Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

After being elected as a legislator, Hu Xiaoxiao shifted her focus back to the mainland market. In addition to recruiting mainland artists to her agency, she also vigorously expanded Shengshi Cinemas. With the assistance of partners, the development of the cinema chain went very smoothly and could be described as unstoppable.

When Shengshi Cinemas surpassed one hundred cinemas in mainland China, the Hollywood film "The Magic Contract" was finally about to be released.

Hu Xiaoxiao's main focus has been on her career in mainland China. Because she's been so busy, aside from some important commercial activities, she hasn't taken on any acting roles for a long time, and she's put aside any updates on "The Magic Contract" since filming wrapped. However, Dong Peiyu has been keeping an eye on things, and because Hu Xiaoxiao, whom she mainly manages, has significantly reduced her activities, she has more free time to focus her attention on Hollywood.

This was Hu Xiaoxiao's first Hollywood film, and her agent, Dong Peiyu, was more concerned than anyone else. Therefore, she kept a close eye on the progress of "The Magic Contract" and even asked people in Hollywood to help gather information: about the film's popularity, market reaction, and news from Hamlet Company.

News kept coming in from over there. As soon as the release date of "The Magic Contract" was announced, Dong Peiyu received a lot of information, some of which was internal.

After reading the internal documents of Hamlet Company, Dong Peiyu's expression turned somewhat grim, and she immediately went to find Hu Xiaoxiao.

"Xiaoxiao, Hamlet Company is really treacherous."

Hu Xiaoxiao was reading the monthly report when she looked up and asked, "What's wrong? Has something happened to 'The Demon Contract'?"

Sitting opposite Hu Xiaoxiao, Dong Peiyu said, "I received inside information from Hamlet Company that they plan to pull some tricks in the movie 'The Magic Contract' in order to promote Emily."

"Tell me about it," Hu Xiaoxiao asked, looking down at the monthly report again.

Dong Peiyu was so angry she wanted to slam her fist on the table. She said, "They plan to make two versions, one for the European and American markets and one for the Asian market. The European and American version will highlight Emily, and Emily's character will have more screen time than yours. In other words, they plan to cut your scenes in the European and American version. They even want to include your name alongside Emily's in the movie poster."

Dong Peiyu was furious, but Hu Xiaoxiao's attention was still on the monthly report, and she didn't even look up. "What about the Asian version?"

"It's less of an Asian version and more of a special edition. This Asian special edition gives you more screen time, puts your name on the female lead list, and relegates Emily to a supporting role." Dong Peiyu was furious. She had initially supported Hu Xiaoxiao's participation in this film to help her gain recognition in Hollywood and break into the Hollywood market, but now, thanks to this, Hu Xiaoxiao has become a supporting character, highlighting their efforts. "Xiaoxiao, why aren't you angry at all?"

"What's the point of getting angry? I knew they'd pull these kinds of tricks." In Hollywood, actors from other places never seem to get away with it; it's a very exclusive market.

"So we're just going to let them be?"

"How could that be?" Do you think it's so easy to take advantage of her?

Hu Xiaoxiao finally submitted the monthly report, saying, "Since I had anticipated that they would make some underhanded moves, of course I was prepared."

Dong Peiyu sat up straight and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"What needed to be done has already been done." Hu Xiaoxiao was much calmer than Dong Peiyu. She said, "Even if they wanted to cut my scenes, they wouldn't dare to go too far. At most, they would just leave things ambiguous with the female lead."

Meeting Dong Peiyu's puzzled look, Hu Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "If they dare to cut a lot of my scenes and let Emily steal my thunder, the sponsors won't let them off the hook."

Hu Xiaoxiao was wary when she helped find sponsors. Therefore, her scenes almost always featured her wearing high-end luxury brand clothing or jewelry from jewelers. These product placements were written into the contracts; if Hamlet Company dared to remove them, the two sponsors would definitely sue them.

Hamlet's company is unwilling to get involved in this lawsuit, so this inside information is probably somewhat unreliable. It's true they want to promote Emily and obscure the female lead, but when it comes to actually cutting content, it will be quite difficult.

After understanding, Dong Peiyu breathed a sigh of relief, but she still felt uneasy.

Hu Xiaoxiao handed Dong Peiyu a monthly report on the mainland market and said, "Don't you exchange emails with Philip? Tell Philip that Shengshi Cinemas already has over a hundred cinemas in the mainland market, as well as the construction plans for the next cinemas."

The 100 cinemas of Shengshi Cinema Chain may not seem like many, but they are all located in first- and second-tier cities, which are the main sources of box office revenue and account for a very large market share.

Hu Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, then said to Dong Peiyu, "You should also leak this inside information from Hamlet Company to the two sponsors."

If the two sponsors found out, they would definitely protest strongly. Having them watching over things would be more effective than Hu Xiaoxiao protesting.

Dong Peiyu finally perked up, "I'll get on it right away."

Hu Xiaoxiao stopped Dong Peiyu, who was in a hurry to leave, and instructed her, "Tell Philip that I was very angry when I heard the news."

Hu Xiaoxiao emphasized that it was something that made her very, very angry.

Dong Peiyu immediately understood: the consequences of being extremely angry would affect their chances of obtaining mainland quotas.

"With this threat, they will definitely not dare to cause any more trouble in 'The Magic Contract'."

Hu Xiaoxiao smiled meaningfully, "The 'Magic Contract' is over. We can use this as an excuse to seek benefits for the future."

"What's the benefit?"

"I've investigated the film and television industry in mainland China and found that, whether in mainland China or Hong Kong, the level of film directors is far behind that of Hollywood. I want to collaborate with a Hollywood company to send a group of directors there to learn. I'm having trouble finding a suitable reason and a suitable company, so why not start with this one thing, and then..."

Then we can negotiate terms.

First, a group of directors were sent there to learn, and then other production staff were sent there.

Hollywood has readily available experience, so why bother to painstakingly explore uncharted waters? Wouldn't learning their advanced technology accelerate the development of the domestic film and television industry?

Furthermore, the ability to collaborate with Hollywood companies and help cultivate talent in the film and television industry has earned Hu Xiaoxiao considerable prestige within the mainland film and television industry.

Dong Peiyu and Hu Xiaoxiao worked together very well. Knowing Hu Xiaoxiao's intentions, Dong Peiyu immediately set about doing it.

Back in Hollywood, Philip received an email from Dong Peiyu, and he was so angry he wanted to slam his fist on the table: How could they, so far away in Baogang, know about the Hamlet Company's situation? They had only just discussed the feasibility of the two versions of "The Magic Contract" in a meeting, and people on the other side of the Pacific had already received the news?

Hu Xiaoxiao is very angry?

Philip's vision went black as he recalled the time when Hu Xiaoxiao was very angry about the costumes, which was almost the most anxious time of his life.