Even if you are talented, you must become a boss to get rid of those invisible restrictions.

In the 1960s, Hong Kong had Jin Yong and "Ming Pao", and in the 1980s, Hong Kong also had Huang Yulang and Yulang Organization. It's all like this. In August, Lam Pictures' "Wealth and Power" was released.

This movie does not have a luxurious cast, and even the leading actors are Dong Piao and Shun Dianxia, ​​who have little appeal as hosts. It is entirely based on the plot.

But it happened that such a movie, which didn't seem to be a hit at all, achieved an outstanding result of HK$5 million within three days of its release. I don't know how many peers in the Hong Kong film industry fell behind.

In the first week of its release, "Wealthy" made 11 million at the box office, and its performance was even better than "Autumn Fairy Tale" starring Chow Yun-fat and Chung Chu-hong. Now even the boss Tao Yushu was a little surprised.

The total investment of "Wealth and Power" is less than HK$5 million, which makes it a proper small- and medium-sized investment film in Hong Kong today.

Tao Yushu originally just wanted Gao Zhisen to try the waters, but he unexpectedly gave her a huge surprise. In the first week after the movie was released, it not only paid back the money, but also made money. What a treasure!

Tao Yushu secretly rejoiced at the benefits that the internal fighting in Xinyi City had brought to Lin's family. He called Gao Zhisen to encourage him and then sent him a red envelope worth 200,000 yuan. Gao Zhisen was filled with joy after receiving the red envelope. He came to Lin's family in the first place.

It was the boss Tao Yushu's generosity that made him angry. Now that he saw it, he was indeed with the wrong person.

His red envelope was calculated separately and did not include the dividends paid to the director at Lam Films.

With the money, Gao Zhisen was full of motivation and took the initiative to make a movie called "Rich and Rich".

Since his director was so proactive, Tao Yushu naturally would not dampen his enthusiasm. He not only agreed to Gao Zhisen's request, but also gave him an additional budget of HK$3 million.

The success of two consecutive films has finally lifted the dark cloud of "blocking" that has been hanging over Lam Pictures for more than two months.

But the current situation is far from the time to sit back and relax. The Hong Kong and Kowloon Free Association has not made any new statements during this period. Tao Yushu does not believe that they will stop just now. She must take advantage of the fact that Lin still has room to move around, mostly in

Hold some cards in your hand.

Since Shaw Brothers announced its closure in 1985, it has carried out a series of weight loss actions.

They first transferred the Clearwater Bay studio to TVB, and then cut the production business from the original 30 to 40 films a year to six to eight films, and mainly focused on investment. For the theater business, part of the theater chain was leased to Pan

The Debao Company, jointly run by Dickson and Sammo Hung, is still partially self-sustaining today.

And Tao Yushu is eyeing the theater chains that Shaw Brothers still owns today: Kowloon, Peninsula Hotel, and Felix Restaurant.

This is Tao Yushu's most frequent place for entertaining guests. The decoration is exquisite and the environment is elegant. She attaches great importance to today's guests and specially waits in the restaurant in advance. "Miss Fang!"

After waiting for more than ten minutes, Tao Yushu saw an elegantly dressed woman walking over under the guidance of a waiter. She stood up and smiled. After the two shook hands, Miss Fang couldn't help but look Tao Yushu up and down, and said with a smile

:

"Mrs. Lin, you are so young. I have heard of you for a long time." "You are so polite. You are my role model in my career!"

The Miss Fang in front of them is not only Boss Shao's confidante, but also an important partner in his career. Many people only think that she is a vine clinging to Run Run Shaw, but they have no idea of ​​her help to Boss Shao.

With the rise of Golden Harvest, the dominance of Shaw Brothers in the Hong Kong film industry ended, and the situation began to turn from prosperity to decline.

She sensed the booming prospects of the television industry and suggested that Boss Shao shift his focus from movies to television. Boss Shao then spent huge sums of money to purchase the shares of several other TVB partners. Only in this way did Boss Shao have a long-lasting business for half a century.

