Chapter 21: Next Time You Aim for an Award, You’ll Be Sitting at the Jury’s Table

Several hours later, outside Hong Kong Island Airport.

Li Wenyu and Pang Bing had just gotten into Zhang Guorong's chauffeur-driven nanny car when the latter smiled and handed over a check—7.48 million Hong Kong dollars!!

Pang Bing gasped in surprise upon seeing the amount.

Brother Rong chuckled and explained, "Right now, not only the Hong Kong-Macau-Taiwan circuit, but also the island Korean market and even European and American film distributors are paying close attention to the wave you’ve started, A Yu. The Western market brought in 6 million US dollars, East and Southeast Asia 28 million Hong Kong dollars, and this 10% commission is that figure."

"A Yu, back when Hong Kong cinema was at its peak, a good film could easily sell distribution rights across Asia for 20 million. Just attaching names like Brother Fat, me, or Ah Hua as the lead actors would have distributors scrambling to send you checks. But these past few years have been a low point. You’ve exploded onto the internet scene, even many white and mixed-race netizens in the West are now captivated by this astonishing East and Southeast Asian beauty contest phenomenon."

"Even TVB’s beauty pageants don’t get these ratings. It’s because you specifically labeled Bing Bing as the number one beauty of the new generation; otherwise, Jiaxin or Amin would try to ride the wave."

7.48 million Hong Kong dollars is equivalent to 950,000 US dollars. Unfortunately, NetEase is still in a trading suspension on NASDAQ and won’t resume trading until January 2, 2002. No big deal, Li Wenyu plans to keep saving until early 2002 to buy enough NetEase stock to reach 8 million. By 2004, that would be over a billion.

Li Wenyu took a deep breath. "Brother Rong, at the start, we agreed on a box office share for Hong Kong Island and the mainland. There was no mention of overseas sales."

The contract they signed was for box office revenue sharing limited to Hong Kong Island and the mainland. Brother Rong never expected selling abroad would be this lucrative. No contract, yet they handed him over 7 million. The other side probably didn’t realize it was because he had improved his depression condition.

Zhang Guorong popped open a bottle of champagne. "Take it. You’ve opened a new financial path for everyone. I still have some face to keep, and besides, most people don’t really understand... They’d rather wait until we pocket the money before copying us."

"Otherwise, the mysterious number ‘12-22-08’ for the promotional campaign and the beauty contest wouldn’t have smoothly continued to this day."

If it weren’t for Zhang Guorong’s decades of hard work, his extensive network and connections on Hong Kong Island, Emperor Entertainment pushing Ah Jiao’s popularity, and the Xiang family’s backing, the ‘12-22-08’ slot would have been snatched up long ago.

On Hong Kong Island, there are plenty of swift teams who can secure slots within ten or fifteen days without trouble.

Brother Rong’s original funeral back in April 2003 drew over ten thousand film fans to bid him farewell.

The capital that woke up to the situation saw Li Wenyu continuously pushing the hype for "Shark Beach" without interference because everyone wanted to learn from him and out of respect for Brother Rong!

Just like Blair Witch’s viral marketing before release—no major studio saw through it?

Brother Rong poured champagne for Li Wenyu and Pang Bing. "Many friends want me to introduce you to them—Emperor Entertainment, the Xiang family, Universe Lin family, and Ah Xing, who runs his own business. Too many want to meet you."

"There are many directors making popcorn movies, but a versatile talent like you is rare. When will our film project be announced? I’m planning to hold several concerts around the release and put advertisements on the central TV station. I’m the one making the most money; you shouldn’t have to do all the running."

Li Wenyu chuckled, "Early December, I guess. Then Brother Rong can reveal that 12-22-08 is the premiere date of your new big movie, and give Bing Bing some praise."

"For example, you say that in your aesthetic, Bing Bing is the top beauty of the new East and Southeast Asian generation. Mid-December, invite Brother Hua and Senior Xian to also make statements to the media and hype it up. With your influence, it’ll be like drawing the curtain on this internet battle."

"Advertising trailers on TV stations don’t matter much. It’s about your health, right?"

Pang Bing showed off her most stunning stills from "Shark Beach," fashionable and commanding beauty. Facing the emerging representatives of various countries or local teams from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and China, everyone has their own preferences.

Aesthetic appreciation can never be unified. Zhang Guorong, Lau Tak-wah, and Senior Xian voiced their opinions one after another, using their influence to semi-officially close the chapter.

