Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 231 Angle Setting and Re-throw

Leslie Cheung exudes a different aura than Kim Sung-woo from before, and also different from the original Chang Chen. Although both are profound, Leslie Cheung also carries a subtle, heart-wrenching feeling.

Wu Yuchen pondered in his mind that the first half of the film might not need it, but in the second half, this infectious feeling would definitely be a plus, making the audience resonate more with Shen Lian.

As for the rest...

In terms of fame, Leslie Cheung is second to none. He is an iconic figure in Hong Kong cinema and a superstar of Asian caliber. He also has many fans in Japan and South Korea, so his appeal is no problem at all.

There's absolutely no need to worry about acting skills; Leslie Cheung's acting is more than enough to handle the role of Shen Lian.

Appearance? He's already handsome enough, but he also deliberately grows stubble, which makes him even more charming as a mature man.

Although Leslie Cheung is actually several years older than Jiang Wen, who will be playing his older brother Lu Jianxing, everyone would think Jiang Wen is older when the two stand together. To Wu Yuchen, Leslie Cheung, who is already over 40, still looks like a young man under 30, showing no signs of aging.

However, there is only one point...

After watching Leslie Cheung's performance, Wu Yuchen asked, "Great! But I heard your Passion Concert isn't over yet? I need the lead actor to do some preliminary martial arts training here."

Leslie Cheung's Passion Concert started in the middle of last year and then went on a world tour, which is still ongoing.

Leslie Cheung did not deny it, but said: "Director Wu, my concert only has the final show on Hong Kong Island left. It will end in April, and then I can devote myself to practicing the moves!"

Wu Yuchen thought about it. His movie wouldn't start filming until the second half of the year, and training would begin in April, which would take more than three months. It shouldn't be a big problem.

……

That evening after the interview, Deng Chao and a few roommates went to a small restaurant for a meal. After a drink, they all asked, "Chao'er, how did it go?"

Deng Chao slammed his wine glass on the table and exclaimed confidently, "It's settled!"

Zhu Yuchen and the others looked at him in surprise: "Really?!"

"That's right. Director Wu was amazed by my talent when he saw me. He praised me as a promising talent and asked me on the spot if I would like to play Shen Lian!"

The others immediately booed upon hearing this, knowing that Deng Chao was just joking and bragging again.

"cut!"

"Don't even try that!"

"You can fool your brothers, but don't fool yourself!"

Deng Chao chuckled, then picked up a piece of beef and chewed it heartily. After swallowing the food, he said:
"What else can I do? I've done my best, but the outcome is beyond my control."

Deng Chao may have been a little nervous before the audition, but after the audition, he felt relieved.

"Hey, that's not what I'm asking you. You've seen Director Wu, haven't you?"

What's Director Wu's opinion of you?

The group then took turns asking questions.

Deng Chao pretended to recall something, raised his hand, and was about to start speaking when Zhu Yuchen said, "Stop bragging to us, tell the truth!"

Deng Chao immediately lowered his arm: "Hey, what else could it be? He just told me to perform normally, and even picked on a few things. Oh, and he asked me how tall I am..."

"How tall are you?"

The group was puzzled for a moment, then Zhu Yuchen immediately clapped his hands and said, "That means you have a chance! Otherwise, why would they care about your height?"

"Yes, yes, Chenzi is right! Chao'er, you have to treat us today!"

Deng Chao smiled, and in fact, he thought the same thing. If Director Wu asked more questions and showed more concern, it meant that it wasn't just going through the motions.

Just as Deng Chao was welcoming his brothers to drink, his cell phone rang. He quickly put down his glass and picked it up to answer.

The people sitting next to him immediately fell silent. Everyone felt that this might be the result, and whether Deng Chao could be elected depended on this phone call.

As soon as Deng Chao answered the phone and heard the voice on the other end, he immediately greeted respectfully, "Yes, it's me, Director Wu!"

Upon hearing this, the group was all taken aback. For Wu Yuchen to call personally, there was a high probability that he had indeed been selected! Otherwise, a staff member could have simply called to inform them; some production crews don't even bother to notify the crew at all.

At this moment, their feelings were somewhat complicated. They had only talked about it before, but seeing that Deng Chao'er, their roommate with whom they spent every day, was really going to be involved in Wu Yuchen's big show, starting so high before even leaving school, and about to rise to prominence, they couldn't help but feel envious, jealous, and other emotions.

But the next moment, Deng Chao's smile froze: "Ah? You didn't make the cut..."

The people around were stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, and felt sorry for their good brother Deng Chao'er, after all, it was such a good opportunity!

