Hong Kong: Starting with 10 billion

Chapter 67: The Birth of Transformers and the Release of Drunken Master (4K)

In early August, Fang Hexuan found a qualified general manager for DreamWorks Films.

He withdrew from it and focused his attention on the Dahuang Toys company.

As the absolute majority shareholder who controls 73.08% of the shares, Fang Hexuan does not have time to clean up other small shareholders.

But he directly issued the first executive order, requiring that "Pokemon" be renamed "Pokemon" and the single attribute of "toy" be removed.

The renamed Pokémon Company Limited is still a subsidiary of DreamWorks Entertainment.

After You Bingwen fully recovered, he has retired from his producer position at DreamWorks Pictures.

His mother, Lo Hoi-ling, felt that the Hong Kong film industry was too chaotic and that a weak scholar like You Bingwen was not suitable to be involved in it.

Therefore, Fang Hexuan asked him to temporarily manage the Pokémon company.

During the past half month, You Bingwen, who was a complete outsider in the toy industry, had not had an easy time.

He not only has to handle personnel reception, but also has to arrange important links such as toy design, molding, and production.

That’s right, Fang Hexuan started his “Transformers” project at the Pokémon Company.

The first step is of course to create the Transformers story universe.
The second step is the design and finalization of the Transformers toys.

He was too lazy to bother and just left both steps to Pokémon.

To this end, he invited many talents to help.

For example, university professors of industrial design, aesthetics, mechanics, Hong Kong science fiction writers, science fiction fans, and even British and American linguistics professors.

Of course, professional DreamWorks screenwriters are also indispensable.

Fang Hexuan invited these people and of course paid them a lot of money.

So before he started talking about his idea, he had his lawyers and everyone sign a legally binding confidentiality agreement.

“This is a story I’ve been fantasizing about since I was a kid.”

“I call it Transformers.”

"In a distant universe, on a planet called Cybertron,

There exists a metallic life form.

Over the past million years, they have evolved into the righteous Autobots.

And the evil Decepticons.

The two armies fought for millions of years, and as the planet's energy was exhausted,

So the Decepticons followed the Autobots to Earth.

The spacecraft crashed into a volcano.

Four million years later, in 1978 AD, the volcano erupted.
The spacecraft's main computer, Image 1, was started up and the two armies were transformed into the forms of airplanes and cars.

In order to seize energy, the war between the two factions continues on Earth."

The world view narrated by Fang Hexuan was directly applied to the plot of Hasbro's 1984-season, 4-episode cartoon in 98.

Of course, he couldn't remember it so completely, so he needed these people to help him conceive and fill in the entire structure.

He spoke for a full hour, then stopped to drink some water and had someone distribute a story synopsis and outline to everyone present.

Science fiction fans were excited, but science fiction writers felt that the story was a bit childish and not adult enough.

Fang Hexuan didn't care about the reaction on the scene, he just said a few words to the screenwriter.

Then I went next door with several professors and the company's designers to study all the character prototypes.

In this way, Fang Hexuan spent almost all of the half month at the Pokémon Company.

Because he is the backbone and the final decision maker.

Whether the plan and design are satisfactory or not, he needs to nod his head.

The imaginary creation of hundreds of characters and the plot design of millions of words is a very large project in itself.

Wasted paper, paintbrushes, and mud masks can pile up into a mountain.

The entire "Transformers" IP was created from scratch and can be said to be the crystallization of collective wisdom.

But the ownership of this IP belongs solely to Fang Hexuan himself.

You Bingwen is a patent lawyer by profession and is involved in the entire creative process to ensure that all ideas are free of legal risks and loopholes.

After that, he will fly around the world and register this IP in the United States, Europe, RB, Australia and other countries.

After all this is completed, Fang Hexuan will authorize it to the Pokémon Company according to the business process.

Try to complete distribution throughout Hong Kong and Southeast Asia before the end of the year.

Because he specifically emphasized in the story that the Autobots can transform at any time according to the different car models on Earth,
Therefore, there is no rush to impose BYD and BMW models on it.

August 8st is the day when Fang Hexuan turns 31.

He specially booked more than a dozen tables at the Seafood Treasure House and invited fellow Ningbo people, company colleagues and friends to the banquet.

Lu Qiaoling was very happy that the hard days were finally over.

Watching her son toasting with so many people she knew or didn't know,
I actually had an urge to burst into tears.

Since the three of them were kicked out of the Fang family,
In Hong Kong, I can say that I have no relatives or friends, no one to rely on.