In addition to her huge contribution to the development of TVB, Miss Fang has also taken over the responsibility of Shaw Brothers since Shao Renmei's death.

Although Shaw Brothers had already declined at this time, a lean camel was bigger than a horse, and the resources in Miss Fang's hands were still considerable. After sitting down for a few words and ordering the dishes, the two women did not talk about business as soon as they came up.

The conversation became commonplace.

Miss Fang was born in Shanghai. Her mother was Fang Wenxia, ​​a popular stage star in old Shanghai. She went to Nanyang when she was young, and then met Boss Shao and became a singer. She came to Hong Kong with Boss Shao in the 1950s.

She knew that Tao Yushu was from the Mainland, so she asked about some of the development and changes in the Mainland over the years. After listening to it, she couldn't help but sigh. "If Miss Fang has time, she might as well go back to the Mainland for a walk. There are still great changes now."

Fang Yihua smiled and said, "If time permits, of course I hope to go back and have a look."

After saying this, she said with a smile: "Mrs. Lin, you are so humble, and you have developed the Lin family so well in just two or three years. It is really impressive!" "Thank you, thank you.

I'm just a latecomer in the film field."

Listening to Tao Yushu's humble words, Miss Fang joked: "If Mrs. Lin is a late student, we at Shaw Brothers will be old bones."

Tao Yushu noticed the temptation in her words and said: "Without Shaw Brothers, the Hong Kong film industry would not be as prosperous as it is today.

If Boss Shao’s business focus had not shifted to television in recent years, the Xiangjiang Film Market might not have had the turn for us juniors to get involved.”

Tao Yushu's compliment made Miss Fang smile. The verbal compliment was certainly pleasant, but Miss Fang was even more happy that the topic finally got to the point. The two chatted for a few more words, and then Tao Yushu said:

"Miss Fang, I asked you out today because I want to talk about our cooperation."

"Oh?" Miss Fang raised her eyebrows slightly, showing some interest, and asked: "What do you think, Mrs. Lin?" The films released by Lin have been shown in Shaw Brothers theaters in the past two years, and the two parties have actually had a relationship for a long time.

cooperate.

Moreover, due to the sudden ban by the Hong Kong and Kowloon Free Association in the past two months, Lam also made concessions on the box office share, which is equivalent to Shaw Brothers getting millions of dollars of income in vain in a year. Tao Yushu said that if we want to talk about cooperation, there must be something

Miss Fang was naturally curious about the new proposal.

Tao Yushu looked calm and said calmly: "I hope to further deepen our cooperation."

Hearing this, Miss Fang was still cutting the steak unhurriedly, and asked lightly: "Deepen it? How to deepen it?" "I want to set up a joint venture with Shaw Brothers to set up a film company!" Tao Yushu said.

Miss Fang's fork paused for a moment, then she put the steak into her mouth and chewed it slowly. The quiet atmosphere became extraordinarily long, but Tao Yushu's expression did not show any impatience, and his face was full of indifference.

Miss Fang swallowed the food in her mouth, wiped the corners of her mouth gently, and asked: "Establish a film company? Of course we would be happy to cooperate with Lin, but who has the final say in a joint venture?"

"The operation and management will be handled by our Lin family, and we can transfer the dividend rights appropriately." Tao Yushu said simply and clearly. Miss Fang's eyes were calm, "Mrs. Lin thinks that our Shaw family is short of money?"

"Of course Shaw Brothers is not short of money, but I think Shaw Brothers still retains a certain amount of film investment, and also hopes to retain a voice in the Hong Kong film industry. Cooperating with our Lin Brothers is a big deal for Shaw Brothers

There are benefits.”

Miss Fang shook her head after hearing this.

"Mrs. Lin, with all due respect, Ms. Lin is still carrying a banning order from the Hong Kong and Kowloon Free Association. We at Shaw Brothers are taking a big risk by being able to play in your show.

I think you should also understand that if the ban from the Freedom Association escalates, we at Shaw Brothers may not be able to appear in your films again..." Ms. Fang's words were like a dagger, accurately stabbing Tao Yushu's life gate.

