China Entertainment: I became a capital tycoon

Chapter 664 662. The mermaid we chose is not a shark

The movie "Tiny Times" did not require a large investment, only over 30 million yuan, but its box office has been rising all the way.

In particular, the movie is full of satires on luxury goods, which makes the audience feel very refreshed.

Lin Xiao: "I'm still an intern with a monthly salary of 3,000, but I spent tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands on bags. Do you think I'm stupid?"

Nan Xiang: "Only when I spend my own money can I feel a sense of accomplishment. I should spend as much as I earn, that's fair and square. Why should I spend your money? Do you think you can have friendship with me? How naive!"

Nan Xiang: "I advise you not to cry easily. If you cry, the powder on your face will be washed away, and dozens of dollars will be gone!"

Lin Xiao: "If you don't have any knowledge, no matter how fancy your clothes are, you are still a poor man!"

Tang Wanru: "Diamonds are actually made of carbon. If everyone in the world had one, it would be enough. Can a lump of carbon represent love?"

Such complaints can be found everywhere in the movie.

Some of the lines were added by Boss Cao himself, and some were added by Guo Xiaosi at his request, but the effect was surprisingly good.

Complaints are popular and sharp tongues are also what the audience likes to see.

Although the plot was still a bit pale, the box office exceeded 200 million in less than three days after its release, surprising many people in the industry.

Such box office results made several major luxury goods bosses furious again.

"FUXK, this Hua Xia Cao is too much. Doesn't he make money? And don't his artists make money? Don't they endorse products?"

"Boss, he asked his artists to endorse his other brands, which are all affordable products from China."

"hiss"

The boss of Hermes took a deep breath and said, "What is this boss Cao trying to do? Is he trying to break the class system? If we don't let the Chinese develop a sense of class, how can we make money from them?"

The company's marketing manager worriedly asked, "What should we do? How should we deal with this person?"

The boss pondered for a moment and said, "We should increase our publicity efforts and implant our products into Chinese film and television dramas, so that people who buy our luxury goods can reflect their value and status as superior people, and ordinary people will follow suit."

In his philosophy, luxury goods are the value system of the class, which is also the value of the West.

Only by promoting this value system in China will people be willing to pay for it.

Although they are luxury goods, they do not make money from rich people, but from ordinary people.

The idea of ​​luxury goods is to exploit the poor and subsidize the rich.

The jeweler was also angry. "Boss Cao, you actually dug up all my past in the movie. This is simply too much!"
How can we make Chinese women cry and shout to buy diamonds in the future?
How much money will we lose just because of this sentence of yours?

Cao Yu didn't care how angry these luxury goods dealers were. He had already headed to Hong Kong.

In fact, his crackdown on luxury goods is not based on any values, and he doesn't think that much about it.

Cao Yu is not against consumption, he just doesn't want the Chinese people to be too vain and waste money.

I don’t want people to overspend on things that are not worth it at all, and I don’t want everyone’s hard-earned money to be reaped.

Wasn’t it enough that you robbed us hundreds of years ago? Why are you robbing us again now?
This is his simple idea, and the other is to support some domestic enterprises and create more employment opportunities.

When he arrived in Hong Kong, he first found Zhou Xingchi.

"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", a collaboration between Stephen Chow and Cao Yu, grossed more than 1.3 billion yuan in China and 1.9 billion yuan worldwide, earning Stephen Chow more than 200 million yuan.

"my friend!"

When Zhou Xingchi saw Cao Yu, he immediately gave him a hug and said with a smile, "How did you find time to come to Hong Kong?"

"I came to see you."

This time, Cao Yu came to visit Yang Mi and Jing Tian, ​​and also to discuss the "The Mermaid" project with Zhou Xingchi.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he smiled and said, "How was your rest during this period? I'm really envious of you for looking so carefree now."

Zhou Xingchi said: "I envy you more or less. It is said that the list of the world's richest people will be announced in September. Where do you think you will rank?"

"Who cares? It's still the same as being number one, right?"

Cao Yu took out a script and said, "I came here to discuss cooperation with you. How about this script?"

"Mr. Cao, I've only been resting for over a year, and you want me to start working again?"

Zhou Xingchi said that he didn't want to, but his hands were honestly flipping through the script.

"Boss Cao, you always surprise me and I can't help myself. I want to rest more."

Zhou Xingchi complained with a smile, then asked happily: "When will it be done?"

How can a director resist the temptation of a good script?
Cao Yu deliberately asked: "Don't you want to rest?"

"I've been resting for more than a year, it's time to go back to work."

