Chapter 66

May 23, 2002, Group Center, Hennessy Road, Wan Chai.

Today, there is a small-scale press conference here, where the obscure mainland film company Vision Entertainment and its partners are holding a live signing ceremony.

The two sides will invest 12 million to collaborate on the musical inspirational film "Heart-Stirring."

This is a naked case of a dove occupying a magpie's nest.

Using industry status to seize and occupy the projects and ideas of fledgling practitioners has never been a new thing in the entertainment industry.

In the later years, 2010, "Lost on Journey" became a huge hit, and the Wuhan Huaqi company held the full copyright.

Later, the screenwriter sent the script for "Lost on Journey 2" to Xu Zheng. Two months later, when filing with the Film Bureau, they accidentally discovered that another company in Beiping had already preemptively registered "Lost in the City," with Xu Zheng's name listed under the screenwriter column.

Jungle law, survival of the fittest; there are plenty of these things that cannot be brought to the table.

Come to think of it, this kind of small-budget co-production that just crossed ten million doesn't need such a big fanfare.

But firstly, the Hong Kong film market has been sluggish in recent years, and secondly, this is the first public appearance of the "Little Heavenly King" and others after the "Whiplash" crew storm.

Coupled with the fact that he is currently in the midst of a huge controversy over a certain incident, both publicly and privately, such a high-profile press conference is necessary.

Hong Kong and mainland media who received the news all rushed to the scene, along with some die-hard fans of Xie Tingfeng and others.

After the routine process, Liu Zeyu, representing Vision Entertainment, and Zhang Jianting signed, shook hands, and exchanged greetings.

The reporters at the scene were a bit drowsy; it seems they won't be able to get any big news today.

The beautiful host delivered the final closing remarks: "Let us congratulate the two companies on their happy union today, and together contribute a masterpiece to Chinese-language cinema!"

Applause rang out sparsely, but it did not drown out a shout from the entrance of the conference room.

"I do not agree to this marriage!"

The scene fell silent instantly, and all flashes and cameras were aimed at the calm young man.

Boss Lu, who was spouting cheesy lines, walked loosely to the side of the podium. Zhang Jianting, the first to recover, said sharply:

"Lu Kuan! Today is our joint press conference. Please leave immediately, or we will call the police."

"Lu Kuan?"

"He is Lu Kuan?"

"Wow, he's handsome!"

"Don't call him handsome, we are Ah Zai's fans!"

Boss Lu took the microphone from the stunned beautiful host with ease: "These three Hong Kong actors still have performance contracts with me, and according to the contract terms, they are to continue filming movies for me."

"So I am not here to cause trouble, but to express my reasonable and legal demands."

Chen Guanxi smiled sinisterly: "Your crew? The studio has been dismantled; what crew are you talking about? Ridiculous."

Zhang Jianting was wearing gold-rimmed glasses today, looking like a refined scoundrel: "The 'Whiplash' crew has been shut down for over a week, and these three have already sent letters requesting to terminate their contracts. Please, Director Lu, don't be unreasonable anymore."

Lu Kuan smiled, put down the microphone, walked in front of him, and said in a volume that only a few people nearby could hear: "You can make a phone call and ask where Zhang Tianshuo is."

That's right, when public opinion was one-sided earlier, why didn't anyone see Zhang Tianshuo speak out?

He is Lu Kuan's number one mortal enemy online and in reality, and he still owes Lu Kuan the line "Zhang Tianshuo is a big ugly jerk!"

No one expected that Master Zhang, who had weathered so many storms over the years, would fall.

Although Zhang Tianshuo didn't know how he fell either, he had been detained anyway.

While he was wearing silver bracelets and shivering in the interrogation room, Liu Zeyu had just gotten off the plane at Kai Tak Airport and was partying with Chen Guanxi and others at the "Victoria Feast."

Liu Zeyu was shocked, his face turning pale as he took out his phone, left the scene, and turned to walk into Zhang Jianting's office.