Why is the blockade by the Hong Kong and Kowloon Free Association, or rather the Bay Island, so lethal?

Isn’t the reason just that the Hong Kong film industry is a rat-proof device?

As long as you cooperate with a film company or a blocked company or individual, it will be impossible for any film related to this film company to be released on the Bay Island. If the Freedom Association further escalates its restrictions and blocking on Lin Films in the future,

, and began to name the actors and film companies who worked with them.

Then these film companies will inevitably make a choice to "take sides", and there will be no room for "ambiguity" like now.

Judging from the current situation, if it really goes that far, even if Lin's Pictures is not dead, it will probably suffer a big blow. Miss Fang said this, naturally to gain more bargaining chips.

Tao Yushu also understood this truth. Her face was calm, without any panic, and she said calmly:

"What good will it do to the Shaw family if the Bay Island bans us? On the contrary, if the Shao family can cooperate with us, the Lin family, the benefits will be even greater." After listening to her words, Miss Fang did not express an opinion, but signaled

Tao Yushu continued.

"If Shaw Brothers' cooperation with us is really affected, then it will just be that the few movies you invest in every year will not be released in Bay Island. Another thing that may be affected is the export of TVB's TV programs to Bay Island.

Let me just say one thing, whether it is movies or TV, how much profit can it bring to Boss Shao and Miss Fang?" When Tao Yushu said this, his momentum suddenly became strong.

Fang Yihua fell into silence after hearing this. If Shaw Brothers really made money, Boss Shaw would not cut off his strength.

The TV industry in Bay Island is no less developed than that in Xiangjiang. TVB exports TV series to Bay Island every year, and the profits from variety shows are also extremely limited.

But Miss Fang said: "Although Mrs. Lin is very confident about the prospects of our cooperation, who can guarantee that a high-risk investment like a movie will always make money? How do I know that working with you will definitely make money?"

Tao Yushu asked with a smile: "Can Miss Fang find a business that is sure to make a profit without losing money?" The two looked at each other, and there was a faint smell of gunpowder in the air.

Of course they didn't really want to quarrel, the purpose was actually to gain the upper hand in the negotiation.

But in the final analysis, Shaw Brothers still holds the initiative. Tao Yushu sighed slightly after looking at each other and asked: "Why does Ms. Fang think I would be willing to give up 20% of the investment share in "Parasite"?"

She didn't wait for Miss Fang's answer, and said to herself: "With "The Truman Show" in front of me, "Parasite" has a bright future. I think this is enough to show my sincerity in cooperation.

If you insist on a guarantee, I think we can sign a gambling agreement. ""Gambling agreement?" After hearing these four words, Miss Fang's face finally changed.

"That's right. Both of us jointly invested 40 million Hong Kong dollars in the new company. The joint venture has been established for three years and has a total profit before interest and tax of 120 million Hong Kong dollars. I can give you this promise. If the bet fails, we will return the money at a high price as stipulated in the contract.

Buy your shares.

What Shaw Brothers needs to do is to lease the theater chains you still have in your hands to us, Lam Brothers, for five years at HK$10 million per year, in order to obtain 49% of the equity of the joint venture company.

After expiration, both of us can negotiate to renew the contract at market prices, and we, Lin, only have the right of priority to renew the contract."

Tao Yushu finally revealed all his trump cards. Miss Fang narrowed her eyes slightly, obviously thinking about the pros and cons.

Last year, the total box office of Hong Kong movies was HK$640 million. There were 130 theaters. Shaw Brothers owned 10 theaters. Last year, the box office was nearly HK$60 million and the profit was more than 8 million. Lam is willing to rent the theater chain at an annual rent of 10 million yuan.

, naturally to show sincerity.

Moreover, there is a gambling agreement there, so Shaw Brothers can be said to be guaranteed to make a profit without losing any money.

Rent plus investment income is 30 million yuan a year, which is a large amount even for TVB, which now occupies the leading position in the Hong Kong TV market. Last year, TVB's revenue only exceeded HK$800 million, and its net profit

It can barely reach HK$150 million.

This condition is not unfavorable, it is simply full of sincerity.
Chapter completed!