Chapter 177: Better to Let a Daoist Die Than a Poor Taoist

By mid-December, the competition between 'The Thirteen Sisters of Jinling' and 'Dragon Gate' had grown fierce, and as the release date neared, the rivalry reached a boiling point.

Other films that had released earlier had all been pushed out, one way or another—'The Legend of Hongmen' need not be mentioned, its total box office after more than ten days barely surpassed one hundred million.

Films directed by Hong Kong directors, produced by Hong Kong crews and cast, never had small budgets.

It was said that 'The Legend of Hongmen' had an investment exceeding one hundred million; even after a discount, it still lost money.

The failure of this film marked the end of Hong Kong's pseudo-blockbuster era; since 2012, few Hong Kong directors had made historical epics again.

Previous films like 'Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon', 'The Bodyguard', 'Red Cliff', 'Mo Gong', and 'Guan Yunchang'—Hong Kong directors co-producing with the mainland—had delivered too many big flops.

Mainland film capital was not stupid; these people came only to swindle money!

They began learning from Yutu, nurturing mainland film talent and beginning limited transformation.

But transformation brought pain, so 2012 would be a blank period; Huayi would rise again, and Hollywood films would dominate the box office charts consecutively.

You couldn't blame Hollywood—they gave Hong Kong filmmakers a chance, and damn it, they were useless.

Even if they tried to transform, it wasn't easy; Fang Hong had almost copied every future hit film.

Of course, they never intended to make proper films—just pile up stars, play marketing games, and make money however they could.

This was the story of 2013; the Hong Kong teams were being abandoned, and you couldn't blame mainland film capital—they gave them chances, and damn it, they were useless.

The current film market was still in its exploratory phase, and this phase inevitably came at a cost.

Fang Hong simply copied homework.

The competition between 'The Thirteen Sisters of Jinling' and 'Dragon Gate' triggered a ripple effect in the domestic film market.

The media also regarded this as the first direct confrontation between Hong Kong and mainland directors.

But an unexpected intruder, 'The Big Man', had crashed in—Principal was a man who stirred trouble and sought attention.

Last year's New Year Slot, he inserted himself; this year, he inserted himself again.

The public opinion battle among all three sides raged fiercely, with bosses personally fighting each other.

Zhang Weiping, that big mouth, didn't need to be mentioned—he just spat: "Everyone has seen 3D—except for 'Avatar', which one succeeded? Just a bunch of money-losers, the worst being 'Sukiji'—that's called 3D? And Zhou Naicha leads it? It's all bullshit, pure bullshit."

He meant 'Dragon Gate' was also bullshit! Later, during a media interview in Shanghai, he declared: "Bona, the producer of 'Dragon Gate', has twice delayed box office payments—audiences should not go to Bona cinemas to watch 'The Thirteen Sisters of Jinling'; they can't even screen it."

His words caused an uproar—he was trying to "ban" Bona Cinemas, utterly outrageous!

Bona's Yu Pangzi responded: "Bona doesn't owe Zhang Weiping a single cent—I settle accounts with theater chains; it's normal for some cinemas to owe theater chains one or two months' ticket revenue. He's using theater chains to sanction our cinemas."

Even so, Bona moved 'Dragon Gate's release time up to 2 PM on the 15th—four hours earlier than 'The Thirteen Sisters of Jinling'.

Zhang Weiping was undoubtedly a villain, but Bona was a hypocrite.

Yutu watched the two trade insults, but Fang Hong didn't do nothing—he also moved 'The Big Man' to 2 PM on the 15th.

Whatever time 'Dragon Gate' was moved to, he moved 'The Big Man' to the same time—targeting Bona directly.

This time he sided with Zhang Weiping; though the man was a big mouth, he truly dared to defy power, publicly resisting excessive theater revenue splits—he at least had the guts to speak out.

No one in the entire film industry dared to speak out; everyone just watched them like clowns.

As Zhang Weiping now explained: "I'm not fighting just for my own interest—I raised the revenue share, and Feng Kuzi also said others behind me would benefit. But not a single person supported me; some even kicked me while I was down, others said I rise while they fall. The whole scene was grotesque, and I felt heartbroken. I'm fighting for producers' interests, yet risking total annihilation."

Whether this man fought for himself or others, whoever dared to speak out had courage.

Of course, this had nothing to do with personal virtue—his moral character was still rotten.

Some reporters noticed that Yutu's 'The Big Man' had been moved to the same time slot as 'Dragon Gate'.

