After all of them were reborn, who would still be an actor?

Chapter 725 The Grip of Power 3
When Chen Wenbo learned of Li Mingyang's multi-billion dollar bet with Wall Street.

Before long, news about the mega-betting scheme spread like wildfire in the Chinese entertainment industry and quickly reached major business and political circles.

How did Li Mingyang win the Palme d'Or?

Most people guessed correctly; it was obtained by exchanging FBTV.

However, to everyone's astonishment, FBTV was valued at tens of billions of dollars!

This valuation far exceeds that of iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video.

Youku Tudou, the only mainland Chinese streaming platform listed on the US stock market, has a market capitalization of less than 200 billion yuan.

But FBTV is valued at tens of billions of dollars!

In a sense, FBTV's valuation of tens of billions of dollars is not a true valuation.

It should be market capitalization.

Because Wall Street paid in real money in advance to help Li Mingyang win the Palme d'Or!

In the tens of billions of US dollars... the combined market value of the four major mainland film and television companies, Enlight Media, Huayi Brothers, Bona Film Group, and Huace Media, is not even as high as that of FBTV!
An astonishing market capitalization.

FBTV's market value far exceeded the estimates of many industry leaders.

Zhang Yimou's loss was not unjust... Even if the higher-ups provided the money, Li Mingyang gave far more than Zhang Yimou!

Moreover, in order to win the Palme d'Or, Li Mingyang signed a super-binding contract with maximum binding force!
If he loses, Li Mingyang's situation will be more than just bankruptcy.

Even if he sold all his assets, it wouldn't be enough to fill that five billion dollar hole!
If FBTV is considered a private enterprise in mainland China, its brand value is second only to Baidu, Tencent, and Ping An.

It's even more expensive than Taobao!
The more valuable FBTV is, the greater the control it has over Li Mingyang!

Like a giant tight band, it firmly locked Li Mingyang in place!

"It was definitely done on purpose!"

Li Mingyang hung up the phone and put it on the table. Before he could even catch his breath, another phone rang.

Lei Jun's phone call.

I can't refuse.

"Hey, Mr. Lei, what brings you here?"

"Director Li, have you been busy lately? Let's all grab a meal together!"

"Busy! Busy answering the phone!" Li Mingyang said, as his phone on the table vibrated again.

"Wow! Director Li, you've made a late but impressive debut, creating such a huge buzz in the streaming media field. It's normal that you're getting a lot of offers... What did you all talk about?"

"What else can we talk about? They asked me if I wanted to invest."

"Director Li, I'm almost at your company building. Let's have lunch together. I brought a few bottles of good wine."

"Judging from what you're saying, you definitely haven't arrived at Mingyang Tower yet. There are a lot of people downstairs. If you're really not going to eat, let's make another appointment after things calm down. Just say what you want to say; we're not strangers."

"Well, okay..." Lei Jun leaned between the driver's and passenger's seats and looked ahead. The road was full of parked cars on both sides. He glanced at them quickly and saw several familiar faces.

What a perfect match between the Palme d'Or-winning director and Asia's FBTV!
Lei Jun wants to invest!

He also has a nascent plan: mobile streaming is the future trend.

Xiaomi represents mobile devices, while FBTV represents Asian streaming media!

Xiaomi phones are perfectly matched with the advertising effect of FBTV for overseas expansion!

Lei Jun and Li Mingyang exchanged a few jokes and then hung up the phone.

Some things should be said face to face.

It's hard to explain over the phone.

Most importantly, communication was via mobile phone, which prevented him from observing Li Mingyang's reactions.

Seeing that the traffic ahead was getting worse, Lei Jun patted the driver on the shoulder and told him to turn around and go to the Dongyang World Trade Center Hotel.

On the way to the hotel, Lei Jun kept thinking about how to meet with Li Mingyang.

The sooner the better!

He was very worried that those major internet companies would get there first.

For major internet companies, FBTV is positioned in Asia.