Zhou Xingchi smiled awkwardly and said, "This script has a good idea. It talks about protecting the environment. It seems that Boss Cao has a strong sense of public welfare."

"Mr. Zhou, are you interested in winning the Best Director Award again through this film?"

"Haha, I haven't thought about it."

To be honest, Stephen Chow has been completely disappointed with the Academy Awards since "Kung Fu" missed out on the Best Director and Best Actor awards.

"Go for it."

Cao Yu also knew that the Academy Awards had ill intentions towards Stephen Chow’s comedy films, but this film was invested by Feiyu, so maybe there was still a chance.

He smiled and said, "We will start casting in the second half of the year, and start filming after the Chinese New Year. It will be released during the 14 Spring Festival. You should send out the news in the next two days and choose the most suitable mermaid."

"Okay."

Zhou Xingchi feels that Boss Cao is really good at hype, and choosing "The Mermaid" is a really good idea.

The two men agreed on the investment plan, and the next day Zhou Xingchi publicly announced the news that he would start auditioning for the leading female role in "The Mermaid" at Xiangshan Film and Television City on October 10 of this year.

Cao Yu went to the set of "Transformers 4".

Cao Yu's arrival was immediately photographed by the paparazzi around.

The paparazzi in Hong Kong are much crazier than those in the mainland, but Cao Yu just watched Yang Mi filming for a while, chatted with the director, and then left.

I’ll talk about the rest with Yang Mi in the evening.

Yang Mi is now 4 years old. She has the best appearance, temperament and acting skills. There is no problem for her to play the strong career woman in "Transformers ".

After leaving the set of "Transformers 4", Cao Yu went to the crew of "New Police Story 2013", where he caused a huge sensation.

Most of the people here are Chinese, so naturally they all know Cao Yu.

Cao Yu had just chatted with the leading actress Jing Tian for a while when Cheng Long came over.

"Boss Cao, the boss of TVB wants to see you."

"TVB? Hasn't the boss of their company been replaced?"

Cao Yu vaguely remembered that TVB boss Shao sold 26% of the company's shares two years ago, but he didn't pay attention to who it was sold to at the time.

"Yes, it was sold. The current owner's surname is Chen. Do you want to meet him?"

"Let's meet."

Cao Yu grew up watching TVB. Although this company is very demanding on its actors and its costumes and props are not sophisticated enough, it has produced many superstars.

Even Stephen Chow was once a member of the TVB training class.

That afternoon he came to the building which had produced many excellent TV series.

In fact, Feiyu Entertainment has always cooperated with TVB, and the broadcasting rights of several of their TV series in Hong Kong were sold to this TV station.

"Mr. Cao, I have long heard of your name."

In the lobby of TVB company, a middle-aged man and a group of subordinates came to welcome this influential figure in the mainland entertainment industry.

"Hello, Mr. Chen."

Cao Yu looked at the man who spent 6 billion to become the new head of TVB. He felt that he bought this declining company. Was it for the beauty?

"Mr. Cao looks really young. He is really the last generation pushing the old generation forward."

The boss, Chen Guoqiang, said with a smile: "It is a great honor for TVB to have Mr. Cao here."

"Haha, Mr. Chen, you're too polite."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two went upstairs to visit the TVB building.

This year's Miss Hong Kong pageant is about to begin, and there are many beautiful ladies in the company.

"It seems that what I thought was right. If we win the Miss Hong Kong pageant every year, it won't be a loss if we calculate the amount to more than 6 billion."

Cao Yu has been working in a company with a history of more than 40 years. Although it has not been as successful as before, it still has some accumulation, after all, it has several TV stations under its umbrella.

After a tour, the two came to a reception room.

The others all wisely left, leaving only the two bosses to discuss business.

As soon as Cao Yu sat down, he saw several beauties walk in and sit directly next to them.

"Mr. Cao, they are all the candidates with the best chance of entering the finals of Miss Hong Kong this year. They are all of good quality."

Boss Zhang said as he took a woman in his arms, then said to the others, "Accompany Boss Cao, he is my honored guest."

The two girls sitting next to Cao Yu were pouring wine and holding cigars, very enthusiastic.

Cao Yu had long been accustomed to it and did not refuse this kind of reception, but he was still thinking in his heart that the Miss Hong Kong nowadays is really getting worse and worse, and their quality has really declined a lot. Only the batches led by Li Jiaxin back then were truly stunning.

It was probably mainly because of the decline of Hong Kong's film and television industry. He took a sip of wine and asked, "Mr. Chen, what is the matter with you inviting me here this time?"

