Deceiving Chinese Entertainment Industry for Thirty Years 65

Chapter 65: Give Xu Qing Back to Me! (Fifth Update)

2025-01-21

Chapter 65: Give Xu Qing Back to Me! (Fifth Update)

Hong Jie arrived in Guangzhou according to plan.

Of course, nominally, she was there to promote *The Song Dynasty*.

Although the main target market for *The Song Dynasty* was the Capital City and Shanghai.

Guangzhou wasn’t entirely ignored.

After all, much of the history depicted in the film took place in that city.

The reason for not focusing on Guangzhou was simply a matter of prioritizing.

The mainland is far larger than Hong Kong.

Before a nationwide cinema network existed, focusing on key cities was a smart strategy.

But, it was also an opportunity to cultivate the market.

Hong Jie’s role in the film was fairly minor, despite the extensive introductions about her character. She only played the mother.

This arrangement revealed the usual arrogance of Hong Kong filmmakers.

Jiang Wen played the Song father, a historically significant figure.

So, Chen Hong, this mainland actress, why not just pair her with Jiang Wen?

In terms of looks and everything else…

Of the three sisters, only Maggie Cheung was decent.

The other two, especially Wu Junmei,

were really not in good shape. She’d gained quite a bit of weight, but that wasn’t the worst part; she looked much older.

Wu Junmei was two years younger than Maggie Cheung according to her ID.

But when they stood together, Maggie Cheung looked significantly younger.

The reason is simple: Wu Junmei was an American citizen and lived there.

Many people aren’t aware of the dietary habits in America, but the effects are immediately visible on the face—making one look much older.

But, *The Last Emperor* kept her star power afloat.

In the past, if she had encountered such frustrating situations, Hong Jie certainly wouldn’t have tolerated it.

But now… it was a perfect opportunity to come to Guangzhou.

Simultaneously, she could also pay attention to *Thirteen Lanterns of the South China Sea*.

And Hong Jie easily sensed the ‘difference’ between these two films.

*The Song Dynasty*, though shown less often, still had a sizable audience.

After all, considerable promotion had been done beforehand.

However, the audience’s response was largely:

“What was that?”

“All I saw was Maggie Cheung talking.”

“It felt like watching a chronicle.”

“Except for the story of Jiang Wen and Chen Hong, isn’t everything else in the textbooks?”

Upon hearing these comments, Hong Jie felt… a certain dark satisfaction.

On one hand, Ma Xun’s prediction was uncanny.

He had foreseen this.

On the other hand, was Hong Kong’s understanding of history so superficial?

The audience was right.

The film was called *The Song Dynasty*, even had another name, *The Three Song Sisters*.

But in reality, it was a female-led film.

The main female lead was the national mother played by Maggie Cheung.

The main plot and the majority of the screen time were dedicated to Maggie Cheung.

Even the scenes involving the Song father and mother were mostly directly related to Maggie Cheung.

What made the audience even more frustrated was that much of Maggie Cheung’s plotline

was narrated by her.

For example, what happened to Dr. Sun Yat-sen was shown through her narration accompanied by visuals.

Perhaps, that Hong Kong directing couple thought this technique was brilliant.

But the biggest problem was:

This is all in our history textbooks!

To put it bluntly, anyone who finished high school basically didn’t need to watch it.

Nowadays, movie tickets are not cheap compared to the average person’s income.

And people go to the cinema to relax and enjoy themselves.

Many people dislike history.

To put it bluntly,

aren’t they tired of compulsory education yet?

In this way, although Hong Jie was only participating in activities in Guangzhou,

she could roughly determine

that *The Song Dynasty* was definitely going to fail.

In contrast,

*Thirteen Lanterns of the South China Sea* was very popular in Guangzhou!

This film was, after all, about events that happened there.

Of course, not only Guangzhou, but also Hong Kong and Shanghai.

But Thirteen Lanterns himself was already quite famous in Guangdong and Guangxi.

The previous stage play performed by Jiu Jian Xian (literally, Drunkard Swordsman; refers to an actor) was already very famous.

Now that the film was released,

while not a complete sell-out, the occupancy rate was exceptionally high.

The cinemas were very satisfied.

In short, this film should at least achieve success in Guangdong and Guangxi.

But unexpectedly,

something happened!

When Hong Jie encountered some people who said they needed to cooperate,

she was quite anxious.

Fortunately, this time, she didn’t go to the police station.

It was a conference room in the cultural department.

Someone reported that there was a problem with the film!

Although Hong Jie used *Qin Song* (a movie) to describe this encounter,

she didn’t suffer as much as Zhou Xiaowen.

The reason is simple.

*Qin Song* had already been unbanned.

After much effort, the film underwent several investigations.

And it was discovered that the problems weren’t too serious.

Zhou Xiaowen and Lu Wei sincerely apologized and promised to stop making films like that.

That was about it.

This outcome gave the relevant departments in Guangzhou experience.

Don’t go overboard.

Investigate first.

As for pulling the film… don’t rush.

Further screenings could be stopped, but if the cinemas voluntarily pulled the film, there wasn’t much they could do.

Actually, this approach, although not as harsh as with *Qin Song*,

still caused many cinemas to retreat.

They were very sensitive and didn’t dare to make a big deal out of it.

Therefore, although this incident wasn’t as serious as *Qin Song*, judging from the current situation,

*Thirteen Lanterns of the South China Sea* would eventually be pulled from theaters.

Now, the hope rested on Ma Xun.

Others might not know, but Hong Jie absolutely trusted Ma Xun!

