Chapter 433: You Lot Can't Handle It

The court reopened on the eighth, and Fang Hong bypassed the Film Bureau entirely, racing the clock to file directly with the court and submit his litigation materials.

He applied for a pre-litigation behavior preservation order — in other words, get *Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven* and *From Vegas to Macau* pulled from theaters first, and only let them back once the dispute was settled.

He didn't know the exact procedure, but Yutu had legal consultants, and after their research it was deemed feasible — after all, the other side had broken the rules.

And the argument sounded perfectly reasonable: leaving the films in theaters wasn't causing any loss, and once the dispute was resolved they could be re-released at any time. It wouldn't delay them either, and no real damage had been done — so a pre-litigation behavior preservation order was perfectly justified.

It was shameless reasoning, but the old gentlemen on the court didn't really understand the industry, found it logical, and replied that they'd decide within seven days whether to accept the case. Once accepted, those two films could be pulled from theaters.

In other words, before the fifteenth, *Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven* and *From Vegas to Macau* might just be pulled.

Their evidence was solid — those two films had indeed stolen *Mr. Donkey*'s box office, causing the film real losses, and they had also violated the newly promulgated regulations on the administration of the film market. Suing them was only right.

In truth, every film violated the rules to some degree — you just had to pick at them.

This left Bona and those Hong Kong capitals grinding their teeth, wishing they could tear the Principal apart.

Re-release after being pulled? What bullshit. Sure, the film is just data on a hard drive, but by the second release the novelty is long gone, the buzz is gone — it's rare for a second release to still pull in box office.

Because pirated copies might already be out there.

A second release needs a whole new hype campaign, and that costs twice the money. Are they crazy?

The Principal is truly vicious — not even scraps left for them, cutting off their retreat completely. Going by the current box office trend, they could still claw back a small hundred million or so to break even.

If the films get pulled, there won't even be scraps.

And this wasn't any secret — it was made public, with the media reporting and hyping it up wildly.

"*Mr. Donkey* box office breaks a billion, expected to surpass *Lost in Thailand*!"

"Yutu files a single lawsuit, taking *Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven* and *From Vegas to Macau* to court, demanding they be pulled."

"Shocking! Yutu sues Wang Jin!"

"Explosive! Yutu sues China Film Group!"

"Wow! Yutu sues Fa Ge!"

"."

The news online ran the full gamut — a complete mess, really — all because the Principal had handed them too many juicy melons, and the media couldn't keep up.

And self-media outlets had no shame whatsoever — the more sensational the headline, the better. Self-media was booming right now, and they loved big juicy melons like this.

Traffic means money!

China Film Group, Wang Jin, and Fa Ge were the three biggest traffic draws — China Film Group, the old big brother; Wang Jin, the great director; Fa Ge, the great actor. In truth, the lawsuit had little to do with these three.

The point got across anyway: Yutu had sued both sides, with solid grounds — you broke the law, you caused me losses.

Zhang Hongsen was also quite helpless — the Principal had gone over his head and pulled this move. He'd expected the Principal to cause trouble, but not to wipe them out completely.

After this, who would dare invest in Hong Kong films? From now on, he could run the film market all by himself, and he'd already beaten the fight out of Huayi.

Honestly, words fail me.

When tracked down by reporters, Wang Jin issued a statement: "I don't know the specific situation, but I'll continue to follow the developments."

This was no longer something he could get involved in — it was a capital war, an investors' war. He didn't dare cross the Principal either.

Although he had invested too, he hadn't lost much — his investment was small, and directors get paid fees anyway. Still, he'd attended the capital gathering and knew the situation.

Even Fa Ge had shown up, just for the spectacle; Zuoshandiao didn't come — he had work to hand over, preparing to step down.

In a high-end clubhouse, the Hong Kong capitals were all gathered. Even Huang Baiming had come — he was a Shareholder of Oriental Film, and something this big, he couldn't miss.

"Fuck his mother!" Star Film's General Manager Wang Haifeng couldn't help cursing, so angry he wished he could come out of retirement and hack the Principal to death with a blade!

Of course that was just rage — did they really think this was Hong Kong? Anyone who dared use violence was a dead man walking. Those days were long gone.

"Sigh, the waters in our film market run deep — you lot can't handle it." Yu Pangzi shook his head and sighed.

He couldn't take on the Principal alone, so he'd come to discuss countermeasures with these people. They'd been competitors before; now they were all victims.

A common enemy: the Principal!

The Principal was a real talent — every fight he won made him stronger, and the more they cowered, the weaker they got.

"We don't really understand this stuff either — just tell us how to resolve it. We can't let the films be pulled; if they are, we'll lose even more miserably." Huang Baiming said.

The Hong Kong capitals around him all nodded.

If they kept the films in theaters, they could still recoup something; if pulled, there'd be nothing left — just sell off some rights.

And the Principal might not even let them sell the rights!

At the thought, some couldn't help wiping the old tears from the corners of their eyes — the Principal was too ruthless, the losses too heavy, the waters too deep.

"We can only ask the higher-ups to step in and mediate." Yu Pangzi said.

That was the only option now — not many choices. Either fight head-on, which costs a fortune, and in this situation, who has a fortune to spend?

Or ask the higher-ups to coordinate and resolve this.

In truth, most of them had no real grudge against Fang Hong — they weren't like Huayi or Emperor, who already had beef. Their only mistake was partnering with Fa Ge.