It's more than one level above iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video, which are positioned at the top of the rankings.

Whoever can capture FBTV's traffic will see their brand value skyrocket, making storytelling and marketing twice as effective with half the effort.

For any large company to develop to a certain stage, taking one step at a time is already quite remarkable.

But FBTV is an elevator!

By the time FBTV dominates Asia, it will be too late.

With new media revenue reaching 10 billion US dollars, Wall Street has offered an astronomical bet, using Netflix as a reference.

However, they overlooked the value of individual heroism on the land of Tokyo University.

They're so rare...

Lei Jun arrived at the hotel and encountered people from Alibaba in the lobby. He took the initiative to go up and greet them.

His smile was humble, without any malice...

But this didn't prevent Alima from wanting to beat him up...

Although Ali Ma works in the internet industry, his core circle consists of traditional old money!

Lei chatted and laughed with the group for a while, and they invited him to lunch. Since he also wanted to learn some information from Alibaba, he agreed.

Upon entering the restaurant's private room, Mr. Lei saw a group of men and women sitting around it.

I don't know any of them.

After everyone was seated, each person was served by a beautiful woman or a handsome man. Lei Jun, following local customs, simply went along with the act.

Listening to the laughter and chatter of the crowd, he realized that these men and women were all celebrities, just not very famous.

Attending a single dinner party can cost tens of thousands of yuan.

Lei Jun had seen this kind of thing many times before; it was business, after all.

There are several companies right next to Xiaomi's headquarters, and some of their employees are VIPs.

However, celebrities are quite rare; they are usually models or dance students.

Lei Jun doesn't know much about the entertainment industry, but he does watch it.

After watching for a while, he found that both the female and male celebrities were more refined and elegant than Shang K, and it was more like making friends with them, without the strong sense of vulgarity.

"Mr. Lei, I heard that your endorsement deal with Xiaomi phones is about to expire. Are you planning to replace me? Would you consider me?"

Lei Jun looked at the female celebrity next to him; he still didn't know her name.

"Sorry! We're not considering replacing anyone at the moment."

As Lei Jun spoke, he raised his glass and stood up. "Hey, Lao Cao, Xiao Chen, I have some things to take care of. I'll toast everyone, let's get together again sometime." Lei Jun raised his glass and smiled as he toasted everyone.

"okay."

"Then you get busy first."

"Mr. Lei, I'll do it!"

Lei Jun chuckled as he finished his last drink, bowed, waved, and left the private room. As soon as he stepped out, he took out his phone and dialed Liu Shishi's number.

Having been out of the entertainment industry for so long, he almost forgot that the spokesperson for his Xiaomi phones was Li Mingyang's god-sister.

……

Hengdian Mingyang Entertainment.

Yanzi and Xu Zheng finally followed Wang Changtian into Mingyang Entertainment and got on the elevator.

The two directors are not what they used to be. One is the female stock market guru in the Chinese entertainment industry and the first female director in the Chinese entertainment industry. Their film "So Young" with a box office of 9.32 million yuan directly topped the list of second place for the year!
He outshone a host of male directors from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Xu Dahua has simply disappeared... It's said she went on vacation to the United States...

Xu Zheng is the most promising new director in mainland China to have achieved a box office of 2 billion yuan.

The limelight lasts forever!
The two were overjoyed... overwhelmed by applause and flowers, completely oblivious to everyone else.

However, this joy faded after Li Mingyang won the Palme d'Or, when everyone around him was talking about him and completely forgot about them.

Just like Cao Dan!

The swallow was the angriest and most infuriated; she had just taken flight! She was so proud of herself!

Jack Ma even said he would throw him a celebration banquet at Alibaba headquarters.

Li Mingyang won the Palme d'Or, and Jack Ma completely forgot about her.

She kindly reminded him about the celebration banquet.

Jack Ma said that the Chang'an Club was fine, but the Alibaba headquarters was not suitable.

No sooner had he said that than he turned to ask the others when Li Mingyang would return to China…

blatant discrimination...

