Hollywood Tycoon [US Entertainment + Business War]

"This is ATV's "Evening News". The following is a piece of news that our station has just received." Despite Lin Baixin's strong intervention, the competition for ratings between ATV and TVB is only "four or six". .But at this moment, Li Zhuotao just tuned the TV to this channel, so he heard the following news. "Another acquisition case broke out in Hollywood today. The established film company Disney Pictures Group announced that its subsidiary Bowei International Distribution Company spent 5000 million US dollars to acquire Galaxy Film Distribution Company and Galaxy Home Entertainment, a subsidiary of the emerging film company Galaxy Pictures. At the same time, it also announced that it will have the priority agency rights of Galaxy Film Production Company's films for the next ten years. At the acquisition press conference, Galaxy Film also announced to the public the trailers of two films that will be released in the second half of this year, including Benbu director John Woo's work "Game of the Brave", let's enjoy the promotional video of Director Woo's new work!"

"Wu Yusen?" Li Zhuotao was taken aback.

Li Zhuotao is not an ordinary person. He is not only a senior film critic in Hong Kong, but also the editor-in-chief of "Film Biweekly" and the chairman of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society.Although the newly created "Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards" is more biased towards literary films, it does not mean that Li Zhuotao has any prejudice against commercial films. On the contrary, he also believes that commercial films are the basis of art films. They all have a good impression.

When Wu Yusen marched into Hollywood with the trend of "Across the World", Li Cheutao had high expectations for Wu Yusen.You must know that Wu Yusen is the closest to Hollywood among the directors in Hong Kong, so Li Cheutao still hopes that Wu Yusen can make some achievements in Hollywood.However, the performance of his first work in Hollywood, "Ultimate Target", was far from amazing. There was neither artistic breakthrough nor box office results, and then it was heard that it was refrigerated by the film company.

Although it was later heard that Woo Yusen was trying to make a comeback in a new company, Li Zhuotao was no longer optimistic about it.However, when he saw the promotional video of "Game of the Brave" this time, Li Zhuotao was still attracted by the smooth picture design and scenes that were both real and fake.

"This should be a family adventure, right?" Although the promotional video lasted only a minute, Li Zhuotao quickly recognized the theme of the movie, "Why did Wu Yusen make such a movie? But this The design sense of the picture is really his style.”

In fact, not only Asia TV got the news, but also Hunan TV in mainland China, China TV in Taiwan, Seoul TV in South Korea, and Fuji TV in Japan.At this time, Asia did not have as many disputes as later generations, and I still feel quite honored that an Asian director can launch a new film in Hollywood.

It has to be said that Lin Jianyue already has the style of a future media tycoon at this time. Although the acquisition of Asian TV was temporarily frustrated, he quickly established a so-called Asian TV cooperation network.Relying on Oriental TV Station in the United States, combined with several TV stations that Dongfeng Company has cooperative relations with in Asia, this organization has been pieced together.

Because Seoul TV is not the copyright of TV dramas, all of them are in the hands of Dongfeng Company, and Dongfeng Company has cooperation with Hunan TV and Asia TV in TV dramas or TV programs. Therefore, with this organization, several TV stations can communicate with each other.Of course, the biggest beneficiary is Hunan TV, which not only got the latest Japanese and Korean dramas from Seoul TV and Fuji TV, but also the latest Hong Kong TV dramas from Asia TV. The Hunan TV has a vague image of "China's No. [-] Entertainment Channel" for later generations.

As for the Hunan TV people who urged to cooperate with Dongfeng Company at that time, they were even more happy. They not only completed the performance project (the Hunan International Channel was launched in the United States and Japan), but also increased their ratings.In particular, Hunan Economic Television, which has a more relaxed review standard, has even launched special theaters for Japanese dramas, Korean dramas, and Hong Kong dramas.

And when Hunan TV was the first to broadcast the clips of Wu Yusen's new film in mainland China, the filmmakers in mainland China were also shocked. It turned out that the Hong Kong counterparts had already established a firm foothold in Hollywood and made blockbuster movies, and more importantly, Hollywood Has China's film technology reached such a high level?As early as 1994, mainland China launched an overseas film sharing system, allowing ten blockbuster films to be imported each year.

The popularity of "Game of the Brave" made China Film Corporation set its sights on this movie. After learning that the movie will be released on December 12, they plan to introduce this movie and arrange it for the Spring Festival on New Year's Day. broadcast.In order to make sure there was nothing "politically wrong" about the film, they contacted Galaxy Films in the US through Yindu in Hong Kong.

Compared with the Asian media and the public cheering for John Woo, American filmmakers began to analyze the use of computer technology in these two films.Almost everyone knows that Galaxy Films not only owns a stake in Industrial Light and Magic, but also owns a computer lab specializing in film special effects.It can be said that in terms of film special effects and film computer technology, Galaxy Films is at the forefront of all film companies.

