Chapter 248 The Yellow Bird Behind
At this time, in the high-level conference room of Zhao's Cinema, people from two different parties were in a tense confrontation, as if a storm of change was brewing.
Different from them, Su Yun, who was at the center of the storm, was sitting in the middle of the long conference table, looking calm and composed.
Seeing her unfazed look, the leader of the group of small shareholders sitting on the right immediately slammed the table heavily: "Su Yun, what do you mean by this?!"
"What's the point? Just attend the regular meeting normally." Su Yun sneered and looked up at him. "As for my work performance, it seems that it is not your turn to care, right?"
"It's easy for you to say that. Everyone knows that the interests of us shareholders are closely related to the interests of the Zhao Group. How can we not control you?!" Another small shareholder with white hair and beard was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. "The Zhao Group spent so much time and money on the film "Blade Runner", and they hired you to do the post-production without any grudges, but what's the result?!"
"Not only did the box office only reach 33 million US dollars, most of the media in the overseas market also gave this movie rave reviews, including famous American film critics such as Siskel and Albert... Zhao invested more than 100 million Hong Kong dollars in this! And he spent a lot of money to invite so many big-name stars!" The older small shareholder became more and more excited as he spoke. Not only were people on his side trying to persuade him, but even Su Yun, who was watching from the sidelines, was a little worried that the old man would get angry and do something bad at any time.
"Film production is a business that has its ups and downs. It's too arbitrary to put all the blame on Su Yun alone." Zhao Qiming couldn't stand these so-called "old officials" the most. Not only were they old-fashioned and inflexible, they also did things in a way that hindered the company. Over the years, many of his reform proposals were jointly resisted by them for various reasons, and therefore could not be implemented.
The most frightening thing is that these people are particularly good at taking advantage of their seniority. They usually sit in the conference room and give orders without saying a word, thinking they are working hard for the company - in fact, they hardly do any work, and if they do, they often make things worse. They are quite skilled at putting on airs, and to the new employees who were invited in to reform the company's business, they act like the remnants of the previous dynasty who dislike the new reformers, and they find ways to make things difficult for them every day.
When the Zhao family finally achieved some results, these old guys rushed in with an attitude of "taking all the credit and putting the blame on others", and insisted that it was because of their good leadership that the Zhao family was able to achieve such good results.
"That's right. Where in the world can you find a business that only makes money and never loses money?" Zhao Lizhong was younger and more energetic. He was even more disgusted with these old shareholders who had completely different styles from him. He immediately followed his elder brother's words and said, "Uncle, how about you introduce one or two companies to me so I can invest in them?"
"I am the easiest person to talk to. Even when I ask someone to take my place in mahjong with my aunts and sisters during the holidays, the winnings are always given to them and the losses are counted towards my account. I am definitely not a rogue who would blame others for my losses."
His nonchalant attitude made the old shareholders, who were used to being flattered, furious. "Sixth brother, how do you discipline your son? Young people are so disrespectful to their elders, won't they cause trouble in the future?!"
"Hey, don't talk nonsense. I don't know how much I respect the elderly and love the young - Mary, don't you think so? Recently, not only have I been organizing a film awards ceremony, but I'm also helping the Po Leung Kuk and the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals to organize a charity gala. I've also confirmed that I can invite many big-name stars to come and help with the charity performances and raise donations!" The Po Leung Kuk and the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals are old social service and charity organizations in Hong Kong, so what Zhao Lizhong said was justified.
"Don't get too excited. It's better to be low-key. Otherwise, some people will think that you are disrespecting them by telling them the truth." Su Yun responded casually.
"You're right. You need to be low-key and humble. If not, some people will dislike you--" Zhao Lizhong, a naughty kid who was used to being spoiled and controlled, rarely met someone who shared the same opinion as him. He immediately became more aggressive, and the last sentence of his words was full of weirdness.
"Li Zhong, how do you talk to your uncles?" Looking at the two like-minded people singing the same tune and looking very energetic, Zhao Rifu, who was sitting in the center seat on the left side of the conference table, frowned and finally stepped out to shout.
He certainly understood how upset these shareholders were about the loss of this investment. After all, it was such a large investment - and this was Zhao's third failed external investment.
Perhaps Zhao is really incompatible with the science fiction film industry, which is the most expensive, the most profitable and the most risky. He has made three consecutive large investments, and on the surface, he has also found famous overseas companies to cooperate with. The script, actors and staff have all been carefully selected...but all three times, without exception, he lost a lot of money.
He was able to manage through the failures of his previous two investments, but this time was the most financially expensive and time-consuming, and it is completely understandable that these small shareholders would be angry after failing again.
But emotionally I can understand it, intellectually I cannot accept that they are making trouble at this time: just like I understand that Su Yun is not a saint who can succeed every time.