"There are three things. First, on the 26th of this month, there will be the final of Miss Hong Kong. I would like to invite Boss Cao to be a judge and guest."

Chen Guoqiang smoked a cigar and said, "Also, I want to deepen my cooperation with Feiyu and shoot a TV series together in the future."

TVB has hardly released any good movies since "The Palace" in 09. After becoming the head of the company, Boss Chen wanted to do something big.

"As for the third thing, it's actually even simpler. We want to broadcast our previous TV series on Fei'e Video, and we hope that Boss Cao can help promote it so that the Hong Kong entertainment industry can rise again."

Cao Yu actually knew that many years ago, whether it was TV dramas or movies, Xiangjiang was invincible in Southeast Asia.

It's a pity that times have changed. Since 2010, they have hardly filmed any costume dramas. They are still stuck on police and gangster films and court films, and there are not many good films they can show.

As for the movie "Line Walker", Cao Yu feels it is pretty good, and it seems to have been filmed in recent years.

We can collaborate on this play.

He thought for a moment and said, "I have to go to Japan the day after tomorrow, so I won't be able to attend the Miss Hong Kong finals. As for the cooperation between our two companies, that's no problem. I have always admired the acting skills of Hong Kong actors."

"How does Mr. Cao plan to cooperate?"

"For the films that our two companies shoot, we can participate in the production, investment, and shooting together, and the actors can also communicate with each other."

Cao Yu said, and thought of something: "We plan to shoot The Legend of the Condor Heroes next year. When the time comes, let some people from the 93 version come over to make cameo appearances. This will also be a gimmick."

"no problem."

"The third thing Mr. Chen mentioned is that I can select some videos, put them on Fei'e Video, and earn a share based on the number of views."

"Great! Mr. Cao is really straightforward. I like working with promising young people like him."

Seeing that Cao Yu agreed to two of the three things, Chen Guoqiang immediately extended his hand.

After chatting for a while, the matter was settled. He smiled and said, "If Boss Cao thinks these two girls are okay, you can let them accompany you to stroll around Hong Kong in the evening."

"Forget it, I have plans tonight."

Cao Yu mainly wants Feiyu’s actors to learn from TVB’s professionalism and improve their acting skills in the future.

He had to meet Yang Mi and Jing Tian in the evening. He had no interest in wasting his energy on these vulgar women.

"Boss Cao is very good with women? This is a candidate for Miss Hong Kong."

Chen Guoqiang was very surprised. He certainly didn't believe that Boss Cao didn't dislike women. He just thought that his requirements were so high.

On that day, Cao Yu selected "A Step into the Past", "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", "The Deer and the Cauldron (Xiaochun version)", and other 20 TV series that accompanied many people growing up, and agreed to shoot them together if there were good scripts.

After signing the contract, he left behind the two Miss Hong Kong candidates and returned to his mountaintop villa.

As soon as they met, Yang Mi, who had returned early, said, "Brother, I heard that you and Stephen Chow are going to work together again. What "Mermaid" are you going to choose?"

"You want to act?"

Cao Yu saw through Yang Mi's little thoughts at a glance.

"Yeah, I haven't acted in Stephen Chow's movie yet, let me try."

"No! We chose the mermaid, not the giant shark!"

"Brother, you despise me!"

"How dare I look down on you? When the profits from Tiny Times come in, you'll be a billionaire."

"You're still making fun of me! Even if all the box office revenue was given to me, I still wouldn't make as much as you!"

Yang Mi threw herself into Cao Yu's arms and said with a smile, "So which drama should I invest in next?"

"Boss Yang is addicted to business? It's not decided yet."

Seeing the two chatting on the sofa, Jing Tian also came back here. Seeing the two of them hanging out together, she asked curiously, "What are you chatting about?"

"My brother was going to work with Stephen Chow on a movie called The Mermaid. I asked him to play the leading female role, but he disagreed and even called me a shark!"

Yang Mi stood up, straightened her clothes, and said, "Tiantian, do you think I look like a mermaid?"

Jing Tian glanced at Yang Mi and smiled: "Haha, I think what the senior said is right! You are too fierce, you are a big shark!"

"Tiantian, come and hug me, you really do understand what I mean!"

"Tiantian was led astray by my brother!"

Yang Mi was very hurt. She didn't understand what Cao Yu meant just now, but Jing Tian heard it.

Seeing the two hugging each other, she asked, "Brother, what do you think of Tiantian? She is not a big shark."

