Chapter Eighty-Three: Victoria Harbour

  Victoria Harbour is a harbour and sea area between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. The name of Victoria Harbour comes from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Victoria Harbour is the largest harbour in Hong Kong, but it is also a scenic spot, especially the night view of Victoria Harbour is breathtaking.

  After arriving in Hong Kong, Song Tang couldn't miss the opportunity to visit Victoria Harbour, a famous port. Due to its unique geographical location, even in winter, it's not as cold as Beijing. After dinner, Song Tang came alone to Victoria Harbour. The dazzling lights and beautiful scenery, with high-rise buildings everywhere, after dark, the lights of thousands of homes shone brightly, reflecting each other, and the night view of Victoria Harbour was like a gentle emotion. The twinkling lights on the opposite shore flickered on and off, Song Tang gazed at the night view of Victoria Harbour, under the contrast of darkness and light, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

  "It's really enchanting! As expected, it's no wonder that it's ranked alongside Hakodate in Japan and Naples in Italy as one of the "World's Three Great Night Views", making people infatuated and reluctant to leave. What a pity! What a pity!"

  "What a pity?" Just as Song Tang was facing the beautiful night view of Victoria Harbour, he suddenly heard a voice asking around him, and he couldn't help but pause. Song Tang turned his head to look at the source of the question, only to see that it was a young man in his early twenties who was asking him. The young man was dressed in a somewhat disheveled manner, with a dark and unkempt beard, which clearly hadn't been shaved for a long time. However, what made people feel that this young man was different from ordinary people was that he had a pair of eyes that shone with wisdom at all times.

  Song Tang looked at the young man with an "artistic" aura who suddenly appeared in front of him, and smiled slightly, saying: "What a pity, such a beautiful place was occupied by someone for decades..."

  "Yes, modern China has been poor and weak for a long time, what can be done about it? But now it's good, after waiting for several years, this place will forever belong to China." The young man came up to Song Tang, stretched out his hand towards Song Tang and said, "Hello, Ni Rui."

  Looking at the young man's outstretched hand, Song Tang was taken aback for a moment, then smiled back at the young man and extended his right hand to shake hands with this self-proclaimed Nai Rui, saying: "Hello, I'm Song Tang."

  "Are you the director? The American Chinese who won the Golden Lion Award for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival last year?" Ni Rui's eyes lit up as soon as he heard Song Tang's name, and he asked hastily.

  "Heh heh, if I had to say there wasn't someone else with the same name as me, Song Tang, then I think it's this person." Song Tang said, "Is Mr. Nai from mainland China?"

  "Yes, I am originally from Beijing and just moved to Hong Kong last year."

  "Where is Mr. Nian now?" Song Tang asked curiously.

  After hearing Song Tang's question, Ni Rui's eyes involuntarily dimmed. Turning his head to look at the beautiful night view of Victoria Harbour, he couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

  Upon seeing Nai Rui's appearance, Song Tang suddenly understood and turned his head to gaze at the scenery of Victoria Harbour along with Nai Rui's line of sight. He said quietly: "Although I don't know what happened during this period, looking at Mr. Nai's expression, it must be unpleasant. However, life is short, and it's inevitable to encounter unpleasant times. If Mr. Nai remains depressed like this, I think it's impossible to succeed in anything."

  "You're right, Mr. Song! As a producer, I think I still have many shortcomings and can't even withstand the test of failure!" After hearing Song Tang's words, Ni Rui thought for a moment before speaking up to thank him, "Thank you! Mr. Song, I think I know why I failed now."

  "No need to be polite, we're all Chinese, helping each other is what we should do." Song Tang heard that Ni Rui said he was a producer and his heart skipped a beat. He asked Ni Rui, "Mr. Ni, you're a producer? I wonder if Mr. Ni has any views on the future development trend of movies?"

  "Yes, film as a product of industry, technology and art, as an international mass communication medium, is inseparable from the world's film art trends and the international film market. Its artistic, economic, cultural, technical characteristics, as well as its multiple functional attributes, necessarily make it rooted in the national cultural soil and closely tied to the social, political, economic and cultural environment, while also promoting and relying on the global economic environment and the development trend of world cinema."

  "With the gradual formation of a global network since the late 1980s, and the rapid development of technology and large-scale social production, the world economy has become increasingly regionalized and internationalized. The process of globalization has been continuously promoted, multinational corporations have emerged, and countries have gradually increased their openness to the film industry. As a result, world film trade is no longer just a one-sided rights movement. While exploring the best path for the development of their own film industries, countries are also seeking ways to enter the global film market."

  Moreover, in the study of nearly a hundred years of world film development history, we can see that Hollywood's film industry is the most developed branch of the global film industry. Its operating model can be called a paradigm for industrialized film operations. American films occupy an important position in both their domestic market and overseas markets. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, America controlled the world's film market. In the course of history, although it has experienced ups and downs, undergone repeated market baptisms; experienced panic after the birth of television, video, and other audio-visual media; experienced mergers and reorganization between film and television companies; adaptation and integration in cross-border operations; conflicts and fusion between globalization and nationalization...

  However, with the development of special effects and digital synthesis technology in modern times, especially since the successful use of special effects in the 1977 film Star Wars, to James Cameron's Terminator 2 in '91, and last year's Jurassic Park from your company, it is clear that the development of the modern film industry is increasingly inseparable from technological support. This also means that the development of small films is becoming less adapted to the development of the modern film industry, and relatively small film companies are facing increasing difficulties.