It's not like he hadn't seen the finished product of "Blade Runner". Even someone like him who has watched countless movies felt that it was a rare masterpiece after watching it. From the story to the production, it had reached the highest level at present and even surpassed the highest level of the current era... As for why the box office ended up being a failure, to be honest, he was somewhat puzzled.
"It's very simple. This film has indeed surpassed the highest level of the current era." In response to Zhao Rifu's question, Su Yun simply stated her conclusion, "It's not bad, but too good - so good that today's era cannot understand it and is not worthy of it."
"Just like Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968, this movie called Blade Runner 2019 is beyond its time and can only be misunderstood by the world."
"So, it will take until 2019 for people to rediscover the 'greatness' of this film?" A sneer immediately came from the right.
"It won't take that long." Su Yun smiled calmly, "I believe and can guarantee that within ten years at the latest, people's evaluation of it will undergo a complete and earth-shaking change, and this film will become the most outstanding and representative science fiction film in the entire 1980s."
She was not making this up. A few years later, the audience and many film critics who had given negative reviews to the film changed their previous criticism and began to praise the film.
In addition to the fact that the quality of this film itself is excellent enough to become a symbol of the times, the "personal goods" that Su Yun filled in based on the memories of later generations, the accuracy of those "predictions" of various things in the future world hidden in the details, will also make new and old audiences who see fantasy become reality exclaim in amazement as time goes by.
All this movie and she needed was time; but these people in front of her wanted to carve the words "quick success and instant benefits" in the most prominent place on their faces.
"It's a good thing that you have this ambition, and I also recognize the quality of this movie." Zhao Rifu's years of experience in the film show that the quality of Blade Runner is undoubtedly excellent. "However, you seem to be too focused on the quality of the film and forget the key point you should focus on."
But the problem is that this film, whose subject matter is not good enough to win awards and whose quality cannot be converted into profits, is indeed a major failure for Zhao, who has always paid more attention to the commercial value of films.
What's more, Su Yun's next film is "The Rooftop Postman", which is intended to win awards - this is another film that will not make much money even if it is successful.
It has to be said that Su Yun has lost her former sensitivity to the commercial success of films as she has grown older. She has joined several films directed by Zhao, and each of them has a taste of literary and artistic core mixed into commercial films.
If this mixture of the two is done well, it will result in a huge profit like "Brewster's Billions" that will make people jealous; if it is done poorly, it will result in a loss like "Blade Runner 2019" that will shock the industry.
