Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 283 Smiling Mickey Mouse
Wu Yuchen smiled after hanging up the phone. Actually, if he were to offer an objective evaluation, some of his comments on "Hero" would be reasonable, such as criticizing the script as superficial and the plot as weak.

However, as a big-budget commercial production, *Hero* still deserves recognition in many aspects. In terms of visual effects alone, it surpasses many other Chinese films. Many scenes in the film, rich in classical Chinese charm and artistic conception, are not something that just anyone can film.

Even if there are some shortcomings, it's really not enough to warrant such a barrage of criticism.

Wu Yuchen had something he didn't say before: that is, you, Lao Zhangzi, don't socialize enough. If you were as good at networking as Kai Zi and had as many connections, you wouldn't be in this situation now.

Think about what happened to Kai's "The Promise"? After its release, it was initially met with nothing but praise, until an article titled "A Bloodbath Caused by a Steamed Bun" exposed the truth. If Zhang Yimou had even half of Kai's connections, "Hero" wouldn't have been criticized so harshly.

Speaking of Chen Kaizi, he tried his Hollywood journey last year, collaborating with MGM to make a suspense thriller called "Fatal Tenderness". The production cost was $30 million. It was released in North America in September and ultimately grossed only $777 million worldwide, ending in a disastrous failure.

In other words, Kevin's first foray into Hollywood was a failure, essentially ending that path. However, this event was never mentioned in China, and very few people know about it.

Chen Kaizi originally wanted to go to Hollywood to catch up with Wu Yuchen. However, his Hollywood trip failed, while Zhang Yimou's "Hero" was raking in box office revenue domestically. Although "Hero" received a lot of criticism, it didn't stop its box office from soaring, which made Kaizi anxious!
Wu Yuchen surpassed him, fine, but Zhang Yimou also wants to overthrow the Heavenly Gang?

Since the Hollywood route is blocked, and everyone loves martial arts films now, why doesn't Chen Kaizi get involved? Wu Yuchen can make them, Zhang Yimou can make them, so why can't Chen Kaizi?
However, Kai Zi doesn't intend to make a simple martial arts movie. He wants to be a cut above the rest; he wants to make a fantasy film! You guys can fly over rooftops and scale walls, but I'll just fly around. My power level is way higher than anything in "Hero" or "Brotherhood of Blades"!

However, this time he needs to plan carefully, assemble a star-studded lineup, aim for both box office success and awards, and achieve a synergy between commerce and art!
……

Wu Yuchen only made a phone call to say hello to "Hero" and Zhang Yimou; his main focus is still on winning the Oscars.

"Best Director, *Gangs of New York*, Martin Scorsese!"

At the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, Wu Yuchen watched as Martin Scorsese walked happily onto the stage to accept the award and give his acceptance speech.

This film, *Gangs of New York*, stars Leonardo DiCaprio. Martin Scorsese has been passionate about making gangster films for decades and is hailed as a master of Hollywood gangster movies. Scorsese has also received two Best Director nominations for *Raging Bull* and *Goodfellas*, making his Oscar profile no less impressive than Wu Yuchen's. In terms of experience and connections, he is undoubtedly one of Wu Yuchen's strongest rivals this time.

Although the Golden Globes are not a bellwether for the Oscars and are voted on by a group of media reporters, Wu Yuchen will not let his guard down against Martin Scorsese. He doesn't want to have made a deal with Spielberg to eliminate the threat of "The Pianist" only to end up benefiting Scorsese in the end.

Just like last year, they put in a lot of effort to get rid of Harvey Dufresne and *Chicago*, but the Best Director award still went to Ridley Scott. Martin Scorsese is certainly no less talented than Ridley Scott.

However, Wu Yuchen is not being self-deprecating. His film "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" has already won Best Foreign Language Film. Moreover, Wu Yuchen has also garnered a considerable number of awards from various critics, not inferior to Martin Scorsese. The popularity of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" and "The Hours" has fully taken off.

"Best Drama Film: The Hours!"

Immediately, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Connelly, who were standing next to Wu Yuchen, gave him a hug. Nicole Kidman also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, and "The Hours" won Best Picture, adding another achievement to her resume.