I have always felt like an insignificant outsider in this prosperous city of Hong Kong.

Now, I finally have a sense of belonging that "this is home".

Fang Hexuan’s birthday is also the birth day of toy robots such as Transformers.

Therefore, at the banquet, he gave a set of Transformers toys to all the guests who came as families.

It surprised everyone and also pushed the atmosphere to a climax.

In this time and space, Fang Hexuan is destined to be the "Father of Transformers".

Many years later, toy fans and reporters were tracing the events that took place in late August 1978.

Everyone envied those who got the first edition and out-of-print Transformers toys.

Because this first edition of the toy was later sold at a sky-high price.

Twenty years later, Jackie Chan showed this out-of-print Transformers set in front of the camera while filming his personal documentary.

Of course Fang Hexuan also collected two sets at home, one for himself and one for Fang Luoyi.

Since this version is designed and produced specifically for the boss,

So there will definitely be no more sequels.

This is also the reason why it is called "out of print".

······
In early September, after Pao Yue-kong and Li Ka-shing completed the transfer of Wharf Holdings shares,

It immediately announced that it already held about 15%-30% of Wharf Holdings' shares.

Became the largest shareholder of this British company.

This news caused a huge sensation in Hong Kong.
The stock indices of the four major exchanges rose by at least 3% that day.

Pao Yue-Kong deliberately made the amount of stocks he held very vague in order to impress his enemy.

He is not afraid of Jardine Matheson's investigation because many of its accounts are overseas and the shares of almost every account do not exceed 1%.

Fang Hexuan went to Global Shipping to visit Pao Yue-Kong.

I had a secret conversation with him for nearly two hours.

······
Li & Fung Group is the oldest import and export trader in Hong Kong.
Founded in 1906, it has a history of 72 years.

In 1973, Li & Fung was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The IPO was oversubscribed 113 times.

This amazing record lasted for 14 years.

Fang Hexuan has been paying attention to this company for a long time, not because he has any other thoughts.
Instead, they covet the talents inside, especially the professionals in supply chain management.

This company can sell goods from Greater China to all parts of the world, and can also purchase products from all over the world that best suit its sales channels.

The company has achieved a level of management that is unmatched by ordinary companies.

In such a company, the supply chain talents can be said to be the most combat-ready.

Fang Hexuan did not want to offend Li & Fung, so he used the relationship between HSBC and the shipping king to

I made an appointment with the two Feng brothers for afternoon tea.
And he revealed his idea of ​​building a car.

In the end, Li & Fung recommended a very outstanding person to Fang Hexuan - Jiang Guoyong.

The outside world may know little about this person, but he is very well-known in the industry.

He is not too old, only 42 years old, and has been immersed in the field of international trade for twenty years.

I also have a lot of experience in international product supply chains.

He had previously helped Li & Fung train talent and had a good relationship with the Fung brothers.

Fang Hexuan visited this person with the mentality of visiting him three times at his cottage and talked with him for an entire afternoon.

I originally thought that the other party would act like an industry expert, but I didn't expect him to be a very gentle and talkative person.

Fang Hexuan talked to him about all his plans, including building cars and entering into fields such as computers and semiconductors.

Perhaps I was impressed by his youthful vigor and lofty goals (Fang Hexuan's own feeling),

Jiang Guoyong accepted Fang Hexuan's offer and was willing to serve as his supply chain consultant.

Moreover, he is not alone, but has a complete team of more than a dozen people.

Fang Hexuan felt that his luck this time was really good.

Get it done in one go!

On September 9, after arranging all the chores,
He took Jiang Guoyong and flew to Europe.

The first stop is definitely Germany, without a doubt.

Within ten days, we visited Bosch, ZF, Continental, BASF and Mahle.

Later, when passing through France, I went to see Fareo again.

Then we flew directly to North America and landed in Canada, where we visited Magna and Linamar.

After entering the United States, he went to Lear, Johnson Controls, Goodyear, Cummins, BorgWarner, Dana, Delphi, Eaton, and Garrett.

At this time, it was approaching October.

When he called Chow Liang Suk-yee to inquire about the preparations for the release of "Drunken Master",
I was told that there were some problems in the negotiations between Golden Harvest and the Leftist Cinema Line.

He needs to rush back to negotiate and resolve the issue in person.

As a last resort, Fang Hexuan had to cancel his next inspection in Neon.

