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

Chapter 781: Strike first to gain the upper hand

"Director Li! The box office for 'The Left Ear' is quite interesting; it looks like it'll be the same as yesterday," Wang Changtian said to Li Mingyang on the other side of the conference table after hanging up the phone.

Li Mingyang stood in front of the conference table, his hands supporting him as he looked down at the debt list that covered half of the table.

"How many tens of thousands?"

"It's broken ten million."

"These results... how should I put it? Didn't Guo Fan say he was going to create a scandal? Didn't it work?" Li Mingyang asked, looking up.

Becoming a big star depends on fate!

Chen Duling wasn't destined for great fame, but Yang Yang was!
A trending movie paired with a popular young actor, and they're also creating a romantic pairing.

That doesn't make sense; the box office is only so low.

"It seems like they haven't even started stirring up rumors yet... Is Guo Fan planning to start stirring up rumors again on Friday?" Wang Changtian pondered.

"Maybe so, after all, creating a scandal is the last card he has left..."

After Li Mingyang finished speaking, he asked Wang Changtian how much money he had spent.

Wang Changtian said he hadn't even spent half of it.

"Given their current wait-and-see attitude, if they can't spend the money now, it will be even harder to buy it later," Li Mingyang sighed.

"Why not try a different approach and bet on Huace? Huace's stock price is not high, and its market value is also low."

"Huace doesn't have any movies! TV dramas are unlikely to boost the stock price!"

"We can bring Huace into our film slate and have them become the producer."

“I’ve thought about it… but it won’t work. Boss Zhao is too shrewd. It’s best not to let her in.”

Li Mingyang and Wang Changtian started plotting again. The market was in a wait-and-see state, and it was difficult to spend money.

The two had been planning for a long time, and there were only two paths they could take.

One option is to find a film and television stock with a suitable market value to use as a shell company and then drive up its price.

But this path is easy to be taken advantage of, making you a sucker who ends up being taken advantage of, and the risk is extremely high!
Another option is to continue buying from people in the industry, using any means necessary, including coercion and bribery, and no longer limiting ourselves to actors; directors and producers are also welcome!

The two of them set their sights on Chen Kaizi!
Chen Kaizi holds a large number of shares in film and television companies, some of which are publicly listed and some are not.

This actually has little to do with him; it's mainly because his wife is shrewd and loves to shop, while he acts like a superior person in the background.

This couple's combination and approach cater to the tastes of China's nouveau riche, and their wealth accumulation is extremely rapid.

Of course, the funding gap is also very large.

Just as Li Mingyang and Wang Changtian finished their discussion, there was a knock on the door.

"Director Li, Chang Tian, ​​General Manager Gong has arrived," Aunt Du said.

Li Mingyang walked to the door, opened it, and upon seeing Gong Yu, couldn't help but complain, "Why are you only coming back now? If you hadn't come back, I would have thought you were dead!"

Gong Yu said awkwardly, "How was I supposed to know those people were so difficult! They even tried to raise the price on the spot! They doubled the price!"

"How much is one time?"

"Add ten thousand US dollars to the price of each show."

Last year, iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video all launched in South Korea, but were targeted and manipulated by local TV stations, with Lee Myung-yang, the mastermind behind it all, also involved.

iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video suffered heavy losses in South Korea, but the three companies did not stop cooperating with South Korea.

Then something funny happened: everyone signed contracts like it was a game, and they all resorted to the tactic of demanding exorbitant prices.

iQiyi originally had the most extensive layout and signed the most drama purchase contracts.

In the end, Youku intervened and snatched it away!
Currently, Youku has partnered with all four major South Korean drama streaming platforms: SBS, MBC, KBS, and CJ. Among them, the partnerships with SBS and CJ are long-term exclusive strategic partnerships.

This isn't just about a TV series or how much money it costs to sell!

Instead, they are betting on the convergence of Chinese and Korean entertainment, aiming to deepen and introduce Korean entertainment industry chains!
iQiyi, which was originally far ahead, was suddenly stunned!
Then Li Mingyang asked him to buy the SBS Korean drama "My Love from the Star"!
Koreans have no credibility.