A reporter asked: "Why was 'The Big Man' moved to the same time slot as 'Dragon Gate'?"

"It's purely a technical adjustment—no personal grudges involved," Chen Zhixi replied.

The front part was a lie; the back part was the truth.

Fang Hong clearly understood who his real opponent was—Zhang Weiping was doomed to be crushed; Bona was his true rival. In response to the dual pressure on Bona, Zhang Weiping's public outburst, Yu Pangzi replied to Southern Weekly:

"'The Thirteen Sisters of Jinling' certainly wasn't made for 600 million—no matter how much this film cost, please let both sides respect market rules."

He meant Yutu and New Picture didn't respect the market.

"Has anyone ever seen 'Batman' and 'Spiderman' released on the same day? Why can the Six Majors in the United States sit down and negotiate release dates, but we must kill each other and make the whole world laugh?"

Three major blockbusters opening on the same day is a tragedy in Chinese film distribution history.

Especially Principal—he has never respected the market."

"."

Yu Pangzi said a lot, slamming Zhang Weiping and Fang Hong as utterly worthless—these two were just stinking filth.

He also slammed Lao Mouzi, accusing him of monopolizing the market.

This was about 'The Golden Armor'—when that film was released, it required theaters to sign an exclusive one-month agreement, meaning only his film could be screened during that month.

This was also why Lao Mouzi, even after splitting from Zhang Weiping, never cooperated with Bona.

Fang Hong also gave an interview to Movie Channel—he had to promote his film, so he had to show up.

Now, producers and bosses were the ones stepping down to fight; directors had to stand aside.

Of course, Fang Hong appeared as a "director" and "actor," not as Yutu's boss.

Few outsiders knew he was the boss.

But that didn't stop him from retorting: "Yu Pangzi likes to accuse others of monopolizing the market and disrespecting it—has he ever respected the market himself? 'Dragon Gate' was originally scheduled for the 17th, yet moved to the 15th—is that how he respects the market? He's the one engaging in malicious competition."

Bona went public on the Nasdaq last year, essentially completing vertical monopolies across production, distribution, and exhibition—he likes to talk about the United States, but in the U. S., production and distribution are separated—why doesn't he learn from that?

This man plays one game in public and another behind closed doors—everyone else is wrong, and he's never wrong.

Let me say this plainly: Hong Kong filmmakers aren't kidnapping Bona's future—they're using Bona to kidnap the future of Chinese cinema.

Give mainland filmmakers more opportunities, more tolerance, more room for error."

His words instantly ignited public opinion—Principal not only slammed Bona but also took on Hong Kong cinema as a whole.

He even called on mainland filmmakers to rise quickly—clearly and boldly.

Fang Hong didn't care—he had a team entirely made up of mainland film professionals; he'd insulted them, so let them come.

With his involvement, Hong Kong cinema would die faster than in his past life! His words made those in Hong Kong cinema harbor no goodwill toward the Principal; Wu Baige even stepped forward to make inappropriate remarks: "Co-productions should not let Neidi dominate."

In an instant, this stirred up a thousand waves, igniting outrage from countless Wangyi who called this person "favoring Hong Kong and Taiwan while suppressing Neidi!" The controversy grew larger and escalated to that level, forcing the higher-ups to step in and suppress the heat.

If this continued, the two sides would become fully opposed! Of course, Wu Baige himself was added to the Blacklist — damn, he's mentally ill.

Three films released, sparking such a massive public uproar — all because he refused to speak unless it was shocking.

Yu Pangzi flattered Hong Kong cinema people to gain favor, so he spoke well of them; Fang Hong relied on himself and his Neidi team, so he naturally stood with Neidi.

Zhang Weiping launched indiscriminate attacks — he slammed BoNa, cinemas, Hong Kong, and Neidi alike! But he never attacked Fang Hong at all; he still knew who his ally was.

If he had attacked Fang Hong, the scene would have become truly awkward — unable to tell friend from foe.

Outside, public opinion surged like a storm; on December 14, "The Big Man" held its global premiere.

This time, to build momentum, Li Meijing, Chairman of CJ Entertainment in South Korea, attended, as did Mao Yu, Vice Chairman of Yindu.

The Chairman, Song Dai, had no time, so he sent this man to represent him.

In any case, rely as much as possible on overseas markets; crush one domestic studio at a time — better yet, crush them all until none can make films anymore; then Yutu would win by default.

Let the Daoist friend die, not the poor Taoist.

(End of Chapter)