And Fa Ge stood in the crowd without saying a word, as if it had nothing to do with him.

The others didn't think it had anything to do with him either, assuming the Principal was targeting only them capitalists, not Fa Ge. It could be said this battle of Yutu and Tu Piaopiao had won them prestige and momentum, leaving the Hong Kong capitals and Bona stuck in an awkward spot, miserable.

But this battle wasn't without its benefits — Tu Piaopiao's name was suddenly out there, with traffic and broad channels. Many production companies, films in hand, came to Tu Piaopiao to cooperate on distribution.

For instance, small production companies like *My Early Menopause Girlfriend* and *Girls*; from Hong Kong, *Don't Go Breaking My Heart 2*, directed by Du Qifeng, also came knocking.

They had no choice — they were afraid of being targeted by the Principal too.

This pulled Tu Piaopiao deeper into film distribution, causing its valuation to soar.

This year was already Tu Piaopiao's expansion year — not only penetrating deeper into the ticketing market, but also expanding outward.

However, Tu Piaopiao didn't produce films, only distributed them — only doing ticketing and distribution.

Yutu wasn't without its gains either — it was also expanding. The acquisition of Mahua FunAge led by Meng Jun was complete: 300 million bought 88.7% of Mahua FunAge's shares, leaving only 11.3% for founder Zhang Chen.

Most of those shares were bought from institutional holders; Zhang Chen transferred 37% of his shares.

The company was profitable now, but not hugely so — around thirty million a year.

Shen Teng, Ma Li, Ai Lun, and other comedy actors all have a certain level of fame.

But now a major investor is offering 300 million yuan all at once for them to give up their shares—what's there to refuse? Institutions exist to make money.

At current income levels, Xingkai Ma would need ten years to earn it!

Zhang Chen has no choice—the Jade Rabbit is too dominant now; joining means benefiting from its resource advantages.

Not joining means no chance of survival.

Just look at later films like The Tomato Billionaire—such movies are entirely controlled by capital. Tragic!

This acquisition is tiny, no need to announce it, and it has no impact on the market. Xingkai Ma is still a minor player, not yet involved in the film and television industry.

They're mostly focused on theater and skits.

But one piece of news shook the entire internet literature circle.

"Shengda Literature has changed its name—it's now Chang'e Technology!"

This news exploded through the internet literature circle like thunder, completely reshaping the industry's landscape.

From now on, Shengda will exit this field; competitors will face only Chang'e Technology.

Behind Chang'e Technology is the Principal—anyone with even a little knowledge of the film and television industry knows how difficult he is to deal with.

But the Principal showed no reaction whatsoever.

This left other forces in internet literature—including authors—reacting differently; some authors, lacking confidence in Chang'e Technology, left for other platforms.

Some authors were poached and went elsewhere to create; today's internet literature platforms are all heavily supporting authors, so comings and goings are normal.

And every literary website will surely target Chang'e Technology, desperately poaching authors.

This year is the most fiercely contested year in the industry.

Wu Wenfei, CEO of Tencent Literature, commented on Chang'e Technology's acquisition of Shengda Literature: "We now have a new opponent, meaning new challenges."

This statement treats Chang'e Technology as an opponent!

But no one paid attention—he still holds shares in Shengda; if he wants to sell, sell; if not, leave them. Fang Hong never planned to take Shengda Literature public anyway.

To cash out, he could either sell to Chang'e Technology or to a third-party institution—but third-party institutions won't accept it, because cashing out is difficult and they'd have zero autonomy.

Fang Hong's current positioning for Shengda Literature is simple: survive!

Only by surviving can he outlast all other platforms—they'll make mistakes on their own.

Looking at the later literary field, how many platforms are still alive? All others were crushed. Survival is the most important thing.

For this reason, Chang'e Technology ignored external hostility and implemented strategic contraction, cutting all unnecessary operations of Shengda Literature.

For example, Tianfang Audio, Yue Du, and other nonsense platforms were all cut; their book libraries and serialized content will be phased and gradually integrated into Qidian, along with their traffic.

Also sold off: Huawen Tianxia, Zhongzhi Bowen, and Jushi Wenhua—the three book planning and publishing companies.

Only retain Qidian for male audiences, merge Hong Xiu Tian Xiang and Xiaoxiang Shuyuan into one female audience platform—focus solely on online literature; physical publishing is handed over to others.

Simultaneously, a public announcement was posted on the site, raising author revenue shares from the original 50% to 60%.

That is, for every 100 yuan, authors previously earned 50; now they earn 60.

No fluff—just handing out money. Keep authors staying, ensure continuous creation, guarantee survival; all other rules remain temporarily unchanged.

At first, they dared not make too drastic adjustments.

This move delighted authors who hadn't left; they all said the Principal had great conscience.

In fact, Shengda was profitable—just how much profit it made was the question.

Currently, Shengda Literature pays about one billion yuan in royalties annually; this reform means an extra 100 million yuan per year.

Shengda Literature is temporarily managed by Hua Wei; once a suitable person is found, he'll step down. Rules won't change—everything continues as before.

Ignore all external chaos; let them fight among themselves.

Chang'e Technology doesn't lack traffic; even casual lead generation is enough to support Shengda Literature.

And this platform's traffic has always been stable, with divine works like Perfect World—no need to worry at all.

(End of chapter)