  "Ah!" Song Tang looked at the young man, who was not too old, boasting in front of him, and his eyes lit up. Originally, Song Tang had just asked casually, but unexpectedly discovered a talented person with unique insight. As a person from a later generation, Song Tang naturally knew the trend of modern film development. He knew that technology was becoming more advanced, while the competitiveness and box office influence of small films were getting smaller and smaller. Small film companies often went bankrupt due to lack of box office or failure to recover costs. However, as a person of this era, due to some factors, people with such insight were rare.

  "I don't know how much Mr. Ní knows about our Great Tang?"

  "I don't know much! I only learned some information about your company from some entertainment reports. Are you planning to develop in Hong Kong? To be honest, if your company wants to develop in Hong Kong, it might not be easy."

  "Why? How did Mr. Nai know that Datang wanted to develop in Hong Kong?"

  "Haha, is Mr. Song coming to Hong Kong for a tour? Although Hong Kong's scenery is also very beautiful!"

  "Huh? Haha! " Song Tang heard Ni Rui's words, suddenly speechless for a moment, then smiled to cover up his own embarrassment.

  “。。。”

  "So I don't know what Mr. Nai relies on to say that it's not easy for Datang to develop in Hong Kong?"

  "This is just my guess, I think Mr. Song also knows that developing the film and television industry is not just about having funds to set up a film company, he needs not only good producers with vision, but also excellent directors and screenwriters to support him. Although I don't deny that Mr. Song has great talent and vision in this regard, after all, one person's energy is limited. Da Tang had several films that achieved unprecedented success last year, but in fact, compared to 20th Century Fox, Universal and other Hollywood giants, Da Tang is just a small film company that has just started out."

  "This year and even in the next few years, Datang's energy should all be focused on the US! If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Song wants Datang to develop in Hong Kong, but what he really has his eye on is not Hong Kong itself, but rather the mainland market. And since Hollywood movies' mode of development isn't accepted by the mainland right now, that's why Mr. Song wants to use Hong Kong as a stepping stone."

  "Not bad! I meant that, after all, China's population is too large and the market development space is also too big, it would be a pity to give up." Song Tang said after hearing Ni Rui's words.

  "But Mr. Song, have you ever thought that it's not necessarily a good thing? Although the mainland market is very large and has achieved great results after more than ten years of reform and opening up, there are still too many poor people, and the mainland's film ideology has just begun to be liberated. Now that Datang is entering the mainland market, although the timing is good, it may not be the best time for Datang." Nai Rui continued after hearing Song Tang's words.

  "That being the case, I don't think it's suitable for me to come to Hong Kong now." Song Tang looked at Ni Rui with a puzzled expression and asked.

  "On the contrary!" Nie Rui retorted, "In recent years, Hong Kong's film industry has developed very rapidly. Although the major film companies are still Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest and New Art City, many new film companies have been established in recent years and have developed very well. Moreover, with the strengthening of ties between Hong Kong and the mainland, there will be even more space for development in Hong Kong."

  Nai Rui said up to here, looked at Song Tang who was thinking with his head down, and thought for a moment before continuing: "However, I don't agree that Datang should directly invest in setting up a film company in Hong Kong. This would not only be more labor-intensive but also require more funds. Mr. Song can find a well-known film company in Hong Kong to co-invest with Datang to set up a new company. This way, we can save some energy and I believe that with the reputation of Mr. Song and Datang, as well as the advantages of local film companies, the new film company will quickly develop."

  "Haha~~~ I didn't expect to run into someone like Mr. Nai while out for a stroll tonight! I wonder if Mr. Nai is interested in working at Datang?" After hearing Nai Rui's words, Song Tang suddenly realized that Nai Rui was indeed a talented person. Although he didn't know what Nai Rui's work abilities were like, at the very least, his vision was absolutely unique. Talented people are always important, no matter when.

  Ni Rui couldn't help but smile wryly after hearing Song Tang's invitation. Who would have thought that he had only come out to relieve his recent frustration, and seeing Song Tang here, he was curious and came over to strike up a conversation. He didn't expect his casual remarks to invite the famous director who had been making waves recently. However, Ni Rui, who had recently experienced the blow of failure and hadn't adapted yet, really didn't know whether he should accept Song Tang's invitation or not.

  Song Tang looked at Ni Rui, who was a bit silent, and suddenly knew the concerns in his heart. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Hehe, since Mr. Ni hasn't thought it through yet, then how about this? I'll give you an address. If you've made up your mind by tomorrow morning, come find me here."

  As he spoke, Song Tang wrote down his address and phone number on a piece of paper and handed it over to Ni Rui.

  Looking at the paper in his hand, Nai Rui's eyes flashed with gratitude, then he folded it and put it in his pocket, thanking him: "Thank you, Mr. Song!"

  。。。

  (Apology: Although the book's performance hasn't been great, I'm still grateful to all the readers who have supported me. Due to some work-related reasons, I may not be able to guarantee daily updates for a long time. However, I promise to update at least four chapters per week, with each chapter having no less than 3,000 words. Here, I'd like to apologize in advance to all the readers who have supported me and hope you can continue to support me!)