1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 190 The bumpy road will inevitably lead to hatred of evil

In the era without the Internet, there was a lack of communication bridges between people and fan culture was difficult to take shape.

Even if a big star has 100,000 loyal fans, without a community communication platform and the leadership of a fan leader, he or she will still be an unorganized guerrilla and will not be able to achieve anything.

But 1024 is OK.

Each of the five theaters is an offline community.

The spiritual shareholders who spent money to get the cards gathered together, most of whom were young people.

Young people have the excellent qualities of being passionate and unyielding, resisting injustice, being easily carried away, and believing whatever they are told.

Under the instigation of a boss named Zhai who wished to remain anonymous, several leading figures inexplicably emerged in the five cinemas, represented by Carlos Chan and Leung Chi-chiu.

"Don't talk too much to Liang Zhichao. Just let him think that we are being oppressed and he is helping me get justice."

Zhai Yuan pulled Chen Jiale aside and gave him some instructions.

Chen Jiale nodded in understanding. His cousin was rather simple-minded and talking too much to him would only affect his performance.

Zhai Yuan then said to him, "Tell your brothers to keep their mouths shut and spread the news to stir up the audience's dissatisfaction, so that they think that 1024 is the victim. Other protests are not allowed to participate. Do you understand me?"

Chen Jiale nodded: "I understand."

Zhai Yuan asked again: "How is the pirated market doing recently?"

Chen Jiale grinned and said, "Axe Jun and I have organized a group of housewives and unemployed vagrants in Hong Kong and Kowloon. There are more than a hundred of these leg hairs in total. This is probably the largest piracy society in Hong Kong at present."

Zhai Yuan knew from the grin on his face that Chen Jiale must have made a lot of money from pirated videotapes during this period.

However, apart from the cost of producing the videotape, Zhai Yuan did not take a penny of the remaining money, and did not even ask about it. All of it went to Chen Jiale and the brothers of Xinji.

The current development of Jiaomao to occupy the pirated market is to sell CDs in the future. The cost of videotapes is too high and not much profit can be made.

Zhai Yuan warned him: "Be careful when doing this kind of thing. Don't involve yourself if your leg hair is caught."

"Don't worry, Brother Yuan, I know what to do."

Chen Jiale said: "At present, these more than 100 foot hairs do not contact me directly. I am only responsible for supplying the people in Xinji. Xinji selects a dozen car heads from the foot hairs. Each car head manages ten retail dealers. The car heads go to the designated location every week to pay the deposit and get the pirated videotapes, and then give the videotapes to the retail dealers to sell on the street. In this way, if the foot hairs are caught, at most the car heads will be bitten, and the car heads will bite the people in Xinji, and finally it will be my turn."

He smiled indifferently and continued, "Even if the people in Xinji don't follow the rules and would rather offend the emperor than betray me, I can just run away overseas. Anyway, I will never cause any trouble to you, Brother Yuan."

"What do you mean by that? Am I the kind of person who lets my brothers take the blame?"

Zhai Yuan patted his shoulder and said seriously: "If that day comes, I will buy you a boat ticket."

Chen Jiale smiled and said "pick", then his expression became more serious: "Thank you, Brother Yuan. If you hadn't brought me out, I might still be in Sau Mau Ping Estate."

Zhai Yuan was startled, then he lowered his head and smiled: "Hey, don't think that if you suddenly act deep, you won't have to run away when the time comes."

…………

On the second day after "Irresistible Passion" was taken off the screen, public opinion was still fermenting.

After a bunch of newspapers that criticized the movie were sent various blind box gift packs by enthusiastic audiences.

Ke Bibai, a foreign official from the Film Censorship Department, was also blocked by reporters downstairs of the office building.

Strictly speaking, the Film Censorship Department was renamed the Film and Television Department after its reorganization a few years ago, but people are still accustomed to the previous name.

Ke Bibai was the second head of the film inspection department after the reorganization.

"Hello, Mr. Ke. I am a reporter from Ta Kung Pao. Recently, there are rumors that the Film Censorship Office has ordered the film Irresistible Passion to be removed from the screen. Is this true?"

"Why can a movie that has passed the review be taken down for no reason and without any official notification? Does this violate relevant regulations?"

"Mr. Ke, 1024 Cinema claimed that it was reported by a competitor, and then the relevant staff of the Film Censorship Office privately warned the cinema to remove the movie "Crazy Love". If this is true, does this involve the relevant personnel of the Film Censorship Office accepting bribes and deliberately suppressing 1024?"

Ke Bibai looked at the guns and cannons handed to him and felt his head buzzing.

I didn't expect that a leisurely official like me who was in charge of handling film censorship matters would receive such treatment.