Exclusive strategic partnerships? As long as the price is high enough, high enough that no one else will follow suit, you can still buy the show!
Gong Yu bought the rights to "My Love from the Star" for $2 per episode, which is considered very cheap.

It's half the price of Kim Ji-won and The Heirs.

Youku spent $40,000 per episode to buy the rights to The Heirs.

“Those Koreans are really untrustworthy, greedy, and obsessed with money,” Gong Yu said as he handed out cigars to the two men.

Li Mingyang chuckled as he toyed with the cigar in his hand, "The policy guidance of the Sino-Korean alliance is simply unbeatable. From my perspective, no matter how bad the Koreans are, their cost-effectiveness is still unbeatable."

"I'm absolutely disgusted, especially Yoo Soo-man from SM and the head of SBS. These two are the most shameless people I've ever met, always pushing the boundaries of human decency."

"Haha, compared to them, I'm such a good person!"

Gong Yu smiled but did not refute Li Mingyang's words.

Li Mingyang may be a swindler, but he keeps his word and can indeed help people make money.

Just lower your expectations.

"People need to compare things to know which is better... I was really ripped off by those two guys, but I can't help but laugh when I think about the losses Tencent suffered in South Korea. They got carried away with resource integration, refusing to cooperate with the three major TV stations or movie giants like CJ and Lotte, and instead went to acquire small companies and studios. In the end, they got ripped off big time, losing a billion dollars."

"A billion? How could they lose so much?"

"I heard it from someone, the numbers are very reliable. Sun Zhonghuai is now terrified of Han, it's hilarious," Gong Yu said with a sly smile.

There was one thing that surprised Li Mingyang.

It was his "borrowing arrows with straw boats" scheme that amassed hundreds of billions of Korean won. Although some unexpected events occurred, Lee Mi-geum helped him recover the money.

What's amazing is that this whole thing seems to have been completely covered up by an invisible shield, and the five major streaming media companies—iQiyi, Youku, Tencent Video, Sohu, and LeTV—remained completely unaware that he had tricked them into something huge.

A large portion of the funding that propelled FBTV to its current prominence came from the five major domestic streaming media outlets.

Without their contributions, FBTV would have run into financial problems long ago.

FBTV had no external debt; all the initial funding came from him. Later, he got started thanks to his connection with CJ, but he still didn't have enough money.

Cai Lahua Ce entered the game.

Koreans are truly united in betraying their own people! This fact that he betrays his own people is no secret among high-ranking members of the Korean entertainment industry; a bunch of them are even covering for him…

Thinking of this, Li Mingyang felt an overwhelming longing for the Koreans!

The best decision he ever made was to go to South Korea to develop his career!
They achieved an unprecedented feat: with 20 million viewers for the film "Seoul Spring" on one hand and the Palme d'Or for Best Picture for "Miss" on the other, the two films directly made them a new chaebol.

He knows firsthand how great it is for chaebols in South Korea.

pity……

The future of K-pop is an unprecedented, catastrophic pitfall!
Without the constraints of Korean entertainment, the Chinese entertainment industry had no competitors and simply collapsed.

The ban on Korean entertainment in 2016, the reign of traffic king in 2017, and 2018 marked the craziest year in the history of the Chinese entertainment industry.

In 2018, Youku's copyright budget was 300 billion RMB, Tencent Video's was 250 billion RMB, iQiyi's was 100 billion RMB, and even LeTV, which suffered a huge loss of 139 billion RMB in 2017, still spent more than 20 billion RMB to buy copyrights in 2018.

When making this budget, Youku and Tencent prepared for a loss of 80 billion yuan, while iQiyi, due to various reasons for seeking an IPO, prepared for a loss of 30 billion yuan, which was less than that of Youku and Tencent.

The most fundamental difference between iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video is the difference in their leaders!

Under Gong Yu's leadership, iQiyi has consistently outperformed Youku and Tencent despite investing far less than them...

Of course, both Little Ma and Old Ma had their own thoughts; they wanted to change the leadership more than once...

But... who else can we replace?

Old Gu's financial practices were substandard.

Alibaba uses a partnership rotation system, so the president of Youku doesn't have much power and is constrained by Alibaba Entertainment Group.

