Entering the Chinese entertainment industry is like entering a deep sea

Chapter 591: Devouring Plan
Many years later, Zhang Yiming said with a smile in an interview: "When I met Li Chen and Liu Yifei for the first time, I had a strong feeling that he (Li Chen) was my angel investor. But I never thought it was her! Not him."

After meeting Zhang Yiming, Li Chen and Liu Yifei got into the car and left after leaving the Han and Tang Foundation.

Li Chen looked at Miss Liu beside him with an inquiring look and a smile.

Miss Liu smoothed her long hair, took Li Chen's arm and said with a smile: "Why are you looking at me like that? Don't you know me?"

"It's not that I don't know him, I'm just curious."

"What are you curious about?"

"Aren't you afraid that the 500 million will be wasted?" Li Chen's eyes were burning, although he knew that the return on this investment was absolutely miraculous.

But Miss Liu voted so easily, which was totally unlike her style.

Unexpectedly, Liu Yifei did not even think about it and shook her head gently: "Don't be afraid, I believe in your vision!"

Li Chen laughed even more: "You believe in my judgment? No way, the Youku I invested in is still losing money! I'm almost becoming a laughing stock in the industry."

"But the money Youku lost is just a drop in the bucket compared to the profits Youku's listing brought you. I'm not blind!"

"Besides, since I met you, I have never seen you do a business that lost money. Even if Brother Hua's movie Buried Alive lost money at the box office, you earned it back by the copyright a long time ago."

Li Chen leaned close to Miss Liu's ear and smiled, "Who said I've never made a losing deal? By marrying you, I lost everything, even myself."

Miss Liu blushed slightly, feeling proud and sweet in her heart. She glanced at Li Chen with her beautiful eyes and said, "Why, you want to quit? It's too late!"

Li Chen laughed out loud. Miss Liu's words made sense and she had a cute look that said, "I'm not stupid."

"So, I voted for Zhang Yiming entirely because of you."

"Because I know that the only person who can make you willing to spend money, besides me, is probably someone who can make money for you."

Li Chen was deeply moved by the last sentence.

Miss Liu is simply a worm in his stomach, and she knows his character and thoughts very well.

"It is a misfortune for the family to have a fairy wife!" Li Chen shook his head with a sad look.

"What did you say!" Miss Liu grabbed Li Chen by the collar and smiled fiercely.

"I say, having a fairy wife at home is a blessing in three lives, how lucky I am."

"That's more like it." After saying that, Miss Liu let go of Li Chen's collar and couldn't help laughing.

Zhang Yiming was satisfied with the 500 million yuan received in the angel round. Li Chen also promised on behalf of Ms. Liu that he would decide whether to make additional investments depending on the company's operational development.

The day after "The Flowers of War" was released, the news of its Golden Globe nomination spread back to China.

Compared with the enthusiastic reports from major media, both Zhang Yimou's "The Flowers of War" crew and Zhang Yimou himself appeared to be unusually low-key under the instruction of Li Chen.

After all, Chen Kaige won the Golden Globe Award for "Farewell My Concubine" but ultimately failed at the Oscars.

"The Flowers of War" was only nominated and is still one step away from winning the Golden Globe.

There's no need to make a big fuss about it like you've won an Oscar.

Shu Chang came to Li Chen's villa early in the morning and waited for a long time before seeing the two of them come back.

"You said you would wait for me at home, but you went off to have a secret affair with my brother!" Shu Chang stood up from the sofa and muttered when he saw the two men come in.

"Okay, okay, it's my fault. I didn't have a secret affair with him. I suffered a heavy loss today! Can you please have pity on me and don't be mad at me? At worst, I can finish watching The Flowers of War today and then watch Xun Ge'er's Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate with you!"

Shu Chang pinched Liu Yifei's face fiercely: "Oh my, who is accompanying whom? I have seen both "The Flowers of War" and "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate"!"

Liu Yifei's pretty face didn't even turn red when her bestie exposed her.

Li Chen couldn't help but lower his head and laugh when he heard Shu Chang complaining about his wife: "Well, I'll go upstairs first. Call me after you finish reading."

"Brother, just ignore Xixi. She always bullies me!"

Li Chen said as he went upstairs: "If you want to take care of her, you have to ask the Queen Mother. I can't take care of her!"

"Besides, she is my wife. I have done my best for you by not helping her bully you!"

Liu Yifei laughed happily and gave Li Chen a wink.

Shu Chang pretended to be angry and pretended to leave: "I'm angry, I'm not going, I'm going home!"

"Okay, okay, don't be angry, let's go quickly, my daughter must be waiting anxiously, after the movie I will treat you two to a big meal, let him pay the bill! Is this okay now?"

Shu Chang suddenly put on a smiling face: "That's more like it."