It's a good thing that Su Yun wants to do both, but it has delayed the current business: she can say these words now, and it is estimated that she had already thought of them during the film production process.
But for the sake of the "quality" of the film, she gave up the fundamental requirement of her job as a film production consultant: making money.
Although he, as the top person in charge, also has the responsibility for not discovering the problem in time, Su Yun's practice of concealing the truth even though he had already discovered the problem would definitely lead to him being punished with a minimum of suspension or even an investigation by relevant departments if it were exposed.
Zhao Qiming, who was caught in the storm, glanced at his father's calm face, and then glanced at Su Yun's nonchalant look as if everything really had nothing to do with her. He felt conflicted in his heart: during this period of confrontation, he naturally thought of what his father was thinking.
蘇韻的确得對這次票房失利的結局負起責任，但是趙氏這邊內部協調，盯着她重新再拍幾部典型的商業片補數也是足夠了，被股東們鬧到把人趕走的話，不但太過絕情，對蘇韻、對趙氏也都是沒有一點益處。
既然趙勵明能想到，趙日賦當然也不是沒能想到，不過他所想的，還要更多一些而已：念在蘇韻這些年确實是在趙氏裏竭盡全力地工作，為趙氏賺了不少錢——雖然不夠這次賠的，但至少也是兩兩相抵，減少了趙氏本來的大部分虧損。
無論是從人才的角度看，還是從趙氏的長遠發展看，趙日賦心中都覺得這應該要保她一次。
而且這些股東為什麽突然如此針對平時和他們壓根就沒多少交集的蘇韻，這本身就是一個需要提防的疑點。
保下蘇韻，不止是為了趙氏往後的長遠發展，也是為了能看清楚這些曾經的同伴，如今到底是存了什麽樣的心思。
思及此，趙日賦便将目光再一次投向了對面的股東們，“所以，對于蘇韻這次的問題，你們是有什麽想法？”
“做錯事的人，當然是不能留。”老臣子股東們紛紛說了起來，“而且她不單只是這次的失誤，我有線報聽說，蘇韻在東瀛那邊除了和游戲公司合作，也搞了影視業務，而不是只是單純參演電視劇那麽簡單！”
“如果她本身就是另有同行競争的打算的話，在這次《銀翼殺手》的工作裏面不盡全力反倒是暗中使絆，這樣一切就都說得通了……”
“真是可笑，我在美國那邊也辦了未來夢想工作室，也參與了不少公司的投資，硬要說的話，大多數也能和趙氏造成業務沖突。”蘇韻啧了一聲，“我是被邀請加入的‘外援’，沒有足夠的實力，又如何值得坐這個位置？”
“再說了，你們難道以為，就憑我這個專注于後期特效制作、也只是出了幾部受歡迎電視劇的小工作室，就能和趙氏抗衡吧？”
“要想發展成趙氏這樣的大公司，相信比起我這種後起新秀來，還是你們這些伴着趙氏打江山的老前輩，更對當中的關節有所了解呢。”
面對蘇韻硬是把原本可以用來栽贓她心懷鬼胎的理由說成實力證明的厚臉皮，好幾個原本心中已經勝券在握的股東，都愣是有了種言辭卡殼的無語感。
但如果今日不能抓緊時機把蘇韻弄離趙氏的話，嘉寧的計劃，說不定就會生出他們不願看見的變化來……
特別是蘇韻還和趙勵英在東瀛有來往，假如再讓蘇韻這樣發展下去，使得趙勵英也因此而被弄回香江——那麽，趙日賦就絕對不會就此放棄趙氏的了！
回想起當時暗中和嘉寧談股份轉讓時，嘉寧必須要占據主導權的要求，心思各異的股東們一咬牙一狠心，倒是幹脆就打算撕破臉皮了。
“總之，蘇韻這個疑似懷有二心的所謂制作顧問，我們是都不支持她留在趙氏的！”老臣子股東們說着說着，便陸續起立表明态度，“如果你們趙家硬是要包庇她的話，我們就要去申請詳細調查了！”
“東西可以亂吃，說話不可以亂講——你們憑什麽去申請詳細調查？”這種詳細調查無非就是請警方的商業罪案部門過來，到時蘇韻不管有罪沒罪，一被警方帶走就肯定得聲名有損而且說不定還會被記者亂寫，趙勵明頓時也是動了真火了。
“就憑蘇韻她這個作為電影制作顧問的人，這次的工作嚴重失職，導致趙氏産生重大的資金虧損……”老臣子股東們絲毫不甘示弱，“我們可不是利家那種好欺負的，要麽，就給我們一個實實在在的失誤理由，要麽——就讓警察來評個公道！”
“你們太過分了！”趙勵仲氣得雙眼通紅，“你們這話是什麽意思？利夫人還每年都參加電視臺的臺慶，如果真是傳聞那樣，利家還會和趙家來往嗎？！”
利家當年是和趙家合夥創辦TBB電視臺的，後來因為經濟發展地價飙升，所以利家家族業務重心轉變，重新将重點業務放回了以前最為拿手的地産界。
因為家族業務重心從影視界轉回了地産界，所以利家後來就和趙家重新修訂了合作關系，退了一步，讓趙家獨攬電視臺的主管大權。
但也因此，讓不少心存惡意的媒體捕風捉影地撰寫了趙家坑害利家，還暗中使用計謀催化利家內部矛盾，只為奪取電視臺主管權的不實消息。
“傳聞是真是假，你們自己心裏有數，當年和你們勢均力敵的合作者都能趕走，如今也不在乎趕走我們這些為你們趙家人打江山的老臣子了……”那個須發皆白的年長小股東再一次仗着年齡優勢，作出了一副面對兔死狗烹之時的忠臣嘴臉，“當年你們伯爺初初從南洋來香江開公司，開業第一日就被同行請人送了兩把火慶賀，最後可是我們這些老臣子出盡全力，才把被燒得清光的公司重新建立起來……”
“我們當年有用也有錢，所以就分到了一些趙氏的股份，現在你們趙家一家獨大，我們這些外人，也是時候‘退位讓賢’了！”
“不過啊，世侄，我做長輩的最後還是得叮囑你一句，凡事做得太絕，那麽就沒有人會再幫你們的了……”
說得冠冕堂皇，但字字句句倒是都在挑撥離間。
“誰有用，誰沒用，誰能幫忙而誰又不能幫忙，我這雙老眼還是能看得清楚……”趙日賦看着他們，深深地嘆了一口氣，“老陳，當年大家也是一起搏過命的交情，何必做到這一步？”
聽到自己父親這一句，趙勵明的心情便更加複雜了：哪怕都到了這一步了，父親還是在念舊情。
而這些人就是仗着這份舊情，越來越嚣張放肆。
“反正你們趙家都不在乎我們這些老臣子了，那我們也沒什麽對不起你的了，到時我們手裏的股份賣給誰，你也管不着！”老臣子股東們紛紛回話道，“當然了，我們不會像趙老二那樣直接把手裏的資源賣給對家，但是如果遇到适合的價錢，我們自然也會出手……”
聽着他們還說到了香江趙氏當年的內部奪權舊事，這下趙日賦倒是會過意來了：“我二哥當年定錯了方向，拖了公司後腿，如果還是按照他的方式走下去的話，根本就不可能有趙氏在那些年裏的輝煌……”
“我知道，你們這些人，都怪我留不住勵英，導致趙氏很長一段時間後繼無人……”
“這又不能怪你，畢竟趙勵英只是你的侄子嘛，誰會把家産留給隔房的侄子而不是自己的親生兒子了？”對面立刻就有人陰陽怪氣地來了一句。
“我說了多少遍，勵英當年是自己選擇離開的，如果他要回來，我一定會留他繼續擔任趙氏的總經理……”回憶舊事的溫和話鋒一轉，趙日賦當即也是冷笑一聲，“行了，說到底，你們今日搞這麽多事，無非就是想幫嘉寧的陳從英收購趙氏，別以為我什麽都不知道！”
