Rebirth: The Era of Hong Kong Tycoon

Chapter 104 [Universal Studios]

Universal Studios is located in Kowloon Tong, which will be a high-end villa area in Kowloon District in the future.

At the beginning, Lin Rongheng bought Yonghua Studio for only 300 million Hong Kong dollars, but now the value of the land alone has risen to more than 200 million Hong Kong dollars.

Since "Big Brother Tangshan" achieved a box office of 350 million Hong Kong dollars in Xiangjiang, Lin Rongheng was also thinking about building a Universal Studios in Qingshuiwan circle like Shaw Brothers movies.

In 1959, Shao Laoliu bought a 32-square-foot piece of land in Clear Water Bay for only 65 Hong Kong dollars, which was only 0.45 Hong Kong dollars per square foot, which was like the price of cabbage.

Lin Rongheng recently visited Clear Water Bay. The land of the later Clear Water Bay Film Studio (not owned by Shaw, Yazai Shannan) is still wasteland, and even the surrounding area is mostly wasteland. It is no problem to enclose 70 million square feet. of.

At this time, Clear Water Bay has not yet been developed, so if you spend 1000 million Hong Kong dollars to buy it from the Hong Kong government, it will not be difficult;

As for the construction of the movie theater, it can be constructed in stages, and it can be completed in five to ten years.

However, even 1000 million Hong Kong dollars is an astronomical figure for Universal Films.

Although the box office of "Big Brother Tangshan" is as high as 350 million Hong Kong dollars, the box office belonging to the theaters has 175 million Hong Kong dollars (the Universal Cinemas accounted for about 60%, and the rest belonged to ordinary contracted theaters); Huanyu Films only earned 60 million Hong Kong dollars, which is due to the fact that most of the theaters that were screened are owned by their brother companies, which is why they have such a high share.

If Universal Films produces three films with a box office of more than HK$300 million this year, plus the profits from other films, it will only earn HK$500 million a year.

It would take two years of profits to be able to buy a piece of land the size of a Shaw Brothers movie.

Bruce Lee's movies are also popular in Taiwan, Japan, and Southeast Asia, but they are released later than in the United States; according to the current progress, it will take almost a year for "Big Brother Tangshan" to be released in the United States, so the overseas box office is also temporary. Can't count on it.

While calculating, Lin Rongheng tapped on the desk in the office.

If you don't buy land now, you will spend more in the future, Lin Rongheng thought with some reluctance;
Clear Water Bay will slowly develop after the 70s;

After the 80s, it gradually became the location of high-end residences because of the beautiful Silverstrand Bay.

a long time.

Lin Rongheng suddenly realized that he was a little 'stupid'. Huanyu Films was not a joint venture company, but a company owned by himself alone; he went to Citicorp Bank for a loan of 200 million U.S. dollars and injected it into Huanyu Films.

Moreover, I can go to Wanguotong to borrow US dollars, and by the way, I can also send a signal to the media, "I, Lin Rongheng, have US dollars, and I, Lin Rongheng, have inexhaustible US dollars!" 'In this way, you can also speculate in the stocks of Evergrande Real Estate.

Chen Hansheng walked into Lin Rongheng's office with a red face. Recently, as the general manager of Universal Films, he had a great reputation; The appointment of the movie; and Bruce Lee is now very popular in Xiangjiang, presumably the next two movies will also be very popular.

Coupled with the appeal of director Li Hanxiang, many people think that Huanyu Films has found two treasures this time!
Lin Rongheng said: "Recently, I plan to find a piece of land in Clear Water Bay to build Universal Studios."

Chen Hansheng was taken aback for a moment, and then asked carefully: "How big is the boss planning to build?"

Lin Rongheng said confidently: "Naturally, it is bigger than Shaw Brothers Studios! In my preliminary plan: I plan to acquire a land of 70 square feet, on which not only a studio, a soundproof film factory, a production building, and a printing room will be built. , administrative buildings, staff dormitories, warehouses, etc., will also imitate Qing Dynasty palaces and city walls, build antique buildings, and finally have hotels and restaurants. We have what Shaw Brothers Studios have; we also have what Shaw Brothers Studios does not , we have more. Universal Studios can even accept tourists to visit, we collect tickets and operate hotels”

Chen Hansheng was stunned by Lin Rongheng's plan. According to this plan, it would not be possible without an investment of hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars.

If Lin Rongheng hadn't brought it up, Chen Hansheng would have been impatient to listen to this 'cowhide'.

After a while, Chen Hansheng reminded in a low voice: "Boss, your plan is too grand, the company simply doesn't have so much funds!"

Lin Rongheng said with a smile: "I have access to loans for the land purchase funds, so I will go and get the land first! In terms of construction, we can learn from Shaw Brothers Studios. It took seven years to complete the project. During the period, we were shooting and building at the same time."

Chen Hansheng breathed a sigh of relief, and said: "The boss's plan is very good! It's just that the investment is too large. If we have land in our hands, we can plan it slowly."

Lin Rongheng didn't emphasize this plan any more, after all no one would believe that Huanyu Films had such strength, only Lin Rongheng did.

If all goes well, the profit of Huanyu Films in 1971 can reach 500 million Hong Kong dollars, the profit in 1972 will double to 1500 million Hong Kong dollars, and the profit in 1973 may even reach 3000 million Hong Kong dollars. After all, there are cash cows such as Bruce Lee and Hui Guanwen.

No matter how powerful Bruce Lee was, he couldn't do without the investment of funds. After all, the total investment of "Enter the Dragon" was as high as more than 300 million US dollars.

Lin Rongheng said: "Recently, the company has recruited some talents who have studied abroad. Bruce Lee's films can try to be released in the United States. Even if the box office is not high, as long as they are released in the United States, then Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia will definitely be released. It has a high box office."

First go to Hollywood in the United States for gold plating, even if the box office is only a few hundred thousand dollars, it will be released and popular in Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia more smoothly.

Chen Hansheng quickly said: "Well, I will hurry up and do these tasks!"

Before leaving, Chen Hansheng said again: "Boss, the filming of "Fist of Fury" is coming soon, we have prepared a dinner party to celebrate, and we would like to invite you to come too!"

Lin Rongheng has always been in the affairs of Huanyu Film Company, only directing Chen Hansheng and a few senior executives. Of course, he occasionally meets with important figures in the company such as Li Hanxiang and Bruce Lee to maintain relationships and not interfere with other affairs.

Therefore, Lin Rongheng rarely appeared in Huanyu Film Company!
Chen Hansheng also knew that the boss attached great importance to the cooperation with Bruce Lee, so he proposed this invitation.

Lin Rongheng said: "No problem! If I don't go out to communicate with everyone, everyone may have forgotten that I am the boss!"

Chen Hansheng said with a smile: "Everyone in the company doesn't know that you, the boss, have a good eye for talent. It is all thanks to you to grasp the general direction. Huanyu can gain a firm foothold in the film industry, it is all thanks to you!"

Lin Rongheng and Chen Hansheng joked a few words and sent this 'flatterer' away!
(End of this chapter)