The two got in the car. Shu Chang sat in the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt before he remembered what Liu Yifei had said: "What did you mean by heavy losses?"

Liu Yifei laughed as she drove: "I went to meet a stranger with Li Chen this morning and spent 500 million."

Liu Yifei said it easily, and 500 million seemed to be just like 500 yuan. Shu Chang's mouth twitched when he heard it.

"Tsk tsk, most people dream of winning 500 million in the lottery, but you spend 500 million just to meet a stranger. It seems like this stranger has won the lottery."

Shu Chang did not continue to ask what was going on. The media reported that her best friend's annual income was 1.2 million yuan, but she knew that the 1.2 million yuan was just on the surface.

The shares of Rongchen Pictures that my best friend holds are probably more than enough for her to meet hundreds of strangers.

The Zhizhen Painting Art factory has been completed, and we are just waiting for an auspicious day to hold the opening ceremony.

Wu Bin picked and chose and finally chose January 1th, and Li Chen made the decision immediately.

Li Chen called Han Saping, Wang Changtian and other partners and friends.

Everyone is invited to attend the opening ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Zhizhen Painting Art Dream Factory on January 1th.

Han Sanping was also very excited when he received the call: "Okay! Okay! Director Tong and I will be there at that time."

Li Chen was quite surprised to hear Han Sanping's agitated tone: "What's wrong with you, Mr. Han?"

Han Sanping sighed: "Don't mention it. The agreement signed when we joined the WTO expired last week. The Americans are very dissatisfied now. They complained to us in the WTO and demanded fair treatment and an increase in the quota and the proportion of the share!"

Li Chen was shocked and suddenly realized why he had forgotten about this.

In fact, it started last year when the domestic box office exceeded 10 billion yuan.

China and the United States have been negotiating on further opening up the imported film market.

20 imported blockbusters have long been unable to satisfy the US appetite.

No wonder Richard from Warner and Robert from Disney both called him that day and asked if he needed investment in his ultimate painting art.

We joined the WTO in December 01, and it has been exactly 12 years now.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. You have good foresight. I'm afraid this news can't be covered up. Your Ultimate Art Dream Factory was just a piece of chicken ribs in the eyes of many people at the beginning. I'm afraid that once this news is released, it will become a hot commodity."

When Han Sanping said this, Li Chen knew that the trend could not be violated.

The spring of Hollywood blockbusters is coming, with the number of films increasing from 20 to 34 and the profit sharing ratio increasing from 13% to 25%.

This means that starting next year, there will be at least three Hollywood blockbusters competing head-on with domestic films every month.

Even Li Chen himself felt a little pressure.

Ten years ago, Taiwan's film market was fully opened to American films, which resulted in Taiwan's local films facing extinction.

At that time, no local film in Taiwan had a box office of more than 100 million Taiwan dollars, which is about 20 RMB.

Hollywood movies account for about 98% of the market.

The next morning, Yang Siwei was waiting in the company. As soon as Li Chen arrived, the video conference between Time Warner and Rongchen Pictures began immediately.

There are three people from Rongchen Pictures, Li Chen, Yang Siwei and Wu Bin.

There were only four people from Time Warner, including Time Warner President Parsons and three vice presidents including Richard.

"Li, long time no see, my friend (Yin)." Parsons smiled.

Li Chen also smiled and said, "Parsons, this is not the first time we have met, so there is no need to be polite. You look good, so I guess you have heard that China and the United States are negotiating an import film agreement."

Yang Siwei was shocked: "My boss said this, it seems that this is true. This will cause big trouble for domestic films."

It is normal for Yang Siwei to think this way. Even the films produced by Rongchen Pictures have no advantages compared to these imported blockbusters.

If it weren't for the reputation the company has always maintained and the boss's brand and connections, the company's films, except for the boss' and Director Zhang's films that can compete with imported blockbusters, would probably have a hard time for other films.

Parsons secretly thought that Li Chen was really smart. He released this news right away, obviously trying to gain a psychological advantage.

Parsons smiled and said, "Yes, this is good for both of us. In my opinion, the prosperity of the Chinese film market is inseparable from Hollywood. Of course, Hollywood also needs the Chinese market."

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Li Chen laughed and said, "Of course it's a good thing, but for the six of you, whether it's a good thing or a bad thing is not up to you to decide."

"Lee, what do you mean?"

Li Chen narrowed his eyes slightly: "Parsons, the door will open sooner or later, but we have the final say on who to let in."

Richard, the vice president next to Parsons, knew that what Li Chen said made sense, and thought to himself: "This is probably what the Chinese mean when they say people are under the eaves."

Parsons nodded and changed the subject: "Lee, we are friends. I only know that friends should help each other."

"'The Flowers of War' was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. We at Warner Bros. did our best."