Zhu Yuchen also reached out and gently patted Deng Chao on the shoulder to comfort him.

Then Deng Chao responded with two "oh"s into the phone, followed by a smile: "Yes, yes, thank you, Director Wu! I definitely won't let you down!"

The group exchanged confused glances, all baffled by Deng Chao's reaction. What was going on? Had he been elected or not?

As soon as Deng Chao hung up the phone, the group immediately crowded around him and started tugging at his shoulders:

"Chao'er, did you get selected?"

"Chao'er, is that Director Wu? What did he say?"

"Chao'er, did you really win over Jin Yichuan?"

Deng Chao shook his head: "No, I was not selected. Director Wu said I was a bit too tall."

"So, you say you're willing, willing to what?"

Deng Chao sighed: "Sigh, Jin Yichuan is out of the running, but Director Wu has cast me in another role, the Chongzhen Emperor, which is a minor supporting role..."

Zhu Yuchen and the others exchanged glances, looking at Deng Chao's irritating appearance, and all howled:
"Kill him!"

"We must make him bleed profusely today!"

……

Wu Yuchen smiled after hanging up the phone. The role of Jin Yichuan was chosen last. Since he had already decided on Leslie Cheung to play the male lead, Shen Lian, it was best if Jin Yichuan didn't steal his thunder if they were standing together.

The eldest brother, Lu Jianxing, could be taller than Shen Lian, while the third brother, Jin Yichuan, should at least not be taller than Leslie Cheung. Based on this alone, Wu Yuchen eliminated several people, such as the very tall Liu Ye, and Deng Chao from earlier.

However, he felt that Deng Chao, this newcomer, was worth nurturing, so he gave him the role of Emperor Chongzhen, who had appeared a few times in the movie and had a decent amount of screen time.

In his previous life, Deng Chao was a specialist in playing emperors, portraying them in numerous dramas such as "The Young Emperor," "The Young Kangxi," "The Late Ming Dynasty," and "The World's Finest." Now, let's have Director Wu set the stage for this!

Don't underestimate this role; even with this one, someone still wanted to push someone else to gain prestige. It was none other than Zhang Mo, the son of Zhang Guoli, a veteran actor known for playing emperors, but Wu Yuchen casually declined the offer.

If it were anyone else, it would be one thing, but thinking of Old Zhang's son, not to mention the beating, he also does drugs, Wu Yuchen shook his head.

As for who was ultimately chosen for the role of the third brother, Jin Yichuan, Wu Yuchen smiled as he looked at the somewhat baby-faced Wu Jing from the photo. Wu Jing has gained some fame in the past two years for his television dramas; "Tai Chi Master" and "Little Li Flying Dagger" both had high ratings. This film, "Brotherhood of Blades," is, after all, a martial arts movie, so good action sequences would be a big plus. Wu Jing is only 27 years old now, which is perfect for the role of the third brother, Jin Yichuan.

Furthermore, Wu Jing's height is definitely not as tall as Leslie Cheung's. Leslie Cheung is 175cm, so Wu Jing is probably only a little over 170cm, which makes him quite suitable in that respect!
After the cast of "Brotherhood of Blades" was finalized, Wu Yuchen didn't leave immediately. Instead, he first arranged related matters. These included preparing various props for the production team and finalizing the actors' training plans. Actors such as Leslie Cheung, Jiang Wen, Duan Long, and even Wu Jing all needed to undergo martial arts training.

Just as Wu Yuchen was busy arranging various matters for "Brotherhood of Blades", a phone call came in, forcing him to temporarily put down his work.

In the office, Wu Yuchen said with a smile, "Come on, Mr. Ma, try my new Da Hong Pao tea!"

Ma Huateng smiled politely at Wu Yuchen, then said with a hint of guilt, "Mr. Wu, I'm really sorry, the company hasn't found a good way to make a profit yet, but we've already run out of money. The user growth is too fast, and our servers are almost unable to keep up..."

Since the bursting of the dot-com bubble in the US Nasdaq last year, the once-booming wave of internet entrepreneurship around the world has suffered a painful blow.

In just one year, countless startups have vanished into thin air. Looking back, Ma Huateng feels fortunate. He secured a large investment from Wu Yuchen before that happened, allowing Tencent to survive and thrive to this day.

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he has run out of money and there's nothing he can do now. Over the past year, Ma Huateng and his entire startup team have gained considerable knowledge about venture capital and other related matters, and they know that approaching Wu Yuchen for investment now, making him a major shareholder, would be detrimental to them.