Jack Ma only has eyes for the best...

Arriving on the ninth floor, walking down the long corridor, behind the glass partition was a huge office area. Looking through the glass, all I could see were busy people, and the floor and desks were covered with documents.

"Yanzi, what's this all about? Scriptwriting?"

"You don't even know this?" Yanzi said sarcastically.

If I already knew, would I still be asking you?
Xu Zheng felt disrespected and cursed inwardly, but smiled and said, "You're not as well-informed as me..."

"Mr. Wang, what are you busy with?" Yanzi didn't know either, but she knew who to ask.

"Finance Department, Bouquet Entertainment."

Xu Zheng and Yanzi were surprised. This finance department was so big, with so many people. All the companies they owned had more employees than the finance department of Bouquet.

Suddenly, a vague idea of ​​how much entertainment the bouquet could provide formed in their minds.

That was an immense size they couldn't comprehend...

The group arrived at Li Mingyang's office.

Besides Li Mingyang, there are also Fan Binbin and Huang Xiaoming.

And... it seems that an agreement has already been reached.

Upon seeing them arrive, Huang Xiaoming was the first to stand up, shake hands with Li Mingyang, and say goodbye. "Binbin, why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Yanzi affectionately linked arms with Fan Binbin, speaking sarcastically.

"I forgot." Fan Binbin said lightly, casually shaking off Yanzi's hand, and left with his head held high.

You little slut.

Yanzi thought to herself, but then turned around and smiled broadly, running towards Li Mingyang in a coquettish manner. "Director Li, every time you come back, you don't look for me. Have you forgotten about me?"

"I'm really busy. Didn't we meet today? Come on, you two new box office kings."

Xu Zheng quickly waved his hand, intending to say a few words of modesty, but then he realized he was the king of the mainland box office! So he couldn't be modest anymore and sat down with a smile.

"Director Li, what were you talking about just now? Xiaoming and Binbin seem to be having a lot of fun."

"It's just a betting agreement."

A performance-based agreement.

Li Mingyang himself is locked into a super betting agreement on Wall Street, and recently he has been casting a wide net to engage in betting agreements.

Yanzi and Xu Zheng had both seen those betting agreements.

The gamble wasn't huge, but the pay was really low...

Yanzi had no desire to gamble with Li Mingyang unless there were additional benefits.

"What brings you all here in such a hurry?" Li Mingyang asked, tearing open the plastic packaging of the mineral water bottles and handing them to the three of them.

Yanzi took the 2-yuan Wahaha mineral water, placed it on her lap, and said with a smile, "Jack Ma knows about your bet with Wall Street and wants to help you out."

"unnecessary."

"His attitude is extremely firm!" Yanzi thought to herself, "He's going to be difficult," but she still smiled and told Jack Ma the truth about his trump card.

Jack Ma is willing to help Li Mingyang complete FBTV's Asian streaming plan.

They were even willing to transfer Wall Street's bets onto themselves.

The price was the merger of FBTV and Alibaba Entertainment.

Li Mingyang can unlock the platform without spending a single penny, and he can also become a major shareholder of Alibaba's FBTV.

Wang Changtian wasn't sure if Li Mingyang had listened, but he certainly had, and he was more than willing to agree immediately!
If we're talking about the entire University of Tokyo, who has a 100% guarantee of completing FBTV's Asian streaming plan? It's none other than Alibaba.

SoftBank, Japan's sixth conglomerate, is Alibaba's largest shareholder, holding a 34.4% stake!

If SoftBank is willing to put in the effort, FBTV could conquer the Japanese market with ease.

Once FBTV captures the Japanese market, its Asian streaming plan will be complete. With the three major markets of China, Japan, and South Korea, it can easily generate tens of billions of US dollars in revenue over two years.

"Mr. Ma is very generous! He can accept this price..." Wang Changtian said excitedly.