Later, the rotating president of Alibaba's Digital Media and Entertainment Group usually also served as the president of Youku.

Old Gu's decision to retire gracefully can be considered a peaceful end.

Another veteran of Youku, Yang Weidong, is truly in a terrible situation.

The relationship between Alibaba Digital Media & Entertainment Group and Youku is very complex!
It's internal strife!
It is also the place where internal strife leads to the most tragic consequences!

"Assisting police investigation due to financial issues"

This is how Mr. Yang, the second president of Youku, bid farewell to Youku after two years at the helm.

For Mr. Yang, who has remained steadfast despite multiple personnel changes at Youku, this "uncool" way of bowing out is perhaps something no one expected.

After all, in previous personnel adjustments at Youku, he always seemed to have just missed the wave.

The internal strife at Youku has been going on for a while now.

In 2017, after experiencing several personnel and business upheavals, Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group finally announced internally that it had "completed the first phase of integration." At the end of the year, Yu Yongfu, the "class leader," resigned, and Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group began to implement a rotating president system based on the class committee. Yang, the first rotating president, succeeded Yu Yongfu.

Just before Yu Yongfu resigned, he worked hard to pave the way and support General Manager Yang, whom he admired, proposing that "under the umbrella of a large entertainment company, the new Youku has been successfully integrated," and publicly stated that he would invest in Youku without setting an upper limit.

The final result was a seven-year prison sentence...

Compared to the escalating internal strife at Youku.

Tencent Video is relatively peaceful; Sun Zhonghuai's qualifications far surpass those of many others!
But he's also not suited to lead a streaming media company; all he does is plagiarize.

In a sense, it's a battle for supremacy between iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video.

iQiyi is that Wei, with the largest market share, constantly innovating and updating its products, very much like the internet.

Youku is run by Wu, and internal strife has never stopped.

Penguin Video is like the Shu Kingdom, which was relatively peaceful, and then it kept launching Northern Expeditions, constantly copying others!

That's quite a vivid description...

iQiyi, on the other hand, managed to shake off its second-place position, overtake others on a curve, and then leave everyone else in the dust.

It all comes down to you, from the stars!
Surpassing someone isn't something you can just do on a whim.

Viewers may not be aware that data can be fabricated, but advertisers are well aware of it!
Since Gong Yu, who was halfway to the Dragon Peak, had surrendered, there was no reason for him not to accept him.

Next, he needs Gong Yu's help... and only Gong Yu is willing to give him full support in streaming media. The big players behind iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video are BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent)!

Compared to the direct involvement of Jack Ma and Pony Ma, Jack Ma went even further, getting himself involved, while Li Keqiang of Baidu was not very interested in streaming media.

This resulted in Gong Yu wielding exceptionally great power.

This is actually quite unusual; even Jack Ma and Pony Ma wouldn't dare to be so lenient. Of course, Li Keqiang and Gong Yu have also achieved mutual success!
Inside the office, the three of them were smoking, and before long, the room became a paradise on earth.

Li Mingyang puffed on his cigar, watching Wang Changtian and Gong Yu each express their own opinions, each more ruthless and cunning than the other.

One is the future king of mainland Chinese cinema, and the other is the future king of mainland Chinese streaming media!
In a way, he's been imitating both of them...

Many of his ideas came from the two of them. They explored and experimented, creating a new era for Dongda Film and Television in their respective fields.

The two of them were really like they had cheat codes.

He was confident in entrusting the operation of the Lunar New Year film season to either of the two of them.

However, the 10 billion yuan Lunar New Year film season was affected by the absence of the Spring Festival season.

Throughout December, he was the only one performing.

It's incomplete, with only the golden month of January next year to grab box office revenue!
Can it rake in at least 8 billion in total box office revenue in a month?
Focusing solely on the domestic market is a recipe for disaster!

Li Mingyang couldn't understand what Jack Ma was thinking, that he actually dared to dream of raking in at least 8 billion yuan in total box office revenue within a month.
That's pure nonsense!
However, what Li Mingyang found even more absurd was that... Wang Changtian and Gong Yu also thought so.