Ko Bibai smiled appropriately in front of the camera: "Thank you all for your supervision. I just came back from my hometown this morning and received the news as soon as I got off the plane that the movie "Crazy Passion" was removed from the screen. The specific situation still needs to be further understood. If there is any progress in the future, I will inform you as soon as possible. Thank you."

As he spoke, he walked into the office building.

The reporters wanted to ask more questions but were stopped outside by the accompanying staff.

As soon as Ke Bibai entered the office building, his smile disappeared instantly. He took the elevator to the electrical inspection department with a gloomy face.

Before he even entered the office hall, a voice of accountability rang out: "Can anyone tell me what's going on with the movie 'Irresistible Passion'?"

The relevant personnel in charge of the audit business rushed over, greeted him and called him "Director", and then started to blame each other.

In the final analysis, the film was indeed approved by the Film Censorship Office. As for why 1024 was taken down, it has nothing to do with us.

Ke Bibai said angrily, "The owner of 1024 Theater must have taken the wrong medicine and downloaded his own movie just to throw dirty water on you? There are reporters everywhere now. If you go out and explain like this, will anyone believe you?"

Few people would believe this if you say it out loud. To offend the Film Censorship Office for no reason is just a waste of time. Do you still want your film to be released in the future?

Ke Bibai looked around and saw that all the relevant personnel kept their heads down and said nothing. He said in a deep voice, "Where did this matter first come from?"

One of the subordinates replied, "It was a ticket seller on 1024 who was caught on camera saying things he didn't want to say. The video was then broadcast on TV and that's how it got to this point."

Ke Bibai asked: "Where is the owner of the theater?"

The subordinate said, "The theater owner is a young man. We called him and he was very nice and willing to accept all investigations. He said he didn't know about this beforehand, but someone from the Film Censorship Office threatened the ticket seller. He heard about it and he took the movie off the screen for self-inspection in order to avoid trouble."

Upon hearing this, Ke Bibai felt that the boss of 1024 was quite sensible, of course, assuming that someone had indeed threatened their theater.

He frowned and asked, "So from the beginning to the end, it was all the ticket seller's one-sided story?"

After getting a positive answer, he rubbed his face and said, "Go and ask the ticket seller to come over to assist in the investigation. We don't have the power to enforce the law, so be polite."…………

In the 1024 cinema in Ngau Tau Kok.

A circle of young audiences gathered in the rest area near the ticket counter.

Liang Zhichao was standing in the crowd, spitting everywhere.

He learned from the newspaper that Zhai Yuan's theater was suppressed, and got more details from Zhai Yuan and Chen Jiale. Today, he deliberately left his business in Xiu Mau Ping Video Hall and rushed here to uphold justice and make the truth public.

"Pick his mother! Brother Yuan and I are good brothers. I have seen him grow from a housing estate kid to where he is today. Of course, I have contributed a lot, but the most important thing is that he has the ability."

Facing dozens of cinema members who were listening to him, Liang Zhichao was filled with righteous indignation: "We encountered many attacks from both sides when we were doing video hall business in Sau Mau Ping. Now that Brother Yuan has opened a cinema, these unsuccessful colleagues are making trouble behind the scenes again. It's obvious that they are bullying the honest people!"

Amid his condemnation, the image of Zhai Yuan that emerged in the minds of the onlookers was that of a young man who had risen from humble beginnings in a housing estate and had gone through many hardships along the way.

"As far as I know, when Brother Yuan was renovating this theater, the owners of other theaters warned him not to break the market rules. They were worried that Brother Yuan's decoration of the theater would be too luxurious and would steal their customers. But Brother Yuan felt that he should provide the audience with a better viewing environment, so he finally built 1024 under great pressure."

This was something that was made up by Carlos Chan, but Brother Chao believed it to be true and spoke with righteous words and sincerity.

"Everyone, I, Liang Zhichao, don't know much else, but my mother gave me a pair of eyes. What were theaters like in the past? Thousands of people were crowded together, and the environment was as bad as it could be. I heard that some theaters even offered handjob services. I haven't been there, but I know from thinking about it that there must be a smell of jet oil inside. How can it compare with 1024?"

There was a burst of agreement from the crowd. No matter what, there was no doubt that 1024 was the best cinema in Hong Kong now.

Liang Zhichao wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth and became more excited as he listened to the crowd's voices of agreement.

He continued, "But since the opening of 1024 Theater, there has been a constant stream of complaints. Many of our peers from other theaters have secretly bought tickets to enter the theater. From fire safety to internal hygiene, as long as they see the slightest flaw, they will immediately complain to the relevant departments and want them to close down and rectify the business immediately. Unfortunately, Brother Yuan is a very upright person, and they have not been able to catch any evidence against 1024 since its opening."