They couldn’t unify the public’s taste, but with "Shark Beach" released—a popcorn blockbuster with an 8 out of 10 rating, combined with Pang Bing’s peak charm—her countless fans would rally behind her.

Zhang Guorong nodded. "I can handle a few concerts for promotion, no problem. The film hasn’t even been released and it’s already making this much profit. I really can’t just sit idle."

Ten percent gave Li Wenyu 7.48 million Hong Kong dollars; Zhang Guorong pocketed over 60 million!

Counting from pre-production expenses, plus the wild online campaigns up to now, total spending barely reached over 10 million Hong Kong dollars. The second phase hired several hundred internet operatives on Hong Kong Island, but costs remained about the same.

Brother Rong felt a bit embarrassed about how much money was being made. He contacted the central TV station for advertising; the concerts must follow.

"I’m not only hoping for a box office miracle in Hong Kong Island and the mainland, but once East and Southeast Asia and even the West are drawn into theaters by the hype of Bing Bing, the number one beauty of the new East Asian generation, future DVD sales abroad won’t be small change either. Li Lianjie’s DVDs have always been very profitable."

"I invested in you once and saw over a hundred million Hong Kong dollars come back. Cheers!"

Zhang Guorong raised his champagne glass to toast. This scenario was clear to Universe, the Xiang family, Emperor Entertainment, and others—all knew "Shark Beach" was making big money overseas.

A project potentially earning over a hundred million—who would think young Li from Beijing Film Academy isn’t a good guy?!

Yet the original "Shark Beach" box office was 120 million US dollars, over 800 million Hong Kong dollars.

After the toast, Zhang Guorong laughed again, "Do you believe if Ah Xing, who runs the company, tries to imitate and copy this once, even if the script isn’t finalized, he’d still give you the female lead?"

Pang Bing laughed so hard she sprayed champagne all over Li Wenyu’s shirt.

Li Wenyu, speechless, handed her a tissue and smiled, "Not quite. Ah Xing’s a difficult person to deal with and won’t compromise his film’s quality. If I help him just once, Bing Bing’s acting must be strong enough and her image fitting to compete for the female lead."

What project came after "Shaolin Soccer"? "Kung Fu..." If he talks with Stephen Chow and replicates the "Shark Beach" formula?

Using the whole internet’s owed movie ticket to Stephen Chow as a gimmick, draining nostalgia from fans everywhere? Well, Stephen Chow would likely speed up the release of "Kung Fu."

"Kung Fu" is worth watching in theaters, and fans aren’t losing out on sentimentality!

This isn’t like "The Mermaid" trying to cash in on Chow’s name; that film doesn’t deserve the mainland’s 3.392 billion yuan box office record, but "Kung Fu" does.

With heavy marketing, "Kung Fu" could surpass the miracle 250 million yuan box office it made in mainland China in 2002 with "Hero." Yet in 2004, "Kung Fu" only made 160 million—lacking strong promotion.

If "Kung Fu" had been shot in 2003, Pang Bing, at her age, could be both glamorously fierce and purely beautiful. She’d just need to slim down—fair-skinned and slender, not full-figured. For a sugar-selling girl from the Republican era, only a slender figure fits; you can’t have a rich heiress’s posture selling by the roadside.

The original "Kung Fu" script took a year to develop with many rewrites.

Pang Bing could easily captivate attention more than Huang Shengyi with just a white shirt and minimal makeup. The key is her acting skill, which is already at 85; a few more points, and she’d reach 91.

She could effortlessly win the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress, becoming an unbeatable new-generation East Asian actress.

"Shark Beach," "Unforgettable," and "Kung Fu"!

Among the Four Dan Actresses and the two Bings, even Wei Zhentian would have to bow down. By then, Pang Bing would be chasing after big names like Gong Li and Man Yu, sitting on film festival juries.

While Li Wenyu pondered this, Zhang Guorong was surprised. "No, I was joking about teasing Ah Xing. You really could do it again? Gong Li struggled through the ’90s to become the lead actress for many top directors; her path wasn’t too easy. That 'Swallow' is doing well recently."

"She stars opposite the top male actors from Hong Kong-Macau-Taiwan, but if you can handle Ah Xing, Bing Bing’s path will be way smoother than those predecessors."

With profits exceeding hundreds of millions, after the millennium, Li Wenyu helped Brother Rong once, and could help Ah Xing once. Emperor Entertainment and the Xiang family would have to be overly courteous and friendly.

Hundreds of millions in Hong Kong dollars—that’s how sweet it is!

Li Wenyu chuckled again, "Rushing isn’t business, let’s just wait and see."

End of pages.