Chapter 80: Breaking Records Again

The tremendous impact of “The God of Gamblers” was beyond Xiao Ran’s expectations. Although in the history he knew, this film, which paved the way for the future of gambling movies, did cause a sensation back then, nothing like what he was about to experience happened. History was changing, and so was Xiao Ran. How should he respond? That was something to consider later. For now, Xiao Ran just needed to follow his planned strategy to expand his Shadow Company. In fact, at least he now had a solid foundation. However, in Wei Dongling’s view, having the source of funds under someone else’s control was definitely a risk.

The film was truly a success. Everyone who attended the preview screenings spoke highly of it. Unfortunately for Xiao Ran, the company logo he had carefully created before the film’s release was overshadowed by its huge success. Almost no one mentioned how interesting and brilliant the logo was.

During the three-day preview period, each night’s screening at the 42 theaters of the Golden Princess Cinema chain was sold out, attracting nearly two million viewers in just three days. This figure even surpassed that of “A Hero’s Heart.” No one doubted that the film had the potential to break box office records again.

The premiere was just three days away. How could Shadow Company’s debut film have a simple and unremarkable premiere? So, Xiao Ran invited stars like Zhong Chuhong and Ye Qianwen to attend and promote it. Sitting on stage, Xiao Ran smiled at the reporters gathered below. He thought this was exactly what he needed.

In reality, the premiere wasn’t fun at all—it was a boring process. The director and actors had to praise the film in various ways and talk about its behind-the-scenes stories. In short, it was extremely dull.

However, given the huge response to the previews of “The God of Gamblers,” the reporters’ questions weren’t about how good the film was, but rather how Xiao Ran came up with the idea of using a gambling movie as his debut project.

In any case, the film became extremely popular, its fame even overshadowing the protests from a week earlier. Although Xiao Ran was smart enough to state at the end of the film that the gambling techniques shown were purely the result of editing, every man in Hong Kong, regardless of age or gender, spent their days shuffling cards or rolling dice, trying to replicate the amazing gambling skills shown in the movie.

Even more so, many newspapers and magazines were completely captivated by Stephen Chow’s perfect performance. When mentioning him, they almost all referred to him as “God of Gamblers Gao Jin.” Yi Shu wrote in her column that she found it extremely difficult to write about him, not knowing which words to use to describe him.

Even Ni Kuang, who usually had a grudge against Xiao Ran, couldn’t help but praise Stephen Chow’s performance in his article, highly recommending the film. Although he didn’t explicitly praise Xiao Ran, it made little difference.

Interestingly, once Xiao Ran ran into Wang Jing, who pounded his chest in frustration, complaining that such a great theme had been stolen from him. Xiao Ran just laughed heartily, thinking to himself: It was you who started the trend of gambling movies, but it was also you who ruined them. It’s great that you can’t get involved anymore.

What was the box office score for “The God of Gamblers”? Excluding preview screenings, it surpassed 10 million in just eight days from its opening week. On its premiere day, it earned 2.87 million, breaking Hong Kong’s record for the highest opening-day gross ever. This was partly because the film wasn’t released during peak seasons like summer or Chinese New Year, otherwise it could have broken the record even faster. Yet precisely for this reason, the film had strong staying power. A month later, its box office crossed 25 million, and 45 days later, it still drew around 300,000 per day—lasting a full 70 days before ending its run. By then, the total local box office had reached an astonishing 41 million, 4 million more than Xiao Ran remembered from “The God of Gamblers.” However, the actual amount that went to Phantom Company was only around 24 million. After deducting 70% of Fang Ruohai’s share, Phantom Company’s earnings amounted to just 7 million. But obviously, this profit issue was something Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling would have to worry about. For Hong Kong’s film industry, this was the first film in history to exceed 40 million in box office revenue, and it also became a classic. For the company employees and cast, this figure was undoubtedly a source of honor and pride. Even Liu Hua’s initial displeasure vanished—being the lead actor in a film with a 41 million box office gross, what an asset that was in the film industry! Even fools would understand that. The day after the premiere, the first meeting of all Hong Kong film companies before the establishment of the Hong Kong Film Association began. Xiao Ran arrived outside the Regal Hotel, feeling extremely frustrated. It was a five-star hotel, yet he had come there by taxi with Guan Xin. Xiao Ran was really upset; probably no company boss was as embarrassed as him, not even having a car of his own—what a hassle. Seeing Xiao Ran’s angry expression, Guan Xin smirked and said, “Jealous? Just buy one. I don’t think you’re short of money!” Xiao Ran became even more frustrated and snapped back something that shocked Guan Xin: “I can’t drive. What’s the point of buying one?” Despite the joking, they still decided to get out of the taxi. But trouble—no, rather, those annoying guys—arrived. Although Xiao Ran didn’t know who those guys were, it didn’t stop him from feeling annoyed. Just as they got out, with Xiao Ran looking up at the skyscraper as if he were a country bumpkin admiring a metropolis, a white Mercedes behind them honked loudly, urging the taxi in front to leave quickly. As Xiao Ran continued to look up, the man in the Mercedes got out. He clearly was someone important, as could be told from his imposing presence. But this obviously didn’t disturb Xiao Ran’s mood—until the fat man glared at his secretary and snapped, “Have the hotel staff drive these country bumpkins away. Don’t let them disturb me here!”

