Harvey was somewhat shocked by Shen Fang's domineering and confident demeanor. This young man seemed like a seasoned business tycoon with an imposing presence. Shen Fang's words were clear: the 5 million could be spent however he wanted, even if it all ended up in Harvey's pocket, as long as he could win the Oscar, the money was his. He was paying for a service, and he had to get it done.

When Old Mike heard Shen Fang's words, he was somewhat dismissive. The current Chinese film market, with its negligible box office returns, was insignificant to Universal Pictures.

“Chen, I don’t agree with what you said. The current Chinese film market is not as good as that of France, Mexico, and Australia.”

Shen Fang smiled and said, "Not important? In 1998, Titanic earned nearly 40 million US dollars. Now China's economy is rising. It's an economic powerhouse with 1.3 billion people. How much profit do you think it will generate once the film industry develops?"

Old Mike smiled and said, "I don't deny that China will rise. I know that Chinese people are very hardworking, and hardworking people will become rich sooner or later. I believe that, but it takes time, doesn't it?"

“Old Mike, this is an investment that will yield returns. I can tell you this: before 2008, the Chinese film industry will rise and become one of the top three box office markets in the world. Investing in the Chinese film industry will definitely bring you rich returns. I am here with the sincerity of China Film Group and us, the industry giants in Beijing.”

"Five years? To become one of the world's top three voting blocs?"

"Yes, helping me out is paving the way for Universal Pictures."

Old Mike squinted at Shen Fang: "Shen, you've promised me a very tempting future. Your pie-in-the-sky promise sounds pretty good."

Shen Fang flashed his bright white teeth: "This isn't a flatbread, it's a big cake."

Actually, Shen Fang was just trying to fool Mike. To be precise, it wasn't exactly fooling, because Hollywood movies entering China is unstoppable; it's a national reality. Shen Fang was using China Film Group's name to trick him into helping the film get an Oscar. In return, when Universal Pictures released the film in China, Shen Fang would help by giving it more screenings and promotion—a win-win situation.

Of course, the early stage was the successful development of the Chinese film industry, and also the awarding of an Oscar to a hero.

If Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon can win an award, why can't Heroes? Chinese film directors have already won awards at the three major film festivals, and they have achieved the highest honor in the field of art films. They have nothing more to strive for. The only thing missing is an Oscar. If a country's film industry is healthy, it must be commercially driven and artistically driven. Right now, Chinese films are just missing an Oscar to boost their morale.

The release date was deliberately moved up to January 1st in order to win awards.

As for Ang Lee, he didn't win the award, but he's not a true Chinese citizen at all; in fact, he's a member of the Taiwanese Communist Party.