Chapter 300: This matter is easy to handle

Cao Yang treated Lv Yi to a meal; the matter of *Lust, Caution* made him appear somewhat burdened with worries.

In his past life, he was just a small director muddling through, without even the opportunity to independently direct a film.

Regarding certain people and events in the industry, he could only vent in private, sighing that no one stepped up to manage things, and like most people, he was powerless to do anything about it.

Now, he is a world-class director, his influence among active directors is almost in a league of its own, and he has the full support of the Beijing Film Academy faction as well as an interdependent, intimate relationship with China Film Group.

He could ignore the shady dealings of the film industry, and such matters were impossible to manage anyway; many relationships are tangled and messy.

However, what about those traitorous acts that distort the values of our countrymen just to cater to Western value systems?

Cao Yang felt that a line in *Spider-Man* was very interesting: with great power comes great responsibility.

It doesn't mean that once you have power, you must fulfill your responsibilities; rather, fulfilling them is a form of protection for yourself and this industry. Only when this industry prospers and develops in a positive direction will you also become a beneficiary.

For instance, if the domestic film industry were to rot, as a director at the pinnacle of the pyramid in terms of domestic influence and status, he would be the one to suffer the greatest loss.

Therefore, there are some things that, within his power, must certainly be done.

Lv Yi saw that Cao Yang was troubled and couldn't help but sigh inwardly; what a great opportunity, what a pity.

She didn't know the specific reason, but she could roughly guess that it might be a problem stemming from *Lust, Caution*.

Since Cao Yang didn't say, she couldn't ask in detail, so she could only silently keep this matter in her heart, deciding to look for relevant information after returning to see if she could share Cao Dao's burdens.

She was a smart girl and knew that no matter what she did at this moment, it might provoke Cao Yang's resentment; their relationship hadn't reached that stage yet, so...

It really is a pity.

After the meal, she didn't pester Cao Yang, but instead said goodbye to him in a crisp and decisive manner.

After Cao Yang finished handling the house matters in Shanghai, he rushed back to Jingcheng.

Over the past two days, he had considered the *Lust, Caution* matter; to be honest, this matter was not as easy to handle as it appeared on the surface. The key problem lay in Li An's status.

If there were no major events, one would only need to have the review board hold up the script, or Cao Yang could even speak out directly, saying he was dissatisfied with the ending of *Lust, Caution*, and naturally, people would know what to do.

However, this is a special period, with full efforts being made to prepare for the Olympics and strive for more support from the international community, rather than letting people criticize the country; this is the top priority.

And Li An is a major director with international influence; holding up his script would cause significant international repercussions. One can imagine that Western public opinion would never let such an opportunity pass.

This would put this side in a very passive position and might even lead to the loss of more national interests.

Damn it, opportunists are really fucking awesome; they really know how to pick their timing.

Hearing that Cao Yang had returned to Jingcheng, Han Zong came to the Beijing Film Academy in person.

He had checked the relevant information over the past few days and couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.

It turned out that Li An wanted to film this novel, which had been full of controversy since it first appeared.

The novel *Lust, Caution* is not only full of controversy on the mainland, but it is also highly controversial in Taiwan, after all, the male lead is a high-ranking official of the Wang Jingwei government, supported by the Japanese, and was also in an adversarial relationship with the group led by Old Jiang.

"Little Junior Brother, I've checked into the matter you mentioned. It's not that your Jiang Shixiong is being perfunctory; this matter is a bit difficult to handle."

Han Zong said with a bitter smile, and he also organized a folder of information he had found regarding *Lust, Caution*. He handed the materials to Cao Yang and continued:

"If this kind of novel were filmed according to the original work, it would truly be an insult to our older generation of filmmakers."

Subsequently, he smiled bitterly again: "But it just happens to be Li An. He is a major international director with immense influence overseas. Now is a critical moment for the Olympics; it's not easy to block the review."

Cao Yang nodded. While flipping through the materials Old Han brought, he said:

"Li An also has a characteristic: he is very good at starting from a feminine perspective and can film delicate emotions. Therefore, if this film is made, it will only make more people sympathize with the female lead, and the influence will only be greater."

"Who's to say it isn't?"

Old Han felt a bit depressed. He lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and then made up his mind, stubbing out the cigarette, and said: "How about this, I'll step forward and talk to him directly, telling him to change the ending. If he doesn't listen..."

He then slapped the table and stood up, his reckless spirit rising: "If he doesn't listen, I'll make sure he can't find a distributor even if he films it well. Damn it, I don't believe it; if I put the word out, who would dare to distribute his film."

"And then?"

Cao Yang asked, then smiled and answered himself: "Then you'll be disciplined, and the most likely outcome is being retired early. And then who would still sell you face? Once you're down, there will be plenty of distributors willing to distribute his film."

"I..."