The box office of 10 billion yuan during the Lunar New Year holiday is very stable.

Because in their minds, the domestic box office market has the potential to generate over 10 billion yuan in box office revenue in a single month.

Listening to these two chatting, I really feel that the domestic film market has risen, it's awesome!

You can take billions or even two billion with your eyes closed.

Then I looked it up on Baidu and found that in the past three years, Hollywood films have grossed the most money in the Chinese mainland market, while domestic films have relied on sheer volume.

Nearly fifty films have grossed over 100 million yuan in the past 12 years.

As of now, fewer than twenty films have grossed over 100 million yuan in 2013.

This is all a result of Hollywood movies.

Despite the phenomenal success of Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons this year and its phenomenal box office performance during the summer season, the number of films that grossed over 100 million yuan this year is actually less than half that of last year!

"Can you guys stop bragging? The overall box office performance of domestic films this year is much worse than last year..." Li Mingyang couldn't stand it anymore and said.

"We are all being realistic. You can't just look at box office data; you have to look at industry data," Gong Yu said.

"They're too incompetent; they just can't reap the benefits of the booming film industry. Do you know how Zuo Shandiao (a famous bandit leader) guaranteed the higher-ups? He couldn't even bring himself to say 2 billion; he kept talking about over 3 billion in box office revenue."

"Two billion yuan in box office revenue for the Three-Body Problem series is indeed too little; three billion yuan would be more appropriate."

"What do you mean 'a series'? He meant 'one,' a trilogy worth billions!"

"He's such a braggart..."

"How can we delay retirement without boasting... And he's not entirely boasting. Let me give you some data: in 2006, there were 3000 screens nationwide; in 2011, less than 10,000; in 2012, 13000; in 2013, about 18000; next year's target is 24000; in 2015, 30,000; and in 2016, 40,000. Don't think I'm bragging; this is the general policy set by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Cinemas are linked to real estate; if real estate developers don't develop cinemas, that's blasphemy!"

"No wonder all those cinema chains are going on a land grabbing spree."

"This is the same as planting a flag for cultural tourism. If you don't come down from the mountain, we can open cinemas all over the country."

Culture and tourism are part of a grand strategy, and they have the highest priority!

Cultural tourism is either successful or not, but it has no aftereffects and is entirely beneficial!
Truly beneficial to the country and its people!
Opening cinemas nationwide? Good job, they're practically swallowing up the entire cinema chain!
Being a movie theater chain is not a good business. The scale is small, the pressure is high, and you are often called into meetings.

Of course, the level of connections he made was also high. Over the past few years, Lao Wang has met many influential people by attending meetings held by cinema chains.

The hotter the real estate market, the more cinemas open; there's a direct correlation between the two.

If a country wants to develop real estate, it must focus on either cultural tourism or football.

"You haven't let go yet?" Li Mingyang said with a smile.

“How could I just let it go like that…” Wang Changtian took a deep drag on his cigar, his eyes filled with nostalgia and regret.

“Look at all these debts on the table. Even though the higher-ups have loosened their grip on me, they still won’t let go. Documents are documents, and execution is execution. If we don’t resolve this now, it will cause trouble later,” Li Mingyang said.

"Mr. Wang, there's nothing to regret. You simply couldn't handle it. This ugly Lunar New Year film season speaks volumes. You don't have the ability to integrate domestic entertainment capital," Gong Yu advised with a smile.

Wang Changtian stopped talking, glanced at his watch, and said, "I've said enough. You guys continue talking; I need to catch my flight."

Li Mingyang hummed in agreement but did not stand up.

Gong Yu originally wanted to say something polite and see him off, but seeing Li Mingyang's expression, he just nodded and watched Wang Changtian leave.

"Old Wang, where are we going? Looking for that bandit leader?"

The thought popped into Gong Yu's mind, but before he could think about it further, he was drawn in by Li Mingyang's words.

Li Mingyang hasn't given up on the theatrical release of the new One-Punch Man.

There are two parts to the new One-Punch Man. In the first part, he was sliced ​​into three pieces by Li Mingyang!

In the second part, no one had the original film; it was in Li Mingyang's hands.