"But this time, this group of scoundrels used a Category III film as an excuse to make a fuss, secretly colluded with officials from the Film Censorship Office, and paid a lot of bribes to force an excellent film to be taken off the screen. When I heard the news, tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn't help but ask why society is so dark?"

There was a sigh of relief in the crowd.

If they hadn't heard about these bizarre and dramatic stories from Liang Zhichao, who claimed to be Zhai Yuan's good brother.

It turns out that colleagues are enemies!

How can Boss Zhai, a young man from a housing estate, compete with the battle-hardened veterans in this industry?

Seeing is believing. Everyone witnessed how his peers reported and had his film taken down in order to suppress him.

"Brother Chao, tell me which failed theaters are secretly causing trouble. I will go to Seafood Street tonight and buy dozens of snakes to throw in. If they get 1024's movie to be taken down, I will shut them down for months!"

A grumpy old man who spent several thousand dollars to get the highest level membership card at 1024 made a suggestion.

Releasing snakes was a common tactic used by gangs in the early years when they were causing trouble. They would throw a sack of poisonous snakes into the other party's place. Even if the other party caught all the snakes later, customers would not dare to enter the place to consume again for at least a few months, for fear that some poisonous snakes that had not been cleaned up would jump out from some corner.

"I haven't seen anyone releasing a snake in years, handsome boy, I support you!"

There were many spectators around who were happy to watch the fun and were not afraid of trouble, and they all expressed their agreement.

Liang Zhichao was stumped by the other party's question. He really had no idea which theater was secretly behind the incident because no one told him so many details when he was making up the story.

Just then, several men with work badges came in.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Huang Minghui here?"

Huang Minghui was the ticket seller involved in an incident two days ago where he was secretly photographed making inappropriate remarks and the video was broadcast to the TV station.

"it's me."

At the ticket counter, Huang Minghui listened to Liang Zhichao talking about books for a long time. When he heard someone calling his name, he subconsciously answered.

"Hello, Mr. Huang. We are from the Film Inspection Office. We would like to ask you to go back and learn more about the situation."

The staff at the Film Inspection Office were smiling and spoke politely.

However, facing the onlookers who had just been brainwashed by Liang Zhichao, they were immediately treated as rats crossing the street, and hostile gazes fell on them one after another.

A group of people took the initiative to stand in front of the ticket counter, protecting Huang Minghui behind them, and looked at the staff of the Film Inspection Office with unfriendly expressions.

"What? Your collusion between officials and businessmen has now been exposed, and you still want to arrest witnesses?"

The grumpy old man who had just said he wanted to release the snake spoke up.

The staff of the Film Inspection Office was shocked by this scene and hurriedly explained: "Please don't misunderstand, we just want Mr. Huang to go back and learn more about the situation and find out the truth as soon as possible."

"If you have anything to say, just ask here. If you want to arrest someone, bring the police here."

Among the crowd were viewers who were familiar with the operation of Hong Kong government departments. They knew that the Film Censorship Office had no law enforcement power and confronted several staff members without fear.

Seeing this, Liang Zhichao, who had been filled with righteous indignation just now, quietly retreated behind the crowd.

You can speak out, but you can’t be arrested.

Huang Minghui saw that the atmosphere was tense between the two sides, so he walked out from the ticket counter and said, "It doesn't matter. I am willing to cooperate with the sirs. Let's leave now and don't disrupt the normal order of the theater."

The staff of the Film Censorship Office breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this. The audience in the theater wanted to stop them, but Huang Minghui waved his hand to indicate that it was okay, and took the initiative to follow the people from the Film Censorship Office out of the theater.

In a corner of the theater, Liang Zhichao found a deserted spot and called Zhai Yuan.

He said anxiously, "Hey, Brother Yuan, your ticket seller at the Ngau Tau Kok Theater was taken away by the Film Censorship Department for investigation. The one with the surname Huang, they won't torture him into confessing and then bite you back, right?"

In the editing room of Jiuyi Entertainment, Zhai Yuan glanced at Wang Jin who was editing and splicing films, and thought that Brother Chao's train of thought was still so unique.

He said with a smile: "Don't worry, we are now in a society ruled by law, and the Film Censorship Office is not a police station. They are just questioning according to routine. There is no such thing as forced confession."

Liang Zhichao was still a little worried, and said earnestly: "You are still too young. Although you are right in this matter, I am afraid that someone has bribed your witnesses. This kind of drama is often played on TV, and I have seen it many times."

Buy off my witnesses? Where can I get witnesses?

Huang Minghui received 1024 yuan to cooperate in this drama. His biggest role was to spread rumors that was suppressed. When he entered the Film Censorship Office, he insisted that he had been threatened by relevant personnel. At most, he was asked to identify the staff of the Film Censorship Office one by one. He entertained so many customers every day, how could he remember what they looked like?
(End of this chapter)