Originally, some people thought that Galaxy Films' spending on special effects research would be detrimental to the company's capital operation, but when the promotional videos of "Toy Story" and "Jumanji" were released, all the opposition disappeared.Don't you see the realistic virtual scene of "Game of the Brave", since then it means that only the director can't think of a scene that can't be photographed; and "Toy Story" has become a milestone in animated films, although it is not the first step [-]D animated movie, but there has never been a [-]D animated movie whose characters are as realistic as "Toy Story".

Even after watching the promotional video of "Toy Story", some children firmly believe that there are toys that can talk and move like humans. This forced Galaxy Films to add a sentence when releasing the promotional video of the "Toy Story" series. "All toys are made by computer simulation", but it has become an anecdote in the history of movies.

The announcement of the two promotional videos of Galaxy Films not only surprised other film companies, but also caught Disney by surprise.Robert, who is in charge of distribution and also serves as the president of Bowei International, is very happy, because he has seen countless dollars beckoning to him.But Sean, the president in charge of production, was extremely annoyed, and said coldly at the company's internal meeting: "This is our investment ally? Why didn't they tell us that their technology has reached this point? Also, I finally know that at the time Where did the Pixar we contacted go! Isn’t it the current Galaxy Animation Studio?”

Although Eisner was a little bit disgusted with the extravagance of Galaxy Movies, he still defended his investment: "Mr. Bailey, you also said that Galaxy Movies is just our investment company. It is neither our subsidiary nor our investment company." It is not our branch, they have no obligation to disclose their technology to us. And they bought Pixar before we cooperated, so don’t mix things up. Well, let’s talk about it, the reason why Galaxy Movies did this is What?"

At this time, Bergman, the nominal chief executive of Disney Pictures, said: "We should regard this as a demonstration and invitation for Galaxy Movies. As a partner, we have been dwarfing the existence of Galaxy Movies, so they throw them out." Proud creations tell us they are not a Disney spin-off. I think we shouldn't make a fuss, as if your youngest son breaks a glass on purpose to get your attention, tell them you did something wrong, and then we'll There is no need to say more."

"I support Mr. Bergman's opinion." Robert said, "Our cooperation with Galaxy Films is already a fait accompli, and in this case, instead of thinking about how to quarrel, it is better to think about how to make up the rift between the two sides. In addition, from the perspective of distribution , These two films have indeed attracted the attention of Americans, and the news and discussions about these two films are increasing. In addition, I have a very special news to tell you, I received news from Hong Kong that the Chinese side is very Interested in including Jumanji in their '100 Blockbusters' plan. Come to think of it, even The Fugitive made $200 million, why don't we try our luck? Not much to say, $[-] million is still there, right? How about Toy Story?"

"Since when did you take a fancy to the box office of several million?" Sean sneered, "It's not tens of millions!"

"It's not easy to earn millions of dollars in that mysterious country." Robert said with a smile, "China's box office can't grow overnight. I heard from some friends that the movie theaters there are still very backward, and the people have not cultivated The habit of watching movies as a form of daily entertainment. But if we are the first ones in, then we have the greatest influence among those What is the class of people who are willing to watch movies. We may only get a few million dollars from them today, but what about in the future? More importantly, they agree with us!"

"Okay, let's leave it at that!" Eisner finally made a decision. "Robert, go and remind the people on the other side of the galaxy to abide by our cooperation agreement and stop making any more tricks! At the same time, you also tell your subordinates to serve snacks, and don't give us the first cooperation with Galaxy Movies. Fucked up. As for the Chinese proposal, you get someone to talk to them."

China Film Corporation's initiative to contact "Game of the Brave" not only surprised Disney, but also surprised Jade.

As a person who lived in that era, Jed didn't know about China's account-sharing film system.For movie fans in mainland China at that time, the ten overseas movies (including Hong Kong movies) each year became movies that everyone rushed to watch, and it was hard to find a ticket.Moreover, the rotten cinema equipment of that era can be described as heinous, and the popular multiplex theater was simply a daydream at that time.And at that time, movie theaters had degenerated to the point where they relied on showing some pirated third-class movies to survive. Sometimes when you went to the movie theater to enjoy a movie, you had to be careful not to sit on a used condom.

But Jade also believes that the market in mainland China must be cultivated. Why can "Toy Story 3" lead the monthly box office in later generations?Isn't it because of "Toy Story 1"?Because as the final work of this series, if you watch it very abruptly, you can hardly be moved, but as the group of children who were affected back then, when they watch the final work after becoming parents, they can be completely moved.So Jed doesn't think that a little box office now means that there will be no gains in the future. Jed knows better than anyone else how high the economic achievements of mainland China will be in the future.