"I'm no worse than you!"

Since there were no outsiders around, Jing Tian, ​​unwilling to accept the defeat, puffed out his chest and tried to compete with Yang Mi.

"Both are good."

Cao Yu naturally knew which mountain was the highest. Seeing the two playing around, he smiled and said, "Master Xing and I have discussed that we will look for amateurs who have not acted much this time, but we will choose a good figure in the company for the second female lead."

Originally, the second female lead in "The Mermaid" was Zhang Yuqi, but this woman seems to be getting married now, and I don't know if Stephen Chow is willing to come if he invites her.

Yang Mi hurriedly asked, "How much money was invested in this film? What will my second female lead look like?"

"An investment of 300 million yuan." Cao Yu said: "The second female lead is a villain, very sexy and very vicious. If you like it, you can try it."

"Then I won't act anymore. Let Tiantian go."

Yang Mi gave up immediately. She thought that a vicious woman was inconsistent with her personality.

Jing Tian knew it was a joke and pouted, "Why should I go? Am I vicious?"

Yang Mi said: "You are very sexy!"

"You're not sexy? You great white shark!"

"You're a tiger shark!"

The two girls, each with their own unique talents, immediately started playing together.

Soon, Cao Yu also joined in.

On the second day, the two women returned to the crew to film, and Cao Yu flew directly from Hong Kong to Japan.

The filming of the movie "The Great Explosion of Mt. Fuji" has been completed and the post-production special effects are in progress.

This is a disaster film and the post-production special effects will take at least a year. It is expected to be released next summer.

But Cao Yu came this time not for this movie, but for two things.

The first thing, of course, is to look at the "Snow White" beauty pageant and then create a Japanese girl group.

By selling the movie "The Return of the Great Sage" to Toho, he also wanted to let Japan see Chinese animation. He wanted to tell the Japanese that we Chinese also have our own animation that can go abroad.

Toho had also paid attention to Feiyu's animated film before. When Cao Yu explained his intention, President Shimatani Norisada agreed immediately.

Although he agreed, President Shimatani was still worried and said, "I don't know how much the box office will be. Are you planning to sell it to us as a package, or to share the box office revenue? If you sell it as a package, I can offer you 5 million US dollars, and even if there is a loss, it will be my responsibility."

"Of course, I'll take a share of the box office revenue."

Although selling them in packages is safer, it is also a common way for many domestic films to go overseas.

Although he cannot guarantee the acceptance of Chinese animated films by Japanese audiences, Cao Yu believes that with his influence in Hollywood, the box office should not be too bad.

And the film was also divided in the same way in Korea.

Shimatani originally thought that Boss Cao would agree to share the profits. After all, this is Japan. Your film may do well at the box office in China, but that may not be the case here.

Seeing that Cao Yu was so confident in his film, he smiled and said, "Then I'll give you 30% of the profit as usual."

"It seems that relationships are relationships and business is business, and he is quite shady."

Cao Yu was not surprised by such a ratio, as the party that brought in the capital naturally wanted to make more money.

He smiled secretly in his heart, and then said, "30% is a bit too little. How about this, if the box office is 30 million to 35 million US dollars, we only want 38%, if the box office is million to million US dollars, we take %, and if the box office exceeds million, the proportion will increase to %."

"38%?"

Shimatani Nozuru stared with his shrewd eyes and said, "What are you thinking? A Chinese animated film has a good box office in your country because your audience supports domestic animation. Do you really think it can get a high box office in Japan?"

The international practice is generally that the profit sharing is 28-35%, which mainly depends on the quality of the film. Other movies can give you 35%, but for animation, 30% is already very high.

How dare you ask for 38%?

According to Norisaki Shimatani's estimate, the movie is estimated to have a box office of around 30 million US dollars, and at most no more than 50 million US dollars.

He thought for a while and said, "How about this, everything else remains the same, from 32 million to million, I'll give you %."

"Okay, let's do it!"

Cao Yu agreed immediately.

The two parties immediately signed a box office sharing bet agreement, but Cao Yu also added an additional clause that if the attendance rate exceeded half, the number of films would be increased.

Shimatani Norisaki had no objection to this. If the box office was good, he could earn more money.

After finishing this matter, President Shimatani asked casually, "How is the Snow White selection going? I heard that many beauties went. Boss Cao is very lucky."

"I'll go and see it tomorrow."

In fact, Cao Yu is also very much looking forward to it and wants to make a name for himself in Japan. It depends on whether this beauty pageant can select a lot of beautiful Japanese girls.

(End of this chapter)