“I unconditionally support all of Director Li’s decisions, but you should think it through. If you offend FBTV’s shareholders, your life overseas will definitely not be easy.”

"Even if I don't offend them, life overseas isn't easy!"

"..."

"We're going to get hammered either way, so we might as well strike first."

"..."

……

Bouquet Street.

Gong Yu followed Li Mingyang through the streets inside the bouquet, at the end of which was a mountain.

The animation department of Bouquet is located on a mountain called Red Fruit Mountain.

That's pretty melodramatic...

Gong Yu invested in Huashu Entertainment last year. After the investment, he came to Huashu Entertainment with great expectations, but left disappointed.

Bouquet Entertainment, lacking Li Mingyang's management, was even worse than he had imagined.

After returning to China, Li Mingyang stayed in Hengdian and carried out a major overhaul of Bouquet Entertainment.

At the time, he felt that Li Mingyang was really messing things up. He had worked so hard to cultivate a team of behind-the-scenes talents, but they were almost all abandoned, and he ended up with a bunch of newcomers who were good for nothing except for their youth.

After several months, he visited Bouquet Entertainment again, and what impressed him most about Bouquet was its vitality.

Full of energy, but only average in ability.

This is normal, especially if someone is full of energy and has exceptional abilities.

That flower bouquet entertainment truly pioneered a new path, blazing a completely different trail from the domestic entertainment industry.

The task is arduous and the road ahead is long, but as long as Li Mingyang is willing to persevere, there is hope.

Many people in the Chinese entertainment industry don't understand why Gong Yu would align himself with Li Mingyang.

In fact, the reason is very simple.

iQiyi is one of the major shareholders of Bouquet Entertainment!

Since Bouquet Entertainment has the potential to flourish and become a unique entity, Gong Yu naturally wants to give it his full support.

The Chinese entertainment industry is a total rip-off; you pay money to suffer, you pay money to be treated like a servant...

If the bouquet can rise to prominence and become deeply intertwined with iQiyi, it would better align with iQiyi's grand strategy for going public!

The person who knows you best is not your friend, not your partner, but your enemy.

Gong Yu and Li Mingyang had a falling out, and Gong Yu was then beaten senseless by Li Mingyang's series of attacks, almost losing Li Dong's trust.

From that time on, Gong Yu wanted to curry favor with Li Mingyang. His efforts paid off, and during the production of Weathering With You, he finally rose to power as a sycophant, participating in the entire publicity and stock market operations of Weathering With You.

He later participated in other film projects.

It's true that without comparison, there is no harm done.

He had always thought that Li Mingyang was a fraud who would run away as soon as he achieved his goal, without caring about the lives of his teammates!
And indeed, Wang Changtian and Zhang Wei were completely taken aback by his incredible actions...

But compared to those people in the Chinese and Korean entertainment industries, Li Mingyang is really a great guy. At least he didn't lie to anyone at the beginning!

He is truly getting things done and has been working hard to achieve his goals.

However, once he achieves his goal, he'll run away... or run away beforehand!

This is like two armies charging into battle, with Li Mingyang leading the charge!
When victory was in sight and it was time to reap the spoils, Li Mingyang was nowhere to be seen. Looking back, Li Mingyang was at the very back of the army, ready to run away at any moment!
Gong Yu didn't have high expectations for Li Mingyang's integrity; lowering expectations was all the better!

Even if Li Mingyang offends FBTV's shareholders and goes overseas, causing the domestic flower bouquet industry to collapse, it doesn't matter.

He's willing to take this bouquet!

Bouquet Entertainment is a production company specializing in content matching for streaming platforms!
It's just too bulky, terribly bulky...

Li Mingyang has been promoting Bouquet Entertainment in an effort to bring it back to FBTV, but this has been met with resistance from most people.

Too many people!

Emptying a company's working capital is so easy!

Especially the part about providing social security for everyone involved in the flower arrangement project left Gong Yu speechless...

More than half an hour later, Li Mingyang and Gong Yu rode their Aima electric bikes up the mountain.

The surroundings became increasingly remote, so remote it was unsettling.

Thankfully it was daytime.

At night, Gong Yu dared not go up the mountain.

(End of this chapter)