“你們趙家人是大頭，我們這些小的也不好越過你們做事——”老臣子股東們說着說着，又打起了感情牌，“六哥啊，現在影視界的市道不好，大家這些兄弟近年來也不怎麽好過……”
“但是地産界就不同了，嘉寧這幾年的發展你又不是沒看見，短短幾年就造成了一個商業帝國，比我們趙氏所謂的影視帝國還要厲害——利家當年會選擇離開影視界重新投身房地産，你二哥也是在脫離趙氏後選擇投身房地産……這種種，都是證明着現在的時代已經不同了，哪邊能賺大錢，哪邊才會人心向往。”
“如果是勵英還在這裏，也會認為和嘉寧合作才是正确的道路……”
“誰說我會把趙氏送出去了？”勸話的老臣子股東話音尚未落下，趙勵英行色匆匆的身影已經是打開了會議室的大門。
面對衆人震驚的神色，趙勵英喘了一口氣，這才是繼續說了下去：“抱歉，因為要處理東瀛那邊的一些事務，所以我來遲了一點。”
“你、你怎麽會？！”勸話的老臣子股東大驚失色。
“早在數年前，我和蘇韻小姐就已經開始合作，在東瀛進行影視業務的工作，所以這些年都沒有回來，倒是讓大家有所誤會了。”趙勵英淡淡一笑，“不過，雖然我現在做的是東瀛的業務，但是我在趙氏仍然擁有的5%股份，卻是還能讓我有點說話的空間。”
“對于嘉寧這次的合作邀約，我是絕對不會同意的。”
“你知不知道如果和嘉寧的合作能成功，趙氏以後到底能上升到一個什麽程度？！”有人忍不住嚷了起來。
"Of course I know that this cooperation invitation is very beneficial, but I still support my family's traditional business more." Zhao Liying replied calmly, and then walked in front of Zhao Rifu again.
There was no need for words. The two uncle and nephew, who had once worked closely together, only needed to look at each other to understand the deep meaning in each other's eyes: these small shareholders and Jianing used all means to promote the signing of the contract, so there must be a problem.
Due to Zhao Liying's interruption, the original topic could no longer be continued.
However, thinking of what Zhao Liying said before, the old shareholders had to turn their attention back to Su Yun: "Let's talk about Zhao's current losses first... However, Su Yun has another company in Japan that is engaged in film and television business. Why don't we know about it?"
"Are we the only ones who don't know, or does everyone in the Zhao family... not know?"
As long as they get rid of Su Yun, the troublemaker, first, they will be able to persuade the Zhao family to sign the contract even if Zhao Liying comes back.
Zhao Liying has been away from Hong Kong for so many years, and he will definitely not be able to do a good job in Hong Kong films for a while after returning. Therefore, the only person who can possibly turn the current situation around for Zhao is Su Yun, the foreign aid who can open up overseas markets.
But even though the film and television industry can earn foreign exchange, the investment and returns are far inferior to the real estate industry, not to mention the greater risks - Su Yun has a glorious record of making movies for so many years without any real losses, isn't it just because of the failure of "Blade Runner" that all his thousand years of hard work was lost in one day?
This not only gave them the best excuse to get rid of Su Yun, but also served as a reminder to them that the Hong Kong film and television industry, which was impacted by Hollywood blockbusters, was no longer as easy to survive as before.
Well, since it was a rare opportunity for them to board the huge ship of gold, Jia Ning, they must not lose this hard-earned ticket because of other people or things.
Seeing that they were clearly trying to prove that Su Yun had ulterior motives, Zhao Liming was both angry and confused, but because he didn't know the inside story, he could only wait quietly for Su Yun or Zhao Liying to come forward to explain.
Su Yun took a step forward and was about to speak when several figures walked in from outside the conference room again. The leader was Huang Misheng, who was supported by the two sisters of the Zhao family.
“I think I should answer this question.”