"Mr. Wang, you think it's good too, right? Isn't the point of living to gain fame and fortune? Why make things difficult for yourself? Don't you think so?"

“Yes, this deal is a win-win situation, and we don’t have to worry about Jack Ma going back on his word. We’re all from Dongda University, and we all make a living in this market.” Wang Changtian looked at Li Mingyang, implying that once he agreed, Jack Ma wouldn’t be able to back out.

"It is indeed very good... but I don't accept it."

Li Mingyang's casual words left Wang Changtian and Yanzi speechless.

I disagree with all of that.

You want to fly to the heavens?!
Li Mingyang looked at Xu Zheng, "What do you want to say?"

Xu Zheng snapped out of his daze, touched his bald head, and said awkwardly, "What Yanzi and I said was the same thing. We both really hope that Director Li will join the Alibaba Pictures family."

"Oh, how do I join? Through a film contract?"

"Yes……"

Li Mingyang even refused the generous gift that Jack Ma offered him, so Xu Zheng never expected that Li Mingyang would agree.

However, to the surprise of all three, Li Mingyang actually agreed.

We also need to look at the contract.

Xu Zheng was deceived, and Yanzi was even more deceived!
More than half an hour later.

Xu Zheng looked at the freshly printed, still-hot contract and almost doubted whether there was something wrong with his eyes.

Li Mingyang refused the generous offer offered to him and instead signed a film contract with Alibaba Pictures.

That's like throwing away the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed!
"Yanzi, what do you think Director Li means by this?" Xu Zheng asked, pointing to the contract as he got into Yanzi's Mercedes-Benz van.

Yanzi leaned back against the seat, crossed her legs, hugged herself, and closed her eyes tightly, as if she was troubled by something.

"Don't speak, I'm thinking."

"What are you thinking? Just ask Jack Ma. Driver, drive back to the hotel."

The driver, Yanzi's brother, glanced back at his sister.

Yanzi didn't even open her eyes, just waved her hand, signaling her brother to drive.

Halfway there, Yanzi opened her eyes, silencing the incessantly chattering and anxious Xu Zheng.

"Stop making wild guesses... Director Li wants to complete his bet with Wall Street himself."

"Are you crazy?! You're forcing yourself to suffer when you can't!"

"Director Li's nickname is Li Monkey, which means he's the kind of person who'll endure hardship without effort. He's confident he can fulfill the bet."

"That's hard to say... FBTV is too important, a lot of people are watching it. If they don't understand the benefits, they might cut their own stake."

"That's how it is. Believe it or not, it's up to you!"

Xu Zheng did not believe Yanzi's words.

He felt that Li Mingyang must have some kind of conspiracy, or that he was using Alibaba's offer to negotiate with them, or to negotiate with Wall Street.

He's very familiar with this!
Back at the Junlan Hotel.

Yanzi went to find Jack Ma, and Xu Zheng went to find Dong Ping to report the situation.

The two groups can be said to be in cahoots, or they can be said to be not in cahoots.

They're at least on the same side for now...

The relationship is a bit complicated; Dong Ping never intended to wholeheartedly follow Jack Ma.

He wanted to use his connections to lay the foundation for Alibaba's entertainment division.

After it was all over, he realized very well that Alima wouldn't keep him around.

The Eighteen Arhats were his true confidants.

After listening to Xu Zheng's description, Dong Ping looked at the contract in his hand and was completely baffled!

I'm so annoyed I can't even sit still.

He was muttering to himself, pondering Li Mingyang's ideas.

Xu Zheng found it incredibly tiresome. Dong Ping's line of thinking was similar to his own—unreasonable, completely unreasonable, and definitely involved in a conspiracy.

Wall Street's betting agreements are like the tight headband that Sun Wukong used to restrain him!
I would never believe Li Mingyang is really willing to wear it!

He's a Cannes Film Festival favorite, a Palme d'Or winner and a director. Even if he's just coasting, he'll still be living a life of luxury and privilege.

The higher-ups would rush to give him benefits.