Amidst applause from the audience, Wu Yuchen calmly went on stage to accept the award.

While the Golden Globe Awards can't compare to the Oscars, they still have some influence, and since they're organized by a group of media reporters, attending to accept the award is a way of giving face to the uncrowned kings.

At the banquet following the awards ceremony, everyone was eating, drinking, and socializing. Meanwhile, someone approached Wu Yuchen with a wine glass in hand.

"Wu, congratulations! Both of your films are excellent, and the awards are well-deserved!"

Wu Yuchen clinked glasses with the visitor: "Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Stringer~"

Looking at Howard Stringer in front of him, Wu Yuchen recalled information about him. The man had served as CEO of Sony Columbia a few years prior, and had since risen through the ranks to become Vice Chairman of the entire Sony Group, as well as the head of Sony's North American operations.

Howard Stringer then changed the subject:
“Wu, I know you’re going all out for the Oscars, and I think you’ll do very well this year. But while awards are important, box office success and commercial profits are sometimes even more important. I hope you can dedicate some time and energy to Spider-Man.”

Wu Yuchen understood the other party's intentions. The first Spider-Man film grossed a staggering $8.25 million at the box office, not to mention the revenue from merchandise and various copyrights—Sony was ecstatic. Even if Marvel had to take 30%, it would still be more than Sony earned from all its other films combined in the entire past year!

Sony paid a heavy price for acquiring Columbia Pictures before gradually gaining a foothold. It wasn't until Howard Stringer took over and spearheaded reforms in 1997 that the company began to turn a profit. Spider-Man, however, was a true blockbuster for Sony, not only revitalizing Sony Columbia but also generating substantial profits—a true heirloom! So it's no wonder that Howard Stringer, the head of Sony North America, was so invested.

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "Mr. Stringer, actually I've been following the Spider-Man sequel. Are you referring to the lead actor, Tobey Maguire?"

The sequel to Spider-Man was originally scheduled to begin filming in February, but last week Tobey Maguire's agent suddenly said that he had injured his back, which disrupted the production team's plans.

Howard Stringer nodded: "Hmm, he's affecting the sequel's production right now. I don't want anything to go wrong with the sequel. Do you guys have any plans?"

“Mr. Stringer, I’m having the production team contact Jake Gyllenhaal.”

Howard Stringer frowned upon hearing this: "You want to change the male lead? That might not be a good choice for Spider-Man."

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head, saying, "No, no, neither director Raimi nor I want to change the male lead. We are very satisfied with Tobey Maguire's performance. But to be honest, we are not satisfied with his attitude and that of his agent."

Unlike Johnny Depp's role in *Pirates of the Caribbean*, *Spider-Man* is an IP film, not an original work. Therefore, Tobey Maguire signed a three-part contract when he joined the *Spider-Man* project. Of course, his salary wasn't fixed for each film; it increased significantly with each installment. For example, his salary for the first film was $400 million, while for the second film it rose to between $1000 million and $1500 million.

$1500 million is already a top-tier Hollywood salary, but unfortunately, the first Spider-Man movie did so well at the box office that it made so much money that everyone would be envious.

Therefore, Tobey Maguire wanted to renegotiate with the producers, demanding $2500 million or 10% of the North American box office. Sony and Wu Yuchen certainly wouldn't agree to that; otherwise, wouldn't the original contract have been signed for nothing?

With the contract in place, Tobey Maguire naturally couldn't reason with them. So he resorted to faking a back injury to go on strike before filming began. Frankly, this kind of tactic is very annoying, especially disrupting the crew's plans so close to shooting.

"Actually, saying he had a back injury was just an excuse; their ultimate goal was still to raise his salary. But we can't let them succeed this way; we must show our tough stance. If we compromise and they think we're weak and easy to bully, they'll definitely demand even more in the third installment."

Mr. Stringer, what we're really testing now is patience. We hold the contract, we hold the initiative. My current strategy is to publicly invite other suitable actors to replace him.

Don't worry, Tobey Maguire is nothing without Spider-Man. He and his agent know this, and they'll obediently return to the set.

After listening to Wu Yuchen's words, Howard Stringer nodded in satisfaction and smiled, saying, "Good, Wu, I believe you can handle this well. The Spider-Man sequel will continue to achieve dazzling success!"

