Ran gradually developed the director-centered system. The three key roles—director, planner, and producer—were the essence of this system. The director served as the core, the producer, assigned by the planning department, handled pre-production and finances, managing miscellaneous tasks, while the planner acted as a supervisory role.

To take the simplest example, take Xiao Ran’s “True Colors,” a literary film—here, the planner hardly interfered at all. But for a commercial film like “The Legend of the Car God,” the planner had to ensure the film didn’t flop. If the director was commercial-minded, they would also discuss with the planner how to shoot a particular scene to attract audiences.

This system was undoubtedly effective—far better than Hollywood’s producer-centered system, which completely constrained directors. It ensured that directors had enough space to inspire creativity, while the planner was responsible only for ensuring commercial films didn’t turn into literary works or become too dull, generally not interfering with the director. Even if they did interfere, the director could simply ignore their suggestions.

Over the years, Xiao Ran stumbled upon this path by chance before starting to work on establishing such a system. Today, the production supervision systems of New Art City and Mai Dangxiong Studio no longer exist; only the increasingly mature director-centered system remains.

It was this system that attracted many directors from Japan, South Korea, and other places over the years. Coupled with the high regard for other roles here, foreign filmmakers flocked to Hong Kong, including European directors. For example, Luc Besson established a film production company in Hong Kong with Mirage’s investment. This was also one of the reasons Xiao Ran was confident that Hong Kong cinema could transform quickly even after being rejected on the mainland.

Under such circumstances, Hong Kong films exhibit a variety of distinct styles. This forced Xiao Ran to ponder that Hollywood promotes the concepts of freedom and democracy associated with the American middle class, relying on them to establish its global presence. Although Hollywood films still can’t compete with those from Hong Kong abroad, such cultural elements and styles are essential—at least a similar core culture is necessary.

What is the core culture of Hong Kong films? No one can give an answer, as any answer is imperfect. The only option that comes close—fast-food culture—was already nipped in the bud by Xiao Ran. So what kind of core culture should Hong Kong films have? This is what Xiao Ran is thinking about. In terms of culture and publishing, he has already laid the groundwork to help audiences embrace Eastern culture; what’s missing now is just the core culture.

What are the consequences of a region’s or country’s films lacking a core culture? A look at European cinema gives us some insight. What happens if there isn’t a core culture with sufficient influence, or rather, appeal? Indian cinema is extremely popular in India, rooted in its own cultural identity, yet it has hardly spread beyond the country.

It’s simple: such a core culture must not only be adaptable by its own people but also by those in other countries and regions. Without it, everything Xiao Ran has done for Hong Kong films will be in vain, as it would all amount to nothing more than promoting democracy and freedom.

However, the concepts of democracy and freedom aren’t exclusive to the United States. Different people have different definitions, so their meanings naturally vary. What lies at the heart of Chinese culture? Confucianism, or something else?

Xiao Ran thought that it didn’t matter what it was. The key was that Chinese-language films had to learn to package their own culture using democracy and freedom, and promote it globally. Once people accepted it, it would mean they accepted everything.

After racing through countless thoughts, Xiao Ran smiled and said calmly to everyone, “We need to package Chinese culture using democracy and freedom, turning it into a trend. Then, the company will truly rule the world!”