Li Chen smiled and waved his hand to interrupt Parsons's attempt to take credit: "Parsons, don't mention the Golden Globe Award. My condition at the time was to at least be nominated for an Oscar."

"The Golden Globe? To be honest, I don't even take it seriously."

"Let's be frank. Whether "The Flowers of War" can be nominated for an Oscar, and whether it can win if nominated, will affect our future cooperation."

"Friends should help each other. I will do my best to help you Warner gain an advantage in the competition among the six major companies to import films into our country."

"I also hope that Warner Bros. can help "The Flowers of War" stand out in North America and even around the world in terms of both word of mouth and box office."

Several foreigners were talking about Li Chen's words, which were half threatening and half tempting.

Li Chen estimated that Parsons was still wearing pocket headphones on his ears, and there was probably a think tank behind him analyzing the pros and cons.

After about a minute or two, Parsons said, "Lee, we will do our best to help "The Flowers of War" achieve its Oscar dream, but we don't make any promises."

Li Chen smiled and said, "Do your best, that's great, and so do we at Rongchen Pictures."

Parsons felt a little dissatisfied, thinking that today's video call would end here.

In today's conversation, Li Chen was obviously using the issue of cooperation with imported films as a bargaining chip to force me to express my attitude.

I don't want to talk to this Chinese person for even a second longer.

Unexpectedly, the Chinese man on the other side said, "Parsons, don't worry, I haven't finished yet."

Parsons smiled patiently and said, "Lee, I have already expressed my opinion. Do you have anything else to say?"

Li Chen smiled and said, "Why? Parsons doesn't want to see me as his partner."

Parsons spread his hands and smiled, "How could that be? It's just that it's time to get off work, and we Americans have a strong sense of time."

Li Chen laughed: "Okay, then let's not talk about work, just chat as friends."

Li Chen winked at Yang Siwei and Wu Bin.

The two stood up and left the meeting room.

Yang Siwei smiled and said, "Director Wu, what do you think the boss will talk to Parsons about?"

Wu Bin shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I know that Director Li will definitely not gossip with him."

In the conference room, Parsons had no idea what Li Chen was up to.

He just saw him dismiss his attendants and suspiciously asked Richard and others to leave.

"Lee, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Pansons, your Time Warner is a media company, so of course we are talking about things related to the media."

"You want to talk to me about the media?" Parsons was even more confused. He thought to himself, "You are a Chinese, and your main business is the film and television industry. You actually want to talk to me, the head of one of the three largest media giants in the United States, about the media?"

Li Chen didn't care what Parsons thought, he just said to himself: "Parsons, do you think the future trend of the media industry will be mainly traditional media or emerging media such as self-media?"

Parsons' expression gradually became serious, as if Li Chen's words had attracted him.

Li Chen continued, "I think that within ten years, print media will die and self-media will become king."

“Whether Time Warner can change the situation of the three major media companies standing side by side may only take one or two years.”

"If you can explain it more clearly, maybe it's on you, Parsons."

"And I am the one who can help your Time Warner become one of the world's top media companies."

Parsons intuitively felt that the Chinese man in front of him must be crazy.

Otherwise, how could you say such a thing? You, a layman, are going to teach me, a global media tycoon, how to do things.

Parsons smiled calmly: "Lee, I admit that what you said makes sense. Perhaps you said this because you saw Time Warner's financial report last quarter."

"However, you overestimate yourself. In the media industry, we at Time Warner are the ones who have the final say."

"We will do our best regarding The Flowers of War. Let's end our conversation today."

Li Chen smiled and said, "Okay, Parsons, good luck to you."

Parsons smiled, feeling that today's conversation was too fantastic and didn't take it to heart at all.

But a few months later, Li Chen's action made him dumbfounded.

In a mansion in the wealthy area of ​​western Los Angeles.

A Stanford student who founded Picaboo, the predecessor of "episode 1," this summer is looking through the emails in his mailbox.

Since the launch of "Read and Disappear" in September this year, Spiegel has received numerous requests for meetings with investors, and even Facebook's Zuckerberg has sent him an email.

Spiegel opened the email from a Chinese film company out of curiosity.

It only said: "Spiegel, can we get to know each other? Li Chen from Rongchen Films."

Spiegel smiled. The person who made the movie also wanted to know him?
Spiegel quickly typed back: "I'd love to meet you...if you come to Los Angeles or Stanford to see me."

Li Chen also smiled when he received this email, thinking to himself that he was indeed very arrogant, just like the billionaire born in the 90s who rejected multi-billion dollar acquisition offers from Facebook, Tencent and Google in his previous life.

"No problem, I look forward to meeting you."

The big boss Wang in the north and Jack Ma in the south both received calls from Li Chen for meetings in Beijing.

The two thought they were going to celebrate Gu Yongkeng's success, but after meeting, Li Chen's words made their faces change instantly.

(End of this chapter)