However, there's nothing they can do. The internet industry is currently experiencing its coldest period; forget about finding venture capital, even bank loans are scarce. Reluctantly, Ma Huateng has no choice but to travel north again to personally approach shareholder Wu Yuchen to secure investment.

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this, waved his hand, and said, "No need to call me Mr. Wu anymore, just call me Director Wu. I'm used to it."

Then he asked, "How many QQ users are there now?"

Ma Huateng immediately reported a number: "QQ's online users have exceeded 120 million, and the number of registered users has reached 2500 million."

Wu Yuchen was quite satisfied with this number. It should be noted that the number of internet users in the country is only slightly over 2000 million. The reason why there are more registered users than internet users is naturally because one person has registered multiple QQ accounts.

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Ma, the Nasdaq crash was something no one expected. I can understand that the current economic climate is not good. How about this, I will invest another 2000 million this time."

Ma Huateng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He already felt fortunate that Wu Yuchen was willing to invest in a company that wasn't very profitable. However, with the user growth rate accelerating, he wondered if this 20 million yuan investment would last even a year…

Ma Huateng asked, "Director Wu, how many shares do you want this time?"

He also knew that Wu Yuchen's investment this time was not for nothing; he would definitely need to raise funds to acquire shares.

Wu Yuchen smiled and extended his right hand, making a six gesture: "After this round of financing, I will own 6% of the company's shares."

Ma Huateng did the math in his head. Wu Yuchen currently owns 40% of the shares, and after the financing round, it will be 60%. That means he spent 2000 million yuan to raise 33% of the shares in this round, reducing his initial 40% stake to about 27%, which adds up to 60%.

Thinking about the fundraising patterns of venture capital firms in Silicon Valley that he had observed over the past year, Ma Huateng organized his thoughts and then said:
"Director Wu, isn't 60% a bit too much? Our QQ has grown more than tenfold since the last round of financing, and it's the absolute leader among similar products. I think exchanging 20 million yuan for 33% of the shares is a bit..."

Wu Yuchen interrupted him with a smile: "It's not yuan, it's 2000 million US dollars."

Upon hearing this, Ma Huateng's pupils contracted, and his open mouth could no longer utter a sound.

For $2000 million in exchange for 33% of the shares, Wu Yuchen's offer this time was more than 10 times that of the first round, leaving Ma Huateng with no reason to refute it. Moreover, this means that Wu Yuchen is valuing Tencent at $6000 million, or 5 million yuan!

After a moment of silence, Ma Huateng picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then said to Wu Yuchen, "Director Wu, I need to discuss this matter with my team. Please give me some time."

Wu Yuchen smiled and nodded: "It's okay, I understand, but please hurry up and don't delay the company's development."

"Director Wu, please rest assured, we will definitely give you a reply within three days."

Watching Pony Ma's departing figure, Wu Yuchen wondered what his choice would be. His investment in Tencent wasn't in his personal capacity, but through White Bear Venture Capital, a company he had specifically established in Hong Kong. White Bear investing in Tencent—wasn't that perfect?
It didn't take three days. Just one day later, Pony Ma returned with a new proposal. They didn't want to raise 33% of the shares; they only wanted to raise half, or 16%. This way, after the fundraising, Wu Yuchen would only have 49.6% of the shares, while the core creative team would still hold 50.4%, maintaining control.

Of course, the money could no longer be $2000 million; they could only get $1000 million. At the same time, they wanted a guarantee that White Bear Ventures could provide at least $200 million in emergency bridge funding in the event of an emergency for the company.

According to Ma Huateng and his team's estimates, $10 million would be enough for the company to operate for three years while expanding. If they couldn't find a way to make a profit within three years, they might as well give up and disband. Therefore, this was a plan that would both guarantee their control and provide them with ample funding for development.

However, Wu Yuchen couldn't keep conceding on their proposal. Since they weren't offering that much financing and wanted emergency bridge financing, the price couldn't be that high.

After much back and forth and negotiation, Wu Yuchen secured a 25% stake in Tencent by offering $1000 million plus an additional $200 million in emergency funding. This means that after the financing, White Bear Fund will hold a 55% stake in Tencent.

However, he also agreed to one condition: that Tencent would buy back 10% of his shares before the next round of financing or before the IPO, at the price of the next round of financing, not the current price. If there is no next round of financing and the company goes public directly, this 10% stake will become an incentive stock pool for future employees.

Once the deal was finalized, Ma Huateng and Teng Xun breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Wu Yuchen profusely once again. Negotiation was one thing, and gratitude was another; they were two separate matters.