It doesn't matter that Lu Kuan knows Zhang Tianshuo is behind these sit-in protesters.

But daring to walk in so openly to interrupt the signing, and acting so confident while asking him to confirm, is quite intriguing.

He had investigated Lu Kuan's background and didn't believe he had the same energy as himself.

Zhang Jianting was an old hand; seeing that the situation was not good, he hurriedly cleared the scene: "Today's press conference ends here. Reporters, please leave first, thank you!"

The reporters rushed over with their long guns and short cannons; they didn't care about the reason, getting the big news was the priority.

And this obscure but now infamously famous Lu Kuan—this was also his first appearance in front of reporters; previous interview invitations had all been rejected by Zhuang Xu, the contact person for the Inquiry Realm company.

"Mr. Lu, do you have any inside information you can share with us?"

"Mr. Lu, are the rumors about some people's improper behavior on set true?"

Hong Kong reporters are indeed tough; even on their own turf, they don't give any face.

Chef Xie and the photographer both looked at him nervously; they were already mired in controversy and were afraid of having another bucket of filth dumped on their heads.

Although this matter was entirely orchestrated by Liu Zeyu and Zhang Tianshuo, rumors can be terrifying; as long as there is wind, the media and the public will naturally interpret it in all sorts of ways.

Lu Kuan took a cigarette and put it in his mouth, but seeing the "No Smoking" sign in the building, he put it away resentfully and sat down on the chair next to Xie Tingfeng.

"Tingfeng, I know you don't want to see me, but I have to trouble you to endure it a little longer!"

Xie Tingfeng had been pampered since childhood and had never suffered such anger; for a moment, the veins on his temples were throbbing.

If it weren't for the reporters present, he would have loved to slap this rogue director in the face.

Lu Kuan looked at Zhang Jianting with a rather wait-and-see attitude: "Director Zhang, are you inviting me in to chat, or are we talking here in front of the media friends? You choose."

Zhang Jianting had been in the world for many years after all; dealing with such a small scene was not a problem, and he reached out with great grace: "Mr. Lu, please."

"Beep beep beep~"

Liu Zeyu was dialing the phone over and over again in Zhang Jianting's office; these two minutes felt like the longest wait of his life so far.

Finally, it went through.

"Where is my dad?"

"Zeyu, he is in a meeting."

The secretary walked further away, covered the microphone with his hand, and whispered: "By the way, this matter ends here."

Finally, he added: "This is the leader's exact words."

Liu Zeyu was furious and smashed his latest 7650 to pieces; it still contained the commemorative photos of him and a young model having fun yesterday.

Young Master Liu still had his ways of dealing with people; he picked up the landline on the table and dialed.

"Hello? How is the investigation into Lu Kuan's personal bank statements and the filing of 'Whiplash' with the Radio and Television Bureau going?"

On the other end was Zhou Lei, the Vice President of Vision Entertainment, a top student who graduated from Huaqing in '97, a professional manager Liu Zeyu had poached from Huayi at a high price.

"He only has 4 million in his personal account, far lower than the 10 million film cost advertised."

"In addition, there are three advertising agency contracts: Motorola 1 million, Starbucks Coffee 600,000, and Yamaha musical instruments plus 400,000 in endorsement fees."

Film shooting filings do not require reporting information about advertising contracts; this data was clearly obtained from relevant employees at the Qingying Factory through unfair business competition.

Liu Zeyu slapped the table excitedly, almost knocking over the vase Zhang Jianting loved.

"Hurry up and communicate, induce them to contact 'Whiplash' to terminate the contract and reconsider our new drama. If you need anything, contact Secretary Liu."

The only traffic in Lu Kuan's movie is Xie Tingfeng, Chen Guanxi, and others, and the crew's product placement contracts were signed based on this.

Once Xie Tingfeng and the others withdraw, Liu Zeyu doesn't believe there is any company that would rush to send advertising money to Lu Kuan!

And lacking this 2 million in advertising fees will be another blow to his film shooting; this is another bargaining chip for his side.

(End of chapter)