[Chapter 227: The Predicant of Hong Kong Cinema]
After a ten-hour flight, Linton and his entourage of seven, including his assistant and bodyguard, as well as Clinsman, stepped off the plane at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.
Assistant ena had already booked rooms and arranged pick-up services at The Peninsula Hotel. The hotel sent three Rolls-Royce cars to the airport, forming a luxurious motorcade for the arrival.
Linton stayed in the presidential suite of The Peninsula Hotel, with bodyguards and assistants next door in business suites, and Clinsman along with the distribution team on another floor.
That evening, the chairman of Golden Harvest Films, Raymond Chow, personally hosted a banquet at The Peninsula to welco Linton's group.
...
Yesterday, after Golden Harvest received Linton Films' fax, the office was puzzled. The company rarely did business with Arican firms -- how did a US company suddenly co seeking cooperation?
This was unprecedented. Although Hong Kong films were quite popular in Southeast Asia, they held only a small share of that market and struggled to break into Western markets.
Asian markets were fragnted; the strongholds for Hong Kong cinema were gradually overtaken, signaling a sharp decline.
Hollywood's comrcial films like Jurrassic Park, and Speed enhanced by computer graphics, created visually stunning, dreamlike worlds. Earlier hits like Speed, The Fugitive, and even Step Up 2 perford well in Asia.
The question of Hong Kong cinema's future weighed heavily on local companies, particularly Golden Harvest's owner Raymond Chow.
...
Back in 1992, Hong Kong cinema was thriving -- despite its modest population of a few million, hundreds of films were produced yearly, dominating Southeast Asian markets and earning the nickna 'Oriental Hollywood.'
Jurrassic Park was a film of epoch-making significance, symbolizing the 1990s Arican information technology revolution transforming traditional cinema. It grossed $960 million globally, vastly surpassing subsequent box office champions.
This drove Hollywood studio bosses crazy, while Hong Kong film moguls felt a deep chill.
Post-1993, Arican films regained influence globally. In Southeast Asia, Hollywood films remained as popular as Hong Kong's.
Most crucially, Hong Kong filmmakers couldn't replicate Hollywood's successful big-scale productions, no matter how hard they tried.
Hollywood had been steadily breaking into one Asian market after another -- markets that were once the backyards of Hong Kong filmmakers.
An even more critical issue arose: with improving copyright protections across Asian countries, video piracy lessened. Rarely could television stations openly infringe copyrights by airing tapes without rights, forcing them to buy legitimate broadcast rights.
Going forward, studios would have to rely on creativity, directors, stars, and rapid information flow. Copying or outright duplication beca impossible.
The discouraging conclusion from prolonged discussions was that only two thods could block Hollywood:
First, to restrict or limit their release in local markets, protecting one's own base;
Second, to accept the reality, because Hollywood's presence was unstoppable.
Local film companies collectively petitioned the Hong Kong governnt to limit the screening of Hollywood small films in Hong Kong to protect and support the local industry.
There was hope Hollywood might eventually focus away from Asia or choose limited releases, but anwhile, local companies faced harsh realities.
...
gan, Linton Films' director, personally called which confird the seriousness of the cooperation offer -- intending to acquire North Arican distribution rights to so of their films, with the company's owner, a big Hollywood director and superstar, Linton attending personally.
The era of Bruce Lee briefly brought kung fu films to the US market, but after his death, that influence faded. Hong Kong films struggled to re-enter the US market.
Now, no Arican company had proactively sought partnership to introduce Hong Kong films into the US market, especially one owned by big-ti Hollywood players.
Hearing an Arican company coming to buy film rights reignited a flicker of hope. Hong Kong cinema faced a crossroads: without breaking into the North Arican or global markets, it was trapped within Asia.
This was sowhat good news, and Raymond Chow was quickly relayed this information.
*****
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