"Of course!" the two said, clinking their glasses together again.

Howard Stringer seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "Oh, right, Wu, there's something I think I need to tell you."

"Oh? What?" Wu Yuchen asked.

“I previously received a call from a director at Sony in Japan. He wanted me to use the power of Sony North America to smear your ‘Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ and hinder your Oscar bid.”

After listening, Wu Yuchen narrowed his eyes, but since the other party spoke so frankly, he probably didn't have any ill intentions towards him.

Sure enough, Howard smiled and continued, "Don't worry, Wu, I've already rejected him. You are our closest partner at Sony Columbia, and we won't do anything to damage our friendly relationship."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen immediately expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Mr. Stringer!"

"No problem. Just let me know if you need anything~" Howard said, feeling that he had achieved his goal for the day, and left with a smile.

Watching Howard's retreating figure, Wu Yuchen took a sip of red wine. His strategy of cultivating good relationships in Hollywood over the past two years had indeed paid off. If it weren't for the shared interests with Sony in "Spider-Man," "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" might have faced significantly more obstacles.

In fact, Sony, as a representative multinational conglomerate of Japan, has transcended the boundaries of left and right. Or rather, even if there are left and right voices on its board of directors, the nature of Sony as a large corporation dictates that its highest priority is profit.

Japan's biggest influence in Hollywood is Sony, and now that even Sony is on Wu Yuchen's side, it's destined that they won't be able to make any big waves.

Wu Yuchen hasn't been wasting his time these past few years!

With that thought in mind, Wu Yuchen felt relieved. The Golden Globe Awards are quite prestigious, and with "The Hours" winning Best Picture and Best Actress, Wu Yuchen naturally celebrated with the two leading ladies for a good night.

The very next day, someone else that Wu Yuchen never expected came to his door: Robert Iger, the newly appointed CEO of Disney.

Seeing Robert Iger's smiling face, Wu Yuchen was reminded of one of his nicknames from his past life: the smiling Mickey Mouse.

Perhaps because Eisner was a tyrant before, the new leader Disney chose this time is a president who always has a kind smile and makes people feel like he is a good-natured person.

However, it would be a mistake to think Robert Iger is a weak and easily bullied man; he is quite capable. In his previous life, Disney reached its peak under Robert Iger's leadership, first acquiring Pixar, then Marvel, and finally even Fox, making Disney a behemoth with a market value of hundreds of billions of dollars, and the undisputed kingpin of Hollywood.

Upon seeing Wu Yuchen, Robert Iger immediately stood up to greet him and extended his hand, saying, "Wu, it's a pleasure to meet you! Congratulations on your great success at yesterday's Golden Globe Awards!"

However, Wu Yuchen did not shake hands with him, but simply nodded and replied indifferently, "Thank you."

Then he asked directly, "Mr. Iger, what brings you here today? I don't think my relationship with Disney is good enough for you to personally come to congratulate me."

Despite being treated with disrespect by Wu Yuchen, Disney CEO Robert Iger showed no displeasure and maintained his friendly smile: "Just call me Robert. Wu, I'm here today for only one thing, and that is to make friends with you!"

Wu Yuchen paused for a moment upon hearing this, then looked at Robert Iger. His feud with Disney was common knowledge throughout Hollywood, having been out in the open since the clash between *Pirates of the Caribbean* and *Pearl Harbor*. Moreover, he was personally involved in ousting former Disney president Michael Eisner!
Now Robert Iger, the new CEO of Disney, is coming to him to befriend him?

Thinking of this, Wu Yuchen smiled and joked, "Robert, if you're thanking me for ousting Eisner, that's unnecessary. I was just having fun!"

Robert immediately responded with a smile, "Oh, it seems we have another reason to be friends! I really have to thank you, otherwise I might not be sitting in this position now!"

Wu Yuchen thought to himself that this guy in front of him was indeed interesting and not simple. For a Disney CEO to keep such a humble attitude and still make someone like him, who had always disliked Disney, want to continue talking to him, he truly deserved to be called "Smiling Mickey Mouse"!
(End of this chapter)