Just like Zhang Yimou, making promotional videos for the Ministry of Railways, government stage plays, sending Koreans to award ceremonies... these are all ways to make money and gain prestige.

"Brother Dong, stop nagging, it's giving me a headache. Where's Ning Hao? Why hasn't he come yet?"

"I arrived a while ago and I'm upstairs drinking."

"Why drink alcohol in broad daylight? It's all about brothels!" Xu Zheng said with a grin, as he loved brothels the most.

"The 'No Man's Land' project has already been approved. He wanted to change his application to compete with the ladies, but the bandit leader Zuo Shandiao rejected it, and he's feeling quite down right now."

Filming for "No Man's Land" started in 2009, almost four years ago, and Xu Zheng, the lead actor, has almost forgotten about the movie...

"Ning Hao is just not convinced!"

"Of course I'm not convinced if I haven't fought it. Besides, 'Miss' isn't a commercial film, so it won't do well at the box office. In 'No Man's Land,' there's a chance to fight, and the odds of winning are very high."

"Winning doesn't count."

"Winning is all that matters. LeEco is also waiting for Miss's release date to be set so she can compete with Miss on 'Coming Home'."

"I've heard about this. They're seizing the opportunity to compete with Li Mingyang! If they want to win so badly, why don't they take advantage of the next opportunity to fight?"

Dong Ping smiled and pointed at Xu Zheng.

When "Lost in Thailand" is released again, I'll be a blood bag for Xu Zheng's film!
Several movies were delayed or canceled... There was absolutely no intention to target Li Mingyang.

"You're just being hypocritical after getting a good deal. Goodbye Summer is already showing in Korea. It's an unfair victory. Big directors still have some sense of shame. They can't be completely shameless."

Dong Ping's words were a farewell, but they were actually a direct message to Xu Zheng: don't be so shameless...

Xu Zheng didn't seem to care and said with a grin, "Did you pass the review, Miss?"

"It's over, it's been over for a long time. Because it was supposed to be released simultaneously in China and South Korea, the two sides are now in a mess regarding the timing."

"What's the point of arguing about this? The box office won't be very high anyway."

"It won't be too high here, but it's definitely high over there! They have the uncut version over there!"

"Um... Miss, that sex scene was filmed so artistically, so vulgarly, so beautifully!" Xu Zheng realized, "Is it going to be released in Korea this summer?"

"Well, the light company wants to wait until after the summer, but I don't know who will ultimately compromise."

"We should probably hear Li Mingyang's opinion on this matter..."

"He doesn't care, he leaves it to fate... As you can see, after he won the Palme d'Or, he was busy with his flower bouquet entertainment."

Xu Zheng touched his bald head and suddenly remembered Yanzi's words, "Do you think Li Mingyang might want to complete the bet on his own?"

Dong Ping shook his head, feeling that it was unreasonable, very unreasonable.

Sun Wukong was tricked into wearing the golden headband; Li Mingyang, however, had no desire to wear that thing...

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that Sun Wukong understood the principle that one's fists cannot defeat a powerful force, so he deliberately wore the golden headband, joined the pilgrimage team, and embarked on an official career.

Li Mingyang seems to be heading down this path, but Journey to the West is just Journey to the West; Li Mingyang cannot pursue a career in officialdom.

He's much more powerful than Sun Wukong.

A 24-year-old Palme d'Or winner director, backed by Hollywood and Wall Street, could easily crash a stock market!
After smashing everything, he went to South Korea, then to Hollywood... what can anyone do to him?
If Li Mingyang pursues a political career, his days won't be easy... Frustrating, extremely frustrating!

This is also why he didn't pursue a career in politics.

"I really can't figure it out... What exactly is Li Mingyang trying to do..." Dong Ping shook his head and sighed. He couldn't understand it. Ever since Li Mingyang won the Palme d'Or, apart from returning to the Beijing Film Academy, he couldn't understand any of his moves...

(End of this chapter)