The reason why the two sides were arguing back and forth was actually a matter of control. It wasn't that Ma Huateng and his group didn't know about A and B shares, but that Tencent's goal from the beginning was to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. However, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange does not allow A and B shares to exist. So, the simplest point is that whoever has the larger shareholding has the final say.

It's fine for Wu Yuchen to support them now, but if the two sides fall out in the future and a power struggle arises, they will have to take certain precautions to ensure their voice is heard.

Wu Yuchen didn't intend to compete with Pony Ma for power; he simply wanted to gain a larger share while supporting Tencent's growth. He was satisfied with the current situation.

Wu Yuchen couldn't help but sigh at the sheer number of investment opportunities available in this era. He could buy Apple in America, become a major shareholder of Tencent in China, and if he wanted to invest, not to mention Alibaba, future giants like YouTube and Youku would be within his grasp. However, his main focus right now was on the entertainment industry, and investing in Tencent was enough for him.

As for the idea of ​​buying and hoarding real estate, he had no such thought at all. Right now, he just does whatever makes him comfortable; why hoard property when he has enough money? He doesn't lack that way of making money.

However, although he didn't intend to get involved in real estate, he still managed to snag some bargains. Miracle Films directly purchased an office building without tying up their working capital. This was because the bank proactively offered a low-interest loan; these days, banks are practically handing out loans to their high-quality clients, practically begging you to borrow as much as possible.

This is practically being fed to me; I'd be happy to take it!

Just as Wu Yuchen was finishing his arrangements, an inquiry came from across the ocean: the Oscar nominations for this year had been announced, and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" had been successfully nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, and had also received 10 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, setting a record for the most Oscar nominations for a Chinese-language film, and gaining widespread attention across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

However, the question of whether "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" should win an award is also highly controversial in the Chinese-speaking world. Many viewers feel that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is poorly made, far inferior to "New Dragon Gate Inn," so how could it possibly win an award?

Some experts have also pointed out that Li An filmed it according to the structure of Western films, in order to make it understandable to foreigners, thus increasing its chances of winning an award.

Some people also brought up Li An's resume. In fact, many domestic audiences hadn't heard of Li An before this, but after "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," everyone discovered that Li An had not only won the Golden Horse Award for Best Director, but also won the Berlin Golden Bear twice, and had previously been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for "The Wedding Banquet" and "Eat Drink Man Woman." He is a seasoned veteran!
Thanks to Wu Yuchen's Oscar win last year, Oscar-related content has become much more widespread in China, and many people can now offer their opinions. As a result, people have started to debate with each other.

Wu Yuchen smiled at this; it was something he had already expected. However, he had already secured the title of the first Chinese-language film to win an Oscar last year, and even if "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won Best Foreign Language Film again this year, its prestige and status would likely be somewhat less than in his previous life.

Reporters even came specifically to interview Wu Yuchen:
"Director Wu, as a director with Oscar experience, do you think 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' has a good chance of winning an Oscar this year?"

"Personally, I am very optimistic about 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'. Director Li An's ability is beyond doubt, and he understands the tastes of Western audiences very well. He made a film called 'Sense and Sensibility' with the theme of martial arts, and the core of it is love and desire. It has a good chance of winning an Oscar! I also sincerely wish that 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' can bring glory to Chinese films again and expand its influence internationally."

Wu Yuchen was speaking from the heart. He really hoped that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" could win Best Foreign Language Film like it did in its previous life, since it would affect the film's box office revenue!

With Wu Yuchen's remarks being reported, even more people are paying attention to the performance of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" at this year's Oscars. After all, even Wu Yuchen, who is the most knowledgeable about the Oscars in China, said that it has a good chance, so it seems that it really does have a chance!
Wu Yuchen ignored the domestic turmoil, settled matters related to "Brotherhood of Blades," said goodbye to his circle of people, and boarded a flight to the United States.

"Oh, Wu, you're finally back!"

At the airport, Wu Yuchen's manager, Karl, couldn't help but hug him.

"What's wrong, Karl? Is something the matter?" Wu Yuchen asked with a smile.

"Of course, DreamWorks wants to work with you, the Glazers are urging you, and Sony keeps asking me to push you forward..."

Wu Yuchen smiled and waved his hand: "I know, they've called me a lot to urge me. Don't worry, everything is going according to plan."

Now that he's involved in more and more projects in Hollywood, naturally more and more people are contacting him. While this might seem busy and troublesome, it also reflects how much they need him, Wu Yuchen, proving his importance.

His departure from Hollywood to return home for the Spring Festival made them realize that they needed Wu Yuchen, which is very important. By connecting everyone's interests with yours, you become increasingly important, and your power and influence will grow.

(End of this chapter)