He asked Jiang Guoyong to take his team to Neon to visit Denso and Aisin.

He flew back to Hong Kong with Jiu Wenlong.

Golden Harvest Film Company headquarters.

For this negotiation with Jiahe, Fang Hexuan only brought Zhou Liang Shuyi.

Zou Wenhuai welcomed the two of them graciously. He said with a smile:

"Mr. Lu from your company has talked to me a few days ago, but I wanted to meet Mr. Fang, but I didn't know that Mr. Fang was on a business trip overseas. It's really a sin!"

"No way, Mr. Zou is a pioneer of Hong Kong films. I should have visited him in person, but I didn't expect to visit so many places after my business trip. I delayed my trip like this. I should apologize!"

"Haha, let's not apologize. A belated meeting is still a meeting. It doesn't matter how much time is wasted."

"Your words make sense, I won't be so hypocritical. How will the profits of Drunken Master be divided when it is shown in Golden Harvest Cinemas?"

"Well, DreamWorks Pictures was just established after all, and they need to slowly explore the industry experience. No one dares to guarantee that the first movie will definitely be a big hit. Therefore, our theaters are also taking a big risk, so."

"Six and four, how about I take six and you take four?"

"Haha, Mr. Fang is really good at joking. I just said that Golden Harvest Cinemas does not have absolute confidence in your first movie."

"Then please tell me how to divide it."

"Well, it's still 64. I'll take 6 and you'll take 4."

"My seniors are even better at joking. This movie cost me three or four million for various reasons. If Golden Harvest takes 60%, I'm afraid I'll be in big trouble."

"I understand Mr. Fang's difficulties, but now it's business."

"Senior, let me tell you a story!"

"Before I was released from prison, I borrowed 8 million Hong Kong dollars from HSBC through my relationship with the charter king, and raised another 2 million Hong Kong dollars through other channels."

"If I were to invest all of HK$10 billion in movies now, I believe you wouldn't doubt that I can build a new cinema chain!"

"But I didn't do that. Instead, I took the 10 billion and made another bigger investment."

"This time next year, my 10 billion will bring me another 10 billion."

"Then, I will easily take out 5 million to build a cinema in every inhabited place in Hong Kong and Kowloon."

"Senior, can you imagine, by then, will I have more or fewer cinemas than Golden Harvest?"

"Senior just said that business is business. If Golden Harvest's movies want to be shown in DreamWorks theaters in the future, I will take 60% of your box office revenue. Are you willing?"

"."

"Don't look down on the poor youngsters! You are also a dominant figure in Hong Kong movies. I have always believed that you have a broader vision than Uncle Six."

"Even if the younger generation has offended you in some way, you shouldn't gamble with Jiahe's future."

".How many did you say?"

"It's a 50-50 split at best. If it's more, I'll have to reluctantly give up showing it at Golden Harvest."

"make a deal!"

"Thank you, senior!"

······
Great Wall Company.

"Mr. Fang is really a very promising young man. He already has three companies at such a young age."

"Haha, Manager Fu, you're overpraising me. I'm just making a small fuss."

"Haha, Mr. Fang, don't be so modest. I know Sir Bao."

"Then I don't know Drunken Master."

"Mr. Fang, do you want to build a car? I heard that you went abroad for an inspection at the beginning of the month."

"Ok?"

"I also heard it from Lord Bao. He praised you so highly that you are unmatched on earth!"

".Actually, my original plan was to invest and build a factory in Shenzhen the year after next."

"Haha! Mr. Fang is indeed a patriotic entrepreneur. The mainland welcomes people with lofty ideals like you very much!"

"No, no, I am very optimistic about the reform and opening up of the mainland. As a Chinese, it is my duty to build my own country!"

"What a duty! Mr. Fang is more sensible and considers the overall situation better than most Hong Kong people I have met."

"I won't waste my words. As long as DreamWorks' movies meet our requirements, there will be no problem with their release!"

"What about the profit sharing?"

"How about 30/70?"

"You seven and I three?"

"How can you say that? How can the country take advantage of a patriot like you? Of course you are the seventh."

······
After Great Wall Films was settled, Phoenix and Xinlian had the green light all the way.

After reaching a thorough agreement with the two major cinema chains,
On October 10, DreamWorks' first and most anticipated film, Drunken Master, was officially released in all theaters in Hong Kong.
　Thanks to Mudai Stone, book friend 20220428091908666, and Feixiang Feicui for their recommendations!
　　

(End of this chapter)