Old Han opened his mouth. Cao Yang's words were blunt but true. If he dared to do that, he would likely be "retired" early.

"When the person leaves, the tea goes cold" isn't just a saying; it's a reality.

Of course, Old Han isn't stupid. Although there was an element of "performing" in front of Cao Yang when he said that, he also knew that he was doing this for the "public good."

Even if he really did it and was eventually removed, once the storm passed and the Olympics were over, there would be a high probability that the higher-ups would provide compensation elsewhere.

Cao Yang was flipping through the materials when he suddenly paused. His heart stirred, and he asked: "Jiang Shixiong, what's the deal with this Taiwan Era Company?"

Old Han glanced at the materials and explained:

"Li An obtained the copyright from Zhang Ailing's executor, Taiwan's Bai Xianyong. The Taiwan Era Company, however, claims that they had long since obtained the copyright from another executor, Song Yilang.

Years ago, because of this, the Taiwan Era Company even took Song Yilang to court.

The reason was that the Taiwan Era Company believed Song Yilang had deceived them, that Song Yilang did not fully possess the copyright to *Lust, Caution*. They claimed to own all the rights and sought damages, but in the end, the Taiwan Era Company lost the lawsuit."

Old Han's words reminded Cao Yang of a piece of news he had once seen.

The first stop for the large-scale release of *Lust, Caution* was Taiwan. At that time, there were people within Taiwan who stepped forward to stop it, and the reason chosen was that the copyright was in dispute.

Because of this, *Lust, Caution* was once unable to be screened.

"Jiang Shixiong, do you think we can buy the copyright held by the Taiwan Era Company?"

Old Han was stunned for a moment and asked with some confusion: "Does the Taiwan Era Company still have the copyright? Didn't they lose the lawsuit?"

Cao Yang smiled. It was a case of "darkness under the lamp." He guessed that Old Han, like Li An, thought that since the Taiwan Era Company lost the lawsuit, they no longer held the copyright to *Lust, Caution*.

"That company only claimed damages and wanted the full copyright; losing the lawsuit doesn't affect the copyright they obtained previously. They must still have the copyright."

After thinking for a moment, Cao Yang shook his head and said:

"Now they know that the copyright held by Bai Xianyong was bought by Li An, but they haven't made any noise, nor have they mentioned that they still hold the copyright. This is them wanting to sit and wait for the film to be made so they can exchange it for greater benefits.

If we want to buy their copyright, it will definitely be at an astronomical price."

Old Han thought for a moment, then laughed heartily, patted Cao Yang on the shoulder, and said:

"Little Junior Brother, there are some other factors involved here that are a bit troublesome to explain, but don't worry, the price will definitely be very low.

Simply put, the Era Group belongs to the Blue Camp, recognizes the 1992 Consensus, and opposes the Green Camp and Taiwan independence. This gives us a lot of room to maneuver."

Cao Yang's heart stirred, and he asked: "Jiang Shixiong, do you mean they are willing to sell the copyright?"

"Haha, I'll handle this matter. We don't need to buy out their copyright completely; we just need to co-own it with them. This way, we can help them share the pressure in the future; they need us."

Old Han said with a smile.

Taiwan is currently under the Green Camp, so the Blue Camp's Era Group might not be able to withstand the pressure when the time comes, so they need external allies.

Cao Yang is certainly not as good at these political things as Old Han. Since Old Han said he would handle it, he must be confident.

Since that was the case, Cao Yang temporarily put the matter aside.

Old Han stopped mentioning it and changed the subject: "Congratulations, Junior Brother. It won't be long before you break the domestic box office record again. We should celebrate properly when that time comes."

Cao Yang's heart stirred. *Inception* had been released for over ten days. He had been in Shanghai these past few days and hadn't paid attention to the box office.

"Have the box office statistics for these days come out?"

"That's right, I came over specifically to tell you about this."

Old Han sighed. Before the year before last, people in the film industry and the higher-ups were a bit desperate about the domestic box office record.

Old Mouzi's *Hero* was released for about ninety days, similar to *Titanic*, but the box office was still far behind *Titanic*. *Titanic*'s box office record was like a giant mountain pressing down on their heads.

Who could have imagined that last year, Cao Yang's *District 9* would break the record held by *Titanic*, and now this *Inception* can not only continue the record but might even raise it by a significant margin.

And don't say this is a Hollywood film; whether it's *District 9* or *Inception*, they are co-productions, and the director is a native-born Chinese. Such films certainly cannot be categorized as foreign blockbusters.

"*Inception* has been released for ten days and has already exceeded 260 million in box office. According to the current heat, it should easily reach 400 million within a month. If we extend the run a little bit, 500 million in box office is not impossible!"

Old Han's words were powerful. Is this just about the box office? This is his own political achievement!

This is a major event that can be recorded in the history of Chinese cinema!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 301 =====