It worth mentioning that Xiao Ran always dressed simply, so it wasn’t surprising that the fat man had such a misunderstanding. However, when Xiao Ran heard this and glanced at him, he didn’t take it seriously. Why bother arguing with such a fool who couldn’t even recognize himself?

But even though he tried to avoid trouble, trouble found him. As soon as he and Guan Xin entered the hotel, two security guards approached them. They weren’t really trying to drive them away; they just wanted to go through the motions, thinking a big hotel shouldn’t lack such basic courtesy.

“Ah? You’re Xiao Ran?” One of the security guards became excited as soon as he got closer. He had just watched “The God of Gamblers” the day before and rushed forward, saying, “I really like your role as Long Wu. Could you sign my autograph?”

Xiao Ran was a bit surprised. It was just a cameo role, yet he seemed quite famous now—far more so than when he starred in “The Female Warrior”. After signing autographs for the two security guards, the fan asked, “Boss Xiao, do you know that guy? His assistant told me to drive you away, saying you were some country bumpkins! But I think he’s the real country bumpkin—he doesn’t even know Boss Xiao.”

Smiling at the security guards, Xiao Ran and Guan Xin looked around and spotted Wei Dongling. Wei Dongling glared at Xiao Ran several times, saying, “What time is it? You’re finally here late. Go upstairs quickly.”

When they arrived at the venue, Xiao Ran was shocked—there were not just a few people, but a sea of them. While that might be an exaggeration, there were certainly fifty people or so. Those who recognized Xiao Ran greeted this new star in the film industry. Xiao Ran’s seat was at the bottom of the round table.

Interestingly, Wei Dongling could hardly find a seat, luckily Guan Xin hadn’t come in. But then again, aside from the leaders of a few major companies, the rest were just shell companies with no real artists under contract. So those people had to come alone, unlike Xiao Ran, who had a proper representative like General Manager Wei Dongling.

At the top of the table sat the head of the film department, a Chinese man, which was quite rare. He checked the time and, seeing that almost everyone had arrived, knocked on the table and said, “Since almost everyone is here, let’s get started!”

“Establishing a film association isn’t just the government’s idea; the three major companies have also had this in mind for a long time!” Xiao Ran couldn’t remember the head’s name. “This will help coordinate conflicts among everyone and also make it easier for the government to manage things—it’s a win-win situation. I think everyone agrees on this!”

No one spoke; no one had any objections. Even if they did, it wasn’t the time to bring them up—only a fool would do that. The government might not matter as much, but the three major companies were the real key players in this meeting. Many companies attending relied on these three to survive.

“As we all know, there was a big scandal recently involving gangsters infiltrating the film industry!” At this, the head and the others couldn’t help but look at Xiao Ran, who was sitting leisurely in the distance. “So, the government has decided to strictly approve the registration of film companies and related matters from now on, to prevent money laundering and gang infiltration!”

Huh, this is quite novel. From Xiao Ran’s understanding, this seems to have never happened in historical records. But then again, it’s possible it did—things from so long ago have had many things buried, so it’s normal not to know.
“Besides that, we will also send people to audit the finances of each company here to avoid any situations that could cause trouble for everyone!” The section chief’s words earned some applause, but most people just remained expressionless. “So, everyone is lucky—no need to go through as many troubles as those who came later!”
“As for the specific details of establishing the Film Association, I think I’ll let Mr. Shao speak a few words!” After the section chief said this, the elderly Mr. Shao beside him stood up, his back straight.
After listening for a long time, Xiao Ran realized it was all nonsense—nothing substantial was mentioned at all. Yet he had to admit that the Film Department was quite impressive for inviting Mr. Shao, as well as the behind-the-scenes bosses of the three major companies—Lei Kaitai and Pan Disheng.
Lei Kaitai’s words were simple: as long as there’s money, we can all make it together. Pan Disheng was a very reserved person and didn’t say much either. Finally, when the nonsense ended, the section chief asked, “If everyone has no objections, I’ll declare the Film Association established!”
“Wait!” A voice came from afar and reached everyone’s ears. “I have a question and hope the section chief can answer it for me!”
*****
Fictional name: Wang Jing
Real name: Wang Jing
Occupation: Director, screenwriter, investor
There seems little need to say much about this fat man, Wang. Those who lived through that era know this man, whose on-screen image was extremely lewd. Wang wasn’t an outstanding director, but he was a distinctive one. He was definitely one of the best storywriters in Hong Kong film history, known for his inventive plotlines. His greatest achievements in life came from his success in gambling-themed and R-rated films—a level that others in Hong Kong could never reach. He also often made cameo appearances in movies. Of course, if you have a good memory, you must recall that terrifying and dim-witted fat mantis in “The King of Kings 2000”.
Works: Comedies like “The God of Gamblers” and R-rated films like “Thirteen Rooms in a Brothel”