After the news came from Yinhe Movies, Jade responded: "In order to conform to China's national conditions, we can edit a special version for them to avoid some unnecessary problems."

Jed understands that Hollywood at this time actually looks down on the Chinese film market. In their view, apart from the North American market, the markets that may be a little more important are Europe and Japan.As for China?Perhaps Hong Kong and Taiwan still have some value.Coupled with the relationship between China and the United States at this time and the historical problems left by the United States, there are not many scenes where Hollywood filmmakers deliberately vilify the image of Chinese.

Don't say that Americans look down on yellow skin, why do Japanese no longer discriminate against it?Even in national science fiction masterpieces like "Star Trek", the Japanese have a very positive and important supporting role.

On the contrary, in the history of American movies, the image of Chinese is not so glorious.A few classic Chinese characters can be counted, either the evil Dr. Fu Manchu or the clown Charlie Chen.As for the intentional stimulation of Chinese people in the camera, there are more places, these things are completely unnecessary in Jed's view.

In fact, the actions of American filmmakers at this time are a bit similar to the "anti-Japanese drama" filmed by the Chinese in later generations, and they are completely a little bit "childish".If you completely obliterate or even dwarf your opponent, you are actually insulting yourself.Only when your opponent is strong enough, can you feel a sense of accomplishment by defeating him?Bullying a small child all day, I don't think any adult will be satisfied, right?

Therefore, Jed deliberately avoided this kind of malicious ridicule when he was filming the movie. First, Jed's understanding of China is probably the best among Americans, and second, Jed is also coveting China's box office market. endlessly.Whether it's based on his own soul or his own banknotes, Jed can't make mistakes.

"By the way, we have recently arranged for Wu Yusen to appear on some American talk shows, and we have also sent out more drafts. We want to make him a benchmark for Chinese directors in Hollywood." Jed ordered on the phone, "The video of the show he appeared on is remembered. Organized a special manuscript and sent it to the Asian TV media through the Asian TV collaboration created by Lin Jianyue to let them know Wu Yusen's status in Hollywood. By the way, you must remember that all manuscripts must mention Wu Yusen "James of the Brave."

Meribo was born in daily chemical products, so he didn't know what Jed was planning.The psychology of Asians to save face is completely figured out by Jed. He just wants to make John Woo a model for Asians in Hollywood, so that every Asian can be proud when watching John Woo movies.To put it bluntly, Jade wants to use John Woo as a business card for Galaxy Films to enter the Asian market.

Mai Ruibo thinks this idea is very good, not to mention that Wu Yusen is resting at this time, it is also necessary to arrange him to appear on the program to warm up the movie, but there are a little too many programs on it.In fact, Woo Yusen is also the first time to experience the treatment of a blockbuster director. He thought that a blockbuster director really needs so many interviews, so he worked hard to meet the needs of the distribution company.

Fortunately, John Woo is also someone who has something to talk about. After all, he is also a very popular director in Asia, and many of his works are also popular among American audiences.Coupled with John Woo's design aesthetics for violent scenes, he became the last welcome guest on American late-night talk shows for a while.Because the main audience of American late-night talk shows is American men, and men always have a little bit of violence in their hearts, but when they see John Woo presenting those violence with extremely beautiful images, the audience loves the Chinese man in front of them to death.

Every time John Woo finished his American programs or interviews, ATV would report on the news at the fastest speed.Although some Hong Kong filmmakers complain that Asia Television is about to become the "Wu Yusen Channel", judging from the steadily rising ratings of Asia Television, we know that such reports are actually very popular with Hong Kong audiences.

In fact, the main reason why TVB has an advantage in Hong Kong is the habitual ratings of Hong Kong viewers, because everyone is used to watching TVB.Inertial viewing is mainly reflected in older audiences, so ATV focuses on young people in Hong Kong.The latest idol dramas imported from Japan and South Korea, coupled with ATV's self-produced TV dramas and TV programs, quickly opened up the situation.

The ratings report in front of Lin Baixin showed that although Asia TV was still lagging behind TVB in terms of overall ratings, among the young viewers aged 14 to 19, Asia TV and Stabilized TVB were ahead.However, what Lin Baixin is struggling with now is that because Dongfeng Asia has never obtained a controlling stake in ATV, it does not have much enthusiasm for ATV.

Lin Baixin knows the production capabilities of Dongfeng TV Production Company and Samsung Dongfeng Film and Television Company. As long as they are willing to create TV dramas for ATV, then among the key audience group of 19 to 45 years old, it is not impossible for ATV to succeed.But at this time, New World Group was unwilling to sell its shares, so Lin Baixin's shares never exceeded 51%.In fact, if Lin Baixin's Lai Sun Group alone owns 50% of ATV's shares, but Lai Sun Group is not owned by Lin Baixin alone, so Lin Baixin's control is actually quite limited.