However, Ma Xun did not go to Guangzhou.

…

Strange!

Very strange!

After talking to Hong Jie, Ma Xun was certain of this point.

*Thirteen Lanterns of the South China Sea* was produced by the Gao Zhi Sen company.

But the work was originally a stage play.

Gao Zhi Sen merely unearthed the stage play.

Frankly speaking, even if there was a huge grudge against Gao Zhi Sen,

there was no need to target this film.

The most crucial point was that this film wasn’t a blockbuster!

Even if the film was ruined, Gao wouldn’t lose much money.

Although, in Hong Kong, some people would go to any lengths for a film.

For example, five years ago, in 1992.

The Spring Festival was approaching, and a strange incident occurred in a certain place.

A group of masked thugs wielding AK-47s stormed a place.

Shouting robbery!

Robbing what?

Movies!

This wasn’t a joke or an advertising gimmick.

They really were robbing a movie.

That movie was Wong Jing’s *All’s Well, Ends Well*, which was about to be released during the Lunar New Year.

If the robbery was successful, the film’s release could be prevented.

Luckily, it wasn’t successful. Those robbers didn’t understand films and were tricked into taking a few boxes of film reels and running away.

The actual negatives weren’t stolen.

It’s important to know that this really happened.

Later, Jackie Chan even protested with ordinary people, leaving behind a classic street interview.

He imitated how Hong Kong triad members threatened their film crew during filming.

The imitation was spot-on, showing that Jackie Chan’s acting skills were also quite good.

This is Jackie Chan, even he was threatened.

Regardless of his situation, if someone wanted to deal with Gao,

there was no need to target this film; they could strike during the Lunar New Year.

To make Gao lose more money.

Judging from this… it shouldn’t be aimed at Gao!

Then who is the target?

Hong Jie?

Definitely not!

Ma Xun planned to take action the next day.

But not long after he left his house, he received a call.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Ma Xun, right? Let’s talk.”

A stranger, this guy didn’t say who he was.

But Ma Xun had already guessed.

Talk then, talk.

Soon, Ma Xun arrived at a coffee shop as agreed.

A small table by the window already had someone sitting there.

Seeing him arrive, a simple gesture indicated a seat.

This guy was Liu Bo!

Ma Xun had already guessed it was him before arriving.

And now, you want to talk, let’s talk.

He sat down opposite Liu Bo without a care in the world.

Liu Bo was about to order coffee.

But Ma Xun directly refused.

“Don’t bother with the formalities, let’s just get to it.”

Liu Bo nodded, “Okay! Let’s get straight to it. I believe you already know what happened in the south.”

This was basically a direct admission.

Liu Bo was the one who reported *Thirteen Lanterns of the South China Sea*.

Ma Xun laughed after hearing this, “Mr. Liu, don’t you think what you did is ridiculously funny?”

Liu Bo frowned immediately upon hearing this, “Mr. Ma, I originally thought you were a cultured and civilized person…”

Ma Xun immediately interrupted him, “Mr. Liu, you mean you’re a civilized person? And this is how a civilized person acts? Reporting a film from afar? That’s really civilized, isn’t it?”

Those words were quite strong.

Actually, Liu Bo did this to show his power.

Ma Xun had already figured it out.

The Mercedes-Benz he drove during his airport rescue should have been traced by Liu Bo.

Of course, it didn’t necessarily have to be through that channel.

Didn’t Xu Qing announce her joining the film *That Mountain, That Man, That Dog*?

And everyone in the industry knew that this film was spearheaded by Ma Xun.

Crucially, soon after that day, *That Mountain* was included in the Post Office’s key projects.

Liu Bo wasn’t an idiot; he was a genius, truly recognized by Master Ji Xianlin.

His intelligence was far beyond the norm.

It was easy for him to guess that his failed marriage proposal at the airport

was Ma Xun’s doing!

By targeting *Thirteen Lanterns of the South China Sea*, Liu Bo was telling Ma Xun.

I’ve found you, and no matter how well you hide, you’re useless. And I can deal with you.

I can cause you financial losses!

As for Ma Xun’s connection to *Thirteen Lanterns of the South China Sea* being discovered by Liu Bo, it was likely because of Ma Xun and Hong Jie being together frequently recently.

In short, Liu Bo was showing off to Ma Xun!

And Ma Xun’s response was simple.

He directly started cursing!

I’m a thug, what can you do, Liu Bo?

“Mr. Ma, it’s not for anything else, I just hope you can return Xu Qing to me.”

Unexpectedly, Liu Bo actually said this!

At that moment, Ma Xun felt strange.

It felt like a romance drama.

He is the domineering CEO, and I am a thug.

I stole the domineering CEO’s woman, and now he’s here to get her back.

Is that it?

But… damn it! Almost fell for it!

Ma Xun stood up directly and said with a smile, “That Miss Xu has nothing to do with me, you’re asking me for her, you’re freaking insane!”

Then, he left directly.

But at the door, Ma Xun turned back and said,

“Liu, stop playing these lousy tricks. That film will absolutely not be affected!”

He slammed the door and left!

After Ma Xun left, Liu Bo’s face showed no expression.

But he said something strange.

“Did you hear that?”

In the corner of the coffee shop, someone who seemed to be napping, their head covered with a coat,

revealed their true form.

It was Xu Qing.

Sorry, I ran out of time today, so I can only deliver five updates. But I will continue writing, and I will definitely add more tomorrow. Please forgive me, I beg you!

(End of Chapter)

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